The Cupid War Read online

  No! As long as he could think, he existed. And if he existed, there was hope.

  First, he had to find a way to stay sane. He would not let this place get to him. But what could he do to keep the emptiness at bay? Being here was even more boring than lying on the slab in the Healing Chamber …

  And what, he asked himself, had he done to fight the boredom there? He’d meditated. And he’d contacted the Source. If he could do that here, he had a chance.

  Fallon tried to focus. It was hard at first, since he couldn’t close his “eyes.” Then again, there were no distractions. He found that if he concentrated on the nothing, his thoughts melted away into background noise.

  In moments, he was one with the Source. Instantly his worries vanished, and peace wrapped around his soul. Fallon forgot all about why he was there, or the things that he had to do. All he wanted was to remain in this void with the Source.

  Nothing else mattered.

  pARt 4

  21

  Fallon might have stayed lost in the Source forever. He was happy there. He felt safe. He wondered if he was in Heaven. He realized he didn’t care. There was nowhere else Fallon wanted to be, and he couldn’t imagine a heaven greater than where he was.

  However, something compelled him back. Something nagged at him, a voice from within the Source. Fallon wanted to ignore it, but he could not. It was someone who had to be heard.

  Ricky.

  I hate that name, he thought.

  Why?

  My mom gave me that name. Before she left.

  She loved you.

  Not enough to stay.

  That’s not fair, Ricky.

  I said I hate that name! Don’t call me that. Call me Fallon.

  Your father’s surname.

  Yeah, Fallon thought. I like it.

  More than the name your mother gave you?

  Why do you care?

  Fallon found the conversation more than a little irritating. And personal. What happened to the peace he’d been enjoying up until now?

  You can relax later, Ricky, the voice said. Right now there are people who need you.

  There’s nothing I can do, Fallon replied. They stuck me in here, and there’s no way out.

  There’s always a way out, Ricky. You just have to ask.

  Ask who? And stop calling me Ricky.

  I like the name Ricky. I always thought it suited you.

  Jesus! Who are you?

  Not Jesus. And this is the wrong place for blasphemy, don’t you think?

  Whatever, Fallon thought. Just go away and leave me alone.

  Is that really what you want?

  Fallon thought about what he wanted. Memories came back, and he remembered Trina Porten, left alone in the world with Susan Sides. And he remembered Louis, and what he’d done to him.

  He wanted revenge on Louis. He wanted to help Trina. He wanted to stop Susan.

  That’s a start, the voice said. But what do you really want?

  Isn’t that enough?

  No, Ricky.

  Stop calling me that!

  Why?

  Like I said, my mother called me that.

  What did she do to you?

  She left us, ran off with some jerk …

  What do you want?

  I want my mom back!

  Fallon realized it was true. For all the anger he’d felt toward his mother since she’d left, he wanted her to be there for him.

  “My dad told me she stopped loving us,” Fallon said.

  That was a lie, the voice told him, not unkindly. I’ve always loved you.

  If he’d had a body, Fallon’s eyes would have widened. He felt the presence around him—really felt it—and from that sensing came discovery.

  “Mom?” He asked, but only for confirmation. It was her, he was sure of it.

  Yes, Ricky, she said. And I’ve one or two things to tell you …

  • • •

  Fallon blinked. Then he realized he had eyes once more. He felt … heavy. He’d gotten used to being a spirit. Returning to his body was something of a shock.

  He tried to get his bearings. He was lying on the floor of a small room—very small, it turned out. He could reach up and touch the ceiling with his hand. There was light; even the smallest of places on the other side were illuminated naturally.

  Fallon looked right and left. There were bodies on either side of him, most likely the other prisoners of Limbo. There weren’t many, Fallon was relieved to see. He wondered how long they’d been here.

  There’d be time for speculation later. Right now, he had work to do. Fallon placed both palms on the ceiling, and concentrated.

  The ceiling melted away, and the floor beneath him rose to fill the space. Fallon stood up, and found himself back in the Cupid Center, right next to the Limbo portal. It made sense to him; they wouldn’t want to drag the empty bodies far.

  Ahead of him were the rows of Love, starting with Louis’s cube. Fallon smiled and walked forward, tore off a large chunk, and started eating.

  Oh yeah. That would get his attention.

  Fallon tore off a second chunk for good measure, then began the long trek across the Cupid Center. As he walked, the other Cupids turned and stared. It seemed like only yesterday those same faces had watched in pity as he’d been frog-marched to Limbo. Perhaps it had been yesterday. It didn’t really matter.

  He was about halfway across the Cupid Center when he saw Louis approaching from the other direction. He looked much healthier; clearly the Cupid boss had recovered from their last encounter and probably recharged his batteries.

  Fallon smiled again. Time for round two.

  “Who let you out?” Louis shouted, hands still at his sides. He’s afraid, Fallon realized. Well, he should be.

  “Hey, I’m talkin’ to you!” Louis barked as the distance closed between them.

  Fallon remained silent and didn’t slow down. Louis stopped, trying to block Fallon’s path.

  “Who let you out?” he demanded, and his hands came up. When Fallon didn’t answer, he fired.

  Fallon raised a hand and blocked it. A shield of energy projected all around him, keeping the bolts at arm’s length. All around him, jaws dropped. Louis’s was one of them.

  Fallon couldn’t believe he hadn’t been able to do this before. It seemed so obvious to him now. Like Louis’s electric bolts, the energy came from his life force. Rather than draining his essence, however, the shield drew strength from the power of its attacker. The more Louis fired upon him, the more Fallon’s shield sucked in the shock energy, and the weaker Louis became.

  And Louis knew it. Fallon could see it in his eyes.

  “Have you finished?” Fallon asked him. Louis didn’t reply; he simply stared back, stunned. “Good.”

  Fallon continued on his way, not even sparing his former boss a backward glance. It was a calculated risk—he wouldn’t put it past Louis to shoot him in the back—but he needed the other Cupids to see he was unafraid.

  It hadn’t even occurred to Fallon to hit Louis. He was filled with such goodwill after his time with the Source, his anger had been set aside. All that mattered was getting to his destination, and doing what had to be done.

  Because the Source had confirmed his suspicion about Susan Sides. She had indeed killed herself and become a Suicide, only to be revived. He’d need help to stop her, and he knew just where to go to get it.

  Fallon reached the portals, thought of his destination, and stepped through.

  Fallon stood outside Guildwood Mills High School. It was lunchtime. Divine timing, Fallon thought as he walked across the main lobby.

  There they were. Fallon saw Trina and her friends having lunch in their usual spot by the main door
s. There were two notable absentees: Ryan and Susan.

  Fallon knelt beside Trina and waited for her to sense his presence. She turned immediately to look at him, and mouthed his name. He smiled, then put a finger to his lips. No need to embarrass her in front of the others.

  “We need to talk,” Fallon told her. “Can you get away?”

  Trina excused herself from the group and followed Fallon outside.

  “What happened to you this time?” she asked when they were alone.

  “Long story,” Fallon replied. “I’m … more than I was, Trina. Louis can’t hurt me anymore.”

  “Well, he sure hurt me,” she said. “He’s not around, is he?”

  “He’ll be coming,” Fallon said, “but I’m more concerned about Ryan and Susan.”

  “Ryan’s taking some time off from school,” Trina said. “He’ll be at home. And Susan … she didn’t show up today! Do you think … ?”

  “Yes, I do,” Fallon replied. “She’s with him.”

  22

  The bus ride out to Ryan’s place was too long for Fallon’s liking, even though it only took twenty minutes. He was also feeling annoyed because he’d been unable to climb onto or off the bus without Trina’s help. It only had the one step, but that was enough. He’d hoped that stair climbing would have come with the ability to shield himself, but no such luck.

  Trina hadn’t even asked if she should skip school to accompany him. To her, this was the right thing to do, and Fallon was deeply proud of her.

  When they arrived in Ryan’s neighborhood, Trina led Fallon from the bus stop to the nearest side street. “It’s one of these,” she said, pointing at a trio of houses in the cul-de-sac. “That one, I think.”

  “Are you sure?” Fallon asked her.

  “I only came over the one time,” she admitted. “And it was night. But I’m positive it’s one of these three.”

  “Okay. I’ll check them out,” Fallon said, and he walked quickly over to the first house and vanished through the front door.

  Two minutes later he reappeared.

  “Not this one,” he said, together with the unspoken prayer that he would never walk in on old people having sex ever again.

  The next house was a lot more promising; Fallon entered into the living room and saw photos of Ryan on the wall. He searched the main level and found no one, but he heard voices when he reached the main stairs. Susan Sides. She was here, and she was with Ryan.

  Fallon ran at the stairs, and was in up to his chest when he realized he still couldn’t do it. He backed out of the stairs and concentrated on meshing his foot with the atoms of the first step, but it simply wouldn’t work. He needed a person to take him up. He needed Trina.

  “I need your help,” he said as he came back out through the front door. “She’s up there with him, and … ”

  “ … you need me to get you up the stairs,” she finished for him. “No problem, let me … oh. Spoke too soon. It’s locked.”

  Fallon couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of that. He tried to think of a way around the obstacle, and was about to suggest she break a window, when he saw her pressing the doorbell.

  “Stop! Are you nuts?” he said. “Now she knows we’re here.”

  “Now she knows someone’s here,” Trina corrected. “She doesn’t know who. And if we’re lucky, Ryan’ll come answer the door to find out. Or she’ll come, and I’ll deal with her.”

  Once again, Fallon was impressed.

  “You’d better do the talking,” he said. “She’ll sense me if I’m too near.”

  “Then get lost,” Trina said. “I can handle Susan.”

  Wanting to stay as close as possible, Fallon ducked back inside the house and hid himself in the living room. He watched the stairs, expecting to see someone coming down at any moment. A minute passed and nothing happened, so Trina tried the bell again. Fallon moved into the main hallway to see if he could hear anything.

  “ … don’t need to see who it is,” Susan was saying. “Who’d be coming to see you at one-forty? It’s probably just some door-to-door loser.”

  “I still wanna check it out,” Ryan said, his voice weak and with more than a trace of desperation.

  “Oh, no, mister, you stay in bed,” Susan said. “I have to take care of you.”

  Crap, Fallon thought as he darted back outside. “She’s not letting him out of the room,” he told Trina.

  “I’ll get his attention,” Trina said. “I’ll be back.”

  She hurried around the side of the house. Fallon walked back inside, wondering what Trina was up to, and saw her reappear in the backyard. As he watched through the kitchen window, she tossed a small pebble that struck one of the upstairs bedroom windows with an audible clonk.

  “What was that?” Ryan asked.

  “Stay in bed, I’ll check,” Susan said, but Fallon could hear the sound of rustling bedclothes.

  “It’s Trina,” Ryan said.

  “What does she want?” Susan said, and there was an edge to her voice.

  She suspects something’s up, Fallon thought.

  “I’m gonna go let her in,” Ryan said, and his footfalls left the bedroom.

  “No! Tell her to go away,” Susan said as her footfalls chased his. “You don’t need her, you’ve got me!”

  Now she sounds desperate, Fallon thought. He liked the thought of that. He moved in closer to the stairs and crouched down to get a view of the upstairs landing. He saw Ryan appear, but before the boy could descend the stairs, Susan grabbed him.

  “Stop,” she said, her hand on his chest. Ryan, who already looked like a miserable wreck, depressed further and slumped to the floor.

  She’s zapping him, Fallon realized, feeling equal parts anger and frustration. He was so close, yet not close enough.

  “See? Look at you,” Susan said. “You can’t even stand. Let me take you back to bed. Trina will go away, and you can call her later.”

  Ryan breathed out heavily. He really didn’t look like he could stand, let alone get down the stairs to let Trina in. When she knocked on the door, however, he tried. He pulled himself free from Susan’s hands by sheer force of gravity, then slid the first few steps down on his bum.

  “Ryan!” Susan called as she went after him. Ryan pulled himself down using the banister while Susan tried to snatch hold of his shirt.

  They were close enough. Fallon stepped into the staircase, right into Ryan’s body, and projected a force field of Love. It was similar to the shield he’d used to block Louis’s power, but composed of Love instead of his life force. Susan stumbled into the shield, fell forward, and landed right on it, her face inches away from Fallon’s own.

  “You!” she snarled, and Fallon nearly laughed. He couldn’t believe she’d actually snarled!

  “Out of my way!” Susan shouted, hammering her small fists onto the shield.

  “Not this time,” Fallon said, and he expanded the shield outward by a meter. It happened so suddenly it threw Susan backward, up the stairs onto the landing.

  Fallon smiled widely; it felt good to defend himself from—and fight back against—Susan’s power. She stared down at him in surprise and shock. Now she knew she had a fight on her hands.

  Behind him, Fallon heard the front-door lock unclick. Good for Ryan, he thought.

  “Ryan!” Trina cried as she flung the door open. “Ryan, it’s gonna be okay.”

  “Help me up the stairs, Trina,” Fallon said. They could take care of Ryan later. Right now, Susan was the priority. He backed out of the stairs and let Trina pass him, then slid his hand into her heart.

  In that instant, Fallon knew Trina’s entire emotional landscape. She was pissed at Susan, and still felt a lingering sadness from when Susan had touched her. Trina was also very concerned for Ryan, and rel
ieved that they’d got here when they did. Was she interested in Ryan? If so, Fallon had set them up. It was the least he could do.

  But, first things first. Trina advanced up the stairs toward Susan, pulling Fallon along behind.

  “Stay away from me,” Susan said, scrambling back to her feet. She looked scared. Good, thought Fallon.

  She turned and ran for the bathroom. Trina ran after her, but Susan slammed the door in her face and locked it.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Fallon told Trina. “I can take it from here. You go take care of Ryan.”

  “Watch yourself,” she said, then she headed back down the stairs.

  Fallon, the floor now solid beneath him, stepped forward through the bathroom door. Susan cowered by the toilet; Fallon produced his shield and expanded it, flattening her against the wall.

  “You’re finished, Susan,” he said.

  “Ricky, please,” she said. “What are you going to do to me?”

  Fallon opened his mouth to tell her, but no words came out. He had no idea what to do with her. Projecting Love at her hadn’t worked before, but that was really the only way to stop a Suicide. In order to destroy her, he would first have to get rid of her human body.

  And that meant killing her.

  He looked into her eyes and saw the fear there. He could do it; he could use the shield to crush her against the wall, but he was no killer. He wasn’t capable of cold-blooded murder.

  Susan looked back at him, and the fear was replaced with amusement.

  “You can’t do it, can you?” she said.

  Fallon responded by pressing her harder. It had to be done—she had to be destroyed. If he didn’t do it, how many like Ryan would be subjected to a slow, painful death? She wasn’t going to stop, and he couldn’t protect everyone from her.

  He had to kill her. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  “Fallon!” Trina called from downstairs. “Look out!”

  He turned just in time to see Owen leap through the door toward him like a guided missile.

  23