The Dreamtrap - 32. Chapter 32

- XXXII -

Henry pressed hard against the old maple tree, making sure he stayed out of sight, watching the front door of the house like a hawk. Half an hour or so later, he saw a cab pulling to the curb, and he watched some man get out of it. The man looked like a nightclub bouncer, and Henry immediately knew that he was one of Salamander’s goons. His mouth twitched in a small, satisfied smile.

“Do I know how to make excellent plans or do I know how to make excellent plans?” he murmured, knowing that now, it was only a question of time before he got the blond into his possession as well – he didn’t care much about Rayhe; he knew that Julian was by far more dangerous.

He waited for the cab to leave, and then slowly peeled himself away from the tree and started to walk away, looking for a safe spot where he could leave this body, which would be unconscious for the next several hours. Finally, he hid behind one of the larger fir trees, almost burying himself into all those soft, sweet-smelling needles, and silently nodded to himself, knowing that he was out of sight and safe.

“Showtime...” he whispered and closed his eyes, returning his essence to the mirrored prison voluntarily this time, anticipating the resolution of his excellent plan.

****

“Oh, this is not happening...!” Desmond growled when he opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of the very familiar abandoned opera house. “This is so not happening...!”

“What...” Raven muttered, wildly looking around. “What... How... What the hell?!”

Desmond swore loudly and with envious imagination, his hands clenched into fists, eyes shut. He swore nonstop for almost five minutes, and finally, he ran out of air. He gritted his teeth and opened his eyes, his expression pissed off and beyond dark.

“Forty bloody hours...!” he growled.

“Forty hours...?” Raven frowned at that.

Desmond sighed and told him about his dream and Julian’s theory, which turned out to be correct.

“Well, shit...” Raven said gloomily after the ex-assassin finished the story. “What do we do now?”

“No fucking clue!” Desmond spat out and quickly walked towards the large wooden post covered with old posters and advertisements. He kicked the post as hard as he could several times, and that seemed to help somewhat. He kicked it one last time, and then stood still, his arms propped on his sides, forehead one tight frown.

They stood in rigid silence for a while, gritting their teeth in an identical manner, while trying to figure out their options. Suddenly, there was some strange popping sound not too far from them, and they whirled around at the same time. “Oh, hell, she’s gonna start shooting at us again!” Raven thought desperately. His eyes became almost perfectly round when he saw Julian appearing out of thin air, it seemed.

“What the...” Desmond said incredulously, staring at the very confused-looking blond.

Salamander looked around, completely bewildered, his expression blink-free and dumbfounded.

“How did you get here?” Raven asked weakly, and Julian finally blinked.

“There was a package in your name...” he said slowly. “Arrived to our house, that’s why I didn’t smell the trap... There was a brooch in that package...”

“A brooch...?” Raven frowned.

“Yes,” the blond nodded, his expression still bewildered. “A golden spider...”

“Oh, bloody hell...” Desmond said desperately when he heard the word ‘spider.’ “Spider time...” He buried his face in his palms. “You touched it, didn’t you?” he asked in a muffled voice.

“Yes,” Julian gritted his teeth.

“Goddammit,” Desmond finally lowered his arms, dropping them onto his sides, his entire posture redefining ‘desperation.’ “That’s what she meant...! Spider time...” He glanced at Raven. “I guess she wanted to throw that damn thing onto you once she finished me off on that freeway... Oh, damn it all to hell...!” He kicked the post again, harder this time.

Julian drew a slow, deep breath.

“We have to figure out how to get out of here,” he said in the even voice, and Desmond threw him a very dark look.

“Gee,” he said. “You think? And here I was, thinking about relaxing for a bit, enjoying the scenery...”

“Just...” Julian interrupted him through his clenched teeth. “Save it, all right? You got out once, which means we can do this!”

“We got out of the labyrinth,” Desmond said without looking at him. “That was different; there were exits... I don’t think the same rule applies to this place...” Here he frowned. “I wonder if we will end up in the labyrinth again...”

“Nope,” a very content voice interrupted him, coming from above.

All three men slowly raised their heads. Magda (who was finally wearing her original appearance) gave them a toothy smile, perching on the edge of the roof of the opera house.

“No labyrinth,” she nodded slightly after getting their attention. “For several reasons, actually...” She shifted slightly, as if getting more comfortable, and crossed her legs, pressing one of her hands into the roof. “First reason is that it would be quite difficult to recreate it without the painting; and the second reason...” She looked at her fingernails for a few seconds. “The second reason is that this plan is so much better,” she finished and gave them another toothy smile. “Actually...” she shifted slightly once more. “I should’ve started with this plan, instead of bothering with the labyrinth... But I couldn’t figure out how to make the spider to work until recently, so...” She shrugged. “God...” she laughed softly. “It was a hell of a long, exhausting journey that got me to this point, finally... You have no idea how frustrating that journey was,” she nodded sincerely.

She uncrossed her legs, slightly swaying her feet, as if she were a little kid.

“After the fiasco with the painting, thanks to that little traitor,” she continued in the same tone of voice. “I honestly thought I blew it... I mean, I could not get them out of the labyrinth,” she threw a quick glance at Raven and Desmond. “And without the painting and the incantation, the labyrinth, as much fun as it was to play with, was nothing but a trap; not just for them, but for me also,” she nodded again. “Because if they died in there, that would mean that I had to start from scratch...”

Julian stared at her without blinking, narrowing his eyes just a little.

“I was freaking out,” Magda continued meanwhile, paying no attention to the blond’s eyes. “You have no idea how relieved I was when they managed to get out, and how relieved I was that I decided to put the time frame into the big picture...! After they got out, I made some major improvements to this place...” She gestured somewhat widely. “Finally figured out how to make the spider to work, and came up with a fool-proof plan B.”

Julian’s eyes narrowed more, a small frown slipping onto his forehead.

“At first, I simply wanted to finish it right then and there, on that freeway, since I wasn't sure the time frame would still work after the painting was gone,” Magda seemed oblivious to Salamander’s facial expression. “Well,” she snorted. “That didn’t work...” She threw a quick, hateful look at Desmond. “So I had to take the long way... That’s okay though,” she shrugged. “It worked, so I am not complaining...”

She shifted her gaze to Julian, who was frowning deeper by now.

“Stop trying,” she said in a low voice, her smile becoming wider and more satisfied. “See...” She propped her elbows on her knees and st her chin into her palms. “You are in my sandbox, boys! My sandbox, ergo my rules! Your abilities are not going to work here. This place is my creation,” she nodded slightly into her palms. “It does everything I want it to do; and believe me when I say it, I do not want to deal with any of your abilities... All three of you,” she nodded again and straightened up.

After hearing that, Raven frantically reached out for comforting invisibility only to feel an unusual and very unpleasant emptiness when there was nothing. Magda gave him a small smile, watching him intently.

“Seriously,” she nodded again. “Not gonna work...!”

Suddenly, Desmond’s expression became rather thoughtful, and he frowned while staring at her.

“Trying to figure out whether I am telling the truth, aren’t you, asshole?” Magda asked in a low voice, shifting her gaze towards him. “You are going to give yourself a hell of a headache from trying too hard,” she grinned. “I am telling the truth, by the way. No abilities in this place! See, this...” She gestured around again. “...is not real. That means I can do whatever the hell I want in here, which sort of makes me feel like God itself, with creation and everything...” She hemmed. “I improved it in such a way that it blocks everything, unlike the first time you ended up here,” she threw a quick glance at Raven. “Neat trick, by the way,” she nodded with approval. “I didn’t know you could cover someone else besides yourself.”

Suddenly, she jumped up on her feet and took a step off the roof. Instead of crashing to the ground, she gracefully slid down, as if she were gliding down a smooth surface.

“My rules,” she nodded when she saw Raven’s expression. “All right,” she propped her arms onto her sides. “By the way,” she added quickly after Desmond made a slow, small move. “Before you decide to jump me... Don’t waste your energy; you can’t do anything to me, not in here. By all means,” she shrugged. “Go ahead and try all you want, but you’ll just make a fool out of yourself.”

Desmond narrowed his eyes and stayed put. Magda shrugged once again and looked at Raven.

“Here is the deal, my friend,” she started saying without a smile this time. “We are all perfectly aware of what I want. A body,” she nodded. “Very simple. Now, it has to be your body,” she fixed her gaze on Raven’s face without blinking. “Since you’ve been targeted and marked from the very beginning... Frustrating, I know,” she nodded energetically. “To be honest, I would prefer a female body, but oh well...” Here, she smiled in the same toothy way. “Right now, I will take anything! Plus, you are really good-looking, which is a very nice perk!”

Raven gritted his teeth.

“Now you are probably thinking that there is no way in hell you would let me get anywhere close, huh?” Magda cocked her head slightly to the right, watching him somewhat thoughtfully. “That you’d rather get stuck here for eternity than letting me have my way... Or something along those lines,” she shrugged. “This is why plan B is much better than plan A,” she let out a small smile, without any teeth this time. “See, right now, I have an awesome leverage!” She threw a quick glance at the rigid blond. “Remember that spider? Of course, you do,” she nodded slightly and put her right hand into her pocket. “Looks familiar?” she asked a minute later, when she pulled out a small golden brooch-looking spider out of her pocket.

She shifted her gaze away from Julian and concentrated on the spider for a few seconds. She smiled gently when spider’s eyes glowed dark-blue.

“There are two spiders,” she said almost intimately, looking at Raven once again. “One is right here...” she slightly raised her palm, the golden brooch resting there safely. “...and the second one is on his throat,” she glanced at Julian. “His actual, physical throat, that is,” she added after a second, and Raven’s eyes widened. “That’s how I got him here in the first place," she nodded. “Yeah, figuring out how to bring it into reality while crossing over was a bitch,” she sighed. "But I knew it had to be done. Couldn't care less about your mate,” she glanced at Desmond. “But I had to get this psycho out of the way...” She looked at Salamander again, who was silently gritting his teeth.

“See, if you say ‘no’ to me...” She looked at Raven without smiling or blinking. “Guess what’s going to happen to your psychotic mate? He’ll get his throat ripped out, that’s what,” she nodded firmly. “If you say ‘yes,’ however, I’ll let him live... Well,” she sighed. “I am not going to let him to wake up, of course, but both of you will stay here... For as long as his physical body will last that is,” she nodded. “I am sure that your mate figured how to make magic streams to keep the body live and well...” she glanced at Desmond quickly. “So yeah, I will go as far as promising you that I won’t kill him after I get your body,” she nodded seriously. “As long as he is in this place, he is no threat to me or anyone else for that matter,” she hemmed.

“Go fuck yourself,” Raven said in a low, tight voice.

“Oh, definitely,” she agreed immediately. “And I will do that more than just once, believe me... I’ll do it later, though...” Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes, looking at Raven with more intensity. “You think I am bluffing, don’t you?” she murmured thoughtfully. “Huh, all right...”

She looked at the spider in her palm and carefully blew on it, her eyes narrow still. Spider’s eyes glowed with the same dark-blue light, and one of its legs twitched ever so slightly. The minute it happened, Julian’s hand flew up to his throat, his eyes disbelieving and suddenly wide.

“What is it?” Raven asked sharply, looking at him without blinking.

“I...” the blond muttered, and suddenly, a quick grimace distorted his face for several seconds.

“Julian!” Raven’s voice had those shrill, panicking notes in it now.

“If you think that’s something, watch this...” Magda said in a low voice and winked at the spider in her palm.

The golden creature jerked slightly, and all of a sudden, it leapt up in the air, all of its legs twitching wildly. It landed on Magda’s palm and stayed in the same place as before, except all those legs kept twitching rhythmically.

Salamander let out a strangled, low moan, and his fingers clutched harder onto his throat.

“You won’t see anything here,” Magda said in a business-like voice. “He’ll bleed like hell wherever he is right now, but here...? He’ll only experience pain... Of course, knowing him, he’ll probably enjoy it,” she shrugged. “That’s fine thought,” she looked at the blond without a smile. “Consider it a favor,” she nodded seriously.

Julian didn’t look like he was enjoying this, however. He bit his lower lip hard, his eyes squeezed shut, fingers of his hand all but clawing at his throat. The spider in Magda’s palm shifted just a little, digging its legs into the pink flesh, and the blond let out another strangled moan and collapsed onto his knees.

“Julian!” Raven screamed, lunging towards him.

“If I were you,” Magda said in the same business-like voice. “I would hurry up... I am not quite sure where exactly on his throat that spider landed,” she nodded when she caught Raven’s helplessly-hateful glance. “I mean, there is a slight chance of it getting to one of his major arteries; in that case, I won’t be able to do anything,” she shrugged. “So, yeah...” she nodded. “If I were you, I would hurry up.”

“Julian...” Raven muttered feverishly, ignoring a strangely calm, thoughtful facial expression from Desmond. “Julian...!” He grabbed onto blond’s wrist with desperate force. “Goddammit...!” he screamed when Salamander let out a wheezing groan and jerked forward, his hand still clawing at his throat, while the other one slammed into the ground. “Stop this!” Raven screamed, looking at Magda with wild eyes. “Fucking hell...! Stop this!”

“Mm-mm,” she quickly shook her head, still smile-free. “Not until you kiss me.”

Raven blinked rapidly at that, and Magda let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.

“Good God...” she muttered. “Just how full of yourself are you, exactly...? No, I am not going to fuck your brains out,” she said in a somewhat annoyed manner. “I have to kiss you in order to switch our places...! Another reason why this plan is better,” she nodded. “I don’t need you awake for that!” She looked at Julian, whose eyes were squeezed shut, fingers digging into his throat so hard by now that his knuckles turned white. “Seriously, Raven,” she said in a low voice. “Hurry up if you want him to survive...! I mean, there is only that much blood he can lose...”

Raven closed his eyes for a second or two, never letting go of Julian’s wrist, and then he opened his eyes and looked at Magda with helpless, dark hatred.

“Fine,” he said through his clenched teeth. “Stop this!”

“Not until you kiss me,” Magda nodded firmly, and her tone didn’t leave any room for further discussions. She would let the spider to rip out Salamander’s throat – that much was obvious.

Raven gritted his teeth.

“Fine,” he said again without blinking. “Do it...!”

“Ra...” the blond tried saying, clutching onto Raven’s fingers with weak desperation. “No...”

“Hush!” Magda ordered with a small, reproaching frown, and blond grunted yet again, digging his fingers deeper into the ground.

“Stop...!” Raven said in a low voice, and stood up, shaking Julian’s weak grasp off his wrist. “Do it, I don’t give a fuck...! Just stop this!”

“Ooh,” Magda sighed without a smile. “True love... Would be romantic,” she nodded slightly. “But considering that it’s you two... It’s a bloody miracle!”

“Shut up!” Raven hissed through his clenched teeth and took a step towards her. “Fucking do it already, and let go of him, you goddamn bitch...!”

“Sticks and stones...” Magda muttered and glanced at the spider again. The minute she did that, its legs started twitching more slowly, making Julian to draw in a shaky breath. “Come on, Raven,” she glanced at the seething man. “Make out with me...!” Now she looked downright mocking. “I think you are a hell of a kisser, considering who you are with...” She let out a small smile, and Raven closed his eyes for a second or two. “Hurry up,” Magda said darkly. “Otherwise, I swear to God, I am going to finish him right here and now; and then I will get what I want anyway...! Therefore, hurry the fuck up!”

Raven gritted his teeth and took a slow, determined step towards Magda whose smile seemed to be frozen with anticipation.

“Fucking do it already...” he muttered and stepped even closer.