Shatterproof: A Chat With Death

I looked up to see him frowning at me.

"What?" I said.  "You expect me to face off the Devil and whatever other Great Spookies of his without some kind of a side-arm?"

A tiny smile quirked the edge of his mouth.  "A side-arm isn't going to do you any good against Luce."

I 'hmmph'ed to myself and kicked at the leaves in the grass. We waited underneath some balding oak tree just off the river bypass to meet Collin's informant, whoever he was. The informant was late. And I wanted my gun. "Please?" I said, and saw Collin's crooked smile falter.  I positioned myself beside him.  He leaned away from me, but I gave him the sweetest, most pleading smile I could muster.  "Pretty please?"

He cracked.  "Oh, alright," he said, fishing in his pocket for my gun.  He handed it over, giving me a skeptical look.  "You're going to shoot me in the back like last time," he growled as he watched me check the pistol and stuff it in my pants pocket.

"Nonsense," I said.  I turned from the gun to find myself much closer to him than anticipated, a proximity that sent my stomach to twisting.  Tension hardened the features of his face, and I saw a vein at the base of his neck jump wildly with the speed of his pulse.  My throat was suddenly dry, and I swallowed.

I wanted to kiss him.

Really bad.

I swallowed again, inclined myself toward him.

"You don't know what you're doing, Leslie," he said, his voice low and rough.

"Just one kiss," I breathed, inching closer.  He looked about to say no.

"Are you up to your old tricks again, Collin?"

Collin flinched away from me. "She started it."

"Ha!" The tall, skinny man slapped Collin on the shoulder. "Now, why am I here? Her time isn't due, but it will be if you parade her in public like this."

The skinny man turned his face to me, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. His eyes were piercing and I felt like a bug on a skewer in the science lab. Collin came to my rescue. "We want to know what's going on with her father. Have you heard anything, Derren?"

"They've got him somewhere underground, but you might want to think twice before going after him. They need her, too." Derren turned his strange eyes on me once again.

I shuddered. "Oh, no. No."

"What are they planning?" Collin asked.

Derren tipped his chin toward me. "Right now, she's the talk of the town."

"Don't mince words, Derren."

The skeleton-like man rubbed the back of his neck.

"Luce has some big plan for John involving the gates, but she," and Derren stuck out a skeletal finger at me, "is the lock, the thorn barring his way."

Collin cursed.

"I know I don't need to tell you what that means," Derren said. "And anyway, we've talked too long. Get her out of sight."

* * *

(This piece is part of an ongoing serial story. You can catch up on the plot via the Serials page. If you liked this work, please consider purchasing one of my other stories, or some of my music for your collection. )