A long time later, when I was down to hiccups, Lethe gathered me in her arms and lifted me against her chest. She carried me to my room, laid me on the bed, and then climbed in behind me. She held me until I stopped trembling, her grip unbreakable, like she might hold me together through sheer will alone, but there was nothing to be done for my heart. It was breaking, shattering into a million glittery pieces, each edge sharpened with a memory that cut. I should have bled to death from all the tiny slices, but death was easy, and nothing in my life had ever been that.
Six
When I jerked awake from the first full day of natural sleep I’d had since my release from Atramentous, Linus wasn’t back. I didn’t have to check with Woolly to be certain.
I had never felt alone in Woolworth House. Not really. Not like this. But his absence was a hollow ring in my ears.
The door to his bedroom stood open—he’d left it that way—but the welcome was absent without him.
A brush of Woolly’s presence across my senses forced me to uncurl from the tight ball of limbs knotting the center of his mattress. His, not mine. I must have found my way in here sometime during the day.
“I feel better.” I stretched my fingers through the slats in his headboard to brush them along the wall. “How are you coping?”
The floorboards groaned—no. That was a moan.
Cletus drifted into the room from the hall and came to hover at the foot of the bed.
Sadness radiated from Woolly, overlapping my own melancholy, but she had let the wraith in.
“Can you tell?” I put the question to the old house. “Do you sense…?”
Maud.
Woolly reeled in her emotions, blocking me from her thoughts, and that was answer enough.
She would have seen beyond the cloak, through its bones, to the soul animating the creature when it first crossed her wards. Had there been anything of Maud left in Cletus, Woolly would have rejoiced to find her mistress, however diminished, had returned.
But there had been no celebration.
Woolly had allowed the wraith in for my benefit, because that’s how she viewed Cletus—as a generic manifestation of necromantic will—not as Maud. Not as a creature with its own identity. And with her silence, she wanted to spare me that final nail in the coffin of my hope that Maud was still in there, somewhere.
“No one can know,” I warned them both. “No one can ever discover what I’ve done.”
A bolt of fear thrown by Woolly struck me in the heart.
“I’m not worried for myself.” I rubbed my chest. “I’m worried about what this might mean for Linus.”
Eidolon was not a designation I had heard until it started getting tossed around about him. He might not be a dybbuk, but dybbuk were hunted, their hosts executed or sentenced to the grave of Atramentous. He walked a fine line even his mother might not be able to smudge if the Society learned the truth about her son, and about Maud.
“I hate to do this. It feels like I’m erasing the only scrap left of your identity, but I can’t call you Maud.” I wet my parched lips. “I’ll have to keep calling you Cletus. It’s the only way to protect us all.”
The wraith nodded, a low moan escaping its maw, and Woolly’s consciousness bolted from the room.
Tremors shook the house, her heaved sobs shifting the structure on its foundation, but I let her grieve.
“She’ll adjust,” I promised Cletus, uncertain if he had the capacity to understand what I had told them, or Woolly’s reaction to the news. “She just needs a little time.”
Maud would never have violated Woolly the way Cletus had the night we met—when he stole Keet, who she never would have touched, and left the Grande Dame’s invitation in his place. Maud wouldn’t have had to stoop so low. Woolly would have flung open her doors to welcome her home. Instead, she still smarted from that stark breach of trust, even if she had forgiven Linus. Learning her former mistress, the person she trusted above all others, had done that to her…was hard.
The wraith gave no indication how it felt about Woolly adapting to its presence, but it did drift to me, its hand tucking into the depthless void of its robe. It withdrew the ark shell it had given me at Odette’s and the knife I had forgotten at the property on Abercorn.
The property Linus bought for me, to give me back some of what I had lost.
“Thanks.” I set both on the bed, dressed in jeans and a tee, pocketed the items, then ducked my head into Oscar’s room. His bed remained empty. With a sigh, I set out for the kitchen. Lethe sat on Amelie’s old stool, hunched over seven takeout boxes with a familiar logo on the lids. “Do I smell bacon?”
“You had a rough night. Ordering in was the least I could do.” She nudged a box toward me. “I charged the food to your account, so don’t thank me too much.”
“Still, I appreciate it.” I went to the fridge and found exactly what I expected—a smoothie rich in Vitamin L—waiting on me. There was no card this time, no note, but I didn’t need one. Even when Linus expected the worst, he gave his best. “How much did you hear?”
“The wraith is your adoptive mom, Linus is something called an Eidolon, and he bound Maud Woolworth to him after you called her soul from her body in a failed resuscitation.”
Mouth hanging open, I cranked my head toward her. “Anything else?”
“I also heard Linus tell Woolly to keep you safe and to call if you ever need him.” She tossed a wedge of buttered toast aside with a frown then crammed a sausage link in her mouth. “Ever implies he won’t be here to hear if you call. Ever implies he’s not coming back. Ever implies last night was goodbye.”
A tremble started in my fingers and spread into my palm. The spasm released the smoothie from my grip, and it spilled across the tiles. “He’s staying on Abercorn to give me time to think.”
“He’s the Potentate of Atlanta, Grier. He put off his responsibilities while he was tutoring you, and that’s fine, but you haven’t polished his apple in weeks.” She grinned with chipmunk cheeks. “And yes, I know exactly how that sounds.”
“He wouldn’t lie about that.” He had never outright lied to me. Omission was his greatest sin.
“He told you he was spending the day there. He never said what he was going to do after he woke up.”
Quick as I could, I mopped up the mess then washed my hands. “I need to get to Abercorn.”
Corbin entered the kitchen on autopilot. He pulled down a bowl and filled it with cereal without looking at me or talking to me. I wasn’t certain he was aware I was there. His eyes weren’t all the way open yet.
“Keep an eye on him,” I told her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I’ll text Hood,” she mumbled through a full mouth. “He’ll meet you at the gate.”
“Cletus.” I lost precious seconds waiting on the wraith to appear. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
The wraith followed, his bony fingers curling over my shoulder when we reached the front door.
A second later, Woolly alerted me to the presence of a guest. No, not a guest, a vampire.
Great.
Just what I didn’t need right this second.
I had the door open before he could knock and backed him out onto the porch. “What?”
The vampire recoiled at my tone before packing away his affront. “The master will see you.”
“Oh. Good.” I reordered my thoughts. “When?”
“Now.” He stared back at me, expectant. “You did say it was urgent.”
“I—” I wanted to hop on Jolene and drive her like a bat out of hell to Abercorn. I wanted to find Linus in the apartment before he got any ideas about going back to Atlanta. But I had to offload Corbin. With his history, his connection to me, it was too dangerous to keep him in my home. Not to mention the fact he couldn’t feed himself, which meant I might as well go stab a few humans to death if I didn’t get him the help he required to mature into a self-sufficient vampire. “Give me a second. I’ll be right back.”
>
I retreated into the house and shut the door. Backtracking, I found Lethe texting her mate while scrambled egg clung to her bottom lip.
“New plan,” I called. “I’m getting my gear, snagging Corbin, and we’re going to see my grandfather.”
“What about Linus?” She set down her fork, never a good sign. Actually, I’m not sure I had ever seen her do it up until now. “You need backup.”
“I’ll have Hood.” I smiled at her. “And you, if you’re interested.”
“Hell yes.” She pumped her fist. “Gimme a sec. I need to pack a few snacks.”
“Shocker.” I left her rummaging in the cupboards while I went to find Corbin, who was bleary-eyed but more alert than he had been. “A vampire is here to escort me to see my grandfather. This is your only shot with him. You either come with us, or you move on to Plan B, whatever that is.”
“I’ll go.” Tension bunched his shoulders. “I want to hear what he has to say before I agree to anything.”
“Get dressed, and meet me on the porch in ten.” With that done, I found a quiet spot and called Cletus in close. “Tell Linus where we’re going and why. I’m going to give Amelie a heads-up so we have a backup for our backup.”
Using the back door let me escape into the rose garden without encountering the vampire stationed at the front door. That was a blessing. I didn’t want witnesses for this conversation.
Amelie had the door open when I got there, proving she had been spying on the yard. Not that I could blame her with so little else to entertain her.
“What do they want with you?” She stared past me to the front porch where my escort waited. “Are you in any danger? I can—”
“Don’t call your brother.”
“I was going to offer to go with you.”
Lifting her house arrest would be more trouble than it was worth. Plus, it would get me in even hotter water with the Grande Dame if she found out I had allowed Amelie to slip her leash.
“Lethe and Hood volunteered.” I ignored the hurt in her eyes. “I just wanted to let you know I’m going to see my grandfather. I don’t expect any trouble, but trouble has a way of thwarting my expectations.”
Hearing the name left off that list, she checked to either side of me. “Where’s Linus?”
“He’s in town. His wraith is with me. He’ll be getting live updates.”
“I saw him leave with a bag last night.” She reached for my arm. “Are you guys okay?”
“I don’t know.” I looked at her hand, wishing her touch still meant comfort to me. “Ask me tomorrow.”
Her eyes brightened in an instant. “Does that mean you’re coming to visit again?”
I walked right into that one. “Sure.” I started backing away. “I have to go.”
“I won’t call Boaz,” she said softly. “You have my word this doesn’t go further than us.”
Uncertain how much worth her words carried these days, I nodded without conviction then turned back to the house, wondering how much her attempts at atonement stemmed from guilt and how much from boredom. Loneliness bred desperation, and foolhardiness had landed her in this mess in the first place.
If I wanted her to get better, I had to do better by her. That didn’t mean putting myself in the line of fire, but it did mean bringing in someone who could help her adjust to cohabitation with Ambrose, since we had no clue how long their essences would mingle before his dissipated enough she could evict the jerk.
With Odette skittish about the gwyllgi and currently unavailable for consultation, I would have to cast a wider net. That meant asking Linus for tutor recommendations of a different kind.
If I caught him before he did something drastic like give up on us faster than I could digest all I had learned in the last twenty-four hours.
Lethe met me in the kitchen, pockets bulging with snacks. “You visited the ex?”
I gave her a look. “Yes.”
“What?” She popped a mini donut in her mouth. “We both know I’m your new best friend.”
“We do, huh?” It was fun to watch her sweat in the wake of that bold statement. Not much got to Lethe. She was fierce, tough, and…she had never had a best friend. Never had a friend worth promoting. “You offer to throw one baby shower…”
“How do we do this?”
“Do…what?”
“Make it official?” She tapped her chin. “Do you want me to spit in my palm then shake your hand? Cut your palm and mine then smear them together so we can be blood sisters? Do I create a righteous mixtape then blast music beneath your window at noon?”
“Um, I think those are mostly things that happen in eighties movies or at summer camp.”
“You’re not going to make me get down on one knee and ask, are you? I have some pride.”
After fishing a donut out of the bag, I dropped to one knee at her feet and took her hand.
“Lethe Kinase, we haven’t known each other long, but I get this feeling whenever I’m around you. I think it’s hunger, because you’re always eating something that smells good, but maybe it’s my gut telling me that you’re the one. Will you accept this donut as a token of my affection and agree to be my BFF?”
“What the actual hell?” Hood roared into the kitchen. “What are you two doing? And why is there always food involved?”
Ignoring her mate, Lethe sniffled. “I do.”
I slid the donut on her pinky finger with a grin while Hood looked ready to tear out his dreads.
“Now to consummate our union.” Lethe waggled her eyebrows at me, dancing aside when he grabbed for her. “You can’t stop me, Hood. This is fate. It’s destiny.” She bit into the donut. “It’s delicious.”
Face straight, Hood glanced at me. “How long did you say Linus would be gone?”
“Linus can’t help you now.” Lethe crammed the other half of the donut in my mouth. “We’re official.”
Hood just shook his head. “She wasn’t like this in Atlanta.”
“What do you mean?” She stopped goofing off to listen, and her pulse jumped in her throat.
Since I’m not a vampire, I pretended not to notice that or the smell of my ruined smoothie lingering in the air.
“She growled when others got near her food,” he said. “She didn’t share. She picked fights that ended in bloodshed. Now she picks fights with you that end in takeout. She spent too much time alone, even though our packmates were always around. Now she crashes on your couch, raids your fridge, and eavesdrops on all your private conversations.” He crooked his finger at her, and she inched closer to him while staying out of reach. “She smiles and means it. She’s…happy. She hasn’t been that in a long time.”
Keeping to the balls of her feet, she cocked her head. “Does this mean you’re giving us your blessing?”
The smile he shot her way hit its target, and she swayed like a lovestruck teenager.
“I’m happy you’re happy.” Lightning fast, he caught her by her upper arms and yanked her to him. “That’s all I want, all I’ve ever wanted. If that means letting you feed other women donuts off your fingers, or whatever the hell I just witnessed, I can deal. But don’t invite her back to the den with you. That’s where I draw the line.”
Clamped against his chest, Lethe didn’t have much wiggle room. She still could have broken free if she chose—I had seen her do it a hundred times in practice—but she melted against him. “Deal.”
I left them to their mated bliss and went to check on Corbin. I found him waiting in the living room. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” He ducked his head. “You?”
Taken aback that he would ask, I had to dig for the right answer. “Yes.”
“Have you spoken to your grandfather since you declared a truce?”
“No,” I admitted. “This will be the first time we’ve seen each other since.”
Corbin lapsed into silence, and I let him think while I veered into the hall. I had wavered on bringing the goddess-touched artifact with
me. It was dangerous—to me—and valuable. But it was also a powerful weapon I was willing to bet had some impact on vampires since it had affected me. When Heloise jabbed me in the spine, I lost touch with my magic, leaving me defenseless against her power. While I wasn’t eager to experience that sensation again, I wasn’t above inflicting it on others as a last resort.
Plus, it was a stake. Where magic fails, pointy ends prevail.
The gwyllgi entered the living room as I was leaving, and I pointed to clue them in to my intentions.
Thankfully, the basement door didn’t fight me. I got in, beat the gloom, and hit the library.
I hesitated a moment when I passed the cabinet where I was storing the marriage contract, but there was no time for lingering. I strode past it and retrieved the artifact from a locked bin filled with palo santo sticks.
As far as I could tell, the artifact was an ancient ash stake, which spoke to its possibilities as a weapon against vampires. Shaft worn smooth from handling, tip unnaturally sharp, it fit my palm like it had been carved for me alone. Magic? Perhaps. I hadn’t spent enough time on this end of the point to decide.
I tucked the stake in the waistband of my pants at my spine like I saw people do with guns in the movies. Aside from giving me an insta-wedgie, I worried it might also stab me if I sat down wrong on the way to see my grandfather. Clearly, the movies had no clue what they were talking about.
Next idea. I put my boob deficiency to good use and tucked it in the band of my bra, tip up, figuring the odds of me stabbing myself under the jaw were slimmer than jabbing myself in the gut.
That was better. Not great since fitted tees didn’t forgive much, but doable thanks to the fact this was a recent purchase, a size bigger than I was now, the one I expected to be after I regained those last few pounds.
“Good enough.”
I took the stairs, rejoined the gwyllgi, collected my progeny, and met our vampire escort.
“Sorry about the delay.” I plastered on my best innocent smile, one that said, No, there’s not a stake down my bra, why do you ask? then gestured toward the van. “I hope you don’t mind if I use my driver.”
How to Live an Undead Lie (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy Book 5) Page 10