Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
The alarm on Delia’s phone went off way too early on Saturday morning, the lilting chime she’d chosen because it was supposed to be pleasant and not too jarring doing absolutely nothing to ease the sense of dread that had settled in her stomach like a lump of undigested oatmeal. May thirtieth. Olivia’s wedding day.
She rolled over and silenced the phone, then lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling while another wave of ley line energy washed over her.
The protective walls she’d built around her consciousness the day before held firm — and because she was lying down, the rippling energy wouldn’t have affected her as badly as it might have if she’d been standing up — but she could still feel power building across the Las Vegas landscape, pressing on her ears and her temples.
If she’d been flying in a plane and had experienced similar discomfort, she could have yawned to pop her ears and regain some equilibrium. Unfortunately, the solution to this particular sensation was a lot more complicated.
And they wouldn’t arrive at that moment of relief until almost midnight.
She pushed herself out of bed and went down the hall to the kitchen, muscle memory guiding her through the familiar routine of starting coffee while her brain kept playing the day’s impossible logistics over and over again.
Wedding at seven-thirty and a late reception at the Anthem Country Club afterward with both families.
Vinea’s ritual scheduled to begin around eight, reaching its climax just before midnight.
And Caleb held somewhere in the supernatural maze that Angel’s Dream had become.
Her phone, which Delia had brought with her into the kitchen, vibrated on the granite countertop as the coffeemaker gurgled to life.
A text from Ty.
I’m picking up multiple demonic signatures converging downtown, so I’m fairly sure Caleb is still at Angel’s Dream. How’s your family situation?
Well, that was one piece of semi-good news. Not that storming the chapel was going to be a walk in the park, but better that Caleb stayed put. The last thing they needed was to have to go chasing all over town trying to find him.
Everyone’s accounted for. All the visitors are staying at the M Resort, well away from downtown. The wedding is still on schedule.
Good. Whatever else you do, keep them there as much as possible. That area should be safer than anywhere downtown.
The conversation ended there, leaving Delia alone with her growing sense of unease.
She poured coffee into her favorite mug, the one with the pretty reactive glaze in shades of sky blue and soft taupe that a client of hers, a potter, had given her as a thank-you after he closed on his house, and tried to reach out through her psychic bond with Caleb.
Still there, thank God. That thin thread of connection told her he was alive, but not much else was able to get through. She thought she could sense his determination, though, and maybe underneath it, a carefully controlled anger that made her think he was planning something.
Don’t do anything stupid, she thought, directing the message toward Angel’s Dream even though she had no idea whether he was able to hear her. Just stay alive until we can get to you.
Another energy surge hit her, stronger than any she’d experienced so far, and she grabbed the edge of the countertop to prevent herself from falling over.
The coffee mug slipped from her hand, but luckily, it fell on the faux-Persian runner in muted shades of off-white and gray that filled in the gap between the main bank of cupboards and the island.
Coffee spilled everywhere, but at least the mug seemed to have survived.
She didn’t know if she could say as much for the runner.
Not, she thought, that it mattered too much. Not in comparison with what she saw now.
Demons moved through the city like shadows, gathering at locations that pulsed with unnatural light.
The demon lord Vinea stood in the center of what had once been Angel’s Dream, now transformed into something that belonged in the deepest circles of Hell…
or maybe one of H.R. Giger’s worst nightmares.
And beyond all that, she saw something else — a network of power that connected not only the supernatural sites Pru and Ty had already discovered, but every person in Las Vegas who possessed even a spark of psychic ability.
It was just like Ty had told her the night before. Only it felt far worse today, simply because now she understood what was going on.
Vinea would use the power of all those innocent people to make sure the portals opened on time…and stayed open.
Her phone rang, startling her. Good thing she’d already dropped her mug, or she probably would have spilled her coffee all over again.
Who the hell would be calling at this ungodly hour? Had Pru and Ty unearthed yet another unsettling piece of information, something that would make the impossible task that lay ahead even more difficult?
But no, that was Olivia’s ID on the screen. Delia muttered a curse, even though she supposed the one person who got a free pass on calls before 10 a.m. was a woman getting married that day.
“Hey,” Delia said after she touched the screen to accept the call. She tried her best to sound cheerful and wedding-appropriate despite the utter lack of caffeine in her bloodstream. Well, she’d remedy that after she took care of this call. “How are you doing today?”
“A little nervous,” her cousin replied, although she sounded more excited than anxious. “But good nervous, you know? I keep thinking about what you said, about trusting my instincts, and I’m so glad we changed venues. I slept better last night than I have in weeks.”
At least one of them was getting some rest. “I’m glad to hear that,” Delia said. “Any last-minute details you need help with?”
“Actually, yes. The florist is supposed to deliver the arrangements to the chapel at five, but I’m going to be getting my hair done then, and so are my mom and Alec’s sister Abby.
Could you meet them there and make sure everything looks all right?
Alec’s mom said she would do it, but just between you and me” — Olivia’s voice lowered as though she was about to deliver a state secret — “Penny doesn’t have the greatest taste in the world.
She’s awesome in every other way, but I just don’t trust her to handle something like this. ”
Delia’s first instinct was to say yes — she was family, after all, and wedding coordination was the sort of thing relatives were supposed to help with.
But roping herself into yet another wedding-related task seemed like a stupid idea when she had no idea what else she might be called on to do today.
What if Ty and Pru managed to figure out a way to get to Caleb just as she was at the chapel, arranging lilies or whatever?
But then the words, “Of course,” rolled out of her mouth, and Delia wanted to shake her head at herself. Maybe one of these days she’d learn to be a little less accommodating. “I’ll be there.”
A sigh of relief came through the phone’s speaker. “You’re the best. Thank you again for everything you’ve done. I know I keep saying it, but I really mean it. Having you here, knowing someone local is looking out for us — it’s made all the difference.”
The genuine gratitude in her cousin’s voice made Delia feel a little better about agreeing to help with this additional task.
Olivia had no idea what she was really being protected from, no idea that her destination wedding had almost become the focal point for Hell’s exodus to Earth…
and Delia was going to do everything in her power to make sure it stayed that way.
“That’s what families are for,” she replied, the false cheer in her voice almost fooling her.
Almost.
After they ended the call, she started another pot of coffee, then leaned against the kitchen island and allowed herself exactly sixty seconds to have an inner freak-out about the overwhelming odds she faced.
She was responsible for keeping her extended family out of harm’s way, and she also couldn’t rid herself of the terrible inner certainty that her own psychic abilities might be the key to stopping Vinea’s operation, even though she still had no clear idea how to use them effectively.
And above all else was her fear for Caleb’s safety. If anything happened to him….
No, she wouldn’t allow herself to contemplate that outcome. They’d find him, and the demon lord who thought he had everything in his pocket was going to find out the hard way that humans also knew how to play.
The coffee was ready. She poured herself a cup and held it in both hands, taking strength from its warmth.
Everything was going to be okay.
Most of the day seemed oddly calm. She met the family for lunch, located a seamstress who could do some last-minute alterations on the pretty blue dress Alec’s sister would be wearing as Olivia’s sole attendant, and then, along with her mother, ferried the group over to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace — mainly because Delia’s Aunt Vicky was dying to see them, even though her main excuse for going there was that she’d decided she didn’t like the shoes she’d chosen to go with her dress and wanted to find something different.
During all this busyness, Delia kept expecting to get assailed by another wave of rogue energy, but that didn’t happen. Had the barriers she’d put in place somehow strengthened? Or was Vinea simply storing everything up for the ritual this evening?
She prayed it was the former…but she feared it was probably the latter.
By the time she pulled into the parking lot at Little Chapel of Hearts a little after five, the late-afternoon sun was casting long shadows across the desert landscape.
Clouds had lingered all day, keeping temperatures to a more manageable level, but they did nothing to help the sensation of lingering dread that seemed to have permanently settled in Delia’s stomach.