Stories From the Shadowlands (22 page)

Amy frowned. “Well, now you’re fucked, Jim. And not in a fun way. Niko!”

The sliding door to the balcony opened, and a massive guy lumbered into the room. He had full sleeve tattoos, demons and angels and girls with huge—“I told you he wouldn’t go down easy. You overestimate your charms,” he rumbled.

Amy stuck her tongue out at him. “He’s just a panicked kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” Jim mumbled, fighting the alcohol oozing through his veins. He could have sworn he left childhood behind years ago.

Niko chuckled, revealing a row of gold teeth, each with a diamond pressed into the center, beautiful and hideous at the same time. “Jim, take another drink. Snort some of that powder you’re clutching in your fist. Relax. Because your chances of staying out of this have just faded to zero.”

Which was when the elevator door slid open, and Bomani stepped into the room.

Chapter Four

Bomani’s dark irises floated in the white sea of his eyeballs as he took in the scene. Jim sat frozen in place, one hand clutching a bag full of white powder, the other latched on to the neck of the tequila bottle. Amy’s hands were curled over his shoulders, and Rebecca had edged closer, so now she was on her knees between his legs.

Bomani’s hand traveled slowly to his baton as his brows lowered into a fierce scowl. In his other hand, he held a crumpled piece of paper. Rebecca’s address. It must have fallen from Jim’s pocket as he made his escape from the Station. And now he was busted. He opened his suddenly cotton-dry mouth to try to make some excuse, but Amy beat him to the punch.

“Hello there,” she said in a seductive purr. “Want to join us?”

Bomani grimaced, and his eyes landed on Jim. “Young brother, get up and come with me. You shouldn’t be here.”

Rebecca’s hands slid over Jim’s thighs, causing his toes to curl even as his heart slammed desperately against the wall of his chest. “He’s exactly where he should be.”

The older Guard strode further into the room, his expression hardening. “You know nothing about where he should be. You only want things from him.”

Amy’s fingers stroked down Jim’s face. “You want things from him, too. The only difference is that we’ll make him feel good. We can give him what he wants.”

Bomani winced with disgust. “But you can’t give him what he
needs
. Jim, get up. Get up now and come with me.”

From behind Jim came the soft hiss of a blade leaving a sheath. Niko. Jim abruptly got to his feet.

Bomani gave Jim a small, hopeful smile. He offered his hand, like one might do for a small child. “Yes, that’s it. Come.” He took a step backward toward the now-closed elevator door, his gaze darting over to where Niko stood holding a glinting, curved blade in his hand.

Rebecca sat back on her knees, her hands still skimming up and down Jim’s thighs, a contemptuous smirk on her face. “And if he does, what are you going to do with him? You’re going to make sure he gets punished, aren’t you?”

Jim and Bomani locked eyes, and that was all it took to confirm Jim’s fears. “You’re going to tell the Captain.”

“It is for your own good. You need help.”

“I don’t need your help, Bomani. I need you to leave me alone. I’m not on duty right now, and neither are you.”

Bomani’s mouth tightened. “My duty to you does not come in shifts.”

Jim tossed the baggy and the bottle onto the couch. The tequila splashed over the cushions, which immediately transformed from silky-perfect to stained and tattered. Jim rubbed his eyes until his vision righted itself. “So don’t get me in trouble. That’s the last thing I need.”

Bomani shook his head. “This is not about getting you in trouble. I’m trying to help you.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Jim snapped.

“You didn’t have to. Your need is written all over you. I’ve been through this, young brother. I know how it goes. You must listen to me.”

“Why should he listen to you?” challenged Niko, absently waving his knife in front of him. “You don’t have any authority here, Guard. No one’s hurting anyone. Yet.”

Bomani drew himself up. “I did not come here to stop you from engaging in your pathetic vices.”

“Then leave.” Amy stalked around the couch, her willowy form wavering as she crossed a patch of white-bright sunlight lasering through the window, revealing the knobby bumps of her spine, the skeletal ridges of her ribs, and mottled flesh stretched tightly across the sharp bones of her face. But as soon as she stepped out of the beam of light, she was back to normal. Beautiful.

But that wasn’t the way Bomani was looking at her. He drew his baton. “I will not leave without my fellow Guard.” His dark eyes met Jim’s once again, and his voice softened. “You must come with me, Jim. We can talk back at the Station.”

Jim saw right through the nice act. “With the Captain, am I right? Did you get the Quiet Chamber prepped and ready before you left?” The sickly ooze of frustration dripped through his veins, crystallizing as soon as it reached his brain. Bomani was such a freaking tattle. He thought he knew what was best for everyone. He treated Jim like a stupid child. “You have no idea how that place feels to me. I’m not going in there again. It does nothing for me except hurt.”

If he went with Bomani, he’d be locked up in the Quiet Chamber for ages. Probably long enough to go crazy, long enough to claw his own eyes out and peel his skin off just to try to escape from the silence. The pain would be terrible, unbearable. He couldn’t withstand it. He would lose himself. But how could he defy Bomani, a senior Guard? He’d never be able to hide this. As soon as Bomani had stepped into the room, Jim’s chances of keeping this from the Captain had melted away.

“You are wrong, Jim. About many things.” Bomani’s fingers stretched behind him, groping for the elevator button while he kept his eyes on Niko and Amy. “And you will come with me now, or I will force you to.”

The knife zinged across the room, burying itself in Bomani’s shoulder. Niko smiled at the agonized gasp that came from Bomani as the Guard staggered back against the wall.

Rebecca jumped to her feet and put her arm around Jim’s waist. “Don’t worry, baby. We won’t let him get you in trouble.”

“But—” This was wrong. All of it was wrong. Jim’s thoughts whirred, trying to map his escape route, but every path was blocked. Niko had just crossed a major line—he’d attacked a Guard. Once the rest of them heard about this, there would be a platoon at Niko’s door, and as big as he was, he was dwarfed by the inhuman Guards. He had to know that. Was Niko willing to die—again? That was something most residents of the city avoided at all costs, because it meant they had to leave all their collected possessions for others to claim. When you died and came through the Thieves’ Gates again, you had to start over with nothing. So be it, though. Niko had made his choice. Jim drew his baton and shoved Rebecca away.

Only to be paralyzed by his thoughts a moment later. Thoughts he tried to shake off. But they were like taffy, sticking to his limbs, tying him down. If he and Bomani got out of this, the first thing that would happen is that Jim would be dumped in the Quiet Chamber. And after that… who knew. He might be confined to his room during his off hours, forbidden to go out in the city alone. Just as Jim had been granted some freedom, Bomani was poised to take it all away.

From across the room, Bomani cried out as he yanked the knife from his shoulder and drew his baton. Niko walked toward him slowly, a predatory smile on his face. “Did you think I would be afraid of you, Guard?”

“You should be,” said Bomani, pointing his baton at Niko. His jaw was iron, ridged with tension and pain. “I am not the only Guard in this room.” His eyes met Jim’s, expecting support. Jim was silent.

Deep, growling laughter rolled from Niko’s throat. “I’ll take it under advisement.” One of his enormous fists swung forward quickly, but Bomani ducked with surprising speed, spinning under the man’s outstretched arm and slamming his baton into Niko’s ribs. Niko let out a huff of surprise, then tried to grab Bomani in a headlock, but the smaller man slipped through his grasp and cracked his baton over Niko’s back, knocking him into the elevator doors. Bomani gave Jim a sidelong glance, probably wondering why Jim wasn’t rushing to his aid, but it lasted only a second before Niko’s shoulders rammed into Bomani’s chest, sending the two of them to the floor.

Jim stared as the two men grappled, frozen in place. He should be helping Bomani. That was his duty. But if he did, the next stop would be the Quiet Chamber.

No matter what he did, he was fucked.

Bomani rolled to his feet and pressed his attack, his face a mask of concentration, marred only by the agony that laced his features. His left arm was a useless deadweight at his side, and blood soaked his sleeve. As Niko lumbered up, Bomani lunged forward. But Niko caught Bomani’s baton as it sliced through the air, halting it a few inches from his face. He brought his knee up sharply, doubling Bomani over, driving all the air from his lungs.

“Hey!” shouted Jim, finally ungluing his feet. “That’s enough.” Which was a total understatement. He’d probably gotten himself in more trouble—Bomani would tell the Captain that Jim had hesitated to help, that he hadn’t done his duty. Even as he walked forward, preparing to engage Niko, he regretted it. And hated himself for regretting it. Not enough to kill the feelings of resentment toward Bomani, though.

Niko turned to Jim, looking completely relaxed. “You might want to rethink this, Jimmy. I like you. We could do a lot together. And I can get you things you want.”

Rebecca and Amy’s hands were all over him in the next second, fiddling with his belt, untucking his shirt, sliding along his bare skin. It was the first and last thing he wanted. He opened his mouth, but got stuck again, not sure whether to urge them on or tell them to stop. Dark and light, they stood on either side of him, promising to do anything he wanted, to let him do anything he wanted to them. Their sweet, heady scents curled around him. He squinted at them, trying to figure out which version of them was real, but all he saw was smooth skin and red lips and the guarantee of everything he desired. This was everything he wanted.

He hadn’t come to the Blinding City to be a Guard, after all.

He’d come to get what he wanted.

Bomani moaned as Niko kicked him in the stomach, then fell to his knees, groping for the baton Niko had tossed away. Amy took Jim’s face in her hands and pulled his gaze away from the struggling Guard. “I knew the moment I saw you. You were the one I needed.”

Jim was lost in her eyes. Somewhere deep in his brain, rebellious thoughts whispered that she’d laughed at him and called him a kid only a few minutes ago, that she only wanted to use him. But now, the way she was looking at him, he knew that couldn’t possibly be true. She thought he was the one. The one for what, he wasn’t sure, but since her fingers were now slipping beneath his waistband, he had a feeling he would like it.

“Young brother,” moaned Bomani. “Help me.”

The pain in his voice stopped Jim cold. He turned around in time to see Niko lift Bomani from the floor, holding him in a punishing grip. Blood streamed from Bomani’s shoulder wound as his arm hung limp by his side. His deep brown skin had taken on an ashen cast as he struggled to breathe.

“What are you doing?” asked Jim, finally disentangling himself from Amy and Rebecca, whose hands had turned hard and clawing.

“Taking care of your problem, Jimmy.” Niko strode across the room, dragging Bomani along. He pulled the sliding glass door open and walked onto the balcony.

“Stop,” said Jim. “Stop. We need to talk about this.”

Niko’s massive shoulders shook with his laughter. His meaty fingers curled into Bomani’s hair, and he wrenched the Guard’s neck around so that Jim could look him in the eye. “Go ahead, Guard, talk.”

“Jim,” whispered Bomani. Crimson drops fell from his lips and chin as he spoke. “You are strong enough to stop this.”

“Will you keep this a secret from the Captain?” asked Jim. “I’ll do better, I swear. But you have to keep it a secret. Promise me.”

The sorrow and hurt in Bomani’s eyes was overwhelming. “You cannot ask me to lie. That is not something you should ever ask of someone.”

“I never asked you to come here in the first place!” Jim roared. “I would have been fine if you’d minded your own business. Why did you have to come?”

“Because I care about your soul more than you do,” he said quietly.

“You don’t know me! You don’t care about me. You only care about getting out of here and keeping your record clean! You think you’re some kind of fucking saint!”

With a grunt, Niko lifted Bomani into the air. Jim took a quick step toward the sliding doors, his thoughts a mass of confusion. What the hell was Niko doing?

The sadness did not leave Bomani’s eyes. He reached out a shaking, bleeding hand to Jim. “I know you better than you know yourself. Stop this. You can. You are powerful. Help me, young brother, and then I will help you.”

Jim’s rage ignited all at once, sending the red flame of hatred coursing through his veins, turning him diamond hard, walling off his heart. “I am
not
your brother,” he said slowly. “You are
not
my family. I have no family. I never have.” The words came from him ice cold and razor sharp, every syllable a knife stab.

Bomani’s hand fell, slapping against Niko’s back, painting his shirt with crimson strokes. The pleading in the older Guard’s eyes did not fade, even as it was hazed by the fog of fear.

Even as Niko stepped forward and threw Bomani off the balcony.

Chapter Five

Bomani’s scream was barely audible over the din of the city, the clamor and yowl and purr of millions of people trying to fill their hunger. One man’s cry was nothing against that.

But in Jim’s head, it was deafening. Like the roar of a tidal wave, it rose up within him, smothering the fire of his hatred, crashing against the brittle wall he’d built to shield himself from feeling, from hurting. Before the terrified scream fell silent, Jim’s voice had joined it, one word, one hopeless, pathetic word.

“No!”

It burst from him as he hurtled toward the edge of the balcony, way too late to do anything but watch as Bomani’s dark body plummeted over a hundred stories through the blinding light. Jim’s fingers wrapped over the railing; he was falling with Bomani, breathing with him as he took his last breath, shattering as Bomani hit. Even though he could barely see it, he felt it, tearing him apart and scattering the pieces, painting the sidewalk with his blood.