No Justice for the Damned (Tales from the Tarot)

Epilogue

I dream of a danse macabre, a circle of witches romping under the full moon. The pyre burns bright, and this time, I can make out the faces of those around me. Their smiles, their joyous expressions. But one stands out above all others. The one I’ve come to love in a way I never thought possible.

Hollow, beautiful and golden, glowing in the starlight, holds out his hand to me, his lips curled in a grin that’s both mischievous and playful. “ Dance with me,” he says. “Dance with me, Kill.”

And I do. Because for the first time in my life, I’m free. I’m actually free. Hollow freed me. Helped me free myself.

I take his hand and throw myself into the music that surrounds the crackling fire, the wind and the sounds of witches chanting together, creating a song that’s entirely new. Hollow wraps his arms around my shoulders, bringing my back to his front and cinching our bodies together. We sway and gyrate and I press my ass tight against his cock, feeling his arousal, enthralled with the fact that I’m capable of creating such desire in this gorgeous, ethereal man.

Across the pyre, I catch a glimpse of my brother, smiling, holding hands with his pretty priest. They dance and play like children in love and the sight warms my heart. He’s free. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy.

Hollow whirls me around, gazing at me with such love and devotion. He looks at me like some precious thing. And in his eyes I feel worthy. I feel loved.

He kisses me deeply and it’s warmer than the soft glow of the fire.

And even as we kiss, as his embrace holds me so fiercely and so close, we sway to our own music, the sounds of the forest, the sounds of the fire. The sounds of the witches chanting and singing softly.

Hollow surrounds me. Hollow, who saved me, who has become my everything. We dance and Hollow holds onto me like a lifeline, like a tether that can never be broken.

“ I love you,” he whispers. “ I love you, my Kill.”

I wake to his hands on my body, caressing my hair. To his soft lips kissing my neck. His touch is gentle and loving, insistent but not overwhelming and I lazily open my eyes to see a mop of bright pink hair, mussed from a long night of lovemaking, bobbing in my field of vision. I run my fingers through the strands that never seem to dull nor grow out, and Hollow turns his eyes up to mine, a grin on his handsome face.

“Morning,” he murmurs against my neck as he resumes pressing kisses to my skin. “Did you sleep well?”

I grumble incoherently, turning on my side to capture his lips with my own. His arms wind around my middle, drawing me nearer as he deepens the kiss, opening his lips to me, allowing my tongue to snake inside. Our naked bodies slide against each other, sending shockwaves of pleasure down my spine and everywhere our skin touches. I can feel his already hard length against my hip.

He feels good. So good. So warm and safe. I could exist in his arms forever, taking nothing more than what he’s willing to give, knowing it will always be enough.

His hands skim my body, tracing my chest, fingers thumbing my nipples so I arch into him with pleasure. He hums in enjoyment, moving to take each of them, one at a time into his mouth. He nibbles before biting and I cry out, bucking up against him and he chuckles against my skin. His right hand wanders lower, sliding between my legs, brushing against the skin of my thighs, moving everywhere but where I want it to go.

“Hollow,” I whine.

“I like it when you beg,” he growls as he sucks on my nipple, tongue toying with the metal embedded within to make me whimper in pleasure.

“You’re a sick fuck.”

“And you like it.” He moves to kiss me again, this time finally gripping my cock at the head, playing with my leaking slit, catching my gasp with his open mouth.

I do like it. Maybe that makes me a sick fuck as well. I like everything about Hollow, everything he does, all the twisted games he plays. How rough he handles me. And how gentle. I’ll take every passionate moment, every quiet one. Everything in between.

We’re two parts of the same whole, pieces that were always meant to fit together. Now I’ve found him, I don’t ever want to let him go.

I nuzzle my nose into the crook of his neck and bite down, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to make him gasp.

“Naughty,” he murmurs, snapping his teeth at me as he moves to part my legs and slot himself in between them. Then, he slides a hand up the inside of my thigh to prod at my opening, still sore and slick from last night’s depravity. “Fuck,” he buries his face in the crook of my neck.

And then he shoves a finger inside me. My mouth falls open at the sensation, the unexpected intrusion that’s so gloriously welcome.

“Still so wet,” he whispers into my ear, biting at the shell and making me moan. I grip his ass as he begins to grind against me. “I bet I could put it in right now. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I bite my lip, eyes rolling back in my head. Swallowing, I nod. “Yes.”

He adds another finger and scissors them back and forth. “Wanna fill you up.”

“Yes,” I say again, panting. “More.”

He wastes no time in adding two more fingers, stretching me so wide I feel I might burst. I hold onto him, gripping his ass, nails digging in. Still, I want more. I want to feel him so deep, I won’t be able to walk straight. His thumb eventually pushes its way against my ring as well. Just a little more and his whole fist will be…

“You like that, baby?” he croons into my ear. “What if I put my whole fist inside? Would you swallow me up like the greedy little slut you are?”

I can feel my face flush. I’m hot, so hot. Beads of sweat have built along my hairline. Goosebumps raised all over my entire body. I’m on the edge of breaking, tears coming to my eyes. Toes curling, tangling in the sheets, I whimper for release. “Please.”

“Please what?” He’s gazing down at me, hungry like a predator.

“Please. Fuck me,” I groan through gritted teeth.

“God, you’re gorgeous when you beg.”

With his hand still inside me, he reaches over and grabs a bottle of lube from our bedside table. He has to pull out to begin to coat his dick in a drizzle of the clear liquid and I mourn the loss immediately. I can feel the chill of the morning air on my gaping hole, and I clench down in impatience. I need him back inside me like I need to breathe.

Without warning, he flips me to my stomach, gripping my hips so my ass is in the air, exposed to him. He leans in and puts his mouth to my entrance and I cry out as his tongue dips easily inside. “You’re fucking hot, baby,” he purrs against me, his words vibrating through my core. “Can’t get enough.”

I feel two thumbs breach me, spreading me apart as he continues to lick and suck and fondle. I grip the sheets in tight fists, barely able to control the need that courses through me. “Hollow,” I whine. “Hollow.”

“You need me, baby?”

“Mmhmm…” I shove my face into the pillow beneath me, grinding my ass against him, seeking any and all pleasure he’ll willingly give me.

“So desperate for it.” He withdraws and I almost scream, but then he’s slowly, so very slowly slipping inside me, his shaft dragging in an aching glide that has me nearly pulling my hair out in frustration. Finally, he’s buried inside, gripping my hips so tight, and I feel I can breathe again. To have him right where he needs to be, as deep inside me as he can get.

“Christ. Feels so good,” he murmurs, brushing my hair back so he can stroke my neck. His thrusts begin steady and measured, as though meant to draw out my pleasure and drive me wild. I begin to meet them with my own, drawing myself back and forcing my ass onto his hard cock. But he only holds onto my hips and controls our movement in an unhurried, absolutely brutal pace.

“Hollow,” I growl, turning my narrowed gaze back to him. He’s grinning as he looks at me. “Fuck me.”

“I am, sweetheart. Can you blame me for wanting to just enjoy the view for a while?”

I slam my hips back into him and he gasps involuntarily. His mouth falls open and his eyes darken. I see the lust take over his features as he grins toothily at me. And then he rams into me with such force my eyes water.

That’s it. I could cry. He begins to pump into me with ruthless abandon, each forceful thrust taking my breath away. “Is this what you wanted? To be used like this? To be fucked so hard you can’t walk?”

“Yes,” I cry out. It’s cathartic to feel his handprints, to know they’ll remain. To be used so roughly when I know the depths of gentleness those hands are capable of. To bring out that rich feral nature, that true side of Hollow, the monster that so often remains hidden beneath his pretty smile and his playful words.

He yanks me up so my back is against his chest, so my cock bobs hard and leaking in front of me. And he continues to fuck me as his hands move from my hips to my chest, exploring every inch of my exposed body. They run over my stomach, down over my groin to play with the dark thatch of hair above my cock. They caress my chest before coming to rest on my collar bone and roving higher, to tighten around my throat.

Not enough to stop my breath, just enough that I know he could.

I begin to pump myself with abandon, my eyes rolling back in my head, losing myself to the sensations. To be consumed by Hollow in every way imaginable.

He squeezes my throat as he comes and I know I’ll wear his bruises as a necklace tomorrow. Pumping frantically, he fills me, shoving me forward so he can watch himself unload, watch his spend slip free from my loosened hole.

Knowing he’s watching, getting off on seeing me wrecked, sends me over the edge. I shoot all over the sheets, all over my hand, tugging so hard, so fast, I’m seeing stars. Hollow strokes my back, kisses up my spine, praising me as I come. “You’re so beautiful, baby. That was so hot. Fuck.”

And then we collapse into each other, boneless, exhausted, thoroughly sated. Hollow, as he often does, wraps me in his arms and holds me against his chest, uncaring of the stickiness between us.

He pets my hair and strokes my cheek and kisses the tip of my nose, lavishing me in praise, allowing me to gradually come down from the high of that desperately ravenous fucking. And in that moment of peace, I find myself drifting back in and out of sleep. He lets me, snuggled up in his arms, warm and safe.

Eventually, I wake again, lazily, later in the day than I’d intended. But even still, Hollow has stayed by my side the entire time, combing gently through my hair, watching me, adoring me. We rise for the day together, Hollow moving quicker than me, to make himself a pot of coffee and get me one of my sugary energy drinks from the fridge. I know they’re terrible for me, but damn they taste good. And now more than ever, I can enjoy life’s little delicacies. Because things have never been better. Never been simpler.

We sit together on the patio of our home, a small cottage with a view of the beach. Tropical, warm, sunny, remote. It’s been almost a year since everything happened. Since Father’s death and the fight that almost claimed all our lives. We’re anonymous here and only a few people know our precise location. Abe being one of them. Because after Father’s downfall, after his untimely death and the subsequent revelations regarding his secret, shady life, Hollow and Killian went missing and were assumed dead.

But not before making known to the world all Father’s secrets—all of the horrific, dark deeds he’d carried out, all the people he’d killed, all the children he’d stolen from their families.

That night, after leaving Father’s mangled corpse to rot in an empty alley, we’d broken into his office and secured all the records and plans that incriminated him and all his dark dealings. All the maps to his factories and holding cells, all the detailed dealings and paper trails that would lead to the children he’d trafficked. And left them in Abe’s capable hands.

Like he said he would, O had provided safe haven for Abe. And Alexis. After Father’s death, the young priest had found himself a free man once again. No one had impeded his leaving the Church, no had even attempted to try. He’d merely walked out. And kept on walking. Until his feet took him to a strange building called The Magic Shop, as though some weird compulsion had been leading him there all along. O had kept them both safe. I didn’t ask how, only thanked him for his help. And he had, of course, brushed it off like a small thing, like what he’d done hadn’t in essence saved all the people I loved in this world.

And the next day, The Magic Shop was gone as if it had never existed. Hollow had simply shrugged as if this was to be expected. Like he had known all along that this would be how it ended.

We’d had a choice to make then, Abe and I. Figure out who we’d been before Father, go back to those lives and pick up the pieces to become those people again. Or start something completely new. And like with so many things, we’d chosen different paths.

Abe has a family. A mother and father who never stopped looking for him, never stopped hoping he was out there somewhere. I’ve watched countless interviews with him and his parents, celebrating coming back together. Celebrating their victory and showing the world the benefits of fighting and holding onto hope. Alexis, fresh from hanging up his cassock, is always at Abe’s side. They’re inseparable. And Abe’s family accepts him for who he is now. Scars and all. Because God knows there are scars.

He’s revered as a hero now. The boy who helped dismantle the dark web of Father’s underground trafficking rings, the biggest human trafficking plot in history. The police continue to track down the kidnapped children, get them back to their families and lock up their perpetrators. The work is far from done, but it’s a start. A good one.

Father will never hurt another child again. He’ll never hurt my brother. Or me. Or Hollow. He’ll never hurt anyone. And slowly, things are getting easier.

I chose a different path than Abe. After everything, after Father’s death and the dismantling of his office, after calling and alerting the police, and after all of Father’s accomplices were taken into custody, Hollow and I disappeared. Not before taking some important things for ourselves. A large portion of Father’s secret stash of funds he’d squirreled away. Sebastian’s accounts that he’d left in Hollow’s name.

Club Orpheus, we burned down. Left to smolder in its own ruins. No longer a reminder of the pain and suffering it once housed.

We’re criminals, after all. So, it wasn’t that hard to fake our own deaths. To create new names, new identities, new passports. And then leave. For good.

Abe is the only person from that life that has my number, my whereabouts. There’s nothing of who Killian used to be that I even care to remember. Nothing except Abe. Abe, I’ll wear like a brand on my heart for the rest of my life. But I can do that from afar. Where I no longer remind him of the pain of his past. Where we can both be free.

“What are you thinking about?” Hollow comes up behind me and brushes my hair back to plant a kiss to the skin of my neck.

“Everything. Nothing,” I say. It’s the truth. Lately I think mostly of everything and nothing. All the things that have transpired to get us to where we are now. The simplicity and ease of the life we have now. Together.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he says, continuing to kiss me, to wrap his arms around me. He rarely keeps those hands off me anymore. And I’d have it no other way. In my life now, gentleness has replaced violence, peace has replaced anxiety. Easy, loving touches, languorous glances and passion-filled nights. The most challenging part of my day is dealing with Hollow’s indecisiveness over what we should eat for dinner.

“Where’s that?” I cock a brow at him, unable to stop the grin that comes to my lips. He’s still mischievous, still always up to something. But much less…magic. He’s even stopped wearing his ring. And I haven’t seen him practice since that last day when he almost killed Father and, in the same breath, himself.

“A surprise,” he whispers into my hair.

That day, he takes me into town. The island we live on is remote, everything within walking distance, though I made sure to bring Delilah with me. She wouldn’t be left behind, and on quiet days, we take drives to the boat docks and white sandy beaches, the water always sparkling and clear. But today, we walk hand-in-hand like two normal people in love, like a couple without a history of violence and debauchery between them.

There’s a town square with a market, stalls overflowing with vegetables and fruits and local delicacies. We peruse, purchase a few snacks to share, and continue on our way. I follow Hollow as he leads me down to the docks where up ahead, tourists and locals alike are boarding a catamaran that’s about to set sail.

I cock a brow at him and he only smiles in return, leading me onto the deck where we’re ushered toward the hull to watch the waves, the bright sun beaming down on us, the wind playing with our hair.

I can’t take my eyes off him. The way he looks so alive, so happy and at peace. Still effortlessly Hollow, but different. Whole. He catches me watching and winks at me, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close.

Soon, the vessel departs, taking us out to the ocean. We stand at the railing and observe the brightness of the world around us. There’s something magical about the water, the vastness of it as it stretches out in every direction. I can feel Hollow’s gaze. Though we’re surrounded by people, it feels like it’s only us.

He rests his chin on my shoulder, scooping my waist and pressing my body against the railing, his body against mine. Leaning into my ear, he whispers, “I never imagined this life for myself, you know? I never imagined I’d live through what we went through. And that I’d have someone by my side. Someone to bring me out of my pain and show me there was still a life worth living on the other side.”

I smirk, turning my head to press a kiss to his cheek. I’m not sure when he made such a sap out of me, but I find that affection comes more easily now. Naturally. Like I’m magnetized to him, pulled into his orbit.

“You changed my life when we met,” he admits. I hear a slight tremor in his voice. Perhaps that’s why he won’t look me in the eye. He still struggles with vulnerability even in spite of everything we’ve been through together. “I thought I’d die to complete my revenge. That was always what I intended. To use my powers to end it all. I never thought there would be a choice after all of it was over.”

“I know,” I say resolutely. The thought of what I might have lost that day still chills me to my core.

“You made me believe in dreaming again.”

I blink as he says those words. Turning to face him, I see tears lining those golden eyes. A smile on his lips.

“What do you dream about?”

“This, I think, I dream about doing this. Doing it with you. Forever.”

I roll my eyes. “Careful or I’ll think the big, bad Hollow has gone soft.”

“I love you,” he says. It’s not the first time he’s said it. When in the throes of love-making, or cuddled up on the couch just about to fall asleep, it slips out. But this time, looking deep in my eyes, unblinking, unflinching, it feels special.

“I love you too,” I say, as natural as breathing. I’ve known it for a long time.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t say it back.”

“Then you’re an idiot.” I smirk at him. He grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger and pulls me in for a chaste yet breathless kiss.

“You’re in love with an idiot. How embarrassing for you.”

I have a strong urge to bite him. One I suppress. For now. We are in public after all. “Embarrassing, yes.” I nod. “But true. I do love you, Hollow. I’m glad you decided to stick around.”

“You convinced me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. And now, I think I’d like to stick around a little longer. There’s nothing more I need. Not from this, anyway.” He pulls his ring out of his pants pocket.

“You stopped wearing it,” I state, the question plain in my tone.

“I don’t need it anymore.” He meets my eyes and smiles and all I want in the world is to hold him, to kiss him, to tell him how proud I am of him. “But we both know I can’t destroy it.”

“So, what, then? What happens next?”

“I found this,” he says, withdrawing something else from his pocket. A tarot card. I blink as he turns it to face me. Justice. With a note inscribed on the front. “On my dresser. A while ago.”

“Time to let go,” I say, reading the note aloud. “What does that mean?”

“I think it means precisely what it says.” He looks out over the ocean, and I follow his gaze, watching the crashing waves of blue and green and gold. The way the sunlight reflects across them makes them look endless, unfathomable. Permanent and all consuming.

“I’ll be dead before it’s ever found,” he says. “And there’s not a soul inside here that doesn’t deserve that fate.”

Child murderers, rapists, kidnappers. The worst kinds of souls. Lost forever at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a fitting end.

I meet his eyes again, a hint of fear wavering in the pit of my stomach. “What will happen to you?”

“I don’t know. It’s been twenty years of accumulating souls. But I never succumbed. Never fed it what it most wanted.”

“Pure souls.”

He nods. “I don’t feel anything when I take it off. No pull. No magic. I think if I give it up, I’ll be normal . I’ll be free.”

I hesitate. But then, I look once more at the card in his hand. Time to let go , it reads. “O wouldn’t steer you wrong,” I say. “Do it.”

Gingerly, he holds a closed fist over the water. As he opens it, I watch the ring fall, plopping into the depths like its nothing of value at all. And then it sinks. Down, down, down. And with it goes all that darkness, all that depravity. Memories of the pain and torture. All the power Hollow acquired to seek the revenge that always intended to destroy him. But soon, hundreds of thousands of feet and miles and miles of water and dirt and sand will separate it from Hollow, from the man it once empowered, and once almost killed.

I wait a moment in silence, studying Hollow’s expression. It’s unreadable, brow soft and pliant, lips slightly open, eyes wide. “How do you feel?” I finally ask.

“Free,” he breathes out. Gently, I slip my hand over his where it’s clasped along the railing.

“You won’t miss it? All that power?”

He shakes his head, squeezing my hand in return. “I found something that’s worth so much more to me than all that.”

I roll my eyes as he leans into me and kisses my shoulder, as we gaze out into the vast expanse of nothingness in front of us, unafraid of what’s to come. For the first time in both of our lives, truly free.