Part 14 (1/2)

”Well, hel-lo there, beautiful.”

I turned to face the speaker. A man wearing a skimpy tank top and black and turquoise biker pants leaned against a light pole, giving me a salacious once-over. ”You must be new. I haven't seen you around the Court. The name's Gabriel.”

”Gabriel? I'm surprised to see you without your trumpet.” I didn't protest when the man took my hand and gave it a rather sloppy kiss, although I badly wanted to wipe my hand afterward.

”Alas, I am notthat Gabriel,” the man said with a smile that bordered on a leer as he not-so-subtly eyed my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I crossed my arms over my chest. ”I am a cherub, not a vessel.”

”A vessel?”

”Gabriel. He's a vessel. So, are you here alone?”

”You arenot a cherub,” I said, willing to be polite, but not made a fool of. I casually stepped to the side, to put a little s.p.a.ce between us.

His leer got a bit brighter as he leaned closer. ”Winged babies, right? In diapers, flitting around from cloud to cloud? Cupid and all that?”

”That is the standard image of cherubs,” I agreed. ”I'm sure I don't need to point out that you're far from that.” ”It's a common misconception amongst the mortals.” He suddenly touched my neck, mumbling something about a bit of lint on my collar when I backed out of his reach. ”The truth about us is much more pleasant, I think you'll agree. You are new here, aren't you? You must have a tour.”

”I'm actually waiting here for someone,” I said as Gabriel the not-so-very-cherubic took my hand and tucked it into his arm.

”This won't take long. It's best to think of this incarnation of the Court as a giant wheel, with the main square here as the hub. There are three areas on the outer edges of the town, all reachable from this square,” he said, ignoring my protest. He waved a hand toward the people at the well. ”That's the equivalent of the office water cooler. Those are shops along the edges.”

I had a bit of trouble coming to grips with the idea of a celestial shopping mall, but managed to get my mind to overlook the trouble spots and move on. ”Shops. All right. Does the...er...does the sovereign change the appearance of the Court often?”

Gabriel shrugged, and escorted me down one of the four cobbled streets that led away from the square. ”Whenever it gets the urge to, I guess. Over here is the pet.i.tioner's park, and through that archway is the library.”

I caught a glimpse of a green open s.p.a.ce as Gabriel whisked me by an arched doorway into another area. ”You'll forgive my ignorance, but what exactly does a cherub do?”

”Communication, for the most part. I'm in charge of the Internet. See that building? That's the athonite. Don't go in there if you don't want to be bored to death. It's full of hermits who prose on about nothing for hours on end.”

”You are in charge of the Internet? In charge how?” I asked, little warning signals going off in my mind. I stoked up my ”go with the flow” intentions, and told myself I'd sort it all out later.

”Oh, this and that. It's mostly automated now, so it doesn't take too much effort to keep running. Leaves me time to spare for more pleasurable activities, like showing a lovely lady around the Court.”

”You've clearly devoted much time to flattery. It's second to none,” I said with a smile I didn't really feel, gently extracting my hand from his arm as we walked through a tunnel.

”Why, thank you, sweet lady.” He kissed my hand, then gestured widely as we emerged through an arched doorway into the third area. ”Behold, the sanctuary.”

”Is the sanctuary a, for lack of a better word, holy place?” I had tried to keep an eye on where we were going, memorizing as best I could the twists and turns through the town so I could find my way back to the main square. I gave up doing that as soon as I realized there were frequent signposts like the one Theo had consulted.

Gabriel laughed, and gave my fingers a squeeze, replacing them in the crook of his arm. I gritted my teeth against the desire to remove my hand. ”I can see you're going to need some help understanding how things work here. Holy has no meaning in the Court.”

Portia? Where are you?

Shoot, I keep forgetting I can mind-talk to you. I'm in another section of the Court. I'll be right there.

I do not like to be kept waiting. Where are you?

Keep your girdle on, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Someone is showing me around.

Who?

”And here we are. The sanctuary is the area containing the offices and living quarters. No tour is complete without a visit to the grand apartments.” Gabriel gestured toward a bridge leading to a square-turreted castle that, for some bizarre reason, reminded me of Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. ”Hang on one minute, now,” I said, coming to a stop. ”I am not going back to your apartment with you, if that's what you're thinking. I told you that I'm with someone, and he's waiting for me, so if you don't mind, I'm going to return to the square. Thank you for the tour-it was edifying in a number of ways.”

He grabbed my hand to keep me from leaving. ”What's your rush? Your friend will wait. My apartment is very special. I think you will enjoy it...and me.”

I gawked at him, unable to believe I was hearing what I was hearing, but the lascivious look on his face left me in no doubt as to the meaning behind his double entendre. ”I have no intention of enjoying you.”

Portia?

Coming!

”Why not?” Gabriel winked at me. ”You could do a lot worse than a cherub, you know. We're known for our s.e.xual skills.”

”I wouldn't be surprised to find out that you're in charge of p.o.r.n sites on the Internet,” I said, s.n.a.t.c.hing my hand back and turning on my heel to walk back the way we'd come.I'm on my way.

Overhead, thunder rumbled.

”You are making a mistake, Portia Harding,” Gabriel called after me as I stormed into the stone tunnel. I stopped and looked back at him. He was leaning against a signpost, a knowing smile on his face. I wanted to slap it off.

”How do you know who I am? I didn't tell you my name.”

He laughed, pus.h.i.+ng himself off the post to saunter over to me in a blatantly carnal manner. The air grew thick with static electricity.

”Word gets around. The latest rumor is about a mortal who had the cheek to get rid of a virtue in order to pardon her boyfriend. I have to admit, I like strong women, women who are not afraid to give in to temptation. I particularly like how they struggle before submitting.” He brushed a strand of hair off my face, his fingers stroking my cheek, leaping backward with a startled look on his face when two thin snakes of lightning struck the ground immediately in front of me.

”You dare!” he snarled, his face turning red as he backed up another couple of steps.

”I'm sorry. I don't seem to have much control over my little storm cloud, but it should be clear to you now that I don't intend to take you up on your...er...offer.” I mentally dismissed my cloud, and was relieved when it dissipated to nothing, the air losing its charged feeling.

”b.i.t.c.h! You will find that we are not as easy to fool as your lover. The Court takes a dim view of murderers and cheats, Portia Harding.”

There was no reply I could make to that which didn't involved some pretty rude language, not to mention more in the thunder-and- lightning area, so I simply turned around and walked away as fast as I could. I got lost twice despite the signposts and Theo's mental threats to hunt me down, but finally arrived back at the square to confront the furiously scowling vampire of my dreams.

”You can stop looking like that-I didn't leave willingly. I was hauled off by a cherub to go on a tour of the Court.”

His scowl turned blacker as his eyes lightened to a slate grey. I followed as he started off in the opposite direction. ”Don't you think you have enough trouble without getting involved with that randy lot? Come along, we don't have time to waste.”

”Where are we going?”

”The library. One of the mares has agreed to meet with you.” ”Excellent. I have much to say to her.”

”I'm sure you do.”

I peeked a glance at Theo, but his face was unreadable.

”Are all the cherubs like the one I met?”