Stella took her backpack and closed her door. “Good-bye, Agent Harper.”
“Detective.”
Stella shook her head. “Not anymore—they took my badge. I just gave it to you to bring back to them.”
Shane appeared to internally chastise himself. “Apologies, ma’am. But if I might be so daring to say, once a detective, always a detective. Just like they say back home: once a Texas Ranger, always a Texas Ranger,” he added with a tip of his hat.
Stella stared off into the distance, considering what he said.
“How ‘bout this: I’ll pull a few strings to see what I can do to getcha into something over there in England. I know a few people from way back, you never know.”
Stella shrugged. “What do you want in return?”
Shane took off his hat. “Ma’am, this is the Texas hospitality my momma raised me up with, and all the decency my pa put into my nerves. Favors serve people well enough, but friendly gestures with no thought of gain tend to add another scoop onto your sundae when the boss ain’t lookin’.”
“Uh, sure,” Stella said with a slight grin.
“Yee-haw, and with that we need to catch our flight, before the airport security guy giving us the stink eye loses his shit. C’mon, blondie.”
“Blondie? You are not going to be calling me that,” Stella said over her shoulder as she strode into the waiting doors.
“Thank you, Harper-sama,” Charlie said quietly now that he had a moment. “I didn’t think you were going to believe her and me.”
Shane shrugged. “Just remember the terms the DA brokered with you and Stella. You check in with the local authorities once a month and with me once every four months. No traveling without reporting it.”
“Excuse me, sir, you need to move your vehicle.”
“Hold your horses, son,” Shane said, handing over his FBI badge. “And most of all, you must always be available to be contacted.”
“Got it. Say, why do you believe our story?”
Without breaking eye contact, Shane put away his badge that the security personnel handed back to him. A million questions seemed to rush behind his eyes but never reached his lips. He pulled out a small notepad and handed it to Charlie, and drove off.
“Took you long enough.”
Charlie grinned as he slid next to Stella, who was already in line. “Hey, don’t be like that, blondie. Us boys had to have a man-to-man. You know how it is.”
“Seriously, stop calling me blondie,” Stella said, trying and failing not to smile. “A man-to-man, huh? Well at least I didn’t have to watch a woman pee right in front of me this time.”
Charlie broke out laughing, and everyone seemed to stop for a moment to stare. A few security personnel glanced but shook their heads, continuing their mandated and regulated apathy.
“But, seriously. I wanted to know why he believed our stories. He wouldn’t tell me, but he gave me this.” He thumbed the small notebook open and saw that only one page had been written on.
Location of truck appropriation = anomaly
Location of Stratton Law Firm vs. supposed location of Cain = anomaly
Time index of supposed murders vs. waste dispatch notifying authorities of appropriated truck = anomaly
Time index of activated alarm in Stratton Law firm garage vs. other time index(es) = anomaly
Forensic evidence of bullet wounds in all victims not matching S & W 629 or Colt 1911 = anomaly
Creditability of witnesses of murders = poor
Case Index File No. 52945 at Precinct # 10
All evidence triple verified, creditable, and admissible in court.
“Holy shit, Stella. Look at this!”
Stella scanned the single page and flipped through the book. “The bastards,” she muttered.
“What does this mean?”
Stella sighed and pocketed the notebook. “It means they know I am innocent, and that Cain is innocent. I think Agent Harper gave this to you so I would eventually be able to come back home, or rise up and fight this now.” She shrugged. “Once Cain is proven innocent of murder, I will no longer be an accessory. I will be able to fight for my badge and be on the force again.” She looked up with an intense expression. “And Cain would be free, too.”
Charlie nodded. “Do you really think Cain would want to go back? Work construction for the rest of his life? I think Al’bah came into his life for a reason. There will be time enough for all this to blow over and prove his innocence. But I think it would be best if he lived for a while.”
“Geez, Charlie, you’re assuming a lot on his behalf. But maybe you’re right. Even so, just imagine their lives now, versus what it would be like if they didn’t have to run.”
Charlie moved forward with the line. “So, does that mean you wanna go back? Fight for yourself? For some justice?” He swallowed and decided that he’d better test his relationship with Stella sooner rather than later. “I’ll come with you. I’ll even help you.”
“You would do that for me?”
“Hey, why not? You helped my best friend out of a tough jam, and I kinda like ya.”
“You kinda like me?” Stella said. She seemed to master herself at last in front of Charlie and offered no “tells” for him to guess at her thoughts.
“Well, no. I—”
The departure personnel called out, pointing to Charlie. “Next, please!”
Now’s not the time to be a pussy, Charlie! Say it!
“If there was ever a woman I could love, it would be you, Stella. And even if that meant leaving this line and going back to win justice for you and your life. Even if it meant never seeing you again afterwards, I would do it.”
Stella smiled and took Charlie’s hand. “And miss seeing Europe with you? Not a chance.”
Chapter 51
Al’bah’s Worth
“I misjudged this mortal.”
—Taint
—Purity
“Oh.” Al’bah sighed. “My knowledge of the Demono is hard to speak about, Cain. It would be even harder to believe, to tell you the truth.”
“Well, we have nothing but time. And to be honest, after all that has happened, I can’t imagine you telling me something that would be hard to believe.”
Al’bah nodded. “Cain, I will tell you—really, I will—but could it wait for tonight? I would like to accompany my tale with something special,” she said with a smile that was a bit mysterious.
“Ugh, why can you get away with ‘I’ll tell later’?” Cain said, trying to sound annoyed.
“Because my stories are better,” Al’bah said simply.
“Humans have quite a few good stories, you know. Speaking of humans, how is it you know so little about them? And at the same time, you have these little bits of obscure, sometimes extremely insightful information?”
That was something that shocked Cain over and over again. Al’bah entered the world with not even the knowledge of what a toilet was. And yet, she knew what food was, what an oven was, and how to cook. She understood the concept of mass transit, but she had no idea what a car was. She could read, but it took half a day for her to understand what she was seeing on a television set. She could sing with a voice that made an entire restaurant fall silent with rapture. But she enunciated her words in a strange way that made rhyme impossible. And at times when they stopped to get gas or to eat, she would dance, for no reason but that she declared herself to be happy.
All these little peculiarities filled Cain with a sense of wonderment. Al’bah was truly something that had no place in the world, except by his side. Her almost childlike enthusiasm for the experiences of the world around her gave Cain a new pair of eyes. Her amazement, her awe, and frustrations poured onto Cain’s senses. With Al’bah, Cain felt alive.
For the longest time he was so weary of what the world had to offer him. One might even have said he was just waiting to die. But with Al’bah, the world was turned over, polished and revealed to him with a new sense of worth. Perhap
s it was the way Al’bah would look at him; for her, the worth of the entire world was him. And to her, Cain was all that mattered.
She would show him things that were beyond explanation. Sometimes she would hold him. Hold him so tightly and whisper words that he couldn’t understand. Yet her words would evoke feelings of such fierce protectiveness that it shocked him.
To think that I almost thought she was just a dream.
“Cain, are you listening to me?” Al’bah said, rousing him from his thoughts.
“Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“My explanation of how I know some things, while ignorant of other things,” Al’bah said, drinking more water. “Surely you know of the sort of person or people who are into the occult? Well for the spiritual race, it is the same. But it is easier for us to contact and interact with your world than it is for you to ours. You see, our kind can use the intangible that humanity cannot understand, to peer into your world.”
“Like what?” Cain asked.
“Well, for one, mirrors that are seen by no one,” Al’bah said quietly. “Especially when a human falls asleep in front of a mirror, we can ‘see’ them.” She tapped the empty bottle against the dashboard of the ’87 Accord and went on. “Dreams are another way, but dreams are a two-way interface, more or less. I could go on and on, but the most recent and perhaps the biggest wealth of knowledge is what you call ‘deleted information.’”
“What, deleted information? Like on computers?” he said, with slight confusion.
Al’bah shrugged. “I do not know what a computer is for sure, but what I do know is humans think that if they delete information it no longer exists, but it does. Deleted information just transitions into a different state. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can be uncreated; every thought, every idea, and every song that existed still exists. All it takes is the right person with the right recollection, and when a thing like the ‘only copy’ of a great piece of artwork or literary masterpiece is destroyed, it then belongs to the spiritual. Angels and Demons can claim these things.”
Cain was absolutely floored by the implications of this revelation. The very idea of every scrap of knowledge that ever existed still existing was incredible.
“So that is how I have some knowledge of humans, and human history. However, I have been able to access less and less as Taint was getting more and more impatient with me.”
“Yeah and about that,” Cain said, seizing the change of topic. “Why does Taint obsess over all this so much?”
Al’bah was quiet for a long time. “I do not know for sure. Taint believes very strongly the Fallen Angels are above humanity. A sense of superiority…foolish, foolish pride, and an insufferable ego that will not accept that I am yours.”
“Well, what was life like before you were a prisoner? The previous two thousand years? I mean, I don’t even know how Taint got ahold of you in the first place.”
Al’bah lowered her head; she seemed to be ashamed. “Well, I was a concubine for another Demono. His name was—is—Strife.”
“Really? What was it like?”
“It was as good as life could get for one such as I. Being with him was as close to being in love as I could have been, back then.”
Cain watched Al’bah draw her knees to her chest; he knew that pose and could tell she was holding her breath.
“And does this Strife share a Bond with your heart?” Cain asked, trying to use the same word emphasis as Al’bah did.
Al’bah let out her breath and closed her eyes. Her entire face seemed to be filled with elation, which made her even more beautiful. She opened her eyes and reached out to touch his arm. “No, that was so long ago. Cain, your heart is the one I am Bonded to.”
Cain returned her smile. “I like you, Al’bah.”
Al’bah seemed to bask in the moment; her entire body shuddered slightly as she sighed deeply and resumed speaking.
“Strife, like all Demono, is weaker than the Angels, and even the Fallen Angels. Taint has been dedicated for a very long time to sway the remaining Demono into the forces of corruption. Strife fought back, and inevitably lost. I was one of the many spoils of that war.”
“So what happened when they took you?” Cain said softly, hoping not to upset Al’bah too much, especially after her being so happy.
“For a long time, I was treated as a valued guest. But I knew it was only a matter of time before the Demons lost patience with me.” Al’bah’s voice filled with resentment. “Their kindness was just a ploy. It was but a subtle manipulation I never allowed to corrupt my own nature.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “A moment, my Bond. I am so filled with anger.”
Al’bah leaned over and rested her head against Cain’s chest. She bunched up his shirt to her nose and breathed deeply, while her other hand tangled itself in his long hair.
“Aaaah, heartbeat.” Al’bah sighed and resumed her posture, but was still turned to Cain; her half-lidded eyes were full of contentment.
“Al’bah, what was that all about?” Cain said, nearly breathless.
“I was angry, the car is in motion, and I did not want to expel excess energy in a manner to attract attention.”
“You act like anger is dangerous to you.”
“It is. Especially to me, and those like me.”
“Why?”
Al’bah sighed deeply while her look went far away. Cain knew this look; it meant that she was having great difficulty in describing a concept or a “state of being,” as she called it, and he waited patiently.
Al’bah reached in the back seat and grabbed another bottle of water and a cream soda.
Odd. I thought she hated soda, Cain thought.
“Cain, I want you to try something for me.” She held out the water. “Sip from this water, and take only a small, small amount.” After Cain had done so, she handed him the soda. “And now this, but only a small, small amount.”
For several moments Al’bah coaxed Cain to drink from both bottles, and after a while, the water tasted better and better, until the soda repulsed him completely.
“Ugh, no more soda,” Cain said, putting his hand up.
“No! Finish it—all of it,” Al’bah said, moving the bottle closer.
Cain did and nearly threw up; it was as though he could taste the unnaturalness of the liquid sloshing in his stomach.
Al’bah placed her hand over Cain’s stomach. “Easy. Easy now,” she murmured.
Cain felt better, but he was still dizzy from the sugar running through his body.
“And now finish the water,” Al’bah said, handing him the other bottle.
As soon as the water touched his lips, Cain’s sickness vanished, and his body rejoiced.
“That is why anger is dangerous to me, Cain,” Al’bah said, taking the empty bottle from him. “Wrath is a force of corruption to the unrighteous, as is what you call ‘soda.’ To partake of corruption is damaging, but if you have not purity in you, how can you know the difference?”
Al’bah placed both empty bottles away. “Anger, jealousy, negative states of being are harmful to me. Surely you have seen enough of this world to know that a person can be consumed by negativity? Surely you must know that such things eventually destroy all chance for grace and fulfillment. Well, imagine an existence where all one can know and experience is the end result of such…ruin and despair, and lost—everything that once was, lost forever!”
Al’bah crossed her arms across her body and looked to Cain with hungry eyes. “Though I may at times feel angry, I rarely choose to be angry. Do you see?”
“I think so,” Cain murmured. “So, why do you feel angry when we speak of Taint?”
“Because understanding Taint’s nature will not help either of us. Nor does knowledge of Taint touch our current state of being. And speaking of my temptations and tortures at the hands of corruption will give neither of us enlightenment, knowledge, or satisfaction.”
Al’bah shuddered and sighed. “Regardless of the c
ircumstances of my existence, Taint would have desired to sway me to corruption.”
“Because you are Demono?”
“Yes,” Al’bah said with a happy tone, to Cain’s understanding. “And this I swear, Cain. If I knew of a way to banish Taint from our lives, I would have already shared that knowledge with you.”
“But what if you weren’t…what if you were another Succubus?”
Al’bah’s smile wavered. “So long as free will exists, I could never know a definitive answer. But I imagine you would be dead long before now.”
Cain thought for a moment and was reminded of how weak he was during their first few days together. “Hey, Al’bah, did you ever drain my energy when—um, you know.”
Al’bah kept her gaze locked to Cain and nodded softly. “Yes.”
“Why?”
Al’bah’s face showed a small amount of confusion. “You nourish me, Cain. You freely give so much energy to me. Your blood, your seed, and the energy your soul emits all strengthen me. And in turn, I refine the energy you give, and strengthen our Bond.” Al’bah touched Cain’s chest. “And you.”
“Hey, wait a second. Seed?” Cain said with a harsh realization coursing through his body like an electric current. “Al’bah, is there a chance you could become pregnant?”
Al’bah’s eyes grew large, and her face turned bright pink and flushed deep red. “B-be w-with ch-child?” she stammered. “Oh, if only, Cain.” She shook her head. “You have no idea of the treasure humanity is blessed with. No other race that has true sentience can reproduce like humanity can.”
“What? Why?”
“I do not know, it is not my place to know. But, I have my own thought on the matter.”
“Yes?”
“Man was created in the Creator’s image.”
Cain felt a stab of guilt; his thoughts turned to the God he had once believed in long ago, and had rejected as superstition. To hear Al’bah speak of God, to know that she herself wasn’t really a human.
What do I believe? he thought to himself as he flexed his right hand.
Succubus Tear (Triune promise) Page 29