by A. J. Downey
Adelaide looked at me long and hard, but finally just nodded her acceptance. “All right. Your question.”
“Your mother has come up. Tell me about her.”
Adelaide looked at me evenly. “That’s not a question and I’d rather not.”
Rather than argue, I rephrased, ignoring her preference all together. “What happened last time you talked to your mother?”
“She told me that I wasn’t going to amount to anything, that working as an assistant at an old antique shop wasn’t any kind of life, I was wasting my time, and if I wanted to rethink it and do the paperwork for college financial aid, she was still willing to pay for half of law school, if I could save up the other half, get loans, or convince someone to give a poor charity case a scholarship.”
“Law school?”
“Yep. Law school. I wasn’t even done with high school when she was talking law school. For my 18th birthday, she got me one of those LSAT preparation books, ‘so you won’t screw it up when the time comes.’”
“Why didn’t you want to go to law school?”
“Lot of reasons,” she said, evading my eyes. “It’s a profession, you know? Those people’ve got to know as much stuff as librarians and talk as good as politicians. Even the ones who’re just in it for the money have to half-kill themselves studying in law school and some of them, some of them have lives at stake every time they go to work. It’s not … it’s not something you throw someone at just because you want them to surprise you by finally being respectable.”
“Some of them. There’s plenty of different types of lawyers.”
“You don’t really want to know about law school. That wasn’t the question. I didn’t really want to be a lawyer, even if I thought I could hack it. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, except have a little bit of time to find myself. But it was all she’d focus on.” Adelaide’s face was flatly affected, at least relative to her usual sudden shifts of expression, as she continued. “‘I don’t know why you don’t want to go to law school,’ she’d say. ‘You like to argue so much!’ It was always that I just wanted to argue, every time we disagreed. It could never be that we just had a difference of opinion, or – God forbid! – that she made a mistake. I was always out to cause trouble, just there to drive her nuts…”
The answer led to more questions. Would it be better to try to help her resolve things with her mother, or leave that alone, as likely to cause more complications? I let it drop for now, and, as was proper, let her guide the conversation, as she would the journey. “Your question.”
“All right, so… backing off a little, what’s the deal with Yin and all of them? I wouldn’t expect a Temple in Tibet to be quite so aware of, I don’t know, Catholic stuff. Shouldn’t they be Buddhist or something? And, uhm, so Yin really wanted to kill me?”
“Who says they’re not Buddhist? Or weren’t? They know Angels and Demons exist, and they’re still focused on finding the answers within human nature and improving themselves. What they know as a certainty has altered how they reflect their faith, but it hasn’t changed the search for enlightenment entirely.”
“That seems like a really weird kind of Buddhism. I mean, I don’t know a lot about it, but some of the things, like, well, killing people, seem a bit off.”
“If you can still call it anything like what they were, then it is a weird offshoot. But their ancestors felt that they couldn’t find the answers within themselves if they were, intentionally or not, aligned with either Heaven or Hell,” I explained as best I could. “So they focused on finding a way to withdraw from the war and focus on the human.” I hoped this would explain some of why the Temple remained an occasional ally of mine, even if they wanted little part in the war. In some ways, we had remarkably similar goals.
“And Yin? He really wanted to kill me? He seemed so nice.”
“Yin can be a very nice person, but he’s terrified of the next world. He walks a difficult line. There was no malice. He wasn’t ever trying to have you killed. But he wanted to know if it was a solution I’d considered.” I left out that he had tried to get me to consider it more… Adelaide looked almost hurt by my revelation.
She pondered that for a little while, then said, “I know my next question. But okay, your turn.”
“If not a lawyer, what did you want to be?”
“I don’t know. And that’s just it. What I really wanted was some time to figure it out. Maybe start college, just undeclared. I never had a lot of time, or space, to figure out what I wanted. A lot of kids, they talk about figuring out their major a year or two in. I kind of wanted to do that.”
“So why didn’t you?” It was progress, of a sort.
“Because she made a little too much money for me to get most financial aid, and right out of school, I couldn’t afford to go. But if I accepted her help with the money, then it meant she’d still be looking over my shoulder and trying to make everything about the next step. I guess I was still thinking about going, if I saved up enough with working for Piorre, and then it just got comfortable. I had a quiet place, and someone who didn’t want me to be anything but a good worker.”
It was making a lot of sense. It didn’t inspire me with a lot of confidence that she’d settled in so readily, and it didn’t spark any ideas for where to suggest going next, but it made sense. On the other hand, it made all the more sense for why Iaoel might feel comfortable with Adelaide – if finding a host she could direct was part of the goal. “All right, your question.”
“You mentioned how Yin wanted to know if killing me was a solution you’d considered. You didn’t technically deny it when Michael said you’d thought about killing me. You’re good with that sword. So, is it something you’ve considered? Or something you’re considering?” She didn’t look afraid, in that moment, more somewhere between curious and possibly resigned.
“It was an idea that came to mind and, in your case, left just as quickly as not an option.”
“But you’ve killed people before?”
“People, Demons, Fallen, Angels, yes.”
“So what’s the difference?”
“Their choices. Iaoel betrayed me and forced my hand. The humans I’ve killed made their choices, knowing the risks. You didn’t have any control over this situation, or any chance to even make a choice. This was all brought on you.”
“But if I did choose to let Iaoel take control of me, or was going to go to Lucifer, or whatever, you’d kill me?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t expect her to get up at that point, and definitely didn’t expect her to move over and hug me, or to say what came next. “Thank you, Tab. I’m really scared right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen, or if any of this will work. I’m scared I might make the wrong choices. But this is all me talking when I say I don’t want anyone else controlling me. God knows I’ve fucked up my life and not gone anywhere, or done any of the things I wanted to. But I didn’t go to law school, I didn’t let my mother decide that for me, and I don’t want Iaoel deciding things for me, or Lucifer, or anyone else. And if I’m not strong enough, in the end, to make that not happen, then I expect you to kill me. Just, please, make it quick.”
I didn’t respond right away, or return the hug. I wasn’t expecting the response, but now that I’d heard it said, it made a lot of sense. After a few moments, she pulled away, moving back to settle in. “I think I’ve asked enough questions for now,” she said, laying down on the bed. “And I think tomorrow is going to be a long day. But I’ll have more questions later, okay?”
“We can continue any time,” I found myself agreeing despite my typical thorough dislike of Adelaide’s constant questions.
“G’night, Tab,” she said and sniffed. I cocked my head and regarded her still form, turned away from me in the dark.
“Good night, Adelaide.”
***
I suspect Adelaide had been thinking of Medicine Bow as very middle-of-nowhere, or Boulder, Colorado as being a long ways awa
y, since she seemed surprised when we were seeing signs of the city after three hours of driving. Despite having had an awareness of how much the area had changed since I’d seen it last, seeing it firsthand surprised me, too. There was plenty of time to take it all in, though, since traffic was also a lot slower than the last time I’d been here. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to reorient myself on seeing a couple of familiar sights – those places which had stood the test of time on what had been the outskirts of Boulder and had things grow up around them, instead of plowing them under – to find the bank. The building had seen a couple of remodels, but there was still a bank in the same place as last time I’d been there.
I’d had the foresight to make sure that this was something I could access later, so I had the right identification and security information for the safe-deposit box. I took out the money but declined to create any other account. Cards may be easier and quicker, and carrying around that sum might be unusual in this day and age, but paying in cash would make us harder to trace – and less reliant on something that could be shut down or investigated, if the right strings were pulled. For all the jokes made to that end, it was true that Lucifer had allies among any number of law firms.
Adelaide showed some curiosity as to some of the other items in the safe deposit box. I explained them away as artifacts of other times, and not important to us just now. That much was true. I preferred the deed to a stretch of land remain right where it was. Likewise, I had no interest just then in explaining the ring that I’d agreed to watch for someone else, who didn’t want it falling into the hands of greedy relatives after her death. The rest of the things in the box had belonged to Iaoel and Gabriel, and I had even less interest in taking those out right then – or in explaining their meaning.
Instead, I suggested finding somewhere to eat and talk about the next steps. We settled on a burger place we’d seen back near the outskirts of the city. I didn’t want to draw too much attention, or spend any more time around large crowds than we had to, though Adelaide seemed quite happy with having some choices when it came to finding a place. I think, on seeing the amount of money I’d taken out, she was initially thinking somewhere more upscale, but most of those required traveling further into the city, not further out – so we settled on the nicer end of quick and simple dinners.
As it turned out, my precautions weren’t enough. We were just settling into the first bites of our food when Adelaide’s necklace began to react. She was already sliding out of the booth when the big picture window at the front of the restaurant shattered inward. The staff and patrons would just see some crazy people, most likely, but I recognized the Demons right away, as did Adelaide. This time around, there was no screaming – she pressed herself to my chest, and made it easy for me to fold a wing around her, as panic was erupting all around us.
The first one to reach us met my sword, as did the second. Four others tried to keep a little more distance, taking up flanking positions to buy time for reinforcements. I wasn’t sure how many there were, but could hear other breaking glass and shouts from parts of the place I couldn’t see.
Trying to take the fight away from the densely populated restaurant, I grabbed Adelaide and lunged backwards, shielding her with the wing as we crashed through the window nearest where we’d been sitting. I cushioned the impact of the landing with my body, then helped pull her back to her feet as quickly as I could. The Demons came right after us, shouting to alert their brethren. They apparently had not expected us to run.
Why had they expected us here at all?
The first two to leap out after us were dead before they hit the ground. Foolishly, I lunged after the third, managing to take its head, but not without ending up a few steps away from Adelaide. By the time I turned around, she was facing off with three more Demons – the fourth from inside, and two that had apparently been waiting out here, in case. Instead of screaming, or trying to find a way to flee, she headed straight for me again, or nearly so. Assessing them, she actually paused, looking about like a frightened animal, then darted towards me again. I realized what she had just done before they did – the Demons took the bait, pursuing the hapless prey right inside my sword’s reach. The hesitation had been a risk, but she’d shortened the fight considerably by willfully baiting them.
Their screams to alert the others did their jobs, but by the time any more caught up, instead of being surrounded wolf pack style and slowed down, I was able to be in ambush position, cutting them down while Adelaide hid behind me from the new rush. As soon as things quieted – when I’d killed eleven in all – we headed for the car, before the police could show up. With the rush of others trying to flee the chaos, I was fairly certain no one was going to get an accurate description of the car or its license plate.
“So… how the hell did they find us so fast?” Adelaide asked. “You said they’d be tracking me down, but – ”
“But nothing about your past would indicate Boulder. I know,” I said. “And very few people knew about that safe deposit box.”
“So did Lucifer send them? Or Crazy Teeth?”
I shook my head. “Not unless I’m missing something.” Then the realization hit. The Demons had been quickly dealt with. There weren’t enough to pose a serious threat to me, enough to be a serious warning. There had certainly been plenty to pose a serious threat to Adelaide, but I knew that wouldn’t be his primary concern right now.
“Gabriel,” I said.
“What?” Adelaide still had some capacity for surprise in her tone.
“They weren’t meant to win,” I explained. “This was his way of sending me a message: nowhere Iaoel knew about will be safe for long, so we’d better keep moving. He wouldn’t have tipped the Demons off to Medicine Bow and John, but here was fair game. And if one of his anonymous occult informer tricks resulted in there being a few less Demons in the world, then all the better.”
“Hell of a fucking heavenly host you got there, Tab,” Adelaide said dryly. She was then silent until we were out of town, taking time to process things. What she said then surprised me as much as anything else that was happening. “We’re heading west. I know where we’re going next.”
***
I didn’t relax until we’d passed a police car without any sign of attention. There hadn’t been anyone with a clear enough report of the car – or sufficiently detailed descriptions of us – to have us on any kind of watch. West was a vague enough direction for a little while, while Adelaide studied a road map from the glove box, before she finally informed me of her plan.
“So, we’re pretty much heading due west, towards Nevada,” she declared before shoving the map in my direction and hitting the signal to pull back into traffic.
“Las Vegas is a really bad idea.”
“We’re not going to Las Vegas. I want to try to find somewhere sort of out of the way, since there’s a whole lot of that. But there’s a lot of boxing and mixed martial arts and stuff that happens in Vegas and Reno, right?”
“There is, yes.”
“Well, I figure all of those people need to train somewhere, and a lot of them are going to want to train where nobody but their own people are watching them. I figured there has to be, like, some gyms or things outside the cities where people can train, and maybe you can rent ring space, or a training room, or something, with some privacy.”
“We can probably find something along those lines, yes. Planning to take up boxing?”
She shook her head and grinned. “You’re going to teach me how to use a sword. Or at least more about staying out of the way of people who have swords and things that I don’t.”
“Even if I train you, fighting Demons and the Fallen will still be too dangerous.”
“Sure, and I’m still used to hiding behind you, or getting behind your wing when the real fights come. But I should be able to at least make things easier. Think about it a little bit, and if I do start unfolding Iaoel’s Grace, maybe I can do more than that. She knew how to use a sw
ord, right?”
“Sort of. She wasn’t the greatest fighter, but she knew how to use the gifts bestowed upon her to best effect in combat.”
Adelaide thought about that for a few seconds, before following up. “How did she do that?”
I found myself reflecting on some fond memories at the question, remembering some of the fights when we were on the same side. “Not all of her visions were about the past, or possible futures. She could reign it in, look just moments ahead, where a sword would strike or a Demon would lunge, and not only avoid it, but either set up her response, or, just as often, set me up for the kill. She didn’t much like to shed blood, but somehow, she never minded my doing it. It made a lot of fights easier.”
She nodded. “Back when the Demons were attacking us, I got just a brief flash of something like that. I was just going to run back to cover, but I knew that I was okay, for just a second, and waited.”
I gave her an odd look. “You had a vision right then? Not exactly a calm moment.”
Adelaide grinned. “You wouldn’t think so, but it was actually kind of okay. I’ve seen you fight them before. I knew if I just stayed where you could guard me, I’d be okay. I just had to not fight it.” Indeed, she looked like she’d made a major realization. “That’s when I knew what I wanted to do – be useful. I don’t need to go confront my mother, I don’t need to go to law school. I need to get through this shit, right here, right now.”
“And when you’ve learned to defend yourself, what’s the next step?”
The smile remained, as she continued to study the array of small town names on the Nevada highway signs. “I don’t know yet, but that’s okay too. I don’t have a big, detailed plan, and if I did, it wouldn’t be me. When this is done, I’m going to go get a part-time job and go to community college, or maybe even a state school if I can get a scholarship or two. I don’t know what I want to do with it yet, but I know I want my freshman year of not having a clue. I want to see what’s out there, and what interests me. And if that involves the five-or-six-year plan, that’s okay. I know it doesn’t involve law school. And this is sort of the same thing.”