Free Charm City (The Demon Whisperer Book 1) by Ash Krafton

until it was a blur, lost deep in her own thoughts. "So that's where the money comes from. You get a... referral fee."
    Simon suddenly smiled, cheeky and wide.
    "Clever girl, you are. You didn't think I made a dishonest living, did you?" He shook his head. "Show a girl your mug shot and she never forgets it."

 
    The sky was mottled with thick clumps of cloud swatches of deep blue peeping out in spots. Simon shifted the van into park on the side of a long stretch of highway, scanning the tree line. This felt like the right spot. Mack's angelic GPS was usually right on.
    Chiara squinted in the same direction. "What are you doing?"
    "Watching. Mack said he'd be here." He pushed up his sleeve to check his watch. Okay, more than watch. Also had compass orientation: the usual N-S-E-W, latitude, longitude, planetary positions. You know , he'd say. The basics. At any rate, he was in the right place at the right time.
    A shaft of sunlight suddenly pierced the cloud cover, sending down a broad, shining stream.
    "Ah, knew it was coming." He grinned. "You can smell it."
    She sniffed experimentally. "I don't smell anything out of the ordinary."
    "Of course, you can't. You're a divinity. It would be like trying to smell your own breath. Now, come on."
    He hopped out of the van, lighting a stick of chicory and tossing the smoking twig over his shoulder. Without even a glance behind him, he jogged across the grass toward the trees, heading toward the spot where the shifting beams of sunlight pulsed and shone down like a shimmering curtain.
    "Where are you going?" She called after him, carefully stepping through the grass behind him.
    "You wanted to see what Mack's all about," he said. "This is the perfect explanation."
    He led her through the thin scrub of birch and laurel bushes, using the bright sky as a compass.
    "I don't understand." Chiara stooped to avoid the thin branches that picked at her, snagging her hair like nasty little fingers. "We're following the sunshine?"
    "Not just any old sunshine," Simon called over his shoulder at her. "That's a Jacob's Ladder. Quaint Bible story, you'll remember; Jacob fell asleep on a stone and dreamed of a great golden ladder, upon which angels ascended and descended. He called it a Gateway to Heaven. Later on, the Christ recognized the brilliance of the imagery and referred to himself as the Divine Ladder."
    They emerged from the woods at a patch of meadow, open field. Less than a hundred yard away, the sunbeams fell upon the grass in a sunny puddle. Quite like finding the end of the rainbow, gold and all. He glanced over at her, interested in seeing her reaction.
    Chiara's mouth made a tiny O of wonder.
    Grinning, he dug a cigarette out of the pack and crumpled the wrapper. "Thing is, it wasn't a dream, and it wasn't a ladder. Jacob was the son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Living descendant of the man who made a covenant with God. As such, he was aware of the existence of a real, living god and that knowledge causes the ability to see divinities. Angels. What he saw was a shaft of light, just like that one, and the angels that traverse it."
    "Mother talked about angels, the stories her ancestors told. The Ladder is the only connection between Heaven and Earth, just as a hell gate is the only connection between Hell and Earth."
    "Hell gates have never been proven to exist." He raised a lecturing finger toward her. "I have it on good authority."
    "You need proof to believe in something?"
    "Actually, I do." Simon nodded. "We'll agree to disagree on the gate thing but you're right about the Ladder. It's how earth-bound angels communicate with the boys upstairs."
    "So Mack can get up to Heaven on that shaft of light?"
    "Mack? Nah, not him. He's literally earth-bound. A Watcher. That's why you can't really see his wings. His job is to keep an eye on us wretched mortals and report back. He's over there, right now, talking to one of the messengers, who will slide back on up to get his next orders."
    She