Evanescent (32 page)

I glance back at Skyla, and she gives a
silent nod. My spirit soars because she’s right.

I’m Laken Stewart, and I always will be.

Cooper

Sitting in Edinger’s office, with nothing
but a tiny desk lamp illuminating the area, isn’t exactly where I
envisioned myself on Halloween night or any other night for that
matter. Even though he himself most likely invented the carnival of
horror overtaking the country tonight, something about sitting
alone with him in the quasi-dark feels borderline perverse.

“Anything in particular you would you like
to discuss?” He tips his head back with his face pulled into that
perennial grimace.

“I’m interested.”

“Interested?” He gives a little tick as if
he had no idea what this clandestine meeting is about. “Do you have
a concern about your grades?”

“No,” I flat line. “I don’t like games
unless they involve something I can kick around, and unless you’re
in the mood to pluck your head off and let me score a touchdown
with it, I suggest you knock this shit off.”

“State your business,” he starts off curt.
“It’s strictly policy and procedure. It’s frowned upon to have me
initiate every conversation that concerns your kind. You must have
a want, a need, a
desire
. Do I make myself clear?”

“Implicitly.” Fucking moron. “I’m interested
in stepping between Laken and Wesley in exchange for a supervising
spirit.”

He gives a crooked nod, amused that I would
be willing to risk my life in the event things don’t work out in my
favor. “I’m aware of the consequences if the situation backfires. I
just need a few points of contention clarified before we square
things away.”

“How prudent of you. And the points of
contention are?”

“Why do you want Wes to stay away from
Laken? Not that I’m going to argue with you over this, but I’m
curious.”

A dark laugh gurgles from his throat.
“Wesley was made for something more. Far greater things wait for
him than the girl you ruminate over in your fantasies.”

“Fair enough,” I say. “So you’ll be my
supervising spirit?”

“For as long as your days remain, and, of
course, as long as Laken remains in your arms. Should you outlive
her, I’ll release you from this bondage.”

Outlive Laken? The thought of losing her to
death has never crossed my mind.

“Outline the bennies.” I tap my fingers over
his desk. “Make it clear. Dumb it down for me. I’m not in the mood
for doublespeak.”

“The
bennies
.” He pulls his lips to
the side. “You have the honor of my services at your every whim.
I’ll assist you should you prefer to visit the future. I’ll guide
you in all things concerning the spiritual plane. And, should you
have a query, I’ll have an answer. I assure you nothing but
fatherly advice. I would never lie to you no matter how harsh the
truth may be. I will most certainly listen, should you need an
ear.”

“I have a dad. A good one.” The condoms he
supplied me with in front of Laken run through my mind. That was
more to embarrass the hell out of me than it was to protect me from
any fictitious STDs Laken might be carrying. Nope. The fatherly
role is fulfilled quite nicely. “So let me get this straight. I get
a spiritual guru, some vacays to days yet numbered, but aren’t you
forgetting the pot of gold?”

His smile widens. He knows damn well what
I’m alluding to.

“Tell me, Cooper. What is the pot of
gold?”

“The Tenebrous Woods. Take me there right
now, and you’ve got a deal.”

Edinger leans back in his seat and examines
me through his heavily slotted lids.

“It’s not a part of the traditional package.
I’ll have to monitor your every move.”

“Chain yourself to my hip. I really don’t
give a shit. He’s there with her now. He knows how to get there and
back, and I want that, too—or he can have Laken, I don’t really
care.” My gut cinches, calling me out on the lie.

“Very good. You seem well apprised. Did you
also know he’s well aware you’ve been giving her blood?” His face
redefines itself in anger. “He knows so many things about you and
his little girlfriend, and yet you have the arrogance to believe
you’ve had the upper hand all along. You’ve got your work cut out
for yourself, Mr. Flanders. Don’t think for a minute he’s not
capable of outwitting you and stealing away with the prize.” His
uniform scowl spreads slow across his face. “Where is the true pot
of gold, Cooper?”

“It’s where I buried my heart.” I swallow
hard. “The true pot of gold is Laken.”

Edinger clasps his hand over my head, and
the floor drops out beneath me like a trap door. I fall forever
down an immeasurably long distance while pillars of fire expand
around me, their wicked tongues lick at my flesh as I continue to
plummet.

A dark expanse spreads at my feet like a
bruise as I fall through and land flat on my ass in the dusty,
forgotten woods of Tenebrous. An entire forest of black charred
trees twist into the night—the smell of something metallic lingers
heavy in the air.

Edinger is nowhere to be found which is a
good thing—I think.

I dust my jeans off and make my way over to
a dirt trail that holds a pale illumination. A scream pierces
through the silence followed by a whimper.

“Is anybody there?” I call out as I pick up
my pace. The forest floor thumps. The tree roots elevate out of the
ground as if to slow my efforts.

“Got it,” I whisper. No communicating with
the captives.

The whimpering increases, and I head in that
direction.

A cell made of tree limbs comes up on my
right with the shadow of a body slumped inside.

“Help me!” The voice of a girl cries out as
her hand extends from the wooden bars, and I take a hold of it—long
slender fingers, bony and pale. “Oh God!”

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

“Cooper?”

I squint through the branches as she presses
her paper white face to the edge of the bars. I recognize those
delicate features, those pale whiskers of short hair.

“Casper.” I reach through and warm my hand
over her shoulder.

She starts in on a heaving sob, strangling
my arm as she pulls me in deeper.

“You’re rescuing me,” she cries out. “I
swear I’ll be your ‘it’ girl for whatever you need. You want your
socks ironed at midnight? I’m there.”

My heart sinks, heavy as granite. I’m pretty
sure Edinger isn’t letting me take home a prize.

“Listen,” I whisper. “I’m going to get you
out.” I try to temper my breathing. “Laken is here somewhere,
trying to do the same thing. We don’t know how to pull this off,
but we’ll figure it out.”

Her eyes dim. She releases her hold on my
arm and slinks back against the bars.

“How do you plan on leaving?” She asks
curiously as if she’s already abandoned all hope of escaping
herself.

“I’ve got a supervising spirit.” I hope.
“I’ll ask if I can take you with me.”

“It’s no use.” She fans her bony fingers
through the air. “Ask them to send me a damn cheeseburger, would
you? If they’re going to suck me dry, they may as well take a
minute to adequately replenish the supply.”

I swallow hard. “I can’t believe I found
you. This is insane.” I reach over to a pair of buckling limbs and
focus all my Celestra energy into prying them apart. No sooner do
the branches snap then Casper appears beside me.

“Coop.” She wraps her thin arms around my
body and holds on tight. “Your gorgeous face is a sight for sore
eyes.”

I pull back and take her in. She looks the
same, albeit it thinner. She’s wearing odd clothes, a shirt and
pants that look as if they’re made of white linen. Her neck is cut
along one side, and a navy welt protrudes thick as my thumb.

“Shit,” I hiss. “They’re hurting you.”

“I pissed them off.” She glances down. “They
sent a ravager—some animal-like creature—a Count with no manners.
Anyway. I’m over it. I’m done feeling pain and giving them the
pleasure.”

“Where are the other prisoners?” I can’t
help but notice the forest is sparse with victims, although for all
I know this place could go on for acres.

“Most of them are in the tower. If you’re in
the woods, it’s time for a blood draw.”

“My mom is here. Her name is Michaella
Flanders.”

She shakes her head. “I’ve hardly seen
anyone. They keep us pretty isolated.”

“Laken’s mom and sister are both here, too.
If you come across her little sister, Lacey, please tell her Laken
isn’t giving up.”

“I will.” She gives a sorrowful nod. “You
said Laken is here?”

“She’s pretending to be one of them. She’s
with Wes—who by the way is not pretending.” I might strangle him
the next time I see him just for the hell of it.

“Wesley?” Her brows touch at the center.

“Look, I need to find them,” I pant. “I just
want to make sure she’s okay from a distance. Do you know your way
around these woods?”

“A little but this place is huge. We’re
talking it owns a
dimensional plane
, huge. Come on.” She
takes me by the hand, and we cover what feels like miles before
finding ourselves back at the broken down cell she sprung out
of.

“Shit. This place is like a damn hamster
wheel.” A thought occurs to me. If Edinger says he’s ready and
willing to serve, here’s his chance to prove it. I look up at the
angry sky, fully expecting to see him but don’t. “Take me to
Laken,” I command.

My body traverses tree after tree as I glide
through the forest. I stop abruptly, flattening my face against the
jagged bark of an oak before catching my bearings.

“Shit.” My head throbs. I dab my fingers
over my cheek and confirm it’s bleeding. Looks like Edinger forgot
to outline one of the more interesting perks of our arrangement,
physical disfigurement.

I glance back and Casper is nowhere to be
found. Figures. He’s probably got her back in the cage with a
ravager on the way. Freaking monster.

A murmur of voices garners my attention, and
I glance around the trunk to find an entire party of people.

Laken.

My insides loosen at the sight of her. She’s
still wearing her cheer uniform. Nothing about her seems off, so I
assume she’s unharmed. She shakes the hand of some blond guy as if
profusely thanking him for something. Wes says something to a girl
tied to a post before making his way over to Laken. A shriveled man
moves among them and whispers something inaudible. He looks mostly
human except for his radioactive glow.

Laken and Wes head in this direction.

My breath leaves a trail in the chilled
night air, and I try to steady my breathing until it hardly emits a
vapor.

“Are you feeling okay?” Wes grabs her by the
waist and rocks her in his arms. It nauseates me just to
witness.

“Better than okay. But it was weird.” She
glances away. “You know, sucking off someone’s neck like that.”

Crap. I hate seeing Laken trying to play it
off like she’s never done this before when Edinger filled me in on
the fact Wes was in on our secret all along.

“You’ll get used to it over time. If you’re
comfortable with him, we can request him for you.”

“I don’t feel right.” She shakes her head.
“He said he was doing it as a favor, but he’s not officially taken
by the Counts. I want
her
. I want the girl.” She pulls his
head down by the back of the neck. “You said she’s the best.”

“I should’ve known.” He lets out a dark
laugh. “Nothing but the best for an Anderson.”

“I have you, don’t I?” She seals the
sentiment with a kiss, and my stomach turns to stone. An electric
blue cloud envelops the two of them, and they dissolve into thin
air.

That kiss lingers in my mind like the stench
of Spectator. Laken kissed him like she meant it. And she probably
did.

I stagger into the clearing, causing the guy
and the girl they just siphoned from to pause their conversation
midflight.

“Cooper!” The girl runs over and hugs me so
tight, she might snap my spinal cord from the effort.

“Elysian!” The glowing creature snaps.
“Remove her at once.”

“Sorry, man. Skyla needs to head back to
Paragon.” The guy with the sandy hair looks right at me when he
says it. “We’ll see you around, Coop.” He touches his hand to the
girl’s shoulder, and they dissolve in a blue-lit fog right before
my eyes.

“Wait,” I call out. “How did you know my
name?” I shout into the quiet reserve. “How did they know my name?”
I ask the squirrely looking dude with the luminescent tablet.

“I gather you’re popular in the future.” He
frowns as he types something into the rectangle of light in his
hands.

“What do you mean the future?”

“They’re from the future, two years.” He
gives a dissatisfied blink before popping out of existence.