The Lie Spinners (The Deception Dance) (52 page)

“
Okay,”
I say, not knowing what to say. “I actually don’t know if
we even should,” I amend, “I’ve had this feeling I
can’t shake, like something bad is about to happen, or has
already happened. I don’t know… I don’t know what
we should do. Sleep. We’ll talk about this all later.”

An
hour later, the foreboding feeling surges up and has me jumping to my
feet. Panic, I’m overwhelmed with absolute panic; but, I have
no idea from what I’m panicking.

Running
to where Stephen sleeps, I comb my fingers through the hair on the
back of his head. But I can’t find the line of red dots. I
can’t even find the ‘name of God’ tattoo that was
right above it. Not wanting to be too forceful, I eventually give up
looking. When he wakes I’ll ask him to show me. If all the dots
are red, or not… at least I’ll know for sure whether or
not Andras detected me breaking the deal.

Remembering
my vision, I realize that Stephen only pretends to be asleep, but as
he’s at least resting, I’m not going to go yanking at his
hair.

The
vision. The last vision, the vision where at the end I realize what’s
wrong…it’s coming. I almost want to run. I almost want
to shake Stephen awake so that I can play it out and be done with it.
Running into the restroom, I splash cold water on my face several
times before I can diminish the panic-feeling.

When
I exit the bathroom, I know that the final vision has come. Stephen
scooted his body across to the pillows I had placed beside him, he’s
exactly as he was in my vision, sitting propped against the pillows.
“Hey,”
he says blearily, “come sit with me.”

Climbing
into my usual spot, I curl up beside him. “How are you
feeling?”

He
coughs. “Better.”

“
Liar.
We should check the back of your head,” I say, “I want to
see if any more demons have turned into red dots.”

“
Didn’t
you check before, when I was pretending to be asleep?” he
whispers.

“
Pretending
?”
I say, about to elbow him but catching myself and just shaking my
head. “I don’t think I checked in the right spot...I
couldn’t find the dots and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“
Can
we check later? I’m comfortable now.” He wraps an arm
around my shoulders, which shocks me, a bit, he must be feeling
better.

“
I
just have this feeling...”

“
Still?”

“
Like
something went terribly wrong and I can’t figure it out.”

“
Don’t
you think that it would be safe to say that everything went terribly
wrong?” He says.

“
Yeah,
but, more than that... I feel like something is coming for me... for
us.” Then a sudden and totally consuming shock of terror shoots
through me. “…Or is already here.”

I
look into Stephen’s face, at his healing mouth, then lean down
and kiss him.

He
stills, letting my lips fall upon his without moving or protesting.
Then, his lips part and he’s kissing me back, his hand comes
back to wrap around the back of my head to hold me.

Throwing
my head back against his strong hand holding me, separating our kiss,
I start screaming.

“
You…you
…you. No!” I punch him, and hit him, and kick and
thrash. He holds me, grabs me tighter. I’m pressed against him.

“
Stop
fighting me,” comes his full voice, no whisper, no hoarseness,
no injury to it. But it’s not Stephen’s voice. I know, I
knew from the moment it clicked in my head and I kissed him with no
adverse effects, that the source of the wrongness was right beside
me. Right inside of Stephen’s body.

“
You
can’t do this!” I scream. “You can’t do this
to me…”

“
Actually,
Raven, I can. I already did,” Andras whispers in my ear.

Day
Forty-six

The
bruises and swelling that worked as such an effective mask for the
last six days subside, slowly sucking into an untarnished face.
Stephen’s face. But not Stephen.

Those
neon emerald eyes could only belong to one being, one greater demon,
Andras.

Andras
releases me from his hold, after his transformation is complete,
rolling away to sit against the wall beside me.

A
long horrible wail tears through me. My body curls into a ball as a
pain like a wrecking-ball slamming into my heart threatens to
splatter me.

I
can’t stop saying, “No, no, no, no, no…”
it’s a mantra, a pointless mantra I can’t stop saying. I
knew something was wrong from the beginning, from the first vision,
but not this.

“
Why
him?” I scream, maybe a minute later, maybe an hour.

“
I
should think that would be obvious, Raven,” Andras replies,
nonchalant, “Do you not remember the last words you spoke to me
before the Hell fire?”

“
I
remember,” I spit at him, “
I
will never love you.”

“
You
meant it, when you said it; but yet, you have,” He says back.

“
No.
Not you…I never… Not for you! The love was for him, you
were just in him, a parasite inhabiting his body,” I say.

“
Ask
me if I care,” he responds. “You doted on me; I felt your
feelings on my skin as you touched me —”

“
Not
your
skin!”

“
I
felt it in every story you told me,” he continues as if I
didn’t interrupt, “So many stories. So many secrets. I
might know you better now than anyone in the world.”

I
don’t tell him that he’s just torn apart the little that
remained of my heart; he wouldn’t care.
Bleakly, horribly, it comes together. I stutter out, “This was
you…wasn’t it? All of it…”

“
My
Raven,” his hand pets my head, like I’m his dog, “I
have longed to touch you...”

Turning
to face him, I whisper, “Never touch me.” The moment my
gaze connects with Andras’ and I see Andras’ eyes shining
from Stephen’s face, I regret it so dearly. The sight almost
makes me want to tear out my own eyes. I collapse forward, air not
quite making it into my lungs. “No…you took him…he’s
gone…he’s gone…”

Andras
grabs me, pulling me to him with one brutal movement, squeezing me to
his chest. “You are MINE!” the last word comes as a caw
that tears my mind into a white useless terror.

With
my face smashed against Andras’ chest, I’m tempted to
close my eyes, to dive into the blackness, to greet the dark presence
within me.

Open
your eyes
.
I don’t hear the words, I more feel the message,
open
your eyes
.

I
do.

Just
beyond Andras’ chest, a man I recognize stands a few feet away
from my bed. He’s in the middle of the room, watching me with a
look of such sorrow, such compassion, such grief.

Not
a man, an angel.
Father Dixon
.

He
looks almost the same as he did in life, exactly the same as he did
the one time I saw him after he died; he’s an older man, face
lined with years of laughter; but he’s so much more than an
elderly man, he shines out with thousands of multicolored lights
back-lighting his dark wrinkled skin. He reaches out, both his hands
in a ‘come here’ gesture.

I
nod, infinitesimally. With a slow gliding, I separate from my body,
shifting to look down upon myself. I feel an insubstantial touch and
from it, a warm numbness spreads.

Around
the room elephants stare down at me, apathetic and sterile, from
every wall; but my room and the elephants look as if they were
recorded in a movie, and I’m watching it. Above my body, I
float in a safe place, a separate place. I’m not quite sure if
I can still connect with my body, it’s a shell beneath me.

Below,
Andras’ fingers comb through my hair. His other hand’s
fingers press into my back. He clutches me tightly against his chest
as he whispers, “I plan to take you to so many places, Raven.
There are so many things that I want to share with you, do with you.
You promised to spend twenty-four days more with me, a month total. I
have plans; I have a plan that will change things between us
drastically.”

He
might be whispering these words into the ear of my shell, but I’m
not in there.

“
I
have been in
anguish,
in Hell, this past year; you were supposed to be
mine
…
this,
your
lifetime
,
was supposed to be my
reward
!”
He shouts the last word then breathes heavily into my hair, deep,
heavy inhales and exhales.

My
body just lies there, staring forward, glassy eyed. He’s
holding me so tightly that he might suffocate me, but I can’t…care…

He
continues, “I was supposed to be able to have you in every way
that I want, to touch you in every way that I want; but he took you
from me.” His words almost come out a growl, “Now, I’ve
taken you from
him
.”

My
body flinches in his arms.

He
just grabs me even tighter. “You are rightfully mine and mine
alone.” He whispers, soothingly, “Soon, you will
understand that. Soon, you will accept that.
I
will force you to
.”

As
Andras continues to hold my body, clutching my shell to his chest, I
look back to Father Dixon; he still stands beside me, one hand
outstretched to me.
Thank
you
,
I think at him,
keep
me here, please… I never want to return to my body
.

****

I
blink at the light while my body beneath me trudges forward. My feet
kick up dirt with my stumbling steps. I glance around, recognizing
where I am, the path to Haad Rin; then I turn back to where my body
trudges along, next to Andras.

I
still feel Father Dixon beside me, once and a while, he touches me
and a slow flood of peace flows through me. Andras has shown no sign
of sensing Father Dixon, or being aware of the fact I’m no
longer in the shell he drags around. From where I float above, I see
Andras grasp my hand tightly in his.

No
!
The word slices into my safe place, my floating place. My body weakly
tugs my hand away, but when Andras won’t let go, my body just
returns to watching my feet, and trudges along.

Below,
my body keeps shivering even though I’m dripping with sweat. I
can hear my heartbeat tittering in an erratic rhythm from where I am
in my safe place, yet I cannot muster the emotion to care. I feel
nothing.

Ten
feet on, my body stumbles. Andras’ arms reach down like he’s
going to pick me up.

No!

My
body rights itself and shifts ever-so slightly back from him.

A
frown turns down the unscarred corner of Andras’ face. But he
keeps walking.

In
town, he tugs me behind him leading me directly to the T-shirt shop
entrance of The Spider’s Web.

The
girl behind the counter makes a squeak of protest but she silences
when Andras turns his luminous eyes on her.

Andras
throws open the trap door then leads me down the polished steps and
onto the dais. Tugging me along, Andras leads me down the side of the
dais, we ignore the congregation around The Spider on his throne; I
don’t look, instead watching the little clouds of dust my
body’s flip flops displace onto the gleaming floor. Then we’re
descending the dais’ steps onto the mirror-like floor of the
great hall.