“It’s not what you think,” I said.
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure it is.” Her complexion had gone pasty. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go puke.”
I considered holding her hair while she retched, but I knew that would only upset her more. Instead, I went into my bedroom and dialed Tommy. When he answered, I didn’t bother with ‘hello’. “You showed Jasmine the tattoo? Are you crazy?”
“I couldn’t stand lying to her anymore.” His voice held an edge.
So far, the truth had caused me nothing but headaches, making me wonder if honesty really was the best policy. “What happened?”
“Last night, Jas was so happy about her new job. She said that she wanted to find an apartment, so we could move in together. I want that too. More than anything! But I couldn’t do it without telling her the truth. She was bound to find out sooner or later.” He sighed, a sound of pure despair. “So I showed her the tat. She took one look at it and said we were through. What am I going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed.
“What if you told Jasmine what you are? I mean, if you convinced her that you’re a succubus, she might understand.” Hope put a spark in his voice. “Maybe you could even give her a demonstration.”
“Are you kidding me?” What did he expect me to do? Pick up strangers on street corners?
“Look, I know it sounds weird…”
“Weird? Try impossible.” I hated to throw water on his sand castle, but I had to make him understand. “First off, she’d never believe me. Not even with a demonstration. Secondly, you know Jasmine can’t keep her mouth shut! If I did convince her, she’d text my secret to everyone she knows.” I had a sudden image of trying to explain everything to my dad. And Ted. God! If he found out, he’d drag me into court and try to win full custody of Grace. “I’m sorry, Tommy, but I can’t.”
“I thought you said you’d do anything for me.”
“Anything but that.”
“Anything but that
and
letting me go,” he said and hung up the phone.
I put my head in my hands. Poor Tommy and Jasmine were reliving my dad and Evelyn’s nightmare. The allure of a succubus was driving them apart.
If only I could release my hold on him! Once again, I wondered why my succubus had sunk her claws into Tommy so deeply. It probably had something to do with my damned contract. But if I got out of my contract...
I still had time to see Helen before Kate returned with Ariel. Hurrying into the kitchen, I took the grail from the kitty litter. I wiped it clean, then for good measure, used a can of Brasso from under the sink to polish the brass until it gleamed like gold.
Sick with anxiety, I went to see Helen.
My demon overlord sat at her desk sorting through an immense pile of papers. Seeing me, she glared from over the tops of her steel-rimmed reading glasses. “Shouldn’t you be working?”
“This will only take a minute.” I kept my voice steady, but my heart fluttered. I had to remind myself to breathe.
She took off her glasses. “Well?”
I cleared my throat. “I brought you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s something wonderful,” I said reverently. I still couldn’t believe I had found the missing grail! Carefully, I unwrapped the cloth I’d draped around it and held it up for Helen’s inspection. “Isn’t it marvelous?” I hung onto the cup tightly, terrified she would try to steal it without agreeing to my demands.
She frowned. “Marvelous? It looks like something you found in your neighbor’s trashcan.”
“It’s the holy grail!”
Her eyes widened as she recognized it. “Where did you find it?”
I hated to admit my theft, but I had a feeling the story would add to the icon’s value. “I stole it. From Heaven.”
Helen’s laughter is a terrible thing to hear, even when she’s happy. “How delightful! How utterly charming!” She stood up and reached for it.
I took a step backwards. “I’ll give it to you, but first you’ll have to agree to some conditions.”
That stopped her cold. “Are you attempting to bargain. With
me
?”
“Yes.” Although my knees trembled, I held my ground. “First, I want you to let William and me out of our contracts. I also want you to release Delilah. And I want my mother’s diary back.”
There. I’d said it. I figured Helen would give up the diary and probably me as well. I didn’t know about William, but his freedom was a deal breaker. Despite the bad energy flowing between us, I still wanted him out from under Helen’s thumb. Unfortunately, Delilah was my bargaining chip.
Helen’s lips twisted. “Let me see if I understand this. In order for me to have the holy grail, the very cup that Jesus himself drank from on the night before I got a hold of him, I need to release you and William from your contracts, hand over your mother’s diary, and let Delilah go?”
I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak.
She rubbed her index finger under her lower lip as she thought. Dark merriment danced in her eyes. When she opened her mouth, I tensed and held my breath.
She laughed.
She laughed so hard she nearly fell sideways. When she finished, she wiped tears from her eyes. “Did you
really
think that would work? Bribing me with a piece of worthless brass?”
“But…it’s the holy grail.” I looked at the object in my hands. “Isn’t it?”
“Of course it is,” Helen said. “But why would I want it?”
My eyes traveled to the bit of desiccated wood lying under the glass dome. “But you
love
your piece of the cross.”
“That’s because I won it from
Him
. I care nothing for the holy grail. Nice try, though.” She returned to her desk.
I gripped the grail with both hands. As my shock bled away, my temper surged. I’d gone through a lot of trouble,
a lot
of trouble, to get the damned thing and now Helen was chasing me away without so much as a reasonable counteroffer?
Then I realized I was holding a holy object that had come straight from Heaven itself. If ever there was a perfect weapon against a demon, this was it. With a strangled cry, I swung it at her.
I had been sure that Helen would burst into flames the moment the grail touched her. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Instead, it caught her squarely in the shoulder and made her stumbled forward a few steps. It didn’t slow her down, but it sure pissed her off.
She turned on me, eyes blazing. “
What
are you doing?”
I raised the grail over my head again, intending to beat her with it, but she plucked the cup from my hands. Her skin didn’t smoke or burn or turn to ash. She didn’t shriek or run away in terror. When she saw my stricken expression, she laughed again.
“Oh, you silly woman! Did you really think I’d be afraid of a little piece of brass?” When I didn’t reply, she asked, “Shall I pretend for you?” She backed away from the grail in mock horror. “Oh, no! The holy grail! Get it away! Get it away!”
I wilted under her derisive laughter.
Helen tutted in false sympathy. “Let me tell you a secret.” She came closer. “Do you know what I
really
enjoy?”
I remained silent.
“Watching the hope die in your eyes. It’s something I never tire of. For seven generations, I’ve seen it happen on the faces of all your relatives.” She put her finger under my chin and lifted it so that my eyes met hers. “Sarah only gave me that look once. For Carrie, it happened on three occasions. But you…you’ve delighted me at least a dozen times. Every time you build up your hope, I get to crush it and watch as the light in your eyes goes out. And once you’re gone, I’ll watch the same thing happen over and over again to your daughter.”
My spirits, which were low to begin with, sank even farther.
“That’s it,” Helen murmured as she watched me. “Give it up, Lilith. Let me see you suffer.”
I jerked my head away.
“Now, my lovely, I believe you have some temptations to work on. Get going.”
I rushed past Delilah’s desk. She called after me, but I didn’t answer. I flung open the door, charged into the hallway, and ran straight into William.
“Be careful,” he said angrily.
“Then get out of my way,” I said, my voice husky. My chest heaved with suppressed sobs.
“Eager to get to your next job, are you?” His eyes blazed. “How many hearts will you be breaking this time? A dozen? Two dozen?”
Delilah came out of her office carrying the tote bag. “Miss Spry said you forgot this.”
“What is it?” William asked.
“It’s the holy grail,” Delilah said, awed.
William’s eyebrows lifted. “
The
holy grail? What on earth were you doing with the holy grail, Lil?”
I snatched the bag away from Delilah. “Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing!” Delilah’s eyes were wide. “Lilith stole the holy grail out of Heaven because she thought she could buy our freedom.” When I glared at her, she shrugged. “Miss Spry has a very loud voice. It wasn’t hard to overhear.”
“You tried to buy
our
freedom?” William asked, stunned.
“That’s right,” I said. “I’m not half the demon bitch you seem to think I am.” I stormed down the hallway.
He chased after me. “Lilith! Lil, wait!”
I ignored him and continued on. Lucky for William, he didn’t follow me. If he had, I might have swung the heavy grail at
his
head.
Utterly defeated, I dragged myself through the otherworld doorway leading to my basement and sagged against the wall. It was tempting to stay down there all day in order to avoid Jas and Tommy and William and everyone else. Despite the cobwebs and the bare, cement walls, the basement wasn’t so bad, really. It was cool and dim and the dryer made a comforting, steady hum. If I brought down a cot and a reading lamp, it would actually be quite cozy. Maybe I should just move in permanently…
The sound of sniffling brought me up short. As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I noticed a figure next to the washing machine. Corrine. Her face was buried in her hands, so thankfully she hadn’t seen me walk in from the otherworld.
Despite the fact she’d turned into a crazed home-party representative, my downstairs neighbor wasn’t a terrible person. In fact, before the Naughty Nancy nightmare, I’d enjoyed her company quite a bit.
“Corrine? You okay?”
I spoke softly, so as not to startle her, but her head jerked up. “Lilith? I didn’t hear you come downstairs.” She wiped her face and stood straighter. “I’ve got one more load for the dryer, then it’s all yours.”
Her plastic smile didn’t fool me. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Her smile cracked in half. “No, I’m not!” she wailed. “You were so right about the whole Naughty Nancy thing! Not only can’t I book a single party, my friends and family refuse to talk to me. My own mother won’t take my calls!”
“That’s because you’ve been stalking us like a piranha in a goldfish pond!”
“What if I promised to tone down my technique? Would you host a party then?”