The Phantom King (The Kings) (24 page)

The man’s eyes grew wider, and the stark pain of his expression deepened. “Yes!” he said, releasing the word in a half-sob. “My little boy….” Another sob escaped, and the m
an’s pain became palpable. “Oh G
od, my son. My precious son.”

“A car bomb went off,” Siobhan spoke, the voice distant and numb-sounding.
She went on, as if she had to explain the situation to Thane, who had been doing this for centuries.
“His son was trapped in the building beside it. He went in to save him and was shot in the back.”

Thane gazed at her in shock. How had she known that? How the
hell
had she known all of t
hat?

“Yes,” the man breathed, his entire body shaking with emotion. He looked at Siobhan with as much surprise as Thane must have been showing.

“He’s not here,” Siobhan said. “He hasn’t come here, which means he lived.”

Now Thane felt the wind knocked from his lungs.
What the fuck?!
There was no
way
she could know
that for certain!
He’d only begun letting the spirits in to Purgatory;
this was the first and
they were backed up by at least
three dozen
. How would she know that this man’s son wasn’t
among
them?

Unless….

I know it, don’t I?

He
did
know it
.
As the Phantom King, he knew all that was essential when it came to the Anime
. No one else possessed this inherent knowledge, only the ruler of the realm, only the sovereign of this vast and desolate kingdom.

The words Roman D’Angelo had spoken to the council of Kings when he’d told them of Lalura Chantelle’s vision now floated through Thane’s mind.
“There were thirteen kings on the chess board. And thirteen queens.”

A world of deep understanding seemed to pass from the spirit to Siobhan, a silent stream of empathy and sympathy and something intangible but more important than all of the riches in the universe. And then the man raised his hands, palm up, and
with all of the gratitude in his heart, he
said, “Thank you.”

He stepped back, and the portal that had closed behind him re-opened. It was like watching what had happened with Steven Lazarus all over again. But this time, there was no sparkling black magic surrounding the spirit, and Thane knew that he
wouldn’
t
be
returning to Earth. He was simply leaving. He would not be staying in Purgatory. There was no need.

Because of Siobhan, the understanding she’d shown him, and the reassurance she’d given him, h
e was letting go.
Because of her, a spirit was being laid to rest.

The m
an’s ghost
dissolved into the portal, and the portal closed once more. As if she’d done it a thousand times and no longer had to be warned, Siobhan placed her hands over her ears as the thunder passed through the garage.

A few seconds later, she lowered h
er hands again, but her eyes
remained
focused
on the empty space where the spirit had been.
Thane gazed down at her, his entire world tipped on its axis. He’d never seen anything more miraculous than what he’d just witnessed. He’d never seen anything so beautiful.

Can I keep you?
The words raced through his mind, a thought
– and a nearly undeniable
compulsion.

Keep you.

Finally, Siobhan blinked. Then she slowly turned to look up at him. “I don’t understand what just happened,” she said. “I mean, I know what I did. I
do
know…
deep down.” She blinked again, pressed her hand to her heart, and looked down at the floor. “But I don’t know why or how
.” Her eyes returned to his. “Thane, what’s going on?”

There were probably a hundred different things he could have said in that moment. But only one really seemed to fit.

“Do you think you could do it again?”

Siobhan’
s brown-g
old eyes glistened, their depths seeming to swirl to life with understanding. After a few seconds had passed, she nodded.
Just once.

And Thane turned to let the next spirit in.

Chapter
Sixteen

The day
had passed like an impossible dream
. She’d begun it in fear and uncertainty, deciding to go about her quotidian
existence
by tending to the ordinary tasks of gardening, cleaning, and maybe a little low-level magic to fix up a few clocks she had in a back room. She’d never imagined that before the sun set, she would come face to face with a being like the Phantom King.

And
never, not in a million years, c
ould she have forecast ever
ything that happened after that:
The revelation that Steven was an Aky
ri, the attack by
the Akyri King, on her home, the slip through the portal into Thane’s strange and lonely world, and finally the heart-rending interactions with the wronged spirits he had to deal with day in and day out.
It was game changing. It was life altering. It was actually so enormously bizarre and extraordinary, there were no words to properly describe it.

And now, a full thirty-seven spirits
later
, Siobhan leaned against Thane’s
gleaming black
Rolls Royce P
hantom
feeling
forlorn
but strangely satisfied. She was d
rained
,
but in a good way.

“
Here, d
rink this,” came a deep, wonderful voice. Siobhan looked up to find the Phantom King standing beside h
er
holding
two
ice cold bottle
s
of beer. He’d
just returned from his kitchen
and the
bottle was frosted over, the
cap
already
removed. No drink had ever looked so inviting in all of Siobhan’s life.

He held one out for her.

She took the bottle and immediately placed it to her lips.
It was so cold, so refreshing, she closed her eyes as the liquid slid past her tongue and down her throat. Smooth, delicious, invigorating. She took several long pulls, drinking deeply before finally lowering the bottle again, now half empty.

When she opened her eyes, it was to find Thane smiling down at her, his silver eyes twinkling with amusement. “
I like a girl who
can guzzle
beer
.”
Thane joined her in leaning against the car.

“A Rolls Royce Phantom,” she teased. “You do that on purpose?”

He chuckled, the sound positively delicious. She took a long drink of her beer to hide
her
blushing
reaction to his nearness and the deep, glorious treble of his voice. “
I just like the car,
”
he said, his smile broad and beautiful.

The two shared a long silence then, each of them drinking from their own bottles
, Siobhan more or less hiding behind hers
.

Finally, when she truste
d herself to talk again, she
asked, “Where do they go?”

“The Anime?” Thane asked.

She nodded.

He cocked his head to one side, considering her for a moment. “I’ll show you.”
He straightened, coming off
the car, and walked toward the garage wall. It was metal and vast, and would probably take some muscle to push to the side.

The Phantom King placed his beer on a work ben
ch against the wall to his left
and shrugged off his leather jacket. Siobhan swallowed hard and felt her belly begin to grow warm.

Holy Mary have mercy….

He was
living
perfection, every hard curve and cut edge seemingly sculpted from stone and
dyed a deep tan. Colorful and expertly rendered tattoos graced the bends and rise of his biceps, scrolling over his broad shoulders and disappearing behind the thin material of his black t-shirt.

With unnatural
grace, he tossed his jacket onto the bench beside his beer
and then grabbed the
garage’s metal
door handle with both hands. Siobhan stood there and watched, her mouth watering
and her legs turning to jelly as every muscle in his body flexed and the door began to slide open.

Oh fu-

Before she could complete the lascivious thought, a
harsh light streamed into the room
from beside him
, robbing her of her incredible view and blinding her on the spot. She raised her hand in front of her face and blinke
d into the swirling dust motes that surrounded her. Across the room, the screeching of metal against pavement finally came to a stop and was followed by the sound of boots
coming her way
.

Siobhan squinted, lowering her arm
. A shadow moved in front of her, filling her vision, and she found herself looking into Thane’s eyes
so close it
stole her breath
.
He
could kiss her right now
. Just a few more inches….
She
caught his scent
; lea
ther and soap and something like engine oil or grease
.

Her stomach was warm again, filled with moths and indecision. He smiled
, showing her
those white teeth with fangs that were just waiting to
lengthen
, and turned slightly to gesture
tow
ard the ultra-bright doorway he’d opened across the garage
.

The tattoos he sported
seemed
more vibrant
now than they had before
. And…
was it her imagination, or had they
changed
?