But she was not mortal. He wanted no dealings with her. Youre dead. You have choice in abundance.
Not in this I dont, she snapped. Dragged around like a mule, tethered to an even bigger ass. A dissolute second son. She threw a dismissive glance toward the books. Nothing has changed in here, not in decades. Its derelict.
He wheeled away, then strode up the stairs, until he found himself in the masters bedchamber. His room. In deference to current fashion, the walls were covered in silver paper imported from France, and silver tasseled silk hung from the canopy of the large bed. A gentlemans chamber, in which he had conducted himself in a most ungentlemanly manner. The servants knew better than to make remarks or even acknowledge the behavior of their master.
Restless, angry, he walked the length of the chamber. The clock on the mantel showed the time, so distressingly early he felt almost embarrassed. He could not recall the last time he was in this room, alone, at this hour.
Something gleamed beside the fireplace. A glowing shape that took the form of a woman.
Her.
Hecate curse it. She said something else, something that might have been Latin, but hed retained nothing of his brief Classical education. He could infer her meaning, though.
Most women are pleased to find themselves in this chamber, he felt compelled to say.
She eyed him, unamused. I am not most women. And none of your trollops ever found themselves in my plight.
The firelight shone through her as she drifted closer. He saw the set of her mouth. Nights at the gaming hells with Whit had taught Bram something of how to read a face. This ghost held a bad hand of cards.
You and I, she said, we are now bound together.
She did not anticipate that he would greet this news with enthusiasm, and she was right. He looked appalled.
More of your madness. He scowled, a look so fierce that, were she a living woman, she might be afraid.
My mind is clear. Though it had been a struggle. Even now, she twisted between his memories, her own, and their shared present. Unlike yours, addled by drink.
He threw the decanter. It smashed against a wall, spraying glass and amber liquid in glittering arcs. She threw up her arm to protect herself unnecessarily, then cursed her habits when he sneered at her.
There. Im sober as a Quaker. Yet youre still here.
Against my will. Where you go, Im forced to follow.
Not because Ive wished it.
Im well aware how little you desire my company. None of the Hellraisers had ever been pleased to see her. Neither had the two mortal women. Even in life, she would enter a chamber, and faces would shift into wariness.
Bram was a fortress walled with ice as he gazed at her. This is one of your damned tricks.
I dont play tricks . Thats for the weak-willed. She had no feeling of the fires warmth, and noted the chill black sky outside the windows yet possessed no sense of time. She knew only that the Dark One gained greater strength with every descent of the sun.
And your character has been most admirable. Sarcasm all but dripped from his words to stain the carpet.
She had no blood to heat her cheeks. This chamber holds two sinners. But I work to undo the wrongs Ive caused.
I am all esteem. He bowed, lean and elegant and venomous. And you are as trustworthy as a spider. Catching Whit and Leo in your web was very clever, but Im no foolish moth you can ensnare through deception.
There is no deceit. She wished she had a physical body so she might strike him. As you move from place to place, Im dragged along with you. You and I are manacled together. It galled that she
clove. But she couldnt learn his scent, nor the warmth of his body or touch of his hands. She had only the memory of her senses. Everything else was ashes.
The gifts given to you by the Dark One, they were but pretty trinkets in exchange for your soul.
He did not turn to her as he said without irony, Didnt think I had a soul.
All men do. But it was yours the Dark One craved.
Then hes the bigger fool, for it has a negligible value.
She peered at him. You truly believe that?
Once I had a fine, dazzling set of beliefs. They are all tarnished now. Or thrown onto the midden.
His bleakness made her frown. The world is going up in flames.
Let it burn. He sounded weary.
Its not simply a matter of the world ending. Its not the blaze of the fire followed by cold nothingness. If the Dark One is victorious, it means suffering. Unending suffering for every living being.
He did turn to her then. Were all suffering.
Worse.
Shadows shifted across his face like clouds across the moon. Yet he remained as distant as the moon, as well, shuttering away doubt. Cannot be stopped.
It can
Youve denied me my nights pleasure, and the Devil knows how long youll keep me from my peace, but you wont keep me from my rest. He moved away from the window.
She glided forward to intercept him. He started to walk around her, then moved through her. She stiffened, anticipating sensation. None came. He went through her as if she were nothing, not even a vapor to leave a chill upon his skin.