Page 81 of Concluded
Nice answer, Dee.
Unfortunately, the response was predictable.The man did the nasty finger thing and agony erupted in Achilles’ body.He couldn’t even writhe and scream properly; all he could do was ride it out and try not to choke to death.
It was a short-lived blast, and Dee waited until Achilles was still again to speak.“Fear isn’t the same thing as respect.And there’s nothing especially worthy about attacking someone who can’t fight back.”
The man nodded a bit, as if impressed with Dee’s backbone.“Fair enough.I’m Garrick Spurling.You’re standing in one of my houses.And you’re Damnation.”He laughed.“Great name, by the way.”
Dee’s mother beamed.
“It’s Dee,” he said.“And I’m sick and tired of playing games.I already told her—I want to see whoever’s in charge.”
“You want to talk to the manager, Karen?”
“I want to talk to someone with real power.Not a flunky.”
“Do you think a flunky would own a place like this?”Spurling spread his arms.“And this is just one.I’ve got penthouses in New York, San Francisco, and Miami.Mansions in LA, Austin, Maui, and half a dozen other places.Two yachts and three jets.I also have?—”
“I don’t care.”
Spurling glared at Dee.Achilles was glad that, at least momentarily, nobody was paying attention to him.He still hurt like hell, his bladder was full, his mouth dry, but at least he wasn’t being actively tortured.And he had the chance to get a good look at Dee’s mother and Spurling.
She looked younger than her actual age, which must have been at least sixty.Her hair seemed untamable, a thick tangle of curls flowing past her shoulders.But the rest of her appearance was restrained—elegant, even—with an expensive blouse and slacks and a pair of black high-heeled shoes with wickedly pointy toes.It was odd to look at her face and see Dee reflected so strongly, although hers had a hardness that his lacked.
Superficially, Spurling seemed like an ordinary human man.A CEO of a tech firm, perhaps, whose third wife was younger than the children from his first marriage and who liked to talk about cryptocurrency and AI.Although Achilles was positive he’d never met the guy before, there was something weirdly familiar about him.Maybe his pale eyes, which, upon closer examination, were subtly off in a way that Achilles couldn’t pinpoint.Even though Achilles claimed no special talents at reading auras, Spurling still registered as… blurry somehow.Or layered.Like a creature wearing a really excellent costume, or like one of those deepfake videos.
Spurling wiped away his scowl and put on a long-suffering expression instead.“It’s late.Almost morning.Why don’t you get some rest, and we’ll chat after that.Irina, show him to a room.”
“I’m tired of screwing around,” said Dee, much to Achilles’ relief.“I’m willing to play on your side, but only after I get the straight story about what’s going on.Take me to your leader.”
“This isn’t a game, Dee, and it’s complicated.You do realize that I came a long way to meet you?And Irina has been traveling for hours.”
Don’t give in,Dee.Don’t leave me.
After a brief pause, Irina peeled herself away from Spurling and stalked to Dee, heels clicking on the hard floor.She had to walk around Achilles to do that, and she gave him a sharp kick in the shin as she passed.
“Come on, Deedee,” she purred in an apparent attempt to sound maternal.“We’ll get you something to eat first.Anything you want.Then after you’ve rested we can discuss all the opportunities ahead of you.”
“I want?—”
Spurling interrupted.“You’re wasting my time.I’m a busy man with better things to do than stand here arguing.Irina, this one’s useless.”He gestured at Achilles.“I’m going to get rid of him, unless you want to add him to your collection.”
Achilles’ heart seemed to stop beating as he waited for her response.He didn’t even know which option was the lesser evil.He really wished he could see Dee right now, if for no other reason than to get a final glimpse.
“I’ll keep him,” she finally said.
Spurling made a motion with his hand.
Achilles expected the usual agony, but instead, he was… narrowed.His body, still bound, first flattened out so impossibly thin that he couldn’t breathe.There wasn’t even room for blood to flow through his veins.He couldn’t hear anything, and all he could see was a relentless white.And then he was pressed even thinner and couldn’t remember anything except this excruciating state—he had no past, no name, no sense of anything but an eternalwrongness, no movement, no will, no?—
He suddenly became full again.His limbs flopped free, his back arched, and he screamed and screamed into a fathomless darkness.
CHAPTER34
Irina.Dee must have heard Martell use his mother’s name in the distant past, but he couldn’t recall it, and he hadn’t consciously remembered her name himself.For almost forty years she’d simply been Mother (missing) and nothing else.
But now Spurling had used her name—very casually, as if the name, too, hadn’t been absent for most of Dee’s life—and although this was the most unimportant detail in the world right now, it was all that Dee could think of.Which was sowrongwhen the man he loved lay bound and miserable right in front of him, and when that man’s life was probably going to be stolen very soon.
If Dee tried to focus on Achilles, however, horror came at him like a tidal wave and he had to back away.That was his master there, his beloved, and Dee had simply handed him over and pretended it was no big deal.
