with a small smile, he took the lead.
42
AS I WALKED BEHIND DACHEV, I KEPT GLANCING OVER my shoulder. None of the others followed us. Dachev must wield some power here—like the first man to travel beyond his prehistoric village and discover the existence of a greater world. Unlike those early explorers, I doubted Dachev shared his knowledge with his comrades, instead retaining that false edge of superiority for as long as he could.
When we reached the meadow, I led Dachev to a spot in the middle. Then I had a decision to make—turn my back to the village, to the forest at the other end, or to the meadow stretching off to either side. I chose the forest; it was far enough away that no one could leap out of it unnoticed, and I wanted to keep both eyes on that village.
As I turned to Dachev, I found him studying me, not with the insolent leer from earlier, but an academic stare, accompanied by a slight frown.
“We have met, have we not?” he said. “You appear familiar…and yet…” His frown flipped into a broad grin. “I’m quite certain I wouldn’t forget such an angel. So much prettier than the other one they sent. He wasn’t my type at all.”
“We’ve never met,” I said. “The last time you were top-side, I hadn’t even been born.”
He gave me another once-over, pausing at my eyes, his confusion obvious. He recognized something there…just wasn’t sure what it was. Too bad. If he didn’t know I was a witch, I wasn’t enlightening him about that, any more than I was letting him know I wasn’t an angel.
“Do you have a name, pretty one?” he asked.
“Everyone does.”
He waited. When I said nothing, his lips tweaked in a smile.
“The exchange of names is the first part of any polite conversation,” he said.
“Yep,” I said. “It is.”
When I didn’t continue, he laughed. “Not even going to humor me, are you? The other one did. He was very polite. Very…understanding. And most companionable. I think he wanted to be my friend.”
“I’m sure he did.”
Dachev’s brows lifted as he tried to suppress a grin.
“You doubt his sincerity? Oh, but he was so sincere. He didn’t make me stand in this meadow. He accepted my invitation, came right to my house, to prove how much he trusted me. Don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
Another barely contained grin. “You should. It makes things so much more pleasant. The other angel sat right at my table and told me he understood that I’d been tempted and succumbed. After all, I was human…just as he’d been, so he understood temptation. What the Fates did to me was wrong, putting this poor sinner in such a situation, into contact with one such as the Nix. She tempted me, and I fell from grace.”
“Uh-huh. Moving right along. You know why I’m here, so—”
“See? Now you’re being rude. Katsuo was so much nicer. He wasn’t in a hurry. He listened to me, listened most intently as I confessed my sins and told him what the Nix and I had done. Then I told him what I wished I’d done…in beautiful, intricate detail, everything I wished I could have done to those women, if only it had been me in those killers’ bodies. I described every cut I would have made, every degradation I would have inflicted.” Dachev’s face gathered in a mock frown. “That’s when he left. Left without even saying good-bye.” He looked over at me. “Do you think Katsuo remembers me? Perhaps in his dreams?” He flashed a wide smile. “I hope so.”
I said nothing.
“Do angels dream?” he said. “Can they have nightmares? Or are they all dreams like this?” He waved a dismissive hand around the meadow. “Visions of wildflowers and sunny skies. We dream, you know. When we sleep, the cracks in our memory open, just enough to let out a flash here, a glimpse there. And there are no wildflowers and sunny skies in our dreams. Sometimes I hear the others screaming. They keep me awake at night.”
“Damned shame.”
A shark-toothed smile. “A damned shame indeed. You aren’t even going to feign sympathy, are you?”
“If you want sympathy, I’ll send Katsuo. If you want to cut a deal, you’re stuck with me.”
“A deal? I do like the sound of that. Let me see…what should I ask for? Well, first, of course, I want out of here.”
I laughed.
“Oh, not permanently. Just a visit, under escort, of course. I—”
“No. I couldn’t arrange it even if I wanted