Well, at least she was honest. “The gargoyles I read about died when the old witches died. I had no idea any were still around.”
“What’s the difference between old witches and new witches?” Aisling asked, stretching out in the chair. Getting comfortable was clearly her main focus. “I mean ... what was Genevieve Toth?”
“That’s the third or fourth time I’ve heard someone in your family talk about her,” I noted as I sat on the couch across from Aisling. “I asked my aunt, but her explanation was rather limited and I didn’t have time to press her. Who is she?”
“An old witch,” Bub immediately answered, his tail slashing through the air. “Genevieve was absolutely an old witch. She lived for centuries.”
“That sounds like a dark witch to me,” I countered.
“She was both.”
“And this is the woman who somehow kept your mother alive, right?”
“Her body,” Cillian replied quickly. “Her soul passed over. We didn’t find that out until right before the big fight, but it was only her body that remained.”
“Something I didn’t know,” Bub volunteered. “I didn’t realize she was soulless. Had I known ... .” He trailed off.
“You wouldn’t have done anything differently,” Aisling finished for him. “You couldn’t have done anything else. You were trapped in an untenable position. My mother thought she was controlling you. You had to be cautious. I get that.”
“I know you came to see me in the hospital before you left for your honeymoon,” Bub supplied. “I know you sent gargoyle treats, too. But because gargoyle treats aren’t real, my understanding is that you paid someone to open cans of Fancy Feast and switch out the tins for bowls before delivering them to me.”
Aisling smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t eat cat food.”
“You’re still welcome.”
Cillian chuckled, whatever strain he’d been carrying only moments before evaporating. “I can’t believe you sent him cat food, Ais.” He moved closer to his sister, grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over her. “That’s kind of mean.”
“I called every single day,” Aisling argued. “I wanted to make sure he wasn’t dead. I thought he might like the cat food. How was I supposed to know what he liked?”
“I like steak,” Bub barked. “I like steak and hamburgers.”
“I’ll know for next time.” Aisling shifted in her chair to get more comfortable. “By the way, this is Izzy Sage. She’s the new gatekeeper on Belle Isle.”
His eyes keen, Bub focused on me with new interest. “You’re the gatekeeper?”
I nodded, suddenly uncomfortable. “I am. You know about the gate?”
“I know a great deal about many things.” Bub turned thoughtful. “Sage. There was a gatekeeper with that moniker before. It was twenty years ago, right?”
I swallowed hard. “My father. My mother helped, too, but technically my father was the gatekeeper.”
“I see.” It was a simple statement, but his words somehow hung heavy. “And now you’re back.”
“I am.”
“And why are you here?” Bub flicked his eyes to Cillian. “What trouble have you found this time?” His eyes moved to Aisling. “Am I right in assuming this is your fault?”
“No.” Aisling rolled her eyes as she burrowed under the blanket. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume she was about to take a nap. It was something she wouldn’t own up to — I barely knew her and recognized that — but I doubted very much she was going to help with the research when a snooze was on the horizon.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Cillian said hurriedly. “We have a situation at the gate. A wraith broke in and crossed the threshold.”
“Really?” Intrigued, Bub leaned forward. “Why would it do that? I didn’t think you could cross from this plane to the next without dying.”
“I didn’t either,” Cillian said. “But it did. Not only that, it passed back over with no ill effects. It seemed stronger when it returned, as if it was somehow enhanced. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”
“There was a body, too.” Aisling looked sleepy as she clutched the blanket under her chin. “We assumed the wraith killed it during its escape, but the body was hauled off to the morgue yesterday and somehow returned today. We can’t figure it out.”
“Can you think of a reason for a body to disappear from the morgue and end up at the water’s edge?” Cillian asked.
“Other than my theory that the zombies are back,” Aisling added.
“That thing with the zombies was a fluke,” Bub said distractedly. “That was a spell gone wrong, not zombies. As for what you’re describing, I’ve never heard of it.”
“I didn’t know that things could cross from the other side of the gate,” Cillian admitted. “That means I’m pretty far behind on this one. We need books to dig through, history texts. There has to be some explanation for what’s going on here.”
“Yes.” Bub’s expression was hard to read as he snagged my gaze. “It sounds like you have a full plate. Just a quick question, though: Did the wraith make his wild run before or after Ms. Sage took her new position?”
I balked at the question. “What does that matter?”
“I’m merely curious.”
“After,” Cillian answered. “My understanding is that the wraiths have been gathering in that area for weeks. I don’t think this was a new plan.”
“Then that means they have a specific endgame in mind,” Bub said. “We need to figure out what it is. Whatever they’re doing, I can guarantee it’s not good.”
“We figured that out ourselves.” Aisling turned on her side to face the fireplace. “Wake me if you find anything good.”
Bub turned exasperated. “You’re not going to help?”
“I’m growing a human life here. I can only do so much.”
“Oh, geez.” Bub’s exasperation was palpable. “I’m glad I missed most of your pregnancy.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. My mothering instincts are kicking in full throttle now, so you’ve missed out. I would’ve showered you with Fancy Feast.”
“I’m not a cat!”
“You say potato.”
Eighteen
We spent hours researching the gate. I learned a few things, though most of the tidbits were odd curiosities I made a mental note to come back later and research further. We had a specific purpose today, and nothing I found answered the myriad questions looming over us.
Aisling slept for hours, so deeply that her snoring filled the room. Bub suggested messing with her — he had a few ideas that I found both worrisome and intriguing — but Cillian vetoed it. He ordered Bub to leave her alone, and checked on her multiple times to make sure she was comfortable.
By the time Braden and Griffin made their way to the library toward the end of the afternoon, she’d been out so long I’d started to worry.
“Oh, it’s the owl dog,” Griffin noted as his gaze fell on Bub. “I wondered where you ended up.”
“I’ve been listening to your wife snore for hours,” Bub said dryly. “Clearly I’m in hell.”
Griffin slid a gaze to the slumbering form in the chair and smiled. “How long has she been like that?”
“A long time,” Cillian replied. “She tried to pretend she was interested in the research, but that lasted all of five minutes. You should take her home.”
“That’s the plan.” Griffin dragged a hand through his long hair. It was clear he needed a cut, but other things took precedence. “I’m trying to decide if I should wake her for the ride back to Grimlock Manor.”
“I think it’s funny that you guys named your house,” I volunteered, earning a snicker from Bub. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who named his or her house. Er, well, I met a woman in New Orleans. Bertie Button — yes, that was her real name — and she named her cottage the Clam Shack. She had a lot of excess hormones from me
nopause, though, and I’m pretty sure she was simply horny when she decided to do it. She painted it pink, too, with pearly white accents.”
Braden’s mouth dropped open. “Wow! And I thought we knew colorful people.”
“Now I totally want clam chowder for dinner,” Cillian said.
“That sounds good,” Griffin agreed, kneeling next to Aisling’s chair and gently brushing her hair from her forehead. “She hasn’t been complaining about contractions, has she?”
“No.” Cillian sobered, obviously horrified by the thought. “Is she supposed to be having contractions?”
“The doctor says soon. I just want to make sure.”
“She shouldn’t be here if she’s having contractions,” Cillian complained. “She should be back at the house ... or in the hospital.”
“Which is why I didn’t want her at the scene today,” Griffin muttered.
“Hey, you can’t blame that on us.” Braden turned defensive. “You know how she is. She doesn’t want to be left out. It’s not our fault. Dad was trying to include her in a safe way. He told her she was babysitting Izzy, even though Izzy was babysitting her. We did our best.”
“I know.” Griffin pressed his lips to Aisling’s forehead and waited to see if she stirred. She didn’t. “We need to come up with a way to keep her under wraps. She can’t help herself from finding trouble. It’s important she rests.”
“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Braden looked concerned. “She’s not sick, is she?”
“No. She’s pregnant.”
“Oh, is that what she’s carrying around under her shirt? I’m so relieved to know it’s not one of those monsters from the Alien movies.”
Griffin scowled. “You’re just like her.”
“You take that back.”
“No.” Griffin was firm. “You’re just like her, which is why I want to thump you so often. I can only take one of you.”
“Well, I want to thump you, too.”
“That’s fine.” Griffin clearly understood the Grimlock vibe. “No matter how much hot air you blow, I know you’re worried about your sister. We’re only a few days from her due date. She’s probably not going to give birth on that exact date, but we’re zeroing in on the big event. She needs to be protected, whether you guys want to admit it or not.”
Braden scowled. “Do you think we would let something happen to her? Really?”
“No, but I don’t think we always have control over these things. There’s a powerful wraith running around. Until that situation is handled, we’re staying at Grimlock Manor, even after she has the baby, if necessary. I want her protected.”
Braden softened his stance. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll protect her. I promise we won’t let anything happen to her.”
“That would be a nice change of pace.”
BRADEN VOLUNTEERED TO TAKE me back to Belle Isle, but he took a detour by Mexicantown first. He said he was starving, and the sound of my stomach growling was hard to ignore.
“You should acquaint yourself with this part of town,” Braden suggested as he sat across from me in a cozy booth, a basket of chips and four different types of salsa resting at the center of the table. “The food here is amazing.”
“It’s weird,” I admitted, dipping a chip in the green salsa. “I was a kid when I lived here before. I don’t think I ever properly understood the geography.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I was seven. Everything I knew revolved around Belle Isle. I thought it was big when I was a kid. It seems a lot smaller now.”
“I guess. I never really thought about it.” He leaned back in the booth, the mood lighting emphasizing the hard angles of his face. “What do you remember about living here before?”
“I don’t know. I have trouble remembering some things from back then.”
“Like what happened to your parents?”
The question made me uncomfortable. “Why would you ask that?”
He didn’t back down. “Did you think I wouldn’t look up your parents after I found out about your background?”
“No. It’s just ... what did you find?”
Instead of immediately responding, he furrowed his brow.
“I’m serious,” I persisted, my temper ratcheting up a notch. “I don’t remember what happened and I don’t have the security clearance to read about it.”
“Did you try?”
That was the first thing I’d tried when I got gatekeeper security clearance. I wasn’t even back in the area before I started digging. “I tried. It’s level four, which is good but not great. Only the bigwigs can access the files on my parents.
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” I conceded, sighing. “I can read the basics with my clearance, but there’s nothing in those files I don’t know. My grandfather was very big on making sure that I never forgot my parents, that I always remembered they were good people.”
“I don’t think that’s something you can forget,” Braden nodded. “In fact, I think it’s the opposite. I always remembered what a good person my mother was. That came back to bite me when she returned. I didn’t want to see that the person who came back wasn’t the same person I’d lost.”
He seemed nervous about opening up to me, so I treaded lightly when digging deeper. “When did you realize what was really going on?”
“Not until the end. I didn’t want to see it. There were warning signs, but I refused to see them.”
“And your siblings?”
“Aisling never trusted her. Right from the start, Aisling was certain something bad was happening. I hated her for it. I was so ... angry ... with her because she wouldn’t simply open her arms and accept Mom back into our lives. That wasn’t fair to her.”
“I get the feeling she’s over it, if that helps.” I offered him a smile. “She doesn’t seem to be carrying a grudge.”
“Why should she? She was right.”
“That doesn’t mean you were wrong.”
“My mother tried to kill my sister so she could use her body as a conduit and prolong her own life. I would say I was wrong.”
He had a point. “Well, you weren’t evil about being wrong or anything.”
He chuckled, the sound low and throaty. “You’re good at putting people at ease. I don’t know how you do it, but you’re good at it. Is that something you learned from your grandfather?”
“I guess. He’s a strong man and he was big on not forcing me to follow gender roles. He said I could be anything I wanted to be, and he was right. I wanted to be a gatekeeper — something he didn’t want me to be because of what happened to my parents — and he’s still upset about it.”
“Did you want to be a gatekeeper because you liked the work or because you thought you would be able to learn something about your parents in the process?”
Braden’s gaze was probing, his lavender eyes seemingly running roughshod over my nerves. “I like the work.”
“I think you would be able to maintain eye contact if that were true.”
I sighed. “I don’t dislike the work,” I hedged.
“You came here because of your parents, though, didn’t you?”
“I ... .”
“You don’t have to come up with an excuse.” He gentled his voice as he leaned forward. “I get it. I would’ve done the same thing. You don’t have to worry about me tattling on you or anything.”
Oddly enough, that was a relief. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Would you really have done the same thing?”
Braden nodded without hesitation, his black hair gleaming thanks to the low lights. “Yes. But I don’t know that you should take that as a good sign as most everyone in my family thinks I’m the one who makes the worst decisions.”
“Even worse than Aisling?”
“She gets a pass because even when she makes bad decisions she always manages to figure things out and garner a good outcome.”
“I think you’re probably the same way.”
“And I think you’re back to making me feel better.” He stretched out his legs under the table, his feet brushing against mine. To my surprise, he didn’t move them. It was a strangely intimate moment, and I didn’t know what to make of it. “I tried to look up information on your parents, too. I didn’t find much. We can ask my father to do it if you’re really desperate to know.”
I jerked my head up, surprised. I’d like to say I forgot about his feet touching mine in the process, but I was keenly aware of his body language. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t forget. “Do you think he would do that?”
“I think he would complain about doing it,” Braden hedged, uncertain. “I think he would try to help, though. He seems to like you. Plus, well, you might be our only chance to ever see Aisling with a female friend. I don’t know if you’ve realized it or not, but she doesn’t play well with other girls.”
“I noticed during lunch today. There was a lot of ‘your pimp says this’ flying when she saw that Angelina woman.”
“Yes, well, everything Aisling throws at her, Angelina has coming. Angelina is pretty far from innocent, but my sister isn’t squeaky clean as far as that relationship goes either.”
“Yeah. I can see they hate each other.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Still, when your sister suggested tabling their problems until after giving birth Angelina readily agreed. If Angelina is as terrible as you say she is, why would she do that?”
“Because Angelina used to date Cillian.”
I pictured the irritating brunette with the amiable Grimlock brother. “They don’t seem to fit.”
“They don’t, and she cheated on him. Aisling hated her before that, but the cheating sent Aisling into a tailspin. I swear, she was arrested three weekends in a row for the things she did to Angelina.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.”
I snickered. “How did your father react to that?”
“He bailed her out.”
“She didn’t get in trouble?”
“Aisling rarely gets in trouble. My father talks big, but when it comes down to it he’s a marshmallow. He would die to protect any of us. More important, he would kill for us. He’s good with the big things. When it comes to the little things, Aisling knows how to get exactly what she wants.”
Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller Book 1) Page 17
