Josie nudged me towards a table holding an array of finger foods and a big bowl of punch that was more than likely spiked. A drink didn’t sound half bad, especially after having my mind blown. I hadn’t really absorbed everything yet, and I was hardly in a position to be answering nosy questions from random acquaintances, but I could hold it together long enough for a drink or two. After that, I could politely excuse myself and head back home where I fully intended to drink a whole bottle of wine, eat half a gallon of ice cream, and sleep the rest of the weekend away.
Kevin emerged from the swarm of reapers with a cheer and lifted both hands, prompting Josie and I to give him a double high-five.
“Congratulations!” he shouted over the buzzing crowd.
To my relief, the news about the travel booths and Jenni’s placement as Grim’s new second was the highlight of the mindless chatter filling the park. I got a few dirty looks, but I was too distracted to care.
I was a little taken back when Josie flung her arms around my neck. “This is amazing! We’re all going to be working together! Let’s ditch the cookies and go celebrate at Purgatory.”
I laughed and hugged her back. I was actually surprised by how relieved I felt. Josie didn’t have a problem with my new job title. Screw everyone else.
I wobbled, catching her arm when she pulled away. “Sounds like fun, but I’m really beat. I should get some more rest before we start up this new adventure on Monday. You guys go ahead.”
Josie gave me a strange smile. “It’s not like you to turn down Purgatory.”
“Trust me, if I didn’t feel like I’d been hit by a bus, I’d be buying the first round.” I caught sight of Bub. “Besides, it might be a while before I can get away.”
Josie followed my gaze and turned back to me with a grin. “Good luck,” she said and patted my shoulder before tugging Kevin off towards the refreshments.
My view of Bub was suddenly cut off by Maalik.
“Congratulations.” His scowl matched my own.
“Maalik.” I tried to step back, but he stepped in closer, taking me by the arm.
“I realize that we’re through, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still worry about you-”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Clearly,” he snapped. “I just thought you might appreciate a little fair warning. Grim’s suspicious of you, and he’s not the only one. You need to be careful, especially now that you’re living with his new second. She’s not to be trusted either.”
“Well darn, and here I was planning on divulging all my deepest, darkest secrets to her.” I folded my arms.
“This is not something to make light of, Lana.” He gritted his teeth and pressed himself in another step.
My breath caught in my throat and I looked away. It was hard being this near to him. It was too soon, and I still felt like my little indiscretion with Bub was somehow a betrayal.
Maalik softened at my unease. “I am almost certain that there are still rebel spies within the city. Whatever your feelings towards me are, you must remember that you are valuable to the future of Eternity, therefore you must be more responsible about your safety. If you must visit your friend, be discreet and infrequent. If you are caught, you will be finished, and I couldn’t bear that.”
I sighed. “Okay. Thank you for the warning.”
Maalik nodded and released me, disappearing into the crowd just as Bub stepping up beside me.
“Congratulations, Lana,” he said, handing me a glass of punch to toast with him.
“Thanks.” I frowned. Eyes were on me again.
Bub certainly knew how to make his presence known. While Maalik had nearly blended in with the reapers in his black robe, Bub’s silky, maroon suit demanded attention. The collar of his shiny black dress shirt lapped over the collar of his jacket, and a black fedora with matching maroon trim sat on his head.
I gave him a strained smile, and sipped at my punch.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, aware of all the onlookers.
“Yeah, considering everything I’ve been through.”
Bub frowned. “I heard. I had an urgent matter to take care of in Pandemonium. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Which time?”
“What?” Bub blinked at me.
“Which time are you sorry for not being there? When I was attacked by Tisiphone? Or the morning after we-“
Bub blushed then. “Lana-“
“You know what, just forget it. Thanks for the punch. Enjoy the party.” I tossed back my drink and left, leaving him standing there with an unspoken apology smeared all over his face. I didn’t know if that apology was because he hadn’t meant to hurt my feelings, or if it was because he hadn’t realized I had the kind of feelings for him that could be hurt. Either way, I felt sick and just wanted to be home and out of the public eye.
There was still a few hours until midnight, so for the last time, I used a coin to get back to Holly House.
My mind skipped around like a lost child while I went through my evening routine of getting ready for bed. I wondered where the travel booths were going to be located and how many of them there would be. I wondered how living with Jenni was going to be now that she was Grim’s new second and how I was going to sneak out to visit Winston. I wondered how I was going to handle being captain of the Posy Unit. I wondered what the hell had happened to Craig and why no one seemed to care or even notice that he was gone. I wondered about Horus’s side job and Tisiphone’s whip. I wondered how long I was going to have to wonder about all this crap.
By the time I was finished with all my deep and pressing thoughts, I had changed into a pair of drawstring pants and a tank top, brushed my hair and teeth, and washed my face. Meng’s tea had really patched me up nicely. There was still a faint purple bruise around my eye, and the stitches above my brow weren’t quite ready to come out, but everything else looked good as new.
I fed the hounds and spent a few extra minutes scratching and rubbing on them. I think it was more to comfort myself than them. Starting Monday, they’d be back to work with me, and I could hardly wait. I had the sinking feeling that everyone was waiting around to watch me fall on my face. I would show them. My mind was made up. So help me Khadija, I was going to be the best captain the Posy Unit had ever seen.
Chapter 35
“What is man?
A miserable little pile of secrets.”
-Andre Malraux
Thanks to his special training, I could actually smell Bub before I answered the door. My heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to leap or sink, but I tried to keep my cool as I faced him.
He had changed out of the suit he’d worn to the placement ceremony and now wore only the black dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. With the tortured expression on his face, it made him look more vulnerable than any demon I’d ever known.
“So that’s it?” he asked. “You’re done with me? Just like that?”
“Done with you?” I was baffled. “You were commissioned to train me by Cindy. You’ve fulfilled your duty. I figured you’d be glad to be done with me.”
“You’re an idiot,” he said, pushing past me and closing the door behind him.
I was angry and hurt and confused. And my nipples were hard. Which for some reason, made me even angrier. How could he just stand there, looking at me, like I had somehow wronged him?
He took a step closer, and before I could turn away, his hands were on me. One found the back of my neck, and the other grasped my hip. I had a second to gasp, and then his mouth was on mine. He pulled me in, pressing me against his chest until it hurt, until I could feel him hard against my stomach. My moan was smothered by his kiss. I pressed my hands against his shoulders, and he pulled away, his face stained with want and frustration.
Something broke in my mind. Whatever it was that gave a damn about right or wrong or rules. Something cracked me down the center like a dam, and everything I wanted came pouring out into the open.
&
nbsp; I bit his bottom lip and took hold of his belt. He slid a hand under my tank top, pressed his palm under one breast, and drove me up against the wall.
I gasped and pushed him back an inch. “Not here.”
“Hmm?” He groaned against the side of my neck.
“Not out here. I have roommates.”
“Then where?” He untied my pajama pants and circled his thumbs around my hip bones.
I pulled him through the kitchen and down the hall into my bedroom, closing the door behind us. Bub loosened my pants and let them drop to the floor. Then he cupped his hands under my ass and lifted me, tossing me on the bed. He peeled off his shirt and jeans before climbing on top of me and pinned my hands over my head as he kissed his way down my neck and over my chest.
I arched beneath him, my pleasure boiling as he took my nipple into his mouth through my shirt. He teased me through the thin fabric until my hips spasmed against his chest. When he rose up between my legs and entered me, I was almost embarrassed by how fast I came. And then I came again, and again. After he finally found his release, I was spent and beginning to feel all the aches and bruises that hadn’t quite finished healing.
The leftovers of my injuries and Bub lying on top of me reminded me of how Craig had pinned me to the ground. I almost felt guilty for how satisfying killing him had been. It made me feel rotten and twisted for finding that much joy in such a destructive act, and it was only made worse by the fact that I wished he was still alive, just so I could kill him again. I hated that the memory was spoiling my fun.
“Lana?” Bub reached to wipe a tear from my cheek. I hadn’t realized I was crying. I turned my face away from him.
“Sorry.” I laughed. “It’s just been a rough few weeks.”
“Tell me about it.” He rolled off me and nuzzled in against my back, peppering my neck and shoulder with soft, careful kisses.
“I’d rather not. In fact, I’d really just like to forget most of it.”
Bub stopped kissing me. “Even the time spent with me?”
“No.” I grinned. “The time spent with you is the only thing I’d like to keep.”
His goatee tickled my skin as he grinned against my neck. Not a moment later he was snoring, and a moment after that, so was I.
Chapter 36
“In three words I can sum up everything
I’ve learned about life: It goes on.”
-Robert Frost
I woke from a dead sleep with alarms going off in my head and slid out from under Bub’s arm as quietly as possible. I tugged on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt before Winston had a chance to ring the doorbell.
It was something I couldn’t explain, but anytime I was near the kid, I could feel him like a gong echoing in my head. I was going to kill him if Grim didn’t first. He knew better than to leave his secret hidey-hole.
Bub was still tangled up in my sheets, and I hated the thought of leaving him there, but this was an emergency. I gave him a gentle peck on the cheek and snatched a work robe from my closet before racing out the front door, just in time to slap Winston’s hand away from the bell.
“Hey,” he whined as I steered him away from the condo.
“I have company. You can’t be dropping by like this. Are you crazy?” I snapped as I led him back towards the elevators.
“It’s been over two weeks, and the only face I’ve seen day in and day out is Grim’s. Do you have any idea what that’s like?” He jerked his arm out of my grasp.
We loaded into an elevator and I pulled my robe on. Winston’s hair was dark, but he was just a little too tan to pass as a reaper. I pulled his hood down further over his face, hoping Charlie wasn’t feeling too conversational tonight. Winston frowned up at me and then pressed the emergency stop on the elevator.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What the hell am I doing?” he snapped. “It’s two in the morning. Coin travel is deactivated. So what the hell are you doing?”
“Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “How the fuck am I supposed to get you home?”
Winston sighed and shook his head at me. He grabbed my hand and flipped a coin in the air. We were sucked out of the elevator, and I all but fell on my face when we spilled out onto Winston’s front lawn.
“God dammit, Winston! A little warning would have been nice.” I wobbled and blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. In the realm of the secret throne it was always day. Grim thought it added an extra measure of safety.
“Sorry, but you weren’t exactly listening, and we had to move fast. I can only freeze time for so long.”
“Freeze time? And I thought you said coin travel was deactivated.”
“You think that old buck of a banker is the only one who knows how to bespell coins?” He grabbed my hand and pressed the coin he had just used into my palm. It was larger than the typical coins used in Limbo and a dark, charcoal gray color.
“Does this work anywhere or just in the elevator?”
“Anywhere, but it will only bring you here, and you’ll have to be very discreet, of course.”
“Of course.” I frowned. “Does Grim have one of these too?”
“Do I look stupid?” Winston scowled at me. “No, and he’s not getting one. I have to deal with that bastard enough as it is. With the deactivation order, he’ll be forced to cut back his visits to once a week, and I can’t wait.”
“What about Horus?”
Winston’s scowl deepened. “He doesn’t get one either. You’re the only one I care to see on a regular basis. Speaking of Horus, I have something for you to give him on your way home. He’ll be waiting for you in the alley where you killed Craig.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “How do you…”
He sighed again. “That much power doesn’t go unnoticed. You’re just lucky that Tisiphone was there to blame the disturbance on.”
“Why doesn’t anyone else seem to notice he’s missing or even remember he existed?”
“Because you didn’t just kill him, you undid him. I’m tapped into the power that created him, so I still experience an echo of his existence.” Winston shrugged. He couldn’t have cared less, but it was still unnerving that he had so much to hold over me. I was feeling the need to be careful with him suddenly.
“I’m finished with school and the demon training, so if you want, I can bring you a box of life support tomorrow.”
“It can wait. You’re starting a new job Monday, and I hear it’s a big one. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
He handed me a padded, black envelope. “Give this to Horus.”
“When exactly did I become your messenger?”
“Would you rather I deliver it myself?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No.” I frowned and turned the envelope over to reveal a gold wax seal with an Egyptian ankh embedded in it. “What is it?”
“A permission slip for a field trip.” Winston laughed. “If it was any of your concern, I wouldn’t have sealed it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll see you next week.”
“The coin will drop you off in the travel booth half a block from the alley where Horus is waiting for you.”
“Super.” I flipped the coin and left him standing there on the sunny lawn.
The trip to the travel booth felt different than regular coin travel. I popped up in the little glass booth and waited for my eyes to readjust to the darkness. A nephilim guard glanced up at me long enough to press a little clicker in his hand. A camera anchored to the booth flashed. I frowned and waited for my sight to clear again. I wondered if this was a process I would get used to or if I’d just go old-school and start doing more walking around the city. Maybe I’d get a bike.
I left the booth and hurried down the block towards the alley where I was to meet Horus. It seemed a little ridiculous. I had just been named as captain of a specialty unit, and now I was playing messenger for a spoiled soul.
I glanced over my shoulder before d
ucking into the alley. My steps slowed as I ventured further away from the street, and my mouth went dry. This was a bad idea, and I suddenly hated Winston for it. My chest tightened at the sight of my dried blood on the ground and splattered over the brick wall. I swallowed and hugged myself, wishing I had told Winston to deliver the envelope himself. I didn’t need this bullshit.
A heavy hand rested on my shoulder. I turned suddenly and kneed Horus in the groin. I had been so lost in the sour memory of the alley that I hadn’t heard him sneak up behind me. So it was an accident. Mostly.
“By the dog, Lana,” Horus groaned, squatting down to brace his arms on his knees. “It’s just me.”
“We’re in a dark alley, and you really thought sneaking up behind me was a good idea?” I put my back against the brick wall and folded my arms. “Maybe try saying my name next time. Even a whisper will do. I might not be so inclined to kick you in the balls.”
Horus glared up at me. “You have something for me?”
I pulled the enveloped from my robe and threw it on the ground in front of him. “Are we done here?”
He frowned up at me. “You know, you never even bothered to thank me for your new job. I thought you’d be especially pleased that you were named captain.”
“The only reason I have this job is so that I can do your dirty work, and now that I’m in a higher position of power, if I get caught, the penalty will be that much worse. So if you were expecting me to kiss your ass for the additional workload and stress you’ve forcefully injected into my life, think again.”
“You’re not even the least bit excited about your advancement?” Horus snorted. He picked up the envelope on the ground and stood.
“Can I go home now?”
He sighed and nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”
“I’m sure you will.” I pulled the hood of my robe up and hurried out of the alley. The streets were empty at this hour, and even though I knew no one would be popping up out of thin air to attack me, I still felt uneasy. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel comfortable walking alone at night again.
2 Pocket Full of Posies Page 21