He eyes Rita who’s sitting in the back through his overhead mirror and gives her a wink.
She grins. “Taking chances is my middle name.”
I guess that’s her in then. “Alright, let’s just hope none of those chaos creatures have wormed their way into any of the nuns. Have you got any weapons on you if we end up being attacked? I know the violence has been more frequent at night, but you can never be too careful. It was broad daylight when I got caught up in it.”
Rita pats the brown leather satchel at her side. “I came prepared. I’ve got a few potions in here that will drive away any nutty humans – or nuns,” she laughs.
Finn keeps one hand on the steering wheel, while reaching into the glove compartment with the other. He pulls out a narrow, rectangular leather box and drops it into my lap. “Little present for you,” he says, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.
I open it up to discover a vintage barber’s razor sitting inside. It folds in half and has a carved wooden handle.
Finn eyes me warily. “Now be careful, I wasn’t going to give it to you so soon. I’d been hoping to train you first, but the current situation calls for desperate measures.”
Just as he’s saying this I glance out the window to see a woman giving her boyfriend a whack across the face with her handbag. I can’t tell whether they’re having a domestic or if it’s chaos induced.
I focus back on the blade in my hand and flick it open, holding it away from my body. “This is so cool, but I’m not sure I need it. I’ve got my magic to keep me safe.”
Finn gives me a serious look. “That’s all well and good, but you can’t rely on all that airy fairy business. What if you’re standing face to face with a hungry vamp or a crazed human and it doesn’t come to you? You’ll be glad to have something tangible to use as a weapon then, you mark my words.”
I can’t believe it, but I’m actually touched. There have been a few instances over the past couple weeks that have indicated to me that Finn might actually care for me, and this “gift” seals it. If he didn’t care then he wouldn’t be worried about me being left defenceless. I place the blade back in its box and throw my arm around his shoulders to give him a hug. Out of instinct I kiss him briefly on the cheek.
“Thanks buddy,” I say, pulling away and nudging him with my elbow. “This has to be the most thoughtful yet disturbing gift anyone’s ever gotten for me.”
Finn coughs and gives me a smile. “You’re welcome. And I’ll teach you how to use it properly soon. You’ve got the look of a woman who’d be good with a blade. Just try not to use it unless absolutely necessary for now, okay?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I reply, grinning and imagining myself being able to use it like a pro some day. I’ll be so kick arse. “And don’t worry, I’m not going to go whipping it out at all and sundry.”
Finn chuckles.
“Well that’s just lovely, did you not bother getting anything for me?” Rita asks, somewhere between amused and annoyed.
Finn levels his eyes on her through the mirror again. “You don’t need any of the weapons I could give you. You’ve a better chance of staying alive than any of us, witchy-pants.”
She seems appeased by this. “That’s true.” A pause. “Don’t call me that again.”
Finn laughs and pulls the car into an almost empty parking lot.
“We’ll have to get out and walk from here. There’s too much traffic, which means we haven’t a hope of getting any closer to the church.”
He hands an empty backpack to each of us for carrying the bottles of holy water back to the car. Rita pulls it on over her leather satchel. I’m curious to know what she’s hiding in there.
As we walk the short distance to St. Peter’s, I can feel a certain frenetic energy in the air that puts me on edge. It’s like my body is aware that the current peace is on the cusp of being broken. It could happen at any second if someone tilts the balance over just slightly.
I don’t like this. Tribane has always been a dangerous place to live, even before you factor in all the vampires, but this is something else. I slide the blade Finn gave me out of its box and slip it into my coat pocket, ready for any eventuality.
When we get to the entrance of St. Peter’s I smell the familiar churchy scent of incense and old wooden furniture. Finn walks up to the font of holy water, dips his fingers in and blesses himself. Rita and I bypass it and follow him to the little shop on the left.
It’s quiet and dark inside the main building, with only a handful of people kneeling in the pews, their heads bent in prayer. Candlelights flicker up by the alter.
In the shop there’s a nun sitting behind a glass window serving customers. Aside from that there are shelves of cards, rosary beads and various kinds of religious memorabilia. I spot a bunch of thimbles with the pope’s face on them. How bizarre can you get? I try to be respectful enough not to snicker. Over in the corner there are stacked bottles of holy water. The nun is currently serving an old man in a grey shirt and there are about three other customers standing behind him.
“How are ya Sister Frances?” Finn calls, saluting the nun.
I almost laugh at how inappropriate his greeting seems. The nun glances up and gives him a warm smile in return, muttering a quiet hello. She blushes just slightly. Well, it seems Finn’s charms work on all women, nuns included.
“Is Father McGuire around by any chance?” he asks, going up to stand by the glass window. He rests his hand on the glass and peers down at Sister Frances. Seeing Finn among ordinary people opens my eyes to just how intimidating he can appear. Intimidating and sexy. I guess being a trained killer will do that to a person. The customers eye him warily.
“I think he might be in the rectory,” she manages to squeak out, blushing more profusely now.