“You just admitted you wish to use Cora,” Alec said, in a mild voice that didn’t at all disguise his hostility.
“Not in the sense you mean,” Terrin said, suddenly looking exhausted. “It has been a very long day. Let me start at the beginning, and see if we can’t get through this quickly, so that my visit will not have been in vain. I am a seneschal at the Court, which basically makes me a middle-level bureaucrat. One of the three mares—they are second-in-command to the Sovereign, who rules the Court—has sent me to seek the aid of Corazon Ferreira, mortal, who was imbued two days previously with the Occio di Lucifer.”
“Former mortal. She is now my Beloved,” Alec corrected him.
I really am immortal now?
Yes.
Wow. I thought about that for a few minutes. That’s kind of mind-blowing. At least now Jas can stop fretting that she’s going to live forever, and I’ll be an old lady who looks like her grandma rather than her sister.
“So I see. You have my felicitations.”
Alec bowed his head in acknowledgment.
Are you guys always so formal and old-fashioned?
It is the way of the bureaucrats, yes. I prefer to live in the here and now, but many beings in the Otherworld honor the old ways.
Gotcha. “What sort of aid?”
“I believe our goals are the same,” Terrin said, setting down his teacup. “The mare in question—Mare Disin—desires to free her great-granddaughter from the Akasha, namely, one Diamond Reed.”
I gawked at him despite the fact that I was gawking far too much ever since I’d met Alec. “Diamond has a grandma who is in heaven?” I shook my head. “That came out wrong. She’s got a grandma who is a big-time angel? Boy, that still doesn’t sound right.”
“Diamond has a great-grandmother who is one of the three individuals who wields great power in the Court of Divine Blood, yes,” Terrin said, glancing at his watch. “And we are running out of time to effect a rescue.”
“I have heard of the mares,” Alec said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “If they wield as much power as is reputed, why does not this mare simply remove her descendant from the Akasha?”
“The mares’ powers are confined to the Court; they have none outside of it, much less so in the Akasha.”
“But they do control the Hashmallim,” Kristoff interrupted.
“I was just going to point that out,” Alec agreed, turning to me to add, since he knew I was going to ask, “The Hashmallim are the beings who act as the police force of the Court of Divine Blood. They also serve to guard the Akasha. It is because of them that we could not simply leave it.”
“I remember the greeter saying something about them,” I murmured, wondering what Diamond was doing at that moment. Was she worried? Afraid? Guilt swamped me at being so caught up with Alec that I had been ready to let her happily putter on her own in the Akasha. Despite her reassurance that she was looking forward to seeing all the Akasha had to offer, it was still a place of punishment, and she had done nothing to deserve being trapped there.
“They do indeed direct the Hashmallim,” Terrin acknowledged, smiling his thanks when Pia poured him more tea. Already the bruise marks on his throat had almost faded to nothing. “And if Her Grace Disin had asked the Hashmallim to take her great-granddaughter to the Akasha, she would most certainly be able to demand a release. But Diamond was banished by Bael himself, and combined with the fact that she is a vessel, it makes for difficulties in gaining her release without extraordinary measures.”
“I understood, like, one word in five in that,” I told Pia. “How about you?”
“One in four,” she said, patting my knee. “But I’ve been around these guys longer than you. What’s a vessel?”
“A member of the Court of Divine Blood. In the hierarchy of the Court, they are the lowest member, and justly serve mortals. They answer to—”
“Whoa, wait just a second, here,” I interrupted, shaking my head. “You’re saying that Diamond is an angel, too? Diamond who stole my husband away from me?”
Alec made an abortive gesture.
“Not that I wanted him anymore, and I’m much happier without him,” I said quickly, flashing a quick smile at Alec. “But still, she stole him from me! Angels don’t do that!”
“She is a vessel,” Terrin said, his warm brown eyes doing a little twinkle thing at me. “She serves mortals.”
I thought about that for a moment. “You’re saying she took Dermott from me because . . .” My gaze shifted to Alec, enlightenment dawning in the dusty hallways of my mind. “Because I was going to meet Alec?”
“Because you are a Beloved, and you have a moral code that would not allow you to fulfill that role if you were bound to another man,” Terrin said, hiding his smile in the cup of tea.
“I can’t help but be a little annoyed with the fact that she thought she’d just come along and manipulate my life like that,” I said, feeling disgruntled and somewhat betrayed. “I thought she really loved him. I thought he was better off with her. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving them my blessing.”
Terrin shrugged. “She most likely does love him. Her job would not have required her to marry him, so I assume she felt they had a future together. And just for the record, no member of the Court takes it upon themselves to manipulate mortals. We may guide now and again, but in the end, the choice of what path your life takes is entirely yours.”
My gaze went again to Alec, whose mouth was tilted up on either end in the very faintest of smiles.
You look smug.
I do not feel smug. I feel grateful.
Grateful that I let my inner devil have her way and hook up with you?
Grateful that Diamond had the foresight to separate you from your ex-husband. Did you love him?
When we were first married, yes. But it wasn’t the sort of love that had much depth to it, and before six months were up, I knew I’d made a mistake.
“That’s all and well, not that I mean to make light of your relationship with your ex-husband, Cora, but what, exactly, do you expect Cora to do to get her friend out of the Akasha?” Pia asked Terrin. “Are you going to . . . for lack of a better word . . . use her?”
“Would that I could,” Terrin said, looking even more tired. “But although one Tool by itself is powerful enough to pull most people from the Akasha, a member of the Court is beyond its power. Two Tools, however, should do the trick.”
“Are you saying that the Tools can work together?” I asked. “That they can . . . what, chain power or something?”
“That is a very apt way of phrasing it.”
“So if two of the Tools together are enough to yank Diamond from the Akasha, what would all three be like?” Pia asked.
Terrin shuddered and closed his eyes. “The three Tools wielded by one person would rock the mortal world. They could cause irreparable damage to any being, mortal or immortal. It would, in short, have a devastating effect the likes of which have not been seen by this world since the creation of Abaddon.”
Pia looked at me as if I were a walking time bomb. I knew just how she felt. I looked down at my hands, panic and fear swamping me.
I will let no harm befall you, mi querida. No one will use you in such a way—that, I swear.
But they could, Alec. I could be part of something seriously, unimaginably bad.
I would not allow it, he reassured me, but there was a shadow in his mind that made me feel sick to my stomach.
“So you need us to summon Ulfur in order to get Diamond out, yes?” Pia asked as I was trying to come to grips with my emotions. She glanced at Kristoff. “We’ll have to find another lichmaster.”
“There is one in France. We will contact her,” he answered.
“Won’t it be dangerous for Ulfur and me to be together?” I said slowly, leaning into Alec when he sat on the arm of the couch next to me.
“Normally I would agree that it would not be in any way ideal for you to be within clos
e proximity of another Tool, but this is an extraordinary situation.” Terrin glanced at his watch again. “The time of acclimation is almost upon her, and that would be most tragic.”
What’s an acclimation?
I have no idea.
I hate to always be the one asking questions. Your turn.
“What is the time of acclimation?” Alec asked just as Kristoff did the same thing.
“The Akasha was created by the Sovereign as a place of punishment for members of the Court who deserved such treatment. Later, others were allowed to be banished to its confines, but since it was created to hold former members of the Court, it deals with them particularly harshly. There is a period of time during which the individual sent there may be resummoned to the Sovereign’s presence if it should so desire, but after that period is over, the individual loses his or her powers and becomes mortal.”
Did he just call God an it?
The Sovereign is not God, and it is commonly referred to by a gender-neutral pronoun, yes.
“What’s wrong with being mortal?” I asked, letting that point go for the moment.
“Nothing,” Terrin said, getting slowly to his feet. “For one used to such a thing. But for a member of the Court to be stripped of his or her powers in the Akasha is a life sentence. Not even the Sovereign itself could change that.”
“A life sentence? But nothing can die in the Akasha,” I argued.
“Exactly,” he said, his eyes suddenly serious.
“But why couldn’t she simply be summoned later, even if she was mortal?”
He shook his head. “I wish she could, but Diamond is immortal. If she loses that quality, she ceases to exist in any plane mortals touch. She would exist in the Akasha, but”—he spread his hands—“nowhere else.”
“Oh, my god.” I looked at Alec as I realized what he was saying. “She’ll be trapped in the Akasha forever.”
“How long do we have?” Alec asked as Kristoff pulled out a cell phone.
Terrin gave us all a long look. “Two hours and thirty-three minutes.”
Alec swore as Pia leaped to her feet, exclaiming loudly, “There’s no way we can have Ulfur summoned in that time!”
Alec? What are we going to do?
Be patient, love. Let Kris determine if the lichmaster will help us before you think about panicking.
Kristoff turned his back on us, speaking rapidly in French into his cell phone.
“I’m afraid there is no other choice,” Terrin apologized.
“But the lichmaster is in France! There’s no way we could fly there in time,” Pia wailed, moving over to her vampire.
Could a private jet—
No. Do not worry, mi corazón. If Kristoff can locate a lichmaster, we will be there in time, he said, obviously listening to Kristoff.
How?
We will take a portal.
To where?
To wherever we need. Ah. This sounds hopeful. Alec moved over to Kristoff, asking a question in French that Kristoff repeated.
I looked at Terrin, whom I was unnerved to find watching me. “You couldn’t have told us this earlier?” blurted out of my mouth, making me blush at the rudeness. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but really, a little more time would have been nice. Not that I’ve been proactive about getting Diamond out, so I’m just as guilty as you, but still. You, at least, knew the truth about her.”
“I began tracing your whereabouts as soon as Mare Disin realized what happened to her descendant,” he said gently. “You appeared to have traveled quite a bit in what is a very short amount of your time.”
“Yeah, but you’re some sort of an angelic bureaucrat, aren’t you? Couldn’t you just tune in your magic TV screen or whatever you guys have up in heaven, and see where I was?”
He gave a soft, but genuine, laugh. “I would give much to have a magic TV screen. Alas, the Court does not work that way. I traced you by means of bribery and several acts that I would prefer not bandied about.”
“Thank god,” Pia said, smiling at Kristoff. “We got the lichmaster, Cora. Very nice work, Boo.”
He rolled his eyes as Alec held out his hand for me. I expected him to look a bit happier, but he looked worried.
Is there something wrong with the lichmaster that Kristoff found? I asked as Pia and Kristoff dashed upstairs to toss a few things into a bag, and alert Eleanor to our change in plans.
No.
Then why do you look so worried? If the lichmaster will summon Ulfur, we can get Diamond out. Oh, do you think he will do the same thing that Brother Ailwin will do, and try to use us?
No.
I moved around to his front, examining his expression. His eyes were a pale, seawater green, his brows pulled together. Then what? I asked as I put my hand over his heart.
It’s what comes after, he said after a few minutes’ silence.
After?
Yes. His gaze slid over to where Terrin was examining the pictures on one wall. But I believe I see a way through it.
Chapter Thirteen
Cora was uncharacteristically calm about the idea of taking a portal to Avignon, surprising Alec when, as she landed on the foam padding set up on the receiving end, she whooped and said she wanted to do it again.
“You are the strangest woman I have ever met,” he said as he helped her to her feet, guiding her out of the way as the air sparked a few times, indicating another body was about to emerge through the permanent tear in the fabric of space that the portalling company maintained for the use of its customers.
“You told me that already,” she answered, applauding when Pia appeared out of nothing and hit the padding with a whomp. “And the judges go wild!”
“Thank you. I think,” Pia said, accepting the hand he held out to her. “I did try for a reverse gainer, but I’m not sure if I pulled it off or not.”
“Seriously, tens across the judges,” Cora assured her before turning to him. “Screw private jets—I want to portal everywhere from now on.”
“Most people only use portals when they have no other choice,” he warned her.
Eleanor appeared, screaming as she hit the padding. “Goddess above, I never want to do that again. Urgh.”
He helped her to her feet, as well.
“Why don’t they use portals?” Cora asked him.
He gave a little shrug. “Some beings don’t like it. Dragons and elemental beings will do just about anything to avoid using a portal. Some of the Fae are opposed to it on the grounds that it desecrates their beyond. Others, like some spirits, cannot use it unless they are in corporeal form.”
“I completely understand their feelings,” Eleanor muttered, brushing off her pants.
Cora stared at him for a moment before turning to Pia just as Kristoff materialized and hit the padding. “One in ten words, maybe.”
Pia laughed. “Believe it or not, I understood all of it. Give it time, and you will, as well.”
“Uh-huh.” Cora’s mysteriously dark eyes considered him. “You’re not any of those things that you mentioned, though. Are you?”
“No, I’m not, and I don’t have an issue with using a portal per se, but it is also expensive.”
“Really?” She moved aside as Terrin appeared about ten feet off the ground, arms and legs flailing as he dropped to the pad. “How expensive?”
He told her the price for all six of them to be transported from Florence to Avignon.
“Jesus wept! I could buy a house for that! A nice house!” she gasped.
“Am I here? All of me?” Terrin asked.
Alec hauled him to his feet, brushing him off, since the seneschal appeared to be somewhat disoriented by the portal. “You’re here. Where to, Kris?”
“The lichmaster said she’d be waiting for us at the Chauvet caves.”
“Caves? I love caves!” Cora said, her eyes bright with excitement as she took his hand. The fact that she did so automatically warmed him like nothing else had in . . .
well, since his beloved mother had died. She had been the only person who touched him with genuine love . . . until Cora. He wondered if she loved him. He wondered if she knew he was quickly falling into that state.
“Caves? That ought to be interesting,” Eleanor said.
“Do we have to meet there?” Alec asked Kristoff.
The latter gave him a sympathetic look. “She wouldn’t budge from there. Evidently that is where her headquarters are.”
“I’ve heard of that cave,” Pia said as they exited the portalling company’s building, and emerged into the soft darkness of the evening. “Isn’t it where they found those pretty cave paintings?”
“I believe so,” Kristoff answered, shooting him another look before he hurried off with Pia to rent a car.
“Caves,” he muttered, disgusted with the turn of events.
“What’s wrong with caves? They’re awesome fun. I love the ones with the stalactites dripping limewater, making all sorts of creepy shapes. Kinda reminds me of ectoplasm, really, not that I’ve ever seen it, because I don’t believe in ghosts.... Oh.” She blinked at him, a wry smile making him want to kiss her senseless. “I guess I need to change that, huh?”
“There are many types of spirits,” the seneschal said, consulting his watch. “But none, I believe, take on the form of wet stalactites. We have slightly over two hours left.”
Avignon at night was enchanting, and Alec was possessed with the urge to watch Cora’s face as she explored all the delights contained within it, but that would have to wait until after she was safe.
He became aware that Cora was watching him closely. He kissed her just to take that speculative look off her face, then kissed her again because once again he couldn’t get enough of her sweetness, ignoring a rude comment by Eleanor as he did so.
You don’t like caves?
No.
Claustrophobic?
He didn’t answer.
I’m sorry. That’s got to be the pits. You don’t have to go into the cave if you don’t want to.
“You’re being silly,” he said, releasing her lower lip when Terrin made a polite little cough. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am a Dark One. I fear nothing.”
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