Page 22 of Client from Hell

My doctor shook his head. “No. It’s someone with a matching blood type and the same strain. The donor convinced someone with the same strain to donate in case you needed it. We simply did not anticipate how many units you would require.”

Great. The last thing I needed was a setback when I was about to move forward with an internship that would put me in the perfect position to help care for my family, assuming the Devil didn’t discover what I’d been doing prior to his invitation to work for him.

In a perfect world, I’d never think about my evening activities with some matches and gasoline ever again.

Several flashes of light drew my attention, and Jonas returned with two angels. I made certain to keep from glancing towards their heads, uncertain if I’d be able to pierce through their shrouds.

“Do close your eyes, Sandra, dear,” one of the angels said in a feminine voice. “That will make things easier for you. I am Camael. My brother is Anael. Jonas inquired if we might be able to offer assistance in your quest to better treat patients inflicted with cancer. It would be an honor to do what we can.”

When an angel said I should close my eyes, I accepted the advice without question or complaint. “It’s appreciated. This whole dying young thing is not really up my alley, although if you actually owe Jonas a favor, I feel like you are in just as tough a spot as I’m in.”

Jonas snickered. “They used to owe me favors, but they’re freeing themselves from such a terrible burden with something that is probably trivial for them when they’re working together. Dr. Mortan, if you could explain the situation to them?”

Dr. Mortan, without bothering to use any of the layman’s terms he’d used with me, launched into a rather detailed explanation of what my cancer had done to my body. From the little I could translate of his medical lingo, I was up a shit creek without a paddle or a boat, and the shit creek was due for a diarrhea disaster.

The angels’ laughter chimed.

“That is an apt translation, young Sandra,” Camael replied. “While my brother is what you would call only an angel, I am an archangel. I felt your curiosity.”

“Well, holy shit, Jonas. What filthy work did you do to be owed a favor by an angel and an archangel?”

The incubus laughed. “What makes you think I was doing filthy work?”

“You’re a sex demon. Isn’t that what you do?”

“My work is never filthy. It’s pure pleasure.”

“Please save your flirtations for later,” Camael scolded. “My apologies, Dr. Mortan. Please continue. We shall try to limit our interruptions.”

“There’s not much more to tell. All of her organs have been compromised in some fashion or another, her brain is damaged in numerous places, and the lycanthropy virus is working hard trying to restore organ functionality, but it’s consuming her blood to do it since she no longer has any muscle mass left for it to plunder from, nor can we feed her sufficient calories to fuel the healing work. Unless we can arrange for multiple donors of the same virus strain, once we’re out of blood, that’s it. I don’t think we’ll be able to keep her topped up with enough human blood to counter the virus’s rate of consumption. This was not an expected hurdle.”

The archangel made a thoughtful sound before she said, “So, we can either provide fuel for the virus, or we can repair the organs so the virus can rest and recover—or we can do both. Young Jonas here is a suitable caretaker for her should we handle such care. You would want to discharge her, as her virus would inevitably spike. You would not want a new lycanthrope with no control caged in a room such as this. I am certain he can keep her out of trouble while she adapts to her virus.”

“I can take care of her,” Jonas said. “Anael, if it would not be a burden, could you make an arrangement for a lycanthrope-friendly hotel in Athens? Some of the errands Lucifer wishes for her to run are ideal for a fidgety lycanthrope who needs some exercise and fresh air. He likely anticipated something like this happening. He’s an asshole like that.”

“I will take care of this matter and return soon,” the angel stated before something popped.

I resisted the urge to peek, keeping my eyes closed so the angel or archangel wouldn’t eradicate me. “You better talk to your brother-in-law about getting paid for this, Jonas. I’m pretty sure losing favors owed to you by an angel and an archangel is worth a pretty hefty paycheck. Make him build you your own house and greenhouse somewhere nearby his residence so you can have some personal freedom. Then make him maintain your current greenhouse.”

The archangel chuckled. “I see you have charmed yourself a fledgling lycanthrope, Jonas.”

“I wouldn’t call myself charmed. He just has my attention, he’s offering the goods, and he’s tolerable company so far, and I didn’t have to get him out of his clothes to be tolerable. That’s actually a pretty good start to a friendship, honestly. And the fact he’s trying to keep me from meeting a premature end is definitely helping his cause. Also, I don’t know if headless beings even have eyes, but look at him. He’s pretty handsome.”

“He is an incubus. They are always handsome. An ugly incubus would have difficulties feeding himself.”

“His personality is, despite what I’ve been told, actually pretty decent. That’s rare, Camael. I’m evaluating if he has a suitable number of positive traits right now. Honestly, don’t tell me if he doesn’t. I’m enjoying my delusions. That, plus he’s handsome.”

“I’m right here,” Jonas complained.

“Yes, yes. Since I can’t open my eyes right now, you may as well just not be there at all. I’m trying to find out from a higher power what you bring to the table.”

The archangel giggled, and the sound reminded me of the tinkling of bells. “Jonas, my darling little brother, you will find this one will bring you much trouble should you let her.”

“If you’ve ever listened to Darlene, you will have known for years I’m nothing but trouble and deserve nothing but trouble for my various sins,” the incubus replied. “Though out of the extensive collection of in-laws, you’re one of the nicer ones. You don’t make me think you’re contemplating the benefits of wiping me from existence.”

Camael’s laughter bloomed. “My siblings only do that because you were so delightfully skittish when you were first converted. You’ve become much steadier since then. I will leave all tormenting of your person to the young lady putting serious thought into keeping you. After we have treated her, we will teleport her to your hotel, where you can indulge in your base nature and pamper her. You can do your share of your work there, as it will be lengthy and tiring for you both. I will confer with Lucifer to make certain you are fed through an alternative fashion. You will become quite hungry after the work you put in, and she will not be capable of feeding you for at least a week.”

“I’ll be fine. I have good control over my hunger.”