The Tome of Bill (Book 6): Half A Prayer

by Gualtieri, Rick

  “Sorry,” Sheila said.

  Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t gotten a chance to change my clothes yet. The cracked remains of the ceramic body armor absorbed at least some of the impact, making it just bone-jarring instead of bone-shattering.

  “What happened?” Tom asked, ignoring me and rushing toward the apartment. How comforting to know I had roommates who cared. Brought a tear to my eye.

  Ed likewise raced past where I was stuck, embedded into the wall panels like some sort of modern art. At least I wasn’t on fire this time. Guess Sheila’s control really was getting pretty good after all.

  Grumbling something nasty under my breath, I used my arms for leverage and heaved, freeing myself.

  I got back to my feet just in time to hear Sheila say, “It’s okay, guys. We’re fine.”

  “Then why were you rushing out?”

  “I wasn’t. I was opening the door. Figured someone would be coming down to check.”

  “And blowing me up?” I asked.

  “You surprised me,” she replied sheepishly. “Bad timing.”

  “Story of my life.”

  “Okay, so what’s going on, then?” Ed asked.

  She stepped aside to let us in just as Christy emerged from one of the bedrooms.

  “That was on me,” she said, dusting herself off. “My bad.”

  “Are you okay?” Tom stepped up to her, grabbed her by her shoulders, and spun her around as if doing a half-assed medical exam.

  “I’m fine. It was just a little magical feedback.”

  “A little?”

  “The building is still standing, isn’t it?”

  “Where’s Sally?” Ed and I asked in unison, both of us sounding a bit more than just curious.

  “She’s fine,” Christy replied. “I was working with her, doing a little probing to see if maybe I could break the mental blocks Alexander erected.”

  “And that resulted in what...her blowing up?”

  “Relax, Bill. It was just a reaction...kind of like playing with a microphone and getting feedback through the line.”

  I raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Okay, maybe a bit more than that, but it sometimes happens when opposing forces meet. I had thought it was just a wall of sorts in her mind, something cutting off a part of her memories from the rest, so that’s how I tried to hit it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit more complex. He didn’t just cause her to forget her past; he made her forget her association with all of us. The problem is that she hasn’t spent all her time twenty-four/seven around us, so some of her recent memories are fine. She knows who she is and a good deal of what’s been happening. In short, he didn’t erect a wall as much a series of them all woven throughout her brain. It’s pretty damn impressive.”

  “That’s wonderful to know, but how is she?” Ed asked.

  “She was confused and a little angry. She doesn’t remember who we are, so she doesn’t trust us.”

  “Assuming she trusted us to begin with,” Tom commented.

  “Speak for yourself, meatsack,” I replied jokingly, then stopped myself. “Wait, what do you mean she was confused?”

  Christy put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t want to get gutted. I mean I’m worried about her, but I’m not stupid. So as a precaution before we started, I sorta knocked her out. I figured her subconscious mind might be more receptive to not lashing out. She’s in there resting comfortably.”

  “Can I go see her?” Ed asked, the worry evident in his voice. I was tempted to follow his lead but still wasn’t sure how to tread through that minefield.

  Things were more complex than ever. To have feelings for two women...both of whom now, oddly enough, were under the same roof, was bad enough. That my roommate had eyes for one of them was gonna be tricky. Either way you looked at it, we had some onerous ground to tread in front of us.

  Christy nodded. “Just don’t disturb her. I have a feeling when she wakes up she’s gonna be cranky.”

  He walked into her room alone, leaving the rest of us in the living room. Sheila shut the front door and joined us. “Do you think you can break through whatever he did to her?”

  “Hard to say,” Christy said. “I’m good with mind magic, but vampiric compulsions can run deep, and Alexander is insanely strong. I have a feeling it’s going to be touch and go - me trying to drill small holes to get her to remember. There is some hope, though.”

  “Oh?” I asked, glad to hear something positive for a change. “Spill. There’s been too much bad news as of late. Lay on with the good.”

  “She’s a smart girl. She knows she’s missing pieces and wants them back. That she was willing to let me try, despite her mistrust, is a good sign. Also...” She hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting between me and Sheila. “…when I was in her head, I sensed some...powerful emotions.”

  “Sally’s never been one to do things in half measures,” I pointed out.

  “Tell me about it,” Tom replied, eliciting a chuckle. Barely a meeting between them had gone by where she hadn’t threatened to gut him or worse.

  “There’s a lot going on in there. Hate, anger, fear...but plenty of positive stuff too,” Christy said.

  “Like?” I asked.

  She again hesitated. “Just complex thoughts...girl stuff. Anyway, the point of the matter is it’s powerful.”

  I snapped my fingers, getting where she was going. “And strong emotions can sometimes overcome compulsions. I’ve seen it before.” Of course, I’d never seen it with a vampire as powerful as Alex, but I held out hope that it wouldn’t hurt in her struggle to become herself again. We’d need her. Facing Vehron with Sally by my side was still terrifying, but a lot less so than going it alone - even if figuratively.

  Sheila would be there too, but...well, I had to grudgingly admit she had a life, one that apparently didn’t include me. As much as I would always love her, I wouldn’t be the barrier that stood between her and happiness.

  All of this assumed we would survive, of course - yet another thing to weigh down my conscience.

  “Why don’t we all go in and check on her?” Christy suggested.

  “Yeah, who knows what Ed is doing in there to her by himself,” Tom joked.

  “Not if he wants to keep living.”

  “But what a way to go.”

  The four of us laughed, but when Christy turned to open the bedroom door, I hesitated. She and Tom stepped through, but I stopped in front of Sheila and said, “We’ll be in there in a sec.”

  Christy nodded, but Tom’s eyebrows raised. He looked as if he was about to say something dickish, but Christy - thank heavens - grabbed his arm and dragged him with her, letting the door shut behind them.

  “That afraid of her?” Sheila asked jokingly.

  “Yeah, pretty much. But I just wanted a moment.” I turned away and stepped toward the couch, an even uglier affair than the one in our apartment. This place had formerly been occupied by an older couple - one with shitty taste, apparently.

  I placed my hands on the back and leaned against it. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to say, but figured I’d let my mouth do the talking and try to keep my brain in neutral lest it take over and turn me into a blithering idiot. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

  She took a step toward me. Thankfully, there was no corresponding flash of white fire. Odd that I’d almost come to expect it. “Sorry? For what?”

  “For almost getting you killed.”

  “What? You didn’t...”

  “That whole freaking kangaroo court.” I turned to face her. I needed to talk fast before I lost the nerve. “All of that back in the bunker, it was my fault. I led them to you. My precautions weren’t enough. I should have left you alone, let you live your life, but I couldn’t. Once I found out you were alive, I had to see you - make sure you were okay. It was stupid and selfish and I only realized that once it became clear you were fine. So you can blame me. I fucked it up, just like I seem to fuck ever
ything up. Hell, the world is ending and you might as well blame me for that too, because yep, that one’s on me as well.”

  Yeah, I was rambling. I could tell by the confused look on her face. I’d probably given one bizarre confession too many to make sense.

  “You didn’t lead anyone to me.”

  “Yeah, I did. I found you, them bam...just a short while later, they had you in cuffs.”

  “Short while? That was months. I don’t know what you think you’re blaming yourself for, Bill, but it was my fault, not yours.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true.” She threw up her hands and paced before me. “I got sloppy. I didn’t see a single thing out of the ordinary for weeks after you left...no vampires, no anything. The problem was, I got antsy. I kept thinking of the sword, sitting there in the closet - thinking I should be out there using it.”

  “The sword I brought to you.”

  “It would have happened anyway. I was getting twitchy. The truth is, I like going out at nights - helping people. I tried to deny it, but it’s there, nevertheless. Being what I am...it’s weird, but it changes you. You don’t look at things the same way. A quiet night at home is nearly torture once you know what the world is really like. The sword was just an excuse. I started going out on patrol again...at first, just here and there, but soon all the time. And I stopped taking precautions, not caring if others saw me or that I was getting mentioned nearly daily on the evening news. Didn’t you see any of that?”

  “Not much television in Vegas these days.”

  “Vegas?”

  “Long story.”

  “Well, apparently, other vampires pay their cable bill on time. They set up a trap and I walked right into it. There was no one to blame but myself.” She stopped and looked down at the floor, shaking her head.

  I was almost afraid to ask the next question, but I did anyway. “Did Robert get away?”

  “Huh?”

  “Robert. They didn’t...kill him, did they?”

  I half expected her to collapse into tears at his name, cursing that she’d ever had the misfortune to meet me. The Draculas could be a heartless bunch when they wanted to be. I had little doubt they would have used a loved one against her, then disposed of him like rotten meat when they were done.

  To my surprise, though, she burst out laughing instead.

  “I have no idea. He dumped me.”

  * * *

  Sheila explained how things weren’t the same between them after my visit. How Robert had grown distant...uncaring, as she put it. A few weeks later, he broke it off, asking her to move out.

  “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

  I kept my mouth zipped shut. Bringing up my little compulsion didn’t seem like the smartest thing in the world. Even so, I felt bad knowing that, despite her beliefs, I had definitely screwed up something in her life.

  “I think maybe he sensed I had unfinished business elsewhere.”

  “Wait, what?”

  She stepped forward, closing the gap between us. Then, before I could act like my typical self - aka puss out and find some interesting knickknack to look at on the wall - she reached out and took hold of both my hands.

  I was sure they were sweaty enough to make the Creature from the Black Lagoon wince in disgust, but she didn’t even flinch.

  “I think it’s time we cut the crap, Bill.”

  “It is?” My voice registered in my ears, but to me, it was like I was talking from the other side of a bad telephone connection. I was barely aware I was saying anything at all.

  “Yeah, we have a lot to talk about, and I don’t think either of us has any clue what the days ahead will bring, so I...”

  And of course Tom picked that exact fucking moment to open Sally’s door and stick his head out. “Jeez, get a room, you two.”

  I loved him like a brother, but right about then, I could have gladly gone all Cain on his Abel of an ass. “What the fuck do you want?” I hissed.

  “Sally’s waking up. Come in here and say hi.”

  I looked Sheila in the eye and she shrugged as if to say, “What are you gonna do?”

  Yep, if that didn’t sum up the entirety of our relationship, I didn’t know what did.

  * * *

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit. How the fuck do you think?”

  “Sorry. What I meant to ask is do you remember anything new?”

  We were standing in the small bedroom, pretty cramped now that all of us were gathered around the bed. Sally was sitting up on it, looking about as cranky as usual, but otherwise, she appeared to be in pretty good shape - physically, at least.

  Tom stood next to Christy, but I had maneuvered so that Ed was between me and Sheila. In the back of my mind, I was telling myself it was because I didn’t want to get distracted from my friend’s plight, but a small part of me wasn’t sure. It was safe to say that, despite the aborted conversation from moments earlier, nothing was going to get sorted out for the time being.

  “I remember lots of things, just not about any of you.”

  “Oh.” I turned and saw my friends were all thinking the same thing. Fuck! This was not going to be easy.

  “But I feel like I should,” she added.

  “What?” Ed and I asked simultaneously.

  “Dude, do that again and you’re buying me a beer,” he said. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Exactly what I said, fleshwad,” she replied. “It’s like I don’t know who the fuck any of you are, but at the same time, I do. It’s hard to explain. All I know for sure is I could use a case of aspirin.”

  “Let me guess,” I replied, “and a bottle of tequila to wash it down.”

  She actually smiled at that. “Sounds like a plan. Just make sure it’s not the cheap shit.”

  We all shared a chuckle at that, but then she got serious. “Hey, Freewill...”

  “It’s Bill.”

  “Whatever the fuck. I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out with Mark.”

  “Not a problem. Making sure assholes get what they deserve is one of the small pleasures in life.”

  “Mark?” Christy asked.

  “Yeah, Sally’s ex. Real piece of work...”

  “Wait,” she interrupted, holding up a hand. “He’s still alive?”

  “Not after we were done...”

  “Hold on,” Sally said. “You know Mark?”

  “Yeah, from back when he took Kara...” She stopped midsentence, her head whipping toward Tom. “Cara...mel, I mean. That time he ordered his favorite drink, a caramel latte.”

  “Mark didn’t like caramel...”

  “Yes, he did!” Christy snapped at her. “He loved them. You just don’t remember.”

  “O-kay.”

  “Never trust a monster with a taste for shitty coffee,” Tom remarked, blissfully clueless.

  That was a close one. On top of everything else, I wasn’t quite ready to spill the beans on his sister.

  “Shitty or not, I could go for a cup,” Sheila commented.

  “We might have some upstairs,” Tom replied. When I glanced sidelong at him, he grinned. “What? I never claimed I didn’t like the occasional shitty beverage.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Sheila said.

  “Okay, why don’t you all go get some,” Christy suggested. “I’m going to work with Sally for a little while longer, then I think we all need some rest.”

  There were nods of consent all around. A cup of overly sugared Joe, a long shower, and then passing out for several hours sounded like heaven to me after the past few days.

  “Honey, would you mind bringing me down a cup?” Christy added.

  Tom shrugged as if to say “whatever.” He was apparently used to being an errand boy to satisfy his girlfriend’s needs.

  “One for me too, meatbag,” Sally said, smiling.

  I grinned. It was only a matter of time before she tried becoming master of this little makeshift coven.


  The others left the room, but I hesitated for a moment, my grin faltering. Thoughts of both Village and Pandora covens swam through my head, including what we’d lost. Starlight was gone. James was a shell of his former self. Dave was missing. Tom’s sister was thousands of miles away - her fate in the hands of someone I hoped Sally was right to trust.

  The truth was I’d had more than enough. I didn’t want to lose anyone else, especially someone I really cared for. What Alex had done to Sally ate at me, for him to so casually erase what she and I had - and to do it for no reason other than to spite me.

  Christy must have read my face, probably not needing any magic to do so. She smiled at me before sitting down at Sally’s side. “It’ll be okay, Bill. I swear by the White Mother I will do everything I can.”

  “I know you will.” I turned away, wanting to believe she’d succeed.

  I was just closing the bedroom door behind me when something she said struck a chord - stopping me in my tracks.

  “I’ll be up in a bit,” I said to the others as I turned back.

  “Don’t be too long.” Something in Sheila’s tone made me silently vow not to be. God, just to share a cup of coffee with her again without something blowing up between us...

  First things first, though, before I forgot again - not that I was likely to forget my adventures in the sewers beneath Vegas anytime soon.

  “Listen,” Sally said with an eye roll as I reentered the room, “just because I want my memories back doesn’t mean I’m inviting you in for a threesome.”

  Christy’s eyebrows shot up at that.

  “Relax, bitchzilla.” I turned to Christy. “Remember how I told you that symbol on my arm looked familiar?”

  “The Enochian, yeah?”

  “Angelic script?” Sally asked.

  “Ancient Magi, actually,” Christy corrected.

  “Whatever,” I said. “Anyway, that thing you just said about the white chick...”

  “The White Mother.”

  “Yeah, her. It reminded me where I’d seen that stuff before.” I reached into the front pocket of my body armor, where I’d deposited my phone while still underground and...and pulled out a piece of charred plastic. “Fuck.”