Straight to Heaven (23 page)

Mr. Clerk was right; I was reaping what I’d been sowing – grief, heartache, emptiness. Three things I deserved. Somehow, I’d let myself forget about the damage I’d done on my assignments. My new house, my pool, the monthly deposit into my bank account, even the string of successful temptations – all of it had blinded me to the fact that I was doing the Devil’s dirty work.

Remember, you’re doing this for Grace
, I thought, but my conscience wouldn’t let it rest. I’d hardly given Grace a thought in the past few weeks. We’d grown so distant that she might as well have been living with her father. It was my bruised ego that wanted to win against William. My daughter’s freedom was just a perk.

While the TV blathered on, I closed my eyes and pictured all the lives that intersected with mine. If Mr. Clerk put every one of those transparencies on top of my life chart, he’d have a mess so complicated that even
he
wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.

A thought struck me, sending a jolt of electricity straight into my brain. I sat up and turned off the TV, envisioning all those intersected lives. All those stacked transparencies.

Suddenly, I had a plan.

I wasn’t about to leave the girls alone a second time that night, especially since I didn’t know how long I’d be gone. I checked the clock. It was eleven-thirty, far too late to ask Kate to watch the girls. Even though Mr. Clerk had said that Miss Spry was contractually obligated to look over Grace while I was away, I wasn’t about to trust my demon overlord to babysit. Besides, the contract didn’t say anything about keeping
Ariel
safe. No, I needed a human.

I sent Jasmine an urgent text message:
9-1-1!! CALL ME!

I hoped that the added drama of the exclamation points and shouty caps would break through her wall of silence and make her call me back. Luckily, they did.

“Can you watch the girls tonight?” I asked her when she called.

“Tonight? Like right now?” From the sound of the background noise, she was at a club.

“Yes. I need to take Kate to the hospital. She fell and thinks she broke her wrist.” Then I had a thought. “Karl isn’t with you, is he?”

“What do you care?” she asked.

Okay, so he was there. I prayed that he wouldn’t want to leave the club to babysit a couple of kids. “I
don’t
care,” I said. “I was curious, that’s all.” Then I remembered that Tommy was coming over to shower in the morning. If I was lucky, Jas would spend the night at my house and then see him when he arrived. If nothing else, they could talk. “Please, Jas, I really need you.”

After a long pause, she said, “Fine, but I’m only doing this for Kate and the girls.”

“I understand,” I said.

After we hung up, I waited anxiously until her car pulled into the driveway. The minute she walked into the house, I said, “I’ve got to go right now! Call me if you need anything.” I got into my car and parked down the street far enough so she couldn’t see me. Then I found an otherworld passage and went to talk to Mr. Clerk about Craig.

Hopefully, for the very last time.

Mr. Clerk’s office was a mess. Crumpled papers were scattered everywhere, and nearly a dozen charts covered in sticky notes had been tacked to the walls. Piles of books lay on the drafting table. The pencil sharpener had been emptied on the floor and shavings had been tracked from one end of the room to the other.

Mr. Clerk, still reeking of booze, had passed out at his desk with his head pillowed on his folded arms. He jumped when I touched his shoulder.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” I said, “but this is important.”

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It certainly better be.”

“I know what we need to do about Craig.”

His frown deepened. “You’re not telling me how to do my job again, are you?”

“Just listen.” I brushed away scraps of paper that had collected on Craig’s blueprint. “Do
I
have a transparency?”

“Everyone does,” he said. “Even me.”

“Okay. Go get mine and put it on top of Craig’s.”

Mr. Clerk opened his mouth to protest, but as he thought about my suggestion, his face changed and he smiled. Without a word, he hustled to the cabinet, and returned with a large scroll of clear plastic that he spread over the top of Craig’s chart.

“Well?” I impatiently bounced on the balls of my feet.

Mr. Clerk traced one line after another, muttering to himself. “No. No. Nothing. Wait…” He used the magnifying glass to look at a section of the chart. “Oh, Lilith!”

“You found something? What is it?” I crowded next to him, trying to see for myself. “Is there a connection?”

“Yes.” He put the magnifying glass down, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples. “But…”

“But what?”

“I feel obligated to warn you that this assignment could be dangerous.” His startlingly blue eyes bored into mine.

“Because of William? Is that it?”

“No. Because of the unpredictability of human beings.”

I considered this, but for only a moment. I needed to win if I wanted Grace free from the curse. “I don’t care. Tell me.”

He pressed his lips together as if once more weighing the alternatives. Then he said, “This job is for tonight. You need to meet your client in the parking lot of the bar and convince him to do what J.T. says.”

I waited a few heartbeats. “And then?”

“And then you run like hell.”

Chapter Sixteen

I heard Craig and J.T. arguing even before I stepped from the otherworld into the human one. Both of them were angry. And drunk.

I twisted my body into the familiar pixie shape, then took a deep breath, wiped my sweating palms on my jeans, and got ready to do my job. Before I could step through, however, someone grabbed my shoulder. William.

I tore out of his grip and whirled to face him. “Don’t you dare get in my way!” My inner demon surged, ready to break free. I didn’t think I had the strength to beat William in a fair fight, but I wouldn’t fight fair. “You are
not
going to stop me.”

His expression was equally determined, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking out the otherworld doorway at the parking lot of The Dirty Duck. “I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to stop
her
.”

“What?” I looked over my shoulder and saw a gleam of heavenly energy as Harmony emerged from her own doorway.

Shit.

“I’ll hold her off as long as I can,” William said, “but you better work fast.”

My mind reeled. Was he saying what I thought he was? “What about the competition?”

“It’s over. I’m conceding.”

This had to be another dirty trick. “I don’t believe it.”

“I don’t blame you,” he said, “but it’s true.”

Dirty trick or not, I couldn’t waste time puzzling it out now. I had to act.

“Wait!” he said before I left. “One last thing.” He leaned down and kissed me. It was only a quick brush across the lips, yet it felt different from every other kiss we’d shared. He wasn’t the arrogant, seductive incubus, but the fully-human William. The one I’d been longing for. Kissing him left me breathless.

“That’s for luck,” he said. “Now get moving.”

“So you’re going to wimp out on me
again
,” J.T. said. He slammed his hand down on the hood of Craig’s Jeep. “What is wrong with you?”

Craig and J.T. stood at the back of The Dirty Duck, far away from the other vehicles. It was drizzling here in Orland, and in the jaundiced light of the sodium lamps, both men looked sickly.

“Would you listen to yourself?” Craig said. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“You’re either in with me, or you’re not.” J.T. pushed Craig in the chest, and when Craig stumbled backwards a few steps, J.T. pushed him again even harder. “So which is it?” He continued to bear down on his friend until eventually, he had Craig pressed up against the dumpster. He feinted a punch, making Craig flinch and put up his arms in defense. “All or nothing,” J.T. said. “That’s what it is.”

“I don’t want trouble,” Craig argued. He sounded much younger than he usually did. His wall of hostility was gone. “Let’s go back inside and talk about this, okay?”

“No, not okay. We’ve talked and talked, and now it’s time to do something.”

That was my cue. I could feel Craig teetering on the brink of his decision. To my relief, William had done his job. Neither he nor Harmony were in sight. My path was clear. All I had to do was push Craig a little to tip him in the right direction. I stepped from the shadows and into the soft, yellow light.

J.T. glared at me. “What are you doing here?”

Craig lowered his arms. “When’s that story of yours going into the paper?”

My instinct was to say I’d already turned it in, but my demon had another plan. Although I wasn’t convinced that this was the right approach, I decided to trust her. I said, “It’s not. I’m killing the story.”

“What?” Craig was furious. “Are you kidding me?”

“I can’t put my name on a thing like that,” I said. “I have a reputation as a serious journalist.”

I glanced at J.T. to see how he was taking this. He stood as still as stone, his arms folded over his chest. “So you
are
a journalist,” he said. “Because you aren’t listed at the
Free Press
.”

“That’s because I work for
The
Detroit News
.”

J.T. blinked, confused.

“And the whole militia thing you two have going,” I continued, “it’s crazy. There isn’t going to be any apocalypse. You’re just two little boys playing around with guns.” I wasn’t sure if the reverse psychology was working, but my demon seemed to think it was. “Do you honestly think that rational people are going to believe that they should buy gas masks and learn how to make rabbit snares in case of a bio-emergency?” I loaded my voice with contempt. “That’s a load of crap made up by a bunch of ignorant, paranoid morons.”

Craig clenched and unclenched his fists. He glanced at J.T., then back at me. I could almost see the wheels of his mind spinning like dynamos as he considered his options. Finally, he nodded. “J.T., I think you’re right. I think we need to step this up.”

In that moment, I knew I’d won. I could see it in Craig’s eyes. Whatever he had decided would send him on a path that led right to Miss Spry’s office. I’d done my job. I’d finally won the bet.

I’d hardly finished congratulating myself before J.T. grabbed my arms from behind. Craig threw his sweatshirt over my head, stuffing one of the sleeves so deep into my mouth that I started to gag. Before I could fight back, one of them hit me across the face. Stars danced in front of my eyes.

Because I’d been in such a hurry to complete my assignment, I hadn’t taken the usual care in my appearance and was wearing my own clothes which were much too big for my pixie-sized self. I was a little stronger than a human woman, but I was also blinded and clumsy. I threw one of them aside then tripped over my too-long jeans and fell to the ground, painfully hitting my nose. Blood gushed over my upper lip. Someone grabbed my shirt and hauled me to my feet. When I struggled to get away, he hit me again across the back of the skull with something hard and heavy.

As I was shoved into the back seat of the Jeep, things faded to black.

I regained my senses as one of the men, J.T. I think, half-dragged half-carried me up a short flight of steps and into a building. My stomach made a few queasy turns, and for one terrifying moment, I was sure I’d get sick and end up choking on my vomit. I tried to fight back, but any sudden movement sent a spike of agony across the back of my head.

I was hauled down another, longer stairway. The smell of dank earth and mildew made me sneeze painfully, spraying the inside of the sweatshirt with blood. I struggled weakly, but my stomach lurched again. From across the room came a grunt, then the scrape of something heavy being pulled across concrete. I was dragged further then forced into a hard chair. As my hands and feet were zip-tied, the sweatshirt was yanked off my head. I blinked up at Craig who fastened duct tape over my mouth.

Craig looked into my eyes. “You shouldn’t have hit her so hard. I think you gave her a concussion.”

“That girl’s stronger than she looks,” J.T. argued back. “Besides, I’m sure she’s fine.”

Although I was seeing double, I knew that I was in the tiny, windowless room in Craig’s basement. The one with the video camera.

J.T. fumbled with the equipment. “How the hell do you work this thing?” he asked. “Is this the ‘on’ button?”

Craig sighed. “No, dummy. That’s the…aw, shit. You just deleted the opening shot, idiot.”

It might have been funny if I hadn’t been so afraid and in so much pain. For fifteen minutes, I tried to focus on their clownish attempts to get the video camera working rather than picture what was in store for me. When one of them touched my shoulder, I jerked away, a strangled scream lodged in my throat.

“It’s okay,” Craig said. “We don’t want to hurt you. We just want you to co-operate.”

I nodded and tried not to whimper. With my only escape to the otherworld up the stairs, I was trapped. I suddenly wished that William hadn’t distracted Harmony.

Craig turned on the high-intensity lights. The glare made my head ache. My stomach lurched again, and I gagged. J.T. ripped the tape from my mouth just in time for me to vomit. “I think I have a concussion,” I said.

“I’ll get you to a hospital when we’re done,” J.T. said. When I started to protest, he put another piece of duct tape across my mouth, immediately silencing me. “You don’t have any lines.”

Fight, my demon ordered, but I couldn’t. Just wriggling my hands against the restraints sent the room into a slow spin. If I hadn’t been strapped into the chair, I would have fallen over.

J.T. pulled a horrifying clown mask over his head. The clown’s bloody smile leered down at me. “You ready?” he asked, his voice muffled by the mask.

“Take one,” Craig said. He stood in the shadows behind the camera.

J.T. put his hands on my shoulders. “Listen up because we mean business. We’re on the brink of a revolution. This is Lilith Straight, a news reporter from Detroit.”

I blinked like mad, trying to keep the tears from my eyes.