Whoever trained him would have their work cut out for them, because although I knew he wouldn’t be sharing his past with them, he had the molding of an experienced man, and any tutor worth his salt would sense it as well, thinking they were the brunt of a joke.
Maybe it was best if I was the trainer. I was uniquely qualified – I knew his past, and I was good at fighting. Any other trainer would just be good at fighting and might grow suspicious of Arthur’s unassuming nature.
I’d think on it.
Arthur walked back up to me, hands behind his back. “You have somewhere to be.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“This is good. It will keep you out of my hair.”
I arched a brow at him and he smiled. “Be careful down here, Arthur. Stick to the main areas until you hear back from Rome. Deal?”
He nodded. “It was nice seeing you, Callie.”
I smiled. “Thanks for… being you, I guess.”
He frowned. “I told you, I’m not who I was.”
I shook my head in amusement. “I meant you, Arthur. You’re a good man. I’m glad we met.”
He studied me thoughtfully for a few moments, reading my face. “Likewise,” he finally said with a smile. “Now be off with you. I’ve got books to read.”
“This might sound strange, but… be careful how much you devote yourself to books. Don’t let them change you,” I said cryptically.
He laughed. “I won’t become a zealot, Callie. In that regard, the Shepherds might be disappointed in recruiting me.”
Then he was walking away, whistling as he made his way over to the books.
He scooped up the whiskey on the way.
Picking Arthur might have just been the biggest accidental good choice I’d ever heard of the Vatican making. Or maybe Roland had seen something in Arthur…
For now, I had no choice but to keep his secret, and to teach him how to protect himself from monsters – the ones he would hunt down, and the ones he would work for.
Chapter 35
I settled on my bed, muscles pleasantly sore from the brief training. A reminder that I had been slacking lately. Too little physical training and too much combat-magic training. I needed to get back to my roots. I closed my eyes, breathing evenly, appreciating the silence of my apartment. I wasn’t sure where Claire had run off to, but I was glad for it. I had too many errant thoughts. I needed to clear my head, find my cente—
“How does this one look on me?” Claire asked from only a few feet away.
I gasped, which turned into a coughing fit.
“Claire!” I wheezed, realizing she was standing in my closet.
“Callie,” she said in a dry tone. “Does this dress look good on me?” she repeated.
I threw a pillow at her. She frowned as it struck her stomach, not even grunting. “Little crazier than usual. Something on your mind?” she asked, turning to assess herself in the mirror.
“No. Nothing. Just… you caught me off guard. I didn’t hear you lurking in my closet like a serial killer.”
“Does the serial killer look good in this dress?” she asked, not turning to look at me.
I sighed. I was off my game for sure if I hadn’t even noticed her rummaging around my closet. I frowned at her. “Why do you care how my dress looks on you?”
She blushed instantly. “No reason. Just curious.”
“Hmmm… Nothing to do with Kenai?” I asked sweetly. He was the shifter bear who had his sights on Claire. She professed disinterest in him, but I always caught her smiling when she complained about him.
“Well, now that you mention it, he did call,” she said offhandedly. “Wanted to know when I was coming back to Alaska. They decided to stay up there a few more weeks before returning.” The shifter bears were a pretty reclusive group, and those in Kansas City had decided to head out of town for a while after Claire first turned, thinking she would need some time to adjust.
But Claire had caught on quickly – and had grown bored even more quickly, not appreciating the concept of living in the woods with a bunch of shifters.
I nodded, hiding my grin. “Well, a dress wouldn’t really go with your subzero gear.”
She nodded, eyes distant. “Starlight wants to work with me some more.”
“Oh?” Starlight was a kind of Shaman leader of sorts for the shifter bears. Like their medicine man. Not an Alpha, but a spiritual guide. He’d also been a wizard at one point before turning. He was kind of an enigma, and he believed Claire showed unique gifts that fit with his area of expertise. Claire hadn’t stuck around long enough to learn whether he was right or not.
“Anyway, I was just having some fun since I woke up and you were gone.”
I winced guiltily. “I swung by the Church to talk to Arthur,” I said. She looked over sharply, as if checking to see if I was wearing my dirty liar face. I held up my hand. “Promise.”
She relaxed. “Right. Well, don’t do that again. Or at least let me know if you’re leaving. Lot of enemies lately. And I promised you I would keep an eye on you. For your own good.”
I smiled, waiting until she had turned around again. “Speaking of, I need to head out again, but I need you to stay here. In case anyone shows up to deliver a message.”
She slowly turned, placing her hands on her hips. “I disagree with the intelligence of that plan.”
“I’m not doing anything dangerous. Promise. And not the promise where I’m really lying to you. The other kind. The one I don’t use as often.”
Her frown deepened. “Swear it on our friendship. That you are doing nothing where you might coincidentally find yourself in a fight.”
I thought about it before nodding. “I swear.”
She watched me, her gaze branding the promise onto my forehead. “Fine. Begone, harlot.”
I jumped off the bed before she could change her mind. “See you soon. Two hours at the most.”
“Make it shorter,” she called out as I opened a Gateway in the living room, jumping through before Claire could take a peek at the destination on the other side.
I let the Gateway wink closed behind me and inhaled the scent of cured leather. Peace. Comfort. Protection.
Darling and Dear.
I needed somewhere quiet and safe to clear my head, and since Abundant Angel Catholic Church and my own home were currently occupied, I needed an alternative. And something I’d heard from the proprietors earlier had me thinking.
I’d said something about the gangs in town pissing me off. Darling had replied that both Angels and Demons were vermin, misinterpreting my statement. Because I hadn’t mentioned Angels or Demons at that point in the conversation. How much did he really know?
“Hello?” I called out in a loud, cautious tone. I didn’t want to have them thinking I was an intruder. Thinking back, I probably shouldn’t have made a Gateway directly into their shop. My feet slowed as I thought about that. In fact, I was sure that shouldn’t have even been possible. Wasn’t the place warded? Hadn’t they told me that before? But if it was warded, my Gateway wouldn’t have worked. Maybe they had given me access, but had forgotten to tell me.
Darling was suddenly walking beside me, entwining his arm through mine so that he held my forearm in the crook of his elbow, escorting me down the aisle without breaking my stride. I stifled my gasp of surprise, not having sensed him appear.
“Thought that would have taken you longer to figure out,” he commented conversationally. “Now, we can get down to the affair you desire.”
My stomach fluttered at that. “Um, Darling, I didn’t come here to have an affair—”
“Your loss, child. He is quite talented,” Dear said from my other side, suddenly holding my other arm in the crook of her own elbow. “But I do not think that was the affair he meant.”
“A double entendre offers so much room for miscommunication. I adore them. One will never get what one does not ask for, and my carefully chosen words could have yielded… sweet, sweet nectar, Dear,�
� he scolded his partner, sounding both disappointed and amused.
“My apologies, Darling. I’ll give her a few more moments to flounder before saving our Callie from your seductive clutches,” she said apologetically.
“Thank you, Dear,” he said, dismissing the matter.
I shook my head, focusing on my task, rather than their bizarre volley. “I came to ask if you had a room I could use. A private one.” I swallowed, careful to sound respectful as I continued. “One that is private from even you two,” I clarified. “No offense.”
They shared a look with each other as if I didn’t exist between them, even though they were practically dragging me through their shop.
“That could be arranged,” Dear said slowly.
“Indefinitely,” Darling added.
“If you agree to our price,” Dear said.
I winced. “I just need a few minutes of peace and quiet. I’m not buying an eternal timeshare.”
“Privacy is expensive. And you are a dangerous customer. If we aren’t listening in, how are we to know what naughty things you could get up to? What attention you might attract.”
“Nothing is free,” Darling summarized. “We must have plausible deniability. You pay, no one can become suspicious. We do you a favor, enemies might ask questions.”
I sighed. They were right. Why hadn’t I been paranoid enough to see this coming?
“And how much is a room?” I asked warily.
“What kind of room?” Darling smiled suggestively.
“If you will need whips, chains, and other tools of pleasure and casual domination, it’s one price,” Dear explained conversationally, finger lazily pointing out a few leather paddles and furry handcuffs. I blushed, shaking my head. I felt her eyes on me. “If you require a soundproof room with tools for extracting information from your… guests, that is a different price.”
I shivered. “I just need a couch. Maybe a fireplace. It’s to meditate,” I added, wondering if they would decipher some twisted fetish involving a fireplace and a couch.
“Oh, that’s much more expensive,” Darling said in a somber tone.
I laughed, glancing over at him. But his face was deadly serious. My humor faltered. What the hell? Sex dungeons were cheaper than tranquil meditation rooms?
“What is the price?” I asked, wondering if I needed to find a fourth alternative. A hotel room or something.
“You must make a deal with a daemon,” they said in unison.
I stumbled a step, but as if they had anticipated it, they were supporting me almost the moment I began to fall. “I don’t think so. I don’t deal with demons. I kill them.”
They frowned at each other, as if I had spoken gibberish. “Not demons,” Dear enunciated the e sound. “Daemons,” she said, making it sound like day-muns.
“Spirit guides,” Darling elaborated. “Not good or bad. They offer untarnished, honest advice.”
I studied the shop as we continued on in silence, thinking. I hadn’t ever heard about a daemon. But it didn’t sound bad, and these two had never steered me wrong before. They almost acted like my crazy distant aunt and uncle.
I cleared my throat, careful to sound respectful. “You two are daemons?”
They stiffened as one, their eyes locked ahead as we walked a few paces in silence.
“We… are what we are. Not daemons,” Dear murmured.
“The world will know soon enough,” Darling added in a whisper. “But not yet.”
“When?” I asked carefully.
I felt them shift their attention to look down at my hand in each of their arms as if searching for something. “Perhaps when the world is ending,” Darling sighed.
“Or when you get better accessories,” Dear chimed in, smiling wickedly.
I frowned. “You two sell me my accessories,” I said drily.
They released me simultaneously, both pointing at a door that suddenly appeared ahead of me. It looked like it led into one of their small cozy changing rooms. Or a secret sex dungeon. Or a daemon’s lair.
Surprise was the spice of life.
“Do you require further assistance?” Dear asked me, ignoring my last comment.
I began walking towards the door, doing a little twirl halfway there, pointing down at the shoes they had made for me. “I think I can manage. These boots were made for walking,” I said, turning back to the door.
“Those boots were made for more than that, Penrose,” he snapped, sounding offended. I spun, startled by the anger in his response.
But the two were simply gone. I walked backwards a few paces, scanning the store, but didn’t see them. Just racks and racks of leather goods. I sighed uneasily as I turned and placed my hand on the latch of the door. I took a breath, gathered my courage, and entered the room to speak with a daemon.
I briefly hoped that I wasn’t about to end up lying to Claire. Who would have thought a planned meditation could introduce me to a daemon?
Good thing my friend was the forgiving type.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Callie,” a familiar voice said, sounding amused by my name.
Chapter 36
The Sphinx stared at me, sitting before a fire, wings tucked back neatly against her back. Her eyes glowed purple, as if the firelight was illuminating a set of amethyst stones.
“Hello, Sphinx,” I said, letting the door close behind me.
“Hello, human,” she replied, sounding annoyed. Because I hadn’t used her name? I hadn’t been sure if Phix had been a pet name granted to Darling and Dear, so hadn’t wanted to seem too familiar with the apparent daemon.
“Do you prefer Phix?” I asked. “I was trying to be polite.”
“What I prefer is irrelevant. What I am called is Phix. I used your name, use mine.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“I don’t play as many games with my leash holders as I do others,” she said.
“It seems I am in for many games, then,” I said, smiling crookedly.
She cocked her head, looking interested in my response – that I hadn’t assumed she meant me as one of her leash holders. She rose to all fours, walking over to me. Her back was easily as tall as my waist, putting her human breasts not too far below my own, and her piercing eyes at my chin level, which was a little alarming. Much closer to my jugular than I had noticed before.
She licked her lips with a wicked grin, nodding. Then she arched her neck gracefully, showing off the thin skin as if granting me equal status – baring her throat. Her dark hair was cut in a straight line at the jaw, not a hair longer than another, like every Egyptian stereotype I had seen, and she wore long golden earrings of an eagle in flight that had to be worth a pile of money.
The more I thought about it, her actions seemed more animal. Sticking her head in my crotch and sniffing, baring her throat to me. Except… she spoke like Confucius.
“You are wise beyond your years, yet you lack years,” she purred, circling me curiously. I didn’t turn with her, even when she was behind me. Trust. And despite her intelligence, a big part of her was animalistic. Primal. Like a dog sniffing out a new dog in the yard. Darling and Dear wouldn’t have sent me in here as an appetizer. Would they?
“Some people are wise, some are otherwise,” I replied as she walked out of view behind me.
I heard her cough, suddenly appearing on the other side of me, grinning widely. “Oh, I could just gobble you up,” she said in an endearing tone. At least I didn’t think it had been literal.
“Is there another form of affection you could show me?”
She sat down before me, pondering my existence, I suppose. Or considering my question.
“I accept you. But you aren’t ready for me yet. You’re too innocent.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “I highly doubt it. I’ve done some pretty dark stuff—”
“I didn’t say you were too light. I said you were too innocent. Too optimistic. Too… hope-full when you should be hope-less,” she added with a dry chuc
kle. “Else how would it all work?”
I felt a chill crawl up my spine. How would what all work? Her words also made me think of Nate, the potential Fifth Horseman.
The Horseman of Hope.
Phix nodded very slowly, as if reading my thoughts.
I clenched my fists angrily. “I will never be hopeless…”
She dipped her chin. “A play on words, Callie. Nothing more. Balance…”
“If not hope, what should I be?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Despair,” Phix said simply. “It is written on your forehead, after all. Although hidden from others for the time being,” she said.
My blood coagulated in an instant, remembering a few times when people had stared at my forehead in alarm. I lifted my hand, as if I would be able to feel it, but found only soft skin.
I glared at Phix. “No. I refuse to be a symbol of despair. It’s pretty much the opposite of what I intend to do with my life.”
Phix cocked her head, studying me curiously. “Again, you are too innocent. You think of only one side of the coin. Hope can be given or taken, yes? As you well know…”
I frowned, thinking about Nate again. He had vowed to steal hope from the wicked, but to give hope to the worthy. I looked at her. “You would have me wield despair in a similar fashion as Nate Temple wields hope?”
Phix sighed. “Would you swing a sword in only one direction?”
I shook my head, kind of understanding her point.
“What I would have you do is understand the difference before given the duty. You must walk through darkness, taste it, feel it, before knowing how to properly wield it. Else it would corrupt you like a cancer. You must break through the treasure chest to obtain the treasure.”
I nodded slowly. “I don’t want you changing me, making me into something different.”
“I would never change you, Penrose. I swear it on my power. I would… open a door for you. Any change would be upon your own shoulders. Your own decision to make. I will await you on the other side, like a loyal pet. Do not leave me abandoned, Callie Penrose,” she warned, suddenly staring into my soul, pleading, begging, fearing.
Angel's Roar: Feathers and Fire Book 4 Page 17