Torn(17)

His eyes lit. “You know the location?”

“No, I mean the type of building. It was one of those—what do they call them?—like in Chinese action imports. Once Upon a Time in China and all that.” Movies & More, my place of employment before I got into this new demon-killing gig, had a huge collection of Asian action flicks, and I loved them all. For that matter, with my sword and magic map arm, I almost felt like a character out of one of them. The tragic heroine trying hard for redemption, and in those movies, the good guy always won.

The thought gave me a moment of peace. At least until I remembered the demons whose essence I absorbed daily. Maybe I wasn’t so much the good guy after all.

“So that’s it,” I said with a shrug. “Like I said, I couldn’t get close. Is it enough? Can you figure out where it is? Do you have a jet? A private plane?”

“I think perhaps a bridge will do the job better.”

I frowned. A bridge was the name he’d given to the way I’d always gone through my arm to end up at a place. “I just told you it didn’t work.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t conjure another bridge. A stand-alone. Using the map on your arm as a destination marker.”

“That will work?”

“Possibly,” he said thoughtfully. “Possibly.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. On the one hand, I wanted to get the damn relics and get it over with. On the other, I didn’t want to be walking a bridge through other dimensions if we weren’t absolutely sure where I was going to come out on the other side. I mean, I’m a big fan of Space Mountain and all, but the dark on my freaky arm bridge isn’t just an absence of light; it’s an utter void, without time or space or light or anything, and you’re all alone, trapped with the thought that if the other side of the bridge closes off, you’ll be stuck there forever, lost in nothingness for eternity.

Talk about your scary bedtime stories.

“Clarence,” I said, this time more urgently. “You won’t do it unless you’re certain, right?”

“Hmm?” He looked up at me, distracted. “Oh. Right. Of course.” He tapped my arm. “The protections are a bit troubling, but on the whole they were to be expected. No, it’s the other two images I’m worried about. Or the absence of images.” Without asking, he yanked my arm toward him.

“Hey!”

“Touch them again.”

I did what he asked, even though I wanted to smack him for bossing me around. Then again, bossing me around was what he did best.

We both looked at my arm. Nothing.

“Maybe there’s an order,” I said. “Maybe after we get the piece from the buildings in the hill, the other images will pop to life.”

His eyes went wide, impressed, and he tapped the side of his nose. “Listen to you,” he said. “You just may be right.” He puffed out his cheeks and exhaled noisily. “Okay, I’ll do some research, find the location, and we’ll put together a game plan for going in.”

I cocked my head, taking devious pleasure from the fact that I was about to antagonize him. “How come we need a game plan? The pieces are under guard, right?”

“We presume so,” he said, looking puzzled. “It is also possible they are simply well hidden.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t considered that maybe the pieces were basically buried treasure. “But if they are guarded, then aren’t we on the same side as the guards? We’re all the good guys, right? Trying to keep the pieces away from the demons?”

Uncertainty played over the lying little frog’s face. Then it cleared, and he sucked in a breath, going, “Ohhhhh. I see your confusion.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, wanting so badly to tell him that I knew the truth that my stomach hurt. I wanted to scream at him. Instead, I said, “Confusion?”

“If they exist, those who guard the pieces will be neither good nor bad, neither friend nor foe.”

“Huh?”

“They have one purpose only,” Clarence said, “and that’s to keep the pieces safe. Warriors,” he said, “who would not give up the pieces even to the Archangel Gabriel himself.”

I hated the fact that I didn’t know if he was telling me the truth. Because what he said sounded perfectly reasonable. “But then why are we even going after them? Won’t these warriors keep the pieces out of the demons’ hands?”

“With the approach of the convergence, the demon population is desperate. Many will be willing now to try anything to obtain the Oris Clef and the power it wields. Their assault will be brutal and deadly, and if the relic is there, the demons will find it, warrior guards or not. Make no mistake, Lily, either as to the extent to which the demons will go or to the breadth of their power.” He drew in a breath. “The only way to protect the pieces is to take them. Take them, and destroy them.”