A shaking hand landed on his neck. “No, Malachi, it’s okay. I don’t want anyone to take you from me either; you’re my best friend. I want to help you. Iwillhelp you.” She plopped onto the ground and pulled him close, burying her face in his fur. “No one is taking you from me. We are going to figure this out.” Her aura glowed bright gold with certainty as he relaxed in her embrace.
Friend,he thought quietly, happily. He’d never had one before.
After she filed her report, Chuck requested to leave for the day and let Malachi have a rest to which their lieutenant readily agreed. They’d already proven indispensable in his eyes, and he didn’t want to wear them out.
A quick change of clothes later, Chuck grabbed Reena and whisked the three of them off to their favorite park to relax. Reena romped happily in the grass, snapping at butterflies and growling at crickets. Malachi lounged next to Chuck, where she was sprawled on a blanket. On her stomach, her arms crossed under her chin, she watched Reena with a soft smile. “At least Reena is carefree,” she murmured to him.
Not hard to be conflict-free when there’s not a lot of thoughts in your head,Malachi snorted.
Coughing into her arm to hold back her laughter, Chuck glanced at him. “So now that we can talk—I guess this is talking—tell memore about what’s going on. Who did this to you? How long have you been like this? Who were you before? Or I guess you’re stillyoubut like… as a person.”
Malachi hesitated, unsure how much to reveal.
Misunderstanding his quiet, she murmured, “It’s okay, Mal, if it’s too painful to discuss, you don’t have to.”
Shaking his head, he sighed heavily.It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t know all the answers. I mean, I can tell you what I look like as a human, and that I woke up in this dog body right before you saw me. I was a dog for all of about five minutes when you walked up to my cage. I’m not sure how it happened or who did it. All I can say is it was someone with some dark, powerful magic for sure.Sighing heavily again, he settled his chin on his paws.I wasn’t a good person, Chuck. I’m sure on some level I deserved this.
“Don’t say that!” Chuck demanded fiercely, sitting up slightly. “No one deserves this. Malachi, you are a good person. Look how much you help me! And that little girl today. You saved her life, and mine. You saved those people at the news station. And you look after Reena, too! No one who does all those things is a bad person.” She rubbed the back of his neck. “Tell me what you look like. How old are you? Are you tall? Do you have black hair as a… man?”
Chuckling, Malachi leaned against her.Yeah, I have black hair, but my eyes were blue before. I don’t know if they’ll stay brown or go back to blue eventually. I’m tall, about six feet four. I’m not trying to be conceited, but I’ve been told I’m a good-looking guy. I’m only two hund—um, twenty-eight.
If Chuck heard his near slip-up on his age, she didn’t mention it. He figured the static she mentioned before might have muffled it.
“Hmm, sounds like the kind of guy I’d want to date,” she muttered, before her eyes went wide. “Umm, that didn’t come out right. I’m not saying I want to date you. I meant that you sound like a handsome guy. You’re a handsome dog, so that makes sense. And wow, that didn’t come outright either!” She buried her face in her arms, cheeks burning, aura swirling with orange and a hint of red.
Malachi studied that glow intensely, surprised to see affection mingling there. He decided she liked him as a dog—a good boy. Not wanting to embarrass her further—another foreign concept to him—he changed the subject.What about you? Tell me more about your family. Where’s your mom? What was your dad like?
Seeming grateful for the change in subject, Chuck sat up and crossed her legs, toying with a leaf. Starting at it while lost in thought, she began to tell him about growing up in rural Wyoming, watching the seasons change, and romping through the wide-open spaces. She was a bit of a tomboy. Her mother, Carla, was quiet and kind, a gentle woman. She’d always wanted Chuck to follow in her footsteps and become a teacher like her, but Chuck was stubborn and feisty, the near opposite. Her dad, Gavin Charles, had always been the steadfast stoic one. Her mother died of cancer when Chuck was eight, so her dad moved them away from the area, claiming the sight of the flowers and the fields was too painful.
“So, we ended up here. My dad joined the force and would take me to the station to see the guys. His partner, Roger, was always bringing me treats and presents. They were both there to see me off on my first date, to Homecoming, Prom. Even to graduate. A lot of the guys in the squad came to see me graduate from college as well. I’ve always been part of that family, and my dad was this larger-than-life hero to me. I looked up to him so much because even being a single parent with a wild little girl, he always made sure I felt loved and cared for while balancing his strong sense of justice.” She sighed wistfully and twirled the leaf in her fingers absently. “I know everyone processes death differently, and people tell me I should let it go. Maybe it’s just me grieving, but I can’t shake the feeling that mydad and Roger were set up. I mean… the timing, the weird smudges, the feathers…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Feathers?Malachi tilted his head as a cold wave washed through him.
“Oh yeah, it was weird. When the responding officers arrived, there was a large pile of gray feathers under my dad. They don’t know how he fell on them without scattering them, or where they came from. I don’t think they could even tell what kind of bird they came from. But there was a large ring of soot around him, and he was lying on those feathers. Honestly, it sounded like some kind of ritual.”
Quietly, Malachi sat next to her and trained his gaze on Reena, who was now chasing a leaf that was blowing across the grass. He didn’t want Chuck to see how much this news affected him. He’d assumed one of her parents was an angel, but he thought it was her mother. Now he was absolutely certain it was her father, and he never told her his heritage. The feathers and soot were from his wings when his grace left his corporeal form. Furthermore, whoever killed him was someone who knew how to destroy an angel because they couldn’t be killed through normal means. A gunshot wouldn’t be fatal, a knife to the heart would just tickle. Angels had to be stabbed with a forsaken blade, and there weren’t too many of those lingering on Earth.
Stomach churning, Malachi stole a glance at Chuck from the corner of his eye. She was still lost in her memories, her nose scrunched, eyebrows furrowed. She suspected there was more to her dad’s passing than what the investigation showed, and she was correct. He’d been targeted. Malachi was certain of it. There’s no way some random street criminal had a forsaken blade just lying around in case an angel just happened to show up. Acid rose in his throat, and for one horrifying moment, he thought he might puke.
“Reena!” came Chuck’s sharp snap.
Eyes flying to his companion, Malachi noted with amusement that she was snarling and growling at another dog easily ten times her size. The bored Doberman was staring down at her with his head tilted in irritation. He gave one mighty bark, no doubt intended to warn her off. That only served to send Reena into a circling frenzy of yowls and yips. Malachi realized the larger dog was standing on her leaf and didn’t seem to care that she wanted it back.
I got her,Malachi sighed wearily to Chuck as she watched nervously. He stood and stretched lazily before making his way over to the pair, taking his time with a leisurely pace. A whimper escaped Reena then as the other dog bared his teeth and snapped like he was going to bite her. Launching himself like a rocket, Malachi barreled into the other dog at top speed.
Back the fuck off, my Chuglet, you cock sucking piece of horse shit!he growled. The Doberman fell over hard and yelped in surprise at the sudden attack. Not one to back down, though, he quickly gained his feet and spun to growl at Malachi.
Glancing over his shoulder and noting Chuck now staring in alarm, Malachi made sure his back was to her. His lips peeled back in a display of fangs, and his eyes glowed red with Hellfire as he glared at the other dog. With a yelp and tail tucking whimper, the Doberman spun and hurried away, crying.Just like the little bitch you are!Malachi taunted him. Chuckling, he turned to Reena, who was mourning the status of her leaf, which was now crushed beyond repair.C’mon, Re-re, Chuck has a new one for you,he reassured her while also relaying the message to Chuck.
Escorting Reena over to Chuck, where she received her new leaf with a piggy snort of happiness, Malachi rolled his eyes at his companion. She would indeed be a fantastic demon, but she needed to learn to stand up for herself. He would need to teach her a few things.
“Hey!” came a loud, aggressive hail from behind him. Turning, Malachi spotted a blond muscle-bound man who spent too much time in the tanning bed and probably peaked in high school. He glanced around and sure enough, spotted an IROC Z-28 Camaro with peeling paint in the parking lot nearby. “Your dog attacked my dog, lady! I’m reporting that!” he waggled a giant meaty finger at her.
Slowly, Chuck stood, dusting off her pants and regarded the man with a mild smile. “Is that so? I assume you missed the part where your dog was attacking my other dog first?” She lazily gestured at Reena, who was happily trotting in circles, leaf held high in her underbite.
The man squinted at Reena and sneered. “That’s a dog? I thought that was a river rat!” A booming laugh erupted from his chest as if he’d just told the world’s funniest joke. “C’mon now, Spike wasn’t going to hurt it, he was just saying hello. But your other dog actually did attack my boy!” his gaze turned on Malachi and glared, baring his teeth.
Malachi glared right back and bared his own fangs in response.
