Good Intentions (29 page)

“That’s what it is. I love you.” He moved one hand to wipe away the tear that formed in her eye as she stared at him, completely overwhelmed. He wasn’t sure what else to say, so he remained quiet and just looked back at her. The room got darker and darker as the last rays of the sun fell away. “I love you, Alex,” Lorelei whispered finally. “That isn’t the bond talking?” He didn’t want to belittle her feelings, but he had to be honest. He needed it from her as well . “Could you feel that because of…because you’re supposed to?” “No.” Her voice wavered. He had never seen her look genuinely vulnerable. “The spel and its caster knew nothing of love. He wanted to dominate and humiliate in the ugliest of ways, hardly different from my last master,” she added quietly. “I have been afraid to use the word. I didn’t know that one such as I could feel it, but I am sure now. I love you, Alex.” They held one another tightly. Though his voice held steady, she wasn’t the only vulnerable one. The room had grown dark. “That’s what’s different,” he explained. “You can’t have friendship or love without respect. Without equality. Not real y. I want to do everything I can to make you happy, but…I don’t want to turn into a monster on you. I’m afraid of what might happen if we go down that road. I love you. I love you so much. That’s why I don’t think we can be master and slave.” “Oh, my love,” Lorelei smiled against his neck, laughing a little at how good it felt to say. “It hardly seems worth worrying about now.” *

The humble Catholic church was as good a place to meet as any. Rachel sat in the front pew, slumped forward with her arms over the back of the pew in front of hers. Of al the participants of the discussion, she was the only one visible to mortals. She was also, frequently, not really part of the discussion at al . It had been going on since the night previous. There were lots of grandiose entrances and praise heaped upon the Most High and so forth. It fit the setting, real y; a meeting like this was as much a ceremonial affirmation of faith, at least in its first several hours, as any mass. Moreover, al the ritual was essentially required before one could get on to business. It was a lot like sitting through a full mass for the sake of a wedding or a baptism. She could see that the sun was setting already. There weren’t many normal people in the church, and the few that were there came with obvious needs. They were al scattered in the pews near the confessional booths at the rear of the church. In front of her and to her sides were shimmering, glorious winged men and women. They discussed recent events in respectful, calm and sometimes rather emotionless tones. They were unseen and unheard by the mortals in the building. One of those mortals, a tal , lanky young man with brown hair quietly sauntered over to Rachel. “Haven’t seen you here before,” he said to the achingly beautiful blonde. His tone was entirely too friendly. “Are you new in the neighborhood?” “Tel me you didn’t come over here to hit on me after you came out of the confessional booth,” Rachel said flatly. She didn’t look at him. She wasn’t really looking anywhere. “Uh…no, I just–” “Are you seriously going to lie to me in a church? Right in front of the altar?” “I, um. I. Wow. Uh…I’m…”

“You’re gonna get back in line and go confess having lied to me just now, aren’t you?” “…Yes?” “Good,” Rachel fumed. She blew at a hair that dangled in front of her face as the young man carried his shock and his wounded pride back to the other end of the church. Rachel’s eyes slid to one side, where several other guardian angels were gathered in silence to watch the proceedings. One of them, an angel whose features could best be described as gentle, friendly and mildly Latino, coughed and excused himself to fol ow the retreating mortal. “Sorry,” he mumbled, “that’s one of mine.” “You might have gone easier on the young man,” observed the older-looking female angel standing to Rachel’s right. The whole congregation of them, in fact, had turned to look at Rachel as she dealt with the flirter. Her words had been so out of synch with the conversation that not everyone had realized at first who it was she was addressing. “Oh, fuck him,” Rachel shrugged. At the sight of the disapproving frowns and downcast eyes that her comment elicited, Rachel was of half a mind to tel her peers to fuck off, too. Except they weren’t her peers. Not at the moment. Not with her wings gone and the glow of her virtue so plainly diminished. Rachel didn’t really think of that diminishment as so terribly relevant, though. So her language was colorful. So what? She’d always been like that. Were her priorities off? Had she shirked a single responsibility? More to the point—and her defiant gaze reminded everyone present of this, though to say it again out loud would have been taken poorly—had any one of them been responsible, even partial y, for such a furthering of their cause as Rachel had been in the last few nights? That angel to her right, Hannah, shrugged off Rachel’s dismissal. She returned to the topic at hand. “It is clear that the situation with Rachel’s charge has brought about great amount of good in a very short time.” “More like an astounding amount,” Rachel muttered.

“Let’s not get carried away,” countered a hard-bodied blond male. He wore little more than a loincloth, showing off a perfectly-chiseled physique adorned only by scars that had faded into very faint lines over the centuries. “He vanquished a demon, Vincent,” Rachel retorted. “Permanently. No ‘time out in hell ’s penalty box’ bul shit. When’s the last time you did that? Any of us?” “Caleb vanquished the demon,” Vincent corrected. “Bul shit. Alex delivered Gorge to Caleb, wrapped up like a Christmas present. Him and his friends.” Vincent and the other angels turned to Caleb, who merely shrugged. “She is correct. As I stated, Gorge was bound and greatly weakened. He would not have been a great chal enge regardless, but in the end my involvement was nearly effortless. I was merely an instrument of the initiative of mortals. Without them, there would never have been a confrontation, let alone destruction.” “And how often do any of us do something this decisive?” Rachel said. “The loss of a single corruptor is surely not decisive,” intoned a darker-skinned Angel in white robes. Lawrence hadn’t been against Rachel in this discussion, but his high standards would never waver. “Gorge mattered little in the great balance.” “No, but what mortal or angel has caused any shift in the balance at al in recent memory?” Hannah offered. Somewhat uncharacteristical y, Caleb spoke up. “We would not be discussing this now were it not for Rachel’s handling of the situation immediately fol owing the abduction. Gorge’s contracts would still be in effect, damning those who might now make good on a second chance. several other mortals would still be committing terrible sins, which is now mitigated by their imprisonment. Stolen savings will soon be restored to many. And at least one soul which would now be in the Pit that may instead find salvation.” “One soul,” Vincent said.

Rachel looked at him with wide eyes that were equally shocked and appal ed. “I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” she breathed. Hannah drowned out Rachel’s words. “Yes, Vincent, one soul! One soul at a time! That is what we do! That is how it is! As it has ever been! And in these matters, there have in fact been many souls touched. Many lives altered for the better. As it has always been with this one!” Vincent scowled. “I seek only to prevent further provocations of the Pit,” he said defensively. “The balance has been observed for a reason.” “This is still a localized matter,” Lawrence said. “Wait,” Rachel frowned with deep suspicion. She looked up to Hannah. “‘As it has always been with this one?’ What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah fell silent, clearly making an effort to hold her tongue. She glanced down at Rachel. “It is not a matter for this discussion,” she said with distinct softness and compassion. “We are not, in the end, here to talk about Alexander.” “The fuck we’re not!” Rachel growled. “We are here to discuss the broader situation—” “Centered around Alex!” “How infatuated with him have you become, Rachel?” Vincent’s tone only grew sourer. For that, Rachel snatched a hymnal from the bench and threw it at his face. It passed straight through his head to land on the floor behind him. Vincent looked on with feigned blandness, but she knew him better than that. She used to know him much better, in fact. He had always been stern, she knew, but he had never been such a…such a buttmunch!

She wasn’t thinking about Vincent, though. Not real y. She glared at Hannah. “Tel me!” she snapped. Hannah looked at her a bit sadly. Vincent saved her from having to speak. “None of the good this boy has done merits the danger that it has incurred, or soon will . It fall s to us to protect him, yet the demands of the balance tie our hands. He must be removed from the current situation,” Vincent put in. “And bring to such a swift end the good that his actions bring?” Hannah shook her head. “I tel you, Vincent, he would not have it. I do not think he would shy away from whatever danger his choices might bring. He never has.” Her last words were soft, and tinged with pity and pain. She glanced up at Rachel again, but seeing the demanding question in the wingless angel’s eyes, Hannah could only look away. “These dangers are far beyond mortal threats,” Lawrence pointed out. “If he keeps antagonizing the Pit, he will face their wrath. His death would be of unimaginable horror.” “Gorge was a mere corruptor bound into human flesh,” Vincent said, trying to sound somewhat less stern now. “They will eventually come for him without such subtleties. They will come without disguise, and he will know them and fear them for what they are.” “What, without human skins to protect them? I’d pay good money to watch that fight,” Rachel muttered. Debate continued, but Rachel stopped listening. She looked at the stained glass windows, trying to guess what Hannah was hinting at, and why she wouldn’t say it straight out. It was in that moment, staring out into the darkness, that Rachel began to glow ever brighter. Conversation stopped. The other angels looked on with some surprise, and Vincent and Caleb both slightly winced. “Rachel,” Lawrence said, calling her attention back to the conversation. “What?” she asked absently. “Look at yourself.”

She blinked, then glanced down at her hands, and then at her body, and then up at the halo over her head that shone as brightly as ever. Rachel then looked to Hannah in surprise. The older angel smiled, her eyes losing most of their sadness. “I think perhaps you should look in on your charge, Rachel. I suspect he has done something to surprise us yet again.” * The text message read, “Are you out with your girlfriend?” Alex looked at his phone in the front seat of Lorelei’s car with a smirk. He always thought it was funny when his mother, who al egedly despised texting, communicated this way. “Who is that?” Lorelei asked idly. She wore one of the two different little black party dresses that had been offered up by her personal shopper. She hadn’t really been able to decide which she liked better, and ultimately took both. That had also amused Alex greatly. He liked it when Lorelei demonstrated ordinary behaviors. This one was a touch more conservative than the other, but still racy. The black gloves that came up to her wrists were a very sexy touch. Oddly enough, at the moment he felt good about looking nice for her, too. It was nothing terribly formal, just slacks and a blue button-down shirt. He normally went to work like this. Aside from that, he was a habitually casual dresser. But it was nice to finally have a formal date with his newfound love. “My mom,” he said, typing out, “Yes. I may be staying at her place this weekend.” He didn’t need permission, of course, but it was polite to let her know. Lorelei smiled. “She’l be happy to have the house to herself this weekend. I imagine she’l be spending a lot of time with Eddie and could use the privacy.”

Alex blinked. “Don’t you think that’s a bit soon?” “How long do you think they’ve been making eyes at one another at work?” Her smile had turned to a sly and knowing grin. “Your mother’s a confident and intel igent woman with more than enough charm to wrap a nice man like Eddie around her finger. I expect by now she’d like to have a little fun with him.” “She did kiss him goodbye the other night, but that was just on the cheek,” Alex thought aloud. He looked at Lorelei with amused suspicion. “Don’t you think that weekend shagging might be jumping the gun a bit?” “Oh, you’re one to talk,” Lorelei laughed. His phone buzzed again. The message from his mother said, “Have fun. Be good. You are to cal 30 min ahead of coming home at least. If I don’t pick up, keep calling. That is an order!” Lorelei didn’t even need to look at him. Her eyes were on the road. “I am something of an expert in these things, master.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket. The amused suspicion in his eyes had doubled. “This is part of what’s so crazy, though,” he said, returning to their main topic of conversation. “You’re older and wiser. Centuries more experienced than I am. Powerful. Smarter. Yet you want me to make al the decisions.” “For the most part, yes,” Lorelei grinned. “Consider exactly what you just said. I have al of these advantages. I’m also an unnatural presence in your mortal life. You need to be free to do what you want, to live how you will . I am more than happy to give you advice and al manner of assistance…but in the end, I would lose something very precious in you if I started steering you in directions of my choosing.” “What, like sleeping with other women?” Alex smirked. “Well ,” Lorelei shrugged, “I am a demon, after al .” She glanced over at him, satisfied to see him smiling at her joke. “What I want is what already is. We are friends and lovers. You treat me with respect and affection. Even within the bounds of that, we exchange power and dominance as it pleases us. We have it al . I know your desires, even the

ones you deny to yourself, and I am comfortable with al of them. I don’t necessarily want you to do anything or change anything between us so much as I long for you to acknowledge what I am and enjoy it. So then the question becomes,” she grinned slyly, “what do you want…master?” * “I’l have the New York steak, medium well , and I guess I’l go with the potato and gril ed vegetables. Thank you.” “I’l have the light garden salad.” Alex looked across the small candlelit table at Lorelei with a smirk. “You’re not really gonna do that to me, are you?” “Hm? Do what?” She handed off the hardbound menu to the waiter as she looked up at her date innocently. “You wait for me to order a big dinner and then you order a tiny little salad so I’m sitting here eating like a pig in front of you?” “You wanted a real first date,” Lorelei shrugged. “I told you. I really just don’t eat that much,” she explained with feigned innocence. The waiter, not wanting to presume too much, stayed where he stood with a curious and amused look on his face. Alex snorted. “Look, you don’t have to try so hard to fit the stereotype.” She relented, sharing his grin. Lorelei’s eyes turned up toward the waiter. “I’l have the shrimp scampi instead,” she said, adding with a teasing glance toward Alex, “but only the half order.” It was an expensive, sophisticated restaurant, the kind without prices on the menu. The lights were low and there was