by L. C. Davis
He gave me a weary look. “Leave it to you to mar the sacred serenity of nature with crassness.”
“I’m sorry, I just never get to see wild animals this close unless they’re not exactly in a cute and cuddly mood,” I admitted.
“I thought you might enjoy this,” he said with a soft laugh, placing the kits in his lap. The mother wandered over to sniff the smaller one, nibbling the fur on its head. Their eyes were barely even open. “Would you like to hold one?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think she’d appreciate that,” I said, nodding to the mother.
“Ask her.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You know, ‘What does the fox say?’ was a rhetorical question, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “Let her smell your hand.”
I did, because while I questioned the Nature Whisperer’s methods, I couldn’t question his results. The mother fox clicked at me again when I moved, but she reluctantly craned her head to sniff my hand. The confusion in her eyes was recognizably human. She sat back on her haunches and some unspoken understanding passed between us. That or I was about to need stitches.
I held my hands out and Asher passed one of the kits to me. It squeaked and yipped until I held it to my chest and its wobbly head rested against me.
I looked up at Asher in disbelief, and he just smiled knowingly at me, stroking the kit in his lap. “Cute, aren’t they?”
“What are you?” I asked, not for the first time but with an entirely different intonation.
Sadness ebbed into his gaze and his smile faded. “I’m something that shouldn’t exist,” he said, quietly enough that at first, I thought I hadn’t heard him right.
Once again, I had no idea what to say. Somehow denying it didn’t feel right since I didn’t know what he was, but I couldn’t just leave it there. “I guess we do have something in common, then.”
He smiled only a little, but it felt a hell of a lot more genuine than the thousand-watt grin I had to look at whenever I passed his billboard on my way to Burlington.
“If you love animals so much, why don’t you have any pets? I know you’re not exactly wise with money, but I can’t imagine vet bills are an issue,” he said dryly.
I snorted. “I had a dog, but he developed bone cancer. After a few surgeries, I knew I had to let him go and I guess I just never had the stomach to go through that again.”
“I’m sorry,” Asher murmured. “Now that you mention it, I remember that dog that always barked at me when I walked past your clinic. Golden retriever, wasn’t he?”
“Mutt, but mostly golden,” I said, grinning. “That sounds like Roscoe, alright.”
“You must have a thing for blonds.”
I coughed out a laugh. “Guess so.”
“Wild animals like me better than man’s best friend tends to,” he said in a wry tone. “Your wolf isn’t terribly fond of me, either.”
“No,” I snorted. “If there’s anyone who’s warier of you than I was, it’s Nick.”
“Warier than you were?” he echoed. “My, you’re easy to charm. If I’d known this was all it would take to get you off my trail, I’d have let you pet my fox ages ago.”
Apparently I still had enough blood flow to blush. “Yeah, whatever. I’m not saying I trust you, I just don’t think you’re necessarily the worst thing in this town.”
“You might be wrong about that,” he said, looking back up toward the garden. He frowned, a worried look crossing his features. “We should go back.”
“Why?” I asked, passing the kit back to him. “Have we overstayed our welcome?”
“No,” he said, tucking the foxes back in their den and giving the mother’s fur another stroke before he stood to brush himself off. “But Holden just went into the maze with a dead man.”
Ten
HOLDEN
When I broke through the wall of fire, I hit the stone path in the center of the garden maze and looked around to find that the hedges were back to their normal height. My heart was still racing in my temples as I strained to push myself up onto my hands and knees only to find myself staring at a stranger’s legs. When I looked up, the person staring down at me was no boy and it certainly wasn’t Ezekiel. It was the behemoth of a man who’d been watching me in the crowd and his cold blue eyes were fixed on me with that same stern disapproval.
“You’re a hard man to get alone, Jedediah,” he said in a Southern drawl I hadn’t at all expected to come out of that mouth. “Or do you prefer Holden now?”
I staggered to my feet, my palms bruised and broken from the gravel I’d landed on. “My brother,” I seethed. “It was a trap?”
“Yeah, sorry. Had to get you away from your bodyguards somehow. To be fair, I didn’t expect the Whore of Babylon to react so strongly to the sight of a dead loved one.”
My frenzied thoughts began to fall into place even as my heart clenched in disappointment. “You’re Remiel. You’re the one who tried to take Daniel’s soul.”
“And you’re the witch who beat me to it. Shame, that,” he said with a click of his tongue. “For Daniel, at least. I doubt a thing like you cares much what happens to him one way or the other.”
“That’s not true! I asked Locke to bring him back, I didn’t know he’d stay dead!”
“If that’s true, then you wouldn’t be the first sucker who got the raw end of a demon’s deal. You’re a preacher’s kid. Didn’t your daddy ever warn you not to play with devils?”
“I’ve had about as much trouble with angels,” I said through gritted teeth. “How did you even get here? Locke said Stillwater is protected.”
“It is, but I’m no ordinary angel,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Death waits for no man and this body is about two days past its expiration date,” he said, patting his broad chest. As he spoke, his skin turned from a healthy shade to a sickly pallor and dark red started bleeding into the edges of his right sclera as a long gash appeared on his forehead, creeping down to his temple like a spreading faultline in his flesh.
“You’re...Death?”
“I’m just the transport service. We all have a role to play,” he said, taking a step closer. His hips locked for a moment and I heard a sound that could only be embalmed flesh groaning in protest of being forced to move as he came closer. I took an instinctive step back and tripped, landing hard enough to knock the wind out of me. I raised my hand to shield myself as the angel reached for me, but when I remained unsmitten for a few moments, I dared to open my eyes only to find his hand outstretched and his borrowed face softened in expectation.
I eyed his hand, wary of touching a dead body as much as I was wary of touching the angel of death.
“I don’t bite,” he said with a stiff grin. “Can’t say the same for your master, but I can’t kill you. That’s not my job, anyway.”
Reluctantly, I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. “If you’re not here to kill me, then what do you want?”
“I was curious,” he said, shrugging one shoulder. I didn’t even want to know if the other one was still working. “You’re all Heaven ever talks about these days, and I had to ferry Chuck here across the great divide anyway, so I figured I’d stop in and see the legendary Whore of Babylon for myself.”
“Well, have a good look,” I said bitterly. “I hope I live up to your expectations after the shitshow you just put me through.”
“You don’t,” he said in a dry tone. “I was expecting someone more… you know.” He traced the outline of voluptuous curves in the air. “Whorish.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“I’m not the one whose opinion you need to be worried about,” he scoffed. “You’ve got Michael and Lucifer clamoring to get to your ass first. That’s quite an accomplishment for a fledgling witch.”
“And which one of them are you working for?”
“Neither. I only answer to one boss and He hasn’t handed down any direct orders since you lot were still using stone tablets for social media. Throughout hi
story, I’ve had one job and that’s taking the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Until you came along, I had a perfect record.”
“You think your boss is bad? Try living with him. I made a mistake by bringing Daniel back, and I’ll be paying for it for the rest of eternity.”
“Maybe so,” he mused. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
I frowned. “Daniel told me what you told him. There’s no putting a soul back once its body is dead and there’s no going back on a demon’s contract.”
“That’s true enough, but there are powers older than Locke at work here,” said Remiel. “You’re Heaven’s most wanted, and the ward Locke’s got around this place has bought you some time, but don’t think that means you’re safe forever. Sooner or later, Michael or Lucifer, one of them will grab you. You’d be better off turning yourself in to Michael now. He’s tough, but he’s not merciless.”
“Michael wants me dead and my heart serving as an incubator for Daniel’s soul is the only thing keeping him animated. If I take one step out of Stillwater, we’re both as good as dead.”
“There are worse things than being dead, Holden,” he said in a grave tone. “Eternal damnation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
I gave a dry laugh, trying not to show fear even though I was nothing more than a mass of terror held together by a thin layer of flesh at that point. “I’m already damned, I know Michael isn’t going to strike a plea bargain with me.”
“You’d be surprised, but I’m not talking about you. That vision you saw of your brother, it wasn’t just for show.”
I froze, my chest tightening until it was nearly impossible to take the smallest breath. “No… you’re lying,” I hissed. “Ezekiel was a child when he died, he was innocent!”
“You think Heaven won’t sacrifice one innocent soul to keep the supernatural equivalent of an atomic bomb out of Lucifer’s hands?”
I stared at him, horrified. “All this time, I’ve told myself that I was ridiculous for being so afraid of you. That angels couldn’t be as bad as my childish mind made them seem, but you’re so much worse than any other monster.”
“Be that as it may, it’s only a matter of time before they use Ezekiel to get to you. If you want my unsolicited advice, turn yourself in before they get the chance. Lucifer is the one who wants the apocalypse yesterday. You go with Michael and he’ll probably keep you alive for more than long enough for Daniel to live out his natural lifespan.”
The offer wasn’t exactly tempting, but the thought of Ezekiel suffering because of me was enough to make me consider it.
“Holden!”
I turned to find Daniel and Dennis standing at the entrance to the maze. Judging from the way they were both looking at Remiel, his ghastly appearance wasn’t just another hallucination. Or at least, not one that was exclusive to me.
“Damn, Chuck,” Daniel muttered. “You’ve seen better days.”
Remiel looked down at his stolen body. “I dunno, I think he looks pretty good for a guy who’s been dead three days. Everyone looks a little stiff in a suit.”
“Holden, get away from him,” Dennis said without taking his eyes off the corpse Remiel was possessing. “He’s not human.”
I wasted no time moving away from Remiel and as soon as I was close enough, Dennis grabbed my arm, snatching me behind him. It was only when I was close to him that I realized his skin had taken on a faint blue glow in the moonlight. It looked like fog rising up from his skin and Daniel’s doubletake told me I wasn’t the only one seeing it.
“You’re one to talk, Sparkles. Shouldn’t you be in Oz or something?”
“Wrong lore. Shouldn’t you be smiting villages and passing notes for your capricious war deity?” he shot back. “Or perhaps this world is becoming a bit too progressive and it’s time for another flood.”
Remiel’s lip twitched in a contortion far closer to a snarl than a smile and he took another step toward us. “Careful, halfbreed. Your presence in this realm is low on the list of Heaven’s priorities, but that can change real fast.”
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Daniel whispered, eyeing the fog that was now a monochromatic aura roiling over Dennis’ entire body.
“Just stay behind me,” said Dennis. I knew he was talking to Daniel, but it seemed like a good enough idea to me.
“Don’t worry, Doc, I haven’t forgotten about you,” Remiel said with an unnatural grin. “As I was telling Holden here, I mostly stay out of things between the Upstairs and Downstairs, but you happen to be a matter of personal and professional concern.”
“Lucky me,” Daniel muttered. “I see you’ve traded up from impersonating my dead mother to my favorite high school bully. I’m starting to think you’ve got a crush on me.”
“You got me. Enjoying the afterlife yet? It’s been about a year, so you’re up to what, thirty, forty corpses just to keep your sorry cadaver animated?” His dead eyes flickered over to me. “Hope you’re keeping your soul close. It’d be a real shame if you snapped and I had to put you down early.”
“You’ve overstayed your welcome here, Remiel,” Dennis said in a cold, even tone that was sounding less human by the second. Through the fog, tendrils of smoke were billowing up from small fissures in his tux where the fabric was searing off his skin. “This is unhallowed ground and you don’t belong here. Take your soul and leave.”
Remiel looked from me to Dennis, his unnatural smirk fading into a somber countenance more befitting the suit of flesh he wore. “And if I don’t?”
Dennis’ head cocked sharply to one side and the sound of his spine snapping made me flinch. Two lines of blood soaked through the back of his jacket and I could see two sharp prongs like bones that had already broken through his skin straining to break through the fabric. His suit was burning away in strips and I could barely see his natural skin tone through the blue haze. “I suppose we could always settle the old bet. Care to take off your meatsuit and find out whose god makes better slaves?”
Remiel’s fists clenched as he took another lurching step forward. “You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”
A guttural snarl tore through the maze and the hedges rustled, but by the time I pinpointed the sound in one location, it was coming from somewhere else. Nick stepped out, still human, but the growl rumbling in his chest was anything but. He wasn’t alone, either. I could hear the others circling. He’d brought reinforcements.
“Angels aren’t welcome here,” Nick said, his golden eyes locked on Remiel as he moved forward at a slow, unyielding pace. If he’d noticed Dennis’ otherworldly appearance, he wasn’t showing it.
Remiel eyed the maze that concealed his hidden enemies, then looked from Nick to Dennis. I could see him weighing his odds and he seemed to decide they weren’t in his favor, relaxing his stance. “Tell Locke he can’t hide behind his guard dogs forever,” Remiel said, looking right at me. “You remember what I said, Holden. Leverage is everything and we’re always listening.”
Nick snarled and lunged for Remiel, but the angel was consumed in a flash of light that left me blinded. I stumbled into someone and only realized it was Daniel when my vision finally cleared. Nick was on his feet, surrounded by his brothers and his uncle. It was the first time I’d seen Lucas all night, and he was looking right at Dennis, who’d gone back to normal, save for a tux that had seen better days.
Lucas’ lip curled back into a snarl and he stalked toward us. “You,” he growled. “You brought him here!”
For a moment, I thought he was talking to me or to Dennis, but he went right past us both and seemed ready to hit Daniel when Nick put himself between them, snarling back protectively.
“Move,” Lucas bellowed. “I’ll deal with you later.”
“You’re not touching him,” Nick said without blinking despite the fact that Lucas had a good fifty pounds of muscle on him. Lowell and Allen were watching the confrontation with wide eyes full of terror and I recalled Allen’s words about how the role
of Alpha passed from one generation to the next. Was this it? Was this disastrous night going to end the way it had begun, the way it had been destined to from the moment I showed up in Stillwater, with Nick having to turn on the people he loved most?
I wanted to stop it, to intervene, to do something before one of them did something they’d all regret, but Dennis was the one who spoke up first. “Daniel is bound to Holden,” he said firmly, drawing the Alpha’s attention. “As such, they are both the property of the demon Locke. Any action you take against him will be read as a failure to honor the contract Herschel Whitaker made in 1510 and a declaration of war. Is that how you want this to end, Lucas? In bloodshed?”
Lucas looked his challenger over, clearly unamused. “Still playing lawyer, I see. I call the rest of the pack and it’s thirteen wolves against a corpse, a witch and a demon who doesn’t play well with the legion. The way I see it, my odds are pretty good.”
Dennis chuckled. He sounded like himself again, if an exhausted version. “A witch, a demon, a corpse, and one of me. How do you like your odds now, Lucas? Care to find out if your suspicions about me have been right all along? I’ve already ruined my suit, so I may as well.”
I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure I was ready to find out what Dennis was after what I’d seen of his transformation, but at least he seemed to be on our side.
Lucas’ eyes narrowed dangerously. For the moment, he seemed to have forgotten Nick’s challenge. “Finally showing your true colors, eh? You sure that’s the side you wanna pick?”
“I picked my side a long time ago,” said Dennis. “Like you, I’m just playing my role. What’s it going to be?”
Lucas watched him for a long moment, clearly trying to decide whether he was going to call the unknown monster’s bluff. Nick hadn’t taken his eyes off his uncle or moved away from Daniel, and his brothers looked like they were about to be sick. I could sympathize.
“This isn’t over,” Lucas said in a low, sullen tone, taking a step away without turning his back to Dennis. “We’re leaving.”