Jus Accardo - Darker Days

Mostly ? That sounded like a warning label in the making. “So is that the only thing that makes you different from the others? That you have control?”

His expression went from annoyed to I’m about to go postal . “The thing that makes me different is that I don’t belong in that box. I’m human . If the time runs out and the Sins are recalled by the box, they’ll take the bodies they’ve infected with them. Those bodies will be destroyed, their souls—their essences —fed upon by the Sins. Because Wrath and I magically inhabit the same space, my body is spared. It goes into a sort of stasis until the box is opened again and we’re set free.”

Mom studied him for a moment. I knew what she was doing—looking for tells. A flinch here, a twitch there. Something to show he was lying. “Okay, so back to my father. Let’s say you’re telling the truth and he agreed to your terms. He would aid you in gaining your freedom in exchange for helping him capture the others. What happened?”

Lukas gave me one final scowl, then focused on Mom. “I’m sure when Joseph originally made the deal, he was planning to betray me, but we grew close. Became friends. When it came time to lock the box, we decided to transfer Wrath to the person who’d opened it—a priest who thought he could use the Sins for his own gain. It seemed like a fitting punishment for all the lives lost.”

“I’m guessing,” Mom said, “that this is somehow connected to the Wells family you’re searching for, correct?”

“I was betrayed,” he growled. “Joseph discovered that since the spell which fused Wrath to me was made with blood—Meredith Wells’ blood—only someone of the same bloodline would be able to remove it. We tracked down a direct descendant named Mary Wells and procured her aid.”

“And she wasn’t able to do the spell?”

“She chose not to do the spell. We found her and gathered the items needed with only hours to spare.” Fingers knotted tight, he slammed a fist against the desk. Mom’s pencil holder wobbled and toppled sideways, spilling pens and markers across the surface. “When the time came, she insisted Joseph leave the room. As the pull of the box became too strong, she smiled and said I was destined to rot forever. She let the box take me with a smile on her face.”

“Not to paint my father in a bad light, but how do you know he didn’t set you up? Human or not, you’re still tainted by an unspeakable evil. Something that powerful always leaves a mark. Maybe he wasn’t willing to take the risk.”

Lukas’ eyes widened, and I felt kind of bad for him in that moment. The thought that Grandpa might have duped him had never crossed his mind.

I knew why Mom was asking. Poking the lion, she’d once called it. See if you can push buttons and get a reaction. Any reaction.

Lukas shook his head, resolved. “I don’t believe that.” And he didn’t. I could hear the certainty in his voice. He’d trusted Grandpa completely.

Mom was quiet for a few moments. I could almost see the wheels turning. “Say we agree to help you. How will we find the other Sins? And what is it you truly wish to get out of this?”

“I can find the Sins,” he said. “I’ve spent an eternity in their company. I know their—habits. Also, when close enough, I can sense them. As to what I wish—that’s simple. I want my freedom. I want you to track down a Wells witch and ensure she unbinds me from the box.”

Mom frowned. “You’re asking me to condemn an innocent person to take your place. I assume you’ll understand my refusal to pluck a random stranger off the street.”

“I suggest sticking to Joseph’s plan. The person who opened the box and released this hell should be the one to replace me. You’ll see soon enough—it’s what the individual deserves.”

“You said they saw a girl leaving the church the night the box was stolen, right Ma?”

She nodded in confirmation, but Lukas shook his head. “It was a man who opened the box, not a girl.”

“Well, thanks for that, Jonny Sunshine. That puts us back to square zero.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “Do you remember anything about him?”

Lukas frowned. “I’m sorry, no. It happened so fast. I remember he was tall. Also, he had a strange beard. That’s all.”

Mom thought about it for a minute. I knew how her mind worked. She was going over the possibilities. No doubt she felt sympathetic to Lukas’ situation, but could she really trade him for someone else—no matter how deserving they were?

She tended to see more shades of gray than I did. Her take on things was that, if someone did bad, there was a deep-seated reason behind it. Something in their lives had made them that way. She was convinced they needed help, not punishment. Me? Bad was bad. That’s not to say I was strictly black and white, but I didn’t see the range in people she did. Most of the time, I was ashamed of my lack of faith in humanity. Growing up, Mom was the perfect role model for honesty and integrity. I guess I’d just inherited my dad’s darker outlook.

“And payment?” I asked to fill the silence. Silence always made me itch. And hey, a girl had to eat.

And pay for damages inflicted.

Mom kind of glared at me but didn’t object. She couldn’t. With the damage I did on a daily basis, I’d put us into a position that the jobs she’d normally take as public charity —the epic kind that prevented massive body counts and uber-bloodshed—were a thing of the past.

Lukas looked shocked. I guess no one had ever told him nothing in life was free. “I—I have no money…”

Mom shook her head. “Ignore my daughter, please. Payment won’t be necessary. This is not something we can ignore.”

Seven Sins.

Six innocent people.

Five days.

Piece of cake…

My commute from the office to home was a tough one—through the back door and up a set of narrow stairs to our apartment. The carpet was worn to the wood in the middle of each step, and the fourth, fifth, and seventh stairs creaked. I’d lived here all my life, same as Mom. The building had been in our family for generations. Once an old barn, the bottom was long ago converted into a makeshift office, and the upstairs, a living area.

The apartment was small—I guessed none of the Darkers before us had exceptionally large families—two bedrooms, one bath, and an eat-in kitchen. It was fine. Big enough for me and Mom, and as far as I was concerned, comfy. More space meant more to clean, and neither one of us could be considered domestic goddesses. We didn’t even own a vacuum.

Having nowhere else to go, Lukas convinced Mom to let him sleep in the office. Honestly, I was pretty shocked when she agreed. She had a strict no personal involvement with clients policy. Yet another thing that had come from her relationship with Dad. That was, until I realized she probably wanted to keep an eye on Lukas. Setting Wrath loose on the town would make her twitchy. I knew how her brain worked. She’d made sure I went up to bed long before she did. If I had to guess, she’d put multiple wards in place that would alert her to any funky business.

Despite having what was, for all intents and purposes, an ancient evil cooling his heels on our office couch, I fell asleep fast. I was in the middle of a pretty awesome dream involving me, some chocolate covered popcorn, and a nice quiet corner of a deserted island when a loud crash jarred me awake.

Throwing aside the covers, I jumped out of bed and sprinted into the hall. I skidded to a stop in front of Mom’s door and pushed it open a crack. She was safe and curled under the covers, sleeping peacefully. It was kind of irritating. The woman could sleep through an alien invasion complete with a marching band to announce their presence. Me? A fly farted downtown and I was up.