2 Pocket Full of Posies

by Angela Roquet

  than a psychiatrist.”

  -Tammy Faye Bakker

  The wooden dummy at Athena’s Boutique folded her arms and began tapping her little oak toes along the rim of her platform. I had been assessing the black leather vest she modeled long enough to inflict impatience in an artificially animated object. Figures.

  I scowled at the pushy dummy and glanced across the store, over to where Jenni sat with another model. She seemed to be getting along far better than I was. Her dummy held up two pairs of strappy heels in front of a cocktail dress she had persuaded it to try on and clapped with delight when Jenni made her selection.

  I sighed and looked back up at my dummy. It had forgotten me altogether and began fingering through a rack of scarves within reach.

  “Okay, hand over the vest,” I grumbled.

  The dummy wasted no time sliding out of the garment and flung it at me with annoyed disdain before selecting a flowery sundress to model next.

  “Thanks,” I huffed and made my way up the spiral staircase leading to the dressing rooms.

  The vest covered the new demon scar on my neck perfectly, and it had enough charm that the purchase wouldn’t feel entirely like a necessity. The oily leather ran smooth, right up to the bust and collar, where a web of swirly cutouts gave the leather a lace-like quality. Like most everything I tried on at Athena’s, it felt just right, like it had been made for me. It hugged all the right places and displayed a healthy amount of cleavage through a diamond cutout below my throat. The collar wasn’t too Dracula either. It would go perfect with my black pencil skirt and pumps. I was going for a more academic look at the placement ceremony. I was sure Grim could overlook the girly biker vest, considering it was the only thing I could find on such short notice to hide my pretty new scar.

  I slipped back into my gray turtleneck, exited the dressing room, and spotted Artemis leaning over the checkout counter, whispering something dire to Athena. They both turned to watch as I came down the stairs. Jenni bumped into me on her way up.

  “Oh, sorry.” She blushed and stole a glance at the loot tucked in my arms. “That’s a bold choice, but it suits you.”

  “Thanks. I’m going to checkout. If I browse around much longer, I might end up in a fistfight with a mannequin.”

  “Fair enough.” She laughed. “I just need to try on a few things, and I’ll be ready too.”

  I nodded and squeezed past her, down to the main floor.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” Athena greeted me with a suspicious grin while Artemis fiddled with a box of jeweled bracelets and pretended not to be listening.

  “Always.” I gave her a strained smile, hoping she wouldn’t badger me with questions. I should have known better. Asking questions was her favorite pastime.

  “I couldn’t help but notice how much you’re favoring your neck today. Do you mind if I ask what happened?” She took the vest from me and rang it up while I chewed on my bottom lip. Yeah, I minded, but I wasn’t about to offend a goddess.

  “Just a careless accident is all.”

  Athena’s eyes narrowed. She folded the vest and nestled it down between some tissue paper in one of her fancy new bags. Silver outlines of dummies in dresses danced over the stiff, pink paper.

  “I heard your apartment was attacked by a fire demon. Did everyone make it out safely?” Artemis asked, trying on a sapphire bracelet.

  “Yes, thank goodness.” I handed Athena my card, despite the hurt quickly creasing her beautiful face. Artemis wasn’t looking too happy either. Normally, I didn’t mind chatting with Zeus’s girls, as long as the conversation didn’t revolve around my personal life.

  “All set?” Josie asked as she joined me at the counter, her arms loaded down with an assortment of blouses and a shoebox. I gave her a relieved smile.

  “Yeah, Jenni’s in the dressing room, but she said she’s about ready too.”

  “Good.” She glanced at her watch. “We’ll have time to stop for coffee.” Her smile faded as she looked up at the pouty goddesses eyeing us. “Who died?”

  “We thought you might have, with what we heard about the attack on your apartment complex.” Artemis sniffed.

  “Oh!” Josie pressed a hand to her chest and giggled. “No, we’re fine. That crazy demon picked the wrong apartment, that’s for sure. She had no idea she was coming up against four trained reapers.”

  “My goodness. So it was just a random attack?” Athena asked.

  “I suppose this is why we have the Nephilim Guard now.” Josie sighed. “Terrorist attacks on the city have been getting worse ever since Seth fled the council.”

  “I heard there was a break-in at the records office last night too. It’s just terrible.” Artemis shook her head, but she and Athena both looked brighter. Nothing like a little gossip to perk a goddess up.

  Jenni arrived at the counter just as Athena finished ringing Josie up. She smiled, handing her selection to Athena. This was the first time she had gone shopping with us, and she seemed a little nervous about the outing. I could tell she didn’t do things like this often. She had even dressed up for the occasion, wearing a clingy summer dress and sandals. Her silky hair was pulled up with a pair of chopsticks, with a few strands slanted at an angle over one of her almond-shaped eyes. Josie and I looked grossly underdressed in our jeans and tee shirts.

  It was nice having someone new along, but a little strange at the same time. I felt disoriented and old all of a sudden, being so set in my ways. Josie had been my only shopping accomplice for the past few hundred years.

  “You ladies be careful out there,” Artemis called after us as we left the boutique. We waved and hurried down the sidewalk with our pink bags.

  “Was there an announcement in the paper, or do they just eavesdrop on everyone?” Josie asked when we were a safe distance away.

  “Maybe they’ve been bugging all the clothes we buy.” I opened my bag and glared accusingly down at the new ensemble.

  Jenni looked at her watch. “I’d love to join you all for coffee, but I have a meeting before my class tonight. Let me know when the next study party is,” she said.

  “Of course.” Josie gave her a quick hug and I waved goodbye as we stepped inside the Phantom Café.

  It was still a little early for the late night coffee dates, so we mostly had the place to ourselves. Nick, a nephilim waiter, seated us at a small corner table and took our orders. Josie went with the same, simple black coffee she always had, and I ordered a chai latté.

  “I’m kinda glad Jenni had to go,” Josie said after Nick left our table. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but there always seems to be people around lately.”

  “What’s up?” I folded my arms over the table and leaned in closer, still wondering if our clothes had been bugged.

  “That’s what I’d like to ask you,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Lana.” Josie gave me one of her annoyed sighs. “How long have we been friends now?”

  “If you’ve got something to ask, just ask.” I knew I was going to regret saying that last bit, but she was right. We had been friends a long time, and I owed her more than what I’d been giving her lately. I just wasn’t sure how to get the words past my lips. My mouth went dry and my tongue seemed to swell up every time I even thought about all the things I wanted to tell her.

  “Okay.” She waited a moment while Nick delivered our drinks. We each took a sip and watched him disappear again.

  “First of all, I’d like to know why you really want to be on the Posy Unit, and don’t try to feed me any bullshit about some newly discovered ambitions. I know you better than that.” She folded her arms and raised her brows at me.

  I took another drink of my tea and a deep breath. I didn’t have to lie entirely, but I really couldn’t bring myself to tell her the whole truth. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

  “You remember the soul we harvested last year?”

  She nodded.

  “He’s not w
orking out, and Horus wants me to find a replacement for him so he can take him home to Aaru. He thinks I’ll come in contact with the most souls and find a replacement sooner if I join the Posy Unit. And it will be less obvious than having the council vote on it and select a specialty team. The fewer people who know, the less likely we’ll end up with a traitor in the mix who will sabotage the mission.” I took another sip of my latté and waited for her reaction.

  She tilted her head and frowned at me. “Why you?”

  “I dunno. Maybe because I did okay the last time.” I glared at her. I might be lazy, but I’m not incompetent.

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything?” she asked.

  Because I wasn’t. I’d left out the part about how I was the only one who could find the replacement soul since Khadija had gifted me, and the illegal bracelets Horus had given me, and that fact that Horus was blackmailing me because he knew I had killed Wosyet. And the part about how Grim didn’t have a clue about this little mission.

  “What else do you want to know?”

  “Hmmm.” She frowned at me. “How about, where the hell were you this morning, and why did Gabriel look so uncomfortable when I asked him about it?”

  Shit. I tugged at my turtleneck and reached for my tea again. “You can’t share this with anyone,” I said.

  “Well, obviously.” She snorted.

  “Not even Jenni.”

  “Deal.”

  I sipped at my tea and leaned in even closer. Our foreheads were almost touching. “Cindy Morningstar said she’ll vote in my favor for the Posy Unit, but only if I take a demon training course.”

  “What?” Josie leaned back in her seat and ran a hand through her spiky hair. “I’m sorry. Where exactly does this make sense?”

  “It’s stupid. I realize this, but she seems to think Grim’s going to choose me as his next second-in-command.”

  Josie’s lips squeezed together and her face suddenly reddened. I frowned, not sure how to interpret her reaction, until she burst out laughing and slapped the table with both hands. Nick gave us a startled glance from behind the counter.

  “Now I know you’re lying.” Josie gasped, trying to calm her laughter.

  “I am not.” I laughed with her. “I tried to tell her it would never happen, but she insisted this was the only way she’d give me her vote.”

  “Wow. That’s good.” Josie took a drink of her coffee and sighed. She smiled at me. “What would you do if Grim did make you second-in-command?”

  “Die,” I answered instantly. “I’d just die.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s a good thing he hates me too much to do something that stupid.”

  Josie shrugged. “You never know. He does have a strange sense of humor when it comes to these things. I mean, he gave you Kevin as an apprentice.”

  She had a point, but I just didn’t see Grim taking things that far. An apprentice was one thing. If I were second-in-command, Grim would have to see me everyday. I knew he would hate that even more than I would. I’d just have to make sure he kept despising me.

  “So you’ve been training with Cindy?” Josie asked.

  “Uh, no.” I blushed. “Beelzebub.”

  Her eyes bulged. “The Lord of the Flies? The lickable prince of darkness?”

  I frowned at her. “You’re such a tart.”

  “I don’t think I’d be able to focus enough to learn a damn thing if I were in the same room as him.”

  “My goodness, what would Kevin say?” I chided her and swallowed down the last of my latté.

  Josie shrugged. “I have eyeballs. I can’t help it.” She finished off her coffee and checked her watch. I never wore one, but she checked hers enough for the both of us. “We better get to class,” she said.

  I groaned and dropped a coin on the table to pay for both of our drinks. I was feeling guilty for all the secrets. And all the secrets I still hadn’t told her. And also, slightly nauseous at the thought of class and having to see Craig again.

  Chapter 15

  "There is a charm about the forbidden

  that makes it unspeakably desirable."

  -Mark Twain

  “Spread your legs wider.” Bub kicked my knees apart with one of his and grabbed me under the arms before I had the chance to fall on my face.

  I grunted. “Why are you always trying to get between my legs?”

  He snickered over my shoulder. “Because that’s where the ladies prefer me.”

  I snorted and took aim with another throwing star. I had managed to get three out of eight on the dartboard this time. The others lay abandoned on the carpet. All except for one that had lodged itself into the drywall about a foot above the board. Pathetic? Yes. But progress all the same, thank you.

  The next star hit the board. Not a bull’s-eye, mind you, but close enough that I jumped up and down for a second, all giddy and stupid like.

  “See, isn’t it better when I’m behind you?” Bub teased again.

  I was finally easing into all his raunchy flirting. I’d concluded that it was just part of his evil nature, and since there was nothing I could do to fix it, I’d just go with it.

  “You want a drink?” he asked, making his way behind the bar.

  “Water.”

  “I know I’ve seen you out at Purgatory drinking before. Why do you always ask for water?”

  “You really want to see how much damage I could do with these things while under the influence?” I asked, tossing the strap of stars on the coffee table.

  “Hey, it might help. Lucifer knows you can’t get any worse.”

  I glared at him and folded my arms. “Fine. You got tequila back there?”

  “I got anything you want back here.” He grinned and pulled a bottle of Patron out of the cooler. “With juice or straight?”

  “Throw in some lime.”

  He fixed my drink and his usual scotch and water. Normally, I didn’t feel comfortable drinking around demons, but after four hours of practice, I really needed a drink. Long range was so not my specialty when it came to battle. Now give me an axe, and I’m in business.

  “You’re getting better,” Bub said, softening my scowl as he handed me the tequila and sat on the sofa across from me.

  I shrugged. “I think I’m more likely to gash open my femoral artery and bleed to death before I actually find these things useful in a battle.” I took a long drink and shook my head.

  “Don’t give up just yet, pet.” Bub downed his drink and clinked his ice around in the glass. “You’d be surprised at how much more accurate you can be in the heat of battle. You just need a little more focus. Isn’t there anyone you detest enough to imagine as you’re throwing?”

  Craig Hogan came to mind.

  “Ah, and old flame?” Bub grinned.

  I blinked at him, utterly surprised.

  “Please,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve inflicted that look in enough women to recognize it.”

  “I imagine you have.” I laughed and finished my drink.

  Bub took my empty glass and stood, slowly making his way behind the bar. He was in blue jeans again today, and a snug blue tee shirt. I liked the way he dressed at home. He looked good in the sleek suits he wore to work too, but something about the jeans and tee shirt made him seem more approachable, more touchable, I thought as he turned around and caught me eyeing him. I blushed and looked away.

  “Would you like another?” he asked in that voice of his that made everything sound far more suggestive than it had any right to be.

  “I’ll take a water, thanks.” Getting tanked was not on the list. I still had to study for finals at some point in the evening, and I really needed to take Saul and Coreen out for a run. Most days, they came to work with me. They didn’t enjoy being cooped up at Holly House during my time off.

  “Let’s try again,” Bub said, setting our drinks on the table. “This time, focus on that heartbreaking bastard of yours.”

  I sn
atched up the throwing stars and assumed the position. Bub slid up behind me again. I had a moment to wonder if my lousy aim didn’t have something to do with his muscled chest pressed up against my back. It was distracting as hell the way my pulse raced whenever he was this close. I tried to forget he was behind me and let my mind rewind back to class the night before.

  Craig was impossible. Not only was he thrilled that Grace had thrown us together, but he was also trying to play it off like he somehow needed to pass this class, insisting that we get together as soon as possible to layout our presentation. And then when I insisted that we meet at my place, he had the audacity to act concerned about the demon attack he’d overheard Artemis gossiping about.

  I cringed and looked up at the oval clock on Bub’s wall. Craig would be meeting me at Holly House in two hours.

  “Anytime now, love.” Bub sighed over my shoulder, dropping one hand from my waist down to my hip. My pulse leapt again, reminding me where I was and who I was with.

  I scowled at the board, trying to picture Craig. The star felt heavier in my hand. With Bub at my back and Craig in mind, my stomach was doing summersaults with an overwhelming mix of anger and desire swirling around in there. I took aim and flung the star with enough force that half of it sank into the dartboard when it struck. It wasn’t perfect, but it was touching the bull’s eye. I let out a little yelp when Bub scooped me up from behind and spun me in a circle.

  “Thank the abyss.” He laughed, tickling the back of my neck with his goatee as he set me down. “One more day of this, and we’re moving on to something new.”

  “Really?” I rotated in his grasp to face him. “It’s not another long range weapon, is it?”

  Bub smirked, flashy one of his dirty grins. “There’s a joke in there, but I think I’ve made you uncomfortable enough for one day.”

  “What? I never said I was uncomfortable,” I protested.

  Bub released me and sauntered behind the bar. “I’ve been standing all of three inches away from you most of the day, and you think I can’t tell?” He chuckled softly as he mixed us another round, pouring me another tequila without even asking.