Chapter Twelve
Chapter
Twelve
Aurora was in awe of everything around her, including
Lilliana and Suzanne. Suzanne was so...normal. She was upbeat, friendly, and
had a passion for cooking and fashion magazines. Lilliana, an angel born and
raised in Heaven, was smart, thoughtful, and mated to the Grim Reaper himself.
At that particular revelation,
Aurora had choked on the tea and cinnamon chip scones Suzanne had brought her.
And, for the record, the scones were incredible. Hawkyn’s sister had even been
nice enough to put a couple in a box along with other homemade pastries for
Aurora to take to the Hotel Hell room Suzanne had set her up with.
The room was simple and small, more like a college dorm than
a hotel room. There was a single bed, a small desk, and a tiny bathroom, but
the TV was nice and there was even a computer, on which she’d spent the last
half hour while she waited for Hawkyn.
The revelation that Drayger could track
her had stuck with her, engaging her curiosity as much as it terrified
her. She was a Wytch, and, while she liked to pretend
she was basically human, she wasn’t. She had powers and skills she couldn’t
deny, and when a supernatural force was used against her, her instinct to fight
back roared to the surface. If Drayger was using a spell to find her, surely she could use one to counter it.
She just had to find one.
Fortunately, in a private, secure corner of the Internet,
Wytches gathered to share tips, tricks, and instructions for performing various
tasks such as protecting one’s self from psychos who
could find you after tasting your blood. And according to a user named
Wytches_Float, all she needed to do was taste Drayger’s blood while
having sex.
Hard pass on that one.
Another user, HocusPocus, claimed that turning a drop of
Drayger’s blood into iron would render him unable to use his tracking ability.
Naturally, he didn’t include instructions on how to perform such a feat. Not
that she had a way of collecting Drayger’s blood. And really, if she could get
his blood, why wouldn’t she just kill him?
Probably because Hawkyn was protecting the bastard.
Lilliana and Suzanne had explained the reason, which made
sense in a lot of ways, but none of them made her feel any better.
“Most of the people we protect are decent folks,” Suzanne
had said. “But unfortunately, evil people sometimes play a role in the
advancement of humanity. Change often comes from tragedy or from evil, even if
it isn’t obvious at the time.”
“Really?” Aurora had asked, her skepticism flag flying high.
“Such as?”
“Wars are responsible for a lot of medical, industrial, and
technological advancements,” she’d said.
“And,” Lilliana had added,
“sometimes the good that comes from evil doesn’t happen on a large scale. An
evil person or an evil act can effect change in laws
or individuals, individuals who will then go on to do great things. Or maybe
even just make a difference in their own lives and those around them. We don’t
have to like evil, but there is a place for it. Trust that there’s a
plan. Someday, you’ll see.”
“Have you seen it? This plan?” Aurora asked, and a light had
suddenly shone in Lilliana’s eyes, an ethereal glow that had captivated her,
surrounded her in a blanket of Heavenly warmth.
“I have. I don’t know the future, but I do know that what
seems random is not. Everything, from a rude remark a customer makes to a
waiter, to a plane crash happens for a reason.”
Great. But Aurora wasn’t going to hold her breath waiting for the reason for her abduction to become
clear. Nor was she going to sit around and let Drayger get hold of her again,
no matter how important to humanity’s future her death might be.
A tap on the door startled her, and thinking it was Hawkyn,
she opened it eagerly. But instead, there was a pretty red-haired female
standing there with a clipboard and a small basket full of toiletries.
“Hi,” she said brightly. “I’m Cataclysm, but you can call me
Cat. I’m in charge of guest housing and hospitality.” She handed Aurora the
basket. “A lot of people who stay here come unprepared, so I put together some
items you might need.”
This is so weird.
When Cat nodded, Aurora realized she’d spoken out loud. “Are
you new to the supernatural world or Sheoul-gra?”
“Ah, kinda both.”
Cat grinned. “Well, if it helps, people here are pretty cool. There are some douchewads, and some of the statues bite if you get too close, but for the most part,
Sheoul-gra doesn’t suck. Who are you here with?”
“Hawkyn,” she said. “But I’m not with him. I mean,
he brought me here, but we aren’t together. Not like that...” Ugh. She was
babbling like a lunatic. Time to move on, the way she did after she’d massaged
all the tension out of one part of a customer’s body. She’d certainly massaged
this subject to death. “So, are you one of his sisters?”
“Nah.” Cat tucked her clipboard under one arm. “I’m a fallen
angel. I live in the Inner Sanctum with my mate.”
“The Inner Sanctum... That’s where the souls are kept,
right? You live there?”
“Well, my mate, Hades, runs the place—”
“Wait.” Aurora held up her hand. “What? Did you say Hades?”
Cat’s grin was pure ate-the-canary satisfied. “Yep.
That Hades. He’s the Jailor of Souls, so he pretty much has to live in the jail. It’s not my dream home, but you do
what you gotta do to be with the one you love, right?”
This place just kept getting weirder and
weirder.
“Right,” Aurora said, although she really couldn’t see
herself living someplace like this for anyone.
Hawkyn’s image flashed in her head, which was insane, given
that she’d only known him for a matter of hours. And she was not here with
him.
Cat cocked her head and studied Aurora with such intensity
that she had to force herself to not squirm. “I’m just
curious—and you don’t have to answer—but how do you know Hawkyn? Are you one of
his Primori?”
Aurora shook her head. “He’s protecting me from his Primori.
And he might be protecting his Primori from me, as well.”
For some reason, Cat’s expression became troubled. “I see.
Well, I’d better go—”
“Wait.” Careful to avoid hitting the spot on her palm that
might trigger a flow of energy, Aurora grabbed Cat’s forearm as she turned to
leave. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing.” Cat smiled reassuringly. “Really.”
Aurora sighed. “Please don’t bullshit me. I’ve had a really rough couple of days.”
There was a moment of tense silence, and then Cat stepped
closer and lowered her voice. “I love the people here. I admire the work
Memitim do, because I know I couldn’t do it. They’re
dedicated, passionate, and tough as nails.” She
hesitated, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, and Aurora struggled to
contain her impatience. Finally, Cat blurted, “But they can also be ruthless in
their missions to protect their Primori. They’ll do whatever it takes, even if
their Primori is a genocidal maniac.”
Aurora knew that. But for the first time, she was truly
becoming aware of what that meant. “You’re saying that if Hawkyn’s Primori
needs to kill me to fulfill his destiny or whatever—”
“Hawkyn will deliver you to him like a pizza.”
“Hey, brother.” Emerico stopped near where Hawkyn was
sitting on a park bench with Atticus’s notes about Drayger. “Have you figured
out what you’re going to do about your serial killer predicament?”
Nope. And it was driving him nuts. He always had all the
answers, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, he was at a
loss.
“The only thing I can do right now is keep Aurora safe,” he
said, peering down at the notes that had begun to blur with uselessness.
“You know you can’t keep her here, right?”
Hawk’s gaze cut sharply to his brother. “As long as the
Council and embassy don’t know she’s here, who cares?”
“Our father cares.”
Alarm clanged inside him. “He knows?”
Hawkyn had figured Azagoth would find out sooner rather than
later, given that Lilliana had met Aurora, but geez, it had only been a couple
of hours. And Hawkyn didn’t think he’d give a shit anyway. Azagoth didn’t
exactly follow the rules.
“I just spoke with him,” Rico said. “I guess he saw Suzanne
escorting her to Hotel Hell.”
“Yeah, well, Memitim business isn’t his business. What’s it matter to him if I have her here?”
“I think he’s trying to toe the Heavenly line.” Rico rolled
his eyes. “You know, for the first time ever. He wants something from them.
Whatever it is, he wants it bad if he’s playing their games.”
Shit. This was unexpected. “Guess I’d better see him and get
this cleared.”
Another roll of Rico’s dark eyes. “He’ll probably let it
slide. He lets his favorites get away with murder.”
Hawkyn gaped. “You think I’m one of his favorites?”
“Lilliana likes you, so he likes you.”
Ah, yes. Hawk had forgotten that there was no love lost
between Lilliana and Rico. Hawkyn had no idea what Lilliana’s side of the story
was, but Rico had despised her since the day he claimed she’d slapped him for
giving her a compliment. Hawkyn had known Rico for several decades longer than
he’d known Lilliana...which was why he was almost certain Rico had deserved
anything Lilliana did to him. He loved his brother, but the guy refused to take
responsibility for his actions and always claimed he was the victim in any
situation.
“Do you think he should let it slide?” Hawkyn asked, and
Rico shrugged.
“I think her being here can only hurt you.” Rico signaled to
one of their sisters, who was tapping her foot impatiently at the tennis court.
“Ella and I are practicing for the tennis tourney next week. You gonna root for
us?”
“Sure,” Hawkyn said absently. “See you later.”
Rico took off and Hawkyn went straight to Azagoth’s office.
Zhubaal, his fallen angel assistant, granted him immediate entry. Inside, his
father was observing a parade of demon souls escorted by his griminions
as they guided the demons to their final destination
in the Inner Sanctum. With the exception of one