Chapters (60)
- DAW Books Presents
- HAPPY HOURINHELL
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- prologue
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- interlude
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- interlude
- thirteen
- fourteen
- interlude
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- interlude
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- epilogue
Sam took out the thing he called the God Glove, the powerful article Kephas had given him when Sam first agreed to work for the Third Way. It was going to be pretty damned ironic that the glove Anaita had given Sam was going to help me again, I thought—my only cheerful reflection at that moment. The wispy nothingness flared white in the dark garage, bright as a road flare but with more colors. Once Sam had pulled it over his hand, he reached into my pocket and produced the feather. Clarence gaped, so fascinated by this display of heavenly magic that I was very glad I didn’t need anything from him at that moment. Caz stared at me helplessly from behind the gag. I did my best not to get lost looking at her, but just seeing her out of the corner of my eye was like something sharp poking me in one of my ventricles.
Eligor eyed Sam’s incandescent fingers. “My, you have been a busy little bee, Sammariel. Doloriel told me you could do that, but I didn’t entirely believe him.”
Sam gave him the fish-eye. “There’s lots of things you don’t know about, Your Grace. What do you want me to do with the feather, Bobby?”
“Give it to Clarence.”
The kid looked at me like I’d just started speaking in tongues. “Huh? Why me?”
“To hold onto it,” I said and eased my gun out of my pocket. “Because in a second things are going to start getting complicated. Take it.”
Clarence did, wide-eyed. I could tell that just holding the thing was making him nervous. To be fair, if you ever saw it yourself, you’d be nervous too. Even an idiot would have known that it was a feather from a powerful angel. It was just . . . obvious.
“Now, go check Caz to see if she’s all right, Sam,” I said. He and I had discussed this, but that didn’t make it any less dangerous. I flipped the safety on my pistol.
“Really, Dollar, this is insulting,” said Eligor, but he was still grinning. “That’s the problem with you Heaven people, you think you’re the only honorable ones.”
I met Caz’s eye as Sam approached her. She looked strangely flat and hopeless, an expression I hoped would soon be explained. Sam passed his glowing hand over her head and in front of her, hovering for just a moment above the bodice of her white minidress. Caz stared at Sam’s hand in what almost looked like terror.
“Not real, Bobby.” Sam put his God Glove hand in his pocket. “She’s an illusion.”