Successors (34 page)

Danato turned around, but Ethan didn’t face him. “You didn’t know what you were doing. The mirror was controlling you by that point.”

“I almost killed her!” Ethan yelled out the accusation as if he was chastising someone else for the crime.

“Yes, you did. Isn’t that enough punishment for now?” Danato left him alone to ponder that question.

71

The next morning Cori awoke blurry-eyed and aching, with the worst sore throat known to man. Before she was fully coherent, she felt a plastic straw touch her lips. “Sip,” she heard Danato say. She sipped up the cool water and swallowed. It stung, but after two or three more gulps she started to feel the moisture soak in.

She blinked away her fog and saw Danato sitting next to her bed on the right and Belus on a chair just off to her left. “Good morning,” Danato said, lifting her hand and kissing it.

“Morning.” Her voice cracked.

“We brought your work assignments for the day over.” Belus grinned.

Danato gave him a harsh glare, but she smiled at him. She knew that Belus wasn’t the type to offer up too much sympathy to anyone. She always got the impression that he started out in life behind the eight ball. Anyone who started with a clean slate didn’t deserve to have life any easier than they already had it.

“Thanks, I’ll get right on that.” His sarcastic grin turned into a warm smile, and she returned it.

“How are you feeling?” Danato asked, still holding her hand.

“Just sore. My chest feels like someone tap-danced on it. My throat…” She paused, taking account of all the pain in her body. She remembered why her throat hurt so much. She remembered why she was in this bed to begin with. She looked at Danato. She cringed inwardly as she felt the betrayal of the scene she endured and witnessed. Although she met the entity that influenced Ethan, she still didn’t understand it. “Why did he do that to me?”

“It wasn’t him.” Danato pulled his chair even closer. “He was under the control of a mirror. We can explain it more thoroughly when you feel better.” Danato cupped her hand in both of his. Her hand virtually disappeared with the exception of the tips of her fingernails. “I just need you to understand that Ethan would never do that. He…” He paused, looking at Belus as if he held the permission slip to speak. “Ethan cares a great deal for you. I think you know that. He is beside himself with agony over this incident.”

“Where is he?” she asked.

Danato once again looked to Belus, who took over. “We asked him not to come. We thought a full recovery would be best.”

“Is that… okay?” Danato asked as if he was trying to anticipate all of her wants and needs.

She shrugged. “I guess so.” She paused for a moment, trying to figure out what it was she was feeling. She was horrified by what had happened. Yet, lying in this bed, she wanted Ethan to be by her side with Danato and Belus. Even if this incident was caused at his hands, she couldn’t shake the feeling that his
not
being there was more offensive than him being there. She didn’t express this to Danato, since he seemed to have had some debate about the topic as well.

“Since I have you both here,” Belus interjected, “I want to apologize for not recognizing the danger of the mirror in the gym. I can’t offer any explanation for my lack of concern. Cori, I’ve put you in danger, and Danato, I’ve disappointed you. I am sorry to both of you.”

Danato shook his head. “No, Belus. You couldn’t have been unaffected by the mirror’s power. I should have recognized Ethan’s change in behavior and investigated.”

“Ethan has been under my observation during the day,” Belus objected.

“And mine at night. I should have registered his demeanor as unusual,” Danato reiterated.

“I’m sorry too,” Cori jumped in.

Both men stopped and looked at her.

“What are you to blame for?” Danato asked.

Cori thought a moment. “I don’t know. I’m just usually to blame for something when this stuff happens.”

Danato and Belus exchanged amused smiles.

“Sweetheart,” Danato said, kissing her hand again. “I think there is a shared blame amongst three or four people for this incident, but for once, you are not one of them.”

72

Two days later, Cori was released from the infirmary. Instead of going back to the house to rest up, she went straight to work, catching up on whatever duties had not been filled in for while she was gone.

On the fifth level, she attended to a few lighter duties. Prisoner maintenance, as the clipboard described it. “Good morning, Rodan,” she said, her voice still hoarse. She smiled broadly at the massive mound of rocks contained in the cell before her.

A muffled growl emerged from the heap. The rocks shifted, releasing steam and heat as they unfurled into a twelve-foot figure. A body shape became visible as chunks of elongated rocks formed the legs and arms of the beast. Just as a human body had jointed bones, the rock monster had jointed rocks. Instead of tendons and ligaments, the beast was jointed together with molten lava.

Under a boulder brow, eyes of lava glowered out at her from his head. A puff of steam issued from the nose of rock. When the creature spoke, she could see the shimmering diamonds that lined his mouth; a temptation that had lured many a man to his death.

“Back again so soon. I thought I scared you off last time.” The harsh voice was almost difficult to understand, but she had learned to listen to the high notes in his voice and block out the vibrations the rocks in his throat caused.

“Not so.” Cori made a note on her clipboard. “I rather enjoyed our last encounter. Your sudorific personality does wonders for my skin.”

“Is that why you brought me a virgin sacrifice?”

Cori snorted with haughty amusement. “I hate to disappoint you, Rodan, but it’s been a while since I could fill that position.”

The rock creature raised his head, motioning behind her. She looked back and saw Ethan standing two cells down. He stood with a wide stance and his hands overlapped before him. It reminded her of when soldiers were told to stand at ease.

She had not seen him since their violent encounter. The nurses said he had been in the last two nights to sit with her. According to them, he had stayed nearly two hours each time and never spoke nor touched her. He must have taken Danato’s advice to stay away seriously, but couldn’t resist checking in on her.

Some part of her was happy that he had come. They could never find a happy medium with each other. Knowing that he wasn’t going to surrender into oblivion after the incident made her feel better. It meant he preferred to just rip the bandage off the rapidly approaching uncomfortable interaction, rather than draw it out.

She could see by the distance he left between them that he was concerned she might be fearful of him. As she looked him over, she saw the reserved observation that she had come to appreciate since she had gotten back. Before she left, his quiet reflection made him seem timid, but now his eyes were assertive and vigilant.

He held her gaze as she looked him over. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything. She wondered how long she could look on him before his stare would flinch. She hadn’t intended to be the one to break the moment, but Rodan hammered on his bars.

“Easy, block-head,” she rebuked the monster.

“Bring me my virgin sacrifice. The innocent ones taste the best,” Rodan grumbled.

Cori looked down at her clipboard, trying to hide a smile. In her peripheral vision, she could see Ethan shift his stance. She had never thought of him as a virgin. She had to remind herself that he was only just ending his teen years, and, unless he was an early starter or into dangerous liaisons, he hadn’t really had many opportunities to date.

She looked on Ethan again and smiled warmly. His seemingly unwarranted devotion to her made sense all of a sudden. His puppy crush might normally have ended after he found someone closer to his age, but instead it had morphed into a set of compound emotions that probably now mirrored her own.

However, her feelings for him were grounded in a dysfunctional sibling rivalry, and his were still planted in attraction. It was almost as if she had become the baseline to his desire.

Ethan didn’t hold her eyes this time. He glanced back at the rock monster and glared. He didn’t try to voice any denial to the accusation. She thought that showed a valor that most men didn’t possess.

Cori looked back at the rock man and shook her head. “You don’t want him, Rodan. Too much meat. I thought you liked your sacrifices petite and crying like babies.”

“Would you like a diamond, boy?” Rodan asked, ignoring her taunt. He opened his mouth wide, showing the diamonds that begged to be pilfered. He laughed, amused by Ethan’s lack of amusement, though he probably would have laughed no matter what retort Ethan offered.

Cori pulled the long red lever on the wall opposite the cell, sending gallon after gallon of water over the rock creature. Steam hissed all around him as the water cooled his lava joints, leaving him immobile. She made a check on her sheet and walked away.

“Cori.”

“Yes.” She continued on her way.

“Can you stop so we can talk?” he asked.

“I’m not trying to get away from you. I’m trying to get away from the steam. It makes my hair kink up”

“Oh.” They walked away from the steam cloud and she stopped. He stopped as well, keeping a good distance between them. “I wanted to talk to you about… what happened.”

“Don’t worry. Danato explained everything. I don’t blame you. I know that everything you said and did was because of the mirror.”

“Cori…”

“You can come closer than that.”

Ethan looked at the distance between them and closed it. “Is that better?”

“Danato told you to stay away from me the last two days.” She paused as if she was waiting for confirmation, but then continued before he could speak. “You still came, though. At night, so I wouldn’t see you.”

“I had to see for myself.”

“You should have woken me.” She blurted it out even before she knew she wanted to say it. His wide eyes left her regretting it, but she didn’t care anymore. “I wanted to see you. I should have told Danato to bring you, but he was so concerned that you might freak me out.” He waited for her to speak again. “Honestly… you scared the shit out of me.” Her face contorted as she tried to keep the tears at bay.

She saw her pain reflected in him. “I’m so sorry, Cori.”

“I know,” she said, pushing her emotions back so they could have an honest discussion. “So…” She hugged her clipboard. “I woke up and Danato explained that it wasn’t you doing it, and…” She could see Ethan struggling to keep a space between them. “You weren’t there,” she blurted out again. His brow crinkled. “It doesn’t make any sense to me either, but I think as a general rule, if someone tries to kill me, I think you should come and visit me in the hospital even if
you
were the person who tried to kill me.”

His mouth tipped, amused by her statement, but his lips were reluctant to show too much amusement.

“You would never hurt me,” she said it like she was reading it from a book. When he didn’t respond, she stepped closer to him. “Say it,” she demanded. “Make me believe you, so I don’t have to be afraid of you. You are the only one here who understands. Please don’t let me be afraid of you.” She wasn’t crying, but her hands were shaking, and her already hoarse voice was starting to crack.

His eyes flickered over hers as she spoke. He finally gave up his resolve for personal space and embraced her. His arms locked around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. “I would never hurt you, Cori,” he said vehemently. “I can’t stand to think what I might have done to you.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Nobody is going to hurt you again, including me. Do you understand?”

She nodded against his neck.

“Say yes,” he whispered even softer.

“Yes,” she said.

“I will kill whoever tries, including me. Do you believe me?”

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. “Yes.”

He pulled her away. She resisted a little, not willing to look him in the eyes. With no more than inches between their faces, she felt the heat between their bodies rise. “Cori.” A sudden panic hit her as she started to question what she had just said. She wondered if he would interpret her honesty as an invitation. His fingers scooped up her chin, and she considered taking a step away from him to reestablish the boundaries that she had just ripped to shreds. “I need to tell you something.”

She wanted to say something, but his eyes were stern. Whatever he wanted to say wouldn’t be stopped by a back step or an ill-placed precursor to a new conversation.

“Everything that I did and said was beyond my control, but…” The word hung in the air like a bomb threatening to blow. “Even though the words were wrong, the core belief was still created in my mind.”

“I don’t understand.” She took her step back, finding a different reason to make the move.

“Nothing I just said to you has changed. I will do whatever is necessary to make you trust me again, but I came here for a very specific purpose, and I am not leaving until I’ve said my piece… even if it means pissing you off.”