Matchbox Girls (25 page)

AT wandered over. “Hi, Tia. Thanks for coming by on short notice.”

Tia laughed. “Darling, you did me a favor by calling me. There’s a lot of interest among my set in this particular situation.” Then she put her hands on AT’s shoulders. “You’ve grown. And you haven’t been getting enough sleep.”

AT shrugged. “So what about Marley? You said something about a curse.”

“I brought more coffee, and doughnuts if anybody wants them. How about the little ones?” She waved over AT’s shoulder at where the kids piled on the ground. Then she pulled a tray out of her car with two more coffees and a bag of breakfast breads.

“We’ll pass,” said Marley warily, even as AT took a cup and a doughnut.

Tia smiled at her. “Are you sure? These are fantastic. Good enough for a last meal.”

Marley blew out her breath and walked away, back to the twins. She didn’t want to deal with another supernatural being who saw her as some sort of toy. She didn’t want to deal with
any
of this. She sat down on the ground beside the dozing twins and put her arms around them, just holding them close and trying to center herself.

After a few moments of murmured conversation between AT and Tia, the woman came over and crouched down. “AT tells me you had an encounter with a kaiju last night. I’m sorry to hear that. I want you to know that hurting you is not my interest.”

Marley muttered, “Being helpful doesn’t seem to be your interest, either.”

“Untrue!” Tia shifted position until she was also sitting on the pavement. “Helping people is what I do.”

Marley stared at Tia, pointedly inspecting her salon hairstyle, her expensive clothes, her elegant manicure, and, finally, her sports car. “You don’t exactly look like Mother Theresa.”

Tia gave a little chuckle. “You’d trust me more if I were dressed as a candy striper? Driving a beat-up clunker? No, I think something else is bothering you.” She had a friendly, inquisitive look that was so far from the kaiju’s knowing smirk that Marley did feel a little better.

She stood up, nestling the girls against the dog Heart, and moved back toward AT. When she looked back, Tia had also risen to her feet but was just standing there, looking at the exhausted girls with her hands on her hips. Finally, she shook her head and joined the two young women.

“Those children need a hot meal, a quiet space, and a long night’s sleep. They’ll be all right then.”

“I wish I could give that to them,” said Marley. “But the angel who wants to kill me also wants to... erase them. Or so he told me. Do you know why?”

Tia put her head to one side. “Mmm. Well, they’re powerful. When they grow up, I imagine they’ll be even more powerful.”

“He said they’d be very dangerous. He was trying to tell me about some kind of catastrophe.” She remembered the blasted L.A. landscape, the two small figures alone in the desert.
There will not be a world left for them to play in.

Tia shrugged. “As I said, they’re powerful. Men have always considered females with unusual power harbingers of the end. That's been true since the beginning of time.” A wry grin crossed her face. “Trust me on this.”

One again, curiosity pulled a question out of Marley. “Do you guys actually have a gender? I mean, when you’re not...” she waved vaguely around, “physical?”

Tia gave her a long, thoughtful look. “That’s a very interesting discussion that I’m not sure we have time for. But if we all survive this, look me up and ask me again. For now, you have this curse on you...”

“Yes. But—” she glanced quickly at AT and decided to ask anyhow, “Will your help cost me anything? I don’t mean to be prejudiced, but traditional narrative is not in your favor.”

“Mostly angelic propaganda,” said Tia smoothly. “They’ve always been focused getting people to behave in the way they think is right, even if it requires tricking them. Personally, I think it makes more sense to let people make up their own minds. It’s not the action that matters, it’s the choice that guides it.”

And the road to hell is paved with good intentions
, Marley thought, but did not say. She felt the world going thin around her again, and the thought itself seemed shallow.
The path away from the angels is paved with choices.
She felt dizzy.

Tia continued quickly, putting a steadying hand on her arm. “As it happens, I
would
like a favor from you, but I’ll help you no matter what.” The vertigo faded under the demon’s warm touch. “You’ve made a choice to protect these girls and I like that. Some of my brothers would say that the angel’s curse is the natural consequence of that choice, but they're idiots sometimes. Ettoriel’s trying to take the easy way out.”

“What favor?” Marley breathed, afraid the vertigo would begin again.

“I’d like to talk to the little ones. Present them with a few of their choices.” Marley stared at her suspiciously and Tia added, “I’m not asking you to stop protecting them. But even children should be allowed to make choices.”

Slowly, Marley shook her head. “Like whether to stick their hands into a fire? Whether to look at things that will give them screaming nightmares? Or run out into traffic? You can’t let a child make that kind of choice. They don’t have enough information or enough understanding to make it properly.”

Tia kept her fingers on Marley’s arm, her touch light but steadying. “I expected that answer from you. But I wouldn’t encourage that kind of activity. The actions you described aren’t so much choices as impulses. To follow one’s impulses
can
be a choice, but it rarely is when you’re four, and miniature. Or so I’ve observed. One moment.” Her light touch drew Marley over to her car, and her fingers slid down to Marley’s hand. Intertwining her fingers with Marley’s own, she opened her car door and rummaged around inside with her other hand.

“Aha,” she said, and pulled out a folded umbrella. “Let’s walk over to that lamp post. What was I saying?”

“You were explaining how children don’t make choices, but you’d like to tell the twins about their choices anyhow.” Marley walked beside Tia. The demon’s grip was light enough that she could pull away at any time, but she was, for now,
choosing
not to. “Why do you have an umbrella?”

“I know; it’s August in L.A., right? How long has it been since it rained? But you know how it is, there’s that one time your hair is ruined by a downpour and you swear you’ll never be caught without one again.”

Marley glanced up at the dawn sky. “The only rain we’re getting is ash.”

Tia smiled, and spun the umbrella in her free hand. “So may I speak with the children?”

“I’d rather you didn’t, if you’re going to upset them, or make it harder for me to look after them. There’s already enough rebellion in the ranks.”

Tia pursed her lips, and then glanced up as they passed under the light. “Here we are.” She shook open the umbrella and raised it over their heads. “Would you put your hand on the lamp post, please? Like that, yes. In a moment, I’m going to stop suppressing the curse. You may feel a bit of pressure, but you should be perfectly safe.” The demon grinned and let go of Marley’s hand.

The world flattened until it was lines on tissue paper. The tissue paper stretched taut. It tore.

-twenty-seven-

T
here was a pop, and a tinkle. Tiny shards pattered against the umbrella and slid off to make a circle of broken glass around their feet. After a moment, Tia shook the umbrella clear and closed it. The light above had shattered explosively. “Sorry about that,” said Tia. “The curse pressure was building up and I didn’t want to inadvertently trigger an earthquake.”

“The world is
breaking
around me?” said Marley, aghast.

“The pressure builds up, but is fully discharged each time it triggers. It might not always be actively dangerous; it might simply be inconvenient some of the time. But if it can’t discharge, it’s able to affect bigger and bigger things.” Tia glanced up in the sky. “I suppose a helicopter passing overhead might fall out of the sky before a fault line shifts.”

Marley stared at her in horror. “And this is supposed to... what, kill me? My God, I think I liked the women with guns more.”

Tia looked interested. “Guns, really? That’s not very angelic. They like to rely on the hand of the divine unless they’re being directly threatened.”

“There were guns,” said Marley firmly. “And Ettoriel protected them after, so I know they worked for him.”

“Protected them from...?”

Marley’s gazed darted to the pile of children and dogs. “I don’t know.”

“Ah. Yes. Interesting. Perhaps one of his mortal servants displayed some initiative.” Marley thought of Jeremy, and nodded vigorously. “But you protect the children and the children protect you. The difference, of course, being that the children can’t protect you from what they don’t understand. And their protection is, naturally, rather aggressive. But that, I imagine, is why Ettoriel has chosen this particular curse. If the children think your death is an accident, they may be too confused to get angry.”

Marley blew out her breath and stepped away from the circle of shattered glass. “Why does AT like you so much? You’re as vague and mysterious as the fairy.”

Tia’s eyes sparkled. “She was in a situation where her choices weren’t being respected. I insisted that situation change. As for the rest... she might tell you the details if you ask. Her father isn't a very nice person.”

Marley couldn’t help making a face. “You can’t just ‘insist’ here?”

“Here, I can teach. For example, I can teach you what it feels like when the curse is about to trigger, so you can influence
how
it triggers. Did you notice the way you felt before the light shattered? Good. That isn't normal, by the way. You may not be able to protect yourself as you can protect children, but your particular heredity makes you sensitive to rips in the world. I can even give you a small blessing that will allow you to duplicate what I just did in suppressing the curse until an appropriate time.”

“Why not just remove it? Can you do that?”

“I might be able to. But I won't. It will fade on its own in a day or two, so it isn't currently worth my while to do so. Especially since it will be so very educational for you.” Tia's teeth flashed again.

“All right. Do that. And then, please go away.” Tia raised an eyebrow and Marley plunged on. “You and that other guy, you make me feel helpless and small. All I want to do is curl up and hope somebody else will deal with this. But you won’t. And I can’t have you distracting me right now.”

“Of course,” Tia said. She took Marley’s wrist between her finger and her thumb, and then tapped two more fingers down in quick succession. “Here is the assistance. The memory of this sensation will activate and deactivate the suppression.” A ticklish warmth spread out from her touch, running down to Marley’s fingers and up to her chest.

“The suppression will draw upon your own energy, so I suggest only using it when you feel the discharge is imminent.” Tia smiled again, but this time it was tight and concerned. “Good luck.” She pulled away.

“Wait.” Marley stepped after her. “Wait. I know I’ve been ungrateful, but can I ask something else?”

Tia put her head to one side, her eyes drifting over Marley’s shoulder to the kids. She arched an eyebrow.

Marley blew out her breath. “Later. Come find me if we survive the next few days and... something... can be arranged.”

“I just want to talk to them, Marley. Just a conversation. But come, what else did you want from me?”

“My friend, Penny, she’s involved with this angel. It’s hurting her. Corbin says it’s destroying her. Is there any way you can free her? Help her?”

Tia pulled out her cellphone and tapped on the screen a few times, frowning. She looked up, her gaze vague and distant.

The moment dragged on. At last, she shook her head. “I’ve found her, but I can offer her nothing. She’s made a choice.”

Marley set her jaw. “So? She’s been brainwashed or enchanted or something. The choice isn’t
good
for her.”

Tia smiled gently. “Choosing despite the consequences is integral to humanity. The act of choosing is itself meaningful.”

Marley gave the demon a hostile stare. “That is a bullshit philosophy.”

Tia’s smile faded. “To force her to change her mind would be just another form of ‘brainwashing.’ Is that what you’d prefer?”

“Can’t you just—protect her from the angel’s influence somehow? Give her a chance to see herself without a haze of angel love clouding her mind?”

“Maybe. But I won’t.”

“Because I won’t pay for it? I—”

“Marley. No. I won’t because this is what she wants. She wants to be part of something bigger than herself. She wants to feel like she has a place in the world, that her life has meaning and purpose. She wants all that and he’s giving her that and she’s at peace because of it. She doesn’t know all the fine details, but she doesn’t care to know them either.”

Marley’s jaw ached. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but you’re wrong. I know her better than that. I’m her friend.”

Tia shrugged, put away her phone and folded her arms. “Recall, please, that my ‘bullshit philosophy’ is why I’m helping you. Get your friend to ask for help, and hell, you might be able to save her yourself. But you want to break her? Apply to the kaiju, not me.”

Marley opened her mouth and then shut it again. She took a deep breath. “You’re right. Thank you for your help.” The words burned.

Tia nodded curtly. “If you don’t end up dead, I’ll be around to claim what you offered me later.” She raised her hand in greeting to AT, who had approached. “I’m just leaving, my dear. Your friend mostly wants heroes, not helpers.”

“I want a chance, damn it!” The shout ripped out of Marley before she knew it.

The demon smiled again. “Then take some.” She ruffled AT’s hair and strode to her car. A moment later, the engine roared to life and the vehicle sped off.

AT looked at Marley anxiously. “Was that not good?”

Marley shook her head. “She was... helpful, I hope. I’m just an ungrateful bitch right now. She’s right. I want somebody to deal with all this for me, make it go away. A big strong man to save the day. Branwyn would punch me.”