Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Touch of Death ❯ Chapter 9

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.

 

Erec found it convenient to have a desk with a reflective surface, it was just one more handy thing about glass. He half smiled at the thought and continued to run the electric razor over his chin. His hair was combed back into place now and a fresh suit was in place. He felt almost human now, which was quite the feat considering everything involved with the last few days. A little tune hummed over his lips and he happily wiped himself clean as he finished the job.

A curt knock on his door alerted him to Ms. Anderson's mood and he quickly pulled a grin into place.

“Yes?”

“Rose Marie is hiding somewhere,” the secretary said flatly.

“Yes, she does that sometimes,” Erec said and then frowned a little. “Although usually not without reason.”

His lips narrowed and then he shook his head to clear it.

“Never mind,” he said. “Just tell me when she turns up again and I'll have a talk with her.”

“Three of your appointments left,” Ms. Anderson said. “Without rescheduling.”

“They'll be back,” Erec said with disinterest. “They always are.”

“Look, I don't know how you can afford to be so confident, but you're going to lose your clients.”

Erec chuckled and shook his head.

“No, I don't think so.”

“You have one of this morning's meetings still waiting outside,” Ms. Anderson said. “I'm sending him in.”

“Fine, fine,” Erec said with open defeat. “You win.”

“I fail to see how it's a win if all I'm doing is getting you to do your job,” Ms. Anderson bit out.

“Well, you do now how much I hate to work,” he answered, his head resting in one hand and brilliant smile back in place.

She glared back at him before she shut the door and Erec sighed heavily. Great. Work. Just what he needed today. His door slid open again and Erec shook his head.

“Well, come inside,” he said as the door closed. “Why don't you…”

The words faded as his eyes finally focused on the man standing in front of him. Erec's smile returned, but this time it was cold and dark. He lifted his phone and dialed out into the front room.

“Ms. Anderson?” he said warmly. “Cancel the rest of today's appointments and see that we're not disturbed. Thank you.”

 

***

 

Kathryn couldn't take the silence anymore. They were walking down the street, the bookstore and the seal that Lathe had again neatly sliced through now a dim little spot behind them. In Kathryn's mind, it remained a black hole sucking up all the warmth in the world. She shuddered and hooked her arms tighter around her body before she shook her head.

“What was that?” she asked, and even though she felt afraid and weak, even she was surprised at how shaky her voice was.

Lathe paused, not quite looking back at her but tilting his chin just enough to lightly lean in her direction.

“The book exacts a price,” Lathe said quietly. “That was the first time that Lila's had to pay it. I don't think she'll be picking it up again any time soon, not unless she wants to pay the full balance that she owes.”

His voice faded away with his eyes.

“She's been feeding it with the blood of others too long and now it's awake and it's not going to be fooled any longer.”

Kathryn looked away and let her fingers clutch at her arms. If she dug them in too deeply, if she broke skin, would there be blood? Would she feel it when they stepped back in to one of the little fields?

She sighed and smoothed her fingers over her shirt before she picked up her steps a little to catch up with Lathe.

“So what now?” she asked and again felt that weird surprise as how hesitating her voice was.

“I don't know,” Lathe said. “We'll see Cinna again. He might know something.”

Lathe sighed and shook his head.

“These damn things should be wiped out of existence.”

Kathryn didn't say anything and Lathe's shoulders slumped a little as he continued to walk.

“So,” Kathryn said. “How…do you know Rose Marie?”

“I'm responsible for her,” Lathe said.

“Oh,” Kathryn said. “She's family?”

“In a way,” Erec murmured.

Kathryn frowned and Erec gave her another of his half turned pauses.

“Erec tells people she's my sister,” Lathe said and sighed. “That's why Lila's so interested in her.”

“Oh…I…see.”

“I'm looking out for her,” Lathe said.

Kathryn's frown pulled tauter with confusion and Lathe shook his head.

“That's all,” he said. “I'm just taking care of her. Someone has to.”

 

***

 

Kathryn didn't ask why they didn't take the darkness back, though part of her was annoyed that Lathe had felt it necessary to get them there in the first place. They rode the subway in silence, the car rocking them along as they rushed beneath the city. It was just as Slate had told her; no one noticed them, but no one tried to take their places either. There was always room for them and Kathryn closed her eyes as she tried to not think about it.

Elixir Design hung in front of them, Lathe still silent and thoughtful as he pushed open the door. Ms. Anderson's head lifted and she smiled vaguely.

“Good morning, Lathe,” she said.

“Why can she see you so easily?” Kathryn asked. “Are you alive?”

“In a sense,” Lathe answered flatly.

Ms. Anderson frowned and Lathe's head tilted towards Kathryn.

“I have Kathryn with me,” Lathe said.

“Oh,” Ms. Anderson said and her eyes spun around the room. “Good morning, Kathryn.”

“Don't strain yourself looking for me,” Kathryn said wryly.

“Is Cinna in?” Lathe asked.

“He's in his office with a client,” Ms. Anderson said as she turned back to her computer. “They've been in there all morning.”

She paused then and frowned a little.

“Which is very odd for him,” she said.

“Thank you,” Lathe said.

“Ah,” Ms. Anderson said. “Don't disturb him, if he's actually buckling down and working I want to encourage it.”

“Do you really believe Cinna takes any of the business he does in the living world seriously?” Lathe asked.

He pushed open Erec's door and immediately drew his scythe. A startled yell escaped Ms. Anderson and Kathryn's eyes widened as she peered around him into the stiffly modern office.

Erec was sprawled over the floor, his hair hanging messily across his face and eyes rolling dully open to look back at Lathe. A hand was tangled in his collar and holding him up from the floor, clutching tightly and tensing further as they watched. But the beaten state of the man on the ground wasn't what caused the world to tilt oddly out of focus.

“Oh my god,” Ms. Anderson breath.

The exact figure of Erec Cinna stood over himself.

 

***

 

The silken material of Erec's shirt slithered through the man's fingers as he was lowered almost gently back to the ground. A low grunt escaped him and he sighed almost drunkenly as his eyes slipped closed for a moment before he forced them open again.

“Shut the door,” he slurred. “Get out of here. Take her and go.”

A chuckle like vodka and velvet ran through the air, but had none of the pleasant warmth of softness that such imagery should carry. It was all darkness and rasping breaths and Kathryn unconsciously pulled her fingers into fists as it pushed over her.

“And there she is,” the standing man said, his voice the exact echo of Erec's with a razor hidden in each word.

His eyes locked on Kathryn and for the first time in her life or death or just her existence, she really understood what it meant to be a deer trapped in headlights. Because for the first time she was looking at something that would run her down and leave her for dead. He smiled and it was like cutting skin.

“We've been looking for you,” he purred.

“Phantoms,” Lathe breathed.

“In the flesh,” the man answered. “Almost all together again.”

“Go,” Erec panted.

“Yes,” the phantom said with another sharp chuckle. “Leave so I can finish this.”

His foot slid up to rest on the line of Erec's throat, pushing down with just a little of his weight. Erec gasped and then gritted his teeth together, fingers digging into the other man's leg as Erec tried to push him off.

“I don't think we need witnesses for this,” the shadow said, his eyes distantly falling on Erec now. “Do we?”

Erec's teeth ground together and his breath wheezed out through his lips.

“Get off him,” Lathe breathed, the scythe swiping through the air and pointing challengingly at the other man.

Kathryn had never known that a laugh could be so dangerously cold. It ran through the air like falling rain and pooled on the floor where it landed. His foot lifted and he stepped back as Erec coughed noisily.

“Who are you?” Lathe said lowly.

“Can't you tell?” the other man said as he pulled an easy smile into place.

It didn't reach his eyes even when he laughed again.

“I'm Erec Cinna.”

Erec snarled and shook his head.

“That's a lie,” Erec snapped.

“Is it?” the shadowy figure said. “You really want to believe that don't you, that you've shed us all off…”

“Shut up,” Erec breathed.

“Always so angry,” the other man said with a twitch of his lips. “How have you managed to keep alive this long?”

“The anger does it,” Erec answered as his eyes narrowed. “It's just to spite you anyway.”

“Yes,” the phantom said with a tired sigh. “You and your…life.”

He stared down at Erec, something flickering between them and then his eyes sparked with something that made the entire room darken.

“That won't be a problem for much longer. We've seen to that.”

His dead eyes lifted back to them.

“I am Erec Cinna.”

Lathe actually smiled back then, though the fabric swathed around his face hid the action as he stared at the phantom.

“We've already got one,” Lathe said. “We don't need another one.”

“Then you should pick the right one,” the phantom said quietly. “You should pick the one that isn't evil.”

The silence thudded into the room like a bomb.

“Kind of hard to tell which is which, isn't it?” the shadowy reflection breathed and looked down at Erec again. “They know enough about you to pause. What does that say about you and the life you've been leading?”

Erec frowned, but the phantom self wasn't looking at him anymore. A long slow sigh escaped the man and his eyes slid back up to Kathryn.

“Hello,” he said quietly. “Still here I see.”

“Don't say anything,” Erec breathed.

Kathryn's eyes flicked to him and then back to the reflection towering over him. The smile remained, a slash across his face as he stared at Kathryn.

“Convenient to keep you here,” he said. “I never would have looked in this place, although now it seems pretty damned obvious.”

He chuckled and bared his teeth a little more as his smile widened.

“I missed you in After world, but your friend had a delicious taste to her. Dead but still so full of life.”

A white hot spark of rage shocked Kathryn and her spine stiffened as it branded itself across the back of her neck. The smile was like a dog's mouth hanging open now and he laughed again.

“Delicious,” he repeated and noisily smacked his lips together.

Lathe's scythe swung through the air again, now carefully slated in front of Kathryn, the long arch of the blade dangerously close to her throat.

“Keep back,” Lathe warned quietly.

Kathryn frowned at him and then looked down, her eyes widening as she realized she'd actually taken a step towards him. Kathryn swallowed and the dark thing in front of her clicked his tongue.

“I'll make it painless,” he offered in a low murmur.

“He'll wipe you out,” Lathe said, his voice a dull burr in her ears. “He'll take every second of your life time.”

“She's not using it anyway,” the phantom laughed. “Here in limbo, wasting away while the entire world keeps moving.”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Kathryn snapped. “There aren't many opportunities for a dead woman.”

The phantom froze. For a split second, Erec's eyes closed and he shook his head slightly.

“Don't,” he said quietly. “Don't.”

“Is that what you told her?” the strange shadow said. “Is that how you're keeping her under your thumb?”

His eyes wandered over Erec and then back up to Kathryn. His smile broke free like a scoop of vibrant bone in moonlight and his eyes glowed with pleasure.

“Do you know what we did to you?” he asked. “Do you know what we did in that street for the taste of your life?”

Kathryn didn't want to listen. She wanted to step away or close her eyes or do something to break away from what he was going to say. The sound of a car slamming into bone and flesh and everything else ripped through her mind and for the first time, she could remember tasting blood just after the car's strike. It was like copper on her tongue, warm and salty and painting her mouth with death.

“There was a lot of sun,” the dark thing said. “A day just like any other. And then we spotted you. You were perfect. Just what we wanted.”

“Why me?” Kathryn breathed before she even knew she'd spoken.

“Who knows,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “Maybe it was the way your spirit lined up with our vision. Maybe it was the way you looked in our direction when we breathed.”

Something cruel darted over his face.

“Maybe it was how we knew you'd scream.”

Kathryn's eyes did close then and she shook her head.

“I didn't scream,” she whispered.

Asphalt scraped up over her palms, rocks she hadn't ever seen embedding themselves in her palms and digging into her skin like fire. Her teeth ground together and she shook her head as she tried to will the memory away.

“Not yet,” the phantom said quietly.

“That's enough,” Lathe snapped. “What do you want?”

Shadows were rolling off the thing now, misting out over the floor like smoke and ash. He was fading away, slowly but steadily, only the smile remaining perfectly formed and sharply clear.

“We needed death to pull you from your body, to leave those precious moments of life alone and unprotected. We needed you to break away from the living world so we could destroy all that you were.”

“Stop,” Erec breathed and shook his head. “Don't do this.”

“And then this one had to interfere,” the phantom said and delivered a sharp kick to Erec's ribs.

Erec rolled onto his side and wheezed painfully, Kathryn's eyes darting down to him as he stared pleadingly up at her. He shook his head, but she looked away back to the dark man still slowly disintegrating in the cold room.

“And left you outside of your body. He had his reasons, I'm sure he'll tell them to you, after all, he's been so forthcoming so far,” the phantom said. “He didn't try and undo what we'd managed in that street. I'm sure you've felt a few of the side effects attached to it. Loss of feeling, over emotionality, the inability to touch anything…”

He smiled again and slowly blinked, his eyes now two perfect pools of absolute black.

“The feeling that things aren't quite right with you. The thought, that's been encouraged by these selfish bastards, that just maybe…”

Kathryn was staring at him now and suddenly she knew. Even before he said it, she knew.

“You might be dead.”

Kathryn's mouth opened as a long gasping breath escaped her, her cheeks heating as wet tears ran down over her cheeks.

“You are alive,” the phantom said softly.

And he was gone.

The room was darkly still now, cold and broken apart by nothing. Kathryn stared blindly ahead and tried to understand just what she'd been left with in her dead hands. Erec was climbing to his feet now, one hand stretched out to her and her eyes rolled to him with so much hurt and disbelief that it fell away.

“I'm alive,” Kathryn whispered.