Mark Del Franco - Unperfect Souls

Joe flashed into sight between us. “Damn, it’s cold out there. I’m sober again.”

I looked at Murdock. “I think that’s a hint.”

“Did you see inside the car, Joe?” Murdock asked.

He shook his head. “You want me to pop in and say hello?”

“Get as close as you can without being seen,” Murdock said

“This is sure making me thirsty,” he said, and vanished again.

“Oh, yes, this is going to be expensive,” I said.

Okay, I’m under the car . . . It’s warmer and less windy . . . I’m getting the berserker and a human . . . oh, hey!

Joe reappeared, annoyance across his face. “Okay, what’s the joke?”

I twisted in my seat. “What joke?”

“Why’d you pull me out of the bar to spy on the commissioner?”

I shifted my gaze to Murdock. He clenched his jaw. “What did you say?”

The annoyance vanished from Joe’s face as he picked up on the threat of anger in Murdock’s voice. “Murdock, your father’s in that car. This isn’t a joke?”

Murdock gripped the steering wheel, glaring out the window. He cleared his throat. “Joe, I want to know the minute Jark gets out of that car.”

Joe looked at me in a panic. I nodded, and he disappeared.

“Leo—” I said.

“Don’t talk,” he interrupted.

I closed my mouth so quickly, I heard my jaw snap. Murdock’s essence flickered a deep crimson. His face looked like stone as he stared up the access road. I don’t think I have ever felt more uncomfortable in his presence.

“We don’t know what this is, Leo,” I said quietly. And we didn’t. As much as the commissioner didn’t like me and I didn’t like him, he was still Leo’s father. He wasn’t above bending the rules, and when it came to the fey, he enjoyed it. But I wasn’t ready to make the leap to something more sinister, not without more information. Police used shadowy operatives for information all the time.

He’s leaving, Joe sent.

“Get out, Connor,” Murdock said.

“Leo, let’s leave. You can talk to him later.”

“Don’t make me ask again, please.”

His tone sent a chill down my spine. I opened the door as Joe appeared in the backseat. Apprehensive, he fluttered out the door. I leaned in again. “Call me, Leo.” He didn’t say anything. “Dammit, Leo, I’m only leaving because it’s your da. Say you’ll call me.”

He didn’t look at me. “I’ll call you.”

He pulled away and picked up speed as he turned onto the access road.

“Come on, Joe. Let’s go get a drink,” I said.

Before we walked away, Jark reappeared and watched Murdock pass him. He lingered on the corner, then continued toward me. Behind him, the commissioner’s car passed through the intersection, and Murdock followed it.

“What the hell is going on?” Joe said.

“I have no idea anymore,” I said.

Jark stopped a few feet from me. “You made a mistake following me.”

Joe hovered close to my shoulder, his hand gripped to his side where he hid his sword behind a glamour. “I don’t think so,” I said.

His gaze shifted to Joe. “Do you think that little thing can stop me from breaking your neck?”

The dark mass in my head shifted like a hand flexing its fingers. It hurt, but in an oddly pleasurable way. I stepped closer to Jark. “Who says I need him?”

Joe moved forward. “Connor . . .”

I held my hand up without taking my eyes off Jark. The dark mass shifted inside me, a warm flush spreading down to my right hand, a burning sensation that kicked my adrenaline into gear. “It’s okay, Joe. This could be interesting.”

Joe swung around behind me as Jark and I stared at each other. Despite knowing I was no physical match for a berserker, I wanted to wipe the sneer off his face the way Murdock had. The darkness pressed at me and made me feel it would be there at the right moment. I believed it, even if I didn’t know why. I wanted to hurt Jark.

Wind whipped with a low groan around the corner of the terminal. Jark’s body shields shimmered with deep green and oil-like swirls of black from his Taint infection. A part of my brain observed him change as he tapped his essence, the warning sign that he was going to go full berserker. Even without that, he was big enough to crush me without much effort. I wasn’t afraid. More than that—I didn’t care. The dark thing in my head prickled down my neck. It wanted Jark, too, and I wanted to see it happen. I lifted my right hand, palm up. A dark spot formed there, a black stain that spread across my skin. “Come on, Jark. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

His body flexed and grew as he set his feet in a fighting stance and clenched his fists. A growl sounded behind me, a feral threat I had never heard before from Joe. He landed on my neck and straddled my shoulder, his sword a thin blue flame in his hand.

Jark hesitated, with a look of fear. He stepped back.

With my hand held out, I took a step. “Not so sure of yourself all of sudden, Jark? Are you afraid? Murdock gave you one surprise tonight. Are you ready for another?”

He paled as a familiar essence resolved in place behind me. Uno padded in front of me, hackles up, his teeth bared in a snarl. He pressed Jark back, and they paced each other, step for step, as Jark kept his distance.

The darkness retracted. I shook my head to clear it, like I had awakened from a dream. An odd sensation of disappointment swept over me as Uno stood between me and Jark. The heat inside me subsided. I had no idea what I was thinking. I wasn’t going to fight Jark. Even if the dark mass could be controlled, I sure as hell didn’t know how to do it, no matter how much it wanted out.

Uno howled. It wasn’t directed at me, but chills ran up my arm anyway. The dark thing in my head withdrew, like a predator disappointed its prey was escaping. Uno crouched. Jark shouted, more an involuntary yelp, and ran toward the channel. Uno followed for a few feet, then stopped and barked at Jark’s retreating back. He turned and loped toward me.

Joe yanked on my collar as he hovered up. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

I pushed him away. “It’s okay, Joe.”

He grappled with my hand. “Don’t you know what that is?”

Uno sat in the snow and sniffed the air. With a soft huff, he ducked to scratch his nose on the ground. He lifted his head, snow speckling his dark muzzle. He was suddenly the least threatening hellhound on the planet.

“It’s okay, Joe. I’d like you to meet Uno.”

Uno jumped and put his massive paws on my shoulders, woofing at Joe as if he understood what I said. I staggered under the weight as I dug my fingers into his thick fur and scratched.

A terrified smile froze on Joe’s face. He laughed nervously. With a flat, stiff hand, he patted Uno on the head. “Nice doggie.”

Uno dropped and rolled in the snow. I stared down the access road. Jark was nowhere to be seen. Murdock promised he’d call, and I had to let him play this out his way. I balled my hands in my pockets and started walking.

Joe fluttered around me. “That was kinda awesome. You should keep that dog. I mean, as long as it doesn’t suck your soul or something.”

“I can barely keep you in Oreos, Joe. I don’t think a dog would be a good idea for me.”

“Still. You could take it for walks and people would talk to you and be friendly and pretend not to notice you’re holding a bag of shite when you run into them. It’s a very civilized thing to have a dog.”

“I don’t think he’s that kind of dog, Joe. Let’s go find a drink.”

Joe flew around in front of me, throwing looks back at Uno. “Yeah, I need about a dozen.”

In the cold of the empty street, I swayed in front of the warehouse door. The yellow crime-scene tape across it fluttered and shivered in the wake of small puffs of wind, slashes of color across the entrance that warned people off at the same time they lured me closer. A feeling had been building in me all night as Joe and I drank. I had known him all my life, but there were tales I didn’t know about him. Dark ones that he hinted at in ominous yet nonchalant tones. He had done things he didn’t like to talk about but managed to accept them as part of his history. Whatever those acts were, somehow he remained content with who he was and happy to move on. I wasn’t at the point with myself yet. Certainly not tonight, on a bleak stretch of road where I found myself after leaving Joe snoring in a pretzel bowl.