Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Touch of Death ❯ Chapter 8

WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMERS: These are all fictional characters and any similarities to anyone living or dead is completely incidental. And anyway, I'm not making any money off of this.

 

This is my NanoWriMo piece, which I managed to turn out in half the time allotted. If you don't know what Nano is, check out www.nanowrimo.org for information and a chance at a really good time.

 

Kathryn could hear the ticking of the small clock behind Erec's desk. It was an irregular tick, seeming to strike whenever it felt like it and with a random sort of sound behind it too. Usually, a clock's sound was a soothing constant, but this one was oddly cold and irritating. Kathryn closed her eyes and kept still.

Erec was sitting behind his desk, his head cradled in his hands and face hidden. He'd sent Amber away after dissolving Kathryn's brand as a tooth fairy and hadn't spoken a word since.

“Erec,” she began.

“Be quiet,” he answered.

Kathryn frowned and shook her head.

“Erec…”

“No talking,” he said and lifted his head enough to stare at her through dark eyes. “I mean it, Kathryn. Not right now.”

She looked away and sunk silently back into her seat. Now that the terror had worn itself out, she found that the confusion had returned in full strength. Something was happening, and while she was involved, she had no idea what it was. Phantoms. Spirits. Life time. Her fingers curled around her knees and she stared down at the floor.

The room kept its stillness and they both remained wandering in their thoughts while the confused clock continued its stilted count of time. Suddenly, one of the door knobs began to rattle softly and Kathryn felt familiar fear slosh through her veins. Erec sat up, one hand closing around the side of his desk, ready to vault him away if things went wrong.

Lathe pushed the door open and yanked free from the darkness spiraling behind him.

“Dammit,” Erec breathed with a sigh of relief. “How about some kind of warning before you just show up like that?”

Lathe looked up at him, one hand rising to pull off the goggles and toss them aside.

“They're out of After world now,” Lathe said. “They ran off.”

“I guess they don't like being cut with that scythe anymore than anyone else does,” Erec said dully.

Lathe's eyes slid to Kathryn and lingered there, the pupils within them twitching and unfocusing as he tried to see just what it was about this particular spirit that seemed to draw the phantoms so completely in. She looked normal, at least, as normal as a spirit could look. He frowned and released her from his gaze as he turned back to Erec.

“I still can't get any kind of lead on where they're going or what they're doing. They don't talk, so even when you catch one…”

His voice faded sharply and he shook his head, a warning that Erec shouldn't ask.

“You caught one?” Erec said.

Erec had never taken warnings well. It was too much like an order not to do what he wanted.

“Yes,” Lathe said. “Or part of one, which seems to be just as good as a whole one.”

“What did you do?” Erec asked with curiosity.

“Trapped it in the scythe,” Lathe said tiredly. “Like a spirit that needed to be transported to…”

His eyes flicked to Kathryn and he shrugged a little.

“To Hell,” she supplied quietly.

Lathe didn't look at her now, but he nodded slowly. It was strange, to be in the same room as a spirit and feel no desire to attack her. He was supposed to remove them, from everywhere, send those on who lingered to wherever they were meant to be. There were always exceptions, those who worked for Erec and others like him, but the rest had no reason to linger on in the worlds that rested between Heaven and Hell. And he saw to that. He risked another look at her and couldn't help frowning. She didn't inspire any need to remove in him though, just a feeling of dull curiosity.

“And then?” Erec asked.

Lathe pushed himself out of his own thoughts and shrugged again.

“I tried to get information out of it.”

He'd done everything he could to try and find some way for the thing to talk. But all it did was scream and thrash around, smoking and tearing itself apart like a trapped animal. Whatever it was a part of, it was something that didn't want to be caught or known. It destroyed itself instead.

“I didn't learn anything,” Lathe murmured.

Erec stared down at his desk and then shook his head.

“You should have brought it here,” he said finally.

Kathryn's eyes jerked to him and even Lathe looked surprised.

“Rose Marie could have listened to it.”

The room got suddenly colder, Lathe's fists curling slowly, the gloves around them creaking with the tensing movement.

“No,” he said lowly.

Erec glanced coolly up and spread his fingers boredly over the desk.

“She already hears them,” Erec said. “Having one in front of her might have given her the chance to understand it clearly.”

“That's not an option,” Lathe bit out.

“Really?” Erec asked, his face impassive as he stared at Lathe. “What's the better alternative? Letting their voices keep running around in her head? Insanity?”

Lathe flinched at the bald truth and looked away with a scowl.

“It wouldn't have worked anyway,” he muttered. “It was just a piece. It would have just been pieces of nothing for her. The words wouldn't have made sense.”

“You're so sure about that,” Erec said quietly and then leaned back in his chair.

A moment passed as Kathryn nervously wondered if maybe she should step outside for this, but then Erec sighed loudly. The loose relaxation and amusement that usually painted his features was back and he shrugged.

“Alright,” he said. “Then you'll just have to bring a lot of them here.”

“What?” Lathe snapped as Kathryn's jaw dropped.

“It makes sense,” Erec said, his hands spreading against the desk. “At least, by your reasoning. If the phantoms are pieces of a whole--”

“You know they are,” Lathe snapped.

“--Then bringing more of them together will let them form a bigger piece of what they are. The message should be clearer that way.”

“There is no way,” Lathe started, but Erec's cat like smile silenced him.

“It's a big job, isn't it?” Erec said as he leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands. “Too big for one. How about I give you an apprentice to help out?”

 

***

 

Kathryn's brain had stopped working. She was staring at Erec's desk with complete detachment while his words stumbled around inside her head. This concerned her, she was a part of this, she should speak up and have an opinion.

“What?” Lathe said lowly.

“Well, I wouldn't want to leave you short handed,” Erec said brightly. It'll work out perfectly. She's already had a lot of experience and that really is hard to come by.”

“Don't be stupid,” Lathe snapped. “I can't bring her with me.”

“Why not?” Erec asked. “Because she attracts the very things you're hunting?”

Lathe froze and blinked, a faint frown working over his face. Erec smiled again and tented his fingers.

“She'll bring them right to you.”

“Why?”

The whispered word left Kathryn's tangled mind with barely a breath, but she forced herself to look up at them. Her fingers tightened around each other and she stared at them as her emotion slowly began to grow again.

“Why are they after me?”

Erec and Lathe exchanged a knowing look and then the Cerberus simply shrugged and looked away. Erec scowled; typical that Lathe would dump the explanation on him. As if he knew how to explain it.

“Look,” he said with a ragged sigh. “Remember how you died?”

Kathryn burst out in a rush of bitter laughter and shook her head.

“I have some recollection of it, yes,” she answered darkly.

Erec's lips thinned and he took a deep breath.

“Well, what I told you about having left over life time, that only happens in special cases,” he paused as he rolled the next words around in his mouth. “Cases that involve phantoms.”

The abnormal ticking of the clock filtered through the room and Kathryn stared at Erec with disbelief.

“I told you,” Erec continued softly. “People don't die unless they're supposed to. Those are the rules of life and death, but for some reason, the phantoms aren't bound to follow those rules. They've been stealing left over time and to get that, they have to kill people.”

His voice faded out on the last word and he stared at her.

“I'm sorry, Kathryn,” Erec said.

“Then I'd still be alive if…if they hadn't come,” Kathryn whispered.

Lathe's eyes twitched a little and Erec shot him a silencing look.

“We need to know why you,” Erec said. “And we need to know why they're still after you even now.”

Again, Lathe shifted, but Erec's lip lifted in a faint snarl and kept the other man quiet.

“I'm sorry, Kathryn,” Erec said again, his voice now oddly gentle. “But we need you to keep this from happening to anyone else.”

He leaned forward before she knew what he was doing and lightly bounced his finger against her forehead. She gasped softly as a cold darker than anything she had ever felt rushed through her body and then evaporated back into the air. Kathryn's hand lifted to her forehead and she stared at Erec with disbelief.

“That's not fair,” she whispered. “You can't do that. You can't keep doing this to me.”

Erec stared at her and suddenly the coldness she had felt seemed to reach back into the room again.

“I just did it,” he said quietly. “Now get to work.”

 

***

 

Lathe opened the door slowly, but instead of the mirror image of Erec's office or the brightly lit waiting room that Kathryn had seen appear behind the doorway, it was just a perfect wall of absolute black. Her breath caught a little and Erec looked down at her slowly.

“The darkness,” he said. “It's the barrier between life and death. It's how we keep from seeing what's beyond anything else.”

His hand slid out to breach the doorway, but it looked almost as if he was simply pressing against the surface of something thick and black. His hand rested there, slowly sinking down into the murk and when he pulled back, it lingered a moment on his fingers before pulling wetly back.

“It can be hard to breathe,” Lathe said and glanced at her. “Even for a ghost.”

Kathryn couldn't take her eyes off the darkness stretched out in front of her. How deep did it go? How far out did it really reach?

“Here,” Lathe said as he thrust his goggles at her.

Kathryn numbly took them and pulled them on, the world immediately fading to a dark plane of shadows and night. She blinked and shook her head.

“I can't see,” she said.

“Just shadows, right?” Lathe asked. “That's best for the darkness, don't look for any kind of light. They'll help protect your eyes.”

“What about you?” Kathryn asked, now peering out into the darkness again and still seeing nothing but faint swirls of inky perfection.

“My eyes adjust,” Lathe answered.

His gloved fingers suddenly shot around hers, and even through the fabric they felt like ice against her. Lathe squeezed reassuringly and took a step forward. Kathryn jerked sharply and shook her head.

“No,” she said as he dragged her forward. “Wait…”

“We can't keep waiting,” Lathe said. “Shut your eyes if you can't do it, and just hold on tight.”

“Work hard,” Erec said flatly from the desk behind her.

Kathryn's head shot around, her face terrified and pinched tightly as she tried to yell for help. But the words died in her throat as she stared at Erec, the man the only bright thing piercing the dark goggles and filling her eyes with light just before Lathe made the final plunge and pulled her into perfect darkness.

 

***

 

There was no real way to describe what it felt like to pass between the border that existed between the living and the dead. It was a journey that was meant to be taken once, and then the way was cleared and smoothed by whatever force it is that comes next. To push back through it all, to strive to force those currents to shift and churn to where a person wanted to go, it was madness.

Kathryn kept her eyes shut. She didn't feel like she was walking, more like she was floating through an unending mist of ink and deep water. Her legs were moving, she knew that, but there was no sense of contact being made. All she could feel was the cold ice of Lathe's hand and unending pressure slamming down into her. She wasn't supposed to be here, that was obvious, and any moment now she was going to be crushed completely.

“Lathe,” she gasped.

She forced her eyes opened and tried to see him in the dark, her eyes automatically trying to find some kind of light to illuminate him. The goggles seemed to darken further in the absolute pitch and her pupils exploded outward as she tried to see. No light reached her eyes and instead the darkness rushed in faster.

“You can't see me,” Lathe said and squeezed her hand. “Shut your eyes.”

Kathryn shut her eyes again and shook her head.

“It's too heavy,” she moaned.

“Not much further,” Lathe answered. “Keep moving.”

She felt like she was falling away, like the darkness that surrounded them was just going to keep rising up around her again and again until she was buried beneath it. She panted for air, some irrationally rational part of her mind trying to remind her that she was dead and didn't need air anymore. It didn't work. She gasped and felt Lathe's hand tighten further around hers.

“Hold on.”

The words were so muffled. It was like listening to footfalls in the snow, like something that was dead already. Her eyes rolled open again, this time willfully blind as she struggled to keep her hold on those corpse cold fingers. A sigh escaped her and then Lathe was turning back to her, his mouth open and grip slipping away from hers as darkness flooded her mind.

And she could see him clearly.

Confusion pricked at her consciousness as the darkness swept and swelled around her. Her breathing eased and stilled, and while the pressure remained, it didn't feel quite so deadly anymore.

Lathe was frowning at her, but he just latched their fingers back together and led her on through the darkness. Neither one really wanted to know just what had happened to her now.

 

***

 

Kathryn slumped down, both hands resting on her knees as she shook her head and tried to calm the imagined heart that was stampeding through her chest.

“Are you alright?” Lathe asked.

“I'm dead,” she answered and shook her head, the goggles flapping noisily around her neck now. “I am never going to get used to this.”

“Most spirits adjust in a matter of hours,” he said.

“Well,” Kathryn said. “It's been days now, and I'm not getting any better at this.”

“That's probably because--”

The words snapped off as his jaw clicked shut. She looked up at him, but he was looking up and down the little alley they had emerged now, his eyes distant and narrowed.

“What?” she asked.

“Shhh,” he answered. “Give me a moment.”

He moved slowly, Kathryn swallowing back on all the emotions that tried to rush through her as she carefully followed. She didn't need another scare. The last couple of days had been too full of them. She'd be much happier if all they came across was a bored looking bunny. The darkness that had somehow managed to latch onto Lathe during their crossing twitched and swayed in the early morning air, Kathryn's hand automatically running down her own body as she checked to see if any had held onto her. She found nothing and couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her.

Lathe paused, and one hand slid out to carefully fan through the air. He waited a moment, and then pressed his palm flat against something that Kathryn couldn't see, an invisible wall that seemed to stretch across the street.

“New barriers,” Lathe said. “They must be in the middle of something powerful.”

“What?” Kathryn asked. “Where are we?”

“On our way to get some information,” Lathe said and leaned more of his weight against the barrier. “It's strong.”

He pushed her back a little and held out his hand to draw the scythe.

“Stand back,” he said. “I'm going to cut a little hole. We'll go through and then seal it back up behind us.”

Kathryn nodded dumbly and watched as the scythe seemed to cut through nothing at all. Lathe carefully climbed through, tilting his head at an awkward angle to make the switch. He held his hand out and Kathryn slowly took it. Her other hand shot out, swiping through the air as she slowly approached. When it suddenly slammed into something hard, real, and definitely not there, she couldn't help a sharp intake of breath.

“A barrier,” Lathe supplied. “Feel the opening and then climb through.”

Kathryn nodded and slowly prodded at the invisible wall a little until she found the hole that Lathe had cut. He helped to guide her through and then turned and slashed the scythe through the air in a reverse movement of his earlier cut.

“And that seals it?” she asked.

“Try and find the opening,” Lathe offered.

Kathryn stretched out both hands until they found the barrier and carefully felt her way over it. Nothing. Just a smooth wall now stretched across the street. Not even the remnants of the cut.

“Let's go,” Lathe said and then sighed tiredly. “Let's get this over with.”

 

A bell jangled almost too happily as Lathe pushed the door open on a dilapidated little building. The murky store windows were covered with thick pull down blinds and no sign was left behind to advertise just what the purpose of the dusty place was. Pile after pile of books and papers filled the place, leaving just a few narrow aisles running through them where a dust free trail ran. Lathe looked around a little and waited for Kathryn to step inside before he shut the door.

“Here we are,” he said.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “Where's here?”

“Bookstore,” Lathe said dully. “An occult bookstore.”

“And we're here for?”

“I told you,” Lathe said dejectedly. “Information.”

“I heard the bell!” a feminine voice yelled from some unseen place. “We're closed!”

Lathe shook his head, and Kathryn had the impression that if the long black swath of fabric hadn't been hiding most of his face, he would have looked entirely defeated.

“Come on,” he said and led her down one of the twisting pathways.

The place smelled like old knowledge, like books that had been lying in wait to attack at just the right moment. Warm paper and thick leather permeated everything and the piles only seemed to get taller as they pushed deeper into the store.

“Don't touch anything,” Lathe warned.

“I can touch things?” Kathryn asked.

“No,” Lathe said. “You don't have form here, but most of these books are tuned to spiritual energy, so touching them could trigger any number of effects. Just don't touch anything. That's the easiest solution.”

“I told you, we're closed!” the voice yelled with a little more annoyance. “Get out!”

Lathe's shoulders tensed, but he kept walking, the piles of books now blocking out some of the yellowed lighting from the dim bulbs high over their heads. If this was a bookstore, Kathryn couldn't help but wonder just how they managed to find anything for their customers. She tried reading a few of the titles as they passed, but there was no rhyme or reason behind the stacks everywhere.

Suddenly, a door swept open, toppling one precariously piled mountain and revealing a short woman with thick glasses and an annoyed expression. She was wearing a long coat that covered every inch and her short brown hair had been teased into quick points around her head. Lathe froze.

“Who's she?” Kathryn asked.

“Quiet,” Lathe hissed.

“What did I say?” the woman in the doorway roared and then paused.

Her eyes began to flicker back and forth, panning over the aisles sliced through the books and darting up and around the entire room.

“Hello?” she called lowly.

Lathe's hands curled into fists and he remained motionless as he stared at her.

“No one here, hmm?” the brunette said. “Well, no one that's part of the living world anyway. The barriers are new, so whoever you are you managed a neat trick by getting through them. You didn't even bother to break them, just slid inside, didn't you?”

Her eyes were still wandering over the room and Kathryn watched as they tried to focus and find them.

“I don't know many people who could have managed that,” the woman continued. “And I only know who still try and hide from me after he was inside.”

Lathe cursed under his breath and shook his head. A soft chuckle rumbled through the room and the woman flipped some of her hair back.

“I'm in the middle of something, puppy,” she said. “Come back later.”

Lathe's eye twitched a little and suddenly one of the piles of books next to the woman slammed down across the twisting path. She leapt back and a look of rage darted over her face.

“Don't mess with the paths,” she snapped. “You know they're in place to keep the books asleep.”

“I need information,” Lathe said, and something in his voice had changed to let it carry to her. “Now.”

Her eyes worked over the room again and she smiled coldly.

“So it is you,” she said softly. “It's smart, staying with the books. I can't spot you like this. Not with so much dormant magic in the air. You have a new trick every time, don't you?”

“Tell me about the phantoms,” Lathe said.

“Ah,” the woman said shortly. “There's always a price for these things, you know I don't give anything away.”

“This is important, Lila,” Lathe said.

“I'm sure it is,” the brunette answered. “It always is, but that just raises the price.”

Her eyes wandered through the room and she at last simply shut them and sighed.

“So how will you be paying today?”

 

***

 

“When you step over this doorway, there's a spell in place to let her see you,” Lathe said as they walked towards one of the back room offices. “You still won't have contact with the world, but she'll be able to communicate with you. Don't tell her anything that you don't have to. Just that you're my new apprentice and you're working for me now.”

He paused and squeezed her arm a little.

“And for God's sake, don't mention Cinna.”

“O-okay,” Kathryn said.

Lathe nodded and released her and both stepped over the threshold. Lightning sparked through the air and then formed around them for a split second. When it faded, a pair of wire framed eyes were staring at Kathryn with open curiosity.

“You didn't come alone,” Lila said.

“This is Kathryn,” Lathe said. “She works for me now.”

“Oh really?” Lila said, one eyebrow arching up with amusement. “And just what is the story behind that?”

Lathe's lips thinned and Lila chuckled.

“Lila!” a worried voice yelled. “We're having a problem!”

“I'm busy,” she called back as she sat on the edge of a cluttered desk. “Take care of it yourself.”

“So,” Lila said. “Why exactly is a Cerberus taking an interest in the phantoms?”

“Why wouldn't I?” Lathe asked.

“They don't really fall under your jurisdiction, now do they?”

“Then you do know something about them.”

Lila shrugged noncommittally and gave them a wry smirk.

“Maybe.”

“I don't pay until I hear what you've got,” Lathe said.

“See, that's a problem,” Lila said. “You could always take the information and run. I need a show of good faith.”

“I need to know that you have something useful before I make any kind of deal,” Lathe answered flatly.

“I see,” Lila chuckled. “You show me yours and I'll show you mine. Alright, we'll make a little trade to make sure that we're both on the up and up.”

She turned and pulled open one desk drawer to remove a long silver syringe.

“Come here and hold out your arm,” Lila said sweetly.

Lathe's eyes narrowed but he obediently crossed the office and rolled up one sleeve. His arm was criss crossed with long dark tattoos, each mark black and wrapped around his skin like teeth biting down into him. Lila shivered with excitement and glanced at Kathryn.

“Didn't know you were in the presence of royalty, did you?” she asked.

Kathryn frowned and Lila grinned at the glare Lathe shot her. The brunette wrapped her hand around Lathe's arm, the soft thump of skin on skin too loud to Kathryn. She glanced at Lathe, but he wasn't looking at her.

“He knows better than to try and cheat me now,” Lila said. “He'll take on real form for this so I can get what I want.”

Kathryn's frown darkened. She hated how everyone around her seemed able to read the questions that were running through her mind before she could even ask them. Lathe hissed quietly as the needle pierced his skin and Lila slowly drew back the syringe.

“That's enough,” Lathe said and smacked the needle free. “You want anymore, you have to give me some information.”

Lila held up the needle, gauging the amount of blood she'd managed to draw against the light. Kathryn couldn't resist looking, and found herself glancing at Lathe again as he rolled his sleeve back down. His blood was a constantly moving swirl of red and black, still roiling even after it had been removed from his body. Lila smiled a little and tapped the needle with one finger.

“I don't see samples this pure very often,” she murmured. “Is Rose Marie's blood this pure?”

“That's none of your business,” Lathe answered with a cold note of warning in his voice.

“You should bring her in again and let me take another look at her,” Lila said distantly.

“No,” Lathe said.

“You don't trust me?”

“I'm not stupid enough to.”

Lila's eyes keyed playfully against him, like a cat just before its claws extended.

“And yet you brought her here once,” she murmured.

“Desperation makes a man do insane things,” Lathe breathed.

“Then I hope you're desperate again soon,” Lila said quietly.

Lathe scowled and shook his head.

“I am now. Why else would I be here? Tell me about the phantoms.”

Lila laughed and sat down behind her desk, the needle now toying between her fingers as she smirked up at them.

“They're pieces of something.”

“We know that.”

“But you don't know of what,” Lila said and then paused. “Or of whom.”

Lathe's eyes narrowed and Lila shrugged.

“See, they're just doing the bidding of something else, gathering up all sorts of lives and time for some reason.”

Lathe's jaw worked beneath the thick fabric and he shook his head.

“Do you have that information?” he asked.

“For a price,” Lila said as she raised the needle again. “You give me enough, and I'll tell you everything I know.”

“Lila! We really need you in here!”

The scream made Lila roll her eyes with annoyance and push up out of the chair. She tossed the half full syringe into Lathe's hands as she passed, winking at him a little as she tugged her jacket full back into place.

“You can think about it for a minute while I take care of this. Don't drop that.”

Lila disappeared out the door and Lathe stared down at the vial filled with his blood. Don't drop it. If he could, he'd smash it open, but his blood wouldn't just die then, it'd crawl along until it either returned to the darkness or found something that would devour it. His eyes closed and he kept his grip on the needle light and careful.

“What's going on?” Kathryn asked.

Lathe shook his head and carefully returned the syringe to Lila's desk.

“Information gathering,” he said.

“In exchange for your blood?” Kathryn snapped.

“Would you rather give her yours?” Lathe asked tiredly.

He sighed and shook his head again.

“Don't worry about it. If the information is good, it's worth the price,” his eyes flexed a little. “Assuming she doesn't want too much blood.”

Kathryn stared at him and then glanced around the packed office. She couldn't look at him for this, she knew that. She didn't know why, but she couldn't meet his eyes while she asked this.

“What do you know about the phantoms?” she said lowly.

Lathe was still staring at the small tube of his blood, his eyes distant and mind wandering over things that were better left buried.

“Not much more than Lila said,” Lathe answered. “They steal life time, but since they aren't alive, we don't know what they do with it. When there are more of them together, they're stronger and can think clearer and when they're destroyed, there's nothing left.”

“And they're killing people,” Kathryn said.

“Yes,” Lathe said. “We can't find them, not until it's too late. Rose Marie can sense them sometimes, but it's dangerous to have her look for them and I won't…”

His voice cut off and his lips formed a thin line. Kathryn frowned and started to speak again, but the door slammed open at that moment as Lila stormed back inside. A thick splash of blood ran over her long jacket now and she wiped a few stray spatters from her neck as she stalked across the office.

“Idiots,” she grumbled. “You'd think they could handle one little procedure without me.”

“I can't wait for the day when I come for your soul,” Lathe said quietly.

Lila chuckled and lightly rolled the needle between her fingers as she sat down behind her desk again.

“Assuming I die, of course,” she said and lifted the little syringe. “I'm hoping this brings me another step closer to immortality.”

“You won't like it,” Lathe said flatly.

Lila chuckled. “You would know. Now, let's make a deal. I've got mad scientist plans tonight.”

 

***

 

The office door slammed loudly open as Erec more stumbled out into the waiting room than walked. His eyes were bleary and only half open and he was still wearing the same suit he'd been in the day before. Ms. Anderson's lips thinned as she looked him over. Even an expensive suit looked cheap after more than twenty four hours of wear.

“G'morning,” Erec muttered and fumbled through the office.

“Good morning, sir,” Ms. Anderson replied. “You have seven appointments scheduled for this morning to make up for the last two days.”

Erec groaned and the secretary's eyes narrowed.

“I must insist you make these meetings, sir,” she said lowly. “Your clients have always proven to be exceptionally understanding of all your idiosyncrasies, but this time you've gone too far.”

“Ms. Anderson,” Erec said tiredly. “You don't know the half of it. What time is the first appointment?”

“In three minutes, sir,” Ms. Anderson said.

Erec forced his eyes to scan around the waiting room at the people already assembled. He frowned and rubbed at his face a little.

“Who's it with?” he asked the silent crowd.

“Uh, me,” a woman with light red hair answered.

“Great,” Erec said and grinned raggedly. “I'm going to be late. Traffic's very bad this morning.”

Ms. Anderson's eyes flashed murder, but he just dropped her a quick wink as he headed back into his office with a little light whistling.

 

***

 

“Alright,” Lila said. “The phantoms.”

The chair creaked beneath her as she turned a little and drew a thick book incased in leather and chains from the shelf behind her. Her fingers drummed over the surface and she rubbed at the locks that ran up and down the edge of the cover.

“Are you really sure you want to know?” she asked with a dark smirk.

“Want and need are two different things,” Lathe said. “What can you tell me?”

Lila sighed and picked the syringe up again. She slowly dripped the blood down over the locks, the symbols that ran over the books cover suddenly bursting into a ruby dark light. The locks clicked open one by one and as Lila slid the cover silently open, an odd coldness filled the air. Kathryn stepped back, her breath hitching a little as she hooked her arms around her body. Lila chuckled and glanced up at her through the glittering wire framed glasses.

“Chills even the dead, doesn't it?” Lila said quietly. “You should fell what it does on living skin. It's amazing.”

“Get on with it,” Lathe growled irritably.

Lila sighed and leaned forward, her lips lingering just above the book.

“Tell us about the phantoms.”

The book seemed to surge a little against the desk, twisting and rattling as Lila sat back again. It's pages slammed apart suddenly, and spiraling inky traced its way over the thick parchment. It was like watching something secret and dark swim through shadows and light, a piece of itself slithering behind and lingering against the page.

“The phantoms come from the shadow…” Lila read slowly.

Another chill ran down Kathryn's spine, something powerful and cold like the bottom of the ocean. She closed her eyes a moment against the fear that was suddenly thick in the air and shook her head.

“We shouldn't be doing this,” she breathed.

Lathe's lips thinned, but he kept silent, his eyes locked on the spiraling letters as they materialized over the page.

“The phantoms come from the shadows,” Lila repeated as more of the words painted themselves free. “It is cast…”

Whatever finger of Fate had been guiding the slow blurred creation of the letters stopped moving and instead ran itself down Kathryn's spine. The book shivered as if feeling her growing dread and Lila frowned.

“That's all it says,” Lila said and tapped her finger on the book. “Come on, wake up in there. Tell us what we need to know.”

“Close the book,” Lathe murmured.

Lila glanced up with annoyance and then turned back to the book.

“It's never done this before,” she said and snorted with anger. “This necronomicon is packed with enough dark magic to reach down into Hell itself for the answers.”

She clamped her lips tightly together and then shook her head. She leaned forward and breathed across the book again.

“Tell us about the phantoms,” she said sternly.

The book flexed against the deck, it's spine bucking up from the wood and covers snapping against it like clutching hands.

“Close the book,” Lathe warned in a low breath.

“Now,” Lila snapped.

The book shot open wide, arching up from the table with a papery scream. Leather screeched and creaked and the ink spread across the pages like blood from a stab wound. Lila gasped sharply and pushed back from the book, but it was too late.

Something in it, whatever had been laid through all the years of dark magic and carefully incantations, awoke and moved now. Fingers of perfect black ink lurched from the page to her face, running up her cheeks to pour midnight tears into her eyes. Her mouth opened wide and she snapped away from the desk, her neck all but breaking apart as she threw her head back.

“Oh god,” Lila moaned as the dark film ran over her eyes.

“Close the book!” Lathe roared and clutched at the thick leather cover.

Lila's fingers tangle with his, wrestling and shifting even as the book sent shivers of pain and terror running up her arms. Another roar escaped Lathe and he jerked the book away, the covers slamming together before he flung it across the room. Kathryn screamed as it shot through her, her hands flying to rip away any of the living ink that might have escape. She swung around, but the book lay still and motionless on the floor now, the pages innocently pressed together as one by one the locks pulled themselves back into place.

Kathryn could hear her breath fanning out from between parted lips, and again, some part of her brain that shouldn't be working on that level told her that she was wrong. She was dead, and the dead didn't breathe. Kathryn forced her eyes to pull away from the book and slowly turned back to the desk. She almost wished she hadn't.

Lila was sprawled in her chair now, her head limply flung back and long rivulets of perfect black running down her cheeks to pool in the soft dip of her collarbones. Her arms hung lifelessly at her sides and her chair had pulled back from the desk enough to let her feet oddly twist against the floor. Kathryn swallowed back on a wave of disgust and terror and forced her hands to stop clawing at the non-existent hole the book had cleaved through her.

“Is she…”

Kathryn didn't know what she was asking and she sure as hell didn't know if she wanted an answer.

“She's alive,” Lathe said and something shuttered his eyes. “If she was dead, I'd know it. I'd see to it.”

“What should we do?” Kathryn whispered.

Lathe's head turned a little so she could make out his profile, his eyes distant and skin pale against the dark fabric as he glanced at her.

“What do you want me to do?” Lathe murmured.

His fingers slid out to lightly close Lila's eyes, the gloves running through the dark ink before he let his hand fall away. Kathryn could hear the other woman's breathing now and it was like listening to a bellows that wouldn't work much longer. It was a rasping wheeze that stumbled through the room and then fell on Kathryn's senses.

“Whatever the phantoms are,” Lathe said quietly. “We're not going to find it here. They're protected from everything, even the darkest of magic's.”

“Her…her…” Kathryn swiped her tongue across her lips and forced a steadying breath inside. “Her fingers are moving.”

Lathe's eyes dropped back to the brunette sprawled behind the desk and he watched as her hand stuttered and snapped through the air with seeming no mind behind it. It jerked upward and clawed across her throat for a moment before it slapped against her eyes. Suddenly, they flew open and she swung her arm out wildly. Her eyes darted around the room like some cornered animal and she bared her teeth at them both as if they were about to attack.

And then, just as suddenly as the fight had flared in her, it snuffed out and she simply slumped back in her chair. Her hands were shaking now as she lifted them to wipe the ink from her skin.

“That wasn't the information I was looking for,” Lathe said dully.

Lila shivered and looked up at him angrily as she tugged her glasses back into position. A thick inky thumb print spread over on lens and cast a shadow over her eye like a dark bruise.

“What do you want me to say?” she said shakily.

Lathe was silent and then shook his head.

“Nothing,” he answered and then his eyes slid down. Lila frowned and then followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing angrily when they landed on the broken syringe at his feet. The blood roiled against the floor, circling a moment before it slithered forward and climbed up Lathe's boot. It disappeared then, Lila letting out a frustrated cry and Lathe shook his head. He turned and moved across the room, both Kathryn and Lila tensing as he knelt over the book, and held out one hand.

The locks sizzled as if being burned and then thick blood, strange with red and darkness, pulled free from the book and shot up through the air into Lathe's hand.

“That's not fair!” Lila yelled. “That's mine! My property!”

Lathe paused, the blood hovering in the air as his head turned slowly to cast her in the shadows from his eyes.

“Do you want me to leave it behind?” he asked softly. “You know how strong it is. If it stays, it will just keep powering the books.”

Lila gasped and sunk down into her seat, her skin almost translucent now as terror ran through her. Whatever the book's searching fingers had done, it had been enough to terrify her. She spun away and shook her head.

“Fine, take it. Just get out.”

“Goodbye,” Lathe said as the blood pushed up beneath the dark skin of his glove. “Let's go.”

Kathryn looked over her shoulder once more as they carefully walked out of the office, the barrier fanning over her skin with another jolt of nothingness. Lila remained in her chair, her back stubbornly turned on them, but as Kathryn watched the chair slowly turned and Lila's haunted eyes fell on the book.