I left Sebastian to his reading. You would think with all the romance novels he consumed he would understand the concept of loneliness. It wasn’t just Kaiden, the rare interactions with my precious twelve year old son, anchoring me to the world, making a real person out of this avatar who operated beneath the radar of humanity. My sisters, my nieces and nephews, my parents anchored me. The people who knew me, loved me, made the way I lived my life tolerable. And my job. I looked at the time on the DVD player. I had to get up for work in four hours. I needed to go to bed…
As she came around the elder boy, the one with his own knife in his thigh, his hand shot out to grab her ankle. Cindy screamed. The young man’s eyes were glassy with pain, but there was malice there, a hate and darkness I’d seen before but never understood. I love humanity, even worthless assholes like this, but there are things that live in the hearts of people I’ve never been able to comprehend. I stood and kicked down the young man’s hand from Cindy’s leg, breaking his wrist. The young man screamed. Of course, that was when the police arrived.
A bright flashlight blinded me from the other end of the alley and my divine power left. One thing I could always count on was being left alone to deal with the police…
My eyes opened to find the merry-go-round had come to a stop, leaving me facing in the general direction of the nearby church. Mister Denim and Leather worked for the Catholics and now I had an idea of what he looked like, not that the knowledge helped me as much as I’d hoped it would. Maybe I was worrying myself over nothing? Maybe this man worked with an investigator out of the Vatican, which would explain the profundity of his faith. But why would a Vatican anything stalk me? The only answers to that were all not good; they were not good at all. Also, I’m pretty sure whatever I walked through in the diner was probably some kind of test. I had no idea if I passed or failed, because I had no way of knowing what the Catholics knew or didn’t know about me. And I’d let Kevin walk away without interrogating him. My chest began to ache again and this time I recognized it as the beginnings of another panic attack.
What was Kevin thinking sicing someone like that on me? We were friends long before we were family and family before he received his calling or I started receiving mine. Pain blossomed in my chest, but I ignored it; it wouldn’t be the first time my heart was broken. Love comes too quickly, too easily, to me. I could love the whole world and have heart to spare.
I do love the world…
It was my turn to smash my forehead into his face. He was pulling away as we connected, and I reversed the motion of my arms. His head rebounded against the asphalt. The sound of it was so satisfying I slammed his head one more time for good measure. Then, being sickened by his choice of victims, I shook my head dripping my blood on his skin.
“By blood are oaths created, by blood be them broken. Your word undone. Your debt called due. Heed to me,” I whispered in singsong incantation.
I rose, leaving him with thick droplets of my consecrated blood running down his skin. Once those drops touched the earth whatever force enhancing Bonehead was going to be let loose. With luck the spirit would drift away. If Bonehead was unlucky, it would snap back on him. Making deals with devils should come with a cost…
What I saw when I rushed up on the scene made me forget who was following. I’m not even sure remembering would have mattered. My worst nightmare had been realized. Ahead of us was a vertical slit in the air about five and half feet high. It was terribly narrow, tight, like a gap in a seam. Imps were pouring out, pulling themselves free with long fingers. Dozens of imps. Stumbling over each other to get through. They moved hunched over with stick-like limbs and large ugly craniums. Invaded by an army of miniature pumpkin heads: it would be funny if it weren’t so frightening…