Part 28 (1/2)
”A television show about ghosts here at the base.”
”Oh . . . right.”
”I can't tell you much about Cain's advancement,” Hank went on. ”To my knowledge, no one has been promoted to archangel in the history of . . . well, in history. Period.”
”Great.”
”You worry that you've lost him.”
She shook her head. ”I worry that he's lost himself. I was with him-in him-when the change happened. I don't know how anyone can live through pain like that and still be the same person. I could feel his . . . soul separating from his body.”
”He did not lose his soul, Evangeline. It has simply connected more fully with G.o.d. Sammael is known for his ability to lure the weak to wors.h.i.+p, but he has yet to achieve the level of expertise that G.o.d enjoys.”
”Are you saying that G.o.d is luring Alec away from me?”
Hank smiled. ”He can make Cain happier without you. You bring turmoil. G.o.d will give him peace.”
”Peace.”
”It is easy to entice someone to have s.e.x, yes? Sammael does it every minute. It's much more difficult to convince someone to forsake it, forever, yet G.o.d manages to do that regularly. With the strong, not the weak.”
Eve tried to picture Alec-the most virile man she knew, along with Reed-forsaking s.e.x. ”Uh . . . I don't think that-”
”-Raguel is dead?” The sparkle in Hank's pale blue eyes told her that he knew what she'd intended to say.
”You're right, I don't.”
They reached the porch, and Hank surveyed the damaged part.i.tion. They had cleaned up the destruction as much as possible, but it was clear that things were not what they should be. The front door was open to facilitate the moving of the boxes. Hank entered first, which made Eve wonder if Hank was a woman or just clueless about etiquette. Moving directly to the largest crate, Hank circled it. ”It isn't by chance that the number of archangels has been immutable,” he murmured.
”No, I wouldn't think so.”
He looked at her, smiling. ”I love that you aren't naive, you know. Makes you much more interesting.”
”Thanks. You're pretty interesting yourself.” She gestured at all the crates. ”Can I help you with any of this?”
He pointed to three crowbars propped up against the wall by the door. ”There has to be a balance. Just as the kings of h.e.l.l are still alive and well, so are the archangels. They both make a great show of protecting themselves, because they don't want to insult the other by making it too easy.”
Eve grabbed a crowbar and picked the nearest crate, which was chest height. ”Like nuclear weapons in the Cold War? The United States and the Soviet Union spied on each other, lied to each other, and were prepared to blow each other up, but in the end, no one wanted to tip the balance. The cost was too high.”
”Exactly.”
”But,” she tugged on the crowbar, venting her frustrations with physical exertion, ”Alec might remain an archangel, regardless of what happens to Gadara?”
Hank's arms crossed over the top of a crate. ”Maybe. He could be demoted back to mal'akh, which would create more issues to deal with. It's easier to adjust to an improvement in one's circ.u.mstances than it is to taste success and slide backward into failure.”
Pus.h.i.+ng down on the bar with all her might, Eve pried the top open amid a cacophony of protesting nails.
”Can you find out who or what killed the two Marks with this equipment?”
”I can certainly give it my best shot. I take it you don't want to talk about Cain anymore?”
”I want to talk to him.” She managed a half-smile to soften any sting her words might cause. ”Although I appreciate what you've shared so far.”
She dug through the sawdust that filled the box and withdrew . . . a lampshade. A child's lampshade with a cartoon theme featuring stars and moons. Her brows raised and she looked at Hank. Blus.h.i.+ng, Hank explained, ”Frame of mind is as important to success as tools.”
”I'll go with that.” Which brought home the fact that her frame of mind had been skewed all day. She needed to slow down, take some time alone, and rehash everything she knew about the events with a finetooth comb. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Hoping it was Alec, she was in such a rush to get it out that she nearly dropped it. But the name on the display was Mom. Eve briefly considered sending the call to voicemail, then thought better of it. She needed a hefty dose of reality right now. Her old reality, not her new one.
”I have to get this,” she said to Hank. ”I'm sorry.”
”Don't be. I will still be here when you're done.”
”Hi, Mom,” she greeted, while moving down the hallway for privacy.
”Your dad just told me you called yesterday. Is everything good?”
Eve winced, but said, ”So far. We're busy, but that's to be expected.”
”Is Alec with you?”
”No, he's away on business.” Not for the first time, she felt what it might be like to live a normal life with Alec. She grieved for that imaginary life when she allowed herself to think about it.
”And Reed?” Miyoko asked. ”Is he there?”
”Yes.”
”Strange. There is something wrong with Alec that he puts up with that.”
Eve smoothed her brow with her fingertips. Her skin felt damp and hot, which worried her. ”I would think there was something wrong with a man who interfered with his girlfriend's job.”
”Jobs don't last forever,” her mother said. ”Marriages do.”
Unwilling to touch that with a ten-foot pole, Eve looked into the first bedroom as she pa.s.sed it. It had been completely cleared out. ”Is there anything exciting happening with you?”
”Just my children giving me gray hair. Sophia got another tattoo. Two of them.”
”Really?” Eve's sister had been fond of tattoos when she was a single girl, but she hadn't indulged in new ink since her marriage. ”What did she get?”
”Cody and Annette's names wrapped around her ankle.”
”I think that's sweet, and the kids might think their mom is really cool for doing something like that.” She went on to the next room. The master bedroom had only a couple of sleeping bags and duffel bags left in it, bearing witness to the interruption of Ken and Edwards's efforts to pack up the vehicles. Richens's laptop case was set neatly atop his bag and a shaving kit that resembled a camera case was set on top of that. Camera.
”Don't sound so happy about it,” Miyoko complained. ”I hope you never get one.”
Eve thought back to the conversation they'd had a few days ago when she'd thought her mother noticed the Mark of Cain on her arm. Instead she'd learned that the mark wasn't visible to mortal eyes. ”I'm not planning on it, but never say never.”
”Evie . . .” her mother said in her best warning tone.