Black and Blue

27 - Somebody Comes In Handy, For Once

He lost consciousness soon after that.

I got plenty of curious, rude, and plain murderous stares as I made my way to Nyx's "office," not bothering to stop. I blocked out everything in my peripheral vision, my gaze becoming laser-focused until a small creature passed by and tugged on the hem of my pant leg. I broke out of my tunnel vision and looked down.

It was some childlike demon with huge eyes that blinked vertically and charmingly huge overalls. I was certain it was the same one I'd seen the first time I came to this place, the one whose mother gave Jack a few strong words before he decided to start a brawl with her. They stared at me, all innocent, until I came to a stop to find the nicest possible way to tell them to fuck off. Before I could say a word, though, their gaze flickered to the body I had in tow.

"Where's Jack going?"

I blinked in surprise. "You know his name?" My voice was astonishingly hoarse, and I could feel dry tears holding my skin in place like set clay. The kid didn't answer. I sighed and started to walk again.

"I'm taking him to a healer's office. She'll fix him up, and you can say hi to him later, or whatever."

"What happened to him?" They kept pace with me, never breaking their stare. I clenched my teeth and kept dragging him along.

"Things got a little out of hand." Despite everything, I shot them an irritated glance before looking forward again. "Shouldn't you be with your mother right now? I bet she's looking for you."

"I don't have a mother. You're a human," they remarked, nothing teasing or malicious in their voice. It was just a factual statement. "Can I come with you? My name's Lucy."

I swallowed down the urge to start crying again and shook my head, preparing to give them a firm no. But something stopped me—I began to process what they'd really just said.

"...you don't have a mother?" I halted, Jack's body leaning into me from behind. I flinched at the sudden contact; it felt too much like a hug. "But I thought you were with some woman before. You...you called her 'Ma'."

"Yep," Lucy chirped. "She's not my real Ma. I get nannies and fake moms...something called an 'oh-pear,' for humans?" They tilted their head curiously. I nodded, my heart filling up with inconvenient sympathy.

"Au pair. So you really don't have one?"

"No. I'm fine on my own, though. Can I come with you?" they repeated, standing on their tiptoes to get a look at Jack's face over my shoulder. I gazed at them, then at the path ahead of me, then at our surroundings. There were no other demons around, just us, a series of walls, hallways, doors, and the muted darkness of the realm's sky. I blinked back tears and sighed again.

"I'm sorry, you can't. Maybe you can drop by when it's all done...do you know the healer, Nyx?"

Lucy nodded, still chipper and oblivious.

"Wait about an hour, Lucy, then stop by her door if you want. I don't know if she'll let you in, but..." I cleared my throat and rearranged my grip on Jack, hoisting him up further onto my shoulders, maybe in some weird attempt to make him seem more alive. "...he's going to be okay. Okay?" I mustered a reassuring smile, though I wasn't exactly sure how much they needed it. They nodded again, not seeming the least bit upset that they couldn't tag along.

"I know he is. He's Jack. If he isn't okay, who's gonna tell my Ma to shut up when she yells at me in the street?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave Lucy a tiny nod of my own. "Yeah. That's, uh...that's a good point." I'd be happy to do the honors if he doesn't make it. Which is not going to happen. Because he will make it.