Revenant (The Midnight Society #3) (26 page)

“Beau? Fucking stay with me.”

“Fuck…wasted so many words…” I watched as he slowly leaned back over the railing of the bridge.

“Beau!”

“Name’s not Beau…” he gasped. “Stop calling me that…”

And then he disappeared over the edge.

I rushed to the rail and looked down to see where he had fallen.

I saw nothing but the blackness.

He was gone, swallowed up by Moral City’s dark waters.

Aria was still out there. She was my woman to protect and if I have to walk straight into hell to find her, so be it. The devil will never see me coming.

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Epilogue One:

Lincoln

The second I opened my eyes, I wished I had stayed asleep.

Shit, I never knew it could hurt so much just to breath.

I lay in the bed, closed my eyes again and let out a deep, silent breath. I imagined pushing out all of the pain that went with being alive at the moment.

It was Braydon’s rough voice that interrupted my few seconds of peace. “You awake?” He was chewing on an apple—loudly.

I turned my head and looked at him. His own body was a patchwork of bandages and strong smelling ointments.

“Yes,” I strained to say.

“Good,” he said. “That witch doctor there patched you up real good. Thought there was a chance you might have passed on throughout the night.”

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Sleeping,” Braydon replied. “We’re taking shifts monitoring you.”

“You’re watching me sleep?” I asked.

Braydon laughed. “Yeah, we’re watching you sleep.”

I smiled. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“You’re not my type. Hell, even if you were, I’d break you before you even saw it coming.”

Well that was an unpleasant image.

“Shadow back?”

Braydon nodded. “Yeah. Beau’s dead. Can you believe I’m actually a little sad that the bugger is gone? I guess after believing him to be family for years, there’s some subconscious part of me that won’t let that fact slide despite it being a lie. Guess that makes me weak.”

“Human,” I corrected him. “That makes you human. What about Aria?”

Braydon frowned and shook his head. “Beau decided to fall off a bridge before he could give that info to Shadow. He did say that the only way to bring her back was to make sure Calisto gets what’s coming to her.”

He meant kill her.

I swallowed hard. “She’s having my baby,” I stated.

“Yeah, I know. That’s fucked up. With her as a mother, what chance does that baby have?”

“No better than having me as the father,” I said. “Speaking of children, where’s Duckface’s girl?”

“Locked in one of the bedrooms. She could provide us with a lot of information.”

I shook my head. “No, just let her go. Hand her over to the police.”

“She might know—”

“If we start bringing helpless children into our interrogations, it makes us something less than human. That makes us like Calisto.”

Braydon shrugged. “Fair enough. Once she’s done eating her sandwich, I’ll drop her off.”

I nodded. “Where’s Shadow now?”

Braydon tossed the apple core into a nearby trash can. He wiped his hands on his pants and then took a deep breath. “Shadow’s saying goodbye to an old love.”

Epilogue Two:

Shadow

It was one of those stupid conversations we had as teenagers, a morbid one filled with theoretical situations that I thought nothing of.

“If you died today, what would you like for them to do with your body?” Leah had asked me.

“Donate my body to science,” I had replied, not thinking much into it.

“Really?”

“I’m not using it anymore. Might as well make some good use out of it.”

“I’d want to have a funeral pyre,” Leah had said. “Like one of the ones you saw in movies. There’s something romantic about being laid to rest on a bed of flames.”

“Death isn’t romantic.”

“No, it’s not,” she had agreed. “But saying goodbye is. I always thought that through smoke and flames, your soul could reach the heavens a lot faster. Yes, that’s how I want to leave this world: through fire.”

Tonight, I’d grant her that wish.

It took me a couple of hours to construct a pyre that was worthy enough for Leah, made out an oak dining room table, white bed sheets, and Leah’s favorite flowers.

I laid out the pyre in the centre of the estate’s gardens, surrounded by nothing but the beauty of the fall. She deserved that much—an elegant, tranquil send off.

I lit the torch in my hands and took one final look at Leah. She seemed at peace and for a moment, I almost envied her. She finally got to rest.

Meanwhile I was still stuck in this world, this hell that my sister and the Midnight Society had carved out for me.

“Goodbye, Leah,” I said, the heat from the torch enveloping me. “They say you never forget your first love. It’s true. You were the first person to teach me that there was more to this world than hate and anger. I hope you find your brother, wherever you are. I pray he’s forgiven me for what I did to him. I’ll make things right, one way or another. I promise.”

I hated crying. I had cried after Abraham had died, and once more when I was reunited with Aria again, after pushing her away.

As I watched the flames engulf Leah’s body, warm tears welled up in my eyes.

I took comfort in the warmth of the fire, the heat cradling me in its arms, while my heart ran cold as I watched the flames dance through Leah’s body.

It wasn’t until dawn that the fire finally died out.

Not once did I take my eyes of Leah as the smoke, carrying her soul, ascended all the way to the stars above.

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Epilogue Three:

Nathan

It almost became a daily ritual to witness anger in some, shape, or form. Most of time outward displays of rage I saw were over things as trivial as pennies or misguided ideologies when it came to ‘respect.’

I had no fear for the people who displayed this type of uncontrolled rage. It was silent anger that I feared the most and the cold, calculated thoughts that came with it.

Despite the calmness on Yuen Xi’s weathered face, I knew he was angry. I had learned to always read one’s eyes. The truth always resided there.

“Nathan,” he said with a callous voice. “It appears I had been misinformed all this time.”

He gestured towards a set of documents on his desk.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Proof that it was Calisto who was responsible for my daughter’s death.”

I was confused. “I thought we had irrevocable proof that Elena’s death was by Lincoln’s hand?”

“It seems as if I had been misguided.” Yuen Xi had the face of a serpent, narrow eyes and a sharp, wide mouth. “The new evidence is hard to ignore.”

“Could the two of them been working together?” I asked. “It’s quite possible.”

Yuen Xi shook his head. “No. There are contradictions from what I originally received to what I have now.”

I nodded. “Well given the choices, I’d have to say Calisto was the more likely suspect. It never made any sense as to what Lincoln’s motivations were to kill your daughter.”

“Perhaps,” the old dragon replied as he reached for his cup of tea. Even small movements such as drinking, he did it with calculated precision.

“If it is Calisto we’re going after now, then what should we do with our captives?” I asked.

Yuen Xi laughed, though it came across more like a scoff. “You mean the Japanese whore and the black?”

“Yes, those two.”

“What does it matter?”

“They’re innocent in your plot for revenge.”

Yuen Xi shook his head. “No one is innocent. You learn that the first time someone sticks a dagger into your back. As for Lincoln, nothing changes. We simply have to kill them all now.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I said so,” Yuen Xi said as he narrowed his eyes on me. I knew better than to further poke at a snake that was coiled to strike.

“Yes, of course.”

Yuen Xi grinned, his wicked pointed grin. “Good.” He took another sip from his cup. “Are you afraid of me, Nathan?”

I learned that when the mad dragon asked a question, there was no other option than to answer with the truth. He always knew what you were thinking. Always.

“Yes, of course I am.”

“As you should be,” Yuen Xi said, “As everyone should be. My time on this earth is limited and with my daughter gone, I see no beauty left in this world. Before I go, I will burn it all to the ground. Continue your loyalty to me, Nathan, and perhaps when all’s said and done, I’ll leave you with the ashes to play with. A dead kingdom is still a kingdom to rule, is it not?”

“Yes,” I replied.

For a split second, I thought about ending the old bastard’s life, right here and now. I could take the knife on his desk, the same one he used to peel his fruit, and stick it into his neck.

I’d die of course, since his men were standing right outside the door. But at least everything would make sense again. The way I was living now, nothing did.

Yuen Xi looked at me and frowned. “You’re a coward, Nathan, and cowards should stick to having coward’s thoughts. It’s what keeps them alive.”

The old monster was better than I at reading the eyes.

I felt my heart sink down into the trenches of my stomach and any courage I had dissipated into the air.

“Now, go on and rest,” Yuen Xi said. “Tomorrow, we’ll watch the world bleed, starting with Calisto.”

The End.

The Story So Far

*WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS*

SEMBLANCE

Meet Aria, a classical pianist-in-training, who struggles daily to make ends meet. Her life is changed forever when she’s invited to play a single gig at the China White, one of Moral City’s most prestigious fine dining establishments.

There she meets Abraham Constantine—the kind old owner of the restaurant—and Calisto Tremaine—a mysterious and beautiful woman who reveals herself to be a fan of Aria’s music. Calisto invites Aria to play at an exclusive party, offering the sum of ten thousand dollars for a single night’s work.

Down to her last penny, Aria agrees.

Little does Aria know, there’s more to this party than meets the eye. The true purpose of the night’s events is for her to attend an arcane Ritual of Selection, where Shadow Tremaine, Calisto’s brother and the most powerful man in the world, will select his bride-to-be.

Aria is shocked when she ends up being the one selected, despite not being one of the candidates for selection.

She discovers the existence of the Midnight Society, a powerful and clandestine organization that secretly rules the world, manipulating almost all aspects of the economy and balances of power through lies and deceit.

Shadow is the leader of the Midnight Society.

His trusted council includes: Calisto Tremaine, his sister; Abraham Constantine, his wise and most-trusted ally; Lincoln Richards, his best friend, charmer, and a notorious womanizer with an eye for Calisto; James Takeshi, owner of the most powerful tech company in Japan; Brevin West, who dominates the religious and catholic multimedia market; Lucien Gamble, owner of the UK’s most prestigious soccer club along with several communications firms—he’s also a thorn in Shadow’s side; and Donald Huff, a United States senator.

Aria discovers that Shadow has no interest in a committed relationship and was forced into the Ritual of Selection. Aria agrees to go on two dates with him just to put on a show for the other members of the Midnight Society, where after Shadow will help Aria with her music career.

It’s during these dates that Aria learns about Shadow’s horrifying past: his mother and father were murdered when he was only ten years old. It was Shadow who discovered their bodies, throats both cut. Shadow reveals to Aria his obsession to find his parent’s killer and avenge them.

Despite the darkness and mystery that surrounds Shadow, Aria falls for him. Her feelings are reciprocated.

It seems like a fairy-tale romance in the making.

However, the picture perfect love story grinds to a halt when Aria is brutally attacked in her home by the Black Crow, one of the world’s deadliest assassins. With the help of Abraham, she’s able to fend off her attacker. Abraham kills the Black Crow, though not before being brutally wounded.

As Aria carries Abraham out of her condo building to get help, Abraham is shot and killed by the White Crow, brother of the first assassin.

More tragedy strikes when Calisto is kidnapped at a local coffee shop.

After some thorough investigation, all roads lead back to one man—Lucien Gamble.

Shadow, Lincoln, and Aria head to Calisto’s condo to search for clues. They’re ambushed by a squad of hired mercenaries. Aria kills one of them while Shadow and Lincoln dispatch the rest.

A cell phone message, found on one of the mercenary’s body, leads them to a storage facility where they discover the body of Lucien Gamble.

They are left a message by the mastermind behind the attacks, the murder, and the kidnapping—a man who calls himself Sinister. Sinister reveals to Shadow that he was also the one responsible for his parent’s murder. He also reveals he has the other members of the Midnight City in his clutches and to find them at the Inferno, a hotel and casino that Shadow and Calisto were constructing together.

At the Inferno, Sinister forces Lincoln to play a deadly game of Russian roulette with the other captive members of the Midnight Society. Donald Huff is the first victim, shot to death by Sinister as an example of his cruelty. In order to survive, Lincoln kills James and Brevin, much to his despair.

Sinister then forces Aria into a deadly game of her own: play Gaspard De La Nuit—one of the most difficult piano pieces to master—or watch her only friend, Justin, die.

Despite accomplishing the task successfully, Sinister murders Justin anyway by setting him on fire.

Shadow, Lincoln, and Aria manage to escape from Sinister’s captivity and chase him down to the rooftop of the Inferno hotel.

A fight with the White Crow ensues. With the help of Aria, Shadow manages to defeat the assassin and then confront Sinister, who reveals herself as his own twin sister, Calisto.

She also reveals that the feelings Shadow has for Aria is a result of Calisto’s manipulation and brainwashing. With the death of the Midnight Society’s council, she assumes total control over the organization, renaming it the Revenants.

Calisto escapes via helicopter, leaving Shadow, Lincoln, and Aria defeated and broken.

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Penumbra

After the murder of her best friend, Justin, and the realization that Shadow’s feelings for her were all a part of Calisto’s manipulation, Aria is at her wits end.

To make matters worse, Shadow grows distant to her, focusing all his efforts on finding Calisto.

Despite wanting to stay by Shadow’s side, Shadow sends both Aria and Lincoln to New Orleans to find Donald Huff’s bastard, who’s sitting on emergency funds and weapons that will help rebuild the Midnight Society.

Meanwhile, Shadow is provided a lead by Leah Gamble—sister of Lucien Gamble and his former lover—as to the whereabouts of Elena Zhang, Calisto’s second in command of the Revenants. Elena so happens to also be a woman that Shadow had scorned during the Ritual of the Choosing.

Shadow heads to Hong Kong where he meets Nathan Tse, secret head of the Triad. In exchange for his help in locating Elena, he promises Nathan vast amounts of power and wealth.

Nathan agrees to the deal.

In order to give Nathan what he wants he enlists the help of Cairo West, son of Brevin West as muscle, and his lover Reiko Takeshi, daughter of James Takeshi, one of the world’s best hackers. They had not been seen since the aftermath of the War of the Ascension, a tumulus period when the Midnight Society went to war with the religious zealot leader, Elias Rose. The war ended with Elias Rose’s assassination—ordered by Calisto—shortly after Abraham had negotiated peace between the two factions.

Shadow’s encounter with Elena turns disastrous when a deranged assassin, Duckface Dudley, shows up and kills Elena. Both Shadow and Cairo are no match for Duckface, who defeats them both easily. Luckily, Duckface refrains from killing either.

In New Orleans, Aria and Lincoln come into contact with Beau Huff, bastard of Donald Huff. He reveals to them how he had taken the liberty to give the emergency money to the infamous criminal kingpin, Mr. Friday, for investment purposes—on the Midnight Society’s behalf of course.

Lincoln, Aria, and Beau seek out Mr. Friday, only to discover that the man is dead, and his right hand woman, Isadora Lalonde, had taken over the organization under the cover of secrecy.

She makes a deal: in exchange for the invested money, the Midnight Society will help her grow her business—a mysterious form of voodoo religion, as well as allow her to help Aria with the ‘ghosts’ that haunt her.

They agree to meet just before Isadora’s to wed her lover, Delilah.

Consumed by guilt, Lincoln reveals to Beau that he was responsible for his father’s death. Beau is tempted to kill Lincoln but instead, decides to forgive him and continue on with their plan for revenge against Calisto.

In a moment of weakness, fuelled by alcohol and self-loathing, Aria and Lincoln make out. He fingers her on top of Beau’s piano, stopping shortly just before anything more can transpire.

Both Aria and Lincoln are overwhelmed with guilt at their betrayal to Shadow.

The trio head to the wedding at Isadora’s private island estate. Here, Aria meets privately with Isadora, who proceeds to help her vanquish the ghosts that haunt her—mainly her guilt over Justin’s death.

During the wedding, Aria reveals to Lincoln that she loves Shadow, and that will never change. He accepts Aria’s decision and they share a ‘farewell’ kiss, marking an end to any developing relationship between them.

The wedding reception is cut short when a swat team assaults the island and murders most of the guests, including Delilah, Isadora’s bride.

The SWAT team captures Lincoln and steals him away via boat. The SWAT members that remain on the island almost kill Aria, but luckily she’s saved by Beau. Isdaora, meanwhile, extracts her vengeance on all the remaining SWAT members, savagely killing every one of them.

Beau, Isadora, and Aria return back to Moral City, where Aria confronts Shadow.

Shadow reveals that he was acting foolish, sending Aria away out of fear for her getting to close to him. He reconfirms his love for her.

They need each other for the next chapter in their lives: Rescuing Lincoln and getting their revenge against Calisto. Along for the ride are the new members of the Midnight Society: Beau Huff, Cairo West, Reiko Takeshi, and Isadora Lalonde.

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