Hell Inc. (21 page)

“My
clients enjoy the relative solitude they find in your dimension.
With so many insensitive, magic-less people walking about, your world
is a virtual smorgasbord of activities, sights, and sounds
unaccompanied by stress or pressure. If your ignorant, ape-like
people were to start interfering with that, you can see where we
might run into a problem.” Fuerella pursed her pale lips
tightly and cocked her head to the side, eyes boring into my skull as
Hahti tilted her head in the same manner. It was bizarre and
unnerving to say the least. I ran my finger along the neckline of my
shirt, suddenly feeling like I was running out of air and trying to
pretend she hadn't just insulted me several times in the last couple
of minutes. I didn't know what to say to that or even if I was
supposed to respond so I sat and waited, both of my buns already
asleep from the hard surface of the chair. I wanted to know where
Levie was, and I wanted to know that he was okay. I wanted to go
home and forget all of this ever happened, but apparently things were
going to get much, much worse.

“Now,
Ginger,” Fuerella continued after Hahti, filling in the
silence. “I'm a reasonable woman. I'm also very well
acquainted with Hell Incorporated and its policies so I'm going to
cut you some slack. I want this to stop. I don't want your people
seeing my people. Got it?” Hahti snapped her fingers in a
flurry of dust and sand, and the sphinx sauntered into the open door
wearing a different headdress than I'd seen it in before. This time
it was black and somehow, very ominous. The sphinx bared its flat,
human teeth at me in a snarl, and I leaned away from it. I'd come to
accept the sphinx as a friend, and now it was going to threaten me?
How lame was that?

“The
situation isn't dire yet. It seems that the effects have been mostly
limited to this area, but you know how it all works, don't you? The
more people that believe, the more that see. We're having enough
problems with our dear vampire and werewolf customers. We don't need
another catastrophe on our plate.” Hahti smoothed her hands
down the front of her blazer, and Fuerella copied her by running her
own down her full skirts. “I'm going to send the sphinx with
you to monitor your progress. You've got two weeks, Ginger. Two
weeks.” She snapped her fingers again, and more dust sprinkled
onto the pristine surface of the table. The sphinx growled once more
before schooling its expression back to the blank pleasantness I had
come to accept.

“Ticktock.
Ticktock. Time discovers truth,” it said, and I clenched my
fist to keep from smacking it.

“I've
tried to alert the Devil to this, but he won't take my calls.
Hopefully, we can resolve this little issue between us. Isn't that
right, Ginger?”

“Yeah,
sure. I'll take care of it.” Good. I sounded confident,
unafraid. I may have been about to piss my pants, but no one would
be the wiser.
Good for you, Ginger.
Hahti
nodded and stood, giving me my first view of her matching red pencil
skirt and scrawny, bandaged
legs, the white tips trailing across the carpet as she moved around
the table towards me. I tried to smile, but it turned into more of a
grimace as she passed me, and I was regaled with a smell usually
reserved for attics and old sheds. I glanced at the sphinx, and it
smiled once before turning its head quickly and beginning to groom
the spot at the base of its tail. Fuerella remained where she was,
and we both waited patiently until the door closed behind the mummy.

I
was startled when Fuerella let out a burst of furious laughter. She
wiped some tears from her eyes as I glared at her. “What's so funny?” I snapped,
forgetting my earlier self advice to not piss off vampires. Luckily,
whatever had made her laugh kept her from decapitating me. The
thought made me remember my mother, and I felt a wave of cold wash
through me.
Forget about that for now. One issue at a
time.

“Oh,
nothing. I'm just thinking of some blog I read today.” She
shook her head, hands planted on her hips. “You really have no
idea what kind of trouble you're in, do you?”

“What
does a blog have to do with me?” Vampires read blogs? I
didn't even read blogs. I was way behind the times. I pushed away
from the table and stood up, rubbing my butt in an attempt to regain
some semblance of circulation in my cheeks.

“Let's
just say you shouldn't be surprised if you get some unexpected
visitors in the next couple of days.”

“What
are you talking about?” Fuerella shook her head and put a
finger to her lips. I wondered if it would be worth it to use one of
my wishes to wring her skinny, little, undead neck.

The
door opened again, and I saw it was Thomas, the top hat vampire, face
frozen into a scowl. “Time to go. We're having some trouble
with the genies.”

“Is
Levie okay?” I blurted without thinking. I sounded desperate;
it was disgusting. Thomas ignored me completely and spun on his
heel. Fuerella followed quickly, blowing me a kiss as she passed.

“The
sphinx will show you out. Good luck, human.” She chuckled
again and disappeared around the corner in a whirl of petticoats. I
glanced down at the sphinx. Essentially, I was its prisoner. I
stared down at its paws, the size of dinner plates, and could only
imagine the sharpened points of its claws tearing into my flesh. I
rolled my eyes to the ceiling and suddenly ached to be a part of an
organized religion so that I had someone to pray to.

“Why
me?”

When
I arrived back at my apartment, sphinx in tow, I found Terrence
waiting at the front door for me, a bouquet of pink tulips clutched
in his right hand. I was glad that the vampires had sent me home
with just the sphinx. Levie was still wrapped up in business with
his cousin, so I didn't have to worry about the two of them
officially meeting each other just yet. Though he was probably going
to flip when he realized I was at home without him.

“I
thought we weren't meeting until tomorrow?” I asked
tentatively, accepting the flowers with a smile. The sphinx ignored
the both of us and walked right through the beige, plywood door into
my apartment. At least it was still
acting
polite, even if it
was technically holding me hostage. Terrence ran a hand down the
front of his suit and adjusted his tie in nervousness. The black
jacket looked great against his light skin, and it looked expensive
as hell. I knew little to nothing about designers, but I was betting
this was a name brand something or other.

“I
just wanted to leave these at your doorstep as an apology. I didn't
expect to see you here.” I pulled out my keys and unlocked the
door. I motioned him in with a flourish of my hand. I felt exposed
and vulnerable in the hallway though if another set of supernatural
baddies decided to kidnap me, I'm sure they could smash right through
the cheap walls of my apartment without putting in much effort.

“Well
thank you, Terrence. That was sweet.” He followed me inside
before casting one last glance over his shoulder.

“I'd
offer you something to eat or drink,” I said, tucking my hands
behind my back and trying to pretend that my pulse wasn't starting to
race. Terrence made my body go crazy. I wasn't used to it. Even
Levie didn't set off my hormones in quite the same way. I didn't
understand it so I did what I always seemed to do when confronted
with something I didn't understand, I avoided thinking about it.
“But I think all I've got in there is some Rice-a-Roni and a
Powerade.” Terrence smoothed down his tie and tried to ignore
the sphinx who was sniffing around his feet as if it had just
discovered something important.

“Perhaps
I could run to the store and pick up a bottle of wine?” I
tapped the bouquet against my left palm and thought about it. If
Levie came back to find Terrence and me lounging in my living room
with glasses of red wine, he'd probably have a panic attack. Then
again, the thought of a mini date with Terrence sounded like a good
way to unwind. I laid the flowers down on the coffee table.

“That
sounds nice. I haven't exactly had the most relaxing of days.”
Terrence smiled knowingly and held out an arm. I took it gratefully
and ignored a growl from the sphinx.

We
walked down the stairs, arm in arm before I realized I didn't have a
vehicle. The vampires had kept mine as 'collateral.' They could
keep it if it made them feel any better. It's not like it was worth
anything anyway. “Uh, we'll have to take your car. Mine's ...
mine's in the shop.” Terrence nodded as if I'd already told
him.

“Of
course. Not a problem.” When I saw the vehicle we were headed
towards, I realized it definitely wasn't a problem, at least for me.
He was driving a black Mercedes. I didn't recognize the make: the
term CL-600 didn't mean much to me, but it was beautiful. I felt
suddenly awkward in my old, faded blue T-shirt and jeans.

“Gee,
I didn't know they paid so well at the museum. Maybe I should get a
job there.” I was babbling nervously, but Terrence didn't seem
to mind. He opened the door for me silently before making his way
around to the driver's side. The sphinx sat on the sidewalk outside
of my window. His eyes were blank, but his lower jaw was tense with
stress. I didn't know if he planned on riding in the vehicle or
staying where he was, but I was going whether he wanted me to or not.

The
interior was absolutely decadent, all glove soft leather and hand
polished Poplar wood. It was intimidating to say the least.
Terrence climbed in and shut the door carefully, adjusting the seat
before he started the car. I looked at him quizzically.

“This
is just a company car, Ginger. I'm using it while I'm in town.”
Now I was really confused.

“But
I thought you worked at the museum?” Terrence pulled the car
into traffic before answering me. The sphinx began to run alongside
of us and didn't seem as if it was going to have any trouble keeping
up.

“I
haven't been entirely honest with you.” He glanced at me out of
the corner of his eye. “I don't work for the museum. My
company was merely sponsoring the exhibit. We have a vested interest
in that sort of thing.” I raised my eyebrows at him and tried
to relax against the expensive seats.

“So,
am I still in deep shit over the pot?” God, I was so self
absorbed, but it had popped out of my mouth before I'd thought of
anything else to say to break the silence. He laughed which did the
favor of wiping the guilt away from his face.

“No,
Ginger,” he said, wiping a small tear away from his eye. “I
took care of it.” He glanced over at me, and I marveled at the
bright blue-green of his eyes. They were so beautiful; they almost seemed
inhuman. “I feel better now that that's out of the way. Now,
can you tell me something?” I nodded. “How long have you
been able to see things that are not of this world?” I bit my
lip and tried to stall for time. I hadn't ever told this story
before. No one had really ever asked, and I'd been smart enough to
stop asking questions about my visions at a very young age.

“I've
always seen things, Terrence. I thought for awhile that I was crazy,
but the stuff that happened to me always seemed so real.” I
folded my hands in my lap and focused my attention on them. “I've
always felt so alone because of it. Nobody understands and nobody
sees the world the way that I do. It makes it sort of hard to
connect with people.” Terrence kept his face very calm and
understanding while I talked, but I could sense some excitement from
him.

“
So
is that why you decided to sell your soul?” Right. He was
curious about the whole wishing thing. I mean, who wouldn't be? For
a second though, I had actually thought he was interested in
me.

“Yeah, it is. I just couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted something different.” I'd gotten that wish all right. Along with a heap of trouble. No fortune for Ginger. No eternal youth. None of the things that most people wished for, I would get. All I got were problems. You made those mistakes yourself, I chastised. I knew that, of course, but it didn't make it hurt any less. I sold my soul for problems. Big ones.

“Have
you used your last wish yet, Ginger?” he asked me, breaking my
own self pitying rant. I waited until he'd pulled into the grocery
store parking lot before answering.

“No,
I haven't.” I took off my seat belt and turned towards him.
“Why do you ask?” He smiled at me with his full, ripe
lips and set my body on fire again.

“Just
curious is all.”

I
felt like his voice had a menacing ring to it, but I wrote it off as
paranoia when he reached over and put a hand on my arm. My reaction
to him was too strong for me to ignore because of one strange
comment. I've never been a very good judge of character.