“Your saganaki, folks,” he said cheerfully.
“Yes! Thanks!” Arachne eyed the cheese greedily.
“I’m not going to fight you for that,” Leo grinned as Arachne cut off a piece of the oily cheese and spread it on a piece of pita.
“I honestly don’t need the pita,” she said as she stuffed her mouth with a huge bite. “But I’ll eat it all anyway.”
Leo tentatively cut off a piece, wary he might have to defend himself with the knife. He relished the rich cheese and wondered how modern-day food must have differed from food two thousand years ago, how everything must have changed so drastically.
“Do you ever get tired of people?” he asked. “Like, two thousand years is a long time to exist. And look at what’s happening in the news . . .”
Arachne swallowed and laughed. “People are all the same, no matter which generation.”
“So?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Do I ever get tired of people?” Arachne pondered. “No. I like people just fine. I like them a bit too much, actually, which is why I’ve grown disheartened. I do bore of the same old trends. Governments always censor and deceive their people. They use fear, like you said, to manipulate peoples’ emotions, pitting groups against one another. Men and women, people of different races, religions, ethnicities . . . the rich and the poor, citizens and immigrants, conservatives, moderates, progressives.
“They take advantage of the migration of people seeking refuge, for instance, or war, famine, and disease to strip people of what little rights they had to begin with. The distraction paradigm bores me, because not only is it predictable, but it is also always effective. People are so distracted, they become fodder for those who profit off of that weakness and complacency.”
Arachne clenched her fists on the table. “People don’t realize how powerful they would be if only they unified.”
“Yet you want to create your own government?” Leo grinned slyly at her. “You don’t think you’ll make these same mistakes?”
“I don’t know.” She leaned back in her chair. “I didn’t want to at first. But you made me all . . . hopeful, or whatever.”
“Sorry for that,” he snickered. “You know, it’s not just about order. I’m worried about humans. But I also want everyone to be all right, no matter who they are. I just want us to be all right together.”
“You are much more optimistic than I am. In the end, I hope it’s all worth it,” she murmured just as the server approached once more with their dinner.
I think it will be, Leo thought as he took a bite of the moussaka. Leo and Arachne traded bites and complimented the food. For dessert, Arachne ordered a Greek coffee and kataifi, a pastry made of shredded phyllo dough, stuffed with walnuts and pistachios and drizzled in baklava honey with a generous scoop of ice cream.
“You are really spoiling me,” Arachne swooned as she took a bite of the confection.
“Happy birthday,” Leo murmured. He pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it across the table to her.
“What’s this?”
“A gift. Open it.”
She carefully unhinged the lid and gasped.
“Leo, this is too much! I know your budget is tight right now . . .”
“Please,” Leo interjected. “Nothing would make me happier than if you’d wear it, if you like it.”
Arachne gazed down at the box and then quickly placed the gift around her neck, a royal purple heart-shaped amethyst enveloped in swirling white gold.
“It matches your eyes.” He grinned.
“This . . . is the sweetest birthday I’ve ever had.” She blushed, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Of all two thousand of them?”
Arachne nodded, biting her lip.
Leo grinned and then pursed his lips. “Hey . . .” He leaned over the table and caught a teardrop from her cheek on his finger. “No crying on your best birthday ever.”
She laughed weakly. “Thank you.”
As they stood to leave, Leo offered his bomber jacket to her.
“It’s a little chilly outside now,” he said.
“I don’t get cold . . .” She held up a hand in protest, but then let him place it over her shoulders. “I’ll steal your jacket. Just for tonight,” Arachne said as she grabbed a handful of candies on the way out the door. Leo raised an eyebrow at her as she stuffed them in the pockets of his jacket.
“They’re pallas,” she laughed with embarrassment. “Honey-filled hard candy.”
“Hey, it’s your birthday.” Leo put his hands up. “I wasn’t gonna say anything! But now I see why you stole my jacket. It’s just a candy tote.”
She stuck her tongue out at him before popping one of the candies in her mouth. They walked along the riverside for several minutes, lamplight reflecting in the inky water. The cold choppy water reminded Leo of last night as he watched Arachne and Keres run on water from the bridge.
“I don’t want to ruin our date or anything . . .” He cleared his throat, looking away briefly as he tried to collect his thoughts.
Arachne tilted her head toward him, worry creasing her brow.
“I just need to tell you that Eshe can spy on people with magic.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Specifically, she likes to spy on you.”
“What?” She slowed her pace. Leo backtracked to match.
“We shouldn’t have heard everything you said on the bridge last night . . . but we did . . .” His face was hot and flushed.
Arachne bit her lip as she peered across the river. He wondered what she was thinking. Finally, she whirled to face him, pink on her cheeks.
“What do you think?”
“What do I . . . ?” Leo hesitated and then stuttered. “If you’ll have me, if you want to, we could be boyfriend and girlfriend . . .”
Arachne laughed as he spoke the last few words. She thinks it’s funny, Leo lamented. Maybe he read her all wrong.
Suddenly, Arachne paused and her laughing ceased. She leaned over and scooped a small spider from the sidewalk and then walked over to a nearby tree.
“There you go.” She placed her finger to a branch and the spider crawled to its new home.
“It’s not easy being a spider,” Leo observed.
Arachne shoved her hands back into the jacket pockets. “Especially at the start of the season,” she explained. “They’re so small this time of year.”
Leo stepped closer to Arachne.
“You look good in my jacket.” He playfully tugged on the front of it. She huffed, but stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. She tasted like sweet honey.
“Yes,” she said as she pulled away slightly.
“Yes?”
Arachne smiled softly, musing. “We can be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Leo grinned. She was so aloof and closed-off at first, afraid. How much pain had she suffered over the centuries? She said she didn’t deserve to be believed in. But he couldn’t let her keep feeling like that. Every person had an opportunity to be better and do better. He could see the spark in her. She deserved a second chance. Now she accepted his trite human offer—an agreement to be there for each other. An agreement Leo took very seriously. He wouldn’t fail her.
She reached up to peck him on the cheek. Then she murmured in his ear, “Thank you . . . for everything . . .”
Chapter 14
Leo strolled through the budding garden at Magnolia Mansion before another meeting with Saint-Germain. The aroma of spring and peach blossoms saturated the air with delicate sweetness. He rounded another corner of the shrub maze, came face-to-face with a fountain featuring water-spouting cherubs, and tripped over something in front of the fountain. Tumbling in the grass, he squinted his eyes against the golden morning sun.
A petite woman with cropped dark hair and multicolored translucent wings sat cross legged in the grass. She opened one lilac colored eye to peer down at him. Leo recognized her as Chio—the butterfly demon he’d met at Saint-Germain�
�s Mardi Gras ball.
“So sorry!” he gasped. “I didn’t mean to . . .”
She closed her right eye and said calmly, “Don’t worry about it. This is only a fleeting moment in time.”
Leo raised himself to sit across from her. “Are you meditating?”
“I am trying to.”
He blushed and apologized once more.
Chio opened both of her eyes this time and cocked her head to the side curiously. “You’re a strange human.”
“You’re a strange demon,” he shot back without thinking.
She laughed, and it reminded him of windchimes floating on a soft breeze, her wings opening and closing slowly. “How so?”
He narrowed his eyes at her and debated saying anything at all. He tried to avoid the other demons as much as possible. Sensing their power, his instincts yelled danger whenever they approached. Even with Arachne, he could feel the power resonating from her muscles, the glint of her violet eyes. He wondered if it was human instincts, or if it was something more. Perhaps Chio was right. He was a strange human.
“You’re a butterfly demon, right?”
She nodded slightly.
“Why would you ally yourself with a spider demon? Don’t spiders . . . I don’t know . . . eat butterflies?”
Chio frowned and looked him up and down until he felt self-conscious. “That,” she finally said, “is none of your business.”
Leo blinked a few times and then rose from the ground, brushing grass from his jeans. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You did not offend me,” she said, closing her eyes once more. “I will tell you why I am here when you have proven yourself a loyal asset.”
When I have? He pursed his lips at her, though she couldn’t see. Maybe I’m the one who is offended. How could he trust her? What if she was here under nefarious pretenses? Of course she’d lie about it.
“Have a good morning,” he muttered as he turned back toward the Magnolia Mansion.
“You as well.”
He dwelled on the encounter as he walked through the rest of the short shrub maze and hopped up the steps to the terrace. It was the terrace where he first kissed Arachne, but now it was set up with a table and chairs. A silver carafe sat on top of the stark white tablecloth, surrounded by cream colored coffee mugs.
Arachne paced the terrace as she waited for Saint-Germain, who was running late with an errand. Bael leaned on the edge of the terrace, staring out at the gardens with a thin-lipped smile. In one of the chairs, Eshe sat with her cat, Ozul, napping in her lap. She pet him lazily with one hand and drew in her journal with the other. Keres sat with her legs crossed next to Eshe.
Leo sat down next on the other side of Eshe and poured himself a cup of coffee. He liked the way Saint-Germain always had it prepared, with the highest quality coffee beans freshly ground and roasted to malty perfection. Although Leo hadn’t been in his kitchen, he speculated Saint-Germain had a fancy coffee maker. Leo would only catch brief glimpses of Saint-Germain’s vampire wait-staff. He wondered absently why they would want to work for a living of all things, especially for Saint-Germain.
As Leo lifted the cup of coffee to his lips—speak of the devil—Saint-Germain burst open the glass doors. Leo stared morosely at his pants, now dripping with hot, aromatic coffee.
“Merry Beltane!” Saint-Germain shouted as he threw his arms in the air. Leo scratched his head in confusion. He pulled the phone from his jeans to check the calendar, but didn’t see any mention of the holiday. He noticed a text message from Monette, but stuck his phone back in his pocket without reading it. He felt a little bad not responding to her, but things were hectic between playing music and Saint-Germain’s shenanigans. He hadn’t seen her in a while. Hell, he hadn’t even seen his parents since Christmas.
“Beltane is a sacred holiday for witches,” Eshe explained as she handed Leo a kerchief.
“The perfect opportunity to forge an alliance with the many factions of witches about the city,” Saint-Germain nodded.
“Good luck with that.” Keres rolled her eyes. “Not when we’re aligned with demons.”
“Witches don’t get along with demons?” Leo cocked his head to the side, dabbing his jeans with the kerchief. “I thought they were Satan worshipers or something.”
Arachne shook her head vehemently. “Witches are from a different magic system entirely, not associated with demons.”
“Okay, okay. But we have Eshe. She can perform magic,” he shrugged, apathetic.
Eshe glanced up from her drawing and replied, “Yes. I’m proficient. But I’m only one witch.”
“Witches are stronger when they cast spells together,” Arachne explained.
Leo’s heart leapt at that. What Eshe could do on her own was extraordinary. He couldn’t imagine what kind of power they could have when combining their magic.
“And the other witches don’t seem to like me all that much.” Eshe blinked and then stared back down at her journal.
“Witches don’t get along with anyone.” Keres half-smiled reassuringly. “They keep to their own.”
“Usually,” Saint-Germain quipped. “Yet I have friends in high places.”
“Madame Serafine,” Leo supplied. His head was spinning as he tried to follow which creatures and magic systems belonged where. But he at least understood that witches could possibly divine the future, cast protection spells, and even spy on people. Magic seemed very advantageous, but also incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands.
Saint-Germain nodded proudly at Leo, raising his finger triumphantly.
“If only we could inspire the other Crescent City witches,” Arachne sighed. “And even Madame Serafine hasn’t said definitively whether her coven would join our coalition. Just because she’s your friend doesn’t mean she’s an ally to our cause.”
“The last thing you want is to cross a witch. It’s better we steer clear of them entirely,” Keres folded her arms over her chest.
“We can’t afford not to try to attract allies in them,” Arachne countered.
“So what’s the plan?” Leo asked. Everyone stared at him, a thick cloud of apprehension hovering over the terrace.
“We are going to offer them Beltane gifts at their festival tonight,” Saint-Germain offered tentatively. “And hope.”
Leo tried to stay optimistic, despite a nagging feeling in his stomach which agreed with Keres’ assessment of their situation. He wondered if it was wise to enter a party of hostile witches uninvited. But he’d learned there really was no stopping Arachne and Saint-Germain when they made a decision, so Leo kept this to himself.
“I love festivals!” Bael exclaimed, which made Leo jump as he’d forgotten Bael was lurking just beyond the table.
“You’re not coming with us,” Arachne said matter-of-factly.
He seemed crestfallen, his lanky shoulders slumping with defeat. “Why not?”
“Did you just miss this conversation?” Keres snapped. “It’s already bad enough we’ll have one demon, let alone two vampires and a half-vampire. We don’t need another demon riling them up.”
“No one ever cares for the frog demon,” Bael sighed as he leaned back over the terrace railing. Saint-Germain stepped over and patted him on the shoulder.
“Cheer up, chap. One day soon, you’ll have your day in the sun.”
Bael sighed and then slid over the side of the terrace to the ground below. He hopped past the hedge maze and into the koi pond, disappearing beneath the cool surface. A chorus of ribbits erupted from the mossy banks. Arachne rolled her eyes and slumped into a chair across from Leo.
Eshe’s journal caught Leo’s eye as he glanced down at the swirling ink patterns on the pages. It reminded him of the circle she drew when casting the protection spell.
“What are you drawing, Eshe?”
“Sigils,” she said.
“What is that, exactly?” he prodded.
“A sigil is a magic circle to invoke certain spells.” She showed
him the journal pages. “There are so many spells and so many sigils to remember. If I don’t practice them, I’m afraid I’ll forget. If I don’t draw it perfectly on my own, the spell could go wrong.”
Leo tilted his head to the side to examine her journal and the intricate symbols.
“You know, I trust you’ll remember the right spells at the right time,” Leo smiled softly down at her. “I don’t know about the witches, but I want to let you know that I like you a lot.”
Eshe played with her curly hair and deliberated for a moment. “You’re saying I shouldn’t care about what they think?”
Leo sipped what was left of his now-lukewarm coffee, searching for the right words.
“There’s a lot I don’t understand about magic,” Leo confessed. “But it seems to me, when people try to put you down, it’s more a reflection of them rather than you. They may be jealous because you’re special.”
“They’re afraid of me.” Eshe frowned. “Because I’m half-vampire. I shouldn’t exist.”
“Maybe they’re afraid of what they don’t understand.” Leo gave her a reassuring half-shrug. “But that can’t stop you from living your best life.”
“I want to make friends with them,” Eshe said as she scrunched her eyebrows together.
“Don’t stop trying. But also don’t sweat it too much.”
Eshe nodded curtly. “I must prepare my Beltane gift. You should think about what you want to present to them this evening, too.”
Leo leaned back in his chair and stared out at the gardens. What could he possibly give to a coven of witches?
Questions kept nagging Leo all day as he thought about demons and witches. He reflected on his encounter with Chio in the gardens and Bael in the pond. Why would a butterfly and frog ally themselves with a spider? Why would a bat? They were cagey and powerful, but not exactly what he thought a demon would be based on the horror movies he’d seen. Perhaps the witches weren’t so wrong to be suspicious of demons. They were demons, after all. But Arachne wasn’t so bad. Were demons demonic, or were there parts of them that were more human than monster?
Blood Moon (A Louisiana Demontale): Book 1 of the Crescent Crown Saga Page 13
