The Tower

PART FOUR
THE CONVERGENCE
Chapter 47

The thick door was locked and Jade's arm almost ripped out of its socket as he tried to yank it open. He could have sworn he felt the big brass handle give slightly at the screws. He was locked in the bar.

Yelling at the top of his lungs, Jade seized the nearest stool and raised it above his head, charging the window. He followed the stool through the window as pieces of glass showered over him. Hitting the ground in a roll, he was on his feet almost immediately, whirling to check all around him, moving not just his head but his whole body.

Then, he stood perfectly still. Steam drifted slowly up from a sewer grate and somewhere, far away, someone tuned a violin. The streets were empty. No one. Nothing. Just the tinkle of a shard of glass falling from the window's shattered frame.

He moved swiftly to check the alley next to the bar and along the neighboring streets. As he pursued imaginary footsteps, the heat of his temper rose until it flushed his cheeks, and his breath hammered in his throat. He had lost him. He had lost Allander.

"FUCK," he screamed, kicking a metal trash can end over end across the bar's parking lot. The sudden ache in his foot returned his clarity. He took a deep breath, then walked slowly back to the bar, his fingers tracing the scar on his cheek.

Jim, the bartender, stood fearfully regarding the damage from inside the bar as Jade approached.

"Don't you ever lock me in!" Jade yelled. Reaching through the broken window, he seized Jim by the shirt, lifting him off his feet. He yanked him outside, hurling him to the ground. Jim skidded to a halt facedown on the street, and Jade was on him immediately, pulling his head back with a fist laced with his hair. His other hand was around Jim's throat.

"I didn't do anything," Jim said, struggling to catch his breath. "Don't… don't hurt me." He tried to shake his head but his chin was ground into the pavement.

A station wagon turned onto the street, its headlights catching Jade in the face. He squinted into the light. The vehicle slowed as it approached, and Jade saw a young couple gazing at him in horror.

As they passed, he noticed a young girl in the backseat. She wore a bright yellow slicker and had one hand raised, palm open, pressed to the window. There was a look of fright in her eyes, a confused terror about the world outside.

Jade felt a flash of shame. Goddamnit, he thought. What's she doing up so late?

Her eyes continued to watch Jade as the car passed and disappeared into the night.

Jade blinked heavily, fighting through the rage clouding his mind. What the hell am I doing? he thought. He looked down at his knee in the bartender's back, his hands gripping the man's head like claws.

Like an animal squatting over its kill, Jade thought. Like a fucking animal.

He released Jim's throat and rose carefully from his back. "Jesus, I'm… Jesus, I'm sorry."

Jade reached to help Jim to his feet, but Jim jerked away from his touch. His chin was bleeding and Jade could see that he was crying. Jade's face was red with regret and self-loathing. He took a step forward, but Jim cowered away from him.

Jade opened his mouth but nothing came out. Silently, he turned and walked to the BMW. There was a squealing of tires, and Jim was alone in the parking lot.

Allander sucked the cool night air through his teeth. His feet swayed beneath him, dangling off the roof as he watched the black car speed away.

Jade had nowhere to direct his rage, and Allander sensed that he knew he was losing ground. I'm so far inside him I can touch him wherever I want, Allander thought.

He tilted his head back and stretched his arms before getting up to head back to the new house. His house.