Boston looked the same as it ever did, alive in the daylight and thriving with life. People passed on the sidewalks, traffic sucked, and horns blared as its denizens made their daily commute.
“Oy, feel better now do ya?” Maggie said, her eyes narrowed furiously at the work truck that had just cut us off.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Do yer homework?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“I don’t like her, Jack,” I heard Alice say from the back seat.
I turned to look at her. She sat calmly, hands folded in her lap, her white everything standing in stark contrast to the car's gray cloth interior. She watched the world go by out the window, a look of complete serenity on her face.
“Yeah? She’d probably say the same about you,” I told Alice, not bothering to carry the conversation in my head. I seldom did.
Maggie looked at me lifting a curious brow. I waved her away.
“Ignore me, talking to my demon.”
I filled Alice in on the last several hours, about the Ordo, the killings, though she knew about Essie. As long as I wasn’t on holy ground, Alice had access to every bit of sensory input that I did. It was a part of the bargain, she wanted to experience humanity as much as she could while on the lam from Hell. I was her conduit. So far she hated it. On that same note though, if I was cut off from her, she was cut off from that input.
Alice said nothing while I related the entirety of the events. Finally, she looked towards me, eyes a solid, untelling white.
“I still don’t like her, Jack. Get rid of her,” Alice said finally.
“I can’t really do that, Alice.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You should get rid of her,” Alice said, her voice flat, emotionless.
Demons don’t have a morality so to speak. They see no need for evil or good, or anything of the sort. For the most part they are primal, sensation junkies of the highest order without restraint. It isn’t that they are evil, their tastes just ran towards self-destruction. The seven deadly sins, truthfully, were all things we just fought to suppress. Demons reveled in them. It wasn’t an issue of it being morally right, so much as it was an issue of it being unrestrained and just fucking fun.
Maggie watched us from the corner of her eye as she drove, occasionally glancing back to what she would see as just an empty back seat.
”You call her ‘Alice?’” Maggie asked.
I waved the question away.
“Do you have a take on any of this?” I asked Alice.
“Yes. I still think you should get rid of her.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh. Yes, I have a take on it.”
I waited for a minute or two, waiting for her to go on. She remained silent.
“Are you going to tell me?” I asked.
“No.”
I sighed and turned back around.
“Problem?”
“She doesn’t like you.”
“Shame,” Maggie said rolling her eyes.
“Where exactly are we going?” I asked.
“Remember the girl that survived?”
“The one in the nut house?”
“That’s the one. We’re gonna go have a chat with her,” Maggie said.
“And they’re gonna let us in?”
Maggie grinned. “I have my ways.”
Chapter 5
We parked in the lot outside the hospital, where the girl, Lucy something or other, was being kept before going into police custody. From what I’d gathered, after the cops had picked her up, she had been pretty much incoherent. Rather than take any chances with the girl’s health, or open up the possibility for a lawsuit, they had gotten a court order to have her institutionalized for three days of observation. To make sure she didn’t chew out her tongue or something I guessed.
The hospital itself was a sprawling complex made of graying bricks and mirrored glass. The doors were unmarked and it was void of the typical lighted signs that directed ambulances, visitors, and the like. I could pick out a few nurses in the distance, gathered under a tree, smoking cigarettes. The parking lot was filled with German cars, each one of
“Oy, feel better now do ya?” Maggie said, her eyes narrowed furiously at the work truck that had just cut us off.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Do yer homework?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“I don’t like her, Jack,” I heard Alice say from the back seat.
I turned to look at her. She sat calmly, hands folded in her lap, her white everything standing in stark contrast to the car's gray cloth interior. She watched the world go by out the window, a look of complete serenity on her face.
“Yeah? She’d probably say the same about you,” I told Alice, not bothering to carry the conversation in my head. I seldom did.
Maggie looked at me lifting a curious brow. I waved her away.
“Ignore me, talking to my demon.”
I filled Alice in on the last several hours, about the Ordo, the killings, though she knew about Essie. As long as I wasn’t on holy ground, Alice had access to every bit of sensory input that I did. It was a part of the bargain, she wanted to experience humanity as much as she could while on the lam from Hell. I was her conduit. So far she hated it. On that same note though, if I was cut off from her, she was cut off from that input.
Alice said nothing while I related the entirety of the events. Finally, she looked towards me, eyes a solid, untelling white.
“I still don’t like her, Jack. Get rid of her,” Alice said finally.
“I can’t really do that, Alice.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You should get rid of her,” Alice said, her voice flat, emotionless.
Demons don’t have a morality so to speak. They see no need for evil or good, or anything of the sort. For the most part they are primal, sensation junkies of the highest order without restraint. It isn’t that they are evil, their tastes just ran towards self-destruction. The seven deadly sins, truthfully, were all things we just fought to suppress. Demons reveled in them. It wasn’t an issue of it being morally right, so much as it was an issue of it being unrestrained and just fucking fun.
Maggie watched us from the corner of her eye as she drove, occasionally glancing back to what she would see as just an empty back seat.
”You call her ‘Alice?’” Maggie asked.
I waved the question away.
“Do you have a take on any of this?” I asked Alice.
“Yes. I still think you should get rid of her.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh. Yes, I have a take on it.”
I waited for a minute or two, waiting for her to go on. She remained silent.
“Are you going to tell me?” I asked.
“No.”
I sighed and turned back around.
“Problem?”
“She doesn’t like you.”
“Shame,” Maggie said rolling her eyes.
“Where exactly are we going?” I asked.
“Remember the girl that survived?”
“The one in the nut house?”
“That’s the one. We’re gonna go have a chat with her,” Maggie said.
“And they’re gonna let us in?”
Maggie grinned. “I have my ways.”
Chapter 5
We parked in the lot outside the hospital, where the girl, Lucy something or other, was being kept before going into police custody. From what I’d gathered, after the cops had picked her up, she had been pretty much incoherent. Rather than take any chances with the girl’s health, or open up the possibility for a lawsuit, they had gotten a court order to have her institutionalized for three days of observation. To make sure she didn’t chew out her tongue or something I guessed.
The hospital itself was a sprawling complex made of graying bricks and mirrored glass. The doors were unmarked and it was void of the typical lighted signs that directed ambulances, visitors, and the like. I could pick out a few nurses in the distance, gathered under a tree, smoking cigarettes. The parking lot was filled with German cars, each one of
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