Lily harper complete s.., p.209
lily harper - complete series, page 209
“And there you are,” Uriel said with a grin before walking over to us.
Annice gave him a smile I thought she kept just for Metra. “And look who it is.”
Even with all the questions I had, the sight of him made me unbelievably happy. “What are you doing here?” I asked in delight.
He laughed and gave me a hug, cigarette still in hand. Somehow, his suit managed not to smell like tobacco. “Well, I had to make your reservations from somewhere safe. And few spots I know are more secure than here.”
“So is it good to be free again, Uriel?” Annice asked as we ended the hug.
Uriel chuckled as he gave her another hug, along with a pair of kisses on the cheek. No air kisses for him; both made actual contact with my aunt’s skin. “Nothing like a little confinement to make you truly appreciate the finer things in life.”
Annice yanked her knife out of the air. “Would you like to have this back?”
Uriel shrugged. “I would... but what I want and what Fate wants happen to be different things at this juncture.”
Without missing a beat, he reached into his right coat pocket, pulled out a flask and knelt in front of Bill.
When my archangel saw it, he groaned. “Oh, not that shit again...”
Uriel waggled the flask a little. “Ask yourself which is worse, William.”
That made my guardian angel growl, but he took the flask, popped it open and took a deep swig. Uriel stood up and rustled Bill’s head. “Good little cherubim.”
While he gave Metra the same treatment he’d given my aunt, I let my eyes drift around the rest of the area. It turned out to be a fairly spacious lobby, moderately high ceilings dotted by track lighting like stars in the sky. Foot traffic was heavy, be they guests—of all shapes, sizes and I’d assume species—or staff—who were all stamped from the same Brandy/Mandy mold.
A grand staircase dominated the back wall, maybe ten feet across. Forty steps up, it ended in a foyer that had a slightly smaller staircase on either end of it. Just to the right of the bottom staircase, was a double-wide elevator that looked to be the size of our plane cabin. The left wall was completely taken over by the check-in desk while the right wall had another pair of French doors. This set was wide open and had classical music tinkling in from the other side.
A belch from Bill brought me back to my immediate surroundings. “O... M... G,” he moaned, handing Uriel back his flask. “That’s enough to make me want to quit drinking forever.”
Uriel smirked while he put the flask away. “Somehow I doubt that very much.” Uriel held up his hand to Tallis. “Black.”
Tallis slapped his hand into Uriel’s palm and tightened the grip. “Uriel... Ah’m as surprised to see ye as was Besom.”
“The only way one books a room at the Oasis is on the say-so of an archangel. Normally, that would be handled by phone or email but given our circumstances...” Uriel started. He moved onto Asterion and put a fatherly hand on his well-dressed shoulder. “The sisters did an excellent job dressing you.”
“Not my personal preference,” the Minotaur admitted with some awkwardness.
Uriel patted his shoulder twice, before dropping his hand. “I know. It still suits you... so to speak.”
He then waved at us with his non-cigarette hand. “But come. I already have your suite reserved. We just need to check you in.”
Every step of the way to the desk, we passed more of the blonde clones. Each one of them gave a “So good to see you again, sir” or a “Welcome back, Master Uriel” while we walked by. Weak and in recovery though he was, Bill kept drooling over all of them.
Finally I had to ask. “Okay, the desk girl and stewardess, I could pass off as twin sisters. But they can’t all be sisters, right?”
“But of course they are, Herald,” Uriel said with a shrug. “This particular brood of Lilitu’s are under a strict vow of customer service. It’s a pet project of Metatron’s, to see if even demons can be redeemed.”
Tallis looked even more confused than I felt by that answer. “How’s that work?”
The archangel took a drag from his Camel before putting it out on his palm. “Much like it does for a monastic order. Certain behaviors are forbidden, others encouraged and strict discipline is to be maintained at all times.”
“If I’d have known Brandy could do BDSM,” Bill said. “I’d have gone for the whip op-choice.”
Uriel gave him a good-natured chuckle while tucking the spent cigarette away in his pocket. “Not that sort of discipline, William. Service, for them, has to encompass far more than sexual relations. They must also strive to be model employees, as well.”
“Well, they’ve certainly got the ‘model’ part nailed,” I quipped.
By then, we’d arrived at the desk. The nearest clerk flashed her familial teeth at Uriel. “Hello again, Master Uriel. I take it this is the party of six you reserved the Alhazrad Suite for?”
“Most assuredly, Tandy,” Uriel said with a nod. “Shall we proceed with the check-in?”
She gave him a curt nod before turning to me. “If you’ll hold still for just a second, ma’am...?”
Her eyes gave off that pleasant gold flash and then she started working on her computer. I got out of the way of the line... and nearly walked into the one person I never wanted to see again.
“So good to see you again, Lily,” Alaire said, his smile hard and predatory. As usual, he was dressed to impress, decked out in a suit that was easily a match for what we were wearing. I noticed his blond hair was just a shade darker than the succubi employees’, though his teeth were a match for the carpet.
Fletcher stood right behind him, looking even more like a corpse in contrast with his virile boss. It didn’t help that his suit looked like he’d stolen it from a funeral home, a cheap three-piece number that was as worn down and threadbare as his features. His dark, glassy eyes held a smoldering hatred for me.
The moment Tallis heard that voice, he made a move towards his concealed blade. Uriel made sure his hand never left his side.
“You’ve been apprised of the penalty for breaking the rules,” Uriel said in a quiet tone as he face Alaire. “Disputes on Oasis grounds will certainly earn you that penalty.”
“Of course,” Alaire said with smug condescension. “As Metatron is always reminding us, we must stay civilized. It’s a lesson the Yeti by your side has yet to learn.”
Uriel gently pushed Tallis back towards Tandy. “Finish checking in,” he said. Then with a stern look of his own, he added, “Nothing will happen.”
When Tallis reluctantly let his eyes be scanned, Alaire smirked in satisfaction. Tandy acted like she heard guests threaten each other every day and this was nothing out of the ordinary. Since I couldn’t do much else, I glared at Alaire. “What do you want?”
Alaire glanced back over at his failed lackey. “You see, Fletcher? No matter what happens, that will always be the first question our Ms. Harper will ask of me.”
“It’s usually the only question worth asking you.” I paused. “So what do you want?”
He shrugged. “To say hello, of course. To congratulate you on being the first-ever victor of the Trials of Damnation. To commend you on successfully evading Wirz and the Lemures in Edinburgh...” Then he leaned a little closer and I took a step back. “And perhaps to invite you to a drink at the bar?” he asked in a lower tone, gesturing towards the open doors on the lobby’s other end.
I shot him my middle finger. “That’s how much I think of that offer... and how much I think of you.”
“Which is remarkably close to my thoughts on you being free, Annice Harper,” Fletcher chimed in, staring at my aunt with his corpse eyes.
“Do I need to tell you, of all people, what a terrible idea it would be to try and remedy that situation here?” Annice retorted in a hostile tone. Behind her, Metra and Asterion looked ready to knock him into next week, violation or not.
“Make no mistake, Ms. Harper,” Fletcher answered, unintimidated by the folks who were ready to pounce on him. “I will one day remedy this situation. For someone with your proven crimes, the only place you belong is a cell at the Asylum.”
“Now, now, Fletcher,” Alaire said, waving off his lackey. “Such discussion should be shelved for another day. Besides, it would greatly upset Lily if you were to do away with her aunt.” Then he glared at me. “It would be a great shame if something else got in the way of the threesome she’s destined to have with the two men in her life.”
Mention of the scenario I’d seen in my dream hit me like a gut punch. I was shocked and wanted to say something but figured, in this case, it was best to say nothing. I wasn’t sure how Alaire had found that out, but I wasn’t going to play into his game by asking.
Going by the way Alaire’s smile got bigger, it was obvious my poker face needed work. “Yes, I am aware of the desire within you for both Asterion and your bladesmith. And you have done nothing about it, even as your power continues to demand to be set free, which can only happen with a certain ceremony that all involved would very much enjoy.” Then he looked at Tallis. “With the exclusion of one, I suppose.” He then leaned down a little to add, “And there’s nothing that says there can’t be room for one more.”
Bill got between us and belched in Alaire’s face which caused the smug bastard to step back. “As un-fun as this has been,” Bill said. “We’ve had us one hell of a trip. So why don’t you two piss off and let us get to our suite so we can un-lax?”
Alaire shrugged. “Suit yourself, Ms. Harper. I hope we see each other again soon... preferably before a certain personage breaks free from his bondage. Ciao.”
Fletcher led the way as the two of them passed the open doors of the elevator. I kept getting this sinking feeling that the job we were here to do had just gotten a lot harder.
SIXTEEN
LILY
Once I was sure Tallis was sleeping, I slipped out of our bed.
As quietly as I could, I slipped on my weapon belt and went out to the suite’s living room area. This space was easily three times the size of my apartment, dominated in the center by a long, snaking couch in sheer black. It faced a big-screen TV that took up the entire wall.
My bare feet paced over the gold carpet that was little better than foam. It looked more like sand than the glowing red dust outside the wall-sized windows on either side of me did. I spotted the door that led to Annice and Metra’s living space off to the left corner. Like our room, it was practically a hotel room in itself, right down to the full bathroom. I doubted that either of them would come out anytime soon.
I kept walking until I reached the kitchen at the other end of the space. If I were a chef, I’d have thought I'd died and gone to heaven the moment I set foot on that scratchy marble tile floor. The kitchen had everything: restaurant-style refrigerator, extra-large oven and stovetop, stainless steel microwave oven hanging under spacious cabinets. Though I hadn’t looked inside the cabinets, I was pretty sure everything one could possibly need was present and accounted for.
When I opened the fridge, I saw an all-you-can-eat buffet waiting for me inside. My mind shortcircuited looking at all the yogurt, meats, vegetables, fresh fruits and other edibles just waiting to be grabbed. I shut it in a hurry because I wasn’t hungry. But I also wasn’t sleepy so I didn’t return to my bedroom. Instead, I kept looking for cameras and microphones in the floor, inside the walls and even the TV. That I didn’t find any didn’t settle me down. It just convinced me I wasn’t looking closely enough.
Something flew in front of my face, nearly making me snatch out my blade. Then I realized it was just Mantis, who made the prudent choice of zipping away. Even as I kept walking back to the hallway, my eyes tracked the little gold bug the whole way towards the farthest window. He made a beeline to Bill, who was nursing some beef jerky while sitting in a loveseat.
“You look worried, Nips?” he called out to me as his pet bug landed on his eating wrist. Damn if Mantis didn’t pick at some of the jerky itself.
I sighed and shook my head in irritation. “What do you think, Bill? I mean, it’s not as though Alaire doesn’t have a history of screwing us over whenever we think we’re safe.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not here right now. And I doubt he’s gonna be if he wants to stay a guest-omer of this little Shangri-Luck.”
“And how do we know his little minion, Fletcher, isn’t watching every move we make?” It wasn’t that absurd. Not so long ago, he’d shown me photos from places and events in which I believed myself to be totally alone.
By then, Mantis had taken the jerky down an inch, making my guardian angel push him back so he could get a bite in.
“Geez, kiddo,” he said while he chomped at the jerky. “Weren’t you listening to Uriel back in the lobby?”
“You mean before he went into the bar section with Asterion, knowing full well that they could both be snatched?” Even as I said the words, I knew it was an irrational fear. But my feelings felt way more important than clear thought right then.
Bill spread his arms in exasperation, making Mantis fly off his arm and up to the curtain rod over the window. “Lils... if anybody’d know where a good spot to get grab-tched would be, it’d be them. So when Uriel says non-Decepticon Megatron won’t let surveillance happen in a guest’s room, he means it.”
“So what?” I snapped, my feet moving faster as I paced the room. Funny how I could never manage a simple walk around the block back when I was alive.
“So Ah’d say this place is as safe as we’re liable to get, Besom,” Tallis’ voice called out behind me.
“Yeah, well, all that safety’s going out the window the second we pull this job, right?” I asked.
“Well, duh, Nips!” Bill said while walking over to the couch. “That’s kind of how crime works.”
A new terrifying possibility took root in my head. “What if the Oasis staff does something to stop us before we…”
“Which is nae how crime works,” Tallis said with irritation, getting in front of me. Being too angry to let him stop me, I sidestepped him and switched my pacing between the windows.
“Ah, come on now, Besom!” he barked after me. “This isnae doin’ ye any good.”
“’Sides, I already asked about that,” Bill said, jumping on the couch so he could stand somewhere close to my height.
That made me spin on my heel and stop for a second. “You asked about the heist? In the open?”
“Nooo!” my guardian angel bellowed back. “I’m not that damn stupid! I just asked what’d happen if, you know, I did something I shouldn’t have in the interests of having fun.”
I started up my pacing again. “And...?”
He shrugged. “And nothing. Enoch N Roll is a big believe-atic about free will. This spot’s got unlimited knowledge, sure, which definitely includes some of the later-ture. So it’s going to do for any crook what the tree did for Adam and Eve: nothing.”
That sounded great... or would have if we had a solid escape plan in place. “None of this is making me feel better!” I snapped.
The other bedroom door popped open. Wearing a terrycloth robe and a towel on her head, Annice strode out with a frown on her face.
“What’s all this and what time is it?” she asked me with a reprimand in her voice. The way she said it once again reminded me of Mom, but less of a good way this time.
“Where do you want me to start?” I asked.
Metra came out behind my aunt, wearing the same robe, her hair every bit as wet. It wasn’t hard to figure out they’d been getting reacquainted in the shower. Meanwhile, Annice gave Tallis a withering stare which spoke volumes of how disappointed she was in him.
“Hey, now, dinnae look at me,” my bladesmith said, backing away and throwing up his hands. “There’s nae talkin’ to her whenever she’s like this.”
Metra hummed and put a mock-thought finger on her chin. “Now why does that sound familiar?”
My mother’s long-lost sister yanked the wet towel off her head to throw it at her love. “Not helpful,” she said before crossing the carpeted prairie towards me.
I’m not sure why I came to a dead stop when she planted herself in front of me. Maybe she was using some sort of “calm the hell down” magic on me. Or maybe she gave off enough of an “enough” vibe. When she put her hands on my shoulders, I felt shame shoot through me.
“Lily,” she said in a gentle tone. “I know seeing Alaire shook you. From what Bill has been telling me about what Alaire did to you…”
I started casting a baleful eye towards my mouthy guardian angel, but my aunt got in the way of it. “Now don’t be angry with him. I got worried when I saw how you reacted downstairs. Bill was good enough to fill in the blanks on why.” Her hands slipped from my shoulders and moved around my back as she came closer to embrace me. “He did some horrible things to you. And I am so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
Hearing that was too much for me. I had to blink a few times to hold back the tears. Even with all I’d accomplished, even as far as I’d come, even though I’d gotten myself out of Alaire’s castle, it had all still happened. And it would always hurt.
My tears didn’t last long. Less than a minute later, I tried to smile. Metra handed me the towel Annice had thrown at her, which I used to wipe my eyes.
“Better?” Annice asked.
I nodded, which got me a couple of motherly pats on the back before she steered me towards the couch. Tallis was waiting for me there, gently taking me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. Bill bounded down from the couch so Annice and Metra could sit next to each other. Before he could go around to the other side, something buzzed by his hand.
“Hey!” he yelled at the gold streak that went from him to me.
Mantis landed on my lap, offering me the jerky stick Bill had already been munching on. I couldn’t help but laugh at the little bug’s cluelessness. He really was the perfect pet for my guardian angel. I ran a finger back and forth on its carapace. “Why don’t you give that back to Bill and get me a fresh one? You know where they are, right?”
