by G. P. Ching
In her ghostly form, Abigail raised a hand to her mouth to cover her gasp. The second temptation. Lucifer was planning to direct it toward children. She wanted to do something, to stop him or to alert the Soulkeepers, but she couldn’t even help herself. All she could do was watch and listen.
“What is your will?” Auriel asked, showing more teeth than necessary when she smiled.
Lucifer held up his index finger, the nail extending to a sharp point. “You and I, Auriel, are cut from the same cloth.” He ran his finger down the center of his chest, slicing it open to reveal a black, swirling mass where his heart should have been. Abigail squinted and thought she could see faces in the darkness, souls forever trapped, powering the ultimate evil. Lucifer used his razor-sharp nail to cut a wedge of darkness from the mass, then stabbed into Auriel’s chest.
The blond Watcher yelped in pain, her face twisting as the blackness wormed its way inside her. Black veins tangled under her skin toward her ear. Even through her illusion, Abigail could see her eyes wash red before fading back to blue.
“My second temptation is ignorance. Auriel, you are the vessel. Start with the Secretary of Education. Anyone you talk to will adopt your new curriculum: I’ve made you ultra-persuasive.”
“What is the new curriculum?” she asked.
Lucifer shrugged. “No math or science or language. Teach them the virtues of evil. The benefits of war. Greed is good. Prejudice is necessary. Doing evil is their entitlement.”
She nodded. “We teach them the truth. We teach them to think like Watchers.”
Lucifer grinned. “I want Watchers or the influenced running every school in the country. Go. Get started.”
Auriel bowed at the waist and backed from the room, letting herself out the front door. Lucifer waited until she was gone to turn on Cord.
“You failed me, Cord.”
“What?”
“You allowed the Soulkeepers access to Harrington. They know! They know now that I’m running the company, and if they know I’m running things topside, soon those imbeciles in the In Between will know. They could make things … difficult. All because you weren’t more careful with yourself.”
Cord bowed his head. It was useless to argue. Once the devil had your number, he wouldn’t stop calling until you picked up. “Yes, My Lord.”
With a grunt, Lucifer thrust his hand into Cords gut. Abigail had to look away. Cord cried out, a wicked, high-pitched howl that made her cringe. When she glanced back, Cord had lost his illusion entirely, his black scaly skin and leathery wings spasmed on the carpet in a puddle of his insides.
“You are not allowed to die, Cord,” Lucifer hissed. “You will suffer here until I say you may leave, and then you will pull yourself together, capture the nearest human, and heal yourself. And you will not be detected. Do you understand?”
Cord was unable to speak but gurgled in the course of his torture.
Lucifer blinked slowly and turned toward the window, sliding his hands into his pockets. With a deep sigh, he said, “Looks like it’s almost Christmas.” He rubbed his hands together.
It was a full hour before Lucifer freed Cord. Somehow, the Watcher, mouth gaping like a fish out of water, restored his insides to his abdominal cavity. He sewed himself up and hobbled toward the door, a weak illusion snapping into place.
Abigail sighed. God help the first human Cord came across in his current state.
* * * * *
Bonnie, Samantha, and Jesse poured into the Eden School for Soulkeepers, desperate to tell Malini what they’d learned. But it was Gideon who met them at the door. She grabbed him by the shoulders, meeting his eyes. “He’s here. They are all here!” Bonnie stuttered, panting from the run.
“Who’s here?” Gideon asked.
“Not here-here. Not in Eden. He’s topside. He’s running Harrington!”
At that moment, Grace jogged into the atrium, looking from Bonnie to Samantha. “Who’s running Harrington?”
Samantha ran to her mother and hugged her tight, but Bonnie hung back, trying to slow her racing thoughts. She needed to tell them what she’d learned.
“Lucifer,” Bonnie managed. “Watchers aren’t just influencing the executives at Harrington. Lucifer is Milton Blake. Cord and Auriel are also executives. He’s playing the game from Earth and Harrington Enterprises is his headquarters.”
Gideon made a sound like a cough and backed up a few steps. Grace’s eyes widened. “You’re sure? You saw this?”
“Close up. I posed as Cord. I was as close to the devil as I am to you,” Bonnie said, suddenly more aware of the wound on her face that kept drawing her mother’s eye. The pain had spread from her cheek to her neck and shoulder.
“You need to have that healed,” Grace said, releasing Sam from her embrace.
“Where’s Malini?” Bonnie asked, swaying on her feet.
“She’s upstairs. Stay where you are. You’re in no shape to climb the stairs. Archibald,” Grace said to the gnome, waiting in the shadows. “Please find the Healer and ask her to come here at once.” He blinked out of sight.
“We have to assemble the council,” Bonnie insisted. “The Watchers know it was me. Cord almost killed me. If it wasn’t for Ghost taking a pair of chopsticks to Cord’s jugular just in time, I’d be shredded.”
Grace crossed herself and approached Bonnie with arms outstretched, but her daughter wasn’t finished.
“And something else,” Bonnie said. “I don’t think Elysium was just about greed, Mom. I think Malini was right; it was one of the six temptations.”
Samantha agreed. “It’s the game. You should have seen the picketers.”
Gideon exchanged glances with Grace. “Malini and Dane’s mission failed. Lucifer didn’t retreat, he advanced.”
Grace nodded. “All this time, we were waiting for the signs. The signs were all around us.”
Abruptly, Ghost blinked into existence next to Gideon. “But think of the implications,” Ghost said. “If Lucifer is Milton Blake, he’s not living in Hell.”
Bonnie pointed a finger at him. “Yes! The secretary made it sound like Cord and Auriel meet him there regularly to talk about highly confidential stuff at his private residence. She said Cord should allow extra time to get across town. He’s living somewhere in the city, Gideon. And if I know Lucifer, he’ll keep his prize close. Abigail might not be in Hell after all. There’s a chance we can rescue her.”
Gideon took a step back, as if he’d been pushed. His eyes widened. “We have to go. We have to get her,” he murmured.
“We will, Gideon. If you can research Milton Blake’s home address in the library, I’ll go myself as soon as Malini gives the okay.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Bonnie saw her mother cringe. But after surviving today, Bonnie wasn’t about to lose her nerve. Abigail had been missing far too long. If she was still alive, they had to do something. It wasn’t just about Gideon. They all needed her. Abigail had forgotten more about the Watchers than any of the Soulkeepers had ever known.
“I’ll find the address,” Gideon said. “And names and pictures of every person in that building, including the doorman.”
Bonnie smiled stiffly, feeling woozy. The foyer swam, then tipped. Gideon caught her before her head hit the floor and a wave of pain rocked her body. Luckily, Malini arrived moments later, healing hand at the ready.
Chapter 15
School Days
“Jacob, you’re daydreaming again. You’ll never pass your physics final if you don’t review your notes.” Malini pursed her lips and tapped her finger on his notebook.
“Excuse me for being distracted. It’s hard to concentrate on physics when you’ve just learned the devil is CEO of an international conglomerate and in competition for human souls on earthly soil. We shouldn’t be here, Malini. We should be killing Watchers.”
A calculus textbook hit the table next to Jacob’s hand. “You guys might want to keep it down. I think I heard the word ‘Watcher’ half-w
ay across the cafeteria.” Dane plunked in the chair across from Malini, leaned back, and threaded his fingers behind his head. He closed his eyes.
“Not you, too, ” Malini said. “We’ve got to study. We get through these winter finals, and then we have all Christmas break to work. Gideon found ten properties owned by Milton Blake in Chicago. Abigail could be in any or none of them. After finals, we can search for her and hunt Watchers all holiday.” Malini angrily turned the page in her book.
“Who cares about finals? Abigail could be out there. The world could be ending,” Jacob whispered.
Malini huffed. “And what if it doesn’t? I’ve been accepted at the University of Illinois, Jacob. I have goals. If everything works out, I want to be ready for real life.”
Dane opened one eye to glare at her. Jacob rested his head on his fist. Neither said a word.
“Okay, that sounded crazy,” Malini muttered. “Of course college isn’t more important or more real than saving the world or Abigail, but damn it, I want to go. I want what everyone else gets to have. I want to sleep in a dorm and maybe join a sorority. I want to wake up late for class and ace the test anyway. I want to study in a library with more books than people until the wee hours of the morning.” She slapped the page of her open book.
Pulling back his chair, Jacob walked around the table and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his side. “You’ll have that, Malini. Somehow, when this is all over, we’ll have normal again.”
Dane cleared his throat. When Malini looked his way, he glowered at her and shook his head. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jacob,” he said. “Malini, you and I have been to Nod. You’ve seen the enemy. You’re the goddamn Healer! Life isn’t fair and you might not get any of the things you want. I might not either. All we have is today and knowing we are part of something that could change the world. So study if you want to, or don’t. None of us knows what’s coming next. Choose and have no regrets.”
Stunned, Malini sat up straighter, eyebrows shooting toward the ceiling.
“Hey, back off, Dane,” Jacob said.
But Malini grabbed his hand. “No, Jacob. He’s right. Life has no guarantees and I’ve never been promised normal. It’s time I get over it.”
“Malini—”
“Don’t. Sometimes we have choices and sometimes life decides for us,” she said bitterly. “Today, I’m choosing to study, because that’s how I want to spend my time. It makes me feel good knowing that if I do have a chance at my dream, I’ll be prepared. And if I don’t, well, I can always take my frustrations out on some Watchers.”
Dane leaned over the table to bump her fist. “That’s my girl.”
Jacob shifted in his chair but didn’t say anything.
The bell rang. First period. Malini stood from the cafeteria table and gathered her books. “Good luck, you guys.”
* * * * *
With the last oval filled in, Malini hunched over her AP history final certain she’d aced the exam. A few more hours and she’d be free, if you could call it that. Truth was, outside of school, the answers didn’t come multiple choice or in time-boxed essays. Things weren’t always right or wrong, or black and white. And there were no holidays from real life.
The door whined open and a tall, lean woman entered the room, wearing a red suit and heels. “Pencils down, everyone,” she announced, clapping her hands together.
Malini twitched. The rotting smell of Watcher permeated the classroom. She placed one hand over her mouth and reached for her phone to text Jacob.
“Excuse me,” Mr. Anderson said, standing from his desk. “I think you are in the wrong place. This is the advanced placement history exam. The students have thirty minutes left.”
“There’s been a change to the curriculum,” the woman said, tossing her brunette locks over her shoulder and batting her eyelashes.
“Uh, I don’t think so, miss.” Mr. Anderson bunched his bushy white eyebrows together. “Perhaps you have the wrong room? Can I ask your name?”
“There’s no mistake, and my name isn’t your business,” the woman said. “I’m your replacement. You’ve been fired.”
Mr. Anderson halted, face reddening. He approached the woman and lowered his voice. “Come with me. Let’s talk this over with Principal Bailey. I’m sure there’s been a mistake.”
“Principal Bailey has taken a leave of absence. He’s been replaced by Principal Pierce. You can go see her if you’d like.” She turned away from him, heels clack-clack-clacking on the linoleum as she paced to the front of the classroom.
Looking more than a little confused, Mr. Anderson pushed through the door, Malini guessed to sort things out with the new principal.
Malini’s first instinct was to leap over her desk and kill the Watcher at the front of the room, but that would be a bad idea for a number of reasons. First, even if her class survived the trauma of watching the woman fry beneath her touch, she’d out herself as a Soulkeeper to everyone. Second, if the Watcher had backup, she might be overpowered and taken. She was a Healer, not a Horseman, and was never the first line of offense. And third, Healers were hard to see. While she was incognito, she might learn why the Watcher was here.
“There is no need to complete your exams,” the woman in red said, clasping her hands in front of her hips. Due to recent changes in the state’s curriculum, this test will not be graded. You may leave for holiday break early. Reschooling will begin when you return.”
“Reschooling?” Amy Barger asked from the front row.
The Watcher smiled. “Yes. The state has determined that there is too much emphasis on learning facts, exercising logic, and creative problem solving in the classroom. The curriculum is being redesigned to better prepare you for life.”
“Like what?” Phillip Westcott asked.
“Like … like …” The Watcher seemed genuinely confused by the question for a moment. “Like how to make people want things and force people to do as you please.”
The students glanced around the room. Amy responded, “You mean, like entrepreneurship? Motivating people, marketing and sales.”
The woman in red giggled. “Or dictatorship. Maybe the benefits of slave labor. We will explore all of the options. I will expand your minds.”
A rumble of voices rose up as her classmates asked each other if this was real. Malini hoped Jacob read her text and was on his way, because she could hold her tongue no longer. “Is this curriculum change only for our school or every school?”
The Watcher’s eyes narrowed and focused on her. “Every school. What is your name, student?”
“My name is Malini Gupta, and I do not believe that learning how to control other human beings against their will is a worthwhile educational pursuit.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would.” She bared her teeth. “Would you join me in the hall, Ms. Gupta?”
“Hell yeah.” If there was one thing she could always count on from a Watcher, it was arrogance. This snake-skinned POS thought she could take on the Healer single-handedly! Malini smiled as she passed the red suit, never breaking her hate-filled glare as she led the way into the empty hallway.
Red suit followed her, facing off down the rows of mustard yellow lockers. The door to the classroom closed behind her.
“A Soulkeeper. What a pleasure it will be to end you.”
Malini smiled. So that was it. This egotistical fallen angel didn’t recognize she was the Healer. She thought she was enough to take on a Horseman or Helper on her own. Malini would enjoy teaching her a lesson.
As Lillian had shown her, Malini stepped backward into a fighting stance. “What are waiting for? End me.”
The Watcher attacked from straight on. Malini dodged to the right, punching with her left hand, her healing hand. The sizzle, when her knuckles hit the Watcher’s cheek, filled the hallway with sulfur stench. The woman whirled, one hand clutching her burnt face, the other lashing out, talons breaking her illusion. Malini caught her hands, threade
d her fingers with the Watcher’s. She gave her a focused dose of Healing.
“Who are you?” the Watcher squealed as the burn advanced up her arms, bringing the Watcher to her knees. The red suit faded away, as did the human skin, and the shiny brunette hair. Flames licked up the creature’s shoulders, burning higher around its ears, scorching Malini’s skin in the process. She didn’t let go. She’d burned before, worse than this. She’d enjoy watching this snake fry.
The Watcher’s wings unfurled and slapped the tile floor in one last attempt to escape. Black blood sprayed across the lockers, and then the flames engulfed the Watcher.
Malini let go. One step. Two steps back. She watched the incineration, smiling. When she reached the water fountain, she carefully washed away the burn on her arms and splashed water over her face. She used the bottom of her shirt to pat her eyes dry. Crap, she’d have some explaining to do when she got home. One sleeve was gone, and scorch marks permanently marred the pattern on the front. She sighed and turned back toward the classroom
The students had moved into the hallway. White faced and open-mouthed, they stared at her and the pile of ash that smoldered in the middle of the hall.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said.
At that moment, Dane and Jacob burst into the hallway. Dane was covered in wounds and soaking wet. Jacob was unharmed but looked as if he might be sick at any moment.
“School’s been compromised. We’ve gotta get out of here,” he blurted, then seemed to notice the Watcher-shaped bonfire and the gaping students.
“I know,” Malini said sadly. “I’ll grab my stuff. There will be more. I’m willing to bet the new principal has scaly skin.”
Jacob nodded.
As she passed the group of her peers, packed shoulder to shoulder for safety, and retreated into the classroom, she heard Dane clear his throat behind her. She glanced back to see him addressing the crowd. “Um, you’ve just witnessed the newest project of the experimental theater group!” he said in a bombastic voice, arms extended to his sides. “If you’re interested in joining, we will be meeting every third Wednesday after break.”
