"Like I haven't learned my lesson on that one…" I interrupted.
"And don't let Addy and Regan touch anything, either. Or talk to anyone."
"We'll be careful." I was as eager as the next person to walk out of this alive. "Make sure he doesn't leave. We're about fifteen minutes away." Fortunately, we were too early for morning rush-hour traffic, and most of our fellow highway drivers were truckers on overnight routes.
"I don't think he will. Everyone's here to absorb the bleed-through of human life force, and they're not going to leave before the workday starts. That's when the energy here will go through the roof." Another pause. "But hurry, just in case."
"We're going as fast as we can." Without getting splattered all over the highway.
By the time Nash pulled into a spot on the bottom floor of the Prime Life parking garage, Regan was starting to come around, either because the pills were wearing off, or because the Jolt was kicking in. Or maybe the importance of our mission was finally starting to sink in.
Her hand trembled as Nash helped her out of the car, and she rose unsteadily, almost knocking her sunglasses from her face when she tried to wipe her eyes. I stood, intending to help him with her, but the moment my right foot hit the ground, the echoes of my previous pain were swallowed in a wave of fresh agony so fierce I almost fell on my face right there in the parking lot.
Addison caught me. "What's wrong, Kaylee? Are you okay?" she asked, as I regained my balance and stepped carefully away from her.
"Yeah." I eased weight onto my injured leg, wincing as flames of pain flashed as far north as my hip. "I hurt my ankle earlier, and it's getting worse." I glanced up, smiling at Nash to assure him that I was okay.
"Let's get this done so we can take care of your leg," he said, one arm still around Regan, and I could only nod in agreement.
Moving slowly because of my limp and Regan's chemically induced stupor, Nash led us to the locked glass doors, where we both turned to face Addison and Regan. "I'm going to cross us all over," I explained, "kind of like Bana did for you both, by holding your hand. When we get there, it won't be like last time. Tod says Prime Life is…populated this time of day in the Netherworld, so there are a couple of ground rules you need to follow, at all costs."
Both sisters nodded, Addison's fake-blue eyes wide with both fear and determination. I couldn't see Regan's eyes through her glasses—not that it would have mattered if I could—but I knew from the thin line her lips were pressed into that she was listening and taking me seriously.
Thank goodness.
I accidently put too much weight onto my bad leg and hissed in pain, so Nash continued while I breathed through it. "Don't touch anything," he began. "Don't make eye contact with anyone. Don't even look at anyone but us."
"And make sure you don't step on anything," I added, smiling wryly when my pain seemed to scare Regan. "Ready?" I asked. Both sisters nodded, taking the hands I held out. Nash held on to my arm, but I was afraid that if he wasn't actually touching my flesh, he couldn't come along for the ride, so I shoved up both my shirt and jacket sleeve, and he held on to my bare wrist.
Crossing over was a little harder this time, which left me oddly relieved, in light of Harmony's warning that it would eventually become too easy. This time, the pain in my leg was so distracting, it was hard to convince myself I actually wanted to return to the source of my injury. But after a few frustrating minutes, my need for closure transcended pain, and my intent to cross over became real.
I opened my eyes when Regan gasped, not surprised to find her staring in openmouthed wonder through the glass doors at my back. The Netherworld version of Prime Life was already open for business, and based on the number of beings I could now hear milling around inside, I had to wonder if they ever closed.
"What is this place?" Regan whispered, stepping closer to the door. She pulled her sunglasses off as if they impeded her vision, and I was almost as glad to see her finally returning to true consciousness as I was unnerved all over again by the sight of those eerie white eyes. They fit in much better here than they did in our world.
Nash must have been thinking the same thing. He glanced from Regan, holding her sunglasses, to Addy, wearing her contacts, to me and my normal, boring blue eyes. "Um, Addy, I think you'll be safer here without your contacts," he said. "And Regan, give Kaylee your glasses."
"Why?" she asked as Addison dug a plain white contact case from the pocket of her jeans, shooting Nash a questioning look almost identical to her sister's.
"Because most of the things in there—" I pointed over my shoulder; I hadn't yet worked up the nerve to actually look at the lion's den we'd be walking through "—have no reason to bother you if they know you have no soul. But my eyes will give me away in an instant."
Neither of them argued, and I almost felt guilty for not mentioning that some of them might try to eat us, whether or not we had souls. But not guilty enough for full disclosure, which might send them screaming into the Nether-night.
Regan handed me her glasses, which I slipped on immediately, then she held her sister's case while Addy took out her contacts. Nash seemed willing to go in with his eyes unguarded, and I had to trust that he'd crossed over more than I had, therefore knew what he was doing. And finally, when we were all ready to go inside, I made myself turn and look.
The shock of what I saw was almost as powerful as the pain shooting up my bad leg with every movement.
Though I'd never been in our world's version of Prime Life, I was willing to bet my next paycheck that the world-anchor had pulled it through in its entirety. Furniture, marble floors, stone fountain, and all. But the creatures occupying that space had little in common with their real-world counterparts.
We should not be here, I thought as Nash pushed open the door. He held it for us as I led Addy and Regan inside. Though, once again, Regan needed a little push to get her going. Not that I could blame her.
When the door closed behind us, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other on the slick, marbled floor. Step-ow! Step-ow! Over and over again, breathing through the pain and doggedly avoiding eye contact with any of the creatures in the room. At least, any of them who actually had eyes.
Regan's breathing sped up until she was practically panting, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hand shaking. I wrapped my hand around hers and squeezed to tell her she was fine. Everything was okay. Then I made myself look up, though not at anything in particular, when I realized that walking with my eyes down practically advertized my status as prey.
And I would not be prey.
Near the fountain in the center of the room, two headless human-ish forms stood with their backs to us. One was male and one female, and she was bent to let her hand dangle in the flow of water that looked thick and smelled foul. When and if they turned, we'd find their facial features imbedded in their chests, as if they'd swallowed their own heads, and the lost parts were trying to break free from the inside. I knew that because I'd glimpsed this species briefly the day Emma died.
But what I hadn't known—since peeking renders everything in shades of gray—was that their skin tone would be a smooth, delicate pink, as if they'd never lost the soft flush of the birthing process. If creatures like that were even birthed in the first place.
"Just keep walking," Nash whispered, and I glanced quickly at his profile to find his jaw tense, his hands in his pockets. "Tod's waiting for us by the elevators. We're almost there."
I followed his line of sight. Tod was indeed waiting for us by a bank of very normal-looking elevators, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was strong, closed-off, and arrogant, as if to say he might not belong there, but neither was he afraid.
But we were not almost there. We'd gone less than a quarter of the way—just far enough to attract attention.
As we crossed the room, oddly lilted, strangely pitched snippets of conversation began to fade into silence as one creature after another noticed our presence. Then,
as we passed an arrangement of formal, burgundy-colored couches, that conversation started back up, as if I'd just yawned to pop my ears and could suddenly hear again. This time I caught actual words here and there.
"Overworlders…"
"…taste their fear…"
"…used-up husks…"
"…plump, soft flesh…"
"…beacons of energy…"
"…swimming in pain…"
"…strong, young hearts…"
Chills traveled up my arms and down my spine. I became aware of a steady movement toward us, as the creatures slowly converged, slinking, slithering, lurching, and gliding in our direction from every corner of the room. I caught glimpses of extra arms, coiling tails, and flashing eyes in all manner of wrong colors. Whispered hisses followed us. Outstretched appendages welcomed us.
Something brushed a strand of hair from my shoulder, then trailed lightly down my back. I swallowed a shudder of revulsion and forced myself to face forward. To keep walking.
"This one smells like warm rot…." a female voice whispered into my ear, though as near as I could tell, the speaker was all the way across the lobby, beside the reception desk. Skeletal hands peeked from beneath long, wide sleeves, but she stood on nothing that I could see. No feet. No paws. No flippers. She simply hung on the air, sunken eyes glowing a dark, eerie blue.
As we moved forward, the crowd parted reluctantly, some beings moving so slowly we had to wait for them to vacate our path. Oddly textured hems brushed my jeans. Scalding fingers tugged on mine. And something cold and airy, like a breeze somehow made solid, wound around my ankles, forming an almost physical resistance to my forward motion and introducing a new, prickly cold pain to the agony still throbbing in my leg.
When we finally reached Tod and the bank of elevators—I'd come to view them as salvation itself—my sigh of relief was audible. Without a word, he pressed a button on the wall, and a set of doors slid open. We stepped inside, and Addy jabbed the "close door" button repeatedly with one trembling finger.
When the door closed, she turned on us, tears welling in her oddly blank eyes. "What the hell was that?"
"Hell's about right," I mumbled, and she whirled on me, fierce anger overwhelming her fear for the first time.
I was glad to see it. Leaking fear in the Netherworld was like leaking blood in a shark tank.
"You could have warned us!"
"What did you think you were getting into when you sold your soul?" Nash demanded, and I glanced at him in surprise. Contempt shone in his eyes. "These creatures live off the human life force that bleeds through from our world to theirs. Some of them eat souls. Some of them eat flesh. Some of them just like new toys. Either way, walking through that lobby was like dangling a bloody steak in front of a tiger, and Kaylee and I did that for you two, even though she's in horrible pain and huge trouble with her father. And neither of us have a thing to gain from this. So if you have any further complaints, you can lodge them right up your own ass, pop star, because nobody here gives a damn who you are or how much you're worth. Without us, you're meat, pure and simple. Got it?"
Addison blinked her big, empty eyes. Then she nodded, still trembling, and I couldn't resist a smile.
But then the elevator binged and the doors slid open, and my heart jumped so far up my throat I could have spit it on the floor.
Tod stepped out first and we followed quickly, pleased to find the hallway deserted. And carpeted, which meant our shoes were silent. The reaper led us to a door near the end of the hall, where he stopped and turned to whisper. "He's in there. I peeked right before you got here." He hesitated, and forced a tense smile at Addy and Regan. "You guys ready?"
Addy nodded hesitantly and squeezed Regan's hand until she nodded, too.
"Good. Let's do this." Tod put one hand on the knob. My heart raced so fast I felt dizzy. He twisted the knob, and my pulse pumped scalding ribbons of adrenaline through my veins. He pushed the door open, and I had to swallow back vomit.
Behind a desk in the middle of a normal-looking office sat a normal-looking man in a suit, tie, and pair of sunglasses. He showed no surprise at our arrival. This was the hellion of greed?
"Avari?" Tod said, and the man nodded slowly, silently. "We're here to bargain for the souls of Addison and Regan Page."
And as the impossibility of what we were about to attempt truly sank in, I focused on one thought to keep myself calm: Weirdest. Wednesday. Ever.
19
AVARI ROSE, placing both palms flat on the glossy work surface of a desk that stood empty in the Netherworld, but was probably cluttered with some worker-drone's papers, pens, and coffee mug in our world. "Come inside," he said, his words as smooth and dark as good fudge, but nowhere near as sweet.
His voice sent shivers through me, leaving tiny icicle shards to chill the blood in my veins.
Tod stepped inside and we followed him reluctantly. I brought up the rear, fighting to control the wince of pain my features wanted to form, and to deny the groan lodged in my throat. I would not expose myself as the weakest member of the herd.
With the casual wave of one hand, Avari closed the door behind us, from across the room. "Addison. Regan." The hellion nodded formally, rounding his desk to stand in front of it. "I assume you've come to invoke your respective out-clauses?"
"No." Addy spoke firmly and clearly, in spite of the trembling hands she clasped at her back. "We won't damn someone else to eternity with you. We're here to make a different sort of trade."
Avari sat with one hip on the corner of his desk, tugging the sleeves of an immaculate, coal-gray suit jacket into place. If not for the sunglasses—and the ability to close doors without touching them—he could have been any ordinary cog in the life-insurance machine. "What makes you think I'm open to such an exchange?" Power radiated from him in waves of bitter cold, drawing goose bumps from my skin, even beneath my jacket.
"You're a hellion of avarice," I began, but when the demon's head turned my way, the words froze in my throat, and I had to cough to force them up. "Why wouldn't you want more for less?"
Avari's brows rose above his sunglasses, and my heart thumped painfully from the knowledge that both his attention and his gaze were focused on me. Being scrutinized by a hellion was definitely not part of the plan.
Nash stepped protectively closer to me, his hand brushing mine, but Avari took no notice.
"You reek, bean sidhe." The hellion's words wove through me on a gust of frigid air, coiling around my chest until I could hardly feel my heartbeat through the simultaneous numbing cold and stabbing, icy pressure. "The rot spreads inside you quickly. I smell it. I feel it, though you disguise your pain with uncommon strength and fortitude. Both qualities I find quite appetizing in a soul."
He rose from his desk and took a single stride toward me. I answered it with a backward step, swallowing a cry as my bad foot hit the floor. Needlelike pain shot down my foot and up my leg, this time enveloping my entire pelvis, as well.
I was getting worse. Fast.
The hellion's long, straight nose twitched as he inhaled, and a terrifying flash of hunger flickered across his otherwise empty expression. "I can eat your pain. I can spare your life."
Panic shot through me and I squelched it all, except the tremor in my hands. "When my death comes, you can't stop it, and I won't even try. If I'm supposed to die from crimson creeper venom, so be it." Not that I was exactly eager to go, but I would not die without my soul. Not even for the promise of a quick, painless death.
"And if you were not meant to die of such poison?" Avari's brows lifted once more as he stepped forward, and again I limped backward, my vision going gray with the sudden, harsh movement. "I see your lifeline spread before me like a length of road, and the miles should tick away your fleeting, insignificant life for some time to come. Yet the stench of death clings to you. It flows through your veins like a river through its channel, and the toxin will reach your heart within minutes."
He paused, and
I thought I glimpsed a dark flash of pleasure, even through the opaque tint of his lenses. "If you stay in the Nether much longer, you will die here."
Fresh fear skittered up my spine to lodge in my throat, and my gaze flitted from Nash's horrified expression to the smug hellion. Then I asked the question he clearly wanted to hear, in spite of some strong instinct urging me to retreat into silence. I had to know. "But you said my lifeline goes on." I stopped to breathe through another agonizing wave of pain. "How can I die here?"
"The date stamped on your feeble body means nothing in the Netherworld. If you suffer a mortal injury or contract a deadly infection here, you will die among us. As one of us. But you have a few minutes yet. Enough time to barter for your friends. Or to escape to your own world."
Was he telling the truth?
Horror drew my hands into fists so tight my fingernails cut into my flesh. If I fled the Netherworld to save myself, there would be no one left to suspend Addy's and Regan's souls once the hellion released them, so Nash could guide them back into the proper bodies. But if I stayed to help them, I would die.
Unless I sold my soul to Avari.
"Which will it be, little bean sidhe?" The hellion's faux-sympathetic smile sent a spike of terror through my heart. "Your life, or your friends'? Or your soul?"
"Tod?" I turned on him, silently demanding the truth, keeping the hellion safely in my peripheral vision.
The reaper's tortured, conflicted expression greeted me. "Kaylee, he's just trying to buy your soul."
I knew that, of course. But I also knew Tod would say anything to save Addison's soul. He would also not say anything with that same goal in mind. "Tell me the truth, Tod. Can I die here?"
The reaper sighed but nodded. "Your expiration date means nothing here. You know, 'Offer not valid in the Netherworld, the Bermuda Triangle, and various undiscovered warp zones across the globe….'"
I closed my eyes briefly and exhaled. "Awesome, Tod. Thanks for that." Anger flamed through me, thawing some of the chill Avari's voice had left in my veins. But it could do nothing to ease the agony clawing its way up my right leg and into my torso. "Thanks for warning me before we crossed over."