Five
Jaris persuaded Erin to grab a drink with him at a cute little bar after they left the party. What started as a chance encounter morphed into a date. Jaris was quickly rising in her estimation. He was polite, funny, and totally respectful. She didn’t drink much, and he didn’t try to get her to drink more. She found it easy to talk to him. Like she could say anything. Be herself.
“So you’re a V-E?” he asked.
“Yeah. Although I thought the current term was Vampelf.”
He snickered. “You don’t get out much, do you?”
“Guilty as charged.” She smiled.
“I like that about you.”
“Uh huh. So you’re just a V?” she teased, knowing full well he was a full blood vampire.
“I’m actually an ogre. A short one.”
She giggled. “It’s getting late. I should go home now. Check on my dad. He’s not well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He pulled her chair out and held her hand as she stood.
She shivered as they walked to the hub. The summer night had turned cool.
“Here.” Jaris draped his jacket over her shoulders.
With that one simple move, she decided she would see him again if he asked. The hub was empty. She stepped up to the open portal and turned back to him. “I’m glad I ran into you. Good night.”
The portal closed over her. In a few seconds, she was back in Anue. The portal shivered behind her, and then Jaris stepped out of it.
“Jaris, what are you…Oh! I’m sorry I still have your jacket.” She made to take it off.
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t walk you all the way home. Make sure you’re safe.”
She blinked at him and then smiled. “This way.”
He reached for her hand, and she gave it. They walked in silence the rest of the short way.
“This is me.” She stopped at the front stoop, thankful he possibly couldn’t see her blush in the dark. He probably lived in a much nicer place.
“What a great front porch,” he said. “My aunt has a porch like that. I love sitting on the swing on summer evenings.”
Her heart gave a little tug. She would definitely go out with him again if he asked. She slid out of his coat and handed it to him.
“Thanks, Jaris.”
“Can I have your number? I’d really like to see you again.”
“I’d like that, too.”
He moved closer. “I don’t want to seem too forward…”
She smiled and reached around his neck, pulling him closer. He kissed her, just once, softly.
“Wow,” he breathed. “Thank you.”
“There should be more guys like you. You could give first date lessons to the shmucks of the world.”
“I’ll try to wait an appropriate amount of time before calling you, so I don’t seem desperate for your attention. I totally am, but I don’t want to seem that way.”
She giggled. “My watch is rather sad. I’m just warning you. If I miss a call, I’m not blowing you off. I just didn’t hear it. See?” She held up her watch.
“I see what you mean. That thing is pretty beat up.”
“I’m saving for a new one…” She felt awkward, half turned to the house, but indecisive. “Kiss me again?”
He did, a little harder than before, making her heart speed up. Then he pulled back and kissed her hand.
“Goodnight, Erin.”
“Goodnight.”
He stood there and waited for her to get all the way inside and close the door. The house was dark and quiet. She peeked out the front window and watched him walk away before squeaking and turning in a circle. She basked in the moment, still a little flushed, when a quiet cry hit her ears and her thoughts came back down with a hard bump.
She rushed to her bedroom and found what she hoped she wouldn’t. Selena was there, curled up on her bed, crying. Erin closed the door and sat down next to her and rubbed her back.
“You were right, Erin. About everything.” Her voice shook with tears.
“What happened?”
Selena just wailed.
“You had sex with him, didn’t you?”
She sat up and nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I’m so stupid. I knew I was being stupid.”
“So why did you go through with it?”
She exhaled and shook her head. “He was so charming. He seduced me. Then he was cruel. He got what he wanted, then he turned mean. He treated me like a whore.”
“You acted like one,” Erin snapped. “What did you think was going to happen?”
“I just wanted a chance to show him my heart.”
“He can’t see your heart when your skirt is up around your waist.”
Anger flashed hot in Selena’s eyes. “At least I don’t fantasize about a ghost who left me a rock…I’m sorry,” she wailed. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Erin hugged her. “You’re right. I’m sorry, too. So, he’s the bastard I figured him to be… Did you get anything out of it, at least?”
Selena’s expression changed, and she nodded in a bemused kind of misery. “Well, those rumors are true. He knows what he’s doing in the bedroom, I’ll give him that. The physical part of it was amazing, the emotional was terrible. I wish I could rewind the whole night and undo it.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. Why don’t you stay here tonight? Tomorrow we’ll have a girl’s day and you can move on.”
Selena wiped her eyes again. “Okay. Can I borrow some pajamas? I want to burn this dress.”
“No problem. Let’s go to sleep quickly, and when you wake up it will all be behind you.”
In the middle of the night, Selena and Erin woke to the pinging sound of Selena’s watch. She was tucked beside Erin in the narrow bed.
“Oh, hell,” Selena whispered as she checked her message. “It’s Maddox.”
“What does he want?” Erin snapped.
“It says: I’m sorry for the way I treated you. There was something else bothering me, and I took it out on you. Will you let me explain? Meet me now?
“The nerve,” Erin hissed.
“Yeah,” Selena agreed halfheartedly, and then she squirmed.
“Selena?”
“What?” her voice was defensive.
“Don’t even think about it.”
The next second she was jumping out of the bed. “I’m sorry. I have to go. I’ll always wonder otherwise.”
“You’re killing me!”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. Just go back to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Damnit, Selena…Please be careful. Please.”
“I promise. I just want to hear him out. I don’t have stars in my eyes now. I’ll be careful.”
Erin put her pillow over her face and screamed into it after Selena left. The idiot. Well, she was determined to ruin herself. She was doing it with her eyes open. Erin tossed and turned. She got up and grabbed the rock from the top of her dresser and laid it against her chest. Her heart eased under the comforting feel of it, and she finally fell back asleep, but she was plagued by nightmares.
Erin woke in a cold sweat before dawn. She got up and dressed quickly. She tried to message Selena. Failure notice. Stupid antiquated tech. She headed out quietly, so as not to wake her dad, and went straight to Selena’s house. Since Selena lived alone, Erin didn’t hesitate to bang on the front door. The fool deserved to be woken harshly. And if Maddox was there, she’d plant her fist in his pretty face, just for the hell of it.
There was no answer.
She knocked more and she kept knocking. Nothing. Erin bit down on her lip and tried again to message Selena. Was she with the asshole at his place?
Maybe she was just sleeping too hard to wake. Erin went around the house— maybe the back door was unlocked. She walked into the backyard and stopped short. Her lungs stopped, half full. Her heartbeat filled her ears, slow and labored. Something invisible pressed hard into Erin as her eyes absorbed death. So cold. She held still for the length of one second. One second, she silently beheld Selena laid out on the ground. Her skin was ugly pale and looked hard, like she was carved from stone. Erin had never thought about what life really looked like until that second, now seeing the devoid, confronted with the blank abyss in Selena’s eyes.
As if in a dream, Erin moved forward slowly when she was really trying to run. Reality of this horror broke free inside her and she screamed.
“No, no, no.” She held her friend to her chest. Selena was so cold, her limbs stiff. Erin rubbed her arms. “Shhh…It’s okay. I’ll warm you up. I’ll warm you up.”
Both her wrists were cut. And letters were carved into her forearm, Maddox.
“You wouldn’t do this, sweetheart. You wouldn’t kill yourself over him. This isn’t possible…This isn’t possible…Help!” She screamed. “Someone help me!”
Help came. Erin stood back, her eyes tunneling, as she went into shock. People moved around her impossibly fast. Their bodies and voices blurred as her consciousness curled into a ball deep inside, rocking and crying.
“Erin? Can you hear me?” a familiar voice and face swam into her vision, drawing her out. “Erin?” she blinked. It was Redge.
She collapsed against him, weeping.
“I’m going to take you home now. Journey will stay with you, and when you’re ready, I have to ask you a few questions. Okay?”
She nodded, shivering violently. “Selena wouldn’t kill herself.”
“Don’t worry about anything right now. I’m going to handle this case myself. Trust me. We will find out what happened.”
He picked her up and carried her home. Her vision clouded over. She heard her dad’s concerned voice, but she didn’t understand the words. Redge laid her down on her bed and covered her up. Humming filled her ears and drifted into her mind, unwinding her. Journey sat on the bed next to her and hummed in her hypnotic voice until Erin passed out.
Maddox woke in the afternoon with the worst hangover of his life. He squinted up at the ceiling of his room and closed his eyes again. No more off world imports for him. He didn’t even remember coming home. He staggered out of bed, still in his dress clothes, his head throbbing sharply and his heart heavy. The memory of the way Selena looked when he told her to leave assailed him. He was so sick of himself. His father was right. He was lost.
The house felt so empty without his parents there. He missed them. He needed them. He sighed as he stalked to the kitchen and poured himself some blood. He drank it slowly, afraid his stomach would pitch. The blood cleared his head and eased the hangover. He set the empty glass down and spotted the present on the table.
He opened the card. Happy graduation, Maddox! The power infused inside is your own. We used your blood. The reaction was interesting. We love you, son. –Mom and Dad.
He grimaced as he opened the long box, feeling even lower and more worthless than ever. The katana was sleek black. He lifted it up. It was like his mom’s only the style of it was totally different. The blade was obsidian, but the power inside it was gold and cascaded down the length of the blade in precise designs and not wild red lightning. The plain black tang fit his hands perfectly. He couldn’t help smirking through his misery. Sneaky. Nice way to get him to practice more.
He took it to his room and looked for a good place to hang it on the wall. He got it up, next to the bed, decided it was time to clean the dirtiness of the night away and headed for the shower.
The remainder of his hangover faded as hot water and soap ran down his skin. Banging on the bathroom door startled him.
“Maddie!”
“Damnit, Tesla!” he shouted through the door. “You scared the life out of me.”
“There’s a shit storm out here with your name on it, so hurry up and get dressed.”
Puzzled, he finished rinsing his hair and turned the water off. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he came out into the living room. It wasn’t just Tesla. Redge was there, looking grim.
“Get dressed, Maddox,” Redge ordered. “I have to arrest you on suspicion of murder.”
“What?”
“It’s just a formality that must be satisfied.”
“What the hell?! I didn’t kill anyone!”
Tesla grabbed Redge by the arm. “I can get X here in a second. He can question him. If you take him in, it’s going to be all over the media.”
Redge looked like he was thinking it over. “I don’t care about any of that. A girl is dead, and I have to find out how it happened.”
“Who? Who’s dead?” Maddox asked.
Redge stared hard at him. “A lovely young elf named Selena. I believe you know her.”
“Oh my gosh!” Maddox headed toward his room. “I’ll be right out.”
He shut the door and threw on jeans and T-shirt. His heart hammered as he came back out.
“You don’t think I killed her, do you?” he asked Redge desperately.
The hard edge on his expression eased, and he looked at Maddox the way he normally did. Redge was as close as an uncle to him and had been his whole life.
“No. I don’t’ think that. I can’t think that, but there is evidence that points at you. And since you are in the public eye, there will be plenty of speculation that can’t be helped.”
“I don’t give a damn what’s said about me. I didn’t do it. You have my full cooperation.”
“Okay. Let’s go to Fortress.”
“Is that really necessary?” Tesla argued.
“Yeah, it is, I’m afraid. He’s going to have to talk to Kindel as well as X, and he’ll have to give samples to forensics. I have to take him.”
“It’s okay, Tes,” Maddox reassured her. “I didn’t do it. I have nothing to hide.”
She didn’t look reassured as she pulled him into a tight hug. “I can get Mom and Dad back. It might take me a few days to track them, it won’t be easy, but I can do it.”
“No.” He shook his head firmly. “I don’t want them dragged into this. It’s fine. I’ll be cleared in no time.”
She exhaled heavily. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“I need your watch, too,” Redge said to Maddox.
He took it off and handed it over. Redge pocketed it before he pulled out a set of handcuffs and locked them around Maddox’s hands. The metal purred and stretched out, lacing in between his fingers.
“What’s that?” Redge asked pointing at the mark on his wrist.
“Personal portal. Birthday present from Tesla.”
Redge looked at her. She nodded in agreement.
“Would you?” Redge asked Tesla.
She tore the air open for them. They landed in Forest’s office. Maddox relaxed slightly in the comfort of his mom’s office. It made him feel safer. Kindel and Ena were there, looking serious.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
“It’s a bad day, Maddox.” Kindel shook his head.
“Yeah,” he agreed, thinking of Selena. “Really bad.”
“Ena, mark it down that Maddox surrendered quietly, of his own free will, and has promised to cooperate,” Redge instructed.
She sat at her desk and began scribbling.
“Put this into evidence.” Redge handed Maddox’s watch to Kindel.
“When do you need me?” Kindel asked.
“X is first. Then I’ll bring him to the lab.”
“That’s not necessary. I already have his DNA on file. I’ll run it against the physical evidence on the body,” Kindel said.
Redge put his hand on Maddox’s shoulder and directed him down the hall and a flight of stairs. He didn’t need direction, but Redge didn’t let go of him. He kept reminding himself to breathe. The few people they passed in the halls stopped and stared. Just before they got to X’s office, Redge stopped a clerk in the hall.
“I need you to come in here with me.”
“Sir?” the clerk looked puzzled.
“Just stay back and watch. I need a witness.”
The man’s eyes darted between Redge and Maddox. “Yes, sir. Of course.”
“You are not to leak anything to the media of this, unless I ask you to. You are to witness and keep silent unless otherwise directed, by me and only me. Got it?”
The clerk swallowed and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
X’s office was a cold, grey box of a space with two chairs a plain table and nothing else. X wasn’t there, but Fluffy paced along the wall. The demon turned his red eyes on Maddox and grunted. Maddox sat down, and Fluffy came up to him, the edges of his frame hazy like black smoke.
“Hey, Fluffy. It’s good to see you. Circumstance notwithstanding,” he said easily.
“It’s been a while since you came here.” The demon’s voice was mild, but it still held the resonance of hell. “I’m of no use, today. You’re far from scared of me.”
X came through the door then, an irritated expression on his face as he looked at a file Maddox could only assume was his. X sighed, closed the file, sat down, and looked directly into Maddox’s eyes.
“Did you kill Selena?”
“No.”
X leaned back in his chair and looked up at Redge. “He didn’t do it.”
Redge sighed in unmistakable relief. “Good.”
“So,” X said, his eyes pinning Maddox again. “What happened?”
“I only met Selena last night. She is…was…friends with my friend Kendrick, who arranged the date on her request. We picked her up at her house and went straight to Paradigm.”
“We?”
“Me and Kendrick.”
“Okay, then what?”
“Not much. I took Selena home for an hour or so, then I came back to the party alone. There are plenty of witnesses who can verify that I returned.”
“You took her home? Meaning?”
Maddox sighed. “We had sex, and then I told her to leave, that I was done with her. She left. That was the last I saw of her.” The looks on their faces frustrated him. “Yeah, I’m a bastard. But I didn’t kill her. Why would I?”
Kindel poked his head into the room and handed a slip of paper to Redge.
Redge looked at it for a moment. “Your DNA is all over the body.”
“Of course it is!” Maddox shouted. “I just told you I fucked her! Consensually as well, since I’m sure you want to know.”
“Hmm…” Redge continued to look at the paper. “You messaged her in the middle of the night, asking her to come meet you.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Your watch says you did. Very close to the time she was killed.”
“It wasn’t me! I was hammered. I don’t even remember how I got home last night. Someone else must have messaged her from my watch while I was passed out.”
“What were you on?” X asked.
“Uh…I don’t remember. It was pink.”
X looked at Redge. “We need a toxicology report on him. If he drank Syrup, there’s no way he had the physical strength to kill anyone, let alone the frame of mind to stage it to look like a suicide.” X looked back at Maddox. “Was there anything else? Do you think she was capable of suicide?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know her. She was really upset when she left though.”
“You think she was this upset?” X slid a few pictures from the file across the table at him.
He didn’t want to look, but he didn’t have a choice. The images went straight into his brain and burrowed there. Her cut wrists. His name carved into her skin. Had he really hurt her that badly? He knew she was too innocent for him, too soft. He never should have touched her. He sat back and looked away.
X stood. “Okay. I’m finished. He’s telling the truth. We just need to know what he drank so that can satisfy the girl’s family. My integrity has never been questioned, but in this case…”
“I know,” Redge said grimly.
“What are you talking about?” Maddox asked.
X gave him a furious look. “People will say I lied and cleared you because you’re my brother in law, and that Redge and Kindel compromised as well because they work for your mom!”
The realization hit Maddox hard. “Oh shit.”
“Yes, exactly. Your bad behavior will cast shade on the entire family.” He snatched the file up and headed for the door. He stopped, his hand on the knob, and turned back. “Stop breaking your sister’s heart,” he half yelled. “It’s lucky for you that you didn’t kill that girl. I’d throw the book at you! And good riddance!”
Maddox blew out a breath, feeling like X had just run over him. “Geez…” he said quietly.
Redge touched him on the shoulder. “Come on. To the lab. We need to know what you drank.”
He waited in the lab while the tech ran his blood. It only took a few seconds, then the report was handed to Redge. He glanced at it for a moment then he unlocked the handcuffs on Maddox. “All right. That checks out. You’re free to go.”
Relieved but dejected, he stalked for the door.
“Maddox?”
He turned back.
“Just a little advice. Keep your head down for a few days. Don’t go out in public.”
He nodded, looking at the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Redge squeezed his arm. “I am, too. Think about living up to your heritage, okay?”
Maddox nodded again and sent himself home. When he got there, he realized he’d left his watch. Tesla was pacing the living room. She rushed to him and pulled him against her.
“What happened?”
He was suddenly exhausted. “I’ve been cleared. I can’t talk about it now. I just want to be alone for a while.”
She kissed his cheek. “If you need me, I’ll be here.”
“Thanks.” X’s harsh words came back to him. “I’m sorry, Tesla. Sorry for what I’ve put you through.”
She hugged him tighter. “I love you, Maddie.”
It was the first time in a long time being called that didn’t bother him. It felt warm and comforting. She held on to him for another minute, then she left.
Slowly, he walked to his room, feeling disconnected from his body. Never again, he swore to himself. No more parties, no more easy girls, no more substance abuse. He turned and stared at himself in his full-length mirror. Self-loathing spread through his veins. Without thinking, he slapped himself in the face again and again. He inhaled as deeply as possible and let it all out in a roar of rage at his reflection before punching the mirror. It shattered and sliced his knuckles. What had he done?
Maddox wept.
Tesla didn’t go home after she left Maddox. Her portal dumped her out in Kyhael inside the Rune-dy’s old headquarters. The Rune-dy was no more. That sect of elves dedicated to perfecting torture, twisting science, and pushing to finding other worlds had all died, except one: her grandfather, Rahaxeris, who had been the high priest for many years.
She exhaled in the familiar space that was now just a library, her first lab, and Rahaxeris’ apartments. He strode around the corner and smiled at her. His smile terrified most people, but she’d never feared him. He was always the same, as if caught in eternal youth. His golden hair hung straight to his shoulders, and his eyes were still the same signature red of the Rune-dy. He clasped her in a hug against his tall, angular frame, his sharp hands patting her back.
“How is Maddox?” he asked.
“Not good. He’s been cleared. I just don’t know what to do for him.”
“He has to grow up.”
She sulked. “He drives me crazy. He’s been so self-destructive lately.”
Rahaxeris chuckled. “Wonder where he gets that? He’s not as bad as you were.”
“Do you think you could…”
He raised one very severe eyebrow and shook his head. “I stay out of the public eye. I always will. It’s better for everyone that way. Besides, Maddox and I are not close. Not like you and me, and being close to you has been a… rough journey.”
She giggled. “I’m sorry, but that was a long time ago.”
“Feels like yesterday to me. All my grandchildren give me headaches…except Sophie. She’s perfect.”
“I haven’t seen Sophie in a while. Does she come here often?”
He frowned. “Hmm…it’s been more lately.”