Terminal (Terminal trilogy #1)

10: Harpist

(A/N: image up top is rhamiel, I buy a lot of commissions, so this isn't by me.)

"It'd be safest to just take you to Heaven," I said to Rhamiel, walking back towards the elevator.

"The cycle change is in a few days," he said, and I was so taken aback that I forget to answer for a few moments.

"How do you even know what that is?"

"Qui?" He asked sarcastically. 'What' in angelic. Real smooth, asshole, I wasn't a fucking idiot.

"Are you implying you want to go to Earth instead? Fine. No difference to me." Hell had its policies against letting the humans know about the city, but it didn't matter much if something went wrong- they'd just reset within nineteen years anyway. What a simple, useful system we lived in.

"Arm me," Rhamiel said, and I had a suspicion it'd be pointless to press him further.

We weren't far from the elevators when I heard someone shouting my full name. Far down the hall, the leo was jogging towards us in a perfectly balanced way, suggesting she was a lot healthier than she looked underneath her baggy uniform.

"Wait up!" She called, but we had already stopped. Rhamiel looked at her with something I took to be anticipation, and I gloomily noted he was watching her hands with great interest. She did have a ring on, but it was a wedding ring, and Rhamiel looked sharply up again.

"What gives?" I said automatically, not really putting much thought into my tone.

"Hi, my name's Lane Brock, and I wanted to talk to you for a second. It was a bit busy back there and Kell thought we sort of overwhelmed you? If you don't mind I'd like to take a detour to a place where I can explain a few things to you." She tensed as she looked at Rhamiel. "And you too, of course. You'll be there."

"You're the chief of police, correct?" The leo was always the chief of police, that's how The Few worked, and I knew that. But still, I asked.

"That is correct. There is a garden not far from here, in Greed, that I though would provide a more private theater for us to talk in."

Lane took us to Greed, and I didn't say anything. She was really doing her best to strike up a chat, and I did want to talk, but I just didn't. Things are like that sometimes.

"Are you and Kell close then?" There's always a few words that can make you pay attention no matter how much of a lull you are in, and I snapped back to the present.

"I don't know really. I think so. Sometimes he's terrible and sometimes he's sincere and I don't know how to deal with that."

"You are then. We don't get along, but I do know he's picky about his friends."

"I don't know about him."

"I don't either."

"I don't want to talk about him."

"I guess I don't want to either," said Lane, absentmindedly kicking up dust clouds as she walked. Obviously she only brought Kell up because she wanted to talk about him, not because she was interested in me.

"Kell is the dragon man, correct? I know all about him," Rhamiel said. He had been speaking more as we walked, but only in small, often nonsensical snippets. "If you fulfill our agreement then I will tell you all about him."

"Ah, is that so?" Lane had this particular way of treating Rhamiel that suggested a mix of sympathy, empathy, and apology.

"He is practically a figure in our mythology. We have a number of names for him and his partner. Lots of killing. Lots of dead brethren. More to be told when our agreement is reached."