Purgatory

Drayce sat down on the bed. "You saw how beautiful she was, right?"

"Yes, but beautiful women are a dime a dozen in this world."

Drayce nodded, "You're right. But her good looks didn't compare to her inner beauty. We had this... connection, something special I can't really explain. We knew what the other was thinking without saying a word. She had a heart of pure gold, helping anyone who asked. She always put others before herself, especially me." He sighed, remembering.

"In the early years of our marriage, she put up with me going through college, and then me working long hours as a street cop. It must have been lonely for her at times, but she was the one encouraging me to keep working hard. Honestly, I don't think I would have made detective without her support. I'd come home and she'd have dinner ready with a smile on her face. I never met anyone who I could love as much as she loved me."

Drayce hung his head low. A tear fell. "She deserved better. Despite all my training and duty to 'serve and protect' I couldn't protect the most important person in my life. The only thing she ever wanted was a family, and her dream was stolen the moment she realized she was pregnant."

Drayce turned to Fiona, sobbing. "That's why I want to catch the motherfucker who did this to her and my unborn child. To bring them to justice."

"Don't you mean, avenge their deaths?" Fiona suggested.

"Call it whatever you want."

Frustrated, Drayce dressed himself. "I assume you're here because I still owe you 'dinner'. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back. You were pretty pissed last I saw you. It's been over a week now."

Fiona smiled wickedly as she got off the bed. "If I were 'pissed', you or your friend wouldn't be alive. I was mildly irritated. I'm over it now, though. I had a gangbang with some gang bangers; then I fed their remains to Stacy to relieve my frustration. So, I'm sated for the time being."

Note to self, Drayce thought: Do not do anything else to irritate Fiona. "So what brings you here then?"

"As per our agreement, I thought that we'd obtain the last thing needed for the ritual. You still want to see this through to the end, don't you?"

"Yes," Drayce assured her.

"Good. Once this Phoebe stuff is out of the way, you can better focus on your end of our deal."

"Fair enough. So what are we after?"

Fiona paced about the room, "Like I said before, this item will be tricky. We need an angel's feather."

"An angel's feather?!" Drayce protested. "How the hell are we supposed to get that? You said yourself that you can't kill one, and I doubt an angel will just hand one over."

"You're right on both counts. I do have a plan, but I need your help."

"What do you need me to do?"

"I'll tell you when the time comes," Fiona smiled. "We have to go to Purgatory, and you are to be my date."

"Purgatory? You mean that place between Heaven and Hell?"

"Not that Purgatory," Fiona laughed. "It's a bar, a special bar, a safe haven for those who rise and those who fall."

"I'm not sure what that means."

"You'll understand when we get there. Meet me at my place in an hour."

"Should I wear anything special?"

Fiona looked him up and down. "I don't think it will matter. You're not going to get the best of welcomes, no matter how you're dressed."

"Wonderful," Drayce said sarcastically.

☆

Drayce collected Fiona on time and motored to their destination. "Over there!" Fiona pointed to a driveway off the side of the road.

Drayce rolled up to what appeared to be an abandoned, condemned factory, festooned with yellow caution tape and "No Trespassing!" signs.

"This place?" Drayce wondered.

"Yep, this is it," Fiona said, stepping from the car.

Drayce walked around to her side. He looked at her, marveling at her beauty that never failed to impress. He wondered why she had bothered to dress up in her signature red summer dress and black stiletto heels to come to a place like this.

"Seems you're a bit overdressed for this place; not that I mind," Drayce said.

Fiona smiled, hooking her arm into his. "Come along," she said, and led them onward.

They ducked under the yellow tape and proceeded inside through a rusty door. It was pitch-black inside; Drayce pulled out his cell phone to use as a makeshift flashlight.

"I forgot -- humans can't see in the dark," Fiona chuckled.

The building interior looked like it had not been touched in ages. The faint light of Drayce 's cellphone illuminated inches of dust on every surface. The crackling of broken glass echoed down the corridors with each step they took into the darkness. Drayce could barely discern the shapes of old machinery, broken crates, conveyor belts, and chains hanging from the ceiling. He might have stumbled on the set of a horror movie.

They walked toward an open space deep within the building. "Here," Fiona said, pointing, to the floor.

"Here what?" Drayce asked.

Fiona waved her hands. The dust gently blew off the floor, revealing some kind of large symbol. It was a huge circle, filled with all manner of characters from a fey language Drayce did not recognize.

Fiona held her arm out; her clenched fist radiated a purple light and the writing on the floor responded with a similar luminescence. The symbol suddenly vanished. The floor descended, groaning a mad cacophony of mechanical noises and eventually contorting into stairs.

"Let's go," Fiona said, descending the newly formed stairway.

Drayce caught up with Fiona. The dark stairway seemed to go on forever. Unlike the rest of the building, the stairway was free of dust and debris. A chill ran down his spine. He knew in his gut he was in a place he was never meant to be, as if he was descending to Hell itself.

They finally reached the bottom. As soon as Fiona's spectacular feet left the dark stairs, torches hanging on the walls sprang to life, illumining a long narrow hallway. A dark figure slowly entered Drayce 's view as they walked down the cramped space. When they reached the end, a tall black man in a black business suit stood in their way, blocking their path.

☆