Pomegranate Parfait

Chapter 7

    Korey Rodi sat upon the bed with her head in her hands. The sounds of the city were a dull hum to the worries in her head. It was Wednesday. Three days, the police had kept her. For questioning, they had said. Really, it was because they thought she was hopped up on some new drug, and that it was in everyone's best interest for her to come down behind bars. Sabrina's case had no leads. There were no fingerprints in the apartment aside from hers. No one saw where the man went. Everywhere the police looked ended up a dead end. But I was so close, she thought, fingers itching for the trench coat she had almost – but didn't – reached.

    Memories flooded back since the incident. They ought to have been dreams, but Korey knew, somewhere deep inside, that they were much too horrible to be her imagination. It was how she knew the police would never find the man. As far as she knew, he might have already slipped between worlds, taking Sabrina with him. She did not dare follow that thread, or acknowledge what it might have meant. Sabrina was alive. Sabrina was alive, and needed to be found. Korey vowed she would find her. She swore it. And there was nothing – nothing – that would get in her way.

  Except, perhaps, an uncrossable barrier between worlds.

***

The candles' light ebbed and grew, flooding the tiny apartment with a haunted glow while burning cinnamon into the air. Every electrical device was turned off, put away, and out of sight. Dark determination lit Korey's face like a woman with nothing left to lose.

Korey murmured the sacred phrases, letting her eyes close. It was risky, considering she now knew what lurked in the shadows. But for Sabrina, she would risk everything. "I call upon the beings of the Afterworld," she recited, waiting for any indication that she had been heard. One minute became five. She tried again. "I wish to speak with the immortals of the other world." Still, nothing. Korey expelled a shaky breath, and tried again. "I seek Aides, Dark Lord," the word sent a shiver down her spine. She was becoming desperate. "Please hear me, Cate, hunter of escaped souls." Tears prickled in her eyes. "Marvin?" There was no response. Korey let her head sink onto the dining/living room/office table, careful not to let the candles near her hair. She was out of options. "I call upon Jax," she muttered into the table.

The room took on a sudden chill, regardless of the candles' warmth. Korey opened her eyes to deepening shadows and an intensifying regret. She gripped the pepper spray tightly. It had become her weapon of choice.

"You were supposed to go back to your alcohol-induced euphoria," the familiar voice sniped.

Korey turned to Jax, who had extended his welcome to lounge upon her bed. "And you were supposed to make me forget." They glared at each other, each too proud to break away.

Aides' voice sang like a dark melody – commanding, even in the smallest of rooms. "By all accounts, you should have." Korey's head swiveled to where the man stood, leaning against her front door. He looked terribly out of place in his slick black suit and climbing tattoos in her tiny apartment, especially as he stood eyelevel with the top shelf of her bookcase, face to face with her collection of beany-babies.

"You came," is all she replied.

A faint smile flickered on his lips, though there was sadness in his eyes. "You called."

Hot breath burned Korey's thigh. "Marvin!" she cried, ruffling the hellhound's feathers. Marvin beamed behind his sabers, exposing a long, pointed tongue.

"This better be good, Korey." Cate glowered from the last remaining floor space, holding Marvin's leash taut. "Seances aren't for personal calls."

"Then it's a good thing this is business." The last of a smile faded from her face as Korey looked at them with new eyes. "The man I followed into the Rift is back." 

The shadows darkened.

 She added, "he's kidnapped my best friend."

***

"When?" Jax's face was drawn tightly, exposing a muscle flickering in his jaw. There was something he was not telling her.

"Three days ago," Korey replied.

"Why did you wait so long to contact us, goddammit it—" Aides silenced him with a growl.

Korey narrowed her eyes at the pair. She cast Aides a warning look. She could fight her own battles. To Jax, she drawled, "It's hard to hold a séance when you're holed up in a cell."

Cate snorted, the first real expression Korey had seen her make. "You got arrested? I might actually start to like you."

"Look, I called you guys because I thought you could help me. We're wasting time."

Aides ran a hand through his ebony hair, creating the slightest imperfection in his immaculate appearance. "How are you sure it was the same man?"

Korey slammed her hands down on the table harder than she had intended to. "Because besides the fact that he was wearing the exact same trench coat? His eyes were completely white."

"But that would mean—" Cate slammed her mouth shut. There was something unsettling in her green eyes.

"No, say it – I've had enough of the secrets. If I'm going to find Sabrina, I need to know what I'm up against."

"Korey, it might be best to let us take care of this," said Aides slowly, as if he were approaching a wild animal.

Korey curled her hands into fists. "What're you going to do? You can't make me forget. And you sure as hell can't make me stop looking."

"No one wants you to give up, Rodi. Frankly, if you did, you would lose what little respect I have for you. But this goes beyond what you are capable of." Jax corrected himself at her growl, "this goes deeper than the human world, into a place you just can't follow."

"I did it before," she said quietly, but the energy was gone.

Aides' dark eyes were calculating. "If they are slipping between realities, then it is much graver than we thought. If my suspicions are right," he said, meeting Korey's eyes. "Then both our worlds are at stake."

"You can't honestly think," Jax began, but his voice trailed off. It was as if realization punched him in the face. "But-that's impossible."

"You of all people should know there are no true confines to what is possible," Cate growled, drawing a concealed knife from her sleeve and using it to clean her nails. Even Aides stiffened. "I say we work with the girl. If it's true they are crossing into this world, we need to find them – and fast. We'll need a guide to navigate this place." At Jax's huff, she sneered, "It's been a long time since you were last here, Jax. It's not the same world we once knew."

"So, what? You want us to just go skipping around with some zoi while the Realms descend into Chaos?" It almost sounded as if Jax spoke the last word as if referring to someone - or something - he knew.

"We're out of time." The strain in Aides' voice betrayed his calm demeanor. "It has only just begun. But if we can figure out how they're opening the Rifts, and why, then we might just have a chance at stopping them."

"Stop who?" Korey barked, heart beating so fast, she was certain they could hear it, too.

Neither Jax nor Cate would meet her eye. Only Aides had the courage to hold her stare. Whatever his full suspicions were, the Dark Lord kept them well hidden. The man was too composed to reveal his hand, and whatever answers they held within. "My dear Korey," he murmured, tasting her name on his tongue. "We need to stop the Reapers."

And just like that, the candles went out.