“I’m really not in charge around here. I’m not sure I can help you,” I said, trying to pass the buck.
“Oh, no, you are the exact person I need to talk to.” His smile was practically a spotlight on me.
Could you say no to an angel? Well, I shouldn’t be presumptive. Maybe he was from there but not an angel at all. Every organization needed a bad guy. Although wasn’t that hell’s purpose?
He took a step backward, waving his hand for me to follow. “This will only take a few moments.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Why had I wanted to stay in Xest? Salem had been such a simpler life. Now I was selling my soul to one demon while an angel wanted to have a private chat with me. Nothing would ever be fine again.
As Lou continued to wait, I got out of my seat and motioned to the corner. “I’m going to grab my jacket.” Didn’t want him to think I was making a run for it and have him hit me with a bolt of lightning. Word was it was their preferred weapon.
I grabbed my coat and tried to wipe moist palms on my pants as Lou headed toward the front door, never losing sight of me.
Zab had his hand on a pile of newsflash papers, waiting for the sign to call in the cavalry. I shook my head slightly. The last thing I needed was Hawk making this into an even bigger to do. I’d held my own with a demon. Would the angel be that much worse?
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I told the rest of the room, waiting to see if Lou would disagree. He stood silently by the front door.
“Shall we have a bit of a walk?” he asked, as if I had a choice in the matter.
“Sure.” I pretended that I did as well. Pretense was better than finding out that there were no other options.
The second we started walking, it was clear that something was off. People were crossing the street and moving out of our way, but no one was looking at me, not the people who hated me or liked me. It was as if I wasn’t there at all. As if something drove them away from us without them being aware of why. If things took a dire turn, would anyone hear my screams? This was getting freakier by the second.
“I did a little digging, and it turns out you weren’t exactly forthcoming with me on our first visit. I have to say, that was a great disappointment.” Lou sounded like he’d mastered the you should’ve known better voice a decade ago.
I’m dead. The creepy angel knew I’d lied to him.
Would compounding it with another lie make a difference? Was one lie forgivable but the second a capital offense? I stayed quiet.
I should’ve refused to come with him. I was so over my head that I didn’t know which way was up anymore.
“No need to worry. I don’t take offense. I merely mention it because, going forward, I’m going to need your complete transparency. No secrets between us.” He was back to beaming at me.
“Going forward?” The words came out a little rough, like I’d been doing shots of crumbled cement.
“You have to understand that Xazier and I go back a very long time. I know him better than anyone, and he has a tendency to get a little sneaky at times. It’s fine, because I keep him in line, but I need to be aware of what he’s up to or he could cause a lot of problems. I know he’s trying to make a move on Xest right now.”
He looked at me to agree. Was this going to get me caught in some war between heaven and hell? Lou already knew, and I hadn’t been sworn to secrecy by Xazier. I was collateral, but there hadn’t been a nondisclosure agreement. This should be safe territory, even if it felt like jumping into a pool of water and not knowing where the bottom was or whether it was boiling.
“I do believe he would like to make his presence here known in some way.” That was fairly diplomatic and vague.
He stopped walking and smiled. “See? Was that so hard?”
I didn’t respond and merely smiled back.
He began walking again. “Tippi, you have to understand, it’s much better to be friends with me than enemies. I can help you. You don’t have to fear Xazier if I’m your friend.” He laid a hand on his chest and stopped, again, seeming to wait for a response.
“That’s good to know.” Was it normal that the one from heaven seemed worse than the one from hell? At this rate, I was never going to be able to die in peace. On some level most people are afraid of dying, but this brought a whole new element to it. Up or down, didn’t matter if I was blacklisted by these two.
“Do you plan on speaking to Xazier again? I’ve heard you’re meeting with him weekly until you get this little problem you have sorted out, which should be a priority, considering what is at stake.”
Now what to say? How much did he know?
“I do believe he will be back to check up on things, but I don’t call the shots. It’s at his discretion.” Again, all true but a bit vague. I was definitely getting the hang of this.
“The little problem you’ve been having, we’ve been aware of it as well, and it is an issue. I might be able to help you out if you’re willing to make certain concessions. I’d have to make sure that if I tipped the order of things one way or another that you’d be willing to repay my kindness. Roads must lead in both directions, after all.”
Oh, no. I already didn’t like where this was heading. What was the point of getting help to swap out one takeover from another?
“We’re still exploring our options right now, so I’d have to get back to you on that.” These bogus lines were really flowing now. If I’d stayed in Rest, I might’ve been able to get a job in PR.
“That’s fine. We have a bit of time.” He smiled and shrugged in a way that made me wonder if there might be something he knew. “You’ll need to make sure to call me after your next meeting with Xazier, though. Just step outside and say the word ‘Lou’ into the fifth wind. I’ve got you tagged as a VIP caller, so you’ll get right through. But you must realize how important it is to call. If we’re friends, you’ll call. That’s what friends do.” He stopped walking and turned to me. “We are friends, aren’t we? I wouldn’t want to not be friends. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.”
It was about as thinly veiled a threat as you got. Any thinner and there’d only be air. If I agreed to being friends, was I locking myself in magically? Why had I agreed to talk to him at all? That was right. I’d been too chicken not to.
“I’d like to be friends if possible,” I said, being as evasive as I could pull off and hoping he’d take it.
He smiled and then turned on his heel, directing us back to the office. “That’s good. Come. I’ll walk you back.”
“No need. I’m sure you have a busy day,” I said, risking a faster pace.
“Not at all,” he said, walking faster with me. “So, you came from Salem, I hear? Interesting how you ended up in Xest.”
“Yes, I guess. Never really thought much about it myself.” This was getting oddly familiar. Demon or angel, they were starting to merge in my mind.
“Was your family witches?” he asked.
“My mother was a witch.” He probably already knew that. He probably knew a lot of things—more than I did, if I had to guess.
He hummed. “Was she strong?”