Death And Darkness

by E. A. Copen

  “I can find it,” offered Stefan.

  I turned back around.

  “You?” Ulmir snorted. “How?”

  “The job of an Oracle is to read the future for kings.” Stefan shrugged. “Lazarus is a king. I’ll just look into the future and see where he goes.”

  “That’s bloody brilliant,” Josiah said.

  I nodded. “I agree. Let’s do that. What do you need to make that happen?”

  He counted on his fingers as he listed off what he needed. “Not much. Just a room sealed from all outside magic and a few psychoactive substances. I’m sure you have what I need somewhere in an evidence locker.”

  “I’m not breaking into evidence to get you high so we can tell the future.” Drake stood. “I think I’m done.” He started for the door.

  Emma got in his way. “Remember that conversation we had about coloring outside the lines? This is that time. That stuff’s been sitting in lockup for months, and it’s not doing anyone any good there. You want to fight America’s war on drugs? Fine. Let’s live to fight it. Now sit your ass back down before I kick it.”

  He blinked, looked around the room, and slinked back to his chair.

  I cleared my throat and turned to address Stefan. “How long will it take?”

  He shrugged. “Once I go into the vision, I don’t have a lot of control over how long it takes to go where I need to. The longest ones last days, but usually no more than a few hours. They can be…intense.”

  “Either of you two know how to seal a room so magic can’t get in?” Paula gestured to me and then Josiah.

  “I can do it,” Josiah offered. “Smaller room would be easier, and once I do, I’ll be out for a while. It takes a lot of energy to do it, and I’ll be days recovering. Have to sit out the final battle. Sorry, mate.” He frowned at me.

  That was less than ideal. Josiah was one of the best weapons we had against Mask and anything from the Nightlands. His angel fire wasn’t something anyone else could replicate. Of course, if this worked, we wouldn’t need his angel fire. Sealing the gate would theoretically stop Mask from being able to freely move between the other realms and Earth, meaning we’d be cutting him off from most of his power. Then, when Finn used the stones to blast Mask, it’d be all over.

  But we had to do what we had to do.

  I nodded. “We’ll make it.”

  “So once the seal is in place, then what?” Finn asked.

  “Then you’re going to lure Mask out of hiding,” I said.

  He almost choked. “Excuse me? I’m bait?”

  “He’s not going to come out of his safe hiding place for just anyone or anything, Finn. You kicked his ass in Shadow, and again in the High Court. He wants those stones back and bad. So we’re going to give him exactly what he wants. Ulmir, me, Remy, and Foxglove will help get you to the center of the Quarter using flashlights and support from the helicopters like Stefan suggested. Once we’re there, we’ll split and leave you vulnerable for a minute. Mask will come out to deal with you personally because you’re going to challenge him.”

  He squinted and turned his head to the side. “I’m going to what now?”

  “Challenge him. Don’t worry. You’ll have the stones. We’ll keep everyone else off of you. All you have to do is use them and kill this avatar of Mask. Then we go to Faerie, find that seal, and do the same thing there.”

  Finn gave the table a nervous glance. “That’s asking a lot. What if something happens to me? If any one thing goes wrong, this won’t work.”

  Remy put her hand on Finn’s. “You can do this. I know you can.”

  I bit my lip and looked at Foxglove, watching the two of them.

  His eyes focused on their overlapped hands for a moment before he looked Finn straight in the eyes. “I saw you at the Battle of Rilvand, and the aftermath of your confrontation with Mask. I had him in my head for months, and I know he fears you. If anyone can do this, Finn, you can. Our faith is well placed in you.”

  Finn blinked. “I… Thanks.”

  Foxglove nodded.

  “Excuse me.” Adelard’s wife raised one of her hands. “But I haven’t gotten an assignment yet. What can I do to help?”

  “The creatures of the Nightlands have stingers and slashing claws,” I said. “I know it’s short order, but do you think you and Adelard could put together some of your silk armor for me, Remy, Ulmir, Finn, and Foxglove?”

  She smiled sweetly and picked up several squares of fabric. “Already on it, dear. Adelard just needs the four of you to make time for a fitting.”

  Adelard grunted his agreement.

  “It’s settled then,” I said. “Ulmir, Remy, Finn, Foxglove, see Adelard for a fitting of your armor. Then raid the cabinets for flashlights and batteries. Emma, find a closet for Josiah to enchant. Drake, you take Stefan into evidence and get him what he needs. We meet back here for a progress report at dawn. Emma, once you’ve found the closet…”

  She nodded. “I’ll find you.”

  I clapped my hands together again. “Okay, see everyone at dawn!”

  Emma found a coat closet on the second floor that Josiah approved with a grunt. There was a break room just downstairs. I resolved to wait there for Emma. While I was sitting on the end of the table, I turned on the television and surfed through a few channels. Most of them were out, but the national news channels were still coming through.

  I paused on one reporting on the so-called Crisis in New Orleans. The news anchor put on a somber face to address the camera. “The footage you’re about to see is unedited and may be difficult to watch. Viewer discretion is advised.”

  The station switched over to shaky footage of five middle-aged men in an alley standing over a still figure, taking turns kicking it. I flinched as one bare foot impacted the body with an audible thud.

  “This graphic footage was captured three days ago,” reported the anchor. “Sources say the infected have been contained to the French Quarter. Reports of the mysterious illness have slowed, with less than five new cases being reported in the last two days. However, those infected have not made a full recovery. Symptoms of the third stage of the disease are markedly similar to rabies, exhibiting an extreme phobia of bright lights. Local officials are attempting to create and maintain a registry of those infected for concerned loved ones, but that registry has not been made publicly available as of yet.”

  I changed the channel and watched a reporter point out on a map how far the infection had spread. On another, commentators were discussing a worst-case scenario, with one expert suggesting that a nuclear strike could be a valid strategy if the infection wasn’t contained. Thankfully, a spokeswoman from the CDC was rebuffing his claims, but just hearing that option on the table sent shivers down my spine. We had to get ahead of this thing before more people started talking like that.

  The door to the break room opened, and I shut off the television as Emma stepped in.

  “It’s bad,” she said.

  “But not hopeless.” I put down the remote and pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head and holding her tight. “We’re going to beat this. I promise.”

  She nodded, but I felt the strain and doubt in her. It hung like a cloud all around her.

  “How’s Grammy?”

  Emma pulled away. I didn’t want to let her go, but I couldn’t hold onto her forever. “She’s a medical mystery, thanks to you. The only one to make any sort of recovery, even if it wasn’t a full recovery.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Grammy didn’t progress into the third stage of the disease, though she never really got better either. Fevers, weakness, confusion. It’s like whatever you did just stopped time for her. She’s not getting better or worse.” Emma pulled out a chair and sat. “Maybe once all this is over, she’ll get better. We had to move her from the hospital. Too dangerous there for her. She’s in the basement of all places. Nate’s father is taking care of her personally.”

  I breathed
a sigh of relief. If she wasn’t getting worse, that was something at least. “Ben is one of the best doctors. He’ll take care of her.”

  “I know. I just…I’m not ready to lose her. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

  “That’s why I wanted to talk.” I took her hands. “While I was in Faerie, they showed me what life could be like. You and me, no more gods, monsters… All of it. We were happy and at peace. But it wasn’t right because you weren’t you. It just made me realize how everything we’ve gone through has made us who we are. It’s why we’re together. I wouldn’t want to change any of it, because if I changed even one tiny thing, we wouldn’t be here right now, together. I wouldn’t have you. And I need you, Emma. I went to Hell to get you because I couldn’t imagine the world without you in it, even if you weren’t a part of my life. That’s changed. Now I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I don’t want to. That’s exactly why I worked things out with Baron Samedi. As soon as I find a replacement, I’m out. And once I am, I know the first thing I want to do.”

  Emma’s eyes doubled in size when I let her hands go and went to one knee. She covered her mouth.

  “Emma Jean Knight,” I said, reaching into my pocket, “will you be my wife?”

  She tilted her head to the side, lowered her hands, and said, “Lazarus, that’s a pair of handcuffs.”

  “I had to improvise.” I shrugged one shoulder. “I have a ring, but it’s locked in a drawer at home, and I kinda didn’t want to ask the armed guys picking me up to make a detour. I chose the nicest pair I could find. Don’t tell Drake.”

  Her face beamed. “You’re such an ass.”

  “I’m your ass. So how about it? Once this is all over, you want to go get married?”

  Her smile became more mischievous. She lifted the handcuffs out of my grasp with one finger. “Absolutely.”

  In a little book called The Princess Bride, William Goldman wrote that there were five kisses in all of history rated the most passionate, the most pure. I don’t know who the other four belonged to, but they could keep them. The one I shared with Emma in the break room that evening put all of them to shame.

  Chapter Twenty

  We sat in the break room for hours, passing the time by talking about guest lists, flowers, and venues. I wasn’t interested in plotting out those details, so I was content to let Emma write down whatever she wanted in her notebook. The more she wrote down though, the more I realized I might not have saved enough to cover this, even with Josiah doing this job pro bono.

  She was in the middle of pouring over a map of New Orleans in search of the perfect location when someone knocked on the door and pushed it open. Nate popped his head through the crack and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Everyone decent?”

  Emma lowered the travel guide she was looking through and raised an eyebrow at Nate. “This is a break room inside a police station. You couldn’t pay me to take my clothes off in here.”

  “I might,” I offered. “Depends on how much you’re paying.”

  “What? No, I’m not…” Nate sighed and opened the door farther so that he could come in. “You’re messing with me. I haven’t had enough sleep to deal with this.”

  I swiveled around in my chair. “Sorry, man. What can we help with?”

  “Oh, Detective Drake sent me to get you. Said you need to check on the addict in the closet. I think he means Stefan. I’ve been monitoring him. His reaction to the drugs he took isn’t standard. It’s like he’s dreaming. But about ten minutes ago, something changed. You need to come see.”

  Both Emma and I pushed away from the table, but I’d forgotten she’d handcuffed me to her. When I went to take a step, it yanked my arm, and I fell flat on my ass.

  Emma chuckled. “That’s what you get for being in a hurry.”

  “Did I miss something?” Nate put his hands in his pockets.

  “I’ll explain on the way,” I grumbled while Emma unlocked the cuffs.

  She slid the key in and turned it. The metal handcuffs clattered to the table loudly. Emma picked them up and handed them to me. “I expect you to replace these with a real ring, Lazarus. In the meantime, give Drake back his handcuffs.”

  “You finally asked her? Goodness, I thought he was never going to ask.” Nate let out a long sigh and slumped over. “You have no idea what a relief it is to no longer be sitting on that secret! For the record, I really hate keeping secrets between friends, even if it is for a good cause. Wait…The ring?”

  “It’s at the house,” I said. “When this is all over, I’ll do it right. Emma—”

  She raised a hand and stood, gathering her papers. “Say no more. I’m beat. I’m going to get a little rest while I can. Just promise you’ll get me up when we get ready to go to the Quarter. I want to be there when you kick that bastard’s ass back to the Nightlands where he belongs.”

  I nodded and went out the door with Nate.

  He gave me a sideways smile as we made our way down the hall. “She said yes?”

  I smiled back and stood a little straighter. “Of course she did.”

  “What about the Horseman thing? Is it going to get in the way?”

  “Nope. Samedi said I could get out if I found a suitable replacement.”

  Nate stopped walking suddenly and faced me. “Did you have someone in mind? I mean, not just anyone can be Death. You have to have a specific set of skills, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “Not really. The Horseman mantle comes with the ability to see and interact with souls and some added baggage. The necromancer thing was just a little bonus that helped sometimes. Technically, I think anyone could do it. But I wouldn’t pick just anyone. He’d have to be smart, smarter than me.” I started walking again, this time slower. “I don’t want him to make the same mistakes I did. Or her. Someone who’s better at getting along with people than me, who won’t be conflicted about making the right call, even when monsters or gods are threatening him.”

  “That sounds like a tall order,” Nate said.

  “Not finished. Gotta be someone who knows how to take a punch and get back up. This job can be hard. Knowing how to take a hit and keep going is key. And of course, someone who understands death and isn’t afraid of bodies.”

  “You don’t like dead bodies.” Nate leaned forward to look at me.

  “For the last time, dammit, it’s not that I don’t like bodies. I just don’t like to be reminded I’m going to die someday. Although I’ve gotten a little more used to it. Hard not to when I’m hanging around you.”

  Nate laughed. “True. I guess I’m just desensitized. For me, people are like hermit crabs.”

  “Hermit crabs?”

  He nodded. “We carry ourselves around, customizing our outside shell as we see fit. But we’re not the shell. One day, we have to get rid of that one too. Humanity—real humanity—isn’t about bodies. It’s about souls. Tending to the dead is like cleaning out someone else’s house after they’ve moved out. I still want to be respectful, caring. But I also recognize the person is no longer there, and they’re not coming back. Well, except if you’re around.” He gestured to me. “Working with you is always full of surprises. I’ll miss that I think.”

  “We can still hang out, Nate. We’ll always have poker nights.”

  “Yeah, we will.” He smiled, but still seemed sad somehow.

  I decided it would be best to change the subject when we hit the stairs. “Would you believe Emma’s already making plans? I hope she’s got a credit card with a high limit the way she’s talking, or that I can get one. The venue alone is going to drain my savings.”

  “Maybe you should elope?”

  “Elope? Hell no. If I did that, how would I get you to be my best man?”

  Nate froze on the stair ahead of me so suddenly I almost tripped on him. “Me? Really?”

  “Of course you. Who else would be brave enough to stand up there next to me while I make a fool out of myself?”

  For the first time ever, Nate t
urned around and hugged me. I almost lost my footing a second time before he realized it was awkward and switched to a vigorous handshake. “I’m honored and thrilled, Laz. Absolutely thrilled!” He gasped. “Oh, that means I have to plan a bachelor party.”

  I cringed at the thought. Nate wasn’t exactly the adventurous sort. His idea of a bachelor party would probably be a nice relaxing evening at a college play or something. “I promise I won’t be offended if you consult Hades. I think maybe he’d want to be part of that.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Good idea! There’s so much to do!” He turned around and rushed down the stairs at twice the rate he’d been going before.

  “Yeah, maybe save all that for after we defeat Mask? I don’t want anyone distracted. We’ve all got a job to do. Yours is going to be to look after the wounded and infected once this is all over. You and your dad will have to head up triage, so make sure you two get that set up somewhere close by.”

  “On it.” Nate waved a hand. “And I’ll have to write a speech too, won’t I? And get a suit. I wonder if the one I have from my wedding still fits. Do you have a color scheme picked out?”

  “You should talk to Emma about that.” I groaned inwardly. No one told me this was how it was going to be. All I want to do is get married. Why do I have to worry about all the fanfare, rituals and traditions? Can’t two people who love each other just tie the damned knot and get it over with? I had a feeling once we’d saved the city, the real headaches were going to settle in.

  We made it down to the room where the closet was connected and immediately something felt off. I shrugged it off at first to the side effect of whatever nullifying spell Josiah must’ve used to seal the room. The closer I went to the open closet door, the worse I felt, until I staggered and had to put my arm on the wall for support.