His smile was melancholy. “Kora’s birthday.”
Her heart clenched at that. How sad that the petulant woman-child in the other room was so blind to her father’s love. “That’s sweet.”
“That’s one word for it.” He opened the safe door. “I am aware of how much of a weakness she is for me.”
“I think daughters are that way for fathers.” She thought of her own father. “Most of them, anyway.”
She put the bottle inside, then stood back, lost in the thought of her parents’ betrayal.
Lucien closed the door and reset the lock, then he pulled Imari close. “Don’t let it eat you up, or you’ll end up as bitter as I am.”
She shook her head, a little too choked with emotion to answer. She cleared her throat and found her voice. “I won’t. I’ll go see what Hattie’s rustled up for dinner while you talk to Kora.”
“Perfect. I’m sure you’ll hear the yelling just fine from the kitchen.”
“You think it’ll be that bad?”
“When I tell her she’s cut off? Absolutely. But if she wants anything from me, she’s going to give me some answers.”
She slipped her arms around his waist. “Are you prepared for her not to say anything? For her to walk away and not look back?”
He hesitated. “She won’t do that. She’ll yell and scream and carry on, but at some point, she’ll give in. She’s relied on me too much.”
For his sake, Imari hoped he was right.
They walked out to the living room together. Kora was settled on one of the couches, scrolling through her phone.
She didn’t look up when they came in. “Took you long enough.”
A dark cloud seemed to appear around Lucien.
Imari squeezed his arm, then excused herself to the kitchen.
Hattie was hovering, nervously. The table’s surface was covered in dishes. “There you are.” Hattie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I got the leftovers out.”
“I see that,” Imari said. “Thank you.” She picked up a plate and started helping herself to the food that was laid out. “It all looks great.”
“It’s just leftovers. I could make you something else.”
“I love leftovers.” Imari knew how concerned the woman must be. Maybe she should ask for something else just to give Hattie a task to be distracted with.
“What’s he going to tell her?” Hattie whispered.
“That she’s got to talk to him if she wants any more money,” Imari whispered back.
Hattie’s brows rose. “That’s not going to go—”
The crash of something ceramic interrupted them, followed by some yelling. Kora’s yelling.
Hattie flew to the kitchen entrance, but didn’t go any farther. She spun around to face Imari again. “Should I go in there?”
“I don’t think so. He wanted to do it alone. But I’m sure if he needs you, he’ll call for you.”
Hattie sighed. “I’m sure you’re right. I just wish they could get past whatever it is that’s keeping them apart.” She hovered back by the table, twisting her hands together. “He loves her, you know. He really does.”
“I know.” Imari took a seat at the table. Her appetite had waned since returning, but eating gave her something to do. She picked up her fork and was about to take a bite when Lucien walked into the kitchen.
He looked at Imari, the most desperate expression on his face she’d ever seen. “I need your help.”
Imari got to her feet. “Anything. Just tell me what you want.”
A second of silence passed before he spoke again. “I have a wish I want granted.”
Lucien appreciated very much that Imari hadn’t hesitated at his request. Instead, she and Hattie had followed him back to the living room. Back to Kora.
Hattie gasped when she entered and saw the victim of Kora’s outburst shattered on the fireplace hearth. “My vase! Kora, how could you?”
The faintest hint of remorse passed through Kora’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by cold indifference. “It’s just a vase. And not even a nice one.”
“It was a very nice vase,” Hattie huffed. She materialized and started gathering the pieces.
New anger wound through Lucien’s bones. He was utterly done with this child of his and her atrocious attitude and endless disrespect. She might be an adult, but she certainly didn’t act like it. “Kora, apologize to your great-grandmother.”
She rolled her eyes, then sniffed out a, “Sorry” that seemed anything but.
Hattie set the pieces on a side table and went back to her ghost form.
Lucien turned to Imari. “It seems my daughter has been fed a lifetime of lies about me from her mother. Kora believes that I cheated on her mother incessantly, that I abused Pavlina physically and emotionally, and that I never wanted a child to begin with. Thanks to her mother’s influence and inability to tell Kora the truth, I cannot convince her otherwise. I need your help.”
Confusion danced through Imari’s gaze. “Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“How do your powers work on time?”
Her mouth bunched to one side before she answered. “They don’t. I can’t change what’s happened in the past.”
“I don’t need you to change it. I just need Kora to see it.”
A light came on in Imari’s eyes. “Like Dickens and the Christmas ghosts.”
The reference pleased him. “Something like that, yes.”
Kora snorted and crossed her arms. “I’m not letting your girlfriend perform magic on me. I don’t trust her.”
Lucien snapped his head around to glare at Kora. “Imari is my wife. And her magic is perfectly safe.”
“Surrrre it is,” Kora said. “What else are you going to say about step-mommy dearest?”
“I can prove it’s safe,” Imari said. “If Hattie will indulge me.”
“Whatever you need, dear,” Hattie said, hovering closer.
“Thank you.” Then Imari looked at Lucien. “What would your one wish for Hattie be?”
He swallowed, pondering the question while he looked at his grandmother. Imari had to know what his answer would be, had to be anticipating what he’d ask for. He hoped he wasn’t wrong about that and that his wish could be granted. If not, this was all going to fall apart in a very bad way. “I would wish for her not to be a ghost anymore. For her to have her body back as solid as you and I. Wouldn’t you wish for that too, Mémé?”
Hattie nodded slowly, almost reluctantly. “Sometimes, I do wish for that. But I’m fine the way I am, Lucien. I have you, and I’m happy.”
“But you would be happier to be your old self again, wouldn’t you?” Lucien understood her reluctance. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But that’s not what he needed right now. “Tell the truth, Mémé. Please. It’s okay.”
She looked down at her hands and uttered a soft, “Yes.”
“Right,” Kora said. “You’re just going to wish her back into being. Even getting her soul back couldn’t do that. Good luck.”
Imari ignored Kora and smiled up at Lucien. “All you have to do is ask.”
A breathless hope filled him. Could it be this easy? “I wish Hattie had her mortal form back without the mortal consequences or the possibility of having her soul reaped again by my unreliable powers. Can you do that?”
Imari’s smile widened. “You’re a smart man. Most people need a few wishes to get things right.” She turned toward Hattie and nodded sharply.
The thin shimmer of glitter sparkled in the air.
Then Hattie materialized in front of them, dropping from where she was hovering to land squarely with her feet on the floor. “Oof.”
Lucien rushed to grab her arm and steady her. “Are you okay, Mémé?”
“I think… Oh my.” She patted herself down. “I’m real. I’m really real.” She looked at Lucien. “I didn’t do it, either. This doesn’t feel like my version of real. It feels much easier than that. This isn’t taking any effort on my par
t.” She gasped as she lunged forward to hug Imari. “Did you really do this? Did you make me whole again?”
Imari laughed. “That’s the incredible power of jinn magic.”
Hattie squeezed Imari even harder. “You wonderful woman. What did this family do to deserve you? I cannot thank you enough.”
Lucien stared, unable to believe what Imari had done. For years, he’d relived the awful day he’d accidentally taken his grandmother’s life and in a single moment, Imari had restored Hattie’s physical body, erasing his mistake and lifting a burden that had weighed so heavily upon him.
It was staggering. He almost wept with the joy of it. “Thank you.”
Imari looked up from the hug that Hattie still held her in. “You wished for it. That’s how it works.”
Hattie finally let Imari go to hug Lucien. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“It is, Mémé. It truly is.” As he kissed the top of her head, his gaze wandered to Kora. She seemed taken aback. It wasn’t often she looked anything but cynical.
“Now then,” he said as he released Hattie. “Time for my second wish.”
“I’m ready when you are,” Imari said.
“I wish for Kora to see the truth about her mother and about me and about her childhood.”
Kora’s eyes rounded. “Don’t touch me.”
“I don’t need to, just like I didn’t need to touch your great-grandmother,” Imari said. She approached Kora. “Where would you like to start?”
“Nowhere. Get away from me.”
“Aren’t you interested in the truth?” Imari asked.
Kora sneered. “I know the truth.”
“I don’t think you do.” Imari looked over her shoulder at Lucien. “What should I start with?”
He chose a memory that was still sweet to him, but one Kora probably had little recollection of. “The day of her third birthday party. Apparently, I was away with my girlfriend and unable to attend.”
Imari nodded. “Done.” She spread her hands through the air, and a scene appeared like a movie playing. The edges glittered as if Imari had opened up a magical dimension. Which, maybe she had.
Lucien recognized the scene instantly. It was his and Pavlina’s apartment in Paris. “Do you remember that place, Kora? You should. We lived there until you were thirteen.”
But Kora didn’t answer. She seemed transfixed by what was unfolding. It was her party. There were only a handful of other children there, and all were from the very special, paranormal daycare that had taken him an age to find.
She looked like an angel and his heart ached for those days. She would still willingly climb into his lap then and let him read to her. She wore a pink and white dress with an enormous bow on the back and two playful kittens embroidered on the front.
Lucien had found the dress in the Galeries Lafayette, an old and very famous department store. The frock was a little too big. He’d guessed at the size and had missed slightly. Kora hadn’t cared. “You loved that dress so much you wouldn’t let me take it back to get the right size.”
Kora still didn’t answer. She just stared.
Lucien appeared suddenly, carrying a pink and white cake with three candles. The children and the parents all sang Happy Birthday, in French of course, and the candles were blown out with help. The cake was eaten. Presents were opened. The children ran wild through the apartment, burning off the sugar they’d ingested.
And not one sign of Pavlina.
“Enough,” Kora said.
But Lucien wasn’t sure one example really was enough. “Show us her high school graduation.”
“You weren’t there,” Kora snapped, finally looking at him. “I know you weren’t. You can’t fake that.”
“Do you really think your mother forbidding me to come would stop me?”
Imari spread her hands through the air again, wiping out the last scene and replacing it with a new one. The magical camera panned through the crowd until it came to the last row of the audience where it was standing room only.
Lucien was there, by the door, smiling with pride.
“No,” Kora yelled. She jabbed a finger at Imari. “You’re doing that. He wasn’t there.”
“I cannot change the past,” Imari said.
Lucien thought one more example might do it. “All Saint’s Eve. Seventy-five years ago. And the last time I saw Pavlina alive.”
“That will prove nothing,” Kora said.
“You claim your mother told you we fought that night so horribly that I tried to stake her. I think the truth will prove quite a lot.”
Imari changed out the scene one more time.
The new apartment unfolded before them, a more modern one. Lucien and Pavlina stood in the kitchen. Pavlina was dressed for the evening in a red cape and matching satin mask. Lucien was in trousers and a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up. He had a dish towel over his shoulder.
“She was going out to a party. I asked her to stay because Kora was supposed to stop by to visit.” Lucien remembered the night vividly as he looked at his daughter. “You never did stop by that night.”
“I was out with friends,” Kora spoke softly. “Halloween is a big night for vampires, you know.”
“I know. Your mother used those exact same words with me that evening.”
Kora turned back to the screen. Watched her mother scream and yell and argue. Watched Lucien stand there and take it.
He knew what was coming next. He kept his eyes on his daughter to see her reaction.
She flinched as Pavlina slapped him hard enough to draw blood. Then Pavlina stormed out in a huff. As if Lucien was to blame for her outburst.
“Enough?” Imari asked.
“No,” Lucien said. “Play it out some more. Speed it up a little, though.”
She nodded and let it go.
Before them, Lucien, now all alone, finished the dishes, then retired to the living room. He read the paper and watched the clock. Time passed, but still he remained. Every once in a while, he put the paper down to glance toward the door.
“What were you doing?” Kora asked. “Did you think she’d come back?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I was waiting for you.”
Kora swallowed but said nothing.
On screen, time continued to pass. The early morning hours approached. Lucien got up, a little frantic. He put his coat on and left. The camera followed him out to the street.
“Where were you going?” Kora asked quietly. “Were you looking for Mom?”
He had a feeling she already knew what he’d been doing, but needed to hear it from him. “No. I was looking for you. I was afraid the sun would find you before I did.”
Kora sat down on the couch, her head and shoulders low.
“Do you need to see anything else to prove once and for all that I had nothing to do with your mother’s end? To prove that everything she’s told you about me was a lie?” He prayed that she’d seen enough. He did not want her to suffer through watching her mother meet the dawn.
Kora shook her head. “No. I don’t want to see anymore. Please.”
Imari looked at Lucien. He nodded, and she brought her hands back together. The scene faded to black and disappeared.
The silence in the room was palpable.
Then Kora put her head in her hands and started to cry.
Hattie rushed to her, putting her arm around her. “Oh, honey, let it out. It’s okay. Your daddy and I love you very much.”
Kora leaned into Hattie, and the crying turned into deep, wrenching sobs.
Imari put her hand on Lucien’s arm. “Go to her. She needs her father. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Thank you,” he whispered.
She nodded as she left, smiling.
He went to Kora, sitting on the other side of her. Gently, he laid his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry for what your mother did to you and made you believe.”
Through sobs, Kora managed to speak. “I’ve been so mean to you and
Mémé. I’ve been awful. I’m so sorry.”
He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “I’m willing to put the past behind us if you are.”
“How can you still love me after the way I’ve treated you?”
“Because you’re my daughter and my love for you is unconditional.”
With another loud sob, she threw herself into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”
He held her close, kissing the top of her head. “I know. It’s okay. We’ll get through it.”
After a few more minutes, she leaned back to look at him. Her makeup was a mess, but she was still beautiful to him. “Would it be okay if I stayed here for a while?”
“Absolutely. But there will be ground rules. And if you’re not kind to Imari—”
“Are you really married to her?”
“I am.”
“Do I have to call her Mom?”
He laughed. “No.”
“Does she make you happy?”
“More than I have words for.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Kora got up. “I need to go apologize to her.”
“She’s in the kitchen.”
Kora headed in that direction, but paused before leaving the room. “I love you. Both of you.”
Hattie sniffed, still a little teary herself. Lucien understood. In the course of a few short hours, their lives had changed dramatically for the better. And they had Imari to thank.
He just hoped that having Kora under his roof wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his relationship with Imari.
Hattie put her hand on his arm. “You need to get her a ring.”
He made a face. “What kind of ring does Kora need?”
“Not Kora, Lucien. I’m talking about your wife! You married her, and she’s agreed to stay married, but because of how it happened, you never got her a ring. Maybe that didn’t matter when it was just for her protection, but now that it’s for love, things have changed. And your adult daughter is moving back in. You not only need to get Imari a ring, but you need to make it a good one.”
“Hades, you’re right.” He shoved to his feet. “I need to call Willa immediately.”
“That’s the spirit.” Hattie smiled.
“I’ll call from my office. Then I think we should all have a nice family dinner. What do you say? Even if it’s just leftovers.”
The Reaper Rescues The Genie Page 22