“Almost.” I kneeled down beside him and pressed my hand to his forehead, not sure if he could feel me the way he could see me.
“You’re warm.” He smiled in surprise. “I thought you’d be colder.”
“I thought you’d be quieter,” I laughed.
The alarm in the nurse’s station died off, and more footsteps echoed down the hall. Winston took one last shuddering breath and his soul slipped out of his body and into my arms. I hugged him, not just because I thought he could use a hug, but because I could.
We stood together, watching the nurses and doctors lift him back on the bed and begin CPR. Someone called for the paddles and Winston turned away, spotting his tiger abandoned on the hospital floor.
“I can’t take him, can I?” He frowned.
“Sorry, kiddo.” I sighed and glanced down at what was left of Wosyet, sprawled out on the floor. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.” Winston reached for my hand, something a soul had never done before. I took it and smiled.
Chapter 26
“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.” -Voltaire
Article VI of the Treaty of Eternity specifically covers the various punishments to be doled out in the unfortunate case that a deity is killed. Amendment four, covering the consequences for reapers, says in more or less words that I should be terminated immediately for what I had done to Wosyet. But hidden in the fine print, it clearly states that this rule only applies to Eternity, not the human realm. And then there’s the even more controversial issue of just cause.
However true that may be, it didn’t stop the sweat from trickling down my spine as I waited in Grim’s office. I had to tell him Wosyet was there, but I was still trying to decide if I should have dumped her head before bringing Winston in.
Grim had whisked the poor kid away the second we arrived, without so much as a word about Josie’s condition. Without Winston around to distract me, I had spent the last half hour fretting over all the worst case scenarios my pessimistic imagination could launch into the forefront of my mind.
“Lana.” Grim sighed and stepped into his office, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked ten years younger, like he had just taken the bubble bath of all bubble baths. “You did good today,” he said.
“Where’s Josie? Is she alright?” I turned away from the window and unfolded my arms with a shiver.
“She’ll be fine. Kevin took her to see Meng Po. That syringe was full of some sort of laced hellfire. Meng should be able to sort it out.” He straightened his tie and sat on the edge of his desk with a carefree smile. “I don’t suppose you found anything out about the demon attacks, did you?”
“Well, actually.” I could feel Wosyet’s head, still pressed against my hip under the robe. “It wasn’t a demon this time. It was Wosyet.”
“Nonsense.” Grim stood and walked up beside me to stare out at the fog curling into lazy clouds outside his window. “She left for Duat before your team even arrived this morning.”
“I’m telling you, she was there.” I stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the city.
“And I’m telling you, that’s impossible.” He turned his back to me and shuffled through a stack of files on his desk, pausing on a manila envelope. “You’re mistaken, but it happens. Don’t worry, it won’t cost you your bonus.” He handed the envelope to me and began picking through his mail. “You’re dismissed.”
“I don’t think you’re listening, Grim.” I slapped the mail out of his hand, and he glowered up at me, his eyebrows twitching with annoyance, until I reached under my robe and withdrew the canvas bag. “Wosyet was there.” I dropped it in his lap.
“Lana?” His eyebrows sprang up, terror tinting his expression so painfully that I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. Normally, I couldn’t care less if Grim took me seriously, but the fate of Eternity would not be falling on my shoulders. Seth had to be stopped. So much for saving my own ass.
“What have you done?” Grim whispered.
“What I had to.” My legs went numb as I dropped down in a chair.
“Did Kevin or Josie witness this?” he asked, lifting the lip of the bag to peek inside and confirm my story.
“No. I told Kevin to get Josie out of there before I finished her off.” I rubbed my hand over my forehead, wiping the sweat back into my tangled hair.
“Alright then.” He blew out a frustrated breath and dropped the bag into a desk drawer before scrunching his brow into a thoughtful line. “We can handle this. Just let me think a minute.” He swiped a tissue from an ornate box on his desk and feverishly rubbed it over his hands, trying to expel any trace of Wosyet’s remains that may have leapt onto him.
“It happened in the human realm, not Eternity. I should be safe. Shouldn’t I?” I whispered, pushing myself onto the edge of the chair.
Grim looked at me with a disgusted glare. “You think you can fit through that tiny loophole? It’s not like reapers run around knocking off gods on a regular basis. It would be drawn up and voted on by the council at the very least. You may have Maalik wrapped around your finger, but what about the other eight members on the council? No one wants to believe a reaper is capable of slaying a god. What do you think this could do to the rest of your kin?”
“They’re your kin too,” I reminded him with an equally disgusted grimace.
He cleared his throat. “That’s why we’re taking care of this my way.” He leaned over the desk and lowered his voice, casting a nervous glance at the closed office door. “You’re not going to tell Kevin and Josie, or anyone for that matter. Say she was a mere demon and that she got away, but not before revealing that Seth was her master. So everyone can just assume that she’s on the island with Caim, which will be destroyed this afternoon.”
“This afternoon?” I bunched my hands under my sleeves, trying to warm them as a nervous chill engulfed me.
“Yes, this afternoon, as soon as the new soul is in place.”
“What will you do about Seth,” I asked, wondering if he already knew Wosyet wouldn’t be coming back.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.” He reached for the boxy phone resting on the corner of his desk and then hesitated, casting me one of his famously annoyed frowns. “Do you mind?” He waved his hand, shooing me out of his office.
I stood and turned for the door before remembering the bonus envelope. Snatching it off the desk, I gave Grim one last troubled grimace. Now he had two secrets to hold over my head. Isn’t life grand?
Chapter 27
“Respect the gods and the devils
but keep them at a distance.”
-Confucius
Limbo City is considered the new frontier by most Eternity citizens. The America of the afterlife. A melting pot of various cultures and races protected by the strictest set of laws this side of the grave.
Of course, there are always a few ancients that perceive the city as a festering trash pile of rejects, a few building blocks short of an empire. They conveniently forget that Limbo is home, not only to the reapers who make their desperate existence possible, but to the Afterlife Council, who have ruled with a cold and ghostly fist for over a millennium. Meng Po is a prime example. Which is why her placement on the council would have been surprising even if she hadn’t taken one of the Hindu seats.
I tossed the nephilim cabbie a coin and stepped out of the taxi. He nodded his thanks and peeled out, sending a cloud of dust twirling around my ankles.
Lady Meng might have been thrilled to be on the council, but she certainly wasn’t thrilled about city life. Her newly constructed temple rested along the southern coast of Limbo, surrounded by a forest that had been fed some sort of magical steroids, shooting the trees up tall enough to block out the skyscrapers in the distance.
I hurried down the gravel path, past a pond of fat goldfish and drifting water lilies. It was a far cry from the hell Meng was a
ccustomed to, but the Chinese architecture told me she wasn’t about to give up her entire way of life for the duration of her century-long term on the council.
The ceramic tiles of the temple’s three roofs sloped and curled outward, grinning at me like demons in wait, while framed gray screens stretched between the corner columns, casting a gloomy aura over the garden.
I stepped onto the porch and lifted my fist to knock, but a sharp clash of symbols beat me to it. A squealing gargle of laughter interrupted the echoing ring. I followed the sound, and spotted a tiny monkey perched under the lip of the first roof hanging over the porch. My mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Can I help you?” a meek voice called from behind me. I turned around to find the child soul Meng had brought with her to Grim’s office, peeking through a small crack in the door.
“Uh.” I looked back at the giggling monkey-demon. “Isn’t your roof supposed to evade those little guys?”
She opened the door a little further and poked her head out. “It does, but that’s just Meeko. He may be annoying, but he’s not evil.” She made a face at the creature.
“Right.” I smiled at her. Child souls didn’t seem so scary anymore, not after Winston. “Is Josie here?”
“This way.” She walked through the foyer and down a narrow hall with quick, short steps, struggling against the tightness of her blue kimono.
Josie’s room was in the belly of the temple. Meng detested electricity, along with most inventions of the last thousand years or so, so the only source of light came from a single paper lantern, looming like a nuclear beach ball in the corner of the room. I blinked, willing my eyes to adjust and felt behind me for the doorframe.
“Lana?” Gabriel was the first to come into focus. He stood at the foot of a raised bed in the center of the room, slowly leaking into view. Josie was propped up on the bed, surrounded by dusty pillows and sipping a cup of tea that made her whole face pucker. I sighed and smiled. She was going to be alright.
“So.” Kevin sat to the side of Josie’s bed. “What did we miss back there at the hospital?”
“What?” I took a step back, wishing I had taken the time to come up with a convincing lie. Grim would kill me if I told them the truth.
“Yeah.” Josie set her tea in her lap and suppressed a gag before glaring at me. “Tell me you nailed that demon bitch.”
I crossed my arms, hoping my nervousness would look more like guilt instead. “Umm, no, actually. She went out the window and Winston’s soul tried to come out of his body on its own, so I had to get him to safety.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Josie closed her eyes and dropped her head back on the pillows with a sigh. “Of all the demons to go free, why that one? You know I have to drink four more cups of this crap before Meng will release me?”
“It not crap.” Meng scurried past me and pulled Josie back into a sitting position with a firm jerk. “It good for you. Burn nasty drugs out.” She lifted her withered face to give me a snarl. “You city kids and you drugs.”
“Hey.” I lifted my hands in defense. “She was poisoned. Didn’t you guys tell her?” I looked at Kevin.
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Enough times that I got bored of arguing with her. She’s nuts.” He shook his head, bouncing his dark curls around like an enraged Muppet.
“Watch it boy.” Meng pointed Josie’s empty teacup at Kevin like a wand. “Or I fix a tea for you.”
The child soul appeared at her side, holding the herb tray. Meng filled Josie’s cup to the brim with yellowed leaves and dried fruit, and then soaked it all with steaming water.
“You watch Jai Ling. You make last two cups and send them home. My bedtime,” Meng told her and hurried out of the room. Jai Ling cradled the tray tightly with a faint but anxious smile and wandered out of sight.
“Tell me something good, Lana.” Josie turned away from the tea. I didn’t blame her. I could smell it from across the room. It reminded me of Saul’s breath. The hellhound Saul, not my deceased mentor. Butt-licking breath, mixed with the sickly aroma of rotting grave flowers.
“Well.” I cleared my throat and pulled the bonus envelope out of my pocket. “Grim’s feeling awfully generous. Or guilty.” I removed three hefty paychecks from the envelope and held them up for Josie and Kevin to see.
“And you’re going to use yours to sign up for additional classes. Right?” Josie raised an eyebrow.
I sighed. “Fine, but only one extra class. Grim already has me signed up for one, remember. My certification is on rush-order. Thanks, Kevin.” I frowned at my illegitimately acquired pupil.
Josie picked up her tea, pretending not to notice the smell, and grinned. “Good. You can come with me when I go to sign up, and we can pick a class together.”
“Sure.” I tried to smile and decided it was time to change the subject. “Gabriel?”
Gabriel’s wings fluttered as his attention jerked away from the ceiling. He stared at me, looking half dumbfounded, like I had interrupted a pleasant daydream that he wasn’t quite ready to let go of.
“I thought Peter suspended you?”
“Yeah.” His wings fluttered again as he diverted his gaze away from mine. “But when I heard Josie was hurt, I decided to use some of my vacation time and make sure she was alright.”
“Ha!” Josie slurped at her tea, pointing her pinched features at Gabriel. “Yeah right. You were all over the cover of Limbo’s Laundry with that slutty succubus. I bet the only reason you’re taking a vacation right now is because she is too.” Josie held her tea out in front of her like a dirty diaper. “Don’t you have any self-respect?”
“Do you believe everything the tabloids say?” Gabriel stood up taller and put his hands on his hips, fluffing his wings out in defense.
“Are you denying it now?” Josie pinched her nose and took another sip of tea.
“Well, no,” Gabriel sighed.
Josie suppressed another gag and turned to me. “Lana, let me sign my check so you and Kevin can go cash it before Bank of Eternity closes.”
“Actually, Lana, would you cash mine too?” Kevin dug around in his robe and blushed up at me. “I just don’t want to leave Josie here by herself with that crazy woman.”
“Thanks.” Josie smiled and took the pen he offered.
“Good idea.” I handed them their checks.
A mentor running errands for her apprentice was unheard of. I might have been offended, if I was a real mentor anyway. The following morning would be my last chance to change Grim’s mind about Kevin’s placement, but the panic had already set in. Even if he did get transferred now, I was still going to be stuck taking some lame class with Josie.
Chapter 28
“Beer is living proof that God loves us
and wants us to be happy.”
-Benjamin Franklin
After hitting the bank, I decided to stop by Purgatory Lounge. It was only Wednesday, but my week was so over. My bonus check was just enough to pay tuition for one class and three vacation days. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all mine. I planned on informing Grim in the morning, after pleading for Kevin’s transfer.
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to find Amy’s motorcycle parked outside when I arrived at Purgatory. Josie was such a tabloid whore. Amy wouldn’t have come back to Limbo so soon if she weren’t on vacation.
Inside, a handful of nephilim were busy shooting leagues around the single pool table. Every few minutes, someone called a time-out so the stray feathers could be cleared away. Two roman deity couples slouched in a corner booth, attempting a sloppy conversation over several empty pitchers and a graveyard of sticky shot glasses.
I found Amy hunched over the bar, muttering to herself as the speared tip of her tail danced angrily around her chair. A magazine was spread out before her. A line of empty beer bottles stood guard, towering over the article she read like quiet soldiers, ready to dispense their last wisp of foam and ruin the rebel paper on their mistress’s command.
“Hey, Amy.” I pulled up a stool beside her.
“Oh!” She threw her hands over the magazine and then frowned at me. “What am I doing? You’ve probably already seen this. You’re Gabriel’s best friend.” She handed the magazine to me and tossed her fiery curls back with a sigh.
I scanned the article, pausing on the cozy picture of her and Gabriel having dinner at The Hearth, the fanciest restaurant in Limbo City. They were holding hands over the table. Amy had on some glitzy red evening gown, and Gabriel was in a sharp black robe.
“I didn’t know Gabriel even owned a black robe.” I laughed and dropped the magazine back on the counter.
“I bought it for him.” Amy sighed and drained the last of her beer. “Hey, Dad! Can you bring me a couple more bottles?”
“Double-fisting it now, are we?” Xaphen burst through the kitchen door and heaved a box of liquor onto the counter with a grunt.
“One’s for Lana,” Amy said, then gave me a funny look. “You will have a drink with me, won’t you?”
“That’s why I’m here.” I smiled and glanced back at the magazine. “You know, that’s a really good picture of you.”
“Did you read the caption?” she snorted. “We’re the Romeo and Juliet of Eternity. Forbidden love at it’s most extreme. And I look ridiculous with my tail coiled around that chair leg. I was just so nervous.” She rolled her eyes and snatched the bottles Xaphen handed her.
“Yeah, but won’t all the publicity be good for your new chateau?” I chugged down half my beer, hoping to quickly render myself incapable of complicated dialog before Amy had a chance to go there.
“It damn well better,” she answered and tipped back her beer for a long swallow. If we kept drinking at this pace, we’d be falling down in no time.
Amy closed the magazine and stuffed it in the messenger bag hanging off her barstool. “At least I don’t have my legions to worry about anymore.” She crossed her legs and smiled at me.
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