Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 10
"I sincerely hope your contract with Kelegar is 'plus expenses' because the equipment we're going to be leaving down here isn't cheap." Jayna simply jumped down the shaft of the manhole rather than wasting the time necessary to climb the slippery ladder. "I don't mind helping out a friend in need, but there is a limit..."
"Don't worry, as badly as they want the box, money won't be an obstacle."
Az reached the bottom rung of the ladder and stepped off into the muck, looking for a dry patch on which to wipe her hands. She finally settled on the back of David's coat, who in response simply looked at her awkwardly but said nothing. "I'm just glad we talked Aqua into finding a closer entrance down here. These sewers give me the creeps. The faster we get out the better."
"I'm with you there. Lead on, David."
David glanced at the now-familiar scanner for a moment, then dropped it into his coat pocket. "This way." He led them silently through several twists and turns, before pausing and glancing back at the others. "We're almost there. Around this corner should be a pair of Rat sentries." The scanner chirped quietly in his pocket, and he pulled it out, glancing at it quickly before depositing it back in the folds of fabric. "Never mind, they're on their way."
It took the pair of sentries scant seconds to reach them, hubcap armor clanging as the meter-high creatures rushed up to them. "David?" Jayna glanced at the young man, who was, once again, grinning.
"Greetings, Stubtail."
The rat in front of them jerked in response to David's greeting, his nose twitching rapidly, whiskers pointed straight back against his head. He poked at David with the pipe he carried, and seemed to squeak to the other sentry, who was eyeing the rest of the group cautiously from behind Stubtail. It backed up a few steps before letting out a loud screech that echoed through the tunnels.
"Calling for reinforcements."
"Why isn't the street translating for us?" Jayna frowned.
"Because they're not speaking yet. That was a form of code."
"Oh. They can understand us then?"
"Of course we can. Upsiders. BAH." The second rat snorted.
"Think anything that isn't like them is stupid, they do." Stubtail added, poking at David with the pipe again. "Kobolds think Rats are stupid too, Upsiders think that, and worse, call us vermin, they do." David, for his part, stayed surprisingly calm, as if this had been expected.
"We don't think you're stupid. We came to trade your people for something you found.
A small box." Jayna spoke up, deciding David was probably finished communicating for the week.
A dozen more rats poured from the turn in the tunnel, surrounding them, armed with blunt objects, and a few rusty knives.
"Trade-talk?" Stubtail looked over to the other Sentry. "Splinter, trade-talk?"
"Upsiders throw pretty away, we find it, it's ours. How it works, with Rats." Splinter crossed his arms. "Take them to Great King Rat though, maybe they have more pretties to trade. Maybe Great King Rat kill them and take pretties, no trade-talk."
Since the group was surrounded, and they were being taken where they wanted to go in the first place, the group followed along in semi-silence. The trip was gratefully short and with the exception of a few muttered curses at the occasional poke in the side or bottom from an over-zealous rat soldier it was also uneventful.
All four now stood in a makeshift throne room, the walls covered with scraps of life from Upworld, including colorful McBurgerKing wrappers and Pepski bottles. Behind them sat a dozen or more Rats, and guards lined the walls, armed with clubs, pipes and poles. Two younger Rat guards had wandered into the room from outside and were staring glassy-eyed at Az's helmet. She 'shoo'ed' them away repeatedly, but the entranced creatures barely noticed her.
"David, who's Great King Rat?" Jayna whispered.
"Their leader." He replied back, voice even lower than normal.
"I could use a bit more relevant information than that."
"Great King Rat is scared of the Kobolds. He thinks they will come after the box they found yesterday, and the Rats cannot defend themselves against the Kobolds." He whispered.
"You got that from...?"
"Guards talking outside. They want the box to go away, even though it is pretty. They think it is dangerous." He fell silent as what could only be Great King Rat entered the chamber, easily the largest rat they had seen so far, and probably the oldest.
"What is it Upsiders want today? Why do they think Rats trade-talk with them for box?"
"Because we have things you may want." Jayna replied calmly, pulling large, jewel-encrusted Faberge-looking egg out of her bag, and holding it out at arm's length, where it sparkled brightly even in the dim light. "This is one."
"Hmpf. Very pretty but not of value, I think." His eyes nevertheless followed Jayna's hand back into the bag as she replaced the egg.
"I think you'd be better off with this 'pretty' than the one you found yesterday. The one the Kobolds tried to take from you."
"Kobolds try to take many things from Rats. They never leave the Rats alone, they think they own the sewers. Many Rats killed by Kobolds, many more maimed too."
"The Kobolds aren't the only creatures that want the box. There are many, many Vampires looking for it too."
From behind them, Jayna heard several whispers of 'sharptooth', and waited for Great King Rat's response. He seemed to be weighing his options carefully.
"Why now Upsiders care about the Rats??" He was skeptical of her statements, and it showed.
"We need the box, or many Upsiders may die. If it stays here many Rats may die, when the Vampires...sharptooths...come looking for it."
"Hmpf. There too many Upsiders anyway. We care nothing for them, only about Rats." He paused, looking at the bag Jayna was carrying. "You trade something else for box, along with pretty? Maybe we still trade."
Jayna held in a grin. They didn't really want to keep the box, especially if it brought the Vampires down on them. She pulled out the rest of the contents of the bag. "This," she said, holding up a device that looked very much like the base-unit for an old-time laser-tag game, "Will protect you from the Kobolds."
"How that thing help?" asked King Rat, snorting in derision. "Not heavy, not sharp, not gun, it useless!
"It doesn't have to be any of those things, Great King," Jayna dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper that only those closest to them could hear, "because it's magic."
"How we know if magic thing work? Maybe you try to trick us!"
"Because we will set it for you and prove it works." Jayna smiled an evil smile. "Do you have any recently dead Kobolds nearby?"
"Plenty dead all over! Why you want dead Kobold? You hungry?" Jayna shook her head, suppressing a shudder. Az groaned and visibly paled.
"No, they aren't fit to eat. I need some Kobold blood for the spell to work properly."
A fairly fresh Kobold corpse was produced and was drug before the assemblage. Jayna popped the red dome of the unit open, sliced open the arm of the Kobold and allowed some of the blood to drip inside the space previously covered by the dome. She tossed the body aside with a flourish that impressed the gathered rats, then closed the dome and pressed a stud on the bottom of the unit. It sprang to life with many tiny lights of various colors blinking in sequence around the base of the dome. "There, once we set these," she lifted one of the smaller units to show the King, "You will never have to worry about another Kobold coming here ever again."
"Hmph! We'll see." He tried to look disinterested, but he was obviously salivating at the prospect. "How long it take to 'set' these things? How long before we know if they work?"
"Well, Great King, that depends on you." Jayna straightened and looked him squarely in the eye. "Do we have a deal or not? Once we set these no one will be able to find them, not even us. No deal, no protection. Think of the egg as a bonus."
Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 11
His name evoked fear and loathing in all who beheld him, darkness was his birth-cowl, the night his midwife. Maloderous, here in the tunnels beneath his lair beheld all within his gaze, the silken cloth of darkness was as transparent as...
"Tim."
as...
"Earth to Tim."
"It's NOT Tim! It's Maloderous! Lord Count Baron Maloderous! For Goth's sake get it right, Secretia!" The (self-proclaimed) Lord Count Baron Maloderous corrected the mistress of the eternal night yet again. "Look, we are vampires now. The eternal forces of all that is dark,"
"and Goth,"
"and Goth, have recognized the blackness of our souls and granted our pleas. We have been chosen to walk forevermore in darkness, the moon our night's star. We must have names that are appropriate. Am I right, Vlad?"
"Oh absolutely."
"Look I am not really keen on getting these hundred dollar boots coated in MUCK! I had to wait ten weeks for these! Would you please remind me WHY we are down here Ti.."
"Maloderous." He hissed.
"Maloderous." The mistress of the eternal night Secretia crossed her arms and looked at her companions. Maloderous (Tim) was the first among them to have been 'chosen', they had met in the commons at J Street High, back then it was just Tim and Sheila. They would brood together, read to each other from Ann Rice or their own bad poetry, and had been on again off again lovers ever since. When Tim had gone missing for a week, Sheila worried and wondered if she had fallen in love with the Goth Taco Jose's cook.
Tim had returned to her, appearing in her room mysteriously and giving her the most incredible sexual experience of her 18 years. Sheila was completely entranced by the change that had overcome him. She gave her blood, her love, and her life to him. Now only three months later he was back to the same pretentious poser she had met in the commons.
"We are here in the bowels of J Street looking for an artifact. An artifact of great power that will make me, Lord Count Baron Maloderous, a force of darkness to be reckoned with." Maloderous laughed his dark and sinister laugh that echoed from the tunnel walls.
"Bowels is right. You better hope I can get the smell from these threads." Sheila looked down at the dress she bought from the antique clothing store and hand dyed black. She wondered if she could afford to have them professionally cleaned with her next paycheck from HairHut.
"My Lord is correct." Vlad spoke up. He was the kind of sappy ass-kisser that no one in his or her right mind wanted around. Except for Maloderous, to whom any toady was a good toady. "From all that I have heard this artifact has caused a great stir. Many have died to bring it to J Street and many more shall perish before its power, My Lord." Vlad had a way of stroking the ego of an egomaniac. Some found it nauseating, Maloderous found it empowering. "With the artifact in your hands my Lord, your rise to power will be swift and dark. Darkity, dark, dark."
Sheila felt her stomach turn, maybe it was the unbridled brown-nosing going on in the tunnel beside her, maybe it was that cute Chicano she had sipped from at the club. She checked her clutch bag to make sure she still had the card with his number on it, and hoped it wasn't Enrico. Mexican had always given her indigestion before...
"Forward my minions." The Lord Count Baron Maloderous gestured dramatically feeling wonderful here in the dark, where he belonged. "Forward."
*****"Spot this would be, goood yes good." Stubtail motioned to the tunnel junction. "Come from that way they do, the Kobolds."
"Good this should be the last then." Jayna pulled the last unit from her pouches. It looked just like the others she had planted, about the size of a large compact with a translucent dome on the top. She touched the only button and small lights began blinking around the base of the unit. The lights barely lit the palm of her hand as she reached up and placed it on the wall above her head. As Jayna withdrew her hand the unit chirped, and like all the others disappeared from view. "That's that. No Kobolds will be able to enter your tunnels."
"I thought you said you didn't do magic?" Az leaned in and whispered to Jayna.
"A technology significantly advanced is indistinguishable from magic." Jayna glanced over her shoulder at her teammate. "How many people think your helmet is technological?"
"Touché"
"Our tunnels are now safe." The Rat General stepped forward, he had been with the group since they began placing units, marking them on his map. "If these work."
"They'll work as long as you don't go messing with the main unit. If that is tampered with then all of this is worthless." Jayna looked in the old Rat's eyes to make her point.
"It will not be. The bargain is made. Here is the pretty box." The general withdrew the ornamental box from his robes. So many had fought for its beauty and died, but this was a better thing to have. These 'wards' would protect their young the box would only amuse them. "The bargain is made. Leave in peace."
"Thank you General." Jayna took the box and looked down at it through her glasses to verify that what they sought was inside. Convinced it was, she nodded to Aquarius and placed it in the safety of her many pouches. "Since you have a map General..."
"You will find a suitable path to the surface that way." The old Rat motioned towards the other tunnel and the group headed off. "Safe journey Upsider friends." The General turned to Stubtail. "Lead us to our home-hole."
"Hot was the one with the helmet." Stubtail muttered to no one in particular, "Checking me out, she was."
*****"It will be so nice to get to bed while it's still dark out." Ciela mumbled as they slogged through the tunnels. David was once again on point duty with Jayna behind him. She and Aquarius brought up the rear. David stopped in his tracks and Jayna nearly knocked him down.
"What?" She whispered, lowering her flashlight and looking at the sensor that David was ignoring. He cocked his head like a dog listening for something unheard. The screen flicked but was blank. "David, what?" Before he could answer the sensor chirped and three flickering dots appeared at the edge of the screen. The distance reading showed 30 meters, and closing. "We've got company." She turned to the others.
"Lights out. No plasma."
"Right, right, no plasma. Bitch, bitch, bitch." Az smiled and winked at Aqua and he returned her sarcastic smile. Jayna reached out and shook David's shoulder he turned, back in the land of the living, and moved toward a wall. The sensor whispered its message of warning, Aqua motioned for everyone to stay back, and voices began to be heard. Singing.
"I do it all because I'm evil... Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need." Vlad did his best to keep the rhythm.
"What?" Az pointed toward the oncoming sounds and whispered.
"Goths." Aquarius whispered back.
"You can only hide for so long, mortals." Maloderous called out. He silenced Vlad with an authoritative wave of his hand. Maloderous straightened his top hat and cloak, he was on. His gaze passed down the corridor and he could tell that something of great power was here. "You cannot keep it, you know. I will have it."
Sheila looked at her sire with one of those 'what the heck do you think you're doing?' looks that she reserved for special occasions. The Lord Count Baron looked back at her and whispered in a tone that only the undead could hear, "They have it! Look down there! That glow can only be the artifact."
"Will you?" Aquarius turned his flashlight back on and the group stepped from the shadows at his gesture. "They're Goths, we can take these clowns." He whispered to his teammates.
"What's a Goth?" Az whispered back.
"Vampire wannabe's." David replied.
"Oh like you know? You don't even know your own NAME." Az hissed.
"You cannot keep the relic from me!" Maloderous switched to his best Transylvanian accent. "Surrrendurrr eet tuu meee!" He oozed at Quetz's champion. The woman had to have the relic upon her, which was why she shined so. Azangel looked at the youth who advanced upon her, he wore a ratty acid-washed denim trench coat with enormous shoulder-pads. With his hand outstretched he looked like something from one of those awful movies that Ry and Bish used to watch. "Yuuu kannought weeezizssst meye pahwah." Maloderous fixed her with his icy stare, Az couldn't take it seriously since his eyebrows danced upon his forehead like two mating caterpillars.
"David, it looks like you and he have the same tailor."
Jayna looked at Aquarius, she felt she had just walked into a really late movie. As the dread Lord passed Aqua he reached out and began snapping his fingers in his face.
"Hey, Vlad."
"I'm Vlad"
"And this is?" Jayna asked before Aqua could.
"The Lord Count Baron Maloderous." Vlad straightened and tried to sound authoritative. The glowing woman scared him more than he was willing to admit.
"Maloderous, right." Aqua snapped his fingers again in the contorted face, "Hey Stinky!" Maloderous spun on him, bared his fangs and hissed. "Oh god." Aqua pushed Maloderous aside, "Look pal, why don't you and your friends go to a club and play."
Jayna looked at the trio through the glasses she treasured. "Um, Aqua."
"I mean really, 'Maloderous'? Acid washed black denim? What's wrong with you?" Aqua taunted.
"Aqua, can I talk to you?"
"Why don't you guys club together on some red wine?"
"Aqua."
"Face it, you're a Goth. There's no sense in trying to be macho. Just embrace your fagginess and let's get on with our lives. OK?"
"AQUA!" Jayna pushed him away from the fuming Count, "They ARE vampires!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh god, newbie Goth vampires." Aqua looked at the trio. With both index fingers pointed up he gestured to the three that were closing ranks. "This is why there are rules that govern the creation of progeny. Vampires aren't supposed to beget progeny with out sanction. Who would sanction THIS?!"
"SEE HERE!"
"There are vampires, who just cannot resist these Goth posers," he went on, "later they just have to put them down, but until then, they are an embarrassment."
"Listen here mister high-and-mighty! My Lord will tear the flesh from your..." Aqua's fist finished Vlad's sentence knocking him flat into the muck. Aqua pushed his finger into the top hat's face.
"You three are in WAY over your heads. Got me? Now you guys can back off, or I sic her on you." His accusing finger swung over to Az, who was trying to figure out what this insane man was doing taunting these vampires. David braced his feet and was ready for Aqua's gambit to fail. He had managed to cling to the shadows so far, and had maneuvered himself behind the vampires.
Maloderous was thrilled at the thought of the glowing one within his grasp. If putting her where he most wanted her to be was their intention he would do his best to help them along. He drew himself up to his full height, which with his top hat was almost six feet, and bent his will to his 'innate' vampire power of mesmerism. "Yesss, bright one. Come to meee..." He held out his hand in her direction, curling his fingers in a beckoning motion and taking a step toward Az.
"What is he doing?" Az whispered in Jayna's direction. Jay raised an eyebrow and shrugged. This fool reminded her of a bad Vaudeville act she had seen long ago. It had been extremely unpopular with the audience and had resulted in the throwing of many objects onto the stage, one of which had caused an accident with one of the gas footlights...
"Az, can you make like a flashbulb?" she whispered to her friend.
"Huh?" Jayna turned sideways and made a bursting motion with her hand where the vampires couldn't see. A look of sudden recognition crossed Az's face, and she nodded slightly. Jayna began counting down with her fingers, five... four... three...
"Aqua, David, FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Jayna squeezed her eyes shut and fervently hoped the others would think to do the same, even so the resulting flash was almost painful. From the howling echoing off of the tunnel walls she assumed that the gambit was successful and they had at least bought themselves some time. She opened her eyes to see the vampires writhing in pain and her group ready for action. "Let's get out of here!"
Azangel retracted her now-barely-glowing wings back into her body. "Remind me to thank Quetz for this again in the morning, will you?"
******Ahem* The use of Lord Count Baron Maloderous, Secretia, and Vlad has been done with the 'express written...ok...E-mailed' permission of their creator. We would like you to know that these are just our rather skewered interpretations of these characters.
Now then...
Go buy Voltaire's books! Go buy his CD's! Make him rich! And watch for Chi-Chian on SciFi coming this fall!
Voltaire.net. Cause we said so.
Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 12
"Suuuureeeen-dar to meeeee! Suuuuuuuuuur-r-r-r-r-r" Az laughed as she rolled her tongue as the ridiculous Maloderous had done. She looked at her reflection, making her eyebrows dance as he had. It was just too silly. She shook her head and finished drying her hair, hoping her second shower would wash the memory of the sewer stench away. Jayna said they could sleep in after the long night and she took full advantage of it. She could smell breakfast, Jayna must be awake.
After getting dressed Az walked down the stairs. She could hear voices, Aqua and a hideous man were talking in the shop. Aqua was holding the 'pretty box' but it was the other man that attracted her attention. This must be Kelegar, she thought. He was dressed in a shabby black trench coat and he looked ancient. Small wisps of white hair drifted off his head. Jayna had said he was ugly, but that was an understatement. His hook-like nose gave him a vulture-like appearance, then there were his eyes. He had noticed her and glanced up at her with those little black rat-like eyes...
Those little black rat like eyes that suddenly and inexplicably became Jayna's ice-blue eyes. "Hello? Az?"
Az cried out and grabbed the table realizing that she wasn't standing on the stairs anymore but sitting in the kitchen, "Jayna! How did I get here?"
"You walked in about two minutes ago, you said you wanted some breakfast and tea, when I asked specifics, you wouldn't answer, so I came over. Are you all right?"
"I was coming downstairs and saw Aqua talking to Kelegar, I think..."
"Yea, he got here about twenty minutes ago, the jerk."
"Well I was looking at him and then he became you." Az shivered and took the offered teacup as Aqua walked through the kitchen door, "Is HE gone?"
"Yes HE is." Aqua looked at Jayna and shrugged, he set the box on the counter. "And he left this in our care."
"You were supposed to get rid of that." Jayna said setting a cup down beside it.
"I know," Aqua said taking the cup, "he doesn't want it."
"WHAT?" Az hollered. "After all that?" Aqua raised his hand to calm her.
"Yet. He doesn't want it yet. He wants us to hang on to it for a while."
"Wonderful, well I guess we'll put it in the basement, he did pay for it?"
Aqua laughed. "Yes Jayna, he paid for it." He patted his coat pocket. "He says he'll get back to me when they want it handed over."
"Wait a minute. What happened to me?" Az leaned toward Aqua.
"What are you talking about? You came downstairs, we noticed you, and you came in here. What?"
"I was looking at you and him and suddenly he became Jayna." Az gestured dramatically.
"Sounds to me like he didn't want you listening in so he dismissed you." Aqua said into his cup.
"Dismissed me?" Az looked at him aghast. "He dismissed me? Let me get this straight. That Goth vamp down in the tunnels tried like crazy to mesmerize me and that ugly sucker just GLANCES at me, and I'm mesmerized?"
"Yep. Look Az it's like this, you've got cats and lions right? Stinky was a kitten, and Kelegar is lord of the jungle." Aqua looked at Quetz's champion. "Scared?"
"Yea."
*****"So I finally get to see Jayna's infamous basement." Aqua said, putting the box under his arm as Jayna unlocked the basement door.
"Knock it off, it's not that big a deal." Jayna lied. It was a big deal. She was giving Aqua a better look at who she was, a more private look. The basement was her collection of oddities, artifacts, relics of power and weapons from across the multiverse. The basement was open only to a select few wizards, scholars, and shamen who came here either to study items in her collection or to add their own for safekeeping. They descended the stairs making their way to the museum below, the real business of Alexander the Great's Antiques Emporium. The smell of age and oiled wood greeted them first.
"Damn, look at all this." Aqua said as he gawked. "It looks like the Smithsonian down here." Rows of racks and large display cases stretched into the distance. "Tesseract?"
"Yea, it cost a fortune to move." Jayna pointed the way and they began down one of the isles. They passed a brown cloaked man sitting about three feet above the floor, reading the book he cradled in his arms.
He glanced at them as they passed, and paused his slow chanting. "Jayna."
"You need a shave Stephan."
"I know." He said turning back to his book and began chanting again.
"Strange guy." Aqua whispered to her after they passed. Jayna stifled a laugh. "What?"
"Nothing. We'll put it in here." Jayna produced a key and unlocked the display cabinet. She pulled a business card sized piece of paper from her pocket and wrote on it, and placed the card in front of the box.
"You have to label everything?" Aqua smirked as she closed the cabinet.
"A place for everything, and everything in it's place." She said, securing the lock. Jayna looked over at him as he stood there, leaning against the cabinet, looking at the display across the isle. She looked at his profile in the dim light. Aqua reached out and took her hand, slowly pulling her to him. "What?" She said softly.
"Like what you see baby?" He smiled pulling her against him.
"Oh god. You are so..." His mouth silenced her soft protest.
Fallen Angels 1 - Epilogue 1
Otherwise known as the date from hell...Jayna heard Michael's approach from several blocks away, and wondered if Az had thought to ask what kind of vehicle he drove...or rode in this case. Probably not, as the girl never seemed to think about little things like that. She moved to the window and watched as his motorcycle pulled up and he dismounted. He walked briskly up to the front door and knocked twice before Jayna answered, dust rag still in hand.
"Michael, you're looking handsome, as always!" Jayna embraced her friend warmly. "I believe I should be jealous."
"'Evening Jay." He stepped inside and gave the room a quick once-over with his eyes, and whistled. "The shop is coming together nicely. Looks like a you've gotten in a lot of new stuff." He glanced none too surreptitiously towards the stairs.
"I don't think she's quite ready yet, but I'll send for her." She tried to think just where it was she had seen David last, when he sauntered through an archway from an adjacent room. "David, would you please tell Az that Michael is here?" He nodded wordlessly and headed for the stairs.
"How's your 'friend' there doing?" he asked.
"About the same." Jayna watched him climb the staircase. "Mike, there are a couple of things I should tell you before Ciela comes down..."
"That she's painfully shy?" Michael interjected. "I got that already."
"It's more than just that. She spent most of her life in a 'cult'. Her social skills are almost non-existent." Michael chuckled and shook his head.
"I doubt if she was raised in a cave, Jay."
"Actually she was, but that's beside the point." He looked at her incredulously. "She's been out in the world less than a year. Since then her whole world has been turned upside down more than once. In many ways she's a lost child..."
Michael's amused expression brought her up short. "I'm sure you'll find all of this out on your own. I guess I'm just overprotective where she's concerned."
"David said you wanted me." Came a voice from the top of the stairs. Az froze when she noticed Michael with Jayna, not quite knowing what she should say or do. Michael stepped forward, smiling.
"I was just discussing the rules for our date with your mother here."
Az flushed with his comment and took only two steps down the stairs before stopping again and glancing at Jayna.
Now what? Jay put one hand to her forehead, half-expecting Az to bolt back up the stairs and go hide in her room.
"Um, " Az looked down at her feet then back at the pair. "I didn't know what to wear. Is this all right?" She was garbed in the same white leather outfit that she'd been wearing while she'd been at the mall with Jayna.
"It's perfect, Ciela." Michael said, giving her a quick once-over. "Very nice. Now, we're going to be late for dinner if you stay there all night. You don't want that, do you?"
Az regarded the question a bit too long, prompting Michael to climb the stairs, stop next to her, and place his arm loosely around her shoulders.
"C'mon, you'll have fun." He said, guiding her gently down the stairs and towards the door. Michael grinned mischievously, opening the door and stepping aside for Az to go through first. Over his shoulder, just loudly enough for Jayna to hear, he added, "We'll be fine, Jay... and don't wait up."
Jayna managed to keep from laughing in their faces, barely. She gave up as she heard them outside. "So, Az, have you ever ridden a Harley before?"
*****"A what?"
"A Harley. A Motorcycle. This..." He opened his arms wide, showing off the gleaming chrome monster. "...machine."
"Nope."
"Well, there's a first time for everything. Just make sure you hold on, at least until we get moving, or you'll end up on your ass." He adjusted the strap on the helmet Azangel had put on, then threw his leg over the seat with familiar ease. "Hop on."
"Hold on to what?" She looked from him to the bike. "There's nothing..."
"You'll figure it out." He patted the seat behind him. "It's not nearly as hard as you seem to think. Ever ridden a horse?" When she nodded in affirmation, he continued. "It's pretty much the same idea."
"I never needed to wear a helmet to ride a horse."
"You're stalling." He cracked, fastening his helmet and waiting patiently.
"I am not stalling."
"I'm waiting." He grinned and patted the seat again.
Az muttered under her breath and not quite gracefully took the seat behind him. To Michael's credit, he somehow managed not to laugh. Not that it wasn't a struggle...
"See? Easy. Now hang on."
*****"Ok, Ciela? On the ride back you don't have to hold on quite so hard."
"Sorry."
"And please stop apologizing, it isn't necessary." He added, helping her off the bike.
"Sorr..."
"SH!" He placed one finger on her lips, cutting her off mid-apology. "Stop with all the 'sorry's', all right?" When she nodded he removed his finger. "If you keep apologizing, I'll just have to figure out a way to make you stop." He grinned mischievously at her. "C'mon, they've already got a table waiting for us..."
*****"So what would you like? You've studied the menu long enough..."
"Oh, the chicken sounds good."
"Baked or fried?"
"Baked, please."
"Do you want a potato?"
"Not really."
"Well, that's not very much to eat." He looked at her and smiled. "What about salad? Cottage cheese, Cole slaw, Jell-O, or tossed?"
"Just a plain, ordinary salad would be fine. You're almost as bad as Jayna when it comes to food." She joked.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He remarked. "They're going to want to know all this."
"Oh... "
"Ok, so what would you like to drink?"
"Tea, if they have it?"
"Cold or hot?"
"Cold... "
"See? That wasn't so bad."
"I'm just not used to this sort of thing."
"Should I have found a fancier place? Somewhere that serves a different kind of food?"
"No this is fine." Az dropped her eyes to study the tablecloth as Michael placed their order with the blonde waitress who introduced herself to them as 'Flo'.
"No, no...I'm over here, Ciela." Michael laughed, trying to get her attention back as the waitress left. "So why don't you tell me more about David while we're waiting? Any little thing might help."
*****"I told you before that there wasn't a lot to tell about him."
"You weren't kidding, were you? Well, I still think David could be very dangerous. The dead are meant to stay that way."
"But I haven't seen any indication that he's dangerous."
"Yet, that could be the real problem. You could get too complacent and something terrible could happen." He paused, looking her in the eyes. "I promised you and Jayna I'd see what I could find out about him, and I will. It may take a little digging but I'm sure something will turn up. I just hope it's not bad news."
Az looked away from his gaze in time to see their waitress arrive with part of the food. She placed the salads and drinks in front of them, and promising to be right back, hurried away.
Az felt more than a little bit confused. She wanted to talk to Michael but couldn't seem to find the words when she opened her mouth. She didn't know why either. He seemed like a nice...friendly...charming...outgoing...gorgeous...green-eyed...guy. Hmmm. Maybe that was the problem. She hoped to Quetz that she wasn't blushing again, the poor guy probably thought she was insane at this point, or worse...
"We've fairly well exhausted that subject." Michael interrupted her train of thought. "What would you like to talk about now?"
Michael decided to let Az discuss something that she would be more comfortable talking about. He wasn't sure if he should bring up her upbringing, a cult of some kind, Jayna had said. He thought she'd been kidding at the time, but he believed her now.
"Um, well, what about your job?"
"All right. What would you like to know? I pay my rent and have enough left over to live on. I'm not getting rich."
"That's not what I meant! I was just wondering about the designs on the walls. Are they all yours?"
"Yea. I don't do flash. That's not my style."
"Flash?"
"You don't know what that is, do you?"
"No..."
"Flash is like a stencil, a cheat. It's a pattern that some tat artists use instead of an original design. To me that's just wrong."
"If they're artists, why do they need to cheat?"
"Just because someone says he's an artist doesn't mean he is. And some people are happy with that. I just don't do that kind of work."
"Well that's good...so are you an artist?"
"I guess so. Tats last a lifetime. They should be more than just ink. They should really MEAN something."
Both paused as the waitress arrived again; this time with their main courses. She placed them on the table and left as quickly as she'd arrived.
"So did you ever do anything else, other than tattoos?" Az asked, between bites.
"For a living?" When Az nodded, he added, "I was in the Marines, a long time ago."
"Somehow you don't seem like the military type..."
"Not anymore. It was a means to an end, a way off the Rez. After I got that crap out of my system, I did a lot of travelling. I picked up tattooing in the Far East."
"You've been all over the place, huh?"
"Not quite, but I've been around." Michael paused, watching her reaction. "Hey, I finally got you to smile like you mean it."
"Well, it sounds interesting. I went from my home dimension to J Street by accident...and I think I'm still suffering the effects of somewhat massive culture shock."
"Culture shock is a good term. Most people have a bit of trouble getting used to this place. It's just too weird for the normal Joe..."
"Take someone who lived inside a mountain for 25 years with a bunch of...monks, basically...and drop them into the middle of this..." She trailed off, shaking her head as a small group of green, tentacled creatures shuffled past the booth.
"I can understand that. It must have been quite a change." He said. "All monks?"
"Right. No nuns, and, well, I wouldn't really call them monks, I just don't know the proper term in English or Spanish."
"Well, in what language do you know the term?"
"Nahuatl."
"Nahuatl?"
"The Aztec language, it's almost non-existent now."
"Hmmm. And just how is it that you know it? Did these 'monks' teach you?"
"Yeah, they did, and a few other things as well. I just wish they'd have prepared us for all this." She looked around the room and sighed. "We learned nothing about life outside the Foundation. Nothing." There was some anger in her voice with this last statement.
"I understand, really. I've had a few pretty jarring transitions in my life too. Eventually, I found my place in the scheme of things."
"I hope I find mine, and soon." She admitted.
"You will. I can tell. You have a... strong character."
"Thanks."
*****Although the evening hadn't been an unequaled success Michael couldn't help feeling that it had been worthwhile. They each had gotten to know the other a bit better and there hadn't been too many missteps. Ciela was beautiful and had an aura of both strength and vulnerability that he found both intriguing and appealing. Her shyness and naivete was a welcome contrast to the type of woman he usually met in his line of work. The warmth of her body behind him as he sped down the street made him acutely aware of just how long he'd been a loner, and how it might be time for him to rejoin the rhythm of life again.
*****Az held onto Michael a little less strongly this time, a little. She had to admit that she liked the feel of her arms around him, even though it frightened her. As the Harley rumbled to a stop in front of Jayna's shop she realized that she wasn't ready to let go, just yet. They dismounted and walked up the steps. The shop was dark and Az pulled out the key that Jay had given her. "Well..."
"Yea."
"I, um."
"I had a really nice time Ciela, I hope we can do this again." Michael looked in her eyes.
"I, I'd... um."
"It's our first date, so I shouldn't stay. Can I kiss you goodnight?" Ciela blushed and looked down then looked up quickly before Michael noticed where her eyes went.
"I... I think..." She looked at him, and tilted her head toward him slightly. He took the invitation and leaned in slowly.
*****The rumbling of the Harley as it awakened roused her. She looked at Michael as he pulled his helmet on. He waved at her, and then the beast roared and sped away into the night. Ciela opened the door and drifted up the stairs, lighting the room with her glow.
A glow that began with the brief touch of Michael's lips to hers.
Fallen Angels Epilogue 2
Kelegar walked beside Aquarius through the mansion. Aqua felt nervous and pulled at his tie. He hated wearing ties but when summoned before 'the Master', as Kelegar was wont to call Ravenstrom, you dressed to impress. The clicking of nails against wood heralded the entrance of the master's 'boys'. Two massive, silver Mastiffs strode into the hall. They took up the stride one to Kelegar's left and the other to Aqua's right.Aqua had met the boys before but they always unnerved him. These weren't dogs, any more than Persians were Jaguars. They stood just above his waist at their shoulders, and outweighed him by about fifty pounds each. "You will wait here with the boys. I will announce you." Kelegar left them outside a large double door. The dogs sat and looked indifferent at his presence. Aqua discovered that indifference was good thing. Pulling on his collar for the third time the door finally opened for him.
"Come in Mr. Aquarius, the Master will see you now." Kelegar swung the door wide, as the boys stood and escorted him in. Nails that could tear sheet metal sounded on the floor as they crossed the nearly empty hall. An emaciated man in an antique wheelchair lowered a hand as the boys walked up to him. He patted them both as they sat on either side of him like temple guardians. Ravenstrom lifted his gnarled head toward his guest. He made Kelegar look handsome. He was obviously a vampire who was too stubborn or too proud to heal himself, as he appeared to be in the final stages of several horrible, terminal diseases.
"Good Evening, Mr. Aquarius. Welcome to my home. I congratulate you on recovering the artifact." He rasped, dragging air into his lungs.
"Thank you sir, I have it here." Aqua opened the small bag he carried and produced the pretty box. As he offered it to Ravenstrom the dogs began a low growling, increasing his agitation. "Uh, I uh."
"I don't want it." Ravenstrom said curling what was left of his nose.
"But you," he put the box behind his back in the hopes of calming the dogs, "you..."
"Have made arrangements, Mr. Aquarius. You will be handing the artifact over to Brother Vladimir." Ravenstrom gestured toward Kelegar and the man walking with him. Aqua realized that he was looking at the only other living being in the Master's mansion.
"Brother Vladimir?" Aqua turned to face the stocky thickly bearded monk, who smiled as Aqua brought the box from behind his back, showing his bad teeth. The monk took the box reverently and opened it to check its contents. As he did the Master winced and the dogs began growling again. Kelegar took him by the shoulders and steered him away. "All right." Ravenstrom smiled and showed his dark toothless gums. The boys looked at him as he reached into his coat.
"Will that be all then, sir?"
"For now Mr. Aquarius. For now."
"Shall I see myself out?" Aqua asked, his usual bravado nowhere to be found in this dark, oppressive atmosphere.
"That won't be necessary," Kelegar spoke appearing suddenly behind Aquarius, "I can see you to the door." Aqua jumped involuntarily. It never ceased to amaze that an old fossil like Kelegar could move that fast or silently.
"I wish you wouldn't do that." Aqua said softly.
"I know." Kelegar's face cracked into an evil smile that served to remind Aquarius that in this part of town he was way out of his league.
Once they were safely in the hall away from 'the Master' and his dogs Aqua felt confident enough to press his escort for details.
"You don't need to know." Kelegar reached inside his coat and pulled out a thick envelope. "The Master is quite pleased with your handling of the situation and has provided this bonus to thank you for keeping the object safe."
Aqua wanted to protest, but the bulging packet was enough to keep his mouth shut. He exited into the deepening evening and started down the broad staircase to his car.
"It disappeared from its shrine during the Second World War." Kelegar said as he shut the door. "The priest is taking it back 'home'."
