The Bringer (32 page)

“
I wanted to but there was always something, or someone, getting in the way.” I see his jaw tense up.

“
But–but,” I rub my forehead, “why would you abandon me out there if you love me . . . I don’t under–” And just like that I get it, like a slap across the face. I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been. My whole body stiffens. “You did it to keep me away from James.” Then a chilling thought occurs to me. My eyes snap up at him. “Did you have anything to do with Arran leaving?”

He says nothing. He just mirrors my gaze. But then he doesn’t need to say anything. I can see the answer in his eyes.

I’m seething. White hot rage obliterates my common sense. “All of this has been because you
love
me!” I mock the word, wanting to sound as condescending as possible. But the instant it’s out I know I’ve made a mistake.

Arlo’s face hardens. His anger fills up the room. It’s suffocating. I hold my breath waiting for him to erupt. Then I feel James’s hand curl around mine.

“
Don’t touch her,” Arlo says slowly, his voice cold.

James laughs, awkwardly. “What?”

I’ve heard that challenging tone in Arlo’s voice before and I ended up in Australia with no memory. I panic. I know Arlo’s capabilities and James is only human. For that matter, so am I. There is no way I can protect him. And even if I was still of my celestial form, I doubt I could measure up to whatever Arlo now is.

“
It’s okay,” I say calmly. I slide my hand out from underneath James’. I can feel his eyes on me but I don’t look at him. Instead I hold my hands together, resting them on my lap, and ask Arlo in an even voice, “So why are you here? What is it you want?”

“
Hmm, let me think, what do I want?” He thrums his fingers against his chin. “What I’ve always wanted!” he suddenly snaps. “For you to notice me. For you to love me.”

“
I did.” I take a deep breath. “I do.” I try to say this with as much sincerity as I can muster.

Arlo appraises me with his eyes. “But not like you do him, Arran – James or whatever it is he goes by these days.” He waves a dismissive hand in James’ direction. “No, right from the start I was always Arlo the best friend, Arlo the confidant. And I bided my time, thinking things would change, that you would one day love me in the way I do you and just when it seemed you were beginning to, that my time was finally coming, Arran showed up. And that was it. I became invisible. You didn’t need me anymore . . . so I made it so you did.”

“
He hurts her in the worst way possible,” James interjects, “so she turns to you, right?”

“
Sharp, isn’t he?” Arlo rolls his eyes in James’ direction. “You think he’d have improved over the years – but he hasn’t . . . and don’t you mean
you
hurt her.” Arlo’s eyes narrow onto James.

“
I just–I just don’t believe this,” I stammer, breaking into their angry stare.

Arlo raises his eyebrows at me. “Come on, Lucyna. I wasn’t going to give you up that easily. I had to do something, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out quite as I had planned. Instead of seeking solace in me, as I figured you would, you wanted to run away, to forget – to become a Bringer.” He shakes his head and quietly chuckles to himself. “I certainly did not see that one coming. But then that’s what I love about you, Lucyna, you never cease to surprise me, even after all this time.” The way he’s looking at me, with such intensity, makes my stomach curdle and it takes everything in me not to baulk.

“
So I made the best of a bad situation,” Arlo says, shrugging lightly, “and I lowered myself to that realm to be with you, but that you know already. I always hoped you would one day feel again, but really I was just so happy for it to be the two of us as before. Then
he
goes and turns up like a bad penny and spoils everything.”

Arlo bends his knee and rests his foot up against the wall. He looks so casual standing there, like he’s merely a friend who’s dropped by for a quick chat, not a heavenly being with a hidden, not to mention very dangerous, agenda.

“
I’d waited too long for you, Lucyna, invested too much time,” he continues. “Losing you was never an option. So I arranged his little car accident. And he was supposed to die there and be instantly reborn into another human being as always. You wouldn’t know where he was, problem solved, but then, for some reason, you were called to him. I still don’t quite understand how that happened because he should never have a Bringer. He can’t return to Heaven, you know this. But I knew that night in the stadium there was something wrong, I could tell by your reaction. And if I didn’t know better I’d think someone was working against me.” He smiles wryly. “So I followed you, and there you were, saving him. Then Isabel showed up to keep tabs on you both and I couldn’t do a thing. Seriously,” he adds, addressing James, “if there was some way for me to get rid of you permanently I would do it, and I mean that, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.” He grins, menacingly.

“
You’re fuckin’ insane,” James spits.

“
When love is not madness, it is not love.” He taps his hand against the hollow expanse of his chest. “Pedro Calderón. Not that I’d expect you to know who he was.” Arlo looks back to me. “So where was I? Ah yes, I had to leave you here with him –”

“
Why are telling me all of this?” I ask.

He smooths his golden hair back. “I’ve spent a long time pretending to be someone I’m not in the hope you’d one day love me. That obviously hasn’t worked, so I’m giving the real me a try.”

I honestly have no idea what to say to that.

“
Do you wish for me to continue?” Arlo asks.

I nod.

“
Right, well I wasn’t sure what to do with Isabel constantly around and, until I could figure it out, I thought I’d use his little friend Sara to keep things interesting.”

“
Sara?” James splutters, aghast.

“
Hmm, yes.”

James stands up. “If you’ve hurt her, I’ll –”

“
You’ll what?” Arlo laughs, derisively.

My stomach drops hollow. I slowly stand up beside James. “Is Sara okay?”

He wafts a dismissive hand. “She’s fine. All I did was magnify the girl’s feelings for him, and I really didn’t have to work that hard as she’s already completely besotted with him.” His face turns serious and his green eyes pierce straight into mine. “He did kiss her back that day, you know, the day you caught them, and he’d have done a lot more if you hadn’t have interrupted, no matter what he says.”

James laughs. “Nice try.” He turns to me. “Don’t listen to him. He’s talking shit, and you know it.”

But Arlo’s picked at a weak spot in me and that is what he knows.

“
No matter, I know the truth,” he hums knowingly, and winks at me. I feel like I’ve got bugs crawling all over my skin, “but that’s the problem with you, Lucyna, you’ve never been able to see straight when it comes to him. So I was forced to resort to desperate measures to bring you back to me.”

“
What have you done, Arlo?” I rub my bare arms, suddenly feeling cold.

And for the first time since he got here, he actually looks uncertain. His armour chinks and I see a glimpse of the Arlo I used to know. There's a gap before he actually speaks and, when he does, his voice sounds tight. “I think you know.”

I swallow hard. “Oh no, Arlo.” I shake my head despairingly.

And just like that he turns black. “He owed me from a long time ago. I once helped him out of a tight spot,” he confides, trying to feign nonchalance, but I can hear the pride in his voice. “So I called in the favour to get rid of Arran the first time, but then I was all out of favours and you know he won’t do anything for free so . . .” He shrugs, leaving his words hanging in the air.

I swallow down hard. “You gave him your soul.”

He strokes his hand down his jacket. “Sold. Not given. And yes, amongst other things. And I got a good price for it.”

And that’s the exact moment when I realise that I’ve lost my best friend for good. I wipe the stray tear from my eye. “When?”

“
Just before I brought you back – so I could bring you back.”

I rub my temples. “Why would you do that?”

He looks at me sincerely. “For you, Lucyna. I’ll do anything to be with you.”

“
Looks like you’ve wasted your time,” James says, sounding surprisingly calm, “because you’re never going to have her.”

Arlo glances in James’ direction, a blasé look on his face. “And who says so – you?”

“
Yes.” I can hear from the tone in James’ voice that he’s picking a fight.

Arlo laughs discordantly and raises an eyebrow. “Hmm, this could be interesting.”

“
No, James, this isn’t a good idea,” I plead quietly.

“
You should listen to her,” Arlo smarts, nodding his head.

James looks down at me. His dark eyes are blazing. “I can’t just do nothing.”

“
Yes, you can,” I say. “Go to Sara’s, make sure she’s alright. I’ll stay here and talk this through with Arlo.” Okay, so I have no idea exactly what it is that I’m going to say to Arlo, but I need to get James out of here quickly before Arlo does something to hurt him.

James looks at me, astonished. “I’m not leaving you here alone with him!” Then he makes a show of taking hold of my hand, the hand that’s been nervously pulling at the hem of my t-shirt.

I see Arlo’s eyes harden. The green in them quickly disperses, to be replaced with the bright yellow just like before. He rests his foot back on the floor and straightens himself up.

I have to stop this, now.

“
James, please, you can’t win this,” I say.

“
I know,” he states angrily, “but there is no way I’m leaving you here with him, so we’re leaving together.” He turns to go, taking me with him.

I make to speak but I’m too late.

The energy in the room ramps up so high I feel like every hair on my body is stood on end. It all happens in a nanosecond. James’ hand pulls from mine and I watch helplessly as his body flies at high speed across the room and smashes straight into the wall. I hear the sickening crack of his bones. He drops to the floor, debris cascading down over him.

“
The only person leaving here is you, Arran,” I hear Arlo mutter through my muted screams.

Chapter 24

The Art of Delusion

It’s strange how a second can feel like an hour, and even stranger is how many thoughts can rush through your mind in that one second.

Stupid, irrelevant thoughts.

Like how James has only just got his pot removed, and how that’s his favourite t-shirt he’s wearing. And the picture frame that’s laid on the floor, broken beside him, contains a photo of him and Max, the last one they had taken together before he died. He’ll be devastated if it’s ruined.

He hasn’t moved yet. I know it’s only been about two seconds since he collided with the wall, but he would move if he was okay, wouldn’t he?

Should I panic?

Or maybe I already am, because something is tearing up in and around my veins, and I have this odd constricting pain in my heart, like there’s a hand gripping hold of it.

But it doesn’t seem real. None of this seems real. Maybe disbelief has taken me over and paralysed me, or maybe it isn’t real. Maybe this is just a really, really bad dream.

My eyes wash down, shutting it all out. Everything’s eerily silent, almost as if the world's holding its breath, waiting to see what’s going to happen next.

I open my eyes.

No, it’s real. He’s still laid there on the floor, motionless, blood trickling from his head down onto the wooden floor.

Come on, James, move baby, you can do it.

Four seconds.

No, it’s been too long now.

And in the snap of a finger, I’m running toward him, crying out his name. The words are tearing up in my throat.

Please, be okay. Please, be okay.

Then I stop.

I’m all but a foot away from James and I can’t move. And it’s not because I don’t want to because, believe me, I want to. I’m trying but I’ve lost all control over my body.

“
Sit down, Lucyna,” Arlo commands.

And like an obedient animal, I do. I can’t not. He’s controlling my body, governing every move I now make.

I glance across at James. Tears spill from my eyes, running in quick succession down my cheeks.

“
Don’t look at him. Look at me.”

My eyes involuntarily move to Arlo. He looks calm, impeccable. Not a golden hair out of place, not a sliver of emotion showing on his face.

“
Please don’t do this,” I gulp back the tears, I’m unable to wipe away.

He sits down in the chair opposite me, relaxed, arms spread out across the back of the seat. “I’m sorry, Lucyna, but you always knew how this was going to go. I was never going to allow you be with him. You belong to me.”