"Thanks for the rescue," I said, "but I think I had things under control."
The grin broke through. "So I saw." He jerked his chin at the door. "Not what you expected, I suppose."
"No kidding." I glanced down at my hand. It looked fine, and the pain had stopped the moment I'd let go of the blade. "So that's an angel?"
"By occupation, not by blood. She's a ghost, like you. A witch as well… which is probably why she went easy on you." He extended his hand. "Trsiel."
I assumed that was an introduction, but it didn't sound like any name—or word—I'd ever heard. Though I refrained from a rude "Huh?" my face must have said it for me.
"Tris-eye-el," he said.
His phonetic pronunciation didn't quite sound like what he'd said the first time, but it was as near to it as my tongue was getting.
"Bet you got asked to spell that one a lot," I said.
He laughed. "I'm sure I would have… if I'd ever needed to. I'm not a ghost."
"Oh?" I looked him over, trying to be discreet about it.
"Angel," he said. "A full-blood."
"Angel? No wings, huh?"
Another rich laugh. "Sorry to disappoint. But putting wings on an angel would be like hitching a horse to a motor car. Teleportation works much faster than fluttering."
"True." I glanced toward Janah's door. "But teleportation doesn't work for her, does it? Or is that because of the anti-magic barrier?"
"A bit of both. It doesn't always work for full-bloods, either. There are places—" His faced darkened, but he shrugged it off. "Even full-bloods can be trapped. Like Zadkiel."
I nodded. "The last one who went after the Nix."
"Normally, he'd be here, helping you. That's his job, to assist on the inaugural quests. But obviously he can't, so I've been asked to step in. I'll be helping you with anything that might be difficult for a non-angel, like talking to Janah."
"So that's her problem. Now that she's an angel, she doesn't like talking to us mere ghosts?"
"It's not that. She picked up the demon blood in you. Her brain, it misfires, gets its connections crossed, especially when it comes to anything that reminds her of the Nix."
"She sensed demon, and saw the enemy."
He nodded. "She even does it to me now and then."
I frowned.
"Because of the demon blood," he said.
"I thought you said you were—"
"Demon, angel, all the same thing if you go back far enough, or cut deep enough. I wouldn't advise saying that too loudly, though. Some don't appreciate the reminder. When Janah sees you or me, she sees demon, which to her means the one demon she can't forget: the Nix who put her in there. I can usually get through to her, though. Ready for a rematch?"
"Bring it on."
San Francisco/1927
THE NIX ROUSED HERSELF INSIDE JOLYNN'S CONsciousness, struggling to stay alert as the woman droned on about her life. The subject, as dull as it was, wasn't the only cause of the Nix's lethargy. She was growing weak—a concept so repugnant that she fairly spit each time she thought of it.
Once she'd sipped chaos like fine wine; now it was like water. Too long without it, and she weakened.
She was too particular in her choice of partners. Yet she still refused to lower her standards. Selecting the wrong partner was like quenching her thirst with sewer water.
This time she'd waited longer than usual, probably because her last partner had been such a disappointment. That's why she'd taken a chance with Jolynn. No smarter than her last partner—perhaps even stupider—with the vacuous self-absorption that sometimes afflicted young women with not enough going on behind their pretty faces. Yet Jolynn lacked more than common intelligence—she had an empty head, and an empty soul to match. The Creator, perhaps realizing the defect, had given her to a minister and his wife, as if hoping they'd supply what she lacked.
Jolynn's missing soul had proved to be a moral blank slate. Her parents inscribed goodness on it, and she became good. She married a good man, a doctor many years her senior, and followed him into the wilds of Africa, bringing medicine to the afflicted. But when she contracted malaria, her husband sent her home to recuperate, not with her aging parents, but in a California sanitarium. Freed from the watchful eyes of parents and husbands, the truth about Jolynn's soul became clear. It was indeed a slate, and could be erased just as easily as it had been written.
Jolynn had never returned to Africa. She found a job, took a lover, and fell into a crowd that valued a good martini over a good deed. But, after five years, she was growing bored. When the Nix had been looking for potential partners, she'd stumbled on Jolynn and, seeing what the woman was contemplating doing to ease her boredom, the Nix had offered her help.
Now Jolynn sat on the porch behind her apartment, mentally prattling on about what she was going to wear to the party that weekend, who she hoped would be there, and so on, the trivialities streaming from her empty head like bubbles. The Nix felt herself drifting with those bubbles, becoming weightless with weakness and tedium, fluttering—
"Can we do it after the party?" Jolynn asked. She didn't speak the question, just thought it, directing it at the Nix, who'd taken up residence inside her.
The Nix roused herself with a shake. "Yes, that should give us time to plan. How do you want to kill them?"
A pout. "I thought you were going to tell me that."
"I could… and I will, if you'd like, but you'll derive more satisfaction from it if the method has some meaning to you."
From the mental silence, the Nix knew she was talking over Jolynn's head… again. She bit back a snarl of frustration. Patience, she told herself. Take her hand and show her the way, and she will reward you for it.
"We'll work on an idea together," the Nix said. "It might help me plan if I knew why you want to kill them. They've been your friends for years. Why now?"
Jolynn brightened. "Because now you're here to help me."
"No, I mean why them. What have they done to you?"
"Done to me?"
"Never mind," the Nix said. "Let's just—"
The grin broke through. "So I saw." He jerked his chin at the door. "Not what you expected, I suppose."
"No kidding." I glanced down at my hand. It looked fine, and the pain had stopped the moment I'd let go of the blade. "So that's an angel?"
"By occupation, not by blood. She's a ghost, like you. A witch as well… which is probably why she went easy on you." He extended his hand. "Trsiel."
I assumed that was an introduction, but it didn't sound like any name—or word—I'd ever heard. Though I refrained from a rude "Huh?" my face must have said it for me.
"Tris-eye-el," he said.
His phonetic pronunciation didn't quite sound like what he'd said the first time, but it was as near to it as my tongue was getting.
"Bet you got asked to spell that one a lot," I said.
He laughed. "I'm sure I would have… if I'd ever needed to. I'm not a ghost."
"Oh?" I looked him over, trying to be discreet about it.
"Angel," he said. "A full-blood."
"Angel? No wings, huh?"
Another rich laugh. "Sorry to disappoint. But putting wings on an angel would be like hitching a horse to a motor car. Teleportation works much faster than fluttering."
"True." I glanced toward Janah's door. "But teleportation doesn't work for her, does it? Or is that because of the anti-magic barrier?"
"A bit of both. It doesn't always work for full-bloods, either. There are places—" His faced darkened, but he shrugged it off. "Even full-bloods can be trapped. Like Zadkiel."
I nodded. "The last one who went after the Nix."
"Normally, he'd be here, helping you. That's his job, to assist on the inaugural quests. But obviously he can't, so I've been asked to step in. I'll be helping you with anything that might be difficult for a non-angel, like talking to Janah."
"So that's her problem. Now that she's an angel, she doesn't like talking to us mere ghosts?"
"It's not that. She picked up the demon blood in you. Her brain, it misfires, gets its connections crossed, especially when it comes to anything that reminds her of the Nix."
"She sensed demon, and saw the enemy."
He nodded. "She even does it to me now and then."
I frowned.
"Because of the demon blood," he said.
"I thought you said you were—"
"Demon, angel, all the same thing if you go back far enough, or cut deep enough. I wouldn't advise saying that too loudly, though. Some don't appreciate the reminder. When Janah sees you or me, she sees demon, which to her means the one demon she can't forget: the Nix who put her in there. I can usually get through to her, though. Ready for a rematch?"
"Bring it on."
San Francisco/1927
THE NIX ROUSED HERSELF INSIDE JOLYNN'S CONsciousness, struggling to stay alert as the woman droned on about her life. The subject, as dull as it was, wasn't the only cause of the Nix's lethargy. She was growing weak—a concept so repugnant that she fairly spit each time she thought of it.
Once she'd sipped chaos like fine wine; now it was like water. Too long without it, and she weakened.
She was too particular in her choice of partners. Yet she still refused to lower her standards. Selecting the wrong partner was like quenching her thirst with sewer water.
This time she'd waited longer than usual, probably because her last partner had been such a disappointment. That's why she'd taken a chance with Jolynn. No smarter than her last partner—perhaps even stupider—with the vacuous self-absorption that sometimes afflicted young women with not enough going on behind their pretty faces. Yet Jolynn lacked more than common intelligence—she had an empty head, and an empty soul to match. The Creator, perhaps realizing the defect, had given her to a minister and his wife, as if hoping they'd supply what she lacked.
Jolynn's missing soul had proved to be a moral blank slate. Her parents inscribed goodness on it, and she became good. She married a good man, a doctor many years her senior, and followed him into the wilds of Africa, bringing medicine to the afflicted. But when she contracted malaria, her husband sent her home to recuperate, not with her aging parents, but in a California sanitarium. Freed from the watchful eyes of parents and husbands, the truth about Jolynn's soul became clear. It was indeed a slate, and could be erased just as easily as it had been written.
Jolynn had never returned to Africa. She found a job, took a lover, and fell into a crowd that valued a good martini over a good deed. But, after five years, she was growing bored. When the Nix had been looking for potential partners, she'd stumbled on Jolynn and, seeing what the woman was contemplating doing to ease her boredom, the Nix had offered her help.
Now Jolynn sat on the porch behind her apartment, mentally prattling on about what she was going to wear to the party that weekend, who she hoped would be there, and so on, the trivialities streaming from her empty head like bubbles. The Nix felt herself drifting with those bubbles, becoming weightless with weakness and tedium, fluttering—
"Can we do it after the party?" Jolynn asked. She didn't speak the question, just thought it, directing it at the Nix, who'd taken up residence inside her.
The Nix roused herself with a shake. "Yes, that should give us time to plan. How do you want to kill them?"
A pout. "I thought you were going to tell me that."
"I could… and I will, if you'd like, but you'll derive more satisfaction from it if the method has some meaning to you."
From the mental silence, the Nix knew she was talking over Jolynn's head… again. She bit back a snarl of frustration. Patience, she told herself. Take her hand and show her the way, and she will reward you for it.
"We'll work on an idea together," the Nix said. "It might help me plan if I knew why you want to kill them. They've been your friends for years. Why now?"
Jolynn brightened. "Because now you're here to help me."
"No, I mean why them. What have they done to you?"
"Done to me?"
"Never mind," the Nix said. "Let's just—"
