Forever Wicked (Castle of Dark Dreams) Read online

  He burst from the house right behind Jill. Then he froze. Blue Bunny sat in the middle of the elaborate flower garden surrounded by what must be every freaking animal in Cape May—dogs, cats, and a bunch of other creatures both wild and tame. How had she called them to her that fast? Jeez, animal control would be pulling into his driveway at any moment. His fault, all his fault. Way to blend into the neighborhood, stupid.

  Ganymede forgot about the animals, though, as he glanced behind them. What was that? It looked as though something was ripping a jagged hole in reality. He could see another place through the tear—a yellow ocean, a green sky, and a giant red moon rising above the horizon. He watched with gaping mouth as an animal leaped through the opening, just before the tear closed behind it. The creature was… Ganymede narrowed his eyes. What was it?

  About a foot tall, it had the general shape of a chubby monkey covered in bright yellow feathers. With its tiny pointed face, pink nose, huge blue eyes, little bear-cub ears, and fluffy-rabbit tail, it was sort of cute. The cuteness disappeared, though, when it opened its mouth and snarled. Whoa, would you look at those teeth. Not an herbivore. Guess the flowers were safe. He couldn’t say the same for everyone else in the garden.

  Then the realness of it hit him. No way. But the proof was there in all its yellow glory. Blue Bunny could pull creatures from other dimensions. That could be a kick in the butt for Earth. Talk about alien infestations.

  Enough. Ganymede jumped off the back deck and reached Blue Bunny in two strides. “Send them home. Now.” She looked terrified. Good. “You will never gather an army again unless you tell me first. Got it?” He leaned close so she could see the fury in his eyes.

  Blue Bunny swallowed hard and nodded. Turning back to the animals, she waved her hands at them in a shooing motion. “Go home. Thanks for coming. I’ll see you again. Soon.” She chanced a quick glance at Ganymede. “Or not.”

  Ganymede waited along with Blue Bunny and Jill—who still watched open-mouthed from the deck—as the animals silently flowed over and under the fence. Within a minute, they were gone.

  “I was just practicing, you know.” Blue Bunny didn’t meet his gaze. “No reason to get ticked off.”

  “Sure it is. I thought I made myself clear back in the jungle with your first animal army. Guess I didn’t.” Ganymede did some deep breathing. Do not lose your temper. Like that time in Russia back in 1908 when he had flattened all the trees for over eight hundred square miles. Scientists called it the Tunguska Event and blamed it on a meteor. They were clueless. He still had the death of eighty million trees on his conscience. Of course, he didn’t have a conscience back then. Does that mean you have one now? He hoped not.

  “Hey, that was all a misunderstanding. The villagers were helping big-game hunters illegally kill animals. I was just leveling the playing field. I was doing something good.” She watched him hopefully.

  Ganymede knew he must look horrified. “Cosmic troublemakers don’t do ‘good.’ We encourage ‘bad.’ Subtly. In a way that won’t involve us with any angry authorities or get our faces plastered on the evening news. We want acts of chaos without the consequences going splat on our heads. Understand?”

  She frowned. “Yeah, sort of. But I bet you did some stupid stuff when you were just starting out.”

  “Never. I was sneaky and sly. No one ever suspected I had anything to do with my awesome and perfectly executed disasters.” He was an excellent liar.

  Blue Bunny shrugged. “Whatever.”

  Mixed in with Ganymede’s anger was approval at how quickly she’d mastered the local speech patterns. A fast learner made for a powerful troublemaker. But any positive thoughts died a swift death as he looked up to see that the yellow creature hadn’t left. It crouched watching them from those weird blue eyes. “Okay, princess, we still have a problem.”

  She followed his gaze. “Oh.”

  “Yes. Oh.” He hated to destroy the animal just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But if he allowed it to live, it would cause chaos in the neighborhood. Chaos. The thought hung there: tempting, a juicy morsel of gleeful wishing. He took a deep breath. Put a lid on it. He had to be a model of self-control for the kids. “Can you send it back?” Ganymede would do it himself, but he hadn’t been able to ID the place before the rip closed. Transporting living things to other dimensions could be tricky.

  Blue Bunny shrugged.

  “Try. Now.” He hoped the kid heard the “or else” in his voice.

  She turned to stare at the spot where the portal had appeared. Ganymede waited as Blue Bunny concentrated. He controlled his need to look at his watch.

  Finally, she threw up her hands and swung back to him. “It’s not working. I know I can do it.” She bit her lip then glanced away. “Eventually.”

  “Eventually. Great.” Ganymede thought longingly of his wild and free days before he’d gone teen hunting.

  “Is this how you handle your young charges, Mede?”

  Just what he needed. Her. He looked up at the deck. Sparkle stood in the open doorway with Holgarth right behind her. At some point since he’d left her, she’d found time to change into a short black dress and sexy heels. No, not sexy. Don’t notice the sexy. Ganymede wondered if anyone would care if he sank Cape May into the Atlantic. “I got here. I took care of it. No harm done.”

  Sparkle looked at the yellow animal then back at him. She raised one brow. “Oh? And did you take care of that?”

  He glared at her. “I’m working on it.” Ganymede hated when she did her eyebrow thing. It made him feel less powerful, less capable. “If you don’t like how I run my house, feel free to leave. Please.”

  Just then, the yellow animal spread feathered yellow wings that Ganymede hadn’t noticed before and took flight. It landed on Blue Bunny’s shoulder, gripping her with little clawed feet, then tucked its wings away and hissed at everyone not named Blue Bunny.

  Blue Bunny lit up. “It likes me.”

  Holgarth made a disgusted sound. “Wonderful. It can fly. When it soars over the fence and lands in your neighbor’s birdbath, the police will be knocking on your door. They’ll fine you for keeping an exotic species within the city limits. Then the government scientists will descend on you and—”

  “Shut up.” Ganymede might not know how to counter Sparkle’s raised brow, but he knew exactly how to stop Holgarth. Since he’d missed his chance to dunk Jerry, he’d make do with the wizard.

  Sparkle must’ve noticed Ganymede’s expression because her eyes widened as she drove her elbow into Holgarth’s side. “Be quiet.”

  It didn’t even slow the wizard down a little. “—cable news will park on your front lawn demanding interviews with the man who discovered an alien species.” Holgarth pursed his mouth into a prissy frown. “Fortunately for you, I’m also an attorney. For a reasonable fee, I’ll attempt to mitigate the effects of your thoughtless behavior.”

  Then he disappeared.

  Ganymede smiled.

  Sparkle narrowed her eyes. “Where is he, Mede?”

  Ganymede’s smile turned to a grin. “Sitting in the neighbor’s birdbath.”

  She frowned. “They don’t have a birdbath.”

  “They do now.” He shook his head in mock sadness. “Sparkle, Sparkle, you’ve forgotten so many details about me. But I understand. I’m so amazing at creating chaos that you don’t remember how many other things I can create.”

  “I know. You’re the greatest of all cosmic troublemakers, the best of the best, blah, blah, blah.” Sparkle studied her nails. “I need a change of nail color. Something to fit my school marm image. It’s all about color and symbolism. Maybe blood red as a gentle reminder of what happens if you disobey the teacher. I could put a different image on each nail: a crayon on one, a poisoned apple on another—a little humor there. Any ideas, Mede?”

  He wouldn’t allow her to change the subject. “I am the best.” Ganymede lowered his voice. “At least that’s what you always told me. Or was tha
t a lie, too?”

  Sparkle abandoned the study of her nails to meet his gaze. “You know it’s not. You’re the most powerful cosmic troublemaker I’ve ever known.” Her gaze dropped away. “I guess you might be the best in other areas, too. But you’re also one of the most stubborn men I’ve ever met.”

  Ganymede didn’t see stubborn as a negative. His warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction lasted until Blue Bunny appeared at his side.

  “It has a collar, sir.”

  Ganymede could get used to being called sir. Wait. “A collar?” He started to reach for the animal, but it bared its teeth and snarled. He jerked back his fingers. “Take the collar off and hand it to me.”

  Blue Bunny struggled with the collar but finally managed to get it off. He took it. Yellow. No wonder he hadn’t noticed the collar before. Not leather, not any material he recognized from Earth. There was a tag attached to it. Looked like some sort of metal. Ganymede peered at it. “This has writing, but not in any language I know.” Probably the name of the mutant life form and its dumb owner who couldn’t keep it on a leash. He hoped the owner didn’t show up anytime soon. Ganymede had enough complications. He glanced up to see what Sparkle had to say about it, but she had abandoned them to go after Holgarth. He watched her turn a wooden box over and then stand on it. She leaned over the fence to talk to the wizard. Ganymede forced himself to look away from her perfectly rounded bottom.

  “No, you will not go home, Holgarth.”

  Ganymede’s spirits started to rise again. Go home, go home.

  “You’ve managed a castle, so please don’t try to tell me a big pink house is sending you home with your pointed hat dented.” She listened to whatever Holgarth was saying. “Ganymede will apologize.”

  Ganymede will not apologize. And he certainly wouldn’t wait around until the pompous little wizard crawled out of the bird bath. He beckoned to Blue Bunny. “Come with me, and bring the yellow thing with you. I don’t want any of the locals to see it.” When had he decided not to destroy the creature? What did that say about his level of commitment to the cosmic troublemaker brotherhood? He soothed his conscience by promising to use the animal in one of his amazing future plots to foment fury and recklessness in his beloved creator.

  He led Blue Bunny up the steps to the deck, stopping for a moment in front of Jill. “And no sending people nightmares. You don’t try your powers until you know how to use them in the right way.” That meant the way he wanted them used. Ganymede didn’t need any loose cannons messing with his plans.

  She nodded and then followed Blue Bunny into the house and up the stairs to their rooms.

  Ganymede called after them. “See if the yellow thing will use a litter box.” Maybe he’d get lucky. “And tell Jerry to remember what I told him.” He knew he should talk to Jerry now, but he’d reached the end of his never-abundant patience. Time to dig that ice cream out of the freezer, change into something more comfortable, and spend some alone time powering down. Otherwise, the next kid that annoyed him might not have Sparkle close by to run interference.

  A few minutes later, he’d scooped out a super-sized bowl of chocolate ice cream and escaped to his room without anyone stopping him. Mistral had been in the kitchen, but he’d been too busy messing around with some things in the cupboards to question Ganymede. Sparkle was still out in the garden trying to coax Holgarth back inside. Ganymede hoped Holgarth had taken a big enough shot to his massive ego to ensure he never set foot in Ganymede’s house again.

  Once in his room—on the third floor far away from the kids—he locked his door, opened a bag of chips, and set it on the coffee table next to the ice cream. Then he picked up the TV remote and clicked on the news channel. He’d take a quick look to see if they were still making a big deal of the leaning tower collapse. His only regret? He couldn’t take credit for it. He only half listened as he got ready to change into his more comfortable self.

  “Ganymede.”

  Startled, he turned to stare at the TV.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not on your doorstep. Yet. But I’m close enough to sense you. So I thought I’d say hi. Hope you have a spare bedroom waiting when I get there.” The Big Boss smiled at him from the screen.

  The smile didn’t reach his eyes. Ganymede thought it would take more than a smile to warm those eyes. Pale gray rimmed in black, they were arctic ice on a winter’s day—cold, empty. “Hey, Bourne. It is still Bourne, right?” His thoughts raced in every direction. Too soon. He wasn’t ready for a throw down with the Big Boss.

  The Big Boss shrugged. “For now. But I’m growing bored with it. If you come up with anything better, let me know.” His smile faded. “Any chance we can settle this quietly, in some little out-of-the-way place with no civilization within a hundred miles?”

  Ganymede didn’t have to pretend defiance. He’d been tossing defiance at the universe ever since the moment his maker kicked him into this world. “Not a chance. I’m thinking Times Square. New Year’s Eve just as the big-ass ball is dropping. Can you see it? Mass hysteria. Chaos on a scale never seen before. A thousand years from now, they’ll still be talking about it.” Not even close to what he really wanted. But Bourne would expect this from him. Who was he to disappoint?

  The Big Boss shook his head. “Of course, Times Square. I have one question. Why now after all the years?”

  Ganymede thought about shrugging Bourne off with an easy answer like, “I just felt like it.” But why not the truth? The Big Boss was one of the few people he truly respected, so maybe he deserved some straight talking.

  “I go back a long way, Bourne. Hey, I hassled cavemen. Gotta tell you that wasn’t much fun. Limited resources. Those guys didn’t have much imagination, couldn’t appreciate my talent. But I gave it my all. Then you came along. You gathered the troublemakers together and organized our butts. You put a rein on the chaos we could cause. We hated you for it at first. I mean, we were born to destroy. But it didn’t take me long to realize that you saved us as well as the world. If not for you, the Earth would be a barren planet without life, and we wouldn’t have a reason to exist.”

  The Big Boss looked startled. “A compliment? From you?”

  Ganymede looked away. “Yeah, well don’t let it go to your head.” He was glad the mushy part was over. Embarrassing. Troublemakers didn’t say stuff like that to the Big Boss. “So as much as I sort of respect you,”—he mumbled that part—“I don’t think you’ve ever really understood how we feel. The need to create chaos isn’t a career choice, it’s an addiction. It’s something we need, like any drug. When we don’t feed the need, it hurts. I’ve denied myself for a long time.”

  “Then why not keep on denying it? You’ve handled it this long, so I know you’re strong enough.”

  Ganymede hesitated, but only for a moment. Not so long ago, he would have told Sparkle first. But maybe Bourne had earned the right to know before anyone else. Because if he managed to kill the Big Boss, shouldn’t the guy at least know he died for a good cause? His decision made, Ganymede gave the bare bones version, the one that didn’t reveal many details and definitely didn’t mention Sparkle. Not that she’d had anything to do with his choice. Really.

  When he’d finished, Ganymede watched Bourne for a reaction. He’d expected shock, but instead an expression Ganymede couldn’t ID flashed in the Big Boss’s eyes and was gone.

  “So you remember a little of your life before you became a cosmic troublemaker, and you want payback for what you lost. I get that. But why now? Why not wait, gather the other troublemakers to fight with you.” He threw up his hands. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe give yourself a chance to survive?”

  “I don’t want their help.” I’m the strongest, and I’m the one who remembers. “It’s my fight.” Ganymede ignored Bourne’s expression that said he was a special kind of stupid.

  “You still haven’t answered my first question. If you’re so focused on vengeance, then why snap and go crazy for the last month? You had to know it would get my
attention, and you didn’t need me breathing down your neck.”

  “Why did you make me have to hunt and destroy you?” Bourne’s question stretched unspoken between them.

  It wasn’t Sparkle. It absolutely wasn’t her. “Now felt right. I mean, it’s been on my bucket list for a long time. And once I’d decided to take on my maker, I thought I should have a last fling before buckling down to plan the final confrontation. Figured I probably wouldn’t get another chance for a good time.”

  “What is your plan? You weren’t too clear on that.”

  Ganymede smiled. “You’ve gotten as much as you’re going to get. Feel honored. You’re the first one I’ve told the reason behind everything.”

  “The first one? You haven’t told Sparkle?”

  “No.” Ganymede knew it was childish, but he felt a certain amount of glee saying that word.

  Bourne didn’t ask why, he just nodded. “By the way, if you’re planning on a life after me, you might want to remember something.”

  Ganymede didn’t trust the smug look in his eyes. “What?”

  “Back a while, phony Archangel Ted almost killed me in your castle? Remember?”

  Ganymede nodded even as he tried to call up the details of the event.

  “I decided right then that I needed to appoint someone to replace me in case I died. Do you remember who I chose?”

  Ganymede shrugged. “Sure. Sparkle.”

  It was Bourne’s turn to grin. “Yes. If you kill me, Sparkle Stardust becomes the Big Boss.” Then he disappeared.

  Ganymede turned from the TV to stare at his bowl of melting ice cream. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore. Bourne’s image might be gone, but his words lingered. For the first time, Ganymede faced the possibility that he might survive both Bourne and his creator. Then what? Sparkle’s presence here proved he couldn’t avoid her forever. And forever was the only way he could hope to live his life without going crazy.

  He considered his options. Where could he go that she wouldn’t follow? Ganymede smiled. Yes, he had his bolt-hole. That was if he walked out the other side of the coming battles.