Heaven Sent (23 page)

Maudrina didn’t interrupt once. Aside from a few
“oh, wows”
and
“I don’t believe its,”
she remained silent throughout.

When I finished, I looked into her eyes. If her head could have spun around, I believe she’d have been doing the Exorcist thing.

“Say something,” I said after several moments of silence.

She held up a hand in a stop signal. “I’m still digesting,” she said. “Give me a minute.”

I sat there petting Sam and listening to her father tinker in the garage for what felt like an eternity.

“Wow.” It came out a whisper. I looked up from Sam to find her staring at me, her eyes leaking sympathy. “Someone needs a hug.”

“Oh, yeah,” I replied. We stood in the middle of her living room, and I allowed her to hold me, while Piddles complained and Sam tried to nudge himself between us.

“Not now, Sam,” Maudrina whispered. She gently pushed him away, but a gentle push meant nothing to Sam.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“Not half as sorry as I am.”

“What are we going to do?”

I took a step back. “I’m going to rescue Erin, of course.”

“Megan, it’s too dangerous. You heard what Orthon said. You’ll be sacrificing your life for her.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“He’s a demon who was sent here by Satan and fell in love with you. I’d trust him if he told
me
using my abilities would just about guarantee me being Satan’s bride.”

“I can’t just give up on her.”

Maudrina moved away from me, circled around behind the sofa as if in thought. Piddles followed. She turned. Her eyes were moist.

“You
should
give up on her. She’s not worth it.”

“What?” A stab of outrage shot through me. “Of course she’s worth it.”

“Okay.” A river of sadness flowed through the one word. She came back around and slunk down onto the sofa. “I’m not going to push it, Megan. If I push all we’ll do is get into an argument, and now is not the time for arguing.” Her tone shifted. “But if you somehow miraculously manage to get out of this and bring her back safely, and she steps one toe across the line… I’m going to kick her ass.”

The strong language coming out of Maudrina was so shocking, I couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter spilled freely from my lips, and as it did, I could feel the tension oozing from my pores. “You’re going to do what?” I said my, eyes tearing with pain and laughter.

“You heard me.” She was smiling now. It was a distant smile, like a rainbow that I knew wouldn’t last. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“Thank you, Maudrina,” I said, my laughter dying. “You’re the best thing in my life right now. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She balled up her fist and smacked it into the palm of her hand. It made a slapping sound. “Bam! Just like that,” she said, and despite the dire situation, we laughed together. We laughed high and loud, the laughter acting like a super adhesive, bonding us closer together than ever before.

*

The following Saturday, the summer heat returned with a vengeance.

Suze and Tony left for Vegas around 5 a.m. to beat the traffic. Friday night they sang Happy Birthday to me over a beautiful cake from Sylvia’s and toasted me with sparkling apple cider. I hugged my mother extra long at the door before they departed, and told her I loved her.

“That’s a pretty special goodbye for a weekend trip,” teased Tony.

“We’re close like that,” Suze teased back. And then they were gone.

I took a cool shower before getting ready for work. It felt nice, allowing the cool water to cascade over my body. I felt as though I was in a cocoon of safety. Yet when I turned the water off, the stickiness returned, along with thoughts that today I’d be risking my life.

Only die-hard coffee drinkers order hot drinks on days like these. Ice blended was the order of the day. The shop was cool, and the few guests that came in were friendly, but it wasn’t a busy day. Busy days were the best because they took your mind off your troubles. Days like these, your troubles hung around like your cousin from Santa Barbara who didn’t know when to leave.

Saturday evening, after my shift at the café had ended, I took the bus to Aunt Jaz’s for a pre-wedding briefing. The plan was for me to change into my disguise at Aunt Jaz’s as well as get some last words of encouragement. The bus was nice and cool, but the walk from the bus stop to Aunt Jaz’s apartment had me sweating as if I’d run a marathon, or perhaps it was the thought that I might not live through the night that had rivulets of sweat running down my sides.

Aunt Jaz answered the door in full makeup as usual. A colorful apron covered her 50s print dress. The old AC was doing its job because the air inside was refreshingly cooler.

“Just in time, deary,” she said, pulling me into a hug. She held onto me extra long, just as I’d held onto Suze.

“Sorry I’m so sweaty,” I said.

“You need a nice cool glass of ice tea.”

“Something smells wonderful,” I said as she released me. This prompted a wide grin.

“I was going to make my chicken soup for good luck, but I figured chicken and dumplin’s would be even better luck, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess,” I replied, not sure how to answer. I’d never had chicken and dumplings before, but I’d seen it made on TV, and it looked wonderful. But a hot meal, on the hot day I was about to risk my life, was the last thing on my mind.

“It is. You can take that to the bank. Now, come along. The others have already started without you.” She turned and bustled down the hall toward the kitchen. “I told Hector to wait, but you know how men are.” She laughed her boisterous laugh. I was glad to see Aunt Jaz back to her old self. My last visit had been strained as she attempted to act as mediator between Orthon, whom I thought was Guy, and Monsieur Perez.

Speaking of Orthon, I hadn’t heard from him since that day in the bleachers. There were times when I thought I missed him, but then I’d realize it wasn’t him that I missed.

I entered the lime green retro kitchen right behind her. Both Maudrina and Monsieur Perez were seated at the dinette table.

“Look who’s here,” called Aunt Jaz.

Monsieur Perez looked up from his dish of chicken and dumplings. “Megan,” he said and nodded. “Where’s Guy?”

“I thought it’d be better if he didn’t come.”

“Hmm,” he replied, as if considering what I’d said. “I think you’re right,” he added and then resumed eating.

Tiny wisps of anger swirled in my gut. I looked at Maudrina, who was shaking her head and rolling her eyes disapprovingly. She still didn’t like Monsieur Perez. I caught her eye and we both started smiling, which diffused my anger.

Aunt Jaz handed me a tall glass of ice tea. I took a few sips. It felt good going down.

“Hey, Megan,” said Maudrina, rising. There was a dish of chicken and dumplings in front of her, but she’d barely touched it. “What’s in the garment bag?”

“My disguise.”

She came over and gave me a hug just like one of Aunt Jaz’s but better. We’d been doing a lot of hugging lately. “Can’t wait to see it.”

“Sit, sit,” commanded Aunt Jaz. “Food first, and then we’ll get into all this unpleasantness.” She moved to the turn-of-the-century cast iron stove where she began scooping up a dish of food for me.

“I’m not hungry, Aunt Jaz.”

“Nonsense,” she replied without stopping. “You need something in your belly before you go out there.”

“But I’m too nervous to eat.”

“Listen to her, Aunt Jaz.” There was a hint of annoyance in Maudrina’s voice.

Aunt Jaz stopped, appearing momentarily confused. Food was her solution to all problems. It was her greatest tool, and without it she seemed lost. “You’re right, Maudie. Megan knows best. Chicken and dumplin’s reheats real well. She can eat after.”

Monsieur Perez dropped his fork onto his empty plate. It clanked loudly as he pushed the plate away. “That was wonderful, Jasmine. Simply wonderful.”

“Thank you, Hector,” she replied, once again on solid ground.

“You’ll need to get close to her,” Monsieur Perez said. He was looking at me, his eyes deadly serious as he dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin.

“Erin? Of course I’ll get close to her,” I replied. My hands were now beginning to sweat as the reality of what I was about to do sank into my bones.

“Close enough to call out the demon,” he added, his gaze boring in to me.

I was getting fed up with Monsieur Perez’s intimidation tactics and could feel my anger again slowly beginning to rise. “And what do you suppose the Satanists will be doing while I’m calling the demon out? Cheering me on?”

“This is important, young lady. No need to be snippy,” he said, hard eyes narrowing.

“You think I don’t know it’s important? This is my best friend since the third grade we’re talking about. If I can’t find a way to reach her, I could lose her forever.” My voice rose with indignation.

Monsieur Perez shifted in his chair and lowered his gaze. “Just wanted to make sure you understood the importance, my dear.”

“And you did!” snapped Maudrina, with venom.

Monsieur Perez shot her a vicious stare, and she eyeballed him right back.

“Soul suckers are lesser demons,” said Aunt Jaz, trying to keep things moving along. “Like the ibwa you dealt with a few months ago. If someone of your ability calls out a lesser demon, he must obey.”

“And if I call out the demon, it will come out and release Erin from its grip? Just like that?”

“Yes,” replied Aunt Jaz. “Well… I suppose.” Her eyes shifted nervously toward Monsieur Perez.

“I hear a
but
in there,” I said. My eyes moved to Monsieur Perez, who stared back with the expression of a hungry dog, as if I was a piece of meat he wanted to gobble up.

“You are the most powerful weapon our community has ever had,” he said with pride.

My gaze shifted back to Aunt Jaz. “What’s going on here?”

Her eyes urged Monsieur Perez to say more, and when he didn’t, her gaze moved back to me. “If the soul sucker has consumed most of Erin’s soul he will not be able to leave her body without…” Her words trailed off.

“Without what?” I asked, my voice ringing with panic.

“Without killing her,” Monsieur Perez replied. “But it’s worth the risk.”

The room started spinning. It was as if I were in the middle of a bad dream. I couldn’t believe there was yet another wrinkle to this stinking mess. I moved uneasily to a dinette chair and sat.

I took a big gulp of my ice tea and waited for the spinning to slow down.

“Is there any way I can tell if the soul sucker has consumed most of her soul
before
I call him out?” I asked without any of the agitation I was feeling.

“Not that I’m aware of,” replied Monsieur Perez. He was looking at me with cautious eyes, as if I were a bird who might take flight at any moment.

“If you don’t want to go through with this, deary, we totally understand,” said Aunt Jaz.

Monsieur Perez shot her a disapproving stare but said nothing. Aunt Jaz returned his gaze with hard eyes, and I got the feeling there was trouble in paradise.

“Finally, the voice of reason,” said Maudrina with a relieved sigh.

“I want to do it,” I replied. “Guess I should go change,” I said and got up.

“Oh. All right then,” said Aunt Jaz.

“You won’t regret this decision,” said Monsieur Perez.

I faced him, about to explode all over him when I thought of Erin. I needed to save this burst of emotion for her. Monsieur Perez wasn’t worth it. For the first time, I easily got my anger under control. “I know I won’t,” I said.

“Use my bedroom,” said Aunt Jaz. “It’s down the hall and on the left.”

With a rain cloud of hopelessness hovering over me, I went into Aunt Jaz’s bedroom to begin changing into my disguise. The room was neat and retro, with an old-fashioned vanity by the old-fashioned bed. The bedspread was light green chenille, and there were doilies decorating the vanity and dresser. A small smile found my lips when I saw the room. It was Aunt Jaz all the way.

As I sat down at the vanity and began applying my makeup, I thought about the road that lay ahead. I needed to call out the demon eating away at Erin’s soul. It would be nearly impossible to do it in private, so I had to do it in full view of Danny and other Satanists. If that weren’t risky enough, if the soul sucker had consumed more than half of Erin’s soul, she would die in the process.

I added rouge to my cheeks and bright red lipstick onto my lips. I couldn’t believe how different I looked, even to myself. I was pleased to see the transformation working, although it did nothing to fill the void in my soul.

A while ago, Suze had purchased a pair of tinted reading glasses to use at the beach. Since she never went to the beach, the glasses were practically brand new. They were actually lightly tinted sunglasses with a small bifocal lens for reading. Aside from the bifocal part, they were plain glass. I chose them to finish off my disguise because nothing can change a person’s appearance like sunglasses, and since they looked like real glasses, no one would question why I was wearing sunglasses indoors. I just had to remember not to look down through the bifocal part because when I did, everything became a blur.

“Hey. Can I come in?” Maudrina’s voice called softly from the other side of the door.

“Yeah. Sure.”

The door whooshed against the shag carpet as she pushed it open. “Wow. You look older,” she said as she entered.

“That’s the plan,” I responded. I pulled the wig out of its wrapping and displayed it for her.

“Cool,” she said. She sat on the edge of the bed, the old bed springs singing loudly. “He’s a jerk,” she whispered.

I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Who? Curtis?”

“Him, too. But I was talking about
Monsieur Perez
.” She added a snooty accent when she said his name.

“You won’t get any argument out of me,” I said and went back to getting ready.

“I can’t imagine what Aunt Jaz sees in him.”

“He treats her well.”

“Yeah. As long as she feeds him. It’s a hundred and ten outside, and he’s got her slaving over a hot stove.”