Chapter 17
17
Invi
I hadn’t seen Nicole for two days now. I couldn’t even come close to where she was. I couldn’t talk to her. I had no way of finding out how she was other than excessively questioning the souls who went to Gul’s endless parties. And question I did.
From Gul’s guests, I’d learned that Nic usually sat quietly, away from the main party somewhere, mostly alone or talking to a soul or two. Some were upset that despite Gul’s best efforts, she hadn’t cheered up enough to join the party or have fun.
She wasn’t happy, and I had to change it.
I’d promised to take her home. I’d promised to set her free. And I was dead set on doing it, even if the whole of Purgatory stood in my way.
With that firm determination on my mind, I climbed the deliberately difficult to navigate path up to Avar’s mountain and slammed my fist against his massive entrance door.
“Now what?” Avar opened the door, already naked but still in his human form that was about half my normal height.
I smirked, looking down at him. “Well, hello there, little one.”
“Fuck off.” Avar returned to his front hall but left the door open for me to enter.
“Welcome back.” I moved forward, pulling my tail in.
“Thanks, we just got in. Maddy is still resting after the journey. She always passes out on the way and needs a minute or two to recuperate. And here you are, showing up even before my cat did. What do you want now? This again?”
He took the magical moonstone ring off his finger. Immediately, his shape grew. The human skin turned transparent, blending completely into Avar’s shimmering purple self. The horns, the feelers, and the tentacles sprouted from all their usual places. In only a moment or two, my brother looked like a monster he was born to be.
Yet when Madison bounced down the path around the mountain, there was nothing but adoration on her smiling face as she looked at him.
“I’ll make a lasagna for dinner—” she paused, noticing me still lingering by the door, because it took forever to drag my fucking tail in, which was one of the reasons I had no doors in my place.
“How are you feeling, my treasure?” Avar asked her.
“I’m good. About to make dinner,” she replied, not taking her eyes from me. “Hello, Invi.” She furtively slid a cautious glance down my tail.
Until now, I had always made the effort to shift to a humanoid form in Madison’s presence, to make it easier for her to accept me. But Nic accepted me just the way I was, and I saw no reason to hide my true appearance from anyone anymore.
“Good evening, Madison.” I gave her a bow like every lady deserved to be greeted with. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“Take your fucking pleasure elsewhere,” Avar grumped.
“I’ll be glad to,” I assured him. “But only after I speak with you.”
“Well, I’ll go make that lasagna.” Madison made to leave but then paused to ask me, “Will you join us for dinner, Invi?”
There was no fear or repulsion in her eyes, only some curiosity as she cast another furtive glance at my tail. She must know there was no reason for her to be afraid of me, and with Avar in the room, she clearly felt completely at ease—fearless.
“I’m honored by the invitation,” I replied. “But sadly I’m already engaged elsewhere this evening.”
“Well, maybe some other time then? It was very nice seeing you, Invi.”
I inclined my head as she turned around to leave.
“Stop staring at her,” Avar growled when Madison disappeared up the path. Apparently, I hadn’t averted my eyes fast enough for his liking.
I was no stranger to the feeling of jealousy, but Avar almost had me beat in that department.
“I can’t speak with a woman without at least making some eye contact with her, can I?” I snapped.
“She doesn’t have eyes on her ass,” he retorted.
“I wasn’t even looking at her ass. I—” I brushed him off in frustration. “Listen, Avar, I’m not interested in Madison.”
“Sure you aren’t,” he scoffed.
Avar’s cat snuck in through a small swinging door in the bottom of the front entrance that I hadn’t even noticed until now. Did Avar add a special door for the cat? That was ridiculous. But then again, I had built a dam up the creek near my house, so that my ducks had a nice pond to swim in whenever they wished.
“Ahh, there you are, Keeper,” Avar murmured affectionately, petting the cat with a tentacle. “Run up to the kitchen, buddy. Mommy has some treats for you there.”
“Mommy?” I smirked. “If Madison is his mommy, does that make you the cat’s daddy?”
Avar shrugged, unfazed. “Just the cat’s for now.”
“What do you mean, for now? Don’t tell me—” I stared at him, speechless from the realization setting in. “Are you…”
“Not yet.” Avar laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. “But Maddy and I have talked about it. The ring turns me into a human with all the reproductive functions included. Things are going great at the restaurant. We’re considering trying for a baby at some point in the future.”
He sounded so much like a human man at that moment, it sent chills down my back.
“Well, wow…” I rubbed my forehead, momentarily lost for words. “Are you seriously considering making a new mortal body to house a soul?”
He laughed. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound nearly as lovely and magical as when Maddy talks about it. But yes, by having a baby, we would be giving a new body to a soul that we would then get to nurture from birth and hopefully raise into a decent human being.”
“Good luck with that,” I wished him without a hint of teasing or sarcasm.
I had serious concerns about the huge undertaking that Avar was considering. The mortal sins were not meant to birth and raise humans. But we weren’t meant to have mortal bodies, either. Yet Avar had one on a regular basis now, going freely back and forth between the worlds.
That was what I actually came to talk to him about.
“I need your help, Avar.”
“No.” He shook his head adamantly. “No ring. No potion. Don’t even ask.”
“It’s not for me.”
He paused his stare on me in bewilderment. “For whom then?”
“For a human woman I brought to Purgatory while you were gone.”
The feelers of Avar’s beard flared up in agitation.
“Oh for the love of all that’s holy, you actually did it! You went ahead and did exactly what I told you not to do. Why? Because I have Maddy, and you just couldn’t suffer that, could you?”
“It had nothing to do with Maddy. Well, it stopped having anything to do with her the moment I laid my eyes on Nicole.”
“So, you brought her here? And now what?” He stared at me expectantly.
“She wants to go back home.”
“No surprise there. Poor woman. Where is she?”
“At Gul’s. He warded his place from me. I can’t even see her. But I promised her to take her home when you returned to Purgatory. I need the potion so that I can fulfill my promise. Whatever you want from me in return, just ask, and I’ll do it.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, giving me an unimpressed look. “So, you don’t like her anymore and want to get rid of her? Is that it?”
“No. It’s not it at all. I love her,” I blurted out.
The moment I said it, I knew it was true. I loved Nic with every fiber of my being. I’d do anything to make her happy. I’d sign a thousand-year servitude contract with Avar just to give her what she wanted.
“You what? ” He nearly choked on the word.
“I love her. Why is it so hard to believe? You love Madison, don’t you?”
“But you can’t say you love somebody just because you want what Maddy and I have.”
“I don’t want what you have. I want exactly what Nicole and I have built in the little time we’ve had together. I wish for it to grow and bloom. But for that, we both need to be in a better place, and for Nicole that place is not Purgatory. I love her so much that I want her happy no matter the cost. I love her so much that I want her free, even if that means I may lose her.”
Avar propped his hands on his hips, staring at me for a long moment. I held his stare, hiding nothing.
“Interesting,” he finally said. “Of all my brothers, somehow, I never imagined it’d be you to fall in love, but here we are. Well, the wrong you did to her needs to be righted. If she wants to go back, I’ll give her the potion.”
He headed up the path with the glass cabinets on both sides that displayed the many items of his humongous collection.
I followed him to the cabinet with a glass carafe inside. It contained the familiar burgundy liquid—the transcendence potion that allowed both humans and sins to travel back to the world of mortals.
Avar took the carafe out, then produced a small vial from a silver box inside the cabinet.
“How are you going to give it to her if Gul warded his place against you?” he asked, pouring some of the potion into the vial. “Why did he do it, anyway? Have you two had a fight or something?”
I rubbed the back of my neck.
“It’s a long story. Let’s just say he believes Nicole belongs to him.”
“And you’re convinced she’s yours?”
“I want her to be mine. But it’s her choice to make.”
“Well, I’m not getting between Gul and you. I don’t know enough about this situation to take sides. But if the woman wants to go home, she should. Do you know how to give this to her?” He handed me the vial with the potion, then lifted a finger in warning. “And don’t you ask me for a ward breaker. I’m not lending it out to anyone anymore. Not after Charity and her posse broke into my house and vandalized this place.”
“I don’t need the ward breaker,” I assured him. “I’ll find a way to get the potion to Nic without it.” I enclosed him in a quick hug, my chest warming with genuine gratitude. “Thank you, brother.”
“Alright, alright.” He patted my back before releasing me from the embrace. “Go, free your woman.”
“Oh, speaking about freeing…” I uncoiled my tail, ready to head back down the mountain. “Could you let Lux out of your basement, please? I almost forgot about him.”
Avar’s jaw dropped.
“Lux? What is he doing in my basement?” His voice dropped to a threatening rumble. “Invi, what did you do this time? What the fuck happened here in my absence?”
A lot of things, but I had no time to recount them all.
“You know how irresistible Lux can be when he wants something. I didn’t need him to further complicate things that were complicated enough already. I put the basement key back under that tall sharp rock by the lilac bush. Just keep in mind, he’s probably pretty angry by now. He’s spent a few days locked in there.”
The cat sauntered down the path, licking his whiskers.
“Can you believe it, Keeper?” Avar shook his head. “The scoundrel stole my basement key and locked up our brother. Do you ever feel ashamed, Invi?”
“Sometimes. A little.” I smirked. “Just the appropriate amount of shame for a mortal sin to feel. Oh, and about this cat…” I shook my rattle, making it vibrate before gently rubbing the cat’s neck with it. “I’ll need to borrow the horologe too.”