Chapter 2

Love's mother never dies, but the person who touches that love will face a fate worse than death.

Lucille followed Stanely thought the small group of men and women standing in front of Azrael’s trailer waiting to see what was wrong with Miss Hades. Her cries of terror had jumped everyone awake, forcing them to dash outside to see what the matter was, and ready for themselves to protect Miss Hades. She was one of the few people in the circus who didn’t go into the Big Top and didn’t have an act at all. She cooked for everyone along with the people coming to see the acts. She made them candy applies. She bowled the peanuts. She popped the popcorn and whatever, trick, the little spice, she put in all her good made it taste like Heaven. She called it love. She loved cooking always telling Lucille it was the best in the world, “To see ya food paint a smile on anyone’s face. Ya know you did it right then.”

It made her dear to everyone. No one knew her past. No one knew where she came from and if Hades was truly her last name, but everyone knew she was a great cook, who loved to share her meals with anyone. She would often take the leftover food to homeless if they were close to a city and feed them.

She loved to feed people. She loved to help them.

It was the reason everyone was standing around now waiting to see what was happening as she ran into Azrael trailer. Everyone was in their night clothes mumbling among themselves. Vilas and Thomas were in each other’s arms, she was still nursing a black eye, but it was fading quickly from her dance with the hitman. Ever since they got back from that little gig Vilas and Thomas had been spending the night with each other, jumping between beds.

Lucille got to the front of the group with Stanely moving between the legs of Charon Lewis, the Tremendous Magican. The scarecrow thin man with a face of the ages stood there chewing on an unlit cigar which has caused his voice to go rough from years, lifetimes of smoking, and his skins seem almost a bit sickly form the endless drinking of the old drunk. Sometimes, his skin a hue yellow to it but death was afraid to come near the man, and the yellowish faded away in due time.

Time seemed to have little effect on him as the ill effects of smoking and drinking did on a normal person. He was untouched by such things as he was untouched by time itself, but he stood there with his bowler hat at top of his balding head and was almost growling at the door.

“What did ya do, Clown?” he asked.

“Nothin’,” Lucille protested the question but moved closer to him as the winds this far north carried with them a bit of a chill. “I was lookin’ for Stanely when Miss Hades came runnin’ out of her trailer like the devil had poked her with his forks.”

“I doubted he would do such a thing,’ Charon said moving the cigar to the other side of his mouth, “he like her honey cakes too much.”

“Oh,” Lucille said, “wait the devil came here?”

“More than once, Clown,” Thomas said towering behind them.

“Really?” Lucille asked, looking back at him and Vilas nodded in agreement.

“He’s got rainbow eyes,” she said winking at Lucille.

“Neat, I think,” she said smiling and turning back to the trailer as the door open with Azrael strolled out. He was a massive man, not as big or strong as Thomas, but close, and he was the same hue as the full moon making many people think he was a vampire, but they often saw him in the daylight. He had short black hair with a twisting mustache end point to goatee adding the mystique of his vampire nature, but what truly sold the whole air of the bloodsucker idea was the red eyes of the man.

He had his free arm around the short and large black lady who was still stun with fear. She had her black and white hair, one side of her hair perfectly black and the other perfectly white, down over her crying face.

                

They both stopped at the top of the steps Azrael looking over everyone. He took a deep breath keeping his cane in his other hand. The cane had a silver skull on top of it and Lucille thought she saw the eyes of the skull move towards her.

                

“Vilas, Thomes,” Azrael said in a low but powerful tone, “help Emelina back to her trailer, please, make sure she is safety in her bed.”

                

“Yes, sir,” they both said as once rushing to help the old women down and carrying her off to the trailer. She had drank some of Azrael’s sleep tea and when her head hit the pillow she was in the world of dreams.

                

“Everything is fine,” he said looking over everyone, “she just had a nightmare. Now, everyone back to their trailers, get some rest.”

                

Everyone nodded and mumble among each other turning away from him when Azrael said softly, “Charon and Lucille, I need to speak with you two.” He stepped to the side of the steps opening his arm letting his cane show them in. Charon sighed before he started to climb to the steps as if lift of his boney legs was a painful weight to be carried. Lucille strolled behind him with her head down like she had done something wrong and Stanely, the cat, was already rushing into the trailer to beg for the treats Azrael kept hidden away from him.

                

Azrael’s trailer was line with all kinds of odd paintings and relics from all over the world. He had also told Lucille some of the relics were from other realms, but she wasn’t sure what she meant, but she liked them, even if they had a weird hum about them. There was an also an ink drawing of Azrael old friend, Miles Levraut, who no had ever met, but the drawing show the very skillful hand of Azrael.

                

He shut the door behind them while Lucille sat down on the couch while Charon dropped into an old wooden chair near Azrael’s drawing and writing desk.

                

“What’s the deal, boss?” Charon asked.

                

Lucille said nothing watching Stanely moved around Azrael’s feet begging for something sweet to eat and Lucille wanted to find the large red book Azrael drawn in with all the acts of the show, past and present.

“I need you two go down to New Orleans,” he said.

“For?”

“Someone had taken Emelina’s son,” he said. “I need you two to find him.”

“Miss Hades has a son?” Lucille asked.

“He’s dead,” Charon said rolling cigar to the other side of his mouth. 

“Someone took her dead’s son?”

    

“His bones,” Azrael said, “you two need to find them, and put them back to rest.”