by Savoy, Skye
Memories of when she caught me in a lie flooded back. “Uh,” I replied and gave her one of those deer in the headlights looks.
I bit my lip as I gazed imploringly at Suriyel.
“Fine. Tell her,” he said and shot his eyes heavenward.
I took a deep breath and spewed the story out while I expelled the air. I was careful not to elaborate on anything that alluded to my feelings for Suriyel, our kiss in the park, and certainly not that outer space pornographic sex dream.
Big Mama moved her mouth and nose a few times in a rabbit-like motion. She leaned against the basket on the cart. “At least that explains why I’m here. I’m Ava’s Guardian Angel after all.”
Where was she when I got smothered, attacked by a Shoney’s Big Boy-statue of a Sherriff, and of course, artificial Elvis?
“Give me a break! I asked to look in on you when your former guardian was reassigned. I can’t watch over you twenty-four-seven. I got a busy social life now what with nightly Gospel-singings, covered dish dinners, and all.”
My cheeks turned as pink as a pomegranate. She read my thoughts. Oh, this isn’t good at all, especially since my thoughts tend to revolve around a certain fallen angel lately.
Big Mama narrowed her eyes at me. It made me squirm like when I was a child. “I hate the thought-reading thing. I try not to do it ‘cause there are some things I just don’t want to know.”
“See, you did not need to tell her what happened. She should have been able to read your thoughts to find out.”
“She looked like my granddaughter. Why would I try to read her thoughts? And, why are you questioning me? You made a deal with my daughter, put her in her niece’s body so she could find her murderer, so you could make your quota, and be a real angel again.” Even battle-toughened Suriyel seemed uneasy under her hard stare.
“And, you, young lady, you just wouldn’t be happy coming along to be with me, and your other dearly departed family members in Heaven. You had to make a deal with this here angel-wanna-be.” Big Mama’s voice was icy enough to stop global warming. “Did you ever think you might all be caught and sent to hell? Hmm?”
Suriyel scowled.
Beads of sweat formed over my upper lip. I searched for words, but Haley’s Comet appeared more often than my comebacks to her reprimands.
“Huh, I didn’t think so,” she said, crossed her arms, and rested her butt against the scooter basket again.
“I am an angel. Not a wanna-be. Fallen angels were some of the very first angels, you know. You cannot be a wanna-be if you were one already.” He blew an aggravated breath out.
“You sure ain’t acting like one.”
“For your information, Samael and I did consider the repercussions of our actions. Your daughter was very determined.” He purposely avoided my eyes. “At the time, placing Ava in Stacy’s body seemed to be the only solution.”
“Big Mama, something killed me. It probably killed Stacy, and it’s after Kitty. If we hadn’t gotten her out of the dumpster in time, things would have been a lot messier.”
“What in the world was she doing in a dumpster?”
I kicked myself for opening my big mouth. Then again, Kitty deserved it for having such a gross hobby. “Let’s just say yard sale finds just weren’t enough. Back to what I was trying to tell you—”
“By all means, don’t tell me why my youngest likes traipsing through dumpsters.”
I glared at Big Mama hard enough to shut her up. “At first, I was just mad because someone killed me. I wanted them to pay. ‘Course I thought it was a human, but it’s a demon who’s trying to kill off what’s left of our family. I feel obligated to stop it. Don’t you see?” My voice went up in a plea just like when I was a little girl and begged her to get my way.
Big Mama shook her head. “You’re as stubborn dead as you were alive, Ava. What makes you think you can stop a d-d-demon?” In life, she refused to even say the word, “demon” in case some were lurking about and decided to hop in our bodies for a ride.
She jerked her chin in Suriyel’s direction. “He don’t look like he’d be much help to you.”
“Big Mama…”
“Don’t ‘Big Mama’ me. Does he even know if Stacy made it into the afterlife? Cause I ain’t seen hide nor hair of her in heaven. The record keepers in charge of our family on the Akashic Plane usually let us know if one of our family members,” she leaned in and turned her thumb down, “went south.”
“You mean Stacy isn’t in Heaven?” Suriyel ran his hand through his hair, a tell-tale sign of his frustration.
“No, Sherlock. She ain’t and ain’t you supposed to keep track of things like that?”
Suriyel bowed up on her. “No, only if she was my collection.” He paused long enough for me to see something akin to panic dart across his face. “She was supposed to be my collection, but Ava refused to come along quietly. Samael collected her instead.”
“Maybe he just didn’t enter the info in the system.”
Big Mama hurumphed. “Ya’ll don’t have a very good system if you ask me…”
Mel’s moan distracted her from going into detail.
“But now that I’m here and all, I can help you.” She hoisted her well-fed frame onto the scooter. “You tend to Mel, and I’ll see what I can find out about getting rid of d-d-demons.”
“Please do not interfere.” Suriyel put his body in front of Big Mama. “We do not need your help. I have experience in vanquishing demons.” His grim tone led me to believe the event didn’t end well.
“Maybe we do need her help. I mean, seeing as how you’re a fallen angel, and she hasn’t fallen…yet, she might have access to information we don’t.”
“Thank you for pointing that out. My concern is about her making all of heaven aware of your current situation.”
“You got some nerve saying I got a big mouth!” Big Mama puffed up to even larger proportions and pressed the ignition button on her mobility machine. “Well, maybe I do. But I know how to keep it shut when I have to!”
She blew through Suriyel. We watched her jerky motions as she drove through the point of entry.
“Oh, Lord, that’s all we need. When Big Mama sets her mind to something, there’s no telling what she’ll get into.” I realized I was wringing my hands and tucked them behind my back.
Suriyel grabbed one hand. “Do not worry. We will just work faster to find out why a demon was summoned to attack you.”
“I bet you’d love working faster wouldn’t you,” I said with my bottom lip poked out in a pout.
“You took it the wrong way. When are you going to trust me?”
“When you start showing up in time to help me kick demon butt,” I shot back and was instantly sorry.
Hurt, followed by annoyance flickered in his eyes before he pasted his stone-face on again. The Great Wall of China stood between us when he dropped my hand. I conjured a cool rag and squatted down to put it on Mel’s forehead. Why am I constantly picking fights with this man? I never stood up for myself in life. Here I am, dead as a door nail, and I’m trying to exert some control over a situation that’s completely out of control.
Mel woke up with a start, ready to fight. Kris moaned something about Anazarel’s treasure, and felt her head for her missing hair. Kris was sure to get Mel to style what was left in a cute, short hairdo tomorrow. I locked eyes with Suriyel. My problem wasn’t easily tamed with scissors.
Chapter Seven
“You know we’re going straight to hell, right,” Mel asked before keying “demons,” into the computer at her mother’s salon.
“That didn’t seem to bother you when you held a séance at the house last night and scared all sorts of trouble up,” I snapped, then put the brakes on my tongue before I mentioned how Big Mama rolled onto the scene.
“True, but when my mama walks by and sees what we’re doing, she’s gonna call the Reverend Warren. He’ll put us on the prayer chain so his holier-than-thou congregation members can pray to de
liver us from demon worship.” Her voice, a little too loud with imitation religious fervor, drew attention from everyone who wasn’t under a dryer helmet.
“Lower your voice, you heathen,” I said through teeth barred in a fake smile. “Lucky Lorna Tharp was under the dryer or it’d be all over town!” I still hated her for telling everyone in the salon about my ex-husband’s affair while I sat under the hairdryer.
I greeted Kris as she passed. Her new, short bob accentuated her high cheekbones. She didn’t bother to return my greeting, but stopped, mid-step, and gave my forehead a panicky once-over. Could she see the amulet? She muttered, “Anazarel,” then picked up the pace to the back of the salon.
Who or what was Anazarel?
“Oh, Stacy, I heard about the Alzheimer’s event,” purred Nina Blackstone. Her eyes narrowed and a smile played on her collagen-injected lips. “So sorry things didn’t go quite so well for you, it being your first catering event after all.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t hear any complaints,” I retorted, fists clenched at my sides.
Lorna Tharp flipped the helmet up on her dryer. “You’ve been away at school for so long, dear. You don’t hear the sort of talk we do.” Her honey-sweet voice grated on my nerves.
“You poor girl, I’d be happy to take over the cotillion for you in light of all that’s happened with your aunt,” Nina offered from what I’m sure was the bottom of her blackened heart.
“You really should think about it, hon. It’s understandable if it’s too much for you,” Lorna’s sugar-coated barbs hit their target.
“No thanks.” I quirked a half-smile at her audacity, then flipped the helmet down on her über blonde head with a thought. Nina’s chair skipped down a few notches at my command. Kris jumped back and left a jagged streak of bleach in Nina’s hair.
Mel punched me in the arm so hard it knocked me off the stool. Her action saved me from doing something more stupid to the hometown harpies.
“Here we go,” said Mel as she pointed to some text on the screen. “Demons have no physical form. They are evil spirits opposed to God.”
I perched one hip on the stool with a foot on the floor to brace for another punch. “Oh, yes they do.” I glared at the two catty bitches across from me.
“Hunh? Anyway, the Bible says a third of the angels fell with Lucifer and became demons.”
If the angels fell and became demons, did it mean all fallen angels are demons? My foot slipped out from under me. I went down.
“You’ve taken a liking to that floor, haven’t you?”
I stayed right where I landed.
“Come on, every kid in this town learns that in Sunday School.”
Wait til I get my hands on Suriyel. Why didn’t he tell me a fallen angel was nothing better than a demon, a demon like the one who possessed poor Kris?
“Wait a minute.” Parts of my body cracked as I pulled myself into an upright position. I tried, unsuccessfully, to take the keyboard from Mel.
“Is there anything about an Anazarel in there?”
She scrolled down a few demon names accompanied by drawings of nightmarish creatures. I sure hoped they weren’t accurate. When she found “Anazarel,” I expected to see a photo of the she-demon who possessed Kris. I was disappointed to find a picture of a withered man with a hooked nose and ankle-breeze pants opening a wooden box filled with treasure. I skimmed the Occultipedia description.
“Sounds like this guy was hell’s treasurer. Why would hell need a CFO?”
“I don’t know. If you were looking for the thing that made Minnie Pearl head for the hills last night, this don’t look like it at all.”
Suriyel made me jump when he materialized from thin air to stand on the other side of Mel. “Demons can take many forms. They can even possess inanimate objects,” he scanned the salon, “like hair dryers.”
Now there’s an idea. I sure wouldn’t try to stop it if that headpiece on the old fashioned hair dryer Lorna currently occupied sprouted alligator teeth and chomped off her head.
“I don’t care about hairdryers! What about fallen angels,” I snapped.
“I didn’t say anything about hairdryers.” Mel’s perfectly shaped brows furrowed. She scanned the web page. “Don’t see anything about fallen angels on here either.”
“We who were born angels cannot be possessed by demons.” It was hard to tell if Suriyel bit back a smile or restrained himself from beating her to death with the mouse.
“Why, because you are already?”
“Are already what?” Mel craned her neck to see behind her. “Are you talking to yourself again?”
“Already what?” Suriyel cocked his head.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. A little fact you decided not to tell me.”
Mel rose to her full height plus at least four inches thanks to the retro boots she found at her mother’s shop. “Stacy Avalita Summerlin!”
I winced, even though it wasn’t really my name. Suriyel didn’t bother to hide his smile.
“You’re acting crazy! Do I need to look for horns and a tail coming outta you too?”
I debated on whether or not to tell her about the gorgeous fallen angel and possible demon standing over her right shoulder. There was such a thing as supernatural overload. I muttered something about a catering consultation and excused myself.
Suriyel’s strong arms were crossed in front of him as he waited in the alley between Bev’s Beauty Salon & Bargain Boutique and the Nosh and Wash laundry/deli. Tendrils of the blood red hair not secured in his ponytail lifted in the breeze. He sure was beautiful for a demon.
“Isn’t there something you forgot to tell me when I signed on for this fallen angel gig?”
“I agree with your friend. You are acting crazy. What are you talking about?”
My hands automatically went to my hips. “Don’t you think you should have told me fallen angels are actually demons? Now, even if I don’t get caught for impersonating a dead person, I don’t stand a chance of getting into Heaven,” I whined. “I mean, I’ve got Nephilim blood in me, which means all signs point south!”
“Is that all this is about?” He shook his head as he laughed and put his hands on my shoulders. “No, my silly one, not all fallen angels are demons, only those who followed Lucifer.”
The rich sound of his laughter warmed my nether regions. The way he said, “my,” warmed my heart. My entire body craved another kiss, craved the feel of his thickness inside me.
He drew me closer. The fabric of his shirt was silky smooth against my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his muscular back and savored the scent of exotic spices with a splash of thick, golden caramel.
Suriyel rested his chin on my head. “Besides, if we allowed you to wander in spirit form, you would surely have been consumed by a demon.”
I broke the embrace to gaze at him. My mouth became as dry as the first chicken I ever tried to fry. “There’s something I didn’t tell you about the demon.”
“Please go on.”
“I felt it try to move my soul out of Stacy’s body. I fought it.” My nails bit into my palms. “I was able to use the light from the amulet to beat it this time, but I was exhausted.” I let the tears flow. “I just don’t know if I can do it again.”
Suriyel lifted my chin, wiped the tears off my cheek. His head dipped. Our lips met. Our tongues touched like I wished parts of our bodies could. A sizzling sound accompanied the passion of our kiss. We came up for air to see pebbles from the flat Nosh & Wash roof falling on the pavement in front of us. Every muscle in Suriyel’s body tensed in preparation for battle as he inspected the rooftops.
The fire escape ladder rattled uncontrollably. He whipped me over to stand behind him.
A faded ad for RC Cola painted onto the laundry/deli building in the 40s or 50s, sprouted a gold-plated wheel and a basket.
I slapped my hand over my eyes. Maybe if I didn’t see her, she wouldn’t be here. I peeked through a crack in my fingers as she lande
d on the pavement. How embarrassing. I sighed and returned to stand beside Suriyel. “Even dead, Big Mama still likes to make a grand entrance.”
“Yes, I can see that,” he said and looked to the sky.
The phone caught me off guard with its thunder ringtone. I thought sure Big Mama ran into the dumpster when she tried to avoid a recycling bin. Suriyel peered at the phone, then me. “I need to leave you for a few minutes. I am being called in for a meeting.”
“How convenient,” I cracked and watched him disappear.
Big Mama rolled to a stop on my foot. “Yeouch!” I hopped out of the way to avoid further injury. Evidently, she fixed the little problem of being transparent.
“Big Mama, weren’t you healed in Heaven?”
“Of course I was.”
“Then why do you still need a scooter?”
“I don’t. I just like it. It’s my version of a Harley.” Big Mama tossed her head to the rear of the machine. “I just got my own license tag with my name on it for the back.”
I limped to the rear of her golden carriage. A gaudy name plate with “BIG MAMA” embossed in 14K gold, bordered by diamonds stood out like a neon sign in front of a no-tell motel.
“How do you like it?” Pride reverberated in her every word.
“It’s…well…I just don’t have the words to do it justice.”
“I know. I feel the same way,” She got off her motorized throne to stand beside me. “Mabel Jenkins has a chrome one with green running lights. She thought she was the Queen Bee until I got this baby.” She patted its extra cushy seat.
Wonder how the Lord feels about all the scooter envy going on in Heaven. If things are lax enough for old lady-angels to compete over the most pimped-out ride, maybe I’ll get through the pearly gates after all.
The rough brick wall picked the gauzy fabric of my sundress as I leaned against it in preparation for one of Big Mama’s long stories. “You made it back pretty fast.”
“Never underestimate your mama.” She opened her mouth to continue. It remained open while she surveyed our dark, dank surroundings. “Ava, why are you in an alley?”