Zero Sum (52 page)

Her eyes still locked on mine, Anna ground her thumbnail across Carrera’s brow.
 

Carrera knelt patiently as a thick stream of blood ran down into his eyes. He didn’t so much as flinch.

“I’m happy to report our squabbles have ended. Mr. Carrera and I have had a meeting of the minds.”

She graced the old man with a smile. He shuddered with delight.

“Compromise, magus—it is the genius of this nation.”

“What seal are you talking about?” My voice squeaked out like a drowning mouse.

“Oh, it is nothing special.” She turned back to Carrera. “Thank you, dear. Now climb to the top of the scaffolding and jump off for me.”

Blood still coursing down his face, Carrera nodded, walked over to the ride’s metal lattice, and began to climb.

“Anna…” I was starting to feel hot. I found it hard to focus.

“Be sure to land head first, dear,” she shouted up to Carrera. “I want to hear spine!”

It didn’t occur to me to intervene. Spending the remainder of your existence eating rotten flesh while under the thrall of a Bathory didn’t sound too thrilling. I focused on the Duchess of Peoria instead. This business with a seal had me worried.

“Anna, breaking a seal was not part of the bargain. I want you to stop this spell.”

“But I don’t wanna.” She stomped her foot and pouted.

“Anna. Rei asked me not to fight you—but I will break that pledge if you break yours.”

“Chirps the chick to the eagle.” Anna’s mood darkened. “Fool boy, I made no such bargain.” As she paced towards me, an intense pressure compressed my chest. I suddenly found it very hard to breath. “I have lived years like you have lived days. Your soul may be
temporarily
unattainable, but your neck is still mine. Anytime. Anywhere.”

I glared back at her. This was better. Cocky was good. Cocky meant sloppy. If I could just get close enough to touch her…

As if reading my logic, Anna veered away. The shade of her aura shifted. “Do not fret, young magus. I have not come for your head.” She executed a lazy pirouette and bowed forward gracefully. There was no denying her beauty. No denying her poise. She was the epitome of womanhood. Flushed cheeks. Tender curves. Pleasant fantasies tugged at me…promises of tender moments…promises of safety…

“Did you know that I failed to obtain you
four
times?”

I shook my head.

“I obtained for you admission at Fontbonne Academy, but Albright interceded. I made certain your name was on Carrera’s list of initiates, but Rei Acerba was assigned your escort. Once you were in Elliot’s confines, I dared not make further motions. I had turned my attentions elsewhere when you came waltzing into my condo.”

My eyes widened. “Rei only gave you my last name. You knew my first.”

Anna arched her brow. “Good catch, darling. Knowing the first name makes glamour much easier.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

“What are you—”

“I had to be certain you could do it.”

“Do it?” I swallowed. “You mean the spell I cast was—”

“Your resistance is remarkable. Direct commands would never work. But inserting a concept? Inflaming your passions? Hustling the nature of the beast along?” Her fangs glinted silver in the light. “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”

“No.” But it was true. Where had that crazy insight come from? Sapping the life from a person’s arm? Infusing it into their chest? Why would I ever consider such a cast?

“Then you evaded my guards with that ridiculous charade.”

The way she’d convulsed at the end…I wanted to throw up.

“And you foiled me a fourth time this very evening! I will have you know that I got up early to purchase those chairs at the Pottery Barn. How infuriating it was! You, the only malleable instrument I could find, and yet so unbearably unobtainable.” Anna twirled, her dark hair spreading like a curtain of night. “Unobtainable! Outside of the realm of handbags, I had nearly forgotten the concept.” She gave me a toothy smile. “Thank you for reminding me of its flavor, my pet.”

My temper flared. “Get used to it,” I growled. “You’re not getting me to do your bidding.”
 

Her smile darkened and her fangs extended “Oh, but magus—you already have.”

I balled up my fists. My temples throbbed.

“And to twist your will by wit alone…” She touched the tips of her breasts and quivered. “Oh, magus, what a fantastic gift it was. What a wondrous prize. You have replaced Shakespeare at the top of my trophy chest. How could I end your life now? How could I pass up on the anguish to follow?”

Behind me, Carrera’s head splattered open like a cantaloupe. His body twitched once and went still.

“It is as my mother used to say: ‘Wine and pain, both improve with age.’”

Carrera dead, the initiates roused. Two of the girls screamed out in horror, but the gagged one still looked down at me with steady eyes. She must have heard everything—but her eyes surprised me. There was confidence in them, as though she were willing strength into me, as though she still believed I could save them, as though she expected it.

I matched her stare and nodded. I could still do good here. I could still make something right. I turned back to Anna and found I wasn’t shaking. I had decided to bear the consequences when I started the cast, but being bested like this hurt terribly. Anna had played me like a fiddle. Now she was standing there gloating. I wanted to make her hurt. I
needed
to make her hurt. And in that rage I found the strength I needed to keep charging forward.

“I’ll ask you one more time, Anna. Stop this spell.”

“I don’t feel like it,” she said with a flourish. “Why don’t you try your luck?”

“My pleasure.” I didn’t need to be asked twice. I nurtured the acrid hatred inside me and built my paltry mana into a tempest of flame. I planned two volleys. The first would get her moving. I’d use my Sight to guide the second. Rei was going to have my head for this, but I had to do something. Concentrating on my Sight, I unleashed the first volley—and the entire array exploded.
 

I stood there dumbly as the cuneiform symbols burst into brilliant red strobes. They shot straight into the sky. I arched my head back and watched the rays soar into the heavens. Crossing the distance in seconds, they etched themselves into the moon. The air above me warped, curling itself into a haze of reds and oranges. The sky looked like it was on fire. Like it was melting. And I finally understood. That mural in the Rei’s home, the one with the horrific battle in the sky, the burning of the very air, it was a gate to another frame. I could hardly contain my rage. My cast had just broken the seal. Anna hadn’t lifted a finger. Just as she’d promised, she’d done nothing but watch.
 

As the circle around us faltered, I lunged at her in fury. She dodged easily and smacked the side of my skull with her elbow. I skidded a good twenty yards. A smattering of stars danced across my vision. I tried to find my feet, but she’d done some serious damage. I spotted three Annas standing on the edge of the platform. All of them were laughing.
 

“Goodbye, magus,” she shouted. “It was a blast—but I believe you still have a last wish to grant.”

Anna withdrew a small device from her purse.
 

I froze—she meant the initiates.

At the press of the button, two of the ride’s legs exploded. The drop tower’s struts gave way, and the entire structure bent at its remaining joints. In the same instant, the frameshift ended. A stunned Dante and Sheila dove out of the way of a crumbling structure that—to them—was invisible only a moment ago. The ride struck the ground with a reverberating roar. The entire building shuddered. A chorus of screams followed. The initiates, still strapped into their chairs, were hanging off the side of the building. Only two twisted legs stood between them and an express trip to the parking lot.
 

In the confusion that followed, Hans headbutted Rei. The strike shattered her cute nose, and I flinched in reaction. Hans squirmed away to join his master. Anna tossed Hans one of two backpacks, and with nary a word, the two of them jumped right off the side of the building.

I struggled to my feet (yet again). The initiates dangling off the ride were screaming for help, but there were scenes of death and dying all around me. Spinoza hung limp from my father’s arm. Eight Talmax mages lay dead before them. All the trolls were dead or dying, hacked to bits by Roster and Sheila. Glory Riley was limp and pale. Sadie sat cradling her body. John Riley lay bound next to them, drool running from his open mouth. Collins was busy tending to Masterson’s face. The two DEA agents were battered and bruised, but both were still in one piece. But the biggest change to the scenery was on the west side of the building. Where the gift shop once stood, only dust and melted glass remained.

I looked over at Rei and nodded at her unspoken question. Looking up at the sky, I could see no sign of an impending apocalypse. The full moon hung innocently above. The smell of sulfur and brimstone had vanished. But I had unlocked something. What I’d freed, I didn’t know—but I could enjoy a nice soak in the guilt tub later. Right now there was still work to be done. Right now I could fulfill a promise.

I dragged my frazzled body over to the scaffolding and began to climb out towards the initiates. Ignoring the wind, ignoring my fear, I pressed outward. If I was going to have to suffer the cost of that cast, I sure as hell was going to collect my reward.

“Careful, bud,” Dante yelled up from below. “That thing ain’t stable.”

As if agreeing with him, the metal struts groaned in protest.

“Thanks for the helpful advice, roomie.” I kept crawling.

“It is sound advice, my most moronic anti-hero.” Rei was already beside me. “Please do not fall. You are quite fat, and I do not want to pull my back out again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, reaching the first segment beyond the building.
 

I looked down. Vomited. Groaned.
 

“Charming,” Rei muttered. “I am attached to
this
for eternity?”

I mouthed a brief apology to the poor saps below and continued onward. Then again, I’d saved their sorry asses, the least they could do was wear my vomit. A clanging noise came from behind. I looked back to see Roster and Sheila fortifying the wounded structure’s legs.

“Don’t want no Lambda-patties,” shouted Roster. “Dynamic-duo, send them back one at a time so it doesn’t strain too much.”

I nodded and turned my attention to the first terrified girl. She kept repeating the same prayer over and over again. I bit my lip and resisted the urge to tell her to instead thank the structural engineering class Roster was taking.

“Easy there,” I said instead. “Focus on your handholds. Keep moving till you reach the end.”

She nodded and headed off in the direction of the building. I was a little concerned she wouldn’t make it. Her arms were as thin as her wrists.

After releasing the third, Rei turned to me. “Dieter…my sister…what did she do to you? You smell like cornered prey.”

I looked past her. “Sorry.”

“Oh! No, no, no,” Rei said, shaking her head. “The scent is quite alluring. I am just wondering as to the cause.”

“I think Anna might have gotten me to do something very bad, Rei.”

Rei sobered. “It is a specialty of hers. If sister could descend lower on my inventory of shit, she just would have.”

I snickered. “It’s a shit list, Rei. And bad people go up your shit list, not down.”

“Curses,” she grumbled.
 

The fourth initiate we freed saw Rei, screamed, and nearly plummeted to her death. Thankfully, my terrifying vampire assistant’s reflexes were much faster than the tug of gravity. But even after that, the girl didn’t even bother to say thank you. As the stupid twit scrambled away, I looked back at the tower. Jules had set up a circle around Spinoza to manage his wounds. He grimaced in pain as Jules re-set his arm.

“Some victory,” I grumbled.

“Is the enemy not crushed?” Rei asked. She was dangling by her ankles, tugging at a set of belts. “Stop moping and assist me.” She tore apart the fifth set of restraints and grabbed the boy by the collar as he fell.

“Wow,” the red head said as she lifted him into the air.

Rei waited patiently, ready for the usual outburst.

“Aren’t you Rei Bathory?” He stared back at her in disbelief. “Do you really go to Elliot?”

“Indeed,” she replied, handing him off to me like a dirty napkin.

“Awesome,” he said, looking star struck. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind, um, Your Highness…could I get your autograph?”

“Her what? Why would—”

“Indeed,” Rei said, talking over me. “Track me down after orientation. I would be happy to go out for a bite.”

“Sure thing!” he said, crawling past me. “Hey, is she still single?” he whispered. “I mean, it said so in
Circling the Drain
, but you can’t really trust the tabloids.”

I grasped the metal struts tightly as another gust of wind blew my robe in my face.
 

“Grub, we are 350 meters above asphalt. Can you please crawl to safety so only your heart gets broken?”

Rei turned back to me and smiled. “Out for a bite. That was a most successful pun, was it not?” She chuckled. “My studies of
M. A. D. Magazine
are beginning to pay dividends, Dieter.”

I rolled my eyes and gestured to the last initiate. The poor thing had spent the last few minutes staring straight down at the Strip. I didn’t even want to think about what the view was like from that vantage as the ride collapsed. It made me want to go eat some more food just so I could throw it all up. She was so far down that I had to work on her restraints while Rei held my ankles.

“So fat,” she lamented from above.

I removed the duct tape covering the girl’s mouth as gently as I could, but it still took some skin. I sighed. I couldn’t seem to do anything without fucking up something else. Working out her tender jaw, the girl watched me as I undid her restraints.