Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(82)

“Okay, okay. I get it.” I rocked back on my heels and withdrew my hand. Standing, I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket. An old receipt from Starbucks. I let go and the paper fluttered to the ground, landing on the blacktop. It hit the surface, and I was surprised when it sent ripples out in every direction.

“I think it’s liquid or something.” No sooner had I leaned back in for a closer look did the paper dissolve in a puff of smoke and flame, fizzling into extinction.

“Huh. I guess that’s where the hotter than hell stuff started.” I looked down at the corgi circling happily at my feet. He barked twice and licked my shoe, leaving a trail of yellow slime behind. “I guess I owe ya.”

Smokey waggled his butt in response and trotted ahead.

The trees overhead were a serious contradiction to the lava-like roadway. Like a winter wonderland, the branches and leaves were encased in what looked like ice. Stunning, they were the only thing here that wasn’t dark and creepy. They reminded me of the branches that used to overhang the sledding trail in Penance Park until they’d crashed through the power lines a few years ago during an ice storm and had to be hacked back into oblivion.

Lukas, equally amazed by the foliage, reached for a low hanging branch before I could stop him.

With a hiss, he jerked back his hand, tilting it upward. An oozing red line leaked from the tip of his pointer finger down to the joint. The leaf fell from the branch and fluttered to the ground, but instead of landing gracefully on the sidewalk, it embedded itself in the concrete with an audible thwap. A moment later, it crumbled into nothingness, leaving behind a powdery green pile.

“Oookay, so local plant life—off limits.” I stepped back and pulled Lukas with me. “Let’s get moving.”

As if agreeing, Smokey barked once and started forward, his body almost waddling on short legs.

Both sides of the road were lined with buildings and stretched as far as my eyes could see in every direction. Some were dark with no signs or numbers on the front and appeared abandoned, while others seemed occupied. Occasionally, I’d catch a glimpse of something peering out from one of the windows. A human-like figure here, a stooped, fanged thing there, shadowed in a strange illumination. Thankfully, they were all inside while we stayed—arguably safe—on the outside.

After a while, Smokey stopped and turned with a snort. Across the street was an impressive onyx building with tinted glass and an opulent revolving door. It was bigger than most of the others, its twinkle just a bit brighter and more pronounced. It stretched into the cloudless sky, thousands of small illuminated windows covering its front. From the street, you could see people—or what passed for them here—moving around inside.

“Value Far Corporation,” I said out loud. The company my dad worked for. Valefar’s company.

“This is the place?”

“It is,” I answered in a grim tone. The black, tar-like river stretched out in front of us. “No idea how we’re going to get across, though.”

Lukas scanned the area and sighed. “Nothing to use as a bridge.”

“Too wide to jump.”

“Can you shadow across? It’s nighttime. That’s just one big shadow, right?”

I closed my eyes and focused on the other side of the road. After a few minutes, I was sure nothing had happened, and opened them. “Apparently not.”

“Now what?”

“Do you wish to cross?” A deep, velvety voice—James Earl Jones with an otherworldly twang—filled the air.

We whirled around. A man in his late twenties in worn jeans and a brown bomber jacket, stood with his arms folded. He wore a disturbing smile and reminded me of the creepy janitor at school. The one that watched the students in the hallway a little too closely.

“The river. Are you looking to cross?”

“We are,” I answered simply.

“Then it’s your lucky day, little demon. I can help you across.”

I ignored the little demon comment. It shouldn’t be insulting, right? That’s what I was. “How?”

He flashed a wicked smile and snapped his fingers twice. To our right, the tar began to churn and spit. Something began to rise from the muck. Something pale and long. A concrete path. Wide enough for a single person, it went from our end all the way to the other. “It’s my job. Think of me as the Ferryman…” He twirled around, then bowed. “Only with a bit more style.”

Lukas started forward. He made it to the edge of the sidewalk when the man grabbed his arm.

“Of course, you’ll need to pay the piper.”

“Pay?” Lukas pulled his arm free. “Money?”

The man shook his head and laughed. “Unnecessary. A small token will do.”

“A small token,” I repeated carefully.

“A strand of your hair.”

“That sounds—innocent,” Lukas said with a shrug. “Strange, but innocent.”

“Anything but.” I narrowed my eyes. “A strand of hair can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands.”

The man shrugged and took a step closer. “I could take it from you. At least if you give it willingly, you get to cross the road.”

“Why do you want it?”

He waggled an unnaturally long finger and clucked his tongue. “Would you believe I like the way it smells?”