She shook her head sadly. “Soon you will see the future differently and long to be in my good graces.”
With that, she spun and the deep crowd parted once more, followed by Michael and the remaining elementals. Sebastian reached Dayna first and undid her gag and bindings. “My psycho mother needs to be dealt with,” she spat.
I gazed down at Layla and felt the moment Babu was released. He ran and collapsed over his dead wife.“Not dead,”Indigo muttered. She nudged me to look at what was in my hand. A white orb, with wisps of power flaring around it.
“Her soul?” I checked.
“Yes, move the demon and I will bring her back.”
“Move him,” I instructed Hudson.
“Let the man grieve,” Hudson responded.
I snapped my gaze to his. “Principal, remove the man from his wife so I can concentrate on restoring her soul.”
Babu was too distraught to hear me, but everyone else did.
“Move him,” someone shouted from the crowd still, observing the scene. How the hell were we going to deal with this? I didn’t own one of those little memory zapper things fromMen in Black, but it sure would have been handy right now. My grandmother had purposefully caused a scene in broad daylight amongst the humans, then bailed to let me deal with the fall out. Hudson clutched Babu’s arms and dragged him away. Indigo moved forward and took control. She pried open Layla’s mouth and shoved the orb in before running her hand along her throat. With a satisfied hum, she jolted with power and Layla’s body jerked like we’d shocked her. The crowd gasped. Indigo repeated it three times and then stood.
“Mind, body, and soul, returned.”
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the scene. Layla’s chest suddenly moved and she gurgled before rolling and spitting blood out on the stone floor. Babu stopped crying and dived back to his wife, holding her in his arms and muttering something in Egyptian. The crowd cheered.
“You gave up the book,” Hudson said, spinning me to face him. Indigo retreated but my body remained changed.
“Family is everything,” I said, glancing at Dayna and Sebastian. “I’d be no less evil than my grandmother if I started weighing up the consequences of losing a life. That is a steep slippery slope.”
He tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear and smiled. “It wasn’t a criticism. You are stronger for those ties and beliefs, not weaker like Eloise believes.”
“I would have to disagree,”Indigo complained.
“Of course you would, you need to learn these are your family too, and we must protect them.”
“I have a family?”
The lost note in her voice almost broke me. My psychopathic creature was a lost soul looking for love.
“Yes, Indigo, you have a huge family, and it’s time they met you.”
“Are we going to talk about Cora’s alter ego?” Dayna asked. “Anybody? Just me that saw the terrifying creature standing there a minute ago? The one that stuffed a soul back into a body? Okay, good to know I’m delusional. For the record, I think my mother needs to die.”
“I like her,”Indigo said.
Oh no, I couldn’t have the daughter of death and my most chaotic aunt loose on society. That is one shit storm it would not survive. Someone send help, any help, all help.
Hudson started clapping. “That’s a wrap, people,” he shouted. “Look out for this on the big screen next year.”
Sebastian snorted. “They’ll never believe that,” he grumbled.
“What’s the name of the movie?” someone shouted.
“Great effects on the girl,” someone joined in.
“Can I get your autograph?”
I shook my head. Society couldn’t recognize evil even when it slapped them in the face with blood and destruction.
Chapter Twenty Three
