Succubus Revealed (14 page)
“Okay,” he said, after what felt like forever. “I’ll go with you. Giving you that information doesn’t violate anything.”
“I don’t suppose,” said Roman, “that telling us
why
Hell would do this wouldn’t violate anything either?”
why
Hell would do this wouldn’t violate anything either?”
I answered before Carter could. “We already know. To get to me. I’ve pissed somebody off, and they’re going to make me suffer by making those I love suffer.”
“Yeah, but why Andrea?” asked Roman. “I mean, no offense, but there are other ways to hurt you more. Why not make Seth suffer?”
I couldn’t help but scoff. “Well. With this transfer, I kind of feel like he already—” I came to a screeching halt, once I realized what I’d been about to say. Roman was sitting opposite me in one of the worn leather chairs, and from the rabid look in his eyes, I thought he was going to reach over and shake me.
“What?” he demanded. “What did you just think of?”
“Andrea’s sickness is terrible,” I said slowly. “A horrible, unfair thing that could hurt her whole family. But there’s something else. As long as she’s sick, as long as the whole family needs help . . . Seth has to stay with them. He can’t go to Las Vegas with me.”
“And there it is,” said Roman, wonder lighting his eyes. “That’s what this transfer is about. To get you out of Seattle, away from Seth, and to make sure he can’t follow.”
“Eventually . . .” My stomach was twisting again, just like it always did when I thought of people being affected because of me. “Eventually he’d be able to. Andrea will either get better, or . . . or she won’t.”
“Yes, but how long?” demanded Roman. “How long will that take? Long enough for you to fall even more in love with your picture-perfect scenario—the one that they handcrafted for you? Long enough for you to move on with some other artsy introverted mortal? By the time he’s free, it won’t matter.”
I was staring off at Roman but not really seeing him. Jerome had always been annoyed at my relationship with Seth, chastising me for being too attached to a mortal and letting it affect my job. Carter himself had said I was doing something that Hell didn’t like. Was it possible
this
was it? That all of these forces were moving to keep Seth and me apart?
this
was it? That all of these forces were moving to keep Seth and me apart?
“If Hell wants me away from Seth, then why not just forbid it?” I asked. “Jerome’s given me a hard time before. Or why not just drop me somewhere . . . anywhere . . . that isn’t here? Why should they care that it’s a place I’ll fall in love with?”
“So that you’ll forget him,” said Roman. “So that you won’t look back. If they ordered you apart, a teenage forbidden romance complex would kick in like that.” He snapped his fingers. “You’d never stop pining for him. But this . . . this is more subtle. And effective.”
“It is,” I agreed, still reeling. “Even after all of Jerome’s criticism, I never thought . . . I never thought Hell would be
this
upset over me being with a human.”
this
upset over me being with a human.”
Roman had no answer for me but lifted his eyes to Carter. “You’re being awfully quiet.”
Carter shrugged, face neutral. “You two have plenty to say. No need for me to chime in.”
“Are we right?” I asked the angel.
“Of course we are,” said Roman. “You’ve always known Hell thought you were too distracted by Seth. This explains everything.”
“Doesn’t explain Erik,” I said.
“Are you
sure
you have nothing to add?” asked Roman, gaze still on Carter.
sure
you have nothing to add?” asked Roman, gaze still on Carter.
“I think we should get to the Mortensens’ before it gets much later,” said Carter mildly. “I’m sure those girls have respectable bedtimes.”
I stood up, knowing we’d get nothing else from him. “I have to drop Roman off at home first. Then we can go over there.”
“How are you going to get me in to see her?” asked Carter. “It’ll be a little weird bringing in a stranger to a sick woman’s bedroom. Do you want me to go invisibly?”
I’d been about to suggest that very thing when a new idea struck me. I gave Carter a once-over. “Have you ever wanted to put on a Santa suit?”
“I have
always
wanted to do that,” said Carter gravely.
always
wanted to do that,” said Carter gravely.
Roman groaned.
Once I explained the situation to Carter, however, he was totally on board. In fact, he told me not to worry about the costume arrangements and promised to meet me at Terry’s in an hour, once I’d had a chance to drop Roman off. As soon as we were in the privacy of the parking lot, Carter vanished into thin air.
“I hope he doesn’t get an outfit from wherever it is he normally does his shopping,” I mused to Roman as we drove. “We don’t want a hobo Santa. Although, if Ian’s there, he’d probably approve and say we were breaking out of the mainstream’s iron grip.”
“Goddamned hipsters,” said Roman. He leaned his head against the car’s window. “You’re rolling the dice a little with Carter, but something tells me he won’t mess this up, not for a bunch of girls with a sick mother. He’s an angel, after all. He’s got to earn his keep somehow.”
“And thank goodness he doesn’t have any hang-ups about Santa being at more than one place at the same time,” I joked. “No space–time contradictions there.”
Roman jerked up so fast, I nearly slammed on the brakes, thinking I was about to hit something. Half a second later, I realized whatever had startled him was in his own head.
“Oh God,” he said.
“What?” I asked, acting like him earlier. “What did you just think of?”
“I think . . . I think I’ve figured this out.” There was awe in his voice.
“What? This mystery we’ve been beating our heads against? We already figured it out.”
Roman shook his head, wide-eyed. “No . . . oh, Jesus. Georgina, if I’m right . . . how do I even prove if I am?” He leaned back in dismay. “How do I get proof?”
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I demanded.
“No. Not yet. Just drop me off, and we’ll talk when you’re done. I have to figure this out.”
There wasn’t much that was more infuriating than that. I hated having the lure of a secret being dangled before me. I hated the “I’ll tell you later” stance. But no matter how much I badgered him, he refused to say any more. With Carter on his way to Terry’s, I couldn’t linger long over Roman. I had to get to Lake Forest Park first. With much grumbling, I left Roman to his machinations, after first warning him that he’d better be ready to spill when I got home later.
When I arrived at the Mortensens’ soon thereafter, I was relieved to see that Seth was around and that all the girls were still awake. Recalling Carter’s joke, I’d worried on my drive over that it might be past the littler ones’ bedtime. Most of them were in their pajamas, but it was clear from their excited reaction to me that sleep was the farthest thing from their mind. Returning their hugs, I couldn’t help but imagine their response when the real act showed up.
Only Brandy stayed on the couch when the others hugged me. She still smiled and nodded in greeting, but there was a haunted, hollow look that hadn’t been there yesterday during our outing. My heart ached for her. After letting her have her night out, they must have told her the truth today about her mom. I sat down on the other end of the couch.
“Did you have fun last night?”
“Yeah,” she said. “It was okay.”
“Do you want to see the pictures?” asked Kendall excitedly. She nudged Brandy. “Show her!”
Smiling at her sister’s enthusiasm, Brandy produced her cell phone and gave it to me to scroll through. It was filled with the kinds of pictures girls her age like to take, group shots of her and her friends crowded in, some with silly faces. I was pleased to see that it looked like any other school dance. I hadn’t been sure what to expect from a church. The shots of her in particular were stunning. Margaret had done a good job with the French twist. One picture showed Brandy grinning next to a cute boy with sandy blond hair. He looked like a smart surfer. I glanced over at her and raised a questioning eyebrow. She nodded.
“Nice,” I said.
A knock at the door brought everyone’s excited chatter to a halt. Terry looked up in surprise from where he’d been leafing through a picture book with McKenna. “Who on earth is that?” He glanced around the room, as though doing a head count to make sure anyone who might possibly stop by was already here. I suppose with that many daughters, there was always the risk of losing track of one. Ian, Margaret, Seth, and I were also accounted for. There weren’t too many others who would drop in unannounced.
“I don’t know,” I said cheerfully. “Seth, why don’t you answer the door and see?”
Seth immediately picked up on the tone in my voice. He shot me a questioning look but walked over to the door anyway. He turned the knob and leaped back in astonishment when Carter burst in through the door.
Well, I was taking it on faith that it was Carter, based on our earlier conversation. Because really, the man who entered the living room looked nothing like the disreputable angel I knew. In fact, he didn’t look like any of the Santas I knew. He looked better. There was magic in the way he moved his round frame. His red suit seemed to shimmer, and his rosy cheeks looked like he’d just come in from the North Pole, not a dreary Seattle winter.
He had out-Santa’ed Santa.
“Ho ho ho!” he bellowed, in a voice that filled the entire house. “Merry Christmas!”
Dead silence and wide eyes met him for a few moments. Then Kendall and the twins began squealing in delight as they ran over to him. “Santa! Santa!”
“What are you doing here?” demanded Kendall. “You aren’t contractually obligated to come here until Christmas Eve.”
“True,” he said in a booming voice that I still couldn’t believe was Carter’s. “But I have to find out what you want for Christmas, don’t I?”
This was met with more oohs and ahhs, and the twins urged him to sit down on the couch. Brandy scrambled out of the way, and Kendall immediately took her turn first, claiming Santa’s lap.
Margaret and Terry looked like they were going to burst into tears. Ian looked dumbfounded. Seth caught my arm and pulled me to the side.
“Is that one of the guys you work with?” he whispered.
I grinned. “In a manner of speaking. It’s Carter.”
Seth did a double take, wearing the amazement I’d felt earlier. “Really? But how . . . I mean . . . even his body . . .”
“Mysterious ways,” I replied.
Kendall was rattling off a list of board games and economics books. Nearby, the twins stood quivering with excitement, eager for their turn but too well bred to show bad manners in front of Santa. After a few subscriptions to prominent business magazines and newspapers, Terry gently cut Kendall off and suggested she let her sisters take a turn. Kendall agreed eagerly, but not before throwing her arms around Carter and thanking him.
“Okay,” said Seth, drawing me near. “This was kind of amazing. Not that I should be surprised by anything you do anymore.” He kissed my forehead. “We definitely have to make the most out of your last month. If we’re going to be apart for a long time, then we have to find a way to work around my schedule here.”
I started to protest and tell him not to change his plans with the family because of me but stayed silent instead. Some desperate part of me wondered, what did any of it matter? If Hell wanted us apart, then we couldn’t stand against that. “A long time” would become “never.” Maybe I really should be trying harder to maximize these last precious days. And yet if I did . . . would that make Hell work harder against us?
Glancing up, I saw Morgan had now replaced McKenna on Carter’s lap. They were having a discussion on the virtues of two different kinds of pony action figures. Morgan wasn’t sure what kind she wanted.
“Princess Ponies come in more colors,” she told him seriously.
“True,” he said. “But some of the Power Prism Ponies are unicorns. And you can do more stuff with their hair.”
Across the room, I saw Kayla curled up in a chair, watching Carter raptly but making no moves to talk to him. Slipping away from Seth, I walked over and knelt beside her.
“Are you going to tell Santa what you want?” I asked in a very soft voice.
It took Kayla several moments to tear her gaze from him. “He’s not Santa,” she said. I was grateful she spoke as quietly as me. No one else heard.
“Of course he is,” I said. “Who else would he be?”
“He’s not Santa.” She smiled and studied him again. “He’s beautiful. He’s more beautiful than anything.”
No human could see an angel in his or her true form, unless the angel revealed it. Even then, a human would be destroyed by it. No, Kayla wasn’t seeing Carter’s true form, not exactly, but she was seeing
something
. Some piece of his true nature. I felt a moment of envy, wondering what it was she saw, what her senses allowed her that mine didn’t. Whatever it was, I’d never know, but the enchanted look on her face made it clear it was wonderful.
something
. Some piece of his true nature. I felt a moment of envy, wondering what it was she saw, what her senses allowed her that mine didn’t. Whatever it was, I’d never know, but the enchanted look on her face made it clear it was wonderful.
“Beautiful,” she repeated. She looked back at me. “Can he stop the Darkness?”
“He’ll try,” I said. Not the entire truth, but it would have to suffice. “Can you pretend he’s Santa? Tell him what you want for Christmas?”
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