Chapter 5
Imogael
Although they weren't my preferred clothes, the clothes that Scott chose for me were certainly good enough. The shirt was black and long, but still form fitting, and the jeans were dark skinny jeans that led to the black high heels I insisted on.
For a moment, just a moment, I felt bad for letting him buy me clothes. The moment passed quickly. If he wanted to dress me up, I would let him.
Stepping off of the motorcycle, I stood in a small city with buildings that looked old. “This place is interesting,” I said, looking up the length of the tall building we were in front of.
“Yeah, it was built in the 50s, and the city has made businesses keep their original faces as a gimmick. It works, I guess, since they pull in plenty of tourists.” He shrugged and pointed at the tall building. “Antonio lives here. He won't let you in, so you might as well wander around. Here.”
He handed me his wallet, fat with cash he took from the briefcase.
“If you see something you want, buy it. Got it? Just stay on this street, and don't get into trouble. Antonio's on the top floor and I'm not going to hear you if you shout for me.”
With a nod from me, he turned and entered the building. The street was busy with cars, the rumble of their engines and the frustrated thoughts of the people inside of them. The pedestrians had their own thoughts, too, of wonder and desire for things inside of stores. Down an alley, there was a man and woman standing so close to one another that there could be no confusion that they were kissing passionately, even from the back.
It all reminded me of the busiest parts of Hell, where demons congregated for orgies or fighting. Mostly, demons kept away from each other. There was nothing to be gained from interacting, but now and then we needed to create new demons together, since angels and humans were both so eager to send us to oblivion with their exorcisms.
Just as I was thinking that I should be more careful with my abilities, I heard a man whistle and call for my attention. I turned and found a man in a hardhat and blue overalls.
“Hey, sweetie. You know where you are, right?”
I smiled and tilted my head up at him. “In fact, I don't. Could you tell me?”
“You're in The Mob's territory. And that means you have to do what we say. So why don't you come back to that alley with me so I can use my lunch break to do something more fun than just eating what my wife packed for me?”
I made sure not to show even an ounce of anger. There was a man in a suit watching us, but not interfering. “Why, sure!” I said. “Come on down, honey. Let me help you out.”
The man was surprised at my response, but wasted no time climbing down from the building he was working on. He stepped out front just as I flicked my wrist and felt a sizzle in the air.
The man in the hard hat looked to the man in the suit. The man in the suit gazed back at him, and in an instant they were upon one another. Lips upon lips, hands holding hands, both fighting for dominance in an increasingly sexual public display.
“Jimmy, what the fuck are you doing?” Another man from the building cried. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
I backed away, watching the chaos from afar. A group of men descended from the building and tried to pull the two men apart. Every time they did, though, they clawed away so that they might embrace once more.
“This is wrong, Jimmy, what the hell are you doing?” Someone shouted. Another pulled away, clearly disgusted. I moved further away before anyone would notice that I was watching with a grin on my mouth.
Humanity was so easy to turn against its own nature. I missed my wings, my horns, my family, but I could have some fun until I figured out how to get home, couldn't I?
Making my way back to the building that Scott had disappeared into, I tried to enter but was stopped by a wall that burned inside of me if I tried to pass it. I tried to touch the doorknob and was given a shock in my hand.
The building had been consecrated. There was no way I was getting in there. With a sigh, I looked around and found a bench nearby to wait.
I didn't have to wait long. As I was watching the two men still make out, fewer and fewer of his friends trying to pull them apart, Scott stepped out of the building with another man. Scott's eyes immediately focused on the commotion down the road, then turned to me with suspicion. I almost expected him to come out and ask me about it, but instead he turned to the other man.
“Antonio, this is Elise. She's my intern. I've been thinking about getting her on a bike at some point. You have anyone that'll be able to help me with that?”
The man was very young, and yet held himself with the poise and entitlement that only power could bring. His head was fully bald, shining in the sun. He was also tall, and almost as handsome as Scott. The smile that crossed his lips was easy. “Of course. You get a discount, as always.”
“Great.” Scott turned to me, but my head was invaded suddenly with Antonio's thoughts, and they were pretty. There was a desire for more power, a lust for me, and a severe hatred of Scott.
I unconsciously moved closer to Scott, then blocked out Antonio's thoughts. I didn't like him, and I didn't want Scott to be near him.
Antonio said farewell to Scott, and then Scott tilted his head towards his bike. “Come on. That's it for today, unless some emergency pops up.”
“Do emergencies pop up often?” I asked, ignoring the unease I was feeling and plastering a sly grin on my face. He rolled his eyes in response.
“Unfortunately,” he answered. When I got on the bike behind him, I noticed he smelled foul. Like a church. I hoped that the smell would go away soon.
Scott
I couldn't hold back the comment anymore. Once we were inside my house, I looked at her through the corner of my eye, and tried to speak in the calmest manner I could. “Trouble seems to follow you.”
She grinned up at me, but I guess something in my face told her that it wasn't the time to be glib, so she said nothing at all. The grin fell away and waited for me to say something else.
“Do you have some kind of power that makes people go nuts when you're around?” I asked, trying to be funny. It wasn't a funny topic, to me. Carrying trouble around on the back of my motorcycle could cost my life, but I didn't want to scare her by accusing her of something serious.
Instead, that Mona Lisa smile came back. “Hm. Wouldn't that be interesting?” She asked, and that was that. She went to the couch and looked out of the window again, watching the afternoon's birds outside. I thought that I should get a bird feeder since she was so into the birds, but then I had no clue how long she would be living with me. She did seem to love watching them, though, and I wanted to make her happy.
I didn't exactly mind her being around. My house was lonely, and before she fell into my life, I tried to avoid being home as much as possible. Since she came to stay with me, though, it wasn't so hard to be there anymore. It had been days since I drank vodka until I fell asleep. It almost seemed as if I was pulling myself together. What a joke that was.
The more time I spent with her, though, the more mysterious she became. She really was like a child with how little she knew about the world, but nothing about her seemed innocent. There was something about her that had a tint of evil. Something that made me uneasy.
It wasn't like I believed in God or the paranormal. No, I lost all that wonder when she left. I used to be a Catholic, one that would go to church every Sunday and every holy day of obligation. I went to confession like a good boy, though the things I had to confess were not very good at all. No one who was a member of Southern Mayhem lived a simple, sin-free life.
Southern Mayhem was gone, though. And so was she. All that was left was his pain, and now this strange girl that came out of nowhere, her flame hair taking over his thoughts and giving him a reprieve from thinking about golden hair and green-blue eyes.
But even though I didn't believe, there was that something weird about Elise. Something that made me wonder if she was somehow orchestrating the fight at Hiroshima, or the chaos in the city. How could that be possible, though?
I realized suddenly that she was watching me. “What?” I asked, leaning back against the couch's back. I threw my arm over it.
“Have you ever murdered someone?”
The question seemingly came out of nowhere. I knew that once I told her the truth, she would be gone. I didn't want to lose her just yet. It wasn't that I loved her or anything, it was just comforting to be around her. Losing her would open up that hole in my chest just a little bit wider, and I wasn't ready to do that.
I hated lies, though. I wouldn't lie to her just to spare myself some pain. “I've killed a lot of people. Both directly and indirectly.” I waited for the fallout, the freak out, but nothing came. She just sat quietly for a moment, taking in my reply. That smile was still on her face. With a poker face like that, she would even win against Antonio.
“Tell me what happened,” she said. Her voice was soft, but her eyes were filled with mischievous interest. There it was again, that vague warning that her attitude gave off. Just looking at her when she was like that made my blood pump a little faster, made my hair stand on end.
I shook my head, letting out a puff of air. “This isn't the right time. Maybe one day.” I could tell she wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she didn't push it. She went back to watching the birds quietly.
“Have you?” I asked, watching how she responded.
She looked back at me. There was a strange look in her eyes that I didn't quite understand. “Have I what?”
“Have you ever killed someone?” Somehow, it seemed as if she was infinitely capable of murder. I didn't know how that made me feel. Would I be afraid to be near her if she had?
She grinned, showing off her white teeth. I noticed, then, that they seemed somewhat sharp. Like a shark. “No, not yet.”
I barked out a laugh, then pulled her down from the window and into my arms. I licked her lips, then pressed mine against them. She felt so soft in my arms. I could have held her like that, feeling her breath from her nose on my cheek, for the rest of my life.
But I let her up, leaving her with a dazed look as I stood and went downstairs. I needed to work out. It had been too long, and my body was getting weak because of it. Eventually, I heard her turn on the TV and sighed in relief. If she had followed me down there, she would have caught my hands shaking as I pulled photos off of that old cork board and tossed them into an old cardboard box, to be thrown away later.
My hand lingered on the photo of Joey Oregon, just a second too long. “Goodbye, old friend.” His was the last photo in the box, which I threw onto the floor and started loading the bar for my bench press.