Chase stepped inside the shop and I quickly shut the door behind him, but not before I peeked up and down the street to see if anyone else might be lurking about. Ever since he’d told me about the sheriff’s plan to get a search warrant for the shop, I’d been a little more paranoid than usual.
And that was really saying something.
Satisfied there weren’t any special guests waiting to jump out at me, I turned back to face Chase and did a quick once over.
He looked good – like he’d finally gotten a decent night’s sleep. His skin color was close to normal and his eyes were aware and alert. His clothes were clean, a simple white t-shirt and jeans that hung low on his hips. Freshly showered, I could still smell the scent of the soap he’d used. It was crisp and lemony.
All in all, a major improvement from the day before.
He ran a quick hand through his damp hair, making it just the right kind of unruly and the action seemed so familiar. I felt a small twinge inside. I’d watched him do the same thing over a hundred times during the last few weeks and I was struck again by how much I’d missed him. I was so not the kind of person who just picked up friends throughout my day. I didn’t trust people, which sort of made it hard for anyone to get too close. Needless to say I would never be a contender for having the most followers on Instagram.
But Chase was different.
He was the first real person I’d met in town. I’d been sad and lonely on the bus ride carrying me thousands of miles away from all that I knew, from the only place I’d called home. I refused to admit it to myself at the time, but deep down, underneath the hurt of being cast out, I’d been terrified. I’d been shipped off to a place where I knew nothing and nobody. It wasn’t until the moment I’d stepped foot inside Crawford’s Hardware and met the friendly boy behind the counter that I’d felt a small seed of hope germinate inside me, that maybe this new life in this unfamiliar place wouldn’t be so bad.
At least until I’d found out about Celeste’s whole secret-life-of-evil. That sort of put the big stamp of bummer over everything.
Still, Chase had been genuinely interested in me, in being my friend. How could I not care about what happened to him? What he was going through? I’d been so focused on Andy, Dante, the Sheriff and everything else.
Chase deserved better from me.
Whatever Dante thought, I was happy he was back.
“Hey,” I said, stepping around him. Earlier, while Dante and I had been moving stuff around to get the statues out, we’d unearthed several half decent end tables and a small, plush loveseat. It was cream with large pink and red flowers, a little too shabby chic for my taste but it was comfortable. We’d moved some of the better furniture around, specifically the longer couch, a wooden coffee table, and a few of the mismatched end tables and made a real seating area at the front of the store.
The furniture move helped to bring the store back to some semblance of order but it also served a covert purpose. It functioned as a discreet barrier in case we needed to keep people from getting too far inside. I’d decided since we couldn’t really get rid of all the junk because of the residual magic still left in everything, we could at least separate the store into two parts.
We’d keep the innocuous, everyday stuff people could buy in the front and place the more dangerous objects in the back, fitting the worst of the lot in the back storeroom under lock and key. The second floor was my floor and I didn’t want anything of my aunt’s up there with me and I really didn’t want to put anything within spitting distance of the Monet painting hanging in the attic. This was the best we could come up with until we figured out what to do with everything once and for all.
Chase took a seat at the end of the long couch, looking around and taking in our recent changes. He gave me a smile of approval as he spoke, “Looks good.”
I took a seat across from him on the loveseat and smiled. “Thanks,” I said. “Do you want something to drink or anything? I think I can scrounge up some lemonade or iced-t?” I offered.
He shook his head once. “No, I’m good. I just really wanted to see you.” Chase leaned forward, lacing his fingers together as his arms rested on his knees. “Listen Eliza, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to…” He struggled to find the right words. “...flake on you,” he finished.
I sighed. “I know.”
“No, really. I was…I felt so…” He made a frustrated noise as he struggled to put his feelings into words. “I don’t know. I was just so angry and hurt. I didn’t want to believe that my mom came here, to this horrible place. I mean, why would she do that?”
Why did anyone come here? The answers varied but Chase’s mom had come here for only one reason. She’d wanted his dad desperately enough to buy something from Celeste to get him. Had she not had such a weakness for my great aunt to exploit, maybe she’d still be alive today.
“What did Asher tell you?” I asked carefully.
“The truth about her death…about where she was now,” he answered, his voice breaking a little.
My heart went out to him. Who wanted to know such a thing? I wasn’t a big fan of my mom, or my dad for that matter, but I didn’t want them spending an eternity in Hell. That was a whole different kind of parental smackdown.
I tried the best I could to comfort him. “Asher is a demon, Chase. Lying is his stock and trade. You can’t believe anything he says.”
Chase looked around again. “I was here, Eliza. I remember coming here a lot. She bought something from Celeste and whatever it was, it killed her.” His eyes met mine once again. “But that still doesn’t excuse what I did. How I acted. I never meant to bring the sheriff over yesterday and cause you more trouble. I know you're already dealing with a lot.”
“Then why did you?” I asked unable to help the question from popping out of my mouth.
He let out another frustrated breath as he spoke, “My dad and I were fighting at the store. The sheriff came in but neither one of us saw him there. He overheard us. My dad said something about you and coming to the store to get some answers and the sheriff just took over.”
“I’m pretty sure the sheriff was using your dad as an excuse to come by. He seems to think I know where his son is,” I said, unable to hide the sarcasm in my voice.
Chase gave me a small hint of a smile, and for a minute he was his old self again. “He’s not wrong. You do know where he is,” he pointed out.
“As do you,” I retorted. I glanced over my shoulder but couldn’t see the side exit from where I sat. “Wonder what he’d think if we showed him the truth? Think there’s enough padded rooms over there at the hospital in Macon for all of us?”
Chase sighed and used one hand to rub the bottom of his face as he spoke, “You’re right. Listen, I don’t care about him or Pete or anyone else. I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I lost myself and that’s no excuse for my behavior, but I swear I won’t do it again. You’re the only one in this whole world who understands. The only person who knows I’m not crazy. I don’t want to lose you, too.”
“I know you’re sorry, Chase. I’m glad. It makes me feel better knowing you’re going to be okay.” And deep down I knew he would be. It was more than the clarity in his eyes or the sincerity in his words. There was an air of acceptance over him. It made him seem older than his seventeen years. Stronger, like the way swords are forged from steel – heated in fires so hot it melts, then banged and shaped into something deadly. Chase was becoming a stronger weapon in the fight against Asher and I couldn’t help but wonder if the same thing was happening to me.
The million dollar question still remained though:
Could I trust him?
It was the only question that mattered right now. I hadn’t lied to Dante – I needed everyone. As many people as I could bring into my fold. Celeste had accumulated souls but I was starting to understand she’d collected a lot more than souls for Asher. There were rivals like Montgomery B. Jackson beneath every rock and people like Kara Reynolds doing God knew what for her. I didn’t know Kara’s whole deal just yet but the more I talked to Andy, the more I felt like she was coerced, terrorized then pushed into Celeste’s waiting web of lies and deceit. If Kara was part of it, then there were others – people who would find out soon enough what I’d done and would be coming for me.
For all of us.
“Why did you really come here, Chase?” I asked now.
He looked me right in the eye as he spoke, “To see this through to the end with you. I made a promise and I won’t back out of it.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” I didn’t have to say that no one else thought he could. Chase was smart enough to figure out that little fun fact all by himself.
“You won’t have to worry about me, Eliza. I swear it.”
I didn’t say anything for several minutes.
You know what he wants, right? Dante asked in my mind.
I knew he’d be listening.
Yes. I replied silently.
The underlying need for vengeance, for retribution and justice for his mother, was as clear as the clothes he wore.
He can’t save her. His mother’s soul belongs to Asher.
I know.
He wants to bargain but it’s a moot point.
Why is that? I asked.
He has nothing to bargain with. His soul is already marked. The only thing keeping him here is you.
Then that only leaves me one choice, I replied.
“Alright, Chase,” I said making up my mind. “You can help, but only on one condition.”
“Anything,” he said eagerly.
I leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “Don’t lie to me. Not ever. If we can find a way to help your mom, then we’ll do it together. You can’t face off against Asher on this one. Not alone. Not ever. Understand?”
I knew Chase. Maybe not as well as Brady or another one of his friends, but I knew enough about him to figure out he was reckless enough to attempt a negotiation with Asher by himself.
And I couldn’t let that happen.
If I sent him away now, there was no telling what he would do. At least by keeping him close I could be there to watch him, to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.
I was the only one allowed to make the stupid decisions around here.
Chase’s eyes bored into mine and he only nodded silently.
“Say it, Chase. Promise me,” I said.
“I promise, Eliza. I’ll never lie to you.”
“If you're lying…”
But he interrupted before I could finish, “I’m not. Words are cheap, I know, but I’ll show you. I promise.”
“And Asher?”
“We do it together,” he said the words and I heard Dante grunt his disapproval.
But that wasn’t the only sound. Lust was laughing. It was both amused and sad sounding, a seductive melancholy that reverberated throughout the deepest part me.
You’re both damned. You’re only fooling yourselves by thinking there is an escape. There is no escape. Not from Asher. Not from any of them.
Good thing I never listened to other people’s gloomy opinions.
Otherwise, I might actually find my whole situation downright depressing.
I gave Chase a quick smile. “C’mon, we got plans to make.”
*~*~*
“Trust me, this is going to work.”
Dante and Chase looked at me like I’d just announced I was going to live the rest of my life in a tree pretending to be an owl.
Thankfully, I wasn’t nearly so sensitive.
We were upstairs, gathered around the kitchen table, a stack of old books and pieces of old parchment scattered about from where Dante had been doing more research. His laptop was closed but still within easy reach.
It had taken more than a few minutes to iron out the tension between Dante and Chase but they seemed to understand there was a bigger picture that needed our undivided attention. I’d stressed the word ‘undivided’ as I told them to stop being testosterone laden she-babies.
It seemed to do the trick.
“Seriously guys,” I sniffed. “This will work.”
Dante crossed his arms across his chest as he regarded me. “And you know this from your years of experience?” he asked.
“No, actually. It’s just a feeling I have…like a hunch.”
“A hunch?”
“Yeah, a hunch. You know, that feeling cops get when their gut tells them something.”
“You’re not a cop,” Dante pointed out.
“No, but my dad is and I know more about them than I care to admit,” I replied. “Besides, I got it from a reliable source?”
“What reliable source?”
“The internet.”
“The internet?” Chase and Dante asked at the same time. They gave each other a look before turning their attention back to me.
I rolled my eyes. “Duh. Everyone knows the internet doesn’t lie.”
Chase stifled a snicker but Dante looked unconvinced. “Are you serious, Eliza? We don’t have time to fool around.”
“Who’s fooling around?” I asked, reaching for his laptop. Turning it around, I opened it up and logged on.
“How did…”
I clicked on the internet browser without looking up. “Please, Dante. You might be all big and bad from another dimension, or whatever, but you really need to work on developing a stronger password. I got it in on my second try.” I gave him a quick glance and raised an eyebrow. “Shadow1…really?”
This time Chase laughed out loud. My fingers flew over the keyboard as I went back to the site I’d discovered a few nights earlier. Chase scooted his chair closer as Dante leaned over my shoulder to get a better view of the screen.
“Remember the night we dropped off Andy at home after Jackson zapped her here?” Dante nodded silently.
"Wait, what? Chase asked surprised.
"Later," I said to Chase and continued with my original point. “Well, I jumped online and found something interesting. I thought maybe it could help us.” I clicked on a small picture depicting a wizened figure, who looked a lot like Gandalf the Grey, pouring over a scroll. It was an artist’s rendition so I didn’t hold it against the website as it took me to another page.
Besides, who didn't like Gandalf?
Chase read the words that appeared on the next page, “A Plea for the Forgiveness of Man’s Immortal Soul.”
“Not another monk,” Dante sighed. “What did I tell you about monks, Eliza?”
“That you didn’t agree with the musings of old monks,” I answered, remembering what he’d said about Evagrius the Solitary, the monk who’d first listed out the deadly sins. Dante had called him a pain in the neck, though he may have referred to a different part of his body at the time.
“There’s a reason for that,” he said now.
“I’m sure, but this isn’t from a monk. Actually, no one knows where it came from. The author is anonymous, or at least that’s what it says on the website.”
“Then why do you think this could help us?”
“Because, I do,” I said simply.
My eyes ran over the familiar words again. They were a little archaic but there was something powerful in them, something that resonated deeply inside me. I felt Lust tremble inside my mind and I knew I was onto something big.
Dante drew nearer. I turned my head and he was close enough for me to kiss. His eyes dropped to my lips for a half beat but flicked back to meet my gaze before I could blink.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked, a little huskier than I would have cared for.
The corner of his mouth quirked up, “It could work,” he replied, his voice sounding stranger than I’d ever heard it.
I tried to place what was different about it and it took me a minute to figure it out. I was so used to his annoyance and irritation I couldn’t readily recognize what the sound was.
Amazement.
Chase turned the laptop and used the mouse to scroll all the way down the page. “What’s this part?” he asked.
I pulled my attention away from Dante and looked at the computer screen. “That’s the tricky part,” I said.
Together, the three of us figured out our next step, and for the first time in a long time I dared to hope. Maybe we could really pull this whole thing off. All we needed was for Andy and Caroline to do their parts.
I was really hoping Caroline wouldn’t be too upset at Andy once we turned her back to her normal self. Maybe she would turn out to the kind of person that believed in turning the other cheek.
Lust peeled with laughter again and wished me luck with that before adding,
You’d have better luck counting all the stars in the sky, pumpkin.
That was twice she’d put in her two cents over the last hour. Lucky for us I wasn’t intimidated by an incorporeal naysayer.
Besides, counting all the stars in the sky wasn’t as impossible as it sounded.
Just really, really hard.
What was convincing a former statue to forgive her ex-best friend for turning her to stone compared to that?
I could be pretty convincing.
You mean annoying Lust corrected.
Scared? I asked her.
Not yet, but you should be. You and your little gang don’t stand a chance.
If you’re going to be such a negative Nancy, I’m going to have to put you in time out.
She only laughed again. I was so over her incredibly unsupportive attitude. Closing my eyes, I imagined a dark corner with a stool in it. I pushed Lust into the stool, her red essence gathering around it and shut the door, triple locking before closing a large bank vault over the whole thing and spinning the heavy circular wheel hard.
Let's see her get out of that!
I opened my eyes and Dante was staring at me. He nodded once and went back to gathering things for tonight.
It really was amazing the sort of things a person found online.
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*A/N:
Song Credit: Counting Stars - OneRepublic
Image Credit: "Gandalf Visits the Library at Minas Tirith"- by anke.edoras-art.de