Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
From a distance, the crevasse looked identical to what I’d seen in Hemah’s memories.
Normally, a crevasse was a fissure that formed in a glacier or a thick sheet of ice, but nothing about anything was normal on this plane.
This crevasse was deep in the rocky ground.
The stream was present too. We were no longer in the dark, desolate forest, but this area wasn’t much better.
There was grass and a little bit of murky sunlight streaming through the sparsely leafed trees, but the overall feeling permeating the air was one of sadness and fear.
Most of what I’d experienced on the Higher Power’s plane was tragic.
I could only hope that when the true Higher Power took their rightful place, this plane would be filled with light and joy.
Only time would tell and we seemed to be running out of it fast.
“Low. Get low,” Gideon commanded tersely.
We hid in a tree line a few hundred feet away from the opening of the crevasse. Alana Catherine was so close I could taste it. My gut told me she wasn’t in great shape, but she was alive.
Alive was all we needed. Healing her would be my greatest pleasure. She was my baby. She was my world.
“I can’t tell if Uriel is in there,” Gideon whispered. “Can either of you?” He directed the question to Chamuel and Hemah.
“No,” Chamuel said. “But I can go in and check.”
I exchanged a glance with Gideon. His expression was grim. He didn’t like Chamuel’s suggestion any more than I did. If Uriel was in there and the ghost of Chamuel appeared, that could be deadly for Alana Catherine. If Uriel thought the gig was up, there was no telling what It would do.
“I don’t think that’s the best plan,” I said firmly.
“I agree,” Gideon said.
Candy Vargo pulled her toothpick out of her mouth and flicked it to the ground. “I do not agree. The plan is fuckin’ solid.”
I squinted at her and shook my head. “We might have only one chance to save Alana Catherine. If Uriel sees Chamuel and knows something’s off, It might go off the deep end. We can’t afford that. Alana Catherine can’t afford that.”
“True that,” Candy agreed much to my confusion. “But, if Uriel can’t see the ghost, it ain’t a problem.”
“I prefer that we go with the name Uranus until further notice,” Shitty Ritchie chimed in.
“Roger that,” Candy Vargo told the idiot. “If Uranus can’t see Chamuel, we can get the intel we need and then proceed with the extraction of our gal.”
Gideon wasn’t having it. His tone was clipped and furious. Risking Alana Catherine’s life any more than necessary wasn’t on his agenda. “And how would you propose making that work?”
Candy Vargo rolled her eyes. “What do I look like to you?” she hissed at Gideon.
“Is that a trick question?” he shot back, flatly.
I wondered the same thing myself.
“No,” she snapped. “I’m the Keeper of fucking Fate, motherfucker. I can render the ghosts invisible for a short period of time.”
Tim placed his hand on Candy’s shoulder to calm her down. “Friend, it might have been good if you’d led with that.”
“Whatever,” she griped. “Under a little pressure here.”
We all were. As long as we handled it without taking each other out, it was doable.
“Do it,” I told her. “Make Chamuel invisible.
“And Hemah too,” Shitty Ritchie insisted.
Candy’s expression turned doubtful. “Not sure I trust sending that bastard in there.”
Shitty Ritchie didn’t agree. “While Shitty Ritchie understands Candy Vargo’s hesitation, don’t forget that Hemah is now my bitch. If Shitty Ritchie says jump, Hemah asks how high?” He grabbed Hemah by the ear and yanked. “Right, Hemah?”
“Correct,” Hemah answered. “It would begin my penance on an appropriate note to aid the true Higher Power in finding Its third. It would also speak volumes as to how remorseful I am that I played a defining role in Chamuel’s horrific existence.
By helping to end Uriel’s, I mean, Uranus’ reign of terror, I would be on the road to redemption. ”
I wanted to tell It that the particular road It was talking about was billions of miles long, but stayed quiet. It wasn’t my place. It was Shitty Ritchie’s.
Chamuel floated over to Hemah and touched Its cheeks. Silent communication was exchanged. So many expressions flitted across their faces, I couldn’t keep up. It was like watching a movie without sound on super-sonic high speed.
After two minutes, Chamuel let Its hands fall back to Its sides. “Hemah speaks the truth. It will not betray or double cross us today.”
“What about tomorrow?” Jennifer asked.
Chamuel glanced over at Its counterpart. “That is up to Hemah. Every day will be test for It. Every day for the rest of time. But today… today Hemah will choose the side of righteousness and justice. Only Hemah knows what tomorrow may bring.”
“You fuckers satisfied?” Candy Vargo asked.
I nodded as did Gideon. “Yes. Render them invisible.”
Candy didn’t waste a moment. With a wiggle of her fingers and a few ancient words, both Chamuel and Hemah disappeared from sight.
“You dead freaks still here?” she asked.
“We are,” Chamuel confirmed. “How long will the invisibility last, Keeper of Fate?”
Candy shrugged. “A good ten minutes. Possibly longer, but bet on ten. Get in there, suss it out and get your asses back here ASAP. However, you have the power to end the invisibility if it’s to your advantage. Got it?”
“Yes,” Hemah said.
“Got it,” Chamuel added.
“Go, go, go!” the Keeper of Fate ordered. Candy waited thirty seconds, closed her eyes and extended her arms toward the sky. “They’re gone.”
We all looked at each other. No one spoke. It was about to be the longest ten minutes of our lives.
Chamuel and Hemah were back in just under five minutes.
I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. None of us had uttered a single word in their absence—not even Shitty Ritchie.
Gideon held my hand with our fingers loosely intertwined.
His eyes were locked on the crevasse and didn’t stray.
Jennifer rested her head on Tim’s shoulder.
Candy stood as still as I’d ever seen her.
There wasn’t a single toothpick in her mouth.
The quiet was eerie. I absolutely refused to believe the chilling silence was any kind of foreboding of what was to come.
We would succeed. It was the only choice I would accept.
“Spit it out,” Candy Vargo said when the ghosts materialized. “Be quick and fuckin’ concise.”
“Alana Catherine is in the cage. The door is open,” Chamuel confirmed.
“She is not well. No blood or physical wounds that I could see, but she is weak and unconscious. Uranus was always good with poisons that could compromise Immortals. I can’t confirm if that is what Uranus has used, but it looks to be the case. ”
“Fuck,” Gideon hissed.
“Is Uriel in there now?” I asked.
“Uranus,” Shitty Ritchie corrected me.
I almost punched him. Did the name matter?
Wait. I needed to slow the heck down. Names mattered. They’d mattered greatly with both Chamuel and Hemah. It stood to reason that Uriel’s name held power as well. Uranus it was until we needed the ammunition.
“Right,” I agreed. “Uranus. My bad.” I turned back to the ghosts. “Was Uranus in the crevasse?”
“No,” Hemah answered.
The ghost looked like It wanted to say more, but hesitated. That didn’t work for me.
“Talk,” I snapped at Hemah. “Say whatever you were about to say before you thought better of it.”
“You heard Daisy,” Shitty Ritchie shouted at Hemah. “Do not defy the woman who I consider my mommy, you fuckhead. EVER.”
The tiny menace pointed at Hemah with his splayed pointer and middle finger. He reversed it and pointed at his own eyes then turned it back on Hemah. Shitty Ritchie was making it clear that he was watching every move Hemah made… and then some.
“What I was going to add may or may not be welcome,” Hemah said.
“Don’t care,” I shot back. “I’m used to everything you say being unwelcome. If you say something useful it will be like freaking Christmas. Say your piece.”
“NOW,” Shitty Ritchie added.
“I know how to reverse most of Uranus’ poisons with a spell,” It explained, then held up a ghostly hand. “But now that I’m deceased, my magic doesn’t work.”
Tim and Candy looked at each other. Tim shrugged. Candy’s brow creased in thought.
“What does the spell involve?” Candy asked. “Can it be taught? Fast?”
Hemah shook his head. “No. A spell as powerful as this belongs only to those who were meant to cast them.”
“How is that determined?” Tim pressed.
Hemah glanced around. “May I?” It inquired of Shitty Ritchie.
“May you what?” Shitty Ritchie shot back. “Don’t be vague with me, turdball. I’m a literal kind of guy. May you what?”
Hemah nodded. I thought It might have cracked a smile, but wasn’t sure. If it had happened at all, it was momentary. “May I test out who here might be capable of casting the spell.”
Shitty Ritchie considered the request. “Yep. But if you touch any boobs, butts, or dongs in the process, your ass is grass. We clear?”
“Abundantly,” Hemah assured him, looking at the little man like he was insane.
Shitty Ritchie was insane, but he was ours and we were keeping him. Hemah could get used to it or It could rot for all I cared. It would take me a long time, if ever, before I would be able to forgive the revolting being.
“Do it quick,” Candy told Hemah. “I wanna get in and out of that shithole before Uranus comes back. However, if Alana Catherine’s been poisoned, there’s a chance she won’t make it if we don’t break the spell. So, Hemah, you disgusting jackhole, do your thing.”
“As you wish,” Hemah said.
The ghost floated over to Candy first. It paused in front of her for a long beat then shook Its head. “No, you are not the one to cast the spell.”
Next was Gideon. Same result.
Tim. Same result.
Jennifer. Same result.