CHAPTER SEVEN #3
When the images had first started coming to me, I’d been softly startled.
I almost dismissed them as my own random thoughts, like changing the channel on an old, flickering television.
But then they kept coming. The mental pictures felt like they were floating from a certain direction.
I’d followed them … and looked down at Matthew.
That was when it clicked.
His deep, steady breaths were the only sound in the moon-tinted room.
His eyelashes fanned against his cheeks in dark fringes, and for the thousandth time, I was struck by how much Matthew looked like my brother.
I looked down at his small hand, which rested on his chest, fingers splayed.
I resisted the urge to reach down and touch that downy skin.
Another elephant soared through the stillness, releasing its strange, high call.
I didn’t know what it meant, that I was seeing Matthew’s dreams. It seemed my abilities were constantly growing and evolving, and right when I became convinced I had a handle on them, they changed again. Maybe that was just the nature of magic and its unpredictability.
Or maybe Matthew was a Nightmare, and this was the beginning of his own power manifesting.
Whatever the reason, I liked that my nephew had good dreams, in spite of everything he’d been through.
Leaving Matthew with his elephants, I eased backward and reached for the door. He didn’t stir as I gently closed it behind me. The tension left my shoulders, and I let out a long, low exhale.
Collith lifted his head from where he stood in the kitchen. There was a silent question in his eyes.
“Fast asleep,” I said, smiling. I started toward him.
“Good.” Collith finished pouring a second glass of wine and set it on the other side of the counter, directly across from him. The one by his hand was untouched.
It had been a week since our trip to Canada, and Damon had asked us to babysit tonight.
His request was more out of desperation than trust. Emma was in Denver for the weekend, and Cyrus had been working more shifts at the bar lately, so my brother didn’t have a lot of options.
I couldn’t exactly blame Damon for his reluctance to ask, since trouble did seem to follow me.
But I was determined to prove to him, and to myself, too, maybe, that I could do this. Be a normal aunt. Do normal things, like babysit.
As I slid onto the barstool, I considered telling Collith about the elephants in Matthew’s dreams. But something stopped me.
There were certain memories, certain thoughts that belonged to the quiet moments.
To be tucked away and pulled out only when you needed a little joy, or to be reminded of the good.
So I smiled my thanks at Collith and raised the glass to my lips, taking a long drink.
Collith gripped the stem of his wine glass with his fingertips and picked it up, swirling the glass and the wine inside, and then did the same, his throat shifting as he swallowed.
A companionable silence swelled between us.
Music played from the Bluetooth speaker, and I’d lived long enough with Collith to recognize one of his playlists.
It wasn’t that hard, since he preferred classical.
Listening to it always put Collith in a good mood, and I needed him to be in a good mood when he heard what I had to say.
If I’d been waiting for the perfect time, this was it.
Without preamble I said, “I’m going to meet with Lucifer.”
“Forgive the pun, but why the hell would you want to do that?”
I jumped at the sound of Laurie’s voice.
The Seelie King leaned against the counter, his arms folded, legs crossed at the ankles.
I hadn’t seen him since the family dinner, and for a moment I just drank in the sight of him.
I didn’t dare ask why he was here, because I worried it would make him leave sooner.
And I wanted as much time with Laurie as I could get.
When I spoke again, my gaze moved between the two faeries, addressing both of them.
“I bet Lucifer knows. He was fascinated by the Beast, even before they met. Apparently there’s some kind of weird connection between them, and it’s how Lucifer is using him to do his dirty work.
But the devil doesn’t use anyone without doing his homework first. He doesn’t make decisions without weighing every outcome, every weakness.
Which means he probably knows the Beast’s,” I added.
“How do you know that?” Laurie asked, tilting his head.
I blinked at him. “What?”
“How do you know there’s a connection between the Dark Prince and the Beast?” he asked. His eyes glittered, and I could feel Collith watching me now, too.
Fuck, I thought. I knew, even before I opened my mouth to answer, that they were not going to like what I was about to say. “I spoke to Oliver,” I admitted.
“When?”
This was from Collith. I glanced at him, hesitating. He wouldn’t like the next part, either. I twisted my wine glass and watched the red liquid cling to the sides. “The night we found him at that barn,” I said.
Silence. When I lifted my head, I caught Collith and Laurie looking at each other.
A wordless communication passed between them.
Normally I’d have been annoyed by it, but I didn’t have much ground to stand on right now.
I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t told them about the conversation with Oliver.
I’d had plenty of time, and they deserved to know the truth about Lucifer and the creature I had created.
But every time I started to do it—tell Collith when he handed me a cup of coffee, or scroll to Laurie’s name when I unlocked my phone—I stopped. I wasn’t sure why, exactly. Whatever the reason, it was the same thing stopping me now.
So I said nothing while Collith and Laurie processed my revelation together. After a few seconds, Collith refocused on me and leaned his elbows on the counter. Tension coiled in my stomach; I knew he was about to ask what else Oliver and I had talked about.
“Any ideas on how we’re going to find the Dark Prince?”
I hid my surprise. Collith gazed back patiently, still holding his wine glass in a light grip. We, he’d said. I hesitated again. “Collith, if you’re there, his guard will be up. I need to see Lucifer alone.”
“I’m going, Fortuna.” His tone was matter-of-fact. “I can remain out of sight, as a compromise. But anywhere you go, I go.”
“Collith—”
“Anywhere you go, I go.” He repeated it firmly.
I fell silent and studied him. There was a hardness in Collith’s eyes that reminded me of something Laurie had once said.
I believe that, sometimes, you mistake us for men, Fortuna.
You forget what we truly are. Most days, Collith was level-headed and reasonable …
but I didn’t see any of that reason now.
I reminded myself that I was picking and choosing my battles, and I had a feeling this was one I would lose, anyway.
Laurie moved, drawing my attention back to him. “You haven’t answered the question. Do you have a way to contact the devil that we don’t know about?” he asked.
“No, but I know how to contact one of his spies.” I paused, gathering the courage to confess yet another secret to them. “Lyari Paynore.”
Neither of them said anything. There was no trace of surprise in their expressions.
“You knew,” I said. It wasn’t a question. Again, neither of them spoke. I let out a breath and realized that I was too tired to be annoyed. “Fine, well, since you two know so much, tell me how I can get Lyari to have a conversation. She’s so ashamed that she won’t even look at me.”
Laurie grinned. “Have I taught you nothing? If she won’t talk to you, make her. Never underestimate the power of annoying the shit out of someone.”
“You should get that engraved on your throne,” Collith muttered.
“Or his headstone,” I put in.
Before Laurie could answer, the baby monitor on the counter crackled—Matthew was shifting in his crib. We all fell silent, waiting to see if he’d truly woken up. A few seconds ticked by, music floating through the stillness. The small lights on the monitor stayed dark.
Suddenly Laurie’s nose wrinkled. “Good God, can that smell really be normal?”
The corners of my mouth deepened, and there was an amused gleam in Collith’s eyes as he turned to me and said, “Where does your brother keep the diapers?”
Laurie made a distressed sound and said nothing to either of us before vanishing. I pressed my lips together to hold back another smile. “If the bottom drawer of the changing table is empty, there should be an unopened pack in the closet,” I told Collith.
He nodded and strode toward Damon’s room.
Hoping to air the smell out, I walked to the window at the end of the hall and pushed it open.
Movement on the other side of the glass caught my attention.
I found myself looking down at Laurie, who stood on the lawn, still visibly gagging.
My lips twitched yet again, and I drew back from the glass before he could catch me staring.
I went back down the hall, moving more quietly once I drew close to the open door.
I grasped the knob with cautious fingers and pushed it a little more, making the crack just wide enough for me to peer inside.
Collith sat in the chair beside the window, holding Matthew against his chest. My nephew was curled on his side, his head tucked in the curve between Collith’s jaw and throat.
Seeing him with a child in his arms caused a reaction deep inside me, like sparks or a combustion of chemicals, and for the millionth time, I thought of the vision Mercy Wardwell had once shown me.
The feeling was followed by a whisper of frustration as I remembered my conversation with Collith at the motel.
Until this is all over, I think there should be some boundaries.