friends on the other side

chapter 11

Oscar took a slow walk home, the cold night air chilling his face, his mind heavy with schemes and possibilities. As he turned a corner, he spotted a small flickering light—a fire, down an alley. He squinted and realized, sitting around it with her guitar balanced on her knees, was Evelyn.

Curious, he stepped closer. Her eyes were fixed on the flames, a worn jacket pulled tight around her shoulders, her fingers idly strumming. She looked entirely out of place—lost in thought, a young woman with no roof over her head and nowhere else to go. She didn't notice him at first, so Oscar cleared his throat.

She looked up, startled. "Oh, Mr. Oscar... hi."

He nodded politely and crouched by the fire, feeling its faint warmth. "Didn't expect to see you out here at this hour," he said, feigning a casual tone. "Do you... have a place to stay tonight?"

Evelyn's eyes dropped, and she fiddled with her guitar's strings. "Not exactly. It's fine, though. I don't want Lucy to know. I don't want her pity—or anyone's, really. I'm just... I'm used to looking after myself."

Oscar nodded slowly, and a strange pang of sympathy hit him. She had the determination to do things on her own, even if her situation was... less than ideal. A feeling he rarely entertained started to surface—a hint of regret for dragging her into his tangled web of deals. But a plan was already unfurling in his mind, and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity she presented.

"How about this?" he offered, pulling out a ten-dollar bill from his coat pocket. "I'd love to hear you play a song. Ten dollars, for a tune of your choosing."

Evelyn's eyes widened, then softened into a grateful smile. She had never earned more than a few cents for her music before, and the unexpected kindness from Oscar was a rare light in her day. She sat up straighter, fingers brushing over the strings.

"I'll play one you might like," she said, her voice low, and began to sing:

_"You've got friends on the other side..."_

Her voice carried into the night, soft and haunting, the melody curling around them with an eerie beauty. Oscar felt the familiar chill that came with hearing those words, as if her song had brought the very spirits he consorted with closer. And, for a moment, he almost forgot his schemes, listening as her voice rose and fell.

When she finished, he handed her the money, nodded once, and set off down the alley, casting a quick glance back. She was watching him go, tucking the bill into her pocket with a grateful look. Oscar picked up his pace, his mind swirling.

He realized now that Evelyn's vulnerability could be his gateway to pulling Lucy closer, coaxing her toward the idea of wanting a family. If Evelyn had a secure place to live, Lucy might want to be by her side even more. And perhaps, once they were settled together, she might start thinking about a future that only he could make possible. The ultimate goal: coaxing Lucy to ask for a child.

A chill crept into his mind as he remembered his "friends on the other side" and the price they demanded if he were to go that far. Their command echoed in his memory: _find and kill an angel._ It was the only way he could complete a ritual that would twist magic into something powerful enough to create life itself. They had said a soul for a soul

As he walked, his thoughts darkened, and he couldn't shake the sinister clarity of his purpose. To set his plans in motion, he had to find an angel. And in a world where angels rarely walked the earth, he knew it would be no small task. But as Oscar's twisted grin crept across his face, he felt sure of one thing: he'd figure it out. For his sake, he had to.