Company of Angels 02 - The Demoness of Waking Dreams

over Brandon as the driver pulled through the iron gates and into the compound. As those gates clanged shut behind them, Brandon realized why Arielle had picked this place. Not because it could have been on the cover of Architectural Digest. The clean lines of the whitewashed walls fairly glowed, pristine beneath the soft glow of the coastal sunset. But despite the smooth strokes of its architecture, despite the natural harmony between the structures and the environment, the compound was built like a bunker.
    Fort Knox with sand.
    Originally, those gates had obviously been designed to keep people out.
    Under Arielle’s direction, they would now be used to keep people in.
    “What is this place?” he said as he looked at Arielle’s pristine blond hair and the content little smile on her face as they pulled up to the main building. He had no doubt it really had once been a retreat center, the kind of high-end health resort where wealthy ladies forked over thousands of dollars to be taken on “nature hikes” on dirt trails for hours and then served a few leaves of lettuce for lunch.
    “It used to be a residential health spa,” she confirmed. “We were very lucky to get it. We’re still deliberating about the name. But we’re thinking of calling it the Center for Redemption.”
    “Sounds like a recycling facility,” Brandon said. Remembering the angels’ old joke that when a Guardian’s physical body happened to be killed, it could be “recycled” and sent back to earth, he shuddered.
    “In a manner of speaking, I hope it will be,” Arielle replied.
    The blonde supervisor led the way, waiting for Brandon to escort the demoness out of the car. Hauling Luciana out, he cuffed her to himself. “Let’s go, principessa. ”
    She offered little resistance, wide-eyed as she stepped from the car.
    They entered the building, into a lobby that could have belonged to any institution with money, a richly endowed museum or an ultramodern theater. The whiteness of it almost overwhelmed him, its blank paleness broken only by the enormous panoramic wall of glass with an unobstructed view of the ocean.
    The building was absolutely deserted.
    No staff stood behind the reception desk, no guests or patrons milled in the lobby. Instead, emptiness hung beneath the soaring ceilings, and the sound of their own footsteps echoed against the marble as they followed Arielle.
    As they rode up the elevator, Brandon took note of the security measures. The card-swipe and electronic combination locks, the surveillance video cameras everywhere. The heavy bars on the doors they passed as they walked the demoness down a hallway.
    And he wondered what Arielle was really planning to do here.
    * * *
     
    “Is this the Company’s idea of heaven?” Luciana muttered. “Everything sterile and completely colorless? Perfect.”
    Nobody answered. Instead, they marched her through the building and brought her to a stark, white cell of a room. The only furnishings were a single bed with a white duvet, and a white plastic chair. Both of them were bolted to the floor. The small, antiseptic-looking bathroom was also entirely white, with nothing in it except a toilet, a sink and a shower stall.
    Brandon uncuffed her. Then he pushed her gently into the room and shut the door. She heard a series of electronic beeps and the slide of a heavy metal bolt. Locking her into this high-end version of solitary confinement.
    “I should have killed you while I had the chance,” the demoness hissed, running to the door to slam the butt of her fist against the small window. “I could have done it easily.”
    Brandon didn’t answer. He just stood there and looked at her through the small square of reinforced glass, his rainy-gray eyes overflowing with anger.
    “Now, now,” Arielle chided brightly. “Think how lucky you are. People have paid a veritable fortune to come here and stay in the very same room you’re in right now. The Company has been working overtime to prepare these accommodations especially for you. We put a lot of effort into modifying these facilities. We hope you’ll enjoy our hospitality and have a very relaxing stay with us.”
    “I’m going to make sure every last one of you suffers hideously by the hands of Satan himself,” Luciana screamed, pounding the window. “The Prince of Darkness will disembowel you with his own bare hands. And I will be there to watch.”
    Arielle’s mouth curved into an infuriating smile. “Make yourself