“So how long have you known about this threat against me?” I asked Ben.
Ben sighed. “Can we discuss this another time?”
“No. I don’t see why I should wait. Now’s as good a time as any.”
Ben looked at Tony, so I did too. I silently begged him to support me on this.
Tony said, “I’d like to hear your answer too, Ben. And thank you, by the way, for saving my best friend. I owe you one.” He looked at me sternly. “She owes you one too.”
“Hey!” I said, “Don’t be handing out I.O.U.s on my account. I decide whether I owe someone something or not. And I want an answer to my question before I can do that particular accounting.” I turned and glared at Ben. “So fess up. How long did you know?”
I glanced over at the twins and saw that they were nearly salivating over Ben. I had to admit, as mad as I was at him, I could see the reason for the attraction. It didn’t change how I felt though – wary and untrusting.
“I have suspected for about a year or maybe a bit longer, that you might be a person of interest for some in the Underworld.”
“Why, because you hang out there on weekends?”
“No,” said Ben in a bratty, mimicking voice, “not because I hang out there on weekends. It’s not like that.”
“Well, what is it like, Ben? I’m so curious,” I said with saccharine sweetness.
Ben exhaled strongly. “Listen, I’m not here to fight with you. I’m here to protect you. I’d think you’d be a little more appreciative.”
“I am appreciative. But something tells me you have your own motivations for wanting to help me, so forgive me for not falling at your feet in adoration.”
“A simple thank you would have been fine,” he said, his mouth quirking up a little.
“Thank you. You can go now.”
“Jayne!” said Tony, disapproval coloring his voice, “He just saved your life! All of our lives. Cut the guy a break. Please.”
“He’s hiding something, Tony! You know he is. Stop taking his side.”
“I’m not taking sides, Jayne. I’m glad he’s here, though. He saved you from ... well ... you know.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
“Demon sex,” said Theresa, raising one of her eyebrows suggestively. “Sounds kinky.”
Felicia nudged her with her elbow, but she was smiling.
“Check the libido, Theresa, before you make me vomit all over your shoes.”
Theresa winked at me but didn’t say anything else. I decided then and there I had to introduce her to Spike – her and Felicia. Maybe they could keep each other busy for a while back at the compound. And I had to admit – I was glad to be able to go back to the compound. Without Ben, I’m not sure that would be happening right now.
I sighed heavily. “Ben. Thanks. That’s all I’m going to say for now. I want to bury my mom and go home. It’s been a long friggin’ day.”
“I understand. And you’re welcome.” He looked at Chase. “Chase? Ready to go?”
Chase nodded.
I don’t know why I had thought he’d stay with me, but I was disappointed to see Chase leaving so readily. I looked down at my shoes, trying not to start blubbering again. “I guess I’ll see you around, Chase.”
He put his finger under my chin and lifted my head up. “You will. You can count on it.”
I pushed his hand away. He was going to make me cry if he kept being so serious. I looked around me. “Where’s Tim? Anyone seen him?”
Everyone started looking around – some looked up near the ceiling and some looked around on the floor.
I suddenly heard a noise. “Shhhh! I think I hear something.”
Again the noise came. It sounded like ...
“It’s Tim!” I shouted. “He’s hurt. I hear him somewhere. Watch out!” I pushed Tony to the side. “Look out where you’re stepping. I can’t tell where the sound is coming from.” I cocked my head to the side trying to pick up the noise again. One more time it came, from the direction of the demon.
“Oh, shit,” I said, moving towards the demon’s lifeless body. “Chase, get over here. Finn, help. Get this piece of shit up.”
Chase and Finn rushed over to lift the black carcass up off the floor.
Underneath, barely conscious, was Tim. His wings were wrapped around him tightly, making him look like he was in a shimmering, gossamer cocoon.
I leaned over and picked him up, gently placing him in my other hand. I brought my palm up to my face and said softly, “Tim? Buddy? Are you okay?”
His wings looked okay, and I sent a silent thank you up to the heavens for that. I don’t think either one of us could go another three weeks with a grounded pixie.
“Uhhhh,” he groaned out, the sound slightly muffled by his wings covering his face.
“You almost got squished under there. Can you move your legs?”
He kicked my hand weakly with his tiny, little legs.
“How about your arms?”
His wings unfurled and he threw both arms out to his side. He was now lying spread-eagle out in my hand, his eyes still closed. I reached up with my other hand and touched his ribs with my finger. “Can you feel this?”
He started giggling softly. “Stop,” he said, “I’m ticklish.”
I smiled and looked up at my friends who were all standing there looking panicked, waiting to hear the verdict. “He’s okay. Just stunned I think.”
Céline moved her fingers to her heart in relief. They’d been resting over her lips as she waited for the results of my exam.
“Well, that’s a relief,” said Finn. “Pixies who can’t fly are ... uh ... a certain special kinda challenge.”
I smiled. “You mean they’re a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” said Finn, smiling back.
“I can hear you,” said Tim, dryly. “There’s nothing wrong with my hearing, you know.”
“Well, then listen to this: Thank you. Thank you for sticking that bastard in the eye. You slowed him down and gave Ben and me time to finish him off. You’re the best.”
“The best what?” he asked, his eyes still closed.
“The best pixie. The best roommate.”
“The best demon slayer?”
“Yeah. The best demon slayer.” I walked over to the hall table near the front door and picked up a small bento box – one of the many my mom enjoyed collecting before Rick interfered in her happiness. I opened it up and lined it with a bunch of tissues from the nearby box. I gently put Tim inside. “Here’s a temporary bed for you, ‘til you feel like flying again.”
Tim opened first one eye and then the next. He got a panicked look on his face. “This looks like a coffin!”
“It’s not a coffin, dumb ass. It’s a bento box.”
“Does it have a lid?” he said, still looking suspicious.
“Yes.”
“Don’t put it on.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t going to ... geez. You think I’d go to all the trouble to rescue you from the crack of that demon’s ass just to suffocate you in a Japanese lunchbox?”
Tim’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. “I was in the crack of that demon’s ass?!” he yelled.
I laughed in spite of all the horrible things that I’d just gone through. “Yeah. It was hairy too.”
“Oh, no ... ” he gasped, “I think I’m going to be sick.” He sat up and leaned over the edge of the box.
“I’m just kidding!” I said hastily. “No ass crack! No ass crack!”
Tim looked up at me slowly, still hanging onto the edge of the wooden box, his eyes narrowed into slits. “You are pure evil, you know that?”
I shook my head. “No way. I’ve looked in the eyes of pure evil ... in fact, I’ve been propositioned in a highly sexual manner by pure evil, so I know it when I see it. And that ain’t me.”
Tim laid back down. “Pfft. Don’t be so sure.” He closed his eyes and almost immediately started snoring.
I held the lid a few inches away, tempted to put it on the box, just for a second; but I didn’t. Instead I went back to where my friends were mingling and talking to each other at the bottom of the stairs. Someone had dragged the demon into the dining room. I could just see his feet sticking out of the entranceway.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked no one in particular.
Tony answered, “I’ve asked the twins to stay and help take care of your mom. I’m afraid if you call someone official, there’s going to be a problem with the police.” He reached out and took my hand. “She’s been murdered, you know,” he finished softly, “and you’re the only one here. Rick’s gone.”
“So what do you think we should do?” I asked, confused.
Céline stepped in to explain. “There is a fae community nearby that can help. A service will come and prepare her body for the flight. We will take her back with us and conduct a departure ceremony for her there.”
“Departure?”
“A funeral,” explained Tony, “fae-style.”
I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak. I hugged Tim’s box to me, my eyes seeking out and finding Chase nearby.
He stepped over and put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll see you soon. Hopefully not in another emergency situation like this.”
I got a panicked feeling all of a sudden. “Wait! What about Tony’s house?!”
Chase shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We already stopped by there ... Ben’s idea. There’s a note on the counter from his parents saying they’re out of town at some convention. I didn’t sense any danger there.”
I smiled weakly. “Okay. Thanks. For everything.”
I saw Tony and Ben exchange looks, Tony obviously relieved to find that his parents hadn’t been murdered like my mom had. I tried not to be bitter about that and mostly succeeded. I didn’t want Tony experiencing even one ounce of the pain I was at that moment.
Chase took his hand away and walked towards the front door, Ben following behind. I didn’t say anything to him because I had already thanked him enough. The time would come when I’d force him to tell me the whole truth about who he is and why he’d been hiding in the background of my life for so long. But today was not that day.
Today was the day I had to prepare my mother’s body for burial and remove any signs of her massacre and the demon’s presence from my house. I needed to be able to walk the human world without worrying about being arrested for her murder one day. We had to make it look as if she and her loser husband had just disappeared.
It was going to be, hands down, the worst day of my entire life.
Chapter 23
After cleaning up the scene of the crime and having the twins use their talents on the van driver to make him forget about the body-sized package we had gently loaded into his vehicle, we were on our way back to the airport. Before long, we arrived at our destination and worked out a plan where the twins would cause a diversion near the welcome desk inside the airport so we could slip by and get to the waiting plane with our oversized package – my mom’s body held in Finn’s arms and covered in Céline’s cloak.
As soon as we were at the foot of the private jet’s stairs, Ivar came out to greet us, rushing down to carefully take my mother’s bundled body from Finn. For some reason rigor mortis had not yet set in, so she lay limply cocooned, like someone who had just passed out. I didn’t want to think about why that was – why her dead body wasn’t acting like a normal cadaver. I knew she was gone and wasn’t coming back. I didn’t doubt Tony’s guidance in the Gray for a second.
The trip back to the Light Fae compound was uneventful for the most part, unless you count my sudden attacks of sorrow that frequently sent me into the bathroom to try and calm myself and wash off my face. Eventually I fell into a fitful but exhausted sleep. I dreamed of darkness and demons and my mother’s battered face. Even in sleep I could not escape the misery that now threatened to overtake all of me. One thing I could not get past was the fact that Céline somehow knew who this demon was.
I woke to a very quiet cabin, everyone asleep around me, with still a bit more than an hour left to go in the flight. I could hear Tim snoring in his bento box bed. I was hoping to ask Céline the question that had been bothering me, but a quick look at her seat told me she wasn’t there. I got up and gingerly made my way around Tony’s sleeping form to go find her.
Céline was sitting at a desk in the back of the plane, just inside a narrow doorway that led to the small office.
I entered and closed the door behind me, standing in front of her on the other side of the desk.
She glanced up at me and gave me a weak smile.
I could tell from her red-rimmed eyes that she had been crying too.
“Are your tears for my mother, or for Torrie?”
Céline’s eyes widened at my question and then dropped down to look at the desktop for a moment.
I waited breathlessly for her answer. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if she said ‘Torrie.’
“I was worried about you, actually.” She looked up at me. “To have seen your mother ... tortured that way. No child should be made to suffer so.”
I sat down wearily in the seat across from her. “No woman should have to endure that kind of beating.”
Céline nodded her head. “True. Yes, you are right.”
“She was a pretty crappy mom at times; but she could have been a lot worse. A lot. She didn’t deserve to live with that piece of shit demon.”
Céline shook her head. “I don’t know what it is with certain women ... they see a spark of potential in someone, maybe – and they think they can turn that spark into a fire of brilliance ... turn a beast into a prince perhaps.”
“My mom was a sucker for a smooth line, and Rick was full of that crap.”
“Well, I know he had to be evil for that demon to have possessed him so fully and completely. You never suspected a thing, did you? In all that time?”
“All I knew was that he was a total and complete dirtbag. A molester. A scuzzbucket. A dickweed. A ... ”
Céline cleared her throat. “I think I get the idea.” She smiled at me, letting me know she wasn’t censuring me.
“Anyway, I appreciate your concern, Céline, but you don’t need to worry. I’m already scarred emotionally. This whole thing will just add some more scars to my collection.” I took a shuddering breath. “I’ll be able to move on, eventually.”
“Yes. You absolutely do have people who care about you. Me included.”
I smiled for a moment and then got serious again. “You still haven’t answered my question.” Enough with this touchy-feely stuff. I had to know the whole story about what happened with my mom. “So, who was Torrie to you?”
Céline sighed loud and long. “Who he was standing in front of you today, was a demon of high powers. I’m not really that knowledgeable about demon hierarchy – you’d have to talk to Anton or perhaps a wrathe with more experience than our Tony – but I do not think you want to know who he was today. You want to know who he used to be, am I right?”
“Yes.”
“Torrie was a friend of mine, many, many years ago. A close friend. In fact, he had a bit of a thing with my sister. First, Torrie and I were childhood friends – then he took one look at Maléna one day, and it was all over for him. He pursued her quite steadfastly for a long time. She toyed with him but was never serious. She turned away from him when Anton came into the picture. But by that time, Torrie’s heart was well and fully owned by her. Nothing I ever did or said could help him get over the loss of her. Eventually, well ... ” she sighed again, “he left us. I had no idea where he had gone. Now I know, at least, where he ended up.”
A tear escaped her eye and dripped down her cheek.
“Where is he now?” I asked. “I mean, when you kill a demon, where does its soul go? Does it have one?”
She smiled without humor at my ignorance. “I believe he returned to the Underworld. H
e will receive a new demon form. I don’t think we snuffed out his spirit. Spirits never die. They just move on to other realms.”
“So these guys are like undead bastards. We can’t kill them? They’ll keep coming back?”
She shrugged. “I really don’t know. I feel terrible saying that – the consequences are unthinkable, really, now that I see they are actually breaching the dividing space between the realms. I feel as in the dark about this as you do.”
I swallowed the horrible misgivings that tried to come up into my mouth in the form of the worst swear words I knew.
“So, this Torrie guy. You think he’s someone special ... down there? In hell?”
“From what he said, it appears so.”
“Maybe you can convince him to get off the whole ‘I have to do the nasty with Jayne Sparks’ program.”
She looked at me in dead seriousness. “If I could, I truly would. I would do whatever was possible to keep something wretched like that from happening to you. I ... I need to talk to Anton and the council members about the things Torrie said.” She reached out across the desk to take my hand, which I willingly placed in hers. “I want you to know what an amazing fae I think you are. Even while all of us were standing there, shaking in fear over the grotesque vision that assailed our senses, you had the presence of mind to ask the right questions. If you had been as terrified as we were, we would not have a single clue as to why these demons are targeting you and why the orcs keep appearing in our realm.”
I smiled shyly, coloring under her compliments. “I was just as terrified as you guys were. After he said we were going to do the dirty deed in the chamber, all I kept wondering was what a demon dick looked like.”
Céline’s hand jerked out of mine and she burst out laughing, the peals of joy bouncing off the walls of the tiny office cabin. She put her hand on her heart for a second and then pulled it away, fanning herself as she said, “Oh my goodness, Jayne, you are a sketch, aren’t you. Oh, my ... ”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Try to tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”
Céline pointed her finger at me. “I will never tell.”