Earthbound

by Melora Johnson

  “Not technically.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “It might have seemed that way, but really what you did was to exorcise the soul. In that case, he had taken over a human’s body and set the soul adrift. That left the body empty. It could have been inhabited by someone else. Since that didn’t happen immediately, it began to degrade.”

  “Which effectively kills it,” I deadpanned.

  “Well, yes.” Gabby rolled his eyes. “But take Mattheus, for example.”

  “Okay.” I’d take him anywhere, though I was somewhat annoyed with him at the moment.

  “Is he evil, good, amoral, or something else?”

  I worried my lower lip with my teeth as I considered the question. “I was worried about Matt at one point, but you say he’s mostly exorcising demons from bodies they don’t belong in.”

  “Which could potentially kill the person within, if they are still there. And you’re okay with that?”

  “Mostly, yes, he is performing his function in the balance of things.”

  Gabby smiled benignly. “I agree.”

  “It’s a bit tricky, isn’t it?”

  “What?”

  “Well, demons are gaining access to Earth through an act of creation, being born. How can that be? How could God allow it?”

  “The forms and function are in place. It’s a mathematical equation. One egg plus one sperm equals a zygote, which in time becomes a human mammal. Whatever soul gets there first, gets to inhabit it. The demons somehow came up with a way to get there first, before the human soul. They don’t always succeed, but they do manage it from time to time.”

  I shifted slightly and crossed my arms, frowning. “Which brings me to another point. Just how many demons and angels are on Earth now?”

  Gabby looked surprised, as if the question had never been asked or answered before. “I don’t know.”

  “Really?” I was shocked, to say the least. Weren’t they the least bit curious who was winning this particular skirmish?

  “That’s some tricky math in itself. You see, demons and angels can be slipped into the human time stream at any point. If it is or will be, then it is and always has been, for us. Therefore, though you were the first sent to Earth by the angels to live as a human, chronologically, in human time, you came later than some others.”

  My head reeled as I tried to follow all of the esoteric situations and logic. “How is that possible?”

  Gabby smiled angelically, then tittered. “All things are possible with God.”

  I smiled bemusedly. Who can understand an angel while you’re busy being human?

  “I wonder if they’ve got a Fuddy Duddy’s down here now.”

  “Sorry?” I asked, perplexed at the seemingly random thought.

  “Never mind.” Gabby shook his head. “It’s not important, just a chocolate shop I like. It comes down to this: this war or struggle, to find balance, will be won not by exorcising demons, but by convincing demons to come over to our side. How will we do that? Follow your instincts, my dear. That is what you are here for.” He stood up.

  “But, Gabby, why? Why are the demons being born as humans if they can just show up here, far more powerful in their own form?

  “That I don’t have an answer to. I’m sorry.”

  My mind raced. I was sure there were other questions to ask, but he appeared ready to leave. “Wait. Are there others like me?”

  “I couldn’t say how many just now, but yes, there are at least a few. There may be more soon.”

  The door opened at that moment. Matt walked through, smiling, a bag in his hand, but stopped short. He looked at me questioningly.

  “Have you met Gabby?” I asked.

  Matt shook his head.

  “It’s been a while,” Gabby said. His tone was a trifle cool toward Matt. He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

  It wasn’t a normal kiss. Warmth suffused my cheek and sunk in through my body, a blessing of sorts. It swept gently over my brain like a breeze on a hot day, refreshing me and imparting some information. I suddenly knew several things I hadn’t before. I looked at Gabby in astonishment. “Thank you.”

  He smiled warmly. “I should be going, let you discuss things. I’ll be in touch. It was good to see you, dear.”

  “Likewise,” I replied.

  “Mattheus,” he acknowledged as he passed Matt on his way out the door.

  “You don’t remember him?” I asked as Matt gazed at the door, his brow knitted.

  He turned to me. “He’s familiar, in a way, but no. Do you?”

  “Well, I didn’t at first,” I admitted.

  “At first? And now?”

  “I touched him and got a good feeling off him, like some part of me remembers him. Then, when he kissed my cheek, it was like it unlocked a bunch of memories, more pieces of the puzzle.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “You also remember Zyriel fondly.”

  I rolled my eyes, suddenly irritated. “And where the hell have you been?”

  “I went to get some supplies,” he said mildly, setting the bag on the counter.

  “I needed some things too, but I didn’t go off without even leaving you a note.”

  “I did leave a note.” He walked around the bed and picked it up from the pillow. “It’s right here.”

  The energy drained out of my self-righteous attack, and I took it from his hand. Gone to get food, back in half an hour. Had I missed it, or had Zyriel been playing games? I felt foolish. Of course Matt would leave a note.

  I sat down on the bed, instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, I’m feeling stuck and reliant on someone else. I’m not used to it. I’m used to handling everything myself, being independent.”

  Matt sat down next to me and put his arm around my waist. “I’m sorry too.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. We need to think about going back.”

  “What?” He looked at me as if I’d started speaking Greek.

  “I need to return. I need to face the charges.”

  “And walk right back into the same situation?” Matt’s face flushed. “I can’t protect you in jail.”

  “I’m going to find a way.” I was determined. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t, live my life on the run. “Gabby brought me a message about my purpose here and filled me in on a bunch of things. I understand a lot better now, and I know we need to return and deal with the situation somehow.”

  Matt spread his hands. “How about you share some of these revelations with me?”

  I smiled. “Listen, you’ve encouraged me to trust my instincts. Gabby was able to impart some information. One of the things he showed me was how to read the markings on a soul. It’s kind of like Dungeons and Dragons. You have all sorts of souls - good, evil, chaotic evil, etc. You just have to choose wisely which ones you put your faith in and how far you trust them. When one comes over to our side, I’ll know. The marking, sigil if you want, changes. Then I can forgive them.”

  “I still don’t get it. Souls who are tarnished are indebted. How can they just switch sides?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

  “I don’t understand it all, but I have faith in you. You do your thing, I’m here to back you up. I’m not going to argue. I’m just asking questions to make sure you’ve considered all the angles. We’ll do it your way. I’m fine with that.”

  I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. I was grateful for his faith in me. Maybe it was his nature to follow the chain of command, but why he’d decided I was higher up the chain, I didn’t know. Was he just going along to get along? For the most part, I thought he believed what he said.

  “Thank you, my love,” I said.

  Matt smiled and kissed me back, then he got up and started pulling food out of the bag he’d brought in, laying things out for us on the desk.

  I wasn’t sure who had the upper hand in this war. I had always thought God’s forces were the more righteous, but
Lucifer’s army was made up of volunteers. Who was the rebel force here? Were demons thieves, grasping for things that didn’t belong to them, or had they been convinced of the righteousness of their cause by their leader, rightly or wrongly? Humans, by nature, were a wild card, though many of them fought the good fight, like the priest.

  There were humans who knew, or at least suspected, about demons and angels. The hard thing was that a lot of those tended to be religious zealots. It was hard to talk with them about shades of gray.

  I yawned. I would be so happy to go back to bed for about six hours. Instead, I joined Matt at the desk, opened a bottle of water, and drank half of it down.

  I wanted to be totally straight with Matt, so I took a deep breath and spit it out. “Zyriel stopped by, too.”

  “What?” he replied, his voice cold as ice.

  I flinched.

  “With Gabriel?”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t think they’re on the same team. He arrived before Gabriel. I think he’s going to be very helpful.”

  “Okay,” Matt said. His nostrils flared, and a muscle in his jaw jumped. “How exactly do you expect to be able to trust a demon?”

  I shrugged. “Some things are worth taking a chance on. It’s what I’m here for.”

  “Come on. Why on Earth would you try to work with a demon?”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “I just explained that. I’m here to redeem whoever I can, and I know Zyriel. I’ve known him for almost as long as I’ve known you. I have a feeling I can trust what he says. At least, most of the time.”

  Matt snorted derisively.

  “It comes down to what Gabriel said—some of them are redeemable, and I believe Zyriel is one of them.”

  “This feels even more dangerous than trying to banish them,” he replied.

  I grimaced slightly. “It means taking more chances. Trusting more, but I think it will be worth it.”

  Matt handed me a breakfast sandwich. “You’re going to need your strength. So am I.”

  I unwrapped it. Mmm. Bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant. “My stepfather might be able to help me get things sorted out so we can go back home. He’s in construction, and he’s got connections.”

  Matt unwrapped a sandwich and gave me the stink eye. “Like… mafia?”

  I almost spit my bite of sandwich out. “No. Like lawmakers.”

  “Oh.” He grinned. “Okay, we go see your parents in the morning.”

  Well, that had been easy. Too easy? Hmm.

  Chapter 16

  We were headed out of town, but I knew I needed to make a few upgrades to this new hair style.

  “Can we stop at the drugstore first?” I asked.

  “Sure, what for?”

  I shrugged. “A few things to bring this new look together. My eyebrows are too light for this hair. I need some makeup to darken them, so it doesn’t seem like I colored my hair just to hide.”

  The corner of Matt’s mouth hitched up. “Gotcha.”

  We parked in the pharmacy lot, and Matt got out his wallet, then handed me a couple twenty-dollar bills. I felt crappy taking the money from him. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll put it on your tab,” he said with a grin. “I know you’re good for it, I know where you live.”

  I grinned back. At the moment, I slept right next to him, so he didn’t have to look too far. I went into the store and hunted around. The first aisle held refrigerated food. The next was box mixes and such. It wasn’t set up like the drugstore back home. For one thing, it seemed huge. For another, there weren’t the usual signs of the aisle contents hanging from the ceiling. I wandered around for a few minutes until I found the makeup section.

  I didn’t usually buy makeup, so I felt a little lost. I’d never needed foundation, and I didn’t want to get started using it. I supposed changing my skin tone would be a good move, but it had always made me uncomfortable and would be time consuming every day. I didn’t like lipstick, but I could work with a lip liner, so I grabbed a wine colored one. I added eyeliner and mascara. Maybe some kind of hair gel or hairspray and a round brush would help. In the aisle with hair accessories, I saw a display of cheap jewelry on an end cap, so I snagged a couple chains. Near the front hung bandanas. Very retro eighties.

  I took it all up to the front and purchased the stuff, then went back to the bathroom near the pharmacy. I was surprised to find a fairly nice bathroom with a few stalls and a big mirror. I ripped the things out of their packaging and set them on the counter, making sure I stuck the receipt in my pocket just in case somebody gave me a hard time about wearing the jewelry and bandana out of the store.

  I put the eyeliner on a little heavy, top and bottom, giving myself a bit of a cat-eye look, then took up the mascara. I filled in my eyebrows, then my eyelashes with it. It was amazing what makeup could do now. Then I used the lip liner. I took the hair spray and used the curling brush to give it a flippy style. Finally, I put the chains and bandana around my neck like I’d once seen on the cover of an album. Not bad. I tucked the rest of the stuff back in the bag and tied it off, then went to meet Matt.

  When I was halfway to the front doors, a woman and man in navy suits stepped out of an aisle in front of me. The man wore mirrored sunglasses, and the woman had her copper penny red, shoulder-length hair pulled neatly back in a clip. They opened wallets and flashed badges of some kind. “Ms. Allyson Reynolds. We need to talk to you. I’m Agent Wilkins, and this is Agent Gerard, of the FBI.”

  Shit. Panic welled up. I tried to remain calm. They knew who I was, but were they after me for the jail break? They had to be, but they didn’t have guns drawn, so maybe not. “What about?” How on Earth had they found me? Had Zyriel given me up? What did they want?

  She gave me a nasty sneer. “I don’t think you want us doing this in public.”

  The man stood about six feet tall, slim build, with short blond hair. His face had scars, almost like acne. Was he a demon? Was she?

  “If you’ll just come with us.” They quickly flanked me, and each grabbed an arm, effectively limiting my use of my hands.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” I protested. Even if they weren’t really feds, they certainly had the strong-arm tactics down. They moved me toward the front doors at a fast pace. I had a feeling if I took my feet off the ground, they’d simply keep walking, holding me up between them, and I was no lightweight. Would Matt see what was happening as we left the store?

  Outside, they had the handcuffs out before I could draw breath. “Allyson Reynolds, you are under arrest for vehicular manslaughter, for escaping from lawful imprisonment, and for leaving the state of your confinement. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the courts. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

  I stared dazedly.

  “Listen, just let me tell my friend where I’m going,” I tried to stall.

  They simply moved faster, hanging a left, away from Matt.

  “Ally?” I heard behind us.

  “Matt!”

  They shoved me in through the open side door of a dark blue minivan idling at the curb. The man climbed in behind me, slamming the door closed even as the car started pulling away from the curb, picking up speed fast.

  Matt shouted my name again, but it was muffled. There was no way he could catch up to these people.

  My hands were cuffed behind me. It was hard to sit that way, so I braced my feet apart, trying to stay upright as the car careened around other vehicles and corners. I didn’t know the city, so I had no idea where we were going, and I couldn’t get a hand on one of them to even be sure who they really were. The woman in the front seat smirked back at me. Yeah, she didn’t look anything like the typical stony-faced, professional law enforcement officer. There was another man in the driver’s seat. I could only catch glimpses in the rearview mirror. />
  “Either you’re really bad at your job, or you’re not FBI,” I ventured.

  “Give the little angel a prize for guessing right,” the man in the driver’s seat said. I tried to meet his gaze in the rearview mirror, but he wore mirrored sunglasses.

  “Where are we going?” I didn’t think they’d tell me, but it was a natural question, and as cocksure as they were acting, maybe they would.

  “Oh, you’re going to get to meet the head demon of these parts. The boss wants to see you,” the woman said silkily. She made it sound like an honor. It was one I definitely wouldn’t mind forgoing.

  How was I going to get out of this? They had me, by myself, handcuffed, and I didn’t think Matt could just track me down as if I had built-in GPS turned on. I had a lot to learn about him, but I had a feeling it wasn’t one of his capabilities.

  “What does he want with me?” I asked quietly.

  The woman laughed nastily and said nothing.

  I’d be willing to bet it was nothing good. Was he going to have me killed? Why not just order his minions to do it right there? Maybe he wanted to use me as a hostage to ransom me for one of his people. Were demons held somewhere? Wouldn’t they just be banished back to the underworld? That was supposed to be the worst punishment possible for a soul.

  The guy sitting next to me had lost some of his stony-faced professional demeanor. He sat, slumped back against the seat, playing with a lighter he had taken out of his pocket and glancing over at me occasionally. His tie had been loosened, reminding me now of a noose. He caught me looking and smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. He started passing his fingers through the flame, back and forth, as his eyes roamed over me. “I wonder what the boss does want with you. I can think of a few things I’d enjoy doing.” He grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me over by it, pulling it toward the flame. Tears stung my eyes from having my hair yanked, and I started to get a little angry, taking the edge off my fear.

  “Boss said keep your hands off,” the driver barked.

  The guy released me with a scowl. “I was just having some fun.”

  “You’re lucky her hairspray didn’t light up,” the woman muttered.