Lily harper complete s.., p.207
lily harper - complete series, page 207
“Any of them steps out of line like that, Conan, the rest of ‘em will ace him on the spot. Moonshadowlighting is strictly an after-hours gig.”
“And if us little people step out of line,” Besom said in a tense voice. “Will they do us the way they would have at the apartment building?”
The stookie angel shrugged while we got closer to another escalator. “Sure, but it’s just like I said before, Nips. You got nothing to worry about unless you’re causating a disturbance. Toe the naraight and you get left alone.”
The sight of more of the cameras on the in-between markers of the escalators did a lot to keep me worried. A sign at the bottom pointed the way to the terminals. “Maybe Ah’ve been too long in the Dark Wood,” I said as the stookie angel steered us in the direction pointed by the sign. “But Ah thought the whole idea was to slip outta the Kingdom without bein’ seen.”
Annice looked up at me with a bit of pity. “It was too late for that the moment we stepped through the door. Or don’t the eyes make that plain enough?”
“That is why Ah’m so nervous.”
“Honestly, me too,” Besom chimed in, grabbing me hand in support. “I mean, I’m the...” I could tell from the shape of her lips that she was about to say “Herald” but she stopped herself short. “Well, you know. I figured people would make more of a fuss over me.”
Her aunt gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, that’s the beauty of this place. The only time identities are checked is when people are leaving for a flight.”
Well, that made no sense. “Say again now?”
“It’s fairly simple, brother,” Metra chimed in while a row of shops and restaurants came into sight on the right. “If you’ve come here with bad designs against the airport or anyone within it, the eyes will catch those bad designs and the Seraphim will sort you out fairly fast.”
“And if you’ve been flagged for illicit business that requires you to be elsewhere,” Annice added. “The identity check at the terminals will catch you there.”
Though the Minotaur had been silent for the entire walk, he finally gave voice to a question that had been running through me head. “Do we have any cause for concern of being... flagged, as you call it?”
The scent of spices and hot drinks began wafting up to me nose as Annice shrugged. “That’s where you need to lean on what faith and trust you can.”
I swallowed hard. “Both faith an’ trust are things Ah’ve had a great deal of trouble with over the last few centuries.”
While we were talking, the stookie angel kept steering us around the shops. We passed a cafe table where a Renaissance lord was having an intense discussion with an old Chinese man over a cup of tea. A man with a rhino’s head was dropping a good-sized stack of crisp bags at a cashier lad in the gift shop. The latter didn’t bat an eye as he started ringing the crisps up. A willowy fashion model type, looking a bit like Besom did when I first met her, was looking twixt a pair of t-shirts that she had in either hand. They all had one thing in common. They did none of the milling about and casual strolling you’d have seen in Edinburgh. Everyone who was there knew exactly what they were there for and they were getting right to it.
The angel’s had a wee bit of a wisftul posture while he looked at the gift shop. “Wish you’d saved me some of that steak, Taurus-zan. I’m getting hangry here.”
“Hardly my fault that Badb only had enough for me,” the man-bull retorted.
“If we’re going to be flying first-class anyway,” Besom chimed in as we got past the last of the shops. “Chances are there will be something you can munch on on the plane.”
“But I’m hangry now!” the stookie angel whined. I was halfway surprised he didn’t stop his trudging but kept stepping his way through.
I shrugged. “Sooner we get to Terminal J, sooner ye can eat, aye?”
The already intense light off his robes got brighter. “Oh, stopping talking sense when I’m pissed, Conan!” That got a round of laughs from everyone. I was sure the wee angel would take offense at such but all he did was steer us down the next corridor.
Just around the bend was a line of square booths that seemed made from the same steel as the non-glass parts of the dome. The ends that were facing us had beige curtains hanging over them that were a match for the carpet color. On the other side, I saw an angel manning each booth, casually waving in humans of all races, ages, sizes and the like.
At regular intervals, two to four folks stepped into the booth. A bright flash of light went off inside, a match for the angel’s robes and then some. After the flash, only one stepped out the other side. I’m not sure you could have called it a person. Though it looked like a regular sized human, there was no features of any kind on its face. Something about looking at it made it hard for me to even make out its height or build. As it walked out, a Seraphim dropped down to retrieve it and carried it off up into the air.
Our man-bull slowed his gait as all this was happening. That got him a tug on the arm from Annice. “Eyes front and keep walking,” she whispered tensely.
The Minotaur shook his head and did as he was told. Besom’s aunt getting that tense was enough to make me glance around, as casual as I could manage. The cameras were every bit out in force here as anywhere and the Seraphim were hovering a lot lower here than anywhere in the dome. I didn’t dare let out a breath for the several paces it took us to get past the booths. I could feel the eyes on us more than ever, but I fought the urge to look back. As long as no one around us acted like we were about to get jumped, we’d be fine.
It wasn’t until we got into the next wide corridor that I finally relaxed again. Both sides were lined with desks marked by signs hanging over them. Each one of them had a long line that threatened to meet in the middle.
The stookie angel glanced back over his shoulder and blew out a relieved breath of his own. “Oookay, that was a little close, gang.” He started steering us towards the left side of the wall.
“But the important thing is we’re through,” Annice added, lightening up herself. She looked up at the man-bull with an apology on her face. “Forgive my being so harsh. But staring too hard at the assembly lines counts as a disturbance too. No part of this airport is any place for tourists.”
Besom gestured over to a gaggle of laughing girls with all sorts of holiday clothes that would have been fit for the tropics, merrily bouncing towards the “A” desk. “I think they’d beg to differ.”
“You’re missing Annice’s point,” Metra said gently. “Everyone who’s here has got some business to attend to. Maybe it’s a holiday. Maybe it’s a trip to AE. Maybe it’s a job. But you’re expected to do what you came to do and leave. No loitering allowed, especially where we just came through.”
“So ye can get to Afterlife Enterprises from here?” I asked.
Metra shot me half a smirk. “Don’t be so surprised, my hirsute brethren. Given this place’s intimate connections with the Kingdom, it’s a natural point of departure.”
“Is it forbidden to speak of what we witnessed at the booth?” the Minotaur asked, doing his best to step around the line formed in front of the “A” desk.
“Oh, nothing’s forbidden, Kemosabe,” the angel said, as he stepped past the line. “It’s just that some things are a better idea to talk about than others.”
“Those were reincarnation booths,” Annice explained while she looked over the “C” desk line. “When souls pass on, they never come back to Earth exactly as they were.”
“How come?” Lily asked while we got into the thick of the newest line.
“Oh, any number of reasons. Certain pieces might be damaged or missing from what they suffered in life. Better, stronger pieces may need to be incorporated for the soul to become a better being on its next try.”
Despite the fact that the “E” desk had yet another line choking us off, Besom couldn’t help but get interested. “And this happens to everyone after they die? I mean, as long as they end up coming to the Kingdom.”
“Not everybody, Nips,” the angel confirmed, turning his attention to navigating through the next line. “But it does happen a lot.”
“Once the new souls are manufactured,” Annice took up. “The Seraphim give them priority transport to Terminal Z.”
“At which point, Stork Airlines sends those souls onto their next life,” Metra finished.
The mention of the airline name made Besom roll her eyes. “Stork Airlines? They actually named it that?”
“Well, Besom,” I said. “Tradition dies hard in the afterlife.” I gestured around the edifice over our heads. “Ah daresay this airport isn’t more than fifty years old at a guess.”
“Ah, it’s been around a little longer than that, Conan,” the angel said. “1918 is when they set it up. But yeah, this version? It’s a moderecent development.”
I grunted in frustration. “One o’ these days, stookie angel, Ah’m gonna have to give ye some English lessons.”
He choked back a giggle. “Says the guy who speaks it like a second languistic himself.”
There was more I would have said but the “J” desk had finally come into sight. Like the rest of them, there was a right, good-sized line in front of it, the back of the line reaching the near-middle of the room. But whoever was manning it kept it moving fairly efficient once we stepped in. It wasn’t long before we had a little line of our own forming behind us.
Three of them golden eyed cameras were lined up over the desk just in front of the sign. They were watching the whole line with the malevolence of a hawk about to swoop on a mouse. More disturbing was the sight of a couple of Seraphim on either ends of the desk. Neither of them had rifles, but I could see the pistols strapped to their sides. I had no doubt they could cut someone down faster than they could run, especially with this crowd in motion.
As we inched closer to the desk, I kept thinking on what me chances of taking even one of them were. The angel’s happy talk be damned, Alaire wouldn’t miss a chance to give us grief if it came to it. I rubbed the back of me head and then let me hand slowly creep up to me hidden blade. Lily caught me other hand and used it to pull me down. Next thing I knew, I was smack-dab in the middle of a kiss that was so pleasant, I near forgot me worries.
Only when I came out of it did I wonder if maybe we’d made too much of a fuss. I could feel camera and angel alike looking at us harder than before. Besom raised her eyebrows, a question in her eyes. I nodded, letting me hands fall back down to me sides. I prayed neither of us had made a mistake.
The wee blonde in the flight uniform at the desk was beaming at us as we got close. Past the sunbeams the stookie angel was giving off, I saw her name tag read “Mandy”.
“Already getting the festivities started?” she asked, every bit as cheerful as her angel escorts were dour.
I had no idea how to answer her. Talking had never been me strong suit. Thankfully, Lily stepped in for us.
“I know we probably should wait until we get to the Oasis but…”
The desk girl giggled and shook her head. “Hey, no judgments here. I’m guessing this is a really special occasion for you two.”
Figuring I should contribute something to the conversation, I answered, “Aye, that it is, lass.”
Though her smile remained, the girl’s eyes suddenly changed into the same glowing yellow as the cameras. A beam from them shone into me Besom’s eyes like a soft version of a camera flash. Once that was done, the smile widened again as she looked at me.
“If you’ll just stand still, sir...?”
I’d expected those flashing eyes to hurt more than they did. But it was naught but a pleasant glow that didn’t even make me blink. She quickly moved on to do the same for Annice, Metra and the Minotaur. Despite how he was lit up like a Christmas tree, the stookie angel was completely ignored by our desk girl.
She quickly did some typing on the computer and hummed, “First-class accommodations, private jet... you weren’t kidding about this being a special occasion.”
“Well, we don’t want to make too big of a fuss over it,” Annice said casually.
Metra nuzzled herself into her love’s neck. “The fussing comes later, after all.”
The girl giggled a bit while she finished up her typing. “Alright, all parties accounted for and checked in. You’re cleared for your flight. Have a good trip!”
“Thank you,” the man-bull muttered with a grave nod before bringing up the rear. Though I could feel the Seraphim staring at us while we went up the ramp, they made no moves against us. When we got near the cockpit, I finally asked the angel, “How come she did nae act like ye existed, stookie angel?”
“You kidding, Tido?” he answered. “Angels always fly for free around here.”
###
The inside of the plane was tight and posh as Alaire’s Underground City office. The plush, deep carpet was a dark burgundy, all but swallowing up our feet as we stepped on it. It was like walking across a giant pillow. The walls were the same kind of eggshell white as in Besom’s apartment. But they were clean and shiny. Speaking of light, the angel’s robes dimmed again once we were in the plane.
A stewardess, the desk girl’s twin right down to the dimples, greeted us with a smile and a wave. The only difference I could see was that her name tag read “Brandy”.
“Welcome aboard, Ms. O’Shaugnessy,” she practically chirped at Lily. It was the name Afterlife Enterprises had given Lily when she’d chosen her new body. But, Lily had chosen to keep ‘Harper’ as her true second name.
The way the stewardess’ eyes took me in when they looked my way, I wasn’t so sure if maybe Besom shouldn’t have been jealous.
“Mr. Fergus...” Then she waved at the open hatch next to her feet. “If you could just stow your luggage down in there, please?”
We both nodded and stowed our bags. Annice and Metra did likewise once they got close enough.
“Now,” Brandy chirped as she smiled at me and then looked at Besom. “I imagine both of you would like to have adjacent seats?”
Going by her growl, Lily had caught her earlier appreciation of me. “Nothing to imagine.”
The door to the plane shut behind us, startling the man-bull just as he stepped across. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Pasiphae,” Brandy quickly apologized. “The timing for the door is something our engineers are still diligently working on.”
“That’s what they told us last time too,” Metra stage-whispered with a grin that showed how little she believed such. The man-bull took the closing in stride, depositing his bag in the hatch.
“No harm done,” he told her.
A gold streak came off the stookie angel’s shoulder before dropping down into the hatch itself. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. “Who better to watch our shit?”
Brandy waved us over to our seats. All six of them were right in the center of the plane, laid out in a three by two grid. With their fluffy padding on the neck, back, bottom and arms, they looked a lot more like repurposed armchairs than airline seats. Besom and I plopped down in the front row, while the stookie angel and the man-bull moved towards the row behind us while Annice and Metra brought up the rear.
No sooner had I been seated, than Brandy personally fastened me in with a seat belt that came from nowhere. The way her uniform fell down at the front showed off her small but perky breasts. As invitations went, it was as subtle as the man-bull’s fist. Once she’d clicked in me seatbelt, her smile turned saucy.
“Do let me know if there's anything I can do for you.”
Ignoring Besom’s warning glare, she went over to strap me love in with the smile still in place. Then she added, “Either of you.”
Lily looked like she didn’t know how to answer that. That’s when her guardian angel came to her rescue.
“Hey, yo, toots! I could use some of that assistention, if you get my drift.”
Though her expression said she barely got the stookie angel’s drift, that smile stayed nice and tight while she walked over to him.
“I’ll be more happy to see to your needs, Mr. William...” I was just imagining his face beginning to beam when she added, “After we’ve taken off.”
It was petty but I couldn’t help it. I had to look over me shoulder to see the stookie angel’s expression get huffy right before he tried to jump into his seat. The fabric was so slick, he slipped off the edge and spilled onto the floor. He picked himself back up with a sour expression.
“You know, Mr. William,” the stewardess said with a little undertone of admonishment. “If you’d been more patient, I could have helped you into that seat the first time.”
As she clicked the seat belt in place, the angel’s face started turning red from embarrassment. “Yeah, well, lately, I’ve gotten used to doing everything myself. So, um... sorry about that.”
The little blonde patted both his cheeks before planting a kiss on his forehead. “No problem, Mr. William,” she purred, her voice going gentle. “You’re obviously very tense. I’ll be happy to help you work that… tenseness out of your muscles once we’re in the air.”
The smile he gave her threatened to split his face in half. “Looking forward to it, babe.”
The whole time, the man-bull patiently waited for Brandy to strap him into his seat. The only thing he had to say after she buckled him in was a neutral “Thank you.”
I could hear Annice and Metra speaking in low tones just behind. The occasional giggle that got mixed in made me wonder if they were planning to act their age anytime soon. Over the click of seat belts, I could just hear Brandy muttering something to them that sounded like an invitation.
Whatever was said made Annice respond, “While we’re flattered, dear, I think we’ll be just fine with ourselves.”
“As you like,” Brandy told her back in that same clipped tone she’d given the rest of us. “But if you change your mind...?”
“You’ll be the first to know,” Metra told her.
Our stewardess let out a little laugh as she stepped away, an extra bit of sway in her hips. She walked back towards the front of the plane, separated from us by a curtain the same color as the carpet. When she passed through it, the other curtains on the wall parted, revealing the airstrip beyond.
