Covet - A Novel of Fallen Angel Part 28

Jimas first thought as he stepped in and looked around was that cheap furnis.h.i.+ngs really didnat age well. From what he could see, everything from the wilted wallpaper to the c.r.a.ppy couch in the living room to the dejected kitchen in the back had been done in twenty-year-old Sears Roebuck.

It was the same stuff head grown up with and the first time since head met the guy that he thought he had anything in common with Vin.

Eddie put one of his bags down and focused on an oddly newer stretch of rug in the hall. aThey died here at the bottom of the stairs. Your parents.a aYeah.a Vin s.h.i.+fted uneasily. aHow do you know that?a aI can see their shadow.a Eddie stepped to the side, glanced at Jim, and nodded downward.

Jim wondered what the big deal was, because when he looked at the floor all he could seeawasa He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was getting it righta"but yeah, he was. At the base of the stairs where the fresher square of carpet was, he picked up on an odd disturbance, a visual echo of what had been two people intertwined in a heap. The woman had had frizzy, faded hair and a yellow housecoat. The man had been in green overalls, like the kind an electrician or a plumber would wear. The bloodstains beneath their heads covered yards of the carpet.

Jim cleared his throat. aYeah, I see it, too.a Marie-Terese appeared at the top of the stairs. aWhere do you want us?a aI did it in my bedroom,a Vin said.

Eddie left some of his load in the front hall and started for the second floor. aThen thatas where weare going.a With all the bags he was holding, Jim had to turn sideways to fit as he went up, and Vin was cool enough to take some of the load.

aWhatas all this stuff?a the guy asked.

aLotta frickina salt.a As the four of them crammed into a room that was decorated in faded navy blue wallpaper and seventies schoolboy furniture, Eddie reached down and pulled up the braided rug in the center.

aYou did it here?a Self-evident, given the faded circle that was left on the floorboards. aDo we need to clean that first?a Jim asked.

aClean what?a Vin knelt down and ran his hands around the fake wood flooring. aThereas nothing here.a aItas righta"a Eddie caught Jimas arm and shook his head, then started opening bags. He handed both Vin and Marie-Terese a container of Morton salt. aYou guys are going to pour a line around the perimeter of the upstairs. It needs to be an unbroken barrier, except for that window.a He nodded over to the right. aLeave that clear. If there is furniture in the way, itas okaya"just go around it and then back against the wall. Thereas more in these bags if you need it.a When he seemed satisfied by how they were handling things, he took out a pair of stogies from inside his jacket and gave one of them along with some salt to Jim. aYou and I are going to do the same and a little more downstairs.a aRoger that.a When they were back on the first floor, Eddie took out a black Bic lighter and fired his Cuban or whatever it was up. As he exhaled something that smelled likeaclean ocean air, he offered the flame and Jim bent at the waist and lit his own. One inhale and he was in Heaven. The tobacco tasted amazing, like nothing head ever had in his mouth before, and if this was going to be part of his ongoing duties, he was so on board.

Man, head liked smoking. And evidently all that cancer concern was off his list now.

Eddie pocketed his lighter and popped open his salt. aWeare going to go from room to room and exhale while we make a barrier down here. Weare purifying the environment and creating an obstacle for her. Thereas more Mortonas in that bag.a Jim glanced down at his umbrella girl. aIs this really going to keep Devina out?a aItall make it harder for her to get in. Adrianas going to keep her busy for as long as he can, but even with his considerable talents, sheas going to know something is up.a As Jim cracked the seal on his salt, he realized he liked the way he felt. For better or for worsea"well, mostly worsea"he was built to fight, and not just because he was a heavyweight motherf.u.c.ker. Conflict was in his blood and his brain and his beating heart.

Head missed being on missions.

Angling the Morton container downward, he happily smoked away as a thin white river poured out of the silver spout and onto the s.h.i.+tty carpet. Eddie was handling the back of the house, going down the hall and into the kitchen, so Jim headed for the living room. It was fast work, following along the baseboard while pus.h.i.+ng dusty curtains out of the way, and it was satisfying: He felt as if he were p.i.s.sing on his own territory, staking a claim.

Man, he almost hoped that b.i.t.c.h walked through that door just so he could kick her a.s.s.

Talk about a sea change. In the past, head religiously drawn a line between men and women. He wouldnat hesitate to kill a man. Same with maiming, trampling, or cold-c.o.c.king one. Women, however, were totally different. A female could come at him with a knife drawn and he would disarm her. Period. Disabling would happen only if he absolutely had to, and in the least painful and permanent way.

But Devina wasnat a woman to him anymore. h.e.l.l, she wasnat a woman, period.

The salt whispered as he made his wobbly little line, and although it might have been hard to put a lot of confidence in something that was used to spice up McDonaldas french fries, Eddie didnat strike him as a fool. Not by a long shot.

And the cigar rocked. Totally.

By the time they were finished, the downstairs of the house smelled like Florida and needed a DustBuster, and as they headed to the second floor, Eddie drew a white line across each of the steps until the stairs looked like a landing pad.

Vin and Marie-Terese had been busy, and after Eddie inspected their efforts, he told them to take a load off on the little bed and asked Jim to join him in the bathroom at the top of the landing. Using the sink as a mixing bowl, the guy put in the hydrogen peroxide, the witch hazel and the juice of the lemons along with the white vinegar, and stirred with his own hands, weaving his fingers through the solution.

Just as the pungent smell wafted up and drilled into Jimas nostrils, Eddie started speaking softly as he continued to make circles in the sink. The words were barely more than breath, and in a language Jim didnat understand, but the phrase was repeated over and over again.

Abruptly, the scent rising up changed. No longer nasty in the nose, it became springtime-meadow fresh.

Eddie took his hands out and wiped them on his jeans, then reached into his coat and produced two crystala aAre those guns?a Jim asked.

aSure are.a The guy popped the stopper on one and submerged the thing, bubbles floating up to the surface until the belly was full. He handed it to Jim. aPut this in your holster. As opposed to your auto-loader, this s.h.i.+t will actually work against her.a As Eddie filled up his own, Jim turned the wet crystal over in his hands. The weapon was a G.o.dd.a.m.n piece of art, carved from clear quartz, he was guessing, and engineered with precision. Palming it, he took aim at the bathroom wall and pulled the trigger. A fine, strong line of the solution licked out exactly where head wanted it to go.

aNice,a he murmured, ditching his SIG.

aIall show you how to make them.a Eddie sealed up his gunas belly and holstered it at the small of his back. aThe fact that you can carve woodas going to help.a When they went back to the others, Vin was pacing around and Marie-Terese was sitting on the bed. Eddie ditched his coat, and rifled around in the Hannaford bags that were now mostly empty.

Taking out the fresh sage, he popped open its plastic container and gave the bundle of leaves to Marie-Terese. aYou hold on to this and stay out of the way. No matter what you see or what happens, you do not drop this and you keep this against both of your palms. Itas going to offer you some protection.a aWhat do I do?a Vin demanded.

Eddie glanced over his shoulder. aTake off your clothes.a

CHAPTER 38.

Last time Vin got naked for a crowd the context had been way different.

As he tossed his s.h.i.+rt and pants and boxers onto the dresser, he made sure his gun was front and center on the pile, and when he turned around, he was ready to get whatever this was over with. Funny, head been operated on only once in his life, back about a decade ago. Head had to get his knee rebuilt after years of playing basketball and tennis and running on the d.a.m.n thinga"and he was exactly the same way now as he had been then: Ready to get back to normal. Hoping that the outcome after the pain faded was the right one.

He glanced over at Marie-Terese. She was sitting absolutely still on the bed, holding the sprigs of fresh sage between her hands so that the fluffy leaves peeked out by her thumbs and the little stems hung free on the far side. As her eyes met his, he had to go over and give her a quick kiss on the mouth. She was scared but she was stronga"and however much he wished she werenat a part of this, he agreed with Adrian: No chances with her. There could be no chances with her, ever, so they had to a.s.sume Devina had taken that earring.

Eddie took out a compa.s.s and four white candles, and after doing some Boy Scouting with his gadget, he and Jim did a north, south, east, and west, marking each of the points on the bare floor with the waxers. Then it was more salt running in a circle around the setup. As Vin watched them, he had to admit the ring-around they did was tidier than the one head pulled off over twenty years before, but head had to hurry back then. There had been no telling how long his parents would remain pa.s.sed out.

aAs I said, what you did was a possession ritual.a Eddie went around and lit each of the four wicks. aYou took the three elements of yourself as a mana"hair, blood, andayou knowa"and offered them to her. She accepted the gifts and took up res in your spiritual skin, so to speak. Weare going to clean her out of you.a aYeah, listen,a Vin cut in. aYou sure we canat take care of Marie-Terese first, then worry about me?a aNo. Youare the focal point. You called Devina to you. Besides, Marie-Terese has an easier tie to break, a.s.suming that earring is in Devinaas possession.a The guy disappeared into the hall bath and returned with dripping hands that were held up like a surgeonas. aJim, go into my coat and take out the leather roll thatas in the right pocket.a Jim fished around and pulled free a ten-inch-long, two-inch-wide bundle that was secured with a white satin ribbon.

aOpen it.a Jimas hands were quick to pull the bow free and then he unrolled the leather, revealing a dagger.

Made of gla.s.s.

aDonat touch the knife,a Eddie said.

aWhat the h.e.l.l are you going to do with that?a Vin demanded.

aWeare going to open you up.a The man pointed to the circle of burning candles. aThis is spiritual surgery, and before you ask, yup. Gonna hurt like a b.i.t.c.h. But when weare through, youare not going to be scarred or anything. Now lie down, head here at the north.a Vin looked at the menas faces as the pair of them stared over at him. Grim. Serious. Especially Eddie.

aIave never seen a knife like that before,a Vin murmured as he looked at the thing.

aItas crystal,a Eddie said, as if he knew Vin needed a second before he turned himself over to the ritual. aAnd yeah, take a deep breath, but we do need to get started.a He glanced at his buddy. aJim? You stay next to Marie-Terese. Eventually youall be doing these, but right now youare just on the watch team, and if the s.h.i.+t gets critical, youare in charge of her.a aDo you read minds?a Vin asked the guy.

aSometimes. Now can we get down to business? I donat know how long Adrianas going to be able to hold her.a Vin stared into Marie-Tereseas eyes and hoped she read all that he wished he could speak. When she nodded as if she understood perfectly, he stepped over the salt circle and stretched out in the center. Eddie had gauged the size perfectly: The soles of Vinas feet just touched the far edge when his head was right at the northern candle.

aClose your eyes, Vin.a Vin took one last look at Marie-Terese and then he lowered his lids and tried to relax his body. The floor was hard against his shoulder blades, his a.s.s, and his heels; and his heart was going at a clip in his rib cage. The real s.h.i.+tter was not being able to see, howevera"not only did he feel isolated, but the sound of everything got cranked up too high. From his own breathing to the footfalls of Eddie walking around him to the whispering of strange words over his naked body, it was all in nerve-racking HD.

And it didnat take long for him to lose his patience. Here he was, laid out like some kind of meal to be consumed, in front of Marie-Terese, who was no doubta"

A subtle vibration came up through the floor.

Vin felt the tuning-fork reverberation first in his palms and feet and then it continued inward, the concentric circles drawing toward the center of him. As he absorbed the rhythmic waves, a subtle breeze tickled across the hair on his arms and his thighs and his chest, and he wondered whether someone had opened a window.

Noathings had begun to turn.

Whether he started to spin or the room did, he wasnat sure, but abruptly the waves and the breeze coalesced and became indistinguishable as they swirled around himaor he swirled around. Like water rus.h.i.+ng through a drain, speed gathered and his stomach revolted, nausea making that sandwich head eaten with Marie-Terese go green and spoiled in his gut.

Just before he threw up, the merry-go-round stopped and he went weightless. No longer spinning, he was suspended in warm air, and thank f.u.c.k for it. Inhaling deep, he felt his belly ease up and the tension in his arms and legs release, his muscles going lax.

And then his sight returned. Good G.o.d, even though his lids were down, he could see white light: The source was somewhere beneath him, piercing up through the floor he was supposedly on, his body carving out a pattern in the illumination.

Eddieas face appeared above his own.

The guyas mouth moved as if he were talking, and Vin didnat hear the words that were spoken so much as know them in his mind: Take a deep breath and stay very still.

Vin tried to nod, but when Eddie shook his head, he just thought the word yes at the guy.

The crystal knife rose above Vinas chest, the weapon held steady in Eddieas big hands. As the white light hit it, a brilliant rainbow of color sparkled, everything from pinks and baby blues and pale yellows to bloodred and navy blue and deep amethyst exploding from its length.

Indecipherable words appeared in Vinas head as Eddie spoke faster and faster.

Bracing himself, Vin focused on the razor-sharp blade point.

It was going into his heart. He just knew it.

When the inevitable descent came, it was faster than a blink and slower than a centurya"and the impact was worse than head prepared for. The instant the dagger sank into Vinas flesh, he felt as if every nerve in his body transmitted the pain.

Then Eddie sliced him right open.

Vin screamed into the maelstrom as his body cleaved open at his breastbone, his spine straining as he contorted upward. He was vaguely aware of Eddie speaking words, and then the manas glowing hand reached inside the locus of the agony, making it so much worse.

Probing. Fisting. A great pulling.

Whatever Eddie was grabbing and yanking was holding on tight, and abruptly Vin couldnat breathe for the great pressure on his ribs and lungs. Gasping, he struggled to draw air down in the midst of it all.

He started to scream again. Which made no sense because he had no breath.

As the battle for extraction raged, Vin fought to hold on not for himself, but for Marie-Terese. He would not die in front of her. He would not die tonight in front of her. He would nota"

But Eddie didnat let up and the thing didnat loosen and Vin started to fail. His heart went from pounding to tripping to failing to pump, and with the fibrillation came a numbing cold that overtook him. He tried to fight it, tried to will his body back into functioning, but there was no reserve left to call upon. Even as his mind and soul wanted to stay, his flesh was done.

Except then the evil loosened.

At first, there was just the slightest of slips, as if only one of the tendrils that clung to him snapped free. But then another broke, and another, and more in a bunch. Anda"

With a screeching tear, like metal was being torn apart, a blackness was lifted from him, taken out of him, torn freeaand his first thought was that he felt far too light in his body in its absence. His second was that he was still dyinga"

Vin was saved by the white light.

All at once, as if it knew how little time he had left, he was resuscitated, the illuminationas blanketing warmth easing the pain, and then wiping it clean as if the torture had never existed. He soared free, light and transparent, indistinguishable from what surrounded him.

He wept in ecstatic relief and grat.i.tude.

It was the first time in thirty-three years that head been alone in his own skin.

Jimas eyes had divided loyalties.

Every time a car rolled slowly down the street, he stared out the window. Any noise around the house? Creak of a tree? Breeze rattling the window? It was the same. He was constantly searching corners, waiting for Devina to come roaring in.

And yet the center of the room consumed him.

Head never seen anything like it. From the moment the floor dropped free from Vin and that blast of white light shot up from nowhere, to the electric second when Eddie put the knife to use and then started pulling, it was all so incredible.

G.o.d, that knife.

It was the most beautiful thing Jim had ever seen: When the light had hit it, a childas spectrum of vivid colors had sprung forth, the hues so bright and clear, it was as if his eyes were young again and seeing them for the first time.

But the struggleahead been certain Vin was going to die. In the fulcrum of the glow, Eddie had stabbed the man and reached inside his chest and started yanking like he was trying to drag a car out of a swamp. And in response, Vin had screamed from a vast distance, the agony tearing out of his throat as his body had strained.

At that moment, Marie-Terese had lunged forward, but Jim had caught her, instinct telling him she couldnat get in the way of what was going on, no matter how dire things appeared. Interrupting was not in the playbook: This was surgery for the soul and the cancer had to come out. Even if the man died in the middle of it, the extraction attempt was the right course of action.

Jim held her as loosely as he could, and she ended up against him, nails deep in his forearm as she watched, as helpless as he was to affect the outcome.

It was all about Eddie and Vin and whatever fate was going to roll out.

And then it happened. Eddie started to win the battlea"what he was pulling on began to give way, first in increments, then with a final, exploding separation that landed the angel on his a.s.s.

But there was no time for celebration.

As soon as whatever that black s.h.i.+t was got out of Vin, it was free in the air, a vicious-looking shadow that wafted loosea"and immediately came gunning for Marie-Terese. Rippling through the air, it pulled itself together, darkened up like it was gathering strength, and faced off at the woman.

Jim shoved Marie-Terese behind him and forced her up against the wall. Working fast with the crystal gun, he popped the plug on its belly and poured what was inside all over her, until it was dripping off her nose and from the ends of her hair.

He wished he had a bucket of the s.h.i.+t.

Wheeling back around, he braced himself as the shadow hurled itself at them. Impact was not a party, the smoky nonent.i.ty registering like a thousand bee stings across his skin. Marie-Terese screameda"

No, it wasnat her. The thing screamed and splintered apart, looking like BB pellets that had been scattered across a floor.

f.u.c.ker re-formed, but it didnat take another shot. It boiled for the one window that didnat have salt on its sill and the shattering of gla.s.s was a shocker, the sound echoing throughout the house.

At that very same moment, the light in the circle sucked out of the room, and its exit was even louder, a sonic boom that made Jimas eardrums pop and the mirror over the dresser crack into pieces. Eddie was thrown back by the burst of energy and he slammed against the wall just as Vin was revealed on the floor, pale, shaky, covered with sweat.

As he curled over onto his side and drew his knees up to his chest, Marie-Terese broke free of Jimas hold and rushed to him.

aVin?a She brushed the guyas hair back. aOh, G.o.d, heas freezing cold. Give me the duvet.a Jim yanked the cover free from the bed and put it in her hands; then he went to check on Eddie, who seemed to be out cold. aYou okay there, big man? Eddie?a The guy jerked to attention and looked around as if he were momentarily lost. To his credit, though, even in his out-of-it state, the crystal dagger was locked in his fist, his knuckles white like the thing was going to have to be pried out of his grip with a pair of pliers.

His expression was not one of triumph.

When he tried to get up, Jim grabbed the guy under the armpits and helped hoist him off the floor and onto the bed. aYouare not looking like this went okay.a Eddie took a couple of deep breaths. aHeas cleanaand nice move with soaking her.a aFigured itad be more effective.a Jim s.h.i.+fted that thick braid over the guyas shoulder and couldnat understand why Eddie seemed so disappointed. aI donat get it. Whatas the problem?a Eddie focused on the busted window and shook his head. aThis was too easy.a s.h.i.+t.