by G A Chase
Like a three-dimensional hologram, Kendell appeared in Delphine’s African-motif throne. “You had me worried. How did your meeting with Colin go?”
“I told you I might not be able to check in every day. Keeping out of sight does make it tricky, you know.”
Kendell sat back against the gold fabric. “When you get defensive this quickly, I know we’re in trouble.”
Sanguine wondered if she should take up playing cards with the gamblers on the riverboat in order to develop a poker face. As things stood, Kendell had too many ways of reading her.
“I slept with him. And before you get all fussy with me, I used another body. But I’m pretty sure he knew it was me.”
From the way Kendell squirmed in the towering chair, Sanguine knew her friend wanted to chastise her as if she were a high school slut.
“I can see why you’d want some time to yourself after something like that,” Kendell said. “So he knows he’s in hell?”
“I think he knows we’re playing a game with him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he thinks he’s in hell. He’d have to assume that, since we built one alternate dimension, another was also possible. He’s as cagey as always about revealing too much. If he does think he’s in hell, he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to break out.”
Kendell crossed her legs and shook her foot at Sanguine. “You’re giving him a reason to stay. Though I can see the short-term benefit—especially to me—in the long run, your play will only make it more difficult to contain him. He’ll get to know you just as much as you’re getting to know him. I know from experience how good he is at discovering an opponent’s weaknesses. And if he does develop feelings for you, once you leave hell, he’ll have double the reason for trying to break out.”
That’s assuming he still wants you. Sanguine resisted the urge to get into a catfight over someone they both supposedly despised. “One step at a time. I need to figure out what he’s up to. That means getting close.”
Kendell stopped fidgeting. “So you’re going to sleep with him again?”
“He never seemed the type to accept the friend zone. If I want information from him, I’m going to have to be less aloof. I’m keeping him dangling on whether this relationship continues, but once the sex card is played, it’s not easy to put it back in the hand.”
Kendell leaned forward. “Please tell me you’re not considering coming out of the shadows. You were the one who said Colin needed to figure out he was in hell all on his own. One look at those wings, and we’ll have the ruthless devil pounding on the walls of hell again. Even with Luther in charge of the World Trade Center, I’m not sure we’ll be able to contain Colin a second time. He learns from his failures.”
“Don’t be stupid. I can keep using that little plaything sex-bot for the time being. If he does figure out our game, though, I am going to have to physically confront him. The longer we have this psychic sex, the harder it’s going to be to cut it off when we do meet for real.” Just saying the words that she would likely let Colin fuck her angelic body made Sanguine shiver with both fear and anticipation.
Kendell nodded as if Sanguine had asked permission. “Are you finding anything useful about him?”
“Do you mean some weakness, or something redeemable?”
Kendell wasn’t making eye contact. “I’d like to say either would be helpful, but the truth is, I don’t want you falling in love with the devil. I’m well aware of how charming he can be, but it’s just a game to him.”
Sanguine wondered if they hadn’t played their game a little too well. Kendell, the sexy bait that was used to entice Colin into this new hell, was never presented as a potential partner for him, only a desired prize dangled in front of him like raw meat before an alligator. He couldn’t really be faulted for acting on his male urges.
“I’m not trying to trick him. To find out what he’s thinking, he’ll need to trust me. Teaching him to jump through hoops like an ill-behaved dog going through obedience training isn’t working so well.”
Kendell gripped the lion-head ends of the chair arms. “That was not the intention of the seven gates, and you know it.”
“Well, they weren’t meant to let him back into life. Tell me, what exactly was your plan if he showed he’d changed? Once you set up the rules, you’re as much responsible for playing by them as he is.”
“He’s never going to change,” Kendell said.
You’re my friend, but you are a fool. “Maybe that’s what I’m trying to find out. Miss Fleur told me about the Archibald she remembered. I can’t say he treated her as I’d want a partner to treat me, but he wasn’t the definition of evil that he is now. According to her, that cane changed him. What if, now that he’s no longer under its influence, he returns to being an average though ambitious businessman?”
Kendell finally looked at Sanguine’s eyes. She stared into her as if trying to delve into her soul. “You met with Fleurentine?”
“I needed someone to talk to after sleeping with Colin. You were just going to fight with me.”
Kendell uncrossed her legs and hunched down in the chair like a scared little girl. “It’s not that. You went to the convent. How can you be sure Colin didn’t see you?”
Sanguine became infected with Kendell’s fear. “You think he figured out his long-dead wife is the guardian of the third gate?”
“I think you might have just shown him the way. I guess that locks you into your current course of action. We need to learn what he knows.”
* * *
As Kendell left Delphine’s shop, she kicked herself for being so inattentive to what Sanguine was going through. As the only guy in hell, Colin represented a challenge to the phrase I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth. The truth was, if Kendell hadn’t had Myles as her rock, she might have given in to the temptation as well.
She wandered back to the apartment, wondering how she was going to explain this latest development to Myles. He didn’t have a hang-up about sex, but he did have one about Colin. In hell, her doppelgänger was walking the same street. She stopped at the corner and turned toward the river. Confronting Colin wasn’t part of the plan. He needed to figure things out on his own, not have her go blabbing out questions about his intentions toward Sanguine. Besides, any interaction with Kendell could too easily turn his attention from staying in hell to again trying to break down the walls between the dimensions.
No. I need to go home and feed the dogs then get to the club. Acting without thinking about the consequences has gotten me into enough trouble. Hopefully, Sanguine and Colin will show up at the gig tonight so I can see their chemistry. Right now, that’s the best I can do.
She turned back to her and Myles’s apartment with a feeling of calm. Sanguine was a big girl. She didn’t need Kendell telling her what to do or judging her sex life.
The moment Kendell opened the door, Cheesecake jumped off the ottoman and came running. Doughnut Hole wasn’t far behind.
“Hey, guys. Where’s Myles? Is he already at the club?”
The two dogs danced around her for attention.
She got down on the floor to play with the pups. “Just between us, I’m beginning to think that Papa Ghede gave us that club just to keep us out of trouble. What do you think?”
Cheesecake let out a definitive bark of agreement.
“I’d better get changed and hustle over to the club, but first, let’s get you two some dinner.”
The dogs played around her, distracting her from her obligations. “You two would have me sit here and give you love all day, every day. And I would if I could. But there’s a world to save.”
She picked them up one at a time and gave them big snuggles before heading to the kitchen for their food. Once she’d seen to it that they didn’t get into a fight over the last morsels of kibble, she adjourned to the bedroom to change into her fishnets and short skirt. The outfit wasn’t the sexiest in her repertoire, but it was close. She could use the excuse that she wante
d to entice Myles—which was never a lie—but if Colin was present, she really wanted to gauge his interest in her. There was no use worrying unduly about Sanguine if Kendell was still his primary lust.
She grabbed her guitar case and headed out the door but not before giving the dogs one last head rub for good luck.
* * *
Myles did his best to keep calm while Kendell explained why Sanguine had slept with Colin. Intellectually, he knew she was right. Sanguine was more than capable of taking care of herself. But emotionally, he really wanted to punch Colin in the jaw.
With Charlie getting the bar ready and the band setting up onstage, it wasn’t the time or place to get into a heated discussion with Kendell. Not that anything was her fault, but women had a way of defending each other—even if that meant Colin got off without the justice he deserved.
“What do you propose we do?” he asked.
“I can’t keep as close an eye on him as I’d like while I’m playing onstage. Watch for him getting into a conversation with a woman. Either he’ll be looking for another hookup, which means very few words and a quick hustle out the door, or he’ll be on the prowl for Sanguine. From what we witnessed last time, and the fact they recently had sex, if you see the two of them talking, it’ll be a more emotional exchange than anything he’s gotten into before.”
Myles remembered all too well how Sanguine had put Colin in his place. The last thing he’d expected was for them to wind up in bed together. “Can you please stop referring to them having sex? The image is just disturbing.”
“Sanguine wasn’t using her body. Think of it more like some virtual-reality game.”
He gave her the side-eye. “That’s not helping.”
“I know you see her as a kid sister. I guess that’s inevitable after protecting her comatose body on our couch for so long. She is hell’s angel, though. No one has a better handle on that realm than Sanguine. She’ll be safe.”
Myles never did understand women. They could be so focused on the emotional side of things one minute and totally concerned about physical safety the next. “I’m not worried about her picking up some Wiccan STD. Colin’s a manipulative bastard. I know Sanguine isn’t a virgin, but I can’t imagine she’s ever dealt with a man so cunning before. Baron Malveaux used sex like a knife to cut away a woman’s sense of self. There are more ways of getting hurt than just physically.”
Kendell reached across the bar to hold his hand. “You really are one of the good ones.”
Though he always appreciated her compliments, they had a way of softening him up for some request that wasn’t in his nature. “If I do see him talking to a woman instead of just hauling her out the door, what do you want me to do—follow them?”
“Sanguine will still be undercover. We don’t want to give away her identity. If you go all protective older brother, Colin will know something’s up. Sanguine has been very clear that he needs to figure out his situation on his own. I need to make sure she’s in charge. If our hypothetical woman looks like she’s being overly flirtatious, we’ll know we’ve got a problem.”
Myles had real trouble envisioning Sanguine as flirtatious. “So in other words, if she doesn’t haul off and punch him in the face?”
Kendell gave him the look that said, Don’t be an ass. “She’s trying to get closer to him. I expect them to carry on some form of conversation and probably leave together. Knowing Colin, you can expect a certain amount of touching. I just don’t want her initiating anything sexual.”
Once Kendell headed back to the stage, Myles settled into his usual bartending routine. As always, he lost track of the night as the band started getting into its set. Slinging bottles with Charlie had become so well choreographed that they often finished each other’s drinks. But when his double in hell spotted Colin entering the club, Myles dropped a bottle of tequila. “Damn it.”
Charlie tossed a couple of rags on the floor. “Don’t worry about it, Boss. Not like it was a top-shelf drink.”
“It’s not that. I just spotted someone I’d just as soon not have to deal with enter.”
Charlie made a quick survey of the room. “You need a minute out back?”
“Not this time. I need to see what he’s up to. I kind of doubt he’s here to talk with me tonight. Let’s keep the show simple, though. I’d rather not be known as the clumsy bartender.”
Charlie made quick work of the replacement margarita. “No worries. Just give me a heads-up if you intend on getting into a paranormal fistfight. Not that there’s much I can do to break up an interdimensional brawl, but you’re going to look pretty silly air punching.”
“Very funny.”
Myles let muscle memory carry him through the mixologist routine while listening in on conversations in two dimensions. For the most part, the participants matched up with their unknown cardboard-cutout doubles. The trick was to watch for a woman who acted differently in hell, especially if she was in Colin’s proximity.
“Rum and Coke.”
Myles heard the words but didn’t see the customer until he consulted hell’s dimension. “Coming right up.” He refrained from engaging Colin in anything more than a professional interaction.
“Did you happen to notice that long-legged blonde I left with the other night? I was hoping to continue our conversation.”
I’ll bet you didn’t even catch her name. “She usually rolls in about eleven. Here’s your drink.” He smiled at his restraint at not tossing the rum and Coke in Colin’s face.
When the devil left, Myles looked at Kendell rocking out to “Cherry Bomb.” She graced him with a smile—a reward for not going off script with Colin.
A short redhead with so many freckles Myles suspected she’d spent the weekend tubing on the river leaned back against the bar and spoke to him over her shoulder. “Back off. You’re cramping my style.”
From the fact that the same woman in life was dancing so close to her date that their clothes were bunching up, he knew his interdimensional visitor had to be Sanguine. “Just keeping an eye out for you.”
“More like keeping an eye on me. I can just imagine the spin Kendell put on my plan while she was explaining it to you. I can take care of myself, you know.”
Myles knew her fierce independence came from relying on herself for most of her life. She’d probably never had anyone express as much concern as he and Kendell had.
“That was never in doubt, at least not from me. I’ve seen you in action, but someone watching your back is never a bad idea.”
She finally turned to him. “I know, and I do appreciate your concern. Just don’t interpret everything Kendell says as me being a foolish child, okay?”
“Deal. Looks like your avatar just walked in. If you don’t want to have to explain why she’s about to give Colin the cold shoulder, you’d better get to work.”
The redhead returned to the dance floor to mirror the moves of her reality counterpart as the blonde deviated toward Colin. Myles tried to remain attentive while appearing uninterested as the two took up their game of sexual cat and mouse.
Watching Sanguine flirt with the devil was like watching a kid sister on a stripper pole. Somebody was bound to get hurt, and the odds were against her. She can take care of herself. He only hoped the rationalization for his remaining behind the bar held true.
If she’d requested a drink, Colin didn’t oblige. Sanguine probably didn’t want to risk a confrontation between the two men, but Myles would have preferred to have her and Colin close enough to pick up on their discussion. For twenty frustrating minutes, they played their game of seduction. When they did leave, Myles couldn’t tell who’d initiated the progression from noisy club to quiet seclusion. He considered following after them like a jilted lover, but Kendell was right. That kind of behavior would only tip Colin off about Sanguine’s true identity.
He checked his watch but not to see the time. After a quick bit of math, he came up with Sanguine having a little more than four months before she woul
d voluntarily accept rescue from hell. I’ve had relationships that lasted less time than that.
He returned his marionette to autopilot and looked at Kendell onstage. She graced him with a quick smile meant only for him before refocusing on her part of “Barracuda.” Hell might beckon, but life was certainly sweet.
* * *
The night was so lovely that Kendell and Myles didn’t head straight home after the gig but turned toward the river. She had grown to rely on his counsel when it came to dealing with the paranormal. He wasn’t always right, and she still had to take charge, but he saw things in less emotional terms than she did.
Even strolling in the beautiful fall night, she couldn’t prevent her fears for Sanguine from dominating the conversation. “We’re going to need a plan for getting Sanguine out of hell. I know I said I’d give her six months, but if she intends on moving this relationship from having multiple one-night stands to being lovers, we’re going to have to step in.” Paper silhouettes of skeletons and witches hung in the windows of the homes in the Marigny, adding to the Halloween spirit.
“I wondered how much freedom you were going to allow her.”
“I’m not freaked out about the sex part,” Kendell said. “Honestly, I don’t even think I’m afraid of her falling in love, though if she did, I’d need to slap some sense into her. If he falls for her, though, I don’t see how she’ll be able to leave. Don’t you think she’s going to make him even more motivated to escape hell once we get her home?”
They walked up the concrete steps to the levee. He stared out at the water for so long she feared he hadn’t heard her until he said, “She’s at home in hell.”
“What are you talking about? We’re her home.” Kendell wanted to scream. “I know she digs flying around with those angel wings and being able to see the future—which, by the way, I’m not sure I believe. For an oracle, she blunders an awful lot. But she can’t possibly be content with Colin as her only actual companion.”