bad. If there was even the slightest chance it might help me find Jessica before someone else did, I was taking it. I even took the pocketknife from my bedside table and stuffed it in the back of my jeans before heading downstairs.
James wrinkled his nose as I walked by and followed me to the outside garbage can.
“ What's that smell?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face. I ignored him and went back inside for the keys. When he saw what was in my hand, his face blanched. I squeezed my fist closed.
“ You don't have to go with me,” I said. “But I have to go find Jessica.”
“ What about our assignment?” James asked, removing a sheet of paper from his pocket. An address was scribbled in barely legible handwriting. I paused. If Jessica really was this rogue spirit, maybe I could use our assignment to find her. As it stood, I hadn't even the slightest clue of where to start looking. I bit my lip.
“ Okay,” I said. Maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. The analogy came with another wave of the smell and I almost threw up again.
“ The one question is,” James asked, his face as wrinkled with displeasure as mine. “Do we have to drive?”
Expecting to find a demon wasn't much different from not expecting to find one. It was scary as hell either way. I paused at the edge of the of the parking lot and watched a streak of white shimmer past the front gate and into one of the warehouses. I kept my eyes peeled for Jessica. James' head was down and if I wasn't mistaken, I didn't think he was breathing. Knowing we were technically dead and seeing proof of that were totally different things. I was starting to sweat, too, my fingers rubbing up and down the neck of the harp for comfort. James' anxiety was starting to wear off on me.
From the moment his hand had touched the door handle to the moment he stepped out on the gravel and used his foot to close the door behind him, James' face was even whiter than usual. The whole ride, he had gripped the edges of his seat with corpse stiff fingers and babbled. Whenever he got nervous, he started talking a lot. I had noticed it was one of his self defense mechanisms. Boyd had been the opposite. He had always gone quiet, like deathly silent. I'd been hard pressed to get an uh huh or a yeah out of him when he was like that.
“ Are you gonna be okay?” I asked as we crunched across the wet ground towards the fading green of the warehouse. James gave me a thumbs up but didn't speak. I was actually sort of glad, he kind of looked like he needed to throw up. I felt bad but it wasn't really possible to walk out to this part of town. It was a remote packing district on the north side, sandwiched between two major highways and tucked behind a meat packing plant. I tried to smile at him for reassurance and pretend I wasn't worried about getting thrown off the premises by the employees.
I adjusted the strap of my purse and hoped there wasn't going to be a confrontation. I didn't want the harp to fall out and break. Just the thought of something bad happening to it made me sick to my stomach. Despite the fact that I was even less sure of what was going on now than I had been before, I was almost grateful to the harpies. The instrument was starting to feel like a piece of my soul. It was strange and wonderful all at once. My brother, Abe, had always said that one song could change the world. I guess he was right.
James and I paused in the massive doorway, our eyes adjusting to the change from the bright, gray morning light to the pale, flickering of the overhead florescent bulbs. It only took us a moment to spot it. I glanced over at James.
As soon as I saw his face, I knew something was wrong. He was watching the demon with wide eyes and quivering lips. It looked nothing like the other demons we'd seen but then again, none of them had really looked alike.
“ Are you okay?” I asked. He didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. Suddenly, he was falling and I
James wrinkled his nose as I walked by and followed me to the outside garbage can.
“ What's that smell?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face. I ignored him and went back inside for the keys. When he saw what was in my hand, his face blanched. I squeezed my fist closed.
“ You don't have to go with me,” I said. “But I have to go find Jessica.”
“ What about our assignment?” James asked, removing a sheet of paper from his pocket. An address was scribbled in barely legible handwriting. I paused. If Jessica really was this rogue spirit, maybe I could use our assignment to find her. As it stood, I hadn't even the slightest clue of where to start looking. I bit my lip.
“ Okay,” I said. Maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. The analogy came with another wave of the smell and I almost threw up again.
“ The one question is,” James asked, his face as wrinkled with displeasure as mine. “Do we have to drive?”
Expecting to find a demon wasn't much different from not expecting to find one. It was scary as hell either way. I paused at the edge of the of the parking lot and watched a streak of white shimmer past the front gate and into one of the warehouses. I kept my eyes peeled for Jessica. James' head was down and if I wasn't mistaken, I didn't think he was breathing. Knowing we were technically dead and seeing proof of that were totally different things. I was starting to sweat, too, my fingers rubbing up and down the neck of the harp for comfort. James' anxiety was starting to wear off on me.
From the moment his hand had touched the door handle to the moment he stepped out on the gravel and used his foot to close the door behind him, James' face was even whiter than usual. The whole ride, he had gripped the edges of his seat with corpse stiff fingers and babbled. Whenever he got nervous, he started talking a lot. I had noticed it was one of his self defense mechanisms. Boyd had been the opposite. He had always gone quiet, like deathly silent. I'd been hard pressed to get an uh huh or a yeah out of him when he was like that.
“ Are you gonna be okay?” I asked as we crunched across the wet ground towards the fading green of the warehouse. James gave me a thumbs up but didn't speak. I was actually sort of glad, he kind of looked like he needed to throw up. I felt bad but it wasn't really possible to walk out to this part of town. It was a remote packing district on the north side, sandwiched between two major highways and tucked behind a meat packing plant. I tried to smile at him for reassurance and pretend I wasn't worried about getting thrown off the premises by the employees.
I adjusted the strap of my purse and hoped there wasn't going to be a confrontation. I didn't want the harp to fall out and break. Just the thought of something bad happening to it made me sick to my stomach. Despite the fact that I was even less sure of what was going on now than I had been before, I was almost grateful to the harpies. The instrument was starting to feel like a piece of my soul. It was strange and wonderful all at once. My brother, Abe, had always said that one song could change the world. I guess he was right.
James and I paused in the massive doorway, our eyes adjusting to the change from the bright, gray morning light to the pale, flickering of the overhead florescent bulbs. It only took us a moment to spot it. I glanced over at James.
As soon as I saw his face, I knew something was wrong. He was watching the demon with wide eyes and quivering lips. It looked nothing like the other demons we'd seen but then again, none of them had really looked alike.
“ Are you okay?” I asked. He didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. Suddenly, he was falling and I
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