The Sinner

“Excuse me.” I pulled away. “Sorry, I…I’ll be right back.”

I hurried to the bar’s tiny bathroom. The walls were covered in stickers and graffiti, but the two stalls were empty. I braced myself over the sink, taking deep breaths. I didn’t recognize the girl in the reflection, and it had nothing to do with all that makeup.

“What the hell is wrong with me?”

A tittering laugh sounded from the stall behind me. “Poor, sweet, silly little Lucy.”

I froze, the words crawling up my spine like insects. The stall had been empty but now two women—or what my brain registered as two creatures wearing woman skin suits—shuffled out. One looked like a relic from CBGB in torn fishnets and a tight black leather jacket over a cropped top that showed a pale midriff. Her hair was a dyed black rat’s nest with lifeless gray roots. Yellow eyes under heavy, messy black eyeliner met mine in the mirror.

A second woman-thing shuffled out, keeping her face pressed in the arm of the first. She wore a shapeless dress, and her disheveled, snarled gray hair fell over her cheek. One yellow eye peeked out at me.

Deber and Keeb.

My blood turned to ice in my veins, and I stood frozen, watching them approach through their reflection in the mirror.

“You seem confused.” Deber cocked a head and I watched, horrified, as a fly crawled across her yellowed eye. “Lost. Silly Lucy has lost her way.”

“Lost, lost, lost,” Keeb tittered.

More flies were now crawling across the mirror. Something nipped at my memory. Flies at my window…

“You should ask Casziel. Our dark prince will tell you everything, won’t he, sister?”

Keeb giggled into Deber’s shoulder. “Ask, ask, ask who you are…”

“W-who I am?”

“Silly Lucy,” Deber sneered, a walking manifestation of the voice I’d been hearing in my head for years. “She doesn’t know. All this time. So many years, alone.”

“Alone, alone, alone…”

She trailed a finger up my arm, and flies crawled over my flesh. “Ask Casziel, silly Lucy. Ask him to tell you the truth.”

“Truth,” Keeb hissed, and flies writhed over her rotted teeth.

“Stop,” I breathed, backing away. “Leave me alone.”

I hurried out, tripping over my heels, obscene cackles chasing after me.

Cas and Abby had returned to the table with Jana. Abby had her manicured fingers wrapped around Cas’s left arm. Even with my pulse still jack-rabbiting, I wanted to snap at her to be careful, that he had cuts there. Four of them now.

And tonight, he’ll have five. Put there by another demon. God…

“I’d like to go home now,” I managed.

“Already?” Abby frowned and gripped Cas’s arm tighter as if I’d come to steal him from her. “It’s so early. But if you must go, I’m sure Guy will get a cab with you.”

She nodded to where Guy was talking with Kimberly and Nylah. He looked over and raised his beer bottle to me with a wobbly smile.

Jana frowned. “You okay, Luce?”

“No. I…I’m not feeling well. I want to go.” I could hardly look at Cas. “Stay…if you want.”

“I will take you home,” he said, rising to his feet.

Abby looked distraught. “Are you sure? She’s fine…”

I didn’t wait to hear anything else. I hurried out of the bar and onto the street, gulping fresh, cool air. I was halfway down the block when I heard footsteps behind me.