He stared at me. “I can assure you that this one is not an Antichrist.”
My mind jumped back to Vespa’s mother. I did not want to think about that woman having sex. Brain bleach on aisle twelve please.
The Devil started to laugh again. “No, I can guarantee you, my acolytes are nothing like that woman. Nicholas is a changeling.”
Tons of old fantasy stories bounced around in my head. So, fairies were of the Devil? Maybe? I was starting to realize I didn’t know the world as well as I thought I did.
“Why did your son bring us here?” That really was the question. It had all been a waste of valuable time.
“I believe his plan was to try to steal your power. However, Yahweh and I have a very specific agreement regarding markers. You are not to be touched.”
I was really starting to wonder about the intelligence level of his acolytes. I mean, who would want to piss him off? Then, I realized. Doc was still stuck here, the original one. There was something there too. “What about Vespa? The real one?”
“There was an old charlatan who was around during the time of your relative. He had a few gifts. But Nicholas is not part of that family.”
“So, he’s half-demon?” Tabby asked. She had been so quiet I almost forgot she was there.
He smiled. “Correct. His actual name is Arees.”
“What will you do with him?” Tabby asked.
He shrugged. “Give him time to think about his misdeeds. Show him what happens to those who disobey me.”
“Like Asmodeus?” I asked.
“Precisely.” He waved his hand toward the being I’d know as Nick, and Nick disappeared. “Tell Yahweh I said hello.”
Suddenly, the Devil was gone. The lighting was back to normal.
“That was some fucked up shit,” Tabby said. She stood up and scuffed the circle with her foot.
“Tell me about it.”
“Now what?”
I put the exorcism rite in my pocket. “We get our shit and get out. Hotel sounds good.”
“It sounds good to me too.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ALWAYS
We ended up driving all the way back to Tucson. I think we’d all seen enough of Tombstone by this point. And, well, no way were we going back to the place that had wanted to kill Isaac.
“So, pet-friendly hotel,” Tabby said.
“Pull out Mr. iPad. Try to find that one we stayed in when we first got out here.”
“Jimmy?” Lucy asked from the backseat.
“Yeah?” I looked at her in the rear view mirror.
“Is everything okay again?”
“For now.”
###
Tabby and I grabbed some food from a burger place before we arrived at the hotel. Fast food was good enough. I just wanted to sleep. I hadn’t been this tired in a long time.
After we got checked in and set ourselves up in the hotel room, I noticed that Lucy was staring at the corner of the room.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked her.
“Waiting for Doc.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she’d probably never see Doc again. He was one of those ghosts that kind of stuck around a specific place, and Tucson wasn’t it.
“Lucy, why don’t you come with me for awhile,” Tabby said. “Let’s let Jimmy get some rest.” She motioned toward the door.
“Okay,” Lucy said.
My eyes slammed shut the minute I heard the door click closed.
###
I don’t know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up, I felt like I’d been asleep for hours. My back hurt, and my eyes felt heavy.
Doc was sitting in the chair next to the table. The layout of the room was almost the same as in our original hotel room. The furniture was just different. The bed had a brown comforter, and the table near the window was square instead of circular.
“What’s up, Doc?” I asked, snickering.
“Funny. Very funny.” He narrowed his eyes. “You and I need to have a talk.”
I sat up on the bed. This didn’t sound so good. “Okay. What you do need?”
“I need a favor.”
###
Tabby and Lucy came back about a half an hour later. Tabby was carrying a bag from a toy store. I could tell right now that Lucy was going to be one spoiled little soul.
“Sleep good?” Tabby asked.
“Yeah. But I have something to talk to you about.” I patted the bed beside me.
Tabby set the bag down on the table and walked back to the bed. “Okay. Tell me you didn’t get a call about another exorcism.”
I laughed. “No. Just sit here a minute.”
“Okay.” She sat down next to me. “What’s this about?”
“How’d you like to add to our family?” I watched her for a minute. Yup, she was starting to freak out. Her body grew rigid, and her eyes went wide.
“No fucking way.”
I started laughing. “Not like that! Not yet anyway.”
She took a deep breath. “You scared me.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Well, actually I did, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Okay,” she said. “Back to this family stuff. What are you talking about?”
Doc popped into the chair. “How’d you feel if I stuck around for awhile?”
Lucy squealed. “Oh boy!” She turned to us. “Really?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Doc can stay with us as long as he wants,” I said. Might as well make him a part of my team. Hell, he had alerted me to half of Vespa’s bullshit.
Lucy ran over and hugged Doc. He hugged her back tightly.
“So, now the house has two spirits?” Tabby asked.
Or we were making a unique family. I was for either one. “Yup.”
“If you keep collecting like this, we’re going to need a bigger place.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
I laughed. “Let’s hope we can relax for awhile.”
Lucy separated herself from Doc and walked over to where we’d stashed all of our stuff.
“What’s this?” Lucy asked, reaching for the damn wand that was sticking out of Tabby’s backpack.
“No!” Tabby and I jumped up.
“Don’t ever touch that,” I said and snatched the wand out of her reach.
She looked like she was about to cry. I handed the wand to Tabby.
I reached up and stroked her face. Wow. I could actually feel it. Something had just gone very wrong. Lucy was no longer transparent at all. In fact, I felt flesh.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
I would love to thank everyone involved in the completion of this whirlwind of a book. Specifically, Steph and Marlene at CMP for giving Sorrow’s Edge a home, Sheldon Reid for his wonderful job editing, and my wonderful betas: Maer, Tabby Settle, K Latham, and Leanan Sidhe.
I would also like to thank the people who have loved Sorrow’s Point, the first installment of the Jimmy Holiday saga, for their love and support!
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family: Mom, Dad, Julia, Josh, and Tabby. Without them, Jimmy would not exist. And special thanks to Tabby for letting me use her name.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danielle DeVor spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching “Salem’s Lot” way too many times. After living briefly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she moved back to her hometown to write. When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino. Visit her at danielledevor.wordpress.com
Table of Contents
Title page
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
> CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sorrow's Edge Page 22