“Well, this guy’s got her same gift. He’s a very old friend. Went into hiding during the war. That’s not exactly accurate. I guess you could say he was forced into hiding. The Leader created a weapon. A very powerful weapon known as Morarkes. They were designed to kill immortals, particularly higherlings. Their first targets were Teleporters and Trackers, the two greatest threats to the Leader’s army, considering he had very few of either in Hell. As far as I know, there were only a handful of Teleporters in Hell. Heaven had nearly twenty.”
As he spoke, he didn’t look back up at Kid. Kid worried that it had something to do with when he’d said those stupid words, “I love…” Treycore must have known how he really felt and was sweet enough to not tell him why he could never like a stinky mortal.
“When Lero, the higherling I called,” Treycore continued, “discovered that his Teleporter friends were being killed off by this weapon, he came to earth, went into hiding, and tried to blend in with mortals. I wish I could say that after the war, he found out he liked earth so much that he decided to stay. Truth is, he’s always been paranoid about another war breaking out and him being the first target. And for good reason. The war really never ended, and his kind are at the top of the Leader’s hit-list.”
“Thank you, Trey.”
A man, appearing out of nowhere, like Vera, was suddenly sitting on the counter beside Treycore. Kid assumed this was Lero.
Lero wore a stark-white suit that contrasted nicely with his skin, which was nearly as dark as the Brazilians’ at Jerry’s. His hair was black, like Kinzer’s, but meticulously combed so that it sheened. He had a thick, inch-long beard. His head seemed too large for his body, and his nose seemed too large for his face. Even with his odd features, Kid still found him incredibly attractive.
Lero’s palms pressed down on the counter as he leaned back, kicking his feet out before him.
“I appreciate you reminding me why I shouldn’t have come,” Lero continued.
“Come on,” Treycore said, flashing a smile. “For old time’s sake.”
Lero’s eyes shifted to Kid. “Now, who’s this little guy here?”
“Kid,” Treycore said, hardly acknowledging him.
Lero smiled. “Hey there, Kid.”
Kid tossed him a wave and as friendly a smile as he could fake.
“Damn, he fucking stinks,” Lero said. “Even for a mortal.”
Douche, Kid thought. But as he inspected Lero’s expression, he didn’t detect an insult. His eyebrows were cocked, his stare fixed. His mouth hung open, as if he was about to drool. Kid knew that look. He’d seen it on so many of Jerry’s clients.
“Don’t mind him, Kid,” Treycore said, throwing Kid a brief glare. “He’s just been around mortals too long. Lost his immortal manners.”
Kid knew he was just making a joke, but by that point, he knew of quite a few immortals, and he couldn’t help but observe that they didn’t really have very good manners.
“What do you think of my hotel?” Lero whirled his hand in the air, clearly indicating far more than the little room they were in.
“What do you mean?”
“This is mine. Well, one of many. We have hotels in countries across the globe.”
“During Lero’s mortal years, if you will,” Treycore began, “he hit it big in the luxury hotel industry.”
“This was, of course,” Lero expanded, “after a few years as a struggling stage actor, a loathed opera singer, a migrant farmer, a war vet, and a series of other dead-end jobs. Of all my occupations, I think robber baron is my favorite.”
Treycore snatched the page he’d ripped from the notepad and handed it to Lero.
“Can you take us there?”
Lero didn’t even look it. “Icantake you anywhere. The question is:willI?”
“You seriously gonna be an ass about this?” Treycore asked.
“Trey, you realize that every time I teleport, I leave a scent behind that the Leader and the Almighty can trace, right?”
“I know. I was with Vera, remember?”
“Unfortunately. In fact, this is where my problem lies. I can smell that bitch on you right now, so I don’t imagine that your little excursion outside of the States was for sightseeing. You’re dancing with the Raze, and if I take you somewhere and she finds you, she’s gonna be able to smell me on you, just like I can smell her on you.”
Lero looked to Kid. “It’s the shitty part about being a Teleporter,” he explained. “When we travel, we give off this scent, like burning rubber, that only other Teleporters can smell. There are so few of us that, over the years, we’ve easily been able to distinguish the nuance in each other's scents.”
