Page 27 of Hounded: Ashes to Ashes

“I don’t think the tears are much of a secret,” I said. “They’ve been looking for me for months now. Kinda surprised you aren’t in the loop. Aren’t angels like all-knowing or something?”

Evander’s expression soured. “If you believed that, then why did you come to tell me?”

“Call it a Hail Mary. Or a… hail you.” Simply put, we’d exhausted Hell’s resources, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to tap one of Heaven’s.

“Well, I wasn’t aware.” Evander shifted his popcorn bucket to his hip, having completely lost interest in his snack. After a moment’s consideration, he began again, “The demon who ascended?—”

“Moira,” I supplied.

“You said she was Loren’s mistress?”

“Whitney’s, too, I think. But they’re both free now.” And I should have been thrilled. It was a staggering victory. Loren had been possessed—and a possession—as long as I’d known him. The existence of an evil entity behind the scenes, givingcommands and pulling his strings, had always chafed me. She made him miserable, and I was glad to see her gone, but such an event was something we should have been celebrating together. And I’d never felt more alone.

“She wasthemistress, then?” Evander said more than asked. “Ofallthe hounds?”

“Maybe?”

Evander’s features went slack. “Then they’re all free.”

It sounded like a good thing. An outcome I hadn’t considered. If the hounds had been following orders to run me down, now they didn’t have to. My tear trade might have paid off in larger dividends than I thought.

Relief must have found its way onto my face because Evander fixed me with a scornful glare. “This is not a good thing,” he snapped.

“Why not?”

“Because they’re beasts.” He bit at the words, and argument bubbled up behind my pinched lips. “Monstrous creatures running rampant in Hell, on Earth, and wherever else they please. Who knows the kind of havoc they might wreak?”

“You’ve met Loren, right?” I asked, folding my arms.

Evander’s mouth bent in a frown. “You know I have.”

“He’s the sweetest, gentlest man I’ve ever met, and he’s a hellhound.”

The angel blew out a haughty breath. “Loren is an aberration. There’s a reason I’ve allowed him to keep close to you all these years.”

Allowedhim?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rather than answer, Evander scanned the park. His audience had left, and his painting supplies were arranged how he’d left them, but he made no move in that direction. Instead, he grabbed my arm and bent into my line of sight.

“Go home, Indigo. And stay there.” His voice was gruff. “Don’t come back here. I’ll come to you.”

I jerked away from him so abruptly some of my popcorn scattered in the grass. “I’ll go wherever I want. It’s a free city.”

Evander grew increasingly severe, juxtaposing his mood with the carnival-style popcorn container tucked against his side. “Pretty little thing like you can find trouble without even trying. Don’t make it easier than it has to be. Especially with your guard dog missing in action.” His icy eyes narrowed in the field of his tawny skin. “Stay home. Let your witch do the heavy lifting. I’ll find you when it’s time.”

“Time for what?” I asked.

He turned away, headed deeper into the park waving me off as he went. “Go home, Indy!”

My home was the Airstream trailer sitting empty outside town, but I wouldn’t go there, not without Loren. As for my witch, the Thai restaurant was slow, but this had turned into a suspiciously long outing. I could only hope Sully had gotten tied up with customers and lost track of time.

When I looked in the direction Evander had gone, I saw no trace of him. Without walls on which to draw a portal, I had to wonder how angels came and went from the earthly plane. Maybe he sprouted wings and took off. Or maybe he phased out with sparkling special effects like the transporter beam in Star Trek.

Another unknown was, when an angel dipped out of existence, what happened to the shit they left behind?

Evander’s art station remained as he’d left it. Seemed a shame to leave it all to be snatched up by vagrants or other ne’er do wells.

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