by J. L. Murray
“You were running from Kane?” I said. She nodded. “Why?”
“Bobby wanted out,” she said.
I had grown up around criminals. Sasha had been the biggest, baddest criminal in the city at one time. I knew what Sarah was saying, but it didn't make sense. Not with the Bobby I knew. But how well did I really know him? He had rarely volunteered any information about himself, unless he was forced to. He didn't talk about his personal life, or parents or relatives. He didn't talk about much of anything but the job.
“So you're saying Bobby Gage was working for Kane?” I said.
“That's impossible,” said Lucifer.
“What?” I said. “Why?”
He blinked at me, apparently unaware that he had spoken aloud. He shook his head. “I would have known if Kane was in the world. My people would have known.”
“You were in Sheol,” I said. “How could you have possibly known? And I'm starting to think that these people of yours are not really on your side.”
“I'm starting to agree with you,” he said. “Sarah, what did your husband do for Kane?”
“Same thing he's always done,” she said. “Casting.”
“What kind of casting?” he said.
“I only know that it wasn't something he liked,” she said. “The money was good, but Bobby never cared about that. Not even back then.” She frowned. “Bobby's never been someone who was good at taking orders. I'm sure you know that, Niki.”
“Not his strong suit,” I agreed. “We have that in common.”
“Kane was getting greedy. Bobby didn't tell me much, but I know the magic was getting darker and darker. And we were in love. We wanted to get married.”
“So you ran,” I said.
She nodded, and smiled unexpectedly. “We were so happy for such a long time. When I got pregnant, it was such a blessing. Bobby was working a real job at that old cannery. You remember it? It was just down the street.”
“I remember,” I said. “It closed down a few years ago.”
“It was honest,” she said. “He was so happy about that.”
“What changed, Sarah?” I said gently.
She looked down, her brow furrowed. “He found us.” She looked over at me. “We were so stupid. We should have known he could find us. Kane can find anyone. He came here one night after Bobby got off work. I was making dinner. And then he was just there, standing behind me. Smiling that way he had.” She shivered. “Bobby was so angry, but I could tell he was scared, too. And that made me scared. Little Robbie, he knew, too. He wouldn't stop crying. I had to take him out of the room.” She looked down at the floor. “Kane said he would forgive Bobby if he did one last job for him.”
“And Bobby believed him?” I said.
“No,” she said. “He wanted to run. He wanted to leave the city, find a new place. But Rob was getting bigger. I didn't want to uproot our family. I convinced him to take the job.” She met my eyes. “Just one last job. What harm could it do?”
“Sarah,”I said, realizing something. “What did Kane look like?”
She frowned, trying to remember. “He always wore a suit.”
“Did he wear a hat?” I said, feeling sick.
“Yes,” she said. “An old-fashioned one.”
“A fedora?”
“That's the one,” she said.
“Why, Niki?” said Lucifer.
“He was at Sofi's funeral,” I said. “That's why Bobby flipped out. Kane was there.” I sighed heavily, rubbing my temples. “I should have helped him right then. I was so caught up in my own shit.”
“Your godmother had just died,” said Lucifer. “There's no reason for you to feel responsible for this.”
I looked back at Sarah. “I'm sorry. You were telling me. I'm guessing the second Bobby left, Kane came back, right?” I said.
Sarah nodded. “He was only gone for a minute when Kane knocked on the door.” She laughed bitterly, an unpleasant, hollow sound. “He knocked. Can you believe that? Like he was just a normal person. I wouldn't let him in, but he had this guy with him, a really strong guy with these dead eyes. He ripped the door open with his bare hands. It was like a game to him, I think. It was fun for him to scare me. I think you can figure out what happened next.”
“It was a lesson,” I said. “For Bobby.” I had to speak through gritted teeth; the pain was becoming unbearable.
“Yes,” she said almost too softly to hear. “Yes, it was a lesson.” She looked at me. “Will you take me now?”
“One last thing,” said Lucifer. “Did Kane say anything before he...before you passed away?”
She frowned. “I don't know,” she said.
“Please, try to remember,” he said.
She scrunched her face up in concentration. “Oh,” she said. “There was one thing that was weird.”
“Weird?” I said.
“I heard him say something to his partner, or whoever that other guy was. He said he wanted to get it over with so they could go back to Arabia.”
“Arabia?” I said, surprised.
“Are you sure he said Arabia?” said Lucifer, leaning forward and looking at her intently.
“It sounded like Arabia,” she said.
“Could it have been Erebos?” he said.
“That's it,” she said, her eyes flashing with recognition. “He said something else, too. Right before, well, you know.”
“What did he say?” I said.
“It was the strangest thing,” she said. “He leaned real close to me and whispered in my ear. Like he didn't want the other guy to hear. And he said, 'I'm sorry.' Then he killed me. What kind of killer acts that way?” She shook her head. “I'm just so tired. This is no way to be.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked right at me. “Will it hurt?”
I smiled sadly at her. “No. Like falling asleep.”
“Will you keep your promise?” she said.
“Promise?”
“Don't tell Bobby. Don't let him know I was ever here. It'll break his heart. And he's had enough wrong things happen to him. He doesn't need this. Do you promise?”
I sighed. I hated this. I didn't like lying. But she was right. It would kill Bobby to know that the love of his life had been trying to talk to him for years. “I promise,” I said.
She nodded. “I'm ready.”
When it was over, the pain disappeared, but my stomach lurched. I walked out of the room, only to be assailed by the stench of mold and rancid blood. I had to get out of the house. I ran for the front door, down the steps, through the once-tidy front yard and didn't stop until I was leaning against my car, eyes closed, and gasping for breath.
I didn't hear Lucifer's footsteps, but after a few moments I became aware that he was there. I looked to find him leaning against the car right next to me. He was looking contemplatively at Bobby's house.
“It's a kind thing to do,” he said.
“It's wrong,” I said. “All of this is so wrong. I can't lie to Bobby any more. I just can't. She never should have made me promise that.”
“As far as I can tell, no one can actually make you do anything, Niki.”
“I've heard that a lot.”
“Besides, hasn't he been lying to you? His real name is not Bobby Gage.”
I sighed. “I'm still processing that. I just can't wrap my mind around it.”
“It may be an untruth,” he said, looking up at the darkening sky, “but what good will it do him to know?” He looked at me. “Would you want to know? I mean, if you couldn't see the spirits.”
I shook my head. “I don't know.”
“Nor do I,” he said. “But for him, is it the right thing to tell him?”
“You tell me,” I said. “You're supposed to be the angel of justice or something, right?”
“Or something,” he said.
“Isn't it a sin to lie about something like this?”
He smiled. “When have you ever worried about sin?”
“You don't know me as well as you think you do,” I said, straightening. But after a moment, I couldn't help but smile back at him. “Never,” I said. “I've never worried about sin. It's always been more about staying alive and not getting arrested.”
“Such is the world these days.”
“I guess,” I said.
“What now, Niki?” He was looking at me, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I assumed you would want to go back to Erebos now,” I said.
“Why would you assume that?”
“I don't know, maybe because we just found out that Kane has been living under your nose for who knows how many centuries. I figured you'd want to check on that.”
“Well, I suppose you don't know me as well as you think you do.”
I frowned, eying him.
“I'll find Kane,” he said, looking back toward the house. “All in good time. I made you a promise. I'm going to help you find your friend.” He looked back at me. “We may even get lucky and find Kane along the way.”
I snorted. “He's not an easy guy to keep track of,” I said.
“Your friend,” he said, “or Kane?”
I breathed the cold spring air deeply into my lungs and blew it slowly out through my mouth. I tapped the heel of my boot on the asphalt. “I might have a guy that can help us. It's a long shot. I just don't know where else to go.”
“Let's talk to him,” said Lucifer.
I didn't move. I just looked at him dubiously.
“What is it?” he said.
“He's a cop,” I said.
“So?”
“Not just a cop. He's the damn police commissioner now.”
“I don't see the point of your worry,” said Lucifer.
“I'm just wondering how I'm going to explain why I'm running around with the goddamn devil,” I said.
“You haven't met Smithy. He's going to ask.”
“I don't think so,” said Lucifer.
“And why is that?”
“Because I'm going to tell him he doesn't need to know,” said Lucifer. “And he's going to believe it.”
“Does that work?”
“Works for you too,” he said. “You just haven't figured out how to use it yet.”
We got in the car and I started the engine. I looked at Lucifer. “Is that how Sam got us off the Registry?”
“I have no doubt that it is.”
“He couldn't go out in public, though. Not without looking like a boogieman.”
“That wouldn't stop him from whispering in ears, unseen,” said Lucifer. “Or using the telephone. That's what you call them, isn't it?”
I smiled. “Yeah. That's what we call them.”
The street was dead quiet as we walked up to the police station. I had called on the way, and Ron told me to meet him at the station. The last commissioner, Eliza Michaels, had kept mainly to City Hall. But Ron was a bit more hands-on than she had been.
“Something's strange,” said Lucifer, looking down the darkening street. “Where are all the people?”
“Curfew,” I said. “They are arresting anyone caught on the streets after dark.”
“Why would they do such a thing?”
I raised an eyebrow. “For a government man, you know very little about the way these guys work.”
“You think I am like them?” he said. “You insult me, Niki.”
“People are asking questions and they're not getting any answers. There have been riots, demonstrations. The government wants to keep on going like everything's as it used to be. But it's not. There was a war while everyone was asleep, and they woke up to the city blown to shit and their loved ones dead or wounded. They want explanations. But more than that, they want justice. The running conspiracy theory is that we were bombed. Some say Iran, some say China. No one really knows. Not even New Government knows what hit it.”
“So where are your rioters?” he said. “Your demonstrators?”
“Dead,” I said. “I helped many of them cross over myself.”
“Why would leaders kill their own people?” said Lucifer.
I shrugged. “Because the people don't want them as their leaders anymore.”
“I see,” he said. His eyes flashed as he closed the gap between us. “You are comparing this to Erebos. ”
“I wasn't talking about Erebos,” I said.
“You were thinking it,” he said. “I can help them, Niki. I can make it like it was.”
“Nothing can go back as it was,” I said. “This city, your city. It doesn't matter. Everything changes. I can't stop it. Sam could. And look where that got him.”
Lucifer took my left wrist in his large hand, squeezing so hard I felt the bone creak. His eyes were giddy. In one smooth movement I had the Browning that had been resting at my back at his throat. The movement was too fast for even me to comprehend. I had moved the way I'd seen Sam move. Angels were fast. I guess that included me. I clicked off the safety with my finger. Lucifer released my arm, but I didn't remove the gun.
“That impulse of yours is getting harder and harder to control, Lucifer,” I said. His eyes had dulled once more and he raised his arms in surrender.
“You know you can't kill me with that,” he said.
“I know,” I said. “But it'll hurt you pretty goddamn bad if you ever lay a hand on me again.”
“I'm sorry.”
I put the gun against my back and tucked it into my belt. “I wasn't kidding,” I said. “You have to control that. You're going to hurt someone. And if it's me, I'm pretty sure I could make your life difficult.”
He closed his eyes. “I'm sorry, Niki.” He smoothed his hair away from his face, and for just a second the motion reminded me of Sam. It was so disconcerting that I had to take a step back. “You may not believe me,” he said, “but I am showing a great deal of restraint.”
“I believe you,” I said. “Show more.”
Lucifer worked a muscle in his jaw. After a moment he nodded curtly. “Are you all right?”
“I'm fine,” I said. “Just, please, wait in the car. I'll talk to Ron on my own. I won't be but a few minutes.”
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “You want me to wait in the car?”
“Yes,” I said. “Please. It'll be easier.”
“You do know I'm the king of Hell.”
“Well, you can be a royal pain in the ass.”
“I've scared you, haven't I?” he said.
“I don't scare that easy,” I said. “I just don't want you messing with my friend's head. Plus, I don't want you killing a bunch of cops because you went all Lucifer the second someone pisses you off. You might be able to make them forget, but I'm pretty sure you can't make me forget. It's better if you stay.”
“This is madness. I'm going with you. I didn't come all the way from Erebos to sit in your car.”
I sighed. “Fine. But stay quiet. Don't mess with anyone unless you have to, and don't hurt anyone. Got it?”
“I haven't hurt anyone yet,” he said.
“No,” I said. “But you've wanted to.” Lucifer set his jaw. He had no reply. “Thank you,” I said. “For helping me. I know I'm not an easy person to help. And just for the record, I'm not angry at you. I really would have put a bullet in your brain if you hadn't stopped.”
The corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile. “I know. I like that about you.”
“Weird,” I said, and started toward the door.
“Do you trust me?” Lucifer said as we walked toward the building. There was a strange intensity in his voice.
“Trust you?” I said. “You just tried to break my arm.”
“But I didn't.”
“Only because I pulled a gun on you.”
“Do you think one day you will trust me?” he said. Shapes shifted in his eyes. “You trusted him. And he's a good deal less loyal than I am.”
“Are you talking about Sam?” I said. “Don't ever talk about him that way. You have no right.”
&
nbsp; “I know,” he said, but the intensity didn't dissipate. He was looking at me strangely. “But you knew a different Samael than I did. Just remember that. We mourn completely different people.”
“Whatever,” I said. “I don't want to talk about him with you. Not yet.”
Slipping on my sunglasses, we left the quiet street and walked into the station house.
ELEVEN
In contrast to the eerie silence outside, the cop shop was full. Voices carried out from behind the high counter, happy voices, joking and laughing.
“Excuse me,” I called to the nearest person I saw. He was young and walked over to me with his chest puffed out. He looked at me sternly. Lucifer sat down in one of the chairs and picked up a magazine.
“Don't you know about the curfew, miss?” he said. “You should get home.”
“And you should get a babysitter,” I said. “What are you, twelve?”
His nostrils flared. “I'm pretty sure you want to walk your pretty ass out of here, lady. Before I throw it in a cell.”
Lucifer stood up and walked over to me, but I put a hand on his arm. The cop eyed him warily.
“Just tell Smithy I'm here,” I said. “He's expecting me. Niki Slobodian.”
“Smithy?” he said. “Ain't no Smithy here—” He swallowed. “Slobodian?” he croaked.
“Frog in your throat?” I said. His eyes had widened and his face had turned pale.
“You're here to see the commissioner?” he said. He suddenly had a clammy gleam to his face.
“We're old friends,” I said, smiling sweetly.
The cop cleared his throat. “Sorry. My mistake.”
“I don't care about your apology,” I said. “Just go get Smithy, or let me in and I'll damn well find him myself.”
“Nice to see some things don't change,” said a familiar voice. Ron Smithy emerged through a door set next to the front desk. He smiled widely, his mustache twitching. I couldn't help smiling back. “Hey, Niki,” he said.
I gave him a hug and he led me through the door, eying Lucifer curiously. Smithy paused next to the sweating rookie. “Broadsky, ain't it?” Ron said.
“Yessir,” said the kid.
“Harass my friends again and I'll take that badge. Understood?”