by P. K. Tyler
She smiled, a genuine smile that took him off guard. Vai had very little to be happy about, anymore. That these weapons were a source of joy for her greatly worried Zeph. Her heart was set on revenge, murder. Once that was done, what would happen to her?
"I sure do. These are so easy to make, and only use a bit of dust and fragments." She walked to the back of the room with Zeph following, and turned. "I can't tell you how many hours I spent making these when I was little. Ma would bring the things I needed to the kitchen table and I'd craft while she cooked."
In the middle of the rear wall stood a dresser with six drawers. She pulled one open and gestured to them. "The whole thing is full of them. There's a good chance we won't survive the coming battle, so take as many as you can carry." The joy had gone from her face, replaced with resignation, a sort of peace with the probability of her coming demise.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Nik found them and the dresser full of mini grenades.
"All right. That's what I'm talkin' about." He looked up at the bags hanging from hooks lined above the dresser. He reached for one, but Vai grabbed his arm and pointed to the coat rack next to the dresser. Leather belts and harnesses hung from the pegs instead of coats.
Nik strapped on two belts, then twisted them so that the holes of one belt lined up between the holes of the other. He clipped as many of the little blood bombs onto his belt as he could. Unable to reach the back of the belt, he held out a grenade to Zeph for help.
"Could you?"
Zeph nodded, taking the tiny weapon from him. "I think you've got enough," he said. "I don't see how you'll be able to reach these to pull them off anyway."
Nik dropped those in his hands back into the drawer and turned.
"One of you might be near enough to pull one, and will probably need to. We're facing two demons, one of them Lucifer's son. There's no such thing as too much."
Zeph's face heated. "We're facing one demon, Nik. We can still save Adel." He held up the rope he'd picked up. "I'll get her immobilized, we kill Belial and then do what we need to do to get her back."
Nik had never been the most patient of men. Judging by the dark look on his face, it seemed he'd finally run out.
"Adel is dead, Zeph. She's gone. I can't save her. If we try, we're all going to get killed. Is that what you want? You want the whole world to go to shit in the hands of Belial? For what?"
"For my sister, you selfish piece of shit."
Nik jerked back, stunned as though Zeph had hit him. His words came almost in a whisper. "For nothing."
Anahita appeared from one of the aisles and Nik stormed off.
Zeph had hit him earlier to save Adel, and wanted to hit him again. Nik was just being obstinate. Had to be. It couldn't be too late.
The angel put one hand on Zeph's shoulder, and his anger fled in the warmth of her compassionate gaze. "You know he's right."
He tried to summon his anger back, but all he could feel was despair. Everyone had given up on Adel, even the angel. Not one of them would help him save her. He would have to do it alone.
Chapter Nine
Nik watched the resolve settle firmly onto Zeph's features, then followed him, Vai, and the angel out of the Crypt of Relics. Maybe he finally realized the truth of what Nik had been telling him. Adel wasn't Adel anymore. Probably wishful thinking, but a man could dream. And where Zeph was concerned, sometimes all Nik had were dreams.
"So what do we do now? Where did the demons go?"
Vai, the last one out of the Crypt of Relics, turned to ensure the door was properly sealed shut. She shrugged by way of answer. "I have a feeling they'll come back for us. All we have to do is wait."
Her flat tone greatly worried Nik. Until Belial was defeated, though, he didn't think her melancholy would lift. After that, he hoped she'd start to heal from all the losses she'd suffered. Ma and her sister had given their lives for the angels to step in and help them. It was a noble and peaceful way to go, but left a void in her life nonetheless.
Nik followed them through the crowd of mourning gypsies, out the back door and into the comforting clearing made by the trees that surrounded Ma's house. Nik stood in her backyard and tried to form some kind of plan.
Aside from Zeph's anger toward Nik every time they tried to talk about Adel, he showed no other emotions. Whatever he was thinking, whatever he'd resolved to do, he'd closed himself off to Nik in that same moment. When Nik spoke again, Zeph wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Zeph, any ideas on where they might be?"
"I would assume they are in a place of sin. An angel in need of a resting place would be drawn to holy grounds, right?" He glanced at the angel, and she nodded. "So perhaps a demon would go somewhere they might be surrounded by sin, or sinners."
Zeph's blasé attitude was getting old, quick.
"If they're looking to be surrounded by sinners, maybe they went to church." Nik was being an ass and he didn't care. He felt dangerously close to wanting to beat some sense into what was still his best friend.
But Zeph didn't take the bait. He just nodded. "Maybe so, but I think the holy grounds of a church would cancel any effect the sinners within had on restoring their strength. Besides, there are too many churches to even guess where to begin searching for them. Vai's idea of waiting for them here is a solid one."
Nik's face felt like it was giving off steam. The less Zeph seemed to care, the angrier it made him.
"Great idea. Unless they decide to go on a killing spree in the city. Maybe that's what charges their batteries. Maybe Belial needs to feed. You think he eats women and children, too?"
The angel's voice lowered an octave, sharpening her calm demeanor to a rough edge. "That's enough!"
Vai rolled her eyes at all three of them, a familiar gesture that did more to calm Nik than anything else could have. "Nik, you have any idea where they might be?"
He took a deep breath, then let it out. And it hit him. "Fubar." Nik glanced at Zeph, but the man refused to look at him. Instead, he kept checking the various little bombs clipped onto his belt.
Nik clenched his jaw tight, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
Vai gripped both of Nik's arms. "Hey, we all just need to get through this, past it. Not one of us will be okay until it's over. Focus. You said Fubar. That's a club, right?"
"Yeah," Nik nodded, ignoring Zeph for the time being. He took another steadying breath and put aside everything but finding those two demons and killing them. "That demon who has taken over Adel? He hopped between Adel and Zeph at first."
"You don't know that for sure," said Zeph
"Hopped between them?" Vai raised an eyebrow
“I’m pretty damn sure, Zeph,” Nik scowled. He didn’t want to get into it in front of everyone, but Zeph kept trying what little patience he had.
“What you’re saying just isn’t possible,” Vai said. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Zeph shrugged. “Just... I wasn’t acting like myself and Adel seemed different too, we were like in a dream, doing things we wouldn’t usually do, but I wouldn’t say we were possessed.”
"I saw you. To say you weren’t acting like yourself is one fuck of an understatement." Nik stared at Zeph.
Zeph flinched, turned a dark red, and went back to checking his belt.
"Anyway, the demon left Zeph, we went back to the church and talked to Adel."
"Wait," Vai interrupted again, "you didn't know the demon was in Zeph? Was it in Adel after that? How is it you didn't know?"
"It wasn't latched on, like they usually are," Nik said. "Zeph’s right about that much. This demon was just pulling their strings. The Order said this kind of possession is how it used to be done, before Jesus was crucified. When Judas betrayed Jesus, demons were then able to latch onto a feed on human souls. They've been doing that since Jesus died. That's why I didn't know what the fuck was wrong with Adel and Zeph. This demon is different. He doesn't act like the others do.”
Zeph stalked off, toss
ing over his shoulder, "I'm going to get a drink."
"It's ten in the morning," Nik called and Zeph flicked him off over his shoulder. Despite the tension between then, Nik chuckled. Some priest.
Vai crossed her arms. "You two are idiots."
Nik rolled his eyes in an exaggerated gesture before continuing. "Look, I know you don't put much stock into what the Old Order says, but if they're right, maybe there’s a way to reverse the damage Judas did. Don't you see? We could end the threat. Stop the killing. Put things back the way they were before Judas betrayed Jesus and fucked us all over."
Nik stood and paced, unable to sit still with his mounting excitement. “If the Order is right, then there must be a way to tighten the gates of Hell back to how they should be. Maybe then, demons wouldn't be able to latch onto souls at all." He struggled to find his voice, his heart bursting with hope in a moment of clarity, his purpose suddenly obvious, if only to him. "We could close the gates of Hell altogether."
"Wow. Nik, I mean—Okay, so...back to the head hopping demons. The demons who just pop in to take control can't be identified?" Vai threw her arms up in the air. "That's just great. Every freaking person on the planet could be possessed and we wouldn't know it."
"No, the signs are still there, just faint. You have to really concentrate to tell."
The angel spoke up again. "I can tell easily."
Nik's defiant streak reared up like another person taking control of him, almost like he was possessed. He couldn't help it, his raised his jaw and stared down his nose at Anahita. "And just how long do you plan on sticking around?"
Vai gasped, and Nik felt like a total dickhead. When Anahita "left," she'd take Dika's body with her. When he looked at Vai to apologize, she seemed to have read his mind and just waved it off.
"Nik's right," she said. "We can't count on you always being around to help us tell who's possessed."
Zeph returned to Ma's backyard with a tumbler of amber liquid in one hand. He hadn't brought anything for Nik, as he normally would have without even being asked. Nik realized then that it was something he'd always taken for granted. He felt the loss like a blow directly to the heart.
"Whiskey? Seriously?" Nik raised an eyebrow.
"I think I've earned it." Zeph took a swig and stared hard at Nik.
Anahita glanced at Zeph, then glared at Nik. "If you two would stop being so obstinate we might be able to win. When you're together you're stronger; strong enough to sense more than a mere possession. And for the record," she stood and stretched her arms, "what the Old Order told you is right."
Vai frowned. "Great. So where does that leave me? Following behind them like a third wheel?" Her jaw clenched shut and Nik could almost hear her thinking, Fuck that.
"Vai," Anahita's voice was stern, but gentle, for her, "we're all doing the best we can. We just need to get through this."
Hearing her own words echoed back at her seemed to calm her down. Nik would have to remember that little trick.
"Okay, so back on point." Nik ran his fingers through his hair, cleaner than he'd ever kept it before from having to wash it so frequently in the presence of the Roma. "I still think we need to go to Fubar. If they aren't there, we can come right back. It'll only take an hour or so. And if we find them there, we can end this sooner." And then maybe, just maybe, he could do something even Jesus himself hadn't been able to. The thought ran chills down his spine. He couldn't wait to meet with Father Losado.
Vai chewed her bottom lip. "What about the people here? We can't just leave them, Nik. They're my family. And they can't protect themselves if the demons do come back while we're gone."
“There are some strong fighters here. I have no doubt your sister could wallop a serious punch if she had to,” Nik said.
“It’s not the same as what we can do.”
Zeph's eyebrows knit together the way they did when he was concentrating. "What if that was their plan all along? To get us to leave so they could finish off the Roma?"
The angel shook her head. "If they were nearby, Nik, Vai, and I would sense them. For that kind of plan to work, they'd have to be close enough to know when we leave. I don't think they are."
Vai wasn't quite ready to concede the point. "And if you're wrong? Seriously. How sure are you they aren't waiting for us to leave?"
Nik agreed with the angel, though. "Why would they bother? The people here don't pose a threat. Killing them doesn't serve a purpose. And they don't have time to waste. They want us dead. The only reason they didn't stay to fight is because Belial was still weak. Plus, Anahita is still with us. They wouldn't waste time waiting for the opportunity to kill a bunch of gypsies."
“Yes, why bother with a bunch of dirty Roma when they can have a superhero like you, is that what you mean Nik?” Riley stood by the open back door, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his button up shirt only done halfway and still streaked with dirt and blood from the horrors he’d witnessed earlier.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Riley,” Vai approached him and took his hand in hers. An intimate moment that made Nik look away.
“I won’t see any more of my people die,” Riley said with a thick, pained voice.
"The boy is right," Anahita added. “We cannot allow any more innocent deaths, but I don't have much longer. Belial would know this. The demon within the woman, Adel, would know this. Otherwise, they would not have attacked the gypsies at all, they'd have come straight for you two. You two and the priest represent the greatest threat to them."
Still holding Riley’s hand, Vai returned to the discussion. "If the Old Order has it right," Vai paused to glance at Anahita, who nodded, "then maybe we should meet with them."
Zeph laughed. All eyes turned to him.
Nik's palm itched. Why does this man piss me off so much?!
"I'm sorry. It's just... A priest, a gypsy and a Sin Eater walk into a bar..."
“Are you drunk?” Nik asked.
Vai actually laughed. "Oh my god, Zeph." Even Riley chuckled at the absurdity of the situation.
Their delirious levity eased the tension and Nik's cheeks hurt from grinning. It seemed as though it had been ages since Nik smiled. But their hearts were too heavy for the feeling to last.
Zeph lost his smile and retreated deep within his own thoughts. Tears continued to well in his eyes.
Although Nik ached to hold him close and comfort him, they had work to do. And these people needed protection. But how could he possibly do both?
"The Crypt of Relics," he whispered.
Vai heard him, though. "What about it?"
"Your people would be safe in there, right?"
A weight seemed to lift off of her in that moment and she took a deep breath. It was like something had been holding her lungs tight and Nik hadn't noticed until just now, whenever that something had finally let go.
The weight of a responsibility few others would ever understand.
She turned to Riley. “Yes, our people will be safe in the Crypt. There are no bathrooms or food, but they could come out in groups. It's better than nothing."
“We aren’t allowed in there, we can’t even open the door without your or Ma.” His voice caught in his throat and he shook his head. “...without you.”
“There have to be exceptions to these things. A way to even things out. Evil doesn’t play by the rules.” Vai looked to Anahita who simply nodded.
“Riley, you can keep them safe. Inside those walls, you’ll be out of the line of fire, but if something does happen...”
“I’ll keep them all alive, Vai. I promise. No one else is going to die.”
"Good, then it's settled.” Nik ran his hands down his thighs. “Let's gather all the supplies we can and help them into the Crypt. Then we'll head out to the Old Order. Zeph?"
He didn't acknowledge Nik. He just finished his drink.
Nik was too emotionally exhausted to react beyond raising his voice. "Zeph!"
"Yeah. What?"
> "We're going to get some supplies, food and stuff that'll keep for a while, and bring the Romani into the Crypt." He raised his eyebrows in a question, but Zeph didn't respond. He still looked like he was dazed, daydreaming. "Zeph? You wanna help us out?"
"Oh, yes. Of course."
Zeph wandered into the kitchen without another word.
Chapter Ten
Nik tapped his fingers on the door of the Challenger. Anahita had offered to ride with Zeph when it became clear that Nik wasn't his passenger of choice.
Shit. He'd really fucked things up somehow. He understood Zeph was upset. Of course he was. He'd have to be a soulless ass to not be upset that his sister had just died. But this insistence that she could be saved, that Nik somehow wasn't trying hard enough to save her. Damnit!
He slammed his fist down on the armrest.
"Hey, this is a rental!" Vai looked over toward him and her eyes softened.
He must look really bad.
"Are you all right?” she asked.
"I should be asking you that."
"Probably, but I'm asking you. Plus, nothing I have to say about what's happened over the last 24 hours is going to be helpful. You look like you need to talk, though."
"It's just Zeph..."
"He lost his sister," Vai said.
"You know that and I know that. But Zeph seems to have somehow not gotten the memo because he's mad at me."
"Who else would you like him to be mad at?" she asked.
"This isn't my fault!"
"I know, but he has to aim it somewhere."
"Then aim it at the demon or at Belial or at the angels for not helping sooner or at evil with a capital 'e' but not at me," Nik said.
Vai chuckled under her breath. "Sorry."
"What?"
"You're whining."
"I am not," he said.
"You are, you're whining and he's mourning his sister. Get over yourself."
Nik huffed back in his seat and stared out the window. The sun hung high over the city as they crossed the bridge. He probably was being unreasonable, and whiny. He should just take Zeph's abuse, be strong enough for both of them. The problem was, he didn't want to. He wanted forever to be like the moment he'd woken up to this morning.
