by Leo Romero
Gabriel Stone. Angel Enforcer. Schmuck.
And now marked by Satan.
Heaven help me.
Chapter 36
I made it back to the Angel Guild where Aurora was waiting for me. On seeing me enter, she came rushing over. She grabbed my midriff and hugged me tight.
“Hey, kid,” I said. “Pleased to see me?”
“I didn’t know if I would again,” she replied, rubbing her cheek on my bare skin.
I gave her a tired nod. “For a minute, I didn’t think I’d make it out either.” I kissed the top of her head.
“What happened?” she asked.
“We won. We as in the angels.”
She pulled back and looked up at me, her eyes watery. “Where’s Draxil? Lothar? The other one?”
“Those names don’t exist anymore.”
Fear flashed in her eyes. “Why? What happened to them?”
“They got their wings back,” I said with a faint smile.
“No way! How?”
“Michael and the A-team came down and stopped the fight at the last moment. They pardoned Draxil and the others. The demons became angels again, and up they went to Heaven.”
Aurora smiled. “Oh, I’m so happy for them.”
“Yeah...” I said and trudged toward the bar. Ambrosia was calling. As I went, I was getting funny looks from the others in the Guild. Probably because of the etchings on my forearm. Or it could have been the hellhound on my shoulder.
I made it to the bar. Jerome stood behind it, leaning on it with both hands. He glared at me with stern eyes.
I took a seat. “Jerome.”
“Gabriel,” he said, his stoic stare fixed on me. Margaroth yapped at him, and Jerome’s mouth turned downward in disgust. He looked from Margaroth to me.
“Yes. He’s a hellhound,” I said with a huff. “His farts reverse immortality.”
Jerome arched a brow.
“Which we needed to defeat the horsemen.”
“And did you?”
I cocked my head from side to side. “Kinda.” I sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry about earlier, buddy. I had no choice.”
“Aurora has been filling me in,” Jerome said with a slow nod. “She corroborated your story. I wish you’d have come to me earlier.”
“I had no time. It was all seat of the pants stuff.” I leaned in closer. “The demon’s gone from inside me. He became an angel again. Michael and the Archangels came and stopped the fight before it went too far. They gave the demons back their wings and pardoned them. It’s all been resolved.”
“Except for those,” Jerome said, nodding his head toward my forearm.
I looked down at the etchings and sighed. “Can I get a drink? I need one.”
Jerome nodded and went to fetch a bottle of Ambrosia.
Aurora took a seat next to me. “So all’s well that ends well again.”
“Yeah. Except I’m still here. And I’ve got no L45s left. It’ll be ages before I get my quota refilled.”
“Can’t you talk to Michael about it?”
“No point. The Archangels have their own agenda. I’m stuck here, and Mia’s up there.” Pain stabbed at my heart. Now that my human emotions were returning, it hurt bad.
Jerome poured me an Ambrosia shot, and it helped to heal that pain. I knocked it back and immediately asked for another. Jerome obliged.
“So are we safe?” Jerome asked.
“For now. But I’ve got a lot of shit to sort out.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Maybe later. When the dust settles a bit.”
Jerome poured me another. “Good to see you back, Gabriel.”
I gave him a tired smile. Things were cool right about then. But who knew how long it would last? Satan and Hell would find new ways of getting to Aurora. It was inevitable. And then there was Gretchen. Mother. She was leverage. Satan knew she could get to me to get to Aurora. I still couldn’t believe my mother would sacrifice her own son and his wife in Satan’s name. What went wrong?
I tapped my fingertips on the bar, the Ambrosia calming me. I needed closure, needed peace of mind. I nodded my head, knowing what I had to do. There was no other choice.
I had to find my dad and ask him what he knew about Mom turning to the dark side.
Chapter 37
A couple of weeks later, and I was loitering on a bench in Lincoln Park, Margaroth on my shoulder. I’d used a trick of the light masking spell to turn Marga into a parrot and myself into an elderly lady so the two people I was keeping tabs on wouldn’t recognize me. I’d followed Chad and Chloe like a stalker for a couple of days, discovering they liked to hang out in Lincoln Park after school. And guess which tree they enjoyed sitting beneath?
I watched them snuggle up below Old Gnarly’s branches, anticipation rising inside me. They needed a taste of their own medicine for pulling the dirt on Lucy. What they did wasn’t cool, and a spot of retribution was more than necessary. I’d already conferred with Old Gnarly, and all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.
Chad leaned his head back and let out a girly laugh. Man, I’d have given him a slap just for that giggly laugh he had. Chloe joined him, and I felt nauseous.
Old Gnarly’s eyes popped open and rolled down to meet them both. Here we go!
“Get ready, Marga,” I said to him. He yelped in response.
Old Gnarly shook his branches, creating a rustling sound. “Oogie boogie boogie!” he said in the most unconvincing scary voice I’d ever heard. I threw my palm up to my face; Marga let out a whimper. I watched on from between my fingers.
Chad and Chloe’s laughter stopped dead. Their heads spun in unison up to the tree.
“Hey, a talking tree!” Chad exclaimed.
“That’s so cool!” Chloe added.
“Hey, it’s got eyes,” Chad noted.
“Can you sing us a song?” Chloe asked.
“Off with you, brats!” Gnarly scowled at them.
Chad giggled. “He’s a grumpy tree as well.”
I’d had enough. I jumped to my feet and pulled out my Deck of Death. Stupid tree! I asked him to do one small thing, and he managed to mess it up. I found the king of clubs and threw it to the ground. “Mr. Jackson!” I said, and a door to the Void opened. In stepped the jack-o’-lantern I’d asked Zane to create for me. A pumpkin-headed monster complete with evil face carved into it. We’d given it the name Mr. Jackson in memory of the Dark Suit whom Draxil consumed during his resurrection.
Mr. Jackson stood tall on thick green vines for legs, spindly vine arms spreading out. He glared down at me with his terrifying hollow eyes and jagged grin. In reality, he was harmless. Zane made sure to make him non-violent. He existed for prank purposes only.
“Go scare those two,” I said to him. He rubbed his vine hands in glee and set off for Chad and Chloe, who were still laughing and pointing at Old Gnarly.
Mr. Jackson reached them. “Hello, kiddies!” he said in a creepy voice.
Chad laid eyes on him, and his face turned pallid. He let out a girly scream before jumping up to his feet and running away, leaving Chloe behind. Chloe spun her head around, confusion stamped all over her face. She laid eyes on Mr. Jackson, who was standing over her.
“Boo!” he said, and Chloe’s screech of terror rocked Lincoln Park. She was up on her feet and racing away even faster than Chad. Mr. Jackson chased after them both, waving his viney hands on the air. They disappeared into the bushes, Mr. Jackson still chasing after them, his cackles a delight to my ears.
I pointed at them all and bellowed in laughter. Oh man, that was good! Take that Chad! Take that Chloe! Marga barked his approval. I staggered up to Old Gnarly, my belly aching from laughter and Marga panting in excitement.
“Rotten kids!” Gnarly said. I nodded in agreement. The bushes rustled. Chad came running out of them, screaming like a baby. The look of terror on his face was priceless. He shot by, Mr. Jackson swiftly following up, chasing him like a ghost.
; I caught a glimpse of Chloe hiding in the bushes. On seeing Mr. Jackson chasing her lover, she turned heel and raced away from the scene like lightning. So much for true love!
Mr. Jackson chased Chad around the park like a nightmare, waving his arms around, while Chad shit his pants. I watched proceedings in glee.
“Enjoying the torment you’re inflicting, are we?” Old Gnarly asked.
I leaned up against him. “Yeah,” I said with a pleasant grin as Chad and Mr. Jackson raced by.
“I just want to give you a hug,” Mr. Jackson told him.
“Help!” Chad screamed, and I almost died. Marga barked after him.
“How much longer are you going to torture the poor boy?” Gnarly asked.
I checked my watch. “Oh, maybe another half hour at least. I’ve got nothing on.” I leaned back and let out a contented sigh while Chad’s screams and Mr. Jackson’s cackles echoed across Lincoln Park.
Revenge right then was as sweet as pumpkin pie.
*****
I got into work late, having overslept. It was no biggie. The Angel Guild was as quiet as it had been the last couple of weeks since the horsemen incident. Which in my mind was both good and bad. Good that there weren’t many demons running around town. Bad that the bounty hunters would lose money, and I didn’t like it when Hell was quiet. It usually meant Satan and his Princes—and Princess—were plotting, and that was no good for anyone.
Regardless, I needed to enjoy the moments of calm while I got them, especially with Halloween coming up, which was always the busiest time of year for demon hunters.
Enforcers were lounging around in their seats, some of them catching a nap. A couple of hunters were sniffing around the bounty board for scraps. It sure was quiet. I went to the bar to grab some Ambrosia. Jerome stepped over, his back as stiff as card. There was a wide-eyed look on his face that was totally out of place.
I frowned. “You okay, buddy? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“There’s someone here to see you,” he told me, that freaked look still etched into his features.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not Michael, is it?”
“No. It’s... someone else.”
Boots clacked on the wooden floor, the sound swelling in volume as a figure approached from the back rooms. My brow furrowed deeper. I turned to the side to be met with the slender blonde striding through the gentleman’s club, a pleasant smile on her pretty face.
My eyes almost bulged out of my head. My heart skipped a beat, and I leaped up from my seat faster than a jack-in-the-box. “Mia?” I said with a gasp, my voice brimming with disbelief.
Mia reached the bar where she stopped and placed her hands on her hips. Her smile widened, her eyes flashing with happiness. “Hi, Gabe,” she said.
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