Page 23 of Client from Hell

“That is a sad truth,” the archangel replied.

Something popped, and a moment later, Anael announced, “I have made arrangements for a hotel room, but it is not directly in Athens, although it is close enough. There were no places appropriate closer. I notified Lucifer to mitigate his complaints, and he agreed with my choice. He will send an amended list of things she should do as soon as she can.”

“Then we will begin. Doctors, nurses, your work has been done, and it has been done well, but we shall do what you cannot without great effort on your part and greater suffering on hers. We shall compensate your lost research by evaluating each future for treatments and providing the information you need to help other humans suffering as she suffers. You did well by her, although you were not prepared for the realities of the treatments you attempted.”

One of the doctors sighed. “We weren’t expecting her to survive the first phase, but she did not want a slow and long demise, and there was a chance.”

“A chance is better than no chance when one has her will to live,” the archangel replied. “You learned something very important with the combination of treatments you gave her. You will save many lives because you were willing to risk hers. Continue such research. You have made another step forward for the caring of other humans, and that is an important thing. Now, please go. Jonas, you may stay. Your first job is to rig a blindfold, for we will need to expose our halos, and it will be easier without the shrouds.”

Footsteps ushered in the closing of a door. I could only assume the doctors and nurses had obeyed and left. “And since I’ve been flirting with death, I can see through the shroud anyway. Or might soon. I’ve been warned.”

“You have flirted with more than merely death, and your vision is not a consequence of your mortality but your adept skill with magic. You did not pursue any forbidden arts, which makes your discovery of how to create a shroud all the more impressive. You learned because you needed to conceal something, and you did not know what magic you awoke within you. To create a shroud, you must see the shrouds—and you must see through the shrouds. But your soul is mortal, and that dooms you. I shall correct that.”

“You’ll what?” Jonas blurted.

“He loves His fallen son, Jonas. You know this well. This girl’s demise would hurt my brother, and He is a compassionate being. She broke no universal laws. She did not even skirt breaking any.” The archangel giggled. “You, young Sandra, should not be permitted near matches. They are a temptation you cannot seem to resist.”

Damn it. I hadn’t even thought about what had led up to needing to create a shroud in the first place. “Busted,” I muttered.

“You were, as you say, busted the instant my brother refused to look and his little nightmare could not pierce what you created. He found your daring to be charming, and He instructed we were to preserve your soul, for you uncovered the secret through nothing more than forcing my brother to pay consequences for his actions—and He appreciates that.”

Jonas sucked in a breath. “You’re the arsonist, Sandra?”

“I was dying, he crashed the courthouse, I wasn’t ready to play attorney yet, and I was going to die anyway, so I figured the Devil would kill me off a lot faster and cheaper if he figured out I’d done it.” I inhaled, forcing myself to calm down. “I figured he would track down who had burned his little mini mansion in a hurry and escort me to hell. It would have done me a favor, really. But I made sure nobody was in the place first. I even made sure all of the fish were gone, because they have nothing to do with their owner’s shitty behavior in court.”

Jonas snickered. “That’s just incredible. You learned how to create a shroud so you wouldn’t suffer from cancer for longer than necessary? And you targeted Lucifer?”

“Who else would I target? He was the one who turned the court into a circus. I can’t even blame his little cupcake of a daughter. She tried so hard to strangle him. I respect that. I wanted to strangle him, too.”

“Who doesn’t want to strangle him at least once?” Jonas laughed. “And to think, Lucifer became interested in you because you were so damned patient in court, too, which made you perfect for tolerating his bullshit.”

“It’s just wrong. I worked so hard on that hit, convinced he’d figure me out within ten minutes, and then he comes to my school and tries to hire me rather than fire me. As in burn me to a little crisp. I mean, firing me as in punting me out of his employment seems to be an option now?”

“Considering you signed the employment papers, yes. Camael, Anael, I don’t know what you need from me, but I would offer you favors to make this work out for the best, whatever that is.”

The archangel and angel both laughed, and the sound soothed me better than any drug I’d ever taken. Camael said, “There will be no owed debt, young Jonas. He would have interfered eventually, and this balances the scales between us. Sandra, you do have a choice to make before we begin.”

“What choice?”

“The deception began with your lycanthropy virus infection.”

“The unknown strain?”

“Yes,” Camael confirmed. “It is unknown because there is no animal associated with the virus. You have the virus, but the animal DNA has been stripped from it. The donors are two people who were infected with this human-made virus, and you were never at risk of a mating bond because these two lycanthropes are mated to each other. As such, your virus has no purpose beyond healing your body. Of course, the instant you begin seriously pursuing a male, that portion of the virus’s nature will awaken. Your issues are due to the lack of an animal’s DNA guiding your virus. Because the virus does not have any cues from the animal strain, it does the only thing it can, which is heal your body. It does not understand it kills you trying to help you.”

“Diana and Darian are the donors,” Jonas informed me. “While Diana was meeting with you, Darian was donating his blood. When Diana left, she would donate as well. Lucifer has been abusing his holy fire trying to crank their blood production to make sure you have enough units, but they’re becoming tired and can’t sustain so many units for so long. That’s part of why they want me to stick close. I can monitor you, and because I can teleport and take someone with me, if your condition worsened, I could take you to Lucifer. I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but considering the situation, well, it’s not my problem you know, and knowing gives you an edge. Lucifer asked them if they would donate to test something about their virus strain and applications in medication.”

My mouth dropped open. “They have a lycanthropy virus that isn’t attuned with an animal?”

“Yes. It’s a situation Lucifer is investigating, and that’s part of why he needs your help. It’s just too much work for the staff we have.”

Camael cleared her throat. “Lucifer will be displeased when he learns you told his secrets.”

“When isn’t Lucifer displeased with me?”

“While you have a point, he does like you. He just also enjoys giving you a hard time because you are stubborn and play the games by your own rules.”

I could easily imagine Jonas shrugging off the archangel’s concern. “He’ll be pleased with me after he puts on a show because telling her improves her odds of a full recovery, and he wants her alive. I’m doing what he wants in a different way. Sure, I’m being self-serving, but at least I’m mostly honest about it.”