“Father Jon!”
He turned toward the sound. “My God, could it be…?” He jumped up and hurried to the front door of the rectory. When he saw who was calling him, his breath caught in his throat. “Judas!” With a smile on his face, he ran out, his arms lifted in welcome. “Judas, where the hell have you been?”
“I knocked, but no one answered.”
“I was in the back. Trying to get my ass in gear on a bottle of Sprite.” He ran and opened the door wide. “Come on in.”
“First, tell me what day…year is it?”
“Five years to the day since you left. What the hell happened to you? I had given you up for dead.”
“Oh, God, five years,” he said with dread in his heart. “What about Sugar? Is she…I mean…?”
“She’s fine. Still dancing at the club.”
“Did you and she ever—”
“God no. I got out of there as quick as I could. I didn’t say a word. I was too embarrassed to face her after what I did. I came back here and almost never see her.”
“What about…I mean, is she,” Judas could hardly get the word out, “married?”
Father Jon smiled. “No, she isn’t, and I’m sure she would love to see you.”
“I don’t know about that. Just before I left, we were…I mean, we had become close. She probably thinks I ran out on her.”
“Where have you been all this time?”
“Trying to get back here mostly. The night Lupercus died, I still had one more job to do before I could put my past behind me. I wrote Sugar a note hoping she’d never have to read it, but the mission was a dangerous one, and she needed to know that I might not make it. As it happened, I had to practically fight a war to get back.”
“What about this date thing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, when you asked me what day and year it was. What’s that all about?”
“Let’s just say that on my way back I got stuck forty years in the future. Divinian here,” he reached behind him and brought the dazed young man forward, “assisted me in getting back and ended up being stripped of his wings.”
“Wings?”
“He’s Satan’s archangel,” Judas said as an afterthought.
“Satan’s archangel,” Father Jon repeated and then snorted. He suddenly remembered Judas’s irritating habit of blurting out impossibilities as if they were everyday occurrences and expecting him to believe them.
“Well, he was Satan’s archangel, until he got kicked out of Hell.”
“Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“You come in here telling me you have Satan’s archangel with you and expect me to believe it. Judas, my God! You’ve asked me to believe a lot of things, but this is a little too ridiculous even for you.”
“But he is Satan’s archangel! Why would I lie?”
Father Jon shook his head and rolled his eyes. “All right, he’s Satan’s archangel. Whatever you say. So what happened to his clothes?”
“They don’t wear any. Clothes slow them down.” Seeing the disbelief on Father Jon’s face, he went on. “You see, in Hell archangels are equal to large, beautiful statues. They occupy the four corners of Hell to protect it. The only time they become animated is when they detect danger or are summoned to do a job.”
“Don’t they ever get time to sleep?”
“Sure. During their down times they sleep. It’ll be a new experience for Divinian to wear clothes, but he’ll learn. Here he’s a man just like the rest of us.”
Father Jon couldn’t resist a chuckle.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Uh…nothing. Yeah, I can probably find something for him. How about you? That’s kind of skimpy.”
“It’s my flying suit. Yes, I do need something if you have it.”
“Let me look. You’ll also need a couple of jackets. The morning air can be a bit brisk.”
“I love it!” Judas said with a big smile on his face.
“You might not love it so much if you and that,” he cleared his throat emphatically, “archangel there get your asses frozen off.”
Chapter 31
After a whole day of showing Divinian around, of strolling back and forth along the Reef’s promenade watching sideshows and listening to the colorful barker’s endless spiel about the unbelievable spectacles inside their tents, the three of them now sat at a table in front of a hot dog stand. During the whole thing, Divinian’s innocent eyes were open wide, and questions spilled out of his mouth that Father Jon answered.
But Judas was deep in thought about Sugar.
The loud, raucous laugh of the fat lady, the ear-popping music that accompanied the exotic dancers, and even the amateur show where some young boy tortured the strings of his violin as he drew the bow back and forth across them, were just sounds in the background.
He wanted to see Sugar, but was afraid of what she might say. My God, he’d never been afraid in his life. He’d battled some of the most vile creatures to ever crawl out of a hole and had never been afraid. Now he found himself shaking all over, afraid of a few words that could cut him deeper than the sharpest sword he’d ever come up against.
After all this time, what would he say to her? What would she say to him? He could have left Divinian with Father Jon and went to see her at the mansion this morning, but he just couldn’t face her and hear the words that would break his heart. As long as he stayed away and things were the same, there was hope. But, if he faced her and she didn’t feel the same, it might destroy him.
Father Jon noticed how preoccupied Judas was. “Why the hell don’t you go see Sugar?”
Pulled from his thoughts, Judas looked up at Father Jon. “I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Five years is a long time. What if she doesn’t feel the same?”
“Well, you’ll never know sitting here.” He indicated toward the Rock Candy Club. “She’s dancing tonight.”
Judas looked up in surprise. “She is?”
“Got a new act. Get this,” he said, gouging Judas with his elbow. “She dances the dance of the Spider and the Fly.” He looked down at his watch. “Starts in about a half hour.”
“Look,” Judas said, “if I do talk to her, I don’t want an audience. Give me a few minutes before you and Divinian come in.”
“Sure. We’ll stay here for a while, look at the posters, watch the crowds, and see you inside later.”
Judas nodded, stood up, and with halting steps made his way to the door and slipped in. The club was dark except for the stage where a string of dancers kicked their feet up in time to the music. He walked up to the bar.
“What can I get you?”
Judas thought quickly. He knew if he didn’t buy a drink he might be asked to make room at the bar for someone else. After making a mental note of how much money Father Jon loaned him for essentials, he looked at the prices and ordered wine.
“White…red…?”
“What about…?”
“Maybe you’d like a little cheese with your whine.”
Judas turned to see a troublemaker rear back and laugh at his own stupid joke, and turned to the bartender. “What’s his problem?”
“Jake’s drunk. Just ignore him. He’s got the mistaken notion that wine is a sissy drink.”
“Hey, Gertrude, is that curl in your hair natural, or do you roll it up every night so it’ll fall down real pretty over your big, broad shoulders?”
Judas’s teeth clenched in anger.
Not getting the expected rise out of Judas he had hoped for, the troublemaker looked over at his friend and said, “Hey, Clyde. Look at the color of this guy’s hair. Even my sister—”
Judas turned and grabbed the man at the collar. “Look, you bastard, I’ve had enough of your mouth. You either shut up or I’ll use that bald head of yours for a bowling ball.”
A big guffaw sounded from the sidelines, putting a frown on the troublemaker’s fac
e. His hands came up and wrenched Judas’s hands off him. He was just about to take a swing at him when Judas finally lost control and slapped the man off the stool with the back of his hand.
The man looked up at Judas with blood in his eyes. “Why, you bastard! I’ll mop the floor with you. I’ll—”
“I’ve squashed bugs like you with the heel of my—” Judas began.
The bouncer was there before he could get the words out and seized the troublemaker with a heavy hand, and dragged him, kicking and fighting, toward the door. “I’ve told you a hundred times, you bastard, but you just don’t listen. Every time you come in here you cause trouble. This is the last time. You’re banned from the club.”
“But he hit me!”
“Yeah? You were askin’ for it, creep. If it’d been me, I would’ve killed you. You show up here again and I’ll call the fuckin’ cops.”
When Judas turned back to his drink, his eyes caught Sugar watching him from across the room. She was staring at him, her face as hard as granite, her eyes shooting flames.
“Sugar!” he called out and began chasing her when she turned and hurried backstage. “Sugar,” he called again and managed to reach out and grab her arm.
* * * *
She stopped, her heart thrashing in her chest. She looked down at his hand and closed her eyes. It was strong, yet gentle. She loved the feel, even if it was only a touch of his hand.
“Sugar, we need to talk.”
“I’m sorry, but customers are not allowed past the velvet curtain. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a show to do.” Her voice was ice cold, her face somber.
He pulled her against him, his lips speaking into her soft, silky hair. “Stop treating me like one of those slobbering men out there. You have to listen to me. I didn’t stay away because I wanted to. I told you I would come back, and I tried. I ran into a lot of things you wouldn’t begin to understand.”
“Why don’t you try me?” she said with a challenge in her eyes.
“All right, try this on for size. I went forty years into the future, faced a wall of flames, fell out of the sky, and was caught by…” His words suddenly stopped when he understood how absurd he must sound to her. “Forget it.”
“Caught by what?” Sugar said sarcastically. “I suppose some giant hand reached out and saved you.”
“I could tell you stories, Sugar…” Again he lost his nerve. “What the hell can I say to make you believe me?”
“Do you blame me? It sounds like some twisted fairy tale.”
“Sugar,” he said, turning her around and gripping the tops of her arms, “every word is true. I tried to get back to you, but before I knew what was happening, I was involved in a war.”
“Why did you go back in the first place? Why didn’t you stay with me?”
“Because I had one more job to do before I could put my past behind me. It’s done now, and like my note said, I will never leave again, I promise.”
“But five years, Judas!”
“For you, but to me it’s like yesterday. Sugar, I was dropped off forty years in the future and left there. Abandoned. I spent every minute trying to figure out how to get back to you, and because I went against the ruler of Hell…”
“You mean Satan?”
“Yes. I risked my life to get back to you, Sugar and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“You spent five years trying to fig—”
“No, not five years. It was more like a few days. It was just that when I finally managed to travel the distance between that time and this, I fell five years short. During the journey we were ambushed by Satan and almost killed.”
“We?”
“I brought Divinian with me.”
“Who is he?”
“Oh, God,” Judas mumbled and took a deep breath knowing she would never believe him if he told her. He looked at her, at her questioning eyes that begged him to tell her the truth.
Losing his courage, he said, “Just a fr—” Judas’s words stopped. “Hell, I can’t lie to you. In Hell, Divinian is an archangel. He was my escort back here. Satan ambushed us both, and we were almost killed. Divinian lost his wings, and by the time we got back to Earth, we were five years short of our goal.” He looked at her, at her disbelieving eyes, and prayed. Oh, how he prayed that she would believe him.
She only stared at him with those hurt, disappointed, stormy blue eyes before she turned from him. “I have to change,” she said. “You’ll have to leave.”
“Sugar…”
The door closed. Standing there he bowed his head, his face in his hands, and as his tears fell between his fingers, his shoulders shook.
Sugar stood on the other side of the door and heard his sobs. Her heart melted. She wanted to open it, to go into his arms and say all was forgiven, but pride stood in her way. She didn’t doubt Judas had told her the truth about where he was from. She’d seen and heard enough proof of it when she was dealing with Lupercus. She’d seen both do things that a mere mortal could never do, and yet for some reason she couldn’t open the door and receive him into her arms.
It had been five years, after all. Had he really gone through what he said he did? He’d told her the truth about everything else. Why wouldn’t this be true as well? She went through hell herself when he didn’t come back. She’d waited, dreamed of him, seen him in every fair-haired man she met. His magnificent image was a fixture in her mind that she couldn’t forget.
And now he was back telling her the biggest lie…no, it wasn’t a lie. It had to be the truth. Judas didn’t lie, not to her. He’d had a lie on his lips but couldn’t say it. The bottom line was, she trusted him and whoever he was and wherever he came from didn’t matter.
She loved him.
* * * *
He’d tried. He’d told her the truth, and she still didn’t believe him. Who would? Nobody sane, that’s for sure. He turned and walked slowly toward the velvet curtain. Just before pulling it back to go into the club, he wiped the tears away. He was on his way out the front when the music began. He turned, seeing the curtain slowly open, revealing a shadowy stage filled with sparkling spider webs. He was transfixed.
The web that stretched from ceiling to floor glittered and gleamed like jewels in the night. In a costume of dark netting, she seductively crawled along the web, keeping her eye on a particularly handsome fly caught in it. After pretending to tie him up, she finally swung on a single silky thread and lowered herself to the black, shiny stage.
The sexy music thumped temptingly as she danced.
Her hips swayed rhythmically as she kept time to the beat. Her lush body was the stuff dreams were made of. Her movements were as smooth as liquid as she turned one way and then another. By the time her dance was almost over, the men who watched began gathering at the stage. She danced at the edge, only webs covering her body. They hung from her arms and hands as she danced, swinging and swaying to the music while her costume fluttered gently.
Making a most seductive spider, she allowed the men to touch her and insert bills into her G-string. As usual, she held the audience spellbound. They reached for her, but she was elusive, her spidery costume tickling faces, hands, and arms. During the finale, she danced down the steps and began a suggestive dance through the audience, enticing many men.
Then she paused in front of Judas.
Slowly she extended her arm, covered in the glittering, silky, feather-like strands, and temptingly stroked them over his face and arms. He didn’t respond, didn’t smile, and his eyes were as cold as a snowy winter ground. Knowing she’d hurt him deeply, she continued to gyrate before him while wielding the silky spun web to touch him enticingly.
When the music reached the last few strains, she moved away and looked the men over as if looking for a victim. Finally making her choice, she turned back to Judas and moved her red-nailed fingers across her eyes seductively. Moving in for the kill, she began to pull the silky web from a secret place in her costume and circled him slowly. When she
had her victim all wrapped up, she gently drew him to her and began to devour him with her lips.
And then she saw him—the dark ghost of her lost husband.
She waited for the familiar pain of loss that always followed his appearance, but felt nothing. As he stood dark and handsome, for the first time she felt no desire to go to him, to invite him into her dreams. She realized that he was a love she’d had, but was now long past. Now when she dreamed, it was of Judas. Now it was his lips she wanted on hers. Now it was his hands, his body, and his love ever after that she wanted. After realizing this, she saw the image fading and heard a distant, echoing voice.
Goodbye, my love. Be happy.
The image was gone, never to return.
It was then that Sugar realized she’d been released from another spell, one that was every bit as powerful as the one cast by the moon. Her eyes shifted to Judas, loving every line of his face.
“What are you looking at?”
“The man I love,” she whispered.
* * * *
Skyrockets went off in his head. His feet suddenly felt light, and his heart sang. Could it be? Prickles of fear crawled along his spine, fear of a sickness he’d never had. If it was only some other kind of sickness. Broken bones can mend, damaged organs can be repaired, loss of blood can be replaced, but there would be no healing for the wound Sugar had inflicted on him with those few words. He knew now it had begun the moment he met her and had spread slow and deadly.
Judas looked at her loveliness, the perfection in every move she made. It was a strange sensation that had been taboo in Hell, and now he knew how it felt. Happiness he never knew existed made his heart as light as a feather. A warm feeling came over him when he merely thought of her. Food was unimportant, drink even less. This sensation made him light on his feet, his heart soar, and his future as bright as a diamond’s glitter. Yes, he had the sickness all right and contemplated the severity of it, of that dreadful disease these humans call—love!
THE END
ABOUT TEMPLE MADISON
My name is Temple Madison, and I write about men, which includes manlove on occasion. Some of my men are good, others are bad. Some noble, others will scare the crap out of you. As a rule I put characters together who would never find each other in real life. But why not? I’m a fiction writer, and anything goes!
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