We strolled out of the sanctuary. The grandmother and grandson lit a candle together for a lost loved one before scooting into the cold evening. I’d refused to light a candle for Jude over the past three weeks of stricken grief. He was not
gone
. Lost, but not gone.
Uriel stood strong and tall. The candles flickered behind him, playing on the edges of his wings, which I could see as if through a gossamer web. His golden underlight shimmered by candlelight.
“I will do everything I can for you, Genevieve,” he said with heartfelt conviction, offering his hand for me to shake.
When I took it, his power rippled through me like a flame, not so dissimilar from what I sensed from Jude. But then again, Uriel was his maker. He was the maker of all the Dominus Daemonum. The one who gave the hunters a second chance at redemption.
I sandwiched his hand between both of mine. This man, this archangel, had given Jude a second chance at life when he’d saved him from hell at his making. And now, he offered to save him a third time.
“You have no idea how much this means to me,” I whispered. “Please.
Please
do everything you can to get that elixir.”
The room lit with golden radiance as he lifted his cast of illusion. I let go and stepped back in complete awe as he spread wide his white, golden-tipped wings.
“I promise, Vessel of Light. I will do everything in my power.”
With a whipping crack, he sifted away, leaving George and me alone in the dark and cold corridor. For a full minute, we said nothing in the wake of Uriel’s magnificent exit.
“So you have a way in. But what about a way out?” asked George.
When George, Jude and I had battled a horde of demons at Glastonbury Abbey, I’d been able to summon a human’s soul that had been buried deep in his own body for almost two centuries. The demon who’d taken possession of him in the early 1800s was expelled from the body when I beckoned the human’s soul forward. It was an innate power I didn’t know I could wield. I hoped with all my heart this power could also summon a soul eater from whatever realm she currently wandered.
“I have a plan.” It was a risky one, but I had confidence it would work.
“Would you like to share this plan with me?”
“Not really.”
With an exasperated sigh, he tucked his hands in his coat pockets. “Fine. I trust you know what you’re doing.”
I hoped I did.
“Shall I escort you back to Jude’s?” he asked.
“No. I have dinner plans with my dad and Mindy.”
“Do you want some company?”
I laughed as we stepped outside, the nightlife beginning to buzz through the Square. A tarot card reader had set up her round table with purple muslin scarves draped on top. I wished I could take a seat and have her pull a fortune card that said everything would be all right. But there was no fortune teller to give me any guarantees.
“It was difficult enough to explain Jude to my dad,” I said, offering George a friendly tap with my elbow, hands in pockets. “I wouldn’t know where to begin with you.”
“Very well,” he said, the charm returning to his tone. “I know when I’m not wanted. Let it not be said I ever pressed myself against a lady’s wishes.”
I pulled George into a hug. Hesitantly, his arms came around me.
“Thank you, George. I know this is hard for you. I know you miss him too. Just trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“I do, darling girl.” He gave me a good squeeze. “I do.”
Chapter Four
“Ohhhh, whooaaaa, sweet child of mi-eeeiiiine.” Mindy drew out Axel Rose’s chorus in exaggerated glee. Pretty much how she hopped through all aspects of life. I loved the girl. “Whoohoo! I love Way-back Wednesday. They play the coolest stuff.”
I zipped my coupe through evening traffic down St. Charles Avenue, nearly missing a UPS truck making his holiday route well into the evening. I felt a pang of guilt, not yet having bought one Christmas gift. I loved this time of year. Usually, I’d be the first one to have my shopping done, gifts wrapped and under the tree.
“Earth to Genevieve?” Mindy snapped her fingers in front of my face, then turned down the radio.
“What? What did you say?”
“Jeez, girl. Talk about distracted. Now I know why you complain when I’m in Dave depravation mode.”
Her boyfriend, Dave, did indeed seem to complete her world. When he was gone, she could pout and whine better than anyone. But Mindy could always make the best of things, no matter what. Of course, there was no making the best of things when your man wasn’t simply on holiday with his rich parents in Aspen.
“Sorry,” I said, trying for a truly repentant smile. “My mind’s been wandering a little.”
“A little? You obviously don’t know the meaning of the word. I knew you were into Jude, but I didn’t know you had it this bad.”
“Yeah. I’ve got it pretty bad.” I careened around a corner, heading into my dad’s subdivision.
“Have y’all talked about, like, marriage and stuff?”
Mindy’s wide blue eyes got that glassy look any time the mere mention of white, satin or wedding cakes came up in conversation. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah. We’ve…discussed it.”
Actually, we’d tied the knot, but I couldn’t tell her. My relationship with Jude was so complex. I couldn’t explain how I knew he was the only one I’d ever love after a mere few months of knowing him. And I certainly couldn’t tell her now that he was MIA, especially since I had no idea how long it would take for me to bring him back.
“Ooooooo,” she gushed. “You have? Do tell.”
“Come on, Mindy. Not now.”
“Oh, sorry. Right. I forgot we were being depressed over our absent boyfriends at the moment.”
I pulled up the driveway and came to a stop behind Dad’s Ford truck. We both got out.
“I’m not being depressed. I’m just—” Exhausted, afraid, angry.
“I know, I know. You miss him. I get it. It’s just funny to see you so wrapped up in a guy.” She tied the wrap of her long cream cardigan tighter around her waist.
I’d left my sword at home tonight, carrying only the concealed daggers in my boots. Jude had cast a protective ward around my dad’s house and I’d demanded George strengthen them recently, so I packed light when I came home. Sometimes I needed to be the girl I was before this all started. Of course, I could never let my guard down completely. But I felt lighter all the same as we walked through the back gate to the entrance off the kitchen.
The second I stepped inside, my VS hummed a steady electric charge. It always did when I was at my dad’s. Something to do with the wards Jude had set around the house or something.
Dad stirred a pot over the stove, giving us a beaming smile when we walked in. “There are my girls!”
He tapped the wooden spoon and set it aside, then pulled me into a big bear hug. He smelled of roux and Old Spice and home. I nearly choked out a sob at the warmth that filled me. He brushed a kiss on my cheek, then gave Mindy the same treatment.
“Now aren’t I the luckiest man alive to have such pretty dinner dates?”
Mindy giggled, always falling for Dad’s silly charm.
The back door opened behind us. “Greetings to the house. I come bearing gifts.”
“Erik,” I said with a smile.
He waved with the French bread in hand. Erik was a family friend and basically an adopted son for my father. His own parents had died years ago up north. When he came down here to work in wetlands research, Dad had given him a job at the dojo, and Erik had just wheedled his way into Dad’s heart. And mine. I had no other siblings. Erik was the brother I never had.
“So.” He arched a brow at me after a swift hug. “The prodigal daughter returns?”
I punched him in the shoulder. Though tall and gangly, he was fitter than his physique let on. I’d sparred with him often enough to know.
“I’ve only been away from the dojo a few weeks.”
After Jude was taken, I was unable to focus on helping out at the dojo. I’d been planting the seed of my biggest and most elaborate lie yet, that I’d enrolled in a student-abroad program for next semester. So I explained I’d been tied up with application essays, paperwork with the arts and sciences department, and packing what I’d need for a full semester abroad. Dad had accepted my lies without the batting of an eyelash. Erik…not so much. He knew I was up to something, but thankfully, he never pried too much. Just enough to annoy me.
It wasn’t entirely untrue. I would be abroad. As a matter of fact, I’d been spending most of the past few weeks at Jude’s cottage on the Isle of Arran in Scotland.
Our
cottage, I should say. Mira would be growing antsy if I didn’t return soon. We hadn’t been separated this long since her birth. The agonizing moment when Jude was ripped from my life, I’d sifted directly to the cottage and curled on the floor in a ball of grief. A burning warmth had traveled from inside my abdomen up out of my chest. The glowing orb of brilliant white light transformed into Mira—a snowy white hawk. But not an earthly hawk. My spawn. A fey being made from the Flamma of Light. I’d been with her on the island most of the time since Jude had been gone.
I’d only recently come back to town to see Dommiel. When I went to Jude’s house in the French Quarter afterward, I needed to be surrounded by his things, to feel his presence all around me. I’d slept in his bed, remembering the many nights we’d lain there, talking, kissing, cuddling…more.
Mindy and I were roommates, but we’d both been shacking up with our boyfriends for months now. She only commented once since he’d been gone, asking where Jude was. Since his business of authenticating rare weapons often took him traveling out of state, I had an easy excuse. As long as Mindy and I checked in with each other daily by cell, there were no worries between us.
“And where’s this famous boyfriend of yours?” Erik smirked. “I figured he’d be here for the last supper and all.”
“God, Erik,” I said with a frown. “Don’t make it sound so dire.”
“Yeah, she’s only going to England,” said Mindy. “Eeeeee!” she squealed. “I can’t wait till Mardi Gras break! I’m making Mom buy me my plane ticket to London for Christmas.”
My dad clutched his chest. “Mindy, sweetheart. I’m an old man. Please don’t make that sound again.”
“You’re not old, Mr. Drake. You’re like fine wine. Men like you get better with age.”
My dad actually blushed. “Well now…on that thought, I better finish dinner for my ladies. And, of course…you, um, Erik.”
I smiled. My dad flustered was possibly the most adorable thing in the world. For a strapping forty-something man who did indeed seem to grow finer with age, he had no clue how his bashfulness made him even more endearing.
“Smells good, Dad. Gumbo?”
“Seafood gumbo.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a pint of raw oysters. “Why don’t y’all grab a beer and head into the living room. It’ll be ready soon.”
I grabbed three Heinekens for us before taking his advice. Dad already had the television tuned to the holiday music station. Michael Buble crooned “Let It Snow”, which I always found to be ironic for us down here in the Deep South. It never snowed. If it did, it was once in a very long while,
maybe
leaving enough sleet-snow to scrape off cars to build a mini-snowman. Still, the song meant the holidays no matter where you lived.
Mindy plopped onto the leather sofa. I did the same. She took a deep swig. I pretended to drink mine, refusing to give Mindy a reason to interrogate me why I wasn’t drinking. She could play the ditzy one, but she was quite perceptive. She smiled, then wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“I know. I’m going to miss you too.” My stomach flip-flopped when I thought of where I was really going. As much bravado as I showed to George, I was terrified I’d go into the underworld and never return. I blinked back the sudden tears stinging behind my eyes.
“Awwww.” Mindy leaned in for a one-armed hug, both of us still holding our beers. “Don’t be sad. You’re going to have such an awesome time. I just wish you could go after Christmas.”
Another lie. I needed to cut ties now. As soon as Uriel got what I needed, I was heading into hell.
“I know. But they like to get you set up in your hall of residence and get the orientation over with before the semester begins.”
Erik sat on a love seat on the other side of the coffee table. He brushed his brown hair, which always seemed to hang in his eyes, off his forehead. He sipped on the Heineken. “So what are you studying?”
“Oh, the usual.”
“Like?”
“Honestly, I haven’t chosen the courses yet. My advisor gave me a list to choose from that would meet the requirements on my transcript.” Lie. Lie. Lie.
“Mm-hmm.”
I pretended I didn’t know what he was alluding to, admiring the brightly lit Christmas tree we’d decorated together a few weeks back.
“I’ve got to go potty,” said Mindy, setting her beer down and bouncing toward the hallway.
Erik shook his head at her. “She just says whatever she thinks, doesn’t she?”