“What’s his name?”
“His name?”
“Yes. He’s got a name, doesn’t he?”
In a moment of panic, I settled on the one person who I knew could think on his feet enough to handle a little heat from the cops. “Parker, Parker Davies.”
“Address.”
I had no idea what Parker’s home address was, so I gave the address for the club.
“Wait… isn’t that where you work?” Detective Santiago flipped through the pages of her little notebook.
“Yes, Parker owns the place.”
“You’re sleeping with your boss?”
I opened my mouth to protest the question again, but decided it was easier to admit to being a cliché. “You can’t help who you fall in love with.” It was impossible to keep the forlorn note from my voice, though it had nothing to do with Parker.
“Right.” There was no inflection to her tone, but I could tell she wasn’t too keen on women who dumped their cop boyfriends to shack up with their bosses. “Police were dispatched to this building for shots fired that same night. Did you hear anything unusual that night?”
The other detective hadn’t asked me that. “I remember hearing the sirens, but I was already in bed, so I wasn’t sure what it was all about.”
“Alone or can your boss corroborate that?”
“Alone, he was still at the club.” It gave me no alibi, but there were bound to be people at the club who remembered Parker being there that night.
“Gates’ car was spotted here the night he disappeared.”
“Yeah, he gave me a ride home.”
“But then you broke up and he left.”
“Right.”
“Why was it still here when the cops arrived later?”
My palms started to sweat. “I have no idea, maybe he went for a walk to cool off?”
“I thought you said before it was amicable?”
“Well sure, there wasn’t any shouting or anything, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t both upset about it.” I was about to suggest the idea that maybe he got jumped by muggers when he was all alone on the street, when Raziel stepped out of my bedroom as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
“I thought you said your boyfriend wasn’t around,” Santiago’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Super. That was all I needed. “No, this isn’t Parker…”
“How many men
are
you juggling, Ms. Renault?”
“No, it’s not like that…” I started to explain, but Raziel cut me off, gliding across the room with effortless grace, all smiles and polish.
“Let me assure you, dear lady, nothing could be further from the truth.”
Santiago looked at him like he was something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe, and I had to admire her ability to resist his Grace. Most women would have been fawning all over the handsome man.
I stepped up to intervene before he volunteered some tidbit of information that would land us in hotter water. “This is my friend Raze, and he was using my bathroom, nothing more. You didn’t spend the night here at all, did you?”
“No, I spent the night searching for the key to the prophecy I spoke of.”
“Prophecy?” Santiago blinked, and I could tell he’d thrown her for a loop.
“He’s really into that doomsday stuff, you know, ‘the world is coming to an end’ predictions? I’ve been telling him it’s a load of crap, but he’s been hooked ever since he saw that movie with the asteroid the size of Texas. So, did you need anything else, Detective?” I smiled sweetly, hoping like hell Raziel kept his trap shut until after she left.
Her eyes narrowed, but after a pregnant pause, Detective Santiago tucked the notebook back into her jacket pocket. “No, that’s all for now.” She didn’t give me her card or ask me to call her if any new information came up, instead she paused by the door. “You should know, I’ve never lost a case. It’s only a matter of time before I find out what happened to him.” Her aura fairly crackled with menace, and I resisted the urge to shrink back from that steely gaze.
“I’m glad to hear it. All I want is for Ben to come back safe and sound.” Finally something I could tell her without reservation. I don’t know if she believed me or not though, her expression didn’t change before she left.
“Great,” I collapsed on the couch. “As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.”
“Something troubles you?” Raziel looked genuinely perplexed by my outburst.
“Yeah, something troubles me. Why did you start talking about the prophecy in front of the detective? Why did you even let her see you? What happened to not revealing yourself to humans?”
“She did not know I am of the heavenly host. Besides, she is with the police, is she not? Aren’t the police on our side?”
“Not when we have direct knowledge of the kidnapping of one of Seattle’s finest,” I lowered my voice just in case. “She looked like she would like nothing better than to find a reason to pin it on me too. Trust me, she is
not
our friend.”
“I’m sorry, I had not realized…”
“You have to be careful here. You can’t go talking about prophecies or angels or anything that would cause anyone to look twice at you.” Well, more than they would because he was smoking hot, like all angels were. “In fact, if anyone asks, you’re my cousin visiting from out of town, say that back to me.”
“I am your cousin visiting from out of town. Mercy, I do not wish to lie…”
“You’re not, you’re stretching the truth a little. I’m part angel too, that makes me your relative of sorts, and you are visiting, and you don’t live here in town, right?”
“Yes,” he allowed, though I could tell he wasn’t convinced.
“Did you find anything out last night?” I changed the subject, but before he could answer, there was another knock on the door. “You, make yourself imperceptible if it’s anyone you don’t recognize, you got me?” At his nod I approached the door, taking care to check through the peephole first that time. Immediately I relaxed, seeing my brother slouching against the door frame.
“Hey, Matty, and here I thought you turned to dust if you rose before noon. Come on in,” I invited him, freezing when I saw Parker standing beside him. Afraid things would be awkward between us after his surprise kiss the night before, I wasn’t quite sure what to say, so I settled for the ever appropriate, “hey.”
“Hey, I brought donuts,” he gave me his usual half smile and strolled right in as if it had never happened. Maybe I hallucinated it the night before? Whatever the cause, I was glad to get no furtive looks or wounded ego from him, there was enough on my plate to worry about.
Matty was in the middle of imparting a lifetime of knowledge on the importance of choosing the right donut to Raziel, who hung on his every word. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t just dive in all willy nilly without giving this some serious thought.” Matty pulled the box away when Raziel reached for a jelly-filled donut. “If this is the first thing you’ve ever eaten, you gotta start slow. Like, try the glazed old fashioned, it’s not too complex for that first bite. You can’t go for the jelly right off the bat, your head will explode.”
“If anyone asks, we’re dating by the way,” I murmured to Parker who went straight for the coffeepot, picking out a mug with a cute, fluffy kitten on the front.
“I have no problem with that.”
“Just so you know, I had to tell this new detective that we’re seeing each other, she came to see me this morning about Ben’s case.”
“Actually, just so
you
know, I have a strict no dating policy with my staff.”
“Yeah, right…” I scoffed. Then where had that kiss come from? I wasn’t about to say that though, especially not with other people in the room.
“No, seriously. It’s in the employee handbook, didn’t you read it? I’m gonna have to report you to HR.” He waggled his eyebrows at me playfully, and I couldn’t help but laugh in response.
“You don’t even have a handbook.” Or an HR department, he was the sole owner of Eden as far as I knew. There wasn’t even a job application to fill out. Basically if you were cute and looked semi-reliable, he hired you on the spot.
“It wouldn’t keep me from dating you even if I did,” he winked, picking up his mug to rejoin the others where Raziel chewed carefully, a thoughtful look on his face while Matty stole the jelly donut.
I didn’t know if we should wait for Sam and Daphne to arrive before the brainstorming began. Sam spent less and less time at my place since Adam’s deal with Raum kept any demons from attacking me. While I enjoyed my privacy, it did make me a little sad sometimes that we weren’t as close anymore. By the time the donuts were mostly gone I decided we had to get the show on the road.
“Raziel, tell us, what does the prophecy say exactly?”
After a moment’s hesitation, he recited it for us, in a rich, dramatic voice. “
Into the land between the living and the dead shall one of the Fallen dwell, and none shall know the true depravity of his will until all is lost. Forsaking the heavens, he shall join the Lost in eternal torment, until his light become scored and pitted with ruination. Then will his immortal soul fall under the sway of the Damned, giving rise to a new evil. And goodness and mercy shall surely perish for all days.
”
“Huh. That doesn’t sound too good,” Matty frowned, summing it up for all of us. I was a little more worried about how to take that last line.
“What do you think he meant by ‘goodness and
mercy
shall surely perish’? Am I supposed to die?” He could have mentioned that little tidbit the night before!
I could see the struggle on Raziel’s face as he tried to skirt the truth of his own concern. “I do not think he meant to speak of you by name, dear la… Mercy,” he corrected himself. “Often times prophecies speak in generalities, it is very rare to single out an individual by name.”
That was true I supposed. In the other prophecy about me it never came right out and called me Mercy, it called me the Bringer of Life or something. “Okay, but how can we be sure?”
“I have given this much thought, and I think I should go find the prophet himself. Before we lend too much credence to his words, we should ascertain whether or not he speaks in true prophecy or if it is only the ravings of a madman.”
Parker’s eyes narrowed at that. “Don’t you think your bosses would have figured out if he was looney tunes before they sent you here to stop it from happening?”
“Gabriel did not share that information with me, he only bade me come help you prevent it.”
“I appreciate your willingness to track him down for me. I agree, if he’s cuckoo for cocoa puffs, it takes some of the pressure off. But either way, I’m planning on breaking both Adam and Ben out of Midian, so we’ll keep working on that.” I was adamant on that point.
“I’d best be off then. In the meantime, have faith, Mercy. All will be as it should.” Raziel lifted my hands again in his curious form of farewell, kissing the air above them. With a final nod to the others and surreptitiously sneaking another glazed donut, he left through the balcony slider.
“That’s gotta be cool, flying like that, don’t you think?” Matty wondered aloud, his eyes on the curtain as it fluttered in the breeze.
I felt a pain in my hand, and looked down to see the two bullets I’d pulled out of Adam, the night he’d been shot in my apartment. It was an unconscious habit I’d picked up, playing with the little misshapen slugs of metal, my only real connection to that night. That and Ben’s gun, which Nelo kept for me in the shadows.
“Relax, you’re not gonna die. We’ve got this.” Parker patted my knee reassuringly.
I hadn’t been thinking about that, but I appreciated the sentiment. “What are we going to do then? I guess we should break it down into pieces, that might be easier to tackle than the whole problem. The first step being how to get past Naberios at the Gate to Midian.”
Matty sat a little higher than his usual slouch. “The guy’s lonely, right? Bored, standing around all the time. What if we bring him a PSP or something?”
“Don’t be stupid, where’s he gonna get batteries?” Parker scoffed.
“Demons come and go through the gate all the time. I’m pretty sure they can get batteries if they want to.”
“Are you gonna bring him a bunch of games too then? He’s gonna get bored with just one game. I say we get him a…”
It went back and forth like that, arguing over what would be the best thing to bribe him with, but we weren’t making too much progress until I felt Nelo tap my shoulder.
“Why not try to find another way into Midian, Mistress?”
Chapter Three
“What was that?” My head swiveled to find Nelo crouching behind the couch, doing his best to stay out of the daylight.
“There are other ways into Midian, it has ever been so.”
“Why didn’t you say that in the first place? How do we find them?” Parker asked in exasperation, and Nelo crouched even lower.
“I don’t know.”
“Thanks a lot for that, pal. You’ve been very helpful,” Parker sighed, turning his back on the little guy.
“You are welcome,” Nelo smiled earnestly, but I wasn’t ready to give up on the idea.
“Hold on a sec, who else knows about these other ways in to Midian?”
“Everyone knows they exist, but they are not known to us demons. Witches are the only humans who come and go as they please.”
Witches…
I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe we were looking at it all wrong trying to find an angelic solution to the problem. What if there were witches with real power we could find? Hadn’t Nathanael said something about witches in Portland? That wasn’t too far away. Belatedly, I realized they might not be too keen to help us though, not when there was so much risk to them. “What about Oriana? She didn’t get to leave.”
“She’s different,” Nelo replied, as if that needed no further explanation.
“Who’s Oriana again?” Matty asked, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, it was just like him to forget the details.
“She’s the witch I met in Midian, she has the Sight, and Raum keeps her like a dog on a leash.”