Black Spring
Page 58
Lucifer’s goons drifted back up the stairs. I was underground, in the dark, and alone. But I didn’t have to stay here. I knew that as soon as I put my hands on the bars. There was no magic binding me, nothing to stop me from blasting the doors off and fighting my way out of the house.
Except that I would be leaving the others behind, who would no doubt pay a terrible price for my actions. I realized that I had essentially left my family and friends as hostages, and that Lucifer’s plot to get us all under one roof would make his plans—whatever it was he had in mind—much, much easier.
I really wished Daharan were here. He would never have allowed it to come to this.
“I see that your sins have finally come home to roost,” a voice slurred from the darkness.
I peered across the hallway, trying to make out the shadow hidden in the cell opposite mine.
“Who is it?” I said. “Come into the light.”
The figure moved from the back corner of the cell, shuffling slowly. For a strange moment I thought that it was a zombie, or some other kind of monster imprisoned by Lucifer. Then the person’s face emerged into the flickering light of the torch. The face had obviously been hit multiple times, but I still recognized it.
It was Jack Dabrowski, and I had only one thing to say to him.
“You are a moron,” I said.
He shook his head, though it was obviously painful. “How could I pass up the wedding of Lucifer? Everyone online was talking about it.”
“You could have passed it up by using your brain,” I said harshly. “I warned you over and over again that it was dangerous to investigate things you don’t understand. You’re lucky Lucifer hasn’t killed you already.”
“He didn’t kill me because I told him I was a friend of yours,” he said.
“And as you can see I’m in the cell across from you,” I said. “Not your best move. And we’re not friends. Last time we met you were a little annoyed with me because I’d locked you in the storage area in my basement.”
“Which was significantly more comfortable than Lucifer’s accommodations, by the way. But I thought that saying I was with you was a safe bet. Everything I’ve read has indicated that Lucifer lets you do whatever you want because you’re his favorite. What are you doing in the oubliette with me, anyway?” Jack asked.
“Just how much of my life is discussed on the Internet?” I asked, avoiding his question.
“More than you think,” Jack said. “Even the average nonmagical person would probably be shocked to see what comes up if they Google their own name. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t answer me. I can see the blood on your clothes, so I bet there’s a body involved.”
“What an investigator you are,” I said. “You should have won a Pulitzer for your reporting by now.”
“No need to be snide,” Jack said. “The way I look at it, we’re in the same boat. We should help each other.”
“We are not in the same boat,” I said. “I can leave this cell anytime I want to. You can’t.”
“You can get out?” he asked.
In demonstration I waved my hand in front of the door. The lock turned under my will and the door swung open.
Jack clutched the bars eagerly. “Let me out, will you? I snuck into the house. I could probably sneak out again.”
I shook my head, pulling the door shut again, although I did not lock it. “You’ll never make it out of the mansion. Lucifer’s got servants everywhere, and he’s going to be on alert now that . . .”
I trailed off, not wanting Jack to know about Evangeline.
“Now that what?” he said. “You might as well tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”
“Then you can ferret it out. I’m not your source,” I said.
“Why are you always so hostile to me?” Jack said. “I could help you. I came to you from the start to help you.”
“I think you’re mixing up ‘help’ with unwanted publicity,” I said. “I don’t want my business published. I want my privacy.”
“Did you ever think that if more people knew about you and what you did, then you would be protected?” Jack said.
“Protected from what?”
“From stuff like this,” Jack said. “The more famous you are, the harder it becomes for someone like Lucifer to make you disappear. People would care. They would look for you.”
“And they would find nothing,” I said. “Even now, even when you’ve been beaten up and imprisoned, you still don’t get it. Lucifer didn’t have to do it this way. If you’re alive and I’m alive, it’s because he wants us to be, because it serves his purpose. He’s not showing you mercy. In fact, if he had been in a bad mood when he found you, then you would be nothing but vapor right now.”
“You mean he wasn’t in a bad mood when he ordered his goons to beat the crap out of me?” Jack said. “I think my arm might be broken. It hurts like hell.”
Now that he mentioned it, I could see that his left arm hung at a strange angle.
“Oh, yeah, that’s broken,” I said. “Now, that, I can fix. I think.”
I pushed the door of the cell open again and crossed to the bars of Jack’s enclosure. I hesitated for a moment. I knew the healing spell by heart, but I had never tried to use it on an ordinary human before.
Except that I would be leaving the others behind, who would no doubt pay a terrible price for my actions. I realized that I had essentially left my family and friends as hostages, and that Lucifer’s plot to get us all under one roof would make his plans—whatever it was he had in mind—much, much easier.
I really wished Daharan were here. He would never have allowed it to come to this.
“I see that your sins have finally come home to roost,” a voice slurred from the darkness.
I peered across the hallway, trying to make out the shadow hidden in the cell opposite mine.
“Who is it?” I said. “Come into the light.”
The figure moved from the back corner of the cell, shuffling slowly. For a strange moment I thought that it was a zombie, or some other kind of monster imprisoned by Lucifer. Then the person’s face emerged into the flickering light of the torch. The face had obviously been hit multiple times, but I still recognized it.
It was Jack Dabrowski, and I had only one thing to say to him.
“You are a moron,” I said.
He shook his head, though it was obviously painful. “How could I pass up the wedding of Lucifer? Everyone online was talking about it.”
“You could have passed it up by using your brain,” I said harshly. “I warned you over and over again that it was dangerous to investigate things you don’t understand. You’re lucky Lucifer hasn’t killed you already.”
“He didn’t kill me because I told him I was a friend of yours,” he said.
“And as you can see I’m in the cell across from you,” I said. “Not your best move. And we’re not friends. Last time we met you were a little annoyed with me because I’d locked you in the storage area in my basement.”
“Which was significantly more comfortable than Lucifer’s accommodations, by the way. But I thought that saying I was with you was a safe bet. Everything I’ve read has indicated that Lucifer lets you do whatever you want because you’re his favorite. What are you doing in the oubliette with me, anyway?” Jack asked.
“Just how much of my life is discussed on the Internet?” I asked, avoiding his question.
“More than you think,” Jack said. “Even the average nonmagical person would probably be shocked to see what comes up if they Google their own name. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t answer me. I can see the blood on your clothes, so I bet there’s a body involved.”
“What an investigator you are,” I said. “You should have won a Pulitzer for your reporting by now.”
“No need to be snide,” Jack said. “The way I look at it, we’re in the same boat. We should help each other.”
“We are not in the same boat,” I said. “I can leave this cell anytime I want to. You can’t.”
“You can get out?” he asked.
In demonstration I waved my hand in front of the door. The lock turned under my will and the door swung open.
Jack clutched the bars eagerly. “Let me out, will you? I snuck into the house. I could probably sneak out again.”
I shook my head, pulling the door shut again, although I did not lock it. “You’ll never make it out of the mansion. Lucifer’s got servants everywhere, and he’s going to be on alert now that . . .”
I trailed off, not wanting Jack to know about Evangeline.
“Now that what?” he said. “You might as well tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”
“Then you can ferret it out. I’m not your source,” I said.
“Why are you always so hostile to me?” Jack said. “I could help you. I came to you from the start to help you.”
“I think you’re mixing up ‘help’ with unwanted publicity,” I said. “I don’t want my business published. I want my privacy.”
“Did you ever think that if more people knew about you and what you did, then you would be protected?” Jack said.
“Protected from what?”
“From stuff like this,” Jack said. “The more famous you are, the harder it becomes for someone like Lucifer to make you disappear. People would care. They would look for you.”
“And they would find nothing,” I said. “Even now, even when you’ve been beaten up and imprisoned, you still don’t get it. Lucifer didn’t have to do it this way. If you’re alive and I’m alive, it’s because he wants us to be, because it serves his purpose. He’s not showing you mercy. In fact, if he had been in a bad mood when he found you, then you would be nothing but vapor right now.”
“You mean he wasn’t in a bad mood when he ordered his goons to beat the crap out of me?” Jack said. “I think my arm might be broken. It hurts like hell.”
Now that he mentioned it, I could see that his left arm hung at a strange angle.
“Oh, yeah, that’s broken,” I said. “Now, that, I can fix. I think.”
I pushed the door of the cell open again and crossed to the bars of Jack’s enclosure. I hesitated for a moment. I knew the healing spell by heart, but I had never tried to use it on an ordinary human before.
