“Maybe it was a concession? Think of it—the black magic spell was written by a dark entity, but it was too strong to leave Hell without being sanctioned by a light entity. That’s the way choice works, right? Two choices are given, one dark and one light. Maybe a white lighter agreed to allow the witch to use the magic, but only if there was a way to break the spell eventually?”
“Thanks for the history lesson. Now, how do we break it?” My patience was fast approaching its end.
He turned back to the scroll, closed his eyes, and began whispering some words even I couldn’t hear. Adon glanced at me and smirked. “Calm down. He’s reaching out to his spirit guide. You don’t want to scare them off with your dark energy.”
“I don’t have dark energy. Is there something going on between you and the holy man?” It wasn’t my business, but I was still asking. He could tell me to fuck off if he didn’t want to answer.
“Can’t be. We’re not a balanced pair like you and Keir. I was created in the underworld, and Carl’s been blessed with divinity and second sight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends with benefits. It won’t last, but the memories will be mine for eternity.”
“Sounds sad and lonely.”
Adon stared at me and then glanced at Keir. “Thankfully, you’ll never have to know.”
Carl continued to whisper, and Keir stared at the scroll as though it could speak. Finally, Carl opened his eyes and stared at us. “Where’s your surrogate hiding?”
“We weren’t told. Why?” Keir’s face paled.
“The scroll reads that the baby girl who is born alive will break the curse. My guide tells me there have been girl babies conceived in your family, but none of them were born alive. If Nyx finds your surrogate first, she will kill your daughter, and the curse won’t be broken. Are you the last Dearly in the bloodline?”
“I, uh, I think so, but I don’t know for sure.” Keir stepped back and sat down in a chair. A moment later, he bent from the waist and put his head between his knees.
“Shit!” I tore through the trash can and found a small paper bag Keir had brought in from the truck. I hurried over to kneel in front of him, holding out the bag. “Breath in here, baby.”
A harsh knock echoed through our room. I quickly went to open the door, surprised to see Scotty and Jay, who happened to be one of the princes of Hell.
“Got yourself a little trouble?” Scotty scooped me up and hugged me before he came inside and went right to Keir who was still breathing into the bag.
Jay stepped forward and stuck out his hand. “We trailed that crazy spirit here. We were in the woods when she found you. I was about to drag the crazy bitch to Hell, but Scotty stopped me.”
“We found the time capsule Keir and his father buried near Lake Shasta. You trailed Lorraine here I guess?” I stepped out of the room and pulled the door behind me.
Jay nodded. “Things are becoming really unsettled downstairs, so when you suggested we go look for Lorraine, we did a little research on her. She’s been haunting an old farmhouse in France for centuries. Some spirits, they say, just go loco, ya know? That’s what everyone thought until she showed up in Limbo a few months ago asking for Claude d’Erlie Bonfils. She caused enough bullshit that she turned some heads, and we tracked her here to see what’s she up to now. The d’Erlie’s, they’re Keir’s ancestors, right?”
I nodded. “I believe so. I thought Jo closed all the portals except the two near Reardon.”
“Someone has been going behind them and reopening some of the portals. They’re doing the best they can, or so we’ve been told by the Celestials. My folks aren’t saying shit.”
“What the hell do you people have going on that you can’t keep track of who’s opening these portals that Jo’s closing? Hell’s sake, humans can buy a Ring security system at Best Buy andconnect it to their damn phone to keep tabs on their house while vacationing. Don’t you people have something similar?” I meant every fucking word.
Keir and Scotty came out of the hotel room and stopped in the hallway, likely looking for us to see what was going on. Keir was breathing fine, thankfully.
“So now what?” Scotty asked.
“Until we can find Jo and Lilith, we’re at a standstill. Besides, we’ve got a wedding to attend. We must believe they’ll keep Lake safe. I hate to say this, but we’ll have to act on faith for a little while.” I stared at my husband, seeing he wasn’t talking bullshit.
He was right. We had to believe Jo and Lilith, as unlikely a pair of bodyguards as they were, would keep Lake, Jamie, and our baby safe.
It was a relief pulling into the driveway of Dearly & Son. For an instant, I could tell myself everything was wonderful, but the minute I parked the SUV, Jonas Schiff came out of the shadows without a shirt. That couldn’t be good.
“Hey, how’s Joachim? He still freaking out about the guy who broke into the Coroner’s Office to steal drugs?” Keir asked.
“He’s a little shaken up, but he’ll be okay. I’ll fade the memory of the event in time, and I’m going to request that a cherub keep an eye on things at the morgue while we’re in San Francisco for Trent’s wedding. I came by to ask if Vale and I could ride with you guys. He’s got too much shit for me to take on my bike. Do you have room for us?”
I laughed. “Yes. Tell Valentino only two suitcases. We’re leaving on Friday and driving home on Sunday. There’s not enough time for him to have Academy Award-caliber wardrobe changes.”
Thankfully, Jonas laughed. “I’ll quote you, Dash. What time do you want to leave in the morning?”
“We’re expected for a delayed Thanksgiving brunch at the hotel at noon. We’ll need to leave by nine so we have time to settle in at the hotel and dress accordingly. Come at eight. I’ll have coffee and pastries.” Keir hugged Jonas and grabbed the cooler with Lilith’s blood before running up the stairs to the apartment.
