“It was an accident. I thought that I'd forgotten the soul again.” Helena groaned and sidestepped my head, walking over to stand next to me. Her eyes were full of concern and an extraordinary amount of guilt.
“God Ginger. I am sorry. This is all kind of my fault.” Levie's wings perked up, and his head swiveled dangerously towards her. “Liam had been kidnapping some of our clients. We threatened him and ... uh ... kind of murdered his Dad.” I raised my eyebrows. Ah, the stair comment she had made suddenly clicked. The ancient, all powerful vampire had been shoved down some stairs and killed. Kind of anticlimactic. “Ever since it's been a virtual back and forth blood bath. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of it.” Levie growled menacingly at her. I scrambled to my feet so that I could watch him.
“Levie, don't.” I stepped in between the two of them, though it was more symbolic than anything else considering the fact that they could both pass through me if they wanted. Helena wrinkled her nose at the monkey's paw and stepped back.
“What are you doing with that?” Her pupils were shrinking back to normal rapidly now that her nose was filled with monkey meat instead of blood. I took a polite step away from her.
“We're going to resurrect me.” She bit her bottom lip and adjusted the purple and orange Oompa Loompa shirt that she was wearing.
“With an Infernix product? You guys sure are desperate.” I turned towards her so quickly that I lost hold of the monkey's paw. It went flying, and she ended up catching it with a horrified expression on her face. I held out my hands, and she dropped it back in.
“Infernix?” Another growl from Levie. I sighed and dropped the subject. I had more important things to worry about at that moment. Dia giggled and offered Helena a martini, which she took and sipped.
“Ginger and I are going to rescue your clients together. Aren't we Ginger?” I gave her a look that tried to communicate my distaste for her drunken raving. It failed to process. She continued blabbing. “Those psycho vampire fucks are going to be soooo sorry when we get to them. Aren't they, girl?” Helena raised an eyebrow and Marji joined us in the living room, perching on the back of Dia's couch.
“Good luck with that.” Helena shook her head and sighed, sitting down on the love seat that I'd been craving so strongly. She didn't seem to notice my look of longing. “Liam and Nathaniel are dead and their business is going into bankruptcy, but there's still no sign of the genies. Who the hell knows what happened to them?” I opened my mouth to thank her for killing my would be rapist/mother murderer when something else popped out.
“How is the sphinx?” I asked without meaning to. I actually missed his presence. Even if he was full of useless knowledge and also my previous jailer. Helena smiled, her fangs poking out over her bottom lip.
“I think he misses you. He's been so mopey since you died.” My lips twitched. I was pleased to hear something positive for a change. “He'll be happy to trail you again when you're alive.” My lips twitched again, this time in a more southerly direction.
“Thanks for the reminder,” I snapped. Helena glanced up at me.
“We have a business to run, Ginger. Just like Hell Inc. Just like Infernix. We can't just let this go. But you have a genie now anyway. Just unwish your wish and I'm sure Hahti will call it even.” I looked over at the drunken Dia and wondered if she was capable of anything right now.
“Can't,” she slurred, considerably less coherent than she'd been several moments ago. “Need to rest.” With that, she passed out into Marji's ugly gold and white tasseled decorative pillows.
“I guess I don't have any magic left for her to use,” I said, hoping for an elaboration by one of the three supernaturals in the room. No one commented. I sighed and checked on Levie. He was still scribbling away, brow furrowed in thought. Why did wishes have to be so specific? Didn't magic have any common sense?
“Well,” Helena said, rubbing her hands along the legs of her skinny jeans. “I was just coming over to check on you. Complaints in this area have risen to an all time high and Hahti wants results now.” She paused and worried at her lip with her fangs for a moment before speaking again. “And I just want to apologize if any of my clients have been ... less than kind lately. Apparently, there's some blog online about you. It gives all of your personal information: name, address, photos, names of friends and family, cup size. It was posted by someone under the screen name CynCyn76.” I almost dropped the monkey's paw. Or rather it almost passed through my hands as I lost concentration.
CynCyn76? Who else could that be other than Cynthia, Terrence's friend. Or whatever the hell she was. If Terrence was an incubus, she was probably a troll. I still needed answers on that particular problem, but they would have to wait. Again. It seemed like my questions were being put on hold a lot lately. It was frustrating as hell.
Then I remembered. Erin. Shit.
“Oh my god!” I clasped a smelly hand to my mouth and almost gagged. “Erin!” I stumbled forward and fell through the coffee table. Marji leaned down and tried to help me out and up, but her hands kept passing through my shoulders. I waved her away and struggled to my feet.
“The fairies. They have my friend, Erin. They kidnapped her.” Helena stared at me for a moment before recognition registered across her features.
“Ah. That chubby, unfortunate girl is your friend or ... ?” She gave me a lecherous look. I almost puked again. God. Maybe Marji was right about throwing up. But the thought of Erin and me? Eww. It wasn't that she was a woman, it was just that she was, well, Erin.
“My friend, just a friend,” I said, noticing Levie's eyes were on me again. I ignored him. “Is she okay?” Helena nodded and chewed on the end of one of her long, purple fingernails.
“Yeah. Well, she's a little hysterical. We're keeping her for observation. You'll need to come and pick her up.” I groaned. Great. What was I going to say by way of explanation? Sorry Erin, a wish of mine went a bit awry, and you had to pay for it. My bad.
At least she was safe. It was one less thing to worry about.
“Ginger.” It was Levie. Everyone but Diamokina, who was still passed out, turned to look. “It is ready.”
The instructions on the piece of paper that Levie handed to me were monumentally more difficult than the ones that Dia had given me. The monkey's paw had to be controlled much more carefully because of the devilish nature of the thing. For that reason, I was scared. So much so that I allowed Levie to hold one of my hands while I rehearsed it. It was written like a legal document. Detailed bits of jargon that specified even the tiniest detail. Despite what Marji had said, Levie had a talent for this.
I gave him one last worried look before I began. He smiled encouragingly and squeezed my hand. His was warm and sweaty. He was nervous, too. Great. I released his hand and tried to hold the shaking notepad still.
“I wish that the human corpse lying immediately in front of me was restored to its former state ... ”
The words took up several pages, and if the Felix clock on the wall was correct, it took me a whole twenty minutes to complete the damn thing. After I'd spoken the last word, I felt my knees go numb. Good sign.
My arms went next and the familiar sequence helped to keep me calm as my vision readjusted from Levie standing next to me, to his black boots being several inches in front of my face. My body was cold and heavy and my face was stuck to the rug by a mass of congealed blood, but I was alive and it felt great. I hadn't realized how dulled my senses had been when I was a ghost. Even if I was uncomfortable as hell right now, at least I was alive.
Levie sat down next to me and stroked reassuring fingers down my back while I waited to regain control of my limbs. His hands were much more comforting than Dia's had been, and I felt my skin respond to his touch. It was a little embarrassing that the first thing my body did when restored to life was to get wet and ready for sex, but I didn't have much control over it. At least not yet.
Fifteen minutes later and I was sitting up, propped against a decorativ
e side table and sipping on a juice box. I was ravenous, but my jaw wasn't working well enough to chew food yet, and I had a knitted afghan around my shoulders for warmth. I wouldn't let Levie sit next to me anymore. Not just because he made my body crazy but because I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. We were not together. I wasn't going to let this go so easily.
Helena had left shortly after I'd first begun to move, citing business reasons, and Marji was in the bathroom with Diamokina, trying to make sure she didn't throw up on any of her stuff. This left Levie and I alone together for the first time since his parents' house. It was awkward, to say the least.
Levie spoke first, breaking the silence.
“I want you to ask me what you will. I want to answer your questions so that I can assure you that I never meant to use you. I love – ” I interrupted him before he could utter that particular phrase again.
“Why can't you guys just go out and date like normal people? If Guardians can see demons, then I don't see what the problem is.” Levie leaned back against the table, and I could the nervous heat radiating from him. I hoped he wouldn't set anything on fire. We'd already trashed Marji's condo enough for one day.
“They can see them, but it does not mean that they do. Many choose to repress the ability with drugs or merely through their own denial. And Ginger.” He reached a shaking hand into the pocket of the odd chain mail and leather shirt that he was wearing. He pulled out a box of cigarettes. I was surprised since I'd never seen him do it before. It must have been the stress. I smacked his hand.
“Don't do that.” He put them back and took a shuddering breath. His orange eyes were searching my face, but I purposely avoided them.
“Ginger, Guardians are few and far between. Hell Inc. is in business because we have many methods of tracking them down. My uncle matches a caseworker with the best possible client. He has a talent for matchmaking.” Levie looked at me, an almost shy expression on his face. “Our match was not by accident. My uncle believed that we would do well together.” I suddenly felt shy and turned my face towards the front door while he continued. “But I have been matched before.” A wave of jealously rode through me before I was able to gain control of myself. I kept my face away from him. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me like this. “I did not like any of my other matches. So we did not ... ” He paused. I really didn't need him to finish his sentence. I had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about. Once the relation is consummated, the two shall be bound together for this life and the next. Levie, lacking all tact, continued. “We did not have sexual intercourse.” I whirled back around to face him, my juice box falling into my lap and my cheeks sanguine.
“Okay! Okay! I know.” I grabbed the juice box again and stabbed the straw into my mouth. Why couldn't he realize how difficult this was for me?
“The main purpose of this is, of course, to produce offspring, but Ginger ... ” He reached a now smoldering hand out and grasped my upper arm. “I do not care about that. My uncle can disown me as he did his own son. I do not exist solely to produce heirs for him. Now that I have found you, I am loath to let you go.” I pulled away from him and tried to stand up. My legs failed me, and I ended up right in Levie's lap.
Our eyes met, our faces inches apart, and I felt my body go crazy. There was a parade between my legs that was hard to ignore, and suddenly my mind was overwhelmed by all sorts of rationalizations of why it was okay for me to just forgive and forget and jump right in the sack. Hey, you sold your soul expecting to have to work in Hell for several centuries. Would it be so bad to spend those centuries screwing a sexy demon who makes you hornier than a sixteen year old boy? I think not.
I swallowed nervously and closed my eyes reflexively. Levie's lips met mine, and it didn't take long for him to part them with his tongue. It started slow, but soon we were worrying at each other's mouths like we were trying to go inside. I adjusted myself on him so that I was straddling his rapidly growing erection. I wanted to fuck him. The impulse was intense, and I was having a hard time controlling myself as his hand slid up the back of my shirt and he pulled me tighter against his chest. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately since I was trying to hate him, we were interrupted by a giggling scream.
“Oh, wow! You two sure are going at it!” Dia chortled, stumbling down the hall. She seemed much less drunk than she was earlier but then, she'd been really drunk. I climbed off of Levie's lap, praying that my legs would hold this time, and dropped the afghan across his crotch.
“Leave me alone, Dia, you alcoholic.” Dia screeched with laughter as Marji shoved her out of the way.
“Your damn genie puked all over my shoes. I demand a refund. I helped you. Now give me back my monkey's paw and get out.”
Levie and I supported Dia as the three of us tromped down the walkway outside of Marji's house. I had been hoping Dia would have recovered at least enough magic to get me a Geo if not the yellow Lamborghini that she had promised, but since we'd had to replace Marji's shoes, she was burnt out again. I guess I'd be walking around the city trying to find the group of lost genies. How heroic. I wished silently (because you know what happens when I do it aloud) that we had more information about the whole situation so that I could use one of my Hell Inc. wishes instead. Alas, I could never be that lucky.
“God Dia, you're probably the worst genie ever. Why can't you be more like the blue dude in Aladdin?” Dia scowled at me and spit on the sidewalk in front of my feet.
“That movie is so racist. How dare you even bring that up.” She jerked her arms away from us and steadied herself. She seemed to come down off of the booze fairly quickly. As long as I kept her from drinking more than one drink every fifteen minutes, I figured she'd be okay.
“Where is it exactly that we're going?” Dia ignored me and continued swaggering down the sidewalk. Levie and I exchanged a glance, and I smiled. I couldn't help it. He smiled back.
“Does your previous behavior mean that you have forgiven me?” he asked, taking a step towards me. I shook my head and started walking backwards in the direction Dia had gone.
“Nope. It just means that I'm thinking about it.” I thought I was being coy; I really did. Until I tripped over something and landed hard on my ass with a string of sailor inspired curses.
The sphinx stared back at me and immediately decided to put his two cents in.
“What has two legs in the morning, four at night, and two again come morning?” I glared at it and refused to respond. Levie tried to help me, but I was too embarrassed to look at him. I struggled clumsily to my feet.
“What do you want?” I growled at it. It growled back, and I remembered. That's right. I was still under surveillance. I sighed and then noticed a small canister hanging from his neck. “Is this for me?” I asked, untying the ribbon and removing a small piece of paper.
Please come and retrieve your friend or we will be forced to get rid of her with another method (a much less pleasant one). -3rd Century Realty.
The message was followed by an address. I rolled my eyes. I'd forgotten about Erin.
“Shit.” I handed the paper to Levie. He read it and handed it back to me.
“I do not see any problem with a small detour to pick up your friend,” he said to me.
“But I do.” It was Dia, stomping one silky, white, slippered foot at me. “You said you'd help me. A deal is a deal. And besides, if you piss me off now, who's going to reverse your stupid wish? Hmm?” I frowned at her. God, being a Guardian sucked. I so did not want a genie. I wondered how I was going to get rid of her after this was over.
“I can't just leave her there.” Dia was shaking her head, white ponytail flopping, even before I'd finished speaking.
““Look girl, this won't take long. We'll just go see if my friends left any clues at the dead vamp's office and then head over and get your friend. I'll reverse your wish, and you can drop off this smelly, old sphinx." The sphinx snarled at her, his pleasant face melting with rage. Dia stuck her ton
gue out at him. I looked to Levie for support, but he just shrugged his shoulders. His big, muscly, delicious shoulders. I rubbed my temples and tried to think.
I bent down next to the sphinx and smoothed a hand down either side of his mane. He became visibly more relaxed, his eyes half lidded. “Would it be okay if we just did this one, tiny, little thing first?” He nodded.
“What comes first, the feeding of an army or the feeding of the people?” Great. He seemed to understand.
“Alright then, Dia. Show us the way.”
Dia didn't exactly know where we were supposed to be going, and we ended up taking several side streets and back alleys before we came to the building. Nathaniel and Liam's operation had been run out of a high-rise on the outskirts of the downtown area. It took up an entire city block but was less than impressive with the peeling gray paint, boarded up windows, and the healthy selection of flowering weeds taking up every possible space in the bordering flower beds.
I didn't know if this was the same place that I'd been taken to before, but if it was, the inside was going to be substantially nicer than the out. The few still intact windows were dark, and it didn't look like there was much going on inside, but Dia was insisting this was the place.
I let her do what she wanted (maybe if we found a clue, she'd perk up and stop being such a bitch) and followed her to the front doors. She paused, one orange hand resting on the handle. “You got company, girl.” I turned quickly, expecting something bad. Instead, I found myself elated to find the yetis clomping down the street towards us. It was like one of those old romance movies, you know, where the main characters run at each other and slow motion.
“Gyabidapa!” I shouted, horribly butchering the name. “I'm so happy you're here!” The yetis stopped several feet away from us and glared suspiciously.
“Where you go, Ginger Malloy? We look everywhere for you.” I thought about explaining, but it was a rather convoluted story.
Hell Inc. Page 25
