Tim Marquitz - Echoes of the Past

A minute later, I ducked behind a building and yanked my new shirt off. I used a fingernail to cut my arm and smeared blood all across the shirt. Certain I was out of sight of my follower, I balled the shirt up and tossed it as hard as I could in the direction I’d been traveling. The sudden burst of movement by my essence would make it look like I was running. It wouldn’t fool anyone long, but tracking a person by their spiritual energies is a bitch, even for those trained in it. My darting back in the direction of the tracker would further confuse the signal. I could only hope it threw them off long enough for me to get a glimpse of them.

It worked.

There was a scuff of boots around the corner followed by a shadow; followed by my fist. The thud of bone on flesh sounded loud in the corridor as the person dropped.

“Damn it, Frank. What the Hell?” I recognized the voice, the sound of it freezing me in place. My shoulders slumped.

Veronica.

There on the floor, dressed in an all-black tracksuit that covered every inch of her skin, there was no mistaking her figure. She was massaging her cheek where I’d punched her, her left eye fluttering. As much as I didn’t want to see her, I sighed and stuck my hand out. “Why are you following me?” She took my hand and I pulled her to her feet.

She rubbed at her face, her feet scuffing at the stone floor. “I, uh…damn, this is going to sound bad.”

“It’s you, Veronica. When doesn’t it?”

She groaned. “I was worried about you.” She looked away.

My brain slipped into overdrive and I felt my crotch begin to warm to the possibilities, but I shook my head to chase away the Technicolor porn film I was envisioning. I certainly didn’t need the hassles that came with Veronica, especially not with Karra around. As much fun as the ex-wife was when it came to sexual adventures, she was an addiction as bad as crack or meth; it only led to trouble and poor hygiene.

“Uh, look, that’s nice and all, but uh-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She growled. “I saw you with that woman earlier.” She snarled, but went on. “Baalth let it slip that you’d had a visit from Lucifer, and I wanted to be sure you were okay.”

Baalth didn’t let anything slip. If Veronica knew it was because Baalth wanted her to know and it served a purpose. The only question was whose? “So, you’re following me because you’re worried, huh?”

She shifted on her feet again. “Well, not just that.”

I laughed and motioned for her to continue.

She swallowed, and it took a moment for her to respond. “Baalth wanted to know what Lucifer told you.”

“Why? Was he afraid Lucifer might spill some grand secret?” I laughed again. “Like maybe that I’m his son and not his nephew?”

Veronica’s eyes shot wide.

“Damn it, you knew! Are you fucking kidding me?” My cheeks went nuclear and I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep from throttling the life from her.

Her own cheeks turned pink as she stumbled over her words. “I–I-I just…shit, Frank. I just found out myself. Honest.”

I drew in a deep breath and paced in a circle. For all our history, Veronica was a loyal subject to Baalth since he freed her from Hell. She’d have kept the secret to her grave if Baalth had asked her to, but it pissed me off every time I was reminded of her priorities. We hadn’t had the best of marriages, but damn, a secret like me being the son of the Devil isn’t something you keep from your ex. It was just proof of the divide between us. Evil Knievel wouldn’t try to jump that shit.

“Well, Veronica, I’m fine. When Baalth gets back, if he ever does, you can tell him Lucifer didn’t tell me shit.”

She grabbed my arm. “What do you mean, if he gets back?”

I turned and met her eyes. There wasn’t a hint of deceit there. She didn’t know. Shit. This was the second time I’d had to break the bad news, and I didn’t like the job. “Baalth was hurt…hurt bad. He’s gone to Lucifer to see if God can piece him back together.”

Veronica stumbled and I caught her before she could fall. Her moist eyes rolled to meet mine. “He’s gone?”

“He’s a stubborn bastard, you know that. He’ll be fine.” I hoped she couldn’t see the doubt in my eyes. He’d looked like nuked dogshit, and I wasn’t sure he’d make it even halfway there. Then there was the whole thing about God having to be the one to heal him. Baalth had better hope the Big Guy was in a forgiving mood or he needed Baalth for the war effort, otherwise it’d be a long trip for nothing. “Poe on the other hand…” I’d tried to bite that last bit back to keep from piling on, but something deep down inside me didn’t think it was right. While I hated Marcus, he looked like a lost dog when I dropped Poe’s body off. I didn’t have time to help the guy with the DSI showing up, and all. He could use some support, and Veronica would be better at it than me.

“Dead?”

I just nodded. The tears in her eyes broke free and spilled down her cheeks.

“Marcus is gonna need someone, you know?”

Veronica squeezed my arm and pulled away, wiping at her face. “I better go.” She gave me a quick hug that lingered a little long, and then finally pulled away. After a quick peck on the cheek, she started down the hall only to stop after about ten steps. She turned back to me and whispered, “I’m…I’m sorry.”

I waved her apology off. “Don’t worry about it.” She stared at me for a moment, her eyes moist, and then left.

Once she was gone, my senses ringing blank, I went back to where Mihheer was being held. He was still out when I got there.

“You take the scenic route?” Katon asked, holding his hand out.

I passed him the skin key and shrugged. “Ran into trouble.”

Rahim and Katon stiffened but I waved it off. “It was just Veronica. It’s good.”

Katon shook his head and handed Michael the piece of skin. The mentalist took it in a tentative grip and rolled his eyes toward me. “You didn’t say it was written on a chunk of someone’s ass.”

“Asmoday’s, to be specific, but you didn’t ask.”

He grunted and stared at the tablet. “This is going to take some time.” He turned to Rahim. “Can you keep him out for a while?”

Rahim shrugged. “We can at headquarters. Out here, all I can do is imitate Frank and hope it doesn’t kill him.”

“Then let’s take him to DRAC and make sure he’s shut down. I want to find out where his master has taken Scarlett.” Katon’s fists were clenched as he inched closer to Mihheer. He wanted his turn, and only his concern for Scarlett was holding him back.

Rahim saw it, too. “Let’s go. You got everything you need, Frank?”

I thought about it for a second and decided it was best if I didn’t go with them. “You don’t need me there. I want to stir up the cavalry for Scarlett and check in on Karra. Chatterbox still can’t reach her. It’s starting to make me nervous.” I turned to Michael. “Leave a link open, please. I’m gonna need help if I want to make the trip quickly.” He nodded, and I looked at Rahim. “Can I hitch a ride out?”

The wizard nodded, and I told him where I wanted to go. After a round of goodbyes, we went our separate ways.

Back in Iran, I was starting to wonder how many more times I’d be able to pop up outside Eden before word got out that I was the son of Satan. I can’t imagine I’d be very welcome after that, not that I was now. Fortunately, this time, I’d phoned ahead for Duke Forcalor. I didn’t want to play pat-a-cake with Uriel. I think he already knew who I was, which was probably why he was so hostile. Can’t say I blame him.

As I stood on the hot desert sand waiting for the duke to drop down from Heaven, I picked up another familiar essence alongside him. Narrowing my eyes, I raised my hand to shield them from the sun and stared upward. Two golden trails spiraled down toward me, one a good distance ahead of the other.