The Ghost and the Darkness Volume 1 (The Fallocaust Series Book 2) (23 page)

“I know you miss going out,” Garrett’s voice said beside me, I could hear hints of bemusement. “So I decided to make you your own bar,
Otter’s
. It’s free to drink too,” he said the last part with a chuckle.

He did this for me? My eyes swept from one side of the bar to the other, dark-stained wooden chairs, tables with a blue table cloth adorning each, another electric fireplace in the corner with two overstuffed blue chairs. I had to chuckle at the absurdity of it all, all of this for little ol’ me. Damn, just because he knew I missed the bar.

Like when he took me to the outlands, all of this to make me happy.

A very attractive looking waiter took us to our seats by the fireplace, bringing us each glasses of wine. I felt my mind swim but not from the drugs. The week since the accident had done nothing to stop the flames burning in my chest. Every day I felt my feelings for him grow, to the point now where I waited every evening for him to come home, and I felt a sense of absence and longing when he left in the morning.

As soon as the waiter left I kissed him softly and passionately on the lips. My hand on his side felt his body relax as I took him in. “I’m not worth all of this, you know. I’m a radiation-crazed greywaster, remember?”

Garrett made a dismissive noise and waved his hand. He leaned back and crossed his legs, and raised a wine glass to me. “Only the best for my cicaro, right?” He gave me a wink, which made my chest twinge. “Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you, just ask.” Garrett took a drink and put it down with a smack of his lips. “Which reminds me, take out those god awful steel pegs in your ears.”

My hand automatically went up to my ear. I had three earrings in each, I liked my steel pegs. “Aw, really? Do you know how many ravers I had to kill to find matching sets?”

Garrett gave an animated shudder. “I saw a group of those once, in the blacksands I believe. How do you arians even survive in such a desolate place?” The president of Skytech reached into his pocket and I saw a velvet case in his hand. “To think of someone like you being in that world.”

I stopped the frown before it could reach my lips. That was my world though and I still wanted to one day go back to my world. I missed the greywastes.

Garrett thankfully didn’t notice, I watched as he held out the box to me. “I found my diamond in the wastes. It is only suiting you wear your status.”

I gave him an inquisitive smirk and opened the box.

Well holy crap, he got me jewellery. My mouth dropped open as I realized past the pearl-size diamonds were little silver studs. They were earrings; six of them. One pair were white diamond; the other black diamond, and the other red.

“The red ones are rubies, real ones.” Garrett took the box back and stood up. I felt him start to take my now very garbage seeming earrings out of my ears. “The clear ones and the black ones are both diamonds, the backing is platinum.”

“Thank you, you’re making me feel like a king here. I’m really not worth this,” I chuckled. Reaver was worth this, Reaver was a clone chimera superman... I was just, a waster who got sold like a deacdog. I was nothing.

I wasn’t even here to be his partner; I was here to get information for Elish.

When Garrett was done he reached into his pocket for a mirror. I sighed and held a hand out to stop him. “I’m serious, Garrett. I’m nothing; I’m a dime a dozen waster who was sitting alone in a cabin on a rock a few months ago. Eating rat meat and snorting drugs, you know I’m not... I’m not worth this.”

Cookie cutter replies were not Garrett’s forte; he looked at me with a half-smirk and held up the mirror to me.

Three in each ear, black, then red, then white. “I don’t care what you were,” he said. “It’s what you are now. You’re my pet and that makes you deserving of every luxury and everything your heart might want. It doesn’t matter who you were, you are mine now,
lutra.
”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and took pause. I stared at myself, really stared at myself. Not the passing glance I had when I was fancying myself up or after a shower, I actually looked.

My soft, silvery hair that Luca loved to style, my now trimmed and shaped eyebrows that seemed to bring out my blue eyes. My face, healthier looking and younger since I shaved every few days now, still oval shaped, ending with a pointed chin.

The collar around my neck, leather and studded with red jewels, trailing off a thin leash of steel links, and my ears... now adorned with shiny gemstones, worth more money than I had ever made in my life.

Lutra... Otter...

My eyes closed. Reno Nevada, that was my name. I was a field sentry from Aras, my best friend Reaver was hidden in a safe house far away from here, in threat of danger every day, the same with my little Tinkerbell. I was a greywaster I wasn’t a pet named Otter. I had black hair, grey gaunt wasteland features, and permanent black marks under my eyes from too little sun, too much drugs, and a life of food with little nutritional value.

I don’t think I even knew who I was anymore.

I thanked him a million times and relaxed into the soft fabric, in response he put a strong and protective arm around my waist.

I listened intently as he rattled on about his day, what his plans were and anything he wanted to talk about. I felt a drowsy happiness as we talked. So relaxed, and content. The people who I still didn’t know, coming and going with their drinks and food. Maybe he had offered free food and drinks if they would stay awhile, add to the atmosphere I had missed so much.

My reverie broke though when I heard Garrett’s phone ring. He gave a low groan, mumbling something I didn’t pick up over the faint music and people chattering. I put down my glass, looking forward to him picking up the rest of his story when he was free again. Garrett was telling me in great detail about a centipod hunt he had been on several months ago. Giant centipede type things which sounded fucking terrifying. I had never seen one of those things around Aras but in our side of the greywastes we were more raver infested. It seemed around Skyfall and the plaguelands they had more abomination-type creatures. Probably since they had way more labs there, and apparently Silas found it hilarious to release breeding pairs into the wild.

My sense of contentment though disappeared as I saw his face fall. He read the screen of his phone with an ill look and glanced around the bar before taking the call.

My anxiety only intensified as he gave me a polite wave before getting up and taking the call out on the balcony.

I watched him pace, and make motions with his free hand, his expressive eyes showing a wide variety of emotions. I knew this wasn’t good, and when he kept looking in my direction I had an idea who it was.

Someone had woken up early.

Garrett finally hung up the phone but he didn’t immediately walk back inside. Instead he lit a cigarette and smoked it on the balcony, an opiate one. I had never seen him show any interest in them. He liked his hard liquor and his cigars; he was the most drug-sober person I knew.

I watched the blue ember make a swirl in the air as he flicked it over the side of the building. I saw him straighten out his red tie and walk back inside with a smile on his face.

But I wasn’t stupid, I saw it in his eyes. “Do you want to go home?”

“Ah, sure.” Garrett’s eyes glanced around the room before he motioned to the waiter. Promptly the young man bought him his pot pie hat and his jacket. Then with a tinkle of chains he took my leash and we walked back into the elevator.

When we got into his apartment he immediately hit the liquor again. I was a pet so I kept my mouth shut about it. I changed into some less tight-fitting clothes and took it upon myself to get a bowl of candies and some soda to water down the rye he had just poured for himself, then I took my seat beside him.

“Silas has summoned us to Alegria,” Garrett whispered. “His skyscraper, tomorrow evening.”

My throat felt like it had been filled with small needles. I tried to swallow but it got stuck halfway down my throat and stayed there. “He’s awake?”

Garrett gave me a slow nod, the tip of his mouth turned down, he looked grim. “He’s angry... very angry that Reaver escaped.”

“So he’s going to take it out on me?”

Garrett took a drink of his rye; he shook his head as the rich brown liquid swirled in his tumbler. “He seemed amused that Elish gave you to me as a pet. He... well, he had good things to say about your nature.”

That was a relief to hear, I had always acted normally around Asher. I hadn’t minded the guy before he started trying to date rape Reaver. I mean even after he fucked me when I had told him no I was still civil. I don’t think I had given him any reason not to like me besides being associated with Reaver.

“But... there is no doubt there will be questions,” Garrett said.

I watched almost instantly as his body language changed, like he was putting on his chimera shoes. He swirled the cup around and looked at me over his brow. “Reno, I respect your life before you came here. I hold no grudges against you, I have no reason to. I must know before we see him... do you know where Reaver is?”

I shook my head automatically as my heart did a flip in my chest. I pushed down my rising fear and the edging intimidation I felt at his tone. In a matter of moments I felt myself humbled. I was in the presence of a chimera who was very much loyal to Silas.

God dammit, Reno, remember that.

“I passed out on the plane,” I said. I was a terrible liar but I think I was doing a good job at keeping my composure.

“The next thing I knew I was in Elish’s skyscraper with Lyle hovering over me. I... I don’t even know if Killian is with him, or Perish.” I shrugged and sighed, feeling a sadness wash over me that wasn’t entirely put on. “I don’t know anything.”

I expected him to nod, or show some sign that he accepted my answer but those shards of green stone stared right into me. I shifted uncomfortably and dropped my gaze.

“Reno, I don’t... I really don’t care where Reaver is, or his boyfriend. It’s taken me twenty years but I managed to separate my personal life from King Silas and my more... difficult brothers. I have no interest in this fight. I’m too busy running Skytech I can’t play another one of his games.” His cheeks puffed out as he sighed; he rubbed my hand and squeezed it. “I couldn’t care less if you’ve been hiding Reaver in my closet all this time, I just don’t want you to give him any reason to hurt you.” His second hand clasped over his first and he gently shook my hand. “Do you understand?”

I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye. It wouldn’t be long now before Elish took me back, especially now that he was awake. It was going to break his heart. “I understand.”

The longer I was here the more I did understand. I understood the cards Garrett was holding, and the cards Silas held as well. Silas was off playing his own little game of
Catch Reaver
, that’s all he cared about. Garrett was just doing his normal routines running the companies; he had no interest in what his lord and master was doing.

It wasn’t what I expected but it made sense the more I thought about it. There was Skyfall to run and the trade routes and the block maintenance, it all didn’t get done by itself. Some of the brothers had been raised for these positions and there they stayed, separated from the everyday chaos that was King Silas.

It was a huge world outside my cabin door, and the longer I was in it the more I was understanding just what it was about.

More or less I was understanding the Dekker family. There were almost three different worlds, the Skyfall world, the greywaste world, and the Silas world. Silas ruled all worlds but he only had an acute interest in his own. Sometimes they bled into each other but mostly I think
Asher
entertained himself with games and torturing.

Immortal people were scary.

I looked down at Garrett’s hands, adorned with several silver and gold rings. I had memorized each of those bands now. I realized on his ring finger was a silver ring with three gems, a diamond, a black diamond, and a ruby. My heart hurt, recognising the pattern and wondering if it had a symbolic meaning to him.

I placed mine on top of his, knobby knuckles and hands that would never properly play a piano, scarred but no longer rough from being a greywaster; my hands were soft and silky like any pet Otter worth their salt.

Otter...
the words burned my lips though I didn’t say it out loud. I leaned down and kissed his hand, and closed my eyes, wondering if I knew who I was anymore.

“I trust you.”

I leaned forward to kiss him, and moments later with our tumbles forgotten I climbed on top of him. I slid my hand up his shirt and found his heartbeat.

Sure enough, it was a racing motor, and as I gently traced my fingers down his flat stomach I felt how tense he was. This alone put a doubt in my heart that his face could have never revealed to me.

But I pushed it away and let the taste of his mouth wash it down. In his arms I accepted whatever fate would come to me, tomorrow before we left I would see Luca and I would give the card key to him. If worst came to worst at least I had done my mission.

I just hoped it was enough.