Spawn of Satan: Rowena Engle, paranormal investigator, #2

Spawn of Satan

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One

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Rowena watched cautiously. The spirit was confused and seemed rather angry. This could get a bit dodgy if she couldn’t make him see she was there to help. Behind her, Rowena felt the departed man’s wife trembling.

This was Rowena’s bread and butter work, and she should be able to do it without feeling nervous, but a confused spirit was a tricky beast.

Ever since Mrs Jones’ husband had passed away in his sleep, he had been prowling around their once happy home. His poltergeist activity had forced his wife to send their children to stay with grandparents, leaving her alone to face the thrown objects, locked doors, flickering lights, and sudden cold spells.

Mr Jones, my name is Rowena. I’m here to help.

A book flew off the shelf and just missed her head.

Mr Jones, do you understand what has happened to you?

This time, a framed photograph launched in her direction. Rowena only just dodged it.

Peter, please listen, Mrs Jones begged, her hands clasped together in anguish.

I think you should leave the house for a little while, Rowena advised. If her client got killed by the spirit, Rowena wouldn’t be getting paid, although she didn’t really need the money. A dead client would do nothing for her reputation though.

Waiting until the distraught wife had left, Rowena said softly, You can come out now.

Across the room, the air seemed to shimmer. It got the attention of Peter Jones’ spirit. He turned to stare in shock.

The far too sexy and often annoying angel who had plagued Rowena for weeks suddenly manifested in the room. Usually he stuck with a fairly human look, but this time he had decided to show off a rather impressive set of silvery white wings. They only just fit in the small sitting room.

Show off, Rowena muttered to herself.

Mr Jones gaped in awe and then fell to his knees.

Rowena rolled her eyes. But at least the spirit had stopped throwing things. Much as Rowena was tempted to throw a few things at the angel for his overdone entrance, she didn’t think Mrs Jones would appreciate having even more cleaning up to do.

Adlai, put the wings away. The poor man thinks you’re here to deliver some kind of divine retribution.

The angel managed to look sheepish. Sorry.

With a sigh, Rowena crossed to stand in front of the spirit of Mr Jones. We’re here to help you, Peter. You must know by now you need to move on. You can still watch your family once you’re beyond the Veil. You just have to Beyond them online.

Beyond was Google for the departed. On the other side of the Veil, everything appeared the same as this side, but there were a few crucial differences; for starters, everyone was dead. But most spirits continued to live in the Veil version of their home, greeting anyone new that joined them and helping them to adjust. Rowena had learned a lot more about death beyond the Veil in the last few weeks. She had even conned the angel into taking her there so she could learn more. He had been reluctant, but Rowena had pointed out it would help her do her job better.

Peter Jones frowned. Can you see me? No one has seen me in ages. I thought I’d gone mad.

You’re not mad, but you are dead, she told him gently. Your spirit is trapped on the wrong side of the Veil, and that’s making you behave oddly. Now it’s time for you to move on. I can open a doorway in the Veil for you.

What about Selena?

It took Rowena a second to remember Selena was Mrs Jones’ first name. Selena is fine. One day she will find you, but for now she has to stay here and look after your children.

I never had the chance to tell her I love her, Peter Jones whispered. She’s my whole world.

Tears pricked Rowena’s eyes. It was always hardest to send those who had so much to live for on their way.

You can tell her now, but you also need to say goodbye to her. I’ll go and get her. She glanced over her shoulder at Adlai. Don’t go scaring him, she told him firmly.

Once Mrs Jones was back in the room, Rowena put a hand on her shoulder and concentrated on pushing her Sight into the grieving woman.

Peter?!

Selena, Peter scrabbled up from his knees and dashed over to take her hands, but his own went straight through them. I love you so much. I don’t want to leave you.

I don’t want you to leave, she replied, tears starting to creep down her face. I’ll always love you.

Rowena was now fighting her own tears. In her initial consultation with Mrs Jones in a local coffee shop, she had found out the couple had been childhood sweethearts. After marrying at the age of only eighteen, they had worked hard to get their own home, and when their two children came along, they had thought their lives complete. But Peter Jones had suffered from an unknown heart defect that had killed him in his sleep after a night of passionately celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary.

Rowena made a decision.

Mr Jones, did you have a mobile phone? she asked, knowing she would probably end up in a whole heap of shit for what she was about to do, but she could deal with that later.

Yes, it’s on my bedside cabinet. The poor man looked baffled.

Mrs Jones, get me your phone.

Selena pulled the mobile from the back pocket of her jeans.

Ok, I have to let you go for a minute, so you won’t be able to see your husband.

Taking the phone, Rowena went into the address book and found Peter Jones’ number. She quickly edited it, entering the secret code she had found out about that would enable Selena to call her husband.

Right, you have to promise me you will only use this number in a dire emergency. No sneaky calls at night for phone sex.

I don’t understand, Mrs Jones told her, frowning.

The code I’ve put in means you’ll be able to call the version of Peter’s phone that already exists beyond the Veil. I shouldn’t be giving it to you, but I think you need it. Rowena gave her a tight smile. You have to let him go now.

Placing her hand back on Selena Jones’ shoulder, Rowena braced herself for watching what was going to be a heart-breaking goodbye.

* * *

You can be a real jerk sometimes, Rowena told her passenger as she pulled away from the little terraced house. It had taken her a while to pull herself together after leaving Mrs Jones alone. The poor woman was grieving for her husband all over again. What was with the big show of wings?

It seemed the quickest way to get his attention. It worked, didn’t it?

Wanting to punch the angel, a feeling Rowena got frequently, she decided to rise above his performance and not mention it any more.

What’s the next job? Adlai asked after several minutes of silence.

Gritting her teeth, Rowena replied, We’ve got another meeting with Mr Morgen tomorrow. Goddess, I hate using that stupid name for him.

Mr Morgen, AKA the Morningstar, AKA Satan, was Rowena’s fallen angel father, something she had spent most of her life not knowing. She wished daily she could have lived in ignorance of it for the rest of her life.

However, the job he had her working on part time was one she wanted to see through. So far, nothing had really happened on that particular case. Mr Morgen had given her access to any information he had about angels disappearing, and she had done a little research online on both sides of the Veil.

It had taken her a while to accept everything that had happened in her life. Finding out she was literally the spawn of Satan hadn’t done much for her view of herself, but eventually she had grown to accept it. Now she was contracted to work for him whenever he wanted her, and he paid handsomely for what was actually very little work. The large monthly retainer meant she could afford to take on cases like that of the Jones’. In the past, her services had been expensive, simply because she got so few jobs, but now she could charge a nominal fee, so she had a lot more work to get through. She thought she probably should have dropped her prices years ago.

The three hour drive home was exhausting on top of such an emotionally draining day. Rowena hoped she would be able to go straight to bed and sleep. Of course, she still had the randy angel to put off, as she did every night, but that was just a part of her normal bedtime routine now. Adlai slept in her bed every night, and always tried to persuade her to let him stick a bun in her oven. When she did feel like making use of his amorous advances, she always insisted he used a condom. She wasn’t at a place in her life where she felt a child would be a good thing. Quite the opposite. Knowing any child she had would have the Devil as a grandfather was likely to put her off the whole idea forever.

Getting in, Rowena checked her answerphone, which was blessedly empty, and then her mobile messages. There was one from her friend Stephen, the man who had previously been a friend with benefits. He had been pestering her to have dinner with him and his new boyfriend Mathew. So far, Rowena had always found an excuse not to go, but the excuses were getting more and more transparent. She didn’t want to intrude on the new stable life Stephen had been pulling together for himself, and she had a horrible feeling she would fuck up his relationship somehow if she didn’t keep her distance.

A knock on her door meant she got no further inside than the hallway. It was her neighbour, a quiet, slightly creepy computer analyst called Jeff. He should have been an attractive man, but something about him was decidedly off. However, he was always polite and always signed for her packages when she was out.

Smiling her thanks a little tightly, because he always seemed to get a bit too close, Rowena quickly told him she was exhausted and shut the door as soon as she could without being too obviously rude.

The package made her heart skip wildly. Having slept with a bisexual man for several years meant her sexual horizons were pretty broad. Now she was happily corrupting the angel. After introducing him to prostate orgasms, she planned to go the whole hog and bend him over something while she gave him a thorough seeing to. The contents of the parcel were crucial in that aim. She was too tired for it right away, but one night soon she would unleash the strap-on on him.

Going to the kitchen, she was relieved to see Adlai had interpreted her need for food in the form of a simple mushroom omelette. The angel was programed to meet her needs, meaning he supplied her with food, coffee and vodka whenever she wanted, as well as mind-boggling sex.

Thanks, she said quietly as she sat to devour the food in seconds. Not having had time to eat since breakfast, she was ravenously hungry, but it was too late at night for a big meal. A wine glass appeared in front of her, filled with a nice Australian white. She took a sip and savoured the Verdelho with her eyes closed. Vodka was her ‘go to’ drink, but she enjoyed a glass of wine as well.

* * *

Deciding she didn’t want the angel with her when she met her father, Rowena commanded him to stay at home and left him sulking in front of the television. Sometimes he was almost a cliché man.

Mr Morgen’s office was in a large building that gleamed like a new penny in the sunlight. It was only the third time Rowena had come to his office. Usually he just appeared in her flat, more often than not when she least wanted to see him. But a summons to his office implied this was a business meeting.

Once issued with her visitor’s badge, she made her way up to the top floor in the lift, unconsciously smoothing down the fabric of her designer skirt. She’d never been able to afford designer clothes before, and it took some getting used to. Going into a smart boutique for the first time had been a nerve-racking experience. She had been expecting to get thrown out the whole time she was there. Along with her contract and retainer, Rowena had also been given a platinum credit card. Satan had told her to run it to the limit. Figuring he owed her nearly thirty years of birthday and Christmas presents, she had set out to do just that. She was exasperated to find the card didn’t seem to have a limit, at least not one she was capable of reaching.

The skirt she wore was based on a kilt, with wide pleats and a buckled belt. When she first saw the price tag she’d nearly had heart failure, but she had really wanted it. Bright red, it clashed a little with her dyed scarlet hair, but a black blouse stopped the combinations of red being too overpowering. The designer clothes gave her a new confidence that she had previously lacked, and made her feel sexy in a way that no clothes had before.

She was shown straight into her father’s office and he greeted her with a smile. He had tried to kiss her cheek the last time she’d seen him, but that was going a step too far.

Your job yesterday was successful? he asked politely. Satan and manners seemed like an odd combination, but she had got used to his solicitous ways now.

Yep. Just a straight-forward lost soul. Nothing out of the ordinary. She didn’t meet his eye as she said the last bit.

Really? Then perhaps I was misinformed. I was told you gave someone the code to call beyond the Veil. Again. You’re making a habit of it, Rowena.

Seeing she couldn’t deny it, she just shrugged. Sometimes you have to bend the rules.

"And sometimes you have to remember the rules are there for a reason. You can’t keep breaking every rule that’s been set in place for thousands of years. Ordinary mortals are not