The Lie Spinners (The Deception Dance) (47 page)

When
all those greater demons escape on the full moon, they’ll be
coming straight for me, to kill me. And if I somehow survive that,
Madeline’s curse will kill me in nine days.
If
I die, my deal with Andras will be broken; he’ll open the gates
of Hell and start harvesting souls.

And
even if my visions are real and I survive, my dreams had predicted
another dark ending.

Basically,
the world and I are pretty much screwed.

“
I
will do everything in my power to make sure that you survive,”
Stephen says, nodding. “How about this, I’ll make my own
deal with you: if we survive tomorrow, we’ll forget that we
kissed. I know I am a good kisser, but that one kiss did not make you
fall in love with me, did it?”

“
No,”
I say, fighting a smile. Closing my eyes I tuck my head under his
chin, against his chest. Part of me screams:
back
away now, you’re falling into their trap, they’ve made
this destination, this moment, inevitable. You are weak and evil, you
will fall.
Another part of me whispers:
you
won’t fall in love from one kiss, and you deserve one before
you die
.

Stephen
says, “I told you that what we went through last summer created
a bond that you were mistaking for something more; but the truth is,
I didn’t return to you after I was healed last summer because I
wanted to return to you so much more than I should have. I went to
the airport because I needed to see that you were alive and well; I
needed to say goodbye. Four and a half months ago when I first found
this shrine, pretending to be a tourist, I thought of you; because
it’s private, on hallowed ground and beautiful...in the
daylight. And then you show up here looking for me. And then you were
everywhere.”

“
Sorry
about that,” I say.

“
For
so many years now, I’ve felt apart, distant from everyone I
knew. I suppose that I thought I wanted to be. But whenever you are
with me, I don’t feel separate. It’s like I didn’t
realize how alone I was until you were there, and I wasn’t
anymore.” He inhales a deep breath before saying, “I
probably shouldn’t be saying these things; they’ve just
been on my mind.”

I
trace the light flickering across his cheek with my thumb. “You’re
right,” I say, “They’ve set it up so that my deal
with Andras will pretty much inevitably break, but I don’t want
to be the one who breaks it... at the same time, I also can’t
make myself walk away from you right now. So I’ll accept your
deal, if we survive, I’ll forget that you kissed me.”

I’ll
force myself to forget.

He
nods.

I
smile, and whisper, “And I’ll forget this one, too.”
I kiss him, at first gently, then deeper, fiercer. The fact that this
might be the only kiss I ever receive from Stephen burns every
breath, every touch forever into my memory. Since, not only do I have
a three day life expectancy, if I somehow survive I have a back-up
gruesome death waiting; if this is my last kiss, my only kiss with
Stephen, I want it to exterminate all others from my memory.

I
raise my hand, gently brushing my fingers across his scarred cheek.

Stephen
sucks in a breath.

“
Did
I hurt you?” I ask, pulling back my hand.

“
No,”
he whispers, “It’s just...after the doctors and witches
gave up all those years ago, no one has touched my scar.”

I
hesitantly bring up my hand, when he only closes his eyes, I run my
fingers slowly down from his split ear to his chin; his damaged skin
is rough, calloused. “I see myself... in your scar,” I
whisper, I lean back to touch his stomach where I know the red
diamond scar is, “And this one too. I see what I am on the
inside, when I see you.”

A
tear drops down his cheek. I catch it with a finger. Then I kiss him.

After
a too-short forever I rest my forehead against his cheek, needing to
take a break to admit something to Stephen. “When I was with
Räum in Bangkok, he was trying to make me fall in love
with...anyone. He told me I had a little potential with Richard
Jones, but much more with someone else who wasn’t there. Then
he gave me his mark and dreams of you, of me falling for you. The
dreams led me straight to you. Räum sees the future and senses
whether people have
love
potential; I guessed even before I got here that he set this all up.
Räum calculated who I had the most potential with, then lured
and trapped me here, with you. I didn’t have a choice but to
come, but I knew... I knew the whole time. I’m not in love with
you...” I don’t add the ‘
yet’
,
“...but I knew all along that you were the trap they set for
me.”

Stephen
gives me a light, gentle but lingering kiss. “I guessed it was
something of that sort, Raven. Of course Räum set this up,”
Stephen says, “Räum is a trickster and thief; he would not
risk war with Andras if he could get the same results through
trickery.”

“
War
?
Andras wants me dead—”

“
No,
he wanted to kill you, there’s a big difference. Andras thinks
he owns you, and therefore the right to kill you; to him, your murder
is his exclusive right. If any other demon kills you personally,
they’ll risk war.”

Shuddering
I force the idea from my mind. Tangling my fingers into his hair, I
say, “This might be my only chance to kiss you, let’s not
waste a single breath on him."

Day
Forty-One

“
Are
you sure you have enough help tonight?” I ask Pom, even knowing
that if he said ‘no’ I couldn’t offer to do
anything about it.

“
Stephen’s
Friend, I told you, I have seven cousins who will be here. I will see
you and Nathan tomorrow,” He lifts another box to the counter
and slices it open with a utility-knife. “You two are not even
supposed to be here; go, off with you both. Have some fun for once in
your lives,” He says, laughing.

I
hesitate. If all goes according to plan, this is goodbye. But, at the
same time, there’s that vision, my first vision... the vision
of me running to Pom tonight, asking him where to find The Spider.

The
real question is: can my visions be changed? Either way, I’ll
find out tonight.

“
Okay,
I’ll go in a second,” I say. “Hey, Pom, you’re
an alright guy. You know that, right?”

Pom
looks at me, eyebrows rising speculatively, and then he glances over
at Stephen. I can’t help but look. Stephen’s back muscles
shift under his t-shirt as he opens his own box, turned from us; he
quickly unloads flasks into the buckets laid out in rows. As if he
can feel our gaze, Stephen glances over, his gaze barely grazing
mine. The corner of his lip lifts just a fraction as he turns back to
the bottles.

Pom
levels a look on me. “You stay out of trouble.”

I
clear my throat. “Always,” I say, and then ruin it by
biting my lip.

Pom
only shoots me an expression of utter incredulity, shakes his head
and reaches in his box to unload multi-colored straws.

Knowing
that we can’t quite leave yet, I go stand next to Stephen,
loading Thai energy-drinks and sodas into the buckets while he loads
the flasks. Every so often, our hands brush. Though I try not to
smile, my lips and cheeks join forces to rebel against me.

“
What
are you smiling about?” Stephen asks as he ‘accidentally’
runs a finger down my knuckles.

“
I
just like buckets. What are you smiling about?” I say, because
he isn’t even trying to hide his grin.

“
I
just like you,” he whispers.

When
I elbow him, he just laughs. I whisper,
“Our
deal...?”

“
Our
deal starts tomorrow,” he whispers back.

“
May-may,”
Pom says, snatching my attention. Stephen and I almost bump heads as
we both turn to peer over our shoulders.

Pom
stands across the bar from a very disheveled looking May; sections of
long straight hair stand up in odd directions and two buttons of her
white blouse hang open.

Pom
smiles, still unloading straws, and says a couple Thai words, making
May laugh. He switches to English, “I didn’t expect you
here.”

Neither
did I; not for another forty minutes.

May
leans on the counter giving Pom an exhausted look. “I have the
thankless task of clearing out the group behind your bar before
tonight,” she says in her soft voice.

“
Kob
kun mak!” Pom says, “But... you would like a whisky
first?”

“
That
is a wonderful idea,” she says, “I would ask you all to
toast with me but I already know Raven does not like whiskey,”
she laughs a dainty laugh, “Fire pee, she called it.”

“
Nathan
and I drink it.” Pom grabs a top shelf bottle of whisky and
hands it to May, then turns to go find some clean glasses under the
clutter of our re-stocking.

Stephen
leans in, whispering while Pom is distracted, “How about we
both offer to walk out with May to help her clear out the crowd,
yes?”

I
nod slightly.

Pom
comes back with three tumbler glasses and a tall glass for me, which
he fills with beer as May pours the whiskeys.

“
Chook
Dee
,”
Stephen says; we all clink glasses and drink. They down theirs; I
take a too-big gulp and set down my glass.

They
all take out a simultaneous exhale and shake their heads, which makes
them laugh. My laugh comes belated and awkward.

“
Hey
May,” Stephen says, “Raven and I are just getting on
Pom’s nerves here, how about I get Raven safely into the car
then help you with the crowd back there.”

“
That
would be a great help, thank you.”

As
much as I want to balk at the suggestion I need to be tucked away,
I’d rather be in the car. That creepy crowd of
venom-addict-zombies grows every day.

After
saying goodbye to Pom, Stephen and I make sure the bar door closes
behind us as we escort May out. At the back door, May whispers,
“Something is wrong.”

Fear
slams into me. “With Linnie?” I whisper.

“
No,”
May says as she shakes her head. “Different, things are already
running off schedule, getting rearranged, and no one will talk to me;
I am... afraid he knows something,” she looks at Stephen, “And
that is not the worst thing, I heard one of the other dancers
whispering that you were a fake. This plan might be getting too
dangerous—”

“
No,
please, no,” I whisper. “Please, I beg you, don’t
go back on this. We can get her out...tell me that you’re going
to get her out.”

May
won’t look at me for a couple seconds, then she looks into my
eyes, and I can see the fear in them. “Yes. I will get her out.
But, you two should not come to the web; if Mængmum hears the
whispers that you are false, he’ll beat you... he’ll kill
you. And if anyone sees me with you...” She shakes her head.
“I’ll free her, wake her, and instead, meet you at the
dock. Are you okay—?”

I
spin to look at Stephen, who’s holding the back of his head and
wincing.

“
Headache,”
Stephen says, “Sudden headache. I’m fine.”

“
I
might already be missed,” May peeks out the back door, where no
one waits. “I already cleared the alley; wait for me to leave
before you do. I will see you at the docks.”