More than that, she oozed magic.
Cam caught her stare. With a frown, she dismissed him quickly, her gaze lingering on Avery.
“Lorenzo,” she said, a lilt of an unplaceable accent to her clear voice, “tell my next appointment to wait. I will see these two first.”
No arguments from Lorenzo. “Yes, Madame Serena.” He typed something into his computer. “Of course.”
“No more than ten minutes,” she promised. “This won’t take long. Now come,” she said, gesturing toward the beaded curtain. “Come on in.”
It was darker on her side of the curtain. Cam saw three golden sconces each on the opposite walls, the dim bulbs barely illuminating the oval table that took up most of the space. The table was covered with a velvet cloth—purple, naturally—with a pair of candles throwing light on the crystal ball that served as the centerpiece.
Madam Serena sank gracefully in the gilded seat on the far side of the table. A weathered Tarot deck was placed at her right hand. An empty silver bowl was near her left. She turned her hands so that they were facing palms up.
Nodding at the only other empty seat in the small yet cozy room, she announced, “I’ll read the girl.”
Avery looked over her shoulder, as if hoping that there was someone else that Madame Serena was talking to. When she saw the swinging beaded curtain and not another female, she pointed at her chest. “Me?”
“Were you not here for a reading with the girl who looks just like you? The one being hunted by a feral shifter?”
“Actually, um, yes. That’s why we’re here. I was hoping—”
“I know what you’re hoping. You want me to use my sight to find her.”
Avery let out a nervous chuckle. “Wow. You really are a good psychic.”
“Sit.”
She sat.
14
Armed with a phone
“Place your left hand in mine,” Madame Serena ordered. “Palm up.” When Avery did, the psychic lifted it with the gentlest of touches while leaning in herself. She kept about six inches between her nose and Avery’s palm as she looked at the creases and lines as if they were words on a page.
“So, uh, do you see anything?”
“You’re lifeline is extraordinarily long,” mused the psychic. “Yet you’re mortal. And your fate line… this one right here. Do you see how it curves?”
Avery leaned in, head nearly bumping with Madame Serena. “I guess. Does that mean something?”
“It could mean everything. For now, it just tells me your fate is in flux. You have quite the path in front of you, Avery Hayes.” Avery jerked her hand out of the psychic’s. Madame Serena let out a small laugh. “Yes, I know your name, and, no, Lorenzo didn’t tell me. Since there’s little I can tell you about your future without leading you down the wrong path, you’ll forgive me for the chance to show off some.”
“It’s okay,” Avery mumbled. “But what’s that mean? About my future? I’m only here because of Heather—”
“I know that. But your sister has already made her choice. When it’s time to make yours, you’ll understand. But, for now, that’s all I can tell you.” Shifting in her seat, the psychic pointed at Cam. “Now you.”
“I’m only here to support Avery. I’m not interested in having my future read. I know what’s going to happen to me.”
Say goodbye to Avery, spend countless decades more nickel-and-diming his points in the hopes of returning to the up above with a shiny, golden halo in tow, and than hope he didn’t screw up and Fall again.
It was all he ever wanted, so why did it seem like a consolation prize all of a sudden?
As if Madame Serena knew exactly what thoughts were running through his head, she smiled. Her bright red lipstick was the only spot of vivid color in her space that wasn’t purple, and though he couldn’t explain why, it made him uncomfortable.
Or maybe that was just the shark-like way she grinned.
“One card. Give me one card and I’ll tell the human what she wants to know.”
Put it that way, how could he refuse?
“Go ahead.”
She picked up the deck of cards near her hand. Cam was prepared to call bullshit if she just revealed the top card—which could have easily been staged despite her powers—but, with a gleam in her eyes, she shuffled them expertly. Then, never breaking her stare with Cam, she chose one card from the middle, flipped it over, and tossed it in the center of the table, just past her crystal ball.
With the flickering light from the two candlesticks on either side of it, Cam saw the Death card looking back at him.
His heart just about stopped.
“As I thought. Azrael.” She tapped her purple-colored nails on the card. “You know the angel of death.”
Avery’s head jerked his way. “Wait a sec— the cat guy is the angel of death?”
The cat guy? What? Oh. Yeah. The orange cat from the Smurfs.
“Well, I did tell you he was like me but different,” Cam said, sounding a bit dazed.
But, Jesus Christ, did Madame Serena have to scare the shit out of him like that? He saw the Death card and thought… well, he thought the worst. Not his death, since he was still basically immortal so long as the curse of the Othersiders didn’t catch up with him, but Avery…
She was mortal.
Mortals die.
His celestial aura flared, popping two of Madame Serena’s lightbulbs in a high-pitched pop and a rain of glass.
Avery shrieked, hopping from the seat, throwing herself at Cam. Without even thinking about it, he slung his arm over her shoulder, allowing her touch to soothe him again.
Even though Dina had passed on joining them on this trip to Woodbridge, he could just hear her voice echoing in his ear: Calm down, Camiel. Get yourself under control.
So he did.
He didn’t even bother with another apology. He wouldn’t mean it, and he was sure he’d already lost more than enough points already. Settling on a nod, he just said, “Yeah. I know Az.”
“Then that makes things easier for all of us. Luciana has passed down orders through Coventry. Where the angel of death is involved, the witches must do what we can to help.”
Luciana la Sorcière, the head of Coventry. Why the notoriously mercenary witch was doing any favors for Azrael, Cam didn’t know. Didn’t care, either.
“Okay,” he dared her. “Then help.”
“First, I need your hand.” At Cam’s hesitation, she said, “I won’t read it. You’re an Othersider. I know I can imprint a psychic trace on you. That’s all I’m going to do.”
“Fine.” Cam stormed toward the table, refusing to take the seat. Still standing, he shoved his hand at her. “Do it.”
She did. With a small jolt passing between her palm and his, the psychic gave him the information he’d been searching for for nearly two weeks. Cam took his hand hand back, flexing his fingers. “Thanks.”
“One more,” whispered Madame Serena. Then, with a flick of the wrist, she added a second Tarot card on top of Death.
It was the Lovers.
The psychic grinned that shark-like smile again.
Cam whirled away from the table. Even more stunned at that second card, he couldn’t let Avery see it. Why? No fucking clue. He just knew he had to go. So he gripped her by the hand, already halfway through the beaded curtain before she said, “Cam? What’s going on? What did she say?”
“She gave me an address,” Cam ground out, still booking it through the outer room.
Lorenzo call after them.
Nope.
He kept going, pulling Avery along with him. “Heather. I know where she is.”
Cam should have known that she would want to leave the psychic’s shop and run right to where Heather was. It was almost a guarantee, even if it took her a few seconds to shake off the visit—including Madame Serena’s cryptic comments and Cam’s strange reactions—so that she could focus on what came next.
And maybe he did because,
without an argument, he hopped in the passenger seat and told her which way to go.
The psychic trail that Madame Serena had imprinted on Cam had turned the Othersider into a living, breathing GPS. If he’d been flying, he would’ve arrowed straight to the location that she gave him. Since he was content to sit back and let Avery drive, he just gave her directions when she needed them.
It worked. So focused on making the right turns, she didn’t have time to dwell on everything that happened back in Woodbridge—or what she was looking forward to when she made it to Wolf’s Creek.
Wolf’s Creek… like Woodbridge, it was a pretty apt name for the mixed suburb. She’d never been there before—which explained why she never thought to search for Heather there—but she’d heard of it. Everyone had. The Alpha of the Eastern Pack basically ran the whole town. It was annexed to the pack land further east because, years before he became Alpha, Maddox Wolfe made his home in the ‘burbs. When he found his human mate, they settled there together, and even after he became Alpha two Christmases ago, he still stayed in his family home more than the Alpha’s base closer to the mountains.
When it became obvious where they were headed, Avery had to wonder if Heather’s wolf shifter was a genius or a reckless idiot. Stealing a human—even if she seemed oddly content to stay with him now—and ferreting her away to the Alpha’s hometown? He either had a death wish or balls of steel.
And, in a few minutes, she was going to find out which.
At Cam’s suggestion, she parked a few streets away. Since they were dealing with a shifter, the smartest move would be to approach his territory carefully. If they intruded too quickly, or when he wasn’t expecting them, he could react aggressively. That was the last thing Avery wanted. She definitely didn’t want to tip off the shifter, especially if he still had Heather with him.
The house Cam pointed at was cute. A three-story home with weathered wooden siding, a dark roof, a white door, and a maintained garden out front, all that was missing was the white picket fence and a dog out front.
She glanced at the door, then looked up at Cam again. “Are you coming with me?”
“I’ll stay here with you until I’m sure it’s safe. Once we know that your sister’s inside and she’ll talk to you, I’ll take to the skies. Give my wings a stretch after being cooped up in the car. That sound okay?”
“Are you going to… I mean—”
He laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I’m not going anywhere. When you’re done, we can head back to Grayson together if you want. I mean, I can fly back, but if you want company…”
“I’m sure I will,” she cut in quickly.
“Then I’ll be waiting for you. But no rush, okay? Take your time. And don’t be nervous. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
Of course he could sense her nerves. Worse, Avery wasn’t sure if they had more to do with what she’d find beyond that front door or the easy way Cam was touching her.
In the beginning, he never did. Now? She knew she’d miss his casual caresses when this was all over.
So… soon?
Ugh.
She always knew their partnership wouldn’t last. She hired him—or, at least, tried to hire him—to track down Heather and, well, if her sister answered the door, Cam did what he said he would. Hand poised to knock, Avery couldn’t help but be torn between hoping that Heather was inside and wishing that she wasn’t if only so that they could look for another lead.
And wasn’t that just nuts?
Avery knocked. Because, at the end of the day, Cam was as beautiful and unattainable as the stars in the sky. She could appreciate him, but he could never be hers, and the sooner she understood that and got over her silly crush, the better off she’d be.
It seemed like an eternity before the door slowly pulled inward.
Avery felt tears well in her eyes. Because there was Heather, a curious look in the same honey-colored eyes that Avery saw every time she looked in the mirror.
“Avery? What are you doing here?”
She never even got the chance to answer. Before she could open her mouth, a thunderous howl erupted from inside of the house. Heather turned to look behind her, giving Avery her first glimpse of the feral shifter that made off with her sister.
Asshole was big. At least twice as big as a natural wolf, he moved faster than his bulk should’ve allowed.
Welp, thought Avery as the oversized wolf ran past Heather, knocking Avery aside before he barreled right at Cam, there’s the fucking dog.
It took her a second to realize that the force of the wolf sprinting at Cam had caused him to go flying. And, since he hadn’t released his wings yet, when Avery said flying, she really meant crashing.
Cam slammed into the Earth with enough force to shake the ground. Before he could recover and get back to his feet, the wolf leaped at him. By the time Avery could really understand what was going on, Cam was flat on his back, the wolf growling over him, a set of bared fangs only inches from Cam’s throat.
Oh, hell no.
She wasn’t like the group of hunters back at Spring Valley. She didn’t have any kind of weapon. All Avery had on her was her phone and her keys. Figuring they would have to do, she beaned the wolf in the back of his head with the phone. It was heavier and, look at that, it caught his attention.
The wolf’s head swiveled to glare at her.
“You leave him the fuck alone,” she snapped. “You want to be a big, bad wolf, you come after me instead!”
The wolf snapped right back. Since his fangs were way bigger than Avery’s, she wondered if she should be more afraid than she was. Then she spied Cam still stunned on his back, tapped into the worry and the fear she’d struggled with since Heather’s phone call, and reared her arm back. She chucked her keys right at the wolf’s muzzle.
Bulls-eye!
She hit him right on the nose. The wolf whimpered, lowering his muzzle, bowing his head like a dog that had been smacked with a newspaper on the snout.
Holy shit. It worked?
That’s when she realized that the keys probably hurt the wolf as much as someone throwing a cotton ball at her. Nope. His glowing golden eyes weren’t even looking at her any longer, but at something behind her.
Avery turned around. And there was her older sister, arms crossed over her chest, bare foot tapping against the grass.
“Link. Get over here.”
He padded over to her side. He bumped her thigh, but Heather didn’t even stumble. She pointed. “Sit. Is that really how you want to make your first impression on my sister?”
He yipped.
Heather rolled her eyes.
Avery stared.
Then, from behind her, she heard someone clearing his throat. Shit. Cam!
He was back on his feet. She hurried over to him, running her hands over him, making sure she was okay. The silky fabric of the white shirt he always seemed to be wearing was crumpled, and when she turned around him, she saw a grass stain about four inches long in the middle of his back where he hit the ground. Oof. He probably shouldn’t have left his jacket back at the car.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” he murmured. “But you shouldn’t have done that. I’m an Othersider, Avery. That shifter can’t hurt me, but he can hurt you.”
Everything Cam said was true. Did that matter? Nope. The wolf might not have been able to kill Cam, but if he got his fangs in him, it wouldn’t tickle. And she wasn’t going to stand there and let a feral shifter turn him into a chew toy while she watched.
She patted him in the chest. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
He thinned his lips. She could tell he was fuming on the inside, but when his dark stare darted over to Heather and her wolf, he clenched his jaw and stayed silent.
For her.
He did that for her.
And there went another piece of her heart. At this rate, she couldn’t have any left.
“Avery.” That was Heather. “I… we were’
t expecting you. But please, come inside. We can talk in the house.”
Right.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Avery murmured, “Uh, Cam—”
“You sure about this?”
She nodded.
Without her having to say another word, he nodded back and, with only the smallest twitch on his stunning features, he bent his back slightly and released his wings. The whole twelve-foot wingspan stretched behind him.
Like every time she got to see them, Avery gaped. She couldn’t help it.
With a wink, Cam launched into the air and, with a faint shimmer, vanished. But he was still there. She could… she could almost feel him. He wasn’t going anywhere, just like he promised.
She let out a small exhale, then turned to find Heather staring at her.
“What?”
“I leave home for a few days and you’ve hooked up with one of those demons?”
On Cam’s behalf, Avery scowled at her sister. She held up her pointer finger. “First of all, he’s an Othersider, not a demon. Those wings are fucking majestic, and he’s one of the good guys. If it wasn’t for him, I’d still be worried about you because two?” Avery shot up a second finger. “A few days, Heath? It’s been more than two weeks!”
Heather winced. “It has?”
“Yeah. It’s Monday. You didn’t go missing last Saturday. Dude, it was like three Saturdays ago.” Avery didn’t even have to calculate. She knew exactly how long it had been. “Seventeen days!”
True Angel: a Fallen Angel romance (Curse of the Othersiders Book 1) Page 13
