Only a Mother Could Love (Afterlife Book 3) Read online

  "No," Chloe said.

  "Why not?"

  "I don't fly," Chloe said shortly.

  "Well, whatever we decide, we have to protect her," Brittney said. Chloe reached over and squeezed her hand. "She was only trying to take care of us. It's our fault that she killed those two men."

  "No, it's the fury's fault," Conner said. "The fury. Not Sarah, but the fury. You have to stop thinking of them as the same person. When she's like this, she's not Sarah. She's just another dangerous creature that we have to stop."

  "What are you suggesting?" Harper demanded. "That we hunt her down like we do with other demons? She's our friend! She's one of us!"

  "Not right now, she's not," Conner said, "and she's a danger to this city, and to herself. She's a danger to our entire way of life. She doesn't care about getting caught. The only thing that matters to her is justice, and she has a warped sense of what that is."

  Harper glared at him. "I don't care," she said. "Whatever we do, we're not going to hurt her. Right guys? Chloe?"

  Chloe looked down at the table. "If she keeps killing, we won't have a choice," she muttered.

  "You're her best friend!"

  "I know that! You think I don't know that?" Chloe asked. "We've been friends since the moment we met! We've stayed at each others' houses. We go out for lunch three times a week, and we get coffee almost every day. You think I want to kill her, Harper? You think I want to do that to my best friend?"

  "Then we won't."

  "We don't have a choice anymore! She's killing people! What happens when she decides to kill someone who doesn't actually deserve it? What happens when she goes after someone that did something wrong, but not that wrong? They don't discriminate. If they believe you've done wrong, they will kill you." Chloe wiped her eyes and glared at Harper.

  "I'm sorry," Harper said.

  "Right, well, so am I," Chloe said. "I know that it hurts to think about, but it's something we have to consider."

  Harper looked around the table, and didn't see anyone disagreeing with her. "Fine, but we try everything else first. Everything else. We can try and capture her, put her to sleep... hell, Conner can try to seduce her. Didn't you say you once seduced a group of harpies? I don't see why a fury would be any different."

  "Because of my magic," Chloe said. "I've made it to where Conner has no affect on her."

  "Yeah, well, reverse it," Harper said.

  "It doesn't work like that," Chloe said. "I'd have to do a new spell on her, and I'd have to have her here for that. Somehow, I can't see her sitting still and letting me sprinkle dust on her, can you?"

  Harper shook her head, finally defeated. She sat back in her chair, and drank her ginger ale. "Well, I won't do it," she finally said.

  "Harper..." Alec said. "You're one of us. You're with us. When we make a decision, it's a group decision. If we need your help, you'll help us. Understand?"

  "Are you serious?"

  "You're either part of this completely, or you're not."

  "Damn you, Alec," Harper said. "Sometimes I really hate you. Yes, God, I'll help, alright?"

  "Good," Alec said. "We'll find her tomorrow. Tonight, we have other work to do."

  Harper lifted her chin. "We're going after the masked lady?"

  Alec nodded. "I feel like tonight is the night we get rid of her," he said. "I've narrowed it down to one road that I think she'll hit. She hasn't been there yet, and it's right there with the others. I think she'll go to it, because she doesn't want to be caught at any of her previous locations. We'll go there together, as a group."

  Everyone nodded, including Harper.

  "So for now, Harper, go take a nap. Everyone else, we'll come up with a plan. When she gets up, we'll update her, and then we'll go."

  "I don't want a nap," Harper said.

  Alec shrugged. "Take one anyway. You look like hell."

  "You're a real Prince Charming," Harper said. She looked around the table again, and her eyes fell on Brittney.

  "You should go," Brittney said quietly.

  "Fine," Harper said. She got to her feet, and stormed up the stairs to the apartment. She knew she was being irrational, and angry for all the wrong reasons, but she couldn't help it. This wasn't Sarah's fault and yet they were talking about hunting her down the same way they hunted down demons. They would kill her if they had to and she'd agreed to help.

  She flopped down in her room, and closed her eyes. She tried to sleep, but it wouldn't come, no matter how many breaths she counted, or how many times she rolled over. Eventually, she got up, made coffee, and then took a long, hot shower.

  As she stood beneath the the shower head, soaping herself and getting clean of all the sweat from the day, she started to calm down. She could admit that the others were right; as much as it sucked to visualize the idea of hurting or killing Sarah, they didn't have a choice. She couldn't be allowed to fly through the city, killing everyone she thought was a bad person.

  When she was done showering, she cooked herself some eggs, and put it over the rice that Alec had made earlier that day. She squished the yolks down into the rice, letting them spread over it. Then, as an added taste, she added ketchup to the whole thing, and mixed it up. It was her favorite food when she was a kid, and she felt like she deserved the comfort now.

  After she finished eating, she sat on the couch, playing with her phone for a while. After several minutes of browsing through apps that didn't look interesting at all, she went to her contacts. She scrolled through the names until she saw the one she was looking for. She pressed the call button and listened to the ringing.

  Eventually, a voice came through. "Hello? Harper?"

  "Hi Mom."

  "Hi honey," her mother said. "I haven't heard from you in a while. How are you doing?"

  Harper closed her eyes. She thought about spilling everything to her mother; her new job, her new friends, how she'd saved a murderer from a fury, how she'd gotten shot, how loan sharks had attacked Peter.

  "Harper? Are you there?"

  "Yeah, I'm here," Harper said. "Everything is fine, mom. I just missed you, that's all."

  "See, you're never too old to want your mother," she said. "What's going on in your life? We need to have lunch soon."

  "Yeah, we do," Harper said. "My life is pretty much the same. Brittney and I are moving in together. We found a house in a nice neighborhood. I really like it; everything but the bedrooms is hardwood flooring, and there's giant windows, and lots of space."

  "I'm glad," her mom said. "After your apartment burned down, your father and I wondered if we should offer to let you come stay with us for a while, just till you were back on your feet. But you seem to be doing fine on your own."

  "I am," Harper said. "I've made lots of friends, and I found a new job, where I don't get harassed by my boss. Still working as a bartender, though. Guess I'm stuck with that career."

  Her mother laughed into the phone. "As long as your happy, honey, I don't care what you do. You know that."

  Harper smiled. "Thanks, mom."

  "Is there any guy in your life? Or maybe a girl?"

  "No, neither," Harper said. "There was a guy I thought I liked, but we don't really have the chance at a future together, so I've been sort of putting that on the back burner. Besides that, sometimes I really hate him. It's hard to explain. I work with him."

  "Well, you'll find someone," her mother assured her. "You're a beautiful, intelligent woman. Men must be lining up at the corner to see you."

  Harper laughed, long and hard. "Yes, you could say that," she said, thinking of the line outside of the nightclub.

  "Don't forget to be careful," her mother said.

  Harper shook her head sadly as she said. "I will be. Mom, I love you."

  "I love you too, honey."

  "I'll call and we'll set up lunch soon, okay?"

  "Sure, honey, whenever you have the time. I know you're busy with your friends, and your new job. Just remember that your father and I would
love to see you. Bring Brittney too. We haven't seen her for awhile either."

  Harper said, "Yeah, I'll do that. I've got to go Mom. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

  "Alright. Have a good night."

  "You too."

  She hung up the phone, and slipped it back into her purse. Then she dumped the entire thing out on the coffee table. She glanced through the messy pile and began putting things back in her purse. The things that she didn't put back in were tossed to the side to be thrown away after. She kept her lipstick, nail clippers, wallet, gun, and phone. She threw away scraps of paper containing phone numbers she'd been slipped at the bar, old gum wrappers, crumpled tissues, and other non-essentials she'd picked up over the last year.

  When she'd finished her cleaning and thrown away the stuff she no longer wanted, she got to her feet and adjusted her sling. She thought about it, took the sling off, and stretched her arm out. There was a lot of pain there and she was still wearing a thick gauze bandage, but she decided it didn't matter. She couldn't go to a fight without being able to fight.

  Harper grabbed her purse and went downstairs. Everyone was still sitting around the big table.

  "I'm ready," she said. "Let's do this."

  ELEVEN

  This time, everyone road together in Conner's car. It was obviously his pride and joy; it was immaculately kept, and the outside had just been washed, and it gleamed beautifully in the lights of the city.

  As they drove along, Harper imagined how much different it would be if Sarah were there with them. She would be riding next to Brittney in the back, likely, or perhaps she would have stolen the front seat, where Chloe was riding.

  It did little good to think about such things, though, and Harper knew her focus had to be on their current job. Their plan was simple. They'd wait, with their lights out, until it was the right time for the demon to show up. When she did, everyone but Alec would get out of the car. He'd walk to her, stop, and ask her for directions. When she attacked him, the others would file in, and they'd kill her. It sounded simple enough, but Harper wondered if it really would be.

  When they pulled up, everyone sat back in their seats and waited. Time seemed to pass very slowly. Conner tried to start up a game of twenty questions, but nobody joined in. He frowned and began to sing instead. Immediately, Harper was captivated. He had a beautiful voice, full of emotion and longing. He sung a ballad she'd never heard before, and she was surprised at his low, baritone voice.

  When she looked around, she saw that Brittney too was staring at him in wonder. The others didn't bat an eye, and from this, Harper gleaned that Conner singing wasn't a rare occasion. Eventually, Alec added his own voice to the song, and they harmonized. It was beautiful enough that Harper felt moved to tears. She furiously wiped them away, and then looked around to make sure nobody had noticed. None of them were looking at each other, though.

  Chloe joined in on the third verse, and Harper sat back and tried to just enjoy the music. When they were done with that song, they sung another, and then another. She wanted to join in, but she didn't know the words. She was also embarrassed by her own singing voice. She'd never managed to be able to hit notes properly.

  After the fourth song, though, they stopped singing, as if on cue, and the car went back to silence.

  "How will we find her?" Harper asked eventually.

  "If I'm right," Alec said. "She'll show up here around two-thirty. We have about another fifteen minutes."

  "Not her," Harper said. "Sarah. How will we find her tomorrow?"

  Nobody responded.

  "If we're doing it, can't we talk about it?" Harper asked.

  "Why?" Chloe asked. "What's the point?"

  "Because we need some sort of plan," Harper said. "Look, when she saw me get shot at Lewis's house, she seemed to come out of it a little. Maybe if we were all there, we could convince her to return. Or if she hurt one of us, maybe that would be enough of a shock to bring her back to her true self."

  Alec cleared his throat. "Maybe," he said, "but those are things we can discuss tomorrow. Tonight, our focus needs to be on the masked woman."

  "Fine," Harper said.

  She was startled when Conner reached back and touched her hand. "Harper, it's going to be alright. If we can save her without killing her, we're going to."

  Harper was grateful for the contact, and even more grateful for the words of comfort. "Thank you, Conner."

  He nodded, and sat back forward again. "I've never fought a ghost before. Think I could seduce her?"

  "I don't know," Alec said. "It's worth a try. Maybe you should be the one to approach her initially."

  Conner nodded. "I think that might be best," he said. "If I can seduce her, we can kill her before she has time to come out of it. This can be done and over with in a matter of minutes. We'd all like that, right?"

  Everyone gave their agreement and then sunk back into silence once more. Harper sighed. She hated when it was too quiet. With a car full of people, she thought they'd have something to discuss, but nobody seemed to be in the talking mood. Not even Chloe and Brittney.

  She wondered if they were all thinking of Sarah too, and wondering how to save her without killing her. Or perhaps they were focused on the mission ahead. Even then, though, usually Chloe was a chatterbox, and when she talked, usually Brittney would chime in, and then Conner would have to either make fun of them or add his two cents to the conversation. Alec was always quiet, usually just correcting something or clarifying something.

  Harper wondered what she could say to start a real conversation, but before she had the chance, Conner pointed in the distance. "Look, she's there."

  Everyone leaned forward to get a better look. Just as she'd appeared to Brittney and Harper, she was standing on the side of the road in a long red dress, a mask pressed to her face, her long dark hair swirling behind her, as though blown by the wind.

  "Get out," Conner told everyone.

  They filed out of the car and stood in silence on the side of the road. This kind of silence, Harper could appreciate. They had to be quiet; they didn't want the masked woman to know they were there. Conner flashed them all a devil-may-care grin and then took off. He pulled over to the side and rolled down his window.

  They were too far away to hear what he was saying, but they saw his rapid hand movements and gestures as he spoke. Eventually the car door opened, and he climbed out. He began to speak again, and the woman slowly lowered her mask. They couldn't see her features from the distance, but she must have been demonic, because Conner stumbled back in horror.

  "Come on," Alec said. "Now!"

  They all ran forward, closing the distance quickly between themselves and the demon. She had reattached her mask by the time they arrived.

  "Who are you?" Alec demanded, "What are you?"

  The masked woman turned to him. "Your lover," she said in a silky voice. "Come to me, be one with me." She floated towards Alec, her feet hardly seeming to touch the ground. "We'll be happy together."

  Alec swung at her, but before his fist could connect, she'd disappeared. She reappeared beside Conner. "Don't you think I'm beautiful?"

  Conner couldn't seem to talk. His eyes were blank. She turned to Alec. "Don't you think I'm beautiful?" she repeated.

  "What are you?" he asked again.

  Suddenly, she shot both hands to the sides, one aiming at Conner, and one aiming at Alec. Two blue balls of fire appeared, and struck each of them in the chest. They crumpled over. "Don't you think I'm beautiful?" she demanded, but now her voice was harsh and demonic. "I'm beautiful! Say it!"

  Neither of the men could speak; they were either unconscious or dead. Harper prayed for the former. The woman turned to Brittney, Chloe, and Harper. "You may go on your way."

  "Not a chance," Chloe said. "What'd you do to them?"

  "That is not your concern," she said.

  Chloe ran at her, aiming a kick at her lower abdomen, but the woman vanished again, reappearing behind Harper. Harpe
r spun around, aiming her fist towards the woman's face, but she vanished once more, and this time appeared beside Brittney.

  "Did you kill them?" Brittney asked. "Did you?"

  "They will soon be dead," the woman said indifferently. "Now, get on your way. I have no issue with you. Only them."

  "They've done nothing to you!" Harper said. "You're killing them for no good reason!" She took her gun out of her purse and fired at the woman. The bullet seemed to pass through her, as though she were air.

  "You cannot hurt me," she said. "Nobody can hurt me. I am strong now. I am powerful. Nobody can hurt me."

  Brittney had her own gun out now, and took a shot. Again, the bullet passed through her without leaving any damage behind. She seemed solid enough, but it was clear that the bullets did her no harm. "Go," she said once more.

  The three of them backed up a step, as the woman watched them.

  "What are we supposed to do?" Harper demanded of Chloe. "We can't punch her, we can't shoot her..."

  "I have an idea," Chloe said. She ran forward again, and stuck her hand in her purse as she went. When she neared the woman, she threw out a handful of dust. When it simply went through her and fell to the ground, Chloe cursed. She levitated a few inches off the ground, and tried another kick, but just like before, the woman vanished before it could connect. She reappeared by Conner's car. "I have no quarrel with you," she told them again, "but if you persist, I will kill you."

  Suddenly, Harper had an idea. She raised her voice to as loud as it could get and screamed. "You're going to kill us? We're innocent! We've done nothing to you! You're trying to kill innocent people, and you've already succeeded a number of times! There's nothing good about you! Nothing! You're just a murderer!"

  "What are you doing?" Brittney whispered. "You're going to antagonize her. We need to come up with some sort of plan!"

  "I have a plan," Harper said. She raised her voice again. "Killing the innocent is what you like? Taking the lives of people who've done nothing to you?"

  The masked woman spun around, and walked straight for Harper, her hand extended. Harper prayed that her idea would work, but the woman was getting closer and closer. Brittney fired another shot, but it did nothing, just like the others.