Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel (22 page)

“What the hell is going on?”

“I’m going to give you a choice.
 
If you wish to be dead, I’ll take you across the Acheron and your soul will go to the Elysian Fields until we need you for a mission.
 
You will not really be you anymore, of course.
 
When you go on your mission, you may recall bits and pieces like perhaps your name, but mostly you’ll simply be sent to handle something for us from time to time.”

“Us?”

“The residents of the Underworld.
 
The ruler is Persephone.”

“The wife of Hades?
 
Some Greek girl he kidnapped?
 
Ate a pomegranate or some such and had to spend six months here and six months on Earth, brought about growing seasons and all that?”

Charon laughed.
 
“Your mythology is off.”

“OK, so I got a
C
in Mythology.
 
Granted, that was back in high school, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.”

He shrugged.
 
“Persephone was not kidnapped.
 
In any case, she is my...boss.
 
If you choose to remain dead, she will be your boss too.”

“I don’t want to be dead.”

“You shouldn’t answer before you know the terms.”

“That’s true but I’m not sure I care about the terms.
 
I want to live.”

“Hear me out anyway.
 
You are a man of particular power.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your kind is very rare.”

“My kind?”

“You are in balance.”

I gave him my patented confused look.

“Your parents were both powerful wizards,” he said.

“So?”

“You are not a wizard.”

“I figure magic is a recessive gene and I didn’t get it.”

“No.
 
You are perfectly balanced between dark and light magic.
 
As such, you can’t use magic, but you are also unaffected by direct magic.”

I was already dead, so I didn’t see the harm in nodding.
 
It wasn’t something I admitted to many people because when people know things about you, they can have power over you.

“We may need someone like you.”

“We?”

“The collective
we.
 
Not simply the Underworld.
 
The Oracle has foreseen a potential danger.
 
It may or may not come to pass, but if it does, you would be very useful.
 
If you say no, we’ll find someone else.
 
It’s unlikely we’ll find someone of your nature, but we work with what we have.”

“So the price for me living is that I owe you something, but you won’t say what.
 
As you pointed out, I shouldn’t be big on favors to be named later.”

“They rarely work to your advantage,” Charon said.
 
“But at the moment, you’re right.
 
You don’t have much choice.”

“If I’m dead, you’d send me anyway.
 
Is that it?”

He shook his head.
 
“Only a living soul has any real chance.”

“And it will probably kill me.”

“Yes, but you’re already dead and this will grant you several more years of life.
 
That said, if I give you back your life, there are things you’ll need to know.”

“Such as?”

“You will face misery unlike any you’ve known before.”

“That’s part of life.”

“True.
 
You will be partially connected to the afterlife.
 
There will be side effects.”

“What kind of side effects?”

“You’ll be able to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts.”

“As long as I don’t have to sing ‘Ghostbusters’ and get sued by Huey Lewis, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“I suspect you’ll find it to be mostly a good thing until you learn the true nature of such things.”

I started to ask about that, but he shook his head.

“There may be times when you wish you said no and had simply died.”

“When my parents died, I used to wish I could have died with them, so that’s nothing new.”

“Life may get far worse than you would ever wish even upon your worst enemy.”

“You’re wasting time, Charon.”
 
I pointed at the sky.
 
“Brain function is important to me, and if I’m lying dead in the street up there, I need to get back before there’s permanent brain damage.”

“Underworld is a name given by your people; we’re not really beneath your world.
 
We’re in another place.
 
Time moves differently here.
 
We have time.”

“Cool.
 
So we can go back in time to before I got shot and—”

“It doesn’t work that way.
 
While I have some powerful magic, I can’t alter time.
 
You will go back after you’ve been shot and killed.
 
You’ll climb back into your body and recover from your wounds.”

“Magic doesn’t work on me.
 
How can you heal me?”

“I can’t.
 
You’ll heal naturally.
 
The shock to your system killed you.
 
I’m going to allow you to get back into your body, and the shock of stepping back inside will restart your heart like an electric shock.”

“So I’ll still have to recover from the bullet wound.
 
Great.”

Charon reached into his robes and pulled out two silver coins.
 
“If you ever need me, this payment will cover the price of one soul.
 
Use this wisely.
 
Do not touch the coins.
 
When you step into your body, I will slip them into your pocket.
 
Wear a glove or shake them out onto the counter and slip them into an envelope or container, but do not ever touch them until it’s time for the payment.”

“Whatever.
 
So you’re coming with me?”

“That is forbidden.”
 
He leaned forward and whispered, “I will be part of your life from this day forward, Jonathan.
 
I will answer questions for you and try to help you if I can.
 
I will make myself known to you, but you can never tell anyone my true nature.”

I looked at him as if he were crazy.

He remained close and whispered in my ear.
 
“You will know me as Sharon.
 
I am not permitted to leave, but I simply can’t remain here any longer.
 
It’s time for a change.
 
I want to live in your world.”

“You haven’t told me what’s expected of me.”

“Perhaps nothing.
 
Perhaps everything.”

“Just roll the dice and see what happens, eh?”

“Come with me.”

He extended a finger from his cloak then drew a line in the air.
 
It shimmered and he parted it with his hands.
 
He gripped my arm and pulled me through.

We stood on the street where I’d just been shot.
 
It was raining.

Kelly still knelt beside me, giving CPR.
 
“You can’t die!” she said.
 
“I need you!”

Charon gave me a nod.
 
I hesitated.

He took me by the shoulders and stood me up before my body.
 
“Talk to you soon,” he said and pushed me backward.

I fell into my body, and pain shot through my chest as I drew a deep breath and struggled to breathe.
 
It hurt like hell.
 
My lung had collapsed, and I suspected it was filling with blood.
 
I coughed and fought to get enough air.

Kelly’s eyes lit up.
 
“Hold on, Jonathan!
 
I’ll get you to a doctor!”

An attractive woman approached us, but Kelly didn’t seem to notice.
 
The woman knelt, winked at me, then slipped two coins and a business card into my pocket.
 
She mimed holding a phone to her ear and mouthed,
Call me
.

In the weeks of rehabilitation that followed, it occurred to me that while the fact that I’d gone along would be enough to infer that an accord had been reached, I’d never officially said yes.

And in case you’re wondering, Kelly tracked down the guy who shot me and ripped his head off.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Brand knocked.
 
“You beating off in there?”

I opened the door, dressed for training now.
 
“Sorry, I had a phone call.”

“Right.”

Kelly moved through a practice routine with a sword.
 
She spun and jabbed.
 
Her footwork was, as always, impressive.
 
She was always balanced and graceful even as the blade whipped around with deadly accuracy.
 
It was a thing of beauty to watch her move.

She stopped with the sword held ready.
 
“It’s about time.”

“Sharon called.
 
Evidently I need to find Persephone.”

“How are you going to get to Hades without Sharon’s help?”

“I think Persephone will come to see me again.
 
Probably today.”

“And what leads you to believe that?”

I explained the hospital visit and how I thought it might be a dream.
 
I finished up by telling her what Sharon said.

Kelly returned the sword to her weapons cabinet while I began stretching.
 
“And you think she’ll give you extra time?”

“Why not?
 
If it gets her what she wants, what’s a few days?”

I leaned over and touched the floor without bending my knees.
 
I slowly pushed my palms to the mat.
 
I felt the pull of my muscles stretching.
 
I rose and worked my arms.

Esther popped into the dojo.

“Miranda’s dead!” she said.

I jumped back, startled.
 
I just couldn’t get used to her popping in like that.
 
“What do you mean she’s dead?”

“I went to your place and she was lying on the couch, completely naked, and she wasn’t moving.
 
I figured she was napping, but I noticed her chest wasn’t rising or falling.
 
I pushed my hand through her, and her heart isn’t beating.”

“Shit.
 
Kelly, call nine-one-one and have paramedics get over there.”

I ran to the men’s room, grabbed my keys and wallet, then rushed outside into the cold.
 
I jumped into the rental, fired it up, and got the heater going.
 
Was Persephone already killing my friends?
 
Esther popped into the passenger seat.

“Sorry I got in a lather about you making time with that
quiff
, but I’m still mad.”

“Miranda isn’t a slut.”

“Says you.”

#

When we got to my place, the paramedics were leaving.

I bolted from the car and rushed to the first guy.
 
I was about to ask him about Miranda when I heard him talking to his coworker.

“I think we should charge extra for prank calls.”

I dodged around him and hurried to the apartment.
 
Miranda sat wearing a robe and talked to one of the paramedics.

“Sorry about wasting your time, Kent, I really am, but if I ever need rescuing, I hope you’re first through the door again.”

“See?” Esther said.
 
“
Quiff
.”

Miranda saw me approaching and smiled.
 
“You won’t believe what happened here when you left.”

“Try me.”

“I went to sleep on the couch.
 
Didn’t bother to get dressed.
 
And next thing I know, these guys broke in and scared the hell out of me.
 
Kent here was kind enough to get me a robe so I could cover up.”

“But you’re OK?”

“Just a little embarrassed.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, ma’am,” Kent said.
 
“We’re just glad it was a false alarm.”

“She was dead,” Esther said.
 
“Kaput.
 
A futzing corpse.
 
I’m not making this up.”

“How’s your heart?”

“Still thundering.”

“Her pulse is fine,” Kent said.
 
“You folks have a nice day.”
 
He followed the other paramedics back to their truck.

“How did you hear about this?” Miranda asked.
 
“I thought you were going to the dojo.”

“I...uh...just had a bad feeling,” I said and tossed a quick glare at Esther.

Miranda followed my gaze for a moment then shrugged.
 
“You get feelings about things sometimes?
 
I guess that’s not much of a stretch to ask me to believe after what I’ve seen the last several days.”

“Yeah, a premonition,” I said, rolling with it.

“It was wrong.”

“So it would seem.”

“You didn’t call the paramedics, did you?”

“Wasn’t me.”

She nodded.
 
“If you throw on some real clothes, I’ll do the same and we can grab lunch.
 
We might want to make sure we’re on the same page about things.”

“Same page.
 
Right.”

“So.
 
Lunch?”

“Yeah, OK.”

“Can I grab a shower first?
 
I smell like sex.”

“Go for it.”

She kissed me then turned and headed for the bathroom.
 
I closed the door, and when I heard the shower start, I turned to Esther.

“Are you playing with me?”

“She was dead.
 
I swear!”

“You were mistaken.
 
She seems fine.”

“You don’t believe me.”

“I believe you believe it.”

Esther made a face at me and popped out of sight.
 
I went into the bedroom and changed clothes.
 
A few minutes later, Miranda left the bathroom in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around her.
 
She approached me and gave me a quick kiss then grabbed her clothes and went back into the bathroom, where the mirror remained fogged over.

I pulled out my phone and called DGI.
 
It was time to start making preparations for Wednesday.
 
Phil answered.

“Jonathan Shade here.
 
I didn’t know you worked Sundays.”

“Bills to pay.
 
What do you want, Shade?”

“Got any summoners on staff, Phil?”

“Summoners?”

“Wizards who summon people, beasties,
demi
-gods, what have you?”

“You can’t afford them.”

“I suspect we can work something out.”

“Then call Mike and leave me out of it.”

“But I like you, Phil.
 
You’re fun.”

He told me to do something that was physically impossible and hung up on me.
 
I scrolled through the contacts on my phone and called Mike Ender.

He didn’t answer, of course, which is why I hadn’t called him first.
 
I waited for the beep then said, “Mike, it’s Jonathan Shade.
 
I understand you have a few wizards who are trying to become summoners and will work for free if the summoning sounds cool.
 
I have someone very cool for them to summon, so give me a holler.”

I hung up and glanced toward the restroom.
 
The door was closed, and I heard the hair dryer blasting away.
 
I knew Miranda would be a while.
 
I stepped outside and leaned against the wall.
 
The phone rang and I checked: Mike.

“Long time, no chat, Mike.”

“What are you up to?”

“Six feet.”

“Seriously, Shade.
 
I thought we were finished with Miranda’s business.”

“Oh, we are.
 
This is something else I’m working on.
 
It has nothing to do with Miranda, though she did get mixed up in part of it through no fault of her own.”

“Is this about the dead people rising?”

“In a way.”

“There are no dead people rising at the moment.”

“Not at the moment, but I know who started it, and I want to summon someone so we can have a little chat about that.”

“I’m guessing this is dangerous.”

“Crossing the street is dangerous, Mike.”

“Why should I help you?”

“For bragging rights, of course.
 
If people know you and your team summoned this individual, the entire
wizarding
world would be monumentally impressed.”

“We prefer to keep a low profile.”

“It could be fun.”

“Racquetball is fun and less likely to get you killed.”

“Answer me this: Can you or anyone at DGI manage a summoning of a powerful, possibly immortal being?”

“I don’t have that sort of power, but we do have a few people who could probably manage it.”

“Can I at least run it by them?
 
They might like the challenge.”

“You’re a real pain in the ass, Shade.”

“I keep things interesting, though.”

“In the old Chinese curse way.
 
Fine.
 
Stop by my office tomorrow morning, and I’ll let you talk to someone.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

“I have a condition.”

“I suspected as much.”

“If I let you talk to someone, whether or not they agree, you will owe me a favor of your own.”

“What’s going on, Mike?”

“At the moment, nothing.
 
But if a job does come up where I can use someone as resourceful and annoying as yourself, you have to say yes.”

“I don’t sign on for suicide runs.”

“The job might be dangerous, but it won’t be suicide.
 
And we’ll pay your normal rates too.”

“I feel like I’m being set up.”

“You’re setting up my people right now, Jonathan.
 
Your schemes are always dangerous at best.”

“Tell you what.
 
You set a meeting, and I promise to listen to any job offer you might have for me.”

“You’d listen anyway.”

“I’m not done.
 
And if one of your people helps me with this summoning, I’ll do a job for you provided it’s not out-and-out suicide.
 
Fair enough?”