Black Wings
Page 25
“I am not certain that Lord Lucifer ...” he began.
“Look, can we just follow the spirit of the law right now? I need to be alone for a minute.”
Indecision warred in his eyes, and then he relented. “All right, Madeline. For now.”
I plopped on a bench in front of the donut shop and waved at Gabriel as he took up a post directly across the street. My wings emerged, and I winked out of sight.
I had to wait only a few moments. He’d been expecting me.
“Hello, James,” I said, as a young man with floppy blond bangs and almond-shaped eyes sat down beside me.
“You said you wouldn’t let the monster eat me,” he said.
“And I didn’t.”
“It almost ate you.”
I thought of staring into Ramuell’s gaping maw, hearing the cries of the dead souls inside him. “Yes.”
He shivered and rubbed his ectoplasmic hands over his ectoplasmic arms. “I don’t think I want to stay here. Too many bad memories.”
I smiled at him. “I know just the place to take you.”
Beezle was furious with me for going on an adventure without telling him. He also had a cut above his eye. It turned out that Nathaniel had knocked Beezle around a little in order to get him to reveal that Gabriel and I had gone to Greenwitch’s. Nathaniel’s treatment of Beezle killed any pity I had briefly felt for the angel. I redoubled my vow not to marry the jerk under any circumstance whatsoever. Then I popped a double batch of popcorn for Beezle and spent some time cuddling with him on the couch while he ate.
Gabriel disappeared downstairs as soon as we got home. A couple of hours later, after Beezle had returned to his nest on the roof, the half angel knocked on the back door and walked in through the kitchen. I got up from the sofa and put my arms around him, breathing in the apple pie smell of him and wishing he could stay with me forever.
“I am so happy that you’re alive,” I said into his shoulder.
“As am I,” Gabriel murmured. “My heart nearly stopped when you told the tale of your battle with Ramuell.”
I held on tight for a few more moments, trying to stretch it out. I knew what was coming. He pulled away from me and kissed my forehead.
“Madeline, we cannot pretend anymore,” he began, and I covered his mouth with my fingers.
“Don’t,” I said lightly. “Just don’t say it. I’m Lucifer’s granddaughter, after all. Who knows what might change in the future?”
His look told me that he didn’t think very much would change at all, but he gave a little shrug and released me, stepping back to the door.
“I’m not giving up on you,” I called after him.
“And I,” he said, giving me a very small smile, “would not be so foolish as to bet against you.”
J.B. came by a few hours later, after I’d showered and napped and was standing in the kitchen contemplating take-out menus. He looked like he’d been through hell. He collapsed in my comfiest chair and tilted his head back, closing his eyes.
“What’s the deal?” I said.
“The upper brass don’t know what to think. I didn’t want to tell them about you and your mission ...”
“Thanks,” I said.
“. . . but I did tell them I thought the creatures that attacked the office were demons. They had no other explanation so they accepted it. They’ve been rushing around researching demons and trying to rebuild the wards.”
“J.B., why weren’t any of the deaths at the Agency presaged? I figured out why Ramuell’s murders weren’t, but what about Antares and the other demons? We should have known that Antares and his pals would attack.”
He shrugged. “The big guys at the top have been pretty close-lipped about that. Best I can figure is that since our system didn’t know about or recognize demons, then the seers couldn’t either. I’m not really sure how that works.
“The cleanup has been a total nightmare. We’ve convinced the city and the press that there was a gas leak that caused hallucinations and explosions, and that it was related to a similar incident on the north side at Clark and Belmont. On the positive side, I’ve been promoted. It seems the regional manager was eaten by some kind of glob monster, and several of the survivors credited me with heroism during the battle.” He smiled grimly, his eyes still closed.
“So you’re not my supervisor anymore,” I said, not knowing what else to say. It didn’t seem appropriate to congratulate J.B. for a promotion that came at the expense of someone’s life.
“No,” he said, and opened his eyes. “So this means that I can finally ask you out on a date.”
My mouth dropped open. In a week of surprises, nothing could have shocked me more than J. B. Bennett asking me out.
He took in my expression, smiled a little and then shifted around to get more comfortable, closing his eyes again. “You can answer me later.”
Something occurred to me. “J.B., have you been monitoring Agents with your secret powers?”
He smiled sleepily. “Not all the time. And not all Agents. Just you.”
By the time I came out of my stupor, he had fallen asleep. I covered him with a crocheted afghan and brushed a lock of hair away from his forehead.
A movement in the side window caught my eye. I glanced up and saw Antares hanging outside the window like a very ugly suncatcher. He licked the window. The acid on his tongue burned through the glass.
I flipped him the bird. He narrowed his eyes at me and bared his teeth. I deliberately turned my back on him and started to tidy the room. When I looked back, he was gone.
Beezle flew in the front window. “Antares was here,” he announced.
“Yep, I caught that,” I said.
Five days ago I was just an Agent. Now I was the daughter of a fallen angel, the great-granddaughter of Lucifer himself. My half brother was still running around trying to figure out a way to kill me, and apparently I’d pissed off Ariell’s son as well. I was engaged to a total asshole and magically bound to marry him, I was in big-time lust with a man who was forbidden to love me, and my boss had just asked me out. There was only one thing for me to do.
“Want Chinese?” I asked Beezle.
He pumped his tiny fist in the air. “Pork dumplings!”
So we had pork dumplings, and noodles, and stir-fried chicken. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.