Chapter One
Tyre
Tyre suspected the young woman
would hold a grudge against him. Not because he was going to kill her—she’d
thank him for that later—but because of the sex. He knew he took things a bit
too far this time, but curiosity got the better of him. With any luck, the
inevitable reprimand would be light, but it was hard to tell these days. Being
an angel was getting tricky.
The girl, Katie Theresa Connors,
had an Irish name and features to match, with pale skin and a mop of red hair.
The Catholic School uniform completed the look, though it was currently in a
state of disarray.
“I’m never going to get all these
wrinkles out,” she said. Her attempts to smooth the knee-length plaid skirt
bunching around her waist were proving troublesome in the confines of the car.
She finally gave up and started to work on the white blouse.
“I hope my roommate’s asleep when
I get back.” She buttoned up, then readjusted her little cross necklace. “She
has such a big mouth; the whole senior class will know.” Katie re-wrapped a blue
scarf around her neck, arranging it with practiced hands until it was a fluffy
bow. She looked around, felt under her bottom, and patted around on the
floorboard. Tyre picked up the small handbag from where it had fallen between
his feet, and held it up by the strap.
“Thanks.” She pulled out a tube
of lipstick, dotted on some color and blended it with her finger before adding a
touch of gloss. Tyre knew it was bubblegum flavored; the taste still lingered on
his lips. He couldn’t say he cared for it.
Katie made a few last adjustments
to her hair and looked with satisfaction at her reflection in the little mirror
before flipping up the visor. She favored Tyre with a brilliant smile.
“So, do I still look like a girl
who snuck out of a hotel to have sex with a complete stranger?” She stretched
across the seat and kissed him.
“Yes, you do,” Tyre said. She
giggled, but he wasn’t joking. “And all things considered, we’re hardly
strangers.” He winked. She blushed and bit her bottom lip, probably thinking he
was being flirtatious instead of literal.
Tyre chuckled. He was getting
tremendous amusement at her expense tonight, in several ways. Though Katie had
tried to put on a show of innocence, he knew their tryst hadn’t been the girl’s
first. He was aware her history and it was nothing short of scandalous. With a
recently deceased mother and a father working two jobs to keep his children in
private school, Katie had tried to find respite from grief and loneliness. She’d
discovered the allure of cads, and there had been quite a few. Tyre couldn’t
begrudge her the small comfort, especially since her desperate need for
intimacy—even the illusion—had served him quite well. He turned the keys in the
ignition and adjusted the rearview mirror which had been knocked out of place
during the somewhat awkward liaison.
“You were right about the
monuments,” Katie said. “They were amazing at night. I’m glad you invited
me.”
“I’m glad you accepted. Though I
admit, I was surprised; I tend to intimidate. The scars didn’t frighten
you?”
“Not much,” Katie said with a
shrug. “I kind of like the one around your eye. I had fun tonight. I hope you
did, too.”
Tyre knew she wasn’t talking
about the Washington D.C. scenery. “It was a unique experience, one I may
remember with fondness.” He didn’t mention he had other feelings as well, ones
not as noble. The girl had given him problems in the past, and he considered his
motivations held a touch of malevolence. Why he was risking himself to save her
again was vexing. It had been quite a hassle this time, too, which reminded
him...
“Why didn’t you leave the hotel
last night?” he asked, switching on the headlights and maneuvering through the
darkened parking lot.
“What are you talking
about?”
Tyre pulled into sparse traffic
and headed for the interstate. “Last night, at nine fifteen, you were going to
leave the hotel and start walking North on the highway, toward the entertainment
plaza. You dressed in an ill-fitting purple skirt, applied far too much make-up,
and styled your hair in a way you thought appeared exotic, but simply looked
unkempt. Then, after such woeful efforts, you failed to depart. Why is
that?”
Katie puffed out an angry breath.
Tyre knew she was taken aback by his recitation of private moments, and perhaps
his opinion on her fashion sense.
“How did you know that?” she
demanded, but then leaned closer. “Are you psychic?” Her eyes lit at the idea,
any offense apparently forgotten.
“Not by your definition of the
word, but I am a good listener. You must’ve mentioned it at some point.” Tyre
shrugged as if the answer were of no consequence, though he wanted to wring the
truth from the girl. “I was just curious as to why your plans changed.” He
presented her with an endearing smile. He could be charming when he
wished.
Katie slapped a hand over her
face and looked out the window at the passing trees. “I swear, I don’t remember
saying any of that. I can’t believe I told you about the hair! I ramble
sometimes.”
Tyre agreed, but didn’t say so.
There was no need for rudeness, after all.
“Sister Bernard was on patrol,”
Katie said. “She pulled a chair out of her room and sat at the end of the hall
all night, reading. She wouldn’t let anyone get by, not even to get a snack from
the vending machine. The other chaperones trusted us, but Sister B is
insane.”
“Afraid one of her girls would
sneak out and engage in sinful acts? You’re right. Insanity.”
Katie giggled, and Tyre shook his
head. He should’ve guessed one of the clergy caused all the trouble. He did
appreciate the irony, though. He pulled up the sleeve on his jacket and glanced
at the thick, metal bracelet on his wrist, often mistaken for a timepiece. It
glowed brightly and Tyre frowned. He’d been out too long and needed to hurry
things up.
“Cool watch,” Katie commented,
leaning over to get a better look. “That’s a Yin-Yang symbol on the face, right?
Where did you get it?”
“It’s called a taijitu,”
Tyre said, explaining the black and white symmetrical pattern of the design. “It
was issued at work.”
Katie turned in the seat and
curled one leg up so she could fully face him. “Where do you work?”
“That’s a complicated question.
Let’s just say it’s a large organization, and I’m part of a rather select
group.”
“What do you do?”
Tyre pinched the bridge of his
nose and squeezed his eyes shut. He had no desire to engage in the infamous
post-coital chitchat, but since she’d been accommodating earlier, he decided to
indulge her.
“I travel,” he said. “I’ve done a
little of everything, but on this trip I’m in Collections.”
“I bet you get to go all over the
world. I’m jealous. I’ve never even been on a plane. I think flying would be
amazing.”
“It is.” Tyre was pleased to say
something truthful. He merged onto the interstate and picked up speed. There
wasn’t much traffic at this late hour, as was his plan; he didn’t want or need
an audience tonight. He accelerated further, and the engine of the car struggled
to keep up. He should’ve stolen one with more power, but he’d been in a time
crunch.
“Hey, I think you missed the
exit.” Katie pointed as they passed by a ramp.
“So I did. We appear to have
something in common now.”
“You’re going too fast.” Katie
turned back around and buckled her seat belt.
Tyre knew she was beginning to
realize something was out of place. He was a little relieved; she’d been far too
trusting until this point, and though it had been useful to him, he still found
her casual acceptance a curious thing. He normally encountered fear, or at least
suspicion, and employed unique, even brutal, methods to gain compliance. He
decided to think on the matter later, put the girl’s odd behavior from his mind,
and pushed on the gas again.
Katie tensed, grabbing hold of
the dash for security. “You need to slow down. I mean it, Dominik, I’m getting
scared.”
Tyre forgot about that particular
deception; there were so many tonight it was hard to keep up. “That’s not my
name, by the way.” He reached across the seat and shook her hand. “Tyre. Pleased
to meet you.”
“What?” She lost some color. “You
lied to me?”
He knew this would soon be least
of her issues with him.
“So, your name is…Tyre?” Her
voice held a touch of anger. “Like a teardrop?”
“Like the Phoenician city, if you
must make a comparison. I thought you might prefer the name Dominik.” He didn’t
tell her why; she’d get the joke soon enough. “But, you’re right to be upset,
and I’m going to make it up to you. Watch me.”
Tyre made sure Katie’s eyes were
on him, and called upon one of his more theatrical abilities. He shivered;
within seconds, his black hair turned to blonde, his green eyes to brown, and he
altered his height to give himself more length. He added a full beard, but it
was too itchy; he removed it and flashed a grin at his passenger.
Katie’s eyes went wide, her mouth
fell open and she screamed in terror.
Tyre placed a finger to his ear
and cringed. The girl had impressive volume. With his increased height, his
knees pressed against the dash under the steering wheel, so he reached to the
lever underneath the seat and slammed it back as far as it would go. Katie
continued testing her lung capacity, and in such confined quarters, it needed to
cease.
“You don’t like blondes?” Tyre
asked. “Neither do I. How about this one, then?” He shivered again, changing his
hairstyle to a long, reddish-brown. He switched up his skin tone and swapped his
eye color to a bright blue. He peeked in the rearview mirror to make sure he’d
gotten the costume correct and grunted in satisfaction. He thought Katie would,
under different circumstances, appreciate the look. Most women did.
The terrified girl grabbed her
silver cross necklace and pushed her back against the door, getting as far away
from him as she could. Her trembling shook the seats.
“What are you?” she demanded.
“What do you want?”
Tyre considered the questions.
There was no reason he had to lie to her at this point, and he’d grown tired of
the charade anyway. He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m the angel who’s going to save
your soul. Again.”
“You’re insane,” Katie whispered
and started rummaging through the glove box, her hands shaking as she dumped
paperwork and other items all over. Tyre guessed she was looking for something
to use as a weapon, so he allowed her to continue; it would earn him a few
moments of quiet and nothing in the car could harm him.
He hit the accelerator and tested
the steering capabilities. It was almost time for the big finish, and he wanted
no mistakes. Tyre started weaving from one lane to another, relishing the
adrenaline rush. He laughed until a pair of taillights came up fast on the
right. “There might be witnesses.” He turned to Katie. “This could be a problem.
Try to act natural, will you?”
“Witnesses?” Katie
repeated, looking back and forth between Tyre and the road. The broken yellow
lines whipped by so fast they appeared almost solid. She started to cry, but
then she, too, spotted the other vehicle. She seized the manual handle
controlling the windows and cranked as fast as she could, calling out for
assistance.
“Brilliant.” He cast a sideways
look to the girl. “Well, there’s no way to avoid them now, is there?” He reached
over and grabbed her hand. “Wave. Be polite.” He waggled her wrist, making her
hand dance. “Say farewell.”
“No,” Katie screamed, “please!”
She tried to pull her arm free as they passed a station wagon with brown side
panels. The driver and the woman beside him shot angry glances at the speeding
car, but a boy with big dark eyes pressed his face to the window and waved
back.
Tyre kept up the assault on the
car’s engine. He realized he hadn’t switched his appearance since the last
wardrobe change, and breathed in relief as he regained his familiar form. He
turned his attention back to his terrified passenger. “I know you’re upset now,
but you’ll thank me for this later.” He patted her knee.
Katie grabbed the cross around
her neck again, clutching it like an anchor in a storm. She started to rock back
and forth in the seat, praying. She rattled off words without a breath.
“Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy
will be done…”
“The Lord’s prayer,” Tyre said.
“Excellent choice. Very popular.”
“…on earth as it is in
heaven…” She
stopped, sobs catching in her throat as the car switched lanes, coming
dangerously close to the guardrail.
Tyre stole a peek at her. “Keep
going, you were doing so well. Give us this day…” He waved his hand as
though helping a child with the alphabet. The car was almost at maximum speed
now.
Katie’s chin quivered, and she
could barely squeak out the words. “Give us this day our daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us…”
“That would be me, right?” The
little arrow on the speedometer bounced around, having reached its limit.
“…and lead us not into
temptation...”
“But deliver us from
evil!” Tyre
roared the last words along with her, then twisted the steering wheel hard to
the right. Katie wailed as the car lurched, slammed into the guardrail and
flipped end over end. Metal twisted and cracked, tires catapulted into the air,
and glass shattered with the multiple impacts before the car came to rest,
upside down, against an enormous oak.
The crash was devastating, as
intended, and Tyre was pleased with his work. He stood a short distance away,
having vacated the doomed vehicle before things got too ugly. His massive black
wings, the mark of his elite choir, the Heralds, were now in full array. It was
a tremendous relief; keeping wings tucked for too long was uncomfortable. They’d
started to cramp.
He watched as
the only remaining tire still attached to the car continued to spin. The final
blow of the crash had been delivered with such force it split the trunk of an
ancient tree, and Tyre shook his head in regret. He hated destruction of the
environment.
