by Kresley Cole
Nix stood and alighted from the limb as though stepping from a curb, landing without so much as a sound.
"What became clear?" Neomi asked, her tone tinged with fear. "What am I?"
She saw Conrad swallow and knew he wasn't sure he even wanted to know.
"You're one of those powerful Lore phantoms I was telling you about. Though your aging process was accelerated by a few centuries. Good timing, too." She furtively pointed at the manor, saying in a stage whisper, "Just between me and you--your spirit anchor is on fire." An explosion sounded at that moment, and glass shattered out from all the remaining downstairs windows. "And, yes, I did plan for that blast to punctuate my words."
A fantome?
"Phantom?" Conrad rubbed his forehead, smearing ash there. "Spirit anchor...?"
Neomi explained, "Nix told me weeks ago that I might become like a Lore phantom if I lived long enough as a ghost. Phantoms can incarnate at will, they can trace, and they can move things with their minds. And they don't have to remain in one place where their spirit is anchored. But it would take possibly five hundred years for me to gradually grow a body to incarnate with. Evidently, Mariketa sped up the five centuries."
Wide-eyed, Nix said, "Yes, clever, clever Mariketa--a spell maker and a rule breaker! There's a reason Mari is my favorite Wiccan-type person."
Conrad said, "I still don't...What are you talking about?"
"Mari broke the House's rules, or rather, she bent them. Witches are not allowed to create immortals." She faced Neomi. "But in theory, you were an immortal already. So Mari gave you a body, which jumpstarted the phantom aging process. And somehow she managed to add a touch of Lore blood to activate the transition from human to Lore being. Maybe the vampire cut himself as he was frantically fetching mirror shards for the witch's spell? I dunno."
Conrad grated, "Is she part vampire?"
"No. Your blood was merely an agent, a facilitator. Even Mari can't make a female vampire."
"No wonder she was so nervous," Conrad said. "She knew what she was going to try to do going in."
"Yes. You owe Mari much. Though she didn't break the letter of their laws, she broke the spirit. She could be punished severely for this if others find out--even branded as a rogue for what she did. In short, Mariketa the Awaited will not be listing you as a reference, and you should send her a nice card for Beltane."
"Does this mean I can change back and forth anytime I want?"
"You're a shape-shifter between life and death," Nix answered. "Concentrate on disembodying."
Neomi focused. When it worked, Conrad listed to the side before righting himself. "Sorry, mon grand!" She attempted making herself whole once more. Again, gradually, she grew corporeal.
"But, Neomi," Nix began with the gravest severity, "whenever you disembody..." She paused as if deciding how best to deliver tragic news.
"Yes?" Neomi whispered. Conrad was holding his breath.
Nix finally finished, "You will be...wearing that dress."
Neomi and Conrad groaned.
"Just think of it as your alter-ego-wear. Cosplay of sorts, with your rose petals and goth-looking face. Speaking of alter egos--I think we should call you the Incarnatrix. Maybe give you a spotlight beacon."
"I'm immortal?" Neomi said in disbelief, as all this sunk in. "And a part of the Lore?" That realm Neomi had loved so much.
"Yes. No more getting capped, unless you get beheaded in your corporeal form. Naturally. In your spirit form, you can't be killed at all. Your species is very envied within the Lore. You're powerful, yet with few vulnerabilities. Well, gotta run. I have at least four more appointments this evening. My job as Proto-Valkyrie and Soothsayer Without Equal is as crucial and involved as you'd think."
Neomi said, "But I have so many questions...."
Nix sighed. "I'll give you a prediction because I'm benevolent. And because I didn't get you a wedding present." Dramatically waving her hand in an arc above her, Nix breathed, "I can see it now." Then she met their eyes. "No. Really. I can see it now."
"Tell us!"
"Neomi--wife, mother, and owner of the only Lore ballet academy in this plane. Conrad, adoring husband and father, who still slips into the crazies now and again but works hard to get past it. He'll be throwing a mantrum every time you go to girls' night out, sweating with white knuckles until you return, but he'll get better with each year."
Neomi frowned. "We'll be parents? Can I...can we have children?"
Conrad squeezed her hand. "Neomi, it doesn't matter--"
"I'll check my sources to be sure." Nix peered up, brows drawn as if she was thinking back. When she was actually thinking forward. Then she winced. "Ooh," she murmured with distaste. Another grimace. "Oh, now, that's not nice!"
Conrad's lips parted. "What in the hell are you seeing?"
"You'll have children, all right," Nix said, her tone grim. "And that first set of twins..." She shuddered.
"First set?" Conrad said with a cough, looking dumbfounded. "What did you see?"
"What didn't I see. I'll give you a for instance--any time you try to give them a bath, they either hide in the walls or sink their baby fangs into the door so you can't pull them away. And the pranks...don't get me started on the pranks. Auntie Nix will be unavailable to sit for those two decades."
Neomi said, "They sound...delightful?"
Nix's tone softened. "Happily, they grow up to be strong with clever minds and proud hearts." She eyed them both. "For now, I'll be expecting you both on the front line this Accession." She started away.
"Wait!" Conrad said. "Did someone...did one of my enemies set this fire?"
Nix turned back with a grin. "Unless you'd pissed off some wiring-hungry nutrias, then I'm going with no." She disappeared into the night.
Stunned to silence, Neomi and Conrad sat together on the ground, staring at her home of more than eighty years, blazing in the night.
When tears began to course down her face, Conrad reached over to brush them away. "Koeri, I'm so sorry about the house."
Yes, she was crying, but not for the reason Conrad believed. There's nothing wrong with me. No wonder she hadn't felt like a human or a ghost--she was a bit of both. She was overwhelmed because she was so relieved.
I'm an immortal now.
She surveyed Conrad's face, noting that his color was already returning. He'd swiftly heal his injury and be back to normal soon.
We're going to be together. And have terrible, terrible little children.
When the first wall of Elancourt collapsed, she started laughing. Flames were consuming her home, and all she could think was...let it burn.
"Neomi?" Conrad cast her a concerned expression. "Why are you laughing?"
She felt freed, ready to embark on the rest of her new life. "Because I'm happy."
"This is going to be one of those times when your happiness baffles me, isn't it? You told me this was your dream home."
Dreams can change. She knelt before him. "All that matters is that we're together. And now that I'm immortal, if we play our cards right, it'll be forever."
His brows drew together, as if the truth of that hit him just at that moment. "But you loved this place."
"I did. It was everything to me. Before, when I had nothing else."
In a dry tone, he said, "This does resolve the problem of how to expand the studio."
"Exactement." She smiled, cupping his face with her hands. "We'll take our time rebuilding, have fun with it. Apparently, we have all the time in the world." She leaned in to kiss the vampire she loved.
With a grin against her lips, he murmured, "At least until that first set of twins arrives."
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