Loneliness was quite a battle. Sometimes the weapons were tears, sometimes loud music—Kate had a whole arsenal to choose from. She was an expert at filling empty holes with random things, but night was the worst. It always had been. For a long time now, the night sky that zipped tight around her little cabin had been laden with suspense. The wait for Nero. There’d been no more visits from her father, and when she was snug in her PJs she was the most restless. Unfinished.
It was like he was drowning in slow drying cement, and she’d no way to save him. And sometimes she doubted her sanity because she did want him free from Hell—if he was even still alive to hope for. He could very well be gone, punished for his crimes, for the very creation of her in the first place.
Kate put on her soft clothes and lit a candle. The sweater was so close to finished that her heart raced as she sat down with the intricately knotted yarn on her lap. Silly, because knitting was hardly an adrenaline-based sport, but this represented the culmination of a plan, a wait concluding. She bound off the project and sighed. After threading in the loose strings, it was finished.
The picture on the front was a puppy, similar to the one she’d worn for her first, ruined tea with Nero. Kate folded the garment and set it next to her recliner. She let herself feel the accomplishment for a few moments before grabbing the next set of needles. The movie’s opening song began and the title flashed across the screen. A love story. Miscommunication and love at first sight: all the things a girl thinks she might want before she knows true heartache.
She began mouthing the words, putting herself in the lead role. Her attempts at love had been thwarted before she could even get attached to the hope for more. Her looks weren’t the problem, but there was just something off-putting about her. Damned if she knew what it was. Kate set her head back. She did know what the problem was. She wanted something unreal: the fantasy love born of only the most unrealistic circumstances. And her baggage started with a capital B. The wash of exhaustion made her wonderings disappear, and she closed her eyes for just a moment, still listening to the movie.
She’d been dreaming of Nero’s last night again when she sat up straight on the couch. Out of long-ingrained habit, she ran to the back window to check the shed. Nothing, of course. She grabbed her shotgun and closed her eyes, listening. A too-close car door slam and the murmuring of a group of people soon opened them again.
She glanced at the clock: two in the damn morning. No one should ever be here now. Aunt Bess had passed a few months before, so this wasn’t a late-night courtesy visit from the nursing home. Kate had not one clue who might be coming to her door, but she planned to greet them with a trick, not a treat.
Jack leaned against the SUV, smoking one of his stolen cigarettes and trying to hear encouraging words from Violent. Dean had just finished asking her if this was finally the right place.
“I’m sure it’s somewhere,” she murmured. “Do you know any Italian at all? I can teach you.” Violent reached a hand out and touched his face.
Dean patted her hand and gently pulled it away. “No, I’m sorry I don’t.”
“Okay! Let’s get a move on,” Seriana announced in a too-chipper voice. “I’m curious to see whether Jason has killed Jack yet.”
Jack smirked at the expressions of surprise on their faces when they turned and found him so close. The slamming of various vehicle doors sounded like a light smattering of explosions, and the lights in the cabin blazed as the group made their way to the front porch.
Jack stepped forward. They’d already determined that as a human, he’d look the least suspect under the harsh light of the lantern mounted next to the house number.
The woman who answered the door had a huge smile and placed herself exactly one rifle’s length away from Jack’s chest. “Go away,” she said pleasantly. “I don’t have time to go to court and explain why I killed five trespassers.”
Jack lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the weapon. “You won’t be able to kill these four with that. And if you kill me, it’ll just make them happy. Let’s cut to the chase. You don’t, by any chance, know where the fuck the doorway to Hell is? Because I seem to have misplaced it.”
Seriana slapped him lightly on the back of his head, but he just shrugged. He was pissed and sad, a horrible recipe for following rules.
“Pardon me? If you’re looking for the crazy train, this isn’t the station. Move on.” The woman with her rifle pointed at his chest looked fierce, despite her hot pink pajamas.
Seriana stepped slowly to Jack’s side and smiled. “Sorry about my friend here. He hasn’t been taking his medication and gets confused. I’m Seriana. We’re from the Department of Natural Resources to check the radon levels in your water.”
The woman pursed her lips. “At two o’clock in the morning? Either I’m dreaming or you’re trespassing. Whichever it is, I’m about to fire this gun.”
Jack let one half of his smile show.
“Now you’re grinning, crazy man? Why don’t you tell me the name of your meds?” She held the rifle with a remarkable stillness.
“Rum. Got any? ’Cause I’m losing it here.” He shrugged. “What’s your name, Spunky the Kid?”
“My name’s Kate. I’ll write it neat and clear on the police report stating I blew your balls off. And now I’m counting to ten, just to give you guys a fair chance to leave, ’cause nobody’s telling the truth.” She adjusted her grip, and her tongue slipped between her lips as she concentrated.
“This is it. The gateway’s here. This girl’s part minion.” Violent inspected Kate for a moment. “But she’s kind of a dud. Every great once in a while a half-breed is born without anything extra—no real powers, no drive for blood. This one’s weak.”
With that, she pushed her way to the front of the group and in a smooth motion tossed the rifle into the yard. She’d moved so quickly, Kate’s hands still cradled empty air.
Jack sighed. At least they were getting somewhere. And spicy little Kate was part Hell. Figures. She didn’t seem like such a dud to him.
“Okay, now you’re flat-out pissing me off. Leave now. All of you.” Kate sounded scared, as well she should be, considering.
Jason stepped in and formally introduced himself like a suck up. “Ms. Kate, I’m Jason Parish. I’m sorry. We’ve been going about this in a horrible way…We wouldn’t call so late, or early, but…well…we have an emergency. A friend of ours is in danger, and this kind lady led us to your door.” He gestured to Violent who attempted to smile. “We intend you no harm, and I assure you we’ll leave as soon as we can. Maybe even you might be allowed to leave?” Jason looked toward Violent again, who shook her head.
Then Dean stepped forward. “I apologize for the inconvenience. Is this your home? We’re going to need to inspect your backyard briefly.” He pulled a clipboard from behind his back and held it authoritatively.
Jack could see it held only a blank piece of paper, but the appearance of the banal object seemed to settle Kate down. Dean shrugged and lifted his eyebrows. It seemed the three sibling half-breeds were used to getting humans to cooperate.
Kate stepped back and nodded. “I knew this day would come. Well, night, I guess.”
“Really?” Jack said. “You expected the Devil, a minion, and three half-breeds to come knocking on your door? I’m surprised.”
Kate said nothing as they all crowded into the foyer of the comfortable cabin. Jack could hear a TV on in the living room as Violent closed the door behind them and ominously locked it.
Crossing her arms, Kate blew her hair off her forehead. “Well, I wasn’t sure it’d be an entire conglomerate of weirdos, but I knew something was going to wreck my life eventually.”
There was a long pause. The group waited.
“My father wasn’t around much. He was a hard man to love.”
Jack gave Violent a dirty look. “What was Big Poppa’s name?”
“Nero.” She answered as if this was her most guarded secret, covering he
r mouth after the word had escaped.
“Violent! Nero got to the surface? Please tell me you didn’t know about this.” Sure he was human now, but Jack took pride in having been in charge of Hell for a thousand years. No being was supposed to escape. Violent had been Jack’s only known exception.
Violent picked up a pad of paper and pencil from the table in the next room. She ignored Jack and started working the Sudoku puzzles.
“V, answer me, goddammit.” Jack moved in front of her. She was so much stronger than he was now, but she still cowered a bit as he took the book from her.
“Yes, Nero and few others would get out and come back. It was painful, and required precise timing, so they couldn’t do it often.” Violent clasped her hands behind her back like a solider.
“How many?” Jack demanded, back in his in-charge element. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Five. Counting me it was six, as far as I know. You have to understand, sir, the Devil who came before you? We were all looking for a way out. The tunnels we built? We were trying to get out, get away. But as soon as you took charge, we knew we could stay. They were just visiting.” She looked at the ground.
The hunting party was in various states of unease, like they’d stumbled into the most private of conversations. Seriana stood close to Kate.
“Five?! Five is more than zero. That’s my job, Violent. Keeping the things damned to Hell in the fucking place. Do you know what this means?” Jack began pacing. “There might be a lot more half-breeds around than there should be. Nero procreated—did everyone?” He stilled again and waited.
“Some of the males tried to make young. Most times they failed—the host woman would perish. But there were successes. It’s because of them I knew I could make it to Giovanni.” Violent took a peek at Jack.
“Jack, why do you care if minions escaped?” Jason piped up. “Isn’t the Devil and Hell all about horror and mutations?”
Kate’s mouth dropped open, and she looked incredulously at Jason. Seriana whispered her apologies for her brother’s remark, which tarnished Kate’s father.
“I don’t have time to talk job descriptions with you.” Jack shot him a dirty look.
Violent interrupted. “The Devil before Jack didn’t care, not really. But Jack did the job right. He wanted to keep the shitty things in Hell so the people on Earth could make their own choices: fall to Hell or rise to Heaven on their own merit.”
Kate began clapping. “Can I just say something? Because now I’m positive I’m dreaming. This ridiculously handsome guy was a ‘good Devil’? Isn’t that ironic? And all of you, at one point or another, were part of Hell? I knew I shouldn’t have had Taco Bell for dinner. It’s either the shits or crazy nightmares.”
Feeling a little panicked, Jack turned to Kate and put his hands on her shoulders. “Cutie, I don’t have time to make this make sense for you. The girl I love? She’s trapped in Hell. I believe I can get in there from here. Please, can you tell me where your father appeared when Hell barfed him up?”
He was asking her, but that was just a formality. He would find the entrance to Hell tonight. Now. Here.
Chapter 10
“I might tell you, but I need something in return.” Kate stood taller. Even if this was a dream, she wanted to be brave enough to ask—to bargain for her father.
“Kate, understand this: I’ll find this entry with or without your help. You have one more second to pretend you have leverage over me.” Jack rubbed his forehead over and over as if willing himself to have patience.
“I want Nero to come here and stay here, with no compulsions. To be my father.” She hoped she’d worded her request properly. If this dude really was Satan, loopholes and shoddy deals were his business.
“No way. I’d rather pop a whore’s ass blister. Not exposing innocents to Hell. Now spill it.”
He was just a guy, but the way he looked at her right then gave her chills. Somehow she stood her ground and shook her head. “No.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “You’d be surprised how much I can take. He’s my price. You want your girl so bad? You’re going to have make sacrifices.”
Jack exhaled and inhaled with purpose. “Fine.”
He withdrew a pistol from his waistband and had her pinned before she could think of a counterattack. “Tell me, or I blow your brains out and find it anyway.”
The feeling of a gun pointed at her head made Kate’s whole body dry up. Her thought process began and ended with the barrel. She took in scared, half-empty breaths, and her swallow sounded loud in her ears. “No. I’ve waited for him for my whole life. I deserve a dad.” A drip of sweat slid down her spine like the fingertip of a monster.
“Put down the gun, Jack. Scaring her with false threats isn’t going to help.” The politest of the group stepped forward, shaking his head.
“Shut up, Jason. I’m on my last fucking nerve. If you think I’m opposed to a little murder to get to her, then you don’t know me.” He pulled Kate closer. She could see her scared face reflected in his eyes.
The ridiculous Technicolor one—Violent?—picked up the Sudoku book again. “Jack would never kill that girl. But I’ll do it if he tells me to, or if I get bored, which is starting to happen.”
Jack pushed Kate away and stomped out of the room. Soon the house was filled with the sounds of his mad search. The remaining two strangers flanked Violent and seemed to be trying to keep her attention.
Kate shook off her relief to yell after him. “Bastard, don’t you dare ransack my stuff! You’ll never find the door without me.”
Jason stepped closer. “Excuse me, Ms. Kate. I must apologize for all this callous behavior. Surely you have a life we’ve disrupted. Hell is a horrible place, especially when he’s been in charge. As far as I can tell, Jack is a filthy beast.”
Kate covered her mouth, as her inappropriate smile had no place, but Jason’s eyes sparkled as she began to laugh.
“No, truly,” he continued. “He’s just the worst. All the ladies say he’s charming, but I don’t see it. He curses, lies, smokes…” Jason pretended to puff on a cigarette.
Maybe Kate was drunk on the absurdness of the scene or the adrenaline coursing through her, but she felt almost tipsy with her giggles. This was about as interested in her as any guy had ever seemed.
Jason bit his lip and stepped closer to speak in a stage whisper. “I swear he can smoke a cigarette with one inhale. Just a huge pile of ash when he’s done.” He smiled as she laughed out loud. “May I speak with you alone, Ms. Kate? You can bring your gun if you want to.” He held out his hand as an invitation and gestured to her kitchen.
Jack must have dumped over the dresser upstairs. The ceiling reverberated, and he let out a string of expletives.
Kate shook her head. “My rifle’s on the lawn somewhere.” She shrugged and led Jason into the room.
He stayed a respectable distance from her as he began to speak. “My mom was from Hell too,” he said as she turned to face him. “In a way, at least. She was a half-breed minion, like I am. She left us a long time ago to try to stop my grandfather from finding us. So I get the missing. I understand what it’s like to want your parent. I’m sorry you know that same ache.”
Kate leaned against her counter and tried to ignore the sounds of her house being trashed. “It’s tough to find a greeting card with that on it,” she said. This guy was earnest—or at least he pretended very well.
“I’ve seen a few at the dollar store, but you have to know where to look.” He gave her a half smile.
“Do you think I’m being selfish asking for my dad?” She picked at her nail polish in between looking at Jason.
“No. I’d do almost anything to get my mother back.” Jason shuffled his feet.
“Tell me about his girl. Why does he want her so badly?”
“She was my girl first before he got his hooks in her.” Jason clenched his fist.
“Is hooks a euphemism for penis?” She raised an eyebrow.
He rolled his eyes. “I guess it is. She’s an angel, so I didn’t expect it.”
“I think I’m sick of guys calling their girlfriends angels—especially if she cheated on you.” Kate had trouble picturing any girl walking away from this handsome guy.
“No, she’s an actual angel. From actual Heaven. As there is a Devil with minions, there are angels.” He sat in a kitchen chair.
Kate could judge Jack’s progress by his loud footfalls. He was close to her room. “Really? Wow. I guess that makes sense. I’ve been so involved with what’s in Hell, I never really gave a thought to the opposite end.” She thought for a second. “And actually? That kind of pisses me off. If there are angels, there must be a God in charge of them. Why hasn’t He helped me?”
She pushed her hair away from her face and hated the burning anger that suddenly consumed her. If there was a God, why did He have to take her mother? If there was a God, why did she have to spend so many years alone?
“I don’t have any answers for you, Kate. My memory was taken from me so I don’t remember my trip to Heaven or Emma at all.” Jason shrugged sadly. “I just know I hate Jack.”
“Her name’s Emma?” Giving the damned angel a name made Kate feel guilty for holding her information ransom. At least the lady in question was sort of a slut…
There was a knock at the kitchen door. “Can I come in?” The other female poked her head around the door. “I was listening to your conversation, because I guess I kind of suck.”
Kate waved her in. “Sure, let’s see if we can make this any weirder.”
“I asked Emma a lot of questions when she lived with us,” the woman said. “I’m Jason’s sister, Seriana, and Dean’s our brother. I was mad that Mom was gone, that I had to face being what I am.” Seriana sat in a chair and held Jason’s hand. “And Emma was adamant that just because bad things were happening didn’t mean God was mean or wasn’t paying attention.” Dean and Violent came to lean against the doorframe. “God gave us free will on this Earth. And with the blessing of being able to make our own choices, there are also down sides. Children die, wars are fought, all because we’re allowed to live our lives. We make choices, and sometimes there are consequences. That’s what she said, anyway. It made more sense coming from her. It made me feel more connected.”