“Sorry, brother. Things have been crazy the last couple of days. I still can’t believe what’s happened.”
“I’m sure they have. They have been for me, too. But I didn’t call to talk about what you’re doing.”
“I know what you want to talk about.” Tyler’s tone sharpened, losing its happy exterior. “It’s the same thing. You never want to let me forget losing the money. Come on dude, you know I thought it was the real deal. I’m just as pissed as you are the deal didn’t pan out.” Again his tone changed, now becoming reverent, and sincere. “I’m sorry.”
A minute passed with silence between them. Cody heard the regret in his brother’s voice. A tear threatened to bulge from his eye. “I know you are, but what am I.” He laughed into the phone.
“We good then?” Tyler asked, joviality returning to his voice. He stepped outside the hotel, rain splattered against the awning.
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Great!”
“What’s all the noise?”
“Rain. It started raining hard yesterday and hasn’t let up since. You aren’t going to believe what’s happened.” He paused for a few seconds as though he were expecting Cody to reply, but even if he were going to respond, Tyler didn’t give him the chance. “I was given the Shanley Hotel,” he continued excitedly. “Not just the Shanley the whole block. And all I have to do is restore—”
“Hold on. What? Where’s the money coming from, because you kinda lost ours.”
“The best part, Cody, is all expenses are paid. All I have to do is get it done. I have a thousand guys here and more coming in a few days.” His voice muffled. Is he talking to someone else? Cody wondered, then he was back. “Sorry, I’m getting things squared away.”
“I don’t understand any of this. Why bother? Isn’t Shoshoni a ghost town?”
“There are people here still. Everyone is excited.”
“Ok? I still don’t understand who gave you this.”
“I can’t explain over the phone.” He paused again. This time there wasn’t a muffled conversation. “This isn’t just mine. It’s yours, too. I’m sorry. I know I should’ve talked to you before I agreed.”
“Are you saying you’ve included me in this? Jesus, Tyler. This is what I’m talking about. You always do this shit.”
“At least come home, and see. If you don’t want to be part of rebuilding the block, we’ll walk away.”
Silence.
“Cody?”
Silence.
“Cody, I swear. You won’t have to pay a dime. Not for a place to live. Not for food. Nothing. Everything is taken care of.”
“By whom?”
This time it was Tyler’s turn to be quiet.
“Tyler? Who’s paying for this? And why?”
“Just get here, man. You’ll understand once you’re here.”
“Fine.”
“Awesome, brother,” Tyler hooted. “When can you get here?”
“I’ll have to make arrangements at work, but next week should be ok.”
“Awesome, see you then.”
The phone connection ended.
“What have you gotten us into this time?” Cody asked, placing the phone back by the books. The whole prospect of owning a hotel, much less the Shanley, made him anxious. “Fuck,” he muttered, walking to the kitchen to retrieve the broken dishes in the trash can
As he passed his neighbor’s door on his way to the garbage chute, he felt her eye on him, peeping out the glass and brass hole. Abruptly he turned his attention to the door, smiling. The darkness from the peephole vanished, giving way for light to filter through the tiny lens. He continued to his destination.
The elevator shook and whined during its descent to the parking garage. His soft steps barely made a sound on the gritty concrete floor. Another set of steps matched his, clacking loudly on the floor. Now what? He wondered without looking around or behind him to see who followed him. It’s no one. He tried to convince himself as his trembling hands fumbled with the key fob to remotely unlock the car door.
Beep-beep echoed in the otherwise quiet garage, which was peculiar in its own right. The garage always had people coming and going. Reaching the car, he flung open the door and jumped into the driver’s seat. Before he was able to shut the door, he saw her. The revenant who had fixed his car stood no more than thirteen feet away. Was she also responsible for the breakdown?
“Shit, shit, shit!” he exclaimed, trying to start the car. No matter how many times he bullied the key in the ignition, it didn’t turn over.
Her face bulged and cajoled beneath the surface of her skin. The dark orbs in her eye sockets gleamed with a twisted smile stretching her mouth. She took no steps closer to him—she was close enough for her gaze to burn into him—No words came from her mouth. They weren’t necessary. Cody knew instantly what her intentions were. She wanted free from her earthly binds. She wanted to be free of the One who caused her torment from rest. Though the likelihood of where she was destined to go was less tumultuous to her soul, didn’t matter. She wanted freedom.
I don’t know how to free you. Cody said without realizing his mouth never uttered a word. Fuck. Where is Hector?
She’s not in this space with us, and can’t get in. The woman replied. Her face stopped contorting, revealing beauty he never dreamed possible from the creature. The hair which had been ragged was now smooth and sleek. Her lips were full and red on cocoa skin. The dark eyes and malformed body with lumpen breasts remained unchanged. She reached a long-fingered hand toward him, and her brows narrowed, pleading for sympathy.
If I knew how I’d help you, Cody said softly.
Go to him, and ask for my release, she replied, lowering her hand. You owe me.
“Who?” Cody asked as the music began playing in his car. Frantically, he flung his head around, looking for the revenant. A woman stomped toward his car, but it wasn’t her, she had disappeared. “Maybe, I do need to see a priest.” He covered his mouth and nose with his hand. “Yes, Father, a demonized ghost is after me so I can release her.” Snorting, he shook his head. “Yeah, like anyone will believe me. I hardly believe it myself.”
For lack of knowing what else to do, he drove around the city, replaying the craziness which had happened to him. His mind didn’t produce answers to the many questions arising. Nothing made sense, least of all the Angel. She’d been with him less than two days, but now Hector stayed from his sight, not even offering moral support.
Chapter Fifteen
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.
Revelation 13:16, KJV
Tiring from his tour of the city, he returned home and tried to put more things back in order. He contemplated calling Tyler again to try to pull more answers from him, but decided against it, knowing if his brother didn’t want to go into details about something over the phone, information remained concealed. Cody slumped on the couch with a sigh.
He had returned the undestroyed items to their place around the room. What wasn’t salvageable sat in a pile near the front door for him to haul to the trash chute. His eyes slid lazily shut. A man stood in the room. It wasn’t a room in his apartment, but it was familiar. The bright-blue suit the man wore was the best Cody had ever seen. The tailoring was immaculate, accentuating his masculinity.
His face wasn’t visible from the way the light shone through the window. But, Cody knew him without seeing his face, knowing it was magnificent and awe-inspiring. Neither spoke, nothing needed to be said. They were men spending time in each other’s company, and words had a foulness to spoil the serenity.
This man was someone Cody had known since he was a child. He was someone he secretly sought approval.
Someone he wanted to walk with as an adult, aspiring to be like him, though he had never actually known him except the magnificent stories told by the town folk. Those stories drove Cody to greatness, so one day the man
said, ‘I’m proud of you.’
And now, standing in the man’s room, Cody knew everything he had done met his approval. While the man would never say the words aloud, the man was proud however meager the achievement. Cody never wanted to leave his side. He always wanted to be in this moment with him, sipping wine in silence, feeling exalted and significant.
The man came closer. His arms stretched wide. Happily, Cody accepted the embrace. Never had he felt so welcome or loved or safe as safe as he had, besides in his mother’s arms. Never had he wanted to do more than make the man proud. This was a moment of magic. Nothing or no one could make him feel small or unworthy again. The man released his arms, taking Cody’s chin as he gazed upon him with love and care. Cody’s greedily accepted the blue light emitting from the man, filling him with euphoria. Everything was perfect. Now he was where he needed to be.
The man pulled away, causing Cody to shiver from the loss of sensation the man gave. He wanted to rush forward and be held again like a child. He wanted to feel the comfort again, and never lose it, but he held himself back not wanting to be childish.
The man spoke, breaking the silence as he returned to the window. Instantly, Cody felt separation from the man as he strained to understand the words he spoke. Nothing he said made sense to his ears. The words were foreign. Then, when the man finished speaking, Cody’s mind scrambled, decoding the words his ears failed to know, and relief followed by happiness covered his face.
Ringing broke the spell of the room, and a swirling mist made the images of the man and room fade. Again the ringing came, the sound closer than it had been. Another surge of the sound made everything he had seen and felt disappear. Jumping at the beckoning of the doorbell, he checked he was dressed, and called out, “Hold your horses!”
He flung open the door. The neighbor lady glared at him, scrunching her face in the most ferocious scowl. Cody looked down at himself, checking again to be sure he was dressed. Satisfied he was, he looked back at her pinched face.
“Good morn—”
“Don’t good morning me, Cody!” she shouted. “If you think it’s some kind of joke, I assure you, it’s not funny.”
“I don’t understand.”
She didn’t respond but pointed down the hall toward her door. Cody leaned out, glancing at her for a second, then in the direction, her arthritic finger pointed. In front of her door sat the trashed items from his apartment. He shifted his gaze back inside his apartment to the spot near the door where he’d put the junk. They weren’t there.
“Uh, sorry,” he stammered. “I don’t remember taking the trash out last night.”
“Well, you did!”
“I’ll take care of it now.”
“You had better.” She looked at him, softening her stare. “Are you injured?”
“What? No. Why?”
“The bandage on your arm.”
“What!?” he asked, looking at the strip of surgical gauze taped on the outside of his arm, starting from his elbow and ending at his wrist. “I…” He glanced back at her. “I don’t know what it is.”
“Are you drugs, Cody?”
“What? No!”
“You’ve been acting strange lately.”
“I know. Stress from work.” He started down the hall. “I’ll clean this up now.”
Crouching, he scooped up most of the items. Where pieces of broken shelving touched the bandaged area, he felt mild stinging. He grimaced, hauling the things to the trash chute, then scurrying back to retrieve the remaining items.
“Sorry again,” he said, slipping back inside his apartment.
He closed the door before she said anything else. Leaning against the door, he examined the gauze. Sporadically, dampness bled through the weft. Cody picked at the tape near his wrist, pulling the dressing away from his skin. He was amazed at what he found beneath the bandage.
“What the fuck?” he said, pulling the gauze free of his arm.
The numbers were shiny from the balm covering the thirty-one digits. More confusion flooded his mind as he traced his steps of the previous day, including the encounter with the revenant. He didn’t remember going to a tattoo shop and asked for this to be embedded in his skin.
“I’m fucking somnambulistic, no matter what Hector says.”
He stared at the reflection of his arm above the bathroom sink. The black, perfectly printed numbers were the same starting at his wrist as they were at his elbow, framing the red numbers in the center, with the complete sequence of ‘1000000000000066600000000000001’.
“It’s Belphegor’s Prime. Why do you have it on your arm?” Hector asked, stepping into the bathroom.
“Good question,” Cody replied, less surprised to see her than having the number on his arm.
“You know what it is don’t you?”
“I know what 666 is, the Mark of the Beast.” He turned from the mirror to face her. “I thought it was supposed to be on the forehead.”
“Gross.” She wrinkled her nose. “Why don’t you know how it came to be tattooed on your arm?”
“I didn’t know it was there. Rosemary noticed the bandage.”
“Come on, don’t be silly. Things like tattoos don’t just appear.”
“I think I sleepwalked. This and putting trash in front of Rosemary’s apartment are two of the things I did last night. The last thing I remember is falling asleep on the couch, then…” He glanced into the bedroom.
“What?”
“I woke in bed fully dressed.”
“Did you dream?”
“I don’t remember. I remember feeling warm and loved. Then the doorbell.” He glared at Hector. “Wait a second. You’re supposed to be my Guardian Angel. Where were you? Did you see any of this?”
“Of course, I was here with you. I never leave your side.”
“Then how do you explain me getting this?” he asked, raising his arm.
“You got up and went to bed. I stared out the window.”
She lowered her head as though she were bowing to him. Trying to keep her attention from Cody, she left the bathroom, making her way to the living room. At the edge of the sofa, she stopped, somehow bringing the likeness of the man who had stood over Cody into the room.
“Oh fuck,” Cody shouted, freezing in the hallway. “What’re you doing here?”
“I thought he was familiar.” She tapped her lips, allowing the illusion of Mark to fade. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re telling me.” He approached the sofa, staring nervously at the spot his old high school rival had disappeared. “Why was he here?”
“I’m not sure. He was here the night before I guided you out of town.” She loudly gulped as though air had to be forced into her lungs. “He’s working for…” The word was bitter on her tongue and she refused to repeat it. “You’re too boring.” Glancing at him, she winked and chuckled. “I don’t understand why he’d go through all this trouble for you.”
“Who?”
She peered again at the ink on his arm. Hugging herself, she quivered. Cody plopped on the sofa with a groan.
Running his fingers lightly over the surface of his tattooed skin, caused a slight, tingling burn. The height and shape of the digits were perfectly drawn; each zero identical to the next. The font reminded him of what was on a dollar bill. He smirked, thinking it ironic the first tattoo he got was the Mark of the Beast. It occurred to him Hector should’ve known from the beginning.
“Wait a second,” he said, twisting around to face her. “Mark still lives in Shoshoni, last I heard anyway. Does this mean, what’d you call it?” He stared at the tattoo then back to her. “Bel—”
“Don’t say it.” She sighed.
“Does he live there, too?”
She ran her fingers through the short hair above his ears with a pursed mouth. The sensation made his pulse quicken, and his cock to awaken. Feeling the persuasion of her touch, he relaxed allowing a fire to ignite, then his awareness that the seduction was meant to
distract him from what was happening, he pulled away from her touch.
“What are you doing?” he asked, standing. “Are you trying to distract me?”
“I thought I’d give it a try.” She laughed.
“I thought you weren’t a Fallen Angel.”
“Hey! Be nice.” She glared at him. “Take it back.”
“Sorry, but aren’t you trying to seduce me. Isn’t it what they do?”
“It’s for your own good,” she defended. “You can’t go home. Call Tyler. Tell him you don’t want any part of it.” He stared at her. She sensed his curiosity was aroused as his manhood had been a moment before. “Cody, tell me you’re not going there.”
“I don’t know,” he sat again, sinking into the cushions of the sofa. “I need to think about it.”
“What is there to think about? A Fallen Angel wants you, which isn’t good no matter how much you think about it.”
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