Chapter Six
The Harcourte Home
Same Time
Friday Morning
A t his name even being brought up, Jolie was fully focused on that and only that. What she knew was Mathew had died in Paris, and her mates had told her that they didn’t know what had happened.
Yet, now, Flynn looked wary, and that told her one thing. It was suspicious, and there was definitely more to this story than had been let on.
What was going on?
This was off.
When Flynn wouldn’t look at her that was the first clue. Now, he was displaying the one thing that always made a wife’s radar go off.
Guilt.
She could smell it in the air.
A wife always knew when her husband was not telling her something, and her two men…
Yeah, something was up.
Jolie would bet on it.
As she was about to go there, the tear in the fabric of time and space opened, and Death stepped through. He was in his regular clothes, proving he was straddling both worlds the best he could.
“You called?” he asked Flynn.
Jolie noticed he, too, was not looking at her, but instead, focused only on his partner in crime.
Yeah, these two were up to something.
As always, all around them, every vampyre dropped to its knees, and they kept their head down to the ground as their master made his appearance .
How come no one does that for me? Rinnon asked. People used to. I had temples and…
Flynn stopped him.
Jolie is about to crucify us as soon as she finds out Jacques and I put Mathew down to keep her safe. Can you calm your ego down for a few minutes so we can figure out a way not to die by her hand?
He made a sound that was indicative of him being cranky, but Rinnon knew enough about a pissed-off mate to not rock the boat anymore.
Thankfully.
Flynn glanced over at the family who had dropped to the ground.
“You guys can get up. It’s only Jacques,” he offered, but no one moved.
Okay, he got it.
He wasn’t just that man to the rest of the vampyres, but instead, he was their creator. Only, they had other problems now, and all of them were about their mate.
“Can you?” he asked Jacques, who glanced over at the kneeling vampyres. “It’s a spectacle.”
He did what the man asked, simply because they needed to handle this. He was a busy, busy Death. He was trying to find answers.
Oh, and not get his ass kicked by Jolie.
“Get up,” Jacques said, and the vampyres, even the ones in their family that knew him before he became Death, were still wary and moved slowly.
Since she missed him, Mina headed his way, proving that humans weren’t scared of shit.
Without an ounce of concern, she hugged him.
“We missed you,” she said, smiling up at him. “Welcome home, Jacques. It’s about time you visited.”
He kissed her in the middle of the forehead.
“Same, Mina, but as of late, when I pay anyone a visit, it’s not for good reasons,” he admitted. “We all know that.”
Honestly, she didn’t care. This was her friend, and they were family .
Next up was her mate, and while he still felt the power and fear that Death brought to the table, Percy was a guardian, and he wasn’t going to back down.
He hugged him next.
“Master, we missed you,” he said. “Where’s the fancy suit? Slumming it with the family?”
That the man let him that close to him, and to hug him was a testament to his testicular fortitude. You didn’t let Death get that close.
He could get reap-happy at any second.
I rarely do that, Flynn.
It could happen.
You have a point.
Jacques laughed.
“Percy, I’m trying not to make Flynn look shlumpy. He needs help when he picks out his clothing. Jolie has to still pick out his underwear.”
“Har-har. You’re funny, but we have a problem,” he said.
Thankfully, his mother and father were able to read a room, and they were staying back a bit until they handled this mess.
Jacques was ready.
“You needed me?” he asked his mate, already knowing what this was going to be about. He could feel the confusion coming off of his mate.
Jolie was going to be pissy.
Well, she’d have to adjust to it.
“I did.”
Before he could say more, Jolie was on the scent, and ready to figure this out.
“Why are you guys suddenly blocking off your minds?” Jolie asked her husbands. “What is going on? They said Mathew, and you panicked. That’s off to me, and I need an explanation.”
Before he could handle that, he needed to deal with the two people behind him that the whole family was watching with fear. They didn’t like strangers, and it was his job to reassure them .
Here went everything.
Flynn faced the family.
“Everyone, this is my mother and father. They were dead and aren’t now. You don’t have to fear them. They aren’t going to hurt you.”
He hoped.
“You can trust them. I’ll let Vanth explain while we have a private conversation with Jolie over the whole Mathew thing, and then, we’ll get down to this mess.”
The family got it.
Out of respect, they bowed, and the vampyres waited for Flynn’s parents to head toward them. Percy was the one who welcomed them.
“Let’s go make some tea. Your son will be in shortly. Come.”
They didn’t argue.
What everyone did do was get the hell out of Dodge, knowing that there was going to be a marital dispute of some kind.
They were the smartest creatures there.
When they were alone, Flynn faced down his wife and prepared for the worst-case scenario.
A neutering.
“We need to tell you something. Jacques and I have information that we didn’t share with you.”
“Okay. What?” she asked.
I want to go on the record and say I was innocent in all of this. I was stuck going for the ride. I’m the alibi. Or is that the getaway driver?
“Rinnon! Shut up,” Flynn said. “You were just as culpable.”
Jolie lifted a brow when she heard her other mate in her head. Yeah, she’d been right.
This stunk.
It stunk like a domineering husband, Death, and a demon God trying to circumnavigate their wife for ‘her own good’ .
“What happened?” she asked, being calm.
Flynn owned it .
“Clariel called to me one day. Mathew was off, and I got her out of Paris.”
This was nothing new.
“I recall. Continue.”
He did.
“Well, later that night, when you were busy with something, we went back for Mathew, and we put him down.”
There.
It was said.
They let Jolie believe he died, but they never admitted it was by their hands. Honestly, they knew it was for the best. He was a danger to her heart and soul, and as her husbands, it was their job to protect her.
That hung there.
Finally, she spoke.
“So you executed him?”
Flynn nodded.
They took him apart piece by piece to make sure that he never hurt you.
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
The demon God was trying to get them murdered. That was the only explanation.
RINNON!
Jolie stared at her mates, and weighed what they were saying. She kept her mind carefully blank, so that Moe, Larry, and Curly couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“I see.”
At those two paltry two words, Death tried to explain to her.
“Mon Amour, he was killing indiscriminately, and he was on my reaping list. I told Flynn, and we handled it. There was nothing else we could do about it. He wasn’t salvageable.”
Jolie crossed her arms.
That said it all.
Then, she repeated herself.
“I see. ”
This is bad, isn’t it? Is ‘I see’ like ‘fine’? Rinnon inquired. Asking for the one mate who is trapped inside this subpar vessel, and who isn’t sure it will hold up against a woman’s wrath.
Flynn let the subpar go. They had a whole other issue that was far more worrisome.
Yep. Just as bad. It’s right up there with ‘oh, okay’ and ‘do you know why I’m angry’? Basically, we’re fucked.
“Jolie?” Flynn asked, when she said nothing.
Instead of answering, Jolie went to walk past them, and Flynn grabbed her arm. When he did, she reacted, and tried to toss him away from her.
Only, he was housing a God who weighed a ton, so that didn’t happen.
I’m only skin and bones, as your mother said. How could I be fat?
Rinnon. Can you not?
He got quiet.
“Let go of me, Flynn.”
“Jolie, you’re angry at the wrong people. He was killing humans, vampyres, and was out of control. He was being reaped. I handled it.”
Death tried to help.
“He was a bad vamp, Jolie. His mind…”
She pointed at both of them, and pulled her arm free from Flynn.
“I’m not angry you killed him. I have no doubt Fate put him on the list for a freaking reason. I’m PISSED you weren’t honest with me! We’re a team! We’re a family! It’s us against the world! Here, I find out that’s not the truth. That hurts more than you putting down a vampyre that hated me and was a danger to everyone.”
Oh, boy.
This was going to be far worse. Rage was one thing. Hurt was a whole other uphill battle.
“I’m sorry,” Flynn said.
Death took that moment to open his yap, and dig the hole a little deeper.
Why not ?
This wasn’t bad enough.
“I’m not,” Jacques admitted. “I didn’t like him, and I enjoyed ending him. I won’t pretend. He was a pain in our asses from the day you saved him, and I say good riddance to bad rubbish.”
Oh, holy Hell’s bells.
Was his mate insane?
“Jacques,” Flynn said. “Not a good tone. How about we don’t get ourselves divorced?”
Jacques did that annoyingly French, nonchalant shrug that was irritating as fuck.
And condescending.
Jolie stared at them, and then, it was said.
“Oh, okay.”
Rinnon cringed from inside his vessel. He’d learned a lot over the last two years, and all of it was how to stay in a relationship and not do stupid shit.
Flynn called it preservation.
And there it is. The trifecta. Someone’s ass is grass, and I’m glad it’s not mine.
Technically, it will be yours since you’re squatting in my body, Rinnon! Help the situation, unlike Jacques who clearly wants us dead!
Jacques just didn’t know when to quit despite them both begging him to do just that.
“Jolie, he was always trying to get into your pants, and when he couldn’t achieve that, he got bitchy. Then, he got bite-y, and was killing people. I’m not apologizing for ending him. I’m glad Fate put him on the list, and if he has the cross and sword, I’ll enjoy putting him back into my realm where I’ll really make him pay.”
It was unlike Jacques to revel in torture, but here they were.
Ahhhh, NOLA brought out the best in people.
Clearly.
“You should have told me.”
“ NO . I did NOT have to tell you jack shit,” Jacques said, his eyes going from green to swirls of red. His body morphed, and he got bigger .
And angrier.
Oh, hell.
It was about to be nuclear. Death was getting cranky, Jolie was angry, and Flynn was trapped in between as the mediator.
Again.
Jacques laid down the law.
“I am DEATH . I don’t answer to a wife, a woman, or even Flynn. I keep you here, and I don’t have to explain my actions. Calling Flynn to help put him down…we enjoyed it. Are you satisfied?”
She stared at him.
Then, without another word, Jolie simply walked away.
At the house, she slammed the door, and that told them all they needed to know.
Flynn sighed.
AGAIN.
“Yeah, that went well,” he said, knowing they now had an even bigger mess.
Marital dispute.
Death shook out his feathers and rolled his neck as he tried to get back into control. There was only one thing that riled him up.
His woman.
“I’m going to go work. I was going to try to help, but fuck it. I’m not doing battle with Jolie over a vampyre who betrayed us. I’m not feeling guilty.”
“Hey, preaching to the choir. I don’t feel guilty about ending that asshole, but she’s upset, and we kinda did that to her.”
At the comment, of course, the peanut gallery didn’t know when to shut his godly yap.
CAN WE NOT? A choir? Really?
They both ignored him as much as they could because this was bad.
Jacques was bailing, and he was on clean up, aisle relationship—with an angry demoness.
A pregnant .
Pissed off.
Immortal female.
This didn’t get much worse for him.
All he needed was a few Nephilim to show up, a Horseman, and a pack of zombies to really make it funsies.
“If you need me, Flynn, call for me. I’m going to be in my office trying to figure out where the hell the sword is and if Mathew already has it.”
When the tear opened, and he went to walk into it, Flynn grabbed his arm.
He came to a dead stop, and the ground actually shook when he glanced over his shoulder. His eyes burned in rage.
“Yes?” Death asked, his voice icy cold despite his eyes.
Flynn was honest.
“I love you,” Flynn said. “I just wanted to say it because that’s what we do when we go our separate ways to work.”
Immediately, that calmed Death down.
When he turned, he sighed and opened his arms to the man.
“I love you too, my Flynn.”
Flynn went into his body, and they kissed, trying to work through all of this. It was a tangle of tongues and fangs, but it was needed.
The last thing Flynn needed was two pissed off mates. One was sufficient.
I’ll fix this.
Death didn’t care.
She can be mad at me. She’s lying. She’s not only angry about us not telling her. She’s angry we didn’t try to save the unredeemable. I know when our woman lies, my mate. That pisses me off. If she’s going to condemn me, she needs to be pristine and lily white. She. Is. Not.
Like I said, I’ll fix this. I love you, Mate. Be safe because Fate is a bitch, and I don’t want to lose the man I love.
That she certainly was .
Setting him free, Death, touched his cheek with his hand, gently running his fingers over his flesh.
“Until later when we reconvene. Call if you need me, my love.”
Oh, he would.
When he disappeared, Flynn rolled his neck to release some of the tension.
Then, of course, Rinnon went there.
Women are difficult.
Pregnant women make it even worse, but she has a right to feel the way she does, like we had a right to take Mathew apart piece by piece.
He deserved it. I didn’t like what he smelled like. It was rotten souls and gym socks.
Flynn wasn’t going to ask.
He knew better.
Heading toward the house, he went in, and once inside, Jolie was talking to Percy. Jolie gave him the cold shoulder, and he’d carry that.
They knew this was a possibility at some point, and he’d suck it up.
Marriage was mostly about navigating what pissed off your partner, and not going there.
Well, they went there.
“Where is the injured detective?” he asked, giving Jolie some space to work through it.
“Upstairs in the first room. Seth is up there with him.”
He motioned toward Cerise and Tommy. Since they were going to play cop, and try to find those relics, they might as well have a meeting.
“I’ll see what Rinnon can do to help him,” he said. “Then, we’re going to have to work on this mess. Give me a few,” he said.
Percy simply nodded.
As they headed upstairs, Cerise was looking around, and on the walls were hundreds of pictures of the family.
“Are they real?” she asked.
Flynn looked confused.
“What? ”
“The pictures. My mistress only had pictures of herself. The one I had of me and Tobias…that wasn’t allowed on the walls.”
That wasn’t surprising.
“Jolie is a different kind of mistress. They are legit pictures to remember. When you’re as old as she is, you sometimes want those mementos to hold onto that fleeting piece of your past.”
She said nothing more.
Upstairs, Flynn opened the door to the room, and they went in. There was a shirtless man in the bed, and he didn’t look good at all.
Oh, he was definitely infected with something.
“What happened?” Flynn asked Seth.
Not far away, Cerise was standing there, staring at the man. The look on her face was something he’d not seen from her before.
Lately, she was mourning.
Now, she looked…surprised.
Uh, what was this?
Seth explained.
“Well, the zombies came at us, and unlike in the movies, you can’t shoot them in the head and kill them. Lesson learned. I healed. He hasn’t. I will say it took Clari a while to heal too. So it definitely affected us. We think it’s because we have Rinnon’s mark, and he didn’t.”
Yeah, this was exactly what Flynn expected. It was out of his realm and Rinnon needed to handle this.
Can you heal him? he asked.
Of course.
Will you? he inquired.
Rinnon didn’t mince words.
I mean, I love healing humans who don’t worship me anymore. It’s so much fun to waste my spectacular energy on creatures who have forgotten who made them.
Flynn warned him.
Rinnon! He’s a cop, and we’re the reason he’s like this. Can you just do it and stop being a bitch? I have ninety- nine problems and half are you and Jolie at the moment, the rest are Fate.
Point made.
Let me out, cranky man.
Oh, he was definitely that but who wouldn’t be in this case?
Setting Rinnon free, everyone stepped back as soon as they felt the energy. It was damn difficult not to since it swamped the room, and brought goosebumps to everyone’s flesh. The only one who didn’t get out of his way was Cerise.
Rinnon had to tap her on the shoulder.
“Cerise, move. I’ll help him,” he offered, as the vampyre was standing there still staring.
At his touch, and as she heard her name, she finally moved.
When Rinnon placed his hands on the human’s body, he checked to see what was wrong with him.
It didn’t take him long.
“Oh, he picked up the nastiness the zombies were carrying. He’s got a vicious infection. His body is trying to turn him into one.”
Flynn didn’t need a diagnosis. He needed him to get rid of the issue.
Okay, Doctor. How about you just heal him? We have a shit ton of work to do, and Jolie and Death are at odds. We need to get our asses moving.
Pushy.
Yeah, he was.
Energy pulsed through his hands, and entered Logan’s body. Immediately, the color of his flesh looked better, and his eyes slowly opened.
Coming back to consciousness, he moaned.
“What happened?” he whispered.
“You’re healed,” Rinnon said. “Now, you must go build a temple for me.”
RINNON!
“Or you can just get up and go about your mortal business not knowing of my greatness because my vessel is a bitch. ”
And then, he handed control back over to Flynn because humans…ehhhh.
When he stepped back, Cerise moved toward the man on the bed, and immediately, Flynn was watching. It was odd for her to move at a stranger.
Vamps were overly cautious, but here she was, focused on a human.
It was when she sat beside him, and picked up his hand in hers that the bells began going off.
It was when they stared at each other that he understood what had just happened.
That’s her mate. By coming here, she found the love of her life, Flynn admitted to Rinnon.
On this, he agreed.
It’s clear he is. Look at how her cheeks are pink. She’s thinking about mating. Someone’s hot for detective.
Can you please stop using my words in horrible context?
No. It’s fun.
“Cerise, are you okay?” Flynn asked, knowing she’d never be the same again. There was no doubt her mourning of Tobias was about to end.
Slowly, she nodded, but it was clear she wasn’t sure.
“Yes. I just feel…”
Oh, he knew the feeling.
When Logan sat up, he looked around and was clearly confused.
“Where the hell am I?” he asked, his focus on the woman holding his hand.
Immediately, his partner filled him in.
“You were chewed on by some zombies, and I brought you home to my house to heal,” Seth said.
Why sugarcoat it?
The man had been in the thick of it.
“Why didn’t you take me to a hospital?” he asked, staring at the woman beside him. He couldn’t make himself set her hand free.
“Because you’re safer here, and we had to stop the zombie ick from taking you down. ”
“What?” he asked.
Well, it seemed about time for Flynn to step in and handle this. He was going to need the help of the cops for this one, and Seth’s partner, Logan, was a cop.
Flynn introduced himself.
“Hey, Detective. I’m Flynn Brogan, and this is my home.”
The man stared at him now.
“Wait. The same Flynn who works for the police department? That Flynn Brogan? You live with my partner?”
Well, that compulsion was still fresh in the cops’ memories.
Thankfully.
“That’s me. This is my partner, Tommy Gress, and we’re going to need your help.”
He stared at them like he was trying to put it together, but the pieces were scattered all over the place.
“Are you okay?” Tommy asked.
“I should know you, but I can’t seem to recall why I don’t. Have we met?”
“He’s going to need to know the truth, Flynn,” Tommy said. “You gotta uncloud his brain. We need him.”
Yeah, Tommy was right.
So, Flynn snapped his fingers. The second he did, the compulsion was gone, and the man blinked.
Then, he explained.
“You don’t know me because I’m no longer a cop, but I’m going to play one until we figure out where the antiquities I need are located.”
Logan stared at his partner.
“I’m confused. Why are we going to let him play cop, and was that really a bunch of zombies?”
Seth laughed.
“Oh, you’re about to be a million times more confused in the next few minutes. I suggest you buckle in, try to keep an open mind, and focus on the pretty lady sitting next to you. It’s going to be bumpy.”
How did he know ?
He’d been locked in a room and held with a bunch of vamps until he realized Clariel was meant to be his. This man’s life was never going to be the same again.
EVER.
Flynn explained.
“What happened is magick, and someone is trying to mess with us. We have to find two antiquities before someone raises all the dead in New Orleans .”
He blinked.
“Is this real?” he asked.
Oh, it was very real.
And it was about to get dangerous.
For all of them.
* * * T u e u r A n t i q u i t i e s * * *
Death’s Realm
Same Time
Death knew the moment Fate appeared, and he knew that she was going to be there to gloat.
Only, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to combat Fate’s ridiculousness.
Mainly, he had her blood .
Oh, it was only a little bit of it, but with Aoibheann in his control, Jacques knew he had the upper hand.
This game was far from being hers to win.
Bet.
On.
That.
It was time to play and set the stage for what he knew was going to be heartbreak. Only, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to stop it.
Maybe he could bend fate, and he could find a way, but until he did, they were on a collision course with him having to take a life.
A precious one.
In the Book of the Dead, Lilith, Rinnon’s child, was scheduled to die. Fate had put her in the book, and he was helpless to stop it.
The bitch was playing by the rules on this one, knowing he couldn’t interfere.
What he’d been doing the last few hours while the family worked on this mess, was he’d found a spell that would help them contain this shitshow—for now.
It was temporary, but it would buy them twenty-four hours of time where they could then find Mathew and handle him. What they needed was any simple advantage that Fate didn’t see coming.
He was going off script and doing whatever he could to keep her guessing.
Come into his mind and steal what wasn’t hers?
Well, two could play that game.
While he could feel the fabric of time fraying with both of them interfering, he didn’t have a choice. He had to save the life that was slotted to die.
He wasn’t losing Jolie or Flynn to this creature’s game, and if Rinnon lost his child, there would be hell to pay.
Mark.
His.
Words .
As Fate entered his realm, the creatures that were loyal to him warned him that she approached. The place was alive with small things that she believed to be insignificant.
They weren’t.
They were his greatest allies, and now, for his amusement, it was time to have some fun.
She tainted him and was in his mind, and that wasn’t ever happening again.
Even though he and Jolie were not happy with each other, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t fight to the end of time to keep her safe.
She.
Was.
His.
As she walked through the wall, like she owned the place, Fate looked around in disgust.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Death, or shall we call you ‘he who slums with the detestables’ ?”
He didn’t even look up from his desk.
Jacques couldn’t give anything away. This was about precision and perfection.
He needed her in position so that he could use the spell to get what he needed. She was almost on top of the demon trap. While she could break a normal one with magick, she couldn’t break this one.
Not.
Even.
Close.
“What do you want, Fate?” he asked, nonchalantly with as much boredom in his voice as possible.
The act had to stay in place.
She entered even closer, and put her hand on the chair. The minute she did, she saw his mind, and knew what he was planning.
She stepped backward to avoid what she saw in his memories, and laughed.
“Nice try. ”
When he looked up, he said the words and made magick happen. The language was as old as Rinnon, and made by Lilith.
It only seemed right.
The second he finished the incantation, another cage fell, but this one was Fate proof.
Her blood made sure of that.
When it sealed around her, she laughed, amused that he’d do something so useless to trap her.
“Do you think this puny cell will keep me in?” she asked, touching the one bar.
The second she did, she screamed in pain as ice surged through her hand, burning her.
That’s how cold it was.
“What was that?” he asked, smiling. “Did you say something to me?”
She gasped.
“What did you do?”
He leaned back in his chair, put his heels on the desk, and steepled his fingers.
This round went to him.
“That’s a special spell. You can’t break it. You aren’t strong enough. Only me, or Rinnon can. Thanks for the help on this one.”
She stared at him.
“How did you do this?”
He was honest.
“I have your blood. See, you may have gone into my mind, wandered around, but Death is a mystery. No one knows when I come or go, or my plans.”
He held up a tiny little vial, and it swung from a gold, magical chain.
“Oh, it’s not much, but it’s enough to hold you for twenty-four hours. That means you won’t be able to get out and help the asshole you’ve put into play.”
She screamed and shook the bars.
And the searing pain knocked her to the floor where she landed on her ass.
Oh …
It was a sight to be seen to know that she was this irritated. She was red, cursing, and all stirred up.
This.
Was.
Fun.
Instead of dealing with her outburst, Jacques simply tucked the vial away.
“Checkmate, Fate. You’re always bitching about destroying the fabric of fate, but here you are, helping raise the dead, and making a mess.”
She protested.
“You can’t do this,” she hissed, and as she did, she let him see her true form. Her eyes bled black, and she had scales all over her body. She was green, evil, and the real snake in the garden.
Gone was the facade, and in its place was reality.
“I did do it, and I will contain you. Next time you go into my mind and steal what isn’t yours, to give away, keep in mind that I can get your blood. It was rather easy. When you live in a garden, there are bugs. You’d think a snake like you would befriend the other creatures.”
She gasped.
“I hate you. When I get out…”
He grinned.
“Oh, well, I hate you too. That’s why I’m putting you out of play for twenty-four hours. You bet it all on Mathew, and The Vampyre’s Cross , but he won’t find The Necromancer’s Sword .”
She.
Was.
Pissed.
“Now, where was I?” he asked, going back around his desk. “Oh, yeah. I was looking for a sword that we were going to put into Pandora’s Box for safe keeping.”
A big book fell from the ceiling, and he went back to work. The pages flipped, and he picked up a quill to dip it into a bottle of blood.
“Enjoy your stay in my realm,” he said.
Then, he whistled .
The walls came alive with every creature he commanded. Each was a soul-filled being in his servitude for their crimes against humanity.
“She’s not going to be around her garden. May I suggest you go, get your pestilence on, and destroy it. Take it to the ground so there isn’t a shred of plant life left. Make it mine, and fill it with DEATH .”
She wailed as the bugs scurried away, off to do his bidding.
“You can’t take my garden. It’s my realm.”
He laughed.
“Au contraire,” he said. “If you are out of your garden for more than twenty-four hours, I can claim it as my own. You will be a second late getting back, and that makes it mine. My children will have a new playground.”
She screamed and raged because he was right. That was why Jacques couldn’t leave this realm for more than those twenty-four hours. If he did, she’d take it as her own, and with it, Aoibheann, his mother, and the rest of the souls.
To dismiss her, he simply waved his hand, and she slid to a corner in her cage, and the wall moved around her cocooning her in.
“See you in a day,” he said. “ AFTER we undo your mess, and I get another kingdom.”
And with that, Jacques got to work.
They didn’t have time to mess around.
The clock was ticking, and that sword was close to being found.
Unfortunately.