Page 4 of Torn Ivy
“So I have to take your word for it?”
“Pretty much. Do you trust me?”
The question is fired at me, and I don’t have an answer.
“You said you trusted me,” Vex says. “I’m telling you everything Josh and Cathy says is true.”
Well, how nicely he has boxed me into a corner.
“So what now? You want me to challenge Death for his job?”
“Not exactly,” Josh says. “We want you to disrupt the system. To throw a spanner in Death’s plans.”
“By becoming Death myself?” I ask incredulously.
Vex shakes his head. “No. We don’t want you to become Death. We want you to be the antithesis of Death.”
I snort. “Life? Sorry to break it to you, but I’m not exactly nurturing a new existence over here.”
Josh rolls his eyes. “Not Life. Think of it more like Chaos. A force that disrupts the natural order Death claims to maintain.”
“Chaos,” I repeat flatly. “Brilliant. Because my life wasn’t fucked up enough already.”
Cathy steps forward, her eyes pleading. “Ivy, I know this is a lot to take in. But you have to understand the importance of what we’re asking. Death has become corrupt, abusing his power and manipulating the system. We need someone who can stand against him.”
I laugh bitterly. “And you think that someone is me?”
“Weknowit’s you. Your unpredictability is exactly why you’re perfect for this,” Josh argues. “Death can’t anticipate your moves because even you don’t know what you’re going to do next.”
“Gee, thanks,” I mutter, my cheeks going a bit warm.
“Look, we don’t have time for you to have an existential crisis right now. Death is after you, remember? We need to act fast.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What exactly do you propose I do? Walk up to Death, slap him in the face with my glove and challenge him to a duel?”
Josh snorts. “Not quite that dramatic, but not far off, either.”
“We need you to tap into your latent abilities,” Vex explains. “To awaken the part of you that was meant to be Death.”
“Okay, but how the fuck am I supposed to do that?”
Cathy steps forward, her expression serious. “You need to be triggered. We’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. We have ways to amplify your natural resistance to Death’s power.”
“Amplify how?” I ask suspiciously.
Josh grins, and it’s not a comforting sight. “Ever heard of chaos magick?”
“Err, no. Unless I missed that lecture option on the Thornfield Prospectus.”
“Definitely not on the Prospectus. This is primal stuff, older than Death himself. It’s unpredictable and dangerous, but incredibly powerful. Much like you.” He beams at me.
“In fact, itisyou,” Cathy states, and now it’s all just too much. I stick both middle fingers up at them and turn on my heel to take my chances with the shadow monsters.
2
TATE
I wake with a start,my head pounding and my mouth dry as sandpaper. Blinking against the dim light, I try to get my bearings. I’m lying on a cold stone floor in what looks like some kind of underground chamber. The walls are rough-hewn rock, slick with moisture. The only light comes from a few flickering torches mounted on the walls.
