Straight By The Rules

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So we’d gone back to our opposing camps. It figured. From the way the two of us fought, you’d think we were related. Still, I admired Harmony’s calm assurance.

I relented. “Okay, I’ll have a little faith. But only a little.” Then I grinned evilly. “Although, are you sure that you’ll have enough time to make that intercession, what with your busy schedule of sewing pillows and eating French fries and all?”

She narrowed her eyes at me as she fought not to smile.

When Ariel came back to the table, she stared at Harmony, her eyes huge. “What kind of thing are you?”

Harmony and I exchanged surprised looks. I knew that my niece had a sensitivity to the otherworld, but I hadn’t realized her perception was strong enough to tell an angel from a human.

Ari’s amazement only lasted a moment, however. When she glanced at her plate and saw that Harmony had eaten all of her French fries, she said, “Hey! I wasn’t finished with those.”

“Well, thank you for sharing.” Harmony wiped her fingers on a napkin and stood. Before leaving, she patted Ariel’s head, getting a glower in return.

Ari regarded her empty plate. “That thing has some nerve!”

“She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” I said, smiling.

Although I’d promised Harmony to have faith in her intercession, I couldn’t sit back and wait for something to happen. Instead, I spent Saturday morning investigating on my own.

I had hunted for Patrick before. Several times, in fact. However, each search had ended in failure. My succubus, who could normally locate anyone with whom I’d made a connection, couldn’t find Patrick anywhere. She always started out eagerly, but she soon got confused, like a bloodhound who had lost the trail. We’d end up pacing up and down the same hallway in Hell, unsure where to go. This time, however, I had a new plan. It wasn’t one that I was keen on, but if it led me to Patrick, I was ready to try it.

Getting to my destination, however, proved to be a problem. Although my succubus willingly brought me into Hell, she refused to lead me to the door with the red light bulb over it. “We don’t have to actually go inside,” I finally told her. “I just want to look at it.”

She hesitated.

“Please! One look. That’s all.”

Reluctantly, she led me forward, and within a few minutes, we’d reached the door with the ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ sign on it. Without stopping to think, I grabbed the doorknob and twisted. My demon shrieked, furious that she’d been fooled, but it was too late. The door was open.

A narrow stairway carved from rock descended at an alarming angle. A series of red light bulbs lit the entrance, but a few feet from the door, the passageway fell into darkness. The smell of sulfur wafted up, making me gag. From far, far below came the churning of heavy machinery, as if all the engines that created Hell were hard at work.

As much as I wanted to rescue Patrick, I couldn’t force my feet down the steps. Fear tightened my chest, and the door handle felt greasy under my sweating palm. “Is he down there?” I whispered.

My terrified succubus leaned forward, as if scenting the air. A moment later, she gave a quick mental shake of her head. No, Patrick was not below.

“Are you sure?”

When she remained adamant, I shut the door. Delilah had been right; doors marked with Authorized Personnel signs were not meant to be opened. “I think that’s enough exploring for one day.” Maybe having faith in the other side wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Giddy with relief, my demon guided me back home.

That afternoon, anticipating my evening with William, I went to the salon for a head-to-toe makeover. When I returned home, Jasmine took one look at me and said, “You’re going to a lot of trouble for someone who’s just a friend.”

“He is just a friend,” I insisted. True, I wanted something more from him, but it would make my life less complicated if Jas didn’t know that. “We aren’t a couple.”

My sister wasn’t fooled. She knew date-night prep work when she saw it. She followed me into my bedroom. “How long have you known him?”

“About seven months.”

“And you haven’t hooked up with him yet?!”

“Jas, please.” I considered the clothes in my closet. If I wore a dress, it might seem like I was trying too hard. On the other hand, I couldn’t show up in shorts and a tank top.

“What are you going to do with Ariel tonight?”

“I’m sending her to Kate’s.” Kate Popinjay was my on-call babysitter for Ariel and Grace. I depended on her quite a bit since succubi didn’t hold nine-to-five jobs.

Jas sat on my bed next to Drinking Tea and rubbed his chin. “I’m glad you’re having this man over for dinner, but you should think about making your relationship more serious. You need to get over Ted.”

“You do realize that this is none of your business.”

“I’m worried about you is all,” she said.

She was worried all right, but not necessarily about me. Although I’d repeatedly told her that my one night with Tommy had been just that – one night – she wanted me safely paired up with someone else. “I’m fine, Jas,” I promised.

“Okay. Whatever.” She stood. “But just so you know, I’m visiting Tommy tonight, then I’m sleeping over at Mom and Dad’s, so I can help with the party tomorrow. You’ll have the place to yourself.”

That was a relief. Now, if I could keep Corrine from downstairs or any other unwanted visitors at bay, I had a chance for a marvelous Friday evening.

William was due to arrive at six. At five o’clock, I poured myself a large glass of chardonnay to calm my nerves and then I went to dress. I started with black jeans and an azure Diane von Furstenberg off-the-shoulder blouse that I’d been saving for just the right occasion. Then I added a necklace and earrings. All the while, I kept my eye on the clock.

As I nervously re-fluffed the pillows on the couch and straightened the magazines on the coffee table, I realized that the otherworld mouse hole I’d discovered the day before had grown larger. Now, it was the size of a dog door. Worried, I crouched down for a better look. I almost put my head through it, but decided that was beyond stupid. Instead, I took a broom and stuck the handle through. Nothing happened.

Then another idea struck me. I fetched my handheld mirror from the bathroom and put it through the entrance far enough to glimpse the reflection from the otherworld. I wasn’t surprised to see industrial carpeting, gray walls, and fluorescent lights reflected back at me. This portal was exactly the same as every other supernatural doorway. Except that it was growing.

Having an otherworld doorway spontaneously appear in my apartment deeply disturbed me. If this kept up, my home would be overrun. I needed to ask William about it when he arrived.

As I was checking on the chicken Florentine in the oven, I felt a shiver in the air that told me an otherworldly visitor had arrived. Trying hard to suppress my eager smile, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and turned to greet my guest.

It was the wrong guest.

Delilah stood in my kitchen doorway, a paper bag in her hands. She looked around warily, as if expecting a nasty surprise. “Something smells good,” she grudgingly admitted.

“Thank you,” I told her.

She looked over her shoulder at the flickering candles on the dining room table. “Are you expecting company?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear it because you have an assignment in five minutes.” She didn’t look one bit sorry.

I was horrified. “What? Now! Can’t it wait?”

She shook her head. “Miss Spry said you are not to miss it.” I could sense Helen’s hot-eyed glare behind Delilah’s frown. “And she said to give you this, too.” She handed me the bag.

It was the tea I had wanted for my father. I could smell the smoky aroma through the paper. Getting the tea didn’t soften my temper, however. “Are you sure you can’t change that appointment?”

She glared at me. “I’d thought you’d be happy to go do your dirty work. Isn’t that what you succubi like to do?”

“No, it isn’t what I like to do,” I said. “Helen forces me to.”

Delilah blinked. “Forces you? You mean, you don’t want to sleep with all those men?”

“I don’t sleep with men. Wait – have you been reading Wikipedia?”

“Maybe.” She hesitated. “Yes.” She sat down on a kitchen chair that groaned under her bulk. “I thought that you and William had signed up for your jobs.”