The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (55 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

David wasn’t sure what he expected when he opened the door, but it certainly wasn’t what greeted him as he crossed the threshold into the dimly lit room. The booming bass of music rattled his rib cage, which had been entirely muted by the heavy outside door. He quickly realized watching dim shapes moving in time to the music that he was in the equivalent of some kind of nightclub.

He felt a sort of panic. He didn’t know how to locate Lila. Communicating at all in the cavernous room was going to be difficult. Before he could take more than one more cautious step into the room, a tall woman appeared beside him. She was wearing a long grey dress that fit her shapely form like a glove. Her blond hair was cropped close to her ears, but her dramatic cheekbones gave her face an exotic appeal.

“You look lost. First time to Zero?” she said loud enough so that David could hear her over the music.

David nodded. “Yes. I was supposed to meet a friend here. Lila?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. She looked David up and down and sighed. “Too bad. If you get tired of chasing after her, you let me know. I’m Pearl.”

Pearl turned to leave, but David caught her arm. “You know where she is? It’s kind of dark in here.”

Pearl flashed a smirk. “Just the way we like it.” She sighed again and cocked her head toward the dance floor. “Lila is where she always is. One day, she’ll fall off that golden pedestal Braz set her on and hit her head.”

The woman’s animosity toward Lila was clear, and David wondered what other game he was getting thrown in the middle of. It was obvious that Pearl wasn’t going to be more helpful, and so he smiled and nodded, then dove deeper into the room.

As his eyes began to adjust to the dim light and roving beams that shot through the room, David saw nuances that said this wasn’t a normal dance club. First, he couldn’t see a bar, and no one had a glass or any kind of beverage container in his or her hands. Then he saw that although there were easily over a hundred people in the room, the actual number on the dance floor were less than twenty. Finally, everyone was dressed in the same type of clothes that he saw on everyone in the street. So although this appeared to be a gathering place for Purgatory employees, it still operated within a confined definition of fun. Moderation seemed to be the norm in Purgatory.

Then David spotted her. She was an exception to the rule, and he knew immediately that he had found Lila. She danced in the middle of the floor and moved with an abandon that told him that she was wholly lost in the music. Her sinewy and fluid movements spoke to her comfort with herself and her body. Lila wore black knee high boots, a white miniskirt, and a formfitting grey t-shirt. As the roving beams of light caught the top of her head, David saw her streaming locks of strawberry blonde hair. As David looked around, he saw that almost every eye in the room was on her. He was starting to understand Pearl’s chagrin.

The Purgatory transport was young. David would place her at around eighteen. She had an air of confidence that belied her age. He wondered again what Braz was thinking in sending David to her.  He watched her for another song trying to figure out a way to get her attention without drawing the eyes that watched her to him. David wandered further in the room, thinking it was best to watch for a while before making a move.

The room was circular with the dance floor in the middle. There was a long wooden rail that enclosed the outer perimeter of the dance floor, and every seat was filled.  There were low tables with chairs the next row out from the dance floor, and then finally another long rail that went around three quarters of the room on either side of the door. Stools were tucked under the exterior railing, and David found an empty stool on the wall opposite the door. Each exterior circle was elevated a few feet higher than the level inside of it, so no matter where you were in the room, you could see the dance floor. He thought that the set-up worked well for his purposes, not only could he see Lila, but he could also see if anyone entered the building that pose a threat.

It didn’t escape David’s notice that most of the people in the room were clustered in small groups of three. Even before Ellie had mentioned that peculiarity of the Afterlife to him, David had been aware of it. He remembered asking Lillian about it when he was a kid, but her answer had been vague. There was power in the number three.

No one on the dance floor approached Lila or tried to interact with her in any way. She appeared to be alone. David remembered Braz’s words that the transports started to function as a unit. He sensed that, by nature of Lila’s role, she was an outsider within Purgatory. She was part of a unique trio, and had much freer reign of movement than any of the other Purgatory residents. He watched her dance and found himself jealous of her obvious abandonment of thought and judgment of those around her.

Three songs later, the tempo of the music changed and slowed down. Lila’s face scrunched up, and David thought that she looked disappointed. She exited on his side of the dance floor as several groups pushed their way onto the floor and it quickly filled. David pushed to his feet to intercept her before she sat down.

Quickly moving down the narrow aisle, David saw her turn into the middle row and he touched her shoulder. Her head whipped around, and her eyes shot daggers at him. “Hands off. I’m not interested.” Her tone told him that she was used to being hit on.

“Braz sent me,” he said in a low voice. “He said you could help me.”

“Bullshit,” Lila said, looking around them. “If that was true, Braz would either be here or he would have found a way to tell me himself.”

“He couldn’t because there wasn’t time. Give me two minutes,” David said, trying to keep his voice even. He would have welcomed the loud music now. He could feel that their interaction had now drawn several pairs of eyes. “Somewhere a bit more private.”

“That’s the worst pick-up line ever,” Lila said with a mirthless laugh. She turned and started scooting around the tables.

David swore and followed her. When she sat down three tables off the aisle, David sat down next to her.

“Seat’s taken,” she hissed.

“Yea, by me,” he said with a growl. He leaned toward her. “Look. I don’t have time for this. Braz said you could help me.”

“Help you do what, exactly?” Lila said.

David looked around helplessly. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her in the middle of a room with a hundred pairs of ears. He cursed Braz for not giving him more ammunition to convince Lila that he wasn’t some random guy hitting on her. He decided to try another tactic.

“I need to find my girlfriend,” he said. “She’s in trouble.”

Lila pointed to his feet. “Your feet don’t look broken. Walk your ass over there and help her. You don’t need me for that.”

David took a deep breath and then looked Lila straight in the eye. “My girlfriend’s name is Ellie Coulter. I think you know her?”

Lila’s mouth fell open, and she leapt to her feet. David grabbed her arm and dragged her back down to her seat. He felt her starting to struggle, and he spoke quickly. “Braz sent me to you, I swear.”

Lila shook her head. “You’re lying. If what you said was true that would make you…no, Braz couldn’t do something like that.” Now she was looking around the room too, aware of the eyes on them. David felt his window of opportunity closing.

“I’ll explain it to you if you’ll just give me a minute. But think about it. How would I have known where to find you if Braz didn’t tell me where to go? Braz trusts you to keep this a secret, which means that I have to trust you. It’s a lot riskier for me to be confiding in you.” He hoped that he was conveying a sense of urgency without sounding as panicked as he was feeling.

It was starting to feel hard for David to breathe. The music tempo picked up, but as people began to exit the floor once again, he felt like there was energy in the room that hadn’t been there before, and it was focused on him. A shot of pain ran up his arm into his chest, and he winced. He grasped the left side of his chest and tried to draw in a breath, all the while wondering if it was possible to have a heart attack in the Afterlife.

Lila looked at him with alarm. Then she stood up again and pulled him to his feet. She slid closer and whispered, “Nobody is going to believe this, but try to make it look good.”

David didn’t have any idea what she was talking about and then she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nuzzled his neck. Then she laughed loudly, “Okay, okay. I’m in. Let’s go.”

David had no choice but to lean against the petite transport to stay in an upright position. He realized that she was playing it up as if he had captured her interest. He hoped that no one noticed his wobbly knees. The only reason he was still standing was because of her strong arms wrapped around his waist. Although she couldn’t have been much taller than Ellie, she seemed to be supporting his weight easily. David moved his feet as fast as he could, even though his throat was threatening to fully close at any moment. He let his chin drift down, so it rested on her head.

They burst out of the doors and into the night. Immediately the stranglehold on David’s throat was gone and he inhaled a deep breath, filling his lungs to the brim.

“What was that?” he managed.

Lila’s head swung one way and then the other. The street was deserted. “I’ve got an idea. We’ve got to get you away from here.”

“Take me to the Bradford waypoint,” he said.

“Shhhh!” Lila’s eyes were fierce as they settled on him. “There are ears everywhere. I could be banished to oblivion just for being seen with you. Braz has a lot of explaining to do. Can you walk?”

David stood up straight and shook his shoulders. “I can run if I have to.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Lila said grimly. “Follow me.”

David wanted to ask her all of his questions, but he saw by her expression that she didn’t want him to talk. David dug his hands into his pockets and kept pace with her easily. He was soon lost again in the maze of buildings and numbers. Lila seemed uneasy as she glanced furtively around them.

“Almost there,” she whispered. “I think we’re going to make it.”

David was relieved. The day so far had been draining. He hoped that soon he would see Ellie’s face. He needed to apologize for his harsh words and tell her that he didn’t mean them. He was anxious to make it right. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t immediately see the figure that detached itself from the shadows of the alleyway of the building in front of them.

He heard Lila’s sharp intake of breath and then felt her hand on his arm slowing him to a stop. He looked up. The blond man in front of him looked like he was just a year or two younger than David. He was dressed all in black, but David saw red satin lining the exposed collar of his jacket. There was a pin on his lapel that David knew well. It was a snake eating its own tail. It meant that the man was from Hell.

“Lila,” the man said. “You look fetching tonight.”

David didn’t need to see Lila’s stiffened posture to know that this man was trouble for both of them. He had a sinking suspicion that this was Lila’s counterpart from Hell.

“Dane,” Lila said.

Dane’s eyes shifted to David. “Who’s your friend?”

David opened his mouth to reply but felt Lila’s glare.

“He’s new. Dream detail. Braz asked me to show him around,” Lila said. “We were just on our way back to our quarters. I’d hurry back to Hell, Dane. You know that Braz doesn’t like you lurking around here off-duty. C’mon,” she jerked her head at David. “Your curfew is in ten minutes, and we don’t want you to get in trouble on your first day.”

David raised his eyebrows, but followed Lila’s lead. He wondered if Lila’s ability to lie with ease was a reason that she ended up in Purgatory. They stepped around Dane, and were continuing on into the darkness when Dane’s voice reached their ears.

“I’m assuming you’ve heard then that Mikel has escaped.”

David stumbled, and his mind raced. Lila paused beside him but didn’t turn.

“Sounds like Hell has a problem then,” Lila said. “That’s obviously outside of Purgatory’s jurisdiction.”

“I would think that Braz would be more concerned about locking down the people who could move between the waypoints and the sectors than making sure a newbie got his orientation.”

Lila sighed. “What Braz does is none of your business, Dane. Don’t make me report you to him.”

David blinked and found Dane in front of them again studying David closely. “There is something familiar about you. Do I know you?”

“No,” David replied. He was growing tired of the man’s antics.  “You don’t.”

“I think I do,” Dane stepped closer.

“Dane,” Lila said stepping between them. “You are overstepping your bounds here.”

“I don’t think so,” Dane said with a slow grin. “Because if this guy is who I think he is, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone. First, I’m guaranteed a spot on the Council, and second, I get to take Braz down a notch, if not further.”

The familiar anger was growing inside of David’s chest. It was too much. Ellie, Lillian, Braz, and now this insufferably arrogant man who seemed to think he was going to use David too. He had enough.

“You’d better listen to Lila, and get out of here before you get hurt,” David said. He took Lila by the shoulders and nudged her out of the way.