Cameron Haley - Skeleton Crew

“Is that what this is, then? A fight? You would test your selves in battle against a Lord of Hell?” He turned up his hands and flames erupted from the palms.

“I heard you were more of a low-ranking general,” I said.

“But no, since you asked, we don’t think it’s going to be much of a fight.”

“No doubt you’re right about that,” the demon said, looking around, “unless you’ve brought your little army with you. In that case, we might have a bit of sport.”

“The truth is, we’re a lot alike,” I said. “Your people and mine, I mean.”

Valafar laughed. “You are no more than a pathetic parody of my race. You were given all the tools, sure, but that little seed of weakness was planted deep in your souls. Empathy, I think you call it, or conscience. Humanity,” he said, spitting the word like a curse. The forked tongue darted out and licked his lips. “Whatever you call it, I can tell you this much-it tastes delightful.”

“Yeah, just like us,” I continued. “Someone I know referred to us as a small measure of spirit imprisoned in flesh.

That was made really clear when the Xolos were taken and human souls were unable to escape their corpses. People like us, we need help dying. We can’t escape the prison on our own.”

“Fascinating,” Valafar said. “Would you care to die now?”

“You know the most horrible thing about the zombies? You’d think it would have been the cannibalism, but it wasn’t. The worst thing was they were just people. A lot of them didn’t even know they were dead.”

“Yes, well, humans are imbeciles.”

“It’s not that easy to tell, though, is it? The flesh is still animated and the soul endures. It’s an easy mistake to make.”

“For a human, I suppose.”

“Or the Firstborn,” I said. “We really are so much alike. That’s why I was so sure you’d crawl up inside Francis Mobley without ever realizing he was already dead.”

The fire in the demon’s eyes dimmed and the flames dancing on his upturned hands winked out. He looked down at Mobley’s body. “What…” he stammered. “How?”

Jack raised his hand and smiled.

I laughed. “The big fight at Wilson Park? That was just to get your attention and draw your demons away from Mobley. Just long enough for one of the King’s Knives to slip in here and do his work. It was quick and painless- Mobley didn’t even notice. I figured you’d be trapped, just like a human soul. I noticed you bailed pretty quick when I shot that preacher you possessed.”

“Clever, but so what?” Valafar spat. “Even trapped within this rotting meat, I will destroy you.”

“You probably could,” I said, “but we’re not going to have a fight.” I brought my fingers to my lips and whistled, and my Xolo padded into the room. He sat on his haunches beside me and looked up, his tongue lolling from the side of his mouth. In the mortal world, he had a family and a good home. He wore a collar and a dog tag. His name was Noe.

Valafar laughed. “That pathetic cur is no threat to me.”

I reached down and scratched Noe’s ears, and then I looked up at the demon. “He’s not here for you, Valafar,” I said. “He’s here for Mobley.” The Xolo barked once and leaped to his feet, and then he faded from view as he crossed over to the Between.

“No,” the demon said. His eyes flared and he backed away toward the far side of the circle. “It’s not…you can’t…”

“You said yourself, you’re just a parasite. I’m guessing you won’t last very long in there without a human soul to chew on.”

The demon threw back his head and howled, and then the burning orbs flickered out. Mobley’s human eyes stared sightlessly at us for a moment before he toppled over and fell facedown on the tile.

Honey flew to Jack and tackle-hugged him in midair. She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him long and hard. “My hero,” she whispered when she finally came up for air.

“Save it for the honeymoon,” I said. “We haven’t even had the wedding yet.”

On Honey’s insistence and with Stag’s grudging authorization, we held the ceremony at the Ashram. I argued we could find a good spot in L.A., and failing that we could always go to Vegas, but Honey wouldn’t hear of it. She said the Ashram was a sacred place; I wasn’t sure if that was because Hecate was there, whatever she was, or because Honey had a thing for New Age eastern mysticism. I guessed it was probably Hecate.

The location proved to be a logistical nightmare. The convergence of two major ley lines meant there was more than enough juice for the Seelie Court, but there were enough dry spots in San Bernardino County they couldn’t just take the freeway. We had to build gates for them in the compound, and they had to make the trip through the Between.

Just about everyone I knew was at the wedding. The outfit represented, with Terrence, Chavez, Adan, Ismail Akeem and Amy Chen all attending. Shanar Rashan even returned from sabbatical in time to make the event, though I wasn’t sure how he’d heard about it. Oberon, Titania and representatives of the sidhe nobility attended. The king’s face was healed but he was wearing an eye patch. If anything, it made him look more charming and roguish than ever. Lowell and Granato were there. They were too busy worrying about what a fairy wedding celebration might do to government property to really have a good time. My mother attended, radiant in her simple yellow dress and white hat. Other than me, she was Honey’s closest friend in the mortal world and she wouldn’t have missed the wedding even if the zombie apocalypse had still been in full swing. Detective Meadows even showed up for the affair. She’d seen enough of the dark side of the underworld, and she deserved to see the wondrous and beautiful side for a change.

The wedding was strange in some ways and familiar in others. We all gathered in a large circle with the bride and groom at the center. Titania presided over the ceremony; she spoke in the language of the sidhe, so I didn’t know what words were said. I understood it, just the same. When it was over, Titania bound the piskies’ clasped hands together with a white and gold ribbon, and Jack and Honey kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Honey was so happy and Jack looked so proud, it made my heart swell, and I had to flow a little juice to keep the tears out of my eyes. That’s me-a hard case to the bitter end.

After the ceremony, there was food and drink and dancing. I danced with Adan for what seemed like hours, and we clung to each other without speaking. Later, I took a glass of champagne and walked alone through the grounds. I found Honey sitting on the branch of a tree with her back pressed against the trunk. She was crying.

I dropped the glass and rushed over to her. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did you and Jack have a fight?”

The piskie laughed and wiped at her eyes. She shook her head and smiled. “No, everything is wonderful. I’m just sad because Jack will leave tomorrow.”

“What do you mean he’ll leave? You just got married.”

“We’ll make love tonight, Domino, and we’ll make a baby. And Jack will leave when the sun rises.”

“He’s going to knock you up and then split?” It really was like the barrio.

“Well, yeah,” Honey said, frowning at me. “After he gives me a baby, what else is he supposed to do?”

“He’s supposed to stick around and be a husband and father!”

“That’s what human women want. I’m a piskie,” she said, as if I might have forgotten.

“You don’t want your husband to stay with you?”

“I do, more than anything, but that’s why he has to go.”

“You’re not making any sense, Honey.”

“What I feel right now, today, that’s what I want to hold on to. And I couldn’t very well do that with Jack around all the time.”