This chapter may well be one of my favourites so far. If you thought shit was going down in the previous chapter, then this one is gonna make you realise it's only just begun. In fact, I probably should've mentioned before I started posting this story, it's not really for kiddies. I wouldn't know how to rate it though, because aside from the occasional cursing and violence it probably won't seem that bad. Could go with a 15+, like they do in the movies. Yeah, let's go with that.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the chapter. Enjoy!
A Skeleton Duet
Chapter 8
Hades had been placed in a cell back at HQ and was left alone with his thoughts. It was probably the cruellest thing they could have done to him.
At first, he slumped down onto the fragile old bed that sat in the corner of the room and held his head in his hands. Besides the bed and himself, the cell was entirely bare. The ceiling was high and lit with a dull red bulb, throwing the room in a sinister light. It made the heavy metal door that barred his escape look almost black and far more foreboding.
Normally these cells were retained for people foolish enough to upset the security team, mainly by forcing entry into the building without going through the proper procedures. Hades would have been locked up in here yesterday morning had he decided to walk through the front door with that teleport device in his pocket. And yet here he was. He hadn’t exactly deterred his fate for long.
The image of Blackburn standing on that roof had been burning into his skull for the entire journey back. There was one thing that had repeatedly cropped up in the wielder’s files when Hades read them; his reputation for using people as puppets for his own nefarious ends. The realisation that he might have been manipulated set Hades’ mind on fire.
But why would Blackburn have wanted him to shoot Dirk, unless he wanted to ruin his chances for promotion? To destroy the reputation he so sorely needed to access those files for his sister, all out of some malicious attempt to punish him for thinking he could take on the world’s most dangerous wielder. Surely Dirk was of no importance to Blackburn. Had he really just died because the wielder had wanted to teach Hades a lesson? Hades refused to believe it. He refused to believe that anyone could be that vindictive. But a little part of him knew that Blackburn could and it knew that he had been used.
For all he knew the wielder could have played out the entire scene and Dirk’s inhuman malevolence had all been faked. The thought of it drove him mad. It made him scream out in fury and launch to his feet. He wanted to tear the room apart but there was nothing in there to throw. Even the bed was bolted down.
Instead he threw his fist at the wall. His entire body jolted with the impact. A searing pain exploded in his knuckles and he winced whilst he grated them against the rough concrete to turn and face the bed again.
He could have thrown the mattress. He could have kicked the bed. He still wanted to, but the pain had awoken his senses. He could hear a dripping noise, which was emphasized by the hollow room. Casting a glance downwards, he noticed three little black splats by his foot. Blood.
Lifting his fist, he noted with a distant expression that it was now a mangled mess of bloody cuts. Of course, he thought when he recalled doing the exact same thing to the tiles in the shower the other night. Now the scabs had reopened and the wounds were twice as bad. The throbbing hadn’t stopped either. He’d probably broken a couple of fingers doing that.
Feeling incredibly stupid, Hades threw himself back onto the bed. The ancient springs groaned in complaint.
He had to start thinking rationally. He couldn’t let Blackburn win. There had to be some way to prove his innocence in the matter. Perhaps Gregory would still help him. After all, who knew better than the leader of the Blackburn Unit how to deal with situations like this? Maybe if he told him about the wielder turning up at his flat last night and omitted the details about his sister, Gregory would believe that Blackburn was out to get him. He’d have to pick his words carefully. There was no room for slipping up, not with so much at stake.
Hades lay in silence for what felt like an eternity, mulling over the facts and trying to remember every word Blackburn had said to him. Eventually, he had tried to sleep, but even with his account settled in his mind, too much was ticking and whirring over. Instead, he’d made do with just resting his eyes.
He was disturbed by the sound of footfalls outside. By the sharp clipping noise he decided they were probably smart shoes and by the speed of them he’d say the owner was walking very fast. Then he heard a clunk and the grating turn of a lock. The door opened and closed quietly. This was it. Time to get his story straight. Opening his eyes, he sat up on the bed, legs folded beneath him.
“Well, aren’t you in a spot of bother?”
Hades sat paralysed, his eyes transfixed on the figure by the door. No, he couldn’t be. How could he be here?
“You!” he exploded and lunged towards the door.
“Now, now. Settle down.” Blackburn smiled, outstretching his hand towards Hades. The agent was pushed back by an invisible force and left to rest cross-legged, as he had been before.
“What are you doing here?” Hades yelled furiously.
“Quietly now. We don’t want your guards to hear us do we?” Blackburn hushed him.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t let them know you’re here?” Hades retorted, not lowering his tone.
“Because I prefer conversations that are two-sided and it would be such a shame to silence you with my power. That, and you desperately want to know why you saw me on that rooftop,” Blackburn replied, calmly and confidently.
Hades faltered. The wielder wasn’t wrong. After all, this could be the perfect opportunity to get more ammunition against him for his case.
“Go on then,” he growled impatiently.
“Well, I was curious about the case. I wanted to know what your assignments were and when I started to read about this one it seemed very peculiar so I thought I’d tag along. Only I got there a bit late; I didn’t find you until Gregory’s team was on the scene and by that time I couldn’t get close enough to examine the angel. It was a great disappointment,” Blackburn said with a little sigh.
No. That couldn’t be true. Hades shook his head. If that was true then it had been him that killed Dirk all along. He refused to believe it.
“You’re lying,” he yelled.
“Why would I need to lie? If I wanted you to believe a fabrication of mine, I could plant it in your brain. You would remember it as if it had really happened and wouldn’t for one moment suspect it was false.” Blackburn smirked.
“They’d know. The Authorities would track the magic you’d used and know you’d done something to me,” Hades said hotly.
Blackburn shrugged. “That’s all just data in a system; systems can be hacked and data deleted.”
“Then I’d get them to scan me for magic traces,” Hades said, desperately.
“No you wouldn’t. Not if I made sure you didn’t remember my presence here in the first place,” Blackburn smirked. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself and it made Hades feel sick.
He fell silent. If Blackburn was really capable of doing something like that, and Hades had no doubt that he was, then there was very little he could do in this situation. Again the wielder had him backed into a corner. No wonder he had enough confidence to stroll into the Authorities HQ unnoticed.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Hades mumbled.
“Doing what?”
“This! Turning up. Getting in my head. You could have just sent me on my way or killed me. Why did you have to do this?” Hades cried in exasperation.
Blackburn looked at him, a humoured smile pulling at his lips. “I saw you needed my help,” he replied enigmatically.
“Help?” Hades barked. “I don’t need help from anyone, least of all you!”
“Because I’m a wielder. Because a wielder took your sister from you,” Blackburn replied, his expression suddenly a lot more serious.
“Stop. Trying. To. Get. Into. My. Head!” Hades screamed through gritted teeth, his eyes watering with the strain.
“I don’t need to try; I already am,” Blackburn replied with a sinister look.
Hades frowned. What did he mean by that? Was that a confession? Surely it was good enough evidence to help prove Hades’ innocence.
“You were given pills as an adolescent to help stabilise your emotions, weren’t you? The doctors weren’t sure but said it could have been a hormone imbalance and that seemed accurate enough, as over time the symptoms went away. Now, it looks to me as if they’ve returned.
“It’s no surprise really; those were trying times back then, and well now…” Blackburn looked at him with a fake sympathy that made Hades’ blood boil.
“Fuck off!” he snarled. “Stop pretending you know me because you’ve fucked with my head. Just leave me alone!” his tone increased in volume until it echoed audibly in the empty room.
They both stopped, as the cell filled with a clunking sound. The lock began to turn. Hades for a fleeting moment spiked with fear, after all it was probably his shouting that had alerted the guards. But then he glowed with triumph. The guards would find Blackburn in here; he’d be caught on Authorities soil. There was no way he was going to get away with this one.
As the door opened, Hades’ gaze met with the wielder. He didn’t look in the slightest bit concerned. In fact, he was still smirking. He lifted a finger to his lips and sank back into the shadow behind the door. Gregory stepped into the room and Hades’ heartbeat fluttered as he shut the heavy door behind him.
“Be careful, he’s-” Hades tried to warn him.
“Hades, who are you talking to?” Gregory asked cautiously.
Hades didn’t reply, he just stared into the empty space behind his superior. Gone. He was gone. How could he have just disappeared? It was impossible. Blackburn could control life energy, but there was no life in a concrete wall, he couldn’t just dissolve through it. And he couldn’t turn invisible, could he? He couldn’t teleport.
“Hades,” Gregory probed.
The younger agent shifted his dumbfounded stare to meet his superior’s concerned face. He must think Hades was mad. First, he’d killed his teammate and now he was screaming into an empty room. Well, that was what it would seem like to him. And that was exactly what Blackburn wanted.
“No one,” he muttered.
“No one?” Gregory frowned.
Hades couldn’t bring himself to lie again; he just shook his head. Gregory pierced him with a stare that made him feel entirely naked, like the agent was looking into his skull and then through it.
Apparently content with what he saw, he began, ”I’ve been talking with several people about this incident; your teammates, superiors and doctors alike. From what I can gather, you did not kill Agent Thornton in cold blood and the attack stemmed largely from your disagreements about procedure.”
Hades dropped his gaze; he couldn’t bear this.
“That said, you were clearly imbalanced at the time and still are. Your teammates agreed you didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind and because you’re a promising agent, I myself, as well as several other higher-ups, are willing to overlook this incident on the sole condition that you receive treatment from one of our specialist doctors.” Gregory’s tone was stern and resolute. He clearly didn’t want to be argued with and Hades felt too weak to object. “You will be taken off the case to find the missing boy, as will your teammates and you will all be given three days leave to recover before attending Agent Thornton’s funeral. Then you and your team will continue as before.”
Well, that was it, wasn’t it? No harm done, except for the fact he’d never receive a promotion because everyone was going to think he was a psychopath. This was his punishment for thinking he could impress his way to the top. This was what Blackburn had surely wanted.
He numbly complied with Gregory’s demands, agreed to an appointment with a doctor and was sent on his way. His hopes for promotion were dashed and his grasp on reality was apparently now open to debate.
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