Then as quickly as it had started the ceremony appeared to be over. The priest hobbled off the stage and the crowd began to disperse. Just as we were getting back into the car a ragged child tore through the crowd toward us. He was small and frail with an urchin’s face. He reached for me, arms outstretched in supplication. Diego noticed him first. He leapt out of the procession and grabbed him, his cruel fingers coiling around the child’s throat. I watched in horror as the child began to gasp for breath, his eyes wild with terror, his small hands scrabbling uselessly at his sides. Then Diego looked suddenly bored and tossed him aside as if he were a crumpled paper bag. A strange gurgling sound came from the boy’s throat. Every instinct in my body urged me to run to his aid. I tried to move forward, but Jake’s vise-like grip pulled me back.
“Show some dignity!” he snarled.
Then, without thinking, I kicked him hard in the shins to free myself. It distracted him long enough for me to rush to the boy’s side. I lifted up the little limp body, the train of my gown dragging in the dirt. The child’s eyes were shut, and I gently brushed the dust from his gaunt cheeks, laid my hand against his chest, and willed whatever healing energy I had left to restore the life force that had been stolen from him.
When the color returned to his lips and his eyes flickered open, I smiled down at him reassuringly. It was only then that I noticed how quiet everything around me had become. Every face was turned in my direction. I saw Jake standing only feet away, but his face was fixed in an expression of dismay. Before I could move Jake’s party enfolded me, guiding me protectively back to the car. Only once I was seated next to him did I feel Jake’s hot breath at my ear.
“Never do that again,” he said. “What do you think this is? We are children of Lucifer. Our purpose is to inflict suffering, not relieve it.”
“Speak for yourself,” I told him boldly.
“Listen to me,” Jake hissed, grabbing my arm. “The Seven Virtues in Heaven are Seven Sins in Hell. An act of kindness here is a capital offense. Even I won’t be able to protect you.”
I wasn’t listening to Jake anymore. Suddenly I felt very calm. I knew now I had the potential to make a difference, even in Hell. My entire body rippled with this new awareness. I had only done what came naturally to me, tried to offer comfort where I had witnessed pain. I focused on my powers of healing, felt them gather momentum under my skin. My wings tingled, but I repressed the urge to unfurl them. Light began to emanate from me. It spilled out of the car, into the dusty clearing and over the heads bobbing in the crowd. It rose and bleached the fire in the sky to a milky white. All the while I could hear Jake’s voice in the background ….
“What are you doing? Stop that right now! I forbid you!” He didn’t sound angry now, only alarmed. Then the light ebbed and finally vanished, leaving in its place a solitary white butterfly. It hovered in the air just above the crowd, a tiny fragment of hope in a sea of despair. Some tried to grasp it, but every face was now turned upward, either in wonder or in horror. Jake became rigid as stone. With him temporarily incapacitated, it was Asia who stepped forward and took charge.
“Kill the bug,” she snapped. “And get her outta here.”
21
Big Daddy
BACK at Hotel Ambrosia, Jake’s demons gathered for a crisis meeting. They refused his offer of the boardroom and stood in the lobby arguing loudly like schoolchildren in the playground. I was largely ignored, but I heard my name bandied around along with phrases like massive screwup and we’re cactus. The dispute continued to swell until I felt Jake grab hold of my elbow and steer me toward Hanna, who watched from the wings and nervously wrung her hands.
“Get Beth upstairs,” Jake said, propeling me into her arms. “Don’t stop and don’t speak to anyone.”
“I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble,” I stammered. I couldn’t bring myself to say I was sorry … I wasn’t. I just hadn’t expected this kind of pandemonium. “It sort of just happened.”
Jake ignored me. “Now, Hanna!” he roared.
“I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal,” I said, resisting Hanna’s attempts to bustle me away. “At least tell me what’s going on.”
Jake lowered his voice and fixed me with his smoldering gaze. “Things are about to get ugly. I’m trying to save your skin and my chances of doing that are much better if you get out of the way.”
Looking around I saw the tar black eyes of every demon present blazing with bloodlust. My presence was no longer being viewed with the customary amusement or curiosity. The faces around me looked manic, like they wanted nothing more than to dismember me limb by limb. I watched as Jake turned to face my jurors. He looked tall and formidable in his black tailcoat with his hair unbound and falling free around his shoulders. I could see by his aggressive stance that he was bracing himself for a fight.
“Come away, miss.” Hanna was becoming flustered. This time I didn’t argue but hurried after her. Even inside the elevator, fragments of the raging argument floated over to us.
“This is a travesty!” someone was shouting. “You should never have brought her into the Third Circle.”
“She’s young,” I heard Jake growl defensively. I felt a little guilty for leaving him to face the music alone. His own kind was turning on him because of me. “She’s new to this life. She needs more time to adjust.”
“How much time? She’s upsetting the balance here,” someone countered. “You wanted a kitten to play with — now teach it the house rules.”
“She isn’t some animal I can train to do tricks.” Jake was seething now.
“What do you want with her anyway?” someone else chimed in. “Is it worth jeopardizing our reputation for a little private amusement? The other Circles are laughing at us.”
“I do not answer to you.” Jake’s voice was low and throaty.
“Perhaps not, but you are not the highest authority here.”
“You really want to disturb him? Over this?”
“No, but I will if you can’t keep your little bitch under control.”
The room seemed to go deathly still. I watched Hanna hit the button for our floor in rapid succession as the elevator stalled.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
“You might want to consider retracting that comment,” Jake said. It was hard to miss the underlying threat in his voice.
“Bring it on, big shot. Let’s see what you got.”
TUCKER was already waiting for us when Hanna let us into the room. He immediately flipped on the chrome security lock even though we all knew it wouldn’t be much use in keeping demons out.
I sat cross-legged on my bed, hugging a pillow for comfort. “What do you think is happening down there?”
“You mustn’t worry, miss,” Hanna replied dutifully. “Mr. Thorn will talk them round. He always does.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. “I didn’t realize they’d get so worked up.”