by Joey Ruff
“The address you gave him…?” she said softly.
“I have to pick up my car.” I felt her nod. “I can take you home, if you’d like.”
“Not yet. I was assigned to keep an eye on you. Trouble follows you on a leash, Jono.”
“Right. That why you were there to catch me?”
“Yes. I have followed you since the speakeasy.”
“Rino’s?”
“Mmm.”
“So…Lorelei’s gone, then?”
“She is.”
“And there’s no telling when she’s coming back…?”
“My sister will return when our mother has no further need of her.”
“About that…,” I said, turning into her enough to smell her hair.
She shook her head. “No more words.”
I closed my eyes and sank back against the seat, holding her tighter, feeling her hand brace against the cut on my chest, her leather against my bare arms. I could feel her heart beating, and November Rain began to play softly on the radio.
The song was barely over by the time we pulled up outside DeNobb’s place. “We’re here,” the cabbie said, and when I opened my eyes, I saw him staring at us in the mirror. It was fucking creepy.
“Right,” I said. I looked around at the flashing lights, the army of firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars. Out of habit, I looked around for Stone’s dark sedan, but it was absent. Fire wasn’t exactly a common concern for the FBI. Above, smoke billowed fiercely from the open hole in DeNobb’s apartment. I shuddered at the thought. “Circle the block,” I told the cabbie. “We want the entrance to the parking garage.”
As he drove, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the display. It was the house, Nadia or Ape. I silenced the ring and slid it back in my pocket.
“Did you need to take that?” Kinnara asked, and from her tone, she might have been sleeping.
I shook my head. “Not right now, love.”
We got out of the cab on the other side of the building, and I paid the driver. As he drove off, I noticed two police cars, and as we approached the parking garage, a uniformed officer stopped us.
“Do you live here?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “A friend of mine does. Is everything okay?”
“There’s been a fire. I’m afraid I can’t let you go up. We have teams assessing the damage.”
“I left my car in the garage,” I told him, pointing.
The officer followed my gaze to the gated entrance. He considered it a moment, and then he turned to his partner who stood near their squad car, still within speaking distance.
“Let him go,” the partner said. “They just said nobody upstairs.”
“They said don’t let anyone leave, either,” the first officer told his partner.
“Look,” I said. “I get it. But we didn’t have anything to do with this, right? We just got here. We would’ve had to have flown out of the building…”
“Let ‘em go, Jake,” the partner said.
The first officer considered us a moment, and then he nodded. As we started to walk off, Kinnara standing close with her head on my shoulder, and her arm in mine, the officer said, “Are you folks alright?”
I looked down at my clothes and laughed. “We just came from a party,” I said.
Officer Jake nodded to us, and as we continued, I heard his partner say, “Must be one of those role-playing things. Those people are weird. My cousin’s into that shit.”
When we were out of earshot, I asked Kinnara, “How are you feeling?” She seemed to be leaning pretty heavily on me.
“The fight took a lot out of me. I will be alright once I rest.”
“I’ll get you home.”
As we entered the garage, I found the El Camino right away, and as we approached, I noticed the form slumped against the side.
DeNobb was still clutching his stomach, and his face was distorted in pain, but he was unconscious, blacked out, no doubt. He didn’t appear to be burned, though.
I knelt and shook him a little harder than I’d intended. “DeNobb,” I said.
He opened his eyes slowly, but the moment he saw me, he jumped.
“My god, you’re a ghost,” he said, and his eyes were wide. “Shit, and it’s all my fault. I made you come upstairs, and now you’re dead, and I’m gonna be haunted. That shit’s real, right?”
“DeNobb.”
“Wait, no. You said ghosts don’t…”
I smacked him.
His hand went instinctively for his cheek. “Oww.”
“I’m not dead,” I told him. I felt something weird – warm, even – at seeing him alive, as well.
“I saw you fall,” he said. “You should be a puddle.”
“Yeah, well…”
His eyes moved past me to Kinnara, and he stood slowly, a coy grin breaking across his face and a false bravado temporarily masking his pain. “Hey,” he said. “Jamie DeNobb, Channel 5 weather in the AM.”
Kinnara held him with a bored expression until he turned back to me. “What’s her deal?”
“She’s not into pillars, community or otherwise.”
“Okay…”
“I guess you managed to get out.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I got all the way down here before I realized I’d forgotten my keys. I thought maybe you’d left yours in the…” He motioned to the car. “Then it hurt. I only sat down for a minute.”
I unzipped his jacket and let it hang open. Purple welts were all over his chest and stomach. “What happened?”
“I…don’t know,” he said. He looked at the bruises in shock, apparently not knowing they’d been there.
“We’d better get you to a doctor.”
“Your partner. He seemed to know….”
“He’s not a medical doc. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“I’m okay.” He took a step to move past me and nearly collapsed in a groan. “Maybe not.”
I looked at Kinnara, and she was by my side. We each threw an arm around our shoulders and walked him to the car door. She slid in first, and then DeNobb sat. I shut the door and moved to the driver’s side.
As I started the car, Kinnara said, “There are doctors outside.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But not for him. He’s…well. I’m not sure what the fuck he is. But he’d be one too many questions, that’s for sure.”
I slid Grace under my seat and backed the car out.
“What then?” she asked.
“I know a doctor we can trust, and I think she’ll be better for his personality type.”
16
As I drove, I slid my phone from my pocket and navigated the contacts to find the one I was looking for. In my phone, the name just said Cooper. I dialed.
After three rings, a woman answered. She sounded like she’d been asleep. “Hello?”
“It’s Swyftt,” I told her. “I’m on my way to the hospital now. I’ve got a patient for you.”
“Swyftt,” she said. “I’m not on call tonight. Get Dr. Bower.”
“I can appreciate that,” I said. “But I’ve got one specially for you, if you catch my meaning.”
“I’m sleeping,” she pleaded.
“What would you tell the hypocrites?”
“I think you mean Hippocrates.” She groaned. “Give me twenty minutes.”
“Cheers,” I said and hung up.
I pocketed the phone, and after a moment, looked across Kinnara to DeNobb who slouched against the passenger door. I didn’t realize at first what he was doing, and then I saw the glossed-over look in his eyes, the damp rolling down his cheeks. He was watching his building in the rearview mirror. He’d just lost his entire life.
“Jamie,” I said, and my voice didn’t sound as strong as I’d wanted it to. “What happened back there…” He looked at me woodenly and pawed the tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry, mate.”
He was looking for someone or something to blame for his loss, I c
ould see it in his eyes, in the suspicious way he began to look at me, and in the tone of his voice when he said, “Why was a gargoyle in my place anyway? I mean – fuck, Swyftt – why me?”
“Wish I knew, kid.” I cast a glance at him. “But it ain’t coming back.”
He laughed harshly, nervously. “Nothing to come back to.”
“Gargoyles are very fierce,” Kinnara said. It surprised me a little as I thought she’d fallen asleep. DeNobb looked at her nervously. “But they are very smart. You make the mistake, Jono, of assuming the gargoyle is a beast, but it is not. Earth dragons, like all dragons, are a force of nature, and like all of nature, they have a role to play.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then why was it there, love?”
“To kill your friend,” she said simply.
“Who, me?” DeNobb asked with a scoff.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because of what he is.”
“This day’s just getting better,” DeNobb said.
“Which is?” I asked.
She remained silent, and I wasn’t sure if she’d fallen back to sleep.
“I’m a freak,” he said. “She just doesn’t wanna say it to my face. I get it. It’s okay. I am one.”
“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
A smile broke over Kinnara’s face, and she looked at me. “Jono,” she said. “It’s very likely there are others. Gargoyles are the weakest of the dragons. Their greatest strength is in their numbers. They live in community.”
“Motherfucker,” I said. DeNobb remained completely silent, and for a moment, I thought I caught the faint odor of urine.
A moment later, I pulled on to Sand Point Way, and as we approached, DeNobb gave me a curious look and said, “Uh, what are we doing here?”
“You need to be looked at.”
“This is the Children’s Hospital.”
“Right,” I said as we passed the twisted bronze giraffe statues. “I think I’m aware of that. Dr. Cooper’s someone we can trust.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I saved her from a pissed-off, warring centaur. She knows that there’s weird shit out there, DeNobb, and she’s not going to report anything weird that she finds when she runs your bloodwork.”
“Why would she run my bloodwork?”
“Because I’m going to ask her to.”
“I hate needles. We don’t really need to do this, ya know. I’m okay now. I’m not in pain, and I don’t have any more bubbles. I think the gremlins are gone.”
“Gremlins?”
“Yeah, ya know. Like the movie. When they get wet and the blisters on their backs….” His voice sounded whiny.
“Right. Haven’t seen it.”
“Seriously? How can you not have seen it? It’s classic.”
“Regardless,” I said. “I’m gonna have the doctor look at you.”
“Fuck my life. Just take me to a bar, instead.”
“Maybe later.”
We parked, and as we got out, Kinnara started to follow.
“You might wanna stay here,” I said. “You’re not exactly…well, dressed for this place. Plus, after the centaur attack, we put up wards against the supernatural. I don’t even know if you can get in.”
“Iron horseshoes?” she asked.
I nodded. “Jono, I am a daughter of the goddess. What works on the Korrigan does not apply to me.”
“You’re still one of the Midnight, love.” She stared at me, and I sighed. “Come if you want. But you might want to use one of the bathrooms to clean up a little.”
I realized, then, that I needed a little cleaning as well, and swapped my torn shirt for a fresh one from my tool box.
In the end, she came along, and as we walked to the hospital entrance, DeNobb asked, “What’s the Midnight?”
“It’s a catch-all term,” I said. “For all the various shit we face: the Korrigan, the Fallen, the children of Echidna, and everything in between.”
“Sorry I asked.”
“It’s more than just tiny weathermen.”
“And gargoyles,” he added nervously.
“And giant ass trolls. Be glad you weren’t there for that.”
We entered the hospital, and I walked to the nearest nurse’s station. “I need to see Cooper, if you don’t mind.”
The nurse behind the desk, a stolid Asian woman with a soft face, looked up at me with glossy eyes. “Doctor Cooper…,” she said. She very clearly pronounced the Doctor title so I didn’t miss it. “Went home almost six hours ago. She isn’t here at the moment.”
“Okay. That’s fine. Just means we beat her here.” I looked back at Kinnara and DeNobb. They looked haggard and worn, survivors and little more. It’d been one hell of a night, a few minutes of rest wouldn’t hurt anybody. I turned back to the nurse. “The waiting room is…?” She pointed down the hallway. “Right,” I said with a wink. “We’ll be in there when Doctor Cooper arrives.”
I motioned for the others to follow me, and then turned back to the nurse. “And the nearest bathroom?” She told me in a voice that was more than just a little annoyed. “Cheers,” I said, flashing her a bright smile.
As we passed, she eyed Kinnara warily, but before she could say anything, we walked around the corner to the bathroom. I handed Kinnara a washcloth I found off a housekeeping cart.
I ushered DeNobb into the waiting room, which was practically empty, no doubt due to the late hour. A blonde boy sat in the corner, looked like he was about twelve, wearing a jacket and blue jeans, long hair to his ears that was parted down the middle. He was reading an entertainment magazine.
The kid looked up briefly at us as we sat, and then looked down at his book again.
“I’m not sure about this,” DeNobb said. “I feel stupid seeing a pediatrician.” He sighed. “I should probably be on the phone with the insurance company. I need to call work and let them know what happened. You can’t hide anything from your boss when you work at a news station. Oh…God.” He held his stomach again.
“More pain?”
“No. Nausea. You try losing everything.”
“Been there,” I said. “Once upon a time. You can sob and bitch like a little girl all you want, DeNobb. Shit happens; there ain’t fuckall you can do about it.”
The blonde kid looked up at him. DeNobb met his gaze. “What are you in for?” the weatherman asked.
The kid shrugged.
“Cat got your tongue?”
“I seen you on TV,” the kid said, his voice youthfully raspy. “You do the weather, right?”
DeNobb nodded.
“Cool,” the kid said.
“Where are your folks?”
“With my brother. He stuck a crayon in his nose. Stuck it so far up, he couldn’t get it out again.”
DeNobb smiled. “Why’d he do that?”
“I dared him to,” the kid said proudly. “Probably shouldn’t have. It cost me my allowance for a month.”
“If all you lose is your allowance, consider yourself lucky.” He took a deep, steadying breath. “I lost everything tonight in a fire.”
The boy didn’t know what to say and stared at DeNobb for a minute, maybe trying to see if he was joking. After a minute, he turned back to his magazine.
DeNobb considered the kid, and then he looked down at the floor. A moment later, he looked back at the kid and said, “A crayon in the nose? That’s the best dare you could come up with? That’s nothing. When I was a kid, my sister and I went out behind the shed…”
Seeing Kinnara in the hallway, I stopped listening and moved to her. She looked cleaner, but not clean. “We’re waiting in here,” I told her. Then I looked back at DeNobb. “He makes friends fast.”
She nodded. “As far as humans go, you could do worse in terms of companions. His heart is good.”
I turned to DeNobb.
“What did your dad do?” the kid asked.
“My dad?” DeNobb said and then stopp
ed. His expression turned somber. “My dad, well. He, uh. Huh.” He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand and looked at the kid apologetically. “I didn’t have a very good dad.”
The kid nodded in understanding. “My dad lives in New Mexico. He’s not allowed to see us anymore.”
“Yeah,” DeNobb said with a sigh. “That’s more than I got, kid. I don’t even know where my dad is.”
I heard the echoing clatter of high heel shoes on the cold tile floor, and Kinnara and I turned to see Dr. Cooper approach. She was average height, slightly above average in looks: a kind, soft face, big eyes, and light brown hair worn to her chin. She was dressed in sea green scrubs with a long, white coat, a pair of wire-frames that made her look intelligent, and a stethoscope around her neck.
She frowned when she saw us and said, “I don’t care who she is, Swyftt, I’m not doing a pregnancy test.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t know me at all. I’m a bloody virgin, doc.”
She laughed.
“Patient’s in there,” I said, motioning with a thumb towards the waiting room. Then to DeNobb, I said, “Hey, bring your domestic abuse stories this way. The doctor’s ready for ya, mate.”
“Well, good luck,” he told the kid. “I hope your brother’s okay.”
“Thanks,” the kid said. “And don’t worry about the needles.”
“Easy for you to say,” DeNobb mumbled as he stood.
Cooper led us down the hall to an empty patient room, looked at DeNobb, and motioned to the bed. “Sit up there for me.”
He did.
“Now,” she said, as she pulled the stethoscope from her neck and positioned it on her ears. “What is the problem that you had to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night for?”
She held the cold, metal dial at the end of her instrument against DeNobb’s chest and listened for a minute.
DeNobb looked at me a little sheepishly, and I nodded for him to tell her. He looked down at her and said, “I’ve been having pain in my sides and chest.”
She moved the diaphragm under his arm and said, “Take a deep breath.”