LITMIR.BIZ

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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 seemed that the otherworld had caught up with me again.

Chapter Five

      Harmony, the guardian angel who had been sent to protect my last client, gave me a grin. 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 blonde 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’s 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?”

      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.

      She looked hurt. “I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. Have a little faith.”

      “What you call faith, I call wishful thinking.”

      She shook her head. “No. Wishful thinking is empty dreaming. Faith is about trusting that the Master of the Universe knows what He’s doing.”

      I laughed harshly. “Spare me! I don’t think that Heaven’s propaganda is going to do Patrick any good.”

      “It’s not propaganda!”

      So we’d gone back to our opposing camps. It figured. From the way the two of us fought, you’d think we were related. Still, I admired Harmony’s calm assurance.

      I relented. “Okay, I’ll have a little faith. But only a little.” Then I grinned evilly. “Although, are you sure that you’ll have enough time to make that intercession, what with your busy schedule of sewing pillows and eating French fries and all?”

      She narrowed her eyes at me as she fought not to smile.

      When Ariel came back to the table, she stared at Harmony, her eyes huge. “What kind of thing are you?”

      Harmony and I exchanged surprised looks. I knew that my niece had a sensitivity to the otherworld, but I hadn’t realized her perception was strong enough to tell an angel from a human.

      Ari’s amazement only lasted a moment, however. When she glanced at her plate and saw that Harmony had eaten all of her French fries, she said, “Hey! I wasn’t finished with those.”

      “Well, thank you for sharing.” Harmony wiped her fingers on a napkin and stood. Before leaving, she patted Ariel’s head, getting a glower in return.

      Ari regarded her empty plate. “That thing has some nerve!”

      “She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” I said, smiling.

      Although I’d promised Harmony to have faith in her intercession, I couldn’t sit back and wait for something to happen. Instead, I spent Saturday morning investigating on my own.

      I had hunted for Patrick before. Several times, in fact. However, each search had ended in failure. My succubus, who could normally locate anyone with whom I’d made a connection, couldn’t find Patrick anywhere. She always started out eagerly, but she soon got confused, like a bloodhound who had lost the trail. We’d end up pacing up and down the same hallway in Hell, unsure where to go. This time, however, I had a new plan. It wasn’t one that I was keen on, but if it led me to Patrick, I was ready to try it.

      Getting

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