Revenant (The Midnight Society #3) (20 page)

“You shared a placenta once as well. You shared a womb,” my doppelganger pointed out. “You shared life together.”

“We came into this world separate,” I stated. “We evolved into different people, and somehow, Calisto became the sick twisted monster she was.”

“And what did you become?”

I thought about it for a moment. “I became alone.”

My mirror image started laughing at me. “Oh, that’s rich,” he said.

I didn’t find it very funny. My patience was wearing thin. “Tell me how to get out of here.”

That was when little Aria began to speak. However it wasn’t with the voice of a child. She sounded like Calisto.

“There’s no point in keeping up this charade any longer,” little Aria said. “Come on then, take that gun and shoot me.”

I shook my head. “You’re sick, Calisto. Only you would think of having me shoot a little girl as a means of escape.”

“Consider it character building,” little Aria said.

“How do I build character from shooting little girls in the face?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure it does in some way. Now, are you going to do this or what? We’ve already established that you’re not as dumb as I thought. You win. Now get the fuck out of here.”

I raised the gun and pointed it at the little girl’s head.

“Squeeze the trigger,” she whispered.

I shook my head in disgust. I had to remind myself that none of this was real. These were just illusions that Calisto had planted deep inside my head.

“If it’s easier, you can also strangle me to death?” little Aria said. “There’s also a set of knives over there on the kitchen counter you could use. Whatever method works best for you when it comes to killing innocent five-year old girls.”

“You’re not innocent,” I stated. She wasn’t a real child, but a product of my self-consciousness.

“And neither are you. Now get your hands dirty and get the fuck out of here.”

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

#

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lincoln

“You alright there, buddy?” I asked.

Only seconds ago, Shadow had woken up from his trance with an anguished look on his face. His first instinct was to stand, but his wrists were bound to the chair.

“Shadow?” Aria asked. From the hesitation in her voice, I could tell she was worried whether it would be good Shadow or choke-the-shit out of everyone Shadow returning from whatever mind-meld journey he was on.

“The kid…” he uttered. “Fucking made me shoot the kid.”

Aria and I both shot each other a ‘look’—one of those looks that easily replaced the appropriate phrase ‘what the fuck.’

“Shadow, are you alright?” Aria asked. She touched him gently on the forearm. I couldn’t help but feel envious seeing any physical contact between the two.

Jealousy was such a tragic emotion. I tried to shrug it off.

They were happy together. They belonged together.

Shadow looked at the love of his life and any angst he felt seemingly dissipated.

“Aria?” he asked.

“I’m here, Shadow. Always,” she replied.

“My head’s on fire. Christ, now that I’m awake, I’m remembering bits and pieces of what happened just before I blacked out.” He looked up at me. “Fuck, Lincoln. I almost killed you.”

“Yes you did,” I said.

“God, I’m so sorry. I lost control.”

“Well, given the circumstances, I’ll let you off the hook…you asshole.”

Shadow smiled. It was one of those smiles I thought I’d never see out of him again—a smile that was shared only amongst the greatest of friends. “I only wanted to give you a modest beating. Maybe crack a rib or two or rupture a spleen.”

I shrugged. “I guess I deserved it.”

Aria interrupted us. “This is incredibly awkward seeing as how I was the reason why the two of you were trading fisticuffs in the first place.”

Abel injected himself into the chatter. “Shadow, how are you feeling?”

“My head fucking hurts and I’m feeling quite thirsty. Aside from that…I think I’m good. Now, who the hell are you?”

Abel laughed. “I was brought here by Leah Gamble, a colleague of mine.”

“Leah’s here?” he asked.

“Yes, Shadow. You called and I came.” She knelt down beside him—on the opposite side of where Aria was.

“You two met?” Shadow asked as he turned to Aria, and then to Leah.

“I had the pleasure,” Aria replied, coldly.

“We spent some time together, while digging around in that noggin of yours,” Leah said.

“Oh yeah? Did you end up finding anything?” Shadow asked.

“Does Alice in Wonderland mean anything to you?” Abel said.

Shadow thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “I was chasing Alice for a while in my dream, and then she became Calisto, who then became me, but really, Calisto was hiding in Aria.”

Once more, the “what the fuck” face washed over us.

Abel didn’t seem surprised at all by any of it. “Shadow, I think we’ve narrowed down your trigger. There’s a strong connection between your sudden change in personality and the story Alice in Wonderland.”

Shadow frowned. “That doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

“Triggers aren’t supposed to make sense,” Abel said. “The more random a trigger, the more effective it is.”

“There is a copy of Alice in Wonderland on your bookshelf in your office here,” Aria pointed out. “I thought it seemed a little out of place.”

“That was a gift from me,” Leah pointed out. “I knew it was one of Shadow’s favorite stories as a child. I thought I’d give him something nostalgic, something innocent from back when he was a kid.”

“We should burn it,” Aria stated, without batting an eye.

“We’re not burning anything,” Shadow stated while Abel began removing the straps around his wrists. “Am I clear of the triggers then? Did you exorcise whatever crap is floating around inside my head?”

“Too some extent, yes. Once the triggers are recognized and the individual being brainwashed is self-aware, the effects of the trigger are significantly diminished,” he said. “That’s not to say you won’t revert back into a ‘bad guy’, but the probability is much less.”

“Is it anything and everything associated with Alice in Wonderland that’ll transform him?” I asked. I turned to Shadow. “Cheshire Cat. Red Queen. Off with his head.”

“What are you doing? Purposely trying to set him off?” Leah snapped.

I shrugged. “Hey, I figure we have the dream team of psychiatric ass kickers here. If Shadow reverts back to a big bad, we can shoot him up with more tranquilizers and dig around his brain again.”

Shadow seemed unimpressed. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically.

“To answer your question, Shadow, triggers are often a single phrase derived from a strong association to a memory. Childhood memories are often used in brain-washings since they’re rooted deeply in our hearts and memories. When the trigger was planted inside your head, the person definitely knew what they were doing.”

“Well, if anyone knows my childhood, it’s Calisto,” Shadow sighed. “I guess the next logical thing to do is to try and figure out what the exact trigger phrase is.”

“That seems as easy as finding a virgin at a Bon Jovi concert,” I said. “Well, it looks like it’s time I hit the books again.”

“I’m a fast reader. I can give it a go as well,” Aria said, just before adding, “I’ll race you Lincoln.”

“I never back down from a challenge,” I stated.

Shadow rose from his seat and rubbed his wrists. “Aria, if you can get on that, it’d be much appreciated. The copy of the book is still on the shelf in the study. Meanwhile I’d like to speak to Lincoln…alone.”

A silent hush fell across the room.

“Are you two going to be okay in here by yourselves?” Aria finally asked.

“We’ll just have to find out, won’t we,” he replied.

Aria turned to Abel and raised her brow.

“From what I’m seeing, Shadow is in full control of himself again. Nothing to worry about,” he said.

On the contrary, I felt like I had plenty to worry about.

#

“Are we good?” I flat out asked.

Shadow shrugged. “As good as circumstances allow it to be,” he replied. “I don’t hate you, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m certainly not going to choke you in your sleep—even though you deserve it.”

I did deserve it.

“Why don’t you hate me? I put the moves on your woman. I broke the number one rule when it comes to the man laws—don’t reach into another man’s cookie jar.”

“I think the number one rule is ‘don’t sleep with another friend’s family member’, which you also broke by the way. However putting the moves on another person’s woman is a very close second; so close in fact that they might just be on even keel.”

I sighed. “I get it. I fucked up—repeatedly.”

“You’re like a Chihuahua in heat,” Shadow said.

“Chihuahua? I’d see myself more as a Jack Russell or a golden retriever when it comes to man’s best friend.”

“Or bitch.”

“You sure you don’t hate me?” I asked again.

Shadow took a seat in the arm chair, situated next to the large bay windows of the master bedroom.

I decided to take a seat on the piano bench, and positioned it to face him.

“Things will never be the same between us, Lincoln. As long as we have that understanding, then we’re good.”

“So what’s left between us, then?” I asked.

“Business.”

That was fair.

A part of me was hurt that Shadow was willing to cut off our friendship just like that, but I understood. There were some things in a life you could never recover from. What I did to Aria was definitely one of those things.

“Tell me what the situation looks like right now,” Shadow said.

“Not good,” I replied. “Cairo never returned from the rescue mission.”

For a moment, Shadow’s face seemed overcome with anger and frustration, but he soon regained his composure.

“No word at all?” he asked.

“It’s been silent.”

Shadow rose from his seat turned to face the window, taking in the view of the ocean.

“We lost Reiko as well during the Nathan Tse’s raid on this place,” he said. “Fuck.”

“If this place has been compromised, we need to move on,” Lincoln said.

“I agree. Braydon  mentioned he had several safe houses we can move to, ones that have since been abandoned by his MC.”

“Can we trust him?” I asked.

Shadow gave me a sarcastic smile. “Can I trust anybody?”

I was about to say he could trust me but I quickly remembered I had lost that privilege already in New Orleans.

“There is a silver lining in all this, however,” Shadow continued. “To the world, Aria and I are dead. Nathan Tse gave us that little parting gift.”

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record on the entire trust issue but Nathan…”

Shadow seemed to agree. “Nathan Tse should be the last man I ever trust. However, he kept me and Aria alive. He could have just as easily killed us both, end of story. He has nothing to gain by sparing our lives.”

“You sure about that?” I asked.

Shadow thought about it for a moment. “What are you getting at?”

“If the reputation of Nathan Tse is true, keeping you alive will benefit him in some way. Think about his current situation.”

“He’s working for Yuen Xi now,” Shadow said.

“And what do we know about Yuen Xi?”

“He’s a tough man to work for. To him, death is a fair punishment for failure.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Nathan is scared of Yuen Xi. He needs a dark horse—a secret weapon in play that just might help him get out of the mess he’s in. If anything, he’s hoping you can find a way to take down Yuen Xi.”

Shadow shook his head and walked over to the bar to pour a drink. “With the state we’re in, we have no chance against that old, psycho dragon.”

“I know. Calisto’s poisoned that old kook’s mind. He thinks I’m the one who ordered the hit on his daughter.”

Shadow frowned. “You’re in shit.”

“I’m in shit,” I agreed. “Along with anyone that’s associated with me. This little fellowship you’ve gathered—Beau, Braydon, Isadora, and now Leah—they’re in danger as long as I’m around them.”

He offered me a glass, but I shook my head. I wasn’t in much of a drinking mood. For now I needed my head clear as well.

“It’s the risk they’ll need to take being a part of the Midnight Society,” Shadow said.

“Shadow, let’s face it. The Midnight Society is dead. It died that night at the Inferno.”

He shook his head. “The Midnight Society is dead only after Calisto pays for all that she’s done,” he replied.

I shook my head. “Shadow, everything’s changed. Whatever plan you had before…it has to change.”

“Nothing’s changed!’ he snapped.

“Calisto is pregnant. The baby in there is quite possibly mine.”

“Is that what she told you? You know she’s lying.”

“There’s that chance,” I replied. “But what if she’s not? If that’s
not
my kid in her belly—and I ran the calculations in my head hundreds of times, it’s a strong possibility—what then? Are you going to kill her? Are you going to force her to confess to Elena’s murder, and then hand her over to Yuen Xi so he can torture her?”

Shadow took a deep breath and sat back down.

A moment of silence passed between us, with the only sounds audible in the room being our breathing.

I finally spoke. “Regardless whether that kid inside is mine or not, he or she is going to be your blood Shadow. Calisto is an evil bitch who deserves to be punished but the child inside her doesn’t. It deserves the chance to live.”

My words seemed to have an immediate impact on Shadow. His eyes softened—no longer lit with that dark fire that was there only seconds ago.

“So, pro-life, huh?” he asked.

I nodded. “When it comes to my kid, yes, pro-life. And please, let’s not talk about the possibility that it’s not mine…yet. I can’t write that off until at least that child sees the light of day.”

Shadow nodded. “So what are we going to do then?”

“I don’t know, Shadow. You were always better at making these decisions than I was. That’s why you were the leader of the Midnight Society.”

“As you put it, the Midnight Society is dead. I led them to their end.”

I sensed the remorse in his words. He was feeling the weight of failure. However, no one could fault him for the decisions he had made given the circumstances.

“None of it was your fault. The Midnight Society
is
dead. However the men and women who’ve rallied around you aren’t. Lead us not as Society members but as your friends. Lead us as people who care about you and each other. You can still do that, can’t you?”