The Cupid War (15 page)

28

F
allon and Jada sat by the wall in the Healing Chamber, watching as Alexander tended to Owen. When Fallon had told the healer what had happened to Caleb, Alexander had nodded, once. At first Fallon thought he was being cold, but it occurred to him, as he sat with Jada, that the older spirit was just putting on a brave front. Everyone grieves differently, he thought, and wondered how his father and sister had grieved for him.

Maybe it was time for a visit …

The thought made him even more miserable. Caleb had been the one to tell him to stay away from family, for his own sake as much as theirs. Always looking out for everybody, Caleb was.

And, Fallon realized suddenly, Caleb had been the best contender to take over Louis's job as leader of the Cupids. Who could possibly fill that role now?

“Is he a Suicide?” Jada asked suddenly.

“You mean Caleb?” Fallon asked. “I don't know.” And he didn't want to. Susan's power could drain the life from a soul, leave it so negative that a Suicide was all it could become. But Caleb … he was stronger than most, wasn't he? But what alternative was there?

“Maybe he's, y'know … gone on to the next stage,” Jada said.

“The next stage?”

“Paid his karmic debt,” she said. “Gone to Heaven.”

“Is that place even real?” Fallon asked.

“Supposed to be,” Jada said. “At least, that's what Caleb told me.”

They sat in silence for a while, until Fallon could take it no longer.

“I need some Love,” he said, and stood up and left the Healing Chamber. He walked back to his cube, which was now depressingly small. He hadn't been out doing the job, and his cube reflected that. Fallon sighed and ate what little Love he had left, then sat down to meditate.

While in his trance, it occurred to him to ask the Source about Caleb. He dismissed the thought at once, and begged the Source not to tell him. If the news was bad, he really didn't want to know. Instead, he asked what Susan was currently up to.

Images and emotions went through his mind quickly.
Susan was really mad at him for hurting her during their last confrontation, and for revenge, she'd visited his family. Cold dread filled Fallon, but then he understood that Susan had failed to hurt his father and sister. His father hadn't even opened the door—he'd yelled at her through the living room window to go away or he'd call the cops. “It's your fault my son is dead, you little freak!” he'd said, surprising Fallon. Whenever Fallon had talked to his father about Susan, his father had said it was his duty to be her friend. “If you're all she has, take that responsibility seriously!”
It took my death to wake him up
, Fallon thought. Too little, too late.

Susan had left, angry and humiliated. She'd run into a group of teenage girls—the same ones, Fallon realized, who had mocked Trina in the changing room. Susan threw up her hands and blasted them with darkness, and the girls fell over. Susan left them there unable to move, barely able to breathe.

Onward she walked. A few Suicides joined her, circling around her like excited puppies. The people across the street from her slowed down; those on the same side collapsed as she passed them. Cars went out of control as their drivers suddenly lost the will to live.

And the Suicides fed.

Susan kept walking, and Fallon recognized the street she turned on to. She's going to Trina's house, he realized. He wanted to leap into action right then.

When Trina entered his focus, however, something happened. Suddenly he found himself looking through
her eyes—he knew they were her eyes—and seeing what she was doing. She was sitting at a table in a fast-food restaurant with two of her friends from school, Cynthia and Lucy. He didn't remember their names; he simply
knew
their names, as if he were taking them directly from Trina's memory.

What, he asked the Source, is happening? And then he understood. When he'd given Trina part of his soul, he'd linked himself to her in a way he'd never expected.

“Trina?” Cynthia asked. “Are you okay?”

“I … I'm not sure,” she replied.

“Maybe her Rib'N'Cheese didn't agree with her,” Lucy suggested.

“C'mon, let's get you home,” Cynthia suggested, and they got up from the table …

“No!” Fallon screamed, and he was up and running before he realized he'd left the trance. He grabbed Love from cubes as he passed them—no time for niceties now, this was an emergency. If Susan was still there when Trina and her friends got to her house, he would lose her.

Fallon was almost to the portals when Jada came running toward him. There was something different about her, but Fallon didn't have time to reflect on it.

“Fallon, where are you going?” she asked as she caught up with him.

“Trina's house,” Fallon said. “Susan's there. And she's got company. Lots of Suicides.”

“And you're going to take them all on by yoursel
f
?” Jada asked. “Is that why you're stealing from all the Love cubes?”

Fallon wondered how she knew about that, then decided he didn't care.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “Sue me. I have lives to … ”

He didn't finish, because a shock hit him on the right shoulder. It was very mild and didn't hurt much, but it was enough of a surprise to stop him in his tracks.

“Did you … ?”

“Yes,” she said. “While you were off doing your own thing, an angel came to visit, and she appointed me the new leader of the Cupids.”

“Really?” Fallon said. “That's great, Jada, and I'd love to talk some more about it, but I've got to go and … ”

“Stop,” she told him. “As leader, I decide who goes on what mission … ”

“Jada, Susan is going to … ”

“ …
and I say you are not going alone,” Jada said. “We're not going to lo
se any more Cupids.”

Jada turned and raised her hands, and Fallon heard a sound like an intercom coming on.

“Attention all Cupids, we have an emergency!” she said, and her voice broadcast across the entire Cupid Center. “I need every available Cupid to report to the portals for immediate deployment. This is a Suicide emergency! Eat your Love and let's go go go!”

F
allon watched, amazed, as Cupids rushed forth, stuff
ing Love into their mouths as they came. Jada saw him watching, and smiled.

“Louis only did this once,” she told him. “I've always wanted to.”

Fallon nodded, speechless. Jada was the Cupid leader; that in and of itself was a lot to take in. The fact that she was organizing a Cupid strike force to back him up, however, was blowing his mind.

“Listen up!” Jada called to the first Cupids to reach them. “We'll be facing a swarm of Suicides and a girl who is a Suicide in living form. Avoid the girl! She's too dangerous. Leave her to Fallon and myself.

“You.” She pointed at a male Cupid. “Stay here and tell the others exactly what I told you, then send them in after us. The rest of you, you're my first wave. Let's go!”

Jada turned and strode purposefully toward the portals, and the Cupids followed.

“Fallon, if you would do the honors,” she said, indicating the nearest portal arch.

“Right,” Fallon said, and set the portal to open right in front of Trina's house. He and Jada went through first, just in time to meet Susan coming up the driveway. The street behind her was almost completely blacked out by her Suicide army.

“Hah!” Susan shouted. “Boy, did you two pick a bad time to … ”

Her jaw dropped as the army of Cupids arrived and formed ranks in front of the house. Then she trembled visibly.

“G … get them!” she cried, and the Suicides surged forward.

“Shield!” Jada shouted, and she and Fallon projected a solid Love wall that knocked all the dark ones—Susan included—backward.

“Now charge!” Jada cried, and the Cupids marched forward and fired their Love. A dozen Suicides fell immediately, and several more dropped in the moments that followed.
Suicides have no projectile weaponry
, Fallon realized.
They have to get up close to do damage, and we aren't going to let them!

Susan straightened up and looked at her army in horrified disbelief. Fallon had to smile. This is what losing looks like, he thought at her.

Then Susan saw something beyond her dark army that grabbed her attention. She turned and ran off down the street, leaving her army to fend for itself.

“She's running away!” Jada said.

“I don't think so,” Fallon replied, looking through the fog of Love and darkness to see what Susan was after.

It was Trina, Cynthia, and Lucy, returning from the restaurant at the worst time possible. He'd hoped they would finish Susan off before the girls got back, but it was too late for that now.

Trina froze, then blocked her two friends. She could see the war going on, but all they could see was Susan running toward them.

Fallon ran, forgetting his shield and charging through the battle.

“Fallon! Come back!” Jada called.

Fallon ignored her and kept running, blasting aside any Suicide that got in his way. Susan had a head start, and could reduce all three teens to a near-lifeless state in seconds. He ran faster and prayed he'd be in time.

29

R
un!” Trina told her friends. “Turn around, get out of here, go!”

Though he was still three house-lengths away, Fallon heard her voice as clearly as if she'd spoken beside him. Sadly, her friends saw no threat in Susan, who raised her hands as she closed the distance. Fallon felt waves of depression—Trina's, not his—as Susan's power reached out and engulfed them.

Our link is a little too strong, Fallon thought. Then it hit him that the soul link might work both ways. He focused his Love reserves into his soul and thought,
shield
.

Trina's hands went out, and suddenly she was projecting a shield of Love in front of her. Susan walked straight into it and rebounded onto her butt. She looked up at Trina with shock and outrage—Fallon could see it clearly in his mind. He also felt Trina's puzzlement as she looked at her hands in wonder. Then she looked up at him, and their eyes met. Wow, Fallon thought, as he and Trina shared a moment of perfect bliss. There was no other on Heaven or Earth for either of them.

“Trina?” asked Cynthia. “Are you having one of your moments?”

“And what happened to Susan?” asked Lucy. “What's going … ”

Susan threw both hands forward and soaked the three teens in misery. Trina got the shield back up again, but not before absorbing enough sadness to drive her to her knees. Her two friends collapsed, barely able to breathe. The only reason Trina wasn't on the pavement with them, Fallon knew, was that her soul was mixed with his. The assault had knocked the wind out of his sails, too, but he managed to stay upright and moving.

Trina was weakening. No problem, Fallon thought, projecting a shield of his own. It knocked Susan flat on her face, and Fallon walked right up to her and kept projecting, pinning her down.

“I need … ” he began.

“ … a mirror!” Trina finished, and she started going through her friends' purses.

Wow,
Fallon thought
, now we're finishing each others' sentences …

A Suicide broadsided him, knocking him over and filling his soul with despair. Fallon dropped his shield but raised another, then he pushed the Suicide away so he could blast it.

Susan got back up. Before Fallon could deal with her she stepped in him, and the depression soaked him.

Trina, back on her feet and with a mirror in hand, slammed her shoulder into Susan and knocked her out of Fallon. Susan recovered quickly and grabbed Trina by the wrist, and Fallon could feel the life pouring out of her. He got back to his knees but she stepped in him again, and Fallon knew it was over.

Source,
he thought,
help …

An electric blast hit Susan in the back, and Trina broke free. Fallon saw Jada running toward them and smiled weakly. Trina opened the compact and held the mirror in front of Susan's face, and Fallon thrust his hand into her heart and fired.

Susan's eyes went wide. Then she screamed. The crushing flow of sadness stopped, and Trina and Fallon collapsed at her feet. Susan looked down at them, horrified.

“What … who … what am … ” she said. Then she crumpled into a ball and cried.

“Yeah, you're darn right you feel bad,” Jada said as she arrived. “And you, Fallon, need to learn to listen to orders. I said I'm not losing anyone else.”

“H … help them … ” Fallon said weakly, waving a hand at the three teenagers. “ … need Love … ”

“They'll get it,” Jada said. “Trina, right? Can you still hold that thing?”

She nodded, and held the compact up to her face. Jada fired Love into her, and Trina sat up and smiled.

“That was groovy,” she said.

“Come on, let's do your friends,” Jada said.

Moments later, Cynthia and Lucy were full of Love and recovering. Fallon envied them—he couldn't get his healing dose until he got back to the Cupid Center.

“Trina,” Lucy asked, “what just happened?”

“What did Susan do to us?” asked Cynthia. “Hey, what's wrong with her?”

“I'll tell you all about it,” Trina said, “but first I have to help my friend.” She moved next to Fallon, who smiled up at her.

“Hey, babe,” he said.

Trina smiled back, and held the mirror in front of his face. Then she reached into his heart and gave him a shot of his own Love.

“Whoa … ” Fallon said as self-love replaced the crippling despair. Trina put down the compact, but she let her hand linger in Fallon's heart a moment longer.

“I figured I owed you one,” she said, and smiled that perfect smile of hers.

“Not as much as I owe you,” Fallon said, and he sat up and kissed her.

The assembled Cupids gasped. So did Trina's friends.

“Look!” said Lucy. “Can you see … a sort of ghostlike thing?”

“She's kissing a ghost,” Cynthia replied. “And he's pretty good.”

“How is that possible?” a Cupid asked.

“I guess anything's possible,” Jada replied, smiling down at them. “Hey, get a room, you two!”

The kiss ended, eventually. Most of the Cupids returned to their duties, but Fallon and Jada stayed to clean up. There was work to be done.

“Your friend will have to help us, if she's willing,” Jada said. “We need her to hold the mirror. Are you even listening to me?”

“Hmm?” Fallon said. He'd been watching as Trina filled her friends in on the world they couldn't see. They sat near Susan, who still lay crying on the sidewalk.

“We have to help Susan's victims,” Jada said. “And we need to get her home. She's our responsibility.”

“She's her own responsibility,” Fallon said. “But I agree, we should get her home.”

He walked over and talked to Trina, and a few minutes later they were all walking back the way Susan had come. Cynthia and Lucy helped Susan walk; she did not look happy about it, but she had no strength to protest.

“No, no, not this way,” she said. “I'm sorry, so very sorry … ”

“Shut up,” Fallon told her. It was mean, he knew—Susan seemed completely different now, and yelling at her was like kicking a wounded puppy. However, changed or not, Fallon wasn't ready to forgive her just yet.

It didn't take long to find the first few victims. A man sat by the sidewalk, his hands on his face. In the street, the police were dealing with the aftermath of one of the Susan-inspired car crashes.

“Let's get started,” Trina said, and she crouched beside the man and touched his shoulder gently. He looked up, saw his reflection, and Jada shot some Love into him.

“You'll be all right now, sir,” Trina said, noting the change on his face.

They moved on, healing those they could. Jada sensed a summons and returned to the Cupid Center, leaving Fallon to continue the healing in her place. Cynthia and Lucy went on ahead—Fallon guessed the weirdness was freaking them out. That, and they probably wanted to be rid of Susan. Her crying and apologizing were getting on everyone's nerves.

Trina and Fallon came to the first three victims: the three mean, popular girls. Three Suicides were hovering around them, feeding on their pain.

“Back off, you!” Fallon said, blasting one with his Love. It ran off and so did one of the others, but the third turned to look at them. It seemed to recognize them, and its face was eerily familiar …

“Ricky,” the Suicide said.

Fallon, who'd raised a hand to blast it, stopped. It couldn't be!

The Suicide fired a shock that struck Fallon in the chest and knocked him on his rear. When he recovered, the Suicide was gone.

“Are you all right?” Trina asked, kneeling beside him.

“No. Not exactly,” Fallon replied, staring at the spot where his former boss had been.

• • •

“Jada!” Fallon called as he hurried across the Cupid Center. “Jada, where are you?”

He had to tell her what he'd seen. He was about to steal some Love to draw her attention, but then he saw her walking toward him with a young-looking Cupid girl beside her.

“Jada!” he said. “You have to know … ”

“Fallon, this is Sandra Baker,” Jada said. “She was Louis's daughter.”

Fallon's mouth dropped open. Sandra shuffled her feet and looked at the floor.

“She was a Suicide,” Jada said. “Now she's been sent to us. Louis must have made a really good deal to get her out.”

“Yeah,” Fallon said, an uneasy feeling running through him. “He sure did.”