The connection was severed almost as quickly as it had formed, but it was enough.She knew Caleb had gotten her message.
And she knew he was alive.They still had time.
The reception line formed right after the ceremony.As Delia waited her turn to congratulate the happy couple, the small evening bag she’d hung over one shoulder vibrated.Quickly, she pulled out her phone, thinking that was probably Pru telling her to hurry things along, even though Delia had told her friend that there was no chance of her getting away from all the wedding festivities until nine o’clock at the absolute earliest.
But no, the text was from an unknown number.
The ritual begins now.Come to Angel’s Dream alone, or watch your cousin’s new husband join her in widowhood before the night is over.
Her body stiffened, although it didn’t seem as if anyone waiting on either side of her noticed anything wrong.That didn’t matter, though.
No, what mattered was that Vinea knew exactly where she was…and knew which of her family members would be the most vulnerable to threats.
She looked down the receiving line to Olivia and Alec, both of them glowing with happiness as they accepted congratulations from their guests.Her parents, her aunt and uncle, all of Alec’s family — none of them had any defenses against the kind of destruction Vinea was planning to rain down on the city.
Another text appeared on her phone.
You have one hour.After that, the newlyweds die, followed by everyone else you care about.
Delia’s hands shook as she typed a quick message to Ty and Pru.
He’s threatening my family.I have to go.
Ty’s reply came back immediately.
Don’t.It’s a trap.We’re close to finding another way in.
No time.He says one hour, or they die.
Delia, wait —
She turned off her phone and slipped it into her purse, then made her way through the crowd to the spot where her parents stood talking with some of Alec’s relatives.
“Mom, Dad, I have to go,” she said, having already manufactured an excuse as she headed over to talk to them.“Client emergency.Tell Olivia I’m sorry I’ll miss the reception, but something has come up that I have to handle personally.”
Her mother frowned.“Tonight?Did you tell your client that you were at a family wedding?”
“I did, but they’re insisting.I need to go, or I’m going to lose this client.”She gave them each a quick hug, breathing in the familiar scent of her mother’s Dior perfume, trying to memorize the moment in case it was the last time she saw them.“I love you both.”
“We love you too, Delia,” her father said, although his expression was almost puzzled.While they were all secure in their love for one another, her family wasn’t the most demonstrative one in the world.“Is everything all right?”
“It will be,” she said, and hoped she was telling the truth.“But I have to go.”
The drive from Little Chapel of Hearts to downtown Las Vegas would give her about fifteen minutes to figure out how to confront a lord of Hell and somehow rescue Caleb without getting them both killed in the process.Easy peasy.
Saturday night traffic was thick, and she found herself gritting her teeth as she lurched from one red light to another.But no…stressing about her slow progress was only going to make her that much more off balance.
Instead, she let her psychic abilities expand beyond the protective walls she’d built, allowing the full force of the ley line energy to flow through her body.The sensation nearly overwhelmed her — she became the center of a vast circuit connected to every supernatural site in the city, every person with even the smallest bit of psychic ability, every line of power that crisscrossed the valley.
But instead of trying to shut it out, she embraced it and let it fill her until her entire being hummed with borrowed power.If Vinea wanted to use the ley line network to fuel his ritual, then she would tap into that same network to stop him.
She could see the transformation of Angel’s Dream Wedding Chapel from three blocks away.What had once been a simple white building with a kind of homegrown charm now seemed to exist partially in normal reality and partially in some other dimension altogether.Shadows moved across its surface in patterns that made her want to blink and look away, and the air around it shimmered with heat distortion despite the cool evening air.
Did it appear that way to everyone, or were her enhanced senses picking up on something that wouldn’t be visible to most people?
She parked her little Kona what she hoped was a safe distance down the street and sat in the car for a moment, doing her best to gather her admittedly shaky courage.Her bond with Caleb hung on just enough that she could sense he was still alive.But she could also feel Vinea’s overwhelming presence, a darkness so ancient and powerful that it made every instinct scream at her to run.
Instead, she calmly got out of the car and walked down the street, the heels of her dressy nude sandals clicking on the sidewalk, the supernatural energy of the city flowing through her like a river of light.Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t let fear stop her from trying to save the man she loved.
