Wild Ride (30 page)

“You're a demon,” she said. “I've seen the flash in your eyes, I thought it was firelight, but I can see it now, and I know, you're a
demon
.”

He crossed his arms, looking annoyed. “Well, I've seen the flash in yours, too, honey, and I'm not passing judgment.”

Mab scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”

He hesitated, and then he uncrossed his arms and smiled at her, and she thought,
Here comes a lie.

“I looked in your eyes and I saw the flash of love,” Fun said, and underneath it she could hear him thinking,
Don't tell her, don't tell her
.

Mab stepped closer, fury rising, as Frankie flapped up off her shoulder to sit on the roof line above them, screaming his head off. “If you want me to loathe you forever, just keep lying to me. Liars are selfish, arrogant, cowardly bastards who think that they can deceive and use people to get what they want. They hurt people.”

“I'm a
demon
,” Fun said.

“You were also my friend and lover and I deserved better.” She sniffed and hated herself for it.

“Oh, hell, Mab,” Fun said, sliding down the side of the Pavilion to sit on the cold, hard ground. “Does everything have to be so serious?”

“Yes,” Mab said. “My whole world is inside out, I don't know what's real anymore, and I need to find solid ground to stand on. The only way I can do that is to find out the truth, all the truths, and if you know something, then you're a selfish pig not to tell me. I don't want anything from you but the truth. I don't even want to put you back in your box, although I will help Ethan do it if you let any of the others loose, I swear to god, I will.”

“I don't want anybody else out,” Fun said. “Vanth and Selvans will free that psychopath Kharos and all the good times will be over.”

“What makes you think Tura won't set Kharos free?” Mab said, exasperated.

“Tura has her own plans.” Fun looked up at her. “You know, you and Tura should get along. She hates liars and cheats, too.”

“She
kills
them,” Mab said. “And she's not too damn careful about her selection process. She tried to kill Ethan, and he wasn't even with anybody. She has to go back in the box.”

“I'm not stopping you.” Fun held up his hand as Mab opened her mouth again. “And I won't let her out again. She's getting crazier every century.”

“Well, thank you for noticing,” Mab said. “Now what the hell are you talking about, this flash you saw?”

“Let it go, Mab,” Fun said, serious now.

Mab swallowed. “Why are you stalling? What was so bad?”

Fun sat silent for a moment and then said, “I saw a demon flash.” When she frowned, he said, “The thing you see in the eyes of the possessed that tells you one of us is in there. I saw a glow in your eyes.”

Mab drew back. “I was
possessed
?”

“No, I'd have known that.” Fun got up. “Just the glow, that's all. Don't worry about it. You're not a demon and you're not possessed, so what difference does it make?” His voice softened. “I'm sorry I lied, although I can't promise you it won't happen again. But I'll do my damnedest not to hurt you again. Let's have a beer and talk this out—”

“And then have makeup sex? No,” Mab said, although it sounded damn good. “If I wasn't possessed, why were my eyes glowing?”

“I don't know,” Fun said. “My guess is, you're a little bit human and a little bit rock and roll.”

“What?”

“Human and demon. Remember what you told me, that you felt you'd finally found your kind with me? Well, maybe you did, demon girl.” He grinned at her again. “Welcome to the dark side.”

“I don't believe it,” Mab said, but she didn't step back.
Demon girl. Demon spawn.

“Yeah, you do,” Fun said, and there was sympathy in his voice. “You
just don't want to. It doesn't make any difference, Mab. You're still you. If that's what it is, you've been part demon all your life. The only difference is, now you know.”

“Oh god,” Mab said, as the truth sank in. “Everybody was right. I really am weird.”

“You're an amazing woman, Mary Alice.” Fun took a step closer, and then after a moment, put his arms around her. “You just didn't know how amazing.”

“What kind of flash was it?” Mab said into his chest, really needing him, even if Frankie was cawing like crazy above. “I know they're different colors, what was it?”

“Blue, I think. I don't know, there wasn't any blood in Drunk Dave's brain, so it was hard to focus.”

“Blue,” Mab said.

“It goes red when you're mad,” Fun said.

Mab pulled away. “Red. This is
not happening
.”

“Sure it is,” Fun said. “Might as well accept it and learn to use it. You've got a lot of power there, you know. Be dumb to ignore it because you don't like where it came from.”

“From demons?”

“Just like you, honey. And now, if you're not going to cheer up, I have a brunette to make happy.”

Ouch
, she thought, but it didn't matter, she was done with him, it had all been a lie, none of it meant anything.

Ouch, ouch. OUCH.

He paused. “Tell you what. As a makeup gift. You see that platinum blonde over there?” He pointed.

Laura Ferris Wheel was standing in the archway, inside a circle of appreciative men, one of whom was Ray. She didn't seem to be appreciating what he was telling her.

“That's Tura's ride for the night. Don't worry, she won't do anything until the park is empty and as close to midnight as she can make it. She likes the bodies found when she's far away.” He kissed her cheek. “Give me a call if you need a laugh.”

“Hell will freeze over.”

“I'd like that,” he said, and went back inside the Pavilion to the brunette, and Mab stood outside in the cold and the dark and thought,
No, no, no
, as the tears filled her eyes again.

He was going to make love to another woman, her great love affair was over, she was part demon, and her mother had been right.

I need a drink
, she thought, and went back in the Pavilion and headed for the bar. She could watch Tura and get tanked at the same time. Efficient.

I don't care what he does. And I am not a demon.

She ordered a beer.

 

W
eaver had left the park, mollified by sex and a vial of Ethan's blood, one of which Ethan had been glad to give her, the other not so much. “Now I know you trust me,” she said, and went off as happy as he'd ever seen her, so it was a small price to pay, depending on what she did with it. He patrolled the park after that until ten, when he got a call from Glenda. When he went to her trailer, she handed him a flask and said, “Go get Mab. Gus just called and said she's drunk in the Pavilion.” By the time he got to the bar, Mab had five empty cups lined up in front of her and was finishing her sixth.

“Gimme another,” Mab said, and Shannon looked past her to Ethan, who shook his head.

Shannon moved away.

“Hey!” Mab said, craning to see where she was going.

Ethan sat down beside her.

“So,” he said, looking at the empty cups in exasperation. “This isn't good.”

“I am drowning my sorrows,” Mab said, enunciating clearly.

“How's that going?”

“Not too well.” She gazed at the empty cups sadly. “The little suckers are buoyant as all hell.”

“That's a shame,” Ethan said. “Glenda said you're going to join us tonight. Sober would be good for that.”

Mab narrowed her eyes. “You have a flask, right?”

Ethan stood up. “Come with me.”

“Okay.” Mab stood up but her knees didn't, and Ethan caught her before she hit the floor. “You're right, this is not good.”

“Yep.” Ethan steered her past the mostly oblivious crowd—only one guy in black-rimmed glasses watching them go—through one of the Pavilion arches and out into the chilly darkness, and then around the corner to the blue-painted cement-block men's restroom. Frankie flew down to sit on the edge of the roof, cawing at them in reproof, probably mad at Mab for being drunk.

“Come into my office,” Ethan said, opening the blue door.

“This is your office? This is the men's room.” Mab let him steer her inside and looked around, bleary-eyed. “You know, no matter what I did to this place, it still looked like a men's room.”

“That's because it's a men's room.” Ethan took a wood sign that said
CLOSED
off the wall and put it on the outside of the door and then shut it and locked the door. “Now. What happened that made you—” He looked at her in distaste. “—do this? Talk.”

“Flask,” Mab said, holding out her hand.

Ethan pulled out Glenda's flask and extended it. “It's Glenda's. You might want to go slow.”

Mab snapped her fingers at him. “I can handle anything Glenda can drink.”

“Go for it,” Ethan said, and she unscrewed the top and tilted it to her lips, taking a good long slug of it.

She barely made it inside one of the stalls before she lost it, and he winced as he heard her heave again and again.

Then she came back out, looking like crap, her red hair sticking to the sweat on her forehead, and handed him back the flask, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. “What the hell was that?”

“Glenda's anti-drunk recipe.” Ethan screwed the top back on the flask and put it away. “So talk.”

Mab went over to the sink and cupped her hand under the faucet. She drank several times and spit it out, and then she turned the faucet off, putting her hand on the wall to steady herself. “Jesus.” She looked around the room. “There's no place to sit. Well, except for . . .” She frowned at him. “Why are we here?”

“It's lined with iron. No demons. Found that out today from Gus. I figure they made this as a demon bunker in case someone needed to escape if demons were rampaging in the park. Pretty smart.”

“Oh.” Mab sniffed. “You're wrong about the no demons in here, though.”

Her lip quivered, and he could see her eyes go bright with tears.

“No crying,”
Ethan said, alarmed. “Just talk.”

“Okay, wait a minute. I'll have to get emotional to show you.” Mab shut her eyes and screwed up her face. “I'm mad,” she said, talking to herself. “I'm really, really mad.”

Then her face crumpled and tears started, and Ethan thought,
Oh, great.
Every minute with Mab made him appreciate Weaver more.

He should probably tell Weaver that.

“I love him,” Mab said, trying to wipe the tears away and crying harder. “I know it's ridiculous to love somebody you've only known a week, I didn't really know him at all, but I love him and I ache for him even though I wouldn't have him back as a gift—”

“So this is about Joe,” Ethan said helpfully, thinking
Kill me now.

“I was just so
happy
with him,” Mab said, just letting the tears go now. “I finally belonged with somebody, he understood me, you know? And then . . .” She threw her hands up and cried on, an emotional mess. “And now it's
gone
—”

“Uh, sorry,” Ethan said. “Look, kid—”

“No,” she said, gulping in air around her tears. “
I'm
sorry.” She leaned against the mirror and cried harder. “I'm sorry I've been a fool, and now I'm in trouble, and I wanted to be angry so you could see, but I'm no good at emotions and that's all his fault, too, I never even
had
emotions until I met him, and now I'm just so
miserable
. . . .”

She opened her eyes, blubbering, and Ethan stepped back.

They were glowing blue, unnatural blue,
Children of the Damned
blue.

“What's wrong?” Mab said, blinking back tears.

Fuck
, he thought, and knew what he had to do.

“W
hat?” Mab said.

Ethan pointed to the mirror, and she turned and saw the same thing he did: thick, straight red hair, tearstained cheeks, glowing blue eyes . . .

“Huh,” she said, and tilted her head, her tears stopping.

It was the irises, Ethan realized. It would have been really freaky if the white had been blue, too, but with the radioactive glowing, it all came down to the same thing.

“You're possessed,” he told her, his voice preternaturally calm. “Don't panic. We can fix this.”

“No, I'm not,” Mab said, sniffing again.

Ethan came closer, hoping he could catch her when the demon jumped into him.
“Capio!”

“I'm not possessed.”

“Capio!”

“No, really.”

“Capio, damn it!”

She blinked at him, annoyed, practically back to normal except for the dirty tear tracks on her scowling face. “Ethan, I'm the only one in here. It's just me. Stop yelling Latin at me, I'm having a bad day.”

“What the hell is that in your eyes?”

“That is the question.” She swallowed hard. “I might be part demon.”

Part demon. Right. “No, you're not. But you're right, you're not possessed, either, since you're inside an iron men's room. Sorry about the capio. Had to try it.” He frowned at her, trying to think what it could be. “Stop crying. You're not a demon.”

“Well, then, what's that?” She turned to look in the mirror as her eyes
faded back to brown. “What was that? I think it's demon spirit, and it's mine. I'm a demon.” She sniffed. “My mother always said I was demon spawn.”

“Your mother was a whack job. When did this happen?”

“I don't know.” Mab sniffed again. “I just found out about it, but other people have noticed.”