#rc david

This can’t be happening.

It was just this morning that Audrey was smiling at her in a fleeting moment of joy. “David and I had dinner together last night. He asked me to marry him, when this is all over.”

And Lane had been truly happy for her - she deserved it after all of the suffering she had been through. But now, none of that would happen.

She barely heard the god dismiss her, exiting the room in a daze. She only came to her senses when someone called her name. 

“Lane? What happened?” David cast a searching look over her shoulder. “Where’s Audrey?”

I think I'm going to throw up. Lane could only shake her head. “I’m so sorry.” 

She was dimly aware of the others approaching, but her eyes were glued on David. He still hadn’t quite registered what she meant. 

Abaddon - Malek - stepped forward with what was meant to be a reassuring smile. “It can be quite a shock, but I assure you, Audrey will heal. She’s an immortal now, and we aren’t so easy to kill.”

“You don’t understand. There was nothing left to recover.”

Shock – and denial. “I need to see her.”

Lane blocked his path. “Audrey wouldn’t want you to see her like this. She’d want the last memory you have of her to be a good one.”

It seemed her words were finally sinking in. Malek and Mikael exchanged glances in a silent discussion which ended with the former slipping through the doors, no doubt to check on the veracity of her statement. David tried to slip past her again, but her grip was surprisingly strong - enough to keep him in place for the few seconds it took for Malek to return. Everyone stilled, attention on the master of the Pit. He didn’t say anything, but his silence was all the answer they needed. David’s struggle began anew and he thrashed like a wild beast. 

“Let me go! Let me see her! Audrey!” 

There were no words to describe his pain;  agony and torment seemed inadequate. Lane didn’t know how to calm the demon. She didn’t think it was possible. All she could do was hold him. The despair in his eyes shifted to another burning emotion - rage. Invigorated by it, he was able to break her hold, but couldn’t get past his colleagues. 

“Stop, you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“I don’t care.”

A hand on her elbow distracted her from the altercation. Malek beckoned her, and not knowing what else to do, she followed. She only hesitated as a vortex opened up before her, but curiosity stopped her from questioning the immortal. She stepped through and found herself surrounded by darkness.

Her obedience was rewarded as Malek explained, “This is my birthplace, the abyss.”

“Or as the immortals call it, the Pit.”

The unexpected voice made Lane whirl around. Is this it? Have I reached the point of hearing voices of the dead, too? But the image of Audrey didn’t waver. It was too solid to be a hallucination or delusion. 

Malek sauntered over to her and spoke, dismissing the possibility that Lane had conjured the woman in her head, “Glad you made it.”

Now that the shock had subsided, Lane felt irritation seep in. “You couldn’t have warned me?”

“Hard to warn you when I didn’t know myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“The last thing I remember is talking to you this morning. I went to my room to get changed, then woke up here.”

“That would be my fault.” Vicky emerged from seemingly nowhere. “I didn’t want to take any risks.”

“But you involved Malek?” Lane didn’t know how that would have even worked. 

“This was the only place we could hide and talk without Shephamalum noticing.”

Knowing she was unlikely to get a more comprehensive answer, Lane jumped to the more important matter. “And now? I hope you have a plan. Because your trick was a little too convincing, and it’ll all be for nothing if the Astreans end up getting themselves killed.”

For the first time, Vicky looked vaguely regretful as she glanced between Lane and Audrey, who had paled at Lane’s words. Being Vicky, she didn’t apologise, but the news she delivered was better than any apology. “I managed to convince Eragon to give them a chance. All that’s left to do is inform them, and get the hell out of here.”

Lane saw the look directed at her and sighed. “I’m guessing that’s my job?”

“The Astreans will take it a lot better if it comes from you,” Malek said. With his smug smile, it was all too easy to picture the blows that would be exchanged. 

“All right.”

Following the basic logic of a toddler, Lane backtracked to where she saw the Astreans last. It was somewhat successful.

“There you are,” Cassiel said, making no attempt to hide his annoyance. 

Raphael followed at a more sedate pace. But they weren’t the immortals she was after. If anyone deserved to know that Audrey was alive, it was David. 

“Where’s David? I need to speak with him.”

“He’s not in the best shape for conversation right now.”

“It’s about Audrey.”

That got their attention. “What is it? We can pass it on-”

Realising they’d be of no use, Lane edged around them, moving towards Audrey’s room. Even if David isn’t there, I can pick up some clothes. The immortals trailed behind her, not daring to make physical contact with their god’s bride. They halted at the door to the bedroom, stiffening like statues. Lane couldn’t bear to see the grief on their faces and turned away. 

But as she dug through Audrey’s belongings, Cassiel couldn’t resist stepping forward and grabbing her by the arm. “What are you doing?” 

Raphael, too, entered the room, shutting the door behind him. His eyes were uncomfortably discerning for that of a blind man. He was more gentle in his silent plea and it broke past Lane’s defences. 

“Audrey is alive,” she admitted in a whisper that felt far too loud. She quickly summed up the situation, then asked impatiently, “Now will you take me to David?”

“He’s in the living room.”

The living room was more like a dining room, but at the moment resembled a bar. David and Felonia were sprawled on the chairs, surrounded by empty bottles of Glyft. Cassiel approached the situation the same way he approached all things – brusquely. “Get up. This isn’t the time to get drunk.”

Raphael was more sympathetic, but his concern didn’t move the demons, so he went for the jugular. “Audrey would be disappointed.”

Lane expected the words to send David flying into a fury; the demon always wore his heart on his sleeves, especially when it came to Audrey. But grief, or perhaps the copious amounts of Glyft, sedated him. He slurred, “Audrey is dead. And life is meaningless without her.” 

Felonia raised a glass as though she was toasting to that statement. At any other point in time, Lane might have felt something at the proclamation, but after being forced into a wedding, witnessing her friend’s ‘death’, and the awfulness of the past four years of her life in general, she was at the end of her rope. Luckily, the rope was prevented from becoming a noose (her own or otherwise) with the arrival of Mikael.

“Please heal them.” Lane wasn’t entirely sure what he saw in her eyes, but it was enough for him to obey without question. 

The demons’ gazes became less blurred as the alcohol faded from their systems. Grief did the opposite, no longer dulled by the intoxicating substance. Despair returned at full force. 

“What do you want?” the demon groaned. “Can’t you just leave me in my misery?”

“I have a message for you,” she said quickly, before he could reach for another bottle. “From Audrey.”

It had the desired effect; David leaned forward, no longer looking as though he’d make an escape from the icy confines of the palace. Even Felonia sat up a little straighter.

“She said you better keep your promise about that far away island in heaven.”

A flicker of confusion, suspicion, then finally, hope. He stared into her eyes, and she allowed the mental barrier she kept up to fall. “You’re not lying…? Audrey is alive?”

She was taken aback as David sprang up with a burst of energy and strode out the doors. 

“Where are you going?” she called after him.