2 Pocket Full of Posies

by Angela Roquet

  “Of course you will. This training will be time consuming, as I’m sure you realize. And now that you have a secret demon admirer, it would be wise to stay out of sight for a while, until you’re better trained to defend yourself. Take tomorrow off to rest, and then meet me at Hell’s gate on Thursday. Say, around nine in the morning?”

  “Sure.” I folded my arms.

  He retrieved a coin from his pocket and flipped it in my lap. “Don’t be late.”

  Education was seeking me out with a vengeance this year. I could hardly stand it. My eyelids fluttered and I pressed my head back into a mountain of pillows.

  “You’ve hardly touched your tea.” Bub, unable to take a hint, didn’t move from my bed. Having another demon so near wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time at the moment, but I just couldn’t bring myself to tell the Lord of the Flies to take a hike. So I decided to mess with him instead.

  “Go ahead, try it,” I dared him, cracking my eyes open to see if he would.

  Bub tilted his head and cast me a daredevil of a grin. He picked up the cup and inhaled the rising steam. I smiled then, knowing full-well the nasty brew had no warning odor. Bub took a careful sip, swishing it around in his mouth for a good show, and swallowed. Now he had my full attention.

  “No way.”

  “Your turn,” he said, holding the cup out to me.

  “Did you loose your taste buds or something?” I huffed, taking the tea from him.

  “Oh, no. I taste just fine.” He gave me a wink.

  “Do you?” Maalik asked as he stepped into the room.

  Bub glanced up at the angel and then back at me. “Well, this is a bit awkward.”

  My smile drooped and I sat up straighter before remembering I was mad at Maalik. “Is the council having recess?” I asked.

  Maalik’s gaze dropped to the flowers beside my bed. “No, I left early so I could come see you, but I see you already have someone to keep you company.”

  “I should be going. I’ll see you Thursday, pet.” Bub stood and straightened his suit jacket. He gave me a soft smile that crossed somewhere between sympathy and gloating before strutting out without so much as a nod to Maalik.

  Maalik claimed Bub’s spot on my bed. I folded my arms and gave him an unpleasant look. “You know, I think you were right.”

  “About what?” Maalik asked, gently placing a hand on my leg as he leaned in to examine my ruined skin.

  “You’re a distraction.” I rolled my eyes up at the ceiling.

  Maalik blushed. “You’re still mad, and that’s okay. At least you’re safe now. You should drink your tea.”

  “I think I’ll pass.” I stuck my tongue out.

  “Meng won’t release you until you do, which is fine by me. I’m taking the day off tomorrow to be with you.”

  “Bet Grim loves that.”

  “No, but his concern for your safety compelled him to agree.”

  “Concern for my safety? Right.” I rested my hand on his, deciding I just might forgive him for taking a day off. “So, are you going apartment hunting with me tomorrow?”

  Maalik looked away. “I guess you could say that.”

  “I doubt the Coexist Complex will have anything available, now that I’m a demon-magnet.”

  “That you are. I suppose you’ll have to take Cindy’s training course now.” He didn’t sound happy.

  “I’m taking the next few weeks off and making it a priority.”

  “Beelzebub will be your instructor, I presume?”

  I nodded softly, trying not to smile. So he was jealous. If it meant he would take a day off work to be with me, then I could live with that.

  Maalik picked up my tea and sniffed it. I almost stopped him, but part of me was still mad, so I let him take a drink. His brows drew together, but he didn’t spit it out or gag. Apparently, no one could taste the crap but me.

  “Drink up,” he ordered, handing it to me.

  “You’ve got to be kidding. It tastes like sewage.” I took the cup and glared down into its murky contents.

  “I have served in Hell for a very long time. Believe me, there are far worse flavors.”

  “And those flavors not heal you like my tea!” Meng snorted as she scurried into the room. She shooed her arms at Maalik, ushering him off my bed and towards the door. “You go now. Tea for Lana. I not make it for you or fly master. She need rest. Go!”

  Maalik fluttered away from her flailing arms and gave me a short smile. “I’ll see you in the morning, and don’t worry about work. I’ll let Ellen know you’re taking some time off.”

  I gave him a little wave and waited for him to leave before testing the tea again. It was still horrid, but I dared not say it in front of Meng. Instead, I gritted my teeth and gave her a forced smile. Her eyes pierced into me, silently demanding that I take another drink. I did, but I couldn’t hold the smile any longer. The stuff should have been reserved for torture chambers.

  “Finish before bed, or you regret tomorrow.” She tucked me in and turned to leave, facing yet another visitor.

  Horus stood in the doorway, wearing a pristine blue suit and holding a meat and cheese basket lined with daisies. He gave Meng a charming grin, daring her to turn him away.

  “She need rest.” Meng threw her hands in the air. “All these men, in and out. Five minutes, and then I chase you out with broom. Yes?”

  “Five minutes.” Horus nodded.

  Meng huffed and stormed out again, shaking her head and babbling obscenities in Chinese. Horus waited until her stomping footsteps faded before approaching my bed. He set the gift basket on the table, next to my growing collection of flowers. I frowned, realizing that none of them were from Maalik.

  Horus took the chair instead of the edge of my bed. He seemed more guarded around me lately, but I could hardly blame him. He knew I was capable of slaying a deity. The only reason I was still in his good graces was because the deity in question had turned out to be a traitor. That and I was the only one who could help him free Winston from Grim’s secret service.

  I nestled down under the blankets and did my best to look fragile and defeated. It wasn’t hard with a blackened handprint wrapped around my neck.

  Horus took a long, sarcastic breath. “You poor thing. You should have expected Seth and Caim to retaliate. It was no secret that you were made the commanding reaper on Grim’s big assignment after Coreen’s death. Seth knows the soul is still somewhere in the city, and he’ll stop at nothing to find him.”

  “He should be targeting Grim then, not me.”

  “Ah, but you’re so much more convenient. Grim stays locked away in his high security office.”

  “So they plan on attacking me until Grim comes out to play?” I squeezed my hands into fists and glared at him.

  “Don’t let it worry you too much. Anubis is coming to town to take care of a few things.”

  I swallowed and willed my body not to start hyperventilating. My mind flashed back to my dirty axe. I’d be taking care of that just as soon as Meng released me. Horus sensed my panic and snorted out a cocky laugh.

  “Ah, you read the paper. You don’t really think he’s coming to hunt down Wosyet’s murderer, do you?”

  “He’s not?” I exhaled and slumped back into my pillows.

  “That was just an excuse to bring the jackals. They’ll be sniffing out the location Seth and Caim are using to infiltrate their minions into the city. The council is aware of this.”

  “Good to know.”

  Horus scooted his chair back an inch and gave me a more serious look. “I don’t like that you have a certain measure of power unsanctioned by the council, but I’m willing to keep your secret and help you, if you will help me in return.”

  “It’s not like I asked for this power, and I don’t see why you feel so threatened by it. It’s not much good for anything but evaluating souls.”

  “And killing deities,” he whispered. “No other reaper would have been able to do that.”

 
; I sighed, regretting what I was about to confess. “I chopped her head off with an axe. I don’t think any deity would have survived that.”

  “Is that what you think?” Horus looked thoughtful and then hesitated before he spoke again. “Had you been an ordinary reaper, your axe would have never penetrated her skin, even being the lesser goddess that she was. If she hadn’t turned out to be a traitor, I would have, without a doubt, turned you over to the council.”

  “She was trying to kill me, Horus. Not to mention the fact that if she had succeeded, she would have taken dear Winston directly to Seth. I saved the fucking day, and I’m getting sick and tired of feeling like I should be apologizing for it.”

  “Winston?” Horus looked puzzled.

  “Yeah, dummy. The soul.”

  “Oh! You mean Tut.” Horus folded his hands in his lap and smiled.

  “Tut? As in Tutankhamun?” I was dumbfounded. No freaking way.

  “Yes, one of my favored descendants,” he recalled fondly.

  “But Tutankhamun wasn’t an original believer. He just restored the old faith after Akenhaten tried to destroy it.”

  “Exactly why you need to find a replacement for him. I have faith that he can maintain Eternity for a short while. After all, you saw the strength and power in his soul. But it will not hold Eternity together half as long as the last one in Grim’s service.”

  Horus glanced at the clock and stood to give a short bow. “Be careful, Lana. You’re my only hope.” He forced a politically correct smile at me and backed out of the room with as much grace as a cowardly god could muster.

  What a mess I was in. I guess it was naïve to think my boring little life would return to normal after everything that had happened last fall. Was there really no peace to be found? Was I going to be caught in the crossfire forever? I had more than enough to think about, but at least I was safe at Meng’s.

  I grabbed the gift basket Horus had brought and stuffed a handful of cheese in my mouth before downing the last of Meng’s tea in one agonizing swallow. Then I reclined back in the bed and prayed for sleep to come and drown out the whole miserable day.

  Chapter 8

  “All actions are judged

  by the motives prompting them.”

  -Muhammad

  “What are we doing here?” I pressed my cheek to the taxi window and raised an eyebrow up at the ivory towers of Holly House. Past a cast iron fence, holy water bubbled over the trumpeted horn of a concrete angel and spilled into a small pond encircled by clusters of milky-white carnations. This wasn’t what I had in mind when Maalik said he would go apartment hunting with me. Holly House was way out of my budget.

  “Well.” Maalik cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his robe. “Holly heard about your recent troubles, and she very graciously offered to rent you one of her condos.”

  “Oh, really?” I laughed. “She does realize I’m a reaper, right? My income doesn’t stretch to this side of town. Let’s go.”

  “There’s Holly now.” Maalik ignored me as he hopped out of the taxi. He held the door open, gesturing for me to join him.

  “Don’t go far,” I whispered to the nephilim driver, slipping him an extra coin before gingerly stepping out of the car. Everything ached, from my toes to my ears. The itchy black turtleneck Josie had brought for me wasn’t helping any either. I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing I had taken more time to tame the mess of ringlets bouncing around my face.

  “Hello!” Holly fluttered over to us, looking as sweet as a cupcake. Her wings folded behind her, dragging a few feathers along the sidewalk like a glamorous wedding train. Her white cotton dress fell tastefully below her knees and gathered up at her throat where it fastened to a gold hoop around her slender neck. I was so underdressed.

  I glared at Maalik. He could have at least suggested that I brush my hair. And blue jeans had to be against some dress code at Holly House. I folded my arms and sighed.

  “Good morning, Ms. Spirit.” I gave her a forced smile. I wasn’t too comfortable getting all chummy with the council members. Until a few months ago, none of them would have given me a second look. Now I was dating one and being black-mailed by another. Shouldn’t that have canceled out my ties with them somehow?

  “Are you ready to see your new home?” Holly chirped.

  “Well, this is just the first stop.” I raised an eyebrow at Maalik.

  “Let’s go see it,” he said a little too cheerfully.

  Holly paused to frown at me, like she couldn’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t be thrilled to reside at the most immaculate and holy dwelling in Limbo. I met her stare, and she quickly pasted on her wide, campaign-winning smile before leading us through the courtyard with its sparkling fountain and tranquil gardens. She stopped at the glossy front door and punched in a code on the security box, decoratively disguised as a gothic cross.

  If Jove had been a woman, I imagine more churches would have looked like the foyer of Holly House. White marble walls arched overhead, feeding into a thorny rose design that framed a giant bubble of a ceiling mural. Michelangelo had been thrilled when Holly invited him to Limbo City to paint his most famous masterpiece beyond the grave. The looming painting held dozens of feminine angels, all possessing dewy flesh and blushing curves, wrapped in flowing white ribbons. The image in the center echoed Mike’s creation piece from the Sistine Chapel, except where Adam had once been, a sultry angel reached for Jove’s hand instead, and a dove burst forth from the space between their fingertips.

  I wouldn’t say that Holly was full of herself, but she did how little her father acknowledged her in the bible, while inflating the status of a mortal like Mary. Images of the Virgin had been mindfully neglected in the foyer, elevating Holly’s angelic mother as holy queen of the house.

  “This way,” Holly giggled, bringing my attention back down to ground level. She led us to the front desk where a husky nephilim in a sharp gray suit waited.

  The nephilim were in awe of Holly, and they owed her a great debt as well. With her move to Limbo City, after being elected on the Afterlife Council, she created a surplus of job opportunities for her feathered brethren by opening Holly House. Though she was an angel-deity hybrid and the nephilim were half mortal, Holly felt she had an obligation to them. They were misfits, like her, and I suspected she related better to them than any other beings in Eternity.

  The nephilim deskman glanced up from his paperwork and smiled at us as he extended his hand. “I’m Charlie. You must be Lana. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” I grasped his hand and gave it a firm shake. His fingers were thick and warm, undoubtedly holding enough strength to crush as well as greet. I could guess which talent Holly had hired them for first. Charlie plucked a key out of wicker basket and handed it to Holly with a bashful grin. His wings fluttered gently at her touch.

  “Thank you, Charlie,” she cooed, batting her eyelashes like a smitten school girl. I couldn’t quite tell if Jove’s rebellious daughter was playing footsie with the spawn of the fallen, or if she had discovered the secret to running a successful business. A happy employee is a good employee, or so I’ve heard.

  “This way, please.” Holly led us across the foyer towards the golden doors of three sparkling elevators. Hey, who needs wings when you can travel up in style? We loaded into the first elevator that opened and Holly punched a button for the tenth floor.

  After meandering down a wide hallway lined with creamy beige carpets and gold-framed paintings of angels and doves, we came to the condo Holly had reserved for me. She slid the heavy key into the lock of the front door and stepped back, gesturing for me to finish the act, so I did.

  It was a hazy dream of an abode. Light oak flooring stretched from the dining room into the sitting room, streaked with golden sunlight seeping in through a wide, arched window. A plush white rug framed the rustic dining table and its eight, that’s right, eight matching chairs. A gray marble counter sectioned off the kitchen from the dining room, ele
gantly serving as a breakfast bar with four barstools that matched the dark wood dining set.

  The sitting room, called so because it was too nice to simply be called a living room, held an engraved coffee table and a trio of white sofas, all positioned around a rug that matched the one in the dining room.

  I didn’t even want to see the rest of the condo. It was a trap. This was the sort of place deities stayed at when they visited Limbo City. In fact, I couldn’t think of a single reaper who had ever lived at Holly House. Reaper’s Tower was really the best apartment complex we ever had to hope for. This was all terribly wrong.

  “Well, what do you think?” Holly whispered over my shoulder, sending the goose bumps a crawling.

  I turned to face her with a sour look. “I think this is way out of my budget.”

  “But Maalik’s paying for it.” Holly said as Maalik gaped behind her. He hadn’t expected her to spill the beans that quickly I guess. I would have kissed her for her absentmindedness if I hadn’t been so furious at Maalik.

  “What?” I injected enough venom in that single word to send him babbling for some ground.

  “Lana, I-listen-” he stammered.

  “You are not paying my rent.”

  Holly’s eyes grew worried. “Perhaps the two of you would like some privacy. I’ll be just outside when you’re finished looking around.”

  She slipped out the front door without another word, while I was bubbling furiously with plenty of them.

  “I will not be a kept woman. I am not a plaything you can appease with money. Just who the hell do you think you are?”

  Maalik seemed to cower until the last sentence sank in. Then his back straightened and his gaze pierced me with a fiery conviction. “I am the keeper of hellfire! And if that is not enough to discourage a demon from harming you, then what else can I do?”

  “I’m not staying here,” I whispered as my eyes began to fill with tears. I finally had a day with him all to myself, and he had to go and ruin it.

  “Lana,” Maalik said softly, crossing the room to pull me into his arms. “I just want you to be safe. If anything happened to you...” His voice trailed off, but my overactive mind filled in the blanks with a harsh clarity. Sure, he’d be sad for a while, but he’d get over it. The people he surrounded himself with would never understand his grief over the death of a reaper, and they were the ones in charge. He probably wouldn’t even take a day off work.