Afterlife (Second Eden #1) (37 page)

“What?” Amber laughed at the thought. “That’s stupid. He’s just—”

“I don’t have time for this,” Bentley snapped. He pounded the desk, lurching from his seat and jabbing a finger at the warehouse’s dusty windows. “You know what that means? You know why the sirens scream tonight?”

“I do.”

“Of course you do,” he sighed. “The archduke will come down hard on the city for this. Maybe you got a little piece of what you needed. Maybe you learned something valuable for whatever reason you’re here. I hope it was worth the thousands of souls who will turn to dust tonight. I hope whatever you got from this was worth that massacre.”

Amber held her hands before her and dropped her chin. “I hadn’t thought….”

“What’d you think would happen if one of the Iron Council was dusted? You think the archduke would—could—let such a heinous crime pass? There’s a reason we don’t target his generals. We want the Assembly back, but not at the cost of the innocent people who make this city home. What’s the use of bringing the voice of the people back to Afterlife when the city’s no more than dust?”

“I just didn’t—”

“Think? No, you never did think. If you did, you would’ve convinced Dino not to do such a damned stupid thing. Jesus. Stay here. I need to get a hold of Faye. The four of us need to speak.”

Bentley bounded from the ring, jogging through the factory while he barked out orders. His words chilled her, shrunk her so small she felt like she could hide inside a thimble. There she stood, in the boxing ring and under its bright light, as the hundreds of glittering eyes glared at her with the knowledge she had a part to play in the brutal violence happening beyond the factory walls.

After a few tense, quiet moments. Bentley raced back into the ring. His furious features had relaxed somewhat, the scornful look furrowing his brow now much smoother. He padded his sweaty temples with a towel and took a deep breath. “Listen, this is on him, not you. I get a little hot-headed sometimes, and Dino’s been known to go rogue like this on more than one occasion. If he wasn’t the best phantom in Afterlife, I’m pretty sure Faye would’ve let him loose or dusted him a long time ago. You want some water or anything? Maybe bourbon?”

“No.” Amber forced a smile, rocking on her heels. “But thank you.”

The factory doors flung open, and Dino marched inside. All the tension knotted up inside Amber flowed away on her sigh. “You made it!”

He beamed a smile as he wove through the crowd and hopped into the boxing ring, throwing his arms wide. “What, you doubted the great Dino Cardona?”

“Dino, will the archduke dust thousands of souls tonight for what just happened? Would he really do that just to prove a point?”

“Of course he would,” Dino laughed. He slapped a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “But it’s not like they matter. Only you matter, Amber.”

“What?” Amber grabbed his hand and threw it down. “How could you say that? Those people matter. We have to find a way to stop it!”

“Stop it?” Dino snorted and turned to Bentley. “Stop it! Can you believe it?” He faced her again and shook his head. “There’s no stopping the archduke tonight. He needs his pound of flesh for what’s happened. But it was worth it, wasn’t it? We’re a step closer to finding your brother, right? That’s all that matters. That’s all that’s always mattered, Amber. It’s the only thing you’ve ever cared about. Let the streets pile up with dust, as long as we can get an inch closer to Toby. Am I right or what?”

“How could you say something like that? I care about these people. I … I want to find Toby, but I don’t want innocents to die for it!”

“Oh please, you’ve never cared about an innocent life in your entire fucking time here. You’ve done what it takes to find him, and damn anyone else who might get in the way of it.”

“No. That’s not true!”

“Oh, it’s true, Amber. It’s the truest thing about you. You’re nothing but a selfish, spoiled brat who’s chasing a fantasy so she can feel better about herself, maybe even feel like a true hero for once. Truth is, you’re not a hero. You’re no better than the archduke. Two peas in a pod if you ask me. I doubt you even care about me, isn’t that right? Maybe now that I’ve gotten you what you wanted, you’ll toss me aside like everybody else. As long as you’re just a little closer to your brother. Right?
Right
?”

Tears weighed her lashes. Her stomach twisted as her arms began to shake. “I … I … It’s not true! I didn’t want them to die….”

“If you didn’t want them to die, you wouldn’t have let me do this. You’re not that stupid. You should’ve spoken up. You should’ve said killing Ian West was wrong. Did you? Did you ever say a word? Did you ever tell me no? Did you?
Did you
!”

Amber choked down a sob and looked to her feet. Dino grabbed her chin and wrenched it up until their eyes met. “You never once thought about what doing this might do to the city. The Fool’s Errand might end tonight. The dust of innocent souls will pile high in the streets. But did you ever care once? Even
once
?”

The tears rolled down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this?”

“Save the tears for someone who cares. I’m a killer, remember? Oh, and if your brother was in Afterlife, you would’ve found him by now. He’s not. He’s gone. He’s dust, just like so many others.”

“No….”

“Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Can you hear their screams?”

“No….”

“This night will live on forever. Afterlife is burning, Amber, and you lit the match.”

“No!”
 

A seed of rage exploded in her heart, filling her veins with painful fire. Amber’s mind slipped into a deep, boiling black. A force engulfed her, a raging heat of wrath and ruin and unbridled power. She opened her mouth wide, and her scream exploded outward.
 

Dino and Bentley rocketed out of the ring. Any fool standing crashed onto their backs. Lights burst and rained the floor with shards of glass. The ceiling shuddered, the walls shook. The windows exploded in plumes of glittering diamonds.

And then, silence settled. A once raging soup of power roaring through her blood cooled, and she stood alone in the darkness, a field of unconscious souls radiating around her.
 

Her body faded into mist, her sobs echoing on the building’s quiet walls. She soared out a shattered window and floated into the night. The Smoke Quarter shrank as she raced for Angel Park, heading for the mirror tucked into the secret hall of La Couronne.
 

Forgive me, Toby. I can’t do this. I thought I was strong. I thought I could save you. But I can’t. I just can’t
.
 

Dino watched as the warehouse’s windows burst, spewing shards of glass over the dark street. The shockwave hit him, and although he flew toward Bentley’s as a phantom, even then the power of the blast forced him back. It set a chill in his heart, a deep, dark dread that stole all the warmth from his thoughts.

He tore through a gaping hole in a window and reformed amongst a mass of souls slowly regaining consciousness. He spotted Bentley crawling into the center ring and made his way toward his friend. “Bentley? What happened here? Where’s Amber?”

“Amber?” He looked at him and blinked. “Amber….”

“Yes, Amber. Where is she?”

He caught movement in the crowd. Dino frowned at a man crawling into the ring. The soldier looked up and smiled. It was him, but not him, and as the realization sunk in, his fear twisted into rage. “Faye! Where is she? What have you done with her!”

“You just missed her,” she said, her disguise as Dino shifting into the familiar Faye LaBelle.

“I’ll dust you if you’ve hurt her!” he roared.
 

Dino charged her, but Bentley latched onto his jacket and jerked him to a stop. “It wasn’t smart to go against her, Dino,” he whispered. “You knew there would be a price to pay.”

“Let go of me, Bentley!” He tried shifting into his phantom form, but his body stubbornly stayed solid. A lance of fear shot up his spine. He looked down at his fists and tried again, but the phantom curse wouldn’t come.

“Amber is gone now.” Faye smoothed her hair, lifting her chin. “I wanted to kill her myself, but she pulled some stunt with her curses I hadn’t expected and slipped away. But don’t worry, I made sure she’ll never come looking for you again.”

“You’ll pay for this,” Dino rasped. “I’ll make you pay!”

Faye laughed and licked her lips. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a familiar scarab relic. Once, it kept her base of operations safe from phantoms. Now, it prevented him from fleeing or fighting.
 

“The Errand is dying,” she said, “our numbers have dwindled to little more than who you see here before you. You were supposed to make her my weapon, Dino. You were supposed to help me save Afterlife. Now look what you’ve done. So many souls dusted. So many loved ones torn apart. You’re no hero, Dino. You’re nothing like one. You’re a murderer, and Zoe would hate you for everything you’ve done.”

Dino lunged, but Bentley’s strong grip pulled him back and slammed him against the mat. Dino saw stars. His skull ached. His vision blurred.

“Poor Dino Cardona,” Faye cooed. “You thought Amber was your ticket to redemption. You thought you two would be heroes, go face the archduke yourselves and live happily ever after. I’m sorry, darling, but this is Afterlife, and there are no happy endings.” She pocketed the scarab and turned to Bentley. “I want him imprisoned. Make sure it’s airtight. Once I’m through with him, he’ll be wishing he’d never heard the name Amber Blackwood.”

“Sorry about this, buddy,” Bentley murmured. A dark, knuckled brick of a fist smashed into Dino’s temple, and the world went black.

Amber stumbled into Ms. Flannery’s basement, trembling, sobbing. She pressed her hand to her lips and looked out the narrow window just above the ground to a world cloaked in shadows.

Not a single step she took creaked on the basement stairs. She opened the door as gingerly as she could. Its hinges groused, but only a little, and when it was wide enough, she slipped through the gap and let it glide closed behind her.
 

Through the kitchen she padded, and then to the front door. She paused there, staring at the stairwell leading to Ms. Flannery’s room. Amber twisted the knob. The door clicked. She grimaced. Still, nothing moved upstairs.

Amber darted through the front door and into the crisp, cloudy night. A light winter’s mist coalesced in her hair in glittering, glimmering beads. In the distance, Portsmouth’s lights shimmered like wet gems.
 

She took a deep breath. Air. Real air, free of any dust. Amber exhaled. Rumbling thunder pulled her mind back to where she stood, the threat of a storm enough to overcome her rattled nerves and weary bones.

Her boots clicked on the asphalt as she headed down the lane. Her drive melted into view, the great elm’s branches now leafless and trembling in the biting winds. When she passed beneath the tree, she paused to glance at the place where she had fallen, where Dino had saved her.
 

Amber closed her eyes. She couldn’t stuff his memories away. The smell of his leather jacket. His sweat. His stupid, smug smile.

“No,” she said, stepping away from the tree. “He wanted this. You deserved this.”
 

The front door didn’t budge when she tried it. Amber sighed, jerking the knob again, but the deadbolt held fast.
 

“
Fine
.” Her will lashed out and unbolted the door, swinging it wide. Amber stumbled into the foyer. Her brows knitted together as she surveyed the sparkling, polished interior of her home. Not a single hint of Bone Man’s attack remained. The kitchen smelled of bleach and lemons. Not a single cabinet was bent or broken.

Amber ran her hand along the cool marble countertop. She turned to a cabinet and pressed her brow onto the wood, feeling the imperfect grains against her skin. No matter how much she hated Portsmouth, nothing in Afterlife compared to the touch and feel of home.

It took all her strength to stumble upstairs. She found her room better than when she left it. The bed was made, pillows fluffed, and a light scent of vanilla wafted through the air. Amber pulled off her dress and threw it in her closet. She plowed into the downy comforter and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly, and she embraced it.

Dreams swirled in her chaotic mind. Flashes of a world of dust, a city of souls steeped in chaos and cries. Toby called her name, screamed it. She answered, she called his, but he didn’t hear. No, he couldn’t hear.
 

“Amber?”
 

Amber’s dreams vanished like water down a drain. She blinked, her eyes taking in the world of downy Egyptian cotton in the space buried in her blankets.
 

“Amber?”

She recognized her mother’s voice, and her heart twisted. Amber swallowed and grabbed the comforter, slowly peeling it off her head. Her mother stood in the doorway, short, curly hair streaked with wiry grey. Red rimmed the dark bags of her grey eyes. Tears wet the tanned freckles of her cheeks. When she saw Amber, she squinted, and the deep cracks of her skin fanned across her temples. “Oh my God, Amber!”

“Mom? You’re back from Borneo?”

Amber’s mom lurched into the room and slapped her arms around her daughter, her body wracked with deep sobs. Her tears plopped on the blanket as she squeezed the air from Amber’s lungs.

“Mom … Mom … It’s …
Mom!
It’s okay. What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath and leaned back, hands clamped on Amber’s shoulders as her eyes searched her daughter’s. “I … We … We thought the worst. The police couldn’t find anything, not a single thing! It was like you just vanished. I knew you were alive. I knew it! Mothers know these things.”

“Of course I’m alive. I was just….” Amber’s words died on her tongue. She clenched her jaw and forced a smile. “I just needed to get away for a little bit.”

“When Ms. Flannery saw you stumble into the house last night I almost didn’t believe it. But it was you! She was right. What happened, Amber? Where have you been? Why did you run away?”