Hell Inc. (11 page)

I
was late in getting up, but at least I was alive. Levie hadn't come
in and killed me in my sleep, which was a miracle after I'd insulted
him. I stayed in my room as long as I could, and when I did need to
go to the bathroom, I ran without looking at the living room.
Finally, I couldn't stall any longer and carefully made my way out of
the bathroom and down the hall.

Levie
was sitting in his usual manner, novel in hand. A different one from
the night before but one I had seen previously, with the Fabio-maid
cover. I coughed lightly to get his attention. He actually paused
his reading and closed his novel. “Did you finish your other
book last night?” I asked conversationally. Levie glowered at
me and curled his lip in disgust.

“Actually,
human,” he stood up as the sphinx stretched and watched us with
interest. “I did since I was unable to sleep.” Levie grit
his teeth and ripped the spectacles off of his face. “The pain
in my groin was so great that I could do little else but sit and try
to focus on my reading.” I tried not to laugh but failed.

“Who
is to blame when the pyramid does not stand? The slaves or the slave
master?” the sphinx asked us. This riddle seemed so appropriate
to the situation that I laughed harder and almost choked in surprise
when Levie was right in front of me.

“Whoa,
there.” I stepped back from him against the wall. “I
didn't see you move.” Levie grabbed my arms and slammed my
wrists against the wall.

“No
Ginger, you did not because I did not wish you to. I, I am a demon,
and you are just a human. Remember that next time you decide to
insult me.” I should have been frightened, but apparently
something must have been wrong with that part of my brain because I
wasn't.

“You
know what, Levie. I don't really care because you insulted me and
you deserved it.” I locked my green eyes on his orange ones and
smirked. “And you know what? Administrative assistant is just a
fancy word for secretary.” The look on his face didn't shift
from anger to outright fury like I'd expected. Instead, he smiled,
and for some reason, that was much, much scarier.

“Be
careful human. Because I'm not finished with you yet.” Levie
licked the side of my face and then released me abruptly. I brushed
demon saliva from my cheek with the sleeve of my jacket and gave him
a look of disgust. God, we made a toxic combination, but I was
intrigued. Damn it.

“If
time stands still for none, then where does time go to seek rest?”
The sphinx riddled, reminding me that we were late.

I
grabbed my keys and led the way out of the apartment. This ...
situation with Levie was getting out of control, but I wasn't sure
what I was supposed to do about it. I guessed that if I wanted to
get rid of him, I would have to make my last wish. But did I really
want to end all of this? My life was suddenly a lot more interesting
than it had been before. I decided to put these thoughts on the back
burner as we neared my truck. I paused before getting in and turned
to face Levie and the sphinx.

“You,”
I said, pointing at it. “Are coming with me. But Levie,”
I gave him a look of amusement mixed with pity. “You can't
come, not after that scene you threw the other day. The wait staff
will call the cops if they see you.” Levie looked ready to
protest. “There's no way, Levie. They can't see you. I'll give
you what money I have left and you can wait at the cafe across the
street, okay?”

“I
have my own sources of human currency, stupid girl. I don't need to
take money from one as poor as you. I will wait, but I will not wait
long. You have one hour before I will come looking for you.”

“Excuse
me, but you aren't my keeper or anything.” I protested, feeling
anxious and wanting to get to the restaurant. There was some part of
me that desperately wanted to see Terrence again. Levie had a look
that I am sure could rival that of the most stubborn mule.

“You've
proven yourself untrustworthy,” he told me matter-of-factly.
“If you cause another problem, it is my life on the line. This
small incentive gives me a vested interest in your actions, does it
not?” I couldn't really argue with that. I didn't blame him
for being afraid of his uncle, so I gave in and said I would send the
sphinx to check back with him in an hour.

When
I arrived at the brewery, the aroma of beer and hot wings drifted to
me as I hung my coat on the rack just inside the door. I looked
around the restaurant and spotted the group of museum staff sitting
at a long table, made by pushing several smaller ones together, in
the corner. They hadn't seen me yet, so I took my time examining the
group and locating Terrence. He was sitting at the head of the table
with Cynthia on his left and the old man who had yelled at me on his
right. Great. I'd almost forgotten about them.
So much for my
lunch date: the worker bees are here, too.

“Hey
Ginger.” Sigh. Blake. I turned around with a fake smile on my
face.

“Good
afternoon, Blake,” I said, trying not to sound irritated.

“That
group in the corner,” he nodded his chin at the museum staff.
“They said that they're waiting for you.” I nodded
absentmindedly as I watched Levie through the glass doors, both now
uncracked. He was sitting at one of the cafe tables, reading his
book and drinking something that was steaming. I just hoped he would
stay there. The sphinx looked at Micheal and then walked right
through him and over to the museum table.

I
recognized the exact moment they laid eyes on him. Most of the group
had a look of fear sprinkled with irritation, save for Cynthia and
Terrence. Cynthia looked like she was about to be violently ill and
Terrence appeared intrigued. Score another point for the way too
young and way too hot head curator or whatever he was. Knowing that
I must be there after seeing the sphinx, Terrence looked over at
Blake and me and smiled. My heart skipped a beat, and I brushed
Blake off to go over to the table.

“Hey
there,” I said to Terrence, walking up to stand next to the
sphinx. “Has he riddled you yet today?” Cynthia scowled
at me and put her hand protectively on Terrence's wrist. He ignored
her and beamed up at me.

“Not
yet, but I was hoping for one.” We both looked down at the
sphinx who cocked its head to the side as if listening for something
then nodded.

“When
one and one traditionally come together to make two, what is one to
do with a third element?” Terrence laughed in utter delight,
and I couldn't help but join in.

“Charming,”
he remarked, leaning forward and running a hand through his hair.
“Absolutely fantastic. Does he ever give the answers?” I
looked down at the sphinx who in turn, looked up at me and shook my
head.

“I
think we're supposed to come up with them on our own.” Cynthia
snapped a mirrored case she'd been checking her make-up in shut.

“This
is ridiculous. I have better things to do with my day than sit in
some trashy little hole in the wall and chit chat. Terrence, can we
wrap this up?” That comment in particular made me angrier than
anything else she'd said thus far.

“I'm
sorry to bother you with my
problems
, but I've been dealing
with this shit my entire life,” I snarled, slamming my hand
onto the tabletop. “If you can't even handle it for one
freaking day, then you're even more of a pathetic bitch than I first
thought. The least that you can do is handle it for a couple of days
and keep your mouth shut.” Cynthia gaped at me.

“How
dare you speak to me like that,” she sputtered and looked as if
she was going to release a myriad of threats my way. Terrence turned
towards her; I couldn't see his face, but whatever look he gave her
silenced her immediately. I planted my hands on my hips and took a
deep breath. Out of the million and one scenarios I had fathomed
occurring today, this certainly wasn't it. The people at the table
looked ... annoyed, tired, scared but not particularly
surprised.

“Ginger,”
Terrence turned towards me again and handed me a folded newspaper
that he pulled out from under his plate. “Have you seen the
paper today?” I reached down slowly and tried to calm my out of
control pulse. It was easy to see what he was referring to; the
headline print was enormous. “MASS HYSTERIA STRIKES VISITORS AT
LOCAL MUSEUM!”

My
mind read the words but refused to comprehend them. This could be
completely unrelated and besides, there was more than one museum
around. I forced my eyes to skim the article. “Local
authorities blame museum staff for contaminated artifacts brought in
from overseas ... the mass paranoia affecting visitors to the
museum is resulting in group hallucinations of supernatural activity
including vampires, fairies, and even angels ... if you or
anyone you know has been affected, please contact your doctor and
alert the Everett Police Department immediately.” I grabbed the
front of Terrence's shirt.

“Did
any of your staff go to the newspaper?” I asked, eyes wide with
fear. Terrence looked around the table and shook his head.

“No,
I don't think so.” He looked askance at Cynthia, who in turn,
appeared rather offended.

“Why
on earth would I want anyone to think that I was hallucinating?”
That at least was believable. I let go of Terrence rather abruptly
and ran outside to the newspaper stand. Popping in several quarters,
I ripped open the door and pulled out the day's paper. There it was,
plastered unmistakably across the front page. I groaned inwardly and
turned around to find Levie watching me. I ignored him and went back
inside, rereading the article as I walked. If it was big enough news
to be in the paper, I could only imagine what was written all over
the Internet. There was probably already a Facebook page devoted to
the entire event. Shit. Shit. Shit. This wish was getting worse by
the minute. I threw the paper down in front of Terrence.

“Front
page, Register Guard. I wonder how many people were affected?”
Terrence picked up the paper and frowned. Cynthia slammed her hand
onto the tabletop.

“Well
then,” she snarled, brushing some locks of faux blond hair from
her face. “I guess it's time you told us exactly what you did
to these people.” The rest of the staff looked my way
expectantly. “Especially considering that we're all out of a
job, thanks to you.” Ouch. I guess the truth couldn't hurt.
They probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

“I
wished for it.” Silence. I didn't really know what else to
say. I couldn't even think of a more believable lie. “I sold
my soul to the Devil for three wishes, and I accidentally wished that
all of you could understand what I was going through. Since the
sphinx,” I gestured at it absentmindedly. “Broke the pot,
and I didn't want to be blamed for it.” Still silence. Fine
then, they didn't have to believe me if they didn't want to. They
just had to deal with it until I found a way to stop them from seeing
what I saw. And I had to do it fast, before this got even more out
of control. The amount of influence these people were giving to what
they were seeing could end up being really, really bad. As of right
now, the dragon I routinely spotted when driving the I-5 was only
stepping
over
traffic.

I
took a deep breath and looked around the table. “Just relax,
nothing is going to hurt you. It isn't even really in this
dimension. The less attention you pay to it, the less power it has to
affect anything at all.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I'm
going to take care of this. In a couple of days it should all stop.
As long as we get this taken care of quickly, everything will be
fine.” The staff was still oddly silent, almost bored looking,
even the old man who had yelled at me originally. Cynthia still
looked angry, and Terrence looked a bit disappointed. “If none
of you have anything to say,” I said, easing away from the
table. “Then it's time for me to go.”

Their
lack of surprise was getting to me, and the hairs on the back of my
neck were starting to tickle in alarm. Why did I even agree to come
here in the first place? I didn't owe them anything. I was too
easily swayed by a handsome face. Just as I was about to turn and
make a run for it, Terrence placed a hand on my arm.

“Did
you really meet the Devil?” he asked. I looked up, surprised.

“Yeah,
I did,” I replied, reticent to go any further. Was there even a
chance he would believe me? He nodded and looked thoughtful.

“I've
read about people like you,” he said as I continued to stare at
him, not sure what he was referring to exactly. “Perhaps the
legends we know so well today were started by something like this in
the first place.” When I didn't reply, he smiled warmly at me,
making my skin heat where his hand was resting. “Ginger, I want
to help you if I can, but – ” he bit his bottom lip, and
I fought the urge to squeal. But damn, he was cute. “In
exchange, I want you to promise me something.” I raised my
eyebrows and waited for him to continue. He was taking this all
unbelievably well ... He squeezed my arm lightly, and I felt
my cheeks flush. I checked my watch. It hadn't been an hour yet,
but I debated sending the sphinx over to Levie. The last thing I
needed was him showing up here again and causing a scene.

“What's
wrong?” Terrence asked, voice soft. Cynthia made a noise of
protest, but Terrence raised a hand, and she kept her mouth shut.
They didn't work for the museum anymore; she needed to get over her
little obedience stint. It was annoying, even though I did prefer
her quiet. I ignored his question and waved the sphinx away.
“Ginger, this is something I've always dreamed of. I studied
history because I was always interested in the mythology of other
cultures. Now, I can finally see the creatures that I've always read
about. Imagine that, Ginger. A scholar of myth who can actually
study what he's been researching?” This brought my mind to
another question that had been bothering me.