Until Death Brings You

Chapter 4:

     Alistar stepped through the portal, the watery surface closing behind him with a small pop. The hallway he entered was devoid of people, his magic keeping mortals away from it until he was ready to step through. He had changed appearances, to walk amongst the mortals without anyone knowing any wiser. His hair had shortened some, and instead of being multi-colored, it was pitch black, so much so that when the fluorescent lights caught the strands some appeared blue. His eyes were a deep brown, almost appearing black, and the wide smile filled with sharp, pointed teeth were normal now. He was still tall, standing at a little over six foot, but nothing that would catch someone’s attention, and his skin, although still pale, had some color in it.

           His cane was snuggled securely under his right arm, but he brought it down to start walking towards the nurse’s station. He needed an idea of where to meet Mr. Amberson. Alistar’s thoughts drifted to the young mortal girl he had seen crying and wondered how much she would give up to save her father.

           Tapping against the floor, his cane took on the appearance of a normal one. It looked to be made of a dark wood of some sort, and the shivering movements it gave in hell held no place in the mortal world. The sound it made alerted a nurse at the counter, and Alistar plastered a wide smile on his face once more, instead of looking devilish, as it would in hell, it seemed to charm the nurse when he approached her.

           Dark eyes roamed the woman briefly, catching sight of the name tag which read ‘Alana’. “Hello Miss, I do hope you can help me. I’m looking for a good friend of mine by the name of Robert Amberson. I was hoping to catch up some with him before he leaves this mortal coil behind that is.”

           Alana’s face fell a little before she grimaced lightly. “I’m sorry sir, but visitor’s hours are over for anyone who isn’t family. You might want to try again tomorrow.” She turned her back to the demon, picking up a chart to write a few things in it.

           Alistar, undeterred, grinned even wider. “Ma’am, I don’t mean to be rude, but I really need to speak with Mr. Amberson… there are some urgent matters that need to be addressed with him.”

           Turning, Alana’s face had contorted into one of annoyance. “Sir, like I said before-”, her words cut off as her blue eyes were caught by the dark orbs in front of her. Her face went slack, and the clipboard she was holding slipped from her fingers to clatter loudly on the ground.

           Alistar smiled impossibly larger, his eyes boring into hers. His hands were splayed out on the desk in front of him as he leaned in. Magic, visible only to himself, seemed to crackle quietly around him. “My dear girl, I heard what you said already, but I’m not asking. You will tell me what room that Mr. Amberson is currently in, and you will allow me to speak with him. You will tell no one that I am here, and you will forget you ever saw me.” The magic seemed to leave Alistar and swirl around Alana for a minute before she nodded her head and pointed down a hallway to her right.

           “He’s in room 1312…” Her voice was flat, her eyes hooded as her arm dropped back to her side.

           Snapping his finger, the magic seemed to dissipate from the air, and he nodded once. “Thank you, Ma’am. I hope you have a great rest of your night.” He turned and walked away from the nurse’s station in the direction of the room. Holding up his hand, he wiggled his fingers a little as a goodbye, and the tapping resumed.

*~*~*~*~*~*

           Alex stared into the wall across from her, numbness spreading throughout her body. The words of the doctor continued to play through her mind. She looked up to the ceiling, sniffing as the tears continued to fall silently. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to scrub the tears from them as she plastered a shaky smile to her face before standing up. She needed to see her father, talk with him.

           Making her way to the room once more, she heard tapping coming down the hall and turned her head. Coming towards her was a man she had never seen before. He was tall, at least a foot taller than herself, if not even more so. He was handsome as well. Dark eyes, jet-black hair cut short, but sticking up in different directions, as if he styled it to look messy. He was slender, but you could see as he moved the muscles moved beneath the fabric. A pair of slim, silver glasses were perched on his nose. He had a smile plastered to his face, all straight, pearly white teeth. His skin stood out, so white it almost immitted a glow from it. He wore black gloves and was dressed nicely for someone in the hospital so late at night.

           Alex felt her breath catch as she didn’t seem able to take her eyes off him. He was gorgeous in the way he carried himself, as well as the way he exuded confidence. Shaking her head, a bit, she went to open her dad’s room, but was caught by a low, almost commanding voice.

           “Miss, a moment of your time please.”

           Alex turned green eyes on the stranger, as he closed the distance between the two of them in a few long strides. She looked around, it was too hard to believe that this handsome man was talking to her, but when she was unable to find anyone else, she shrugged and turned her attention to the man who was leaning into her person space. She took a step back, hands up. “Um… sure. Do you need help finding a room?” Her voice was low and scratchy, catching in her throat that was raw from crying so hard.

           “No, nothing like that. I simply have a few things to ask you.” Alistar choose to keep rooted to the spot when the girl had taken a step back. No need to freak her out too much. “I wanted to know what your connection was with Mr. Amberson. I’m here to see him after all.”

           The young girl’s eyes widened, her face a mask of surprise before she schooled her features. “Are you a coworker? I don’t remember ever meeting you.”

           Alistar’s grin grew wider, his head c*****g to the side. “You can call me an associate if you like. There’s a deal that I need to speak to your father about, a deal he made with someone else that I’m here to collect on. Alistar by the way, nice to meet you.” He extended his arm out, hand open as he gazed at the girl before him.

           A feeling of uneasiness began to spread throughout Alex’s body, and she eyed the hand in front of her with suspicion. She didn’t know why, but although beautiful, the man before her gave her a bad feeling. “I’m not sure what deal you’re talking about, but I’m sure you must have the wrong man. Plus, he’s not really feeling up to speaking with anyone. I mean, he is in a hospital. I can have him call you once he’s home… I’ll let him know you stopped by.”

           The demon c****d his head to the other side, trying but failing to catch this girl’s eyes. He dropped his arm, the blonde obviously not reaching to complete the handshake. Shaking his head a bit, he continued. “I assure you Miss; I have no ill-will towards your father. I’m sure he would not have spoken about this deal, but it is important that I speak to him right now. I am sorry, but I will not take no for an answer.”

           “Any deal you have with him, you have to take it up with me instead. He’s dying, he won’t be able to do anything he might have promised you beforehand.” Alistar raised an eyebrow at the girl. He wasn’t use to this. In Hell, he was feared, and being feared earned him a certain atmosphere of respect. Up here, in the mortal realm, he was able to command people to do or say whatever he needed them to. This girl was hard-headed, and he liked it.

           “I’m sorry my dear, but the deal your father made is non-transferable I’m afraid. I need to speak with him tonight.”   

           “Like I said before, he is dying. I don’t know what you expect to get from a dying man. We have no money; he hasn’t been able to work for over 2 years now. We’re about to lose our house, and I’m quite sure when I go home tonight, the lights will be shut off. So, you can just turn around and go home, because we have nothing to give.” She rolled her eyes and made her way back to the room. “Now if you will excuse me, I am going to spend what time I have left with my dad.” Pushing the door open, Alex moved into the room.

           Alistar’s face fell in stunned disbelief. No one was able to just disregard the magic that he used to persuade. No mortal was that is. He shook himself lightly and replaced the grin. He made to follow Alex, but as soon as the girl was through the door, she slammed it in his face. This girl was tricky, and he liked it oh so much.