Beasts and Burdens (10 page)

Cori woke the next morning in her own bed, in her own home and she smiled. The house seemed to have forgiven her for inadvertently causing Danato so much pain, but neither she nor Danato was willing to take the chance that they were wrong.

Cori snuck through the salon doors of her bedroom and past the sleeping cowboy on her couch. She wasn’t sure Ethan would approve of another man staying in their apartment while he was away, but since Duke had been entrusted with her safety, she figured it wasn’t too far from his permission.

When she stepped back out of the bathroom, Duke was up, dressed, and at attention. Last night’s sheets and blankets were neatly piled at the end of the couch. “Ma’am.” He nodded shyly at her. She was still in her maternity night gown, which might as well have been an old lady’s housedress.

“Good morning, Duke.” She smiled at him. “You could have slept longer.”

“No, ma’am, I think it’s best if I head into work. Danato wouldn’t approve of me being late, especially this morning. Should I wait for you?”

“Ah?” Cori looked around at her room. Everything looked fine. There didn’t seem to be any indication that the house had ill will toward her. “I think I’ll be fine. I still have my rings if I need to fight my way out the front door. Thank you for staying last night. I really do appreciate it.”

“Yes, ma’am, I didn’t mind at all.” He blushed. “Doing my duty, that is,” he amended and Cori tried not to let him see her delight at his discomfort.

“Would you just let Danato know that I’ve survived the night?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Duke ran out, happily dismissed.

Cori shook her head in amusement and leisurely dressed for work. Since she was nearly ready to pop, her duties were reduced significantly, but someone—most likely Belus—gave Danato the bright idea that even a pregnant woman could fill out paperwork. For the last six months, she had been spending most of her time procuring carpal tunnel syndrome.

Once she was dressed she headed to the kitchen for a light snack to ease her stomach into the real breakfast which wouldn’t be for another hour. She chewed on a granola bar and sipped on a small glass of milk.

The feeling of eyes watching her un-eased her and she looked around to see if anyone was home. She knew it was probably just the house,
observing
her, but it felt strange. Not threatening, but invasive nonetheless. Something had changed.

She heard whispers all around her, but as soon as she turned, they stopped. She felt a burning sensation in her hands, and she looked down. Her rings were glowing brightly, brighter than they ever had.

“Oh, shit,” Cori hissed and ran toward the front door. She yanked on the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. She braced her foot and pulled hard on it.

The knob broke and she fell back landing on her back. She reached instinctively to feel her belly, but the blossoming baby bump was completely gone. She screamed down at her slender blue jean and t-shirt toting body.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Cleos snapped from above her.

She stopped screaming and looked up at him and the many other disapproving faces staring down at her from Cleos’s perpetual dinner party. She gasped with enlightenment then cussed loud and long.

26

Cori spilled a torrent of cuss words while Cleos followed her sipping on his liquor. She searched for a door or window she could escape through. “What is wrong with you?” He snarled.

She pushed a kissing couple apart and checked behind the bar for a magical Alice in Wonderland style escape route. “The stupid house is trying to take over my mind.”

“The house,” he said flatly gazing at her through hooded eyes.

“Yes! The house! Are you going to help me get out of here or not?”

“Out of where, Cori? This is my trophy room, the only way you get out it is if you go to another part of my mind, and believe me, if I let you do that you can forget about making friends with Cleos again.”

Cori shoved her face into his. “I already have,” she seethed. She expected him to glare right back at her, but he smiled broadly.

“Oh, what a fabulous trophy you would make.”

“Stop it! This is serious!”

“I’m always serious,” he said walking around her to pour himself another drink.

“Shit!” Cori slammed her fists down on the bar and Cleos watched her with curious fascination. “Cleos, if she gets in, she won’t get back out. I have to wake up!”

“Corinthia,” he clicked his tongue, “What makes you think she isn’t already in?”

“My rings.” Cori raised her hands. The rings were still glowing even in this interpretation of things. She wondered why the baby didn’t transfer, but she supposed it had a separate consciousness that wouldn’t follow her. “They’re stopping her…or at least trying to. How the hell did she get inside my mind? I wasn’t listening to anything electronic.”

Cori blanched and looked to Cleos. He tipped his head, interested in her deduction. “The vacancy. My unconscious is here.” She motioned to his so-called trophy room, aka dinner party for douchebags. “You told me that I would be vulnerable to psychics. That empathic bitch just settled into the flood plain of my brain.”

“It’s good that you’re here then.”

“That makes no sense,” Cori grumbled in frustration. “If I wasn’t here, she couldn’t be there.”

“I meant for me. I enjoy having you.” He perked his brow.

“Seriously?” Cori turned her voice low and cold. “Do you hate me so much that all you can do is joke while the rest of my mind dies?”

His forehead crinkled in confusion. “Did he tell you he hates you?”

“I don’t have time to discuss your petulant, emotional evasion. I need help. Do you remember what that is?”

“Okay,” Cleos nodded and raised his hand for her to leave the bar area ahead of him. “Let’s sit down and see what we can do to fix this.”

Cori took a seat on the couch near the fireplace and he sat beside her. Several of the partygoers were drawn to her, but only so they could offer her looks of disgust. She balled her fists tightly, ready to pick a fight with anyone that so much as rolled their eyes at her.

“Easy, Corinthia.” Cleos rested his hand on her fist and she looked to him. “Why is the house inhabiting your mind?”

“I don’t know exactly. She was trying to kill me, but Belus thought she might actually want to take me over so she could experience the birth of my child. It’s something that she could never experience as a non-corporeal being. Damn it! We all had it right, just at the wrong time.”

“It is possible that staying here is the only way that you can preserve your mind.”

“I’m not staying here to be your trophy, Cleos. I’m mad as hell and I want back in my own mind to kick her out.”

Cleos smiled and tucked a hair behind her ear, which to her knowledge wasn’t necessarily out of place. “I can try to help you, but…” He licked his lips seemingly nervous. “A shared unconsciousness is one thing. A shared consciousness is very, very, dangerous.”

“Everything is dangerous!!” Cori shook her hands to the heavens. She jumped up unable to contain her anger—baby or not, the hormones were still along for the ride. “The prison is dangerous, the inmates are dangerous, the whole freaking world is dangerous and I’m about to put a newborn baby into that world, so, for the love of whatever you hold dear,
help me
!”

Cleos stood and approached her, just as the lights in the room flickered and somewhere a door slammed open. He tossed his drink haphazardly into the fireplace making the flames erupt momentarily.

He pulled her close to him, clutching her hip tightly. She would have pulled away, but the stomping footsteps parting the crowd terrified her into submission. The sea of party goers peeled revealing…Cleos. He was a mirror image of the one standing next to her, except that this one was enraged.

“Oh, holy shit, what the hell is this?” Cori whispered to the Cleos next to her.

“That, my dear, is danger,” he said gleaming with amusement.

27

“I told you to stay out of my mind!” Cleos(2) yelled making the room shake.

Cori took a step back that Cleos(1) joined her in. “What’s going on?” she whispered to him.

“This is my conscious mind.” He waved his hand displaying the irate version of himself. “You so thoughtfully announced your presence like a bombing cannon, so here he is to kick you out. That is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Cleos(1) smiled innocently at her.

Cleos(2) flipped the couch with a mere sweep of his hand. Cori clutched tighter to her safer Cleos, but with another wave of his hand, he was launched into the distance. Cori stumbled from the sudden change in her balance.

“Cleos?” She backed away. “Is that you? The real you?”

“Yes.” He glowered. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m under attack.”

“Clearly!” He narrowed his eyes and dove for her.

She side stepped him and pulled an innocent woman between them. She peeked from behind the woman’s bouffant hair. “Not you! My mind, my conscious mind is under attack by the creature that created the house. She’s using the vacancy created by my unconscious to slip me on like a slipper.”

He tipped his head. “How invasive of her?” His voice sang with sarcasm.

Cori pushed aside the whimpering woman she was using as a shield and faced Cleos, like a…not whimpering woman. “I’m not in the mood for your heartless digs. It is not my choice to be here. As far as I’m concerned, this is all just an accident.”

“You purposely entered my mind!”

“I didn’t know what I was doing! Doesn’t ignorance count for anything?” He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t say anything. She took her opportunity while he was stumped for a comeback. “If you want to destroy our friendship to make it easier to leave me behind, go ahead, but it isn’t going to change what’s happening right now.”

“She has a point.” Cleos(1) commented from behind them. He sat contently in a leather tufted chair smoking a pipe.

“You shut up!” Cleos(2) groused at him.

“I need your help or I am going to die. Danato had to order his wife’s death because this thing got in her head. The only thing protecting me right now is my rings, and possibly being here.”

“If you weren’t here, you wouldn’t be here,” he snarled with the same dizzying logic she had earlier. He paced back and forth past his other self before coming to a conclusion. By the look on his face, he didn’t like it.

28

Danato tapped his pencil on the desk and checked the clock on the wall. Cori was late—later than usual. Duke had popped in to inform him that all was well, and she would be in shortly, but that was a half hour ago.

She knew better than not to check in with him before doing anything else. He picked up the phone and dialed for his house. The phone rang several times. On the eighth ring he hung up the phone, grabbed his cane, and marched out of his office ignoring the searing pain in his leg.

Half way to the house he could see the fireplace smoking. It didn’t usually light unless someone was home. He hoped that Cori had simply fallen asleep, or at worst had fallen and couldn’t get to the phone. He prayed that was the worst that had happened.

He shoved open the front door and it slammed against the wall with a crack. The downstairs was dark except the fireplace. Cori was sitting on the couch watching the fire. She turned her head serenely, unsurprised by his entrance, and smiled soothingly at him.

“Danato. Welcome home, darling,” she said raising the glass of wine in her hand.

“Cori?” He stared at her, trying not to believe what he already knew to be true.

“Why do you look so frightened? Is everything alright?” Cori slipped off the couch revealing a tight red wrap dress. Her hair was in an up-do and the makeup plastering her face, was all wrong for her. She looked older. She looked like Olivia. “Darling, shut the door, your letting the cold in.”

“Who are you?” Danato covered his eyes not wanting to look at her. He could feel the wetness from his tears, though he hadn’t even come to terms with what he was seeing yet.    

“It’s me, Danato, Cori.” She was coming closer, but he didn’t want to look. She closed the door behind him, and touched his arm. “Please, let’s sit together and have a drink. Like we used to.”

Danato put down his hand and looked at her. “Cori hates wine.”

“No, I love wine,” she insisted. “We always used to drink it, by the fire.”

“No, Olivia loved wine. I used to drink it with
her
by the fire.” Danato huffed with the anger that was overtaking his fear. “If you don’t release her, I will starve you out.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Yes, you do.” Danato took a step away from her and circled to the coffee table. He picked up the wine glass she was drinking from and shattered it in the fireplace. “Alcohol is bad for the baby. If you were Cori you would know that. Olivia is dead, so you can’t be her either. Who are you? What are you? Why don’t we just cut all the bullshit and get to the point once and for all? You have Cori’s mind and body. You should be able to communicate with me well enough to explain yourself.”