Thorn by Joshua Ingle Page B

same colors as the clouds above them. The cemetery had erected a pavilion over the small crowd, but despite the threatening sky, rain did not fall. At least, not yet. Thorn watched the gloomy gathering from the back seat of a car he shared with Amy and a few of her supposed friends. He’d spent the last few days with her, trying to understand what had happened Friday night.
    His disgrace had been so great that his enemies had left her to him, as far as he could tell. Most of his followers had abandoned him, and Thorn feared that the next time he found himself alone, Marcus and Shenzuul would appear out of the darkness—and their faces would be the last he ever saw.
    Thorn had seldom known such desperation. If he could prove he’d had no hand in what happened, his name would be cleared, and his followers, and therefore his safety, might return. So far, Amy remained as oblivious to his presence as ever. He was certain she’d seen him in the club last night, but he still had no idea how .
    At least the Judge had sided with him. “Thorn,” he’d said, as Thorn entered the courtroom for the second time in a week, “my man. Word on the street is you revealed yourself to a human.” Thorn tried to explain himself, even boast in his defense that he’d recently killed an angel, but as usual, the Judge’s mind had been made up before the hearing even began. Only this time, the verdict was helpful. “You all tuck your ugly tails between your legs and crawl back to your holes. Or make up a better story next time. This is Thorn, my peeps. One of the baddest badasses this side of the Mississippi. If he were gonna break the Second Rule, you think he would have done it in public? Nuh-uh.”
    “We saw it with our own eyes,” a demon had said. “He left our realm for physical space. She saw him.”
    “Tell me then,” the Judge replied. “How did he do it?” He turned to Thorn. “If you’re hiding any superpowers, dude, I want a piece of that. Always wanted to kick a baby with my bare foot.”
    Thorn had found that oddly repulsive. Perhaps his fall from grace had momentarily weakened his taste for violence.
    After the hearing, Thorn waited until all had left, fearing for his safety. The Judge took notice.
    “You’re welcome to spend the night,” he offered, once they were alone.
    Thorn nodded his acknowledgment.
    “Just tell me something though. I’ve heard the thing about you screwing over Marcus in the War in Heaven, but that’s the distant past, man. And an understandable mistake. What makes you think he wants you dead now?”
    Thorn was surprised the Judge didn’t know about Thorn’s involvement in the Constantine affair. Didn’t everyone know about that? Regardless, he wasn’t in the mood to retell the tale. “It’s a long story,” he said. “Some other time.”
    “You’re not off the hook, you know,” the Judge retorted. “They say you called a girl ‘beautiful.’ That might be bullshit, but they all want blood, so I’m gonna have to dole out some kind of punishment.”
    Great , Thorn thought. At least I have something to look forward to if I live.
    Thorn spent that night with the Judge’s guards at the courthouse, his mind running in circles, planning, trying not to panic. When he emerged into daylight the next morning, his few remaining followers told him the news. Madeline was dead. As she’d been leaving a movie theater, a cruel teenager had sped past her on his bike in the parking lot, screaming obscenities at her. He’d only meant to ruffle her, but her blood pressure had been so high that she’d had a heart attack; collapsed and died on the spot. Reports were that Shenzuul had been whispering to Madeline when it happened. Marcus had whispered to the kid on the bike, and had taken credit for the kill.
    Now, passing the cemetery, Thorn clung to Amy like a child to a favorite toy, fearful that his prized possession would be taken from him as well. Neither Marcus nor Shenzuul had come within