experience with Gabriel. But Gabriel is gone now, and time is short. You must step up to the plate.” And he stepped up closer still.
A half-dozen feet stretched between them, yet Jessie still felt crowded. She also felt watched. She imagined if she looked up she would find all the angels and demons had ceased their battle to stare down at her. She made a special effort not to check.
As creepy a vibe as Kress was putting off, Jessie was totally on board with helping speed along this whole Return thing. The sooner they got it out of the way, the sooner she could stop hearing about the fucking thing. The Chosen One. The Prophecy. The Return. The…The…The… Always something. It had grown tiresome. Thing was…
“I don’t know what more I can do.”
Kress took another step forward. “The answer is inside of you.”
For a second, she thought he was tossing off a lame, Hallmark style metaphor. But as he took yet one more forward step with that glazed look back in his eyes, Jessie realized he meant the phrase literally.
“Much of Gabriel’s strength came from consulting those much stronger than he,” Kress said. He had halved the distance between them by now. His cologne hadn’t bothered Jessie before, but now its pungent musk gagged her. “You have millions of ancient souls within you. More knowledge and power concentrated into one place than anywhere in existence. It occurred to me that those souls must be the answer. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
As locked up as her throat had become, Jessie forced herself to speak. It was very important he understood. “It makes no sense. None. It’s crazy. Those souls, unlike Gabe’s, leave me alone. I don’t know why, when I imagine any single one of them could do a thousand times the damage. So as long as they leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone.”
Kress had room enough for one more step before he invaded Jessie’s typical personal space. He took that step, then dared another. The stink of his cologne overwhelmed Jessie. She tried to take a step away, but the backs of her legs came against something that kept her from moving. When she twisted around to see what blocked her, she found Wertz, the gnome, standing there in one of his tailored three-piece suits. His head only came as high as her butt. He had his arms crossed over his tiny chest, and he looked up at her with as much confidence as if he stood six-foot-five. She had no idea when he had snuck in here.
“Jessie,” Kress said, his voice so close he had to be standing less than a foot away.
When she turned back, he was leaning forward, his face a few inches from hers.
“As your commanding officer, I must insist you consult with the souls. Find an answer for us. Fulfill your destiny and bring us The Return.”
Jessie lifted her chin and looked at Kress down the length of her nose. “You might have made bank playing bad guys, but you suck as Darth Vader. Fulfill my destiny? Really? Lame.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“Then let me give you a serious answer to your,” she made quotes with her fingers, “order. Cram it up your ass. I might not have the mojo I used to, but I still got the vamp strength. Now back off or I’ll knock you into a wall and make a corner in this round room.”
Kress sighed. His eyebrows knit and his face sagged, making him look sad. “You’re right. You have a great deal of vampire strength. But you also have the same weaknesses.”
The skin on Jessie’s back felt like it was shriveling. A ghostly, painful pressure pushed at her like a hand of fire. She whirled around.
Wertz stood with his arm extended upward, a crucifix clenched in his baby-sized fist. The thing looked so harmless, just a metal cross, yet it pulsed with invisible energy, each wave striking Jessie with painful heat and making her skin feel like it meant to twist and tear itself loose from her body.
She scampered backward and bumped into Kress. The second she did, a chain swooped over
A half-dozen feet stretched between them, yet Jessie still felt crowded. She also felt watched. She imagined if she looked up she would find all the angels and demons had ceased their battle to stare down at her. She made a special effort not to check.
As creepy a vibe as Kress was putting off, Jessie was totally on board with helping speed along this whole Return thing. The sooner they got it out of the way, the sooner she could stop hearing about the fucking thing. The Chosen One. The Prophecy. The Return. The…The…The… Always something. It had grown tiresome. Thing was…
“I don’t know what more I can do.”
Kress took another step forward. “The answer is inside of you.”
For a second, she thought he was tossing off a lame, Hallmark style metaphor. But as he took yet one more forward step with that glazed look back in his eyes, Jessie realized he meant the phrase literally.
“Much of Gabriel’s strength came from consulting those much stronger than he,” Kress said. He had halved the distance between them by now. His cologne hadn’t bothered Jessie before, but now its pungent musk gagged her. “You have millions of ancient souls within you. More knowledge and power concentrated into one place than anywhere in existence. It occurred to me that those souls must be the answer. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
As locked up as her throat had become, Jessie forced herself to speak. It was very important he understood. “It makes no sense. None. It’s crazy. Those souls, unlike Gabe’s, leave me alone. I don’t know why, when I imagine any single one of them could do a thousand times the damage. So as long as they leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone.”
Kress had room enough for one more step before he invaded Jessie’s typical personal space. He took that step, then dared another. The stink of his cologne overwhelmed Jessie. She tried to take a step away, but the backs of her legs came against something that kept her from moving. When she twisted around to see what blocked her, she found Wertz, the gnome, standing there in one of his tailored three-piece suits. His head only came as high as her butt. He had his arms crossed over his tiny chest, and he looked up at her with as much confidence as if he stood six-foot-five. She had no idea when he had snuck in here.
“Jessie,” Kress said, his voice so close he had to be standing less than a foot away.
When she turned back, he was leaning forward, his face a few inches from hers.
“As your commanding officer, I must insist you consult with the souls. Find an answer for us. Fulfill your destiny and bring us The Return.”
Jessie lifted her chin and looked at Kress down the length of her nose. “You might have made bank playing bad guys, but you suck as Darth Vader. Fulfill my destiny? Really? Lame.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“Then let me give you a serious answer to your,” she made quotes with her fingers, “order. Cram it up your ass. I might not have the mojo I used to, but I still got the vamp strength. Now back off or I’ll knock you into a wall and make a corner in this round room.”
Kress sighed. His eyebrows knit and his face sagged, making him look sad. “You’re right. You have a great deal of vampire strength. But you also have the same weaknesses.”
The skin on Jessie’s back felt like it was shriveling. A ghostly, painful pressure pushed at her like a hand of fire. She whirled around.
Wertz stood with his arm extended upward, a crucifix clenched in his baby-sized fist. The thing looked so harmless, just a metal cross, yet it pulsed with invisible energy, each wave striking Jessie with painful heat and making her skin feel like it meant to twist and tear itself loose from her body.
She scampered backward and bumped into Kress. The second she did, a chain swooped over
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