Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
The Little Chapel of Hearts looked exactly like what it was supposed to be — an attractive, intimate venue for couples who wanted something a little more elegant than the Elvis-themed establishments that made the Las Vegas wedding scene famous but without the stuffiness of a traditional church ceremony.
With its white clapboard exterior, stained glass windows depicting doves and roses, and a small garden area perfect for photos, it really wasn’t all that different from Angel’s Dream.
Well, except for the part where Olivia’s original wedding site had been taken over by demons determined to use it as the nexus of their diabolical plans.
Under normal circumstances, Delia would have been thrilled to show the place off to her cousin. The chapel seemed to be everything Olivia had said she wanted for her wedding — classy, romantic, and extremely photogenic.
Unfortunately, normal circumstances had flown right out the window the moment a demon lord decided to use Las Vegas as his personal summoning ground.
“This is beautiful,” Olivia breathed as they approached the front entrance.
She’d been quiet during most of the drive from Alec’s house, but now her voice had the first note of genuine enthusiasm Delia had heard since she’d picked up her cousin and her fiancé at the airport. “It’s even nicer than Angel’s Dream.”
“I knew you’d like it,” Delia replied, doing her best to sound casual despite the energy spike that had just washed over her, the resulting disorientation enough to make her stumble slightly on the brick walkway.
Luckily, both Alec and Olivia were so preoccupied with studying their surroundings that they didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.
Still, the ley line activity across the city was building toward something big, and Delia’s psychic abilities kept acting like the equivalent of a radio antenna in a lightning storm.
Every few minutes, another wave of supernatural energy would wash over her, and she’d get flashes of things she probably didn’t want to see — shadowy figures moving through the city…
red eyes watching from darkened windows…
angular patterns of power that connected every supernatural site in Las Vegas, all of them pulsing with an ominous rhythm that made her head ache.
But then Alec looked over at her, and his dark brows drew together. “Are you all right?” he asked, stepping closer as if he wanted to steady her. “You look a little pale.”
“Just tired,” she said quickly. “It’s been a busy week.”
That was putting it mildly. At the moment, she felt like she was running on nothing but adrenaline and caffeine.
The chapel’s manager, a woman in her fifties with perfectly styled, highlighted hair and the kind of professional warmth you’d expect from someone with years of experience dealing with nervous brides, met them at the door with a welcoming smile.
“You must be the Gunderson party,” she said as she extended her hand to Olivia. “I’m Jeannette Hatch.”
“Yes, that’s us,” Olivia replied. “Thank you so much for accommodating such a last-minute change.”
“Of course. Why don’t we go inside, and I can show you around?”
As they followed Jeannette through the entrance, another energy spike erupted, this one strong enough to make Delia gasp and reach out to steady herself against the wall.
For just a moment, the chapel’s everyday interior flickered and became overlaid with those same geometric patterns of light that revealed the supernatural network hidden beneath Las Vegas.
Once again, she saw it all — every ley line, every intersection point, every place where supernatural power gathered. And at the center of it all, Angel’s Dream might as well have been a black hole, pulling energy from across the entire valley.
“Delia?” Olivia’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Delia blinked hard, forcing herself to focus on her cousin’s worried face. The supernatural overlay faded, returning her to the tastefully decorated chapel with its arrangements of white roses and carefully soft lighting.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just got a little dizzy for a second. I think they really amped up the caffeine in that grande iced tea I drank before we left the house.”
Jeannette’s brows pulled together in concern. “Would you like some water? Or maybe you should sit down for a moment?”
“No, I’m okay,” Delia said at once, even though she knew that wasn’t entirely true. The energy building across the city seemed to be affecting her more strongly with each passing hour.
What if she overloaded completely? What if the supernatural static building across Las Vegas fried her brain like a computer in a power surge?
Not helpful, she told herself firmly. Focus on what you can control.
“Let’s see the chapel,” she said aloud, putting on a brisk smile.
The main ceremony space was everything the website had promised — elegant without being ostentatious, with good sight lines and sunlight streaming through stained glass windows, casting jewel-toned patterns across the white carpet.
“This is perfect,” Olivia said, sounding happy and sure of herself for the first time since she’d landed in Las Vegas. “It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
Another wave of energy hit Delia, and this time, the surge came with horribly vivid images.
She saw Caleb in what looked like a holding room, his hands bound behind his back while shadowy, red-eyed figures stood guard.
She saw Vinea in his human guise, moving through what had once been Angel’s Dream but was now transformed into something that belonged in the deepest circles of Hell, shadowed and dark and smoky, with arcane symbols blazing on the walls.
And she saw dozens of other demons converging on Las Vegas, drawn by the growing network of power that crisscrossed the city.
The visions were so vivid, so immediate, that for a moment she forgot where she was. She took a step forward, reaching out as if she could somehow touch Caleb through the psychic connection they shared.
“Delia?” Alec’s voice was sharp with concern. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked, and realized she was standing in the middle of the chapel’s center aisle, one hand extended toward empty air, while Jeannette and Alec and Olivia stared at her with expressions ranging from mildly concerned to deeply alarmed.
“Sorry,” she said quickly, and dropped her hand. “I thought I saw something move, but now I realize it was probably just a reflection from the stained glass.”
Jeannette’s frown deepened, and Delia had the uncomfortable feeling that the chapel manager was beginning to suspect there was something seriously wrong with one of her potential clients.
“Why don’t we step outside for a moment?” Olivia suggested. “Maybe we should get some fresh air before we finalize anything.”
Delia gave a grateful nod, then followed her cousin and Alec back toward the entrance.
As they walked, she tried to create some kind of mental barrier around her psychic abilities.
She visualized a high wall surrounding a garden, a wall of stone covered with climbing roses.
And within that wall, all was serene and beautiful, a place darkness could never touch.
The pulsing energy that had been pushing on her all day seemed to retreat a little.
Was it actually working?
Outside the chapel, the late afternoon sun had begun to sink toward the mountains that ringed the Las Vegas valley, painting the heavy clouds overhead in shades of orange and red and purple.
The scene should have been beautiful but somehow seemed ominous instead.
The air itself seemed to hum with tension, as if the entire city was holding its breath.
“Okay,” Olivia said once they were out of Jeannette’s earshot, “what’s really going on? And don’t tell me you’re just tired, because I know it’s more than that.”
Delia looked at her cousin and reminded herself that Olivia had been having prophetic dreams about her wedding for weeks. That had to mean she must also possess some level of psychic perception.
Maybe it was time to trust her with at least part of the truth.
“Something is happening in the city,” Delia said. “Something that’s affecting sensitive people more than others. I think you might be experiencing it, too — that’s why you’ve been having all those nightmares about the wedding.”
Alec frowned. “What kind of ‘something’?”
How could she possibly explain that Las Vegas was currently being used as the focal point for a massive supernatural ritual without sounding like she’d lost her mind?
“There have been some unusual incidents over the past week or so,” she replied, choosing her words with care. “Electrical disturbances, structural problems, that sort of thing. And weird vibes. Some people seem to be more aware of these disturbances than others.”
It wasn’t technically a lie.
Olivia was quiet for a moment, her eyes searching Delia’s face. “Is that the real reason why you wanted me to change venues? Not because of permit issues, but because you sensed something wrong with Angel’s Dream specifically?”
The insight revealed in that question caught Delia off guard. “Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve always been sensitive to the atmosphere in particular locations. And something about that chapel felt very wrong to me.”
“Like my dreams,” Olivia said quietly.
“Exactly like your dreams.”
Alec looked back and forth between the two women, his expression skeptical but not completely dismissive. “So…we’re talking about what, exactly? Some kind of psychic phenomenon?”
The infernal energy spiked again, but this time, it seemed oddly muted, as though most of its power had been absorbed by the protective wall she’d built around her consciousness. When it passed, Delia could tell she felt more centered, more in control.
“I know it sounds crazy,” she said, relieved to hear that her voice sounded steady. “But some people are just more sensitive to certain kinds of environmental changes.”