The Devil Wore A Brown Suit

10

Day Four

We arrive at the bar just after midnight. Day four on topside I guess, let’s see what today holds.

I help Mayhem with the twins. JJ and Camilla Dawn meet us at the door.

“Get in here. Everything is going crazy.” She tells me.

 She is so dramatic. I am already aware that everything went sideways. I was there. I will let her fret over me; it is what she does best. This girl worries way too much.

 “P do you know what is going on honey?” She asks me.

“Well my bubbly friend I know Sunnie tried to kill me, my brother is more psychotic than I originally thought, and I also know I was trapped for 900 years in hell. Oh and before I forget there are two children caught up in all of this. Did I leave anything out?” I say to her a little too dramatic.

 Camilla is staring at me like I am crazy. “I am going to get you a drink of Heaven's nectar. Is that okay?” she says as she walks off.

Did I piss her off or hurt her feelings? I am not sure.

“What is heavens nectar exactly Camilla Dawn?” I ask her. She doesn’t respond she just keeps walking. Humans are so sensitive.

 “Mayhem maybe we should put the twins in the office. Can JJ watch them for just a moment? I need to apologize to Camilla Dawn.”I ask him.

 I turn for a response he nods his head. JJ picks them both up and walks to the office. He knocks on the sign that reads unholy ones. Sam lets him in.

I look around the room. The booth in the back, I wave at Camilla Dawn to meet me at the booth. She nods. I make my way through all the people in the bar.

There are a lot of people here. Don’t fall to pieces keep going Perdition I hear a voice telling me. I just want to scream I am fine but I keep walking to the booth in the back.

 I sit down with my back to the wall. I can see everything going on. I can hear all of them. The bracelet in my pocket feels hot. I take it out and sit it on the table. It seems to be trying to mold back together. That is not strange at all.

Of course, the last few days have been full of oddities. Why should this day be any different?

Camilla Dawn arrives at the table with my drink. “Drink it. It is made specifically for celestials and descendants. It will help take the edge off.” She tells me as she sits it down in front of me.

 I am terrified. JJ and Mayhem join us. The four of us sit silently for a moment. A lot has happened and we all need to just take it in. I wonder if it’s safe to drink this. I hear a voice saying just drink it. It probably won’t affect you.

Well, that is good enough for me Mayhem. I know you are the little voice in my head. I look at him across the table. Wait. Maybe that wasn’t him.

“Mayhem can I drink this?” I ask.

 He smiles. It was him. I am going to just drink it and see what happens. Nothing will surprise me at this point. I pick up the small glass and smell it. It smells like heaven. I should not remember that but I do.

 I wonder what this is made of and who made it. I trust Mayhem so I drink it all in one drink. I sit the glass down and everyone is looking at me. “Is there a problem?” I ask Mayhem.

 “I hope not.” He responds. “It really shouldn’t affect you. I will get you some water.” He says as walks to the bar to get me a bottle of water.

“JJ, what happened with Sunnie? I thought she was on our side?” I ask him.

JJ shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair. “Perdition I just do not have an answer. All I can think is she loves Ryan and she would do anything to be with him. Maybe she is confused. I just do not have any answers.” JJ says.

Sam walks up to the booth. “Can I sit?” He asks.

He grabs a chair and sits at the end of our table.

“Sunnie has always been confused about the descendants and how she fits in. She loves Ryan. We all know he struggles with how Venus has been damned. He believes she is the rightful queen of topside. I think if he is following her then Sunnie is going to follow her too. I had hoped she would convince him that Venus is not the answer.” Sam sighs as he continues. “Sunnie is not one of us. But she has always been there and followed us. Her defecting is a great loss.”

I am really confused. “Wait so Sunnie is not a descendant? Then how does she fit in?” I ask.

 Sam looks at Mayhem. He nods at him to give him the okay to tell me.

“Sunnie is a child of a descendant and a mortal. She is not a full-blooded descendant. All of us are descendants of descendants. Every single one of us both parents can be traced back to the watchers. Not Sunnie only her father was a descendant. I guess she felt like an outsider with us. She did not have to feel that way. We all loved her.” Sam says.

“OK, so does that mean she is human?” I ask.

 “Not exactly. We all are human but we aren’t.” He answers me. “We all live and die. We live longer than humans. We have gifts. We are different from humans because we have watcher blood in us, but we are also human.”

I feel like I have no more information than when I started. I had no idea topside was so complicated.

“JJ, will she and Ryan have to die? Will they return to the underworld? What will happen to them?” I ask

“I have no idea.” He responds to me.

“There is just one more thing. Shouldn’t we address why this bracelet is hot and glowing?” I announce to the table.

They all stop and look at it.

“That doesn’t look good,” Camilla says as she stares at the bracelet.

 “What do you think it is doing?” I ask.

 “I do not know,” Sam says. He quickly grabs it up and takes it. “I think we should put it in the safe until we figure it out.” Sam leaves the table.

We all follow him. He is walking to the office with it. The bracelet is burning his hand.

“Sam give it to me. It can make me weak but it will not hurt me like that.”I say.

 He hands it to me. I start running to the office. I can feel my body getting weaker as I try to make it to the office. I focus on the unholy ones' signs. Just focus. I can make it. My ears are ringing that is odd.

I wake in the office lying on the couch. The twins are looking at me. “Did you put the bracelet away Sam?” I ask

“Yes, it is in the vault. We did not think you would make it. You did. You walked it in here and collapsed.” He says as he touches me to reassure me that it’s OK.

 “I just focused on the sign. I knew if I just kept walking I could get it here. It did not bother me when it was broken but as it pieced itself back together it made me weak.” I tell him.

“Listen to me Perdition you cannot touch that bracelet ever again. It could kill you.” Mayhem tells me. He looks so serious.

“What exactly is it made for? I remember my mother having it when I was a child. Sunnie touched it. It did not hurt her. I need answers Mayhem” I tell him.

“The bracelet was made for Venus. It can take a celestial life. When it broke it was no longer harmful to you. We need it to kill Venus. If I ever think your life in endanger I will destroy it.”He says.

 I stop him. “Do not ever put my life above the others. I am no more important than any other person in this bar or at the farm.” I tell him.

 “But you are Perdition, You are everything to me.” He stops himself.

 He realizes he has said too much for now. I have to get out of this room. I walk into the bar. I look at everyone and I realize something is wrong. I wonder what is going through their minds. I walk back to the booth and sit down.

Camilla Dawn brings me ice water and sits with me. “This is too much. I am not sure how to help you or them or anybody?” I tell her.

She is so calm. She reaches for me. “Perdition there is so much to you, Mayhem and those twins. You four will save topside” she says,

This girl is crazy. I am still unsure how I fit in with Mayhem and his twins, or how Sunnie, Ryan, and my brother all fit in together. I am just trying to survive today, Day four. I am exhausted. My brain is overheating with all the information I have learned about my life over the last few days. I have no idea who is trying to kill me before I can get my brother back to the underworld.

The bar starts to illuminate. Why is it so bright in here? It is not me. I am not doing anything. Mayhem comes running toward me. He is looking in my eyes.

 “Is that you?” he asks me.

“No I am just venting to Camilla but no I am not putting off any light,” I tell him.

 He looks upset. He is unsure where it is coming from. The office door slams shut. The glow is coming from under the door. I leap onto the table. I scream “What is happening?”

The glass behind the bar shatters. Mayhem grabs me and tells me to calm down.

 “We do not have time for this. We need to get to the twins.” He says.

 The front door of the pub opens. It is Damnation.

“Let me go. I have to kill him.” I scream.

Mayhem does not let go. He whispers “calm down. This is not the time. Trust me. We have to protect the twins. Listen to me. You are too weak to fight him.”

I try to calm myself. Calm down Perdition, Calm down Izzy. Calm, I have to just think calmly.

“You are okay. Listen to me. There are walls up in here. He can only go so far. I do not need you antagonizing him right now. Not yet. There will be a time to kill him. It is not today.” He says.

Mayhem kisses me on the forehead. He walks toward Damnation.

“What do you want Daniel?” He asks.

My brother does not look like he did the last time I saw him. Topside has aged him. He looks demonic. Maybe my mother is making him this way. My brother was always a beautiful creature. Now he looks old. How is he aging? This cannot be.

 He looks at me. “I want to see my sister and the twins. You need to return the twins to me Mayhem.” Damnation says. He points at me.

Mayhem looks at me and looks back at Damnation. “That is not going to happen. You have no power here Damnation.” Mayhem says, Mayhem is stern with him.

Damnation does not like it. He never liked being told what to do. Maybe I should talk to him. I hear a small voice telling me to crawl to the back. Stay with the twins. I close my eyes. I do not want to make eye contact with Damnation.

I stay close to the floor and slowly make my way to the back while Mayhem argues with Damnation. I hear a voice telling me to get to them quickly. I am scared. I want to look behind me to see what is happening. I hear the voice again. Hurry!

I reach the office door. I go in and grab the twins. We have to hide. Sam is drawing on the walls. Take a marker and copy my writing. It will keep him out. I recognize the symbols. I have seen these before.

The four of us scramble to protect the room. The twins write quickly. We finish just in time. Mayhem runs into the office.

“Take cover!” Mayhem screams.

We get down in the middle of the room. Nothing happens. We see a bright light come under the door but nothing reaches us. I get up to check on everyone. Mayhem stops me. “Wait Perdition.” He says,

 I do not listen I open the door. I see my brother standing in the bar. He looks devious. What happened to the sweet boy I grew up with? Has she corrupted you this much?

“What are you doing Damnation? These are good people?” I scream at him. He doesn’t care. He just looks through me. I mean nothing. He needs me for something but he needs the twins more.

“Give me the twins Izzy!” he demands.

“I will not give you anything Damnation!” I scream at him.

He keeps looking behind me. He is trying to see them. He is waiting to see if he can take them. I know you Damnation. I know how you work. I feel the heat coming from behind me. Sam is holding the bracelet.

“Get down Perdition!” he yells at me.

The twins push their light through the bracelet and Damnation is gone.

“Is he dead?” I ask Sam.

 “No, it is not that easy to kill a celestial being. He is back in the garden.” Sam says.

He smiles and starts making his way around the room to check on people. Mayhem is coming toward me and he looks upset.

 “You never listen do you Perdition?” He asks me.

 I do not even know how to answer. I mean it all turned out okay. He is gone. Everyone is okay right. Why is he freaking out on me?

 “We have to talk and you have to listen. Do you understand me?” He says.

I nod.

 “Mayhem I need to rest. Can it wait just a few hours? Can I please just go to my room for a few hours?” I ask him.

 “Yes but the three of us are coming with you.” He tells me.

“I am okay with that. Let’s get some rest.” I tell him.

 I help him gather the twins and we head to the apartment.

“Do you remember the symbols Sam showed you? We need to draw those on the apartment walls. There is some protection there but we need to reinforce it for the twins.” He stops waiting for me to acknowledge him.

“I remember. I can do it. The symbols are very familiar to me. Will it protect them from Daniel?” I ask.

“It should.” He walks ahead of me. I know he is upset with me. I am still navigating all these emotions.