Midnight Moon (Vampire for Hire #13)(18)

I had a lot on my mind.

Enough that I was certain I had gone through three of four red lights with nary a memory of passing through them. And was nary even a word? It was, I was certain of it. Okay, ninety percent certain. Maybe eighty.

Anyway, it wasn't often one met God. Then again, I had met him twice, hadn't I?

I had.

I think.

The homeless man on the street, yes, after much thought, I was certain I had seen him before, at a Denny's years ago. A homeless man who had known everything about me. And I mean, everything.

God, certainly.

Then again, from what I could tell of my vision of heaven, God was in all things. In heaven, everything pulsed with light. God's light. And everything was connected. The light touched everything and was everything, wove through everything, pulsated with everything, and I knew now that light was God. Or whatever you wanted to call him. Or her. Of course, the person I had met today was a man. But it could have just as easily been a woman. Or a floating ball of light. Or a voice from the sky. From what I understood, he appeared as we expected him to appear, which apparently made it easier for all involved.



       
         
       
        

The devil, I knew, possessed his followers.

God probably did the same. Or not. If you were the creator of all that is and will forever be, conjuring up a temporary flesh and blood body wouldn't be much of a big deal. Besides, I was fairly certain angels did just that.

But not demons. They were bodiless, I knew.

Until they possessed a willing human. Or mostly willing. Or the cursed.

The nature of God was a heady subject, and I had been given a glimpse of his magnificence. Then again, wasn't the earth around me a glimpse of it as well? It was, and it was more than a glimpse.

You can make heaven on Earth, Sam. Now, in this place.

I thought about that as I drove steadily on into the night, toward a home with a ghost that wasn't a ghost. I was pretty sure of that.

And so was Tammy. My freakishly powerful daughter who knew way too much.

No. Was exposed to way too much.

Except, of course, there was nothing I could do about that.

Although that might not be true.

I suspected space might lessen her power. As in giving her some. When I was in New Orleans, my daughter let it be known that her telepathic powers had wavered somewhat. At the least, they had not expanded. My very proximity gave her power, and that was a difficult concept to wrap my mind around. The further-and longer-I was away from my daughter, the more normal she would be.

I thought about that as I drove through another intersection.

God, I hoped the light was green.

My phone rang. My old minivan didn't have Bluetooth capability. Luckily, I happen to be quicker than everyone else and so I wasn't too concerned with safety when I snatched up my phone. Also, I had a little something called an inner alarm, which was kind of like auto braking but way cooler. It was Allison calling.

"Talk to me," I said.

"Most people say hello."

"Most people don't have an Allison in their lives."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're so pretty?"

"Honestly, I don't know why I try, Sam."

"Because you love me."

"Just be nice to me, okay? I'm like the only real friend you have."

I thought about that. I certainly had other friends, but it was true: Allison was the only real friend I had who was there for me through hell or high water, and who really wanted nothing from me. Except my time. And attention. And love. Hmm.

"Maybe," I said.

"There's no maybe about it. I'm your best friend, so deal with it."

"Bitch," I said.

"No," she said. "Witch."

I laughed and asked her why she was bothering me. 

"Bothering you? Sam-"

"Just get on with it."

"Fine," she said. "I just finished reading Charlie Reed's book. Or his unfinished book."

"What do you think?"

"What do I think? What do I think?? My God, I think I haven't truly lived until now. That story, those characters. I mean, I only just stopped crying a few minutes ago."

I knew what she meant. "Pretty good, huh?"

"Pretty good? It was transcendent. It was life-changing."

It would have been easy to say she was overreacting. Except I knew she wasn't. In between my thoughts of God, heaven my kids and Danny... I found myself back in the book. Back into Charlie's carefully and perfectly realized world. Back with his characters. Back with their problems and loves and hopes and dreams. Back with Queen Autumn and her search for her kidnapped daughter.

"Sam, will he be finishing the book anytime soon?"