Page 30 of Caroled
Tenrael shook his head gravely, and when he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “You were dead, Master. Or very nearly so. You were not breathing, and….” He worked his jaw and looked away.
“But I’mnotdead. Right, Abe?” Because if anyone in the room was an expert on the subject, he was.
“As far as I can tell, you’re as alive as the rest of us.”
“You were so cold, Master. I set you on the ground, and you did not move. I… I shook you, but you were….” Tenrael swallowed audibly. “The blood was barely flowing from your wounds. Your heart was not beating.”
It was strange to hear these words about himself, especially with the familiar thud-thud strong in his chest. But it was more unsettling to see Tenrael’s distress. “What happened?”
“I removed the ring from my pocket and put it on your finger because it was all I had to give to you. As soon as it was on, you… returned to life. But you still needed a refuge to heal, so I brought you here.” He turned his attention toward the couch and bowed almost to the floor, then rose upright. “Abe and Thomas took us in.”
“After almost having a heart attack,” Abe said. “Have you ever answered your doorbell and discovered a demon carrying a shredded almost-corpse? I don’t recommend it.”
Apparently agreeing with that assessment, Thomas nodded.
Warmth suffused Charles. “But you let us in anyway. Thank you.”
“You really were a mess, pal. I’ve seen cadavers in better shape.” Abe grinned. “But here you are.”
“Did the ring save me somehow?”
Abe looked at Thomas, who shrugged. “I don’t know. But I bet Townsend does.”
For now, all the other gaps in the story were filled in. Except for one. On a hunch, Charles stroked Tenrael’s wing. “What happened to Fish and the other merfolk?”
“After Abe helped me clean and bandage you, when I was sure you would live, I flew back to the water. They had swum away, but I found them near an island.” Tenrael squared his shoulders. “I killed them.”
Despite the faint regret that Ten had killed for the first time in his long existence, a thrill ran through Charles. This ferocious creature had killed because of him. His demon. A being who could be tender and sweet and yielding—or now, terrible and deadly. He realized there was nothing wrong with these kinds of contradictions. A person did not have to fit neatly into some box. Charles was the son of a human and an angel. He wasn’t an abomination but rather another miracle. And if that son had dark urges, he had learned how to control them, just as Tenrael controlled his.
Charles was floored by these sudden, new feelings of worthiness.
“Will the Bureau be angry that I killed them?” asked Tenrael.
“The Bureau can go fuck itself.”
That was met with Abe’s raised glass and a “Hear, hear!” from Thomas. Charles decided he was feeling quite recovered indeed.
“Help me to bed?” he asked Tenrael. “I’m tired.” He knew he wasn’t fooling his hosts. They were, after all, detectives.
Tenrael’s eyes gleamed.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Abe and Thomaswere willing to have Townsend come to their house, but Charles opted to spare them the discomfort. His recovery was well along anyway, so after a flood of thanks, he took a taxi back to the St. Francis, where his room was waiting. Tenrael refused to let Charles take off the ring, and since none of them wanted Ten revealed to the city in his authentic demonic glory, he waited until dark and then flew to the hotel. Charles let him into the room through a window.
That night Charles felt good enough to leave dark bruises on Tenrael’s skin and to make him howl so loudly that Charles was forced to gag him with a pillowcase to avoid the wrath of hotel management.
They slept very well that night, Ten curled warmly around Charles.
When they woke in the morning—really, almost afternoon—Tenrael ordered Charles a room service feast: waffles with syrup, a fruit basket, enough pastries to fell an army, orange juice, tea, and hot cocoa. “This is going to kill me,” Charles said as he viewed the spread.
“It is better than being eaten by merfolk.”
“Considerably.”
Charles had demolished the waffles, a chocolate croissant, and an orange when a knock sounded on the door. He looked at Tenrael.
“Do you wish me to put on trousers, Master?”
