“I don’t know. There are caves and a pool of blood. The reaper’s reflection shows, but his face is a skull. I see a whirlpool, spinning faster and faster, and flames, such hot flames. There’s a gallows with men and women hanging from it. The reaper is laughing at them. He flashes his scythe, and they fall into the whirlpool, but they don’t drown; the whirlpool keeps circling them near the top.”
I paused as I tried to sort through the images that were coming faster. “Ten skulls on an altar. Blood drips from a bed and forms a small puddle, which then becomes a tornado. The scythe flashes and takes a head. The reaper holds it up in triumph; he now feels vindicated.”
A pain slammed me right between the eyes. “Death isn’t finished yet.”
I gasped as dark laughter surrounded me, then faded. Lowrider’s concerned face peered into mine.
“Are you okay?”
“Not sure. Did you get all of that?” I murmured.
“If he didn’t, I did. This’ll go freaking viral!” a woman crowed. I made a horrified noise, and Lowrider spun around on his haunches. She held her phone, its screen lit as she tapped on it.
“Don’t you dare put that on social media!” Lowrider hissed.
“Screw that, buddy, this is going to make me famous!” the woman cackled.
“Call Leila,” I exclaimed, and Lowrider nodded. Somehow, I knew it was too late. Not even Leila or Nigel could stop the deluge.
Vortex
Getting Amy out of the apartment had been crazy. The press was covering both the front and rear doors. In the end, an elderly neighbour let us use his apartment to climb through the window and escape in the waiting SUV that Rory was driving. It was freaking ridiculous that they couldn’t respect someone’s grief and trauma. I’d thrown the suitcase out after her, and Rory had grabbed it before leaving.
Nobody paid me much attention when I left and collected my Harley. Guess they thought I lived there or something. I was nearly home when the phone rang.
“Vortex.”
“There’s a problem,” Inglorious snapped. Fuck, he was pissed.
“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“Not you. Aurora-Victoria had a vision an hour ago. Lowrider was with her. They didn’t see a customer filming, and the bitch put it on social media. It’s gone fuckin’ viral. Leila hacked in to remove it, but it was too late. Thousands have seen it and keep sharing it.”
“Okay? What’s the issue?”
“Aurora-Victoria stated it’s to do with the Titanic of the Skies. That death hasn’t finished and feels cheated by the survivors. The news outlets have picked it up. Now there are theories that the survivors are being stalked like that film. Especially with Coleman’s suicide,” Inglorious said.
“You’re fuckin’ kidding!” I exploded.
“Nope. I wish I fuckin’ was. This is spreading quicker than we can stop it. With Amy’s name being released and this, we’re facing a mess.”
“Amy’s going to need to lie low, Prez. We have to protect her from this crap. In three days, Amy’s got Natasha’s funeral. That’ll be a clusterfuck. What’s the options?” I asked.
“Nanci is reaching out to Mari. Duke and Phil are making the introduction. I’ll call in a marker with each ally. There’s shit we can do to guarantee Natasha gets the send-off she deserves, and the family can attend with dignity. We’ll ensure that the media stay the fuck away,” Inglorious promised.
That humbled me. Inglorious, using a precious marker to be certain my girl and her family got to say goodbye to a loved one. Boy, had I been wrong about Inglorious and his motivations all those years ago.
“I owe you.”
“Nah, it’s what brothers do,” Inglorious replied. Fuck me, that humbled me even further.
“One thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Ask Leila and Nigel to destroy that bitch with the video and let it be known why. She wants to be famous; we’ll give her fuckin’ fame. I’m sick to death of this shit.”
Chapter Nine.
