She punched Lori’s address into the GPS and looked at the map. It looked like Lori lived just a few miles past the airport. Fancy that.
When she reached the exit ramp for the airport, Julia didn’t turn off.
Julia sat in her car and looked at the modest rancher on the outskirts of the city. There was an old Cadillac parked in the driveway and lights were on inside the house.
“Choice,” she said, grabbing her purse from the seat and stepping out of the car. She was acutely aware of the lack of traffic on this street, as well as the absence of street lights. Why am I here?
The door opened before Julia could reach up to press the doorbell, and she leaned back, startled. An elderly woman stood on the other side, brandishing a cane. Her hair held the shape of curlers that had been recently removed, leaving short tunnels the size of toilet paper rolls all over her head, in an unnatural orange color that reminded Julia of Ronald McDonald. A polyester lounge outfit right out of the seventies, complete with an obnoxious flower pattern and bell-bottoms, matched the color of her hair.
Julia wondered if that was intentional.
“What do you want?” the old lady barked. “I saw you out there for twenty minutes now, staring at my house. What do you want?”
“Lori Samson?” Julia asked.
“I don’t know you,” she snapped, raising her cane and shaking it. “State your business, before I call the police.”
“I’m here about your daughter, Maria,” Julia said, holding her ground. “I was out to visit her today.”
“Why would you visit…?” Lori took in Julia’s features, eyeing her up and down. A spark of recognition registered in her eyes and she lowered the cane to the floor with a thump.
“I see,” she said, lifting the cane and poking Julia in the shoulder. “You are the daughter, then.”
“I am.” Julia rubbed her shoulder and watched as the old lady lowered her cane and stepped off to one side.
“Well, come in. No need to give the neighbors more to chew about.” She waved the cane, directing Julia inside.
Julia stepped through the doorway, her determination propelling her. From Lori’s demeanor, she expected a rather run-down place, smelling of cats and dust. There were no cats here, though the stacks of newspapers and overflowing bookcases could have been hiding some.
“There’s no money left for you, if that’s what you’re after,” Lori barked, leading Julia through a maze of bookshelves and into a room filled with mannequins. Each mannequin was dressed in a traditional square-dancing outfit, complete with petticoats. A pair of clogging shoes was placed in front of each one.
“I don’t want your money, Lori.” Julia gaped at the dresses, and the mannequins that wore them. They were all lined up as though they were about to actually dance. “Did you make these?”
“I did.” Lori kept walking through the room and into the kitchen on the other side. Julia couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved to see that the kitchen had its own door to the backyard. It never hurt to know how to make a quick exit. “What questions? Why don’t you want my money? Got some of your own?”
“I just don’t want it.”
“No, I guess you don’t.” Lori’s sharp eyes roamed over Julia’s clothes, shoes and handbag.
Julia stood in the doorway to the kitchen. There was a stack of coupons sitting beside the stove, and more on the refrigerator door, held there with magnets. The magnets had pictures of children in them, but there were no pictures on the walls. The table was an old fifties throwback, with chrome legs and chrome trim. Only two chairs at the table, and both of them still had plastic covering the seat cushions.
Everywhere Julia looked she saw sample bottles. By the sink, there were three different sample bottles of dishwashing liquid. On the counter rested half a dozen different sample bottles of hand lotion. Sample bottles of many different condiments sat in the middle of the kitchen table. Ketchup, mustard, vinegar, even salt and pepper.
“I just have a few questions, I guess,” Julia said. She thought telling this woman she had her own money would be a very bad idea. “I want to ask you about the time you came out to the ranch. You know, when I was just about a year old.”
“I don’t know what time you’re talking about, honey. Why don’t you refresh my memory?”
Lori pulled one of the chairs out from the table, waved a hand offering it to Julia, and then sat in the other. Julia took half a step forward, then stopped cold. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a closet door, almost fully obscured by a mannequin. Her hands became clammy.
“I can’t stay, Lori,” Julia said, her eyes glued to the closet. The horror in Maria’s voice echoed through her mind. She’d made a mistake. She shouldn’t have come here.
“Why not?” Lori huffed.
“I just wanted to know,” Julia began, carefully controlling her breathing. Animals reacted to fear, and Julia suspected Lori would, too. “Why did you come out to the ranch that day, and why did you bring those men with you? What were you after? And why didn’t you ever return to see me?”
That’s the same closet. I just know it. What’s behind the door now?
Uriel stood, intently watching the girl enter Lori’s house. An amused smile played upon his lips as she took in the details of her grandmother’s house and made assumptions based on what she saw. He thought back to the first time he had met Lori.
He had taken over the body of a hired thug on a whim. Uriel always preferred a more intimate form of spying on the humans. When he and the other three men were told where they were headed, and what they were after, he thought maybe he should stick around, see if anyone was hurt, and if he would need to tip the scales to balance things back up—one way or the other.
When they got to the sprawling home at the end of the long, dusty road, their orders were to cover all the exits, get in the house, take the baby, and get out. The baby wasn’t to be hurt. It seemed that the taking was more important than the baby itself.
Uriel recalled clearly how he could see the child through the window—knew she was one of the Children and saw the guardian dog looking right back at him, barking like a ferocious creature. He knew instantly that this child was protected, given a guardian spirit, but didn’t know why. He wasn’t aware of any special circumstances. Nobody had included him in the inner circle.
He smiled, watching that same child, now a woman, walk into that tainted house with Michael closely shadowing her. Uriel took great pride in always discovering the truth on his own. The question was, how could he use it to his advantage?
Full circle, it seems, Brother. Maybe now I will find out what you are really up to. And why you continue to exclude me.
XXIV
“WELL, the least you could do is be civil enough to sit and talk,” Lori snapped. She checked the clock on the wall. She studied Julia for a few moments, and sighed. “I just went out there to visit you. My granddaughter. I had a right to see you!”
“Why the hired muscle?” Julia did her best to contain the rising anger she felt. Her vision of the closet memories and the atrocities that had occurred there was so fresh, she could still feel the energy of it. Her skin wanted to take a walk right out the door.
“Natalie was always so sneaky, trying to hide you from us.” Lori’s eyes flitted around. “I just wanted to spend time with you. I brought them to make sure I could.”
Julia stood, observing Lori, trying to pinpoint what she was feeling. With one hand in her coat pocket, her fingers lightly brushed the seraphinite stone. Some quality of the stone helped her to focus more clearly. She wondered if it was the white feathery streaks. Her senses honed in, and she realized there was a bitter, oily feel in her mouth. She knew it, but couldn’t place it. At first.
“Lies, Lori. I can taste your lies.” Julia took a step toward Lori, and felt her internal alarm go off when Lori’s eyes flew to the clock once more. “What is it you’re waiting for? Is someone coming?”
For a moment Lori looked like a c
ornered rat, twitching and skittish. Then her appearance transformed as a malicious smile spread across her face.
“Why don’t you sit and have a cup of tea with me?” The false sweetness dripped from her words. “We can talk about your daddy. Don’t you want to know who your daddy really is? Or did Maria tell you her version?”
“Is that what this is about, Lori? Who my father is?” Julia found herself straightening her shoulders, as though there were wings there and she was spreading them. Trying to deal with Lori was like handling an eel, and the more they spoke, the more righteous Julia felt.
The prickling of her skin told Julia it was time to leave. She didn’t know what Lori was waiting for, but she knew it would be better if she wasn’t there to find out. She turned to leave and heard Lori lurch forward.
Julia spun around just in time to avoid Lori’s grasp—fingers extended like talons seeking flesh to sink into. She held up one hand, palm thrust toward Lori. “Stop!”
Lori stopped, and the confusion that crept across her face let Julia know that she hadn’t meant to obey, but was compelled to. Lori smoothed her expression and put on an air of outward calm, though the rapidly pulsing vein in her temple was clearly visible.
“Maria told me about the closet you kept her in,” Julia said.
Lori’s calm façade started to crumble. “I did no such thing! How dare you!”
“It was kind of you to give her the bucket so she wouldn’t be sitting in her own filth.” Julia moved toward the closet. “How many other girls did you keep in this closet, Lori? Is that what you intended for me? Is that why you tried to snatch me all those years ago?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s my sewing closet.”
Lori jumped up out of her chair so quickly it toppled to the floor with a loud crash. Her voice became shrill as Julia moved closer.
“Stay out of there, girl! I’m warning you!”
“Warning me, Lori? Why would you want me to stay out of here? Isn’t that what girls are for? To go into the closet? To keep your men happy?” Julia flung open the closet, her stomach heaving as she laid her eyes upon the rusty old bucket for the second time. Except for the bucket the closet was empty. Some scratches showed on the inside of the door, roughly the same size as Maria’s little fingers had been.
“That is what girls are for,” Lori hissed. “We have to keep our men happy. It’s the only way!” She lurched forward in an effort to shove Julia into the closet.
Julia sidestepped easily and watched Lori stumble forward and catch herself on the frame of the closet, narrowly avoiding a fall.
“You are revolting, Lori,” Julia seethed. “One of the worst human beings I’ve ever seen.”
Julia gripped the stone tighter, consciously focused on spirit, and her view of Lori changed. Instead of the human form of the bent-backed old woman, there was the essence of the woman, made up of light energy. This one was like none Julia had seen before. Black, oily ribbons that twined through the light, originating from the center of the sphere, showed Julia just what Lori’s moral fiber was made of. The ribbons floated up and bubbled to the surface, breaking and surrounding the whole mass in a dark sludge. Julia blinked away the vision and, with a thought, returned her eyesight to normal.
“I see you, Lori,” Julia said, her tone cold and stern. “You are vile at your core. Whatever your reasons, I don’t care anymore. I want nothing to do with you, or any of your kind.”
“You sound just like him,” Lori spat, and lunged toward Julia, one hand splayed open, reaching for her throat. “I’ll kill you! I swear it!”
-Hold.- Julia was surprised at the sound of her own voice inside her head issuing a hard command, and even more surprised to see the threads of her own energy lash out and encase Lori. They were the same threads of energy she had used for the shield, but this time, instead of keeping the A’nwel out, it kept Lori in. A small part of Julia was surprised that Lori didn’t fizzle and burn the way the A’nwel had, but then, Lori was human. A disgusting human, but still just human.
Lori’s eyes widened with terror as she struggled against restraints she couldn’t see. Her head lolled back and she let out a primal scream.
Julia looked from Lori to the closet. It took all her will not to toss the woman in and shut the door. Instead, she turned away and made her way through the square-dancing mannequins to the front of the house. She briskly stepped out and closed the front door.
Once outside, she sagged against the door, feeling drained.
-Michael?- She listened for an answer. -Did you know I could do that?-
As soon as she caught her breath, Julia stepped off the doorstep and made her way to her car across the street, disappointed again that Michael didn’t reply.
When she reached her car, the sound of his voice made her jump.
-Did you find what you were looking for, girl?-
“No, Michael,” she answered aloud, “but I think I found what I needed to find.”
“And what was it that you needed to find?” Michael asked, appearing in the seat beside her.
“A reason to be thankful for the life I have lived. As awful as it felt at the time, it could have been so much worse.” Julia’s voice shook as she spoke. She gripped the wheel tighter. “How can anyone believe ‘that’s what girls are for,’ Michael? She’s hideous.”
“She is. And there are others like her.” Michael turned to face Julia. “But there are others like you. Good beings. Pure in spirit and heart. Even those without the benefit of wings.”
A solitary tear trickled down Julia’s cheek, and she unconsciously swiped it away. They drove in silence for the rest of the journey to the airport. Michael disappeared long before she pulled into the parking lot. She could still feel his presence, though, and was comforted by it.
“You are teaching her, Michael. She will have an unfair advantage over the others.” Ariel sounded as though he were merely stating a fact, not accusing. Though Ariel was taller than all the others, his wings were smaller, making him appear far shorter. To Michael, he looked angry with his strong jaw and dark, brooding eyes. Though perhaps angry was too strong a term. Ariel could be judgmental, but he always kept a deference to Michael that was almost…apologetic. Despite that, Ariel stood tall and proud with his mocha arms crossed.
“I simply echoed her own thoughts, and let her know we see her as one of the good ones.” Michael sounded like he was talking from the other end of a very long tunnel.
“She must already know that.” Ariel’s dark eyes followed Julia as she showed her ticket to the flight attendant and boarded the plane. “Should we be concerned with her progress?”
“Is she progressing too slowly for you?” Michael smirked.
“I fear she may burn herself out.” Ariel ignored Michael’s sarcasm. “The net with which she froze that woman—I would have trouble with that one.”
“We all have areas in which we excel.”
“She used both Command and Weaving, Michael. And as a human. Have you thought of the implications here? If she thinks a word, and makes it happen…”
“She will not likely realize her full potential until she is finished with the shell and back among us. She is using a stone for focus. The peril is great enough that she must be given every advantage.” Michael flexed his wings. “Enough. Tell me what you have learned.”
Ariel’s wingtips twitched, but he answered immediately. “There is a tie between the grandmother and the assassin. She has received a letter from the same source.”
“The contents of the letter?”
“They were instructions to keep the girl with her until a certain time. And promises of receiving her due.”
Michael opened another viewing window in the clouds at his feet, and as he swept his arm across it, he solidified.
“What time was that supposed to be?” There was no mistaking the concern in Michael’s voice.
“Now,” Ariel said, turning to see what Michael was viewing.
Below them
they saw Lori’s mannequin room with Lori standing frozen in the center. Her head snapped back and her mouth was open as if to scream, but no sound came. As the angels watched, tendrils of the woman dissolved as though an invisible acid were being poured upon her, eroding her flesh. She thrashed as much as she could, though she was still held firmly in the bonds of Julia’s weave.
“What is it?” Ariel’s voice trembled. “I see slices of her coming out and disappearing, but cannot find the source.”
“A’nwel,” Michael said, his voice barely a whisper. “Was she planning to feed the girl to the A’nwel?”
The body disappeared quickly, until all that was left was a dark stain in the center of the floor, almost in the exact spot where Gabriel had killed her husband years before. Silence settled over Michael and Ariel as they stood wing to wing.
“Seems fitting,” Ariel said finally, turning to Michael.
“I believe it is something the humans would call ‘karma,’” Michael answered with a nod. “But that thing does not have anything to do with the divine balance.”
“True.”
“What have we learned of the source of the letter, Ariel?”
“Nothing. Only that it seems to be human, but that means nothing. It could be a possessed human.”
Michael’s form thinned out, his voice becoming distant once again. “Perhaps we should be putting her talents to better use.”
“Talents?” Ariel folded his arms over his chest. “Do you think she is capable of hunting the source down?”
“Almost certainly. And I think she would gladly pick up the scent.” One corner of Michael’s mouth curled up in a smile filled with secrets.
“How do you plan on doing that?”
“Very carefully,” Michael said. “But soon, Brother. Very soon.”
XXV
Divinity Page 17
