“Thanks. I’ll work on them.”
After hanging up, I do what Clarissa suggests, and I book myself a hotel room, but I don't sleep. Nope, I'm researching Jake Baxter from Texas. He's in Congress now. They're having a major vote on some kind of bill. I've tried to read the legalese, and honestly, I can't make heads or tails of it. Even so, my hellhounds and I head on over to the capitol.
“You two might want to find a park to play in,” I tell them, hugging them and petting their heads. “I’m not sure you can go where I’m going, and I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you two to be in Hell if I’m not there, so we’ll just keep on going here, okay? You play. No fire, though. No flames. Nothing like that. Do you understand?”
Demonfang barks an affirmative.
Shadechomp huffs, smoke exiting his four nostrils.
“Please?”
He rolls his eyes at me—both sets of eyes—but then he licks me.
“Good.” I kiss them both, once on each of their four heads, and they bound off together. Brimstone and ashes, I should’ve told them to stick together, but they almost always do, so I shouldn’t worry about that too much.
I'm dragging a bit, so I head to a coffee shop and force myself to drink some coffee that tastes like sludge. I bought two cups, and I carry them both as I make my way inside some kind of official-looking building. There are guards about, but I walk with purpose, doing my best to look like I belong here, and they ignore me. Eventually, I spot a younger person who looks ready to have a nervous breakdown.
“Can you tell me where Jake Baxter is?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbles. “I’m trying to find Shannon Webb. It’s only my second day on the job—”
“What is your position?”
“Hmm? Oh, I’m an intern,” he says. “I have to go.”
And he rushes away.
Unfazed, I keep walking until I eventually locate a man who seems to be a bit more informed.
“Excuse me. I have Jake Baxter’s coffee. Do you happen—”
“Third door down on your left.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”
The man grins at me and stands up a bit taller. “You’re welcome.”
I nod to him, head over to that door, and knock.
“Come in,” a gruff voice says.
I open the door. Three men and two women are here, sitting at a table, arguing.
Thanks to the internet, I recognize Jake immediately. He has a large chin, a hooked nose, and huge eyes. His face is mostly red, and I wordlessly hand him the coffee and step back.
They continue to argue, going around in circles, and eventually, Jake throws everyone out.
As silence overtakes the arguing and the yelling, he looks around and then stares at me.
“You’re still here.”
“I am.” I take the seat one of the women sat in. “If you don’t mind…”
“I do mind,” he snaps.
“Very well. I was just going to tell you something that could elevate your career to the next level. Let’s just say I have some… intel… that might be of interest to you.”
“You expect me to believe the word of some woman dressed like—”
"Like what?" I ask innocently, using my demonic powers to alter my clothes to be that of a womanly pantsuit.
He blinks a few times, confused, but with a wave of my hand, he has no idea what he’s talking about because he can only recall my wearing this outfit the entire time we’ve interacted.
“I do expect you to consider things a bit more closely for the sake of Billy.”
“Billy?” Jake murmurs.
“Yes, Billy.”
And I give him a few memories of a little boy that he has babysat a few times, whose parents are struggling, who need aid from this bill and future bills too.
Jake nods a few times and sips his coffee.
“Now, if you don’t mind, can you tell me where Anna Norris is?”
“She should be… What time is it? She’ll be eating lunch now. There’s a sandwich shop a block from here. She’s always there.”
“Thank you.”
I head outside, following a crowd, hoping this is the way to the sandwich shop. It’s not, but I overhear two men behind me talking about the lavish vacations they’re planning, and one calls the other Connor.
Whirling around, I grab one of the men’s wrists. “Are you Connor?” I ask even though I know exactly who he is.
“That’s Connor,” he says. “I’m Bailey. Bailey Rutledge.”
“Can I help you?” Connor asks, leering at me.
“I think you should hear me out.” I hook my arm through Connor’s. “I’ll speak with you in a moment, Bailey. If you don’t mind.”
He shakes his head, baffled by the turn of events, but Connor is just chuckling.
“I’m an advisor,” I inform Connor.
“I’m sure you are, but as it so happens, so am I. I can advise you about all kinds—”
“You won’t be taking that vacation,” I say firmly.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You’ll be busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Volunteering.”
“Volunteering? I don’t have time to volunteer—”
“You’re retiring from golf.”
“Retiring? I’m almost good enough to go pro.”
“You want to go pro? Then go pro in everything you do. Shoot for the stars. Do your best. But the thing is? Be challenged. Do your best for those around you, and they will lift you up and hold you in such high esteem that—”
“Look, lady, you’re nuts if you think I’m—”
“I’m not nuts,” I say coolly. “You will start to consider the least of all peoples first and foremost.”
“And if I don’t?”
"Then you'll lose everything. That fiancée of yours? She'll find a guy who will do more than just buy her expensive clothes and gifts to make up for never being around. She'll find a guy who appreciates her and her talents. Your parents? They might not have a lot of time left. Your dad may or may not have heart blockages, and your mom might or might not have cancer. All that matters to you is you, though, what you want."
“Are you threatening…”
“Oh, honey.” I infuse a little heat into my arm, but I don’t let him pull his arm away. “If you think those were threats… I could give you a good and proper threat instead if you like.”
“You’re lying. My mom doesn’t have—”
His phone rings.
He tries to pull his arm free, but I won't let him, so he has to use his other hand to reach into his pocket to grab his phone.
“Mom, I was just talking… Slow down. What do you mean… More tests… What is… There have to be options, right? I… I… All right, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“What kind of cancer?” I ask.
“Like you don’t know.” He glowers at me. “Who are you?”
“I told you. I’m an advisor.”
“Volunteer work,” he grumbles.
“Go pro at life so everyone else can be lifted up and go pro too. Got it?” I wink at him and release him.
I walk away and glance over my shoulder once there’s some distance. Connor hasn’t moved a muscle.
A hand touches mine. Bailey.
“Hello, there.”
“Bailey. Forgive me for mistaking you for Connor, but it’s been such a busy day.” I pat his hand.
Sometimes, I can sense more than just feelings and emotions from a person. I can't read minds, not entirely, but sometimes, I'll see flashes of insight when I touch a person, and I somehow have the inclination that he's together with Anna. Maybe I won't even have to see her… Nah. Best to try to convince them to change by talking to them myself. It's not easy for humans to change. It takes time, years even, and without motivation and constant nudging, they can fall back into old habits really quickly. It's how I know that I won't just be coming back to Allentown. I'm going to have to see or at
least call these four again.
“What do you want most?” I ask Bailey.
“I want to take my wife and kids to Europe,” he says without blinking.
“Your wife?”
“Elizabeth, but don’t you worry. I—”
“What does Elizabeth want most?” I ask him.
He hesitates.
"I'm sure you know, but even though I don't know her personally, I bet she wants a loyal, committed husband, a real family man, right? And what does Mr. Garretson want?"
“My high school English teacher?”
I nod.
“Probably to retire.”
“Why hasn’t he?”
“He can’t afford to, I don’t think.”
“Hmm. And Molly Mae? Your neighbor? What does she want?”
“How do you know about all of these people?”
“These are people in your life who you can help, can’t you? You can help to make their lives better. Why does your life matter more than theirs? Guess what? You can have everything one day, and the next, it can all be taken away from you. Why not help to build others up? Because if you continue to worry about climbing up the ladder, Bailey…" I grab his shoulders and give him a firm shake. "Someone is going to come along and bump you off the ladder, and maybe you'll only fall down a few rungs. Maybe you'll fall closer to the bottom. Or maybe the ladder will fall down on top of you, killing you."
He swallows hard.
“You want to make the ladder more stable? Help others to climb their own ladders, and you’ll have support. You’ll have others rooting for you. They’ll listen to you because they know that you actually listen to them in return. If you want respect, you have to earn it. You can only take so much.”
Bailey shakes his head and moves to walk around me. “You don’t understand—”
“Bailey, I’m signing it.”
“You’re what?” Bailey asks Connor.
“I’m going to sign it.”
Bailey gapes at me. “You got to him.”
“Did I get to you too?” I whisper.
I walk away, heading back toward their workplace and beyond to the sandwich shop. Anna sits at a table for two near the back, looking at her phone, only a few bites of her sandwich left as well as a half-eaten bag of chips.
I slide into the seat across from her and grab the chip bag.
“Who are you?” Anna hisses.
“Bailey wants me to end things with you.”
Anna’s eyes widen. “I don’t understand… You?”
“He’s picking his wife.”
Anna’s face pales. “I… I don’t…”
“You’re a powerful woman in your own right. You don’t need to try to lean on anyone else. Support yourself. Support others.”
“I don’t think you need to tell me another word,” she spits out.
“Connor and Bailey, they’re signing the bill. Jake is too.”
Anna makes a scoffing sound. “There’s no way…”
“Then ask Connor. Connor and not Bailey.”
“I…” Her phone dings. She glances at it and then holds it up close to her face. A flash of anger and then sadness crosses over her face.
“Who is that?”
“Bailey is done with me,” she murmurs. “How did you… Are you here because of Elizabeth?”
“I’m here because of all of the people who need you to start thinking about them and not with what you want, not with what can get you power. Work for others. Support others.”
“That’s all nice and fine and dandy for you to say, but the real world—”
“The real world is so easy for people like you. You’re at the top, but those at the bottom? They have crumbs. Throw them a bone, Anna, or else one day, you’ll die, and they’ll be picking the meat from your bones.”
A week passes, but the bill is approved. What’s more Connor is already pushing for new legislation to help those with cancer.
If I could, as a matter of goodwill, I would take away his mother's cancer, but I can't give cancer, and I can't take it away. I also can't say how exactly that I knew that she had cancer or that she would call then.
Only she hadn't called. I called Connor and pretended to be his mom.
I'm a great ventriloquist. I know how to throw my voice like no other and how to adopt other voices too. I just tweaked his mind so that he heard my voice as his mother’s.
If he's convinced she has cancer, if her doctors somehow are… Maybe I should call the hospital to have them schedule a fresh round of X-Rays or scans or whatever so they can see there actually isn't any cancer…
Chapter 25
You want to know what's freaky? It's kind of scary in a way, but Connor's mom really does have cancer. Stage one. I'm not sure what kind, but the doctors removed all of the tumor. Every bit of it. She should be fine.
And Connor really is volunteering, helping out at a soup kitchen on weekends.
Bailey and Elizabeth are going to counseling. I don’t know if he ever told her about Anna or not, but at least he’s trying to do better.
I’m not sure how long this will last, but I’ll take it.
It’s been almost two weeks now since I’ve been to Hell. I don’t have a lot of money, and I don’t prefer to abuse my demonic abilities, but I’m avoiding Hell for as long as I can.
I'm also not bothering Clarissa anymore either. She has her life in Bethlehem, and I'm keeping tabs on those four.
For the past week, I’ve been training my hellhounds to be able to tell if a person has a darker soul so I can try to tug at their heartstrings a bit and make their soul a little less dark. So far, it’s been a success in that the hellhounds can pick up the scent of dark souls, but turning those souls brighter… Yeah, that’s not always easy, and I don’t want to have to keep threatening people either…
One of the two is nipping at my fingers. I’m lying down, trying to rest, exhausted. I’m in… I’m not even sure what city we’re in now. I just go where the hellhounds take me.
“What is it?” I ask, groaning as I sit up.
Shadechomp has a determined look on his one face, his other face staring out the window. Demonfang is by the door, scratching it.
“You found the trail of someone? Someone really dark, huh? All right. Let’s go.”
I grab a muffin from the free breakfast downstairs, and we’re out the door. The hellhounds race ahead, and I have to teleport to catch up to them.
In all, I have to teleport like that a dozen times until we arrive at a hotel. They bring me to one door, and I just stare at them before I knock.
“We’re busy,” a familiar voice calls.
Seriously? Of all of the people they had to smell the soul of, it had to belong to one of my sisters?
A guy says something, and then the door opens. The guy’s shirt is untucked and unbuttoned, and he leans against the door. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before, but there’s something about him that seems familiar. “Hello, sweet thing,” he says with a crooked grin.
“Who’s there… Lydia.”
“You know this dame?” the guy asks. “Why don’t you come in and—”
“She was just leaving,” Lily says.
“She just got here,” the guy protests.
“Don’t worry,” I say dryly. “I don’t want any part of this.”
But I’m reluctant to leave. I don’t think the hellhounds were wrong. They hadn’t picked up on my sister’s soul. No, this guy has some dark skeletons in his closet, and I’m itching to try to see what I can poke and prod to turn him away from the darkness and more toward the light.
“Then leave already,” Lily says, shooing me away. “We’re busy.”
The guy, what is he? He’s not a demon, not human, though. Something else. Not a witch or a vampire…
“I think she likes me,” the guy murmurs to Lily.
“She doesn’t like any guys. She’s going to be celibate.”
“Why would you want to do that?” the gu
y asks me.
“I—”
Lily grabs my arm and jerks me out into the hallway. “You need to leave.”
“I—”
“Now. I’m busy.”
“I—”
“Isn’t that hot?” the guy calls, leaning on the doorframe, watching us. “Why don’t you two—”
“My sister is leaving,” Lily spits out.
“Wait. This blond vixen is your sister?”
“If he won’t respect you, maybe you should be telling him to leave,” I challenge Lily. I don’t like the idea of her spending a lot of time with this guy. Whoever he is, he’s bad news. Can’t she see that?
“You shouldn’t come around here, putting your big nose where it isn’t wanted,” Lily says.
I rub my nose. “I don’t have a big nose.”
Lily makes a face. “Seriously? If you don’t stop acting like an—”
“I don’t have any interest in this guy, and if you’re jealous because he’s looking at me—”
“Can you blame me?” the guy asks, totally not helping either of us. “You’re both beautiful.”
“I’m going to send you far, far away,” Lily hisses.
“Me? What did I do? He’s the one—”
“You need to leave me alone when I’m here,” she snaps.
I try to look around her. Who is this guy?
“Father’s given up on you,” Lily comments.
“You so sure about that?” I ask. “Because I’m not so sure that he’s the happiest with you.”
And that’s when it hits me.
He’s that guy from the car, the one I tampered with his mind, the one I tried to make turn good.
He’s here, with Lily, and for his soul to be this dark, he has to have literal skeletons in his closet.
Despite my best efforts, he killed anyhow.
And now Lily has her claws in him.
“You’re going to suck up his soul, aren’t you?” I ask bitterly. “You like your souls as black as possible, don’t you? All dark and twisted.”
“If you must know, Father mentioned him to me.”
“Father,” I spit out.
Of course. Of course he would want to mess up everything that I’ve been trying to fix, and I turn away from Lily as she starts to rant and rave at me.
Daughter of Flames: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (A Girl and Her Hellhounds Book 1) Page 16