Page 26 of Hounded: Ashes to Ashes

“Something’s different about you, Indigo.”

I gave one of my curls a tug. “Plum. Eggplant,” I corrected, then stabbed a finger into my chest. “Indy. And I remember you, Evander. I remember everything.”

His pierced brow arched. “The witch got to work, did she?” Bending back, he surveyed me head to toe before asking, “You want some popcorn?”

“Loren’s gone,” I admitted by way of reply. “You were right.”

Evander ceased his inspection and looked almost remorseful as I tagged on.

“We sent another hellhound after him, but” –I sighed— “I don’t know.”

Clapping a hand on my back, Evander propelled me toward the vintage red cart with the striped awning parked a few dozen feet away. Its open windows let out the smell of hot butter to clash with the chemical stink of spray paint.

We joined the short line, and Evander ordered a bucket of plain popcorn for himself and a bag of confetti corn for me. I wasn’t sure how he knew it was my favorite flavor.

I expected him to linger around his canvases and other supplies strewn across the nearby sidewall. Instead, he headed deeper into the heart of the park, leading me along behind.

“Another hound, you say?” he asked as we fell into stride.

“We didn’t really have a choice.” I bounced my shoulders. “We summoned his mistress to try to trade my tears, but she drank them and then?—”

“Shedrankthem?” Evander stopped short.

I frowned at his interruption but finished anyway. “And then she ascended to Heaven.”

I would have kept walking, but the angel stayed in place, hugging the cardboard bucket of popcorn while storm clouds rolled across his face.

“That’s not possible,” he said.

Giving my bag of rainbow glazed popcorn a shake, I picked out a green kernel then popped it into my mouth.

“That’s what Whitney said,” I muttered between chews. “Loren, too, before he left.”

“And Whitney is…?” Evander’s pale blue eyes darted over to mine.

“The other hellhound.”

I grabbed a yellow piece next, banana flavor chasing lime. “That’s why the demons want me. Like I can make them holy or some shit. I thought it would be a sort of sprinkle baptism, but she took the tears like a shot and poof. Gone.”

A cyclist passed by, ringing his handlebar bell to clear the path as he zipped ahead. He cut through the crowd awaiting Evander’s return, causing them to scatter.

“That can’t be,” the angel sputtered. “It’s not allowed… in Heaven?” The question in his tone was clearly not meant for me since he carried on without my response, muttering under his breath. “I would’ve heard…”

Scooping out a palmful of popcorn, I poured it into my mouth and talked around it. “You get a lot of angel news in Central Park? Do you have a magic cellphone, too?”

My sarcasm caused him to scowl.

“I’m not here all the time, Indigo.”

I swallowed then sucked a breath to correct him. “It’s… You know what, never mind.”

Evander turned toward me, closing us into a more conspiratorial space. “Who else knows?” he whispered.

“About Loren?”

He shook his head. “About your tears. About the demon ascending.”

A pair of joggers squeezed between us. I backpedaled toward the grass bordering the sidewalk and took another bite of confetti corn.

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