Going Lucid (13 page)

When
Malakha was sure there were no shoes she could take from the first room, she
went on to the next room. It was less messy than the first and didn’t take as
long for Malakha to sort through. She still didn’t find any shoes.

The
next room was very different than the first two. Although it was messy and
filled with things that shined, most of the trinkets were attached to items of
clothing. The harpy this room belonged to appeared to have tried to keep the
clothes in her closet at one point, but gave up after accumulating so much
stuff that none of it would fit. The result was massive piles of clothes
ranging from shiny silk blouses to silver chains and belts to shoes with shiny
buckles on them.

Malakha
began to climb over the mess and search through the piles. The first pile took
forever to get through and though she found shoes, none of them were as
practical as the ones she had seen Nancy wearing. Malakha would have even been
fine with a pair of tennis shoes, but those weren’t typically shiny.

Malakha
almost gave up as she climbed off the first pile. Even if the shoes were under
all this mess, they weren’t worth searching for and risking running into one of
those harpies. She decided to search one more pile though and turned around,
stepping over clothes and kicking items out of her walkway. Just as she was
about to climb on top of the next pile, she found she didn’t need to because laying
right in front of the pile were a pair of boots, not like the ones Nancy had
been wearing, but more practical than the many stilettos and flip flops and
sandals she had been coming across. They were
black,
with a long sliver chain wrapped around the ankle and from the chain dangled
various charms in shapes Malakha didn’t recognize. Malakha could see why they
would appeal to the harpies. Undoubtedly they made noise when walked in.

Malakha
knelt down to pick up the boots and then jumped back upon finding that the
boots weren’t just laying on the ground. They were on something’s feet. Upon
closer inspection, Malakha realized that the pile of clothes was actually
sitting on top of a mattress and someone was lying under the covers that were
covered by the pile. Her feet were sticking out from underneath.

Malakha
sighed, thinking about checking another room, but chances were she wouldn’t
find anything. She knelt down, briefly wondering why in the world someone would
sleep in their shoes, put her scythe down, grabbed the boot and unzipped it
before gently, very gently, slipping off the shoe. She moved to do the same for
the next, except it wouldn’t come off as easily since the zipper was stuck.
Malakha rolled her eyes as she tried to ease the shoe off anyway. She was
starting to feel like she was Dorothy in some twisted version of
The Wizard of Oz
.

Malakha
tried the zipper once more and only got it down three fourths of the way.
Sighing, she tugged a little harder on the boot, a little too hard judging by
the fact that she fell backwards into a pile when the boot finally came
off.
 
The harpy began to stir and Malakha
froze, hoping that the woman would fall back asleep and not notice that her
shoes were missing.

Malakha
didn’t have that kind of luck.

The harpy
sat up, causing part of the large pile of clothing to fall off the bed. While
she stretched, Malakha grabbed the boots and the scythe, not wanting to stick
around for the temper tantrum she knew was coming. From what she knew of
mythology, harpies did not like when people stole their shiny trinkets from
them.

 
It took Malakha twice as long to get halfway
down the hall, because she was hopping on one foot as she struggled to pull on
one of the boots. She hadn’t even bothered to look at the size before she left
and was thankful that they were half a size too big rather than too small. Then
she pulled on the other boot, the one with the stuck zipper, and was just about
to yank it up the rest of the way when she heard the angry screech. Stealing
from a harpy was definitely a no-no.

With
both shoes on, which meant Malakha no longer had to watch where she stepped,
Malakha raced down the hall and down the steps, rounding the corner into the
next hall and then down the hall again. She was halfway down the steps to the
next floor when she heard the flapping of wings behind her.

Malakha
turned around just quick enough to clumsily swipe in front of her with the
scythe. While Malakha didn’t hit the harpy, just swiping with it was enough for
the harpy to pause and land a few steps ahead of her.
 
It was enough time for Malakha to get down
two more steps before the harpy lunged at her. Malakha fell down the rest of
the steps in her effort to dodge the beast’s claws.

She
landed on her back and the harpy wasted no time pouncing on her. Malakha lifted
the scythe in front of her, using it as a rod to block the harpy’s talons. The
harpy gripped the top of Malakha’s hands trying to force the scythe back so
that her talons could reach Malakha’s neck. She was strong. Not as strong as
Nancy but stronger than Malakha. The harpy’s talons were centimeters from
Malakha’s neck when the harpy paused and then let up on the force she was
pressing on the scythe. She was looking at something. Malakha wasn’t sure what,
but decided she didn’t care as she pushed the harpy off her and into the
stairs. Then she stood up and put the scythe at the beast’s neck.

That
was a mistake.

The
harpy let out another loud screech and Malakha instinctively knew it was a call
for help. It also meant that Malakha needed to get out of there.

Malakha
backed away, nearly slipping on something that was on the floor. She looked
down and saw that Julius’ silver pocketknife had fallen out of her pocket. So
that was what had distracted the harpy earlier… Malakha picked it up and raced
through the hall that led to the foyer.
 
Once she was in the foyer, Malakha didn’t stop to see how it was
different from home, so it wasn’t until she got to the exit that she noticed
there was no door, but a large board was nailed to the entrance, effectively
trapping her.

Malakha
only glanced at the scythe in her hand and figuring she didn’t have much to
lose at this point, she lifted the scythe and struck the board with it. It
sliced neatly in half down the middle vertically. The two halves were still
nailed to the door though, so Malakha sliced one of the halves. The cut caused
the half that wasn’t nailed to the frame to fall and Malakha wasted no time
slipping through the opening and down the broken concrete steps.

The
fact that she was out of the building didn’t deter the harpies though, and
three flew out the opening after her, even as she was running away from the
building. Hearing the wings behind her, Malakha turned back around and stood
her ground. Then when one of the harpies was close to her, she raised the
scythe and slashed it in an arch in front of her. The harpy she struck let out
another screech, louder than the screeches from before, and then dissipated in
a dusty smoke cloud.

Upon
seeing what happened to their companion, the other two harpies stopped at a
distance, screeching into the night sky before flying away. Malakha didn’t look
to see where they had flown to and decided to put as much distance between
herself
and the harpies as she could.

Chapter
Thirteen

Proposition

Malakha
didn’t stop until she got to a road a little ways from the old building and
even then, she only paused to remember which way she went to get to town in her
own world before heading in the same direction. As she walked, she started to
feel more and more like Dorothy from
The
Wizard of Oz
and half expected to run into a scarecrow.

Malakha
didn’t run into a scarecrow.

But she
did see something flying toward her from the distance and without even thinking
about it, she knew it was Julius flying on the zombie eagle that he had tamed.
It began to descend the closer it got to her and finally landed right in the
middle of the road in front of her. The bird let out a loud screech, stretching
out its wings before resting them. Then Julius jumped off its back.

Malakha
opened her mouth to tease him about how he always managed to find her when she
made her way into hell, only to be surprised into silence when he grabbed hold
of her shoulders and said, “So you did get away from Lucifer. I wasn’t sure you
had.”

Malakha
took a step back, not because she was uncomfortable being close to Julius like
this, but because she was a little too comfortable.

“Worried?”
she asked.

“Concerned.
You don’t exactly have a track record for
following my instructions,” he said as he gave her a once over. “You’re much
more… clothed than the last couple of times you came here.”

“Disappointed?”
Malakha asked

“Yes.
It was a good view. But I guess it’s a good thing since you lost my coat.”

Malakha
rolled her eyes, even as she looked him up and down to confirm that his trench
coat was indeed missing, and said, “Get used to it.”

“Used to it?”
Julius asked. “You mean coming to Hell is
going to be a regular thing for you?”

“Not if
I can help it,” Malakha determined. “I need your help again.”

“When
don’t you?”

Malakha
ignored his comment and continued, “It’s getting worse at my school. The other
day a group of students started a bonfire like they were worshipping Lucifer or
something and one of them tried to dive into it from the top of the school.”

“And?”

“What
do you mean ‘and’?”

“I mean
you look like you have something else you want to add.”

Malakha
sighed. “And now everyone at school thinks I’m crazy or possessed because I
talk to myself apparently. Not like I can tell them I hear the voice and
laughter of a demon from Hell.”

“So what?
The worst they can do is talk about you.”

“Or
exorcise me.”

Julius
scowled. “I’ve heard of those. Ouch.”

“Well,
I’ve convinced them that I’m demon free for now, but I don’t know how long that
will last. Either way, I need to find the demon that’s causing this mess on my
side of the divide.”

“Lucifer
was no help?”

Malakha
groaned. “I’m still trying to forget that experience Julius. Is there anything
else we can do that doesn’t involve the king of Hell?”

“I can
tell you going into town won’t help. Nothing good is every happening there at
night.”

“Happening?
It was practically a ghost town when I was there.”

“During the day.
At night is a different more dangerous
story.”

“Something
tells me that’s where I need to go.”

“Why
can’t you just trust me on this?”

“I’m
not inclined to take things on face value, even from people I trust. I rather
find out for myself. So are you going to take me or am I going to have to walk
all night?”

“That’s
an even worse idea.”

“I had
a feeling you were going to say that,” Malakha said looking at the large bird.
“So are you going to give me a ride?

Julius
grinned.
“For a price.”

“A price?”

“Well
since I’ve been denied the view. Shouldn’t I get something in return for the
trouble?”

Malakha
rolled her eyes as she went around the back of the bird, using its tail
feathers as a boost to climb onto its back.

“Now
you’re sounding like Malak.”

“Who’s
Malak?” Julius asked climbing on in front of her by jumping onto the bird from
the ground.

“Just
take me to town.”

“After
I get my payment,”

“And
what’s that?”

Malakha
barely got the question out her mouth before Julius had planted a kiss on her
lips. It wasn’t long.
Almost chaste really… almost.

Julius
pulled
away,
grinning at Malakha’s shocked expression.

“I think
that will be sufficient for now.”

******

Julius
hadn’t been kidding when he said nothing good happened at night in town. The
buildings were still old and dull, and there was still a perpetual overcast in
the sky that covered the stars, if Hell even had stars, but everything was lit
up by streetlights Malakha hadn’t even noticed the last time she was here and
people were everywhere. Malakha wasn’t even sure if they were people
considering most of the people she had met had some kind of beastly form. Music
was playing from many of the rundown buildings and the entire area
reeked
of alcohol, smoke, and a musky scent whose origin
Malakha had an idea, but didn’t
want
to
be certain.

Malakha
had to admit though, she was a little overwhelmed and quite honestly, a little
inclined to join the festivities below. It reminded her of the rave she went to
almost a week ago.

“Still
want to see if you can find the demon terrorizing your school?” Julius asked as
they walked through the streets.

His
hand was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to him to deter anything
from bothering her. Something about his grip though wasn’t entirely protective
though. Something about it was possessive, and if Malakha weren’t more wary of
the people they passed by, she might have pushed him away from her, especially
after that kiss; the kiss she had enjoyed more than she cared to admit.
Everything in Hell was entirely too tempting to her and if she weren’t on a
mission, Malakha didn’t think she’d mind indulging a little in that temptation.

“Yes,”
Malakha replied slowly; uncertain.

“Well,
if you want to do that, we’re going to have to blend in a little.”

“What?
Do I stand out?”

“
We
stand out,” Julius said.

“Why?”

“Because
we aren’t having fun like everyone else,” Julius said and let go of her waist.
He grabbed her hand instead and pulled her to one of the ruined buildings with
the loud music.

Not
everyone was human or completely human anyway. Everything reminded her of a
less grotesque
Samurai Jack
setting.
Even some of Lucifer’s minions were present, scythes in hand. Speaking of
scythe…

“What
do I do with this?” Malakha asked raising the weapon.

Julius
shrugged. “Lucifer’s guys usually have a loop attached to the back of their
cloak.”

Malakha
reached behind her to feel for the loops, hoping Ashley didn’t cut them off.
She hadn’t and Malakha slipped the scythe through the loops.

“Now what?”
Malakha asked.

“We
dance,” Julius said beginning to drag her into the thick of the dance floor.

“Dance?”

“Well
you’re never going to find out anything standing off to the side. You’ve got to
get in the thick of things,” Julius said turning to face her.

Malakha
blushed. He couldn’t be serious…

“If I
didn’t know any better, I’d say this was part of your payment.”

“Maybe,”
Julius said. “Now stop talking. I like this song.”

He
tugged her closer to him and began to sway to the music. Malakha wasn’t
completely cooperative though.
Her mind as elsewhere.
As a result, any movements she tried to do were stiff and noticing this, Julius
laughed at her, leaning his forehead against hers and setting his hands on her
hips.

“Loosen
up and relax. You’ve got time.”

He
began to guide her hips to the beat of the song, closing the distance between them.
Malakha blushed again, trying to pull away, but Julius would let her, and she
laughed a little at his insistence, humoring his playing around for the moment
while trying to be aware of what was going on around her at the same time. That
was hard to do when Julius was staring at her like he was. It was different
than when she had accepted a dance from that random guy at the rave last week.

Relaxing
for just a little, Malakha put her hands on top of Julius’ and began to guide
both their movements. Then feeling emboldened, by the movements and the general
atmosphere, she grinned up at Julius mischievously and said, “Is this enough
payment?”

“Haven’t
decided yet,” Julius replied.

She
tilted her head up at him.

“Oh yeah?”

“I’m
open to ideas,” he said shrugging.

Something
was wrong with her. Something about this world made her feel bold. Whatever it
was, it erased her initial shyness and apprehension so that she could close the
distance between them and press her lips to Julius’.

If he
was surprised, Malakha didn’t detect it for he didn’t hesitate in kissing her
back, pulling her closer to him as she draped her arms around his neck. For a
moment, Malakha forgot where she was, what she was supposed to be doing, until
she heard it again.
The laughter of many.
But it
wasn’t accompanied by the deep Bowser like chuckle that Malakha had become the
bane of Malakha’s existence for the last week. Still it was enough to snap
Malakha out her trance and pull away from Julius.

“Shit,”
she muttered.

“Was it
that bad?” Julius asked grinning at her.

It was
far from bad. Now she knew what the big deal behind kissing was. She could do
that forever.
But not now.
Malakha mentally scolded
herself for getting distracted and then scowled at Julius, suddenly irritated
at him for being the distraction.

“You
know what I’m here for,” Malakha snapped at him. “If you’re not going to help,
I’ll—“

Malakha
cut herself off, staring past Julius’s shoulder. She thought she felt someone
staring at her earlier, but she brushed it off as paranoia. It wasn’t. Nancy
was nearby, in another part of the crowd, staring at Julius and Malakha with a
grin. It
was almost knowing
…

“Hold
on a minute,” Malakha said pulling away from Julius and making her way through
the crowd to get to Nancy.

It was
a difficult feat. Malakha hadn’t realized how thick the crowd was when Julius
was dragging her through it, probably because he had cleared the way with his
larger body. When she finally did get to the woman, she wasn’t on the dance
floor anymore. Instead she was splayed out on an old dull looking couch with
something to drink in her hand. If possible she was wearing an even tighter top
than the last time they had met, which made her already large breasts look
larger and fuller. She was still grinning at Malakha and for the life of her,
Malakha couldn’t figure out why.

“No
wonder you fought me off last time we met,” Nancy began, her grin growing
wider. “You have tastes for a much higher class than a little peasant gal like
me.”

Malakha
raised her eyebrows, not sure what she meant, but getting the idea that she was
talking about Julius. When she asked as much, Nancy laughed.

“You
mean you don’t know?”

“Know
what?”

Malakha
didn’t know it was possible for someone to grin as wide as Nancy did.

“Your
little boyfriend isn’t like us, some run of the mill Hellion like the rest of
us. I didn’t recognize him last time, not until he came back and gave us the
beating of our life for messing with his pretty shiny thing from Heaven. See
what he did to my arm?” Nancy asked, lifting it for Malakha to see.

Nancy’s
arm was a sickly green and purple color that was visible even in the dim
lights.

“Is
that infected?” Malakha asked, unable to be alarmed as she probably should be
because Nancy was so calm.

“Poisoned actually.
I’m sure it’ll heal. If not, the worst
that will happen is my arm will rot and turn black.” Nancy shrugged as she said
this.

Malakha
started to ask if there was such a thing as a doctor in Hell, but stopped
herself from doing so. She was getting distracted again, and Julius had been
more than enough distraction for one night.

“Julius
did that?”

“Yeap.
He’s really a right bastard… I like it actually.”

“Nancy,”
Malakha said getting the woman’s attention. “What do you mean Julius isn’t some
run of the mill Hellion?”

“Exactly what it means.
He isn’t.”

“Then
what is he?” Malakha asked growing frustrated.

Nancy
grinned again. “That’s going to cost you extra.”

Nancy
didn’t need to leer at Malakha for Malakha to know what the harpy had in mind
when she said “extra.” Malakha didn’t even stop to ponder what she was about to
do as she glared at the harpy, growing tired of people playing distracting
games with her when she was on a mission. With one smooth motion, the grace of
which even impressed Malakha considering she had no practice with the weapon,
she slipped the scythe out the hook in her jumpsuit and put the curved blade to
Nancy’s neck.

Though
some people sent a casual glance her and Nancy’s way, the fact that someone was
holding a weapon to someone’s neck didn’t appear to bother the rest of the
Hellions as they continued about their business.

Nancy
hissed at her. Malakha only put the blade closer to her neck.

“Talk,”
Malakha demanded.