A Dance Macabre (Perverse City #1)

48. Mercy

48

MERCY

“ A nd agreeing to Dizzy’s half-baked plan is what you went for?” Gemini asks, a small smirk lifting his upper lip up as he hands me one of the two dirty martinis he made for us.

I huff loudly but accept the drink and take a sip.When Wolfgang told me he was off to see Aleksandr, I thought it would be best for me to venture out.

The walls of Mount Pravitia are beginning to feel narrow and suffocating when everywhere I look there’s somehow a memory of Wolfgang attached to it. However, now there’s a giant smear over all of it, like toxic paint carrying the perfume of my betrayal.

So I showed up to Gemini’s house unannounced.

“I wasn’t in the right state of mind,” I answer primly, setting the martini glass atop a coaster on the large glass coffee table.

I settle into the red leather couch, leaning on my left side, and cross a leg over the other while I rest my temple against my index and thumb. Falling silent, I gaze out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up his living room. Gemini’s property faces the harbor and his casino, spanning the entire cliff, and is the only house for miles on either side.

“And this was after the Oracle confirmed what Tinny and I already suspected?” he asks with a laugh. He takes a long drink of his martini before setting it on the coffee table and plopping beside me dramatically.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” I mutter, my eyes still trained on the shimmering lights of Pandaemonium, having no idea how to respond to Gemini’s probing questions.

Now looking back, it all feels like a feverish nightmare. Surreal and immaterial.

Wolfgang hadn’t given me any reason not to trust him. Quite the opposite if I’m honest, and instead of sitting with my unguarded feelings, I chose the worst possible solution to my problem.

Was there even a problem to begin with?

“Ruthless little thing,” Gemini sing-songs.

Begrudgingly, I look back over to him. He faces me, mirroring my posture, his head leaning against his palm, an idiotic grin slicing across his face. His hair is a light yellow today. It matches the knitted tank top tucked into his wide-leg tweed pants.

“He doesn’t trust me,” I mutter as I sit up straighter, wringing my hands.

“Can you blame him?”

“Gemini!” I exclaim in exasperation, “You’re not helping.”

His brows lift in surprise. I’m sure it’s due to my uncharacteristic outburst. His hand falls to the couch while he cants his head, eyes narrowing. “Gods be damned,” he says slowly before pointing a finger at me. “You care.”

I sigh loudly, leaning over to take a large gulp of my drink. “Of course, I care .”

“Never thought I’d see the day,” he muses, looking out the window.

Feeling restless, I stand up and start to pace. “I am capable of caring.”

Gemini falls serious, his eyes tracking my nervous movements. “Not like this.”

I stop my pacing. Find his gaze. Swallow hard.

“What can I do?” The tremor in my voice makes me want to open the sliding doors to the balcony and throw myself off the cliff and into the harbor.

“Have you tried apologizing?”

I feel like screeching. I start pacing again.

“I did apologize, I told you this already.”

Gemini lets out a derisive puff of air, reaching for his drink. After a sip, he pins me with his mismatched eyes. “Have you tried apologizing when there isn’t the disfigured corpse of his former employee at your feet?”

My arms flail, fists tight. “Why does that matter?” My cheeks are burning, chest heaving with offense.

Gemini chuckles, stretching himself across the couch, his arms behind his head as if our conversation is as casual as an afternoon picnic. “Oh Mercy, you know nothing about life but the affairs of the dead, don’t you?”

“Gem … I will maim you,” I say through clenched teeth. “Speak plainly.”

His eyes twinkle. “I’m too pretty to maim, love.” My hand reaches for my dagger, and Gemini barks a laugh, sitting back up straight and holding out his palms as a sign of surrender. “Fine, fine.” He taps the couch beside him. “Sit, you’re making me nervous.”

My shoulders fall in defeat, and I do as he says.

As I sit, a muffled sound coming from the hallway behind me catches my attention. Turning around, I see nothing but Gemini’s eclectic decor, his walls full of mismatched frames and trinkets.

“What was that sound?” I ask quizzically.

Gemini gives me a bewildered look. “Sound? Must be the wind,” he mumbles as he jumps to his feet. “Let’s put on some music, shall we? Something to offset your glum mood.” He flashes me a grin from over his shoulders, shimmying his hips as he puts on a record and delicately places the needle on top of it.

When the music begins to fill the room, he lets out a satisfied sigh. “There, much better.”

Sitting back down, his attention is again back on me, and I shrink in my seat.

He picks up the conversation right where we left off.

“What Wolfgang needs from you is sincerity,” he says much too seriously.

“I’ve been sincere,” I snap back.

Gemini gives me a quick eye roll. “If you’re going to rebuke any advice I give you, love, then I'd rather save my breath.”

My heart sinks. Is this a feeling of regret again?

“Please,” I press, taking his hand in mine.

Gemini pauses and looks down at our joined hands as if he’s never seen me purposely make physical contact before. When his gaze slides back up, his smile is smug. “Wolfie sure did a number on you.”

I shove his hand away and cross my arms in protest but say nothing.

Gemini’s laughter slowly wanes into silence, his expression turning thoughtful.

“I could tell you the same thing six million ways, love — but the meaning will always stay the same.” He pins me with his stare. “Your apology needs to come from the heart.”

Marching through the enfilade, shoulders straight, head held high, I head for the library where I know I’ll find Wolfgang. I left Gemini’s house with the conviction that this apology needed to happen now, or I would lose the courage to follow through.

I burst through the door. Wolfgang sits near the crackling fireplace, a book on his lap, and Truffles curled up at his feet. He seems surprised but says nothing as I stomp up to his chair.

“You would have done it if I didn’t do it first, I just know it,” I blurt out. “If anyone could understand the motivations behind my actions, it’s you.” I start to pace. “Isn’t it good enough for you to know that I regret what I did?” I furtively sneak a peek at Wolfgang. The corners of his lips are curling up in amusement as he slowly takes his reading glasses off and closes the book on his lap but seems in no hurry to interrupt. “If our gods could turn back time, I would beseech for them to do just that. I was possessed, Wolfgang. Possessed!”

I fall silent. Turn my entire body toward Wolfgang. Try to control my heavy breathing and pumping heart.

I seek reassurance in his steely gaze but find nothing but levity.

He lets my speech fill every crack in the library before speaking, his grin growing wider. “Was that an attempt at an apology, Crèvecoeur?”

I feel struck. “It — it was an apology,” I stutter out.

He tries to hide a chuckle behind the hand holding his glasses. His gaze slides up the length of my body, gradually turning serious. “Try again, my ruin.”

The sound that comes out of my mouth can most likely be defined as a shriek, I can’t tell—I’ve never acted this way before.

But I do the only thing that feels appropriate—and stomp right out of the library.