by D. C. Gomez
Constantine and Sexy-Butt Eric both stopped and looked at each other.
“OK, what am I missing?”
“Is it possible?” Eric asked Constantine, uncertain.
“Is what possible? What’s going on?” Oh thank you, Bartholomew. At least I wasn’t the only lost one.
“They’re stealing the years out of people.” Constantine looked devious when he said it.
“Yeah, still lost. What does that mean?” It was way too early for all this cryptic madness.
“Oh, wow. That explains why the bodies we found did not match their ages when they died.” Even Bartholomew had figured this out. But it didn’t make sense. That wasn’t possible.
“Please tell me you’re kidding. They’re not making themselves younger by stealing people’s souls. Are they?” My stomach was turning in knots. I wanted to throw up.
“Not just younger. They’re making themselves immortal. Humankind’s greatest fear is death. They found a way to cheat Death and not age.” We all stood in silence, staring at Constantine. “Death is going to be mad when she finds out.”
“Oh, great. Now what do we do?” My job really sucked.
“We still need to find them before the equinox. Their powers will be greater on that day. With all the witches celebrating around the world, the energy will be easy to tap.” Thank you, Constantine, for stating the obvious. “Right now you need to train. You suck at hand-to-hand combat.”
He was so evil. I groaned in protest. “Thank you for reminding me. I’m sorry about Bumblebee.” Before I could finish my sentence, I looked over my shoulder. Bumblebee was parked in its usual spot. “How did you get it back?”
“I got people,” Constantine said very smoothly.
“Do your people ever sleep?” When they did get it there?
“Isis, dear, I can’t reveal all my secrets.” Of course not. There was no way Constantine was ever going to spill the beans.
“Can we start now? I need to check some things out at work.” I had totally forgotten Sexy-Butt was always on duty. I wondered why he wasn’t a detective. Maybe that was against some witch code.
“Yes, we’re wasting time. Bartholomew, start going through your drills with Eric. Isis, warm up on the rower and then the punching bags.” Constantine was back in drill-sergeant mode, so there was no way to argue.
I was fully awake and decided to jump on the treadmill first. Five minutes of brisk walking had my blood pumping. My warm-up went fairly quickly. By the time Bartholomew was done with his drills, I had completed a full circuit of push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. I had been told it took the body less than two weeks to start toning. After years of conditioning, exercises were another form of muscle memory. I was slowly finding my rhythm again. It probably helped that I was drinking those weird shakes as well.
Bartholomew and I switched places. He went to work on the bike, and I walked to the mat. Hand-to-hand combat was the one thing I had avoided in the military. Sexy Eric was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He looked strong but flexible. I was going to die.
“We’re going to start with some self-defense, OK?” Eric sounded just like Constantine, with that teacher’s tone. “I’m going to throw a few punches, you need to block them.” He looked at me, and I nodded.
Eric threw a couple of fast punches and a jab. I managed to get hit each time and didn’t block a single one.
“Oh, wow. You are really bad at this.” He actually sounded sorry for me. “Weren’t you in the army?”
“Yes, but I was in the band. Why does everyone keep forgetting that I’m a musician?”
Eric stopped and actually looked at me. It was as if he had never noticed me before. “I though all of Death’s interns were notorious killing machines.”
Great. I was making the interns look bad.
“Sorry to disappoint you. But this is day four for me, and no, I’m not some crazy assassin. God, I still haven’t read the manual.” I sounded so pitiful.
Eric gave me the strangest look. “You are not what I expected.” That was a common phrase lately for me. “How about we start from the basics and work our way up?”
I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded better than getting beaten up. “Please, let’s do that.” I was too lost to care. I needed help, and it seemed Sexy Eric was our new kung fu master.
Two hours later, I was sore in places I didn’t knew I had muscles in. Eric showed me the correct way to throw a punch, the proper stances for kicks, and how to block. I spent most of my time on the defensive, dodging and backing up. We went through drills of kicking and punching over and over. I had underestimated the amount of energy and concentration it took to fight. At one point, he had me in a headlock with the intent to teach me how to get away. I managed to knock us both on the floor, but I was still trapped. Constantine was very proud of my progress. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about; I still couldn’t block fast enough.
By the time Constantine walked Eric out, I was on the floor, staring at the ceiling. My clothes were covered in sweat, and I couldn’t move a muscle. I looked like a hot mess. I heard Constantine thank Eric and mention something about seeing him Saturday. I hoped it wasn’t this Saturday. I doubted I would be able to walk by then.
I was still staring at the ceiling when Constantine came over and glared down at me. Trust me—it will scare the hell out of you to have a talking cat three inches from your eyeballs.
“Wake up.”
I couldn’t help it. I jumped. He was way too close not to be scary. I sat up, staring down at him. Constantine looked as if he were smiling at me. The nerve of that cat. He was devious.
“I’m up. No need to yell.”
“Who said I was yelling? Good job today, Isis. In a few weeks, you’ll be able to defend yourself in a fight.” Constantine sounded really sure of himself.
“Sure, if those witches don’t kill me first.” At the rate they were going, that could happen sooner rather than later.
“Stop being so dramatic.”
“Constantine, you know I’m right. If Bartholomew hadn’t showed up last night, they probably would have killed me.”
“But he did show up. What’s your point?” Constantine sat down next to me and did his Sphinx pose.
“He could have been hurt.” I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
“We’re in this together, remember?” Bartholomew had walked over from his practice area.
“This is really dangerous.” I was pleading, but they just looked at each other.
“We work for Death. It comes with the territory. Good news—your order is here.” Bartholomew looked like a kid on Christmas morning. He enjoyed changing the topic.
“See, things are looking up. You got presents. I need to make a few calls. You need to stop by the Cave tonight.”
I had no idea what Constantine was talking about. This Cave thing sounded sketchy.
Constantine headed upstairs without an explanation while Bartholomew and I headed toward the shooting range. Three large crates were lined up against the wall. Bartholomew made his way toward the first one and popped the lid. A couple of new M16s were inside the crate, with sights and extra magazines. I really didn’t want to kill anyone, but I was really tired of getting beaten up.
“Are you sure you’re not an arms dealer?” It was hard not to smile at Bartholomew.
He took a bow and smiled.
“Nice job.”
“Thank you. I got extra ammo. If these witches are as strong as we think they are, bullets might not stop them. At least the effort will take its toll, especially if shot from multiple angles.”
I had asked Bartholomew to research special ammo. I wasn’t sure what damage this would do, but we needed all the help we could get. Bartholomew proceeded to show me the rest of the goods. He was good.
CHAPTER 23
The morning flew by, and I wasn’t sure what we had gotten done. I tested every weapon Bartholomew had ordered. I ensured the sights for all the guns were acc
urate and that I could handle each one. I was out of my league with spells and one-on-one combat, but at least I knew I could handle an assault rifle. I was tired of bringing knives to gun fights, as they said in Texas. To make things legit, Bartholomew sent the paper work for my concealed gun permit. While everyone in Texas had guns, I didn’t want to go to jail for hiding mine.
After my intense weapons session, Bartholomew and I went over maps of Texarkana. For a small town, this place was really spread out. There were too many weird buildings to hide people and just odd locations. We didn’t have time to go door to door. Downtown was looking like the best setting, out of the way and with some abandoned locations. I was not too happy about searching any of them alone. Bartholomew suggested asking Sexy-Butt, a.k.a. Officer Eric, for help. At this rate, I would take any help I could get.
Constantine was working his magic to get me into the Cave. I still had no idea what that was, but I wanted to find Angelito before I headed out. Thursdays at Abuelita’s was still the weekday special, and we only served dinner. Doors were opened at 4:00 p.m., so I knew Abuelita would be at the shop already. Angelito normally showed up by three thirty. I had at least an hour to get some info from Abuelita before he showed up, and then I could nail that lazy bum. I couldn’t believe he had set me up.
I pulled up to Abuelita’s, and this time I parked in the back. I didn’t want anyone seeing Bumblebee. I also didn’t want anyone blowing it up. I was sure Constantine would turn me to Swiss cheese if something happened to his ride. Life was not fair when a cat had a better car than I did. I was not normally an angry person, but every time I thought about the Whale, thoughts of vengeance filled my mind. I really wanted to shake the hell out of those witches.
“Hi, Abuelita,” I shouted even before I walked into the building. I wasn’t scheduled to work, so I didn’t want to scare her to death. Or worse, have her shoot me.
“Oh, Isis, what are you doing here?” Yeah, huge blessing I yelled. Abuelita was pointing the shotgun directly at me.
“I was looking for Angelito and wanted to check up on you. Are you OK?”
Abuelita was like a rock—nothing could disturb her strength. Today she looked haggard. Older than ever, and even her normally tight hair was out of place. Not messy, but with hair falling out of the bun.
She took a deep breath and looked around. “Well, when you see him, you tell him I need to talk to him.”
“You haven’t seen him? Abuelita, you live in the same house with that boy. How is that possible?” I had never been to their house, so I had no idea if you could miss a person in the same space. With Abuelita being so overly protective, I figured she would be in his room checking on him.
“Isis, I have no idea what’s going on. He’s gone by the time I come in, or comes back by the time I fall asleep. I hardly see him. Today he texted me again, saying that he has things going on and can’t come in. Something is not right.” Abuelita was crying. A very intimidating thing to do when you’re holding a shotgun with one hand and a large metal spoon with the other.
I walked slowly over to her. I had no idea what to say, so I did the only thing I could think of. I hugged her.
“I’m sorry, Abuelita. I’m sure he’s OK.” I wanted him to be OK. I hoped that counted as the truth.
“Isis, you’re a horrible liar. But thank you, dear. I needed that.” With another pat on the back, she let me go. Abuelita put the shotgun down and started mixing her pot.
I took a deep breath and dropped my head. “I think Angelito is messing around with the witches.” I blurted it out before I could stop myself.
Abuelita stopped and stared at me. That was a lot of eye contact to handle from one intense lady. “Are you sure?”
“Kind of. He mentioned that his girl hangs out with the biker gang in town. It just so happens that our sweet local coven is a biker gang. I don’t know how involved he is.”
I was worried about Abuelita’s reaction, but she squared her shoulders and looked focused. “Well, that explains things better. I should have known something wasn’t normal. That boy doesn’t fall that hard for anyone. He’s way too selfish for that. We might need to fix this.” I had no idea what “fix this” meant, but I felt bad for the witches. Abuelita’s look promised it wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Do I want to know what you’re planning to do?”
“Nothing to worry about, dear. Nothing dangerous—not yet. I do need to go home and pick up a few things of his. Do you mind watching the restaurant? My cousin is coming in to help out, but not till four o’clock. I’ll be right back.” That was a rhetorical question, since she was heading toward the door before I had time to agree. Abuelita gave me one last wink, and she was out the door.
Great. Now I was stuck at work. I wasn’t dressed in my normal Abuelita’s clothes. I had khaki cargo pants and a gray T-shirt. If Abuelita was jumpy, I was paranoid. I had pepper spray, a Taser, two pairs of butterfly knives, and keys in my pants pocket. If someone was jumping me today, they were going down hard. I refused to unload anything from my pockets, but I couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. My hair was in a ponytail, so I decided to at least wrap it in a messy bun.
Nothing was set up for the dinner crowd. Chairs had to be set down from the tables. Silverware needed to be wrapped in napkins and plates pulled out from the dishwasher. In other words, everything needed to be set up quickly. I was praying that her cousin would show up soon, but I wasn’t holding my breath for that one. Abuelita’s family were never on time for anything. They would be the ones to be late to their own funeral.
Abuelita was true to her word. She was back in less than forty minutes. I was still busy setting up the place when she entered the kitchen with an armful of stuff. I gave her a quick glance, and I was sure she had a teddy bear under her arm. I hoped she wasn’t planning on sacrificing the poor thing.
“Isis, my cousin called. She’s running late. Do you mind covering till she gets here?”
“Sure thing, Abuelita. I just need to be home early, but I can cover.” No need to get mad; I should have seen this coming. Between the nieces, the cousin, and Angelito, no wonder Abuelita thought I was amazing. They made me look good—they were totally irresponsible. That was the reason they never worked the weekend shift.
My body went on autopilot as I thought about Abuelita this weekend. I was feeling guilty for leaving her alone. Unfortunately, if I didn’t do my main job, a lot of people were going to end up dead. It had been a while since the result of my job was death. It was an odd feeling. I wasn’t sure whether I was happy about it or disturbed. By the time 4:00 p.m. rolled around, I was completely depressed with my own thoughts.
I went over to the kitchen to check on Abuelita before opening the restaurant. On the far stove, she had a small pot boiling. It actually looked like a small cauldron. I had no idea what she was doing, but she was whispering who knows what into the cauldron.
I cleared my throat for her benefit. “Abuelita, are we ready to open?”
“Yes, dear. Please get the door. Beans are ready to set in the front area.” Abuelita’s voice was distant, almost muffled with a weird accent. Not Spanish, but almost Cajun. Her loose hairs were staring to flow in their own invisible air current. That was way too much for me. I did a quick U-turn and headed back to the dining area.
The last thing I needed was for Abuelita to go all Exorcist on me. If her head started spinning, I was out that door so fast, I could break Olympic records. I was not as brave as I hoped. I almost ran to the door to get away. I was totally distracted because I missed Gabe standing on the other side. By the time I noticed, I had jumped five feet off the ground in pure horror. Abuelita didn’t even notice.
“Isis, I’m so sorry. I thought you saw me.” Gabe was holding my arms, trying to steady me.
“No, it’s my fault, Gabe. I’m totally spacing out. Please come in.”
Gabe was still holding me when I flipped the door sign to Open. “Are you sure you’re OK?” He was examining me
very carefully. I probably looked pale.
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.”
“OK, then.” Gabe stepped away from me and was heading toward his seat at the bar when a thought crossed my mind.
“Hey, Gabe, could I ask you a quick question? I’m not sure if you could answer me. You wouldn’t happen to know where Bob is located?” I was hoping he was getting my meaning.
“We see and hear things.”
I might as well ask. “Could you help me?”
“We’re not allowed to intervene in the affairs of man. We watch and report. We preserve free will.” Well, so much for divine intervention.
“Great. Love free will.” I knew I sounded sarcastic. “Could you at least tell me if they’re in heaven?”
“I can at least give you that one. Nope, they are not. Watch your back, Isis. They’re dangerous, with complete disregard for others.” Gabe smiled and patted my arm.
“Thanks, Gabe.” At least he wasn’t trying to kill me. I needed all the help I could get. Too bad the only ones playing fair were the angels. Too bad the witches didn’t mind influencing people. By the way Abuelita was acting, she knew exactly what was going on.
Well, at least I had tried. Gabe took his seat, and I went about my business. By the time Abuelita’s cousin showed up, it was close to seven o’clock. I was tired and smelled like Mexican food again. The place was running smoothly, and my guilt was gone. She could close up for Abuelita.
I needed a shower and a new set of clothes before heading out to this Cave place. I hoped Constantine was ready to give me more details. Good deed for the day done. I had no idea what Abuelita was brewing in the back, and I was too chickenshit to ask. I planned to check back with her later.
CHAPTER 24
It was not a good sign that Constantine let me dress myself tonight. Neither he nor Bartholomew said much about my outfit. I definitely looked like a skater kid. The only thing I wasn’t wearing was a hoodie, but I did braid my hair. No need to pretend and fake being anything else; I was heading toward the Cave. The Cave, no other than the devil’s club. Not just any devil or demon, but the Prince of Deception himself. I was going to Lucifer’s club. Great. From angel to the devil, this day was getting better and better.