“It can and it is. I heard it from a reliable source of mine.”
“Been keeping tabs on her all these years, have you?” Vix said, unable to hide her sneer.
“Don’t tell me,” Balthazar pointed a long, thin, blue-clawed finger at her, “you haven’t.”
She flinched, then cursed herself internally for letting that slip of emotion get through. She had been keeping tabs on Alyx. She’d known about this boyfriend like she’d known about the one before, but she didn’t pay him too much attention. She thought he’d just fade out of her life as the previous one had done, because he wasn’t the right one. “I didn’t think I’d see the day when you’d care about something that didn’t benefit you.”
Balthazar shifted in his chair to face Vix head-on, an indignant look on his face, his tail making an agitated whipping sound across the floor. “I’m shocked you’d say such a thing.”
“Name one time you’ve helped us where you didn’t have a hidden agenda.”
His eyes narrowed and the top of his lip pulled up, flashing a row of very white, very sharp, very pointy teeth. “I don’t remember inviting you here.”
Vix leaned forward in her seat and Balthazar mirrored her aggression until they were almost nose to nose. “I don’t remember inviting you to poke your nose into our business.”
“I don’t need an invitation to care about old friends. You not being one of them.”
“I don’t need an invitation to punch you in the face.”
“Go on and try it. See how far you get.”
“Guys, settle down.” Jordan pushed them both back into their seats. “You can settle this pissing contest later. We’re going off topic.” His voice was cool and steady, having regained most of his former composure. “Alyx isn’t one of us anymore. She’s mortal, remember? She made her choice all those winters ago. She left the supernatural world. She chose him.”
Vix could hear the slight strain of bitterness in Jordan’s voice. She knew Jordan wasn’t still carrying a torch for Alyx; he was very happy and very much in love now, but it still had hurt that she had given all of them up when she gave up her immortal life.
Vix felt this same thread of bitterness herself. But she understood. If it had been her, and she had to decide between Xiang, the love of her life, and everyone else, she’d choose Xiang. Her heart panged when she thought about Xiang, a mortal, getting older day by day while she would never age, which meant one day…
She shoved that thought away into the very depths of her. Today was not about her problems.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” said Balthazar. “Now Alyx’s sacrifice will mean nothing.”
Vix shook her head. “We can’t let it happen. We need to do something.”
Jordan snorted and pushed back a wayward strand of hair. “What are we going to do? We can’t exactly show up at their wedding, kidnap her and take her to Israel, wherever he ended up.”
“Saint Joseph,” Vix and Balthazar said together.
Jordan gave her a look. “Now who’s been keeping tabs?” He frowned. “Wait, so they’ve both been living in Saint Joseph and they haven’t met yet? Not in almost twenty-five years?”
“No,” said Vix.
“Have you wondered why?”
“Maybe fate isn’t ready yet.”
“Or maybe they’re not supposed to meet.”
Vix recoiled, her breath sucking in through her teeth. “How can you say that?”
He shrugged. “If fate wanted them together, wouldn’t she have brought them together?”
“Well, fate has been slacking off. But we won’t. We can’t let her marry this guy, this…” she looked at Balthazar for help.
“The fiancé’s name is Daniel Hotham,” he said.
“Daniel Hotham.” Vix couldn’t help wrinkling her nose. “He sounds like an Englishman.”
“Worse. He’s an accountant.”
“Alyx is marrying an accountant? Our Alyx? Our sword-wielding, world-saving, kickass lightwarrior Alyx…marrying a suit?”
“She’s not ours anymore, remember?” said Jordan, his voice low and tight. “She’s not a sword-wielding, world-saving, kickass lightwarrior anymore. She won’t have remembered anything about who she was. Or us.”
“It doesn’t matter if she’s not wielding swords, she’s still Alyx. She can’t marry this…Daniel Hotherfaffle guy.”
“He might be a nice guy, Vix.”
“I don’t care if he’s the Pope. She can’t marry him.”
“I have the perfect solution,” Balthazar said.
“Which is?”
“Kill the fiancé.” He beamed at them both. “Problem solved.”
Vix rolled her eyes. “We can’t just kill him.”
Balthazar frowned. “Why not? I could make it look like an accident. A little height, a little slipperty-boo. Splat. Gone. Easy.” He dusted his hands together.
“Because…” Vix glanced over to Jordan with what she hoped was a help me out here look.
He shrugged and sent back a look that she translated as this is your argument, you figure it out.
“Because,” she tried again, “we don’t just go around killing people just ’cause we don’t like them.”
“Demons do it all the time.”
“Yes, but Alyx lives in the mortal world, and in the mortal world we play by mortal rules. No killing.”
Balthazar huffed. “What about a little maiming then?”
“No maiming.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Besides, getting rid of the fiancé still doesn’t get Alyx and Israel together. We just need to get them to meet…” And there were plenty of ways to get that to happen without revealing that they were behind it.
Jordan stared at her. “Oh no.”
“What?” asked Balthazar.
“I recognize that look.”
“What look?”
“She’s concocting.”
Balthazar turned to Vix with concern on his face. “Does it hurt?”
“Vix,” said Jordan, “whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”
“You don’t know what I’m—”
“You can’t mess with fate. It’s a bad idea.”
“I wouldn’t have picked you for a superstitious one, Jordan,” said Balthazar.
Jordan crossed his arms. “I’m not getting dragged into this.”
Vix grinned slyly at him. “You know, you still owe me that favor.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Aww, come on. I need you for this diabolical scheme to work.”
“Schemes. I love schemes!” said Balthazar. “And I’m so good at them, too. I’m in.”
“Who invited you?” asked Vix.
Balthazar snorted. “Puh-lease. If the plan is diabolical then you need someone who is versed in all manners of diabolicaliness.”
“And you think you’d be any help?” she scoffed.
“I am the Master of Disaster. The Schemin’ Demon. I have a Ph.D. in diabology.”
“Sorry, no, you can’t sit at the big kids’ table.”
“You need me.”
“I need you like I need a pair of horns coming out my—”
“Vix,” warned Jordan.
“Pleeeeeease, Jordan.” Vix fluttered her eyelashes at him.
“Yeah, Jordan,” chimed in Balthazar, fluttering his own eyelashes. “We need you to keep her out of any real trouble.”
Vix glared daggers at him. “I’ll show you trouble.”
Jordan rolled his eyes and muttered, “You need me to stop you two from killing each other.” He sighed and Vix knew she had him. “Fine. But I don’t like this. Not one little bit.”
Chapter Two
“You’re getting married?” Elysia squealed in a pitch that was just a tad too high for Alyx’s eardrums to handle, her light brown curls bobbing around her head as she vibrated with shock.
“Yup.” Alyx rubbed at her ears. Hopefully there wasn’t any permanent damage. “Getting married
.”
Elysia’s deep-set eyes fixed on Alyx, who suddenly felt like she was about to be dissected. “You’re getting married.”
“That’s what I said.”
“To Daniel.”
Alyx snorted. “The last time I checked, he was my boyfriend of over a year.”
Elysia’s mouth gapped open as if she wanted to say something, actually lots of things, but she just kept closing then opening it.
Why was everyone having this reaction?
Alyx let out a huff and leaned against the wall, her legs outstretched across her mattress. They were both sitting on her bed in their shared apartment in the West End area of Saint Joseph. West End had once been a mass of industrial warehouses but it had gone through a gentrification in the last twenty-odd years, new apartments sprouting up among the old buildings like snowdrops among gravestones.
Her bedroom was furnished simply, the aged wallpaper of pale roses now peeling in places, dating the room, but she liked it. She liked anything old. Opposite her bed was a large bookcase filled with books that took up an entire wall. Her study desk sat under her casement window. Across another wall was a series of posters all showing various medieval swords and daggers with intricate handles and bejeweled sheaths. A light warm breeze wafted in through the window causing her wind chime to tinkle, promising a lovely summer to come.
Elysia’s voice finally cut through. “Are you…sure you want to marry him? I mean, he’s nice and all but…”
Alyx stared at the replica eighteenth century Chinese saber she had mounted along the back of her desk. How much easier life would be if she could just fight her way out of everything rather than having to justify herself? “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across that way.” Elysia scooted closer to her. “It’s just… Are you sure you’ll be happy marrying…him?”
“Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
“Alyx,” she said softly, “we’ve been friends since middle school. I understand how hard it’s been for you since—”
“You don’t know anything.” Anger flared though her body.
Elysia’s face fell and the hurt was clear in her glossy gray eyes. “I’m just trying to be your friend.”
Alyx squeezed her lids shut and cursed herself for lashing out. “Sorry,” she muttered. “It still hurts, you know…”
“I just don’t want you to do something you’re not sure of, that’s all.” Elysia leaned her head against Alyx’s shoulder. The familiar touch was a small comfort. She wanted to lean back into Elysia, to pull Elysia in for a hug, but she didn’t.
“Well, I’m sure. I’m marrying him, okay? I already said yes.”
“You just…don’t seem very excited.”
“I’m excited,” she protested. But even she couldn’t deny that her excitement was a thinly worn veil. She sighed. “Why does it have to be about the excitement? All that stuff fades anyway, right? Daniel is smart and kind, he has a stable job, makes good money and comes from a good family. He doesn’t have any major issues or skeletons in his closet or—”
“A personality,” Elysia muttered.
Alyx glared at her.
Elysia lifted up her hands. “I’m just saying, I don’t think your heart’s really in this.”
Alyx snorted. “My heart. Hearts are stupid things to make decisions by.”
“But Alyx, you’re not even wearing the ring.”
“I…” she trailed off. The small red velvet box was burning a hole in the back of her desk drawer. “It’s too big,” she lied. Gods, why was she lying? She shouldn’t be lying to Elysia, her oldest friend. But as much as the guilt tugged on her, she couldn’t bring herself to admit the truth.
“Really? Mr. Must Have Everything Perfect didn’t get your ring sized exactly before he gave it to you?”
“No…”
Elysia gave Alyx a don’t give me that crap look. They had been friends for too long and Elysia knew when Alyx wasn’t saying something.
Alyx let out a long breath. Maybe talking about it would help her figure out exactly what she was feeling. Or not feeling. Damned confusing feelings. Why couldn’t she just go through life without them? “I am happy. I am. I care about Daniel.”
“But…”
“I just feel…” It felt like there was a void in her heart. She felt…hollow. And she didn’t know how to fix it. “I feel like…something’s missing.”
“Move over. I can’t see a damn thing.” Vix nudged Balthazar.
The three of them, Jordan, Balthazar and Vix, were sitting in the tree right outside Alyx’s second floor bedroom window. They were hidden under a Mirage, Balthazar’s inherent magical ability, and the only reason Vix had agreed to let him come along.
Balthazar no longer looked like his demon self. He had “borrowed” a local’s body, as there was no way, not even through Purgatory, for demons to physically cross over into Earth anymore, the gates between Hell and Earth having been shut over two thousand years ago, locking everyone on their respective sides. The remaining true demons on Earth had long since gone into hiding because, due to a twist in the story, all of the Seraphim of Heaven, the demons’ natural enemy, had been locked on Earth.
The only way demons could come through to Earth now was to take over a mortal’s body. Balthazar had managed to convince a male with dark hair, milk-chocolate skin and very white teeth to give up control to him; Vix didn’t want to know how. She could still see his demon face shimmering underneath. Thankfully any mortals that looked at him couldn’t.
Balthazar begrudgingly let Vix have some more space on their shared branch. “Have you put on weight?”
“I have not put on weight.”
“The branch is practically bending.”
“That’s your big mouth weighing us down.”
“Shut up, both of you,” hissed Jordan, sitting on Vix’s other side. “I can’t hear what Alyx is saying.”
The three of them fell silent and leaned closer to the open window to watch and listen.
“There’s something else…” Alyx trailed off. Her bright emerald eyes seemed to look right through the window at Vix. For a moment, Vix could almost forget that this incredible warrior, who she’d had the honor of fighting beside more than once, remembered nothing about her. After all, Alyx looked just the same as she did when she was an immortal; same pixie face with marble-pale skin, same midnight hair that dropped like a curtain, except now it fell down past her shoulders. Vix was almost overcome with the urge to fly through her old friend’s window and pull her into a hug.
“What is it?” Elysia asked Alyx.
“It’s…nothing.” Alyx glanced away and Vix felt her heart sink a little.
Elysia sat up, her eyes gleaming wide with interest. “You’re holding out on me.”
“Really, it’s not even worth talking about.”
“Don’t you dare hold out on me or I’ll get out my deadly torture weapons that no man or woman has managed to survive.” Elysia lifted up her hands like claws and wiggled them at Alyx.
Alyx clutched her sides as if she was protecting them, her face breaking out into the first smile Vix had seen on her all morning. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you.”
Balthazar pressed even closer to the window so he was leaning slightly in front of Vix and obstructing her view. She glared at the back of his head before nudging him aside and pushing herself in front of him.
Through the window Elysia and Alyx sat with their heads together like co-conspirators. “Don’t say anything to anyone,” began Alyx, “especially not to Daniel.”
Elysia’s eyes widened. “You’re having an affair.”
Alyx shook her head. “Oh my God, Elysia, it’s not anything like that. I just haven’t told Daniel yet. I’m not sure how he’ll react. Besides I’m not sure if there’s any point in even telling him.”
“Go on. What is it? I’m dying here.”
You said it, thought Vix. Hurry up and tell us.
“A few months ago I saw a job advertised at the National Museum of Prague. It was to curate their small European War and Weaponry collection.”
“That sounds perfect for you!”
“I know. So I applied for it and somehow got an interview.”
“Somehow? You finished top of your Ancient History degree and you practically run the Saint Joseph Museum for Viktor. Please, any fool could see that you’re perfect for the job. When was the interview?”
“About a month or so ago.”
Elysia frowned. “Really? I didn’t even know you went to Prague.”
“Nobody did. Viktor wouldn’t give me a day off. So I rearranged his schedule so that he had back-to-back meetings during the day and I snuck off to Prague mid-morning, did my interview and was back at the museum before he realized I was gone.”
Elysia laughed. “You didn’t! I don’t believe you.”
“I did. I even got Tomas to help me set up my work email on my phone. I sent Viktor a bunch of emails while I was on the train to make it look like I was still at work.”
“But your security card… If he checked the logs…”
Alyx grinned. “I left my card with one of the guards I’m friends with. He swiped me out at lunch time and back in at the end of lunch. Then he snuck me in when I returned and handed me back my card.”
Outside, Vix couldn’t help but grin. That was our Alyx, alright. Hidden there underneath all this…boring mortal-ness.
Elysia shook her head at Alyx, eyes brimming with blatant admiration. “You sneaky, smart, sneaky—”
“You said sneaky.”
“—amazing woman.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“Okay, so you went to this interview ninja-style, and then what?”
“I thought I did well. But then I didn’t hear anything for weeks…until yesterday.” A smile crept across Alyx’s face and her eyes lit up. “I got the job.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks.” Her face fell. “But I can’t take it.”
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