Niki Slobodian 03 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Read online

  “Is this a trick?” said Sam. “One of Michael's games?”

  “Please,” said Camael. “I would not come if it were. Besides, even Michael can't cheat Death.”

  “He would do his very best to try,” said Sam coldly. “What about Niki? Why does she have to be there?”

  “I told you, the human requested it.”

  “If she's a prisoner—”I began.

  “Who says she's a prisoner?” said Camael.

  “She did,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

  “Did she?” said Camael, a small smile spreading across on his face. “How interesting. Maybe that's why Michael likes her so much.”

  I felt a shiver pass through the heat in my belly, but it didn't spread this time. Perhaps the alcohol kept it at bay.

  “The meeting must be in neutral territory,” said Sam.

  “Of course,” said Camael, rising. “I'll let him know. Oh, and just so you're not surprised, Michael looks slightly different.”

  “Different how?” said Sam.

  “He now has a quite magnificent pair of wings. It is quite an impressive sight, and seems to have strengthened the chain of command. Janis?”

  Janis slipped off her stool and stubbed out a cigarette. She tottered over to Camael. She made a sweeping motion with her hand and a thickness filled the room once again. I felt the fog assaulting my senses once again. There was a tearing sound and an almost inaudible pop, and then they were gone, the fog dissipating like smoke through an open window.

  “We must go to Limbo,” said Sam.

  “So every one one of these people are in your goddamn family?” I said. “Do all your family reunions end with Armageddon?”

  “I should have told you,” said Sam. He shook his head. “I left a very long time ago. For very good reasons. I'm not like them, Niki. My brothers are brutal and manipulative. They have no respect for this world.”

  “Camael sure didn't seem to like humans very much,” I said. “What's that about?”

  “Very old politics,” he said.

  “What does that mean?”

  Sam sighed. “Can we discuss this later?”

  “No,” I said. “If I have to go to some Limbo-land with Death and a guy that wants to kill me, I want to know the history.”

  Sam sighed. “Very well. The Creator made the angels first—the Archangels, especially—then later made the world and all that dwell therein. Michael has always considered humans a corruption, a pale reflection of his kind.” Sam sighed again. “Michael has always resented me for choosing to live in the world.”

  “You don't live here,” I said. “You're hardly ever here.”

  “Not in this particular spot,” he said. “I have to be many places. It's complicated. I cannot always be where I'm needed, though I try very hard for your sake.”

  “Why?” I said. “Why me?”

  He looked at me blankly for a moment. “Why anything?” he said. “Why am I able to help the souls cross over? Why can you do it without even trying? Why did you come into my bar that night, when by all rights you should not have been able to see it? I didn't will you here, and yet, there you were, drinking cheap whiskey. The very person I'd been watching without you knowing.”

  “That stalker thing is still creepy,” I said.

  “It's time you stopped questioning everything,” said Sam, leaning close to me, “and started accepting the fact that everything you think you know is wrong. The world is so much more than what you know of it. The universe is infinitely, impossibly rich. It's time you knew the real world. My world.”

  The heat leaped in my stomach. Sam's face was close to mine, so close I could feel the heat of him. Just as I felt my own heat radiating off of myself. I swallowed. “Fine,” I said weakly. “Let's go to Limbo.”

  Two

  “I don't like it,” said Gage, sitting at the bar. “It don't sound right. Why does this angel guy want to see Niki?”

  “Apparently,” said Sam, “Niki's new-found sister is somehow involved with that decision.” Sam looked at me for a moment, then shook his head and looked back at Gage. “I will be there too. No reason to worry. My brother wouldn't dare harm her in Limbo.”

  “That's another thing,” said Gage. “All these guys trying to destroy the world. You never told us they were your brothers.”

  “It didn't occur to me to mention it,” said Sam. “Until now, it didn't matter.”

  “And why are you so quiet, Nik?” Gage asked me. “You usually can't stop talking.”

  “They have Natalie, Bobby,” I said. I realized I was still feeling weak, even after the sleep and food. The sensation in my gut had been less intense after I had a few drinks, but now I felt myself growing hotter again. If I were going to burn up again, at least I could try to help my sister before I went. I gripped the bar and closed my eyes as another dizzy spell hit me. This time I caught myself and didn't fall over.

  “Look at her, Sam,” said Gage. “She's not fit to do anything right now. She needs to rest.”

  “Her powers will be neutralized in Limbo,” said Sam. “That's the entire reason Limbo exists.”

  “I thought it existed for the spirits of unbaptized babies,” I said, as the dizziness passed and I opened my eyes. “You know, people not good enough for Heaven, but not bad enough for Hell.” The world kept alternating between normal color and whitewash. Like floodlights were swinging around, shining on everything. I supposed that was my eyes flickering.

  “Limbo exists as neutral territory,” said Sam. “It is, for the most part, a place where the people of Heaven and Hell can meet without...well, dying. It was not created for dead babies. My, what a thought.”

  “So you can't die there?” I said.

  “No,” he said. “There is only one weapon that could kill in Limbo, but Michael wouldn't dare violate the sanctity of that place.”

  “Wouldn't he?” I said. “The guy started a damn war. He's killing people.”

  “It is a sacred place,” said Sam. “Even Michael wouldn't defile it.” He looked at Gage. “Do you still have your Casting book?”

  “Yeah,” Gage said. “Why?”

  “I need you to stay here,” Sam said, “just in case anyone else decides to pop in.”

  “No way,” said Gage. “I'm going with you. I'm not leaving Niki alone with a bunch of angels.”

  “Do you think I'd cause her harm?” said Sam, actually looking hurt.

  “Not on purpose, but, look at her.”

  Sam appraised me and frowned.

  “Damn it, Bobby,” I said, standing up straight with difficulty. “Stop telling everyone to look at me. I'm going to help my sister. Stay here and make sure nothing bad happens. Can you do that?” I took a breath and said, softer, “Please. For me.”

  Gage stared at me for a minute. “All right, sis,” he said slowly. “You sure about this?”

  I nodded. “I think so. I don't see another way to get Natalie back.” I looked at Sam. “Maybe I should have a gun.”

  “It wouldn't matter if you did,” he said. “Bullets would hardly stop Michael.” He frowned. “We may not be able to get the child back. You should prepare yourself for that.”

  “We'll get her back,” I said.

  “I already lost you once today,” said Gage, looking at me intently. “No matter what's going on with you, I need you to get back safely, Niki.” Gage turned to Sam. “Take care of her, Sam.”

  Sam nodded. He took my hand. “Don't let go,” he said.

  “Don't we have to wait for Janis?” I said.

  “Some of my brothers do. I don't,” said Sam with a small smile. “Janis is here to move the Deep Blue Sea. I come and go as I wish.”

  “What should I do?” I said, suddenly nervous.

  “Don't let go,” Sam repeated. “You may wish to close your eyes as well.”

  I did, and at once felt the same thickness as when Camael had come and gone. The air pressed against us, and I clutched my free arm tight around Sam's waist. We were
spinning and suddenly I couldn't feel ground under my feet. The hot sensation in my chest was dancing around, churning inside me. My heart beat fast. I felt the heat start to crawl, radiating out towards my arms and my legs. I felt tears well up in my eyes from the pain. We began to spin faster and faster. Sam suddenly wrapped his arm tight around my back.

  “Niki,” he said in a panicked voice. “You have to control it.”

  I opened my eyes. We were in total blackness. Opening my eyes was worse than keeping them closed. I couldn't see Sam's face in front of me. We were spinning in midair. I looked down and sucked in my breath sharply. There was no light in this place, but from my abdomen and hands a pale glow was shimmering. Weak, ghostly light emanated from me, reaching out in white, flame-like tendrils, and I could see Sam's hand grasping at my own, his knuckles white.

  “What is it?” I said, my voice high and thin.

  “Calm yourself, Niki,” said Sam into my ear. “I can't make it stop or we'll be trapped between worlds. Breathe.”

  I inhaled deeply through my nose, forcing my lungs to expand. Trying to calm yourself while spinning in total blackness when glowing tendrils of light are coming out of your body is not as easy as it sounds. I took long, slow, deep breaths, and my heart finally started to slow. The force inside me started to shrink bit by bit until it was contained again in my chest. Sam kept his arm around me, and I leaned into him, spent, my eyes squeezed shut.

  After a few long moments, the spinning stopped and we landed on solid ground. A breeze ruffled my hair. Sam let go of my hand and my knees buckled. I caught myself against him. “I'm sorry,” I said, righting myself.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking away. “Just really tired. So this is Limbo?”

  A dim, dusky light lit the landscape, though I couldn't tell where the light was coming from. We were outdoors, but the wind was stale, like the recycled air in an office or an airplane. There was no smell. The ground was packed, hardened earth with no vegetation, and flat as far as the eye could see. It made my eyes tired just to look at the aggressive flatness of the place. But the burning in my chest was gone for the first time since Sam brought me back.

  “We have to come back to this exact spot when we leave,” Sam said. “Otherwise there will be trails, or tunnels, between the worlds.”

  “It doesn't hurt anymore,” I said, looking at Sam. He was looking past me, his eyes narrowed. I turned to see where he was glaring and saw three figures walking toward us, two large and one small. I swallowed. “Natalie,” I said.

  “I have only one request, Niki,” said Sam, not taking his eyes from the approaching newcomers. “Don't be brash.”

  I almost laughed. “I think I'm more likely to fall over than kill someone,” I said. My throat felt thick. I swallowed hard. Weakness did not come easily to me. I hated depending on Sam. But at the same time, I was grateful for his help.

  “If you fall over,” he said. “Fall into me.” He glanced at me, a small smile on his lips.

  We walked toward the figures as if moving through water. Every step felt forced and heavy. The large figure leading the other two had black shining hair that, I saw as we got closer, swung past his shoulders. Soon I could also see massive white wings sprouting out of his back. He fanned them as he walked, as if making sure that we noticed them. He wore the same uniform as Camael, the chain mail leggings clinking with each step. Natalie walked behind him with another man, brown-haired and shorter in stature, by her side. She was dressed in a white, gauzy dress that contrasted with her mocha-colored skin. I had forgotten how beautiful she was.

  “Hello, brother,” said the man in the front when we finally met. His voice was deep and quiet.

  “Michael,” said Sam coldly. “You do look different, just as Camael said.”

  Natalie moved forward to stand next to Michael. She smiled. I had forgotten the madness in her eyes. I crouched down in front of her. “Are you all right?” I said.

  “Better than you, I think,” she said. She giggled. “You have funny eyes now.”

  “They didn't hurt you, did they?” I said.

  “Of course not,” she said. “Why would they?”

  I frowned. “Natalie, you said you were kidnapped. What the hell are you playing at? This isn't a game.”

  “Everything's a game,” she whispered.

  I looked at the man trailing Michael. His hair was cropped and his body was stockier than the other two brothers. He didn't wear armor, but instead was wrapped in a robe made from rough, beige cloth. His face was ashen. He looked how I felt. I stood up slowly. I looked at Michael, who was watching me with interest. Everyone was watching me with interest.

  “What the hell is going on here?” I said, stepping back next to Sam.

  “I'm hungry,” Natalie said suddenly, turning to the ill-looking angel. His shoulders sagged even further. He looked at Michael.

  “Feed the child, Raphael,” said Michael.

  Raphael heaved a breath, withdrawing a dark knife from within his robes. He pulled up his sleeve. I cried out as he slid the blade along the wrist, grunting as he did so. A silvery-white substance began flowing out onto his arm. Natalie grabbed his arm and suckled the wound, like a baby at a mother's breast. Raphael's face was a mask of bitterness.

  “What is this, Michael?” said Sam. His voice was taut. “What have you done? Raphael is your brother.”

  “Is it not better to have the child in control of someone with such a passive gift?” said Michael. “She causes far less damage when all she can do is heal people.”

  “Why did you take her?” I said.

  “I think there's been a misunderstanding,” said Michael. His dark eyes shifted. “I have not taken the human child. She came of her own free will.”

  “You're lying,” I said. “You sent Eliza to take her.”

  “Sadly, Eliza has met her demise,” said Michael. “Your sister killed her. Sweet Natalie forced her to Briah and then destroyed her mind. If she told you otherwise, I'm afraid you've been manipulated. It wouldn't be the first time.” A look of pride came over Michael's face. “She is very good at manipulating you. I thought you would be used to it by now.”

  I felt sick. Natalie gazed at me innocently as she fed from Raphael's wrist. I thought about the events of the past days. Frank Morgan coming to my door, Eliza hiring me, Naz killed by his own men. Every event took me one step closer to the Blood, the secret society that fed on angelwine. And to their leader, Dorrance, who kept Natalie. The girl imprisoned in the vault who said she was my sister. I had literally died to stop Dorrance and save Natalie.

  Without looking away from her I said, “Tell me, Michael. Who were the Blood really taking orders from?”

  Natalie let go of the angel's wrist and carefully ran a finger around her mouth, to collect the last drops of angelwine. Raphael grimaced and I watched as the wound foamed, then turned an angry red. Within moments it was gone. Raphael looked like he was about to fall over, but he managed to stay upright, though swaying a bit.

  “You were so easy,” said Natalie. She giggled, her teeth silver from the blood. “Michael has promised to reward me.”

  “Be silent, little human,” said Michael, his voice low. Natalie closed her mouth immediately, her eyes looking suddenly fearful. Michael sighed. “I'm afraid there's no one alive that knows the answer to your question, Niki. You killed them all. Everyone but the child. Everything happens for a reason, though, does it not?”

  “Stop this,” said Sam. “Stop it all. You are killing innocents, Michael. The war must stop.”

  “You knew the consequences of violating our agreement," Michael said. “You started the war by choosing this...abomination,” Michael said. “What is she exactly?” said Michael, stepping closer to me. “I can feel her. Even in Limbo, I can feel her. And she has the eyes of an Arch. Did you do that, brother?”

  “Of course not,” said Sam. He stepped in front of me, blocking me from Michael, who had a gleam about his
face that reminded me of Natalie. “I won't let you touch her.”

  Michael straightened. “Ah, Samael. You always have loved your little humans, haven't you? I knew I could count on you.”

  “As I understand it,” said Sam, “you've been dipping your toes in the Creator's world as well. Don't be so quick to point fingers.”

  “Only to achieve my purpose.”

  “Which is?” said Sam.

  Michael smiled. “To give us back the Creator. To renew the Creation.”

  “I don't understand,” said Sam.

  Michael lowered his head and took a breath. He frowned at Sam. “You have been gone for a very long time, my brother. For that, I forgive you. You're different than the rest of us. You and Lucifer both. But Briah is dying, Samael. Our glorious city is decaying. The only thing that can bring my people together is to give them a New Creator. And at the end of this war, caused by a traitorous rebel angel who usurped the Old Creator's powers as his own, I shall give it to them.”

  “Your people? You sound as though you fancy yourself some sort of king.”

  “I am,” said Michael.

  “The traitor is me, I suppose,” said Sam irritably. Michael smiled, and spread his hands wide. “And what would the Creator say, Michael? Do you think he would condone this sort of brutality?”

  “The Creator is dead,” said Michael.

  “You know that's not true,” said Sam heatedly. “If He were dead, I would feel it. And you were the last to see Him in Heaven.”

  “The truth is what I say it is,” said Michael, smiling. “The Creator is dead and I am the king. The new Almighty. And I will raise Briah up again. Even if the Creator can't be bothered to come back. He left us. What else are we to do? The angels are starting to turn. And if they reject me, all will be chaos.”

  “That's madness,” said Sam.

  “It is simple truth,” said Michael.

  “And what of the Creator's world?” said Sam. “Are its people supposed to just fend for themselves while you fight your war in their world?”

  “I have taken precautions,” said Michael.

  “Like what?”