saw her intentions in slow motion. Her mouth opened and she bore her teeth, aiming them toward a spot on my calf just below my knee. Her eyes glazed over with the anticipation of pleasure and her lids drifted shut. And then I kicked her.
My foot made contact with her face and she fell back into the crowd. Frenzy broke out. The faces of the dead twisted into wicked snarls. They turned on each other, biting and jabbing at one another in their efforts to get to me.
Quickly, I scanned as many faces in the crowd as I could. Closing my eyes in concentration, I pictured them in my head and then imagined them all on fire. I heard a loud whoosh and then a blast of heat smacked me in the face.
When I opened my eyes, most of the dead were aflame. They thrashed and danced in pain, shaking their heads and limbs in a futile attempt to escape the blaze. One receded into the shadows, the fire retreating as he sank further into the darkness. It didn’t take the others long to follow suit, falling back as the pain overcame their hunger for my flesh, their thirst for my blood.
My feet touched the ground and I turned toward Fahl. He clapped his hands together once, twice, three times then he picked up the pace as he approached me. A mirthless smile tugged at his lips. “Very good. Even better than I expected, actually. You and your sister are naturals,” he declared cheerfully.
“What have you done to her?”
“I haven’t done anything to her. She’s my reaper.”
“Your what?”
“My reaper. She’s already been very valuable. She has a natural…dark side that you don’t share. But you, you’ve shown your worth, too. You’ve brought me two souls without even trying.”
I knew to whom he was referring. Derek had insinuated that was what he planned to do and seeing my father there left me to draw only one conclusion—he’d made a deal with Fahl, too. “How? How did you get them?”
“They made their own deal, of course, but you were the inspiration. They were both willing to give up their lives to help you, regardless of the…discomfort,” he said.
“Discomfort?” I probably shouldn’t have asked because just then I saw my father grab his throat as if he couldn’t breathe. He gasped and sputtered, his arms flailing and clawing at the air. I looked to Fahl and he was smiling. “Stop it!”
I turned my eyes back to Dad, his expression was one of panic. He fought and kicked at some imaginary force, all to no avail. The veins in his forehead stood out sharply against his pale skin.
“Please stop, please!” I wasn’t afraid to beg. I would’ve done anything at that moment if he would agree to stop whatever he was doing to my father.
Dad shook his head and craned his neck, like he was trying to catch his breath. Finally, water began to spew from Dad’s mouth and his struggling weakened. It was like watching the life drain out of him as he fell to the ground, out of sight behind the crowd.
“What did you do to him?”
“It’s what’s already done. He has the pleasure of reliving his demise over and over and over again. Forever.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “What?” My father was going to have to drown over and over again for…eternity?
“That’s not to say, however, that certain things can’t be undone,” Fahl taunted.
Undone? Desperation struck suddenly, fueled by the little glimmer of hope offered in that one word. “How? Tell me how?”
“I can make a deal with you, too, you know. You can decide who goes free. Your sister, your father, Derek. It’s all up to you.”
“You can’t make me choose,” I cried, a wave of nausea rolling through my stomach.
“Too hard, is it?” Fahl pressed one finger to his lips as if he was reconsidering. “How about dear sister or father and beau. Is that easier?”
As soon as he restructured the options I felt the weight of the choice pressing in around me. And, though I knew that I had to at least strongly consider each alternative, I already knew what my choice would be.
Miserably I asked, “What do I have to do?”
“It’s simple. Take your sister’s ‘life’ and I’ll let her go free. Your sister takes your life and your father and Derek go free.” Fahl smiled as he said the last. I think he knew which option I would choose, too. “Are they that