Part XIV: Not Just Yet
The sky was grey. Grey, with streaks of brilliant fiery copper shooting across it as the sun crept its tentacles toward the smoggy skyline of Los Angeles. The air was crisp, smelling of asphalt, morning dew, and sea salt. There was a breeze, enough that Jade's dark hair was swirling around her as she stood above the faded bowling alley sign, above the empty streets, above the world, above her world. The morning was peaceful, and the city was silent, save for a couple of bicycles and motor scooters, and the occasional car or barking dog. Jade had slept fitfully, but, thankfully, without nightmares. She'd woken up several times at intervals during the night, and had decided upon the last awakening that she was pushing her luck with the nightmares.
In all, she'd probably slept about two and a half hours, but she felt surprisingly rested. And surprisingly at peace, as she watched the sun rise and the city come to life. More people were walking on the streets now, with the brisk pace of people who were going to work, she noted, the brisk pace of people whose biggest problem in life was making sure to arrive at work on time. A car full of teenagers drove by, seniors on their way to high school, where all the girls had to worry about was whether or not their shoes matched their bag. How she envied that life.
Jade had graduated high school a semester early, and was contemplating applications to college when her parents had died. She'd thought maybe early graduation would appease some part of them, but no. Nothing she did was ever good enough. She felt a bitter jolt—though, of much less intensity than the night before—rush through her as she realized, it was because of John. Every small thing her mother had jumped on, every time she couldn't please her parents, every time her mother had called her a freak…was because of John Constantine, and how he'd conditioned them to think before she'd come along. She leaned against the railing to the balcony where she stood, and sighed. Deep down, she knew it wasn't his fault…but it was hard to ignore that her mother would have been more accepting toward John than toward Jade—all because, with John, she hadn't been already made aware of the 'gift' that ran through his blood. It was hard not to be bitter.
But it was also hard not to be attracted to this older brother she'd never known she had. The little girl in her always wanted a big, protective, older brother to take care of her…and John was all that—tall, and handsome, and strong, and protective, mostly, anyway. And it was hard to ignore that, while he hadn't exactly welcomed her into his house with open arms, this was the first time she'd ever felt like she belonged somewhere. Like she could come back at the end of the day and be coming home instead of to an alien house where her father was never around and her mother was always angry. She liked John, despite his being part of the reason her childhood had been so rough. And she liked Chas, even though she kept getting the feeling there was something…different about him. And she liked their easy camaraderie, the relaxed atmosphere the entire apartment had, despite John's moaning about Chas's annoyingness. And…well, she didn't want to give any of that up, not just yet.
Jade turned and stepped back into the room, where Chas was sitting on the counter, a book in his lap, and a cup of coffee in his hand. She checked the clock; it was a quarter past six. She glanced over at the partition that separated John's room from the rest of the space; it hadn't moved. Jade nodded toward the partition.
"He's not a morning person, is he?"
Chas chuckled, without glancing up from where he was engrossed in his book.
"Not really, no. It's rare when John can actually sleep, so he tries to get as much as possible when he's having a good night." Chas glanced at the partition. "He's been having pretty good nights for a while now. At least a week."
Jade nodded, and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"What're you reading?"
Chas hopped off the counter.
"Prophecy of Laodicea: Translated." He showed her the cover, and sat down in one of the chairs, motioning for her to sit next to him. "It's the most famous prophecy of the Church doctrine, this is one translation of what it might mean. You see, here, it says the outcome of the fulfillment of this prophecy determines the direction of Revelations…It's actually quite hard to find translations of this prophecy, because the Church wants people to believe that God's painting of Revelations is the only one, but…"
Jade nodded, as Chas trailed off, explaining the various markings and symbols in the margins to her.
And that was how John found his two charges about an hour later—cozied up together over a large textbook and cups of coffee.
"Ashtaroth…"
"This isn't going to work…they know…they know about the prophecy…"
"Only because you mentioned it!"
"No, because the witch-doctor…his oath of neutrality is more than…slightly ambiguous."
"You don't believe that leaving your mark won't be taken note of?"
"The exorcist…"
"Let me see the amulet…"
"No…we need the exorcist's…"
"He doesn't have it…but he does have the girl…"
"I know."
"Of course you do…wasn't that your job?"
"It's more complicated than one might perceive."
"Oh yes, poor little thing, Lucifer doesn't adore you anymore, does he."
"And now it's my job."
"And his little sweetheart?"
"Yes, that too."
"Nobody is fooled by your pretty looks, darling, don't bother."
"I am above this."
"Beautiful…the only one left unscathed is the little angel-boy."
"Shall I take care of him, too!"
"Incubus."
"Succubus."
"Balthazar."
"No."
"Lucifer is not pleased. Is he ever? So it is imperative we hurry, do remember that Constantine is the most powerful demon-hunter ever to be born, and any union between him and the pretty psychic or the little girl would be—"
"Lucifer's undoing."
Angela put on a black skirt and white blouse, sliding her feet into black pumps and grabbing her keys. It was Sunday, and she was going to mass. She laughed bitterly at the mess that had been her faith before John Constantine had walked into her life. Of all people, she thought, it took a cynical, damned, God-mocking exorcist to bring me closer to God. Despite that John insisted God wasn't the loving Father the Bible portrayed him to be, Heaven seemed like a hell—pardon the pun—of a lot better than Hell to go to when one died. Angela grabbed her purse and dumped the keys, her gun, and the vial of dragon's breath into it, locked her door, and ran down the stairs of her apartment building.
"What are you doing?" A groggy John Constantine asked Chas, who looked up cheerily.
"Prophecy of Laodicea…" Jade muttered, her head still buried in the book.
John raised an eyebrow at Chas.
"Is that the…"
Chas nodded.
"The one about…"
Chas nodded again. John poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Don't scare her."
Chas rolled his eyes, and John narrowed his.
"I mean it."
"It's the Prophecy of Laodicea: Translated," Chas reassured John, "By someone other than Chas Kramer. Despite the fact that the truth lies with Chas Kramer…"
John snorted, and made his way to the refrigerator, rooting through it to find something decent to eat. He pulled out half a bar of chocolate (despite all the fruit and other healthy things, Jade thought to herself) and turned back to the two teens.
"Chas, are you doing anything today?"
"John, I'm an…uh…" Chas glanced at Jade. "No, I'm not."
"Take Jade out, I need to stop by the Church."
"You're going to mass?"
"No. I need to talk to Gabriel, and I hear he's been sulking about the Church since he lost his wings. Not much different from before."
"Oh. Uh, why are we going out?"
John shrugged.
"She probably needs some…stuff," he looked distinctly uncomfortable discussing female needs with anyone. "And we need to fix up the room."
"Oh, yeah."
"Here." John crossed the room to where his pants were lying and picked up his wallet, tossing a few of hundred dollar bills at Chas.
Chas picked them up.
"How…generous. Not to mention old-fashioned, John, do you always carry this much money around with you?"
John shrugged.
"Don't trust banks to get immediate money. Don't need the hassle of credit cards."
"Right…" Chas tucked the money in his pocket. Jade was still engrossed in the text of the prophecy, and she looked up when Chas nudged her gently.
Jade glanced at John, and then back at Chas.
"This prophecy's supposed to be about Jesus? It doesn't make sense."
"What?" Both Chas and John leaned forward, and Chas shot John an 'I-told-you-so' look.
"See here?" Jade circled three parts of the prophecy with her finger, "…the son of God…the son…the son…Who is the 'son', Jesus?"
The two men nodded, and she continued.
"But why is," she circled a portion of the textbook that was discussing the relevance of the Son of God, and then pointed back to the prophecy. "This word, 'son', never capitalized?"
Chas grinned.
"Because it's not about Jesus Christ, it's about—"
John cut him off with a glare, and Chas faltered.
"It's only one translation," Chas muttered. "It could be the scribe."
Jade nodded, unsatisfied.
"Gabriel!" The mortal angel turned at the sound of his name being called through a pair of decidedly human lips. "Gabriel, I need to speak with you."
Gabriel nodded curtly, and motioned for Angela to sit beside him. She obeyed, and turned to him.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I—"
Gabriel smiled.
"Don't be, child, what's troubling you?"
"I had some…questions about my gift. Recently, I've been experiencing…transitions."
"Transitions?"
Angela sighed.
"Well, okay, just one transition, but I feel as though Hell is trying to pull me in at other times, and the only reason it can't is because I'm not in any way in contact with water."
Gabriel mused.
"Have you spoken with Midnite?"
Angela shook her head, frustrated.
"No, I have an appointment with him later today, though…"
The ex-angel nodded, smiling.
"Well, I'm sure he will have answers for you." Gabriel stood, crossing his arms and gazing into the stone fireplace. A tiny, amused smirk appeared on his lips. "Have you spoken with John?"
"No, Gabriel, she hasn't." Angela turned at the rough voice of John Constantine, who was standing behind them, one eyebrow raised, and both hands in his coat pockets. His stony gaze turned to her and she swallowed, hard. His face betrayed no emotion, but he gave an imperceptible shake of his head, denoting that he wanted to talk to her later—that they would talk later, rather. She nodded, and John turned to Gabriel, smirking.
"How's this demotion going for you, Gabe?"
Gabriel's jaw twitched at the nickname, and he turned to narrow his eyes at John.
"What do you need, John."
John smiled, "Just a few answers. Like, the Prophecy of Laodicea?"
Gabriel looked slightly shocked, "The Prophecy of Laodicea?" His eyes narrowed again, "Who told you about that?"
"I have my sources, sit." John took a seat and motioned to a chair next to him, "And enlighten me."
"I am human now, just as you, John," The ex-angel replied, primly, "I cannot possibly know any more than you do."
"Right, Gabe, sure. Well, then, let me tell you what I know." Gabriel ignored the gleam in John's eye as he continued to speak, "Chas thinks it's about me. That's right, Chas, my little boyfriend, Heaven's newest half-breed, Chas. You know what Chas also thinks? Chas also thinks that Angela," John gestured at where Angela was standing, off to the side, "And Jade—have you heard? I have a little sister, and her name is Jade—are key to the prophecy. Also, Chas says the prophecy probably determines the outcome of the world—whether Heaven or Hell ends up ruling Earth. Now," John paused, for breath and effect, "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you know about this?"
Gabriel remained impassive, "Nice, John, very nice," he muttered, huffing slightly. Giving a large, overly dramatic sigh, the ex-angel looked into John's eyes, which were still gleaming in a most unsettling way, "Fine, I admit that if any of what Chas thinks—is he your only source, by the way?—is true, there is something…important at hand. But I actually don't know any thing about the prophecy; it's not something Heaven tries to teach. However, I can direct you to someone who might help—but she doesn't take kindly to discourteous strangers," Gabriel paused to emphasize this, "Nor does she take kindly to friends of Midnite. Here."
The ex-angel scribbled a name and address on a piece of paper, "Lucky for you, she currently resides in the area." Gabriel handed it to him, and John nodded.
"Thanks," he mumbled, and Gabriel smiled.
"And John?" Gabriel called after him, "Do try not to fuck yourself over."
John sneered, motioned to Angela, and glanced down at the paper in his hand.
Adila Abatyan
3002 Figueroa St.
Wow…let me just say I'm impressed with how fast you all reviewed…I hope you liked this chapter. Special thanks to: Gladys Bagg, Kyoko Kasshu Minamino, MrsShiaLabeouf, the angel's halo, angie232, morph, Erin, fanficgeek, Evelyn Valerious, YukeBaby, MrSmithConstantine, SilverBloodRain
June 22 or 10+ Reviews.
Thanks to Daydreamer for beta-ing.
Jake