A Strange Coin (Three Trinities Haven Church)

[Tatyana]

Zeke waited for a moment before he approached Tatyana, nothing imposing in his step. Her fear simmered, becoming less as the drug became more. Zeke took the coin from her hand. In a less inhibited state she might have balked at that, but at the same time, she had offered it to him.

”And what do you want for it, Tatyana?”

It wasn’t the question itself that broke through her foggy mind. It was the use of her name. Names had power, and he had in a way called to her on a more primal level that she didn’t understand. She did not flinch as he met her gaze.

It took her awhile to respond, but not just because of her high. There was more to it than that. Nothing was free, and Zeke had taken the coin and asked her price for it. There were so many things she could say and had he asked earlier, she might have asked for a refill of her stash. Had Zeke asked later m, she might not have comprehended its meaning. But he asked now - just as the drugs were taking hold of her. He asked her when her inhibitions drove her to speak the absolute truth. Deep down she knew what she needed.

”Purpose,” she spoke moments later. ”No purpose since Konstantin and Sofia…threw me out…want to…use my talents…” he speech was slurred, but still spoken clearly enough for understanding.

[Ezekiel]

These things always went so differently. It was a large part of the appeal he found in predating this way, sussing out the cracks, the needs, the desires – all of them placed in a two-faced coin barely worth the metal it was crafted from. These people wanted to be used, and Zeke was all too happy to oblige.

She was slow, succumbing to her high while she grasped for meaning. He knew exactly who she was, of course – not just Tatyana, the vicious little thief who protected her precious pills with her life – but Tatyana Gorodetsky, Makari’s little angel until Vasiliev’s right hand man had the misfortune of dying in a car crash. And of course after that, the casino that purported to be heaven’s very gate simply did not have room for two little angels.

Her desperation was sweet, streaked with darker promises of vengeance if he twisted her just right. Zeke might not look it, Romani-blooded as he was, but his connections far surpassed the beleaguered undercity people he protected. Just as there was interest in a puppet like Cruz Vega, Zeke was certain something equally alluring might be cultivated from Tatyana. He grinned at her, wondering in her addled state if she saw the joyful expression of the coin, or the grinning terror of it. Zeke, he saw no difference.

His finger scooped under her chin, propping her up. “Deal,” he promised. It was a demon’s purr. No terms offered, but devils always wanted souls didn’t they? He let it sink in, meeting her eye for eye before she sank that final distance into stupor. Then he let her go.