Yesterday:
"You do understand that once we bring her here and she becomes yours... She'll belong to the Dark Realm, right? Gorog told him as he accepted the contract signed in Justin's blood. Once you... consummate your reunion, so to speak, her transformation will begin."
Justin paled. "Did you say… consummate?"
At Justin's look, Gorog laughed his madman's laugh. "That's right! You do know what that word means, don't you, egghead? Hm?"
Justin cringed, at the nickname as much as the implication. "Yes, but… "
Gorog tipped his head back, reciting in a scholarly tone: "Consummate. Verb. Meaning, to bring to a state of perfection. To fulfill. To complete – pay attention to this one, boy – an agreement or arrangement, such as the signing of a contract." He looked at Justin.
"You want her to sign a contract?"
Gorog laughed heartily, as if that was a pretty good one. Justin supposed it was. "No, no. You've done all the signing that needs to be done here, dear. And with your one wish, you've already, er, 'brought her into the fold' so to speak. Once she's under your power, her consent will no longer be necessary." He glanced at Justin, saw that he wasn't getting it, and expounded, "Think of a child—eh, no, that's not right. Think of… think of it like pet ownership, Justin. Like a dog, or a bunny rabbit. You become responsible for it, and it no longer has as many choices to make, yes?"
Justin thought of Rosie and her dead eyes. "Like Rosie," Justin he said aloud, without meaning to speak. But Gorog was in a rare mood, and he only laughed at the insolence.
"Exactly, just like Rosie! You don't think coming here was HER idea, do you?"
Justin hadn't thought about it at all, as a matter of fact. "You stole her?" he asked, dumbfounded. "I thought… I thought she'd chosen this."
"Hmm, no – that little matter was decided for her. You see, her contract was signed by someone else who had sufficient influence over her heart and mind - someone with a legitimate claim to her soul, you might say."
Justin, despite himself, was horrified. "You can do that?"
His master chuckled. "Of course, my boy, but of course! Why, that's just one more reason why love is such a dangerous state... Personally, I never touch the stuff. No, Rosie certainly didn't come here of her own free will. However, hers was a trade, rather than a contractual obligation. You see, I spared that little brat's life, in exchange for her immortal soul, which I think has worked out well for everyone."
That little brat… "Tina?"
Gorog snapped his fingers in recognition. "That's the one. An incredibly annoying little baby angel that we caught and were planning to dispose of. The Guardian Angel Headquarters authorized the trade, and little Rosie had no say in the matter. Of course, the fact that we'd have an immediate legal claim on the brat if Rosie ever escaped may have induced her to stay, I can't really say. Rather a sweet story, wouldn't you say? But we weren't talking about Rosie… we were talking about finalizing the contract."
Justin nodded. "I've signed it already."
"And so you have," Gorog agreed. "But there's the little matter of finalizing the terms, you see. Which brings us back to the idea of consummation. Now, you'll need to seal the deal with a very specific physical act, in order to…"
"I can't do that! She's my sister!" he burst out.
Gorog raised his eyebrows, puzzled."You can't kiss your little sister? Dear me, what kind of a backwards family did you come from?"
"Wait," said Justin. "Kiss her?"
"Of course, kiss her! That's the physical act!"
"A kiss. To… consummate… the bargain?"
"Just so! You'll finalize our agreement with a kiss, of course. Just a simple kiss! On the lips, I should add. It's an old tradition here, from way back in the time of Judas. Why, what did you think you had to do?"
Justin shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, then we're all set, aren't we?" said Gorog, jovial. "Ah, I do love family reunions. So very touching!"
"Wait—" said Justin, and the black look of impatience in the Dark Lord's eyes nearly made him take it back. But he forced himself to ask, because he had to know. "It won't… hurt her, will it? It won't.. do something terrible to her?"
Gorog gave him a level look, all his artificial merriment gone. He's tired of this game, and Justin would probably do well to let the matter drop. "What, the Change? No worse than what it did to Rosie," he said. "And you like her well enough, as I recall."
Then he snapped his gloved fingers together, and Justin was alone.
"I trust you," Alex says, her dark eyes big and scared and brave, brimming with tears and love for Justin. Her eyes are so deep, he thinks. In there, he could drown.
(stars)
She reaches for him, turning her mouth to fit his, as they've always fitted together.
He tries to jerk his head back, out of her reach, but Alex is faster. Her soft arms are around his neck, one hand buried in his hair to pull him to her. (Everything he's ever wanted) His cry of alarm is muffled against her mouth. Before anything can be changed, she kisses him.
Her lips are soft and warm and almost unbearably good, and her little tongue slides against his lower lip until he opens his mouth to let her in. She tastes of pickles and childhood, fear and longing, tastes like the cinnamon he's allergic to but craves anyway, like something he can't live without. She tastes like sin and hope and dying and coming home. Did he think that Alex was a fair trade for his innocence and his magic... his very soul? He couldn't have been more wrong. She's far, far more precious than his soul.
The world spins around him. Good and evil, sin and love, magic and darkness... all mixed up together. There's too, too much in the world. Monsters and Angels. Sisters and lovers and a crack in the surface of things to let the darkness come in. The world is a dirty trick, a thousand wrong choices, just waiting to be made. A thousand different points of no return. There's a new darkness lurking behind every dream.
…And Alex. Always, always, there's Alex.
What has he done?
He wrenches his lips from hers, screws his eyes shut as she begins to change, but not before he sees her wings begin to blacken at the tips. He crumples on legs that will no longer hold him.
"Justin?" she whispers. "What's happening? I feel so strange…"
He sinks to his knees, shaking, wrapping his arms around his sister's legs.
"Justin?"
What has he done to her? What in God's name... or maybe in Gorog's name… has he done to Alex? Her voice rises in a scream.
"Justin, please!"
What has he sacrificed to his loneliness and terror, his lust and greed? He takes it back, he takes it all back! They can take him, instead. The cost is too high! Frantically, his mind works at the problem, pulling it apart like a difficult equation, looking for a seam in darkness that's closing in. What has he done to her, with his love?
Echoing in his mind, he hears the mad laughter of his Master.
More precious than his soul. But it's too late. Forehead pressed to her knees, he weeps.
(The End)
A/N: Well, and so it is the end - in more ways that one, it seems. Poor Alex.
But I'm strongly considering a sequel - if you'd like that, please let me know! And, while you're feeling communicative, I'd be grateful if you'd tell me how I did with the angst? It's not really my normal gig, and I enjoyed it immensely, and I'm half-convinced I effed it up. If you tell me where I went off the track, I can do that bit a little better next time. If you tell me where I went right, maybe I'll be able to do it again. ;)
So review, don't review - in any event, thanks for reading. That in itself is pretty amazing.
-C.
