by Chloe Garner
“You’re…” It felt foolish to even say it out loud. “You’re a Gorgon.”
Rafael looked at O’na Anu’dd.
“She’s very good.”
“I assume that’s why you’re here,” O’na Anu’dd said. Samantha recognized sadness in her friend’s voice, and it confused her again. One thing at a time.
“Medusa,” she said. “Turning people to stone.”
“I only did Isobel,” Rafael said. “There were four of us, living in Macedonia at the time. The other three wanted to create a society of worthy men and women who would live with us forever.”
“Foolishness,” O’na Anu’dd said. Rafael nodded.
“That kind of thing can only be a secret for so long,” he said, shaking his head with a certain amount of anger. “Especially when they left the stones out for all to see.”
“The stories they told about you…” Isobel growled. Rafael laughed.
“I’ve never been concerned for my reputation,” he said.
“I’m not staying,” Isobel said.
“Yes, my love. You are,” Rafael said. “You need her to defend you from all the powers of the world who will want you.”
“Why me, and why now?” Samantha asked.
“Because you can,” Rafael said.
“And because he’s dying,” O’na Anu’dd said. “Sam can see it.”
Samantha checked mentally with Sam, and felt the click of realization.
“Will that kill her?” Samantha asked. “No. It shouldn’t.”
“No,” Rafael said. “But it will make her mortal. My magic will die with me.”
She looked at O’na Anu’dd.
“How can you tolerate it?”
“Because it is light magic,” he said, clearly struggling. “It fights death with health, with light. It’s why humans can never, ever have it.”
She shook her head, not seeing the distinction, watching Isobel now.
“You’re dying?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Rafael answered. “And the things you’ve seen, the things you know…” He shook his head. “Better I kill you myself than let them have you. This is the best I can do for you, now.”
“Why are you dying?” Samantha asked. “After all this time?”
Rafael didn’t look away from Isobel, and he didn’t answer.
“An angel can only spend so much time,” O’na Anu’dd said, leaving the rest of the statement floating, unsaid.
“You’re…” Isobel said. “What is that? What are they saying?”
“I’m so sorry, my love,” Rafael said. “There are so many things I never told you. I never knew how.”
“I don’t know you,” she said, softly enough that Samantha could only just hear her. “I never did.”
“No,” Rafael said. “But I knew you. And I loved you.”
“I never asked,” Isobel said. “I never needed to know.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said.
“I’ve been a wisp through time, only watching, never a part of it. With you.”
At this, he laughed.
“I can trace the rise of the Prussian empire back to you importing a half-Phoenician Greek girl,” he said. “Your fingerprints are everywhere.”
She scowled at him, the sense of a fight that had happened many times before, and shook her head.
“You off in your wars, altering the course of history…”
“And you back home, really changing things,” Rafael said. “I’ve never known a woman like you. If anyone can find a path forward from here, it’s you.”
“You will leave me again,” Isobel said.
“For the last time,” Rafael said. He looked at Samantha. “I’ve searched the earth for a safe place for her. I believe I’ve found it, here. Will you take her in?”
Samantha looked at Isobel, reading clearly the resentment there at the sense of helplessness Rafael was projecting onto her.
“Of course,” Samantha said, not pausing to think it through. She felt the sense of alarm from Sam, and she pushed it away. She knew, she knew how important it was to protect the secrets of the angels. After Samantha, it was likely Isobel held more than any other living person, and Samantha had silently promised herself, many years before, that she would never turn away need like that. Not after she’d seen Carter try to send Abby away.
Rafael looked at O’na Anu’dd.
“You’ll come with me?” he asked.
“Of course,” O’na Anu’dd said. Samantha stood, silent, seeing - feeling - how much pain it caused Isobel to watch Rafael turn and walk toward the door with O’na Anu’dd. That he would take a stranger with him and leave her… Samantha couldn’t imagine.
Rafael turned at the door, holding up a hand.
“Goodbye, my love,” he said, then he turned and he was gone.
<><><>
Samantha gave the woman two days on her own, thinking through what she would say to her. In the meantime, as she was waiting for Sam and Abby to come up with something, she sat down with Maryann.
“I’m sorry, Mistress,” the young demon said.
“Maryann, I’m actually going to have to be mean to you about that, if you keep doing it,” Samantha said.
“It’s what I’m supposed to call you,” Maryann said.
“It isn’t,” Samantha said. “Don’t do it. All right? Just don’t.”
“Very well,” Maryann said.
“How did they get past you?” Samantha asked.
“Which ones?” Maryann asked back.
“I know how Carter and Abby did it, and I’m not holding that against you. How did Rafael and Isobel walk in without you knowing about it?”
“I don’t know,” Maryann said. “I can’t find him now. I think it’s because he’s an angel. They seem to be… different.”
Samantha nodded.
“That wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t think that you’re failing. I just want to understand. I’m not sure you’re built to be a watchdog, anyway.”
“I’ll try harder,” Maryann said. Samantha shook her head.
“No, I want you to find a demon for me.”
Maryann sat forward.
“The woman in black,” she said.
“You know her?” Samantha asked.
Maryann shrugged.
“Demons talk. I listen. I’ve heard of her.”
“Who is she?” Samantha asked.
“No one knows,” Maryann told her. “That’s why they’re talking about her.”
“Can you find her?” Samantha asked.
“I can try,” Maryann said. “I’d like to visit Doris, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Samantha said. “Why?”
“I don’t like the idea of her being all alone. She was good to me. I’d like to stop by to see her for a while, as I have time.”
“I’d be glad to know you were checking in on her,” Samantha said. Maryann nodded.
“I’ll try to find you the woman in black. I don’t like her.”
“Why is that?” Samantha asked.
“Because,” Maryann said. “She’s unpredictable. Strange. I don’t like her being around.”
Samantha shrugged.
“I can understand that. Do what you can, but don’t risk your life.”
Maryann nodded. Samantha said it from time to time. They both knew that she wasn’t going to get Maryann across again, and that, if Maryann died and managed to cross on her own, Samantha would kill her. The binding magic would be gone, and Maryann would be just another demon - one that knew much too much about Samantha at this point.
She raised her head after a moment, frowning, and disappeared, then reappeared.
“There’s a car coming,” she said. “It’s full of demons.”
“Demons we know?” Samantha asked. Maryann nodded.
The car would be a show of goodwill. Most demons would glitch onto the property and then wait to be escorted into the house - that was the only way they could get in. Drivin
g up meant that they expected Samantha to know they were coming at least a few minutes before they got there.
The thing about demons is that they don’t understand the idea of a double-cross. Anything less than five or six switchbacks is way too simple.
Samantha stood.
“I’ll go see them,” she said. “Let me know what you find about the woman in black.”
Maryann disappeared without additional comment, and Samantha went downstairs, getting herself seated as Trigger brought in the four demons.
“Spasm,” Samantha said. “I didn’t think you left your lair this far behind.”
“Oh, come, now, Renouch. You know I’d go as far as it takes to get something that truly piques my interest,” he said.
“And what would that be?” Samantha asked, not glancing back as Sam entered the room behind her.
“Shah-nicht,” Spasm said. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
Samantha frowned.
“What did you call him?” she asked, knowing perfectly well what it translated.
“The dark seer,” Spasm said, eyes dancing. “Is that not what he’s called?”
“I prefer Sam,” Sam said, standing behind Samantha’s chair, calm. He didn’t react to the name.
“Why would everyone be calling him that?” Samantha asked.
“Seems appropriate,” Spasm said. “Maybe I’m wrong.”
The door behind her opened and closed again, and Samantha sent a question to Sam. He answered with expanded awareness, seeing something that made him cautious but not overly concerned. That would be Abby.
“I’m still waiting to hear what you think was worth traveling so far abroad over,” Samantha said.
“Oh, you know,” Spasm said. “One hears rumors.”
Samantha yawned.
“You bore me, Spasm. Is Carter not abusing you enough? Have you come to me for attention?”
“Rumors about a certain companion,” Spasm said. Samantha leaned over to rest her chin on her fist.
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that,” she said. “It seems like I’m collecting companions, these days.”
“Oh, not yours,” Spasm said, glancing at one of his body guards. Samantha glanced at Sam. One for one.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Samantha said.
“I think you do,” Spasm answered. “The companion of one of the Fallen is worth a great deal in our world.”
Samantha tried not to freeze, but she could tell by the self-satisfied expression she got from Spasm that she’d failed.
“I don’t sell people,” she said.
“It’s not a sale, it’s a trade,” Spasm said. “In favor.”
“I don’t do that, either.”
“So you confirm that you have it?” Spasm said.
It.
Samantha frowned.
“What exactly are you here for, Spasm? Plain words.”
“I have come to know that you are sheltering the housepet of a fallen angel,” Spasm said. “I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your kill… Obviously you killed it.”
“Those aren’t plain enough,” Samantha said.
“I want the creature,” Spasm said.
“You don’t know as much as you let on,” Samantha said, taking a stab that the strange language was because Spasm didn’t know the genders involved.
“I know plenty,” Spasm said. “I know that you don’t want to be caught holding such a creature. And that if I know about this, so do a great number of powerful demons… and angels.”
“O’na Anu’dd was here, himself,” Samantha said, teasing out truths that she thought would be benign enough to keep Spasm talking.
“I’m sure he was proud,” Spasm said. “Did he try to take it off your hands?”
“What would he do with such a prize?” Samantha asked, playing the game.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Spasm said. “Who knows what angels get up to when there’s no one looking, really?”
It was intended to provoke her, but he was swinging blind. He hadn’t known her well, ever, and she hadn’t spent much time around him since before she’d left Carter.
“Who knows indeed,” Samantha answered. “I don’t trade in people.”
Spasm smiled.
“I came here to make a deal,” he said. “I think it’s one you’ll find profitable.”
“And what do you think you have that’s worth me sacrificing my ethics on the superior value of humanity?”
“A certain demoness who has been responsible for the deaths of almost countless humans,” he said. “One who is actually putting a dent in humanity is worth more than one human who has certainly lived longer than they ever had right to expect.”
The logic was so close to valid. So close. She reminded herself to be careful.
“What demoness would that be?” Samantha asked.
“The one who sent you back from New Orleans with your tail between your legs,” Spasm said. Samantha shrugged.
“I’m going to get her,” she said. Spasm shook his head.
“Not before she’s killed dozens more people, horrifically, I might imagine.”
“And how would the angel companion die?” Samantha asked.
He spread his hands.
“Why would I want to kill the source of such exclusive information?”
She smiled.
“Of course. You’d be looking for the highest bidder, after all. What they do with her isn’t your problem.”
“Cynic,” Spasm said. Samantha stood, causing Spasm’s body guards to lean in slightly and Sam to trigger a quiet warning. She shrugged it off.
“It’s demons like you who made me that way,” Samantha said. “You remember what I was like, back at the beginning?” She smiled, remembering. “You were one of the last demons to see me, the day I died, weren’t you?”
“Maybe,” Spasm said. He’d given Carter crucial information at the time, traded for free just to get rid of her and her encyclopedic knowledge of relics and powerful objects. She took a step forward, and this time the body guards did a bit more to emphasize that they were there. She ignored them.
“I don’t trade in souls,” Samantha said. “Never have, never will. Not with demons. And since that’s who I trade with…” She shrugged, feeling out how Carter had always dealt with Spasm. Cold, slick, confident. For a moment she wished she were in her black leather again, but she chided that thought. She was more powerful as herself, more frightening in denim and plaid. She didn’t have to be Carter, nor did she have to be who Carter had built her to be in order to flex that power.
Not that she had to be clean-cut and easygoing, either. She had an edge, and Spasm was going to feel it. How dare he come in here and try to bargain with her?
“Fine,” Spasm said. “I just came because I thought you’d see reason, go rescue all of those innocents from their fate worse than death. Give up the creature who has already outlived its natural expectancy, anyway.”
“Oh, I want your information,” Samantha said, casually drawing Lahn. “But I’m not going to trade a person for it. I might trade a demon.”
He understood her. She saw it, then saw his eyes slam blank.
“I’ve seen your staff,” he said. “Other than the wisp who does your spying, you haven’t got anyone of value.”
Samantha looked from one bodyguard to the other.
“You came by vehicle,” she said. “I know it was a sign of respect, and I give you full credit for it. You can take it away, now, and I won’t remember your faces. But if you intend to fulfill your contract with this scum, today is probably your last day on the earth plane for a while.”
They closed ranks another step and Spasm gave her a wan smile.
“Their contracts are more watertight than that, I’m afraid,” he said. “You will have to ash them to get to me, if you intend to try to ash me.”
Spasm was powerful, but he wasn’t powerful enough to defend himself against Sama
ntha. And in this house, the only demons who could glitch were the ones who were specifically exempted from the magic covering it. Even the most powerful demon Samantha had ever met would have to walk through the front door.
“I’m a fair person,” Samantha said. “I don’t take things of value without compensation. I’m willing to negotiate for information about the demon I saw in New Orleans.” She looked at the bodyguards again. “But I’m also willing to kill demons who pose a threat to myself or anyone under my protection. It’s a woman, the one you came here for, and she is mine. Any mention of her again, I’ll consider it a threat and I’ll end you out of an abundance of caution. And I won’t feel an instant of guilt.”
“I want her,” Spasm said. “You should know that this isn’t over.”
“Where is the demon?” Samantha asked in the same tone.
“You’re going to have a long line of demons, some of them more powerful and influential than me. You’re going to wish you’d been rid of her when I gave you the chance.”
“If you think she’s the most valuable person I’m protecting, your information is woefully out of date,” Samantha answered. “Where is the demon?”
“I don’t know,” Spasm said.
“Then you came to me empty-handed,” Samantha said. “Be grateful I’ve replaced Lindsay. She’d have killed you, in my shoes, for the inconvenience.”
“If I may, you’re not wearing any shoes,” Spasm said. Samantha gave him a cold smile. The feel of the stone under her soles was empowering, and he knew exactly how and why.
“Get out,” she said.
“I know people who knew her, before she was what she is,” Spasm said. “You decide what that’s worth to you and you come see me.”
She stood her ground, waiting for the trio to reform and leave, then looked over her shoulder at Sam.
“I should have seen that one coming,” she said. He jerked his head back toward the doorway to the back hall.
“She’s right there,” he said.
“How did you know that?” the woman called, entering the room. “I’m not yours, by the way. I haven’t belonged to anyone, my entire life.”
“He’s psychic,” Samantha said. “He can see anything he wants.”
Isobel looked Sam up and down.
“If that’s true, the two of you lack creativity.”