Something Deadly This Way Comes

  “That is not life you offer her,” I said to Arariel, pulling my gaze from the ugly sight. “It’s a slow death. You can’t have her. She is already mine!” I took a breath, feeling wild and unreal. “I am the dark timekeeper, and I have claimed her, I say she is not to be scythed, and she is not to be graced with a guardian. She is mine!”

  “Claimed her?” Arariel said, her stance losing its confidence. “You can’t claim her!”

  “I have,” I said, shaking as I remembered Tammy’s death and how I had exchanged part of my soul for hers to keep it from being eaten. “I have a part of her soul,” I said, and Tammy whimpered, pressing into Josh. “She’s dark now. She is part of the dark, and the light has no claim.” I leaned toward Arariel, my voice low as I said, “You can’t touch her.”

  Tammy’s eyes widened, and even Josh looked shocked. I was too afraid to look at Paul, standing beside me as I gripped his arm.

  “You?” Arariel was thunderstruck. “You claim her soul?”

  “Leave!” I shouted, gesturing, and Arariel leapt backward, yelping and holding a hand to her chest as if burned.

  “I thought your amulet didn’t work,” Paul said.

  “It doesn’t,” I said, confused. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “It was the old power,” Arariel said, hunched as she backed away, giving the guardian angel a betrayed glare. “Ancient law, you speak of the ancient law, your claim surmounting heaven’s itself. I can’t touch her! I can’t touch her!”

  Nakita, too, looked shocked, scared almost, as she dissolved her sword. “Madison?” Nakita warbled. “What have you done?”

  “Look out!” Barnabas shouted, and I tripped on the cuffs of my too-long pants and fell back as Arariel wailed, stretching her shoulders until her wings flashed into existence and took up the entire room. For an instant they brushed the edges of the walls, and then, still keening, she wrapped them around herself and vanished in a thunderous clap of sound.

  Stunned, I looked over the destruction, racks of chairs upended, holes in the ceiling, and deep gouges in the floor from divine swords. Nakita rose from a crouch, halfway across the room. “Where did you learn the ancient law?” she whispered. “Madison, you are responsible for her soul now. If it fails to thrive, you will be held accountable. Do you know what that means?”

  Not really, but I could make some guesses. I was scared, becoming more so as Barnabas growled at her to shut up. The guardian angel was gone. Or at least I didn’t see her. I’d lost my grip on Paul when I’d fallen, and he had backed away, his arm behind his back as if I was going to take it again. Maybe that bit about me having a piece of Tammy’s soul had scared him. It didn’t make me feel very warm and fuzzy, either—even if it had saved her life. Frightened, I tried to reach his eyes, but he was making a huge effort to avoid me, head down as he tucked his shirt back in.

  From the floor, Tammy stared at the empty space where Arariel had been. Her mouth was hanging open. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t scared. She looked numb. “She . . .” Tammy started, then swallowed hard. “She had wings. Are you all angels?”

  “Just them,” Josh said, pointing to Barnabas and Nakita. Demus was gone. Swell. But the black wings were, too, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Did you save her?” Josh asked me, and I nodded, taking his hand as he helped me up.

  “Yes and no,” I said as I glanced at Paul, who looked like he was avoiding me and wondering how much of this was going to end up in Ron’s ears. It didn’t feel over.

  My bare feet seemed to find every pointy bit of broken tile and cement, and I shifted uneasily as Nakita set an overturned chair upright and sat in it, her elbows on her knees as she caught her breath. Grime marred her white clothes, making her gray, turning her black. This mess was going to be hard to explain. But then again, in this part of town, maybe not.

  “Are you okay?” Nakita asked from across the room, and I nodded, feeling Josh’s touch on me slip away. We were okay—for now. Arariel wasn’t going to forget this had happened, and Demus was going to go crying to the seraphs. . . .

  Barnabas reached out to help Tammy to her feet. She stared at his hand for a moment, then, when he smiled, she slipped her hand into his and stood. A pang hit me, and I watched as she dropped her eyes, suddenly shy as she realized he was an angel. I’d been the same way, and I wondered at my past innocence.

  “Is it true?” Paul accused harshly, jerking me from my thoughts. “Is it true what you said about having part of her soul? Is that why they can’t touch her? Because you tied her soul to your own?”

  My lips parted, and I glanced at Tammy, still with Barnabas. “I’m trying to help,” I whispered, tugging my oversize shirt straight again. It wouldn’t stay put.

  “You said you claimed my soul? That you had it?” Tammy said, the beginnings of trust that Barnabas had started dropping from her.

  “Just a tiny piece of it,” I said, almost pleading. “Tammy, I saw you in the future, dying. The black wings were eating you alive! I couldn’t let them take everything. You had such beautiful memories of your mother and Johnny; I couldn’t bear to see them destroyed forever even though you’d forgotten them. I gave the black wings one of my memories instead. They took a part of me instead! They ate it, and it’s gone forever. If I could give you yours back, I would, but I don’t know how!”

  “They eat me alive . . .” Tammy breathed, fixated on that one part and backing away. Making a tiny cry, she turned and ran for the door.

  “Tammy! We’re trying to help!” I called out, but Barnabas was faster, and he was in front of her before she got halfway there.

  “Wait,” he said, grabbing her.

  “Help!” she screamed, hitting him. “Someone help me!”

  I felt awful, and I winced when Tammy smacked his face, leaving a handprint on his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling her closer, comforting her. “They won’t eat you now. You’re not the same. It’s going to be okay. You belong to the dark now.”

  “But I don’t want to belong to the dark!” she wailed, slumping into his warmth and his strength, feeling the purity of him and taking comfort in it. Her cries for help dissolved into racking sobs, and he held her firm.

  I knew how she felt.

  Paul looked at me, his disgust at my having stolen a piece of her future soul starting to evaporate. Josh touched my elbow, and I jumped. “If you gave them part of your own, then isn’t that okay?” Josh asked, his eyebrows high. “You saved a little bit of her, didn’t you?”

  “I think she might have saved all of her,” Nakita said as she stood up.

  It was starting to look like I might have, but at what cost? Ancient law. It sounded like I was responsible for her now, I guess. If her soul died, would I be the one to suffer, not her? Guess I’d better make sure her soul didn’t die.

  Tammy’s sobs quieted, and I wondered if there were any more tissues in Nakita’s purse. I took a breath to ask her when she sidled up to me, but everything went out of my head when Nakita leaned close and whispered, “Grace has a message for you.”

  It was as if my heart seemed to stop. My head snapped up, and I looked over the destruction. “W-what?” I asked, my knees going weak.

  “Uh, she says they want to talk to you.”

  They? “They who?” I asked, already guessing she meant the seraphs. I’d taken part of Tammy’s soul. That probably wasn’t a good thing in hindsight, even if it had saved her. I think it had saved her. I looked at Tammy, shaken and distraught as Josh and Barnabas talked to her. Please, let it have saved her?

  Nakita looked at one of the ceiling lights, and it glowed brighter. Grace. “The seraphs,” she said, looking frightened. “You’re to go to Ron’s.”

  Josh looked up from Tammy. “You mean the light timekeeper?” he exclaimed. “No way!”

  My gaze went to Paul, seeing that he was just as scared as I was. Clearly they knew I’d gotten Paul to help me. And now that I’d gotten my body back, they
were likely going to insist that I give back the amulet after the mess I’d made here.

  Barnabas gently pushed Tammy from his shoulder, handing her a black handkerchief. “That was quick.”

  “I thought we might have a little time,” Paul said nervously, and I realized just how many lives I’d messed up trying to save one.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, looking at them in turn. “Paul, I didn’t mean to get you in this much trouble.”

  “No,” he said firmly, his gaze going haunted as he glanced away. “I’d do it again in a second. The system in place is flawed. I stand by what I believe.” He shifted his feet, frightened but determined. “It’s okay. I’ll be with you.”

  “No you won’t.” Nakita grimaced as the light that surrounded Grace fizzed and hummed. “You’re staying here with Tammy to take her home.”

  “I’m not leaving her now!” I said loudly. “This is just so they can come back and kill her or slap a guardian angel on her! Which in this case is the same thing!” My thoughts winged back to the guardian angel crying over Tammy, and the thunder in her voice when she told me to change things. That had to mean something. It had to!

  Tammy’s expression flashed into fear again. “Don’t leave me. Please!” she said, clutching at Barnabas. “I don’t know what’s going on! I just want to go home!”

  “Home is exactly where Paul is going to take you,” Nakita said, just as loudly. Glaring at the light she added, “I’m telling her! Shut up!” With a huff, she turned to me. “Paul is to take Tammy home. Uh, I mean to her aunt’s, where her mother is staying.” She looked at Tammy with hard severity. “They are worried sick about you.”

  “I’m sorry.” Tammy’s voice was a faint whisper of real regret, and in it I felt a breath of hope. Maybe she had changed. Maybe she was going to live, touch the lives around her for the better and not just exist.

  “Barnabas is going to take Josh home,” Nakita said, and Josh stiffened in protest. “And I,” Nakita said, “am going to take you to Ron’s. It’s almost sunrise there, and the seraphs like the sunrise.” She focused on me, and her eyes pinched in concern. “They know you have your body back.”

  Damn it, I was in so much trouble. But I wouldn’t change a thing. The light surrounding Grace popped and went out, startling me. Swallowing hard, I turned to Paul. “You’ll get her home?”

  Paul walked across to Tammy, his hand extended. “I’m not as pretty as Barnabas, but I can tell you what’s going on. I’ve seen your future.”

  She blinked, the tears almost starting again. “Is it okay?” she warbled.

  Turning to the door, Paul started to lead her away, stepping over and around chunks of ceiling tile and foam from the seats. “That depends upon what you do. The future isn’t fixed, you know. You have the choice of your fate. I can tell you what I saw. And then I’ll tell you what could happen if you change a little. Open up and see things differently.”

  The knot in my chest started to ease. If I was going to lose my timekeeper status, I’d at least leave with the satisfaction of having saved Tammy’s life. That is, if they let me remember it.

  The door to the bus depot squeaked as it opened, and then it fell in a sliding crash to hang from one hinge. Tammy and Paul gingerly stepped around it. Paul turned, holding Tammy’s hand. “If I don’t see you again, Barnabas, I’m sorry for calling you grim. You’re still light. I don’t care what color your amulet is.”

  Barnabas ducked his head, seeming to grow taller. “I’m not,” he said, eyes holding determination when they rose, flicking first to me, then Paul. “But thank you.”

  Paul nodded and turned back to Tammy. Together they walked down the street, his voice rising and falling as he told her what he had seen in her future.

  Slowly my smile faded as my reality soaked in. I had royally messed up. Taken a slice of someone else’s soul. That had to be illegal or something. They were going to take my amulet. Make me forget. Ancient law, Arariel had said. That didn’t sound good. Cold, I wrapped my arms around myself and looked at the busted light. “Is Grace coming?” I asked, knowing I’d feel better if she was.

  “She’s here.” Barnabas moved closer to stand beside me. He shook his shoulders, and his long coat shimmered, growing into his black-feathered wings. “I’m taking you to Ron’s,” he said. “Nakita can take Josh home.”

  “The seraphs—” Nakita said, and Barnabas glared, leaning until they were nose to nose.

  “I. Am. Taking. Her.” Barnabas leaned back, losing his threatening mien. “See you around, Josh.”

  But would he? I didn’t know.

  “Madison?” Josh said, his voice uneasy.

  Shaky and light-headed, I gave him a hug. “Thanks for being here,” I whispered, pressing into him as if he was the only thing real anymore. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope I don’t forget.”

  “Me either,” he said as he stepped back and we parted.

  Then I glanced up as Grace’s light doubled in brightness.

  “I’m . . . sorry.”

  “For what?” I said, and Barnabas cleared his throat for us to hurry up.

  Josh smiled sickly at me. “I wanted this to work. I know it meant a lot to you.”

  My stomach hurt, and I couldn’t look at him. “See you at home,” I said, and Barnabas tugged me to him.

  Biting my lip so I wouldn’t cry, I leaned back into Barnabas as his wings enfolded me, and with a sudden feeling of falling, the bus depot melted away and we were gone.

  Chapter Twelve

  My feet slipped off Barnabas’s, and I gasped, clutching at his arm wrapped around me as my toes dangled in the wind. The world shifted beneath us, wheeling as an updraft buoyed us higher. I was safer in Barnabas’s grip than I would be at home in my own room. More so, probably.

  “I’ve got you,” he murmured in my ear, a mix of annoyance and reassurance that only Barnabas could manage. Flying was a lot scarier now that hitting the ground held real consequence. I still had the bruises from hitting the seat belt. I didn’t need to add to them.

  “I trust you,” I said, squinting down at the desert below. “It’s me I’m worried about.”

  He said nothing, but his flight smoothed into a slow spiral down. It looked like he was headed for the modest home below us. Ron’s, presumably. It was the same color as the tan, almost pink sand. There was nearly no vegetation, either next to the house or in the surrounding area. I didn’t see any roads at all leading up to it, and no sign of people anywhere. Just a low single-story adobe home amid the desert dirt and water-cut gullies.

  It was quiet and dim; the sun wasn’t up yet, but it was close. The wind was a steady, dry force, blowing my hair first one way, then another as Barnabas circled to a pink-tiled patio that opened seamlessly to the desert. My nerves were ragged. I didn’t know what was going to happen in the next five minutes, but it was tearing me up that I might not have a chance to even say good-bye. They’d let me say good-bye, wouldn’t they?

  I was pretty sure I was meeting with the seraphs for one of three reasons: one, I stole some of Tammy’s soul; two, because I convinced the rising light timekeeper to help me circumvent a guardian angel; or three, to give them my amulet back and renounce my timekeeper status because I got my body back. But the seraph had said I could do that if I chose to. What if I chose to do something different now?

  Maybe we hadn’t succeeded with Tammy. Maybe we had. Wasn’t it worth spending a little time to find out? And if it became certain that she would never change, then I would scythe her down myself.

  Oh, God. Could I do that?

  Barnabas set us down with a gentle step-hop, and I let out my held breath. His grip on me loosened, and I turned. I knew I had a scared look on my face, but he managed to muster up a weak smile for me. “I’ll see you later,” Barnabas said, and I reached for his sleeve, keeping him from going more than a step.

  “You’re not staying?” My voice quavered, and I hated it.


  Sighing, he dropped his head, then looked back up at me. “I can’t. I have to leave. I hope . . . I hope I see you later.”

  They were going to take my amulet from me. I knew it. And my hand grabbed it, useless as it was at this point. “Remember me,” I breathed.

  Barnabas cupped my chin, his thumb wiping away a tear that had somehow leaked out. “If they let me,” he said. “You were a very good timekeeper, Madison.”

  Barnabas’s hand dropped. Eyes fixed to mine, he backed up. His wings made one fast downward push, and he was airborne. I felt alone and miserable.

  He’d been told to leave, and he left. Angels were made to serve, Barnabas had said. But if one served unwillingly, wasn’t it slavery?

  A bitter resolve pushed out my fear as I watched his silhouette spin, turn, and vanish. Sure, I had made the deal to give the amulet back once I had my body, but things had changed. I—no, we—had proved that a soul’s fate was not fixed, but that it could be turned back to a better path. I wanted my body, my amulet, and a chance to really see if this could work, and as I turned to look at Ron’s house, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to let anything go without a fight.