Chapter 8

It had been a few days since the last time Bo had seen Tamsin. She called the Angel and told her that she had some info to share, and Tamsin agreed to meet her at Pale Beak after sundown.

Bo didn't realize how much she had been looking forward to seeing Tamsin until the blonde walked through the door. Bo couldn't move her eyes away. When Tamsin's eyes met Bo's, she pulled her lips into a small smile, and it made Bo smile as well.

Side by side they sat at the bar and enjoyed some drinks together. Both knew they should start a conversation about the Dark Temple, or the Book of the Dead, but neither made an attempt. Sitting together in silence seemed strangely comforting.

Until, a bar fight broke out behind them. A large group of young, drunken hunters shouted and yelled, throwing punches at each other.

Both women thought it was just another Thursday night at Pale Beak, until one of the men drew a weapon. It was mostly for intimidation, but he accidentally stabbed one of his opponents.

Like pouring gasoline on the fire, the bar fight quickly escalated into a brawl involving swords and knives. Tamsin rolled her eyes and grabbed Bo's arm. "Let's go," she suggested.

They were on their way out when a guy got pushed towards them. He had lost his balance and he had a blade in his hand.

Tamsin cursed and pulled Bo into her arms. She spun both of them around, turning away from the man, thinking she could dodge the blade, but the guy tripped over something and flung his arm, shoveling the blade into her lower right side.

He didn't apologize or even make a comment. He just yelled something frantically and yanked the blade out, before he rejoined the bar fight.

Tamsin was about to go after him, but the excruciating pain from her wound stopped her. It was as if she had been stabbed repeatedly while having the blade twisted inside her wound.

She stumbled back and pressed her back against the bar. Groaning in pain, she squeezed Bo's arm. She wanted to tell Bo to leave now, but she couldn't get a single word out.

Bo frowned at Tamsin. Her eyes shot wide open in fear when she noticed Tamsin's gushing wound. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, feeling her heart stopping instantly.

Tamsin pointed at the exit of the bar and bit out, "go!"

Letting out a few curses and groans, Tamsin pressed down hard on her wound. Blood poured through her fingers. "Turn right…." she panted.

Bo jerked the steering wheel and threw Tamsin's pickup truck into a dangerous curve at the intersection while receiving plenty of loud honks and angry shouts.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital…or something?" Bo asked as she glanced at Tamsin as she gripped the steering wheel.

"No…just…drive," Tamsin forced those words through her gritted teeth. The pain was so overwhelming that she feared that she'd black out in any minute now.

"Okay, okay, where do I turn next?"

"The red…red brick building," Tamsin pointed at an apartment building a few blocks away. "60…3."

She was barely conscious when Bo pulled the truck into parking. Bo practically dragged her out of the truck and into the elevator while praying that they wouldn't run into anyone in the building.

By the time they had arrived at apartment 603, Tamsin had passed out. Bo found a key in her pocket and opened the door in panic.

She put Tamsin on the floor and tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure, but it wasn't working at all.

Consumed by fear, she pressed down harder. With a weak groan, Tamsin pried her eyes open. "Vodka and…" she pointed at a kitchen drawer before she closed her eyes again.

Bo rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of vodka. Then, she yanked the drawer open. There she found an antique tin can.

She ran back to Tamsin and ripped her shirt open. Then, she poured some vodka on her wound.

Tamsin opened her eyes again, gasping. "That's for…drinking!" She hissed as she snatched the bottle out of Bo's hand. She took a swag from it and coughed.

"What…what am I supposed to do?" Bo asked. Fear had struck her numb.

Tamsin took the tin can and opened it. It was a can of dark colored ointment. She tried to dig some out with her fingers, but her arms were shaking so hard that she dropped the can.

Bo picked it up and dug a big chunk of ointment out. She applied it generously on Tamsin's wound.

"That's…too much…" Tamsin murmured but was too weak to stop Bo. She closed her eyes while letting out some vague grunts.

A few seconds later, the bleeding magically stopped. Bo finally let out that breath she had been holding. The sudden relief almost brought tears to her eyes.

She observed the wound closely for a while to make sure it wouldn't bleed again. After having made sure it was healing, she went into the kitchen to wash her bloodied hands.

Her hands were shaking hard. Her heart was pounding crazily. Her back was covered in cold sweat.

She had never been this afraid before, and she couldn't help but wonder why she'd be so afraid.

Tamsin woke up after a few hours. She lay there and panted for a while, before she turned to check her wound. Then, she had to lie back down and catch a breath.

"How do you feel?" Bo asked in a smile as she gently brushed her fingers along the side of Tamsin's face.

"I've had worse," Tamsin replied as she stood up. Slowly she walked into the kitchen. There, she peeled off her blood soaked shirt. She balled it and tossed it into the washer in the corner. Then, she pulled off her pants and put them in as well.

"Do you need any help?" Bo asked as she took a glance at the wound. It seemed to have healed a lot already.

"In the shower? No sweetheart, I think I can manage that," the Angel replied teasingly.

As she walked into the bathroom half naked, she turned her back to Bo for a brief moment.

"Whoa…" Bo murmured as she caught a glimpse at Tamsin's back. There were large scars on there. It was as if the skin between her shoulders and shoulder blades had been torn off completely. "Are those...war scars?"

Tamsin turned to face her. "No, and stop staring," she demanded, though with a soft voice. She then went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, she came out, still looking a little weak yet mostly rejuvenated. With her hair half wet and down, she seemed lazy and relaxed.

She came to Bo and stared at her for a second or two, before she pulled Bo closer and tried to wipe off a smudge of blood from Bo's face with her thumb.

"Why don't you go wash yourself too?" She suggested. "And put those in the washer," She pointed at Bo's blood stained pants.

Bo nodded and did what she was told. After the scare, a hot, steamy shower was refreshing. She came out in Tamsin's clothes while waiting for hers to be washed.

Tamsin was lying on the couch, resting with her eyes closed. When she heard Bo coming out, she moved her legs and left Bo a spot to sit down.

"Are you…okay?" Bo asked.

"I'm fine."

"You were bleeding like…I didn't know Angels are so-"

"It was a fucking Demon blade," Tamsin explained.

"A Demon blade?"

"It was forged with demonic metal and infused with demonic spells," Tamsin explained. "A Demon blade is one of the few things that can injure an Angel."

"Oh…so that guy just happened to have a Demon blade?"

Tamsin sighed. "After the war, many Demon blades had been sold on the blackmarket to dumbass warriors and hunters, so…I guess it's just my lucky day."

Bo sighed as she moved closer to Tamsin. She lifted the Angel's t-shirt to check on her wound again. Gently running her fingers along the wound, she asked, "does it still hurt?"

"No," Tamsin replied as she grabbed Bo's hand to stop it from moving along her wound. She cleared her throat and released that soft, warm hand. "You said you found something useful?"

Bo nodded. She then explained to her that it was possible that there was an actual Dark Temple, which might be somewhere in the underworld. She also mentioned the Abyss and the Great Deep reference in the papyrus.

"Interesting" was the only thing that Tamsin said. She pondered for a long time, before she said, "the underworld is massive. We can't just go look for this fucking temple down there."

"Oh, so there is a we now?" Bo teased.

Tamsin gave her a big eye roll. "Anyway, I guess we-I guess more investigation is needed before you poke your nose where it doesn't belong."

Bo nodded. Then, she let out a deep sigh.

Tamsin took a glance at her, before she went to get two beers. She handed one to Bo. "What? That was a pretty big breakthrough. Why are you still pouting?"

"I just…I just want this to be over sooner rather than later, so I can-"

"-revive that friend of yours? Aren't you a bit overly obsessed with this friend of yours?"

"She's not just a friend, Tamsin."

"Oh, I see, is she a girlfriend?"

"No," Bo chuckled. "Her name is Kenzi. We were inseparable. We did a lot of things together."

"Like…?" Tamsin raised her eyebrows.

"We were private investigators. We help people with things."

"Things like chasing down runaway minors or finding out if your client's spouse is cheating?"

Bo laughed. "Yeah, pretty much, but once in a while there would be an interesting case. We've fought monsters, cleansed curses and rescued people from cults. It was just me and her against the whole world, you know."

"This Kenzi chick, what's so special about her?"

A smile appeared on Bo's face. "She's-she makes me feel normal and special at the same time. She's family to me. She's just…she's Kenzi."

Tamsin frowned a little at how happy Bo seemed when talking about her friend. She sighed and asked softly, "how did she die?"

Bo took a deep breath and fisted her hands. "A few years ago, a client came to us. His fiancée was missing while taking a trip to Scotland. We did a lot of investigation and all clues led us to this lake named Silver Froth lake-"

"What did you just say?" Tamsin flinched.

"Silver Froth lake," Bo repeated, frowning, "Why? You've heard of it or something?"

Tamsin looked away and said, "umm, it did sound…familiar I guess. I must have heard of it somewhere."

"Oh, okay, well, anyway, we went to the lake but didn't find anything suspicious that day, so we stayed in town for a few days and did some research. We discovered that…there had been over 20 cases of missing persons in that town, and many of those missing persons could be linked to that lake. We decided to go check out that lake again. The night before our trip, I met this really hot girl in a bar and…you know, I went to her place and-"

"Yeah, yeah, save the details to the Penthouse Forum, will you?"

"The next morning, Kenzi went to the lake herself. I was supposed to meet her there, but I was late. When I got there, she was gone."

She stopped talking as she took a swag from her beer bottle. She swallowed it so fast that she choked. After a series of loud, bursting coughs, she continued, "I couldn't find her, so I had to get help. I convinced the local police to organize a search party. It was two weeks later when we finally found her at the bottom of the lake. It was like a maze down there. Kenzi was not the only victim. There were remains of many other victims. They were all entangled and trapped in these thick, green underwater plants."

"A Kelpie," Tamsin whispered.

"What?"

"It was a Kelpie," Tamsin told her as she forced herself to hold Bo's gaze. "A type of evil water spirit that would lure victims to the lake and then drown them. It would drag the victims back to its nest and keep them there."

"Yes, it was a Kelpie," Bo said, a little surprised that Tamsin would have figured it out so quickly. "I killed it."

Tamsin nodded and silently sipped her beer.

"You know, if I hadn't banged some random stranger, if I had been there with her, she probably would have lived."

"Or, both of you could have died," Tamsin reminded her.

"No, me and her, when we are together, we always pull through."

"So that's why you want to revive her so much. You blame yourself for her death."

"Of course I blame myself for her death! I was the damn reason why she got killed by that Kelpie. It was all because of me, because the demon inside me wanted sex!"

"You didn't know at the time, Bo. Even if you had been there with her, she could still have ended up dead."

"Well then at least I could say I had tried!"

Bo chugged down all her beer. As she swallowed the liquor, she swallowed her tears as well.

Tamsin turned her eyes away. "It might not be a good idea to bring her back, Bo."

"Yeah, yeah I know, it's not mine to tamper with."

"No, I meant, considering all the shit she has gone through in Hell. She would probably remember everything after she's brought back to life and that ain't gonna be pretty. Have you…asked her if she wanted to be revived?"

"I…thought about it, but she doesn't seem to remember me anymore. I just…"

Bo took a deep breath, before she admitted, "I need her back, Tamsin. Without her, I am all alone."

As the last few words left her, they took all her strength away. She sat there, fisting her hands on her knees. She squeezed them so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Tamsin took a deep breath. That dull pain came back to her again. That damn pain she would feel every time when she gazed into those brown eyes.

She put down her beer bottle and leaned in. She caressed Bo's cheek gently as she whispered, "you are not all alone, Bo."

Bo stared back at her, a little startled. The blonde was so close to her, those light eyes, those lips, her heat, her touch….

Mesmerized, Bo cupped Tamsin's face and kissed her on the lips. She pulled away immediately, thinking that it might not be too late for her to stop.

The Angel didn't let her, though. She pulled her in and kissed her back.

Both of them tasted their pounding hearts on the lips. Neither knew if it was the other woman's, or their own. They didn't care, anyway. All they cared about at this moment was the kiss, until a long beep from the dryer broke it.

"Your laundry's done," Tamsin whispered softly as she caressed Bo's lips with her thumb. She let the brunette straddle her lap as she wrapped one arm around her waist pulling her close.

"Yeah…" Bo nodded absentmindedly. Instead of getting her laundry, though, she slid her hands into Tamsin's hair and tasted those lips over and over.

Tamsin's ringing phone made both of them pause briefly. They tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing. Then, Bo's phone started to ring too.

Both of them groaned in frustration. Then, their eyes met again, and they both started to giggle.

"Rain check?" Bo suggested softly as she nuzzled Tamsin's nose with hers.

"Rain check for what, hmm?" Tamsin smirked as she ran the back of her index finger along one of Bo's long, silky locks.

Bo chuckled. Then, she sighed as she buried her face into Tamsin's shoulder. She could hear Tamsin's heartbeat. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, breathing in everything that Tamsin had to offer.

And Tamsin let her.

A jackdaw came through the window of Bo's father's throne room. It landed on his desk. It was carrying a bloodied blade in its mouth.

After having carefully placed the blade on the desk, the bird shapeshifted back into a woman.

"As you requested, Your Majesty, I present to you the blood of that Angel," Raim told the King.

The man took a long stare at the blade. Then he glanced at the woman. "I hope you didn't raise any suspicion, Raim."

"No, I didn't. It was just a bar fight gone wrong. No one suspected a thing."

After a brief pause, she added, "she was there with her."

"Then I hope she didn't see you there."

"No, I was very careful, Your Majesty."

"Good," the man nodded. "Bring Egan in."

Raim bowed slightly and exited the room. A few minutes later, she came back with a shirtless male Demon and a young human girl. The Demon's exposed body, including his face and his bald head, was covered in tattoos. The human girl was no more than 12 years old, and she was sobbing and shivering in fear.

Egan gave Bo's father a quick bow, before he placed seven candles on the floor into a heptagon. He chanted something, and then with a flash, all seven candles lit themselves. The green flames made the entire room look ghostly.

He grabbed the young human girl, who was struggling and trembling hard. He grinned at her and touched her face. Then, he took a whiff of her. "Mmm…so young…so innocent," he commented as he forced her into the heptagon.

Raim stepped forward and handed him the blade used to stab Tamsin. Egan examined it closely. With his free hand, he held the girl's shoulder from behind and shoved the blade into her back.

The girl screamed in pain and cried in tears, and Egan started to giggle. He held her still while forcing the blade deeper into her body. The girl choked in her own blood, twitching and spasming, and Egan pulled the blade out. Then, he started to chant loudly.

From the young girl's wound, there came two streams of blood. Defying gravity, they entangled and entwisted each other two feet above ground. Slowly they descended like two living snakes creeping down. As they reached the stone floor, they slithered to form a pattern: a tree with crossing branches and a bird sitting on top.

"Ahh, interesting," Bo's father said. "It looks like she's from the Verthandi family."

"The Verthandi family?" Raim asked. "But…didn't they all-"

"-died in that tragic incident? Oh Raim…" The man tut-tutted softly while shaking his head. "Roaches are just impossible to get rid of. She might have escaped, or she might have ascended before that incident."

"Her being a Verthandi would make a lot of sense," Raim murmured. "Someone in her family must have taught her how to read the Book of the Dead. Maybe they had even given her a copy-"

"Nonsense, the last copy was destroyed long before the war."

"A copy, or even a partial copy, could have been kept or tucked away somewhere, Your Majesty."

Bo's father huffed out a sneer. "You know that I don't really care about the Book of the Dead itself. It was just an excellent way to lure out the maggots and-well, if she's a Verthandi, she might know something about the device..."

After a long pause, he added, "I need to talk to this Angel in person, but…right now there is another matter that needs my immediate attention…."

He trailed off as he put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his clasped fingers. The two Demons stood there quietly with their heads lowered. Behind them sat hellhound Vug, who witnessed everything that had just happened. He snorted and started to eat the young girl's dead body.