Prophet
***ing Archer, Man
Death and Balor leave for a few hours the next day. Hidden, they promise, from anything powerful enough to stop them. It’s just a short mission, to find out what the angels are up to, why they want full control of Sadie.
Sadie and Valentine are left sitting on the couch, the hiss and slither of Balor’s snakes the only noise. Sadie is calm, her hands folded in her lap, facing straight ahead. She’s not really nervous. It’s not like Death can die. Valentine won’t touch her.
He sits on the other side of the couch with his legs crossed. He’s so tense that he can’t keep his fangs in, keeps scenting the air. All he smells is the undead weirdness of Sadie. Nothing comforting.
“I’m not evil, Valentine,” Sadie says softly, and he jumps.
“Lord, don’t scare me like that!” he snaps, his drawl pronounced.
“Sorry, but you need to relax. You’re making my head hurt. I keep getting flashes of you snapping and attacking me.”
“Are they going to come true?” he asks nervously, picturing the hell his life would become if he hurt Death’s closest friend.
“Not if you calm down. The future changes easily,” she says peaceably. “Also, I don’t think you can actually hurt me, but it’d be nice not to test that.” She inches closer to him, stopping when he whines. “What don’t you like about me, anyway?”
“You…smell wrong. Dead, but not. Don’t like it,” he mutters.
“Do vampires rely on their sense of smell a lot?” she asks curiously, moving another inch closer while he’s distracted.
“Yeah. We’re like sharks, can smell blood best, but…my nose has saved my life more than once.” He looks sideways at Sadie. “Can you see anything else from my future?”
“Yeah. I know your mind is going to go foggy again. I don’t know why, though. And some of the visions I had before I died make more sense now.” She ducks her head, fisting her hands in her lap. “I don’t always tell Death when I see something. He worries, and the short visions don’t bother me. I feel guilty anyway.”
“Sometimes when I’m just sitting around, my head goes a little cloudy, but I don’t tell Balor.”
“Do you think he can make it go away?” She shifts closer to him, careful not to touch. At this distance, she can feel the warmth of his skin, hear the click of his teeth when he talks. His fangs are still out, then. That’s okay. Sadie can work with what she has.
“I hope so. I came here and knew his name and he’s trying to help, anyway.” Thinking of Balor, Valentine relaxes, and his fangs slide back into place. Sadie stops getting the warning flashes of fangs and blood, so she relaxes, too.
By the time Death and Balor come back, Sadie and Valentine are talking face to face with their knees touching, all sense of weird smell forgotten.
Sadie and Valentine are left sitting on the couch, the hiss and slither of Balor’s snakes the only noise. Sadie is calm, her hands folded in her lap, facing straight ahead. She’s not really nervous. It’s not like Death can die. Valentine won’t touch her.
He sits on the other side of the couch with his legs crossed. He’s so tense that he can’t keep his fangs in, keeps scenting the air. All he smells is the undead weirdness of Sadie. Nothing comforting.
“I’m not evil, Valentine,” Sadie says softly, and he jumps.
“Lord, don’t scare me like that!” he snaps, his drawl pronounced.
“Sorry, but you need to relax. You’re making my head hurt. I keep getting flashes of you snapping and attacking me.”
“Are they going to come true?” he asks nervously, picturing the hell his life would become if he hurt Death’s closest friend.
“Not if you calm down. The future changes easily,” she says peaceably. “Also, I don’t think you can actually hurt me, but it’d be nice not to test that.” She inches closer to him, stopping when he whines. “What don’t you like about me, anyway?”
“You…smell wrong. Dead, but not. Don’t like it,” he mutters.
“Do vampires rely on their sense of smell a lot?” she asks curiously, moving another inch closer while he’s distracted.
“Yeah. We’re like sharks, can smell blood best, but…my nose has saved my life more than once.” He looks sideways at Sadie. “Can you see anything else from my future?”
“Yeah. I know your mind is going to go foggy again. I don’t know why, though. And some of the visions I had before I died make more sense now.” She ducks her head, fisting her hands in her lap. “I don’t always tell Death when I see something. He worries, and the short visions don’t bother me. I feel guilty anyway.”
“Sometimes when I’m just sitting around, my head goes a little cloudy, but I don’t tell Balor.”
“Do you think he can make it go away?” She shifts closer to him, careful not to touch. At this distance, she can feel the warmth of his skin, hear the click of his teeth when he talks. His fangs are still out, then. That’s okay. Sadie can work with what she has.
“I hope so. I came here and knew his name and he’s trying to help, anyway.” Thinking of Balor, Valentine relaxes, and his fangs slide back into place. Sadie stops getting the warning flashes of fangs and blood, so she relaxes, too.
By the time Death and Balor come back, Sadie and Valentine are talking face to face with their knees touching, all sense of weird smell forgotten.