Cat's Claw (22 page)
Authors: Amber Benson
Tags: #Fantasy, #Contemporary, #Fiction, #General, #Fantasy fiction, #Fiction - Fantasy, #Science Fiction And Fantasy, #Fantasy - Contemporary
Hopefully, it was the direction that would allow me complete and unfettered access to Daniel’s Shade.
“I don’t know,” Suri said, but Jarvis was having none of it.
“Then I’m afraid I’ll have to call in the Jackal Brothers. Hopefully, they can instill a little order in the Hall of Death—”
“No!” Suri yelped, fear in her eyes. “Please, not the Jackal Brothers.”
She looked so freaked-out that I almost felt sorry for her.
“But if you can’t take care of your own—”
Suri blanched, all the blood draining from her creamy, golden skin.
“We can. We will! I swear it,” she offered, her voice a shrill whine in my ear. Jarvis was unmoved by her outburst.
“As the Day Manager of the Hall of Death,” Suri said, turning to me, “I beg of you. Please help us contain the Shade.”
I could tell that it pained her to do what Jarvis wanted, but the threat of the Jackal Brothers taking over her domain was a very real thing to her.
“Thank you for being reasonable,” Jarvis said pithily, then turned to me, bowing low.
“Mistress Calliope, the floor is yours.”
I felt weird telling Suri thank you because it was so obvious that she really didn’t want my help and was being forced to let me take a shot at the Shade, but I gave her a quick smile anyway.
“I’ll do my best,” I said, hoping that this was compromise enough, then I winked at Jarvis as I stepped past the archway and into the room.
“Why don’t you guys go back out in the hall,” I said to the knights. “That way no one gets hurt.”
I waited, but after a few moments it was apparent that none of the dum-dums was gonna do what I said. I looked back at Suri, who sighed.
“Out here, guys!”
At Suri’s command, the knights instantly moved out of defensive position, falling into one single-file line that quickly shuffled out of the room, battle-axes and swords clanging as they went. It was like watching a group of high school football players leaving a locker room. As they passed me by, I got a whiff of some of the gnarliest body odor I’d ever encountered, giving me the distinct impression that whatever creature lay hidden beneath that armor did not have a good relationship with its shower.
Well, that sure got their butts in gear,
I thought grumpily as I waited for them to clear the room.
I thought grumpily as I waited for them to clear the room.
Once they were gone, I walked up to the edge of the table, my heart hammering like an out-of-control jackhammer. I felt my mind whirl at the prospect of talking to Daniel again. It wasn’t like I was the greatest at talking to men I was attracted to anyway, but add in a case of the heebie-jeebies and you could forget it. On more than one occasion, my brain had decided to shut down, leaving me gawping like an imbecilic cod fish at whatever hunk of manhood I’d been about to chat up.
I just prayed that was not gonna be the case in this situation.
I took a deep breath as I came to stand in front of the Shade. I tried to see some kind of resemblance to the Daniel I knew, but there really wasn’t any.
“Well now, fancy meeting you here,” I said, clasping my hands together behind my back nervously. “Long time, no see.”
I couldn’t believe that
this
was how it was going to go down! Was I really just gonna stand there and babble at him like an idiot? Apparently that was
exactly
what I was going to do.
this
was how it was going to go down! Was I really just gonna stand there and babble at him like an idiot? Apparently that was
exactly
what I was going to do.
“You look well. I mean for a Shade, that is.”
I offered up that little bon mot like it was the holy grail of repartee. Boy, was I on a roll or what?
Any more witty dialogue and it’d be a regular Preston Sturges movie around here,
I thought miserably.
I thought miserably.
Daniel’s Shade stared down at me from its table perch and I wondered if this was what
my
Shade looked like. Had I run into anyone while I was doing my whole “out of body” floating spectacle through the Hall of Death, was this what they would have seen?
my
Shade looked like. Had I run into anyone while I was doing my whole “out of body” floating spectacle through the Hall of Death, was this what they would have seen?
God, I hoped not. Because Daniel’s Shade was a pretty crazy-looking character.
I guess the best way to describe a Shade is to compare its composition to the fuzz you see on a television set when the cable has gone out. Only, a Shade is much, much,
much
more transparent than any TV fuzz. In fact, if you didn’t look directly at it, the Shade kind of blended in with whatever its surroundings were, almost like it wasn’t there at all.
much
more transparent than any TV fuzz. In fact, if you didn’t look directly at it, the Shade kind of blended in with whatever its surroundings were, almost like it wasn’t there at all.
Its only discernible human feature was its eyes, which were so cold and piercing that they gave you the shivers every time you looked into their depths. The Shade possessed no nose, no mouth, and no ears; so I guess you could barely call its face a
face
, even. It had arms and legs, but they were so mottled—like the rest of its fuzzlike body—that unless they were in motion, you wouldn’t have known it had any appendages.
face
, even. It had arms and legs, but they were so mottled—like the rest of its fuzzlike body—that unless they were in motion, you wouldn’t have known it had any appendages.
Help me.
The words startled me and I looked around to make sure that I was really hearing them in my head, not in reality. Satisfied that there was no one else in the room, I said:
“How?”
Daniel slipped into radio silence and I tried not to stare too deeply into what passed as his eyes while I waited for his reply.
We’re connected, you and I.
I nodded. Madame Papillon had told me this very same thing not even twenty-four hours before.
I didn’t mean for that to happen,
Daniel’s voice said wearily.
I’m sorry.
Daniel’s voice said wearily.
I’m sorry.
I shrugged.
“No worries. It happens,” I offered, even though it was the
understatement
of the century.
understatement
of the century.
But maybe we can use it to our advantage.
“Okay,” I said.
I loved how Daniel was using the all-powerful pronoun “we.” It’s lovely to be a “we” when the guy you dig is standing right in front of you, all hot-blooded and alive, but quite another thing when he’s nothing but a monstrous outline of himself.
“What do you propose?” I asked as I looked back over my shoulder and saw Suri and her minions waiting impatiently out in the hallway. It only served to remind me that I was under a deadline, both here in the moment
and
in the greater scheme of things.
and
in the greater scheme of things.
Let me come inside you.
I nearly choked on my own saliva.
“Excuse me?”
I squeaked, all the blood in my body quickly pooling to my lower extremities.
I squeaked, all the blood in my body quickly pooling to my lower extremities.
If I slip inside of you, they’ll think you’ve banished me,
Daniel’s voice said.
Daniel’s voice said.
I could feel the heat in my face—and in between my legs—and I wondered suspiciously if Daniel was choosing those words on purpose just to screw with my head.
“Let’s not use the words ‘come’ and ‘slip’ and ‘inside’ in the same sentence again, okay?” I said, brushing my hair back off my face with my hand nervously.
Oh,
the voice said, followed by an embarrassed silence.
the voice said, followed by an embarrassed silence.
“Yeah. Uh-huh,” I replied, sort of pleased to have made
him
feel as uncomfortable as he’d made me.
him
feel as uncomfortable as he’d made me.
All right, then,
he said.
Let’s try that again. I will go in you—
he said.
Let’s try that again. I will go in you—
Jesus, this was no better than all the “slipping” and “coming.” I guess there was nothing I could do but give the Shade a tight smile and hope that my legs would continue to hold me up during the sexually charged hot flash I was in the middle of having.
“Just do whatever you’re gonna do,” I said through gritted teeth.
Thank you, Callie.
That was all it took to melt my heart. I just wanted to put my Humpty-Dumpty Daniel back together, then find a nice private place where I could shatter him into a million pieces over and over again—and I did
not
mean by pushing him off some stupid wall.
not
mean by pushing him off some stupid wall.
I looked up at Daniel’s Shade, allowing my brain to enmesh itself in his mesmerizing stare, becoming the humble prey to his seductive snake charmer. I was so entranced by him that I barely even noticed when I felt that now-familiar tug on my soul and a searing pain split my head apart, sending me spiraling toward unconsciousness. I fought the encroaching blackness, not wanting to alarm Jarvis or Suri by passing out, afraid of what would happen if they realized I was no longer in control of the situation.
Suddenly, the pain lifted and I whimpered, relieved that the horrible experience was finally over—but my relief was short-lived as the feeling of agony slammed back into me, increasing threefold as the pressure overwhelmed my brain and quickly began to subsume my body. I bit my lip and I felt a trickle of hot, salty blood on my tongue. I desperately choked back the sensation of nausea brought on by the taste. The pain consuming me was so exquisite that it nearly drove me out of my head, but then as it finally subsided, I realized that Daniel had done exactly what he had promised he would do:
He had come inside me.
fourteen
When I opened my eyes, Daniel’s Shade was gone and I was alone. I immediately expected to feel some kind of weight inside me, reminding me that another soul was now sharing head space with me, but as I mentally checked my body, I felt no sign of Daniel’s presence at all.
That’s so weird,
I thought to myself.
Shouldn’t I be able to feel someone else kicking around inside me?
I thought to myself.
Shouldn’t I be able to feel someone else kicking around inside me?
The realization that I couldn’t totally freaked me out. It meant that
anyone
could inhabit part of my body and I might never even know they were there.
anyone
could inhabit part of my body and I might never even know they were there.
What a totally frightening thought!
Suddenly, I heard a
creaking
noise behind me that made my heart drop down into my stomach. I quickly spun around, ready to defend myself from whatever badass was about to attack me, only to find that there wasn’t just
one
bad guy ready to take aim at me, but a whole
battalion
of them.
creaking
noise behind me that made my heart drop down into my stomach. I quickly spun around, ready to defend myself from whatever badass was about to attack me, only to find that there wasn’t just
one
bad guy ready to take aim at me, but a whole
battalion
of them.
It seemed that while I was otherwise engaged, the armored knights I’d shooed out of the room earlier had decided to surround me, their battle-axes and swords at the ready. I cringed, waiting for the blow that I knew would separate my head from my body, making the whole immortality thing an even
more
thrilling adventure.
more
thrilling adventure.
Not!
But when no blow was immediately forthcoming, I slowly opened my eyes. Still expecting the worst—I had no idea
what
might be worse than spending immortality trying to reattach your head to your body—I peeked out at the armored knights through half-lowered eyelashes.
what
might be worse than spending immortality trying to reattach your head to your body—I peeked out at the armored knights through half-lowered eyelashes.
Yup, still armed and ready to destroy.
This totally bites,
I thought disgustedly.
I thought disgustedly.
I realized that the more time I spent in Purgatory, the more I came to appreciate what a jerk Cerberus was and how reprehensible the whole stupid deal I’d made with him had been. I hadn’t bargained for all this crap when I’d signed up for the job. I mean, decapitation was pretty high on my list of “not so much fun things to do with your weekend”—yet here I was, actually having to deal with a possible decapitation scenario on what
should
have been a day of rest and recuperation from a very hectic workweek.
should
have been a day of rest and recuperation from a very hectic workweek.
No, this doesn’t totally bite,
I thought sarcastically.
I thought sarcastically.
“This sucks,” I said out loud.
At the sound of my voice, I noticed a few of the knights surrounding me nervously fidgeting in their places—which seemed totally odd. I mean, if these guys were
so
itching to destroy, why hadn’t they just bitten the bullet and chopped me up into little bits already?
so
itching to destroy, why hadn’t they just bitten the bullet and chopped me up into little bits already?
That was when it hit me.
I
wasn’t the object of their bloodthirstiness.
wasn’t the object of their bloodthirstiness.
My mind, which had been so busy floating around unhinged from my body all day, clicked into gear, putting all the contextual pieces of information I had gleaned together. From their aggressive stance, I’d just
assumed
that the knights were in attack mode, but when I really took the time to study their formation, I discovered that my little buddies were
actually
in some kind of defensive stance, the intent to kill radiating
away
from me, not toward me.
assumed
that the knights were in attack mode, but when I really took the time to study their formation, I discovered that my little buddies were
actually
in some kind of defensive stance, the intent to kill radiating
away
from me, not toward me.
Oh my God,
I thought to myself.
They’re protecting me!
I thought to myself.
They’re protecting me!
“Miss Calliope?” I heard Jarvis say behind me. I turned to find Suri and my dad’s Executive Assistant standing in the archway, looking utterly confused by this turn of events.
“Uh-huh?” I replied tentatively. I was afraid any sudden moves on my part might destroy the tenuous arrangement the knights and I had unconsciously come to—and I had absolutely no interest in getting my armored retinue all hot and bothered again.
“They won’t let us in,” Jarvis said. “They seem to be defending you for some reason.”
I gave him a tight smile.
“Yeah, they’re probably just smitten with my gorgeous face and tight ass,” I joked glibly, which garnered only a return roll of the eyes from Jarvis.
Other books
After the Fall by Meikle, William
Between by Megan Whitmer
The Maid's Secret by Val Wood
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas
Asking for Andre by Malone, Minx
Copycat by Colin Dann
