Time Jacker by Aaron Crash (nonfiction book recommendations .TXT) 📕

Jack nodded. “Everything is always eating something. Way of the fucking world.”

Bailey laughed. “That’s right. Way of the fucking world. Nice.”

Gabby sighed at them both. “You think your cynicism is so cool. Do you know what’s cool? Love and laughter. Come on. I know I’m going to hate this place, and I want to get this over with.”

They got out of the car, and Jack brushed his thumb over the soldier. Magically, the inked key switched to the left. The birds stopped singing. The cars froze in the streets.

The three walked up to an iron gate that surrounded the old mansion, one of the first in Denver. It looked like the governor’s mansion—it was as grand, and the grounds were as manicured. Though it was fall, the grass was green, and there were even some flowers.

Jack noted the security cameras. On the gate hung an intercom. Normally, people would have to get buzzed in. Also, Jack had seen a valet parking service, a guy in a black uniform with a red starburst on his chest. That would probably be a hellfire starburst.

Bailey summoned her war pick and slammed it into the lock. It shattered. Half the gate shattered. The sex demon let out a happy sigh. “I love destroying things.”

“Lovely.” Gabby shook her head, looking desolate.

The trio strolled up the path.

Bailey told them the plan. “We don’t want Gudzu and Carpitia to use Exoria on the angel...if they even know it. They probably don’t. But if they do, and they use it, it’s not the end of the world. Gabby can come back in that same body, or at least I think she can. I just don’t want to take any chances with her.”

“Because you care?” Gabby didn’t wait for an answer. “Of course you care. You’re not just a rogue sex demon. You’re so much more.”

That made Bailey shake her head. “Whatever. The minute you kill them, Feathers, I need to be there to snatch up their teeth. Gudzu has a big scimitar like a cleaver, if I remember right. Carpitia has a spear. Both teeth are going to have lots of spikes, so I’ll have to be careful.”

“And I’ll shoot the demons to see if my loads work,” Jack said.

“They won’t, sweetness,” Bailey said. “You’re dealing with ancient artifacts that require spells, lots of spells. Gudzu and Carpitia might know more. We might want to keep them alive for just a bit, just for me to make sure of a few things.”

“This is not a plan.” The angel flashed brightly. Suddenly, she had both her sword and her horn. “This is just a raid. As for this body, I have grown so accustomed to it. I was able to fashion it out of Corpus, thanks to Jack’s power, but I really don’t want to lose it.”

“Because you love your clit.” Bailey laughed. “Hey, Feathers, how come you didn’t add pubic hair?”

“Because, uh, I didn’t really think about it,” the angel said, embarrassed. “I mean, Steph shaved down there. Have I told you about Bill and Steph? They were the nicest couple. They love each other so much.”

Bailey grimaced. “They sound boring.”

The front door was big and locked up tight. Again, there was a camera and an intercom. Bailey pointed her war pick at the door. “Blow it down, Feathers. I don’t think we’ll need much of your horn action to deal with the butt-munches here. Not that butt-munching is bad. Like what Evelyn did to me. I was shocked. But in a good way.”

“I’ll not be able to look this woman in the eye.” Gabby lifted her horn to her lips. She let it blast and the door went smashing down, along with most of the doorway itself and some rock.

Of course, other than the destroyed door, nothing moved because the timestream was stopped.

Jack went in first, the Eternity Cannon in his grip.

It was a nice, opulent living room, where a guy in a suit was on his phone. A woman in lingerie was halfway up the stairs.

Of course, Bailey tilted her head to look up her gown. “Nice.”

Jack and the women walked through an archway and into another room. There was a bar, some pool tables, and a room with nothing but TVs. The same baseball game was on all the monitors. The Rockies were playing.

More men in suits played pool, or sat here and there, drinking and watching the game with cigars in their fists. You could smell the tobacco smoke, but you could also smell the money. The employees were all women, in various layers of dress, though there were some beefy security guards in the corners, arms folded across their chests. Ornate glass doors led to the locker rooms, the gym, and a pool area.

Nothing moved. Jack expected to see maybe some Interim. Not here, not at that moment. He thought about trying to lift some wallets, but he couldn’t touch the people or else it would start time up again. And there it was, the limits of his powers. Moral compass or not, he wasn’t all powerful.

“Upstairs,” Gabby said. “I can feel the demons, I think. They are awful. I can smell more cigars. I will never understand this smoking thing.”

“Smoking is sixty-nining with death. If you do it long enough, you’ll both get off in the end.” Bailey turned, ass swaying, and walked back through the archway.

Jack and Gabby followed her into the living room where the front door lay on the ground near the staircase. They had to squeeze past the woman in lingerie on the stairs. Bailey, though, fell behind since she couldn’t resist grabbing the ass, hips, and tits of the woman. Also, the sex demon leaned in to lick the frozen woman’s face. “She smells really good.”

“Stop it, Bailey!” the angel hissed. “What you’re doing is wrong!”

The demon puffed out air in disbelief. “Good thing I’m a hell-spawned demon forever damned, or I’d really be