Chapter 19 #2
I listen to Croesus relay the information again.
The watcher outside Luna's building. The wrongness of its presence.
The way his people couldn't approach it.
With every word, Seraph's attention sharpens inside me, his mind working through the implications with that razor precision I've come to associate with him.
"You said it felt like a corpse," Seraph says when Croesus finishes. "Suffocating. Heavy."
"That's how my people described it."
"Not demons, then. Demons feel like fire. Like hunger." Seraph's fingers tap against his thigh, a rare tell of agitation. "This sounds like something else entirely."
"Something worse?"
"Something older." Seraph's silver eyes meet mine. "There are things that existed before the Fall. Before Heaven and Hell became separate realms. Things that were supposed to have been destroyed when the universe was remade."
"Supposed to have been?"
"Nothing truly dies." His voice drops. "Not in the eternal planes. Some things just... sleep. Until they are woken up."
A chill runs down my spine that has nothing to do with the temperature.
"We need to get Luna somewhere safe," I say. "If someone is watching her—"
"No."
The word comes from both of them. In unison. Like they practiced it.
I stare between them, heat and fury building in my chest.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't go to her." Seraph's tone is infuriatingly reasonable.
"Croesus is right about that much. Your presence would only draw more attention.
And before you suggest we simply extract her and bring her here, that would be even worse.
The House of Ruin isn't equipped to protect a human with no supernatural defenses. "
"Then what do you suggest?" My voice comes out sharp enough to cut glass. "We just leave her there as bait?"
"We increase surveillance." Croesus again, stepping closer to Seraph in a way that might be solidarity or might be challenge. "I have people who can watch from a distance. Powerful people. If the watcher makes a move—"
"Oh, wonderful. More watching." I throw my hands up, and the motion sends grandmother's journal sliding across the table.
"Everyone's watching everyone. Luna's being watched, your people are watching her, and meanwhile she has no idea that something from before creation is standing outside her window at night! "
"Telling her would only frighten her," Seraph says. "What could she do with that information except panic?"
"At least she'd know to be careful!"
"She'd know to be terrified. There's a difference."
I want to hit someone. Both of them, preferably.
"She's my sister." The words come out raw. "She's the only family I have left. Our grandmother is dead, our mother is dead, our fathers are useless. Luna is everything. And you're both standing here telling me I can't protect her?"
"We're telling you that protecting her requires strategy, not sentiment." Seraph's voice softens slightly, but it doesn't make the words any less infuriating. "I know this is difficult—"
"You don't know anything about difficult.
" I round on him, and I see his eyes widen slightly at whatever he finds in my expression.
"You sit in your perfect house with your perfect glamour and your perfect control, and you think you understand what it's like to have someone you love in danger?
Someone who doesn't have magic or binding or any way to defend herself? "
"I understand more than you think."
"Then act like it!"
Silence falls over the library. Heavy. Suffocating.
And then an idea cuts through the panic. Someone who can actually help. Someone human enough to blend in but supernatural enough to handle himself if things go sideways.
"Give me my phone."
Both angels stare at me.
"I'm sorry?" Seraph's eyebrows rise.
"My phone. You took it when I arrived. I want it back."
"Why?"
"Because I know someone who can watch Luna.
Someone who isn't connected to either of your houses, who won't raise any angelic alarms, and who owes me about a dozen favors.
" I hold out my hand, palm up. "Ash. He's demon-blooded, a few generations back.
Immune to most of the supernatural bullshit that would stop your people from getting close.
And he actually knows how to be subtle."
Croesus's expression flickers. A sharp spike pulses through the now opened bond before he shuts it down. Jealousy, maybe. Or possessiveness. He's never liked Ash.
"The demon boy," he says flatly. "Your... friend."
"Yes. My friend, who has a key to my apartment and has helped me through more sin absorptions than I can count. He's reliable."
"He's a liability," Seraph counters. "Another person who knows about you, about your connection to us—"
"He already knows. He's known for years. And unlike your people, he can actually get close to Luna without some ancient thing sensing him coming from a mile away." I keep my hand extended. "Phone. Now."
They exchange a look. One of those irritating silent communications that makes me want to scream.
"Fine," Seraph says finally. He moves to a cabinet I hadn't noticed before, pulls open a drawer, and retrieves my phone. The screen is dark, the battery probably dead after weeks of sitting unused. "But I want to know exactly what you tell him."
"No."
His eyes narrow. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. You don't get to monitor my conversations. You don't get to approve my words before I send them. I'm asking a friend to watch my sister. That's all you need to know."
"She has a point," Croesus says, and I can tell it costs him to side with me on this. "The more distance between us and whoever watches Luna, the better. If this thing is looking for connections to Raven, we don't want it tracing lines back to the houses."
Seraph's jaw tightens, but he hands me the phone.
I plug it into a charger Seraph produces from somewhere, wait for the screen to flicker to life, and start typing before either of them can change their minds.
Hey. I need a favor. Big one. Can you watch Luna for a while? Don't let her see you. Don't approach unless someone approaches her first. I'll explain when I can. I'll pay you.
The response comes faster than I expected.
You're alive. Good. Luna okay?
For now. Something's watching her. I can't get there myself. Please, Ash.
A pause. Three dots appearing and disappearing.
What kind of something?
Don't know. Old. Wrong. Croesus's people couldn't even approach it.
Jesus Christ, Raven. What have you gotten into?
I'll explain everything. Just please. Watch her for me.
Another pause. Longer this time.
Yeah. Okay. I'm on it. But you owe me more than money.
I know. Thank you.
I look up from the phone to find both angels watching me with varying degrees of displeasure.
"He'll do it," I say. "But I need to pay him."
"Pay him," Seraph repeats. "With what?"
"Money. You know, that thing humans use to survive? He can't exactly eat angelic favors." I turn to Croesus. "You're literally the Angel of Greed. You have more wealth than most countries. I need enough to cover his expenses for however long this takes."
Croesus's expression is unreadable. "You want me to pay your ex-lover to watch your sister."
"He's not my ex-lover. He's my friend. And yes, that's exactly what I want."
"This is absurd," Seraph mutters.
"No, what's absurd is two immortal beings with unlimited resources arguing about whether to help protect a nineteen-year-old college student from something older than creation.
" I plant my hands on my hips. "Pay him.
Both of you, if that makes you feel better about it.
Consider it an investment in keeping me cooperative. "
They exchange another look. This one almost seems amused, though neither of them would admit it.
"How much?" Croesus asks.
"Five thousand to start. More if this drags on."
Seraph chokes. "Five thousand dollars? For watching a college student? To pay a demon to watch a college student? To be clear, I do not balk at the sum, but the principle."
"He's putting himself in danger for me. For my family. That has value." I meet his silver gaze without flinching. "Unless you'd rather I break my contract and go myself?"
Silence.
Then Croesus laughs. Actually laughs, a sound that rumbles through the library like distant thunder.
"She's got you there," he says to Seraph. "Pay the demon boy. It's a small price for peace of mind."
"I'll arrange a transfer," Seraph says through gritted teeth. "But I want regular updates. If this Ash person sees anything—"
"He'll tell me. And I'll tell you." I pocket the phone, feeling something loosen in my chest. Luna will have protection now. Real protection, from someone who actually cares about her wellbeing and not just her usefulness. "Thank you."
The words are directed at both of them, and I mean it. Even if getting here required threats and stubbornness and probably more attitude than was strictly necessary.
Croesus's amusement fades, replaced by something more complicated. He's watching me with those sightless gold eyes, head tilted slightly as if he's trying to read something in the pattern of my breathing.
"You care about him," he says quietly. "This Ash."
"He's my friend."
"Is that all?"
Well, what do I say that? It’s really none of his business.
"We're not doing this," I say. "Not now. My sister is in danger and we just solved that problem. Can we focus on that instead of whatever jealousy spiral you're winding up toward?"
"I'm not jealous."
"You're literally the embodiment of greed and you're asking if I have feelings for another man. You're jealous."
Seraph makes a sound that might be a suppressed laugh. Croesus's jaw tightens.
"Fine," he says. "We'll table that discussion. But don't think I've forgotten."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
The tension shifts. Settles into something less sharp but no less present. We've solved the immediate problem, but all the other problems are still here. Waiting.