by HR Moore
The other demons agreed.
'Christa and I will take the underground, then get a train from Euston,' said Talli.
'We'll take one of the other cars,' said Caspar, 'and go a roundabout route.'
'Change cars a couple of times,' said Meredith. 'And meet one of the other demons somewhere. Get them to drive you, so you can hide in the back. I'll meet you all there.'
'Caspar,' said Amari, halting him with a hand on his arm. 'I'm not going anywhere until I've seen Dean. His flight landed two hours ago. He'll be back at the house by now.'
'No way,' said Talli. 'You can't be serious?'
'I've got to see him. To explain.'
'They found our headquarters,' said Meredith, as though she were stupid. 'They've already tried to kill you twice. They'll be waiting. You'll be walking into a trap.'
'I'll get Dean to meet me somewhere neutral, somewhere safe,' said Amari. 'But I'm not leaving London until I've seen him.'
Chapter 16
Amari messaged Dean, asking him to meet her by the river at Imperial Park, a small patch of grass with a fountain, not far from the house they'd shared in Chelsea. Meredith agreed, happy it was somewhere they could blend in, and that there were multiple ways out.
Talli and Christa left the underground carpark, heading for the country house—Amari still didn't know where that was. They'd offered to stay and help, but Meredith told them to leave, saying the risk was too high.
Meredith, Caspar, and Amari left the Range Rover and got into an unassuming Toyota Prius with tinted windows. They joined the evening traffic—light by London standards—and headed west, Amari and Caspar in the back.
Amari curled her arms around herself, bouncing her knees up and down. Guilt and dread and self-loathing swirled around inside her, their tide rising so violently she worried she might drown. And now, to cap everything off, there was the added weight of a potential attack. She might be putting Caspar and Meredith—and Dean—in danger.
Amari tried to distract herself by working out what to say. What could she possibly tell him that would sound plausible, yet not lay the blame at his door? This was on her, not Dean.
Should she tell him she'd met someone else? Or that the time alone had made her realize she wasn't ready to settle down? Or that she didn't think she could make him happy? She could tell him she'd been diagnosed with some illness … no, he'd ask to see evidence. It had to be something emotional, something he couldn't refute with logic … she had to tell him about Caspar.
The best lies deviated from the truth as little as possible, that's what endless TV shows had told her. But her feelings for Caspar weren't even a lie … at least that was something.
Caspar got out of the car first, walking to the far end of the park, where the river ran by, conducting a sweep of the area.
Plenty of people were out enjoying the warm summer evening, but nothing prickled his honed, ancient senses. There were CCTV cameras however, and Caspar's face had been seen by the men who'd attacked Amari. He wore a scarf around his neck, the kind favored by hipster types, obscuring as much of his face as he could without drawing attention.
The chance of someone looking at the right CCTV footage at the right time, and of it being of a high enough quality to recognize him, was slim. He repeated that thought again and again, telling himself it would be okay, offering the words up as a prayer. But there was a chance they'd already been spotted. It didn't matter how small. There was a chance, and that was horrifying. They were giving their enemies an opportunity to find them, an invitation to find them. This was madness.
Meredith moved the car, parking at the end of the street opposite the park. 'I'll wait here, ready to go,' she said, 'but the river's a fair distance. There's not much I'll be able to do if this goes wrong.'
'I know,' said Amari. 'Hopefully it won't come to that.'
'I wish we'd had more time to plan. I wish we had backup.'
'We don't have any more time,' said Amari. 'We just have to hope we weren't followed.'
'And that Dean wasn't,' said Meredith.
Amari hadn't thought of that … well, too late now. She got out of the car and entered the park. She'd made it to the grey fountain in the middle before a voice behind her said, 'Amari,' halting her in her tracks.
Of course. He was always early … She spun around. 'Dean.'
Dean walked slowly towards her. He pulled her into a hesitant hug, raised his hand to her cheek, then leaned in to kiss her. She turned her head away, her hands gently pushing him back, her head suddenly pounding with pain.
'What's going on?' he said. 'You've got everyone worried. Are you okay?'
He tried to take her hands. She didn't let him. Tears filled Amari's eyes … why did he have to be so nice?
'I'm fine,' she said, reaching into her pocket, pulling out her engagement and wedding rings. 'But I need to give these back.'
Dean looked at her outstretched hand for a long moment, as though he didn't understand, was racking his brain for some plausible explanation that didn't mean she was ending their relationship.
'Amari? What's going on?' He had tears in his eyes now too.
Amari looked away. Coward. She forced herself to meet his gaze, to show him she meant the horrible, piercing, poisonous words she was about to say; she owed him that much.
'I've met someone else.'
Dean shook his head in disbelief. 'I've been gone two weeks.'
'I know, it seems strange … impossible even. But I love him.'
'You love me!' said Dean. 'And I love you.'
He shook his head again, as though if he did it enough, her words would shake around and land differently, or, better yet, not land at all.
Something dawned in his eyes, something that caused a spark of hope.
'What's really going on? Are you in some kind of trouble? Amari, whatever it is, we can face it together. I'm a lawyer, for Christ's sake.'
Tears spilled down Amari's cheeks. 'I know this is hard. It breaks my heart, because I love you, and I didn't mean for any of this to happen. But what I feel for him is … different. It's unlike anything I've ever felt. It's over, Dean, and I'm seeking an annulment.'
'An annulment?'
'We've only been married for two weeks, and the marriage was never consummated.'
'What the hell?' Dean ran his hands through his hair, disbelief and hurt turning to anger. 'How long has this been going on? Who is it?'
'It's hard to explain, but I promise I've only known him for two weeks.'
The best lies are mostly truth.
Dean laughed. 'You've got to be kidding me. You're throwing away everything we have for some guy you've just met? Who is he? The one who came to the house … the one Leila saw you with? Was Jade right? Is it him?'
'I wasn't having an affair when I saw Jade, but yes, it's him. And I … I feel like I've known him for lifetimes. It's hard to explain, but if I stayed with you, we'd be living a lie. It wouldn't be fair to either of us.'
Dean laughed again, then turned serious. He took a step towards her, placing his hands on her arms, looking into her eyes.
'Please, Amari, we can work this out. I know it feels like this guy is the love of your life right now, but new relationships are like that. In a couple of months, you won't feel like this. We've stood the test of time. We're right for each other; I've never been so sure of anything.'
'Dean,' she said. She took a step back, out of his grasp. 'It's not like that. This isn't just some fling. If it was, it never would've happened.'
'So that's it? There's no hope? No part of you that wants to stay with me? To try?'
He threw the words like javelins. Each hit its mark, wounding her, tearing her apart.
Tears poured down Amari's cheeks. 'Of course there's a part of me that wants to stay with you; we were going to have the most perfect life together. I'll mourn the loss of what we had, but … no. I'm sorry, there's no hope for us.'
Dean took a staggering step backward, tears spilling d
own his cheeks now too.
'If I'd stayed. If we'd gone on our honeymoon like we were supposed to. Would it be different?'
'No,' said Amari. 'This would have happened either way. If you'd stayed, it just would have taken longer.'
Dean's features hardened. 'Goodbye, Amari,' he said. And then he walked away.
Amari curled into a ball and cried. Caspar wasn't sure whether to comfort her or give her space. He'd had to deal with most things over the course of his many lives, but this was a new one.
'Take us to Heathrow Airport,' said Caspar.
'Why?' asked Meredith.
'Something doesn't feel right. Can you ask one of the guards to pack some stuff for us, and bring our passports?'
'Where are you going?'
'We'll get a local flight to somewhere in Europe, and then hire a jet to Asia.'
'Okay,' Meredith said with a shrug.
By the time they reached the airport, Amari had stopped crying. She sat up straight, staring out of the window. Caspar reached for her hand and she let him take it, although she didn't turn her head to face him, nor did she return the pressure.
Meredith dropped them off, then left, wishing them luck. It was dark now, and they headed straight inside, Caspar checking the departures board for suitable flights. He should've found flights on his phone in the car, but he hadn't been able to tear his eyes from Amari.
'Rome,' he said. 'Eight PM. That'll do nicely.'
Amari followed him to the desk, where he bought two tickets.
Caspar's phone buzzed and he picked up the call. 'We're coming now,' he said.
Amari followed him back out through the entrance. A tall, broad man approached, carrying two bags. He handed one to each of them, then walked away.
They joined the line leading to security, their luggage small enough to carry on. Caspar pulled Amari in for a hug as they shuffled along with the other travelers.
'Are you okay?' he said into her hair.
'No,' she said, her hands closing tightly around him.
'Is there anything I can do?'
Silence. Caspar told himself to be patient, to give her time. He had to fight the urge to press her, to force her to say something. He practically shook with the effort, so lost inside his head that he was surprised when she said, 'I've seen him brush people off, the way he did earlier, when he walked away. And every time he did it, I felt smug, because I knew he would never do it to me. I knew that no matter what, he would always have time for me, would want to be near me … turns out I was wrong.'
'Amari, you could never have foreseen this.'
'I know. The logical part of me at least … if any of this can be called logical. But it still hurts. Maybe I'm vain … but I'm sad he was capable of doing that to me.'
'I mean … you've always been a little vain.'
Amari half-laughed. 'Thanks, that's wonderful news.'
'Just being honest,' he said, shrugging. He tipped her head back, his hands stroking away her hair. 'But I love you for it. Always have.'
She looked up at him. 'You have a strange sense of humor, but I guess that's part of what I love about you too.'
They landed in Rome after an uncomfortably full flight; thank goodness it was only a couple of hours. They didn't even leave the airport, getting straight onto a private jet Caspar had made appear. A male flight attendant greeted them with a broad smile and a request for their drinks order.
'This isn't terrible,' said Amari, walking up and down the sizeable jet.
'There's a bedroom too,' he said, raising an eyebrow.
'Of course there is.'
'There's something we need to talk about,' said Caspar, becoming serious.
'What is it?'
'Your marriage to Dean …'
'We need to get it annulled.'
Caspar let out a breath, looking relieved. 'Do you want me to take care of it?'
'Yes,' she said, with a resigned nod. 'No point in prolonging it.'
Caspar pulled out his phone and typed for a few seconds before putting it away again.
The flight attendant returned, placing two espresso martinis on a table. Good. She needed a stiff drink.
'Here,' said Caspar. He pulled a passport out of his pocket and handed it to her. 'We're changing names, so we can't be so easily tracked. Rose had a few passports made when we found you.'
Amari raised an eyebrow. She flicked through the blank pages, not asking how the Pagans managed to get their hands on so many fake passports.
'And here's your new phone,' he said, opening a box that had been waiting for them.
Caspar had made her destroy her old phone at Heathrow, which had hurt more than she cared to admit.
'Where are we going?' she asked, as Caspar took a seat in front of a martini.
'Tibet. We're flying into Ngari Gunsa Airport, where the Buddhist demon nation will meet us. They'll take our phones, blindfold us, and drive us to their current headquarters. They usually pick somewhere on a lake. It's generally very beautiful.'
'You've been to see them a lot over your lifetimes?'
'Yes. I spent some of my early lives in Asia. I was with the Buddhist nation for a while. But the leader of the Pagans—then a man named Albert—came on a diplomatic mission. Rose was with him. Their philosophy resonated with me—it felt more of a fit than the Buddhist life, so I decided to go with them.'
'How did you end up in Asia? I thought you were born in France?'
'I was, but my experiences there weren't enjoyable. I awake at an uncommonly young age … have done in every life. In my early lives, I didn't know I'd reincarnated … I didn't know anything about demons. I would start speaking very young, in an unusually clear voice, and would rant about my previous lives. It led to a series of unfortunate deaths, usually preceded by exorcisms.'
'Oh my God. That's horrible,' said Amari.
The plane started moving, so she buckled into the seat next to Caspar, tasting her cocktail. It was glorious, just what she needed. She took another big gulp.
'I caught on eventually and kept my secret to myself, and then a hunter found me. He was going to take me straight to the Druids, but I was in such a state—screaming that I didn't want to go to the people who'd caused me so much pain—that he decided the Buddhists would be a better home for me. It was a trek, but they pay well.'
'Druids?' asked Amari.
'The nations have undergone numerous mergers and name changes over the years. The Pagans are an amalgamation of a number of groups, including the Wiccan and the Druids.
'There used to be many small nations, but over the years, people sought safety in numbers. Small nations were easy targets for empire builders, so they grouped together to defend themselves.'
'Did you like being with the Buddhists?'
'I loved it, especially at the start. They gave me a purpose, and structure, and a safe home. They made me feel like I belonged, taught me their way of seeing the world, and to think about my place in it. They're a good nation with strong morals.'
The female voice of the captain told them they were ready for takeoff. They threw back what remained of their cocktails.
Moments later, the force of takeoff pinned them to their seats. The plane lifted off and Amari twisted, bringing her legs up and resting them across Caspar's lap.
'And what exactly are we going to do when we get there?' she asked.
'We're going to give them our account of what's going on, and ask for their support.'
The flight attendant returned once they'd reached cruising altitude. 'Everything looks good for the flight,' he said. 'We should be in Tibet in time for breakfast. Can I offer you some food? Another drink?'
'Yes, please,' said Caspar.
Now food had been mentioned, Amari found she was ravenously hungry. When had they last eaten?
'I have a ramen broth, roast chicken salad with new potatoes, or antipasti. I also have fresh fruit and smoothies.'
'All of it,' said Amari. She cracked a smile at the
attendant's expression.
'Of course,' he said, then hurried off.
'And two more espresso martinis, please,' she called after him.
Caspar laughed. 'Good to see you haven't lost your appetite,' he said, running a hand up her leg.
'Never.'
Their food came, they ate, and then they moved to the luxurious bedroom at the back of the plane.
The bed linen was white and soft and fluffy; it called to her. It had been a long and eventful day, and her head was fuzzy from the drinks. Had they really been in Somerset only this morning?
They stripped off, Amari donning the silk pajamas that had been laid out for her, Caspar not bothering. They fell into bed and curled up together. Seconds later, they were fast asleep.
The flight attendant woke them thirty minutes before landing. They'd slept like the dead, but woke feeling refreshed.
'Sleeping in a bed on a plane feels a lot like sleeping on a boat,' said Amari. 'I like it.'
'I like it too,' he said, burying his head in her neck.
He kissed and nipped her, his hand going to her backside. She enjoyed it for a while, then batted him away. 'We don't have time for both sex and breakfast, and I know which I want right now.'
'Sex, obviously.'
Caspar made a grab for her, but she evaded him.
'Who knows what these Buddhists eat, and who knows how long we'll be here.'
'The Buddhists have great food, actually. No meat, for the most part, but their food is delicious.'
Amari stood, and Caspar stroked his fingers up and down her leg, gliding higher with each pass. She bent to kiss him, then pulled away.
'Breakfast,' she said.
She found clean clothes in her bag and put them on.
'Spoilsport.'
Breakfast was sausage sandwiches with red onion chutney, fruit, croissants, and coffee. It was delicious. The flight attendant had pre-empted Amari's request for everything on the menu, and it was all laid out by the time they appeared. Amari smiled; this was certainly the way to travel.
