30 Ways to Fool an Angel (Tales of a Midlife Witch #7)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

I watched with a smile as Tony walked off to look for runaways.

The man I’d blinded and healed was still coming out of his shock.

He pointed to Tony. “What manner of being is yer companion? I can see he’s an Ancient One, but something’s different about him.”

I turned away from Tony to talk to the man. “I call him an angel but he denies being one.”

“Ya’re the angel, lass,” the man said, staring at my wings.

The fear that I might have been a demon was in the expressions of several of his co-workers as they looked on and listened.

Both of my eyebrows lifted. “So you can see my wings?”

“Yes,” he said, answering cautiously. “Am I not supposed to see them? True sight runs in my family.”

True sight? I made a mental note to ask Gigi what that meant.

I smiled at him. “I believe you. Will you take a picture of my wings for me? You took my phone when you put me in prison before. Don’t worry, though. I won’t fight you now because I know you’ve lost the urge to do that.”

Hoping that statement was true for all the people I froze, I released the two restraining him. Once his arms were free of them, he pulled out a phone and snapped a quick shot. After studying it with a confused expression, he took a few more. “Sorry. The camera on my phone appears to be broken.”

I shook my head and sighed. “Let me guess. My wings don’t show up in pictures.” Guess the ring was a fan of vampire movies.

He shrugged as he fiddled with his phone. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

I knew it was the ring, but it would do me no good to explain it to him. It could cloak itself from anyone it chose.

I smiled and shrugged to let him know I would not make his life any harder because he failed to get a picture. “This is not a new problem for me. Thanks for trying. I appreciate it.”

The man kept staring at me. “I don’t have my da’s gift of knowing the right words to say, but ya look like Lady Lucifer with yer black wings and dark hair. When ya were talking to yer patron deity, yer wings turned transparent like the sexy lace knickers ya women wear in the boudoir.”

I was proud of myself for not rolling my eyes. Lovely. My wings looked like sexy lingerie. Tony had said nothing except that they were dark.

“Thanks,” I chirped in a too-friendly tone. “We should probably help your friends. Prince Ezra bound you all with a spell to do his bidding. That won’t be happening again, but not all of you are free of it yet. My mother’s office heard rumors the Shadow Breakers here were in danger of unraveling their organization. You might want to get the word out that the fairy exerted his power over you all.”

“Did we harm ya when we put ya in prison, lass?” he asked.

“No, but you harmed my grandmother. You turned her into a zombie.”

He winced. “Sorry about that. Who’s yer grandmother?”

My wings chose that moment to disappear. Their retraction was just as painful as it had been the first time. I called out in pain and then looked up at him. “Are they gone now?”

“Is what gone?” the man asked, looking at me strangely.

Ah... so people forgot them immediately. I wouldn’t chastise the ring because I could see how forgetfulness could be a good thing sometimes.

I waved a hand. “Your former boss had you put a zombie spell on Bridgette O’Malley. She’s my grandmother.”

“ Bloody hell. Mrs. O’Malley will curse us all. What kind of spell did ya say she was under?”

“I’m not a witch so I don’t know the name of it. She let your people physically haul me out of her house without lifting a finger. She acted like it was no big deal.”

The man scrubbed his face with his hands. “The woman is powerful and well-respected by the magickal community. This is very bad .”

I lifted a hand. “I’ll explain to my grandmother that you were enchanted by the fairy. She knows Ezra. It won’t be hard to convince her of his wicked actions.”

He pointed a finger at me. “ Good Goddess, ya’re Aran O’Malley’s daughter by that eejit who fancied himself a demon hunter. Oh... sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken about yer da that way.”

I snorted. “It’s alright. I have no illusions about my father. I’m Fiona, by the way.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet ya, Fiona. My name’s Jude. How did ya know how to free us?”

Now that the pain in my shoulders had receded, I discovered I could stand straight again. As I pulled my body upright, Tony’s lie rushed into my head and came out of my mouth. “Your Goddess Danu sent me to help you get over the fairy’s evil influence. I’m glad things worked out.”

Angels lying to hide their magic seemed wrong on so many levels. But what did I care? I wasn’t a practitioner of any religion.

Jude nodded soberly. “Did the prince truly try to kill yer mother? The prince always spoke so highly of her.”

The roots of the fairy’s betrayal ran very deep. “I can only share what Mom told me. Prince Ezra wanted the power of an artifact her gods gave her. Mom magickly stored the artifact inside her body to keep my father from stealing it a second time. Stealing it the first time was one of the main reasons my parents divorced.”

“Yer mother is a legend here,” he said. “So was Prince Ezra.”

I smiled kindly at Jude. “One man’s evil behavior is often the action of another’s savior. I imagine you will find some among you who will never believe Ezra did anything wrong.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

I shrugged at Jude’s admission. Being right didn’t help me. Jude’s understanding that they all had been mistaken about Ezra did.

“Mom said Ezra did what he did for the sake of his people and his family. She wasn’t being sentimental because she’s not that kind of person. Also, she said killing him would start a war with the fairies.”

“It likely would have,” Jude said. “Come into HQ so we can get things sorted for ya. First off, ya’ll need to get yer belongings back. Also, ya need the help of those who laid the spell on yer granny. They can remove it fastest. Bring yer Ancient One with ya if ya want. We don’t mind since he seems to want to help ya.”

“Why do you call him that?” I asked.

“Because no one understands where they come from, what they do, or even why they’re here. They intervene in our affairs but not necessarily when we need them to. They never explain themselves and never correct us. Rumor is yer mother is bedding one—no offense. Bloody hell, I can’t seem to discuss this without embarrassing ya.”

I smiled at Jude. “You’re not causing me any discomfort at all. My mother and I have an agreement to stay out of each other’s romantic lives. I don’t give her lovers any thought.”

Jude laughed without humor. “Yeah? How does that work? My mother is on me all the time about mine. She wants grandchildren and none of her brood has given her any yet. As the oldest, I’m her greatest disappointment.”

Shrugging, I looked away so he wouldn’t see my eyes as I answered. “My mother battles demons for a living. They keep her too busy to dwell on her lack of grandchildren.”

“Lucky you,” Jude said with a low masculine chuckle.

Everything I’d told him was the truth, even if my relationship with Mom was changing as I grew older. I wasn’t about to tell this man anything about Mom’s life that I didn’t have to reveal.

Plus, I liked the guardian. Mom came out of prison bitter and angry. Rasmus occasionally put a smile on her face, but his presence had permanently returned her to being the mother I loved.

She might work with these Shadow Breakers people, but none of them needed to know her personal business. Just like they didn’t need to know mine.

Jude held the door open so I could walk inside their main building before him. “Do ya need to find yer angelic shadow before we tackle finding the others?”

“Tony will find me when he’s finished looking for your people who ran off. He’ll freeze them, and the spell should be gone when it wears off. I fear nothing will fix the ones naturally loyal to the fairy. You’ll have to dissuade them in your own way.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that, but we’ll see yer family isn’t bothered anymore. It’s the least we can do to pay back yer help,” Jude said with a chuckle as he led her inside.