A Different Kind of Deadly (17 page)

During his first days as a Doll, Koronos tore
him apart countless times to get that point across.

"I'll track Marvin down," said Will. "I'll...
learn more about him. He's changed."

"Changed? Changed how?" Koronos joined him on
the ground, swinging his legs over the edge. Will entertained the
thought of pushing him into the pool of fire, but decided against
it.

Will didn't know he was dead at first; it was
months after coming to Nethermount that he learned his mother had
killed both him and his siblings in their sleep before turning the
knife on herself. Will knew she was suffering, but not to that
extent. He couldn't bring himself to hate her for what she'd done
-after all, a boy his age had brought him back, and Marvin treated
him like the family he'd lost.

"He was... cocky," Will began. "There were a
lot of topics older House members would talk about that Marvin
could grasp in an instant. Problems were like fun riddles, and he
got away with whatever he pleased -the picture of a child genius, I
guess."

"The Pride of House Thanos!" Koronos laughed.
"My what a drastic change he's made."

The Marvin Will saw in the Harpy Den felt like
a husk of the child he once was. He was frail and dull by
comparison. At first blush, he seemed aloof, almost as though he
was looking down on him. That was the reason Will threw the
stiletto at his cheek, but then he registered fear. A part of Will
took great pleasure in getting that sort of response, but a greater
part that surprised him was disappointed.

"He was bright, fun... shining," said Will,
remembering their games in the attic, and the way the sun brought
Marvin alive in a way necromancers could never be. It was this
image Will carried in his heart over the years, of a radiant and
indomitable man, living his life in happiness while he suffered at
the hands of Hell. "He's a different person now. I feel like I'm
being made fun of."

"Is that so?" Koronos pursed his lips. "Do you
still have the heart to kill him?"

"Of course!" Will sneered at the pesky group
in the distance, having some kind of argument among themselves.
"He's an eyesore; that has never changed."

"Good." Koronos stood from his position. "Then
follow me. The third day ends in eighteen hours. It'll take twenty
for them to regroup."

"Regroup? They're splitting up?" asked
Will.

"They'll have to if they want to get to the
Eyes. We're to intercept one of them. We don't want them thinking
they have hope, after all."

Will frowned as he got to his feet. "Nothing
surprised you about any of this. You even knew they were coming to
the Moor."

Koronos chuckled under his breath. "You think
like a devil."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is -more than you realize," said his
Contractor. "Let us just say that I've been aware of Lady Galatea's
location for quite some time. The poor dear had been locked up in
the attic for years."

"The attic?"

"Yes, Will. The attic -the very same one you
and Marvin used to play in. She was tucked away in a wooden box. It
wasn't until you passed that Marvin pried it open."

Will thought on the Doll he'd fought in the
Harpy Den. He was stronger -he knew that just by understanding
where his power originated, but Diana had experience on her side.
She moved in a way Will didn't know was possible. It made him look
like a graceless fool.

"They put that strong a Doll in a wooden box
and she couldn't get out?" he asked dubiously.

"It was sealed," said Koronos. "It had many
seals, in fact, all placed there by the Crone of
Astheneia."

Will knew of the Crone; his memories of her at
dinner were frightening to behold.

"And Marvin somehow pried it open... just like
that?"

Koronos gave him a toothy smile, indication
that Will had stumbled upon a what had previously been a secret.
The only thing Koronos enjoyed more than rigging a game was sharing
its lore with those who knew what questions to ask. For a demon,
this one had a pretty big mouth.

"Just like that," said the demon. "The coffin
could only be opened by Inval."

"But Inval died centuries ago."

"That he did, but like many great spirits, a
part of his soul survived. It's no coincidence that Marvin is
Inval's spitting image; he's his reincarnation."

Will came to a dead stop, prompting Koronos to
face him. In his mirth, the demon had trouble maintaining his human
guise, and as such the mouth was a little too large. The skin tore
at his cheeks; grinning so wide that his face was literally tearing
in half.

"Poor Lady Galatea; she
knows the similarities most of all. Even being near Marvin must be
painful. And just like his past self, he cares for her more than
the world. It must be
agonizing
for her to be keeping him at a
distance."

"You're a monster."

Koronos threw his head back, laughing in his
inhuman way. Lava sputtered in response to the sheer power in his
voice. More than physical pain, this was what demons loved best
-troubling mortals in mind and spirit. Fewer things were more
delicious than the presence of a broken heart.

"Soon you'll be free of me,"
he said. "Whatever you do, even if you decide to spare Marvin, know
that a Doll will never be accepted in Nethermount or beyond. Enjoy
your voice while it lasts, dear Will. Look forward to Silence -as
that will be your warden in a world without a Contractor." Koronos
stepped forward, cupping Will's face in his powerful grip. "But my
only
request
is
not to get in the way of my deal with Marvin."

He released Will, and the Doll dropped to the
ground. Koronos had been planning this for years, he realized. It
was probable that even Will's death had been planned by the
devil.

"All of this," said Will, stopping Koronos on
his way. "It was to get your hands on Inval's soul."

"And your point?"

"What did he do to piss you off?"

Koronos didn't move. Will couldn't tell if the
devil was breathing at all. But he could sense the presence of a
powerful loathing; the kind that caused the ground to crackle
beneath his sandaled feet. He continued walking after that, not
gracing Will with an answer, but the Doll grinned
anyway.

He'd just stumbled upon the one secret Koronos
didn't want anyone to know.

23: I'm Not Him

Diana and I
were on the secondary path, a slivering passage
pressed up against a cliff, just wide enough to allow one person to
lead in a single file line. It was more dangerous, but it was
faster, and by the time we arrived where Purilo marked our maps we
should already have scouted the area.

Apart from this chunk of information, Diana
hadn't said anything to me since.

I followed her lead, raking my brain over what
Purilo had told me. I didn't want to believe it.

If there were ways of annulling Doll Contracts
then it would only make sense for there to be a method to turn
Dolls back to their original state.

Diana had the heart and mind of a
human woman, an indomitable spirit that retained her sanity after
centuries of being tucked away in a wooden box. Her porcelain
features only allowed for so much expression; where I saw sparks of
life I was certain that there was a sea of fire.

She deserved more than this. While it's silly
and presumptuous of me to think that I can offer her happiness, I'd
like to think I can at least give her the key to finding her
own.

"Marvin."

My knee-jerk reaction was to look around us.
"Enemies?"

"No." She slowed her pace, dragging her
fingers along the wall next to us. "I just wanted to ask... is it
possible that you're related to Inval, somehow?"

Any joy I found from her striking up a
conversation was sucked away now that she mentioned Inval's name. I
contained my irritation in a way I could never contain my
fear.

"I'm a son of House Thanos; unless he was a
woman in disguise then I'm afraid I don't share anything with
Inval."

"Don't share anything?" A pile of rock
crumbled from the edge. Lava shot up as it hit the sea of molten
rock. "You act like him, look like him, think like him-"

"
Don't
presume to know how I think,"
I said.

There was so much venom in my voice that we
stopped as soon as I finished that sentence. I didn't know I could
sound like that. By the way Diana looked at me as she craned her
neck, neither did she.

"We aren't friends, remember?" I said,
startled by this monster reeling its head through my words. All I
wanted to do was to hurt her, hurt her so deeply that she'd never
broach this topic again. "You said so yourself when we came to the
Moor."

Diana's lips parted, but she didn't say
anything; not a single word was uttered in her defense. Her eyes
shifted away from my face with shame, an emotion I often felt,
though seldom saw in others. I was filled with instant remorse, but
I didn't know what to say to make it better. I'd hurt her feelings.
A moment ago that was all I wanted, but now that I did there was no
way to take back the words as they lingered in the air between
us.

"I've been... unfair to you," she said slowly.
It was the tone of someone unused to giving apologies. "If I think
about it, all this could have been avoided if I just walked back to
the attic and let you go to dinner on your own. You still had a
month to prove yourself, after all."

"What's done is done."

"But it's my fault." She bit her lip. "I'm
sorry, Marvin. I was just so angry. You and Inval were so alike,
even the phobias, I just wanted to help you fix it so-
AH!"

Diana fell before my eyes. The ledge had
crumbled out from beneath her. I instantly threw myself to the
floor, grabbing her by the arm.

"Are you alright?" I asked, breathing heavily.
Her shock translated to my own heart, beating twice as furiously as
it should have. I almost felt faint because of it.

"Ah... y-yes, I think so." If she tried to
punch the wall then our path would fall down and kill us. Diana
didn't have to tell me that, so I pulled her up. It took all my
strength to do it, but I did.

I breathed heavily, thankful for the hundredth
time since we started our trek in this hellhole that Purilo's
enchantments kept me nice and cool.

"Marvin?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"And Marvin?"

I raised my head, realizing for the first time
what sort of position we were in. Diana gave me a bemused smile as
I had her pressed against the wall. Thankfully, I was beat red from
sweating -my face couldn't possibly get any redder by
blushing.

"Ahh... I need another minute to catch my
breath."

No I don't!

What the hell am I saying?

"So." I leaned forward, my elbow next to her
head. "You said something about trying to fix me? My phobia, I
mean. Why?"

Inwardly, I groaned. Smooth, Marvin. You're
about as smooth as a Sasquatch.

"Because Inval was terrified of corpses, just
like you," Diana began. "After Koronos poisoned me, I begged him to
let me die. I didn't think there was a way to become human again
once I turned into a Doll. I just wanted him to be there while I
passed. That was it. But he was afraid of me being just another
dead body."

I saw the hurt in Diana's expression. She was
bitter about it to this day. It wasn't hard for me to see why. But
I did see a flaw in her reasoning.

"If," I stressed, "Inval and
I
are
anything
alike, I can tell you that
he had a different reason for not letting you
die."

Diana blinked.