13 Sept 2019

Heaven’s Rejects - Episode 7

Episode 7 – The Day After the Night Before

Previously:
Something happened last night that cut Nadia off from her ability to use magic.  I don't get how that works and Nadia's in no condition to explain, but it freaked her out.  A lot.  For reasons.


I should put in for babysitting fees.  Nadia is a loud drunk, the type to get into everyone's business.  I preferred her being morose.  At least she wasn't singing.  She doesn't really get the idea of hitting notes.



Now
Nadia head throbbed, waking her up.  She lay on her stomach, eyes still closed, trying to figure out why her tongue felt like it needed to be mowed while jackhammers pounded her temples.  The bed shifted.  Nadia opened her eyes.  The hotel room didn't look any different, yet somehow, it was.  The bed moved again, as if there was someone else there with her.  Moving slow in case the other person was sleeping, Nadia rolled over.  Seeing Demona, she pushed backwards, falling out of the bed.

Demona stirred at the noise.  "Nadia?"

"What are you doing in my room?"  Nadia picked herself up from the floor.

"This is my room."  Demona sat up.  "You stayed with me last night."

"I what?"  Nadia shut her eyes as her headache redoubled in strength.  "What am I doing here?"  Opening her eyes again, she looked down.  "And where the hell are my clothes?"  She covered her breasts with her hands.

"You threw them around the room last night."  Demona swung her legs out from under the blankets.  "I barely, excuse the pun, kept you from running out into the hall.  Then you took some of the drinks from the fridge here.  I am not paying for those, for the record."

"How did we end up in bed?"  Nadia narrowed her eyes.  "You must have seduced me to sleep with me."

"Technically, I slept beside you."

"You know damned well what I mean."

"Because my mom's a succubus, you think I will have sex with anyone who happens to be in my bed?"  Demona stood up, smoothing out her nightgown.  "Okay, first, how do you feel right now?"

"I'm bloody well upset.  And this headache's not helping!"

"What about guilty?"

"Guilty?"  Nadia's tone grew louder.  "Guilty for what?"

Demona walked over to the room's closet.  "For sleeping with me.  From sleeping with me."  Sliding open the closet door, she pulled out a bathrobe.  "Here."  She tossed the robe to Nadia.  "And you don't have to yell.  Anyway, want know to a fun thing about me?  Anyone I have sex with feels guilty afterwards.  The first guy I had sex with wound up becoming a priest, he felt so bad.  The next one just ghosted me.  I even experimented in university, and she felt so bad afterwards that she needed therapy for years.  Do you feel that bad waking up beside me?  Do you?"

"I--  So we didn't?"  Nadia cinched the bathrobe closed.

"No, we didn't."

"Then, why--  What happened to my clothes?"

Demona pointed to a chair where a pile of clothes lay neatly folded.  "Once you passed out, I put them there.  You should get something to eat.  I can call room service and have them bring up some breakfast for you.  Go get changed.  And drink some water.  It'll help with the hangover."

Nadia grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.  She started running the shower, then finished undressing.  The heat of the shower helped soothe her headache enough that she could think properly again.  After a long soak, Nadia stepped out.  She wrapped herself in a fluffy towel.  "Hey, Demona?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're forgiven."

Nadia blinked, not expecting the answer.  She pulled on her clothes, giving her t-shirt a quick sniff.  Dressed, she left the bathroom.  "That was too easy."

"What were you expecting?  Me snubbing you for the rest of the time we're in this accursed city?"  Demona smiled.  "Nadia, my mom might be a selfish Hellbeast, but Dad made sure that I learned manners and empathy.  You weren't in a good frame of mind last night and you woke up beside a half-demon this morning.  Why wouldn't I forgive you?"

"I need more coffee before I can even begin to figure that out."

"I called room service for you.  They're bringing up coffee, too.  It won't be as bad as you normally like, though."

"It's still coffee."  Nadia allowed herself to smile.  "You ain't all that bad, Demona."

"Thanks.  I like you, too."

A knock came from the door.  From the other side, Ian called, "Demona, are you up?"

Demona answered the door, standing aside to let Ian in.  "We both are.  Come in, please."

"Jury's not in over here," Nadia said.  "They're waiting for coffee to arrive.  So am I."

Ian stepped into the room, clearing the doorway to let Demona close the door behind him.  He leaned against the dresser.  "I'm going to go crash soon.  I just wanted to see how everyone was doing."

"Once Nadia settled, I got some sleep."

Nadia flexed her bare feet.  "I don't remember much from last night, to be honest.  Just that I lost connection to the flow of magic."  She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating.  "Still gone."

Ian grimaced.  "I went out last night to see what was going on.  Most people, nothing.  I did see a few people looking lost.  I talked to some of them, all friendly like, but none of them knew what was going on."

"Sounds like an anti-magic blanket was tossed on Las Vegas," Demona said.  "Is that even possible?"

Nadia scowled.  "It's damned stupid thing to do.  It lets mages, sorceresses, and magic-friendly supernaturals know that some shmegegge is in town and looking for them."  She looked over at Ian.  "I don't suppose you saw anyone we've run into on previous missions?"

"No," Ian said.  "And that did cross my mind, that someone or something we dealt with before was around."  He yawned.  "Sorry."

"Go crash."

Demona joined Nadia at her side.  "I've got this."  She wrapped an arm around her teammate.  "Nothing will go wrong on my watch."

Nadia pinched the bridge of her nose.  "You just had to say that."

"I know.  I just tempted Murphy's Law."  Demona giggled.  "We're not going anywhere, not yet.  I still have a few ideas to run down for Kaye and Team One One Seven."

"After coffee."

-**-

At noon, Nadia and Demona left the hotel, much to the latter's protests.  Nadia, though, insisted, reminding Demona of the threat looming over the city and herself.  To Demona's relief, the trip out of the hotel also meant getting out of the city in a rented Ford SUV.  As soon as Nadia got in behind the wheel, she turned on the air conditioning.  The two women drove without speaking out of Las Vegas, taking it easy through the tourist traffic along the Strip.

Once on the Las Vegas Freeway, Nadia opened the throttle, breaking past the speed limit without a care.  She guided the SUV northeast.  After a good five minutes, Nadia said, "Keep an eye out on your side.  We should be passing the Nellis Air Force Base soon."

Demona glanced at the driver.  "Do you think there's something going on there?"

"It's a military base.  It's either the source of the problem or a location that needs to be shut down by whoever's behind everything here."  Nadia eased off the accelerator, bringing the SUV down to the speed limit.  "Either way, it doesn't hurt to look.  Ususally."

"Don't tell me you destroyed a base."

"Not destroyed, no."  Nadia flashed a smile.  "Let's just say that I'm no longer allowed near Pearl Harbor.  I think the guards still have shoot on sight orders."

"You know, I did want to go to Hawaii some day."

"Nothing stopping you."

"Except soldiers with guns who might shoot at me if I'm with you."

"Pfft."  Nadia waved away the worry.  "They're sailors, not soldiers."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Wasn't meant to."

Demona kept watch out her window.  "Thanks.  Any idea what I'm looking for?"

"Ever been on a base before?"

"Hello, librarian here."

Nadia rolled her eyes.  "Right.  See if there's anything taking off.  They usually have some flights in and out, but spread through the day.  If you see more than one plane taking off, there's something up.  We're probably too far away to see if they're reacting to an alarm.  But if you see a lot of police cruisers, that might be a clue that something's going on at the base."

"I guess."  Demona stretched in her seat.  "Where are going?  Or are you just driving to drive?"

"I want to see how far this 'blanket' goes.  Is it just Las Vegas?  Or does it cover the state or even the country?"

"I am not driving across the country with you.  I know what you call coffee."

"It'd take too long anyway, even if there was a decent bagel at the end."  Nadia took a quick look out the passenger side.  "See anything?"

"Nothing."

"A shot in the dark."  Nadia pressed down on the accelerator.  The SUV lurched as it picked up speed.  "Let me know if you feel anything.  What did you call it last night?"

"You mean the blanket?  Like a storm moving in.  You know how the air gets heavy just before a heavy rain?"

"Yeah, that.  If it feels like the storm's gone, let me know."

"Okay."

The two women settled back into a silence.  Nadia kept the SUV on the Las Vegas Freeway out of the city.  The traffic grew thinner, as did the brush.  The desert stretched to the mountains on the horizon.  The miles passed, with no change to the scenery.  It was as they drove by Arrolime that Nadia stiffened.  She smiled.

"Did you feel that?"

Demona sat up in her seat.  "Feel what?"

"It's just out of reach, but it's there!  It's there!"

Demona closed her eyes.  "I don't feel anything."

Nadia sped the SUV further.  "We're at the edge, maybe beyond it.  I can feel--"  The SUV swerved between the two lanes.

"Pull over!"  Demona grabbed for the steering wheel.

"I've got it!"  Nadia wrestled with the wheel, bringing the SUV back under control.  "It's all back.  Can't you feel it?"

"I need my heart to stop racing first."  Demona took a deep breath.  "Yeah, I can."  She craned her neck to look back.  "Is it supposed to be that sudden?"

"Who knows?  Looks like there's a truck stop coming up soon.  I could use a coffee."

"Just don't kill us before we get there."

Nadia took the next exit off the freeway.  The tall sign for the travel could be seen even with the freeway overpass in the way.  Now off the the divided highway, Nadia brought the SUV's speed down to a little over the lower limit of the road she was now on.  She pulled the SUV into the travel stop's parking lot and parked far from the building.

"Why so far from the building?" Demona asked.

Nadia unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the Ford.  "Reasons."  She walked away from the SUV, heading into the desert.

Demona hurried to get out of the SUV.  "Where are you going?  I thought you wanted coffee?"

"I have to find out if I still have my connection.  It's all well that I can feel the flow, but what good is it if I can't tap into it?"

"Most people aren't even aware that magic exists."

"We're not most people, Demona.  We are the only line of defense those people have against the supernatural.  What they believe doesn't matter when something is after their blood.  So, yes, I do need to see if I can use the flow.  You've been in Hell.  You've seen who lives there.  Do you really think that the police or the military can stop even one of them without lives being lost?"

Demona took a quick look behind her to see if anyone noticed them.  "Fine.  Just be careful, okay?"

"Stop worrying."  Nadia spread her arms apart, the palms of her hands facing the sky.  Twin bursts of flame flew into the air.  Nadia roared with laughter.  "Yes!"

"That's careful?"  Demona pointed back at the travel stop.  "There's a gas station here!"

Nadia brought her hands together in front of her, arms straight.  "Thanks, Mom."  Bolts of ice flew from Nadia's outstretched hands.

Demona stopped in her tracks.  "I'll just go get the coffee."  She walked away, unsure if Nadia even heard her.

Twenty minutes later, Demona returned with two steaming paper cups, one in each hand.  Nadia still walked in the desert shrub, trying different spells.  Demona set down the cups of coffee on the hood of the Ford SUV.  "I've got some bad news for you, Nadia.  They don't make bad coffee here."

Nadia turned to face Demona.  "What sort of truck stop is this?"  She jogged back to the SUV.  Sweat poured from her forehead and down her cheeks.

"One that doesn't like to poison its customers."  Demona took the lid off her coffee.  "One where they don't want to replace spoons eaten by acid pretending to be coffee."

Nadia picked up her cup.  "Thanks.  For getting me one."

"Anytime.  So, is everything working?"

"You know it."  Nadia wiped the sweat from her forehead with her free hand.  "I just want to stay out of the city for a bit.  I need to feel the connection for a bit longer.  It's like getting your sense of smell back.  You don't know what you're missing until it returns."

"I'll take your word for it."

Nadia let a Jacob's ladder run up the fingers on her free hand.  "You have no idea what this feels like."

"I imagine it's something like a series of electrical shocks."

"Not even close."  Nadia closed her hand, dismissing the electricity.  She took the lid off her coffee cup.  "This is what they call coffee?"

"It's what most people call coffee."

Nadia took a sip of her java.  "Weak-ass coffee."

"Take it up with the restaurant."  Demona opened the SUV's passenger door.  "I didn't get a chance to touch their coffee makers."  She grabbed her coffee cup and sat in the passenger's seat.  "What do you think?  Did someone try to cut off magic in Las Vegas?"

"No other explanation I can think of.  The big question is why.  Why cut off magic?  Did someone find out the Agency had a team here?  Is there something else happening while Team One One Seven investigates missing John Does?"  Nadia shrugged.  "Hey, can you let Ian know where we are?"

"I'll send him a text.  I don't want to wake him up."

"Good idea."  Nadia leaned against the Ford SUV.  "Tell him we're getting dinner while we're out of town."

Demona pulled out her phone to send the text to Ian.  "There's a pizza place in travel stop.  Up to splitting a Hawaiian?"

"Really?  You're asking a Jew to eat pork?"

"Oops."  Demona buried her face into her palm.  "Sorry."

"The pizza sounds good.  Maybe they can do one with chicken and beef instead of ham and bacon, and add pineapple.  Hawaiian enough?"

"Works for me.  Though maybe that's why you're no longer allowed into Pearl Harbor?"

-**-

I don't think I've been that afraid in my life.  The dread of knowing my time was up.  When I find the bastard who dropped that anti-magic blanket, he's going to find himself with a steel rod up his tuches.  The kid's okay.  Way too earnest.  And the pizza was good.  It's been sometime since I've had one.

Even Nadia can be human.  She's not good at it, but that's all her.  And she likes Hawaiian pizza, so that's a plus for her.  Looks like no one noticed her throwing fire and ice and electricity in the desert.  I'm driving us back to the hotel.  Nadia has something she wants to try.

-**-

After dinner and dessert and a bit of lingering, Demona hopped behind the wheel of the SUV.  Nadia slipped in on the passenger's side.  After about a minute of adjusting the seat, Demona started the Ford and drove it throught the parking lot, keeping the speed under ten miles per hour.  She ignored the impatient glares from Nadia, focusing more on how the huge SUV handled.  Once on the road, she slowly accelerated, trying to get a feel for how the Ford behaved.

"I could walk faster," Nadia said.

"This is bigger than my Civic back home.  I don't know how you kept it in a lane when it feels like it's too big for the road."

"Just get on the highway."

Demona began the drive back to Las Vegas, taking the same route Nadia had coming out.  When they approached Arrolime again, Demona pulled over to the side of the highway.  Instead of coming to a stop, she kept SUV going, though far slower than the speed limit.  From time to time, she glanced over at Nadia, waiting to see if she reacted.

It took a few minutes to get past the town.  When Nadia shouted, "Here," Demona stopped the SUV.  She checked her phone's GPS to get an idea of how far away from their hotel they were.  "We're about an hour away."

"So, fifty miles?"

"Maybe less.  My phone takes into account traffic.  How much of your connection do you still have?"

Nadia closed her eyes for a moment.  "It's just starting to fade."

"We were further along on our way out when you felt the connection again."

"The effect's fading."  Nadia smiled.  "There's a limit to the blanket.  It's not permanent."

"That's good news, right?"

"Maybe.  It gives us time to find the schmuck who created the blanket in the first place before he puts out another one.  Keep going.  Let's see where I lose the connection completely again."

Demona got the SUV rolling once more.  "Nadia, is it possible that there's someone who hates magicians doing this?"

"It's a thought.  Muggles who learn about the supernatural can sometimes be the worst."

"Muggles?"  Demona smirked.

"It's from Harry Potter.  You're the youth librarian, you should know this."

"I've read the books.  I just never expected you to have read them."

Nadia scowled.  "Why?  I can read.  I have been since I was four years old."

"I don't see you being a fan, that's all."  Demona hmm'ed.  "Though I have noticed that you swear in British."

"Swear in British?"

"You know, 'bloody' and all that."

"Oh."  Nadia leaned back in her seat.  "So I like a few British shows.  And the best punk bands came out of England."

"Okay, that I can believe, you liking punk."

"Because I dress in all black?"

Demona nodded.  "That's just part of it.  It's your whole general attitude and posture.  No one in authority is going to get in your way.  Maybe not even the Chief."

Nadia chuckled.  "You're not the ditz you appear as?"

"Excuse me?"

"Okay, stop here."  Nadia put a hand on the dashboard to steady herself.  "How far are we now?" she asked once the SUV came to a halt.

Demona checked her phone.  "About forty miles out, give or take.  And what do you mean, I'm not the ditz?"

"First impressions.  You have to admit that telling me that I was rude when I was trying to banish you wasn't what anyone would expect."

"What was I supposed to do, hiss and shrink back like a vampire seeing the sun?"

"Point.  But then you came down acting like the summoning was normal."

"Pro Daemonium Accersito is a popular book."

Nadia stared at her partner.  "Wait, you let people take out the book knowing they could summon demons with it?"

"They could summon demonic hamsters with it.  I'm not stupid.  The errata is hard to find, so anyone trying to summon a demon gets a fire-breathing hamster instead.  The kids learn their lesson and get a pet out of it."

"A fire-breathing pet."

"You feed them carrots and they settle down into being normal hamsters.  No cabbage, though.  Not unless you want fire from both ends."

Nadia laughed.  "You were on top of the book all this time."

Demona nodded.  "I know teenagers, having been one not too long ago.  I know how magic works, even if I can't use it myself.  Sometimes, having to take care of a cute, fluffy wee monster is enough to get the kid to see things differently.  Tiffany, though, I didn't see coming.  Her friend, the one who signed out the book, is usually a decent sort."

"Team Six never went to Iowa City.  I checked their reports.  They never had a reason to."

"I'm not taking credit for that."

"Still, considering all the demonic hamsters there."

"The fire department may have been a little busier than normal.  Do you want to get back to the hotel?"

"Sure.  And, Demona, you'll be a good agent.  You just need experience.  The Chief is having you skip past being on a team.  Me and Ian, we're troubleshooters, usually because trouble needs to be shot."

Demona started the SUV up again, merging back into the light traffic.  Her cheeks reddened.  "Thanks, Nadia.  That means a lot to me."

"And once this mission is done, I'll have Ian work with you so you know how to handle a gun."

-**-

Ugh.  I hate being cut off like this.  Okay, for those of you who can't feel magic, think of it this way.  Imagine you have an itch.  Most of the time, you can reach it and scratch it.  Now, one day, you wake up, you can feel the itch, but you can't scratch it.  The itch doesn't go away.  It doesn't get worse, but you can't do anything about it.  That was me knowing that there is magic around somewhere but not able to tap into it.  It's more annoying than that itch.  It's like losing a hand.  Sure, you can still do things, but not everything.

I think Nadia's starting to warm up to me.  She's still prickly, but she's not pushing me away anymore.  And I wouldn't mind learning how to fight.  Even if I'm not as good as Nadia and Ian, I won't be completely useless like against the ghouls.

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