3 Straight by the Rules Read online

  Jasmine, chagrined, carefully put her arms around his waist. “I only want you to get better.”

  “I know. And you’ve been doing a really good job of taking care of me, but I need some space. That’s why I’m moving in with Neil for a while. He’s picking me up tonight.”

  I’d met Tommy’s best friend Neil a few times at the hospital. He owned a tattoo and piercing parlor called Midtown Ink.

  “You can’t stay there!” Jasmine protested. “Where are you going to sleep?”

  Neil was married and had three kids. His family lived in a tiny, two-bedroom house near Midtown.

  “There’s a couch in Neil’s office. I can crash there,” Tommy said.

  “You’ve only been out of the hospital for a few weeks,” Jasmine argued.

  “Yes, but I’m going crazy here. No offense, but all of this sacral energy is getting on my nerves. I need some time to rebalance my chakras.”

  I didn’t understand the spiritual gibberish, but the bottom line was clear. He was suffering from estrogen overload.

  “You hate us,” Ariel said. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

  He touched her shoulder. “Of course I don’t.”

  Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “If you live at Midtown, you’ll be tempted to get another tattoo. I just know it.”

  He avoided her eyes. “I won’t.”

  “You will! You’ve been drawing in your sketchpad again, and I know what you’re thinking. But you heard what Dr. Cantor said: no more tattoos or piercings until you’re fully healed.” She touched his arm. “Please, you need to get well first.”

  “She’s right,” I said. “Let your body heal one thing at a time.”

  He held up his hand Boy Scout-style. “I swear to you I won’t get another tattoo until I’m fully healed.”

  I wanted to believe him, but even when he crossed his heart with his index finger, his eyes wandered to his sketchpad.

  Chapter Four

  That afternoon, while Tommy napped, and Jasmine and Ariel watched an old horror movie on TV, I retreated into my bedroom. From my nightstand, I took out a small notebook that Grace had given to me. On the cover was a picture of a tiny kitten meowing in the face of an immense German shepherd. Written below were the words: “Don’t Let Nobody Stand in Your Way!” An appropriate message since I was using the notebook to map my way out of Hell.

  On the first page, I’d written:

  My Goals

  - Keep Grace safe

  - Get out of the damned contract

  - Destroy Helen (?)

  I had crossed out the first item weeks ago when I’d finally rescued my daughter from Helen’s clutches. However, accomplishing my next two objectives was proving problematic.

  Obviously, the third one was ridiculous. Destroy Helen Spry? That was absurd. I barely had enough courage to call the demon-bitch by her first name let alone attack her. She was older than I was. Stronger than I was. More wickedly clever than I ever could be. Plus, she had all the resources of Hell at her fingertips.

  As I chewed on my pen, I briefly considered using Helen’s trick and hiring an assassin to take her out. Almost immediately, however, I rejected the idea. In order to find demon assassins, I’d have to confess who the target was, and I couldn’t trust a demon to keep his mouth shut about it. If word spread that I was plotting to have Helen killed, she’d incinerate me where I stood. Sighing, I crossed out ‘Destroy Helen Spry.’

  Now, I was left with only one goal, but it was no less outlandish. How on earth could I get out of the contract? The thing was larger than a Detroit metropolitan telephone book, and as far as I could tell, completely ironclad. Although I’d gotten it amended once, I didn’t think I would get second opportunity to change it.

  And since this morning’s conversation with Helen, I was now under a deadline. If I didn’t get out of my contract soon, I’d be forced to have a daughter who would become Helen’s next whipping girl. Quickly, I added a new goal to my list: Get a Prescription for Birth Control. I wasn’t sure how long Helen’s patience would last before she tried to forcibly impregnate me, but I was determined to make her job as tough as possible.

  Defeated once again, I closed the book and put it away. As I shut the nightstand drawer, I swore to myself that I would not give up until I found a way out. I would free myself and make sure that not another one of Sarah Goodswain’s progeny ended up in Helen’s clutches.

  Neil came over a few hours later to pick up Tommy. Tommy’s friend was small and ratty and wore his dark hair slicked back against his skull like he was auditioning for a role in Grease. He stank of cigarettes. He had less metal and more ink than Tommy. Both of Neil’s arms were covered with so much color that he looked like the Sunday comics. Ariel couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

  “Cool tats,” she said, awed. She now had a few of her own. To fill his empty hours, Tommy had begun drawing henna tattoos. He’d made several on Ariel’s face and arms. Her favorite was a cat sitting upright with its tail curled under its chin. “See?” She lifted the sleeves of her t-shirt to show Neil. “Tommy did this.”

  Neil flicked his eyes at the tattoos. “Uh, great. Tommy you ready to go or what?”

  Ari grew tearful. “Don’t leave!” She thrust her arms out to hug Tommy around the waist.

  Tommy winced, anticipating the pain, but she must have been gentle because his face relaxed. “I’ll miss you, too, but I’ll see you at Simon and Evelyn’s on Sunday.”

  My stepdad and I had consecutive birthdays, so every year, we shared a party. This year, Ariel would be a part of the tradition as well since she was turning twelve in less than a month.

  Tommy put his arms around Jasmine, but it was more of a best friends’ bear hug than a boyfriend/girlfriend thing. When Jasmine hung on for too long, he gently pushed her away. Poor Jas.

  “I’ll see you Sunday, too,” he reminded her.

  Jasmine’s mouth and eyes tightened as she struggled to hold back her tears. “Okay. Sure.”

  He brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “You know I’m not going back to India,” he said. “Only Ferndale, right?”

  She nodded then turned to Neil. “Tommy takes his meds every six hours, and he shouldn’t be drinking coffee because it upsets his stomach. Also, he needs his sleep, so none of your all-night X-Box parties. And for God’s sake, don’t let him get another tattoo!”

  “I can see why you wanted to leave,” Neil muttered.

  Tommy and I hugged so awkwardly that our bodies hardly touched. “Take care of yourself,” I told him.

  “You, too, Lilith.”

  Neil blinked. “Wait, you’re Lilith? The Lilith?” Suddenly, he was more interested. I was dying to ask what Tommy had been saying about me, but with Jas and Ari in the room, it didn’t seem like a good idea.

  Neil picked up Tommy’s battered duffel bag, then with a final look at me, he and Tommy left.

  Ariel burst into tears and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. Jas sniffed a few times and wiped her eyes. Already, the flat seemed too empty.

  “I promised to take Ariel to the coney island for dinner,” I said. “Do you want to come along?”

  “I can’t. I have a job interview.”

  I hadn’t heard news so shocking since I’d found out that I was to become a succubus. “Are you serious?”

  Jas nodded. “It’s only a waitressing gig downtown, but a friend of mine works there, and she says the tips are pretty good.”

  “Jas, that’s amazing! What brought this about?” For the past three years, my dad, Jas’s mom, and I had been nagging my stepsister to find a job.

  She shrugged and folded the blanket that had been lying on the couch. “I want to get my own place.” She held the folded blanket to her chest. “I was hoping Tommy would move in with me if I did.”

  I’d never thought of Jasmine as the type to settle down with a guy. Especially not a guy as decent as Tommy. I hugged her.

  When I let go, she slowly sank on
to the couch. Worry lines furrowed her forehead. “I don’t know if he’ll do it, though. Move in with me, I mean. I’m not sure if he’s into me.”

  I had no doubt that he loved her. “Honey, he crossed three continents to keep you from marrying Karl!”

  “True.” She smiled sadly. “But now he’s so distant.”

  I didn’t let on that I’d noticed. “He’s still not feeling well,” I said. “Once he’s better, things will change.”

  “Maybe.” Jas pressed her face into the folded blanket for a moment. When she resurfaced, she said, “The worst part is that he sends me mixed messages. I mean, he hardly ever holds my hand, and he won’t kiss me, but he spends all this time drawing tattoos on me.”

  “He does the same thing for Ariel,” I said.

  “No, you don’t understand. This is way different from those cats and stars he puts on her arms. Look.” She turned around and lifted the back of her shirt. Inked in henna between her shoulder blades was an intricate mandala, one of the most beautiful designs I’d ever seen. “He drew it the other night. He lit candles and played this CD of chants that he’d picked up in Tibet. And the way he touched me! There was nothing innocent about it, believe me. I lay there for two hours feeling his hands brushing against my skin. Two hours!” She shook her head. “Do you have any idea how sexy that was?”

  I imagined lying on my bed while William lovingly drew patterns on my back. I started to feel warm. “Yes, I can imagine.”

  She lowered her shirt. “He’s driving me crazy! If he doesn’t do something about it soon, I swear I’ll…” She screamed into the blanket.

  While I patted her shoulder and consoled her, I wondered where I could get my hands on a CD of Tibetan chants and some henna paste.

  Only the promise of a coney dog lured Ariel out of her room. We went to East End Coney and sat at our favorite booth by the street-side window. With Grace gone, Ariel and I were spending a lot more time together. To my delight, Ari had not only warmed up to me, she had also lost her habitual scowl. She’d even started smiling at people.

  I’d also found out some surprising things about her. Like the fact that she enjoyed eating French fries with mayonnaise instead of ketchup (something she had learned from one of her mother’s many boyfriends), she loved lions (hence the reason Tommy had started her on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), and she was surprisingly good at basketball (despite her small stature). I’d signed her up for a three-week basketball camp so that she could make friends before the school year started, and the coach had taken me aside to remark how well Ari could pass and dribble.

  Ariel ordered her usual: two chili dogs with no onions, fries, and a Coke. I ordered a gyro and a small, Greek salad.

  “Where should we go for your birthday?” I asked. Although Ari would be included in our traditional family celebration, I also wanted to throw her a real party since I didn’t think she’d ever had one before. I planned to invite the girls from the basketball camp. “Have you ever been to the zoo? They have lions there.”

  Ari seemed less enthusiastic about the party than I. “Yeah, okay.”

  “Or we could take everyone to play miniature golf,” I offered.

  She shrugged again. The waitress brought over our drinks and Ariel sipped her Coke thoughtfully. “Do you think Tommy would want to date my mother?”

  I nearly spilled my iced tea. Ariel’s mother was currently in jail for child endangerment, possession of narcotics, and drunk driving. There was no way in hell I’d introduce her to Tommy. If my sister-in-law saw what a good guy he was, she’d cling to him like a leech. “I think Tommy’s got his eye on Jasmine,” I said.

  “Oh.” Ari slumped in her seat.

  “You’re very special to him, though,” I said. “Like a little sister.”

  She continued to look disappointed. “I wish he was my dad. My real dad.”

  Instead of pointing out that Tommy would have had to father Ariel when he was twelve, I said, “I know what it’s like. Growing up wondering who your dad is.”

  “But you know who your dad is.”

  I frowned. “I do?”

  “It’s Simon? Hel-lo?”

  “Simon’s not my real father.” It amazed me that she hadn’t figured this out on her own. “He’s Japanese. I’m not.” Simon hadn’t even adopted me since my mother had never been around long enough to sign the papers.

  “Oh, good point.” Ariel mulled this over while she drank her Coke. “Did you ever want to find your real dad?”

  The difficult question made me shift uncomfortably. When I became an adult, I’d given up fantasies about finding my sperm donor, figuring I was better off without him. However, once I’d discovered that I could not only see Heaven’s doorways but enter them as well, I’d become curious again. Maybe my father had been one of the many humans my mother had slept with. Then again, maybe he’d been supernatural.

  To answer Ari’s question, I settled on a compromise. “I used to want to find him, but after a while, I realized that Simon was the best dad a girl could have. Just like you’ll realize that Tommy is a really good substitute big brother.”

  “He is a good big brother,” she said, “but he’d be a really great dad.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  Midway through our meal, Ariel got up to use the bathroom. The moment she left, someone slid into her seat. It was Harmony, the guardian angel who had been sent to protect my last client. Even though the two of us worked for opposing camps and had once fought over a human’s soul, we generally got along.

  Like me, Harmony appeared fully human even though she was a being from the otherworld. She had sensual lips, a thin frame, and wore her blond hair short and parted on the side. Like all angels, she had unnaturally, brilliant blue eyes. Without waiting for permission, she took a French fry from Ariel’s plate and dipped it into the puddle of mayonnaise. “Mmmm. Mayo is much better than ketchup.” She added some salt.

  “Go ahead. Help yourself,” I said dryly.

  She took another one. “Don’t mind if I do.”

  I hadn’t seen Harmony since she’d visited my flat a few weeks before to deliver a housewarming gift. “To what do I owe the honor?”

  Her clear, blue eyes met mine. “I came here to warn you.”

  I tensed. “Warn me about what?”

  “About the fact that there isn’t a single doorway to Heaven in your flat. Without a portal, the angels guarding your family won’t be able to do their jobs properly.”

  I let out my breath, relieved that her warning was no threat at all. “Why do you think I picked that apartment in the first place?” I asked her. “It’s bad enough that Helen has access to my home. I don’t want God poking his nose in there as well.”

  “Don’t make light of this, Lilith.” Harmony had that stubborn look in her eyes, the one I remembered from our tangle a few weeks before. “When Helen sent the berserker into your house, you nearly lost everyone you love, remember?”

  Her self-righteousness annoyed me. “Yes, but I kept them all safe without any help from an angel. Remember?”

  “But you couldn’t save Tommy Lefevre.”

  I sat back as if she’d slapped me.

  Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry!”

  “You should be.” I glared at her. “Besides, I did rescue Tommy! And I helped Helen win that bet against God.”

  Her blue eyes blazed. “Big deal!”

  “We took a holy relic out of Heaven,” I said, wanting to rub it in.

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. We’ve got scads of that stuff lying around. Pieces of the cross, the robes of the apostles, Moses’ staff – angels recycle it into artwork all the time. I swear, Heaven’s full of crafters.” She dipped another French fry. “I used to own this little pillow filled with frankincense that one of the wise men gave to Jesus. Oh, and did you know that, in our Alpine room, there are a pair of bookends made out of precious stones from Solomon’s temple?”<
br />
  I remembered seeing them on the day I’d barged into Heaven and found the angels all drinking hot cocoa around a roaring fire. Those bookends were quite possibly the most garish things I’d ever laid eyes on.

  “Patrick Clerk once told me that Heaven was where good taste went to die,” I said.

  At this, Harmony’s shoulders slumped, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m sorry,” I said, alarmed. “That was a mean thing to say.” I’d never expected angels to be so sensitive about their tastes in decorating.

  She shook her head. “No, that’s not why I’m upset. I’m worried about Patrick.” According to Harmony, she and Helen Spry’s former assistant had been close friends. “There’s a rumor floating around that Helen sent him deep into Hell as a punishment.”

  Now, I was concerned. “Helen keeps insisting she doesn’t know where he is.” I bit my lip, thinking. “Do you suppose she reassigned him to maintenance? Today, she said that she needed more people to clean out the iron maidens.”

  Harmony’s worried eyes met mine. “I’m afraid that she’s put Patrick inside one of those things.”

  I hadn’t wanted to consider that possibility, but Harmony was right. Helen loved to torture people, especially people who had crossed her. And Patrick had upset her when he’d come to my rescue a few weeks before… I shuddered. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being tortured. “I’ll try harder to find out where he is,” I promised.

  “Go ahead if it makes you feel better,” Harmony said. “But in the meantime, I’ll intercede on his behalf, and ask the higher ups to investigate his case.”

  I was astounded. “Would Heaven really spend resources to rescue a fallen angel?”

  “Are you kidding me? Saving souls is what we do. Trust me, once I put in the intercession, they’ll get Patrick back.”

  “I wish I shared your optimism.” I’d tangled with Heaven enough to know that nothing worked that easily.