Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
MAL
Mal glared at the rainbow-eyed monster in front of him, parading himself openly in broad daylight even more shamelessly than Mal did.
Mal had known there was a solid chance that he’d get clocked as a nightmare as soon as Clayton’s little friends showed up, and he’d been prepared to do whatever was necessary. However, he hadn’t been prepared for what had shown up.
The second Mal had laid eyes on Jack, he readied himself to grab Clayton and run, but when Jack hadn’t squashed him on sight, Mal had reined his flight instinct in.
He watched, unbelieving, as a creature far larger and more powerful than it seemed pretended to be a simple, wacky sidekick for one of the most powerful members the Guard had to offer.
Was it toying with them all to amuse itself? Could it be that it was simply playing with its food before eating it? Marshall would certainly make one hell of a meal.
Mal relaxed minutely when he realized that, if they were teammates, then Jack had been with Marshall for quite some time, and that if Mal didn’t provoke him, Jack wasn’t likely to end his game any time soon.
Mal filled a tiny drop of essence with the thought, if you leave my stuff alone, I’ll leave your stuff alone, and mentally flicked it at Jack like a wadded-up ball of paper.
He didn’t get a response, but he was certain he saw Jack’s ever-present smile kick up a notch.
Just when Mal thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d impressed Jack enough with his power that he wasn’t willing to provoke Mal any more than Mal wanted to provoke him, Jack went and changed everything.
Mal could feel the moment Marshall had clocked him and was prepared to act the moment he was attacked, but nothing happened. Instead of getting into a stupid fight, Mal was treated to witnessing the world twisting and rearranging itself, affecting everyone but Mal and Jack.
Jack had wiped away the knowledge of what Mal was from not just Marshall’s mind, but from the minds of everyone in the area.
It was like an explosion radiating out from Jack, rippling through the fabric of reality.
It was complete overkill, and it immediately triggered an avalanche of memories to come forward and present Mal with an annoying and unacceptable truth.
All the times when Mal had thought he’d been too sneaky, or too powerful to be noticed by the Guard, all of the times he’d mocked members of the Other for not seeing what was right in front of them… it had all been the work of someone else.
All of those people… They’d all had the same dazed expression on their faces Marshall had just now, much like the one he’d seen on Clayton’s multiple times since they’d met.
Had that all been Jack? Had he been toying with Mal too?
If so, what had Mal done to attract the attention of such a creature? He didn’t even know what Jack was. He was too old and far too powerful for Mal to begin to guess. All he knew was that if Jack had wanted it, Mal and everyone else in the city would be dust in the blink of an eye.
Mal stared down the god-like creature, refusing to quail before him. If Mal was going out, it would be on his own terms, and it wouldn’t involve him being afraid.
No. Mal’s purpose in life was to evoke fear, not to feel it.
If it came down to it, he would stash Clayton away somewhere safe and come back to face this ancient horror.
Said ancient horror’s eyes flashed merrily, and he said, “This is going to be so much fun.” Then Jack nudged Marshall excitedly.
“Come on, let’s get to work and help Clayton’s boyfriend find their kids.
This was so worth waking up and spending an hour waiting for Adelle to get out of the bathroom this morning. ”
Mal’s glare intensified. How dare this monster mock him by being so cheerful?
Then he realized Clayton hadn’t bristled when Jack referred to Mal as his boyfriend. He hadn’t commented at all.
Jack wasn’t rooting for Mal, was he? Was he trying to be his wingmonster?
Pfft. Whatever. For the moment, Mal would leave Jack alone and see what happened next.
Nothing. Exactly nothing happened next. Mal spent what felt like three thousand hours waiting for Marshall and Jack to figure out something Mal already knew, and eventually it became too much for him, and he broke.
After the fifth time watching Marshall spend an exorbitant amount of essence trying to divine the exact location of the boat and have Jack do something to keep him from finding it, Mal snapped, “Enough. I can’t watch this anymore.
” He glared at Jack. “If you’re only going to get in the way, I'll do this myself.”
He grabbed Clayton by the wrist and began to haul him over to the spot where the gangplank used to be.
“Don’t be so grabby! Hey, where are we going?” Clayton hissed and pulled against Mal’s hold, but he still ended up getting towed exactly where Mal wanted him to be.
Mal ignored the fact that Marshall and Jack followed close behind them.
Mal reached out into thin air and began to pull with his essence.
Like the time in Boston Below, Mal could feel the energy signature of the person who had torn open a rift between dimensions.
All he had to do was flood the area with his essence, and he could open it again.
Unlike last time, he wouldn’t be yanking people to his side; he’d be pulling himself and Clayton through.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jack said. There was a sternness to his tone that contrasted with his cheerful smile.
“Good thing you aren’t me, then,” Mal said as he tried to concentrate on finding the magic signature he was looking for.
“If you drain yourself dry getting in, you’ll be in no shape to handle what you find on the other side,” Marshall warned.
“Don’t worry about me, cupcake. It takes a lot to drain me dry.” Mal gave Clayton a lascivious look, and his little chaos magnet blushed furiously and began to stare at the harbor.
“But will you be able to get back home again?” Jack asked.
Mal weighed the question seriously. He was practically bursting with what he’d gotten from Clayton over the past twelve hours, but traversing dimensions took a heavy toll. If Mal had to use too much of his essence to get the kids back, he could be in trouble.
As Mal scrolled through various different methods to convince Clayton to allow Mal to fuck enough magic out of him after a battle in order to get everyone home, Marshall interrupted his train of thought.
“We’re obviously coming with you. Clayton is one of ours, and we’re not letting him face this alone.” Marshall sounded like he’d been watching too many superhero movies, and when he saw that Clayton was looking at Marshall like he was the solution to all of life’s problems, Mal nearly gagged.
Clayton liked this guy? Why???
Well, he was going to need to get over it because Mal was never going to be like Marshall, and Clayton wasn’t getting rid of him.
Mal stopped trying to open the rift and leaned down to whisper in Clayton’s ear. “You need a new type. This douchebag is ridiculous.”
Clayton hmmphed and elbowed Mal in the ribs before telling Marshall, “We’d love to have you come. The more firepower we have to get our children back, the better.”
Mal winced at the phrase our children, because Clayton had used it with the force of a hatchet, and Mal had been its target.
“Message received,” Mal said, rubbing the space on his chest where a heart would have been had he been human.
There had been magic behind those words, and Mal didn’t want to find out if it was something Clayton had done by accident or if he could actually direct the attack at will. In either case, Mal would be smart to tread lightly.
Jack burst out laughing, and everyone but Mal stared at him in confusion. Clearly, Jack could sense a hell of a lot more than Mal wanted him to.
“Go fuck yourself,” Mal growled.
Marshall watched the entire situation with an odd expression. He was like a dreamer trying to wake up, but every time he got close, he went back under again.
Mal flicked another thought at Jack. :You’re going to break your toy if you keep fucking with him like that.:
The joyful light in Jack’s eyes dimmed briefly. :This is the first time I’ve done this to him, and I don’t do it lightly.:
:Finally, he speaks.: Mal sent dryly. He’d been half-certain Jack was going to play out the entire scene like he was exactly who he pretended to be. :Why do it to him at all? I didn’t ask you for help.:
:Because I don’t want to have to choose sides here. It’s either this, or I kill you. I thought you’d prefer this option.: Jack’s rainbow gaze drilled into Mal with breathtaking intensity, and he knew without a doubt that Jack could easily make good on his statement.
:Why not just kill me and save yourself the trouble? We don’t know each other.:
Jack didn’t respond, but his mouth hitched in a knowing smile.
“Are you going to stand here and stare at Jack all day, or are you going to do something?” Clayton said with a touch of cattiness.
Jack blew them both a kiss. “Don’t be jealous, Clayton. Everyone wants to stare at me. It’s only natural.”
Mal rolled his eyes and went back to opening the rift. He didn’t know what Jack had to do to keep Marshall from seeing what Mal truly was, and he didn’t care.
Mal was, however, going to ask him to stop doing it to Clayton as soon as he got a chance. He had a good idea that Clayton would be able to handle the information, as long as Mal played his cards right.
He just needed to time it properly.
Mal poured his essence into the barely healed scar in the fabric of reality, forcing it to bend to his will. :You will give me what I want. You have no choice.: Mal informed it coldly when it fought him longer than he liked. After a beat, reality shivered, and a hole appeared before him.
Mal gestured to Marshall, “After you.” Like hell he was sending Clayton in first. If he did, Clayton would probably be met by a swarm of fire bees or discover that the dimension was nothing but a mountain of old, rotting cabbage. Marshall was the best person to deal with either outcome.
Marshall took him at his word and entered without a second glance, and he heard Jack sigh wearily behind him.
Mal wasn’t surprised when he heard Jack say in his mind, :He’s incredibly difficult to keep alive.:
Mal snorted. :I know the feeling.:
Clayton went in next, and Mal was going to send Jack in behind him, but he stopped when Jack said, “I’ll go last. You save your essence for the fight. I’ll use mine to close the rift behind us. I’ve got plenty to spare.”
For fuck’s sake. Jack could have opened the rift entirely on his own without Mal, but for some unknown reason, he’d let Mal take the lead.
What was Jack playing at?
“I don’t like you even a little bit,” Mal informed Jack.
Jack’s face split into a grin. “Try not to make this adventure too much fun for me. It’ll make everything else pale in comparison for weeks.” Then Jack poked Mal with a finger, and the force sent Mal hurtling into the rift.