second later, she heard footfalls coming down the stairs, hitting the front foyer, zeroing in on the parlor.
“Is that your doing?” she asked softly.
“Walkie-talkies are so damn cumbersome. Fuckers require batteries, too.”
“Nice trick,” she said, straightening her shirt, pushing her hair back.
Right before Jim came into the room, she wondered what she looked like, and wished she had a hairbrush, a mirror … maybe some toothpaste.
Dumb, dumb, dumb, she thought. One, there was no competing with the likes of that demon. And two, like she wanted Devina’s leftovers?
Jim entered the parlor in blue jeans and a white T-shirt that pulled across his pecs and stretched around the heft of his biceps. His face was remote, and his eyes did not meet hers, but his sheer presence sure got through to her. He was, as always, magnetic, the kind of man anybody would look over at. Was it the height? That build? The perma-frown? That beautiful, shimmering halo around his dark blond head …
Okay, fine. Maybe she did want to compete with the damn demon.
Even though that made no sense, and was self-destructive in the extreme.
“I didn’t find anything,” she announced. “Not one thing.”
Unbelievable, really. Considering the tome had how many words in it? Two trillion?
Jim frowned even more deeply. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.” She wasn’t sure what she had read, actually. The writing had a funny way of going in one eye and out the other. But she was very clear that there had been nothing about Purgatory.
“Are you sure you’re reading it right?”
Sissy turned the book around and pushed it across the coffee table to him. “Give it a try yourself.”
“I don’t know Latin.”
“Guess you’re out of luck.”
“Goddamn it.”
“Well, what do you want me to say? It’s not in there. I mean, the place exists, because you two tell me it does—so maybe, I don’t know, is it possible there’s another name for it? Or is there another source of information we can use? Like, have you got an Internet for the afterlife?”
They both looked at Adrian, who was sitting up and rubbing at his dark hair until the stuff stood up like he’d licked a light socket. “Not that I know of.” The angel shook his head. “You know, maybe this is something we need to back off from. I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, Jim. If by some miracle you manage to get yourself over there, I’m really not sure we can get you back in one piece—even without Nigel. And before you ask, no, I don’t think the Creator’s gonna be all about helping your ass, especially ’cause you’re doing this to get around one of His rules.”
Jim cursed. “No, we’re going to find a way. I’m not giving up—”
The attack came out of nowhere. One second Jim was standing just inside the room, looking pissed off. The next, a bare-chested man was rushing at him from behind, flashing through the doorway soundlessly, some kind of glinting weapon over his head.
Sissy screamed and pointed—and that was what got Jim ripping around just before he got stabbed in the back. His response was instantaneous, his body bracing against the onslaught, his hands latching onto that raised arm and twisting the blade out of range. But he couldn’t throw off the aggressor, the other man as powerful as he was.
It was Colin, the guy from Jim’s hospital visit, she realized. The dark-haired one—
Bang!
They slammed into the mantel.
Crash!
They knocked over a side table and shattered a lamp.
Screech!
Their combined, thrashing weight pushed one of the sofas off the rug and onto the bare floor. And as the two of them twirled in a deadly waltz, Adrian jumped up, drawing a knife she hadn’t been aware of being on him.
But the angel didn’t get far.
With a quick surge, the attacker extended his free hand and sent a blast of white light at Ad, blowing him off his feet with such force, the couch he landed on shot across the room and splintered into
“Is that your doing?” she asked softly.
“Walkie-talkies are so damn cumbersome. Fuckers require batteries, too.”
“Nice trick,” she said, straightening her shirt, pushing her hair back.
Right before Jim came into the room, she wondered what she looked like, and wished she had a hairbrush, a mirror … maybe some toothpaste.
Dumb, dumb, dumb, she thought. One, there was no competing with the likes of that demon. And two, like she wanted Devina’s leftovers?
Jim entered the parlor in blue jeans and a white T-shirt that pulled across his pecs and stretched around the heft of his biceps. His face was remote, and his eyes did not meet hers, but his sheer presence sure got through to her. He was, as always, magnetic, the kind of man anybody would look over at. Was it the height? That build? The perma-frown? That beautiful, shimmering halo around his dark blond head …
Okay, fine. Maybe she did want to compete with the damn demon.
Even though that made no sense, and was self-destructive in the extreme.
“I didn’t find anything,” she announced. “Not one thing.”
Unbelievable, really. Considering the tome had how many words in it? Two trillion?
Jim frowned even more deeply. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.” She wasn’t sure what she had read, actually. The writing had a funny way of going in one eye and out the other. But she was very clear that there had been nothing about Purgatory.
“Are you sure you’re reading it right?”
Sissy turned the book around and pushed it across the coffee table to him. “Give it a try yourself.”
“I don’t know Latin.”
“Guess you’re out of luck.”
“Goddamn it.”
“Well, what do you want me to say? It’s not in there. I mean, the place exists, because you two tell me it does—so maybe, I don’t know, is it possible there’s another name for it? Or is there another source of information we can use? Like, have you got an Internet for the afterlife?”
They both looked at Adrian, who was sitting up and rubbing at his dark hair until the stuff stood up like he’d licked a light socket. “Not that I know of.” The angel shook his head. “You know, maybe this is something we need to back off from. I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, Jim. If by some miracle you manage to get yourself over there, I’m really not sure we can get you back in one piece—even without Nigel. And before you ask, no, I don’t think the Creator’s gonna be all about helping your ass, especially ’cause you’re doing this to get around one of His rules.”
Jim cursed. “No, we’re going to find a way. I’m not giving up—”
The attack came out of nowhere. One second Jim was standing just inside the room, looking pissed off. The next, a bare-chested man was rushing at him from behind, flashing through the doorway soundlessly, some kind of glinting weapon over his head.
Sissy screamed and pointed—and that was what got Jim ripping around just before he got stabbed in the back. His response was instantaneous, his body bracing against the onslaught, his hands latching onto that raised arm and twisting the blade out of range. But he couldn’t throw off the aggressor, the other man as powerful as he was.
It was Colin, the guy from Jim’s hospital visit, she realized. The dark-haired one—
Bang!
They slammed into the mantel.
Crash!
They knocked over a side table and shattered a lamp.
Screech!
Their combined, thrashing weight pushed one of the sofas off the rug and onto the bare floor. And as the two of them twirled in a deadly waltz, Adrian jumped up, drawing a knife she hadn’t been aware of being on him.
But the angel didn’t get far.
With a quick surge, the attacker extended his free hand and sent a blast of white light at Ad, blowing him off his feet with such force, the couch he landed on shot across the room and splintered into
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