Archanum Manor Read online

  With one look at the frozen, frightened woman and the menacing gray wolf already seated inside the expansive leather space, the guy asked, “Man, who are you?” before falling alongside them.

  3

  Checkmate

  I caught up to Desiree before the next intersection and peacefully strolled the rest of the way to Mr. Gordon’s nearby house. My whole body still felt electrified from my confrontation with Sasha. The look on his face was retribution enough for all he’d done to me throughout the first half of the school year. Maybe the encounter would make him think twice before picking on some other new kid and potentially start him on a new life path—all because of me. One less bully in the world would be an improvement, and I could only guess at how the seven onlookers were affected by the confrontation as well. My imagination exploded with the possibility of the resulting butterfly effect from one simple action, one suspended bullet and its long-term effect.

  Mr. Gordon didn’t answer the door, which simply swung open after the first knock. Once Desiree and I stepped into the foyer, it closed behind us and the bolt clicked into the locked position in one fluid movement.

  “Mr. Gordon?” I called out. The silence and automation was spooky, and reminded me of my room when I first felt TJ’s presence.

  The wood flooring creaked underfoot and we ventured toward the kitchen. Two ceramic cups of tea sat on the island, tendrils of steam still rising from the water’s surface. Matching saucers and tasting spoons accompanied the cups.

  “They must be ours,” Desiree said, picking up one cup and saucer, and taking a sip.

  “Why would you assume that?”

  “I don’t see anyone else here.”

  “Including Mr. Gordon,” I said. “Where is he?” I rounded the island and peered out the kitchen window, and there he was, sitting in a wicker rocking chair. “Mystery solved.”

  We joined Mr. Gordon in the backyard, each of us pulling up a chair.

  Mr. Gordon rocked slowly, his eyes closed, head back like he was sunning his face.

  “Oliver, no tea for you?” he asked, finally opening his eyes to acknowledge our arrival.

  “I prefer coffee,” I said.

  “He just didn’t want to take it without permission,” Desiree said, and took a loud, exaggerated sip.

  “I heard a gunshot a while ago,” Mr. Gordon said understatedly.

  “I heard it, too,” I said, but Mr. Gordon glared at me disapprovingly. “What? I didn’t hurt anyone.” I paused, waiting for Mr. Gordon to respond, but he didn’t. “He deserved it—a good scare, I mean.”

  “You continue to invite bullies into your life,” he said. “Remember when I said you could make them disappear?”

  “Yeah, I remember,” I said glumly. “But I still can’t do what you can. I can’t simply make someone disappear.”

  “You’re missing the point, Oliver. You’re not trying to physically make them disappear. You need to focus on not having them in your life and they cease to exist in your world. They keep returning because you continue inviting them back. You wanted the confrontation—even before you saw him. You manifested exactly what you wanted.”

  “Maybe I did,” I said. “Is that so wrong? I wanted the upper hand and I got it. He’s gone now. I made him disappear in my own way.”

  Mr. Gordon sighed. “You did, but going that route only invites others to challenge you further.”

  “Like I challenge you?” I smirked.

  “Fair enough,” Mr. Gordon said.

  “My friend Anna is home,” Desiree said. “Oliver’s ex-girlfriend.”

  “Oh?” Mr. Gordon looked confused.

  “She was in the asylum with Oliver. She was still there when he escaped.”

  “And she’s here?”

  “Back at school like nothing had happened,” Desiree said.

  “Not exactly nothing—I was completely erased from her memory,” I said.

  “At least from what you said, she didn’t seem to remember what she’d been through,” Desiree said.

  “That’s interesting,” Mr. Gordon said. “Why did they release her?”

  “Your guess is as good as ours,” I said.

  “Well, I doubt she escaped. I’m still amazed you were able to.”

  “I had help,” I said.

  “So it must have been intentional. She must have been released for whatever reason.”

  “A show of good faith?” Desiree said.

  “To whom?” Mr. Gordon asked.

  “They felt bad about what they were doing?” I said.

  They both turned to look at me like I’d said the dumbest thing in the world.

  “I know, I know. That’s not true.”

  Desire finished her tea and placed the cup and saucer on a nearby metal mesh table. She adjusted her chair so her face wasn’t in direct sunlight and curled her legs up into her body when she sat back down.

  “What’s next?” I asked.

  “Go back to the camp where it’s safer. We need to all help regroup. Hopefully, Nicholae will check back in this evening.

  “Can I have one more night?” I asked. “I just want to sleep in my bed one more time. Take one last time out. And then back into the thick of battle.”

  “We’ll leave at dawn,” Mr. Gordon said. “We’ll leave from your house.”

  “Will Nicholae be coming with us?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you both spend the night here?”

  “I want to spend one more evening with my family,” Desiree said and then glanced over at me to see what I’d say.

  “Yeah, me, too.” And before Mr. Gordon could say anything, I turned to him and said, “I need more bullets.” I could sense a protest coming, so I added, “I’ve been practicing. I don’t need a stockpile, just replenishment.”

  Two more full clips appeared in his open palm, and after a short hesitation, he handed them over to me without saying anything more.

  Mr. Gordon offered to drive us home, but Desiree and I wanted to walk. It was a warm, serene Southern California day, and I wanted to soak up every bit of it.

  I walked Desiree to her house, but stopped at the edge of the driveway. She didn’t expect me to go any farther. I didn’t want to find out how her mother would react to my presence.

  Desiree allowed our hands to separate, pushed up on her toes, and met my lips with hers.

  “Are you going to be all right?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “See you in the morning?”

  “Of course,” she said and made her way up the driveway and to the front door.

  I waited until she was inside before I turned to leave. There was no rustling of curtains, no one spying from inside. I retreated to my empty house for one more night of solitude, one more night of reflection before committing to the permanence of my new life.

  Frolics didn’t greet me with his usual exuberance as I entered through the side door. He’d been through a lot and I could understand the attitude change. I strolled into the kitchen, scoured the refrigerator for something to eat, snatching the last non-moldy piece of string cheese. Turning toward the trashcan as I tore the wrapper, I discovered I was not alone—

  The piece of cheese fell from my hand as I reached inside my jacket, both while still processing who was sitting at the kitchen table.

  Cias lifted his hands in surrender as I quickly removed my weapon from the shoulder holster and aimed the barrel at his head.

  “There’s no need for that,” he said hoarsely with the hint of a grin on his face.

  Just then I heard a click behind me and instantly knew there was someone else standing in the doorway to the dining room. I also knew there was a gun aimed at the back of my head.

  “Hand it over,” a familiar voice demanded—Eli’s voice.

  I sighed and dropped my hands, loosening my grip on the pistol.

  Eli quickly snatched the gun from my grasp and then proceeded to roughly pat me down, finding the other two full clips in my pocket a
nd confiscating them as well.

  “As I said,” Cias began, “there’s no need for drastic action. There’s no reason why we can’t converse like civilized human beings. If we were here to kill you, then you’d be dead already—dead before you even knew what had happened.”

  I took a step away from Eli, but he placed himself off to the side between Cias and me.

  “Where’s my dog?” I snarled.

  “He’s fine, asleep in the other room. I’m not one to harm a defenseless animal.”

  “He’s not defenseless.”

  Cias’s grin widened. “Against me, he’s defenseless. As are you, so listen carefully.”

  “You’re coming with us,” Eli said. “Peacefully.”

  “What makes you think I’ll come peacefully?” I said mockingly. “I can dodge your bullets, skip this plane, and disappear within seconds. There’s nothing you can do about it. If Alexandria can’t hold me, you sure as hell can’t!”

  Instead of replying, Eli removed his phone from his pocket and began tapping the touch screen. Then he showed me the screen and I saw Desiree sitting on her bed with a gag in her mouth, hands tied behind her back. It was a live video feed. I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to remain calm. No one else was in the frame.

  “This is why you’ll come peacefully,” Eli said.

  “She was your girlfriend!” I yelled. “How could you?”

  “The key word is was,” Eli replied. “I was in love with her, but that’s over now. She’ll always hold a special place in my heart, which is why I don’t want to see her get hurt. And I’m confident you don’t either, which is how I know you’ll come with us. No fighting. No running. Peaceful-like.”

  My heart sank. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen, but Eli turned it off.

  “No!” I yelled. “I have to see her!”

  “You just did. You know she’s presently unharmed.”

  “But her safety relies solely on your complete cooperation,” Cias said.

  “How do I know you won’t hurt her even after I comply?” I asked.

  “You don’t.”

  “But do you really want to take that kinda gamble?” Eli asked.

  I wanted to lash out and kill them both—pull my gun back and shoot them both between the eyes—but all I could do was nod solemnly. I couldn’t risk Desiree’s life. I couldn’t take the gamble. I was defenseless. Checkmate.

  4

  Phone

  I found Frolics in an inanimate state, lying with his head on his front paws in the living room.

  “Do you want me to wake him up?” Cias asked.

  “No,” I said. “He’s safer this way. He’s alive, right?”

  “Perfectly fine, suspended in time.”

  “Fine,” I said, heading toward the side door. “Let’s get this over with. When we get there, you promise to release Desiree?”

  “Absolutely,” Eli said. “We won’t hold her any longer than we have to. If you continue to cooperate, she’ll be fine.”

  I stopped and looked him directly in the eyes. “How can you even give those kinds of assurances?”

  “Because I’ve been assured. The Lornes keep their word, which is more than I can say for most people.”

  “Sure,” I said. “I’ve seen how much their word means.”

  “They released Anna,” Eli spat. “Remember her? You left her in there to rot. Kafka made me a promise and he kept it.”

  “You got Anna out?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question.

  “You’re unbelievable, Oliver. I’m glad she no longer remembers you—spares her the pain.”

  As much as I was relieved that she was okay, I didn’t want to think about Anna in the asylum again. The horrific cast on her leg. Her incoherent, drugged-up state. All the blood.

  “Thanks to me, she can go on with the normal life that neither of us will ever have again,” Eli said.

  “And thanks to you, Desiree could take her place.” I turned and led them out the side door and around the garage.

  “That’s up to you,” he responded from a few steps behind.

  At the bottom of the inclined driveway was parked a black Mercedes-Benz limousine, running, with the back door open.

  I stopped a few feet from the lavish ride, but Eli pushed me forward, forcing me to crouch down and slide into the back seat. Luckily, the back of the car was empty. I made my way to the front of the side-facing bench seat, the farthest point from the open door. The tinted divider was up, so I couldn’t see the driver and if anyone else was riding shotgun.

  Eli slid in behind me. Cias followed closely after and as soon as he closed the door, the car pulled away from the curb. Due to the nearly blackout windows, I watched a black-and-white vision of my house disappear from view and wondered if I’d ever see it again. How long would Frolics be left in his inanimate state?

  A few turns and a few minutes later, we were on the 5 freeway, heading north toward LA.

  “Okay, I’m with you, not fighting—tell your goons to release Desiree,” I demanded.

  “It’s too early to cash in our insurance policy,” Eli said.

  “But you said—”

  “When we get you there and in front of Kafka, then I’ll make the call. Until then, just hold tight.”

  I folded my arms and sank lower in my seat. “It’s not like I’m gonna jump from a car speeding down the highway.”

  “I can’t take that risk,” Eli said.

  “Why? What’s in this for you?”

  “Everything.” Eli glanced over at Cias who seemed content with staring out the window.

  “Let me see her again,” I said.

  Without protest, Eli pulled his phone out of his front pocket and scooted closer to me.

  “Feel better?” he asked as he showed me the dim screen.

  I didn’t. Desiree was now lying on her side, the gag still in her mouth and hands pulled behind her back. She wasn’t looking at the camera. Her eyes were focused on something across the room, all the life drained from them. Everything I loved about her seemed to be sapped from her lifeless body.

  Eli brought the phone back in front of him, closed the live stream, and opened up some social media app.

  With everyone’s guard down, I lunged for Eli and wrapped an arm around his neck. His hands clutched my forearm, which only made me pull tighter against his windpipe. Eli’s legs thrashed as he bucked his body to try and free himself. We both fell onto the floor of the limo, but my arm remained firm around his neck.

  I had not planned a next move. With one arm around Eli’s neck and the other holding it tight, I couldn’t release one to go for a gun without Eli busting free. I expected Cias to join the fight any second, and before he could react, I let go and threw my hands up in surrender.

  Eli folded over on the carpeted floor, coughing uncontrollably.

  Cias glared at me, but he didn’t move from his seat in the rear of the limo.

  “Kidding,” I said, my hands still raised, and slowly climbed back into my seat. “Just a joke.”

  “You’re surely not making your situation any easier,” Cias said.

  “That was for breaking into my house,” I said to Eli.

  Eli cleared his throat and pushed up to his knees.

  “We’re even now,” I said.

  “No, Grain, we’re far from even.” Eli pulled his pistol from the back waistline of his jeans.

  “You’re taking me in. You can’t just shoot me.”

  “Actually he can,” Cias said. “He shoots; I heal. It can be very therapeutic—for the shooter and the victim.”

  I gulped, regretting my impetuous action to lash out at Eli. My hesitation back at the camp—when I could have shot and killed Eli—allowed this situation to unfold. And then there was Desiree. I didn’t want to risk her life, but I wasn’t able to just sit back and do nothing, especially knowing I was being driven to my doom. I wanted to believe her life was more important than my own, but a
t this critical junction, I couldn’t die without a fight—even if it was just getting in one insignificant jab.

  Eli spun the pistol around in his hand and swung it butt first at the side of my head. I thought back to my confrontation with Sasha and slipped my physical body back far enough to allow the gun to slide right through me. The butt of the gun slammed into the base of the leather seat. Eli’s eyes grew wild once he realized he’d missed me.

  Then an invisible pressure seized my neck. I suddenly couldn’t breathe as the unseen grip tightened. A sly grin crept across Cias’s face. Eli didn’t hesitate to swing again, and this time the butt of the gun connected with my temple.

  Stars burst in my peripheral vision and I felt a warmth pouring down the side of my face. The stars grew brighter as the interior of the limo grew darker until there was a sea of multicolored light and no car. The grip around my neck loosened. The lights above swirled. Someone spoke. I was falling.

  “Smug bastard.”

  “I’ll let him sleep for a while.”

  “Don’t you dare heal him. I want him to wake up with one hell of a headache.”

  “Wipe up the blood. We can’t walk him in looking like that.”

  I awoke on the floor with the feeling that the world was still moving. It took me a moment to remember where I was and that the blurry face glaring down at me was Eli’s. The right side of my face felt like it was going to explode. I brought a hand to the epicenter of the pain and felt a bump already forming. What little blood was left, I wiped off on the carpet.

  “Very classy,” Eli said.

  “Whatever.”

  Cias handed me a gray handkerchief. I took it and held it against my throbbing head. At least Eli hadn’t shot me.

  “That’s all you’re offering?” I asked Cias sardonically.

  “If you don’t want it, then give it back.” Cias held out an open hand.

  “I don’t think you want it now,” I said, removing the stained rag from my head. “It’s pretty much ruined.”

  “Keep it.”

  I dabbed the handkerchief to my cheek and around my mouth where I could feel blood drying and knew I looked like hell. The hair on the right side of my head was sticky and matted. A metallic taste lingered in my mouth. I think I bit my lip when I fell.