Fallen

Chapter 23

Eliza

Despite the irritable conversation with Gavin, I was thankful to get a shower. I tried not to look down at the thick, black syrup of ash and water that ran off of me and to just enjoy the calming heat of the water.

Towels were already in the huge bathroom, clean and stacked neatly in a rack against the wall. I wrapped myself up in one and then stood in front of the mirror, staring at myself while I tried to digest everything that had happened during the past few days. I'd only planned to be in the city for a few days to get whatever sort of money I could before heading out again. Even after Gavin had found me, I'd planned to stick to that course. Now? Now I was fighting a fight I swore I wouldn't, putting my life in danger while trying to save people I didn't and would never know, and sticking my neck out in front of the very creatures that had ruined my life. I tugged at the long side of my hair. Things really could get away from you if you let them.

After making a few cosmetic changes, I quickly dressed in the fresh clothes I'd gotten from the lockers outside, feeling a twinge of sadness when I looked down at the ruined rags of my old ones. They hadn't been glamorous, but they'd been tough and had stayed with me longer than any person ever had. Still, I guess everything has to end sometime. The clothes I'd gotten weren't any different really. Different names and brands maybe, but the look was still the same. It didn't take much after that for me to decide that I'd spent plenty of time staring in a mirror. It was time to rejoin the messed up reality that was my life.

I came out of bathroom to see Nathan stacking loaded magazines into two neat piles. Several more unloaded bullets were laid out in front of them, all bearing the telling marks that they'd been treated to fight demons. Of course, those markings hadn't done squat against the second blaze, even with my powers backing them up. Still, just seeing the loaded magazines, magazines looking like they'd fit my Colt, gave me an odd sense of relief. I had the trusty gun stuck in the waist of my jeans under my shirt and jacket to keep it out of sight. I pulled it out when I got to the table where Nathan was sitting and dropped into one of the seats. Nathan looked up, his eyes widening a bit in surprise, but that passed quickly.

"Nice haircut," he remarked. I looked for any sign of insult in that comment, but came up surprisingly empty. I ran a hand across the shortened ends of my hair self-consciously.

"Thanks," I muttered, grabbing one of the loaded magazines off the pile. I slid the spent magazine free and shoved the new one in, pulling back the slide to put a round in the chamber. I felt a smile creep onto my face. I couldn't help it. It felt good to be armed and dangerous again. I looked around the room for the asshole of all angels, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where's Gavin."

"Picking up lunch. You do eat meat, right?" the priest asked, pausing in his work. I cocked an eyebrow to let him know how ridiculous the question was. Nathan took the hint. "Ah. Good, because he isn't picking up vegan."

"Good," I said, shuddering. How people could live that way was a mystery to me. How some people actually liked living that way struck me as nothing short of insane. "How long has he been gone?"

"About half an hour," Nathan replied. I found that mildly surprising.

"That long? Shouldn't he have been back by now?" I asked, looking over my shoulder for some reason. I was feeling anxious all of sudden, like some kind of monster could be lurking around every corner and inching closer while my back was turned. "I mean, it's not like he had to wait for a train or anything."

"True, but he might have had to wait in line," Nathan said, a grin finding its way to his lips. I thought about how Gavin had taken a short car ride through the city. The idea of him waiting in line while somebody kept second guessing their order and asking in depth questions about the food was almost enough to make me pee myself! I laughed, hard, harder than I could ever remember laughing. I did my best to reign it in. I definitely didn't want to add choked by laughter to my list of injuries. Nathan was shaking with the strain of holding in his own laughter, but he'd only let a chuckle come out loud. That type of strength simply wasn't human.