“Okay, that’s fair,” Madison got up and returned her chair back beneath the table. “Could you just give my sister a message for me?”
Tadin rolled his eyes.
“Write it down,” he said. “I’ll never remember it.”
“Okay,” she took a notebook from the counter and scribbled down a long note. Tadin saw that her handwriting was extremely messy. She finished writing and handed him the paper. “Just give her this for me, okay?”
He was just about to say that he’d leave her the note when he looked up and Madison was gone. Her footsteps faded down the stairs until only silence remained.
“Well, that was fast,” he muttered and shut the front door, making sure to turn the lock.
As he set the note on the table, his curiosity got the better of him and he started reading.
It took him a few tries to decipher the writing, but after a close reading he set the note down on the table and collapsed into a chair with a laugh. Kismit slinked back into the room and preened himself in the corner.
“Shelley’s got a big surprise waiting for her when she gets home,” he said to the cat.
Kismit meowed in agreement.
Chapter Nineteen:
Sunday - 6:30pm
Haures sat at his desk and looked over his ledger. The columns were filling themselves in as if by an invisible pen. The room was so quiet he heard the sound of the ink line scrolling across the paper. In the background was the faint pounding of Candice's fists against the false wall of the library.
Pyro leaned against the wall near the window. His arms were crossed and he stared down at the busy sidewalk below.
“So, what's the plan?” he asked.
Haures looked up from his paperwork. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” Pyro brought his hand up to his mouth and chewed on one of his nails. “We’ve got the demon hunter. I feel really stupid calling her that, but, it is what it is.”
Haures nodded. At least he had her soul under his belt. That was a good start to the night. Every couple thuds down the hall were separated by muffled cries of frustration. She'll wear herself out eventually, he thought.
“Yes, we do have her,” Haures said. “Good job, Pyro. I don't know if Corporate was worried that she was a safety hazard to us, but they certainly made it clear that they wanted her taken care of sooner rather than later.”
“What a disappointment,” Pyro hit the long curtains hanging next to him. They drifted back and forth. “All I had to do was lock her in a room. That was it. Not even a fight. It's been too long since I've been able to really fight a human.”
Haures watched as his ledger filled in the last column for Candice. The only piece remaining was a small section for her time of death. He looked up at Pyro and smiled.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get your share of fighting before the night is over.”
“I hope so.”
Leave it to Pyro, Haures thought. He's restless. That could be both good and bad. He didn't trust his assistant one hundred percent, but he still hated the idea of replacing Pyro. Training someone new was a hassle. He liked familiarity almost as much as he liked productivity.
“When are you going to stuff her soul into one of your jars?” Pyro asked. “Soon?”
“In a few minutes,” Haures got up and stretched his arms. “They’re not jars. They're figurines."
“Dolls,” Pyro spat. “I hate those things. Really creepy. Their eyes constantly stare at you, following you no matter where you are.”
“That’s on purpose,” Haures grinned. “To stop a curious demons like you from getting sticky fingers.”
“That’s stupid. What good are a bunch of souls to me?”
Haures raised an eyebrow.
“I thought you wanted to move up the ladder? Isn’t that your goal?”
“Please,” Pyro said, rolling his eyes. “That was my goal ten years ago, but now? After seeing all the shit you deal with? Absolutely not. Being a soul collector is not my ambition.”
“Then what is?” Haures was curious. Pyro never talked about his ambitions. Those were a mystery to him. There seemed to be something in the air — a shift in energy. Haures thought that he might get the younger demon to open up for once.
Pyro looked like he was considering how to answer before finally settling on a response.
“I want to move out of this state,” he said. “Maybe get a position as an Inflictor. I'm tired of being a secretary.”
“You’re not just a secretary,” Haures said. “I let you go on hunts when I can.”
“Only after Aleister proves too incompetent,” Pyro scowled. “I’m telling you right now, I'm not going to be a house sitter for much longer. The most fun I've had in a long time was terrifying this Candice girl, and even that was only mildly entertaining. I can’t believe she honestly thought that she could pull a fast one on me without any spiritual help. Why did you hire her anyway?”
“To keep her close by,” Haures replied. “I didn’t need another target getting away. Plus you were a good babysitter while she puttered around.”
Pyro laughed.
“I want to do something more meaningful with my existence,” he said.
“Wanting and actually being lucky enough to do something are two different things,” Haures tried counseling the demon, but Pyro was a hard egg to crack. Still, he pressed on. “The Superiors are the ones who have to give you the OK to move to a new position. Even then, you need me to sign off as well.”
“And let me guess,” Pyro glared over at him, “you’re not going to sign off?”
Haures didn't reply. He pursed his lips for a moment and looked down at his ledger.
“That’s alright,” Pyro continued. “You’re not going to last very long anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” It was Haures’s turn to glare.
“Exactly what you think it means. I know about your letters from Corporate. I've read a bunch of them when you're off drinking. Your time is up, whether you like it or not. Can you imagine if I hadn't found Tadin Hough for you? I bet you'd be sitting in the outer darkness right now, completely useless.”
Before Haures could stop himself, he lunged across the room and grabbed Pyro by the neck. His breath was hot, shooting through his nostrils like an angry dog. Haures pressed his face close to Pyro, who stood there, expressionless.
“Do it,” the demon said. “I’ve been begging for a little excitement around here. Corporate might even send someone to take you down with me, for being such a failure.”
Pyro’s neck was thin between his fingers. He grasped it just a moment longer, then released his grip and stepped away.
“Don’t call me a failure again,” he said. “Ever. I've worked damn hard my entire existence to get where I am.”
“Sure you did,” Pyro said, straightening the collar of his shirt. He stretched his neck a few times.
With one last look at Pyro, Haures started across the room.
“Where are you going now?” Pyro asked.
“To finish what I started,” Haures replied. Without turning he added, “You can come and watch, if you want.”
Knowing that Pyro wouldn't turn his nose up at the invitation, Haures continued onwards to the library where Candice was locked up. It was time he removed her soul.
Stuff it into a jar, he thought. A permanently staring jar.
Chapter Twenty:
Sunday - 5:45pm
The sun was just setting when Shelley returned to the apartment. She felt very guilty abandoning Tadin for so long, but as soon as she heard her sister’s voice, she had to bolt. She set her groceries down on the counter and tried to think of a few excuses for her dramatic exit.
The television was on in the living room and the sound wafted into the kitchen.
“Tadin?” she called.
She went into the living room and found Tadin sprawled on the couch. He had the remote control in hand and two beers sat on the coffee
table.
“Oh,” he glanced over at her. “You’re finally home.”
She crossed her arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m channel surfing.”
“And drinking beer?” she grinned.
“Pretending to.”
He patted the cushion beside him.
“Care to join me?”
Anxious to be near him, she settled on the couch and was surprised to feel him warm and solid. She rested her cheek against his chest.
“Where did you go all day?” he asked, resting his mouth against the top of her head.
“I went to the store and bought a few things.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, so I went to a few stores. But, I only bought groceries.” She took one of the beers from the coffee table and took a sip. “Sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have left you like that.”
“Yeah — what was that all about, anyway?” Tadin waited for her answer.
All her excuses — her issues with her sister being overbearing only coming around when she wanted something — sounded stupid. She gave up trying to sound logical.
“That was Madison, my sister,” she started. “We don’t really get along, so I decided it was best to avoid her.”
Tadin snorted. “I haven’t seen you run so fast since the finale of The Bachelor was on. You had to get away, that’s fine. But, did you really have to leave me alone with her?”
She thought he was angry, but looked up to see a grin on his face.
“Stop it!” she nudged him. “You didn’t have to answer the door. That part’s all your fault.”
“Really? All my fault? Well,” he groaned. “I was trying to be polite. I didn’t know she was related to you until after I let her in. She was very pushy. I thought she was going to walk right through me, so I had no choice but to step aside and let her in.”
“Of course she’s pushy. She’s the one who gets everything she wants. Mom just gives it to her because she’s the youngest. What mom doesn’t see is that Maddy is a total suck-up.”
“Sucking up can get you things, if you do it right.”
“True,” she swirled her beer, listening to the sound it made in the can. “That’s how she gets everything she wants.”
“Just not an apartment, apparently,” said Tadin.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“She won’t get her own apartment,” he shrugged. “You can see for yourself. She left you a lovely note.”
“You’re kidding me.”
She sat up and took the folded piece of notebook paper from the lamp stand. Madison’s scrawl littered both sides of the page. It took Shelley a moment to figure out which one was the front. After she finished reading the entire note twice — the first time in a rush, the second time to really grasp what was being said, she sat back and rolled her eyes.
The note described how unfair and selfish their mother was, apparently very recently. Madison wanted out of the house. She just couldn’t afford a place on her own, nor would their mother lend her any money to move out. It figured Linda didn’t want her last daughter to move away. It was bad enough Maddy had lived on campus for a semester. Shelley barely tolerated sharing an entire campus with her sister, and was glad when graduation finally came and she put as much distance as possible between the two of them.
She finished reading the ridiculous note and tossed the paper to the coffee table.
“Is she serious?” she asked. “She’s really asking to stay with us?”
“Apparently,” Tadin took the note from the table and glanced it over. “She begged me to convince you that it was a good idea. She also constantly judged my clothes.”
“What were you wearing?” Shelley raised an eyebrow.
Tadin’s neck went red, and he crossed his arms.
“A wife beater and some pajama pants...it’s not really important.”
“Sounds like a good first impression to me,” Shelley was having fun watching Tadin’s embarrassment. She couldn’t make him suffer too long, however. “I’m really not surprised. That’s the way Maddy is. She thinks she can talk her way into anything.” She finished her beer and cracked open another. “I think it’s funny that she’s asking to live with me. The whole point of moving out was so I could get away from her!”
Shelley gulped down another mouthful of beer. The carbonation burned her throat and she felt it fizzing in her stomach. “That’s good,” she said, licking her lips.
“Yeah?” Tadin smiled.
“Mm-hmm.”
He laughed.
“What?” she said. “Why are you laughing at me?”
“Because,” he planted a kiss on her slightly parted lips. “You’re so amusing when you freak out over your sister.”
“I don’t think it’s amusing! Madison knows where I live now!”
“And she didn’t know before?”
“I never told anyone but Dad where my apartment was.”
“There you have it,” Tadin nodded.
“What?” she asked. “You think my dad told Maddy our address?”
“Why not?” he said. “If he wants you to be on friendly terms, then it’s totally possible.”
“I doubt it.”
Tadin shrugged. “Most parents want their kids to get along. Even when they become adults.”
She shook her head. She’d have to talk to Daddy about giving out her personal information to the rest of the family. What was next? A family reunion on her doorstep? She definitely wasn’t ready for that, especially with the gallery just getting traction.
“Don’t worry,” said Tadin. “She’s not going to live with us. Your cat is more than enough babysitting for me.”
“Good,” she said. “If she wants an apartment, she can get a job and save up her money to pay for one the way I did. I sold a lot of coffee to get what I have, and I did it on my own with no help from Mom. She should do the same. Maybe then she’d appreciate what she has.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
She drained the rest of her second beer and set down the empty.
“I swear my sister drives me to drink. How did you know I needed a few beers to go with the note?”
“I didn’t. I just wanted to prep you for a night of movies and cuddling.” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her tenderly.
“Cuddling, huh?” she said. “Are you sure you can’t read my mind?”
“Pretty sure,” he said. “I’m just good at guessing.”
With that, they spent the rest of the night together. Shelley decided that there was nowhere else she’d rather be than with Tadin.
Chapter Twenty-One:
Monday - 8:45am
Tadin woke to blades of sunlight slanting through the gaps in the curtain. His side of the bed was baking. He sat up with a groan. He heard the busy street below. Cars honked at each other and people chatted as they walked down the sidewalk.
It was definitely a Monday morning. His entire being ached from lack of sleep. Something about Shelley made him restless beside her. If he had a physical heart it would race every time she brushed against him. Instead, his energy pulsated intensely.
He rolled over to check on Shelley beside him, but found that the bed was empty. He vaguely remembered her kissing him on the forehead, but after that it was all a blur of dreams.
“What time is it?” he muttered and looked to the clock.
It was still early. The gallery wasn’t open for another hour.
Kismit yowled as Tadin got up. He rolled his eyes at the cat’s death glare.
“Good-morning to you, too,” he said and stumbled into the living room.
His first thought was that Shelley might be taking a shower. But, when he listened at the bathroom door there was nothing but silence. The bathroom, too, was empty.
Maybe she got up earlier than I thought. He ran a hand through his hair and looked for clues that she had used the bathroom.
He found her toothbrush still wet from the faucet, and the mirror had a hint of vapor on its edges.
He moved onto the kitchen.
“Shelley?” he called.
Silence.
He felt anxious at the idea of being alone.
Stop it, he thought. You’re not alone any more. He had to focus on that.
For the heck of it, he called her name once more.
“Shel? Are you home?”
“No,” said a male voice behind him, “but, I am.”
He spun on his heel in surprise.
Haures Grantley stood before him. The demon looked old, but Tadin knew that was just a trick. There was nothing frail about Haures.
“You’re surprised to see me?” Haures asked.
Tadin didn't know what to say. A soul collector stood in front of him, in his own apartment!
“How did you get in here?” he moved backwards until the counter bumped against him. “You’re not allowed in here unless someone invited you in —”
“Somebody did,” Haures replied. “Miss Macyntire was kind enough to welcome me into the gallery the other day. In fact, I was her first customer. Isn't that ironic? Don't look so stunned. I had it planned from the beginning. There's little in this city that goes under my radar, especially the opening of a new business.”
Damn it! He never warned Shelley about demons at all, or welcoming one over the threshold. He was too distracted.
“Don’t worry,” Haures continued. “I paid her well for that portrait of you.”
“You’re the one who bought that?”
This was too much for him. Everything was being yanked from beneath his feet. His relationship, the gallery, and his time with Shelley were coming to a screeching halt because of Haures. The day had come.
“Yes, I bought that painting,” Haures walked to the table and took a seat. “The painting is incredibly valuable to me. Without an accurate photo of you before your death, I was afraid your figurine would look a little off-kilter. Thankfully Miss Macyntire did all the work for me and painted a dead on portrait of you. My friend the glass sculptor was glad to have such an accurate picture to work from.”
Macyntire & Hough (A Paranormal Romance) (The Macyntire & Hough Saga) Page 12
