Page 291 of Castings & Curses

Even if it means I have to go up against Endor.

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Endor

I clench my jaw as I wait for the attendant at the La Quinta hotel to finish whatever the fuck she’s doing on the computer that’s taking damn near eternity.

The walk through Pine Ridge was needed, especially after Valory’s little act of heroism.

Just who the fuck does she think she is?

Shooting first and asking questions later, that is supposed to my job. Not the pretty little angel’s.

All angels are just trigger happy, if you ask me. Pent up in the big castle in the sky all the time, having to follow orders and law without any chance of deviating. I should have expected Valory to flex her angelic power the first chance she got when dear old daddy, Matthew, wasn’t watching her like a hawk.

I bet it felt good, too.

The thought makes me wonder if she’s susceptible to falling off the bandwagon, and just how much it would take to push her… Perhaps I can add more than one soul to my roster to really cement my contractor deal. No demon’s ever pulled an angel to the dark side before.

Finally, the sloth passing for a person looks up from her computer screen and hands me two key cards.

“Your room is on the top floor, hope that won’t be a problem,” she says with a pop of her gum. She sucks her bubble inward, chomping on it so loud, I think the sound itself is like nails on a fucking chalkboard.

I take the keycards from her, grumbling a thank you as I slide them in my pants pocket. Once I exit the hotel, I find my way around to the back parking lot. It isn’t late by human standards, only about eight pm. But by the darkness that blankets the sad little town of Pine Ridge, New York, it feels like midnight, which I’m rather thankful for.

I make my way behind the dumpster, unsheathing my wings. It feels so fucking good to let them out, let them stretch, and I am swept up in their magnetism once more. It doesn’t take me long to reach Valory and Mercy, who is still sleeping peacefully in Valory’s arms like some stray kitten.

Valory looks at her like she is the sun, moon, and stars, with so much wonder and awe, I feel like I’m intruding. Her golden hair falls over her tan shoulder, her skin practically glowing against the white and ivory dress that looks far too regal for the back alley of some side street. She looks beautiful, like a true angel.

I realize I’m staring, and shake it off. It’s not like I’ve never seen a beautiful woman before, they’re a dime dozen where I come from, so I see them all the time in Hell. But I’ve never really looked at angel up close before.

I fold my wings down, but I do not sheath them. The sound of the light flapping alerts Valory, breaking her awestruck gaze and the weird spell that’s fallen over me.

“I didn’t hear you arrive,” she says, her eyes shifting from awestruck to cold and panicked.

I shrug as I take my time striding up to them. Carefully, slowly.

“Surprised you stayed put. I would have thought you’d be rushing off to save the day again.”

Valory purses her lips. “Well I would have, but that would defeat the order that wework together, wouldn’t it?”

I slide my hands in my pockets as I reach her. Her wings flutter, covering her legs, covering Mercy, but even in the low light reflecting off the puddles I can see they go on forever. Thoughts of what they’d look like wrapped aroundmywaist threaten to push forth, but I resist them.

For now.

I will poison this angel soon enough, but right now my only concern is the lost soul she’s so enamored with.

Valory looks up at me, her blue eyes ablaze, cheeks flushed as she takes in the sight of me in my grandiosity. I flex my wings for good measure.

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