Chapter 47: Truck Ride

I bumped down the road in the truck in the middle of the night. The squeaky shocks jostled me up and down. I sang to a song on the radio. It had something to do about being a mad world. It made me laugh internally. I did feel like the world was a little mad.

"Where are you heading?" Remi's sudden voice made me jump.

"To rob a jewelry store."

"Did you ever actually hear yourself when you talk?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your plans always sound insane."

"What plans?" I asked.

"Exactly. I'm always stuck saving your ass."

I shrugged. "Isn't that your purpose? Besides, why is it mostly you and not Angandriel? Isn't he supposed to help out, too? I get the feeling he doesn't like me much."

Remi frowned. "Don't you remember the other night?"

"What do you mean?"

"He took you out and saved you? You had a whole adventure."

I shook my head. It felt right, but I couldn't remember anything. "Are you sure?"

"You don't remember the sword?" He asked.

"What sword?"

"Huh. I wonder if the Veil had something to do with it."

I glanced over at him. He was in his typical leather coat. It always looked a little big on him, like he was wearing his dad's coat. The conversation between him and my mother reminded me that maybe that was just his coat and he only appeared to be fourteen/fifteen to me. What a strange concept. It wasn't like the rest of his clothes were baggie or anything. He was always dressed in a black jeans and a black T-shirt. He just seemed like your typical high school aged kid.

"What are you going to do about Mom's offer?" I asked.

He ran his hand through his short black hair. "It's tempting."

"What do you have to do in return?" I looked over at him briefly trying to determine the look on his face.

He swung his golden hazel eyes towards me. "I have to let some of my charges die." His eyes spoke the truth.

I turned my attention back to the road. "What are you going to do?"

"My charges are going to die anyway. I mean, someday. But the chance to be alive again is... beyond my imagination."

"So, go for it," I said.

"I don't know if that is a good idea coming from you. You're not exactly a planner."

"I get things done."

"That's because I save your ass all the time."

"You do it because you love me," I said sarcastically.

An awkward silence filled the cab.

I cleared my throat. "So, are you like, really a man?"

"Umm... of course?"

"I mean, you're like 200 years old. Why do you look like a kid?"

"Oh, right. No, I'm sort of reborn with my charges. I look like a kid, because I sort of am a kid. Not my mind, but my body is."

"Reborn? So you are a baby when we are?"

"Not really. At four years old I kind of shrink back down from being a man to being four years old again. Then I grow up from there. And even my mind sort of starts over so I can think similar to the age group."

"So, when you jump from charge to charge, you change age?"

I could see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye. "All my charges are born on the same day in the same year."

"So, do you get like, all the kids born on June 21st, 1999?"

"No, that would be way too many. I am assigned about 200. It is a lot of work in the beginning, but as they die, they job gets easier."

"Does Angandriel have the same charges?"

"There is some overlap, but they are not all the same."

Blue and red lights flared behind me. "Ah, shit."

"What did you do?" Remi asked.

I shrugged my shoulders as I slowed down. "I don't know." I was always a good driver, despite my recklessness in other areas. I had to pay extra attention to it because everything inside of me wanted to speed, spin, and race down the highway. Mother would not be happy if I got pulled over.

I waited for the officer to walk up to the window. I rolled it down and killed the radio.

"Good evenin' young lady," the officer said as the light of his flashlight danced over us. "Do you know what I pulled you over for?"

"No, sir." My heart beat hard in my chest. I didn't know why I was so nervous.

"You have a tail light out and part of your bumper is hanging over the license plate."

"I'm sorry, sir. It must have fell off again."

"Can I see your license and registration, please?" While I pulled out my fake ID and the registration he continued, "Isn't it past curfew?"

"Yes, sir. My mother sent me and my brother out to check on my grandmother. She called with a night terror."

"Brother, huh?" He flashed the light between us again. "You don't look much alike."

"Remi, show him your license." I held out my hand.

Remi looked at me, confused. I shook my hand and raised my eyebrows to tell him to play along. He frowned and pretended to put something in my hand.

I used a bit of my power and my fantastic power of creativity to morph a business card from the open wallet on my lap into a copy of my license with a few changes on it. I mumbled a few words to complete the spell then handed it to the cop.

He looked between me, Remi, and the cards. "Twins, huh?"

I shrugged. "Genetics. Who knows?"

He handed the cards back. "Alright, hurry up and get to your grandmother's. Get that taillight and your bumper fixed, otherwise next time it will be a citation."

"Yes, sir," I said with a nod.

The officer walked away then drove off.

"Twin brother?" He asked.

"It was easier to copy." I flipped him the card.

He caught it and looked at it closely. "That's a very good likeness. You did that in your head?"

I nodded. "That was the easy part. Getting enough ink to change it on the business card was the hard part. I had to steal some from other things." I handed him my wallet.

He laughed. "I hope you didn't need your health insurance card." He waved it. "It's half erased."

"Of course not, I have you."

"You know, I can't always save you. I am not supposed to interfere."

"But you can if you accept the deal."

He got quiet.

"What's the trade off? Charges? They die anyway?" I asked. "Won't their guardian angels' take over?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes, they will be relatively safe." His hands slid across the seat towards mine. His fingers curled around the edge of my hand. "No matter what, I will do what I can to protect you."

My heart started beating fast. I was glad for the dark so he couldn't see the blush rise to my cheeks. I quickly drew my hand away. "Yeah, thanks for that." I hit the radio. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" came on and I focused really hard on not thinking about how warm Remi's hand had been over mine.