| |
Perrie
––––––––
The strong gust of wind wrapped its invisible leash around Perrie and Vale, then easily glided them through the barrier. After their feet hit the ground with a slight stumble, Perrie anxiously scanned the small area with blue frosted and sprinkled walls. The room didn’t have an odor, not even a sweet scent from the frosting. Her gaze connected with the plump witch sitting on top of an old-fashioned stove with her legs crossed at the ankles, leisurely swinging them up and down.
The witch’s dark brown hair was styled in a long braid, and she appeared much younger than Perrie would’ve expected, not a single line creasing her beautiful face.
Chocolate chip cookies rested on a metal tray in her lap, and Perrie waited for the witch to try and shove a dessert down her throat. But she didn’t, only observed them with a twitch of the lips.
“Why is the room so small?” She thought back to how most of the displays she’d been in held large forests and had felt like a real place.
“After everyone was released,” Vale started, “the Glass Vault returned the displays to their normal size. The illusion of something larger is not needed any longer.”
“Okay then.” Perrie peered down and found a belt around her waist, loaded with a variety of tiny knives. When she’d come to the Glass Vault last, she’d only been given a small dagger in Billy Goats Gruff.
“She is not here,” Vale said, scanning the space.
He took hold of her hand, and they moved to a frosted wall. The gust of air came to life, rumpling her hair and dress before sucking them through. This would be easier than Perrie had thought, since the displays were miniature versions of themselves. She only hoped finding Fannie was as simple.
Still clasping Vale’s hand, she searched the new room. Old headstones, broken and cracked, covered the sparsely grassy area, but she didn’t see anything else. And she didn’t see a sign of Fannie anywhere either.
Something to Perrie’s right moved, catching her attention like a flare in a night sky. She whirled to the side and pushed Vale out of the way, nearly knocking him down. He steadied them both before they crashed into the dirt of the cemetery.
A long arm with a slight greenish tint protruded from the ground. It had somehow managed to claw its way out from the dirt one way or another. The ring and pinky fingers were ivory bone, while a loose flap of flesh hung against the hand. A thick yellow liquid ran down the other digits, the skin there appearing as though it wouldn’t stay attached much longer. That sight alone put Night of the Living Dead to shame, and it was only a damn hand.
“I told you they would not do anything.” Vale watched the wiggling digits like he was confirming what he’d said.
“That doesn’t make it any less creepy, Vale!” It wasn’t as bad as the giant trolls ripping apart bodies and goats, though. She could easily stomp on a hand if she needed to.
They skirted around a few of the grave markers and rushed for the next scene. Their pace increased as she got used to seeing a sinister immortal studying them in each display. Still, Fannie wasn’t in any of them—no bright red hair or Jack the Ripper clothing. They then traveled to the next scene, and then to the next, and then to the next after that.
As they continued crossing new world after new world, it felt like it would never end, that they would never find her. But when they stepped into the next display, Vale stiffened. “She is here.”
Old stone cathedrals were painted on the walls in neutral shades. To Perrie’s right rested the gray gargoyle that Vale had made disappear days ago. The beast sat crouched in a position that resembled a real statue. But as its broad chest heaved up and down, it clearly indicated the gargoyle wasn’t one. Its large wings spread fully, the tips reaching toward the heavens. Black veins were set in a leafy pattern that throbbed against the appendages’ thin skin.
The gargoyle’s left wing twitched, and Perrie just happened to catch a glimpse of a lock of red hair behind it.
Perrie’s hand reached for her belt, pulling out the longest knife there. Even though she couldn’t spark up, she still tried to ignite her electricity. Of course nothing, damn it. She waited for Vale to make his move—possibly clap Fannie away, or telekinesis her to them so Perrie could stab the immortal in her devious heart. Something besides standing there with a crease between his eyebrows and looking lost.
“What is it?” she hissed, clenching the knife harder.
He snapped his fingers. “Something is off. My power is not working in this one.”
“What do you mean?” Perrie screeched, glancing back at the gargoyle with its sharp protruding teeth.
“Stay here.”
What the hell is he talking about?
Vale lunged for the gargoyle. Perrie waited for Fannie to run at her and proudly held up her knife, ready for the bitch.
Fannie didn’t pounce as Perrie expected, but the gargoyle did. The beast tore forward and rammed Vale to the floor, restraining him by the shoulders. The gargoyle then dug its clawed feet deep into Vale’s thighs, blood seeping to the surface. Vale winced but didn’t release a scream.
Movement came from where the gargoyle previously was. Fannie rose from her kneeled position, smirking. A beat of wings cracked behind Perrie, and she glanced back at Vale—the gargoyle’s stone-like hand now squeezed Vale’s throat. Her heart roared, louder and louder.
Should she try ripping the gargoyle off Vale? No... She couldn’t do that because then Fannie would try to do something to her from behind. Perrie didn’t think anymore—she charged at Fannie. But the immortal spun to the side, somehow ending up across the room. Thinking back to their Ripper times, Perrie remembered how fast Fannie was when she’d sliced Perrie’s arm in the display. How sneaky she could be. She still was.
Perrie charged at her again, swinging her knife like crazy. Fannie bent backward like she was doing the fucking limbo, and Perrie missed her completely. Even mid-movement, Fannie still managed to turn around and slice the back of Perrie’s arm. Perrie gasped at the sharp sting, warm blood oozing out from the wound. She’d had enough. Enough of this. And enough of her. Fannie was going to die.
“You know, little puppet, we can do this all day long.” Fannie beamed, running the bloody scalpel across her lower lip. Perrie’s chest heaved, but she was far from stopping. “We will be returning to my only master, your master.” The immortal’s gaze shifted to Vale, who choked as he attempted to speak. The veins at his temples looked like they would burst, his face turning a bright cherry red.
Perrie desperately tried to reach into herself, to somehow gather that spark, but she couldn’t.
“Option one did not work out, so we are moving on to option two,” Fannie said. “Vale is coming back with us to his father, and you, dear Bride, are coming along. I don’t want your soul to travel anywhere except with us to the Underworld.” Her smile was laced with pure venom.
Perrie was not going there, and Vale wasn’t either. She couldn’t let his heart be shut off again by some sadistic fuck, then have this whole process repeat. Vale didn’t deserve that. With the knife still tight in her grip, she thrust herself at Fannie.
Perrie had the immortal’s movements down. Just as Fannie was about to spin to the side and flip around, Perrie shot forward against her back. She lifted the blade and slammed it into Fannie’s right side, piercing her lung, all while knocking her down.
Before Fannie started bucking, Perrie ripped the knife from the immortal’s back with a sickening squish. Perrie straddled Fannie as the immortal began to lift. Without a pause, she yanked Fannie’s head back by her red hair and sliced a half circle at her throat to match Perrie’s. Blood poured out from the wound.
The gargoyle still had Vale pinned down, and Perrie needed to figure out how to get the beast off him. But first, without a care, Perrie flipped Fannie over to her back—she wasn’t going to risk it, so she shoved the knife into the immortal’s heart. As Fannie choked on her own blood, her hands desperately clawed to her throat.
Not satisfied yet, Perrie stabbed over and over and over—she didn’t want Fannie or anyone else here to tarnish any more innocent people. She didn’t want whatever humanity was left outside the Glass Vault to go through what she or any of the others had. Maisie had done this to the Huntsman back in the Snow White display, but Perrie stabbed Fannie even more.
The immortal’s laborious breaths slowed before turning into nothing, her chest still. Perrie didn’t know how long it would take before she woke again, so she needed to hurry. With her knife at the ready, Perrie leapt off Fannie and dove for the gargoyle. An odor of burnt feces struck her nose, the only thing she’d smelled thus far, coming from the beast. She yanked it by its paper-thin wings, but the gargoyle’s hold on Vale’s throat didn’t release. Perrie lifted her knife high above her head and stabbed it in the back, ignoring its shrill shrieking as blood splattered the walls. The gargoyle’s wing was next, and she sawed at it.
Vale managed to slide out and get to his feet, then hauled ass toward Fannie. The gargoyle flapped his wings, creating a large gust of wind that flung Perrie backward. It then whirled around and backhanded her in the shoulder with its thick skin. She went flying into the wall, her head slamming against it with a powerful bang. The room spun as she crumpled to the floor.
Perrie shakily rolled to her back, nausea bubbling up her throat. She prayed Vale was achieving something with Fannie. He had to.
When Perrie lifted her head, two massive gargoyles hovered over her, then her double vision cleared. Before she could make a move, the beast pounced on her and raised its knife-like claws. The gargoyle slashed them across her chest, her stomach. Again and again. Perrie screamed at the top of her lungs, pain, so much pain, roaring through her. She wished the first slash had killed her because, with each strike of a claw, the agony only became worse.
By now, her organs must be displayed for his choosing. Most likely to eat. If only she had her electricity... Perrie closed her eyes and blood seeped into her mouth. A cracking sound echoed when the gargoyle’s hand plowed down into her chest where he would rip her heart out.
But then the slashing stopped.
Everything stopped.
Her eyes fluttered open, her gaze locking on an angel and cloud-covered ceiling. She tried to lift her head, but it only stayed rooted to the floor. This pain was the worst she’d ever suffered, including her own death before.
Perrie was about to close her eyes again, beg to the heavens above for her body to either heal or let her die, but then a beautiful mess of blond hair and an angelic face leaned over her. Am I hallucinating?
“Hold on,” Vale murmured as he scooped her into his arms. Perrie wanted to reassure him that she could walk, but all she tasted was blood on her numb tongue. His green irises stayed locked on hers, and she didn’t look away. Those two emeralds were the only thing grounding her in this horrific moment.
Vale lay her on the hard marble, and an uncontrollable cough escaped her throat. She struggled to cover her mouth, but she managed, and her hand came away with droplets of blood.
“You are going to be okay, Perrie,” Vale said softly as he stroked her hair, but worry shone in his eyes. Her hands trembled—her body wasn’t mending, and she felt tattered and torn to pieces.
Vale leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against hers, and they came away with speckles of her blood. She was too numb to feel anything in the kiss. But she wished with everything that she had.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” And then he was gone.
Where is he going?
Everything faded, growing darker... Everything gone. Then she was gone too.
“Perrie?” She knew that voice. Her eyes were too heavy to open. “Perrie?” There it was again, that female voice.
Perrie finally jerked her eyes open. “Maisie?” Three heads awkwardly hovered above her face. She sat up as they shifted back.
The first thing she noticed was her dress, ripped and drenched in blood. It was practically saturated to where there was more red than white. Then it all hit her—Fannie and that monstrous gargoyle.
Vale sat beside her with his hand against her lower back, propping her up in case she fell. But she was okay now. No more pain.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Perrie swallowed, peering up at his concerned face, and she didn’t want to look away. “Remember that hand we saw sticking out from the ground?”
He nodded but also looked confused. “Yes?”
“That’s how I feel, except like I crawled out of the heavy dirt and am relieved I’m out. I thought I was gone.”
“Immortal, remember?” Maisie piped in.
Perrie’s attention stayed focused on Vale. “But Officer Rodriguez was immortal, and she still ended up dead.”
“That is because after she died, he sent her soul away,” Vale said in a weak voice.
“So, I did die.” Again.
He slowly nodded, chewing the edge of his bottom lip. A much better habit of his than the compulsive nail picking. “Did you wish I would have sent your soul away?”
“No!” Perrie practically yelled. This immortality would take some getting used to, but she didn’t want to die yet.
“Good. I kind of wish for you not to leave.” Vale grinned.
She smiled back at him.
“Now we have to finish getting rid of the Glass Vault,” he said, seriously.
“Okay, but what about Fannie and the gargoyle?”
“She is over there.” He gestured toward the Jack the Ripper display. A panic flowed through her until her gaze settled on one lone glass form, hidden away beneath a black hat and cloak. She guessed that answered her earlier question—Fannie wasn’t wearing the dress.
“How?” Perrie asked while Vale helped her stand.
“My abilities were off in the display with Fannie and the gargoyle, but after you killed her, they re-appeared. Before she came back to life, I transported her to the Ripper display. It took me longer than I liked, or I would have gotten to you sooner.” He closed his eyes, clenching them tight.
“I’m glad you didn’t, Vale,” Perrie rushed out the words. “I mean, what if you went after the gargoyle first and then Fannie woke back up leaving you powerless again.” She would’ve withstood any amount of pain, as long as Vale was able to send Fannie away.
“I know, but you still had to go through all that. I knew you would be okay, but I did not want to screw anything up for you any more than it already has been. If I did not get Fannie to her display, it would only have made your life worse, and I could not have her send you down there to my father.”
“It’s okay, Vale. I under—”
“Then,” he interrupted, squeezing at his hair, “when I turned to you and saw what the gargoyle had done, I was so angry. I brought you out and went back into its display first, punching the gargoyle over and over until he told me everything. Fannie and my father were using the gargoyle as a spy when she was not around. She had a charm that would be able to shut my powers off in a display that wasn’t her own, and Father was going to use me when I became fully charged. He wanted to drain my powers into him so he could rise. Then I dropped the gargoyle and immediately went and found Maisie and Neven because we have to close up the Glass Vault.”
Perrie listened to everything he said while Maisie and Nev watched. Nev was the first to speak. “Then what the hell are we doing here still talking? We could’ve done all this after.”
“Let’s go,” Perrie said, wondering what their next move would be. Vale waved them over, and they hurried down all three hallways. As soon as Vale touched the gold knob, the door opened.
Once outside, and even though it wasn’t over, Perrie could truly breathe for a second. She inhaled the fresh air, peered up at the sky, and listened to the rustle of the wind through the trees.
Vale took a few steps forward in the direction of the Glass Vault and clapped. This time before he separated them, he slowly bent his knuckles, leaving the outer edges of his hands together, like he had something in between them. Where the museum once stood was now only a lot of land, as if the Glass Vault had never been there at all.
Perrie gasped. Maisie watched in wonder. Nev sighed in relief. With his fingertips still touching, Vale rotated his hands. One faced the grass, the other the sky—he lifted the top hand gracefully away. A miniature form of the Glass Vault now rested in his palm, and Perrie wished he would bring his other hand down to smash it.
“What are you going to do with it?” Maisie asked, tiptoeing up to the tiny building and inspecting the small structure.
“Crush it?” Nev is in the same thinking boat I’m in.
Vale shook his head. “I have to transport it back through the barrier that leads to the Underworld.”
“How do we get to the barrier from here?” Perrie hoped it wasn’t too far.
Vale gave her a sly look. “Right there.” He walked to the spot where the Glass Vault once stood, tossed the little stone building into the grass, snapped his fingers, and poof, the small toy-like building vanished.
Fucking finally. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” He smiled.
“What now?” Perrie asked, her heart pounding. “You’re not going to go back, right?” She hoped he wasn’t going to jump into the grass and disappear too.
“No. I cannot go back. Father would try the same thing, but this time maybe my heart would never beat again.”
Perrie didn’t want him to go, not only because she didn’t want the Glass Vault to come back, but because she didn’t want to see Vale hurt again either.
“But what if your father still tries to escape?” What would they do if this king, as Maisie would say, were to come up?
“I cannot dissolve the barrier, but it is sealed. I will only have to monitor it every now and then to make sure the seal remains strong.”
This little portal reminded her of her dad’s favorite 80s horror movie, The Gate, only it wasn’t in her backyard. She wished with everything in her that her dad was here too, but he wasn’t.
“So, what now?” Perrie asked.
“That is the question.” Vale tilted his head. “What now?”
Perrie stepped out of the shower after thoroughly scrubbing away all the blood from what had happened in the Glass Vault, as well as the memories of everything the Bride had done. Her silk dress lay sprawled out on the floor, and Perrie kicked it aside—she was never putting that damn thing on ever again.
She was home now. Well, she wasn’t sure how long it would be her home. It felt strange and heartbreaking to be there without her dad, and she caught herself before she could cry. Maisie had gone with Nev to get some of his possessions from his house before they went back to her place. Perrie had told them she’d meet them there in the morning, then they’d head off wherever they decided to go. Besides, she wanted to stay at her house for one night and pretend as if everything was normal. Even though it wasn’t.
A noise penetrated through the crack under the bathroom door, and Perrie closed her eyes as she listened to the sweet, graceful strokes of a bow across four strings, intertwined with a mixture of chords being pressed. This melody from the cello fractured her heart with brutality and delicate sounds. He was good, better than anything she’d ever heard from August before, and that was saying a lot. Her ears drank in the notes as she wrapped a towel around her body.
Stepping to the mirror, Perrie drew a quick picture of a heart with broken vines on the glass. She thought about her mom and wondered if she was out there somewhere, but then stopped. Her mom wasn’t real family after she’d abandoned Perrie. Even now, she still couldn’t stop drawing the mirror doodles they’d always done together after bath time. It was their thing before her mom had left, but it was all Perrie’s now.
Knowing what she was about to do, Perrie took a deep breath and padded down the hallway to her bedroom as the music continued to play.
She stepped into the room wearing only her towel, her wet hair brushing her skin. Vale faced away from the door, sitting in her desk chair. Perrie’s heart thumped as she inched toward him, and he startled when her cheek met his warm one. Her right hand looped around to lay on top of his, ceasing the bow’s movements, while her left rested atop his fingers on the strings.
“Show me?” she whispered, wanting to play this song with him.
Vale didn’t speak, only began to play. Perrie lightly kept her fingers pressed against his and they moved together as if they were one. The music felt like his, like hers, like theirs.
The melody drifted for a long time, notes swaying in the air around them. And when he finished, they stayed there, breathing deeply together before she removed her cheek from his. His eyes were closed, then he finally opened them as she stepped back.
Without looking at her, Vale got up to set the cello against the wall. He then turned to face her and stilled. His eyes grew wide, and she just stood frozen in her towel, not saying anything. He didn’t say anything either. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she felt ridiculous, stupid.
Perrie closed her eyes, reopened them, and shakily took a step forward. Vale’s lips parted, and she continued to walk until she stood right before him. But he didn’t move away. So she reached out and stroked his soft cheek, and those perfect green eyes of his closed as he leaned into her touch.
“Be with me,” she whispered.
He lifted his head and bit his lip. “Why?”
Perrie brought her other hand to his chest and rested it against his rapid heartbeat. “I want to be with you knowing that I’m choosing this, not the Bride. I want to be with you because I’d like to see what can come from this. More than anything, I just want to be with you.”
“I am not August.” Vale said it in a way that made her believe he was envious of someone who never existed.
“I don’t want you to be.” She wanted him to be this Vale.
“You are not in love with me.” His gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips and back up, seeming to search for an answer in her face.
“But one day I could be.” And Perrie meant it. If he could care about her after seeing what the Bride did, even though it wasn’t her, then why couldn’t she feel the same way about him? She was already attracted to him and his kindness.
Vale’s hand met hers at his chest, his thumb gently rubbing her skin. “I do not want to get hurt. Not anymore.”
Perrie didn’t know everything he’d been through, but she knew it was awful, and she wanted him to eventually confide in her—his entire story.
“I wouldn’t hurt you.” She took their hands from his chest and intertwined their fingers. “I’ve been through a lot. You’ve been through a lot. Maybe we can help mend each other. Both of us could cross a tunnel on our own, but together? Together we could be stronger.”
Taking a deep swallow, Perrie unwrapped the towel at her chest until she was baring everything before him, including her emotions.
He reached out without any hesitation to bring her face to his, and his soft lips molded to hers. Vale’s hand shook, and his kisses were gentle and sweet, like him, until they weren’t anymore. He hauled her to his body as his back hit the wall, and they melted together to the floor. Vale pulled her to sit on top of him and she moved back, so he could yank off his shirt.
Vale watched her for a moment, deliberating about something he wanted to say. “Perrie, I—I love you. I fell in love with you through the memories, and the feeling has not gone away. It has only intensified. I choose to always be your strength in any way you need, even if you never feel the same way.”
Perrie may not be there yet, but she knew she’d catch up. She had to do it before with August, when she’d thought Nev had cheated on her, and she wanted to do it again. She didn’t think she would ever want to, but how quickly something could change. Her heart was already waiting to open up for him, but her head just needed to deal with everything that had happened in order to get her there. For now, she would give him all of her—at least, what was there for her to give.
Her mouth crashed to his from his lovely words, and their lips sailed across each other—he caught her bottom lip in between his teeth, giving the area a soft lick. Perrie kissed along his jaw to right behind his ear, and he pulled her tighter against him. As she tugged on his blond curls, she softly bit his earlobe.
He rocked her against him while they kissed for a long time, until they both needed him to remove his pants. “Do you want the bed?” he whispered against her ear as she helped him out of his clothing.
“I want the floor,” she whispered back. They were already used to sleeping there anyway.
He gave her a beautiful smile that was all Vale, and with a smile in return, she drew him closer. His hands touched everywhere—she arched as his fingers trailed feather touches down to her breast, then ventured between her thighs, circling with beautiful movements that had her on the brink of shattering completely.
And Perrie wanted nothing but to show him how good he was making her feel. She grasped his length, stroking him as he groaned in the crook of her neck. His lips came to hers once more and she continued her pace until they both needed him inside her.
Vale carefully lay Perrie down on her back and kissed between her breasts. He then flicked a nipple with his tongue and brought it in between his teeth, making her moan. With a soothing suck, he released it and kissed his way back up to her lips.
She could feel him at her entrance, and she threaded her fingers through his curls. Her body was singing to his, and his was calling to hers. He pushed inside her, and she gasped in pleasure. His body trembled as they stared at one another.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“With you, how could I not be?”
Her mouth collided with Vale’s and his trembling subsided. Perrie gripped him tighter when he started to move inside her, holding onto him with everything she had. Then they showed each other how through the darkness that hibernated in them all, the light could always subdue it.
