by Michael Todd
“Greeting received and reply given.” Pandora gave him a side glance. “You done here then?”
The two of them sat there for several minutes, not saying a word to each other. Pandora took in the dark skyline, all kinds of thoughts running through her head. She was in a strange place, not physically but mentally. She quite simply was not herself. It was apparently going around.
Finally, she looked him straight in the eyes. “Gabriel, when did this become too much?”
Gabriel pursed his lips. He could tell she didn’t expect an answer, so he allowed it to slide. He could see in Pandora’s eyes that she was struggling with something, but she wasn’t ready to admit it to him. A crisis of conscience wasn’t something that usually happened to a demon. She lost herself in her glass of wine for a moment, and finally just asked the question. “What’s wrong with her? And I don’t mean what’s wrong with her, as in she’s infected with a demon or that she has angel DNA, but how did she change so quickly? One minute, she’s the Katie I know, the one I’m trying to talk onto the wild side. The next minute, I’m trying to pull her back from the edge so she doesn’t jump off a cliff.”
Gabriel waited calmly, knowing she wasn’t done speaking.
She set her glass down and rubbed her hands over her face. “She’s acting out of character. Hell, she was grading studly men tonight. It took everything I had to stop her from jumping one right there on the dance floor. She was like a completely different person. The way she spoke to me was so odd. I hate to say it, but it was like I was talking to myself, only she gave zero fucks. Sometimes, albeit rarely, I actually do give a fuck. Shit, at least when it comes to her, I give a fuck. She’s the girl who gives a fuck about everything and everyone, but tonight she was ready to take on whoever would take her.”
Gabriel gave her a surprised look. “And you did not encourage that?”
Pandora agreed. “Usually I would have, sure. But this was unusual. She’s been acting all weird since we fought Tiamat in hell. Since she came back, it’s like she’s trying to be me.”
Gabriel hid a smirk. “As if.”
“I know, right? Seriously, do you know what’s wrong with her?”
Gabriel took a sip of his wine and nodded.
Pandora looked surprised and leaned toward him. “Well, what the fuck is it?”
Gabriel set down his wine and steepled his fingers in front of his face. “She’s willing to tell you.”
Pandora sneered at him. “Yeah, but she expects something from me.”
“You know what I think?”
She finished her wine and set the glass down hard on the table. “No, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I think for the first time in thousands and thousands of years, you’re feeling again.”
Pandora huffed. “Oh, fuck you. It isn’t about feeling.”
She stopped. She could tell that he was baiting her, and he could tell that he was starting to get to her. She wasn’t going to give in to the feelings Gabriel wanted her to have. “I’ll deal with it. If you have another message, I’ll pass it along. If not, scram.”
Gabriel took another sip of his wine and shrugged. “Can’t I just want to chat with you for a moment?”
Pandora scoffed. “You could, but we both know that isn’t how your schedule works. We also both know that’s not how you work.”
Gabriel nodded. “Most of the time I’d agree, but I was heading to Canada when I noticed you here. I couldn’t let you sit here all alone. You looked so contemplative. I thought I’d come down and have a glass of wine with an old friend.”
Pandora rolled her eyes. “Right. An old friend, sure. What you mean to say is that you’re keeping tabs on me because… Well, we both know why.”
Gabriel feigned shock. “What? You? Lucifer’s wife? Why would you ever think that?”
Pandora grumbled, “I’m divorcing that asshole.”
“I mean, I’m no expert on hell or how its legal system works, but is that even possible?”
“Usually it only takes a kick to the balls, but I’ll settle for someone serving him with papers. I’d rather not go back and have a personal discussion with him. He isn’t the most logical person to talk to, as you can probably imagine. Nor is his temper conducive to a conversation like that.”
“Yeah, I guess he might be a little pissed.”
Pandora shrugged. “He’s probably replaced me with five others.”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “Twelve.”
Slowly, Pandora looked at Gabriel, her eyes wide. “Twelve? Damn, I’m worth twelve hos? I mean, he’s a total asshole—and most of them were probably around before I was gone—but I thought that a half a dozen was pushing it. Shit. He liked me a little bit more than I thought, even with all his extra fiery soul-whores rolling through the kingdom every night. Maybe I should be impressed with myself.”
“Maybe.”
Pandora smiled. “Okay, do your angel business. I have to think this through. Once out the lips, I can’t take it back.”
Gabriel looked at her with a smug face. “Worried?”
“Yeah, I am.” Pandora looked away from him as she said it.
Gabriel scoffed. “I’ve seen you stare Michael down and call him names he had to go look up later. I mean, there were words I didn’t even know. I’m pretty sure they made the big guy blush. And the fact that I had to sit in a room with Michael while he looked them up was absolutely mortifying. I wanted to wash my brain afterward and forget everything. Sometimes I wonder how demons and humans come up with this stuff.”
Pandora snickered. “That was funny as hell.”
“For you to tell me you’re worried really surprises me. I’ve never seen you worried about anything in your life. Well, maybe your shoes or your clothes, but definitely not another person or an angel or anything in between. You are Lilith, the Queen of the Damned, Lucifer’s wife, the keeper of the bodies, the tour guide to hell.”
Pandora leaned forward and whispered, “Did you know that she pulled me out of her in hell? She totally turned to me and told me to do whatever needed to be done. She knew I was a demon, Gabriel. I am the Queen of hell, and she brought me there and collapsed. Left herself to my mercy.”
Gabriel didn’t seem surprised, but he still asked the question. “How did she get back here?”
“Me, of course. It seems I love donuts too much to stay in hell.”
Gabriel took one last sip of his wine and stood up. He put his hands on the back of his chair. “You keep telling yourself that, and someday you might believe it. When you get a chance, tell Katie I have something for her.”
“Another riddle?”
Gabriel smiled. “Hardly. But if I told you, then you wouldn’t have a reason to bitch about angels so harshly.”
“Try me,” she retorted.
His lips curled, and he shook his head. “See you around, Pandora.”
Pandora gave him a half-smile. “You too, Gabe.”
Pandora watched Gabriel walk away, then she was alone in the crowded restaurant, surrounded by all those innocent faces. She knew she was using the word “innocent” lightly, but they were nothing like the demons she knew or the souls that had been trapped in hell. Her thoughts wavered between her former home and everything that had happened.
She thought about the fight with Tiamat, and how much Katie had trusted her. She replayed the scene over and over in her head. Katie had pulled her from her body, given Pandora her own form, and trusted her not to abandon her there in hell. Pandora wasn’t even sure what had come over her, but when she’d looked down at Katie’s body, she knew she wasn’t done with the woman. She wasn’t done with that adventure. It had turned into more than an adventure for her, and whether she wanted to admit it to Gabriel or not, she was feeling things again.
The waitress walked over to the table, bringing Pandora’s attention back. “No more wine for me, thank you. I’ll take the bill.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but the g
entleman paid it already. Including a very nice tip.”
“Of course he did.” Pandora rolled her eyes. “That ass.”
The waitress giggled before walking away from the table. Pandora smirked, took off her glasses, and stuck them in her cleavage. It had been one hell of a night, and she knew she couldn’t let it end by walking nonchalantly out of the restaurant. After all, she was Pandora, and Pandora always went out with a bang.
She bit her lip, grabbed a spoon, and tapped her wine glass with it. She stood and tapped harder, grabbing the attention of the entire restaurant. When they had quieted down and were staring at her, she smiled at them. She reveled in their gaze, slowly putting the spoon back on the table and milking the tension for all it was worth. “Hey, just wanted to make sure you all get to see something you don’t see every night.”
With that, she stepped onto the ledge of the building and leaped off. She heard a collective gasp and someone screaming behind her as she plummeted. She wanted her audience. Once the crowd had made it to the edge of the building, Pandora opened her wings wide. They flapped up and down, sending a whoosh of air back up toward the crowd. A round of applause and whistles erupted from above her as she headed toward the river and into the darkness.
She always did like a fucking audience, and humans were so damn impressed by the little things.
Pandora chuckled and shook her head as she glided between the buildings. “Momma still has it.”
7
Katie rolled over in bed and uttered an acrid groan. Her lips smacked together. She wiped her hand across her cheek, streaking makeup and drool, the remnants of her deep, dreamless night. She opened one eye and looked around, not really sure what she would find. She couldn’t remember anything from the night before. She had been forced from the club, and then nothing. She had definitely been wasted. She’d only had one drink at the club, but while getting ready she had helped herself to four glasses of wine, three beers, and three shots of whiskey.
Well, I seem to be alone. There’s no soreness in any region of my body, so I know I didn’t have some hot and sweaty orgy.
Katie waited for a sarcastic reaction from Pandora, but nothing came. Apparently, Pandora was still asleep inside her. Hell must have frozen over.
Slowly, she stretched her arms high over her head. The morning light was cascading into her room, and the smell of cooking bacon drifted in from the kitchen. She sat up, waiting for the inevitable throb from deep in her head that signaled a truly hellish hangover, but the pounding didn’t come. She only wobbled in bed. Not hungover, then, but not sober, either. She put her hand down on the bed to stabilize the spinning. “I need to slow the hell down before I fall out of this bed and break something. I don’t think I’ve drunk that much—ever.”
Still nothing from Pandora.
Katie shrugged and walked to the mirror, where she grimaced at her reflection. The remnants of her dark makeup were now streaked down her cheeks, and her hair was twisted into some sort of matted beehive. She half-expected a small furry animal to stick its head out. Katie shook her head at her reflection and pointed at herself. “Get it together, bitch. Shower and food, then we can figure out what’s next…like not standing alone in my room talking to myself.”
Katie turned the shower to scalding hot and slipped out of her lace panties and bra. She almost sank into the stone walls as the hot water ran over her. Cloudy water ran around her feet as she lathered up and washed away what she assumed was a collection of embarrassing moments from the night before.
She tried to ignore the feeling of loneliness in her chest without Pandora there to chide her and push her along.
You know, even if you’re not going to respond, I’m going to talk. What good is having a demon inside me if I can’t have a conversation?
Nothing. Just silence. Katie climbed out of the shower and stared at herself in the mirror. She bounced up and down for a moment, trying to get a response. Any response. Maybe I should have a breast reduction.
She lifted her eyebrows and smiled, thinking that would for sure get her demon’s attention. After a couple of moments of silence, Katie sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. Fine, whatever. I don’t need someone else in my head all the time. I can be on my own.
Katie brushed out her hair and pulled it back into a messy ponytail. She rummaged through her drawers until she found a comfy pair of old sweatpants and a Las Vegas T-shirt from back in her college days. The smell of coffee wafted to her nose, and her stomach grumbled. She made her way out of the bedroom and shuffled into the kitchen, where Angie was standing in front of the stove finishing up breakfast.
Katie plopped down at the table, her wet ponytail dripping down her back. Angie looked at her with a smile. “I barely heard you come in last night. Did you have fun?”
“I guess. To be honest, I don’t remember a lot about it. I was drunk and got into a fight with Pandora pretty early in the evening. I just let her take over. I passed out after that, nice and comfortable in the dark abyss inside my own body.”
Angie plated the eggs and bacon and looked at Katie with surprise. “But you didn’t get in until really late. What did Pandora do?”
Katie shrugged. “I have no clue. She’s not talking to me right now. I think she’s still asleep, but she could just be shutting me out.”
Angie giggled and poured their coffee. “I had two little sisters growing up. They annoyed the hell out of me. I can’t imagine walking around with one of them in my mind. No matter how much I love them, I need my space.”
Katie shoved a piece of bacon in her mouth. “I used to feel that way, but I won’t lie, it’s a little weird in my brain without her yammering on about food.”
Angie gave her a comforting smile. “I’m sure. You know, everyone needs a sleepy day once in a while. I’m sure she’ll be up and jamming your frequencies in no time. For now, though, we can talk about life. The project is still full speed ahead, and I got a call from Calvin saying the move is right on schedule.”
“Oh good. I almost forgot about all of that. My trip to hell and everything kind of threw me for a loop. I think it was the oppressive heat. Or it could have simply been me hitting my head when I passed out.”
Angie wrinkled her nose. “You need to get that looked at?”
Katie tapped her head. “Nah. Remember, I have my own personal MD inside. She fixes anything that has gone awry, or at least she does when she’s awake.”
I’m awake, Pandora responded quietly.
Holy hell, you live! What did you do last night, fly all over the city? I’ve never seen you sleep later than me.
Pandora’s voice lacked any emotion. I was up late with my thoughts, that’s all.
Do you feel better now? Katie looked at Angie and nodded to let her know Pandora was up and around.
I do. I think we need to talk, though.
Katie couldn’t help feeling nervous. It was like a boyfriend telling her they needed to talk—never a good sign. Sure. You mind if I finish my breakfast and conversation with Angie?
Nope, not at all. The bacon is hella tasty today.
Katie glanced at Angie. “Pandora says you did a good job on the bacon.”
Angie laughed. “Oh, you know, I take my time slaughtering and butchering my own pigs.”
Katie raised an eyebrow at her. “You pick up a new hobby?”
Angie shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Man, you are off. I was kidding. Thank Hormel for packaging it and putting it in the supermarket. All I did was throw it in a pan.”
Katie chuckled abashedly. “Sorry. Not sure why I thought you had opened a slaughterhouse. It’s been a long couple of weeks.”
Angie picked up their empty plates. “I know it has been, at least for you. I’ll take care of all the lingering details and contact you if I need an answer to anything. You go do whatever it is you do. Try to relax. Get your mind straight. It’s just as important as physically being there.”
Katie finished her coffee and handed Angie t
he mug. “I will. Thanks for breakfast. I’m probably going to head out for a bit. I have my backup cell, so you know how to reach me.”
Angie nodded. “Yep. I got ya, girl.”
Katie walked back toward her room so she could get changed. I’m assuming we aren’t having a leisurely talk in the bedroom. What’s the attire?
Get dressed for success, and that means the big guns too. Those boys haven’t been out in a while.
Katie clapped her hands together excitedly. Yes! Tom and Harry have been stuck in the drawer for far too long.
Pandora snickered. Nobody puts Harry in the corner.
Katie paused as she pulled out her spandex outfit. Nice reference!
I’ve been working on it. Pop culture is all the rage now, apparently.
That it is, my fiery devil friend. Katie chuckled and pulled on her outfit, straightening the bust and noticing the top was a bit tighter.
Pandora giggled. I heard you this morning, so I decided to move you up a quarter of a cup size. Don’t joke about the titties, dude. That’s sacred territory.
Noted. Katie smiled.
She pulled Tom and Harry from the drawer and carefully slid them into their holsters, tightening her straps. I forgot how heavy these bad boys were.
Worth the weight.
She pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail and walked to her balcony doors, taking a step out into the cool morning air. She leaped off the balcony as easily as she would step off a street corner, spreading her wings.
“Katie, we love you,” several people yelled from below.
Katie smiled and began flapping her wings, soaring high above the buildings and the city. People ran to windows in the skyscrapers, waving and gawking as she flew by. She took a sharp right and dove, skimming just above the water of the river. People on the running trails and in small boats pointed and took pictures as she hovered over the water.
Pandora spoke softly in Katie’s mind. You know, I once thought everyone bowing down to me was the emotional connection I needed.