“On its way. Don’t worry. Are you two OK?”
I was going to strangle that cat if we made it through this. “For now. Can’t guarantee we’ll last long. So you’d better hurry. Those witches want our heads on silver platters.” I peeked around the corner of the truck, and the witches were gathered across the street. It really was an old-style shootout.
“Now, children, if you give up now, we will make your deaths quick.” Rose was speaking. How bad do you have to be in order to be the head witch of a murderous coven?
“Yeah, right. We have a better plan. How about you ladies give up, and nobody else gets hurt? How about that?” Who said I couldn’t be a negotiator? I had this bantering thing down.
Bart looked at me, surprised. I shrugged.
“Give up? To you two? Please. You are outnumbered, and even your friend abandoned you. Now, why would you drag this out any longer?” Rose looked overly confident in her own powers. “Nobody is here to help you.”
“Boss, I want their eyes. Make them suffer.”
That sounded awful. I leaned over to better see the discussions the witches were having. Dear Natalie, my favorite two-by-four-wielding psycho, was talking. She had two patches over her eyes, and she looked terrifying. Why was it OK for the bad guys to want us dead, but we couldn’t shoot at them first? Double standards were killing me. We needed a new manual with better rules, or a less dangerous job.
“Hey, lady, I didn’t gouge your eyes out. Maybe if you stopped pissing off the souls, they wouldn’t hate you as much!” I yelled.
“Isis, why are you antagonizing them? It’s not like we have that much ammunition left.” Bartholomew was looking at me, very skeptical.
“Trying to buy Constantine’s backup some time. Besides, I really don’t like them. If we have to go down, we are not begging.” I looked around at the witches, hoping a plan would appear. They were not looking any happier.
“In that case, I’m all in.” Bartholomew looked at me with a wicked smile. He loaded his gun and was ready for a fight.
“Now, children, do you honestly think you made any difference tonight? You will die. It’s up to you how much you suffer. Let’s make this quick. We are now on a tight schedule.”
Wow, life and death meant nothing to them. They really needed some serious therapy.
“Oh, please. Do us all a favor and shoot yourselves.”
I looked at the witches one more time. Rose was in the middle of her coven. She had three to the left and three on the right, including Lily. The fire victim was being carried by one of the thugs to the corner. Another thug was carrying the one Bartholomew had knocked out. Seven witches, one with a grudge from here to Canada. Not great odds.
“Consider it a gift, especially after all the pain you’ve caused us. You’ve put us six months behind.” How kind of Rose to offer death so freely. I liked the fact that she was blaming me for all of this.
“Aren’t you kind? Too bad my boss doesn’t believe in making deals. She doesn’t like people interfering with her business. You are pretty screwed.” Bartholomew was in the prone position, ready to start shooting.
“Your boss is a joke. She, as you called her, can’t stop us.” Rose was a bit too full of herself. “Enough games. Fire!”
Spells started flying over our heads. Bart returned fire.
“Constantine, any news?” I yelled.
“Your backup is right there.” Constantine was like a kid in a candy store, busting with excitement.
“Who are we looking for, Constantine?” Bartholomew looked at me, confused. Neither one of us had a clue what Constantine was talking about.
“You’re looking for us, silly boy.”
Bartholomew and I were scared out of our minds. Jake was kneeling to one side of me, and Death was on the other side of Bartholomew. They had just appeared out of thin air.
Bartholomew didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. “Oh, God. Where did you two come from?”
“Down the memorial. You two took your sweet time to get back here. Isis, I like the look. Sexy.” Jake was playing with my hair as he spoke. I slapped his hand and tucked away the loose strands he was playing with.
“I told you I saw two people at the memorial. You were playing chess, right?” Bartholomew was not letting that go.
“Nice. I’m impressed. I figured those stupid trees were covering us.” Jake was giving Bartholomew his best smile. He was in another fabulous outfit, this one with a red tie.
“Yes, I’m that good. So who won?”
“Trust me, little man, never play against Death. You never win.” Jake gave Death a wink, and she smiled back. I had no idea how they made kneeling look good. It wasn’t fair.
“You two were playing chess while we were getting chased by witches.” I gave them an incredulous look. The witches had stopped throwing spells and were quiet.
“You had things under control, Isis. Besides, what’s the point of having an intern if I have to save you every five minutes?”
I wasn’t sure whether that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.
“Thanks. Why are you hanging out with the devil?”
Death smiled as if this were just another day at the park. Only Bartholomew and I looked worried about the situation.
“Jake is one of our biggest clients, remember? I figured I’d save him the delivery cost and have him collect his own packages.” Death smiled kindly at Jake. “Besides, these girls enjoy a flare for the dramatic. It’s about time they experience a taste of it. It’s only fair.” Death was looking at her nails as she spoke. She looked at me, and there was nothing but coldness and emptiness in her eyes. For the first time, I was truly terrified of Death.
“Isis, watch your head.” Bartholomew
