Prom Knight

by Ben Reeder

  Amanda pulled me into the truck seconds before we made a hard right turn, and I could see our destination ahead. The windows strobed with red and blue lights, and I imagined I could even hear the deep thump of the bass line. Dr. C poured on the speed, and I shared a look with Lucas. There was no way he was going to be able to stop in time. Then I remembered the kinetic ram.

  We hit the concrete posts going at least eighty. All of the kinetic energy got turned into forward momentum, and the world went slo-mo for a few seconds for us. Two posts bounced off the wedge of kinetic energy and flew through the doors with the truck right behind them. We skidded across the wooden floor for a few feet, and the world started back into motion again. Dr. C was out of his seat and on the floor almost as fast as I was, but no one beat Kim. The dance floor was clear, and in the dark, we could see people turning to look at us, though no one could hear a thing over the music.

  Dr. C ran toward the crowd with the rest of us only steps behind him. “Get out! Everyone clear out now!” No one moved. He pulled one of his pistols and fired into the air, the boom of the shot drowning out everything for a split second. “I said move!” And still, no one moved. By then, it was too late.

  Gedeon smashed his way through the doors, leaving a twenty foot tall hole in the building. “You’ve failed!” he yelled as he strode to the center of the room. “I’ve crossed your line in the sand and I’ve overwhelmed your pathetic attempt at defending your world. So prepare to make your last stand, Fortunato. At least you’ll die thinking you’re a hero.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Gedeon,” I said. Lucas hit the lights, and the demon blinked in confusion as the shadows and silhouettes around him resolved into cardboard cutouts and painted shapes on the walls. The illusory dancers faded from sight, and Wanda, Monica and Vortigern were revealed on the stage. Hoshi and Kiya stood behind them, the last mists of their illusion fading. “My line in the sand is two miles behind me. This was never a desperate defense or some heroic last stand." I stepped forward, and the rest of my friends advanced to the edge of the now visible circle with me. "This is an ambush."

  “You think you’re ambushing me?” Gedeon laughed. “You think any circle you can cast will hold me?”

  “Who said I was casting it?” I said, and looked over my shoulder. “Do it.”

  Gedeon looked from me to the stage as Monica raised her right hand. Lines of red ran from between her fingers and gathered at her fingertip. Gedeon started to rush toward her as the single red drop fell from her hand to the smaller circle she had cast around herself. Brilliant white light filled the room, then faded to red. I turned back to look at Gedeon, and his flaming face was a mask of shock. Only he remained in the circle, and the rest of the Horde was gone.

  “How?” he sputtered. “She lives but the circle is cast!”

  “Whosoever shall spill the blood of the Half-Caste Childe shall be granted the power to render undone any contract made with an Infernal Power,” Vortigern intoned. “It doesn’t say anything about killing her.”

  “It also doesn’t mention her spilling her own blood, either!” Gedeon said. He drew back his fist and pounded at the wall around him, only to get thrown back in a flash of light. “Stop this! Stop right now! I declare this void! Release me or suffer my wrath!”

  On the stage, Monica’s face twisted into a rictus of fury, and she lifted her hand to point at Gedeon. “I am the Half-Caste Chylde, I am the Sacred and the Profane. I touch all that you fear and all that you desire. I command you as your Prince commanded you, and as the One Above him commanded you.” Her hand closed, and Gedeon’s form twisted and bent. Then the fiery body collapsed on itself, leaving another figure in its place near the edge of the circle.

  “You couldn’t have known that,” the figure moaned as it climbed to its feet. “We hid those texts, shattered the tablets.”

  “Never underestimate the determination of a father bent on saving his daughter,” Vortigern said. “Or a mother with the same mission.” He looked to Kim and winked. “Now, as the one who cast this circle, the one who summoned you not only to this plane but also to this place, Monica is allowed to demand that you dissolve a contract. As do those she claims as part of her circle. Call your circle, my dear.”

  Monica looked around the room, then pointed at Lucas. “You’re first, baby. You treated me best before you even knew me. Shade. You put your ass on the line to help me when you barely knew me. Wanda, my sister. Chance, Dr. Corwin, Kim and Amanda. And you father. That is my circle.”

  “And what agreement do you want to nullify?” Gedeon asked. He came to the edge of the circle, and I did a double take. Gedeon’s true form was only four feet tall.

  “My father’s contract with Sammael and Berith,” Monica said.

  “Done. And this Lucas...what agreement do you want to undo?”

  “Can you get Thraxus to call off his vengeance in ten years?”

  “That is Lord Thraxus’s promise. Hell has no authority over it.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to pass for now.”

  “Very well, then,” Gedeon said, then smiled as he turned to Kim and Dr. C. “Kim Shinoda, what do you wish to nullify?”

  “Clan Ryu’s agreement for my daughter to serve them.”

  “Very well,” Gedeon said. “It will be done.”

  “Now,” Kim said.

  Gedeon looked daggers at her, then gritted his teeth and nodded. “It is so. And Wizard Corwin?”

  “Give Kim her freedom from the clan. With honor.”

  “Done,” he hissed. “And Amanda?”

  “Release Clan Ryu from your service.”

  “You can’t demand-”

  “We killed the oyabun who made the agreement with you. I can and I will demand it.”

  “Alright, then,” Gedeon huffed. “It is done. And you, Fortunato?”

  I looked back at Vortigern, then at Gedeon. “Can I ask for the release of the souls I got for Dulka?”

  “You may ask for...one. Do you wish to choose one, then?” Gedeon asked with a grin that showed way too many pointy teeth.

  “If I can only free one person,” I said, “then I choose to free Ren.”

  “Are you sure?” Gedeon asked, his grin getting wider.

  “I’m sure,” I said. Ren floated down beside me, his eyes overflowing with tiny tears, then he surged forward and wrapped his arms around my neck, sobbing, a non-stop chorus of “Thank you,” coming from him.

  “I’m disappointed in you, apprentice,” Gedeon said. “I had hoped you’d remembered Dulka’s upbringing. But as he does in all things, he has failed.”

  “Piss off, Gedeon,” I said as I put my arm under Ren’s feet to support him. “Dulka’s not the bitch standing in a circle doing what he’s told to.”

  The diminutive demon rolled his eyes and waved in dismissal before turning to Vortigern. “I know what you want, Vortigern, but your daughter has already asked for it. Want to take a rain check as well?”

  “No,” Vortigern said. “There is one thing I would want undone, though it is not a contract.” He stood a little straighter, then turned to look at Monica for a moment and put his hand to her cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled until he pulled his hand away. He leaned in close and whispered something in her ear, then took a step away. “I hereby renounce my daughter. Strike her name from my lineage, let it be forgotten and never uttered in conjunction with mine.” He took a long breath, his eyes closed. “I disown you, Monica. I am not your father, and you are no longer my daughter.”

  The silence was palpable, and everyone looked at Monica and Vortigern. A single teardrop ran down his cheek and fell to the floor. Every being in the room heard it hit. Monica looked at him in utter shock for a heartbeat, then her face went blank.

  “I can only guess what that must have cost you, Kyle Vortigern,” Gedeon crowed. “Seeing you suffer almost makes the rest of my losses tonight worthwhile. But I think that concludes my business here. Let me go, girl.”

  “
No you don’t,” I said and looked back to Monica, who raised her arm and closed her fist. Gedeon grunted and seemed to compress on himself a little. “I’m not done with you yet. Dulka, where are you?”

  Dulka stepped into the light, his right hand bandaged and a grin on his face a foot wide. “I’m here, boy. But there’s no good business between me and this little yipper,” he pointed his thumb at Gedeon.

  “No, but you have business with me, and I think you’ll like what I have in mind,” I said. I pointed to his bandaged hand. “I offered to fix that if you fought on my side tonight. You showed up, and you did what I needed. So it’s time to pay up. Steve, gonna need to borrow the sword again, brother.” Donovan came up with a scowl on his face and held the hilt of the sword out.

  “I hate working with… this,” he nodded toward Dulka. “Unless you plan on sticking the business end into him.”

  “Then you’re really going to hate this,” I told him as I took the sword. I turned to Dulka and tried to relax my shoulders, then put my hand on the bandage. My gut churned and I took a quick breath to calm my mind. A big part of me was trying to rebel at what I was about to do, but it wasn’t helping that my stomach had suddenly turned sour.

  He is what he is, I told myself. Anger issues, abandonment, all that shit. People say the same thing about me. All I wanted was a shot at redemption. All I ever wanted was someone to give me what I’m about to give this bastard. He didn’t deserve what I was about to do, but then...that was kind of the point.

  “Dulka….these are going to be the hardest words I’ve ever said. But...I forgive you.” The Maxilla glowed a soft white, and Dulka recoiled from me with a look on his face like he’d just tasted something disgusting. The sword warmed in my hands and started to hum. Inside my head, something sort of deflated, and my gut suddenly didn’t feel quite so knotted.

  “What is this bullshit?” he spat. “I feel...weird.”

  “You should try this end,” I said, trying to keep the churn of emotions in my head in check. Still, I felt almost calm. All of the anger was still there, but it felt to me like there was some change in the balance between us. “But you’re gonna love this. Gedeon, guess what?”

  “Do I have to?” Gedeon asked. “Because what I’d love to do is throw up from all this hearts and flowers crap.”

  “I guess it’ll just have to be a surprise then,” I said. “Wounds from the Maxilla do not heal. But once forgiven, they can be taken on by the person who inflicted them...or given to someone else. I can’t think of anyone more deserving right now. And I don’t mind handing out a little pain.” I looked to Gedeon and released the energy the sword had been holding. He yelped and jumped back, holding his hand up to reveal the long gash that had just appeared in it. Infernal invective poured from his mouth. At the same time, Dulka ripped the bandage from his hand to reveal unbroken flesh. He staggered and went to one knee, then looked at me.

  “I’m done with Gedeon,” I said over my shoulder to Monica.

  “Go back to Hell, Gedeon,” she said softly. Suddenly the circle was empty, and only Dulka remained.

  “You can go, too,” I said. “Things are even between us.”

  “I will,” he said, sounding a little dazed. He stood and looked around then looked back at me. “I think….maybe...I owe you.” He disappeared before I could say anything.

  “Might I suggest that you remove yourselves?” Vortigern said. “The police will be here in moments, asking awkward questions and demanding honest answers.

  “Well, we’re going to miss prom,” Lucas said. “But we all kinda figured on that anyway, didn’t we?”

  “You don’t have to miss it completely,” Dr. C said.

  Epilogue

  ~ We are the line. We stand between the cowan and the darkness, protecting tranquility that we may never know. ~ Pledge of the Shadow Regiment

  Sixty feet below us, our classmates danced and laughed, oblivious to what we’d done, to what had happened only a couple of miles away. They had no idea of the threat that had been coming for them. And they never would. We’d stopped this threat, but the Rending wasn’t the only way Mammon could be freed. Dr. C and I both knew that this wasn’t the last time we’d have to deal with that. As victories went, this one was best described as temporary. We’d won; we’d saved the prom, even if we couldn’t go to it. Shade, Lucas, Wanda and Monica were lined up with me at the railing to the catwalk above the stage. Hoshi and Kiya were behind them, both looking smug for some reason. Suicidal Jester’s “Dance For The Dead” was playing below us, a fitting tribute for Desiree. Mike Destine’s voice poured from the speakers, the heavy beat hitting like the rhythm of a heart as he moaned the chorus:

  We dance for the dead tonight / The fires of our lives burnin’ bright,

  ‘Cause the dead can’t dance / so we dance for the dead tonight,

  Gonna set this whole world alight / Live while you have the chance!

  “I’m not sure what the point here is,” I said, my arm around Shade’s waist. “We’ve got a great view of everything we’re missing.”

  “Of everything you just saved,” Kim said, her voice barely carrying over the music. I jumped and looked at her. “Come, we are ready.”

  “Sure,” I said, then turned to gesture at everyone. When I turned back, she was gone, but the door at the top of the metal stairwell was open. We made our way outside, and gaped. All of New Essex glittered in front of us, and the night sky rivaled it for splendor. Dr. Corwin stood next to an old boom box playing something slow and beautiful.

  “You sacrificed your prom to save your friends, and maybe the world,” he said. “The least I can do is give you a place to dance in that you’ll never forget. Chance, why don’t you start?”

  I looked to Kiya, who laughed and nodded at my unspoken plea. “Shade, will you dance with me among the stars tonight?” I said as I wove the spell I’d been practicing all month. Mist began to form around Shade’s feet, then mine. A moment later, we were both lifted a few inches into the air as Kiya solidified my crude work.

  “Is this what you were trying to keep from me?” Shade asked.

  “Kiya was trying to help me get it down,” I said, and held out my hand. “It’s a water spell, and I’m more a fire guy.”

  She took it, and our two little clouds became a larger one. “I’d love to dance with you, Chance. In the clouds, on the ground, anywhere you are.” Monica and Lucas floated up on their own cloud, with Kiya and Hoshi lifting into the air a few seconds later.

  “Kim,” I heard Dr. C say. I turned to watch, my own heart beating as fast as I imagined his must have been. “Would you dance with me...after all this time?”

  “There is one thing we must do first, beloved,” Kim said. She stepped up to him and bowed her head slightly. “There must be nothing hidden between us. So I offer you all of my heart, all of my life.” She raised her head and opened her eyes. “Look into my eyes, Trevor Corwin. See me, my beloved, and let me See you.”

  I never knew how long the Horus Gaze between them lasted, or when it started. But I knew when they came back. Dr. C gasped, and tears rolled down his cheeks. Kim looked up at him, her own eyes streaming, her look vulnerable. In that moment, there was no mask, nothing between her heart and her expression.

  “I have a daughter,” he said, then turned to Amanda. “My God, I have a daughter.” He held his arms out to her and she went to him. He sobbed as he held her, and I figured it was time for the rest of us to give them some distance. I nudged our cloud up and away, and turned the music up a notch with a little bit of controlled telekinesis.

  “I’m sorry things got so screwed up,” I said.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Shade whispered. “I mean, my dress got ruined, and I nearly died. But it all turned out okay.”

  “Not for Monica,” I said. “I mean, her own father disowned her. I get why, so she couldn’t be used as a hostage again, but is that because he gave a damn or because he was eliminating a weakness?”

  �
��He asked her to forgive him,” Shade said. “Right before he disowned her. I think that says everything.”

  “You never know with demons,” I said. “But I like to think he was being sincere.”

  “He was,” she said. “He wasn’t a demon when he did that. He was a father. Those tears were real.”

  “I like that,” I said. “And now Dr. C is a dad, too. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “Chance, I’m sorry,” Shade blurted. “I let my insecurity screw things up. You’ve been so patient with me, and I’ve been such a bitch to you sometimes. But when I was laying there on the ground, all I could think of was how happy I was that you were there, standing over me.”

  “I’ve made my share of stupid mistakes, Shade,” I said. “And yeah, we’re both pretty screwed up. But when it comes down to it, no matter how pissed we might be, or how hurt we are, I always know one thing for certain. I love you, and I’m not going to stop. Ever.” I leaned closer and nipped at her throat. Her movements were slow and languid; she tilted her head back and arched her body against mine as she kissed me.

  “And I love you,” she whispered, her voice husky. “Please, tell me one more time.”

  “I love you.”

  “Prove it,” she growled in my ear, then kissed me, this time slow and soft. “Make love to me.”

  Dear Reader,

  Prom Knight is a story I’ve been wanting to write for a while now. The title first hit me back when I was first working on the arc for the series back in 2006. Yes, I’ve been waiting to use that title for twelve years. Likewise, I’ve been wanting to do the cover for this for a long time, too. Things came together for this book in strange ways, and I’m glad to finally be able to share it with you.