Chapter Ten
“We stand here at the hour of judgment and beg for God’s forgiveness. Forgive us, Dear Lord! Not for what we have done, but for what we must now do. We cannot allow the Devil to corrupt our souls!”
–Father Elijah Campbell. Larkspur, Colorado. 20 Days After.
* * *
This wasn’t going to get any easier.
Elysium was a celebration of pure debauchery that never slept, never rested, and never slowed. Even this late at night, there was a line that stretched around the block, as most workers would spend weeks at a time saving pics just to grace its halls for a few short hours. Leah found her place among their ranks, waiting patiently for her own time to come.
It wasn’t long before one of the guards spotted her in the crowd and came her way.
He pointed. “You. You’re up.”
Those in front began to hiss, and Leah shrugged. “Seems a lot of others got here first. I don’t mind waiting.”
“The boss won’t.”
Shit. That was never a good sign. Wordless, Leah stepped by the others and entered Elysium.
The graffiti-laced walls were all too familiar, and the mix of EDM, metal, and rock vibrating throughout the lobby brought back memories of days best forgotten. How many wonderful moments had she sacrificed to gain some pleasure here?
The moans of patrons in the throes of Lust built as Leah passed one of the chambers. There was no rival greater than Lust that could bring rezzers closer to capturing the carnal indulgence that living humans had once known. Leah would be a liar if she claimed that she wasn’t tempted into abandoning all else to enter one of those rooms. The lure was that strong.
But she couldn’t. Leah knew better than anyone how deleterious the Sins of Elysium were to the strength of a Rez, and there were much more important matters at hand than to sate hedonistic wants.
Leah went through the halls in silence, her only focus the meeting she had no choice in attending.
Hades sat atop his throne. His shriveled visage narrowed on Leah the moment she entered, and he waved off a troupe of workers that were attending his every need. He grinned wide, which would have been more intimidating had his outfit not betrayed the seriousness of his position. A white-and-red felt cloak was thrown over his back, a paper crown had been placed on his hairless scalp, and he carried a plastic scepter in one hand.
He looked ridiculous, but that was where the power and advantage came from. Beneath the flamboyant, desiccated rezzer was the warlord who had shattered every monument of the old world and rebuilt it into his own image. Everything, from Pandemonium, to the social structure they lived under, to the power and food supply, to the very currency they had developed, all had their roots back to him.
There was no one more dangerous.
Hades steepled his gloved hands. “Well, if it isn’t Pandemonium’s best, Leah.”
“Interesting get-up, Your Excellence,” Leah hailed with just the right emphasis to border between acknowledgment and arrogance. Hades valued boldness above all else.
He beamed. “Like it, huh? Some Hunters found it inside one of those restaurant franchises out East. I’m ‘King of the Burgers’, or something.”
“You’re king of something, that’s for sure.”
“What do you think the lettuce should be?”
Leah paused to consider the riddle. If there was anyone who enjoyed baiting people into frivolous debate more than Mastermind, it was Hades. Problem was that failing his tests usually meant losing a limb.
“Afraid you’ve lost me on this one,” she said.
Hades began to pace around the pit. “Y’know what I like most about this outfit? It got me thinking about burgers. You ever have one, Leah?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“I guess none of us can, what with our current predicament and all.” He swung the plastic scepter over his shoulder. “That’s why I’m thinking it’s time to change that. I’m gonna throw together a big ‘ole barbecue.” He leaned back and winked. “Sans the grill, of course. Everyone will be talking about it, from the biggest boss to the dreariest dreg, and they’re all gonna be saying the same thing, about how Lord Hades whipped up the best fucking burger this side of the Mississippi. A perfectly juicy, delicious, post-apocalyptic snack, the likes of which no one has ever seen! And you can bet your sweet ass I’m gonna use nothing but the best ingredients.”
He went back to his patrol. “You see, most of it, I’ve got figured out already. The bread? Easy. Some thick cow-skin wrapped around fat. Perfect consistency, and it’ll be nice and greasy like the real deal. I’ll season the bun with some ground bone too. Everyone loves bone. You know what they say, calcium’s good for the soul. Then there’s ketchup. Another layup! I’ll just use blood. O-negative, maybe. Think we still have some in storage. Cheese though? That was a little tricky, but I put my noggin to the task and I figured it out…”
Leah crossed her arms. “You going anywhere with this?” She had a feeling she’d go hollow well before he made his point.
But Hades kept walking as if he hadn’t heard. “Pus! Good choice, right? Haven’t had a glaze of pus with a meal in quite a while, and if there ever was a substitute for cheese, it’d be pus. Hard to get in large quantities, but that’s where Hunters like yourself come in handy.”
Before Leah could speak, Hades waved her off. “Now the tomatoes, that was a fun one. How the hell do you get the texture of tomatoes while still retaining its juiciness? But then I remembered. Eyes. Salmon eyes, to be specific, gouged and tossed onto the bun. You’ll feel the crunch with each bite. Onions? Don’t want to bore you, but I’m just going cartilage, diced into little bits. I know, I know. Not all that fancy, but it’s a good complement to any meal.” He laughed. “You’ll love the pickles though. Way I figure it, you’d want something that goes well embalmed. That’s the deal with pickles, right? So it’s gotta be fresh intestines, doused in lard. Who wouldn’t want that?”
He gave his plastic scepter another spin. “Of course, this has landed me where I am now. I’ve got my shopping cart stocked and ready to go. I’m just missing a worthy substitute for lettuce. What do you think I should do?”
Again Leah sat in silence a moment. Hades was going somewhere with this, and if history was repeating itself – which it most certainly was – the longer he went on, the worse of a spot they’d end in. If she didn’t play along now, hollowing would be the least of her worries.
“Mammary glands, sliced thin,” Leah decided. “Most rezzers have never had an udder ripped from a cow, and if they had, they’d probably been gorging too hard to notice its flavor. Sweet and fresh, like you’re eating a newborn baby without going through the hassle.”
Hades nodded to the revelation. “Not bad. Not fucking bad at all. See? That’s what I love about you, Leah. You’ve got the mind for this kinda thing.
“I guess that wraps it up. I’ve got a recipe for the burger of a century, and there isn’t a single thing missing. Yep, nothing at all.”
He paused and watched her, his scarlet eyes probing deep.
Leah cleared her throat. Here it comes. “But surely, Your Excellence, you’ve forgotten the most important part. You can’t have a proper burger without the patty.”
“Well, isn’t that obvious? I’ll eat the best that pics can buy. The crème de la crème of undead culinary options, double-decked by the hemisphere between my masterpiece meal.” He gleamed. “Living human brain, carved straight from the skull.”
There it is. No use hiding, or pretending that she had no idea what he was talking about.
“How much?” Leah asked.
His mouth gaped. “I go through all that… That work of fucking art, and the only thing you have to say to me is ‘how much?’ Fucking insulting! You know how much of that whole bit I was free-wheeling? Just about all of it, I’ll have you know, and in the end, I bullshitted a pretty bitchin’ burger too.”
He had, and Leah’s tongue salivated to the thought. But food was food, and business was business.
Win or lose. Live or die. It all depended on how she played this exchange next.
“Fact is that whatever Spike told you is bullshit,” Leah said. “I didn’t steal from him. The human was my Hunt. So I purged him and his crew, just like you would’ve done.”
He waved a hand. “Spare me the spin. It happened, and that’s that. The important part is what came next. You got yourself the only living human in your possession, and then you came to me to see what I’d offer for him.”
She nodded.
“So this brings us where we are now. You want a deal? Let’s dance. For starters, we’ll talk about you. Why should I do anything other than off you?”
“You think I wouldn’t have taken precautions?” Leah snapped. “My crew has the human in their possession, and if anything happens to me, they’ll leak the news of his survival for all of Pandemonium to see. They’ll distribute pics, set him up with Mother, put his nasally, human voice on the radio if they have to. How long do you think it’ll be before a mob tears through these walls?”
She grinned. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Your own power? The fact that you didn’t throw a contract on me the second you learned what happened means that you want this whole thing kept under wraps. Well, there’s only one way out of it, Hades. Make my fucking day or it’ll be the end of yours.”
Hades clutched his plastic scepter a beat tighter. Cracks started to form on the hilt. “All this time, and all the hard shit that you and I have been through together, and you go straight to blackmail? Is that how it’s gonna be?”
No, I just want to see you squirm. Leah hardened. “That’s how it’s gonna be.”
Hades said nothing for a time. He only went back to pacing his throne room, silently grinding his teeth as his crimson gaze searched to and fro. Leah stayed still, keeping her own face blank. There could be nothing worse for her now than showing weakness.
Suddenly, Hades turned on his heels and gleamed. “Gotta say, Leah, this might be the hottest thing you’ve ever done. You’re lucky my balls don’t work or I’d take you right now.”
“Can’t always get what we want.”
“You might.” He ran his thumb along cracked lips. “I’m thinking it’s time we bump this partnership up another level. Full access to Elysium for you. Whatever drugs you want, whatever event you’d like to attend. Hell, I’ll give you a floor in a building of your choice to do whatever the fuck you want, with however many goons you need. No more waiting in line for you.”
About what she was expecting. “Seems fair.”
“Oh, I’m not done. Not even close. You’ll also be a co-owner of Elysium, and take a cut of the pics coming in. Maybe twenty-five percent? That’d still be tens of thousands a day. There’s also my lines to the distros. Could easily siphon off an endless supply of food, both body and mind. That’s all before the library, of course. You can go in there whenever the fuck you want, no questions asked. And before you ask, this offer extends for… Well, let’s not be gauche and say ‘life’, but basically that. Until we both turn to dust, that’ll be how long you get to enjoy the freebees.” He sat back in his throne. “So how’s that feel for size?”
Leah’s eyes bulged as the proposition sank in. This was unprecedented. It was the kind of gratuity that Hades collected for himself, minus the burdens. She’d never have to face a hollow again, or Hunt a renegade rezzer, or feel her own Rez drain. No longer would she be subjected to the anchor of struggle. Her survival would be all but guaranteed!
Hades leaned forward. Shadow shrouded his shriveled face as he read her mind. “Of course, now it’s time for you to make concessions to me. You want this kinda deal, you’ve gotta tell me who else knows, and I mean everyone.”
The words came before she could consider them. “My crew. Mastermind, Kurt, Buttercup. I also went to Mother before you.”
He laughed. “Of course you fucking did. What she promise? A cure?”
“Yes.”
“More of her usual bullshit then. Best forget about her.”
“There’s also Spike,” Leah said.
“Not anymore. Couple hollows took a chunk out of his head.” He shrugged. “Oh well, accidents happen.”
She grimaced. “Is that the end-game here? Kill everyone else who knows?”
“Don’t look so surprised. Mother gets to stay. Still need her. But your friends? They’re a loose end I can’t have.”
“They’re solid. They’d never tell any–”
“Psht. We’re past negotiations, Leah. I’ve already done the wining and dining, so now we’re onto the part where I get to fuck you. I don’t care how it gets done, so long as they’re dead. Anyone and everyone who so much as laid their eyes on the living fucker, you have full extrajudicial rights to bury them. And as for him? I want my burger. That shit’s happening now.”
He leaned back. “So what’ll it be, Leah? Go to war with yours truly, or cash in your chips and sell the fuck out?”
Up until this moment, Leah had known for certain. The plan had been simple. Go to Hades, listen to what he had to say, and lie through her teeth. Delivering Liam Fenix’s head wasn’t half as important as the perception that he was dead, and so long as Leah could straddle both camps, she could get everything she wanted. Mother would have her research conducted in secret, and Hades would leave her alone.
But this was different. Hades wasn’t just offering to make her days easier. He was guaranteeing her survival as a foregone conclusion. After so much time and so much struggling, why shouldn’t she get the easy ride? Leah was so, so desperately tired of the fight. Didn’t she deserve to retire from the oppression altogether?
It would hurt. To turn on her crew like that would be a tough pill to swallow. Adding their names to her list of fallen allies would burn her from the inside out, and she would never forgive herself for treating their loyalty with malice.
But she could do it. Leah didn’t want her story to end. She didn’t want to die. If that meant dirtying her hands in one final act, then that was but a small price to pay. What was the future of others when she had her own to consider?
She held out her hand. “Deal.”
Leah would survive, no matter the cost.
