Authors: Mari Mancusi
I look up to find my zombie savior, my jaw dropping when I realize it’s none other than Jareth himself. He drops the axe to the ground and grabs me, pulling me into a fierce embrace.
“Oh, Rayne,” he cries, covering my brain-splattered face with kisses. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Um, you have?” I repeat dumbfounded. This is getting weirder and weirder. “Seriously? Since when?” After all, last I heard he hated my guts and wished I’d just go away. It’s then that I reach up to touch my shoulder, where the zombie bit me. To my shock and surprise, there’s no wound at all.
“Okay, this has
got
to be a dream,” I realize, a bit disappointed. I mean, not about the zombie-wound-disappearing part. Believe me, while I love the idea of becoming undead, I
prefer the upper-class vampire variety, not the working-class monster.
But when it comes to the part where Jareth is kissing me with wild abandon? That part I really wish were for real.
“Damn. I really need to stop eating all those Fritos before bedtime…”
Jareth reaches out and wipes away a smudge of zombie brain from my cheek. “It’s not a dream,” he tells me. “Well, not exactly.”
I cock my head in question. “What do you mean?”
“Think of it more like…a vision. Or a warning, maybe. I’ve been sent here by Hades to have a talk with you.”
Uh-oh. I cringe. Here it comes. I’m guessing the Lord of the Underworld isn’t so pleased at the mess Sunny and I have managed to make our first few days back.
Jareth leads me over to a small bench that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. He sits me down beside him and finds my eyes with his own beautiful emerald ones. “You were sent here under the assumption that you would help Sunny regain a normal life, as she always wanted,” he begins. “But instead, you’ve managed to put all of mankind in danger.”
“Um, yeah,” I reply, feeling my face heat at his admonishment. “We’re actually still in the process of working all that out…”
Jareth gives me a rueful smile. “I’m sure,” he says. “Knowing you, you probably have a great big plan in mind. But all Hades can see right now is that things have gone to hell. And not in a
good way, either. By allowing Lucifent to live, you’ve given him the opportunity to introduce Project Z to Pyrus.”
I glance down at the dead zombies at my feet. “Let me guess,” I say. “Project Z doesn’t stand for Zantac and the plan isn’t to relieve Pyrus’s stomach acid.”
“Not exactly.” Jareth says dryly, kicking Charlie’s corpse with his boot. “And as you can see, even two zombies can cause a ton of damage when let loose. With Lucifent’s help, Pyrus will be able to raise an entire army. He’ll defeat Slayer Inc. and then move on to take over the world.” Jareth’s face twists in disgust. “He’ll treat humans as glorified cattle, enslaving them and draining them for their blood and then dumping them in mass graves when they’re bled dry.”
“Which gives Hades’s rival, Satan, a bunch of extra souls,” I realize aloud. “So he can win their little Hell population competition.” So that’s why the Lord of the Underworld cares about any of this. He’s a competitive bastard, to say the least.
Jareth nods. “You can see the problem here.”
I let out a frustrated breath. “God, we were so stupid. We thought we’d try to make things better. And instead we’ve screwed everything up.”
Jareth pats me on the knee. “I’m sure you had the best of intentions,” he assures me. “But yeah. You kind of did.”
I frown. “Well, it’s sort of your fault, too, no offense,” I remind him. “You’re the one who’s setting up the whole Project Z thing to begin with, by hooking up with Tacky Queen of the Zombies.”
Now it’s Jareth’s turn to blush. “You’re right,” he says, after
a pause. “At the time I was so full of hate. All I wanted was revenge against those who stole my family away. I didn’t care what it took—I wanted to destroy Slayer Inc.” He squeezes his hands into fists. “But Rayne, you have to believe me—I had no idea of Pyrus’s plans to turn against the human race. I trusted him, like everyone did back then. I thought he’d just use the zombies to take out the vampire slayers, then put them back to rest.”
“But instead he decides to launch a vampire apocalypse,” I say with a sigh.
“He always was a bit of an overachiever.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” I ask. “I mean, are we too late to change things?”
Jareth shrugs. “I don’t really know,” he says. “Project Z was abandoned the first time around, after Slayer Inc. killed Lucifent. Magnus came to me and told me he didn’t feel it was right to take on Slayer Inc., even after what they did to his Master. Especially not with zombies, which could so quickly spiral out of control.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “At first I was not pleased by the turn of events. After all, I’d put a lot of work into charming the zombie queen and getting her on our side to make this whole thing happen.”
“Yeah, well, she does seem pretty hooked on you,” I agree, not able to hide the bitterness in my voice. “It must have been really tough pretending to be infatuated with someone so tacky.”
Jareth raises an eyebrow. “Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice, Miss McDonald?”
I groan. “I know it’s stupid,” I admit. “But at the same time, I’m pretty much at my wit’s end. I’ve tried everything to win
back your love. Instead I’ve only succeeded in scoring your utter annoyance.”
He looks surprised. “Are you saying the past me hasn’t succumbed to your Raynie Day charms?”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Well, then the past me is clearly insane,” my boyfriend declares. He grabs me and kisses me soundly on the lips. When I open my eyes, we’re no longer in the dark alleyway, but in a luxurious hotel suite. Nice. Jareth leads me over to the bed and pulls me close. I relax in his arms, breathing in his warm scent.
“If only this weren’t a dream,” I moan after a moment, squirming out of his arms. It only reminds me too much of what I left behind. What I’ll probably never be able to regain. “I can’t even tell you how hard it’s been. To see your face, but not your smile. To know that all we shared—all those memories I have of you—don’t exist in your mind. And I feel like I’ll never get them back.”
Jareth reaches out, tracing my now zombie-brain-free cheek with a gentle finger. “I love you, Rayne,” he says softly, gazing upon me with adoration. “And I’m sure the past me will someday love you, too.” He smiles. “Just keep putting yourself in his path. I’m sure you’ll grow on him, just like you grew on me.”
“Yeah, like a freaking fungus.”
“Oh, Raynie,” Jareth says, laughing. “You have to trust me on this. The past me might appear, on the surface, to be a cold, hard barnacle. But remember, I’m just protecting the squishiness inside. The part of me I’m desperately afraid of getting hurt.” He smiles down on me. “Get past that wall I’ve erected
like you did the first time around. Show me you’re worth trusting. And I promise you, the past me won’t be able to help but fall in love with you, all over again.”
“I hope you’re right,” I mutter, crawling back into his arms. I might as well enjoy the dream romance while it lasts. “Because it’s hard enough to go around saving the world, without having to worry about saving my boyfriend as well.”
“But I’m worth it, right?” Jareth teases, kissing me playfully on the nose. “No matter what the effort?”
I can’t help but grin. “I suppose so.”
“Rayne, Rayne! Wake up! Wake up!”
I groan in annoyance as rough arms shake me awake. “No!” I cry as I feel the dream slipping away and reality rearing its ugly head. I try desperately to chase the sleep—to find Jareth again for one more kiss. One more caress. One more sweet whisper in my ear.
But it’s too late. I’m awake. And my sister’s responsible.
“Why did you have to go and do that?” I moan mournfully. “I was having the best dream ever.”
“Yeah? Well, I was out living a nightmare,” Sunny grumps, plopping down beside me in bed. I glance at the clock. It’s only eight thirty. I would have expected her to be out way longer.
“What happened with Magnus?” I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and sitting up in bed. “Didn’t things go well?”
“They started out okay,” Sunny replies. “I mean, I think he really likes me and all.”
“Well, that’s good…”
“Not really. Not when he still thinks I’m his intended blood mate.” Sunny looks at me, eyes wild. “He wanted to turn me into a vampire, Rayne. Like tonight. He’s convinced I’m in danger and figures the best way to keep me safe is to turn me immortal.” She shakes her head in horror. “It was awful.”
Hmm. A devoted vampire boyfriend who wants to turn his true love immortal to save her from harm? I should only be so lucky. “So what did you say?” I ask, already guessing the answer to my question. My sister is nothing if not predictable.
Sunny sighs. “I said no, of course. I mean, what else could I say? But oh, Rayne, you should have seen the look on his face when I turned him down. It nearly killed me, he looked so disappointed.”
I groan. God, I wish I had my sister’s so-called problems.
“I’m sorry,” I begrudgingly tell her. “But Sunny, disappointing a vampire is the least of our worries now.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve learned what Project Z stands for and, well, let’s just say it’s not ZOMG awesomeness.”
My sister leans forward anxiously. “What is it? I tried to ask Magnus, but evidently Pyrus hasn’t clued him in yet.”
“Probably for good reason.” I lean over and whisper in her ear.
“Oh my God,” she cries. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m not sure,” I say with a shrug. “But I think it’s time I pay a little visit to Slayer Inc.”
I
can’t believe how badly my hands are shaking as I reach up to knock on the front door of Slayer Inc. Manor bright and early the next morning. I mean, what’s my problem? This is my future employer we’re talking about. The one I’m destined to serve. And this time it’s not like I’m here to stage some prison break. I’m applying for a job. A job that, in my time, I already have, so obviously I’m more than qualified to get it.
Yet I can’t help but feel a little nervous as I wait for someone to answer my knock. For example, how am I going to explain to Vice President Teifert that I already know my destiny? Last time around he had to corner me onstage in the drama department to break the news that I had a new career path I never wanted. So he’s going to be a tad surprised when I beat
him to the punch this time. Not to mention when I tell him about the zombies.
I wonder if I should tell him the truth. About the time-travel thing. Would he believe me if I did? Would it help my case? Or would he just decide I’m crazy and slam the door in my face?
Well, it appears I’m about to find out. A hall light switches on and the front door begins to creak open. But it’s not Vice President Teifert on the other side.
It’s Spider.
I stare at my best friend, unable to believe my eyes. What the hell is she doing here, at Slayer Inc. Manor? Is there some kind of LAN video game party being held that I wasn’t told about? (Because that and school are the only times I ever see the girl more than ten feet away from her computer.)
She stares back at me, as if equally surprised at my presence. (I guess I’m a bit far away from the old PC as well, now that I think about it.) “Rayne,” she addresses me after a pause. “Um, what’s up? What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question.”
Her gaze darts from left to right and she lowers her voice before answering. “You probably won’t believe this,” she says, “but I was at school yesterday, minding my own business, when suddenly the drama teacher—Mr. Teifert, I think his name is—pulls me aside. And he says the weirdest thing! You’ll never guess.”
Oh God. “That once a generation there’s born a girl destined to slay all the vampires?”
Her eyes widen. “How did you know that?”
“Long story. Don’t ask.”
“Well, anyway,” Spider continues. “That girl destined to slay the vampires? That’s me!
I’m
the destined vampire slayer—just like on Buffy! And here I always thought I was nothing more than a dorky gamer girl who’d probably get stuck sitting on my ass in some lousy help desk job for the rest of my life. But it turns out, that’s just my cover. In reality, I’m a freaking vampire slayer. Isn’t that the coolest thing you ever heard in your entire life?”
No, it’s pretty much the least cool thing, to be perfectly honest. Not to mention the most ridiculous. Spider isn’t supposed to be next in line after Bertha to become a vampire slayer. I am.
“I’m afraid there must be some mistake,” I say, feeling bad about saying it out loud. After all, she looks so thrilled about the prospect of her new employment. But the sooner she realizes it’s all some kind of botched paperwork, the better in the long run.
Her smile fades. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah, as in you’re not the chosen slayer. I am.”
Now she’s frowning. “I don’t think so. Mr. Teifert was pretty clear…”
“He must have confused me with you,” I say, laying a hand on her shoulder, giving her my best sympathetic look. “It happens.”
“Since when? It’s not like I’m your twin sister! We look nothing alike.”
“Maybe not to us, but you know how grown-ups can be. And between you and me, I think Teifert’s a bit nearsighted. Not that he’d ever admit it.”
“Rayne—”
“It’s okay. I’m here, reporting for duty. You’re off the hook.” I glance at my watch. “In fact, if you head home now, I bet you’ll get back in time for some morning PvP with the guild. I know you need your battle points—”
“Rayne, listen to me! I’m not going to just go home and play video games!” Spider retorts, gripping her hands into fists. “There’s no mistake.
I’m
the destined slayer. Teifert even told me they injected me with some special nanovirus. If I did go home to play video games, he could activate it. And I’d be killed.” She glowers at me. “So yeah. I don’t think there’s any mistake here. Except the one you’re making.”
I stare at her. It’s all I can do not to have my mouth drop open in disbelief. Could this be true? Could this weird alternate future universe we’ve created for ourselves really have skipped over me for the slayer gig? I suppose it could happen. Maybe they learned I was the one who broke Sunny and Magnus out of jail? Or that I was present when Bertha was murdered? Maybe they assume, since I’ve been hanging out with vampires, that I’m no longer the best candidate to serve Slayer Inc.’s interests.