Deal with the Devil

23. Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-two:

Amelia

She woke as Knox sank back into bed, and again when her phone chirped. Amelia groaned, sitting up from the bed in the hazy light. It filtered through the curtains and caught every breath of air, every speck of dust. As she unlocked her phone screen, she saw she’d missed a call by an unknown number, and they left a voicemail. She blinked groggily, putting it to her ear.

“ Hello, Ms. Armstrong, I have a few more questions for you and your sister. This is Aravis Blightwood. Would you be amicable to coming into the Council Building today, around one pm for some questioning about Rick? It’s imperative that I get a call back at this number. Thank you.”

Amelia rubbed her eyes. Peeking over her shoulder, she found the bed empty. His dent was fully fluffed back up once more. There was a handwritten scroll with a purple ribbon holding it together. She rolled her sleepy eyes. Wiggling up in the bed, back to the headboard, she unrolled the paper.

Morning, pet,

You were drained, so I opted to let you sleep in. Zavros and Maevin heard from the Bonesaws, and Gael was spotted in the city proper. As soon as I have word of when I’m headed home, I’ll call. Check my office, Denver knows which one, for a special task I have for you.

Ensure you’ve started it before I get home.

Amelia scowled, rolling the parchment back up and stuffing it in the bedside table. He did not want a replay of the day before…which was fair. She’d all but screamed in terror at the sight of him. She couldn’t hate him too much for the decision. Instead, she opted for seeing what he was talking about and calling Aravis Blightwood back.

“But before that, breakfast.” She bound out of bed and scrambled downstairs. Passing Brayden in the foyer with one of the mechanics, metal parts spread across the hard wood. Denver didn’t look very pleased, but he’d rolled up the runner and was talking to a maid about how to clean up gear oil, so it seemed like a moot point. Amelia ruffled her nephew’s hair, crouching down.

“What are you up to now, mischief?”

“Am-crack! This is Eddie, he’s one of Knox’s mechanics. He said he could show me how to put an engine together.”

Amelia blinked, staring at the slime man in mechanic’s overalls. Black and white slime that swirled beneath the fabric, he had two massive eyeballs stuck in his head, and he was vaguely people-shaped. But there was something gelatin-like about him when he wiggled in place. He flashed her a grin before handing over a long, metal tube to Brayden. “Put that in the center piece you have.”

“Got it!” Brayden beamed. Putting the pieces together like little blocks when he was a baby. Amelia almost got teary eyed at the pure excitement in the pre-teen’s face.

“Well, uh, you two have fun and try not to upset Denver more, okay.” She kissed the kid on top of his head and gave Eddie another wave. “Where’s your mom?”

“In the dining room, she’s on the phone with someone.”

Amelia took that as her cue to leave the preteen to the cool thing he was doing with someone not his aunt or mom. She climbed to her feet and slid into the dining room. A plate was left out for her with a bunch of little platters covered in silver domes. She sat down and was immediately poured a glass of orange juice and a mug of coffee by a fluttering pixie woman. Amelia grabbed a little bit of everything before it was just her and Penny. Her sister was pacing the other side of the dining room, speaking with someone in a hush over the phone.

She was practically done with her bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns when Penny dropped into the chair in front of her.

“That was my boss,” Penny answered without having to be asked. She stole Amelia’s untouched orange juice and downed it.

“Is he unhappy with you?” Amelia grimaced.

“There’s this big client he needs my help on, and while he respects my need for safety, he also needs me on this.”

Amelia pushed the bits of muffin she’d been picking at around the plate. “Aravis Blightwood called, said he needed to talk to us, and it was urgent. Maybe I should go tell Denver we need to go into the city. I mean, if we’re in the Council Building and the bank, both super public, both super crowded. Declan would be stupid to come for us in broad daylight…I don’t think he can, right? Being a vampire and all?”

Penny eyed Amelia with confusion. “Is Declan the guy?”

“Yeah, apparently Knox stole his empire from him and now he’s out for revenge.” Amelia proceeded to fill Penny in with the gruesome details. From Gael and her escape to Buttons and her betrayal, all but the part where Knox turned into a nightmare-fueled terror and ate Buttons. Then, Amelia waited for Penny to speak. Her sister didn’t. Instead, staring into the empty glass in her hands. So, Amelia broke the silence first. “You okay?”

“I knew Rick had his faults. And you know, prior to this, I kept telling myself… ‘this is it, Penny. This time, we’re divorcing him. Brayden understands, he’s draining us financially, we can’t withstand keeping him around’ …Then he’d come home and smile at me, tell me how much he loved me…and I’d forget to kick him out that time. Or the next. Or the next.”

Amelia pushed her plate, “Where’s this going, Penny?”

“Nowhere if you don’t leave Knox when this is over.”

“Not this again,” Amelia groaned, pushing away from the table. “That ship’s long gone, Penny.”

“It’s never gone!” Penny spat, sliding the glass across the table and out of reach.

“It is!” Amelia put up her hand. As if knowing it was needed, her contract lit up with inky magic around her hand. Penny’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s that?” She reached across the table to snatch Amelia’s hand and inspect it. “This is a magic contract.”

“Knox and I made a deal—”

“Are you fucking serious right now? Amelia! You have absolutely lost all sense of self preservation, haven’t you? I thought you were just shacking up with him, thinking of some fantasy romance with the guy…not selling your soul to him.”

“I didn’t sell it,” Amelia scoffed, ripping her hand back. “It’s collateral.”

“And what could you possibly get out of it?” Penny snapped to her feet.

“Him.” Amelia climbed to her own feet. “And your safety; Brayden’s safety.”

Penny’s ego deflated, but she glared nonetheless. The two stood in a stare down for a long moment. Eventually, Penny gave in and rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, I’ll hop off my soap box. But I don’t like him.”

“I didn’t like Rick,” Amelia retorted.

“Yeah, well…” Penny trailed off with her tongue stuck out as she walked around the table. “So, let’s get dressed and see if we can con our way into going into town. The bank first, then we’ll go see the Lord Commander.”

The sisters left the dining room, finding Brayden already elbows deep in the engine. It was coming along nicely. Eddie hardly glanced up as they walked by and trotted up the steps. Penny kept glancing back with pride at her baby putting together something with enthusiasm. Brayden had a blasé way about life, barely took interest in anything. His grades meant nothing but an allowance. His friends only cared about video games, but none of them liked the same video game. His favorite sport was the one he didn’t have to participate in.

Penny whispered as they reached the top step. “I’m so glad he’s into it. I just want him to like stuff. Rick never liked anything, and I was so afraid he ruined Brayden’s enjoyment of anything. I can get behind cars. Cars mean so many options. Engineering, mechanics, coding, design; there’s so much there he can explore…I just want him to like stuff, Amelia.”

“I know.” Amelia pulled her sister into a side hug before slipping into Knox’s room.

An outfit was already picked out for her on the bed. She saw the collar was distinctly not there. Instead, there was a long, dainty chain with a single amethyst dangling from it. She snorted, “You know, the purple theme’s really a lot, Knox. You gotta like other colors!”

She was speaking to no one but, for some reason, she assumed he would hear her sass. Amelia could feel the spank from the ethos. Her lips curled into a smug smirk. The outfit consisted of a pair of simple slacks, a silk camisole that draped over her breasts, the necklace, and a pair of flats. Nothing like her slinky black dress…but when she looked in the mirror, she appreciated the silhouette. And clearly, he still wanted to have her ass and tits on display. Amelia rolled her eyes before leaving the room. Denver was halfway up the stairs when she closed the door behind her.

“Ah! Ms. Armstrong, perfect timing. I was coming to show you to the office.”

“About that, and I’ll take any punishment I get for being late, but…Penny and I need to go into town today.” Amelia pocketed her phone, wallet, and sunglasses as she stepped out further into the hall.

“I’m afraid that’s not allowed, Ms. Armstrong.”

“It’s the Lord Commander. He’s demanded we come talk to him about the case with Rick.” Amelia left out the part about Penny going into work, it wasn’t worth arguing over. Once they were in town, they could redirect.

Denver paled, his face pulled in an unhappy grimace. “Oh, well, that does complicate things.”

“Look, I didn’t think Knox wanted us inviting him out here. Is there any way we can have a babysitter, just to go see what Blightwood wants? Plus, it’s daylight. Declan can’t get us during daylight, right? He’s a vampire. Plus, it’s the council building, he wouldn’t want to be within a hundred yards of that place.” Amelia felt a twinge of guilt for partially lying to Denver. It wasn’t a complete lie; she did intend to see Aravis Blightwood. And she felt like she made a good point.

Denver groaned, “Fine, I’ll see to you two in a car. Shall I collect Mister Brayden as well?”

“No, let him sit and play with car parts. Besides, if we discuss Rick’s body or anything, I don’t want him hearing about it,” Amelia sighed.

“Very good, I agree. Give me a moment to collect you a guard and a driver. And no funny business. If Mr. Zrazduel hears of any mischief or change of plans at all, I suspect he’ll be very cross with you. He did explicitly tell you not to leave the house, I’m pretty sure.”

Amelia nodded, “I fully accept any punishments accrued from this trip, but it’s necessary.”

“Alright then, meet me at the front doors in five.” The centaur bowed his head and began his long trek back down the stairs. Amelia left to find her sister and tell her the good news.

“First, before the council building, we need to stop at King’s Falls First.” The guard named Doug, the goliath man in a gray suit, and the driver both looked at them suspiciously. Amelia sighed, “It’s just for a moment. She needs to help her boss with something. It’ll be in broad daylight and highly visible.”

Doug glared at her but said nothing as he nodded to the driver to continue. They turned around a bend and headed away from the direction of the council building. Penny was already on the phone with her boss, tapping away at her crystal pad for work. Amelia did her best not to search for faces on the sidewalk. The last thing she needed was to freak herself out more. Instead, she opted to call Aravis Blightwood back and let him know what was going on.

“Blightwood’s office,” a charming, sweet voice filled the phone.

“Hey, it’s Amelia Armstrong. I got a call from Aravis Blightwood this morning about wanting me and Penny to come in for follow up questions?” She traced the seam of her slacks to keep her eyes busy. And more importantly, off the people meandering around.

“Oh? I didn’t know he called you. I don’t have anything written down about that. No problem, let me go and ask him about it. Do you mind if I put you on hold?”

Cold, suspicious fear swirled in her belly. “Of course.”

He didn’t tell his secretary. That’s…it’s fine, he probably forgot. Or maybe he didn’t expect her to call back? Yeah, that’s it, he just didn’t expect her to care enough to call back.

Amelia pulled the phone away from her ear, the soft sound of jazz played over the receiver while she looked at her call log. Did I imagine the voicemail? Yet, there it was, on her call log. The number that called her looked like it came from the Council Building. They were the only ones in King’s Fall whose numbers started with ones. However, she would bet her left toe that some young, wise-cracking tech wizard could spoof a simple number to her cell phone.

They pulled up to King’s Falls First, and Penny flew out the door. Doug pointed at Amelia, “You going in with her?”

“Would you like me to? Or I can stay here with the driver, and you follow her?”

He weighed his choices before asking her to stay put and following Penny inside. Amelia watched from the parking lot as Penny and the guard spoke at the door before both entering the building. Obviously, Penny was giving him the speech. This is a business, so please, treat it with respect and don’t snoop on anyone’s stuff, anything you hear? No, you didn’t. Brayden and Amelia got the same speech when they went to work with Penny. Granted, they both would sit in the lobby, on their laptops, hanging out or working on stuff while Penny worked.

The jazz cut off and Amelia fumbled with the phone in her hands to get it back to her ear. “Ms. Armstrong, are we still here?”

“Yes ma’am.” Amelia tried not to flinch at the sound of her own squeak.

“I apologize, but the Lord Commander did not call you this morning. If you’d still like to ask him questions, you’re more than welcome to swing by. He’s working on a few things but he’s available if you need to talk to him about your brother-in-law’s case.”

Amelia’s mouth went dry. The voice on her voicemail was identical. Heart slowing to a stop, she glanced up to the driver. He sat still, staring through the windshield, tapping his fingers to the steering wheel in time with the song lightly playing on the radio. Amelia swallowed audibly, “Uh, thanks. I must have confused the voicemail I got. Thanks for your time.”

“Any time, thank you for calling.” The secretary hung up.

Amelia clicked the end button and watched in slow motion as the partition rolled up between her and the driver. Rushing forward, she slapped a hand against the dark glass between her and the driver’s seat. It was mostly opaque, but she could see enough through the shadowy shield to know the driver got out of the car and walked away. “Hey! Hey!”

She froze as all the doors locked around her.

“Well, fuck me,” she snarled, launching across the cabin of the car to the doors. The locks were gone and the door refused to open. Amelia threw her weight against the side of the car, hoping to shake it enough to catch Doug’s attention.

Was the driver a rat too? Was Doug? She chewed on her own organs as panic rose in her throat like vomit. It burned everything as tears welled in her eyes. No, no, no, no! She’d always been so careful. She’d clocked Knox’s goons the second Penny pointed at them. Amelia suddenly felt so stupid. This was a trap. Knox asked her to stay put and she’d put her whole ass into a car and told herself it would be fine.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” she chanted, grabbing the seat belt and smashing the metal clip against the window. It clinked to no avail. Amelia dropped onto her back against the leather seats, kicking at the windows and door. Nothing. She rushed to the partition and tried to force it down. Nope. She grabbed her phone and prepared to have nothing to use to call Knox, arm raised to break it against the glass… when a door opened.

Amelia lowered her arm, eyes wide.

“No…fucking…way.” She stared at Rick, alive and fucking well, smugly smiling back at her. He winked from the door and sat down into one of the seats. Rick left the door open a crack, clearing teasing her with his escape. Amelia sat down in the seat across from him. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“Funny how that works!” He giggled wickedly, folding his arms in his lap. “How are you, Amelia? How’s the book going?”

“I stabbed you. In the fucking neck. ” She eyed him from crown to toe. His skin was sheet white, his red and purple veins pushed up against the surface like it were wet cotton. She could probably poke him and feel his muscles twitch with effort. His eyes were sunken in and rimmed with red, splotchy rings. His nose had a black bruise across the bridge and his lower lip was busted. Otherwise, he was alive and breathing.

“You did a good job too, took my master a good amount of time to stitch it up. You buried it in deep,” He laughed, pulling down the turtleneck. He exposed an angry spot on his neck, purple and black bruising surrounding circular stitching. A patch of flesh filled in the spot where she’d buried the knife.

“Whose skin is that?” Amelia recoiled.

“His, you see, my master—er…Declan, since I know you know who he is now—he’s indestructible. So, you can skin him, and it’ll just grow back. He was generous with me, gave me some of the skin off his belly. Fit like a glove.” Rick touched the skin tenderly. Piss yellow puss pushed out between the two types of skin, dribbling down Rick’s neck.

“So, you’re infected…like him. You’re a vampire?” Amelia checked the windows, finding no one nearby. Penny was still inside the bank. The driver was gone.

“I’m better than that. Normal vampires have to avoid sunlight.” Rick pushed the door open and let the light cascade over him. “We’re evolved.”

“Is that why puss comes out of your wound and you look like death warmed over?” she sneered, lurching forward. Rick pulled the door closer to him, showing he wasn’t afraid to lock them inside. Amelia curled her lip up in an angry snarl.

“You always were the more vicious sister,” he let out a low whistle, trailing his eyes down her body. It left her shivering in disgust as she dug her fingers into the fabric of her seat. “You know, I did like Penny. Truly, I did. She’s a sweet girl, and Brayden’s a strapping kid, must have gotten that from me…but you’ve gotta know none of that was real.”

“Oh please, we’re past believing any of it was real you two-faced, lying, conniving shit stain!” Amelia growled, situating her legs better. Her muscles were primed and ready to launch.

“You’re not about to try and kill me again, are you? Because it didn’t stick last time,” he snorted with a smug look of satisfaction on his face.

“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Amelia didn’t let him answer, instead launching across the cabin. She used the momentum to shove her back into the door before he could slam it shut. They both tumbled out into the parking lot. Amelia swung first and she swung hard. Knuckles to his face, she landed her blow directly to his nose. He knocked her off him with his feet. She tumbled across the asphalt.

Amelia landed with her back against someone’s bumper. Rick flew through the air, pinning her to the metal with dagger-like claws. Amelia screamed and thrashed as the pain hit her like a ton of bricks. He dug them deep into the meat of her shoulder. She planted her feet against his knees and kicked with all her might. Something cracked. Something important cracked. Rick planted his face into her as she twisted. His fingers still buried in her flesh. She death rolled with him until she had his head locked between her thighs and his arms above him. One snap and his right arm fell limp against her. Two snaps, she crossed her ankles in front of his torso and squeezed her thighs. His arms hung at impossible angles, bones poking out of his rotten flesh.

Rick smelled of death. Decay and rot filled the hot summer air around her. Amelia tried not to gag on it.

“You can’t defeat me,” Rick hissed, popping the bones in his arms back into place. If she wasn’t putting everything into cracking his skull like a watermelon, she’d shudder. They were on backwards now. His hands flew at her, snatching her face. His claws dug into her forehead and cheeks. She screamed as she thrashed around, trying to swat his claws away from her face.

“I’ll just have to keep killing you till it sticks!” She punched him in the top of the head.

Something cracked between her thighs. Blood gushed out into her lap as she squeezed even tighter. Tears welled in her eyes as she beat his head left and right. His hands faltered. Then, suddenly, they stopped. But she didn’t stop squeezing. Not until he burst. Like a sickening can of soda, she was sprayed with his brain and blood.

“Amelia!

She gasped, scrambling backward away from Rick…and watched in horror as his skull began to crawl back together. “ Dragons damnit! ”

“Rick?” Penny stopped a good foot away from the gory scene. Amelia was still drenched in blood, and Rick was piecing himself back together.

“Where’s Doug?” she barked.

“What just—where’s the driver?” Doug stumbled up behind Penny.

“I’ll kill him too! Call Knox!” Amelia snatched up a massive piece of skull off the ground and chucked it as far as she could throw. Soaked down to her skin in blood, she scanned the horizon, finding the driver popping out of sight around a building. “Stand on his head! Don’t let him heal! Penny, tell Knox to meet us here! Right! Now!”

And Amelia saw red as she chased down the driver through the city, covered in Rick’s blood.