Authors: Edward Lee
City Infernal (11 page)
Via laughed. “He thinks no one’s watching. Boy, if he only knew!”
“After seeing you in that nightgown, I’ll bet he’ll do it five times today.”
Cassie blushed.
“Give Shorty a break!” Xeke yelled at Jervis.
Cassie laughed, unable to help herself.
“What’s, uh, what’s so funny, Miss Cassie?”
This is too much!
“Nothing, Jervis. Have a good
day!”
“Nothing, Jervis. Have a good
day!”
“Enough monkeying around,” Via said. She led the way down the hall, past the odd statues and oil paintings. Her leather boots thunked loudly on the carpet, but by now, Cassie realized that only she could hear it.
“Where are we going?” she asked when out of Jervis’ earshot.
“Someplace where we can talk,” Xeke told her, his long black ponytail swaying behind his head.
“Back up to the oculus room?”
“Someplace better,” Via said. “The basement.”
(II)“So,” Cassie deduced. “You’re ghosts.”
“Nope.” Xeke sat on the cold stone floor, lounging back against the basement’s long wall of tabby bricks. “Nothing like that at all. We’re living souls. We’re physical beings.”
Hush sat beside Cassie on a row of moving boxes; she leaned her head against Cassie’s shoulder as if tired, her black hair veiling her face. Via remained standing, walking back and forth.
“How can you be living souls,” Cassie asked, “if you’re dead?”
Via answered, “What he means is that we’re living souls in our world. We’re physical beings in our world. In your world, though, we’re subcorporeal.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that we exist ... but we don’t.”
“But we’re not ghosts,” Xeke said. “Ghosts are soulless projections. They’re just images leftover. No consciousness, no sentience.”
Cassie considered this. “So the man who built this house—Fenton Blackwell—he really does haunt this place?”
“Sure,” Via said. “But it’s just his image lingering, walking up and down the stairs. It’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m sure you’ll see him every now and again.”
Cassie hoped she didn’t. “All right, so much for him. What about you?”
Via took off her punky leather jacket and dropped it in Xeke’s lap. By her attitude and gestures, it was clear that she was the leader of this little group. She began to diddle with the safety pins holding the tears in her t-shirt together. “It’s a long story, but here goes. First, you gotta understand that there are Rules. We weren’t really bad people in life, but we were fucked up. We couldn’t hack it. So we killed ourselves. That’s one of the Rules.”
“No ifs, ands, or buts,” Xeke said.
“If you commit suicide, you go to Hell. Period. No way around it. If the
Pope
committed suicide, he’d go to Hell. It’s one of the Rules.”
Pope
committed suicide, he’d go to Hell. It’s one of the Rules.”
Cassie touched her locket, felt something shrivel inside. Her sister, Lissa, had committed suicide.
So she went to
—
So she went to
—
Cassie couldn’t finish the thought.
“This house is a Deadpass, or I should say the newer part of the house, the part that Blackwell built. His atrocities caused the Rive—that’s, like, a little hole between the living world and the Hellplanes. If you’re like us—if you can find one of the holes—you can take refuge in the living world.”
“But no one in the living world can see you,” Cassie figured.
“No one. Period. That’s another one of the Rules.”
Cassie began, “Then how come—”
“You can see us?” Xeke held his finger up. “There’s a loophole.”
A dense silence filled the narrow basement. Via, Xeke, and Hush were all trading solemn glances. Hush held Cassie’s hand and squeezed it, as if to console her.
Cassie looked back dumbfounded at them all. “What is it?”
“You’re a myth,” Via said.
“In the Hellplanes,” Xeke went on, “you’re the equivalent of Atlantis. Something rumored to be true but has never been proven.”
Via sat down next to Xeke and slung her arm around him. “Here’s the myth. You’re a virgin, right?”
Cassie flinched uncomfortably but nodded.
“And you were never baptized.”
“No. I wasn’t raised in any particular faith.”
“You’ve genuinely tried to kill yourself at least once, right
?
”
?
”
Cassie gulped. “Yes.”
“And you have a twin sister who did kill herself.” Via wasn’t even asking any more; she was telling Cassie what she already knew. “A twin sister who was also a virgin.”
Cassie was beginning to choke up. “Yes. Her name was Lissa.”
More solemn stares.
“In Hell, you hear about it the same way you hear about the angelic visitations here, like these people who
see
Jesus
in a
mirror, or
St.
Mary on a taco,” Via went on. “Stuff like that. You hear about it but you never really believe it.”
see
Jesus
in a
mirror, or
St.
Mary on a taco,” Via went on. “Stuff like that. You hear about it but you never really believe it.”
“It’s all written down in the Infernal Archives,” Xeke said. “The Grimoires of Elymas, the Lascaris Scrolls, the Apocrypha of Bael—the myth’s all over the place. We’ve all read about it, and never really believed it either. But you’re real.”
“And the myth is true,” Via said. “You’re an Etheress.”
The strange world seemed to flit about the basement like a trapped sparrow. “Etheress,” Cassie repeated.
“Just like it says in the Grimoires,” Via continued, “you’re a physical bond in the Etheric Realm, something that’s created by astronomical circumstances. Two twin sisters, both virgins and both suicidal. One commits suicide and one survives. Both born on an occult holiday.”
Now Cassie frowned. “Lissa and I were born on October 26. That isn’t any occult
holiday.”
holiday.”
Via and Xeke laughed out loud. “It’s the date of Baron Gilles de Rais’ execution,” Via explained.
Then Xeke: “To the Satanic Sects, it’s their most powerful day of worship. Makes Halloween and Beltane Eve look like a sock hop.”
Via spoke louder now, her voice echoing. “You’re an Etheress, Cassie. You’re very very special.”
Xeke leaned forward. He seemed hesitant. “And because you’re an Etheress ... you could really help us out....”
“Damn it, Xeke!” Via turned and yelled. “Don’t be so mercenary!”
Xeke shrugged. “Well, it can’t hurt to ask.”
Via elbowed him hard, then looked to Cassie. “What
asshole
here isn’t telling you is that we can’t stay here any more unless you say it’s okay. That’s one of the Rules, too. If we stuck around without your permission, all you’d have to do is get a priest to bless the place, and we’d have to leave.”
asshole
here isn’t telling you is that we can’t stay here any more unless you say it’s okay. That’s one of the Rules, too. If we stuck around without your permission, all you’d have to do is get a priest to bless the place, and we’d have to leave.”
Cassie didn’t get it. “Why would I want you to leave?” Then it struck her; it was almost ironic.
These people are my friends.
Somehow, it didn’t matter that they were dead.
These people are my friends.
Somehow, it didn’t matter that they were dead.
“It’s just another one of the Rules,” Via said. “You’re an Etheress. We have an obligation to tell you.”
“Well, I don’t want you to leave. As far as I’m concerned, you can stay here as long as you want.”
Xeke cracked his hands together in celebration. “I knew she liked us!”
“And what were you just saying?” Cassie asked. “Something about me being able to help you?”
“Yeah,” Xeke edged back in. “Do you have any—” Via shot him another hard elbow. “Damn it! We’re not allowed to ask! You
know
that!”
know
that!”
“Sure, but—she can ask us.”
“All right,” Cassie insisted. “I’m
totally
confused now.”
totally
confused now.”
Via stewed over a contemplation. “Be ready, tonight at midnight. But that’s only
if
you want to go. You don’t
have
to go, and we can’t try to influence you. It’s one of—”
if
you want to go. You don’t
have
to go, and we can’t try to influence you. It’s one of—”
“It’s one of the Rules,” Cassie rushed. “I get it. But ... where are we going?”
“Just so long as you understand. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
“Of course she wants to go!” Xeke exclaimed. “She’s an Etheress! It’s her destiny to see!”
Cassie had no idea what they were talking about.
Via stood up, put her jacket back on. Xeke and Hush got up too.
“Out here, our energy fades during the day,” Xeke said. “we have to go back upstairs and—well, it’s what you would think of as sleep.”
“Be ready, tonight at midnight,” Via repeated. “If you have any jewelry—not gold or diamonds—but silver, with any gemstones like amethyst, sapphire, or pretty much any kind of birthstone—bring it. Onyx is especially important.”
“I think I have some of that,” Cassie said, still bewildered.
Xeke was nudging Via excitedly. “And tell her to bring—”
“Bring some bones,” Via said.
“Bones?”
“Chicken bones, a ham bone, a soup bone. Go down to the diner in town and look in the garbage. Any kind of bones will do.”
Bones.
From the garbage?
Cassie couldn’t figure it but she consented. “Okay,” she said. “So where are we going?”
From the garbage?
Cassie couldn’t figure it but she consented. “Okay,” she said. “So where are we going?”
It was only Hush who looked back at her worriedly. They were leaving the basement now, their forms seeming to fade before Cassie’s eyes.
“We’re going to the city,” Via said.
Her voice was fading. “We’re going to the Mephistopolis....”
(III)Suicide
, she thought.
The only unforgivable sin.
Cassie was looking at the scars on her wrists. The healed-over knife slashes looked too insubstantial to carry the consequences that now weighed down on her heart. Back when she’d been suicidal, she’d just wanted everything to be over. Life was just a ball and chain of guilt, failure, and despair—it seemed pointless, masochistic.
, she thought.
The only unforgivable sin.
Cassie was looking at the scars on her wrists. The healed-over knife slashes looked too insubstantial to carry the consequences that now weighed down on her heart. Back when she’d been suicidal, she’d just wanted everything to be over. Life was just a ball and chain of guilt, failure, and despair—it seemed pointless, masochistic.
Why go on?
was the question she’d asked herself a hundred times a day.
was the question she’d asked herself a hundred times a day.
Why go on in a world she would never be a part of?
Yes, killing herself seemed the only option that made sense. But now she knew the terrible flaw. Her finger traced a meager scar.
Now she knew the truth. If she killed herself, everything would
not
be over. Her pain and sadness would
not
come to an end. Instead, it would persist forever.
not
be over. Her pain and sadness would
not
come to an end. Instead, it would persist forever.
In Hell,
she thought.
she thought.
Guilt collapsed on her, like a brick wall toppling. She would always blame herself for Lissa’s death.
She’s in Hell now
—
because of me.
She unconsciously touched her locket. True, Lissa’s mental illness had nothing to do with Cassie.
But I was the one who pushed her over the edge....
She’s in Hell now
—
because of me.
She unconsciously touched her locket. True, Lissa’s mental illness had nothing to do with Cassie.
But I was the one who pushed her over the edge....
“I miss you,” she said to the tiny oval picture in the locket. “Please forgive me.” Lissa had been her only real friend, and now she was gone.
But she had new friends now, however impossible the circumstances. At this point she couldn’t deny the existence of Via, Xeke, and Hush, and her cognizance of that was something she—for some inexplicable reason—found easy to accept. All her life, she knew she was different from everyone else. Perhaps this was why. Xeke had even said it was her destiny.
Etheress,
she thought.
she thought.
She didn’t know what it meant, but that didn’t really matter. Now she had something to do, and the prospect thrilled her. Her stereo beat quietly in the background as she showered and dressed. (This time, of course, she made sure her door was closed. She didn’t want to provide any more scenery for Jervis’ perverted eye.) The hot sun blazed in through the French doors; she began her hunt. She’d never been much for jewelry, and she really hadn’t brought very much in the way of possessions. One thing she did have, though, was a small felt-lined ring box.
Silver. Birthstones,
she remembered Via’s comment. Inside she found a few silver bracelets, a pair of onyx earrings, and an old amethyst pendant on a silver chain. She couldn’t imagine what they could want with them—none of it was worth very much—but by now Cassie was getting the picture that things from their point of view weren’t easily explained. It was best to simply be shown, and Cassie suspected that what they would show her tonight—the city—would be something to behold indeed.
Silver. Birthstones,
she remembered Via’s comment. Inside she found a few silver bracelets, a pair of onyx earrings, and an old amethyst pendant on a silver chain. She couldn’t imagine what they could want with them—none of it was worth very much—but by now Cassie was getting the picture that things from their point of view weren’t easily explained. It was best to simply be shown, and Cassie suspected that what they would show her tonight—the city—would be something to behold indeed.
She turned off her stereo and left her room.
The city.
What had Via called it?
The Mephistopolis?
Yes, she was sure that was it.
What had Via called it?
The Mephistopolis?
Yes, she was sure that was it.
She was also sure that it was the place she’d seen last night, when she’d looked out the oculus window.
The raging city beneath the blood-red twilight. A city, yes, built on slabs of flaming rock, whose limits seemed to encompass the entire horizon.
Cassie couldn’t shake the creeping notion that something was waiting for her there.
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