by Krista Walsh
He had no doubts that he loved her, and from the way she put up with his moods, his messiness, and his penchant for pizza with only silent stares and the occasional commentary, he guessed that she returned the sentiment. The way her fingers were currently trailing up his thigh beneath the water did nothing to dispel his suspicions.
But before those fingers could reach their destination, her shoulders slumped. “I suppose we should consider getting back to work,” she said with a sigh.
Gabe swallowed a groan and took hold of her hands, wrapping both sets of arms around her middle. Anything to keep her still for a little while longer. The woman was incapable of slowing down, always moving to the next item on her to-do list. While these moments of solitude with her were far from rare, they never lasted as long as he wished they would.
He ran his thumb over the set of wedding rings she wore on the ring finger of her right hand, one of the only mementos of her family history she’d managed to salvage from the charred rubble of her bookstore and home. It had been five weeks since the eerie members of the Gnosis Collegiate, the lorekeepers of the otherworld, had burned Yggdrasil Books to the ground as punishment for Vera handing over the ancient Book of Universes to a group of demons. He knew Vera was still grieving.
“You know I’d rather stay here for the rest of the day,” she said. “But that book isn’t going to find itself. I’ll have to head back into town today, but you can stay behind if you want. The back porch is almost done.”
Gabe sank deeper into the hot water. He’d been tackling the porch for days, between all the other small repairs the house needed after so many years of being empty. It was the price he’d had to pay for giving up his bachelor apartment to return to his family home. One that was well worth it, since it gave Vera a comfortable haven while her shop was being rebuilt, though he didn’t think either of them would be able to relax until the Book of Universes was found and the people who had taken it were brought down.
A low vibrating buzz pierced the quiet bathroom, and it took Gabe a moment to figure out that it was his phone ringing.
“I can ignore it,” he said.
“Not if it’s work.”
He hated that she was right. Reluctantly, he rolled his weight onto his side to reach toward the floor, digging through the pile of clothes to find his phone in his pants pocket.
“Hello?” he said, leaning against the back of the tub and pulling Vera with him.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” a woman’s voice said.
The voice was familiar, but at first Gabe couldn’t put his finger on why. It wasn’t anyone he’d spoken with recently, and yet he knew it was someone he would never forget. Someone who stood out because of the circumstances under which they’d met…
A flash of a dark, closed room fluttered through his mind, and he sat up straight, splashing water onto the floor. Vera half-turned to face him, confusion written over her delicate features.
“Daphne Heartstone?” Gabe asked. The sorceress’s green eyes, long nose, and short blond hair popped up alongside the memory of the dimly lit room.
“Got it in one,” she said. “I need to hire you.”
“What does a crime journalist want with a private detective?” he asked.
Vera’s eyes widened with interest. She pulled the plug in the bath and stepped carefully out of the tub. Gabe appreciated every inch of her tall, slim body as she reached for her robe and slid it over her shoulders. The show over, he climbed out of the soapy water and hooked the phone between his ear and his shoulder to accept the towel Vera held out for him.
“It looks like we’re getting the band back together,” Daphne said. “Molly Harris has been taken by some sort of magical cartel, and we’re trying to find her. You remember Molly, I’m sure.”
Beside the image of the sorceress, another face appeared, this one younger, with unruly blond curls and square brown sunglasses. He hadn’t seen her since they’d left the locked room, either. Had she and Daphne stayed in touch? It seemed odd if they had, but how else could Daphne have known the girl was missing?
“A magical cartel?” he asked. “What kind of cartel are we talking about, and what would they want with a human girl?”
From what Gabe remembered, Molly hadn’t known anything about their world when she’d first met them. It had taken her a while to even believe they were telling the truth about what they were. What sort of trouble had she found herself in?
“It’s a long story,” Daphne said. “And I would be happy to explain it to you if you’ll agree to come out to her parents’ place and have a look around. I tried to do it myself, but the trail goes cold, as though someone popped into her room, grabbed her, and popped out again.”
A cold, heavy stone formed in Gabe’s stomach. He dropped his towel and stepped into his jeans, heaving them over his hips and buttoning them. Vera had already changed into a pair of gray slacks and a blue-gray sweater that made her hair shine like burnished gold.
“We’ll be there,” he said.
A moment’s pause. “We?”
“Vera’s here. It might not be the worst thing to have a third pair of eyes.”
“Not to mention a vengeance demigoddess,” Daphne mused. “Vera might not be able to track the girl, but no doubt she’ll be a great help bringing her home when we find her. What are the odds that so many of us from that room have found each other again? Jermaine would be tickled pink.”
Gabe had to admit it was strange. Then again, from the moment he’d met Vera, he’d known their paths would cross again. Maybe it had been the same for the others.
Daphne gave Gabe the address, then he hung up, slid his phone into his pocket, and pulled his T-shirt and sweater over his head.
Vera crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “A new case?”
“A strange one,” he said. “It looks like we’re going to have to go back in time.”
He raised his hand in the air to create the rift that would take them closer to where they needed to go, but before he could draw his finger through the air, Vera rested her hand on his arm. He looked to her, then released a breath when she tapped her temple.
“Right,” he said.
He grabbed his sunglasses off the bathroom counter and slid them on, obscuring the vividness of her beautiful hair. He’d hate to kick off this reunion by turning Daphne to stone.
Without another word, he opened the rift and guided them back to New Haven.
***
As they followed Daphne’s directions to Molly’s home, Gabe filled Vera in on the little Daphne had told him.
“The poor girl must be terrified,” Vera said. “What is happening in this city? Demons are coming up all over the place and taking what doesn’t belong to them.” She looked at Gabe. “Do you think it could be connected with the Book of Universes?”
“How?” he asked. “I still don’t understand how a human girl could have been dragged into any of this.”
They reached the house, and Vera drew to a stop at the end of the driveway, tugging Gabe to a halt beside her. Her mouth had fallen open, her eyes growing wide.
“Incredible,” she said, the word barely a whisper.
“What is it?” Gabe asked. He glanced from her to the house, trying to see whatever she saw, but to him it was just a house, albeit one shrouded with worry and tension.
“This is my house,” she said.
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
She gestured toward the building in front of them. “I mean this was my house. This is where I grew up.” A laughing gasp burst through her lips as she stared in awe. “The girl Ara told us about. The one who’d taken to climbing up and down her oak tree at night — it must have been Molly.”
Gabe could easily picture the dryad keeping an eye on Molly. She was the mothering type.
He pushed his hands through his hair and cupped the back of his neck, appreciating the house in a new light. How strange it was that the threads of their lives had crossed over
each other so intricately. He guessed that if they stood back far enough, the patterns would prove to weave a clear image in the Fates’ tapestry. Maybe one that could even make sense of what, to him, remained a knotted puzzle.
“Do you think Ara might have seen something?” he asked.
Vera started up the driveway, skirting around the front door toward the back gate. “It couldn’t hurt to ask.”
She rose on her tiptoes to hook her hand over the top of the gate and gave it three solid shakes. The latch fell open and the door swung into the darkened garden.
“Neat trick,” said Gabe.
“Old habits,” she replied, but her brow was furrowed. He imagined how hard it must be for her to be here, considering the last time she’d set foot in the house had been to pack up her dead father’s effects. Wanting to offer some kind of support, he slipped his fingers through hers.
As they crossed the backyard, Gabe studied the archery targets set up around the back fence, each one looking bruised and beaten.
“It seems our high school heroine hasn’t given up her self-defense skills,” he said.
“Considering what she faced in Jermaine’s trap, can you blame her?” Vera asked. “Antony almost killed her. I imagine she’s dedicated a great part of her life to ensuring no one ever gets that close to doing the same again.”
“And now she’s…wherever she is, without a way to protect herself.” The thought wrapped a cold hand around Gabe’s heart.
Vera reached a large oak tree that stood beside the back porch, its trunk stretching up to rise over the top of the house. Gently, she rubbed her hands over the bark.
“Ara, are you awake?”
The branches stirred, although Gabe detected no wind. A moment later, a form pressed out of the tree and stood beside them. The figure wavered in the light and slowly solidified. It took him a moment to recognize Ara’s human features in the soft green bark-like skin. Silver eyes stared out at him, half-hidden behind mossy hair.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Ara said. Even her voice sounded different. Older. “But why are you here?”
“Because apparently nothing in this world is unconnected,” Vera said. “We got a call about the young girl who lives here. They said she was abducted?”
Ara nodded. “I didn’t see much of it — I was half asleep, but the magic woke me up. I followed it to her window and saw the men who took her. I didn’t recognize any of them, but they seemed to be demanding something of her. She wouldn’t help them, so they grabbed her and took her through…well, to be honest, it looked like one of your rifts, Gabe.”
He scowled. “Fae. It doesn’t surprise me to hear one of them has fallen in line with some rogue demons.”
“Did you hear what they were looking for?” asked Vera.
The corners of Ara’s eyes turned down. “No, I’m sorry. I wish I could be more help.”
“You’ve given us a start,” Gabe said.
Vera tapped the edge of her thumb against her chin. “And maybe your role isn’t done. Molly’s parents might appreciate having someone to keep them company. Someone calm and quiet, good at listening.”
Ara hesitated, glancing toward the house. “It would be strange to go inside.”
Vera nodded. “It’s strange to be back.”
The dryad’s gaze drifted toward her friend. “Don’t you find it odd that you were called here of all places?”
“Beyond odd,” Vera said. “I almost feel as though someone is staring down at me, laughing. Not only are we being called here, but by people we haven’t seen in almost a year. People I didn’t think I’d ever hear from again.”
Gabe squeezed her hand. “We should have known it wasn’t over.”
“I suppose so,” Vera said, then turned to Ara. “I really think having you help us speak with the girl’s parents would make a difference.”
The dryad released a gentle sigh, then the air around her shimmered as she changed her shape to the one Gabe was more familiar with. Her hair brightened into light brown curls, and her eyes shifted from silver to green. A loose sweater hung to her wrists and a skirt fell to her ankles. Her skin changed last, losing its greenish luster to a tan smoothness, the darker green veins subsiding.
“Lead the way,” she said.
They looped around to the front of the house, and Gabe knocked on the door. An unfamiliar woman answered, and by her red-rimmed eyes, Gabe guessed her to be Molly’s mother.
“Yes?” She sounded on the verge of hysterics.
“It’s all right, Dana. They’re here for us.” Another woman approached from behind her, and this one Gabe recognized. Barely. Daphne Heartstone had changed a lot in the last ten months, and all for the better. Though she was still as skinny as a rail, there was now some meat on her small frame. Her cheeks were clear and healthy, and her eyes lacked their feverish brightness. Apparently the addict was progressing well in her recovery.
As Daphne reached the door, Dana Harris disappeared, retreating to a seat at the kitchen table next to the man he guessed was Molly’s father.
He turned back to assess Daphne in time to see one blond eyebrow rise high on her forehead, an expression that made her long hooked nose look that much longer.
“I can see my next headline now,” she said. “‘Love in Captivity.’ You two clearly got more out of Jermaine’s trap than anyone else did.”
Vera’s lips twitched, but for the time being she said nothing, obviously content to observe without engaging.
“I hardly think that’s true,” Gabe said, scanning Daphne over again.
A smile touched on the sorceress’s face. “Well I guess I did benefit a little. It has now been two hundred and seventy-four days since my last attempt to gain power. Turns out your life improves when you stop trying to destroy someone else’s.”
“It looks good on you,” said Gabe. “But what about you and Molly? How did you know about her?”
Daphne sighed, the lines around her mouth growing tight. “Our paths crossed again almost a month ago. Also under the most unlikely and coincidental circumstances.” Her eyes narrowed. “You ever get the feeling there are too many coincidences involving Jermaine’s locked room?”
“Increasingly,” said Vera.
Daphne pressed her lips together and nodded her head towards the stairs. “You may as well come on in. We can take this party upstairs, and then we’ll fill you in on the rest of the story.” She looked at Ara. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“Ara Vellis,” the soft-spoken woman said. “A friend of Vera’s. I came to sit with the family while you work.”
Daphne glanced toward the kitchen. “Maybe not the worst idea. I offered them a bottle of bourbon and they declined, so I’m at a loss. The big guy’s been using some of his angelic influence to keep the mood stable, but I think it’s starting to wear on him.”
“Big guy?” Gabe asked.
The sorceress’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Oh yeah, I guess I left that part out. I did mention this was a reunion, didn’t I?”
Gabe stiffened. “You’re talking about Zach?”
Daphne nodded. “A lot has changed since we last saw each other. We’ll have to get together for cookies and beer to catch up one of these days.”
Gabe exchanged a glance with Vera. The expression in her gray eyes might have appeared neutral to anyone who didn’t know her very well, but he’d already learned to read her, and her concern for the girl was almost being matched by her worry at their present circumstances.
He understood.
The six of them who’d met in Jermaine’s magically sealed room had walked away believing they would never see each other again. But Fate had decreed that wasn’t to be the case for Gabe, as first Allegra Rossi, the succubus, then Vera, had come back into his life, both of them thanks to the trouble rising in the city. Daphne’s out-of-the-blue phone call tonight had been enough of a shock, but to find two thirds of what Jermaine had called the ‘invisible entente’ waiting for him here
felt surreal.
He was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like why they’d been pulled in again.
As no further introductions seemed needed, Daphne turned on her heel, led them inside, and headed up the stairs. Gabe and Vera followed, while Ara remained in the kitchen. Her soft voice drifted after the others as she greeted Molly’s family. Gabe heard the sound of dishes rattling as she stepped into her role of caregiver.
He sensed Vera’s tension behind him like a shift in the air. Her shadow on the wall danced as she moved her head from one side to the other, no doubt taking in all the changes that had come over her family home. All of her childhood memories were linked to this place, including the only memories she would have of her mother. This had been where she’d lived when Susan Goodall had been mowed down by a car, driven by the same group that had taken the Book of Universes.
Everything was connected. He had to wonder how many more paths would merge before they reached the end of the road.
Zachariel stood outside Molly’s room with his arms crossed over his substantial frame, looking exactly like a bouncer at a club, watchful and untrusting. The ceiling lights caught his bald head with a dim glow and deepened the shadows of the scars on the right side of his face, making them appear thicker and even more grim. Other than a few extra scars, he looked exactly the same as when they’d met. Just as friendly.
Gabe was less surprised to find him here than Daphne. Zach had sworn an honour debt to Molly, and it had been clear that he’d taken it seriously. Her being snatched away by demons had to be a blow to the daemelus’s ego — a sore spot it would probably be wise to avoid.
“We’ve both been through her room,” Daphne said, “but maybe your PI skills will find something we didn’t. At this point, we have nothing easy to go on, so anything would help.”
To Gabe, it appeared to be a typical teenage girl’s room, though lacking many of the electronics he might have expected to find. As a lonely, shut in, Gorgon-cursed teenager, his room had been lined with old computers he’d taken apart and put back together. The lumps of tech had been something to keep him company. Molly obviously had a healthier variety of hobbies.
