Hellfire and Brimstone

by Angela Roquet

  “You can’t fault me for the things I had no control over,” I said softly, wiping away my own tears with the palm of one hand. “I didn’t want any of this to happen to anyone.”

  Adrianna’s features went cold again as she cleared her throat. “Doesn’t matter. They’re gone, and you’re here. So I’m going to take the advice I wish they all had and stay as far away from you as possible.” She turned on her heels and stormed out of the garden, leaving me alone with what was left of those we’d both lost.

  I sipped my cider, trying to calm my nerves. It was lukewarm now, and the sweetness was almost too much after the bad taste Adrianna had left in my mouth. A gentle wind kicked up the leaves along the ground, spinning them around the scattered benches under the tulip trees.

  Saul’s bronze statue seemed less jolly than I remembered. Blank eyes stared down at me as I approached. I wouldn’t find any answers here. I knew that. But who else was I going to ask these questions? Even if Saul was alive, he clearly didn’t want to talk to me. At least, he hadn’t for the last hundred years.

  “Did I know you at all?” I whispered to the replica of my late mentor.

  A golden leaf floated down from above, landing on the wide brim of his hat where several others had gathered. In the evening light, it looked like a crown of thorns, and it inspired more answerless questions. Had Saul hung himself out to dry? Had his death really been at the hands of rebel demons in the line of duty? Or had he been mixed up in something more sinister with the likes of Vince Hare, the rogue reaper he had spared?

  The church bells at Our Lady of Immaculate Reception rang out seven times, announcing the hour. I was late for the poker game on the ship. I tossed my spoiled cider in the trash bin on my way out of the park and headed toward the harbor.

  Chapter 9

  "I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.”

  —Stephen Wright

  Kevin had done an amazing job renovating the ship. The seldom-used rooms below deck, the ones that Josie and I had been content to ignore, were really shaping up. The dining hall off the kitchen was especially nice.

  Vintage lanterns lit the space, reflecting off all the freshly lacquered woodwork that spanned nearly every square inch of the cabin. The row of windows that stretched down one side of the room had been polished and the hinges oiled, and the broken mirror behind the bar had been replaced. Kevin had also repaired one of the old tables and its matching set of chairs. The rest of the worn or damaged furniture was piled up in another room, waiting for a rainy day.

  If not for the addition of a flat screen, I was sure this was exactly how the room must have looked in its prime, when Grace O’Malley captained the ship. I envisioned her at the bar, a slew of pirates crowding ’round, throwing back pints as they hung on her every word. The history here was palpable, and I loved it. I knew Josie would have too.

  While there were no pirates to speak of, the poker table was full tonight, with three sets of wings taking turns fluttering like claustrophobic pigeons in a birdbath. Gabriel’s full-sized pair took up the most space, so Kevin and I had tried to balance the setting by taking the chairs on either side of him. Ross, the captain of the Nephilim Guard and Gabriel’s roommate, sat on the other side of Kevin, and between Ross and me sat Abe, my favorite dock guard, completing our motley crew.

  Gabriel shuffled the Death Deck as he eyeballed me. “Now that we’re all here—” he paused to clear his throat and shake out the sleeves of his white robe, “—let’s get this game underway.”

  Ross glanced down at his watch. “I have exactly one hour and forty-five minutes before I’m due in at the station.” He was dressed in most of his armor, save for the crested helmet he’d hung on one of the hooks near the bar.

  “Bummer,” Kevin said, fingering the rim of his Ambrosia Ale bottle. He hadn’t taken a single sip since I arrived, but I had a feeling that had more to do with Ross’s presence. He’d been the one to arrest Kevin when he’d been screwed up on hellfire, and even though Kevin was clean now, he’d retained a certain level of nervousness around Ross. He wore his work robe, and I suspected it was to hide a ragged band tee shirt beneath.

  Abe grinned. “I’m prepared to see this game to its brutal end. It’s my night off.”

  Gabriel smacked the deck down in front of Kevin for him to cut, and then he proceeded to deal. His eyes kept slipping toward me, and it took a minute before I realized he was fretting over my unusual silence.

  I couldn’t come right out and tell him what was on my mind, not in front of everyone else, so I decided to be extra interested in the pair of sixes I’d been dealt. I’d already tossed in a chip for the small blind, so I had to wait my turn to bid.

  The new Texas hold ’em setup was thanks to Kevin. The Muses Union House had reopened over the summer, and to show our support we’d hired them to upgrade our card nights with a fancy set of custom poker chips. The tokens were stamped with the Death Deck’s suit logos—lost souls for the white ten dollar pieces, scythes for the gray twenty-five dollar pieces, wilting daisies for the red fifty dollar pieces, and coffins for the black one hundred-dollar pieces.

  When everyone had tossed in their two lost souls and the betting circled back to me, I added a second lost soul piece to even the pot and then chucked in two black coffins. Either I’d bluff my way into some extra coin tonight, or I’d be out early and free to wander off with my troubled thoughts until I could get Gabriel alone.

  The hull of the ship creaked softly as the sea rocked against it, and a salty breeze slipped through the open windows. It was a perfect night, made only more perfect by the appearance of a young John Wayne, watching us from the muted television in his debut film, The Big Trail.

  I waited as everyone silently debated what to do with their hands. Abe folded, staying true to his plan to stay in the game as long as possible. Ross went ahead and matched my bet. Kevin too. Gabriel made a conflicted face before tossing his cards down. He grumbled and gave me the hairy eyeball before dealing out the first three community cards of the flop. I tried to keep a neutral expression as another six was placed face up on the table, along with a four and an eight.

  “All in,” I said, nudging my stack of chips forward with the backs of both hands.

  Abe’s eyebrows shot up. “Jesus in a jumpsuit! Boy, am I glad to be out of this round.”

  Ross rubbed his chin a moment and stared down at the cards in his other hand. He squinted at me, as if trying to determine whether or not I should be taken seriously. Then he sighed and folded. Kevin matched me without hesitation. Either he had a five and a seven in his hand, or he was as eager as I was to be pardoned from the game.

  Gabriel’s wings fluttered and he scooted closer to the table as he picked up the deck. “All right then. No more betting if you’re both all in. Let’s see those cards.”

  I laid my sixes down. The color drained from Kevin’s face as he placed a four and an eight on the table. Two pairs—or a pile up, as we called it when playing with the Death Deck—was a decent enough hand. Maybe not a hand that most would go all in with, but I’d seen it win a time or two. My own hand, a three of a kind slash drowning, wasn’t much stronger. But that’s why they called it a bluff.

  Gabriel dealt out the fourth and fifth community cards, and I was done for when another eight appeared, promoting Kevin’s two pairs to a better full house than my own.

  “Lost at sea!” he cheered.

  I shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Good hand.”

  I hung around for another few rounds, trying to be sociable, before excusing myself and heading up to the main deck for some fresh air. I sipped on an Ambrosia Ale as I absently checked over all the rigging and sails. Night had fallen fully by now, and the lanterns along the dock pier burned brightly, their white-hot light mingling with the golden glow from the lanterns scattered around the ship’s deck.

  In the distance, I could see the yellow treetops over the city park, the spotlights
surrounding the memorial garden reaching through the leaves. A few more blocks to the west, Reapers Inc. marked the peak of the cityscape, with its seventy-five floors of glass windows. Random lights were on throughout the building, making it look like a monster-sized Jenga tower.

  “Howdy, pilgrim,” Gabriel said as he joined me, handing over a fresh Ambrosia Ale. He clinked the neck of his bottle against mine and took a long drink before folding his arms over the deck railing beside me. “What’s on your mind?”

  That was the million-dollar question. The answer could have taken all night, but I settled for the most condensed version I could manage. “Vince Hare is alive.” I sighed and took a drink.

  Gabriel’s eyes widened as he blinked at me, the lanterns reflecting brightly in his pupils. He blew out a slow breath.

  “You didn’t know?” I squinted at him, trying to decide if he was genuinely shocked or faking it to cover for Saul. They’d been friends centuries before I’d come along.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I didn’t.” Then he frowned and finally looked at me. “How do you know for sure?”

  “I ran into him on the mortal side yesterday.”

  That drew an even bigger reaction out of him. His wings fluttered as he stood up taller and turned in a tight circle, taking another drink from his ale.

  “Grim sent Saul to take him out,” I added, instantly picking up on his lack of surprise. A bug tickled my cheek as it flew by, and I shooed it away.

  “I know,” Gabriel admitted, pausing to give me a meaningful look. “I know, and I thought he had.”

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

  Gabriel looked away and sighed again. “Vince was your classmate, and Saul didn’t want you to hold it against him. It was a direct order, and not one he was looking forward to carrying out. Obviously, since he didn’t.” He snorted and propped a hand on his hip through his robe. The gesture reminded me of Peter, but I bit my tongue rather than say so. Gabriel would not find that amusing.

  I turned and leaned my back and one elbow against the deck railing as I tilted my bottle up again. “Jenni doesn’t believe me—or rather, she’s worried about it getting back to the council.”

  “I bet.” He ran a hand through his mess of blond curls and gave me a sympathetic smile. “Ridwan might have failed at having you terminated, but he’s gaining ground with his campaign to have the Special Ops Unit dissolved.”

  “That figures.” I rolled my eyes. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I saw Vince yesterday, and he’s snatching up souls for some reason or another.”

  Gabriel frowned and tapped his bottle of ale against his thigh. It was nearly empty. Mine too. The conversation had driven us both to stress drinking, and we were no wiser for it.

  “Do you think Saul might be alive too?” I asked after a tense moment of silence.

  “No.” Gabriel shook his head. “I saw… what was left of him.” He swallowed and his eyes unfocused as his gaze dropped to the deck floor. “He was distant those last few years, and I wondered more than once if his death was as simple as the papers tried to make it sound.”

  “Simple?” I took a shaky breath, trying to decide what I wanted more. To know the truth or to hold fast to the righteous image I’d had of my mentor for all these decades.

  Another stretch of silence followed before Gabriel found his bearings again. “Let this one go, Lana. You’ve been under enough fire for one century.” His eyes drew up to meet mine, pleading. “You don’t have to solve all Eternity’s problems.”

  A dry laugh slipped from me. “It would help if those problems didn’t always land on my doorstep.”

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “Then don’t answer the door.”

  Chapter 10

  “To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods.”

  —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Everyone had turned in for the night by the time I made it home. The hounds were curled up together on the new doggie bed I’d ordered from Hades’ Hound House, and Bub was tucked in the enormous, king-sized bed in the center of our bedroom. Soft snores echoed off the vaulted ceiling as I slipped into a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top.

  When I crawled under the sheets and pressed my cheek against Bub’s back, curling my arms around his broad shoulders, he rotated in my embrace. His hands slipped around my hips and he pulled me in closer, crushing my chest to his. My heart thrummed happily, and I knew as long as every day ended like this, I could suffer through just about anything.

  Bub’s breath grazed my cheek, and then one of his hands cradled my head and our lips met.

  “Did you rob them all blind, my sweet?” he whispered as he pulled away.

  I trembled with a silent laugh, not wanting to wake the hounds. “I went down in a blaze of glory with my first hand.”

  “That’s unfortunate. I should have one of my winged minions help you cheat next time.” My breath hitched, and I noticed the corners of his mouth tighten in the faint light provided by the stars sparkling through the skylight overhead. The glimpse of the mortal world was an enchantment on the estate that had survived through the riots and destruction of the original manor, and it made me feel like we were trapped between the two worlds in a pocket of space made just for us.

  “Your minions were less subtle today,” I whispered, skipping right over the polite question I usually asked. I was too tired to play stupid.

  “I was trying to keep you out of trouble, love,” Bub said, rubbing a hand down my back. “Not that their gentle warnings did any good.”

  “I do what I want,” I replied. It was almost playful, but I’d meant it.

  Bub grinned. “This I know.” Then his eyes leveled with mine and grew serious. “But I do hope you’re being careful with whom you trust your secrets to. The council’s attention grows more dangerous all the time. We’ve both had close calls with their wrath, and I fear our luck will run out if we continue to test it.”

  I frowned and avoided his stare by tucking my chin over his shoulder, snuggling in closer. I didn’t want to argue. I just wanted the comfort of his warm skin against mine.

  Our hips knocked together, sending a fluttering sensation through my middle. Bub drew in a deep breath as if he had felt it too. He flexed his torso, angling his hips and then thrusting them against mine again, drawing an agreeable sound from me.

  I gasped as he gripped my arms and rolled onto his back, erecting me into the air above him. His fingers slipped under the hem of my shirt, sliding up until the material was bunched over my breasts and I shuddered blissfully. He laughed as I yanked the tank top off and threw it across the room. Then he pulled me down for another kiss before knotting his hands in the thin material of my shorts. I moved to take them off, but he held me in place, his lips trailing the side of my throat as I writhed against him.

  “Let me enjoy you, love,” he whispered. “We have all the time in the world.”

  I groaned in protest but let him take the lead anyway. I knew how this would end, if the anticipation didn’t kill me first. Bub was a master tease, and he loved to hear me beg.

  Making love to my skilled demon was always a good distraction from my worries. But a few hours later, after being thoroughly ravished, I found myself lying awake in bed. Yet again.

  Bub’s arm stretched across my stomach. His head rested on my shoulder, and his cool breath rushed over my naked chest, curling up the side of my neck. I combed my fingers through the shorter hairs at the base of his skull, stiff with dried sweat, and worried over the things I hadn’t shared with him yet.

  Some part of Naledi’s procedure had failed. She had to know this, and it angered me that she’d intentionally left my fate in such a volatile condition. Hadn’t I been through enough due to the details of my creation that I’d had no control over? She was the only one I could talk openly to about the unresolved matter, and I intended to visit her after work on Wednesday. There was just the trouble of getting Bub’s bu
ggish detail to buzz off.

  The other person I wanted to pay a visit was going to be a bit harder to track down. I cringed as I thought about the extra coin it was going to cost me, especially after I’d wracked my brain to figure out how to budget in the coin it would require to travel to the throne realm. It still didn’t add up to the amount it would cost to drag the hounds along for my harvests all day. Of course, I only needed Saul. Maybe Coreen could spend the day on the ship with the helljacks.

  My mind continued to race, waking me up off and on all night. So many faces haunted my dreams—Saul, Vince, Grim, Seth, Ridwan, Josie, Adrianna—the list went on and on. I felt entirely defeated when orange morning light washed the stars from the sky.

  I slipped out of bed without waking Bub and found my shorts and tank top before making my way downstairs to the kitchen. I needed coffee. Lots of it.

  The manor’s kitchen was decked out with all the newest gadgets and gizmos. It was a gourmet chef’s wet dream, but all I cared about was the coffeemaker. I was sure Bub had it all set up and programmed to kick on soon, so I went ahead and pressed the brew button and waited patiently for the machine to do its magic. I was rewarded a few minutes later with a steaming cup of dark roast. I added a generous amount of peppermint creamer and took the cup out onto the patio.

  Now that the daylight was returning, I could see the new developments in the garden. The landscapers had come as promised, and a stone wall outlined the perimeter. A walking path in matching stonework dissected the upturned earth, coiling and twisting in a labyrinthine pattern that Bub had designed himself. Now that the framework had been laid, he’d finally be able to start planting all the nightmarish seedlings he’d been harboring in our garage next to my motorcycle.