She Lies Twisted (13 page)

I crumpled up the note and tried not to panic.

The harpies had assigned James and I to find her. What was the chance that they would also employ another summoner? I mean, she was
my
sister. There seemed to be some sick, fucked up thing with these people and watching me suffer. They'd want me to do it, wouldn't they? I realized I was pacing and paused when I heard footsteps outside my door. They were far too robust to be Grandma Willa.

“
Are you dressed, Neil?” It was James. I rushed to the door and flipped the lock before he could reach the landing at the top of the stairs. Some part of me was ashamed, at my collection, at the book covers on the wall, at the pictures of Boyd strewn across the floor like a second area rug. Jessica had reinforced my insecurities with her looks of disapproval and the way she pinched her lips in displeasure. She'd done that before but now that she was back and my heart was in her hand, it hurt more than ever. I couldn't handle anymore rejection. Besides, it smelt like decay in my room. I was going to have to find the crow in my backpack and get rid of it.

“
Uh, no,” I lied, bending down and retrieving a red hoodie from the floor. “But I'll be out in a minute.” I threw on a pair of black jeans and Abe's old combats boots before drumming up some courage and unzipping my bag. I grimaced as I removed the plastic bag. The book with my brother's notes fell out of the front pocket and crashed to the floor with a fluttering of pages.

“
Life is what you make of it.”

I stared at the page for a long while before snapping it shut and tucking it into the purse where I'd stored the harp. It hadn't been much of a good luck charm so far but I felt like nothing of Abe's could ever be bad. If there was even the slightest chance it might help me find Jessica before someone else did, I was taking it. I even took the pocketknife from my bedside table and stuffed it in the back of my jeans before heading downstairs.

James wrinkled his nose as I walked by and followed me to the outside garbage can.

“
What's that smell?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face. I ignored him and went back inside for the keys. When he saw what was in my hand, his face blanched. I squeezed my fist closed.

“
You don't have to go with me,” I said. “But I have to go find Jessica.”

“
What about our assignment?” James asked, removing a sheet of paper from his pocket. An address was scribbled in barely legible handwriting. I paused. If Jessica really was this rogue spirit, maybe I could use our assignment to find her. As it stood, I hadn't even the slightest clue of where to start looking. I bit my lip.

“
Okay,” I said. Maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. The analogy came with another wave of the smell and I almost threw up again.

“
The one question is,” James asked, his face as wrinkled with displeasure as mine. “Do we have to drive?”

Expecting to find a demon wasn't much different from not expecting to find one. It was scary as hell either way. I paused at the edge of the of the parking lot and watched a streak of white shimmer past the front gate and into one of the warehouses. I kept my eyes peeled for Jessica. James' head was down and if I wasn't mistaken, I didn't think he was breathing. Knowing we were technically dead and seeing proof of that were totally different things. I was starting to sweat, too, my fingers rubbing up and down the neck of the harp for comfort. James' anxiety was starting to wear off on me.

From the moment his hand had touched the door handle to the moment he stepped out on the gravel and used his foot to close the door behind him, James' face was even whiter than usual. The whole ride, he had gripped the edges of his seat with corpse stiff fingers and babbled. Whenever he got nervous, he started talking a lot. I had noticed it was one of his self defense mechanisms. Boyd had been the opposite. He had always gone quiet, like deathly silent. I'd been hard pressed to get an uh huh or a yeah out of him when he was like that.

“
Are you gonna be okay?” I asked as we crunched across the wet ground towards the fading green of the warehouse. James gave me a thumbs up but didn't speak. I was actually sort of glad, he kind of looked like he needed to throw up. I felt bad but it wasn't really possible to walk out to this part of town. It was a remote packing district on the north side, sandwiched between two major highways and tucked behind a meat packing plant. I tried to smile at him for reassurance and pretend I wasn't worried about getting thrown off the premises by the employees.

I adjusted the strap of my purse and hoped there wasn't going to be a confrontation. I didn't want the harp to fall out and break. Just the thought of something bad happening to it made me sick to my stomach. Despite the fact that I was even less sure of what was going on now than I had been before, I was almost grateful to the harpies. The instrument was starting to feel like a piece of my soul. It was strange and wonderful all at once. My brother, Abe, had always said that one song could change the world. I guess he was right.

James and I paused in the massive doorway, our eyes adjusting to the change from the bright, gray morning light to the pale, flickering of the overhead florescent bulbs. It only took us a moment to spot it. I glanced over at James.

As soon as I saw his face, I knew something was wrong. He was watching the demon with wide eyes and quivering lips. It looked nothing like the other demons we'd seen but then again, none of them had really looked alike.

“
Are you okay?” I asked. He didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. Suddenly, he was falling and I was struggling with my arms under his. “James?” I asked, desperately trying to get a response. He was starting to freak me out.

“
It's her,” he said. It didn't take me long to figure out who he was talking about. Sydney. His dead friend. I recognized the pain in his eyes and the weakness in his limbs. That's how I'd felt when I'd seen Boyd. Lost. James was lost. I lowered him to the floor gently.

“
Why?” He asked, his voice no more than a whisper. I didn't respond. I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
Because the universe is cruel. Because you told me yourself that if we don't see the one that started this
then we won't know why we're still here.
I sat on the floor with him for a moment, holding his hand and wishing we were invisible. The demon hadn't noticed us yet but if I'd learned anything by being around the others, it was that they were pissed. I glanced up and watched the white blur shimmer up and down the aisles like it was pacing.
Does she know who he is?

Sydney paused and I was finally able to get a better look at her. She was actually quite pretty, for a demon. Her fur was like virgin snow, untouched and perfect, and it fell from her lithe body in curling waves, like the branches of a willow tree. Her black eyes locked onto mine and for a moment, I thought I saw her there, deep down. There was a girl with strength and poise and inner beauty that never died. My heart jumped into my throat and I knew without a doubt why James had loved her.

“
I tried,” he whispered, grasping onto the edge of my sweater with cold hands. “I tried to keep her here. I've followed her and I've them at bay. Why now? Why?” I pushed him away and stared down at him in horror. Sydney didn't deserve to be a demon. I didn't know much about this new world I was now a part of but I knew that. I had seen Boyd and the sandman and the red dog. They were angry and they didn't deserve to be. Death was supposed to be their time of rest. I shoved James from my lap and stood up.

Sydney was watching me carefully, her brown antlers lowered in anticipation of a fight. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. This was going to be quick and easy. The stitches in my belly itched and I vowed that I wouldn't be getting anymore. I approached her carefully, my eyes tracking her dancing hooves and her dark hair tangling in her antlers like kelp as she danced between stacks of boxes. All I had to do was touch her, once. I swallowed my fear and pushed forward.

She continued to prance, the long mane of her tail swishing back and forth like a cat's, until I had closed the gap between us and was standing within arm's length. Something inside of her must of recognized something inside of me because she lowered her head and paused, almost like she was surrendering to something bigger. I was shocked, to say the least. I had been expecting a fight, almost wanting one. Fights made more than just limbs ache. They took the mind away from the troubles that plagued it. A fight would've been welcome. My stitches twinged. Okay, almost welcome.

I reached my hand forward, not wanting to take any chances. She looked like a deer, maybe she was just acting like one, lowering her head for the charge. Fingers that were so pale they barely looked like they belonged to me anymore brushed against the feather white tips of her hair. I heard the scrape of sneakers on pavement and then I was falling.

My head slammed into the cement floor while roses of pain blossomed behind my eyes.

“
Stop!” James screamed, the heavy weight of him draped across my weary shoulders like a shawl. “Don't, god, Neil, don't!”

“
What the fuck are you doing?” I screeched. The pain was bad enough but I could only imagine what it would feel like to have one of those hooves against my temple. I sat up too quickly and found myself collapsing against James' shoulder. He grasped me by my upper arms and locked his gaze to mine. There was desperation there, and fear. I recognized both because I felt them myself.
Is this what I'm going to be like,
when the time comes? Oh god, Boyd, I hope I can do it.

He pulled me forward and tried to hold me against his chest. I wasn't ready for that kind of comfort, especially not after what he'd just done.

I looked around and tried to get a target on Sydney. She was gone.

“
What the fuck were you thinking?” I snarled, throwing James' hand off of my shoulder. “You could've gotten me killed!” James shook his head.

“
We can't die,” he said, pointing at the dark X's across his throat. It was then that I realized that they were probably self inflicted.
Boyd's throat lies open like the Grand Canyon, wide and gaping.
I shook my head to clear it. Stars flickered in my vision and faded slowly, leaving splotches of blindness.

“
Why?” My question was quiet but pointed. James pretended not to hear me and tried to stand up. I grabbed the hem of his sweatshirt. He looked away and didn't answer. I let him help me up because I had no other choice. Standing alone was not an option yet. I reached my hand up to my forehead and felt along the edge of my hairline. There wasn't a lump as I'd expected but there was a small row of tight, neat, little stitches. I growled low in my throat. James startled as if I'd struck him. “Where is she?” I asked. James shook his head.

“
I don't know,” he said and then answered honestly with, “I've helped her escape but I've never been able to communicate with her.” I picked up my pace so that I wasn't next to him. If I had been, I might've punched him.
You have no right, you're just as selfish.
I ignored my nagging subconscious and stormed across the gravel, sending pebbles spraying across the parking lot like bullets.

“
Please, don't be angry, Tatum.” I froze where I was standing and tried not to grit my teeth when I spoke.

“
Don't you dare call me Tatum,” I snapped, my anger at what he'd done seeping out through my pores. “My name is Neil.” I continued walking. James caught up to me but didn't speak. I justified the pain in my head by matching it with the pain I saw in his eyes at the sight of the Seville.

We both climbed in and sat there in silence for several moments before I started the car. Light, autumn rain began to sprinkle across the roof in waves.

“
I'm sorry,” James said. He didn't elaborate and that was fine, we both knew what he was talking about.

“
Don't be,” I responded coldly. I was overreacting. I probably would've done the same but still, when I thought of Sydney and that determination and that strength, I was mad. James was keeping her here for him, not her. I stepped on the pedal and drove it the floor. We peeled out of the parking lot and took to the highway like we were in a hurry. The fact that we hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jessica was starting to catch up with me. My dead sister had come back to life and I had no idea where she was or if she were safe. I had to find her.

“
Where are you going?” James asked as I took an unfamiliar exit. The harp was singing to me from inside the purse and if I wasn't mistaken, if I wasn't just hearing what I wanted to hear, it was telling me to find her. I just had no idea where to look.