An unfamiliar feeling washed over him. He was so used to being racked with anxiety and uncertainty ... but now, a calm stilled him. He knew what he had to do. All that was left was to do it.
The room began to shake, and Adam rocketed forward, sprinting back over the bridge toward the engine. Two Coveters filed into the room with fast strides, then two more, then three. They looked up and roared as they spotted him, hurrying to climb the ramp.
But he was already in the last stretch, the engine's buzz deafening as it licked his skin, trying in vain to force him back with its power. The overwhelming feeling of the primordial magic drew a long, strangled cry from him, but he didn't stop until he reached the glass.
Bracing himself, he raised the Genesis over his head, then swung it down with all his might.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The sound of cracking glass and a horrible, ghostly shriek filled the room. Edie shielded her eyes as the bright light of the engine flared, drowning the cavern in a sea of blinding nothingness. A gale threw her against something hard nearby and knocked the breath from her lungs, and for a few long moments, the whistling screech blocked out any other noise.
Then, slowly, the light faded, the pressure that had washed over her body easing enough that she could sit up. Satara sat nearby, against Elle's cage, looking as windblown and bruised as Edie felt. Beyond her, the blue-purple magic that had been contained within the glass tower was writhing freely now, slowly billowing from the center of the room.
As wisps of it reached the stacked cages, the oppressive shrieking was replaced by the sound of stone grinding on stone. Edie blinked, dazed, as she watched the cages around her swing open and the ashen figures within bolt toward the exit.
She struggled to her knees and crawled toward the edge of the platform, watching as the Coveters below swung their arms, grabbing for the runaway souls—but there were so many that they only caught a few each.
Edie's heart sank, looking toward the engine. She could see a lot of light and magic, but no sign of Adam.
Almost as if in answer to her thought, a faint groan reached her ears. She shuffled a few feet in its direction and watched with wide eyes as a pale hand emerged from the torrent of power, gripping one of the chains crisscrossing the floor. With what looked like a monumental effort, it pulled forward, revealing a tattooed arm.
The other hand came next, dragging a guitar; then, his head. His face was screwed up with effort, and it was only then that Edie realized he was fighting against the whirlwind. It was trying to pull him into it, consume him.
With a cry, she leapt up and staggered to him, falling to her knees just in time to grab his wrist. With both hands, she tugged, muscles burning as she helped him fight against the undertow. After a moment, she felt arms around her waist, and she knew from the jangle of armor that it was Satara. Together, they pulled, planting their feet, straining—
Finally, she felt the power give way. She and Satara practically fell backward as they gave the final pull and hauled Adam back onto the platform.
"Adam!" Elle, now free, dropped beside them, gathering her father into her arms. Mikey wasn't far behind, kneeling beside them.
"I don't want to interrupt your reunion," Edie croaked, brushing hair out of her eyes and mouth, "but we have to get the fuck out of here." She nodded to the Coveters, as well as the sea of dark blue creatures that were now surging up the ramp toward them.
Elle squawked and stood, helping Adam to his feet. He sagged against her and almost dropped the Genesis, but Mikey caught it, sticking close beside.
"Over here." Satara's voice came from behind them, and Edie turned to see that she'd found another shaft.
Thank the gods. Hopefully it would lead them out, though anywhere was better than here. She let Adam and the two spirits struggle in front of her, glancing from them to the tide of creatures surging ever closer. Once the others had crawled in, she gestured Satara forward, then climbed in herself.
This shaft was just as void-black as the other one had been, but up ahead, Elle glowed softly, at least assuring them there were no sudden drops. Eventually, after a while of twisting and turning, a pale grayish light filtered in from the other end. Freedom.
And just in time, too, because Edie could hear screams echoing down the shaft toward them.
"Basile," she whispered, "the streets out there are like a maze. When we get out, can you tell us where to go?"
"Uhhh ... one sec." There was a pause, and Edie continued to crawl forward, dread heating her neck. Finally, his voice came back: "I can pull a few strings and send up a beacon outside the subway station. Can you take it from there?"
A beacon. Hopefully it'd be bright enough for them to see it. "Thank you!" she said, the relief of seeing her friends climb from the end of the shaft making her almost giddy. Screw this place.
Her soaring heart shriveled, though, when she crawled from the shaft herself.
Where before the Wending had been stagnant and eerily calm, now, all around her, chaos reigned. The perimeter of bone around them had broken and was flying in a whirlwind around the Seat of the Master; the bluish energy roared through the sky, creating violent tornadoes; spirits whipped like flags in the wind, howling, torn from their resting places and drawn closer and closer to the tower; buildings had been upended, revealing crumbling dirt and networks of roots, as though they were trees.
The ghostly screech of the engine was present out here, too, as well as the unhearable voice. For a moment, Edie thought it was coming from the Seat itself, behind them. But no, it was leaking from the eddies of energy, from the glowing cracks in the ground, from every building: You have defiled the Seat of the Master. You will be punished.
"Basile?" Edie whispered, but there was no response.
A now-familiar whine reverberated, signaling another Coveter nearby. But other than that, she saw none on the horizon—their trespassing must have caught the attention of all the others.
Edie squinted into the distance, looking for the beacon. For a few seconds, she couldn’t see it, frantic. Then, she spotted a pillar of light far away: the only constant, unwavering thing in this new chaos.
She ducked a chunk of flying debris and pointed ahead, shouting over the vicious winds: "There!"
Without checking to see if the others were behind her, she shadow jumped forward, then again, keeping her eyes on the pillar of light. Even when the earth began to shake under her feet, she didn't stop moving. Even when her breath became ragged, her shoes slipping on the gravel of the slanting roofs, her body pelted with stray magic and rubble, she didn't stop.
"Basile," she gasped out again as the beacon came closer, "we're almost there!"
No answer.
Above her head, two wisps of bluish light streaked toward the beacon. Wings beat a quick rhythm on the air, and someone else's shadow magic twined through hers with each jump. She had all her companions and the beacon, but why wasn't the fucking priest answering?
Finally, the streets became slightly more familiar, the beacon much larger and brighter. She recognized the apartment building where they had first met Mikey—and not too far away, the mouth of the alley through which they'd first come. The court it led to was completely shadowed, so she jumped into the middle of it and ran the rest of the way to the subway entrance.
The ground shook, but these tremors were different than the massive footsteps of the Coveters. They were faster, more like something was shaking rather than stomping. Fine dust and debris began to rain down as if the place was destroying itself in defiance of their presence.
Inside, the subway was just as filthy as it had been before, but Edie almost welcomed it. At least it was a sign that the end of their adventure was near.
"Basile!" She was shouting now. "We need the train! Call the train!"
Again, he gave no answer, but there wasn't time to stop and try to figure out why. Footsteps filled the abandoned terminal as the group descended to the bottom floor once more, and finally, the decomposing train came into
view.
The doors shuddered open, and Edie stood by them, waving people in—first Satara, then Elle stepped nervously over the threshold. She waved more frantically for Adam, who looked like a dead man walking at the moment. They had to get him home.
But just before he crossed over, he stopped short and looked back. Mikey still stood on the platform, shoulders slumped, the Genesis in his hands. His brown eyes were wide and achingly sad.
There's nothing you can do, Edie told herself, gritting her teeth. He has to stay here. There’s nothing you can do. But even as she thought it, she couldn't bring herself to rush Adam. Despite the quaking of the station around them, despite the unholy, screaming wind, she couldn't.
All she could do was watch.
"Mikey..." Adam approached the spirit, and the spirit raised his guitar.
"Here ... you're gonna need this."
Adam hesitated, looking into his eyes. There had been such a rush to find Elle, he’d barely had time to register that this was really Mikey. Now, it was hitting him. Hard. "Mikey," he said again, barely audible, as he took the Genesis.
The middle of a gore-crusted subway in the land of lost souls wasn't the best place to have an intimate conversation, granted, but Adam found he didn’t care. This moment echoed a hundred others. A hundred mornings Mikey and Adam had parted ways, knowing their secret flings could never be anything more than that. A hundred mornings Adam had seen the same sadness in Mikey’s eyes.
"You should go, man." Mikey's voice tilted with sorrow. "It's bad here. You don't want to stay here."
"Mikey..." he said again, then abruptly switched gears as a burning question entered his mind: "Mikey, I need to know why you did it. Was it an accident?"
A pause. "I dunno. It was just ... with the band gone, and I lost people I thought were my friends ... you were busy, all married with a family."
"If it was because of me and Karen, I'm—"
"No, it wasn't." Mikey paused again, then cringed. "I love you. I wanted you to be happy."
Adam gripped the Genesis tighter. They’d never stated it so plainly. Ever. "I love you, too, Mike."
"Things were changing, but I..." Mikey looked down at himself. "I was the same. I was the same stupid fifteen-year-old that ran away from home. And now I'm the same forever."
Every one of those hundred mornings, Adam had turned his back on that sadness. It had hurt to see. Every one of those mornings, he’d said goodbye and walked away.
He couldn’t do that again. "You could leave. You don't deserve to be here."
"Maybe ... but I dunno how."
Adam looked down at the guitar, then at Mikey. Was it possible?
After a moment, he peered over his shoulder and met Edie's tentative gaze, trying to ask her the question silently. Above them, there was a horrific crack, and the subway station shook harder, fine dust falling around them.
Edie spared a glance at the ceiling. "Whatever you do, do it fast."
He looked back at Mikey and held out the guitar. "Come with me."
For a moment, the spirit's eyes lit hopefully, but uncertainty still marred his expression. "But I've been dead awhile, Frank, and you've— you've got shit going on!" He gestured to Edie and the others, teeth chattering. "I'd just— You have to get out of here!"
"Mikey," Adam said one more time, raising his voice over the shaking. "Come with me. I want you to come with me."
Something gave way in Mikey’s face, and he took a step closer to Adam, only the Genesis separating them. He put his hands on the guitar, too, stroking it reverently. Weakly, voice choked, he said, "I always wanted a body with sexy curves.”
That drew an equally weak chuckle from Adam. "She's all yours."
Mikey looked at him again, searching his face affectionately. Then, with a deep breath, his body faded, glowing faintly white. After a few moments, he was no more than a mist, and slowly, he seeped into the body of the guitar, climbing up and down its strings and coalescing around the pickups.
Another bang, loud enough that it took Adam's breath away for a moment. Edie shouted something that sounded like gibberish to his ears, and he turned quickly and sprinted into the car, huddling close to Elle with the Genesis pressed to his chest. He could almost feel Mikey’s heartbeat against his own.
Edie jumped in after and hauled the train's doors shut, banging on the walls and shouting: "Basile! Come on, get us the fuck out of here! Basile!"
With a lurch, the train started forward, jerking along the track fast enough that she nearly fell over.
It wasn't long before darkness swallowed them up, the world beyond the train's windows more of a void than a tunnel. The oceanlike silence was now like the sound of blood rushing through one's ears, somehow oppressively loud despite not really being a sound at all. Their last trip through this void had been smooth, but now the train shook like it was going to fall apart.
A particularly loud thud from the far end of the train made Adam start, and he looked up to see faces pressed to the end window of the next car. The white figures that had been in the next car over when they'd entered this place—the ones that Basile had told Edie not to look at. They were staring inward now, their bodies and faces indistinct, their eyes nothing but scribbles. One of them jerked its arm down, pulling at the car door’s handle.
Adam gasped and averted his eyes as quickly as he could, remembering Basile's warning. The priest was a total douchebag, but he knew what he was talking about. Adam didn't want to know what would happen if he acknowledged those figures for too long.
The train banged and screeched, his friends cried out, sparks flew somewhere nearby. The acrid scent of something burning reached Adam's nose, and he shut his eyes tight, not wanting to see which of the train’s parts were breaking off. Beside him, Elle screamed and pressed in close, and he pulled an arm around her.
All that bullshit in the Wending and they were going to die here, lost in the in-between of the in-between, a timeless and spaceless void.
Maybe he shouldn't have smashed that stupid thing.
His arm slipped on Elle, dipping, like she had ducked under to get away. The movement made him open his eyes despite the chaos. Sparks rained around him, the lights of the car flickering like some underground club's strobe; handrails and wiring had dislodged from their proper places, swinging; glass cracked and shivered. Edie and Satara had taken seats despite the filth, gripping the side rails for dear life.
Adam glanced to the side, trying to make sense of what Elle was doing. His heart dropped.
She, too, was flickering. Her desaturated form was turning more translucent at intervals, and Adam found he could move his arm through her.
She covered her face with her hands. "No, no, no!"
The Genesis flashed brightly, and in the back of Adam's head, Mikey's voice echoed: “Adam ... I don't feel so hot.”
Adam's whole body shook once before a strange stillness overtook him. His emotions clenched into a hard ball, his brow furrowing. He secured his arm around Elle again, the other holding the Genesis close, focusing as closely as he could on them. Mikey and Elle were real. They weren't lost anymore; they were here.
He wasn't going to lose them again.
The oppressive silence outside the train gave way to thundering. Below them, Adam could feel more than the crashing of a dissolving train—he felt the grinding of tracks. When he raised his head to peer out the windows, he saw dimly lit bricks and cement rushing past them.
Before his pounding head could register what was happening, they were slowing. Then, with one final screech, the train came to a stop in the dingy station they had left behind.
If nothing else, the smell was familiar. New York City.
Shakily, Adam stood, pulling a still-fading Elle up with him. She had pressed her head to his shoulder, and he murmured into her hair. "It's okay. We're home. It's okay."
He couldn't hold onto her for long, and he knew it. He could feel her energy beginning to slip through his fingers, searching for a
place to belong, to make sense of itself. Basile better be ready to catch her soul the second those doors slid open.
Edie and Satara had already stood, but thankfully they let Adam go first, shuffling out with Elle held tightly to him. By the time they stepped onto the platform, she was only a periwinkle mist in the vague shape of a human.
He kept his eyes on her, trying to will her to stay with him just a few moments longer. In his periphery, he could see that a few people sat on the concrete floor of the platform, but when he finally spared a glance, they were not what he expected.
It was Basile, Marius, and a woman he had never met before. But Basile had dropped all pretense of priestliness, instead wearing a turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up. His glamour looked tired, worn, the hair mussed, and his eyes were pits of black with small points of blue light. Marius looked much the same: exhausted, his usually styled hair a crown of cherubic curls, the scruffy beginnings of a beard on his jaw and cheeks. His street clothes were rumpled, obviously slept in.
They were sitting on two sleeping bags heaped with blankets, a large electric lantern between them. The woman, her own dark curls spiraling from beneath a winter hat, held two paper grocery bags in her arms. If Adam didn't know any better, he'd have thought they'd interrupted a few homeless people hanging out.
The three of them stared at the train with awe. But on seeing Elle, Basile stood, holding something up: a crystal, just like the one he'd used to trap their souls. His mouth moved rapidly, reciting some spell too quiet for Adam to hear over the ringing in his ears.
The mist that was Elle glowed in Adam's arms. He shivered as she slipped from his grasp and formed a streak of light that shot toward Basile's hand. There was a flash, and the crystal filled with a hazy, roiling purplish glow.
He lowered his arm and held the crystal tight in his fist, the light reflecting off his glasses. "Gotcha."
"Edie!"
Marius had stood and was jogging forward with such purpose that Adam naturally made way for him. He watched with fast, anxious breaths as Marius pulled Edie into a fervent, crushing hug, hand at the nape of her neck. They lingered for a moment before he broke away.
Unholy Spirit (The Necromancer's Daughter Book 3) Page 23
