by Rachel Green
“Very well.” Gillian stood and bowed.
“You’ll owe me.”
Gillian paused. She nodded with her back still turned to the demon, then pulled open the doors. A pair of mortals armed with automatic rifles led her out of the building into the night.
She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold, clear air–a welcome relief after the close, cloying atmosphere of the demon’s chambers. She walked the drive to the gate and turned left to cross Regent’s Park and travel home.
She sped up, leaving the park only seconds later. If she chose to run all the way, she would reach home in perhaps forty minutes, though she intended to stop for a snack on the way back. One had to keep one’s energy reserves up when running long distance.
Chapter 34
Felicia had a girlfriend when she left college who’d been an avid fan of soldier movies; everything from The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare to the modern Special Force One and Heroes. In every one of them, there was a scene where the crack commando squads were preparing their equipment for a mission. This was nothing like them.
“Had we better check, do you think?” Harold loaded an ancient revolver. “I mean, if this bint isn’t an angel, he might take exception to us barging in on him and a stripper or something.”
“A stripper?” Felicia raised an eyebrow.
“It’s possible.” Jasfoup plucked the gun out of Harold’s hand and tucked it into one of his pockets. “On the other hand, what if he is being attacked and we do nothing to stop it? How bad would we feel then?”
Harold waved a hand. “Not desperately bad because it wouldn’t be us.”
“We don’t want to lose anyone else.” Julie remained seated. “We should help.”
“I know.” Harold slammed his hand down on the table, making them jump. “We could send Devious to look through his window. If this Gary’s being attacked, he can come back and if he’s just enjoying a bit of oat sowing, he could report back later.”
“You’re disgusting at times, Harold.” Felicia stood and looked out of the window. There were no streetlights out here, but with her shift in vision she could make out the buildings of the stable yard and a cat padding across the top of her car.
“It’s an acquired skill.” He stood beside her. “What are you looking at?”
“A cat on the roof of my car.”
Harold looked out. “One of Gillian’s. They live in the mausoleum.”
“I know.” Felicia turned back to the room. “Well? Send the imp.”
“Wait.” Julie held up a hand. “We’ll learn nothing if the imp is destroyed.”
“True.” Jasfoup frowned. “If he’s not back in five minutes, we’ll send another one.”
“That’s hardly helpful.” Harold picked Devious up and put him on the table. The imp looked from one face to the next, interspersed with frequent glances at the door. “Can you attach that spell to Devious?”
Julie nodded. “As long as I have a focus. Perhaps it’ll be easier with a different species.”
“We can hope.” Harold took a pair of scissors from the cutlery drawer and snipped off the tip of the imp’s claws, laughing when Devious flinched.
“What did you think I was going to cut off?”
Devious merely muttered, as Julie formed another marble-sized fetiche. “Now.” She motioned to Harold to cast the power of sight into the marble before it hardened.
“You can open your eyes now. It’s all over.”
“It is?” Devious patted himself. “I don’t feel any different.” He put a paw over one eye and then the other. “I don’t see anything different either.”
“You won’t,” said Julie. “It’s me who’s seeing through your eyes. Incidentally, Harold, you should really trim your nostril hairs.”
“Eh?” Harold rubbed his nose. “I like my nostril hair. Off you go, Devious. Find out who that woman is.”
“Don’t take too long. I’m feeling queasy already.” Julie turned to Jasfoup. “Can I have that bowl again please?”
“Sure.” The demon went to the sink. “Do you want me to wash out the last lot first? There doesn’t seem to be much point if you’re going to do it again.”
“Yes.” Felicia reached across the table to hold her sister’s hand.
Julie squeezed back. “Thanks. I’m going through a pipe.”
“Imp tunnels.” Jasfoup ran the tap. “That’s normal. There should be a hub soon.”
“Yes.” Julie closed her eyes. “Everything is very bright. There are...oh my God...thousands of these pipes, some of them blocked up.”
“Places that are no longer viable,” said Jasfoup. “Buildings that no longer exist, islands that have sunk, that sort of thing.”
“I’m going into another tunnel.” Julie swayed. “There are lots of twists and turns and I’m running past them. The tunnel walls are transparent. I can see a street...lights...a front door. I’ve stopped and I’m opening part of the wall. It’s like a patio window.”
“Gary’s house.” Jasfoup passed her the bowl. “He’s not very fast, is he?”
“Its seven miles away.” Harold’s fingers wagged as he calculated. “That’s the equivalent of eight hundred miles an hour.”
“Meh.” Jasfoup made a point of looking bored. “Slow.”
“Go on, Jules.” Felicia squeezed her hand again.
“I’m in a living room. The television’s on. I’ve stopped. I’m watching a cartoon with yellow people in it. The big yellow man is eating a sausage...and another one...” She paused. “I’m seeing color. I haven’t seen color since before.”
Jasfoup hissed. “Get on with it, Devious.”
“At least the house hasn’t burned down. It’s probably not the angel then.”
“That’s a relief.” Jasfoup grinned. “Find the stripper, Devious.”
“I’m moving again.” Julie swayed. “I feel sick. Why do people buy green sofas?”
“Somebody has to. Perhaps it makes them feel virtuous.”
“I’m entering the kitchen. There’s a fridge here. I’m opening it. There’s some milk and a block of cheese. I’m eating the cheese.”
“Never send an imp to do something important. They’re so easily distracted.”
“I’ve eaten the cheese and drunk the milk. I’m going back into the hall. The television’s still on in the living room. I’ve passed it. Up the stairs.”
“It’s like reading comics aloud.” Harold took Gillian’s hand. “You miss half of what’s going on.”
“The first room has an office in it. I can see a computer and a desk...and a chair...climbing on the chair... There’s a packet of biscuits.”
“Take biscuits.” Harold laughed. “Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly at the faces staring at him. “It feels like we’re in one of those verb-noun computer adventures.”
Felicia shook her head. “Before my time.”
“I’ve taken the biscuits and gone into the next room.” Julie opened her eyes for a moment. “I don’t want to eat anything ever again.”
Harold was still chuckling. “I want a biscuit now.”
“Shh!” Felicia glared at him. “Will you be serious for a minute?”
Julie spoke again. “I’ve dropped the wrapper in the bin and gone back to the corridor. There’s a bathroom to my right... Oh, I’m going in...” She went silent for a moment. “I can’t believe he eats toothpaste.”
“See?” Jasfoup thumped Harold.”I told you it wasn’t me using it all.”
“I’m leaving the bathroom and turning right. There’s a bedroom here. There’s someone in the bedroom... I’m going inside...” Julie took several deep breaths. “I can see the girl on the bed. She’s wearing a wig or something. Oh, God! She’s on fire. No. She is fire. She’s made of fire.”
“Puriel. Oh dear. Can you see if Gary Hughes is still alive?”
“I can’t actually control his movements, you know.”
“Tell him to get out before the angel sees him.” Wra
ck tugged on his earlobe. “He’ll be discontinued.”
“I can’t tell him anything.”
“Sorry.” Wrack began to bite his claws.
“Oh, shit...” Julie’s voice trailed off.
“What?” Felicia asked. “What’s happening?”
“There’s blood spattered up the walls and the bed is drenched with it. I used to like red. I’ve climbed up onto a chest of drawers.” Julie swayed in her chair. “I can see the bed from here. The creature hasn’t seen me. On God. I can see a body on the bed, or what used to be a body, anyway. Its skin has been removed. It looks like those pigs that used to be in Mr. Baker’s window, Fliss. I can’t see the face, thank God. The creature has got skin like coal. I don’t mean black, more like coal in a fire, the way it glows around cracks and things, only there’s fire crawling across it. You’d think the bed would catch fire.”
“It’s celestial fire.” Jasfoup’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the back of a chair. “It’s almost sentient.”
“Look at its wings, though.” Julie’s voice lowered in tone. “There are thousands of black feathers burning with orange and blue flames that change into different shades when the wings move.” She shook her head. “I’m going to have nightmares about this.”
“What? The angel?”
“No. I can see the skin. It’s been taken off in one complete piece. It looks like a deflated dolly, like that one in Dad’s catalogue.”
Felicia nodded. “I remember.”
“It’s perfect. This thing is good at what it does. There’s not a mark on the skin at all. I can’t even tell where the first cut was. There’s something else...another skin, though this one has long hair. It must be the woman who came to see him. The thing has killed her too. She has cuts all over her though. He didn’t want her skin, by the look of it.”
“No.” Jasfoup shook his head. “That was the skin he came with. He doesn’t need it anymore.”
“The thing is getting up off the bed. I’m hiding behind a picture frame... He’s left the room. I’m going for a closer look.” Julie was breathing heavily. “Please let this be over soon. I can’t stop the images coming”
“Just a bit more,” urged Jasfoup. “He’s dead already, so you’ve saved putting the rest of us in danger.”
“Just me, you mean?” Julie opened her blank eyes and stared at him. “You try doing this next time.”
Jasfoup shrugged. “I can’t. I can’t make the spell. Only a nephilim.”
“You mean I could too?” Harold asked.
“No. Only if you could access the land of the dead.”
“I’m on the bed.” Julie’s head bounced with the imp’s motion. “It’s sick. The skin is right in front of me. Oh God!”
“What?” asked Felicia and Harold in unison.
“Damndamndamn.” Julie began to hyperventilate.
“What?”
“The skin moved. It looked right at me. I swear.”
“It was probably your weight on the bed.”
“I wish it was.” Julie tasted the bile in her throat. “The damn thing is alive.”
“Grab it then.” Jasfoup clutched at her arm. “It’s nephilim skin.”
“I can’t tell the damned imp what to do. Just seeing is bad enough. I’m looking toward the door. It’s coming back. I’m opening one of the little doors. I’m running through a pipe again. There’s the light place. Another tunnel.” Julie began panting, as if she was doing the running herself.
She slumped back in her chair as Devious reappeared. “We were too late, sir.” The imp lowered his head with a deep sigh. “The geezer was already dead. The angel’s using nephilim skin to get around. Probably alters his appearance every time.”
“No wonder we can’t find any trace of him.” Harold patted the imp on the head. “He could be anyone.”
Felicia hurried to Julie’s side, sending her chair to the floor with a crash. “Help me with Julie. I think she’s fainted.”
“I’m not surprised.” Harold hurried to the sink for a glass of water. “I think I’d faint if a piece of skin turned and looked at me,”
Jasfoup cleared his throat with a small cough. “You’d scream like a little girl.”
Harold tipped half the glass of water over Julie. She woke and was promptly sick over the kitchen floor.
“I should have passed her the bowl.” Jasfoup looked over. “No carrots?”
“Yes, it would have saved me a cleaning job.” Harold looked away. “Is she all right?”
“I think so.” Felicia held her sister’s hand. “Are you?”
“Oh God.” Julie retched again. “Don’t I look a sight?”
Felicia turned to see Devious standing on the table. His hooves were stained red.
Julie opened her eyes again. “Will you turn off the damned connection?”
Devious crushed the marble underhoof.
“Thank Dog for that.” Julie managed a slight smile before she fainted again.
Chapter 35
Felicia stroked her sister’s hair. Her breathing seemed normal, she had no increased temperature and the pulse in her neck beat steadily. It was just a faint. Hardly surprising in the circumstances.
Her gaze shifted to her hand. How long was it since she’d thought to clean off her nail polish? Her fingernails still showed ragged remnants of the midnight blue she'd worn to confront Jenna in the nightclub. She really should take better care of herself.
Harold knocked softly on the doorframe. “Will she be all right?”
Felicia leaned down to plant a kiss on Julie’s forehead. “I hope so.” She stood, leaving an indentation in the mattress. “I’ve never seen her black out.”
“It’s hardly surprising.” Harold came in, his voice hushed to avoid waking the sleeping woman. “Watching what that little bugger does in private is something you couldn’t pay me to do.”
“I think watching the murder was worse.” Felicia moved a lock of hair from her sister’s face, ignoring the glare from Wrack on the bedpost. “I’ve just never known her so sick.”
“She’s never been a magician before. Come on, leave her be. You need to sleep as well.”
“I am tired. It’s been a long day.” She stood and smoothed out the quilt on Julie’s bed. “Goodnight, Wrack.”
“Evil dreams.” The imp curled his tail around the bedpost and settled for the night.
Felicia led Harold into the corridor and closed the door. “You will tell Jasfoup to let her rest, won’t you?”
Harold smiled. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t take advantage of an unconscious woman. Look, I came up to tell you your friend’s just turned up.”
“My friend?”
“Jennifer Keller?”
“Jenna? What’s she doing here?”
“Looking for you, she said. She’s downstairs.”
“Thanks.” Felicia touched his arm “Thanks for everything. We’d have been dead by now if not for you.”
“Think nothing of it. We’re all in this together.”
* * * *
“Jenna!” Felicia was surprised to see the butch woman already seated at the kitchen table, her hands curled around a cup of tea. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw that thing.” She shuddered. “It got the bloke I recruited last night. Poor sod. He didn’t even know what hit him. It looks like an ordinary person and then bursts out of its skin.” She stared at the surface of the tea. “I didn’t know what to do. I came here. I hope that was okay.” She nodded toward Jasfoup, who was pretending to wash dishes. “Your friend said it was.”
“It’s fine.” Felicia glanced at Jasfoup for confirmation. “How did you find me?”
“I picked up your scent. It was pretty easy. You should cover your trail better.”
“How would I know how to do that?”
“I could teach you.”
“So could I.”
Felicia jumped at the voice. She hadn’t even noticed Gillian coming in.
“Gilli
an, you remember Jenna? Gillian is the lady of the house.”
“Not often I’m called a lady.” Gillian gave a half smile. “It’s nice to meet you again. I’ve heard nothing about you, other than you’re Felicia’s progenitor. I’m assuming you’ll be staying with us for the duration? Safety in numbers, and so on.”
“Nice to see you again too.” Jenna held out her hand for several seconds before dropping it.
“Yes.” Gillian nodded and turned to Felicia. “Harold told me what happened. How is your sister?”
“Sleeping. We’ll see in the morning.” Felicia twisted on the chair to face the vampire. “Was that what you came to ask?”
“Amongst other things. Jasfoup? Will you show Jenna to her kennel?” She smiled. “Sorry, room.”
The demon put down his tea and gave her a mock bow. “I live to serve, modom.”
“Oh.” Jenna stood, looking from Gillian to Felicia. “I see. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Only if you’re an early riser.” Gillian’s smile was acidic. “Good night.”
“Right. Er...good night. She followed the demon out the door.
* * * *
Felicia began to gather the dirty crockery but Gillian caught her wrist and pulled her to the floor. She ran her hand over Felicia’s hair and down her back, making her shiver.
“Do you still regret your transformation?”
Felicia glanced up at her. “What? No. Not anymore.”
“Good.” Gillian reached into her jacket pocket and took out a small canvas roll. “I need you to change into your wolf form.” She set out several surgical tools on the duvet.
“Now?” Felicia eyed the bright steel implements. “What are you going to do?”
“I want to be able to find you easily, in case you’re attacked or hurt. Now change.”
Felicia concentrated, trying to imagine her body changing, twisting, growing fur. She huffed her breath out. “I can’t. I have no reason to.”
“I asked you to.” Gillian’s soft smile danced around the corners of her lips. “Isn’t that enough?”
Felicia shook her head. “Sorry. I’m not that good yet.”