The Devil Is a Gentleman Read online

  Chapter 2

  To say I was relieved to see the Deep Blue Sea wedged in its usual spot—between two abandoned warehouses—was an understatement. After the police had finished asking all their questions about Bradley, and taken my Makarov away to run the forensics, I’d driven down to the riverfront warehouses my father used to frequent. I had been coming here every day for a month in hope of finally talking to Sam. It had been so long. But this time, I knew the bar would finally be there. And it was. Flashing red neon blazed the words Deep Blue Sea against the shabby brick building that was just as liable to disappear entirely as to be solid. But it was solid. And it was the only place I had ever seen Sam.

  He was sitting on a stool and looked pointedly at his watch when I entered.

  “You are quite late,” he said, when I sat down next to him.

  I gave him a glare. “Late? I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks. Your stupid bar has been gone since the last time I saw you.”

  Sam smiled. “I’ve missed you, Niki,” he said. I heard a groan and saw Janis slide awkwardly off her stool. She stamped out her cigarette and rolled her eyes behind her thick glasses. She tottered behind the bar and noisily pulled glasses out, sloshing liquid from bottles into them. “Janis missed you too,” he said, hiding a smile behind his tinkling glass.

  “I can see that,” I said. “Where’ve you been?”

  He smiled again. When we had first met, I thought Sam was creepy. He had too many teeth when he smiled, there was something about him that wasn’t quite right. But the more I saw of him, the more I liked him. I knew that he had his own agenda, that he probably wasn’t the least interested in me. But I felt drawn to him. He looked at me curiously, and I remembered his eyes. I could never tell what color they were. They were so dark they were like a void, yet they still seemed to shift, like smoke or dark clouds. I felt sucked in every time I tried looking at them. I looked at his face, boyish but for a certain somber quality. He moved gracefully, his motions smooth and long.

  “Something’s happened,” I said.

  “I can see that,” said Sam, setting down his glass. “You don’t look well.”

  “That happens when I get attacked by Abnormal congressmen.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows questioningly.

  “Frank Bradley.”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t follow politics. Not yours, anyway.”

  “He’s the bastard that started it all,” I said. “Abnormals, the Registry, he’s the poster child for New Government.” I sipped my whiskey. It was calming my nerves. “He was strange. Not like any Abby I’ve ever seen. He babbled on about angels and blood. Then he changed right in front of me, like a werewolf or a vampire.”

  “No such thing,” said Sam.

  “Still,” I said. “That’s what it looked like. And then he attacked me like he wanted to eat me.”

  “That does seem odd.”

  “Damn right it was odd,” I said. “I shot him twice and it didn’t even slow him down. He just disappeared. The cops said there was no sign of him.”

  Sam frowned. “Niki, have you ever heard of angelwine?”

  “No,” I said.

  “No reason why you should,” he said. “I believe your politician overindulged before he paid you a visit. It’s really quite overwhelming for humans.”

  “What is it?” I said. “A drug?”

  “Angelwine. Let’s just say it does not mix well with human DNA. It’s made from the blood of angels.”

  “Angels,” I said. “Of course. Why wouldn’t there be angels?” Sam frowned at me. I didn’t think he caught my sarcasm. “Bradley was muttering about angels.”

  “I’m sure he was,” said Sam. “I have the feeling that this won’t end well. You’re not thinking of pursuing it, are you?”

  “New Government politician who ruined my life, now comes to me asking for help, changes into something that tries to kill me, then disappears? Illicit substances drained from actual angels? Hard to stay away.”

  He sighed. “There’s only one group of people that deal with angelwine. They’re a secret society called The Blood. Niki, be warned. They are extremely powerful. Even you can’t possibly last against them.”

  “I will take your advice into account,” I said.

  “This is the wrong city to tangle with them,” said Sam. “It’s, as your people say, their home turf.”

  “And mine,” I said.

  “Really, Niki,” Sam said, his voice almost pleading, “stay away from this.”

  “Speaking of powerful secret organizations,” I said. “That reminds me. I met with someone the other day. Someone who tried to hire me. Said she knows you.”

  “Who?” he said. His eyes shifted like smoke.

  “She’s just like you,” I said, the realization clicking into place in my mind.

  “What?” he said.

  “The new police commissioner,” I said. “I met her yesterday. I was trying to place what was familiar about her the whole goddamn time I was in her office. She offered me a job, something about tracking down a menacing secret group. But all I kept thinking the whole time was Who does she remind me of? And it’s you. She was wearing tinted glasses, but I’ll bet if she took them off she’d have those same eyes. She even moves like you.”

  “Her name?” he said.

  “She told me not to tell you,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. “In fact, she threatened me. Said if I told you, something terrible would happen to me.” I lowered my eyes in what I hoped was a modest expression.

  Sam’s smile was thin. “As if that would stop you. What does she call herself?”

  I put my glass down. “First, I have questions.” There was a loud hacking cough and we looked over to see Janis, her crossword puzzle forgotten, staring at us with rapt attention. “Maybe we could speak privately?” I said.

  Sam sighed. “Fine. Let’s go sit.” He got off his stool, so quickly I barely saw him. He offered his hand to help me down and I took it. It was like touching fire, it was so hot. I pulled my hand back, looking at him in alarm. He smiled. “It’s okay,” he said. I took it again, the heat not so bad when I was expecting it. Curious. I let go and my hand tingled. I rubbed it on my jeans. Sam led the way to our usual booth, near the door, and we settled in.

  Sam opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted. “Me first,” I said. “Where’s Eli?”

  Sam leaned back and appraised me. “Why do you think that I know?”

  “I just do,” I said. “Where is he?”

  “He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “It’s not what I’m asking,” I said. I wasn’t going to let Sam derail me this time. I needed to know. “I’m asking where he is.”

  Eli was a cop, I was a private detective, and we were living together when Bradley and the New Government started the Registry. I knew it was only a matter of time before they identified me as an Abnormal. That was going to be bad enough, but it was worse to think of them ruining Eli too. As an officer failing to report an Abnormal, Eli might have gotten off with a letter of reprimand. Some were lucky like that. But others were suspended indefinitely, or prosecuted, or imprisoned, or even added to the Registry themselves as criminal accomplices. So I did what I thought was the right thing. I left him before they found me. When they showed up in the middle of the night, only one Abnormal, living alone in her own apartment, was arrested. No accomplice, no headlines about a police scandal. The headlines were instead all about the Slobodians. A lot of people wanted the publicity that went with prosecuting a Slobodian, the daughter of a Summoner. It was a show trial, with lots of cameras. Not an easy time for me. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of times I wanted to call Eli but I knew they would be monitoring my calls. I didn’t want to drag him into my problems. My family’s problems.

  It was only later that I found out that Eli was an Abnormal too.

  “Do you love him?” said Sam.

  “What?”

  “Do you love
this person? This half demon? ” He leaned forward on his elbows. “You’ve been through so much, Niki. You sacrificed your own life so he could have a chance. I don’t think you’d do that for someone you don’t love. But the question is, do you still love him? After all this time, after the Registry, after your father, after the Dark was inside of your skin. After you killed Abaddon, the being that many thought could not die. But you killed it. Are you the same, Niki? The same woman that loved Eli Cooper? Or have you changed?” He studied me.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. I set my jaw. “But I have to find out.”

  “Come now, Niki,” he said. “A girl would know if she was in love.”

  “I’m no girl,” I said. I tried to make my face cold, but after a moment I looked away. “I’m not the same, Sam,” I said. I took a drink of Jameson, letting it slide down my throat. “I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. When that Dark was in me, I did something. I know everyone says it was the Dark controlling me, but all I know is I heard the shot. I don’t think I would have heard it if I was being controlled by the Dark. And when Bobby finally got that thing out of me, that janitor, just a boy, was dead. But after that, I killed that demon, and I barely blinked.” I looked up at Sam. “It’s like I’m becoming him. I’m turning into Sasha, turning into my father, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. The only one that I think can make me feel human again is missing. He left and couldn’t even tell me to my face. He slipped a goddamn note under my door. Probably because he knew I would follow him if he told me to my face. So I need to find him, whether you tell me where he is or not. But I’d like you to tell me, because we’re such good friends.” I wanted to cry, but I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let Sam see me like that.

  “I’m sorry,” said Sam, his voice so low I had to strain to hear. “I didn’t know.” He looked at me seriously, no sign of a smirk or a smile. His eyes burned into me. It was as though I could feel him inside my head when he looked at me like that. That’s what he’d done that first night, right before he’d offered me a job. “You won’t find him, though. Not even you can find him now.”

  “Is he dead?” I said. I swallowed. “Sofi looked for him with her sight, but she couldn’t see him. That usually means only one thing.”

  “No,” he said. “Not dead. Still very much alive.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Looking for his dear father,” said Sam. He started to smile, but wavered. He took a drink. “It’s not going to be easy for him. But we can’t always take the easy road, can we?” He ran a hand over his face. He looked so tired.

  “He’s in Hell?” I said.

  “Yes.”

  “What are you exactly?” I said, frowning into my cup. I didn’t dare look up into those dark, dark eyes. “I know I’m not supposed to be curious. Bobby told me to stop asking questions. But you’re not human, are you?”

  Sam took a breath and blew it out through his nose. I glanced up at him. “Not in the least,” he said.

  “Are you the devil?”

  He laughed. “Who told you that?”

  “No one. I just figured, you know, you work for Hell, you have a magical bar, you seem to have authority over everyone. You must be Satan or Lucifer or something.”

  “Those are two different people,” he said.

  “Seriously?”

  “And no, I’m not the devil. Or Satan or Lucifer, for that matter. I work for Hell, but I also work for the other place.”

  “What, Heaven?” I asked and he nodded. “I didn’t think there was such a place until all this talk about angels,” I said.

  “Hell without a Heaven?” he said. “What a thought. Although Heaven isn’t what it used to be, I’ll give you that. You can hardly tell the two apart these days.”

  “So who are you?” I said.

  “I am something of a free agent,” he said. “Now tell me what she calls herself. ”

  I looked at him, wondering about the consequences if I went against the commissioner. What the hell. “Her name is Eliza,” I said. “Eliza Michaels. She’s like you, but, I don’t know, harder. She doesn’t trust you.”

  “Eliza,” he said, his dark shifting eyes wide. He leaned back. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Eliza,” he said again. “Why is she here? What did she say to you?”

  “I told you, she tried to hire me to look into some secret society. She called Gage in and tried to hire him too.”

  “What else did she say?” he said.

  “She told me that you had to pick a side,” I said. “What does that mean?”

  He hesitated. “It means I need to tread very carefully,” he said.

  “What’s going on, Sam?” I said.

  He looked at me. “There’s something brewing,” he said. “And it’s not going to be easy. For any of us.”

  “What sort of something?” I said.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, Miss Slobodian,” he said, smiling again. “Now, you’d best go. I have work to attend to.”

  “I know, you’re very busy,” I said, remembering that was how he usually dismissed me.

  “Indeed. You can come see me again. In fact, I hope you will. I rather enjoy your company.”

  “You said you needed me,” I said. “The last time I saw you, you said you were testing me and I passed the test. I appreciate that you made Sofi well, I’m not trying to sound ungrateful. But when will you tell me what this is all about?”

  “In time,” he said. He held out his hand to help me out of the booth. This time I didn’t even flinch when he touched me. I stood up and we were face to face. “And I would appreciate if you didn’t mention that business about your godmother. As far as anyone knows, the doctors’ treatments made her well.”

  “All right,” I said. “But, Sam—”

  “I will tell you what’s happening,” he interrupted. “In time. I cannot tell you right now, however. Your life is too important for me to tell you anything more.” His eyes burned into mine and an angry shiver went through me. I looked away.

  “Please don’t do that,” I said.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know, that thing with your eyes. It hurts.”

  “Oh,” he said. “I apologize. It’s a habit. Part of the job.” He cocked his head at me. “Most people don’t realize I’m doing it. Interesting.” He shook his head, and smiled distractedly at me. “Come back soon, Niki,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to the door.

  I felt a little dizzy, and blinked my eyes hard. When I opened them again, I was standing outside. I shielded my eyes in the light. It was almost spring, and a few remaining patches of snow gleamed icily, and blindingly in the cold sun. “Wait, Sam,” I said, turning, “I wanted to ask you

  about-” But I was talking to the air. The Deep Blue Sea was gone, replaced by the dark, empty air between two abandoned warehouses. I watched a cockroach crawl over a pile of rotting wood. A few empty-eyed shapes of men and women wandered along, for the moment as unaware of me as the Normals were of them. “—the ghosts,” I finished, my voice sounding small. I sighed. “Son of a bitch.”

  Chapter 3

  “So Frank Bradley just changed?” said Bobby Gage thoughtfully, sipping his coffee. The little table in the kitchen of my apartment made Gage seem even bigger. He towered over it, his knees touching the underside, lumps bulging in every pocket of his Army surplus jacket. Sam had hired him as my partner, but we had quickly become good friends. He was concerned when I called to tell him about Frank Bradley, and came right over.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it, Bobby,” I said. I looked at my cup, distractedly turning it on the table. “I don’t scare easy, you know that. But this guy. He was like some kind of vampire or something. I’ve been around Abnormals my whole life, but never anything like this. He was so different. And fast. I couldn’t even see him when he moved.”

  He shook his head. “I dunno, sis. I’ve read about the darker powers - summoning and whatnot - b
ut this sounds different. And I thought the angelwine was just a legend. Your guy really drank some?”

  I nodded. “What does it do?”

  Gage shrugged. “From the books, it always sounded like high-end booze for bored rich people. So it’s the blood of angels.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know that. No wonder it made Bradley batshit.”

  I looked at him. “Bradley mentioned angels, too. He kept saying the angel. What do you suppose that means?”

  “It means we’d better watch our backs,” said Gage. “Angels are damn powerful. If these guys that Bradley was hanging with had an angel at their disposal, we could be in over our heads.”

  “You don’t have to be involved,” I said. “I’ll understand.”

  Gage grinned. “I like being in over my head. Builds character.”

  “The cops took my Makarov,” I said. “I’ll have to carry something else.”

  “Well, lucky for you, you have an arsenal,” he said. “Only woman I’ve ever known to have so many guns.” He thought for a moment. “Come to think of it, I’ve never known any men to have so many guns either.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.

  Gage put down his coffee, and carefully pulled his wedged knees out from under the table. He went out to his car and returned a few minutes later to pile a stack of books before us on the table. Some of them were thick and leatherbound and looked older than the city. Others looked like colorful college textbooks. A few looked like mass market paperbacks.

  “Where do we start?” I said. “Have you read them all?”

  “Nah,” he said. “I collect books like you collect guns. I’ve read a few of these, but most I haven’t gotten to yet. Take your pick.”

  I pulled a tome as wide as my forearm toward me and read the cover. Daemons: Keepers of Hell. I raised an eyebrow at Gage. “How is this going to help us?”

  He looked up from the paperback he was skimming. “I brought that for you to borrow. For later. Thought you might be interested.”

  “Eli?” I said.

  He shrugged.

  I pushed the paperback to the side and picked up a smaller leatherbound book: A Brief History of Heaven and Hell. I leafed through the yellowed pages. I stopped a few chapters in, looking at the heading: The One War. Intrigued, I read on.