Everwild (Skinjacker 2)

Nick had arrived twenty minutes early. Mary arrived ten minutes late.

She approached Graceland alone with no outward fear, but she could not deny that inwardly she was terrified. Not fear of Graceland, but fear of her own reaction when she saw Nick. The plan, she thought, stick to the plan. Speedo had his part, Milos and the skinjackers had theirs, and so did she. Mary comforted herself in knowing that she had the moral high ground over Nick, which meant that if there was any justice in the universe, she would be properly rewarded for her efforts today.

Twenty of Nick's Afterlights stood outside the Graceland mansion, looking at the troublesome way it shifted in and out of focus. As Mary approached, they parted, staring at her in awe and in fear, but she only smiled at them.

"Take heart," she told them. "Whatever your worries, I promise things will be better for you from now on." Then she walked into the vortex.

The overall decor of the mansion did not suit Mary's tastes. The last dwindling groups of tourists moved about the place on guided tours. Mary ignored them, and followed the scent of chocolate to a garish African-themed room, where she found Nick waiting. She had to fight the urge to run to him, shake him, hug him, hit him. No! She had to maintain a cool distance, or she would never be able to bear the burden of this critical hour.

Then she realized Nick wasn't alone. A grungy Afterlight in a Confederate uniform stood beside him, notepad in hand, holding the pencil the way a monkey might hold a spoon. Mary wasn't fooled. She knew about the Ripper. In fact, this was one of the reasons Mary had come alone. Nick's sense of honor would put him at a distinct disadvantage, for he would never have the Ripper attack a lone, defenseless girl. She hoped.

Nick stood when he saw her, and she took a good look at him. It was as she suspected: the chocolate had spread, consuming his thoughts, and thus his body. Calling him "the Chocolate Ogre" had done its damage, and now it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most of him was covered in it now. Only an arm and a third of his face remained clear, but the skin was already turning moist and darkening. It was the effect of the vortex. All she had to do was stall and she would defeat him without lifting a finger. You brought this on yourself, Nick, she wanted to say, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Hello, Mary."

"Hello, Nick."

She still loved him deeply, but as she looked at him now, she recoiled, feeling her love curdle into pity. Seeing him this decrepit state allowed her to tell herself that Nick was gone, and all that remained was the Chocolate Ogre--a creature that needed to be put out of its misery.

It was easier now to keep her distance. "What shall we say to each other, Nick?"

"How about 'good to see you'?" he said, his voice raspy and thick. Barely human. He coughed a thick, liquid rattle.

"Yes," said Mary. "And it is good to see you. Truly." Mary could feel the effect of the vortex herself, but she knew she would not have to endure it as long as Nick. That's why she came late. Yet its effect was different on her. She did not feel weighed down, but enlightened. She actually felt stronger.

"I've missed you," Nick said.

"Have you? Is that why you continue to be a thorn in my side? Are you a little boy with a crush, seeking attention?" His chocolate oozed a little darker. Mary sighed. "I've missed you, too," she admitted. Nick shrugged, a little bit awkward in the moment. "I'd reach out and hold you, but I might dirty your perfect dress."

Mary sadly shook her head. "It shouldn't be this way between us, Nick. Why must you rally against me so?"

"The same reason you fight me. Just like you, I have to do what I believe is right, and freeing kids from this place is the right thing to do."

"We are here to build Everlost, not to empty it!"

"How can you be so smart, and so wrong?"

Mary closed her eyes, resigned that there would be no last-minute salvation for Nick. He would never see things her way.

"Coming here tonight," she said, "was the first 'right thing' you've done in a long time."

Nick shifted, and she could see his left shoulder sag, beginning to lose human shape. She wanted to look away, but instead she watched it happen, because she knew witnessing this was part of her personal penance for having trusted Nick in the first place.

"If you have a peace proposal, let's hear it," said Nick, his voice sounding less human by the moment.

Mary shook her head. "There is no proposal," she told him. "I will not compromise my integrity for you. Every Afterlight in Everlost deserves the peace and comfort that I have to give. I will not sacrifice a single one for a treaty with you."

"Then why are we here?"

Mary smiled in grim triumph. "To accept your unconditional surrender, of course. Right now my children are storming your train, and taking your army prisoner. There will be no one for you to return to, Nick. I've already won."

From where Nick stood, Mary was just as beautiful, just as powerful as she ever was--perhaps even more so--for it seemed this place magnified both her beauty and her powerful presence. But in a moment she would deflate. A little boy with a crush--is that what she thought? Now he took guilty pleasure in the look of despair that would soon be filling that beautiful face.

"Your children are going to have a surprise," he told her. "You have two hundred Afterlights, I have four hundred. My army will capture them, hand them coins, and for a second time 'your children' will be set free--but thank you for sending them to the train. It makes it easier that way."

Mary's reaction was not what Nick expected. She tossed back her hair, and shifted her shoulders in proud defiance.

"Oh, but Nick, I think you misunderstood. As I said, I have more than two hundred Afterlights, and I didn't lie." Then she smiled a terrible smile. "I have a thousand. That's certainly more than two hundred, isn't it?"