Chapter Ten
I ran my fingertips over the coarse, wet limestone. I was alone with the monotonous dripping from stalactites ontostalagmites. The dark, damp air clung to my skin; the scent of clean, thin mud overpowered much else. I could walk deeper into the cave and see if he was hiding in its belly, but the warm, muted light didn’t stretch beyond this room.
“Caliban?”
He was there before I could finish speaking his name. In two quick strides, he was at my side, tucking his fingers around the back of my head and planting a kiss in my hair.
“I’m so glad you called,” he said. “Is everything all right?”
I giggled into his chest at the word.Called. Like the meditation cave was some demonic cell phone. I said, “I’m perfectly fine. I’m at the Four Seasons in New York with Nia and Kirby and the witches. Oh, and Az and Silas are playing babysitter. Very technically: I’m lying on my back in bed while spa music plays on the speaker.”
“I’m glad you’re meeting with Alessia soon. Her participation could make a world of difference.”
“Without her, you all make it sound like we’ll be screwed when the angelic legion breaks through their three-day deal.”
“I know what she has,” Caliban says, “but before you even ask, I guarantee it would be best if she explained it herself. And they’re right. You might be the only person who could get it from her willingly. So, what’s the plan?”
Drip, drip, dripwent the stalactites.
I shivered against the cave’s chill as I listed our agenda.
“First thing in the morning, we’re off to get dressed by one of Duchess Vapula’s acolytes. He’s some up-and-comer in fashion. Apparently, even being the Bride of Hell doesn’t guarantee me an audience. We need to be dressed to impress, or else whatever aid she offers—this device you won’t tell me about—might not happen.”
“About the device, like I said, you’ll need Alessia to explain it herself. Half the reason we won’t tell you is because we can’t. We’re men. As for the Duchess, please send her my regards.”
“Will do,” I said. “And you’re currently…” I smoothed out the fabric of his shirt and looked up into his eyes. “I actually don’t know how it works for either of us. Are you physically here, in this cave?”
“I’m currently in a meeting with Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Their pantheon is incredible. You’ve never seen so many colors.”
I was about to comment on how it made sense that, of the non-monotheistic religions, they’d have the most followers, and therefore the most worship, but I got stuck on another point of his sentence.
“What do you mean,currently?” I asked.
“I mean…” He leaned back against the cave wall and tugged me against him. “I’ve been sitting in that chair for four days of their realm’s time. When I heard you call my name, I simply closed my eyes, and here I am.”
Drip, drip, drip.As bizarre as it was to put myself in the cave, it was even harder to picture him sitting amidst powerful gods of legend and lore while he comforted me. There was nothing he couldn’t do.
“So, if they need you…?”
“My father is also present at this meeting, as are many of Hell’s dignitaries. I’m sure it’s nothing they can’t handle, if only for a few minutes. Besides, if you fail to recruit Medusa…”
My pulse spiked.
“My apologies.” He interrupted his own line of thinking. “First of all, you won’t fail. Second, if she does not comply, that is not your failure, it is hers. But what I’m trying to share is this: If anything goes wrong with your plan, I’m creating a backup plan for you, and a plan B to that backup plan, and another, and another. You are not alone. Not even for a second.”
Rhythmic water continued in the background, calming me, anchoring me in the cave.
I leaned into him, savoring our brief moment together.
“It’s a cruel irony,” I said. When he waited for me to continue, I elaborated. “For the first twenty-six years of my life, we could be together as often as we wanted. Whenever it was dark, I’d call out and know you’d come. Sometimes, even in broad daylight…” I knew my cheeks were pink as my memories wandered to sultry places. I cleared my throat and said, “But once I knew you were real, it kicked off the series of events that have required you to stay away. The fallout of me choosing you, choosing us, is you ushering in the end of the world.”
Another kiss against my hair as he said, “You’re doing most of the ushering.”
“When will we get to be normal again?”
He chuckled. “When have we ever been normal? I know you don’t want a white picket fence. You don’t want children, or monogamy, or the American Dream. When have we ever thrust those upon each other? I’m yours, and you’re mine, no matter what we do, or where we are, or how that looks. The more fiercely yourself you become, the more I love you.”
The sentence was unfamiliar, even if the message was true. He’d been with me my whole life. He’d been by my side when I’d dated others, when I’d escorted in the human realm, when I’d fallen in love with any gender. He had been with me when I was a religious devotee. He had been with me when I’d fallen from grace.
