Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons (53 page)

“Hey,” Alex broke in softly. He slipped a hand around each woman’s back, joining their embrace without breaking them apart. “We gotta get back to the apartment, don’t we?”

Lorelei withdrew her hand from Rachel’s blonde hair to caress Alex on the neck. “We should return,” she said, “but I believe things are under control there.”

“Oh good,” Alex sighed with relief. “So now all we’ve gotta worry about is all the cops and firefighters and the chance someone probably got video of this mess on their cell phone.”

“I have us concealed now,” said Lorelei. “No one will see us as we leave.”

“I’ve got the witness angle under control, too,” said Rachel. She nodded toward the crashed cars, the men and women now venturing back out around the wreckage for a peek, and to other things mortals like Alex couldn’t see. “My guys are on the case. One good thing about a mess this big is it brings a lot of guardians running.”

“How bad is it?” Alex asked, wincing as he spoke. “Did anyone…?”

Rachel shook her head. “Nothing that won’t heal. Not once my people took care of the worst of it, anyway. Clusterfucks like this allow for a little divine intervention. It’s kinda miraculous how cars keep getting safer these days, y’know?”

“Oh, thank God.”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, his eyes turning from their surroundings to Lorelei. “You look different.” He paused. “I like the stripes.”

“I cannot say if they will remain,” she replied. “Matters grew desperate while you were gone, Alex. Our victory did not come without personal cost.”

“Yeah. About that,” Rachel grumbled, looking past her partners. “Looks like I got shit to deal with already myself.” She stole another kiss from Lorelei’s lips, and claimed a quicker one from Alex. “Duty calls. I’ll be back when I can.”

The angel slipped away from her lovers. “Okay guys, I won’t even blame you for bitching about all this,” she said to others of her kind her lovers could not see. “I’m only gonna ask for two seconds to drop some perspective on your asses first.” Alex saw her stop in her tracks and wave her arms in annoyance before she faded from his sight. “Don’t try to throw me under the fucking bus! We already hit the quota for that tonight!”

“They’ll be angry with her for leaving her dominion to aid you,” said Lorelei. Her usual human visage returned. She looked worn and tired, but also stronger somehow. “Sammael’s destruction and the rest of this will make up for some of that, but I can’t say how much.”

“Is he gone for good? Like Baal?”

“Without a precedent for such a death, I do not know,” she answered. “I believe so, yes. The only way we’ll ever know is if he someday returns.”

“What is this, anyway?” Alex asked, holding the iron spike in his palm.

Lorelei placed her hand over his. “It is all that remains of my crown.”

Firefighters and police hustled past, looking from one vehicle to the next to check for victims of the accident still trapped in their cars. The spotlight of a helicopter flashed through the lanes as the sound of its engine roared overhead. None of it distracted Alex or Lorelei. Her eyes met his steadily as the implications set in.

“Our bonds will no longer be the same, my love,” she told him. “I was faced with a choice of losses, and I found some bonds are more important than others.”

“We’re still us?”

“Yes. I will never let you go, Alex. You or Rachel.”

He slipped an arm around her waist and grinned with embarrassment. “I’m kind of a mess here,” he admitted.

“And I am the monster who loves you.” She closed the gap between them with a kiss, her lips claiming his without regard for his minor, awkward concerns. The tongue that slid across his was more gentle than hungry, though he felt a hint of that, too. When Lorelei pulled away, he saw no stain on her lips. For a moment, he thought he might not be as unsightly as he thought. Then she grinned. “Even the taste of your blood is sweet to me,” she taunted.

“Creepy.”

“You love it.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

* * *

“This is a Bureau matter and it will stay that way,” said Amber. She held her ID and badge high, though her real credibility came from the uniformed police sergeant standing by her side. He confirmed her authority for the other officers in the lobby with a grim nod. “You will refer any questions to the Bureau and leave it at that. We’re extremely grateful for your help, but we have to take the lead on this. Local agents are in the process of securing the crime scenes and we’ve got a specialist team on their way into town as we speak. Right now the most important thing you can do is keep the media at a distance and restrict access to residents only.”

“Seriously? You had a shootout across two skyscrapers in downtown!” objected one cop. “How the hell are we supposed to keep a lid on all this?”

“Yeah, and it’s not just the media. People live in this building. A lot of people. What are you gonna tell them?” asked a second.

“Hell with that,” said a third officer. “I wanna know what you’re gonna tell
us
!”

“Turns out not much,” Amber replied. She waited through a chorus of groans and complaints before adding, “This was a hit on a witness under Bureau protection. The witness was not a resident of the building and has been moved off site. Sorry I can’t tell you more, but that’s the way it is.”

“What are you, fifteen?” a voice called out.

Officers laughed bitterly. The sergeant winced. “Okay, who said that? Speak up!”

No one answered until an officer in his forties felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a whisper in his ear. “
You will confess and apologize
,” said the woman. “
Now
.”

“Uh…I’m sorry, that…that was me,” he admitted, meekly raising his hand. “Sorry, it’s been a long day already, and…uh…that was…inappropriate?”

Lorelei and Alex slipped the rest of the way around the group of police without raising a shred of notice. The succubus glanced over to Amber to ensure the young agent wouldn’t need another nudge of assistance.

“That was nice of you,” Alex whispered.

“I wanted to tear open his neck,” Lorelei murmured back.

“Wait, you mean literally?”

“Would I lie to you?”

Another officer stood watch around the corner to the elevators. He seemed as oblivious to their presence as the rest. Lorelei stepped up to whisper, “
Ignore us and forget our passing
,” before she hit the call button. The officer dutifully looked away and pulled out his cell phone.

Alex looked back to the entrance of the lobby beyond Amber’s impromptu briefing. Blue and red lights flashed against the windows facing the street. Behind the front reception desk, Alex saw a beleaguered on-duty staffer work feverishly at his computer to answer the demands of yet another police sergeant and someone Alex guessed must be from the fire department.

“Poor Hugo,” he whispered to Lorelei. “The guy doesn’t deserve a night like this.”

“Not many people do. We’ll make it up to him somehow.”

“And the neighbors?” Alex asked.

The elevator chime summoned them inside. Lorelei hit the button for the seventeenth floor and slipped in closer to Alex once the doors closed again. “In truth, I imagine very few other people saw anything that went on. Our enemies wished to keep this conflict private as much as we do.”

“They’re still gonna be freaked out,” said Alex. “The next homeowners’ association meeting will be all about finding a way to give us the boot.”

“We’ll see what Amber’s team comes up with as a cover story. As for the association, leave that to me.”

They found wreckage strewn across the hallway as the elevator opened, along with a broken-out window at the opposite end of the corridor. Thankfully, the neighbors’ doors remained closed. None of them bore any yellow tape marking them as crime scenes.

“Alex!” called out a truly welcome voice. “Lorelei!”

Taylor rushed up from the bend in the hallway to throw her arms around each of her friends. Wade followed, tucking his pistol into his belt at his back along the way. “Dang, ah’m glad to see y’all.”

“Oh man,” Alex sighed. He held Taylor tightly before she moved to hug Lorelei. “You’re both okay. Is everyone else alright, too?”

“Yeah,” Taylor replied. “Jason and Onyx got hurt, but they’ll be fine. Onyx is back on her feet again. Molly’s still taking care of Jason.”

“Ev’ryone’s back in y’all’s place now, ‘cept Amber,” explained Wade. “That gal Sierra from the casino showed up to help, too. We’re all mostly in decent shape, but god damn this one was close.”

Tension drained from Alex’s shoulders. “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay.”

His sense of relief didn’t hang on long. He soon recognized bits of the debris in the hall. “Shit, that’s my helmet,” he grunted, snatching it up off the floor. “And my shoe! Most of the others are Lorelei’s. What happened?”

“Uh. So, like ah said, we’re all okay, but your apartment…well…”

“Are these pieces of our
couch
?”

Despite her weariness, Taylor somehow found it in herself to blush. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“What happened to the couch?”

“It died a noble death,” she assured him.

“Out in the middle of the hallway? With half of our shoes and—is that a doorknob?”

“Sorcerers,” Lorelei muttered. She squeezed his hand. “Be glad a couple of them are on our side. Come on.”

The debris got worse as they turned the corner. Burnt carpeting and blood stains added to the chaos, but that was nothing compared to the bullet holes in the walls and the complete lack of a front door. Alex found the foyer wiped clean of everything from shelves to pictures and every coat and jacket that once hung from hooks along the wall. Half of the corner into the living room had been shot to pieces.

His shock diminished once he found the rest of his friends in his living room, which now stood entirely open to the cold night air. The remaining couch let Jason stretch out under blankets pulled from one of the beds. Molly sat next to him with her wand laid over his chest. Onyx rested on the floor beside her, covered in tiny cuts and bruises under her torn clothes but very much alive. Drew stood with Sierra, apparently looking for any intact glasses they could find in the burnt, demolished kitchen.

“We’re all okay?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” answered Molly. “We’re good.”

Alex looked around again to process it. He could accept a destroyed home if it meant all his friends were in one piece. “So now all we’ve gotta do is figure out how to make sure my mom and Drew’s mom never find out about this.”

“Right?” Drew agreed.

“Wait,” said Sierra. “All this and your first thought is ‘
Oh shit what if our moms find out?
’”

“Well, yeah,” Drew replied.

“S’cool,” Jason mumbled. “I’m kinda on the outs with mine right now.”

“I don’t tell my parents anything,” said Taylor. “They’d never think I was here.”

Wade shrugged. “Eh. Mah fam’ly wouldn’t really be shocked.”

Molly glanced to Onyx, saw her partner innocently turn her eyes up to the ceiling, and said nothing.

“Okay, to be fair, my first thought was, ‘Please don’t let any of my friends be dead,’” said Alex. “And my second thought was, ‘Oh shit, I hope the neighbors are okay.’ We’ve got all that settled. Gotta move on to damage control now.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the newcomer muttered.

“What do
you
worry about after you get out of some crazy-assed supernatural brawl and you’re standing around in a blown-up condo?” Alex asked.

Sierra shook her head. “Drew, your friends are weird.”

“You don’t know our moms.”

“Fine. Whatever. Look, this just happened and it’s Sunday night. Nobody’s watching local news. You don’t think you’ve got bigger things to worry about?”

Then they heard the buzzing noise. Dread washed over Drew as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket, looked to the screen, and winced. “Aw, damn! You had to jinx us, didn’t you?”

They sat in silence over empty plates and coffee mugs. The restaurant was mostly quiet, with its tables filled to only half capacity. Late-night partygoers comprised most of the customer base, all winding down from bars or clubs with a cheap breakfast before going home. The customers in the corner booth had been in their shoes many times before.

Some people danced and drank their nights away. Others fought wizards and demons. In the end, they all wound up at Denny’s.

“Alright. I’m gonna say it. Doesn’t matter if it’s crazy. Your angel friend and the demon lady don’t bother me nearly as much as your FBI friend.”

Sierra’s declaration broke a silence that had been too weary to feel awkward. Drew met it with a shrug and a grin. “That ain’t crazy. Alex feels the same way.”

“Yeah, but he’s fucking the other two. Both of them. Like that isn’t crazy, either,” she grumbled into her last sip of coffee.

“A’ight, stop,” Drew sighed. “He’s my best friend. They’re all my friends. Even the magical ones. Don’t tell me those people you run with never do any weird shit.”

She paused. “Okay, but we can at least acknowledge that it’s weird?”

“Hell, yeah,” he agreed. “Been weird ever since they turned up. Ain’t none of them ever done me wrong, though, or him. We all give Alex some shit for it ‘cause he’s our friend, but he knows we’re only playin’. The world’s got way more important things for everyone to worry about than who’s sleepin’ with who. As long as everything is honest and they treat each other right, why should I care?”

“So you’re not angling for that sort of situation yourself?” Sierra prodded. “None of them are telling you how you should try it?”

“Nah. That stuff isn’t for me. All I ever wanted was one person I can relate to. For a while I thought that meant a lot of trial and error, you know? Just dating like everyone else does. I was good at that. Then all the crazy shit started happening and it got impossible to find anyone who could even come close.”

“Tell me about it. Who the hell can relate to all this?”

“I dunno. Maybe someone tough and down to earth who’s got weirdo friends they gotta back up through some crazy shit sometimes? Oh and hot, too,” he added as his grin returned. “Helps if they’re hot.”

Sierra hesitated once more, this time looking down at her empty mug while she fought with a rebellious smile. The battle ended with a roll of her eyes. “Is this where you turn the tables on me and you do all the flirting?”

“It’s usually more fun if we both participate. Why, is me flirting back a problem?”

“No,” she answered. Her grin faded. “No, your FBI friend is a problem. I’m not gonna hide all this from my people. Bad enough I haven’t called ‘em already, but they’ll understand why when I tell them. And then they’re gonna flip.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why?’ Because they don’t want the Feds even knowing they exist, that’s why. Shit usually doesn’t go well for us when the government gets involved.”

“You don’t say,” Drew deadpanned.

“Hey, I feel you, but you didn’t grow up on a reservation. A lot of the bullshit might be similar, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same.”

“Fair. Listen, my friends didn’t want anyone knowin’ about us, but shit happens, right?”

“Is that what I tell Kate and the others? Shit happens?”

“Okay, they know you exist. That ain’t a crime. They know your crew can use magic, which also isn’t a crime. It’s all about what you do with it. That’s how they roll. Every witness Amber’s team trusts says what you did at the casino was self-defense. They aren’t going near your people, Sierra. They’ve got better things to do.”

“For now,” Sierra grunted. “C’mon, Drew. You can’t be that naïve. Who says they won’t ever change their minds? What happens if they gotta fill some dumb quota? What happens when someone else is in charge?”

“It ain’t about bein’ naïve. I’m sayin’ right now things are cool and that’s the best we can do. If that ever changes, we deal with it. Just like with everyone else who steps up.”

“You plan on being there to help?” she asked.

“I’mma keep lookin’ out for my friends, like I always do.” He watched her eyes turn away again, but he waited for her scowl to diminish. “Staring at that mug won’t get you any more coffee unless you’ve got magic powers I don’t know about yet.”

“You guys need a refill?” asked the waitress as she came by.

Sierra came back at Drew with a triumphant grin before she answered the waitress with, “Please.” Then she winked at her companion while the waitress poured. “Magic words.”

“I’m cool, thanks,” Drew told the waitress before she finished. He waited until she left before he asked, “So what do you do?”

“What, for the circle?” She shrugged. “I’m the lookout and the bodyguard. Most Practitioners focus so much on magic they don’t specialize in other ways to handle the dangerous stuff. Sometimes magic isn’t the best answer to a problem. That’s why it’s good to keep people like me around. I don’t have a formal job title.”

“And you’ve been doing it since high school?”

“More or less.” Sierra’s lips split into another grin. “That’s why I’m so much more badass than you.”

Drew laughed. “Okay now. I ain’t takin’ that kind of bait.”

“Aw, c’mon. Not even a little? Don’t you want to tell me all about your heroics so I’ll respect you as an equal?”

“That wouldn’t be nothin’ but talk. I’ve got class in the morning and all sorts of other stuff this week. Maybe Friday, if you’re free?”

“I can make Friday happen,” Sierra replied. “You sure you’re not intimidated?”

“No. No, but it’s nice to be with someone who can make me feel safe.”

“Good. I think I can relate.”

* * *

Rachel knelt in prayer in front of the altar, unseen and unheard by the lone custodian clearing the aisles with a soft push-broom not far away. Light spilled through high stained-glass windows along three walls of the church. After the last couple of nights, the battle at the house and on the freeway, and all the discussions with every affected guardian angel and more, the church provided peace and quiet.

She’d have to go through yet another huge meeting of angels, of course. They’d probably hold it at St. Mark’s Cathedral like the others, or hell, maybe this shitshow would bring an even bigger crowd. They might have to do it outdoors. Probably someone would think it time for a full-on convocation in Heaven, though that would drag a lot of guardians farther away from their duties than many could safely afford. Rachel would give that the finger. The guardians in her city had more reason and more of a right to be there than the high mucky-mucks upstairs.

All that would happen soon enough. She took care of business once the fight was over. She’d gotten the ball rolling quickly on mitigating pain and suffering from the freeway cock-up, made arrangements to cover any demon sightings, and spread the word to hunt down any stragglers. She checked in with her superiors, too, though they were already nearby.

Seattle was safe and stable for now. Marvin did a good job in her absence. Others helped pick up the slack. Her efforts at establishing a little time off for every guardian now and again apparently left them ready to adapt to a few absences. Only hours after her return, Rachel found herself waiting on her superiors rather than rushing to catch up on things.

She took advantage of the time for prayer. The words granted purpose and resolve. She knelt with her head bowed, hands pressed together in front of her chest. She held still enough to leave the concerns of the body behind and focus only on the mind and spirit. In prayer, Rachel found communion with the divine. Her differences with the rest of her kind fell away. She found unity and serenity.

A hand rested on her shoulder. “Rachel,” said Hannah.

Her eyes opened. She waited until Lawrence, rather than Hannah, gently broke the awkward pause: “We’ve been talking...and…”

“This was a clusterfuck, I know,” Rachel conceded.

“Yes,” said Lawrence. “While we understand the danger and the urgency, we must recognize the concerns this has raised. No matter how it was handled, your absence from your dominion is no small thing. You sought aid from Zafirah of all people. This incident has only aggravated the instability of the Pit.” He sighed and reluctantly added, “And perhaps most upsetting—”

“You
killed
Sammael?” boomed Vincent from the other end of the church.

Rachel’s hands fell out of prayer. The angel leaned forward to bang her head into the altar. Repeatedly.

“This is true, isn’t it?” Her former lover stormed down the aisle. “Sammael, the last archangel to fall from grace, is dead under the auspices of
your
dominion?”

“Why is buttmunch even here?” Rachel sighed.

“In fairness, no rule says he can’t be,” Lawrence answered lamely, though he looked back to Vincent with a scowl. “One would hope discretion and good taste—”

“You had him beaten. Defeated. And yet you allowed that demon filth to slay him?”

“We had him on the ropes, dipshit.” Rachel stood to face him and the handful of others now gathered. “That’s not the same as beaten. I’ve had personal experience with the difference a couple times this weekend.”

“He could have been captured and brought to face the Hosts!”

“Literally everything that’s happened with him since the War in Heaven suggests otherwise.”

“So have we given up on justice?” Vincent pressed. “As you gave up on your dominion to chase after your mortal lover?”

“Asshole, I gave up on letting that fucker run around to hurt and use people all he wanted. I saw an opportunity and I took it, and you know damn well I had every right in dominion over this land. And I didn’t give up on the dominion, either. I handed it off to a capable guardian who did fine with the job. I left with the place in pretty decent shape, too, compared to the shitfire you handed off to me in case anyone didn’t notice.”

“We noticed,” rumbled Lawrence.

“Rachel is under a mystic bond to protect Alex,” began Hannah.

“She is rapt with infatuation and a belief she’s somehow privileged,” grunted Vincent.

“You’re doing that projection thing again,” said Rachel. “Everything you’ve said is about yourself. You’re not mad about Sammael not being brought to justice. You’re mad ‘cause now you don’t have another chance of getting the D from him.”

“How dare you!”

“Vincent, just go,” said Lawrence.

“But I have every right to—”

“This is
waah
,” Rachel said, holding up three fingers in a W while mocking a baby’s cry. “And this is also
waah
,” she continued, doing the same with the other hand. Then she jabbed her fingers together through the open spaces in between. “And this is waah fucking waah!”

“What…does that even mean?” stammered Vincent.

“Go!” bellowed Hannah, Lawrence, and the rest of the council.

The unwelcome angel stormed out as angrily as he arrived. The rest turned back, scowling and muttering to one another in frustration. Rachel sighed again. “I’m gonna get a lot of pissypants complaints like that, huh?”

“Any objective observer can see the value of all you have done here,” said Hannah. “No one questions your achievements in dominion over this city.”

“Nor can anyone blame you for your decision to rescue Carlisle, given the circumstances and the outcome,” said Lawrence. “It is forgivable and understandable, whether it was done out of mystic compulsion or simply out of love.”

She caught the suspicious frown in his last statement. Rachel didn’t respond to it. She shrugged and looked down at the floor. Best to let that go unchallenged.

Then she understood the unspoken word in their voices. “But…?” she asked.

Hannah, Lawrence, and the other members of the council shared an uncomfortable glance. “Rachel,” Hannah began awkwardly, “we need to talk…”

* * *

“This is the worst shit y’all have ever done t’ me. Like fer reals.”

Molly put her car in park and turned off the engine. She looked back over her shoulder to the sad-faced guy in her backseat. “We’ve gotta do it, Wade. That was the deal.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t say when exactly he wanted ‘em back. He just said ‘when the job is done.’ There ain’t no clock on this deal.”

“The job is done,” said Onyx from the shotgun seat. “Lorelei said her demon took out the last two members of the Light back at their compound. Leon and the others still alive are all getting locked up by the task force. The demons are gone. It’s over.”

“Y’all don’t know that,” Wade argued. “Didja have a roster fer that group? How many of Lorelei’s other demons floated away once they were done takin’ down the ones fuckin’ with us? They ain’t takin’ orders from her no more. We’ve got uses for them guns.”

“It’s over. Seriously. We’re done with this one.”

“What about the next batshit crazy thing?”

“The guns were for
this
one, though,” Onyx maintained.