Fates' Folly (28 page)

"Why doesn't Riley just go after him with the
sword?" I asked Barty.

"He doesn't want to kill him."

"It seems silly that Sebastian would even
think his little knife would be a match to Riley's sword."

"Sebastian is using a Kerambit. Though, it's
a great deal smaller than the Sword of Peleus that Riley is
wielding, the handle fits across the inside of the palm, with the
blade pointing down instead of up, like a traditional dagger. This,
combined with the curved blade and double edge, gets you a weapon
that can be wielded quickly, with a wide range of motion, enabling
Sebastian to make multiple strikes, cutting tendons and nerves
within the time it takes Riley to make one move.”

"Yeah, but all Riley has to do is lop off
Sebastian's head. Whoosh, one swing and it's over."

Barty shook his head. "Only if Sebastian
stands in one place long enough. He may have spent the last five
hundred years as a scholar, but he is first a soldier. His training
became instinctual over a thousand years ago. Even kneeling at
death's feet as he seems to be, he is a deadly opponent.”

"Should we be worried? Should we do
something?"

Barty smiled. "Riley will be fine. Cut
tendons and nerve damage is tedious and painful to heal, but Riley
won't let it get far enough to do himself any real damage. Right
now he's having fun. Sebastian knows he can't kill Riley, but he
wants to try his hand at it anyway. We all have at one time or
another."

"You want to kill Riley?"

"Well no, not really. I consider him a
friend, but I can't help wanting to know if I could."

"When I first met you, Riley said you were
better at fighting than he was. You agreed."

"He said I was better at training. But don't
worry, one day we'll find out."

I covered my head as one of my Goodwill lamps
shot towards me. Barty deflected it from hitting me, and it
careened into my TV. Oh well, they were bought together, I guess it
was only fitting that they bite the dust together too.

I turned my attention back to the fight just
as Riley brought his fist, along with the hilt of his sword, into
Sebastian's throat. Sebastian went down. Riley, crushing
Sebastian's hand and knife under his boot, placed the tip of the
Sword of Peleus at Sebastian's throat. "Give it up Sebastian. Even
if you weren't sick and weak, you could not best me."

A smile spread across Sebastian's blood caked
face. "Once I have Myra's soul-"

"There will be no having Myra's soul. She's
immortal you idiot," Riley growled.

Sebastian took his eyes off Riley to glare at
me.

"Give it up. Let me take you to Hades. I know
you recognize the Sword of Peleus, don't make me destroy you."

"I don't know… final death may be
interesting. You kill me, my soul will be released, travel to
Hades, and I can offer up Myra as a bargaining chip," Sebastian
said to Riley, while still glaring at me.

Riley looked at me, "Myra?"

"Oh. Did no one tell you? She offered herself
to me if I let the old lady go," Sebastian snickered. "And I guess-
since she’s immortal now-when I grabbed her arm to shift, her
agreement became binding.” He laughed, “Again the Fates shined
their approval down on me, gifting me, sweet, sweet Myra. She
doesn't seem like the sacrificial type, does she?"

"Myra, did you promise to aid Sebastian?"
Riley asked.

"Damn it, I need a cake roll," I whined.

"Myra?" Riley asked again.

"Yes." I continued to whine, "It was the
blood and the whole Peter saying he'd put Mrs. Crowell back
together again. All I could think of was Humpty Dumpty, cracked and
leaking all over the floor. And besides, I'd never find a better
apartment."

"Idiocy at its finest," Barty said.

"Myra is unimportant to Hades, she would be
no bargaining chip. You would do better to come with me. Maybe I
could persuade Hades to help you," Riley said.

Sebastian wrinkled his brow like he was
thinking hard on Riley's offer. It was a wasted effort though,
considering the condition his face was in, not to mention he was
still lying on the floor with Riley's sword at his throat. "I don't
think so. You see, I don't believe anything can persuade Hades. I
didn't mean use Myra for bargaining with our dark master, I was
thinking more of a tool to ease whatever punishment is in store for
me. You have to admit, she would be quite the treat for some of the
daemons, or the tortured souls of the damned. Mmmm, all that sweet
flesh!"

"Asshole," I said, trying not to be
scared.

"What do you want?" Riley asked, his voice
flat, lifeless.

"I want you to let me go."

Riley stepped back, the sword vanishing and
his arms folding across his chest as he did so.

Sebastian stood, leaving his broken knife on
the floor. "Myra, my sweet, get me something to clean my face
with."

I was in the bathroom rinsing a washcloth
with hot water before I realized what he had done. I wiped the
tears from my face before I walked back into the living room,
handing Sebastian the wet cloth.

Sebastian smiled. "Be a dear, and clean me
up," he said.

I slapped the cloth onto his face and began
using it to scour his cuts. Sebastian grabbed my wrist, stopping
me. "Be gentle," he said.

My hand slowed, my touch softened. "Bastard,"
I said, through clenched teeth.

Sebastian chuckled. "That's enough."

I stepped back, feeling Riley move to my
side. I immediately felt more like myself and gave Sebastian a
small rebellious smile. His face was nowhere near being clean. If
anything, with dirt and blood smeared over his swollen cheek and
forehead, he looked worse.

Riley moved so his arm brushed against me.
"Would you promise that no permanent harm will come to her,
Sebastian?"

"Why such concern, Caisus? So unlike you. Do
you love her?"

"Yes," Riley said.

I wasn't sure who gasped louder, me or Barty.
I didn't look over at Barty though, my chest had tightened almost
painfully at Riley's words. He loved me? How could he love me? Had
anyone ever said that they loved me?

Sebastian smiled. "Time to go, Myra," he
said, holding his hand out again.

My mama had told me she loved me, but only
when she was drunk and I was walking her to bed or holding her head
when she was sick. How could he love me?

"Myra," Sebastian said, crooking his finger.
"Now."

I had no choice. I had to step toward him and
away from Riley.

"Promise me, Sebastian," I heard Riley say,
as Sebastian grabbed my hand, jerking me into him just before we
began the molecule dance to wherever he was taking me.

I was doubled over, my eyes squeezed shut
and my chest tight with a held breath while tiny needles of pain
made their way through my abdomen. I exhaled and, though I still
felt a twinge of discomfort, opened my eyes and tried to calmly
assess where the hell Sebastian had shifted me to.

I was standing on a pitted and cracked
concrete floor. A single, dull light bulb screwed into a plastic
socket hung from frayed wires, swaying slightly above my head. It
showed glimpses of gray cinder block walls and not much else. The
air was heavy with the smells of rotten food and body odor
competing for dominance. I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead
and tried not to gag.

I was just tall enough, on tip toes, to tap
the light bulb into a full swing. It showed more cinder block
walls, dark empty corners and a heavily boarded up door to the left
of me. I tapped the bulb again and turned to my right- a torn and
stained twin mattress was set against the middle of the wall, dirty
clothing bundled into a makeshift pillow at one end. Remnants of
fast food wrappers, liquor bottles and plastic shopping bags were
piled in the corner to the left of the bed. To the right, Sebastian
was bent over, facing away from me, his hands grasping the wall
while he quietly heaved his guts onto the floor.

I had the strongest urge to kick his legs out
from underneath him and watch him collapse to the ground.

"You shouldn't have shifted, as sick as you
are," I said. "You should crawl into some dark hole so you can die,
miserable and alone."

Sebastian turned, leaning into the wall. He
wiped the back of his hand over his mouth and choked out a laugh.
"What are we standing in, if not a dark hole, and though I am not
alone, your wish for me to feel miserable has definitely been
granted.”

"Poor baby," I replied sarcastically, trying
to hold onto my anger.

"I cannot possibly fathom why Bartholomew
dislikes you," he remarked, sitting down on the mattress with his
back against the wall and his legs crossed at his ankles. "Sit
down. You're making-"

My knees bent without warning, sending my
butt down hard onto the concrete floor.

Sebastian made a sound of disgust.
"Subservient just isn't in you, is it?"

"What do you want from me?" I snarled, having
no problem feeling more angry than afraid as spasms of pain shot
from my tail bone, up my back.

"I certainly don't want a graceless puppet!"
he snarled back. "What is the point in kidnapping you when you'll
do everything I say?" He waved his hand at me. "You are released
from your promise."

That was surprising.

Standing up, I tested his hold. "What do you
want with me? You can’t take my soul anymore."

"Your company, as I take my last breath?"

I didn’t believe him, but I didn’t think he
would answer truthfully if I asked again so instead I asked, "Why
did you go to so much trouble tying up and threatening Mrs.
Crowell?"

Sebastian smiled. "Oh, I don't know, to have
a bit of fun. I needed to do something to alleviate the
boredom."

"Is that why I'm here? To help alleviate the
boredom?" I asked, imagining ways I could wipe the smug smile off
his face.

He raised an eyebrow. "Possibly. What do you
have to offer as a distraction?" he asked, his voice suddenly
melodic and husky.

His words sent a shiver of fear that worked
its way through my anger. Before he could see my reaction, I
started to pace a square in the middle of the room. Unfortunately,
it didn't take much to make me feel like the terrified girl I often
was when growing up- hiding in my closet, knowing my mother had
passed out, and chanting prayers that the man she had brought home
would stop tapping on my bedroom door and join her.

I glanced at Sebastian. He didn't look like
much of a threat and certainly didn't seem to have in mind what his
suggestive words and tone of voice had hinted at. He was playing
with me, like the phone call, the note at school and the creepy
scene in the school parking lot. He didn't shift into the school or
the car because he enjoyed the thought of scaring me, and scared is
what I was. Even as weak and sick as he looked sitting in front of
me, he still had me trembling in fear, but hiding in my closet when
I was a kid hadn’t helped me and neither would acting the victim in
Sebastian's games.

I stopped pacing and stood directly in front
of him. "What do you want with me?"

Sebastian laughed. "Now see. This is much
better, you're so afraid your hands are shaking, yet you're doing
your best to make me think you're not. If I had kept you to your
agreement, I would have been tempted to pacify you. No, this is
better, much more fun. Try again to act brave, but hide your hands
this time, and I'll pretend to believe you."

Crazy jackass.

I folded my arms across my chest. "I'm not
trying to act brave. Honestly, you scare the hell out of me. Your
creepy psychotic smile and little beady demonic eyes only remind me
of the pain and terror you caused me when you stole my soul." I
sucked in and let out a deep breath. "But I had how-to-take-a-punch
training with Barty today, and I've just shifted twice within ten
minutes. I'm really tired, feel like crap and would just like you
to stop with the bullshit and tell me why I'm here." He didn't
comment, so I went on, "And, while you're at it, you can tell me
why Hades messed with the Goddess Greek Yogurt flavors, made a soft
porn exercise video with subliminal messages, and had you working
at a nursing home. Who wiped everyone's memories? And most
importantly, what the hell happened to Joshua Collins?"

For several minutes he didn't say anything,
just stared off into space. I started pacing again and began
thinking of possible ways to get through the boarded up door.

"I snagged the old lady in hopes of luring
you downstairs, away from Riley. I’m too weak, my ability to shift
unreliable. I didn’t want to waste the energy trying to grab you
and fail because Riley got in the way.” He sighed. “Not that my
plans seemed to make much difference in that regard."

I stopped pacing. He sounded bored, speaking
matter-of-factly in a calm, even-tempered voice. I said a silent
plea to The Fates that this more cooperative version of Sebastian
would continue and, hoping I wouldn't catch a flesh eating
bacteria, sat down on my butt two feet in front of him, to
listen.

"I planned to kidnap you, steal your soul and
restore my power. I hadn't worked out the details yet, but a cross
country killing spree, collecting and consuming souls in the
process, was a definite. Within a few weeks, I would have obtained
enough souls and subsequent power to have taken on any of the gods.
Hades and Zeus would have been paltry adversaries, and then, with
their power, none of the gods could have stood in my way."

He was insane, and my hands were still
trembling, but apparently I was more curious than afraid because I
couldn't stop myself from asking, "What is a soul? How does it
equate power? And how were your able to take mine?"

He leaned over, and in a panic, I started to
scramble back, away from him, toward the boarded up door.