The Cupid War Read online

  “Trina!” he cried, and he leapt off the slab.

  “Fallon, come back!” Alexander called after him as he sprinted from the room.

  The Cupid Center spun around him. Fallon felt dizzy, weak, but he didn’t let that stop him. He leaned against a large Love cube for a couple of seconds; he’d been rash to rush off like that, but he had to get to Trina. Something was very wrong, and she needed his help.

  Fallon looked at the cube of Love. There was a lot there, and this was an emergency …

  He grabbed two fistfuls and stuffed them into his mouth. He felt better, but not perfect. It would have to do.

  The portals were close. Fallon chose one and ran toward it, concentrating on an image of the high school. He felt the familiar shifting of worlds, and then he was back on the school’s front lawn.

  There was an ambulance and a police car in the main parking lot. Not a good sign. Fallon didn’t run toward them. Somehow he knew—perhaps on a psychic level—that he was needed elsewhere.

  Inside the main lobby, two ambulance attendants were wheeling a gurney through a crowd of curious students. Fallon ran straight through the onlookers to see the victim—it was Ryan. His wrists were bandaged and soaked with blood.

  Fallon kept going. There was nothing he could do for Ryan, and he had to find Trina.

  “Fallon?”

  He looked up and saw Jada and a couple other Cupids standing nearby. Fallon ran past them.

  Outside the boys’ bathroom, he saw Trina slumped against the wall. She was holding her hands over her chest as if she’d been punched.

  “Trina?” Fallon said, arriving at her side.

  “Fallon?” Her voice was a choked whisper. “Where have you been?”

  “Sick,” Fallon said. “Susan got me. I nearly … I’m lucky I made it.”

  “Ryan tried to kill himself,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied. “I saw. But don’t worry about him. He’s in good hands.”

  “I found him,” Trina said. “Susan was waiting for him outside the bathroom. I sensed he was in trouble and ran in … found him on the floor.”

  “Is that when you called for me?” Fallon asked.

  “No, I called 911,” she replied. “I didn’t scream your name until Susan touched me, right here.” As she spoke, she tapped her sternum.

  Fallon felt rage boiling inside him. Having disposed of one victim, Susan had moved on to another.

  “You’ll be okay,” Fallon assured her. “I’ll protect you.”

  But he had no idea how he would do it.

  19

  Fallon and Trina went outside to talk in private as soon as the police finished their questioning. Classes had been cancelled for the afternoon and everyone was on their way home.

  “You don’t want to be with your friends?” Fallon asked her as they walked.

  “I do,” she replied, “but this is more important. I have a lot to tell you.”

  Fallon couldn’t help but be amazed. Trina had just had a tremendous shock, and then she’d been preyed upon by the world’s only living Suicide. Anyone else would want to take the rest of the day off, yet here was Trina, ready to work.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked her.

  “Like the world is pointless and I have no reason to live,” she replied. “Your friend really did a number on me.”

  “She’s not my friend,” Fallon said, surprising himself with the bitterness in his voice.

  “Sorry,” Trina said. “I didn’t mean … ”

  “No, it’s okay,” he said. “It’s just, what she does to people … and my people don’t think she’s for real. They say there’s never been a Suicide in a living body before. But she has to be.”

  “Oh, I believe it,” Trina said. “I found out something about her that might explain things.”

  “You have?” Fallon exclaimed. “Tell me! What is it?”

  He really should have predicted what came next. The electric shock struck him in the back of the neck, sending him flying through Trina on his way to the ground.

  He rubbed his neck and rolled over to face Louis, who was walking out of the school toward him and Trina. Trina, momentarily confused, sensed Louis’s presence and backed away with a gasp.

  Louis ignored her.

  “I’ve tried playing fair with you,” he said as Fallon got back up. “You keep breaking rules, keep stealing other people’s Love. And Alexander tells me you ran out on him.”

  “Come on, Louis,” Fallon said. “Enough with the shock treatment, okay? Can’t you just talk to me like … ”

  Louis fired again, knocking Fallon on his ass once more.

  “Obviously not,” Fallon muttered, rubbing his chest.

  “Fallon!” Trina said, rushing to his location. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “I’m fine,” Fallon replied, even though he was not. “Louis, this is my psychic friend, Trina. Trina, this is my boss, Louis.”

  “The one you said was a complete jerk?” she said. “Oh, sorry … ”

  “You made a living person aware of our existence?” Louis said. “Didn’t Caleb tell you … ?”

  “Look, Louis … ”

  “No, you look!” Louis snapped. “You’re not being protected by your buddy Alexander anymore, so … ”

  “Fine.” Fallon walked right up to his boss. “Shock me. Get it out of your system.”

  “Will you two stop it!” Trina snapped. “I’ve been through enough for one day! I don’t need to be referee to a couple of ghosts.”

  “Little lady,” Louis said, “this isn’t any of your concern. You shouldn’t even be aware of us. Best if you left here.”

  “He’s right,” Fallon said. “Louis might accidentally hit you, and I don’t know what that might do to a living person. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’m not leaving,” Trina said. “You two are going to stop this, and you are going to listen to what I have to say.”

  “You had your chance,” Louis said, and he blasted her. Trina screamed, flipped in the air, and landed on the pavement with a thump.

  “Trina!” Fallon rushed to her side. He tried to touch her, but his fingers went straight through. He was desperate to help her, but he couldn’t do a thing.

  “You bastard!” he roared, rounding on Louis. His boss was ready for him; the blast hit him hard in the chest, hurling him backward.

  “We’re gonna … we’re gonna settle things, you and me,” Louis said. He walked toward him.

  And faltered. It was just a misstep, but Fallon saw it.

  “You’re right about that,” he said, forcing himself to stand. It hurt to do so—the multiple shocks had done a number on his body—but he did it anyway. “Let’s do this.” He braced himself for another shock, and was not disappointed. It hit him in the gut, throwing him backward once more.

  Louis advanced, then stumbled. He regained his composure and resumed his march.

  He stumbled again.

  Fallon hurt all over, but he forced himself to his feet. He looked at Louis, who had stopped and bent over, panting.

  “You’re running out of juice,” Fallon said. “Aren’t you?”

  The look on Louis’s face told him he was right. His boss looked exhausted, confused, and suddenly very afraid.

  Louis raised his arm and fired. Fallon ducked under the blast, then threw himself at Louis with all his strength.

  “Oof!” Louis cried as Fallon slammed into him. They fell through the nearest wall, back into the school, straight into an empty classroom.

  Fallon straddled Louis, pinning his arms to the ground. He wasn’t about to take any chances with him. Satisfied that his boss was helpless, Fallon rained blow after blow down upon Louis’s face.

 
It felt good. He’d wanted to fight back against his tormentor ever since he’d met him. And after what he’d done to Trina …

  Trina! Fallon leapt off of Louis and ran back through the wall. If she was dead …

  She wasn’t. She stirred when he approached, rubbing herself where Louis had struck her.

  “I can’t believe he did that to you,” Fallon said. “I’m so sorry, Trina.”

  “Don’t be,” she replied. “That guy is one serious freak.”

  “Can you walk?” he asked.

  “I think so.” She turned toward the sound of his voice. “It hurts, but … ”

  She stopped. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

  “What?” Fallon asked her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I … can see you,” she said.

  “Really?” he said. “Oh. Wow. Um, so … what do I look like?”

  “Like you’re half-here and half-not,” she said. “And … is that a heart on your chest?”

  “Yeah, I’m not crazy about that,” Fallon said.

  Suddenly, Trina’s eyes widened again. “Look out!” she cried, a second too late.

  The blast hit Fallon in the small of the back. It hurt, but it did not throw him forward—there wasn’t much power behind it.

  Fallon turned and stood. Louis stood behind him, looking exhausted and beaten. He fired off another shock, but it barely reached a meter beyond his fingertips before fizzling out.

  “You’re done,” Fallon said. He strode forward and punched Louis hard in the face. His boss staggered backward, fell to his knees, tried to rise, failed. Fallon had him.

  “Are you ready to listen now?” Fallon said, then chuckled. “It seems if I want you to shut up and pay attention, I have to … ”

  Someone slammed into Fallon from the side. He fell sideways to the ground, another Cupid on top of him.

  “Hey!” He turned to see his attacker. It was Owen, and his fist connected solidly with Fallon’s jaw. Fallon tried to raise his arms to ward off any further blows, but suddenly he found his arms and legs pinned by more Cupids.

  Owen punched him again and again and again. Fallon struggled hard, but he could not free himself. His vision was starting to blur, but he could make out two Cupids helping Louis to his feet.

  “I knew there was something wrong with you,” Owen said. “Never figured you’d break our biggest law, though.”

  “And what would that be?” Fallon asked.

  “Assaulting the Cupid Leader,” Owen told him. “You’re in big trouble, mister.”

  “He was trying to protect me,” Trina said, and the Cupids looked at her in surprise.

  “Louis attacked her,” Fallon said. “She can see and hear us, and was about to … ”

  “Shut up,” Owen said, and he thumped Fallon again. “We’re taking you back. You can answer to the angels.”

  “No,” Louis said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Put him in Limbo.”

  “Limbo?” Owen asked, frowning. Fallon thought he looked conflicted, but it only lasted a moment.

  “You heard the man!” Owen told the assembled Cupids. “Take him to Limbo.”

  Fallon had no idea what Limbo was, but from the way he was grabbed and hauled up by the other Cupids, he guessed it couldn’t be a good thing. He tried to struggle, but all that got him was a punch in the gut.

  “Don’t get cute,” Owen said.

  He caught Trina’s eye. She mouthed some words at him. Then the Cupids dragged him away.

  20

  Fallon emerged through the portal into the Cupid Center, his arms firmly held by his two minders. Owen walked along behind him, giving him a shove every few seconds for good measure.

  Behind them, two Cupids carried Louis. It was dawning on Fallon that Louis had called for this team of enforcers during their little brawl. It was also dawning on him that he’d been galactically stupid, picking a fight with his boss. He’d acted on impulse—the man had attacked Trina, an innocent teenager.

  Louis had also seemed very interested in not letting her speak.

  But speak she had, silently. It had taken Fallon a few moments to work out what she’d said, then to process it: “She died and came back.”

  Fallon wasn’t sure what Trina meant by that, but it raised some intriguing possibilities. What if Susan had once been a normal girl who’d been attacked by a Suicide? Supposing she’d killed herself, only to be brought back in a hospital? Was it possible that she’d become a Suicide before her revival?

  That raised more questions. Was she aware of what she was doing, on a conscious level? She’d recognized him when she’d stepped in and drained him. Had her awareness come about right then, or had she always known that she walked in two worlds?

  Interesting questions, but right now Fallon had more immediate concerns.

  “So what is Limbo, anyway?” he asked, turning to Owen.

  “You’ll find out,” Owen replied, punctuating the thought with another shove. “Keep moving.”

  “You said I should answer to the angels,” Fallon said, “before Louis pulled rank.”

  “Normally that’s what would happen,” Owen said. “But Louis says Limbo, so you get Limbo.”

  “I see,” Fallon said. And he did. Suddenly he understood very clearly. Louis’s attack had almost prevented him from learning what Trina had to say. And he didn’t want Fallon pleading his case to the only beings whose authority was greater than his.

  So Louis knew all about Susan Sides. And he wasn’t going to do anything about it. And the only person who was any kind of threat to him was being sent off to Limbo.

  “This place sucks,” Fallon said.

  “Shut up,” Owen said, shoving him again.

  They walked across the Cupid Center to the far side. During that walk, Fallon noticed how all the other Cupids were looking at him. Some stared in open contempt, others turned away and avoided eye contact. Some gave him smug looks, others had faces of pity.

  One Cupid looked from Fallon to Louis and back again, then nodded and pumped his fist discreetly.

  So they don’t all hate me, Fallon thought with a smile. That’s something.

  When they got to their destination, Fallon recognized the spot; it was the area where he’d first entered the Cupid Center months ago, just after he’d died. There was a portal arch there, identical to the ones on the Center’s far side. Fallon hadn’t noticed it when he’d first come through, but its presence made sense.

  They’d stopped next to Louis’s huge Love cube; his two helpers brought him over and helped him feed. When he finished eating, Louis was able to stand without their aid.

  “Let’s do this thing,” he said, and walked over to the portal. Fallon noted with no small amount of satisfaction that Louis still looked weak and beaten.

  “Anything you wanna say to me, Richard Fallon?” Louis said, activating the portal. Beyond it, all Fallon could see was white, empty nothingness.

  “Yeah, I do,” Fallon said. “Is it worth it?”

  “Is what worth it?”

  “Whatever the Suicides are giving you,” Fallon said, “to keep Susan Sides a secret.”

  Louis laughed, but it was forced. “Makin’ stuff up ain’t gonna help you,” he said. “Walt, Joe, put him in.”

  The Cupids holding Fallon yanked him forward, toward the portal. Fallon struggled fiercely—he was terrified. He had no idea what would happen to him; was Limbo anything like Hell? Was it, in fact, Hell? He could still see nothing in there but emptiness.

  Fallon looked around desperately, hoping to see Caleb or Alexander or even Jada rushing to his rescue. Word had spread—they must’ve known what was about to happen.

  However, there was no help in sight. There was a small crowd, though; his punishment had drawn a lot of i
nterest.

  Walt and Joe kept a firm grip on him, resisting his efforts to escape. They pulled him up to the portal, then Owen tied a cord around his waist. What, Fallon wondered, was that for?

  “Listen to me,” he said desperately. “I’m not making this up, I swear! Louis is putting you all in danger … ”

  “Shut up,” Owen said, and booted Fallon hard in the rear. At the same moment, Walt and Joe let him go. Fallon fell forward into the portal, and a tingling sensation enveloped him …

  He was aware of having no body. He looked up, and saw his body hanging by the cord from the portal. He tried to move toward it but couldn’t; Owen pulled the empty body up and out.

  Nothing existed now except the portal’s opening. Fallon could see the Cupid Center beyond, but found himself unable to move toward it. If anything, he seemed to be drifting away.

  Louis walked into view and looked at him. Fallon looked back; there was nothing else to look at. He half-expected Louis to offer up a smug smile. After all, he’d won.

  However, Louis didn’t. Instead, he gave Fallon a serious look. Was that regret, Fallon wondered? Was it possible Louis still had a conscience somewhere in there?

  The portal began to close. Fallon panicked, and struggled to move, but the portal did not get any closer. In seconds it was gone, and Fallon was alone in the nothing.

  There was only whiteness, in every direction. In fact, the concept of direction was meaningless now.

  So was motion. There was nowhere to move to. Fallon realized he was going to get very bored, very fast.

  And then he might just go insane. Maybe that was the point of this place.

  If he let that happen, Trina and everyone at that school were as good as dead. Nobody deserved that. He had to get out of there and stop Susan. Of course, that was easier thought than done.

  Fallon wanted to close his eyes and block out the whiteness, but he wasn’t seeing with eyes now. He had no body, and his soul couldn’t stop perceiving what was—or wasn’t—around it.

  He had no body. That realization was freakiest of all. He was nothing now, lost in a universe of nothingness …