Cat's Claw (21 page)
Authors: Amber Benson
Tags: #Fantasy, #Contemporary, #Fiction, #General, #Fantasy fiction, #Fiction - Fantasy, #Science Fiction And Fantasy, #Fantasy - Contemporary
Suddenly, I heard a low
pop
. I followed the sound with my nonexistent eyes, expecting to see only darkness, but instead one of the weird overhead lights flipped on about fifty feet down the corridor. As I realized what had made the light turn on, my breath caught in my nonexistent throat and I, without meaning to, found myself racing at hyperspeed down the corridor. I wanted to call out, but since I had no mouth, I could do nothing but hover and watch as the handsome, dark-haired man with the ice blue eyes pulled a red file out of the stack in front of him and extracted a thin brown piece of paper from inside it.
pop
. I followed the sound with my nonexistent eyes, expecting to see only darkness, but instead one of the weird overhead lights flipped on about fifty feet down the corridor. As I realized what had made the light turn on, my breath caught in my nonexistent throat and I, without meaning to, found myself racing at hyperspeed down the corridor. I wanted to call out, but since I had no mouth, I could do nothing but hover and watch as the handsome, dark-haired man with the ice blue eyes pulled a red file out of the stack in front of him and extracted a thin brown piece of paper from inside it.
Daniel,
my mind screamed, but it was no use. All I could do was watch as he replaced the empty file, looked around to make sure no one had spotted his larceny—
Me! I saw it!
I wanted to yell out—and then folded the piece of paper, slipping it inside his coat pocket.
my mind screamed, but it was no use. All I could do was watch as he replaced the empty file, looked around to make sure no one had spotted his larceny—
Me! I saw it!
I wanted to yell out—and then folded the piece of paper, slipping it inside his coat pocket.
The whole thing took less than a minute, and then the light flipped off again and he was gone. I could only imagine he knew some other secret access point and that was how he’d made his daring entrance and escape, but I was too upset by the encounter to follow him or ask him what exactly he thought he was doing gallivanting around Purgatory when he was
supposed
to be dead!
supposed
to be dead!
The only thing I could bring myself to do was look down at the file folder he’d replaced. I knew it was the right one because he’d replaced it too quickly and hadn’t gotten it back into its spot properly, causing a corner to stick out where it should have lain flush with the other folders.
The row of red folders remained silent as I looked down at the label, my heart lurching as I read what it said:
DANIEL SMITH, THE FORMER DEVIL’S PROTÉGÉ
I barely had two seconds to digest what the label said before I felt a sharp tug on my soul and I found myself being dragged, unwillingly, back into my body.
thirteen
I gasped for air; my lungs felt like two deflated balloons flopping around painfully inside my chest. It didn’t seem like I’d been gone for very long, but by the frightened look on Jarvis’s face—and the lack of oxygen I’d experienced upon my return—I wasn’t so sure. Either way, I didn’t think there’d be any permanent brain damage, but it definitely made me not want to have a repeat performance anytime soon.
“Are you all right?” Jarvis said, worry tightening his face, making him look drawn and tired. Even his mustache seemed the worse for wear.
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath and readjust to having a corporeal form again. We were interrupted by the crash of metal striking solid wall, the sound splitting the air around us. We turned in unison, observing the pained throes of an armored guard as it slid down the limestone wall behind Jarvis and crumpled into a heap at his feet. Two seconds later Suri’s airborne body followed suit, landing with such force that it caromed down the middle of the Oriental-carpeted hall like a skipping stone. The young woman didn’t stay down for long, though. Like a supple marionette, she was instantly back on her feet again, her whole body snapping itself into place as if her limbs were being mysteriously maneuvered by a series of invisible, but interconnected, strings.
Eyes wild, Suri let out a piercing war cry that made the hairs on the backs of my arms rise, then she leapt back into the fray. I followed her progress, noting that there were now
eight
armored knights involved in the battle, each of them wielding some kind of massive sword or battle-ax. They handled their weapons with such ease that they might well have been made out of Styrofoam instead of steel.
eight
armored knights involved in the battle, each of them wielding some kind of massive sword or battle-ax. They handled their weapons with such ease that they might well have been made out of Styrofoam instead of steel.
The Shade now stood on top of a long table, surrounded by the hulking knights, but being outnumbered nine to one didn’t faze it. I heard another war whoop and watched as Suri did a front handspring, landing only a few feet away from the edge of the tabletop, balled fists straining at her waist the only indication of her extreme agitation.
Suddenly, I felt the heat of the Shade’s stare on me again and I looked up, my belly churning as its eyes locked onto mine. I felt a tug at my brain and then I was fighting against my own soul as it tried to disconnect from my body and go floating away again.
Help me,
a voice said urgently inside my head. It was the same voice I’d heard when I was bodiless. I hadn’t paid much attention to whom the voice might belong to before, but now I listened, waiting for the tell that would confirm my suspicions.
a voice said urgently inside my head. It was the same voice I’d heard when I was bodiless. I hadn’t paid much attention to whom the voice might belong to before, but now I listened, waiting for the tell that would confirm my suspicions.
Please, help me, Callie.
I knew that voice.
“Daniel,”
I breathed, the word barely a whisper as it slipped from my mouth, but it was enough to snap the connection. Almost instantaneously I found myself back in possession of my body again. I let out a relieved breath, my body shaking as I realized how close I had come to losing control of my soul.
I breathed, the word barely a whisper as it slipped from my mouth, but it was enough to snap the connection. Almost instantaneously I found myself back in possession of my body again. I let out a relieved breath, my body shaking as I realized how close I had come to losing control of my soul.
It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out was going on. Somehow, Daniel had separated his soul from his body, leaving the corporeal side of him free to slip into the Hall of Death and steal his own Death Record. I could only assume that the weird soul blending we had engaged in months earlier was the reason why our souls were able to call each other out and communicate so intimately.
It was hard to reconcile this Shade with the Daniel I knew. Still, something within my heart recognized this
thing
as Daniel, so I was just going to have to listen to what the little voice inside my brain told me to do and trust that everything would work out all right.
thing
as Daniel, so I was just going to have to listen to what the little voice inside my brain told me to do and trust that everything would work out all right.
Jarvis heard my exhalation and looked up quizzically. I shook my head, hoping that he would understand my wordless plea for silence. He started to open his mouth, then quickly shut it again, nodding. Without another word, he reached out and took my hand, giving it a firm squeeze.
I turned my attention back to the fight already in progress, an idea forming in my head as I watched the knights inch closer to their prey. I didn’t know why Daniel was trying to steal his own file, but he had asked for my help—
Suddenly, all the collected feelings of anger and hurt bubbled to the surface of my heart, and I was so full of rage that I wanted to tell Suri
exactly
who the Shade was and what he’d been doing upstairs with the Death Records. I could feel the nasty words just itching to leave my mouth, but I swallowed them back as I realized something important: No matter how angry I was with the stupid former Devil’s protégé, no matter how much I detested him right at that moment for making me think he was dead . . . in the end, all I really wanted to do was run over and kiss the crap out of him.
exactly
who the Shade was and what he’d been doing upstairs with the Death Records. I could feel the nasty words just itching to leave my mouth, but I swallowed them back as I realized something important: No matter how angry I was with the stupid former Devil’s protégé, no matter how much I detested him right at that moment for making me think he was dead . . . in the end, all I really wanted to do was run over and kiss the crap out of him.
The realization that I was in love with Daniel hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so
not
prepared to find my heart beating in double time at the mere thought of putting my lips on his. It was ridiculous, a totally crazy proposition—and it didn’t matter one whit that my heart felt one way while my brain was holding down the opposite opinion. I was just giddy to be within a hundred feet of him—soul or body, either one was fine by me!—saccharine as that was.
not
prepared to find my heart beating in double time at the mere thought of putting my lips on his. It was ridiculous, a totally crazy proposition—and it didn’t matter one whit that my heart felt one way while my brain was holding down the opposite opinion. I was just giddy to be within a hundred feet of him—soul or body, either one was fine by me!—saccharine as that was.
I took a deep breath, strangely relaxed now that I had finally stopped denying the obvious, and began to assess the situation. Daniel’s soul still stood on the table, his way blocked by the armored knights. Suri, her body a tightly coiled mass of muscle and sinew, crouched by the table’s edge like a snake readying itself to pounce. As I watched her, she shoved a hank of thick black hair behind her ear, her face a mask. I had no idea what she planned on doing to subdue Daniel’s soul, but since I now had a vested interest in the outcome, I needed to intervene before she made mincemeat out of him.
“Stop!” I yelled, my voice firm and controlled. Under normal circumstances, I was a bit of a coward, but knowing that Daniel’s safety was at stake filled me with a sense of purpose, making me feel like one of those preternaturally strong mothers who can lift a full-sized car off her kid when normally it’s all she can do just to carry her shopping bags out of the grocery store by herself. Whether I wanted to or not, I was gonna keep this new persona going long enough to make sure no one I cared about got hurt.
“Hey, stop it!” I yelled, striding forward so that I was standing just underneath the archway that led into the room. Suri looked up, startled by my presence.
“I can stop him,” I said confidently.
Suri just stared at me, eyes narrowed in suspicion. I gave her my most winning smile, but she just continued to stare at me as if I were speaking in another language.
We stood there, staring at each other like we were in some kind of Mafia standoff, until I heard a clipped voice behind me say:
“Do you not realize who she
is
?”
is
?”
I felt Jarvis step up beside me, flanking my right side as if he were my bodyguard. I flashed him a quick smile, which he returned before giving Suri such a look of intense concentration that I thought she might melt into a puddle right then and there. He may have been almost a head shorter than me—
not
that I was a behemoth at five-six—but there was just something about Jarvis that inspired respect, no matter how high you towered over him.
not
that I was a behemoth at five-six—but there was just something about Jarvis that inspired respect, no matter how high you towered over him.
Suri looked from Jarvis to me, then back again, before shaking her head. She seemed a lot less sure of herself now that I had the faun in my corner. I was digging the odds more and more now that the two-person standoff had magically become a three-person hustle.
“
This
,” Jarvis continued, his tone dripping with disdain directed right at Suri, “is
Calliope Reaper-Jones
.”
This
,” Jarvis continued, his tone dripping with disdain directed right at Suri, “is
Calliope Reaper-Jones
.”
It took a moment for Jarvis’s words to click, but when my name finally rang a few bells in her brain, her face transformed from stormy menace into a beatific grin.
“Oh my goodness, you’re Death’s Daughter.”
It was a statement, not a question. Still, I felt that I had to acknowledge her somehow, so I just nodded, strangely embarrassed by the look of reverence she was beaming in my direction.
“Uhm, yeah. That’s me, I guess.”
“You saved your father
and
fought the demon Vritra
and
found the Cup of Jamshid . . .”
and
fought the demon Vritra
and
found the Cup of Jamshid . . .”
Suri started to rattle off my various accomplishments in backwards order, which only made me feel
more
embarrassed than I already was. I had never seen hero worship alive and well in someone’s face before, but there it was, stamped on Suri’s visage for the whole world to see. It was a totally new and weird experience for me, one that I wasn’t completely sure I liked.
more
embarrassed than I already was. I had never seen hero worship alive and well in someone’s face before, but there it was, stamped on Suri’s visage for the whole world to see. It was a totally new and weird experience for me, one that I wasn’t completely sure I liked.
“Yes,” Jarvis said, interrupting Suri as she continued to extol my virtues for the assemblage. “This is the same Calliope Reaper-Jones. Now, quit squawking and order your knights to step aside so that she may deal with the Shade.”
I wanted to kiss Jarvis for being so amazing.
“But I can’t allow a civilian to deal with—” she began, but Jarvis held up his Fran Drescher hand.
“We both know that the one defense this guard is lacking in is”—he gestured to the armored knights, who stood in an unmoving circle around the table where Daniel’s Shade was still standing—“their ability to deal with noncorporeal entities.”
Suri looked shamefacedly at the ground, then gave a meek nod of acquiescence.
“This is true, but there was good cause to fire the witch doctors, as you know already . . .”
Jarvis didn’t let her off the hook so easily.
“This is something that our President and CEO has commented on in the past, but that you and your retinue were unwilling to deal with in a timely fashion.”
Suri continued to look down at her feet.
“But we
do
have plans to bring in another—”
do
have plans to bring in another—”
Jarvis abruptly cleared his throat, cutting her off.
“When you released those Senegalese witch doctors from your employ, you should’ve hired someone to fill their place at once,” Jarvis said tersely. You could tell this was a subject that he and my dad had talked about at length, but hadn’t been able to induce Suri and her team to act on yet.
Suri looked up at Jarvis, chagrined.
“I swear that we’ll get someone in here immediately.”
“Until then,” Jarvis said, his tone chiding, “you have a disruptive Shade in the Hall of Death—which is supposed to be one of the most heavily defended places in all of Purgatory, but apparently is
not
, as you have just proven by this spectacle.”
not
, as you have just proven by this spectacle.”
Suri nodded, red-faced, as Jarvis continued his gentle, yet firm, dressing-down. I could tell by the way Jarvis was trying not to smile that this was exactly where he wanted our guide: ashamed and vulnerable; i.e.,
easily manipulated
.
easily manipulated
.
“I suggest you let Miss Calliope deal with your Shade,” Jarvis said breezily. “As you already know, she is a professional when it comes to things of this nature.”
Jarvis was quickly becoming my new hero.
It was funny, but until now, I’d had no idea what a master at the art of deception my dad’s Executive Assistant was. Right before my eyes, he’d twisted our little guide into such an emotional pretzel of embarrassment that she didn’t know whether she was coming or going—and of course, Jarvis was right there, ready to lead her in whichever direction he deemed best.
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