What the fuck? Things get worse by the hour.
Raven continues. “We didn’t ever expect a Reaper to interrupt us taking someone; normally they don’t because they know the outcome. Broken soul, life in the Void, blah, blah. We weren’t interested in making her a Between; she’d be too difficult to control, I think. But here she is.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were going to take her soul to the Dark, but Finn interrupted. Then, as you know, he filled her with his power, thinking he could save his poor, little Rose and send her Over. Oops!” She puts a hand over her mouth, eyes shining with amusement. “Now he’s created his own Between and he needs to get rid of it. Her.”
Her words knock the breath from my lungs. Rose is more angel than demon. Between are inherently evil, created by the Dark. Rose never told me her story, but I doubt she remembers in the way that I remember mine. How can we connect as we do if I’m demon? I rub my eyes. Finn’s words about him and Rose confuse me further. Finn and Rose. No wonder Finn is so possessive of her. He’s responsible for everything about Rose.
“Are you Lizzie?” I ask.
“Usually. Recently. You’ve been very annoying to live with, by the way; the attitude on you...”
“You’re not a witch?”
The girl wrinkles her nose thoughtfully. “Technically, no. Does necromancer count?”
This shit gets weirder, my world dragged from under my feet. Can I fight this thing? Probably not. I’ve no idea what a necromancer is apart from the shitty horror movies I’ve seen where they definitely weren’t the good guys. When the idea to ask Tom about this enters my head, I groan inwardly. I should’ve listened to Rose; he’s more use than I credited.
“Why are you here now?” I ask.
“To tell you to keep your part of the bargain. We saved your sister; we made you Between instead of sending you and your broken soul to the Void, so now we have a job for you.”
“Job?”
“Task? Challenge? Whatever you want to call it. As an extra incentive, we’ll keep Rose where she is until you’re done. Then you can decide whether to join her.”
“Where is she?”
“Safely tucked away. We won’t hurt her, don’t worry. Well, if she cooperates we won’t, anyway.”
I lie back against the sofa and cover my face with my hands, squeezing my temples. “What do I need to do?”
When I open my eyes again, Raven has gone.
Chapter 25
ALEK
I rest against a tree on the edge of the car park, pushing the leaves into a pile with my heavy boots. The autumn weather edges into winter and I pull my leather jacket closer. How long will Finn be? Going into the hospital to find him is not an option. The sick and dying won’t survive long with me around, which is why I never figured out how Rose could work there. Now I realise she’s different from me; I guess there are a lot of unanswered questions.
Ones Finn has answers to.
I straighten as Finn’s tall figure appears, his blonde head easy to spot, hunched down in his grey woollen coat. I wait for him to cross the car park out of the sight of other people then follow him. When he arrives at his car, he opens the door of the blue hatchback and pauses, facing away from me.
“What do you want, Alek? You’re not very successful at surprise attacks.”
“I’m not here to attack you,” I mutter.
Finn closes the car door, and then turns to me, looking at me from under his blonde fringe. “What do you want? You left the pub yesterday without speaking; I thought we’d said all we had to say?”
The same question has crashed around my mind since Raven left last night, along with the fear of what will happen next. I’m not telling him everything, no way; but he has one answer I need.
“Are you an angel, Finn?” He blinks several times, his surprise giving me the answer when he doesn’t. “Does Rose mean something to you? I always thought it was because you... wanted her, but is it more?”
“I let her down. Twice.” He turns back to the car.
I step toward him. “Fix it then.”
“Alek, I can’t fix this; nobody can.”
“If you’re a fucking angel, you have the power to do something!” I hiss.
Finn spins round. “What do you know about angels, Alek? Do you think they’re benevolent people in flowing, white robes with halos answering to a higher being? Merciful beings who use their powers, but to do what? I have a job, I perform it; sometimes I fuck it up, and this is the result.”
“So, nobody can help?” I ask, knowing this leaves one person. Me. If I agree to help the Dark.
“I can’t help you, Alek,” he says flatly.
“You’re going to leave her there?”
“Please, go away.”
“You have to at least try!”
He ignores me and climbs in the car. Although his face is impassive, I saw in his eyes the same as I saw in mine this morning. Fear for Rose.
***