Chapter 2
“Do you think she’ll be ok?” Beatrice asked, an uncharacteristic anxiety haunting her tone. She was running a little ragged, what with Ava falling unexpectedly through her ceiling at 3:30 in the morning while slowly bleeding out. Bea had been able to stem the tide, mostly, but Ava’s pale skin and sluggish pulse hadn’t boded well. She’d cursed her diminished situational awareness upon noting the blood soaked into her bra from when she’d restrained Ava, smeared up the side of her bed where Ava had moved to sit. She would never have made these mistakes if she’d--
Doesn’t matter. Bea had cut off the thought immediately, refocused on what to do next. She’d contemplated calling emergency services, or simply tossing Ava into the backseat of her car and taking her in to the hospital herself, but she still wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. The risk of exposing civilians to an unknown potential danger had dissuaded her.
Fortunately, Bea had kept two things from her time in the OCS: an intense training schedule and her emergency beacon. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes from the time she contacted the Order to the time that Lilith whooshed into the apartment, carrying Dr. Salvius, Mother Superion, and a serious chip on her shoulder about “holding more power than any mortal in existence, but being reduced to a taxi service.” She’d been equally unenthused about going to fetch Dr. Salvius’s medical supplies.
Now, though, Lilith only tapped her foot impatiently, standing near Bea’s bedroom window with her arms crossed. Her incongruously aqua-colored leggings, black-and-pink striped sneakers, and bright pink hoodie gave her the appearance of a fitness enthusiast dressed up in scales for Halloween. She watched as Ava laid face-down and quiet in Bea’s bed, portable telemetry monitoring her vital signs. Dr. Salvius had described what she was doing with the IV medication as “conscious sedation,” but Ava hadn’t uttered a word since sleepily proclaiming that nobody was allowed to steal her elephant, her eggs, or Diego’s underwear.
Dr. Salvius sat on one side of the bed, treating the circular wound on Ava’s back. Meanwhile, Bea sat on the other, holding Ava’s hand and keeping an eye on the monitors. Mother Superion stood behind Bea, her hands resting on Bea’s shoulders. Only one of the three looked like she was about to burst into tears any moment.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so whipped,” smirked Lilith, glaring in Bea’s direction.
“You sound jealous, but you’re also not emotionally intelligent enough for me to allow you to top me at all, let alone provide me with risk-aware, consensual impact,” Beatrice returned blandly, then remembered who stood behind her and blushed. “Sorry, Mother.”
Lilith snorted. Sure, Bea had learned a lot since leaving the Order, but quick comebacks incorporating her newfound awareness of kinky sex practices? Obviously still not a strong point.
Mother Superion gave very little away, but Lilith could have sworn she’d swallowed back amusement as she’d pursed her lips. Probably more at Beatrice’s prissy nerdiness than anything else. “You two make me yearn for the days when we merely commandeered erotic pastry vans. But Dr. Salvius, what have you discovered?”
Dr. Salvius, focused on Ava’s Halo wound, didn’t seem to have heard any of the preceding conversation. “It’s a serious injury. Deep tissue loss. From what I’ve gathered, previous Halo-Bearers have survived Halo rejection, albeit under different circumstances. Wound margins are clean, bleeding is controlled now, area is bandaged, and we’ll start oral antibiotics soon to alleviate infection risk. I’m going to start bringing her out of sedation. I do think a more thorough physical examination is indicated, but I’d rather transfer one person than a whole suite of diagnostic equipment. We’ll move her once she’s been consistently stable for 24 hours.”
“Please, as if Ava were ever stable,” Lilith commented, rolling her eyes.
“You said she was awake when she arrived, yes?” Mother Superion asked, looking down at Bea.
Bea nodded, turning to meet Superion’s eyes. “Talking. Seemed like herself. She recalled events prior to entering the portal on this side. We didn’t discuss what the other side was like.”
“And no one else saw her?”
Wincing, Bea shook her head. “I had a . . . visitor. At the time.”
“At 3:30 in the morning?” inquired Lilith skeptically, but Mother Superion shushed her, asking instead “So your visitor saw Ava?”
Beatrice hummed nervously. “Ummm, perhaps it’s more accurate to say she aided me in breaking Ava’s fall?”
“So you had a female visitor. Who was in close physical proximity to you. At 3:30 in the morning,” nodded Lilith, deadpan. Bea shot her a menacing look, which she returned with a sharp, barely-contained grin.
“She must have seen Ava phase through the ceiling, then,” inferred Mother Superion.
“I’m . . . unsure what she would have seen?” hedged Beatrice. “Since we were . . . occupied? And it was dark?”
“Ok, so a female visitor. In close physical proximity to you. Occupied with you. At 3:30 in the morning. In the dark,” Lilith repeated earnestly, a mockery of seriousness.
“ . . . Yes?” responded Bea, the tips of her ears starting to flush as she turned away from Mother Superion.
“Well, was your visitor injured?” Superion asked, cutting her eyes at Lilith and rapidly regrounding the discussion. “Would she have sought medical care, had to provide an explanation to authorities about what happened?”
“I don’t think so. My impression was that Ava mostly landed on me. And the mattress.”
“Female visitor, in close physical proximity to you, occupied with you, in your bed, in the dark, at 3:30 in the morning.” Lilith only barely managed to contain a cackle, highly entertained as she watched color spread through Bea’s cheeks. Bea shifted a little, stretching out the ache she was only now noticing in her shoulder, tactfully concealing from Mother Superion the middle finger she was flipping to Lilith.
“We’ll need to contact her,” Mother Superion decided. “Limit the spread of any rumors. Make sure she understands this occurrence as . . .” Her voice trailed off. “Well, not anything supernatural.”
“Um, I. Just met her last night. And I don’t think . . . I have her number. Or . . . know her full name.” Bea dropped her arm, staring at the floor as she ran her hand through her hair in embarrassment. Her cheeks might as well have been on fire, her face rapidly approaching full blush.
“Female visitor, whom you just met last night, whose last name you don’t know, in close physical proximity to you, occupied with you, in your bed, in the dark, at 3:30 in the morning,” updated Lilith, mirth lighting up her eyes.
“Yes, thank you, Lilith,” gritted Bea, murder in her eyes. “Your summaries are very helpful.”
“And of course there’s the matter of any evidence, material from the other realm that may have transferred to her person or clothing, given her . . . proximity,” mused Mother Superion.
Bea sighed, now fully hiding her crimson face in her hands. “Um, so . . . possibly . . . just her person, then?” she squeaked.
“Oh my god, naked female visitor, whom you just met last night, whose last name you don’t know, in close physical proximity to you, occupied with you, in your bed, in the dark, at 3:30 in the—“
“Lilith,” interrupted Mother Superion evenly. “This isn’t one of those auditory memory games.”
“Nobody else finds it hilarious that after three years on the other side, Ava decides to crash through Bea’s ceiling precisely when she’s in the middle of hooking up with some stranger?!” exclaimed Lilith gleefully.
“I mean, I kind of do,” slurred Ava. “But it’s Bea, like, come on, of course she was hooking up with a hot girl, she’s a pussy magnet.”
Bea groaned as if in physical pain, rubbing her forehead, eyes downcast, wishing fervently for death. She was too busy trying to figure out how to melt through the floor, at first, to realize who had spoken. “I’m not a-- a-- wait, Ava?” She jerked upright, squeezing Ava’s hand, casting concerned glances between Ava and Dr. Salvius.
“Pussy Magnet?” mocked Lilith, earning her a giggle from Ava and another round of eyeball-borne rage from Mother Superion.
Dr. Salvius mouthed the phrase to herself silently, mentally analyzing it as she laid fingers on Ava’s wrist to check the strength of her pulse. Oh, so it’s a crude way of saying Bea is considered desirable by women, because just as an actual magnet attracts iron, she attracts—
“Hey, babe, how’s your face,” Ava murmured, stretching a little. “I feel amazing. This’s gotta be medical-grade.” She turned her face to the side, blinking sleepily at Bea. “But really, look at you, bagging all kinds of hot chicks.”
“I’ve never ‘bagged a hot chick’ in my entire life,” Bea protested. “Now, periodically, I’ve enjoyed the company of like-minded women—“
“Company,” teased Lilith, “is that what they’re calling it nowadays?”
Ava laughed, then immediately yawned. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, whatever, you don’t want us to know you’re swimming in oceans of snatch.”
Horrified, Bea stared at her. “Oceans of . . . of . . .”
“Cunt,” filled in Lilith helpfully, prompting Mother Superion to cast her gaze to the ceiling and mutter “God give me strength.” Lifting her voice and lowering her eyes, Mother Superion sighed “I’ve got to go make some calls. Try to keep the crass sexual objectification to a minimum while I’m gone. And, I warn you, there will be no further discussion of this once I return.”
“Need I remind anyone that I’m not a nun anymore?” griped Lilith as Mother Superion hustled out of the room only slightly more sedately than Corinne had an hour ago.
“None of us are nuns anymore,” countered Beatrice. “But some of us are still respectful of human dignity.”
“See, this is why I had to come back to you,” Ava opined, pointing her index finger vaguely in Bea’s direction. “You’re smart. And hot. And sensitive. And hot. And you kick ass. And you’re hot. You gonna kiss me again?” She drew Bea’s hand to her own mouth, pressed her lips to Bea’s palm. “You better kiss me again.”
Bea shook her head at Ava, mouthing “stop it” to her as she made a face. Lilith rolled her eyes. “I take it back. You, Ava, are in fact the most whipped person I’ve ever met. Is this common?” she asked, shifting her focus to Dr. Salvius. “Interdimensional travel motivated by sheer rabid sexual desire? I mean, in the research literature, of course.”
Dr. Salvius considered for a moment before shaking her head. “No, but I’m told there’s a first time for everything.”
“So, you got a girlfriend?” Ava asked casually, biting down gently on one of Bea’s fingers. “You wanna have a girlfriend? ‘Cause I’m a girlfriend. With a tongue. And--”
Lilith fake-retched. “That’s it. I’m out of here. Let me know if you . . . need anything? I’m not getting you dental dams, though.” A flap of wings and a rapid phase later, she was gone.
“Jeez, I thought she’d never leave,” Ava grinned, dropping Bea’s hand, her articulation instantly sharpening.
“Have you been faking being stoned this entire time?” Bea was incredulous.
“Well, yeah, and I’m glad it finally worked, because I was running out of words for ‘vulva,’” answered Ava matter-of-factly. “Dr. Salvius, am I allowed to turn over?”
“Side-lying should be fine. I wouldn’t recommend lying on your back. It shouldn’t tear anything open, but we want to minimize entrapment of fluids and possible friction against the wound.” She kept an eye on the square bandage occupying most of Ava’s upper back as she shifted onto her side. “You’re moving better than I’d expect, given the injury. How’s your pain?”
“Could be worse,” Ava gritted, the burn spreading down through her back. Her thoughts turned to divinium shrapnel, and she revised her answer. “Has been worse.” She reached out and set a hand on Bea’s thigh. “Sorry for the gratuitous sexy talk. But you started it. And how else was I supposed to get rid of both Lilith and Mother Superion?”
“This is doing more to convince me it’s actually you than an MRI would,” remarked Bea drily, her hand settling on top of Ava’s. “I’ll have to catch you up soon. At least on events that don’t pertain to the struggle between good and evil in our realm. You’ve been gone for about three years. There have been . . . developments.”
Ava took a moment to imagine what Bea had done over the past few years. Well, it looked like she’d quit the sisterhood. Had apparently done enough work on that internalized homophobia to engage in casual sex with women. Was still brooding, in a sexy kind of way.
Maybe she taught martial arts classes. Maybe she’d gotten a dog. Maybe she’d told her parents to fuck off forever. The possibilities were endless, and Ava was tired. She pulled Bea’s hand to her mouth and kissed it, pleased when Bea didn’t resist the movement.
“I think now is a good time to rest.” Dr. Salvius’s voice broke through her thoughts. “I’ll continue to monitor your vitals. But I don’t anticipate much of a delay before we’re able to transport you to the medical facility. Beatrice, a word?”
As Dr. Salvius and Bea both rose from the bed and stepped out of the room, Ava felt the weight of the past day? Year? Month?—well, whatever amount of time it’d been—settle onto her. This was still real, right? She was really in Bea’s bed, surrounded by friends, no longer the Halo-Bearer? Exhaling deeply, she grabbed the blanket tight, and prayed she wouldn’t wake up to anything different. Surely Reya couldn’t be that much of a shitbird, could she?