She snorted. “Which time?”
“The first time.”
Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, why?”
I shifted my head so I could look into her eyes while I talked. “I asked ‘What if I need you?’ when you told me that there were people on this Earth who needed me. I meant that, you know. If you had decided not to die in my place, I would’ve gladly remained a poltergeist instead of returning to heaven like my brothers.”
Surprise flooded her features. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Because even back then, when I had only known you a few days, I knew that you were worth an eternity of displacement. As long as I could be beside you, it wouldn’t have bothered me. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. I thought I fell in love with you when we kissed for the first time, but I was wrong. You’ve always had this ability to draw me to you and that’s something that will never change. I would turn my back on the world for you.”
Jordan closed her eyes. “Please don’t say that, Michael.”
“It’s the truth. Your mother told me that everyone is allowed to have a weakness, and my weakness is that I’m selfish. Irredeemably so. I’m sorry.”
She opened her eyes and tears fell as she touched my cheek. “Stupid jackass.”
I smiled. “Love you too.”
She let out a weak, shaky laugh and kissed me. I felt a small piece of her return to normal and it gave me enough peace to fall asleep with the taste of her lips on mine.
It was dark and raining when I woke up. Automatically, I reached in front of me, but Jordan’s side of the bed was empty. I opened my eyes. The clock read one a.m. I’d been asleep for around five hours, which was largely due to jet lag. I yawned and tilted my head towards the bathroom, checking to see if she was in there, but she wasn’t. The bedroom door was open, but I couldn’t see into the kitchen from this side of the mattress.
“Jor?” I called in a hoarse, sleepy voice. No answer. She must’ve gone out. Maybe down the street for a late night snack. All this traveling meant we were low on food.
I took a shower and got dressed before heading into the kitchen to get a snack. Right after downing half a carton of orange juice, I found a note on the counter in Jordan’s handwriting.
“Michael,
I love you more than I could ever try to explain. Never forget that. And I’m so sorry for whatever happens in the future. I hope you can forgive me someday, but I will understand if you don’t. Take care of yourself, mi amor.
Jordan”
My entire body went cold at once. Her cell phone sat next to the note. She never left her cell phone, no matter where she went. Something was terribly, terribly wrong here.
I forced myself to stop panicking and closed my eyes, stretching my energy out as far as it would go. After our souls were tied together, I could sense her within a certain range, but as I pushed my energy to its absolute limits, I couldn’t feel her presence anywhere. She wasn’t at my apartment, or the restaurant, or any of the local bars or clubs.
Where the hell had she gone?
Chapter 22
Jordan
I HAD NEVER known this much vomit could come out of one person.
Someone knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you okay in there?” A concerned female voice. The lone flight attendant.
I spat a mouthful of saliva and stomach acid into the toilet before replying. “I-I’m fine. Just…air-sickness, that’s all.”
I hovered over the toilet bowl for another handful of seconds, but the nausea seemed to have passed for now. I flushed it twice just to be as clean as possible and rinsed my mouth out in the ivory sink. For years, I’d had anxiety problems related to hospitals and doctors, but this problem was new. I had never gotten so nervous or upset that it made me throw up. Then again, my near future was about to be full of things I hadn’t done before.
I opened the door and the flight attendant, an older woman, white, late fifties, cast a concerned look over me from head to toe. “Are you sure you’re alright, darling?”
I nodded. She gave me a kind pat on the arm and continued towards the front of the plane to speak with the pilot. Nice lady. I hadn’t expected such hospitality on Belial’s private jet.
The differences between his and Gabriel’s jet were interesting, to say the least. First off, Gabriel’s color scheme had been white leather seats and a burgundy carpet while Belial’s was all black and grey. Daunting. Then again, that was just his style.
Secondly, while Gabriel’s plane boarded at major airports, this one had been on a small airstrip practically in the middle of nowhere. Just as well. Belial probably needed to sneak out of the city at odd times and in places where there weren’t many security cameras.
I plopped down in my seat and placed a hand over my stomach, hoping its emptiness would get rid of the sick feeling, but it didn’t. After all, it was psychological. I had never done something so wrong that every inch of me felt ill. First time for everything.
To distract myself, I checked my watch. It had only been four hours since take off. I had an hour and a half before we’d land. Michael would probably be just waking up by now. I closed my eyes. Calm down, Amador. I had to stop thinking about him or I’d never be able to eat again.
The jet was of course Belial’s idea. He had contacted me in my dreams again with instructions, just like he promised. I took out a load of cash and caught a cab to the airstrip he’d named and then boarded the jet bound for Lexington. If we hadn’t been in a time crunch, I would have ridden a bus because it would have made it far harder for any of the archangels to find a trail to start searching for me.
Still, there was one advantage of a plane instead of a bus. I had a tail. The FBI tagged Michael as a suspicious character so by proxy, they had to monitor all of my movements as well. If I’d ridden a Greyhound, they could easily have had someone follow me. The plane left them with no idea where I’d be heading since we were flying under the radar. We suspected I would only be under direct surveillance until the rogue angel was sentenced and safely imprisoned. Afterwards, everything else would be monitoring calls and checking for suspicious activity in my bank account.
The rogue angel had been confirmed leaving São Paulo at four o’clock p.m. yesterday, which gave us a window of opportunity. His flight would be around fifteen hours so I’d definitely beat him to Lexington. After he got on the ground, the authorities would escort him to prison while he awaited his trial for the murder of Danny Bowen. In the meantime, Belial was going to give me the rundown on the operation and do his best to prepare me for it. After all, waitresses weren’t exactly knowledgeable about breaking people out of the backs of police cars. Not even ones from New York.
The hardest part of the flight was not falling asleep. Michael, Gabriel, or Raphael could track me if I fell asleep within range of their energy. Consciously, they wouldn’t be able to feel me, but when asleep, their powers can reach farther. That was how I had been able to contact Belial from an entire country away. It meant I would have to work on my mental shields to keep them from detecting me before we caught up with the rogue angel. Still, I didn’t know where that left me if I successfully got the rogue angel to help me. He would have to go back to prison, or die by the archangels’ hands to pay for his crimes. Would they forgive me? Or did my actions make me too untrustworthy to work with them anymore?
Another wave of nausea rolled through me and I closed my eyes, breathing slowly. I needed to focus on something else or I’d get sick all over again. I reached into the backpack under the seat and pulled out the first book I laid my hands on. Didn’t matter what it was as long as it kept my mind busy.
At last, we landed in Lexington. I gathered my things, keeping careful watch as I shuffled off the jet. I stepped into the cold air outside, shivering and buttoning up my leather jacket as I glanced about the airstrip. It was half past one in the morning so the entire place was empty except for my ride—a dark blue SUV. I walked towards it, reminding myself to re
main calm.
When I came up to the driver’s side, the tinted window rolled down and I found myself looking at a brunette teenager.
“You Jordan?” she asked, cracking bubblegum between her teeth.
“Yeah.”
She jerked a thumb behind her. “Hop in.”
Trying not to frown, I brushed my energy across her body and confirmed that she was one of the Fallen. I opened the door and climbed in, tossing my suitcase on the other seat.
“Aren’t you kind of young to be a demon?”
She adjusted her rearview mirror before heading towards the end of the strip to pull onto the road, her voice strangely energetic considering the time of night. “Aren’t you observant?”
She had a point. “Sorry. I’m just not used to this sort of thing.”
“No one ever is.” The SUV pulled onto the street.
I had expected to pull up to a cheap motel, but the girl drove us to a Waffle House instead. Strange choice for breakfast, but I wasn’t one to complain. My stomach wouldn’t be stable enough for food any time soon.
She hopped out of the driver’s seat and I did as well, lifting an eyebrow at her.
“Didn’t know demons had a taste for cheap truck-stop breakfast.”
She flashed me a grin. “Grab your stuff, Seer, and follow me.”
Confused, I retrieved my suitcase and followed her inside the already packed restaurant. When we entered, she walked right past the waitress and nodded to the chef, who waved her back towards the manager’s office. She opened the door and I walked in after her, biting my lip to keep from asking the obvious question hanging over my head. I’d already sounded like an idiot enough today.
The windowless office looked normal with a desk, a bookshelf, and a ficus pushed against the right corner. To my surprise, she walked over to the plant and tugged upward on its trunk. A floor panel in the left corner of the room opened, revealing a narrow flight of stairs. Without a single word, the demon started descending and I followed her.
She led me into a fully furnished basement that looked like it had belonged in a rustic lake house somewhere. The walls had wooden paneling that complimented the plush tan carpet. A kitchenette with a fridge, sink, dishwasher, and stove sat against the left wall, and several feet along that same wall was a flat screen television and towering bookcase. The far wall had a dresser and nightstand. A king-sized bed was pushed against the wall to my right and beside it were two doors separated by about three feet.
Belial stood in front of the bed as we walked over. I had prepared something scathing to say, but then I noticed that the T.V. was on some sort of Nicktoons kids’ show. When Belial stepped towards us, I could see a small dark-haired girl with coffee skin seated on the bed, enraptured by the cartoon. Yet another question sprung into my mind, accompanied by a strong sense of disapproval.
Belial smiled at the expression on my face. “I take it you didn’t have a pleasant trip.”
“No S-H-I-T,” I said through my teeth.
The demon chuckled, turning his attention to my teenaged escort. “Well done, Mary. Here you are, as promised.”
He reached into the pocket of his black slacks and withdrew a sizeable stack of bills. It looked to be over five thousand dollars. Maybe I should work for him.
Mary flipped the bills through her fingers as if mentally counting them and then popped her gum one last time. “Pleasure doing business with you, Bels.”
She winked at him and sauntered off. I moved closer to Belial, keeping my voice down.
“Who’s the kid?”
“My daughter.”
I stared at him. “Um, not to be cold, but why is she here? It’s incredibly dangerous.”
“The danger of the situation is exactly why she is at my side. If the rogue angel does have an accomplice out there, she’ll be safe with us.”
“Don’t you have millions of minions at your disposal? There’s got to be someone more qualified for this than an archdemon and a Seer.”
“Careful. I may seem like nothing but a murderous traitor to you, but I am more than capable of both protecting and caring for a child. Not that I’d want to, mind you.”
I smacked him in the arm. “Don’t say that in front of her.”
Belial rolled his eyes. “She speaks little English. I’m safe.”
Just then, the girl appeared at his right side, tugging on his pants leg. Portuguese and Spanish shared a few similarities so I was able to make out that she was asking him for a snack. He replied in some sort of positive manner and she smiled, and then noticed me for the first time. She asked me who I was and I answered using the only bit of Portuguese I knew: introduction.
“Meu nome é Jordan. Muito prazer. O que é seu nome?”
“Juliana.”
“Ah, muita bonita.”
“Obrigada.” The child nodded, then ambled towards the refrigerator for a snack. It was nearly impossible to tell she had any of her father’s traits. She was adorable.
When I faced Belial again, he was smirking at me, which made my smile vanish.
“What?”
“The maternal look isn’t bad on you, Seer,” he said, and then reached for me.
Automatically, I stepped back only to realize he was trying to take my suitcase. Blushing, I let go and he took it, shaking his head at me but not bothering to mock my reaction.
“Why is there only one bed?” I asked. “Because I tell you right now, I’ll sleep on the floor before I sleep anywhere near you.”
“So hostile,” the demon said with a sniff. “We’re already metaphorically in bed together. I don’t see much of a difference.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He chuckled, gesturing towards the first closed door on my right. “That is the guest room, where you and the child will be sleeping. Besides, you won’t be getting much rest as we have to prepare for the breakout.”
A streak of nervousness ran through my body—a cold, uncomfortable sensation. “Right. Sounds like fun.”
He grinned. The feral expression made me shiver. “Tons.”
Belial faced Juliana, catching her attention with a snap of his fingers. He told her something that sounded along the lines of “Be a good girl while Jordan and I are in the other room” and crooked a finger at me as he opened the door to the guest room.
Inside, I found another large space with a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, television set, and dresser, but this room also had a round oak table and three chairs.
Belial tossed my suitcase on the mattress and shut the door, which made me jump yet again. My nerves were shot. I needed to get past this or we’d both get killed.
“First things first,” he said, sitting at the table and waiting for me to follow. “You will have to obey my orders to the letter if we want this to work. Is that understood?”
I glared at him as I sat down. “As long as they’re at least pretending to be in my best interest, yes.”
“Fair enough. What we’re trying to accomplish here is simple. I’ve pulled similar jobs, but the difference here is that you’re inexperienced for such highly sophisticated operations.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Why do I feel like I’m in a movie trailer for a heist film?”
He rolled his eyes. “My point is that this will be unlike anything you’ve ever done before, so it is imperative that you think and react as quickly as possible, and most importantly, without your usual morality.”
“You’re asking me to be more immoral? Wow. That’s…” I sighed. “Fine, keep going.”
“The rogue angel will be in one of two types of vehicles: an armored car with FBI agents or U.S. Marshals as guards, or a police car. There will most likely be between four and six officers escorting them on motorcycles or other cop cars. Our task is to isolate them, confuse them, and then strike.”
He held up one long finger. “First, I’ve organized a riot in another part of the city. This will occupy all the officers who are not on this escort and therefore, the party wil
l have little to no back up if things go sideways. Second, we’re going to block their route so that they are forced to take one that is more beneficial to us. Third, we trap and confuse them. Once they’re neutralized, we’ll go in for the rogue angel.”
“Will we have back up?”
“Not really. I wasn’t able to round up many followers in this area since we are in the middle of Kentucky Fried Nowhere. I know you’re familiar with basic firearms, but in this case, we’re going to have the big guns so you’ll need practice.”
I bristled. “I’m not going to kill innocent officers who are just doing their jobs.”
“If we do this right, killing won’t be necessary. You’ll be laying down cover fire since we both know you don’t like getting your hands dirty.”
“They’re dirty enough,” I mumbled, self-consciously rubbing my palm against the smooth leather of my jacket. The cool cloth helped me calm down, but I knew it wouldn’t for long. I missed the familiar fabric of my grey duster, but I’d left it at home for a reason. I didn’t deserve to wear it any longer.
Belial opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.
“Where will we be headed after it’s done?”
“A motel. After that, we have to stay mobile since we’ll have the feds and your archangels on our trail.”
“Fine. But I also have something to say.”
He cocked his head to the side. “And that would be?”
I gave him my coldest stare. “I know you’re going to betray me somehow. It may not be tonight or tomorrow or the day after that, but I’m not stupid. You have your own agenda and it’s entirely possible that you’re going to try and manipulate me into releasing the Leviathan. But I promise you that if you’re foolish enough to do it, I’m going to kill you. It won’t be like the last two times we’ve fought. I’m going to stab you in the fucking heart. Is that clear?”
Belial leaned in close until his face was inches from mine and his nicotine-laced breath brushed my cheek.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 231
