AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why not attack when you saw me?”
“I was bored.”
“You wanted me to attack you.”
“That would have been more fun than this.”
The angel shakes his head.
“You’re not what I was expecting.”
“How’s that?”
“I came looking for an Abomination. A monster that acts violently on instinct.”
“You came looking for Sandman Slim.”
“Does he still exist?”
I take a pack of Maledictions from my pocket, tap one out, light it, and blow toxic smoke rings in his direction.
“If you came looking for Jack the Ripper, you came a couple of months too late. I’m a solid citizen now. Got a job. Eat my vegetables. Hell, I didn’t even steal this car.”
“I came here for . . . would you mind rolling down a window?” he says.
“Sure. How rude of me.”
I roll down the driver’s side, letting the fogbank drift away to kill the weeds in the parking lot. Whoever he is in the back seems harmless enough, but I keep my knife ready.
“What was it you were saying?”
He coughs a couple of times. Winces. Drops his weight back against the seat and looks at his hand. There’s blood there.
“If you’re going to bleed to death, please don’t get it on the upholstery. I just had it cleaned.”
He points a bloody finger at me.
“That’s more who I came looking for.”
“For what?”
He’s wearing a dirty trench coat. It looks new, but also like it’s been dragged behind a car. Sort of like the angel himself.
“Who are you?” I ask him.
“Karael. I came a long way to find you.”
“Why?”
He reaches into his dirty coat and I get the black blade ready. From an inside pocket, he pulls out a small ornate box. He leans forward to hand it to me, then falls back against the seat.
“Have you ever seen one of these before?” he says.
I glance at the box.
“It’s very pretty. If it’s a hope chest, you’re one depressed fuck.”
“Look closer.”
