Dark Wings Descending

by Lesley Davis

  *

  “So let me get this straight. Your father was an angel. He fell in love with your mother and fell to earth, losing his angelic status. He then became a demon who could take on human form, moved in with her, and they created you.” Rafe’s mind sifted through all the fantastical information Ashley had given her. “You displayed your particular talent early on and your mother couldn’t cope, so she left you with your father. He, in turn, worked his way through a line of mortal females who couldn’t resist his particular brand of angelic/demonic charm until he found a woman who kept him on a short leash and he fathered another kid with her.”

  Rafe sat back on the old deck chair that was placed on the roof of Ashley’s apartment block. The location afforded her a grand view of the run-down area and beyond. In the distance, Willis Tower stood tall, its dual antennae looking eerily like horns reaching heavenward. Noticing this gave Rafe pause for thought. They sat eating take-out burritos, neither seeming to notice the cold air that surrounded them high up on the roof. “Ashley, to be honest, your folks sound like some weird and wacky country-and-western song. Something along the lines of, My daddy was a demon and my mama was a woman who took the devil by the horns.”

  Ashley nearly choked on her mouthful of food. “Thank you, now I’m going to be trying to fit those lyrics to music in my head.” She wiped at her mouth with a grin. “He was a lover with an incredible wandering eye. He spotted my mother and, damnation or not, nothing was going to keep him from her.” She edged forward in her seat as something on the street below caught her attention. “Oh, the drug runners are out again.” She sat back and reached for more food.

  Rafe shot upright and tried to pick out faces. “I’m too far away to get a proper ID.” She reached for her phone. Ashley’s hand stopped her movement.

  “I promise I’ll tip off the police the next time they’re around here so they can come collect them.” She pointed to each one of the five men below, picking them off. “He’s the ringleader. I can get an address for you since he’s a neighbor. Newbie, newbie, regular customer, and ringleader’s bodyguard.”

  “You haven’t called this in before?”

  “I’ve got more important things to deal with than folk dealing in mind-altering substances.”

  Rafe sat back, but her eyes never wandered from the transaction taking place below. It chafed at her not to do anything about it. “I could just call it in. It wouldn’t take me a minute.”

  “But the paperwork would, and the disturbance would be detrimental to the area tonight. I don’t want your guys swooping down here. Not tonight, Rafe. Please?”

  Rafe stared at the warm hand touching her own where she clutched her cell phone. Rafe slipped her phone back inside her pocket. “I just want scum like that off the streets.”

  “You can be Dudley Drug Buster another night, Detective. Tonight, I want you to see something else once these players have exited stage right.”

  Rafe took a deep breath and purposely turned her head away from the street activity to regard Ashley. “So your mother was human.”

  “They met, fell in love, and had me. Dad said I began to show signs very early on that I wasn’t your typical baby. I did all the usual things, crawled, walked, cut teeth, but Mom was never sure whose baby she was going to find in my crib. If I spent a day at the nursery, I would come back and change into all my little friends. The first time it happened she swore my father had brought the wrong kid home by accident.” Ashley shrugged. “That’s when Dad had to tell her I wasn’t just any kind of kid.” She grimaced. “I’m told it didn’t go down too well.”

  “It’s a hard concept to swallow, I’d imagine,” Rafe said.

  “She stayed until I was school age, then she took off and left me behind.”

  Rafe heard the underlying sadness in Ashley’s offhand comment. She wrapped her fingers around Ashley’s clenched fist. “It was her loss. She missed out on seeing you become someone beautiful.”

  “With the power to shape-shift at will.”

  “Sure, you have a little something extra going on. Aren’t all mothers desperate for their daughters to be exceptional? Mine sure as hell was.”

  “She’s not impressed with your detective badge?”

  “She’d rather it was my husband’s while I stayed at home and raised the kids and played happy little homemaker.”

  Ashley laughed. “Forgive me, but that image just does not sit well in my head.”

  “The whole lesbian thing nearly pushed her over the edge.” Rafe shrugged it off, not wanting to bring up her mother’s disappointment at Rafe not being all she’d dreamed. “She’s got my sister-in-law fulfilling her perfect daughter fantasies. I’m the gay black sheep of the family.”

  Ashley gave her a sly look. “Should we inform your mother you’ve kissed demon spawn too?”

  “Not unless I want to induce a heart attack.” She pretended to consider it. “Another time, maybe. And don’t refer to yourself as that.”

  “But it’s true. My daddy was an angel who fell to earth to copulate with a human woman.”

  “Gee, when you put it like that it just leeches all the romance out of the tale.” Rafe shifted in her seat carefully as the chair creaked beneath her. “You’re the product of love, albeit a little unconventional and religiously frowned upon, but they say the same about gays, so you’re screwed either way.”

  “It doesn’t bother you?”

  Rafe shook her head. “I can’t honestly say I’m not a little freaked by what you’re telling me. But when I look at you, I don’t see the same thing I saw in the alley. I never have.” She searched Ashley’s face and smiled. “You must have gotten the angel part of your father because I don’t see any demon at all.” She was horrified to see Ashley’s eyes suddenly tear up. What did I say?

  “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  Rafe relaxed a little, relieved she hadn’t messed up. “It’s true, besides which, you have a guardian angel. Surely you wouldn’t have one if you were considered to be fighting for the other side.”

  “Eli’s always been there. I used to see him when I was a child. No one else’s imaginary friend had wings, though. But from the age of about twelve he came to me. He said that was when my calling began.”

  “Your calling?”

  “To help contain demons.”

  “Tough call considering your father was one.”

  “Eli said my father was living on borrowed time, but he promised I’d never have to be the one to return him to his rightful place.”

  “Is your father still here?”

  “No, Eli banished him some years back. I watched him leave, for want of a better word.” She shook her head. “I was old enough to be parentless, but he’d left another child fatherless at a much younger age.”

  “So you have what? A sister? Brother?”

  “A brother. Lucas Thorpe. I think he’d have been about twenty-one now. I remember seeing him as a baby, and I think the last time he was about ten years old. Last I heard he and his mother were in a car crash where no one survived. I hardly knew them, so it was hard to mourn their loss. I didn’t get on with Marion. To be completely honest, for a human, she was more demonic than my father. She didn’t like some other woman’s brat taking my father’s attention away from their child.” Ashley picked at her food as she spoke. “I got used to my dad not always being at our home while he made nice with his other family. It made me very self-sufficient.”

  Rafe hated him for what he’d put Ashley through as a child. “He had two homes going? He’s no different from many a mortal man.”

  “I never kept in touch with his other family. Marion knew I had powers. Dad told me he got drunk one night and spilled the whole demon lineage beans, so she was always afraid of me after that. I didn’t do anything to provoke it, but I was always daddy’s little angel in her eyes and she hated me for it.”

  “Did Lucas display any talents?”

  Ashley shrugged. “I
was never there to know. Not all demon born do, though. I hope for his sake he didn’t. It would be nice if one of us had been normal.”

  “Families,” Rafe said.

  “I only saw my dad on occasion until his time to depart was set.”

  “Is he still alive?”

  Ashley nodded. “Yes, and residing happily in hell.”

  “The hell of brimstone and endless torment?”

  Ashley nodded again. “Some people like that kind of thing.”

  “Do all bad people go there?”

  “No, just the demons. Don’t believe all that you read. A lot of it is propaganda for the masses, to keep the people in line and living in fear.”

  Rafe only just managed not to let escape the sigh of relief pressing at her rib cage. She looked out into the darkness instead, wondering at what else the night had in store. She decided to share her day’s news.

  “There’s been a development in the case today. We had someone confess to all three murders.” Rafe watched closely for Ashley’s reaction.

  Ashley didn’t even feign surprise. She just continued fixing her next burrito. “Really? Tell me about him.”

  Rafe described Epcot in detail and his crazy familial bonds.

  “Well, he certainly ticks a lot of your profile’s boxes.” Ashley took a small bite from her burrito. “Did you see any sparkles?”

  Rafe fought the urge to roll her eyes. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Any smell of sulfur? A hint of Hades in his eyes?”

  Rafe bit back a sigh. “No, he was decidedly human from what I could tell.”

  Ashley shrugged. “Then it’s not your killer.” She took a more generous mouthful from her food, then spoke with her mouth full. “You’re wasting your time pursuing him.”

  “I still need to rule him out. After all, he confessed to the crimes I am investigating. You know, the ones currently terrorizing the city?”

  Ashley waved a dismissive hand in her direction. “Hand it over to Dean to wild goose chase. You’ve got better things to look into.”

  Rafe bristled at Ashley’s flippant attitude. “What if this is our killer?”

  “I’ve told you he isn’t.”

  “So I’m to just believe everything you tell me?”

  “It would make my life so much easier. But then it wouldn’t be as exciting as me arguing with you and getting to see your eyes ignite with such passion.” Ashley’s voice dropped a register. “It’s very sexy.”

  Nonplussed, Rafe tried not to be drawn in by the wicked twinkle shining from Ashley’s eyes. “Why do I feel you’re going to be more trouble to me than a whole hoard of demons on the loose?”

  Ashley’s playful chuckle only added to Rafe’s disquiet. I’m certain to go down in flames and probably enjoy every singe and scorch mark she burns upon my heart. She reached for her drink, suddenly wishing it was something stronger.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ashley contentedly chewed her burrito. She finished a mouthful, then asked idly, “So tell me about your family, Rafe. After all, it’s got to be more normal than mine.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Rafe replied. “I’m one of three children born to Carmine and Alisha Douglas. My mother is a trophy wife, my father a dealer in antiquities.”

  “You’re kidding me. You’re not from a long line of cops?”

  “Nope, my father is still horrified by my less than academic choice of professions. But he’s got my brother Mike, who’s an art dealer in Toronto, working his way to the top in his own right until he can take over my father’s reins. Then there’s Leo, who is learning at the master’s side so he can take over the paperwork while Mike does the creative stuff.”

  “Mike? Seems a bit pedestrian a name considering yours. And Leo?”

  “Michelangelo, to give him his full name, and Leo is short for Leonardo.” She watched as Ashley digested this. A glint lit up her eyes. Damn, she is fast, Rafe thought, cringing at what was going to come.

  “Your full name isn’t Rafe, is it?”

  “I prefer Rafe.”

  “You’ve got to be Raphael, though, who, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo, were the great masters of the Renaissance.” Ashley sounded immensely tickled by this.

  “Like I said, I prefer Rafe.” Ashley sported a wicked grin that Rafe caught immediately. “Don’t you dare mention the fucking Ninja Turtles or I will throw you off this roof!”

  “I prefer Ray-fe,” Ashley drawled out Rafe’s name, “over Raphael. That’s so not you. Does anyone call you Raphael?”

  “My parents do, and Leo because he knows it pisses me off.”

  “No one whispers it in your ear at intimate moments of sheer pleasure?” Ashley’s voice dropped a register that made Rafe swallow hard.

  “No, I think I can honestly say no one has dared to use my given name in that setting.” She wondered at Ashley’s grin. “So now you know.”

  “Yeah, now I know. You’re the turtle with the sais, the rebellious, sullen one.”

  “Don’t make me regret telling you,” Rafe said with a growl and leaned forward to reach for Ashley when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She looked down and did a double take. “That body down there is glowing.”

  Ashley peered over the edge of the roof. “So he is. What color do you see?”

  Rafe squinted. “He’s red with a shot of yellow.”

  “Then he’s a Class E demon,” Ashley said.

  “Class E?”

  “Minor demon, kind of low on the food chain.”

  “So he’s a lesser demon but a demon all the same?”

  “Sure is.”

  “And shouldn’t he be returned to hell before he does whatever demons do?” Rafe watched the guy amble his way along the sidewalk.

  “He will be.” Ashley pointed to two white lights that flashed brightly in the sky. The lights shone like stars, growing in size until Rafe could see a distinct humanoid shape and the recognizable shape of wings.

  “Can’t he see them?” Rafe whispered, watching as the white lights descended.

  “No, he won’t until the last minute. Demons don’t see the light, Rafe. Their souls aren’t pure enough.”

  Rafe saw the angels ready their weapons, long spears tipped with lethal points. One flew down and ran the man through with it, pinning him in place.

  “He killed him!”

  “No, he just trapped him with the Spear of Light. Now he can see them and he knows he has no way of escaping.”

  Rafe didn’t blink for fear of missing anything that happened on the street. The first angel had the man held in place. The other descended at a slower rate and circled them, surrounding them in a ball of silver light. Then, like a soap bubble popping, they disappeared in a flash. Rafe blinked at the suddenness. “They’re gone.”

  “Yep, on the fast track back to hell with that one.” Ashley picked up a handful of nachos and ate as if nothing extraordinary had just transpired.

  “Why him, though? Why catch him and not Armitage?”

  “Your demon was a Class B, from what you described. They blend in better, find lesser-traveled portals to enter in by. They also hide better among humans, so they are harder to spot. Unless you know what you’re looking for.”

  “The horns being a dead giveaway, eh?”

  “You’d see right through their disguise now, but Armitage had quite the life here masquerading as a human. He fit in, so he didn’t send off as much as a blip on our radar. Class B demons can sometimes mask their demon form even from angels. So we have to wait until they do something that exposes their soul. Then and only then can the angels come and take them back.”

  “So that night, Eli was taking the demon Armitage to hell? But we had a body. The angels who just took that guy away left nothing behind.”

  “Lesser demons can’t form a proper human outer layer. They just pretty much glamour themselves to fool human eyes. That demon wasn’t strong enough to pass fully. Armitage was.”

  �
��And we’re left being unable to tell the difference between demon-shed skin or a real human cadaver.”

  “Eli removed the demon from its ‘host,’ if you like and left you the remains. After all, the body is just a shell for what lives inside.”

  “What about the Class A demons?”

  “They run for government.”

  Rafe stared at her aghast. She barely dared to breathe, terrified by the implications, until Ashley finally cracked a smile and then began to laugh. “Shit, Ashley, don’t even joke about that!” She glared at Ashley, who was doubled over with laughter at her expense. “Bitch,” she grumbled, which only set Ashley off more. Rafe reluctantly had to smile when Ashley finally calmed down enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. “You’re such a smart-ass. This zone, do you keep a watch on it in your PI status?”

  “Not just me. I’m still new to this area, so I’ve just been taking my turn. We have watchers. They keep tabs on the goings-on and inform those who need to know.”

  Rafe nodded slowly, digesting this. “If I hadn’t passed out, I’d have seen Eli capturing Armitage before my very eyes.” A part of her was disappointed she hadn’t witnessed that event.

  “You weren’t ready to see it then, Rafe. The light was still blinding and you were too injured to have appreciated it. If you think about it, you helped capture a demon, though.”

  “Inadvertently.” Her hand strayed to touch her forehead in what was becoming an unconscious act of self-comfort. “Do you ever get tired of it all? The weirdness?”

  “It’s not weird to me. I grew up with it. This is my idea of normal.”

  Rafe looked out into the moonlight. “Mine too now, it would appear.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Rafe stood and stretched to remove the kinks from her spine left by the rickety chair, then she took a careful step nearer to the roof edge. “Guess I’ve had my show for tonight.”

  “You got the best seats in the house too. You saw something no one else would have seen had they looked out their windows. You and I alone witnessed that command performance.” Ashley shivered as a chill air blew over them. “Though I think it’s time we head back inside.”