“I know,” he said, and pushed her hair back. “Sorry it took so long. Are you all right?”
“I think so,” she said, seeming to understand he meant her mother. “It helps she’s still here.” She placed her hand over her heart, and Eli nodded.
“And she’ll stay there unless you give her and Diego to another or free them.” He stroked her hair. “Ready to check out?”
“Way more ready than I was to check in,” she replied with a smile.
* * * *
Amazingly, the car they’d stolen that first night was still sitting at the side of the dirt road he’d parked it on. Eli shook his head. “Damn. Didn’t think it was that hard to find.”
“Did you want them to find it?” she asked.
“I wanted to give them a chance,” Eli said with a smile, helping her into the Subaru. “The guy we got it from was nice. He deserves his car back.” He made a face. “Even if it is kind of bloody.”
Samantha stuck out her tongue. “She really screwed me up, didn’t she?” Her expression grew stormy.
“Yeah. Bitch.” Eli shook his head.
Samantha was looking at him as he sat in the drivers’ seat and guided the car onto the road. He could sense the silence, the building question, but didn’t preempt it. Maybe she would decide to drop it like before. Finally, she asked, “You seem to have some history with her.”
When would he learn? “Yeah.”
“What is it?”
Eli was silent for a long time, wondering if it was a good idea to say it. Samantha was patient, and never took her gaze off him, and in the end, that was why he opened his mouth and forced himself to start at the beginning.
“I married young. Eighteen–to my high school sweetheart. She was seventeen, but her parents were onboard and so were mine. We were just meant to be.” His lips tingled as he pressed them together. “We had five years together. It was the fifties, so we did pretty well by today’s standards. I worked hard, she worked hard, we made a great life. And then she became ill.”
He chanced a glance at Samantha. Her face was dark, but he didn’t think she was angry at him. Just unhappy with where the story inevitably headed. Neither was he, and they were on the smooth asphalt of the highway before he continued. “It dragged out. She’d get better, the doctors would say full recovery. Then she’d take a turn down, and we’d have three months together. Then back up to a year. Then next week. Then two years.” He shook his head. “It was awful.”
“What was she sick with?”
“Cancer.” He sighed. “The last time, she got very sick. We thought…any minute, she’d pass. But she pulled through, and the first thing she said when she opened her eyes was that she was so tired. She just wanted to get better or die, and dying was starting to look like the better option.”
Samantha leaned back against the seat to watch the road, practically empty even at noon. Eli knew she wouldn’t let him stop, so he carried on. “I became desperate. I begged a higher power to help us, to save her, at any cost.” He cleared his throat. “Cyrene walked in that night, disguised as a nurse. She said my wife would make a full recovery…if I signed my soul to walk the world as a Damned.”
“Why didn’t she just harvest you?” Samantha asked.
Eli shrugged. “A soul has to be desperate to damn itself. Really, particularly desperate. It’s rarely something that happens on one’s own account, but more often for someone else in one way or another. Positions open up often enough, recruitment is pretty steady.”
Samantha frowned, and then nodded.
“Of course, my beloved having just admitted she’d rather kill herself than suffer relapse after relapse…I said yes.” Eli shook his head. “Becoming a Damned isn’t fun. It isn’t even a neutral feeling. You are…destroyed, from the inside out, connected with so much wrong in the world, and then lose half your mind. Its years before a newly Damned recovers their mind, usually. Your mother being the one to damn herself must have let her keep her focus. The moment I agreed to Cyrene’s deal, I pretty much lost my mind, disappeared and went on a rampage. With the souls I ripped away, it only made me more insane.”
“Eli,” Samantha whispered, shaking her head.
“No, it gets worse. Don’t interrupt or I won’t be able to tell the whole thing.” Eli took a breath. He could feel it shudder through his lungs. Had he ever told a soul about it? He clenched the steering wheel. “Cyrene was good on her word. My wife made a full recovery and walked from the hospital two days after I left. But I hadn’t died. There was no body. There was no evidence. As far as everyone knew, I’d checked into the hospital, forgotten to check out and run away.” He sucked on a lip. “She didn’t believe it though. For five years, her friends told her I’d just bowed to the pressure of her illness and left her. My family said I must have been kidnapped. Her family didn’t believe I’d left either, but they thought I must have been murdered on my way home.” His hands were starting to shake, and he re-gripped the wheel. “But the fact remained, I was gone. And slowly, it got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore. She begged a higher power to show me to her.”
He fell silent, unable to speak. He glanced at the speedometer, and forced himself to ease down from the ninety-five miles an hour he’d climbed to. Samantha was silent, but reached over and took his hand. He let out a breath, and the tension and pain which drew his soul tight eased. The pain somehow seeped into her. He wondered what she was doing, but her face was smooth and calm. It didn’t appear she even knew what she was doing. He took a breath, but she spoke first.
“Cyrene answered that call, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Eli said. “Yeah, she did.” He half-bowed his head, taking the wheel in both hands again. “You asked how I was so nice for a Damned. When Cyrene showed my wife what I’d become, my–” his voice broke in bitterness, “–slavering insanity…my wife immediately offered her soul to bring me back to myself.” He swallowed. “And of course, Cyrene took the deal. So I snapped out of it…just in time to see her smile before Cyrene ripped her soul from her body.” He blinked, but was unable to stop a tear from tracing down a cheek. “And because I’m sane, the memory can still hurt me.”
* * * *
Samantha stared at him, static growing in her ears. Eli, married? Cyrene in possession of that woman’s soul? She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, how it re-drew the lines of love around them. She turned away to give them both a moment. She didn’t want him to see the disappointment on her face.
She’d definitely never dated a divorced man, much less fallen in love with one. This was much worse than a botched marriage though, and while she didn’t want to admit how petty she was, it hurt she wasn’t the only one he’d ever loved.
Of course she wasn’t! He wasn’t the only one she’d ever loved either–how in the world was this unfair? But something about the sacrifices they’d made for each other, the tragic Gift of the Magi which Cyrene conducted for them, made her question. Was it enough? Was she enough for him, and he for her?
Eli cleared his throat. “Maybe I should have mentioned that…before we had sex?”
Samantha blinked, turned to look at him and could only sputter, “Um, yeah, but when?”
“The car ride?”
“Because I would have totally been listening,” Samantha retorted, “you know, going crazy, bleeding from every limb. I would have been completely coherent.”
“Your apartment?” he asked.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t love me ’til the ring broke?”
“Pretty much. I guess that rules out the coffee shop too, then.”
“I was about two seconds from siccing the cops on you. Not so much.” She paused, and then suddenly laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. “I guess I don’t have room to talk. Walking around with horns and hooves and skin like ivory… Being previously married shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”
“She’d like you,” Eli said, smiling at her. “You aren’t exactly the same, but s
omehow I think you’d make a great team.”
Samantha smiled, jealousy dissolved with his gentle teasing. “You’re just hoping I’ll agree to a threesome one day.”
“Maybe if I manage to kill Cyrene, I’ll ask.”
Samantha tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
Eli tilted his head. Samantha noted idly, his horns actually phased through the roof of the car. Useful trait, she thought as he shrugged. “What you did with Marie and Diego translates to the outer world too. I kill Cyrene, I receive all of the souls within her, including the Damned soul itself.”
Samantha nodded. “You’ll certainly have a chance in a few hours.” She grimaced. “At least I’m starting to feel better.”
“Good,” Eli sighed. “But let’s just keep putting it off, eh?”
“By all means.”
* * * *
Eli had to admit later, they ran damn well. After some sleep, Samantha managed to drive long enough to get them to the Canadian border, where Eli glamoured the guards into letting them through, and they just kept trekking north. She stretched and meditated as much as possible.
They were six hours past Toronto when Eli’s phone beeped. She glanced at the message. “Eli, it’s Francis.”
“Let me see,” he said. Samantha held the phone up.
PULL OVER AND MAKE A STAND. WE’RE AN HOUR BEHIND YOU.
He frowned. “He’s right. Time to find a cornfield.”
“A cornfield,” Samantha repeated, “I guess there’s nothing else.”
“You wanted something else?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She chuckled grimly. “Seems to me legendary battles should take place in castles, or vast forests.”
“Kind of short on both in Canada,” he pointed out, but smiled.
“Corn it is.”
They pulled onto a lot and left the car as far away as Samantha thought they could walk. If they made it out, she said, she definitely wouldn’t be in a shape to hitchhike. Eli nodded, but the set of his lips made her wonder if they had any hope at all.
Still, they were nothing if they didn’t try, so she took his hand in the middle of the cornfield and held it fast, tilted her head up to watch the sky. “Is there a devil?” she asked. “A Lucifer?”
“Yeah,” he said, dreamily. “But it’s not the same guy you read about.”
“It’s not?”
“Nah. He retires after a century or two. And by retire I mean someone gets sick of the bureaucracy and kills him to take his place.”
Samantha chuckled. “What about God?”
Eli was silent for a few moments. It was a nice thought. He wished he knew for sure. “I’d imagine so,” he finally said. “But I don’t have the inside information on him. Could be the same situation as down below.”
“Have you ever seen an Angel?”
“Yes.”
“What are they like?”
“Beautiful. Awe-striking. Terrible in their power.”
“Do they sing nice?”
“No idea.” He leaned over, kissed her temple. “Don’t worry. There’s no way you’re going under.”
“Mom said I was an in-betweener now. What’s that mean?”
“Think of yourself as an un-contracted mercenary,” he said, stroking her hair. He smiled. “You take all the risk, make all the decisions, take all the blame, but also get all the glory.”
She couldn’t help but smile with him. “Except for the bits that go to you for helping me.”
He kissed her lips gently, and she savored the way his hair slipped through her fingers, the softness of his lips, the way she could feel her soul singing with swelled possibility and strength, and the support of his soul beside her. “My glory rests with you.”
A howl sounded far off and they stepped apart again, keeping their hands joined. “Let’s do this,” Samantha murmured, and Eli only nodded.
There was a streak of red across the knee-high corn, and a scream. Samantha narrowed her eyes to try and focus on the blur and stepped forward. Trying to rush them? “Not gonna work,” she cried, and set a foot back, arm bent in front of her to meet the Damned woman head on.
Cyrene slammed into her, leaned forward and snarled into her face. “See you figured out some tricks,” she spat.
“Yeah,” Samantha replied, and heaved forward. Cyrene jumped back, tossing her hair.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re going to die and we’ll balance the scales.”
“Not a chance, Cyrene,” Eli said, stepping up beside Samantha.
Cyrene gave them a look, her eyes going wide. She threw her head back and laughed. “So that’s how you’re alive. Oh Eli, you simpering child.”
Samantha growled. “Shut it, twat whistle,” she snapped. “Let’s settle this.” She lunged at the other woman, raising fists instead of the nails which Cyrene brought up like spears. The Damned laughed as Samantha fended her off, but was unable to land a single attack.
“You think it’s about us?” she hissed as she crouched and jumped at Samantha. Samantha dodged, and Cyrene slashed in, locking arms with Samantha. “Oh no, girly. You’ve caught the administrative eye. Not only for your power, but for what you know.” She glanced at Eli, smirking.
“I wasn’t going to give in to your torture anyway,” Samantha snarled. “And right now, this is between me and you. I’ll take you on, and then move up.”
“Confident, isn’t she?” Cyrene mutteredas Samantha blocked a kick and dodged another punch. “Let’s see how long that holds, shall we?”
Samantha wasn’t even breathing hard, but she was beginning to worry. Cyrene hadn’t landed a hit, but neither had she. How long before Cyrene got reinforcements? They fought silently for several minutes, each unable to dominate the fight.
Eli watched the fight closely, and Samantha could feel him studying their moves. She knew he could fight too, and if she got on the defense and he the offense, maybe they could stop Cyrene. So she moved to give him an opening, and he jumped on it.
Cyrene laughed. “Took you long enough,” she cried, turned and kicked Eli viciously across the field. “Don’t rely on him! He is beyond weak, beyond idiotic. That was your first mistake, girl, bonding yourself to him. You could have become something if you’d come with me.”
“I already am something,” Samantha snarled, and moved to put herself between Cyrene and Eli again.
“Never mind, you can’t seem to fight me properly,” Cyrene chided, laughing. “Your defense is fine but… oops!” She feinted and slipped past Samantha. Suddenly next to Eli, she lifted him from the dirt by the throat. “Look what I found, all discarded and dirty,” Cyrene crooned, dusting off Eli’s pants. She laughed as he struggled, and Samantha stepped forward. Eli! How could she have forgotten Eli? “Don’t move,” Cyrene called, beaming and waggling Eli around for her to see.
There was a caw, and Cyrene’s crow lofted in, landed on Cyrene’s shoulder. “There you are, pet,” she said, and scratched under the bird’s wing. The beady-eyed animal glanced at Eli then Samantha, and screeched, opening a view to the inferno within.
Samantha’s clenched her jaw. “Let him go.”
“Why?” Cyrene laughed. “You’ve got nothing on me and I, everything on him.” She leaned in. “Come on, Eli, wouldn’t you like to join your beloved? You have told the girl about her, right?” She eyed Samantha, who looked on stone-faced. “Darn, you have. Still. You know she’s in here, don’t you? So close, yet so far beyond reach?” Eli’s face twisted, but his voice was stilled by Cyrene’s hold on his throat, and so he could only glare at her helplessly. Cyrene chuckled merrily. “Yes. You know. I keep her very close, Eli. She’s one of my favorites–always so ready to scream for me–”
“Bitch,” Eli choked out, swinging his arm at her, but Cyrene batted it aside, grinning at Samantha who stood twenty feet away, unable to work out how they could possibly get out of this.
“Come on, girly. Where’s your confidence? At least give saving your lover a try, won’t you? H
e’s not going anywhere.” She sighed whimsically. “He was so easy to entice, weren’t you Eli? Standing in a hospital room, begging me to sign you up.” She chuckled. “It was almost too easy. I almost didn’t do it, but you were so perfect for the job. It’s a pity she brought your mind back. You were shaping up to become one of the greater ravagers, but her sacrifice castrated you, tossed you into the scavenger’s ring.”
Eli writhed, choking as she tightened her hold and kicking at Cyrene uselessly. His eyes rolled, lips forming curses unvoiced. Samantha longed to contest her words, to leap to Eli’s defense but knew it would just be hot air, a fruitless contest of words leading nowhere. This fight wouldn’t be settled with words.
“Come on,” Cyrene murmured invitingly. “Let’s do it, girl.”
Samantha set her shoulders. “Fine,” she snarled. “Let’s do it.”
She leaned forward, shot at Cyrene as fast as she could, but was knocked aside without pause. Unhurt, she whipped around and tried again, only to be foiled again. When she raised a fist, Cyrene shoved Eli forward, and Samantha was forced to back off. “I don’t know what he sees in you,” Cyrene chided. “You seem to have the worst of the races–the souls of a Damned, the idiotic poise of an Angel, the hesitance of a human. Who cares whether you keep those souls if you can’t use them!”
A voice roared from the left. “Because she gives us hope!” As Samantha reached in to try to grab Eli directly, the voice boomed between them and Francis appeared, using his clenched hands to hammer at Cyrene’s grip on Eli.
Cyrene screeched in anger and pain, dropping Eli to the ground. Francis grabbed him under the arms. “Hammy!” he shouted. The hell hound leaped over him to Samantha’s side, snarling.
For a moment, Samantha was too shocked to do anything, but then Cyrene lunged forward at Eli and Francis, and Hammy head-butted her. “Damn dog!” Cyrene shouted as Hammy bit at her leg. She tried to kick him off, but the hound was already back at Samantha’s side.
“I thought that was the point,” Samantha said, recouped and jumped in front of Eli and Francis’s retreat before Cyrene could recover. “Hi, Hammy.”
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