Room to Breathe

  The streetlights were already on, casting pools of yellow light onto the sidewalk as I made my way down Germain Street. We'd gotten out of the Breen as fast as we could. The cool air carried the smell of evening traffic—faint exhaust mixing with wood smoke from chimneys and the heavier scent of grease from the diner up ahead. I kept my hands in my coat pockets and found my pace, the steady rhythm of my footsteps on the pavement keeping my mind from racing.

  We'd gotten away with it. Twenty thousand dollars, clean out of Vincent Torrino's room, and the son of a bitch would never figure out how. The room had been locked from the inside, and Torrino was the only one with keys. I almost smiled at that thought, but the smile died before it reached my face.

  Torrino had looked at me. Really looked at me. "You still look familiar," he'd said with those cold, dead eyes. Maybe he'd already written me off as some nobody. Or maybe right now his thugs were fanning out across St. Cloud, looking for J. Smith from Chicago.

  Remy spoke close to my left side without showing himself. "You should eat. It has been a long day."

  Az drifted near my shoulder, small and restless. "The diner will do. Get something warm in you before you pass out."

  I didn't argue. The smell rolling out of the diner door hit my stomach harder than I expected, and I realized just how long it had been since I sat down anywhere that wasn't on fire or had people trying to kill me. The windows ahead glowed against the darkening street, and each time the door opened I caught a brief rush of clattering plates and voices.

  A faint pulse of gold appeared in the upper corner of my sight. It hovered there quietly, the shape small enough to stay out of the way, waiting for me to acknowledge it.

  Az spoke near my right shoulder without appearing. "That is one of your windows. We had the System change how they show up. The stupid things were really distracting, probably not a good idea to have them just popping up in front of you randomly. From now on you'll get a little notification that way you can open it when you want."

  "I'll look at it once we sit down," I said quietly.

  The bell over the door chimed when I stepped inside. Warm air and the smell of food rolled over me, steady and welcome after the cold street. I found an open table along the far wall and slid into it, letting the noise of the room settle around me.

  "Evening', mister. Go on and get comfortable. Coffee on the jump, or you want a minute to catch your breath?" the waitress said, Mabel stitched across her apron in small careful letters.

  "Coffee would be great, thank you. What's good here?"

  "Depends how hungry you are. Our meatloaf goes quick this time of night, and the roast beef's worth sittin' down for. Pie's good too, if you've got room left."

  "Actually, some meatloaf sounds pretty good right now, but you know what, while I'm waiting for that food to come, I'll take a piece of that pie."

  "Most fellas wait till after, but I won't judge. I'll get you that slice."

  She darted off toward the counter. I'm not going to lie. It was nice to talk to a friendly, pretty face. I sat back and focused on the notification.

  ?? ARCANE SYSTEM: QUEST UPDATE

  The Mystery Of St. Marys Cathedral

  PRIMARY OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: The Devil's Due

  You have successfully stolen $20,000 from Vincent Torrino's room without detection.

  REWARD: 1,000 Experience Points

  You have gained a level! Level 1 to Level 2

  REWARD: 1x Arcane-Rune

  5x Attribute Points available for distribution

  QUEST PROGRESS: 1 of 5 Primary Objectives Complete.

  "Well, would you look at that," Az said, grinning at the floating text. "Our little Mud's growing up."

  "All right, you guys are going to have to walk me through these attribute points, 'cause I don't understand this stuff at all. However, I do see Arcane-Rune in my inventory."

  A few heads turned. A man in the booth across from me looked over. Someone beside him paused with their fork halfway up. The room wasn't loud enough to cover me talking to myself.

  "Jarek. You do not need to speak aloud. You can say the words in your head and we will hear you," Remy said.

  I smiled and looked at the man across from me. "Sorry. Wasn't trying to distract you from your meal. Sometimes it helps me work things out if I talk it out, you know."

  The man smiled back. "You know, my dad used to do that. God rest his soul."

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  "Great minds," I replied, returning the smile.

  While I held the smile, I thought, You fucks didn't think that might be something you could have told me sooner? I've been walking all over this town talking to myself. Half this town probably thinks I'm nuts by now.

  "Will it make you feel better, Mud, if I apologize?" Az asked.

  "No, you little shit. You wouldn't mean it if you did—"

  Remiel cut me off. "Nephilim, I would advise you to avoid distributing any of those attribute points, at least until we find a place that is more secluded. I will remind you of what happened the last time you accepted changes through the Arcane System."

  "Good call, Remy," I thought. "Probably wouldn't be a good idea to writhe in pain and pass out at the table."

  "Listen, you guys, I've been thinking. If we're going to blend in, we're going to need a reason why we're asking people questions, why it looks like we're digging into things around town. When I was a kid, I used to read these old dime-store novels my grandfather gave me. In them, the main character was always some private eye who spent his time trying to solve mysteries."

  Az perked up. "Are you looking to go into business there, Mud?"

  "Well, I don't know how long we're going to be here, or what happens if we even succeed with our quest. But I saw a couple of empty shops when we were walking downtown."

  Mabel came back a moment later with a plate in her hand. She set the pie down in front of me.

  "Here you go, mister," she said. "The cook put this one out fresh."

  "Thank you." I waited until she straightened her apron before I added, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know where a fellow can find a room for the night, would you? I tried getting one down at the Breen, but I guess they're not taking guests yet."

  Her expression shifted, not surprised but curious. "Yeah, they're still working on that place. It isn't open to the public yet." She tipped her head slightly, looking me over in a way that was polite but still sizing me up. "You need somethin' quick, or somethin' for more than a night?"

  "Quick, for now," I told her. "Something decent."

  "Well," she said, lowering her voice a little, "there's a couple of places. If you want cheap, Mrs. Halberg runs a boarding house on Seventh. Old place, but clean. She rents rooms by the week if you need it. If you want somethin' nicer, the Feldman place does bed and breakfast. It's a little farther, but folks speak well of it."

  She slipped the pencil back behind her ear. "Either way, you won't find much closer than that. Seems like there's more strangers in town than usual, so it might not hurt to look sooner rather than later."

  I nodded. "Appreciate it."

  "No trouble," she said. "I'll bring your meatloaf when it's up."

  She gave a quick smile, then headed back to the counter, leaving me with the pie and the busy hum of the room.

  Az drifted back into view near the edge of the window projection. Remy stayed silent, waiting for me to follow up on the thought I'd been halfway through before she returned.

  "Okay, guys, I'm thinking we go find that bed and breakfast as soon as we're done eating. Hopefully they're still taking people in when we get there. I think a little farther away is exactly what we need."

  "That's a good idea, Mud," Az said. "Because I'm pretty sure I sent people to turn over that boarding house when I was trying to figure out where the hell the money went."

  "Speaking of which," I said, lowering my head a little, "let's see something."

  I focused on the inventory window, and I tried to picture one of the bills inside. To my surprise, the window flickered, and a five-dollar bill formed in my hand.

  I folded it quickly and slipped it into the pocket of my coat, my eyes still on the table to avoid drawing attention.

  "Do you remember any encounters with a private investigator?" I asked.

  Az floated a little higher, thinking it over. "No. I spent a day or two looking for the briefcase, but we were distracted once the angels showed up. After that, they took up all of our attention."

  Remy added, "Your organization did not stop functioning, of course."

  Az nodded. "Family business was still happening. It just would have been handled by the others."

  "That's good. So we'll head to the bed and breakfast tonight. Tomorrow we'll present ourselves as new entrepreneurs in the area and see if we can pick up an office, maybe even one with an attached apartment above or something. That'll help us explain why we seem to have a little bit of money to throw around as well. Without being too obvious, someone who moved into town to open up a new business would obviously have access to a little bit of capital."

  Az let out a low laugh. "Look at you, Mud. I'm impressed, and we haven't even thrown any points into Mind yet. Those three points must be working their ass off."

  "Get fucked, Az," I whispered.

  Mabel stepped up beside the table just as the last word left my mouth. She had the plate in hand, steam rising off the meatloaf. "What was that, hon?" she asked, setting it down in front of me.

  I straightened a little. "Nothing. That looks great. Thank you."

  She gave me a small warm smile, and adjusted the plate so it sat square in front of me. "If you need anything else, just wave me down."

  She moved back up to the counter, leaving me alone with the food.

  Mabel's place had the look of something that used to be smaller. It looked like a lunch counter turned sit-down, best I could tell. With the Breen still under construction and no real restaurant in town, somebody had done the math and moved first. Smart woman.

  I took a bite and felt the hunger ease a little. I hadn't eaten anything since before I died. I kept the pace even, nothing rushed, trying not to draw a second look from anyone nearby. The meal was amazing, and exactly what I needed right now.

  Az hovered near my shoulder. "Easy there, Mud. You put that away too quickly and somebody's gonna think you haven't eaten in a hundred years."

  In a quick motion I acted like I was brushing something off my shoulder, flicking the little shit right through the window. He quickly disappeared from outside and appeared sitting on the table, pouting.

  "Let the Nephilim eat, Azazel. He needs energy. I want to find this bed and breakfast and assign those attribute points. I'm interested in what the system is going to offer him with that rune as well."

  I was halfway through the plate when a voice came from behind me, low and polite.

  "Excuse me, mister. Didn't mean to eavesdrop."

  I turned slightly to see a man sitting behind me looked over. Mid-forties, maybe. Wore a decent coat, but it had seen some miles.

  "I heard the girl tell you about the Feldman place," he said. "Just so happens that's where I'm stayin'. If you need a lift, you're welcome to ride with me."

  The offer caught me off guard in a good way. I'd walked enough for one day, and the thought of not freezing my ass off on a longer stretch of road sat well with me.

  "I appreciate that," I told him. "Thank you."

  He nodded. "It’s no trouble. I'm just gonna finish up here, maybe talk with a friend for a minute and maybe get another cup of coffee. When you're ready to go, just find me."

  "Will do."

  He slipped back into his booth. I leaned back against the worn leather seat and let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Twenty thousand dollars in my inventory. A ride to a bed that wasn't in the same building as the man I'd just robbed. And for the first time since stepping through that aperture, the tension that had been building seemed to ease just a little.

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