Divine Vices (35 page)

“Knock,
knock,” declared my dad, poking his head through my door as I remained
stationed in bed. “Something just arrived in the mail for you.”

“Hate
mail?” I chuckled.

“Sorry,
but no. It’s a box, actually.”

“What
is it?”

“I
don’t know. I didn’t open it.”

“So
what do you think? Severed head or armed explosive?”

“I’ll
leave you to find out,” he said, slipping out a long black and white apparel
box from behind his back.

He
put it at the foot of my bed, leaving me to scrutinize its exterior. Silk
ribbons were bound around the sides of it, coming together at the center to
knot into a sleek bow. I untied the trimming and pulled the cover off, seeing
its beautiful contents.

“Well,
it wouldn’t be fair to leave you on a dress hook now, would it?” I said with a
curious smile.

With
the exception to my cousin’s debutante ball years ago, I couldn’t think of
another occasion in my life that I had ever gotten
really
dressed up
for. Yet, there I found myself at a quarter past seven coating on one final
crimson layer of lipstick and applying the finishing touches for my false
eyelashes. My hair cascaded down my back in loose, wavy curls, and I tied the
satin ribbons to my black metal filigree Venetian mask behind my head.

“Just
breathe,” I assured myself as I grabbed my matching crystal studded clutch.
“All you have to do.”

My
thin stiletto heels still clacked on every step despite my desperate attempt to
discretely climb down the stairs and make a beeline for the side door to the
driveway.

“Where
are you off to?” called out my dad from his office.

He
clearly had not gotten a very good look at me before the declaration, because
he did a double take as he entered the kitchen. “Wow... I guess you changed
your mind, eh?”

“Appears
so.”

“May
I inquire who will be picking you up?”

“No
one, actually.”

He
let out a deep sigh after a slight chuckle. “I suppose our talk really didn’t
help after all.”

“I’ll
see you later.” I went to kiss him on the cheek, but he pulled away.

“Don’t
want to ruin your makeup,” he laughed, giving me a kiss instead. “Now, go have
fun.”

“I
will.”

“Mind
doing me a favor though?”

“Sure.”

“Could
you take the old girl out for a ride? I suspect she hasn’t seen these roads in
quite some time,” he said, handing over a set of car keys.

“Are
you kidding me?” I asked, looking down at my palm. “You want me to take the
Cutlass?”

“I
know you’ll be good to her,” he said, at least allowing me hug him.

“Thank
you!”

He
looked me over again with a wide smile. “You're every bit as stunning as your
mother.”

“But
I still have my dad’s character.”

“I’m
very sorry for that, by the way.”

“I’m
not.”

“Love
you.”

“Love
you, too.”

Swinging
the Cutlass into the front of the hotel, a valet stepped out to park the car on
my behalf. I hesitantly relinquished the keys and headed in through the main
doors after receiving my claim ticket.

NEW
HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL’S HOMECOMING: 2ND FLOOR, MADISON BANQUET.

I
trekked my way up the stairs and saw some familiar faces of my fellow
classmates at the end of the hall.

Walking
through the red velvet curtains hanging over the banquet’s entrance, I found
myself suddenly in the middle of a true masquerade. Everything from the sheer
valances, towering columns, long-stemmed candlesticks, countless red roses, and
the building’s natural ornate splendor left me in awe.

Even
under the dim glow of candlelight, a particularly hale figure stood out among
the rest of the guests, his wolf-like eyes still gleaming brightly from a
distance. There Jack was, donned in a sleek black tuxedo with a matching dress
shirt that had the first few buttons at the top opened, along with his
perfectly disheveled midnight black locks tousled about his head. He had even
ditched his signature riding boots for a pair of black patent dress shoes.

“Oh
my God! You made it!” shouted Gwen gleefully, racing up to me in a silky, red
haltered gown. “And you look amazing!”

“Thank
you. You do too,” I replied, still gawking at the ballroom. “Seems you know how
to work well in a time crunch. This place is gorgeous.”

“I
know, right? And thank God the Knights won the game tonight. Another upset and
I probably would have had an aneurism.”

“Gwen,
we need you!” called out Trish, pointing at the stage. “We can’t get the mikes
to work. You know where Steve is?”

“Hold
on,” she said with a light roll of the eyes. “See, my job’s never done.”

“Well,
go avert the crisis, Wonder Woman. We’re counting on you,” I chuckled as she
left.

“May
I ask you for a dance?”

I
turned to see Jack suddenly appear at my side.

“Aren’t
you a little old to be attending a high school dance?” I replied. “By several
thousand years, give or take.”

“Ouch,”
he cracked. “It’s lovely to see you too. And you look ravishing, might I add.”

He
admired every inch of my black and red laced gown, from its sweetheart neckline
all the way down to its mermaid flared skirt.

“What
brings you here?” I asked, once his eyes finally met back with mine.

“Well,
in order to keep an eye on things, I still have to keep this façade going,
don’t I?” he replied. “I’ve been told that this is rather mandatory if you wish
to fit in around here. Speaking of which, what changed your mind so that you’d
grace us with your presence? Meyer misinformed me in regard to your attendance
this evening.”

“Some
bodyguard you make,” I cracked. “You don’t even know my whereabouts.”

“I
was told you weren’t feeling too good, and that you’d be spending the evening
safely tucked away at home with your father. If I had known, I would have
offered an invitation to be your escort,” he said with pause. “Though I have
the distinct feeling that you would not have consented to such a proposal.”

I
simply grinned. “Well, there was also the concern that you might blow this
place apart as well, but you do look to be in better health, so I suppose I
could stay for a little while.”

“Thank
you.”

“That
still doesn’t explain your wrecking ball of a histrionical display that
resulted in having the entire school locked down pending further investigation,”
I said. “What exactly did you think you would prove by scaring Ian and me?”

He
smiled. “I wasn’t out to
scare
anyone.”

“Then
what was your purpose?”

“Call
it
protocol
.”

“How
cryptic,” I cracked. “Do I actually get any insight to that?”

“It’s
part of our code, if things go sideways.”

“Like
the
subject
finding out about you?”

“Yeah,
something like that,” he said, still grinning. “Containment is the priority.”

“So
my freaking out in the middle of a crowded gymnasium-”

“Left
me with a lot to clean up? Yeah.”

“Why
didn’t you just use your little trick to knock me out as well? Would’ve made it
a hell of a lot easier for you to
contain
me.”

“Because
I can’t use it on you.”

“Part
of your code?”

He
didn’t reply.

“And
what were you going to do with Ian?”

“I
plead the fifth.”

“After
everything you’ve done here, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable in wanting an
actual answer,” I declared. “If we hadn’t trapped you, what would have happened
to us?”

Jack’s
jaw wrenched to the side. “You’re not gonna like what I have to say.”

“Tell
me something I don’t already know.”

“Well,
one of my many talents happens to be wiping memories from people’s minds, if
it’s done immediately after the incident.”

“But
Ian’s immune to it,” I interjected.

“Precisely,”
he confirmed. “So with no other option left in regard for me keeping him quiet,
I would have had to kill him. As far as you were concerned, I would have had to
take you and hand you off to my superiors.”

“And
what would they have done to me?”

“That’s
their business.”

“Why
didn’t you just finish the job after I released you?”

“Because
I’m a big softy,” he cracked. “And you earned points with me by not going
through with the whole exorcism. Proved that my mission may not have been a
complete failure.”

“And
Ian?”

“I
have the distinct feeling that I wouldn’t have made it on your good side if,
let’s say, I’d force your precious magician to participate in the whole ‘sawing
someone in half’ trick that ended in a less than satisfactory outcome.”

“Really?”
I mockingly gasped. “I can’t imagine why that would upset me.”

“What
can I say? I have a flare for the dramatics.”

“Why
don’t you tell that to Meyer when she gets back? She’ll love to hear of your
culpability in almost ruining her dance.”

“No
thank you,” he laughed. “I happen to like this body, and I intend on keeping
it.”

“Aww,
sounds to me like the big bad demon is afraid of a hundred and fifteen pound
girl,” I teased. “And rightfully so. Speaking of our dear Nancy Drew, might I
inquire about your A.A. volunteer work?”

Jack
looked at me and chuckled. "Wow, you and Meyer take snooping to a whole
new level. Tell me, what else did you uncover about me? Am I a boxers or briefs
kind of guy?"

"Ha-ha.
You can poke fun all you want, but I’d say it’s more than a safe assumption that
Meyer was right. Your motives for participating in A.A. are rather more
nefarious, aren’t they?”

“Well,
if you must know, that’s our way of scouting for potential hosts for those of
us who have yet to be blessed with permanent bodies.”

“You’re
despicable.”

“Hey,
we have managed to actually help people along the way-”

“At
the cost of hindering far many more I’d reckon.”

We
remained on the sidelines, watching others mingle and jive.

“All
right, enough of this
standing on ceremony
nonsense. It’s a dance,” said
Jack, extended his hand out to me. “Will you do me the honor?”

With
a childlike grin, he batted his eyelashes at me until I accepted just as a
slower song began.

“Thank
you,” he said, leading us out onto the dance floor.

“This
isn’t exactly safe, you know,” I said, as he spun me around and pulled me back
into his embrace. “Being seen together here, I mean.”

“Don’t
you worry yourself,” he assured. “No one’s here who shouldn’t be.”

“I
wasn’t referring to that,” I said, nodding over to Stacy. “Gwen informed me of
whom you would be taking tonight. And might I say, your date doesn’t appear to
be particularly pleased.”

That
was an understatement. She looked PISSED!

“I
wouldn’t be so sure she’s staring at us,” he replied, nodding to his left. “My
money’s on that she’s eyeballing the buffet tables over there. I have it on
high authority that she really hasn’t eaten anything since the seventh grade,
which might explain her vicious mood swings. You know, low blood sugar can be a
real bitch.”

I
turned my head from him as I tried to repress a smile, but he managed to pull
my chin back up before I could conceal it.

“Is
that a
real
smile I see?” he teased as I lightly slapped his hand away.

“Why
is it so hard to hate you?”

“I
have no idea,” he chuckled. “Most are repulsed by me after not too long, even
without the curtain dropping.”

“That
I don’t doubt.”

“In
all seriousness though, can I ask you something?”

“You’ve
never needed my permission before, so don’t let me stop you now.”

“Why
were you so surprised to see Ian in the gym when you ran from me?”

“I
thought you were him,” I replied after a moment. “But that doesn’t come as much
of a shock to you, does it?”

“No.”

“Is
he like you?”

“In
what way?”

“Every.”

He
became uneasy. “No, not at all.”

“What
does that mean?”

“It
means he’s a good guy.”

“And
that makes you what then? The villain?”

“In
the larger scope of things, yes.”

“Yet
you’re here to protect me?”

“Don’t
think I’m without my own agenda.”

“And
don’t think you’re without compassion either,” I countered. “I saw it in your
eyes the other night, at the bar.”

“What?”

“Conflict.
Whatever it is that you have planned, you’re still at odds with it. That’s why
you didn’t hand me off to your bosses after last night. If there’s anything
that I’ve learned in my nearly-seventeen years on this planet, it’s that you
still have to possess, even in its smallest degree, a sense of morality if
you’re stricken by internal conflict.”

“You
give me too much credit.”

“No,
I don’t, because I can’t even begin to imagine all the horrible things you’ve
done, and I don’t want to. But despite everything, I can still see it for
myself that you’re capable of better,” I said.

“I
appreciate your confidence in me, but I’m still not sure if I can deliver on
that,” he replied.

“You
could take a step in the right direction by telling me what all this is about.
I can’t imagine that you’d willingly subject yourself to the hells of high
school for no good reason,” I remarked lightly.

“What?
You don’t think I like going for the fun of it?”

“No,
because no one does. The teachers don’t even like going.”

“Yeah,
you’ve got me there.”

“So,
is this business or pleasure?”

“Regrettably,
both.”

“Which
is regrettable?”

“I
think it’s plainly evident to say that I’m more of an all-play-and-no-work kind
of guy. So when I’m under orders, I tend to skew from plan.”

“Which
makes me beg the bigger question, what on earth could you possibly see in a
sixteen year old that would be so appealing?”

“That
a trick question?”

“I’m
wholly serious. You’ve lived throughout the course of human history, yet you’re
enticed by a mere schoolgirl? I’m not buying it.”

“Well,
you should keep in mind that when you’ve been around for as long as I have, you
too would find it rather difficult to come across someone else in your real age
bracket. Especially one with a pulse,” he chuckled. “And you still severely
underestimate yourself. You have no idea just how truly refreshing you really
are. I can say in all honesty that I have yet to meet another woman in my time
who could manage to be just as equally sportive and feisty as I am, yet also
somehow manage to retain her innocence as you have. That’s why I left you the
other night. I had presented myself to you under false pretenses, and quite
frankly, I think that pill would have been far too bitter for me to swallow if
I had sullied you like that... You deserve better.”

“My,
my. Seems to me like maybe you’ve been in that body a bit too long, because
that sounds like something vaguely resembling humility.”

“No,
I’m afraid it’s not the body. This peculiar offense against my
prince of
darkness
nature seems to be a rather recent development, which I blame you
for fully, by the way.”

“You’re
welcome.”

“I’ve
also been thinking...”