Demon Song (35 page)

A puppy. The ocean is not a puppy. Still, who was I to argue? I made shooing motions with the backs of my hands. “Go on. Get back in the yard.”

Bruno laughed and I shook my head with bemusement for thinking it would work. At first, I thought I was imagining it. But damned if the waves didn’t start to lap farther from the tree with each inward flow. Maybe it would work with the gulls, too. I looked up and made the same motions. “Go on. Shoo. Go find some fish to eat.”

With flaps of massive wings, the birds took to the air and soared into the distance. “Oh. Wow.” I looked up at Adriana. “I probably need to tell the queen about this, huh?”

She tipped her head with wide eyes and nodded. “I would. You need training to control what appear to be growing abilities. They’re completely natural to our kind but can be a nuisance when the waters come at unexpected moments.” She gave me a significant look before turning and walking back along the sodden beach to where the others were waiting.

Yeah. Unexpected would be bad. I needed to make sure that in future meditations I visualized grass or wildflowers. Or maybe flatland prairie or a nice sandy desert.

Anything but water. I wouldn’t want to find the waves scratching at my front door because I’d finally relaxed into a true meditation. The door’s on the second floor. My car is on the first.

“Maybe this is a hint it’s time to wrap things up for today. I need to fee—
eat,
and I think all of us need some rest. Tomorrow’s going to come too quick already.”

Bruno nodded. “John and I will set up temporary barriers for the horns—one for each, so they don’t touch or … go off.”

I took a deep breath. “Thank you for being willing to work with him. It’s not really what it looks like between us.”

Bruno sighed and there was pain in those brown eyes that I would erase if I could. “Yes. It is. It’s exactly what it looks like. But he reminded me rather strongly that I was the one who threw you away and that I didn’t have any right to blame him for catching you.” He shook his head in frustration. “I just wished he wasn’t so damned
talented
. It would be easier to hate him if I didn’t respect him so much.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. We looked at each other, feeling lost. I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Creede’s been very kind and I can’t deny he’s awfully hard to resist. But we haven’t gone to where you and I have. If that helps any.”

His smile and chuckle weren’t up to his normal standards. “A little. But I can’t ignore how you look at each other and I honestly can’t say he wouldn’t be better for you. I’ve got … a lot of thinking to do.” He raised my hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. “I do love you, Celie. You know that.”

My laugh was a little teary around the edges. “You did last time, too. And the time before.”

He nodded and tucked my arm under his as we walked back across the beach. John stood watching, leaning on the Mustang with arms crossed.

I had the feeling it was going to be a long, restless night for both of us.

Maybe for all three of us.

20

Night turned
to morning and I watched every freaking second unfold. My brain had run at full tilt the whole night. I even tried sleeping medicine. Note to self: Drugs that should be taken with food, even if crushed and dissolved in a shake, don’t sit well when there’s only liquid in your stomach. No matter how nutritious the liquid is. The medication insisted on coming back out the way it had gone in, and then I had to drink another shake after scrubbing the taste of bile from my tongue.

But even the unmistakable sounds of vomiting didn’t wake Adriana. I’d offered her a room after we’d stayed up late reading library books. She’d stayed because she hadn’t wanted to incur a mother’s wrath by calling Okalani to transport her past curfew. After meeting the girl’s mother, I didn’t blame my cousin.

I yawned loudly around the house until a second cup of coffee finally got me to a semblance of alertness. I’d discovered that pouring one of the chocolate shakes into the coffee adds the sugar and cream I like, plus a little chocolaty goodness. Strolling down the hall with cup in hand, I rapped on Adriana’s bedroom door for the third time. “C’mon, Adriana. Daylight’s burning. We need to get moving.” I still had to return the rental car. She was going to follow me in my car and then we were going to take back the books we’d finished and see if there were any Dawna had missed.

I’d learned during our late-night reading session that Adriana had been asked to meet with my friend Bubba and find him a new boat. Of course, that was before the rift appeared, but Adriana was a “duty first” sort of person, so I was betting she’d try to fit it in.

Adriana didn’t respond to my knock, but there were … noises behind the door. Either she’d snuck someone into the room and was having really intense sex or something was very, very wrong. I tried the knob, but the door was locked.

Damn it. I really hated the thought of kicking down one of my own doors, but it wasn’t the kind of lock set that used a key.

Sigh.

I put the coffee cup on the floor, far enough from the door that it might not spill during a fight, and put my shoulder to the door. Maybe I could pop the lock without tearing off the whole doorjamb. Supernatural strength is occasionally a good thing. The wood was solid against me and I pushed in tiny increments, feeling the door bow under the pressure. They’re solid-core doors—Vicki built the guesthouse to withstand a Category Three hurricane—so I didn’t have to worry about a thin layer of veneer cracking. By pushing in the exact center, I was hoping the hardware would give way first.

It did.

It was a good thing I had one hand braced on the wall or when the door yielded I would have landed on the floor. There were no intruders or secret lovers in the room, but I ran in because Adriana was on the floor, tangled in bedsheets and thrashing. Her eyes were rolled back in her head and she was making odd grunts and hand motions. I’d seen the same thing before more than once … with Vicki. Okalani’s mother had told me that Adriana was a prophet, the sirens’ term for a clairvoyant. It was one reason she would never be queen. She was apparently a pretty powerful one, too.

I did for her the same things I always did for Vicki. I got Adriana into a sitting position with her back against the side of the bed, propped up by the nightstand. Vicki had once almost choked to death on her own tongue while thrashing on the floor. Then I put a cold, damp washcloth on the back of Adriana’s neck. Vicki always swore it helped her climb back out of the vision to reality.

Then I sat down to wait. Clairvoyants are always the most vulnerable when in a vision. They need to be guarded from danger. It was one reason Vicki had chosen to live at Birchwoods. There were empaths there who would know she was having a vision because they could sense the changes in her emotions and would send an attendant to watch over her.

I’d barely grabbed my coffee and taken up residence in the comfy corner chair when Adriana came to with a start. I didn’t say a word until she reached back and grabbed the washcloth from her neck and stared at it with an odd expression.

“My friend who was a prophet always said it helped her get back to the real world.”

Adriana finally focused on me after long moments of staring. Then she nodded. “It did. Thank you. I’d never considered that such a simple thing could work. It was as though you threw down a rope ladder for me to grab.”

I took a sip of coffee. “You’re welcome. You had a vision?” I’d also learned not to ask Vicki what the vision was
about
. Frequently she wouldn’t tell me because she either didn’t trust the images or couldn’t interpret them so soon after they had happened. Or the vision might involve me and she didn’t want me to know. Sometimes she’d simply say yes. Only occasionally would she give details. It was often frustrating to be the friend of a clairvoyant, but they desperately needed friends who would simply ignore the visions and give them space. Emma, on the other hand, wanted to be asked about the details. She didn’t get many visions, so she needed help to interpret them. It was often frustrating to be the friend of a clairvoyant, but they desperately needed friends who could give them what they needed—ignoring the visions and giving them space or prodding them to recall everything.

Adriana nodded. “Yes. And now I understand your spirit prophet’s urgency yesterday. It truly is critical that we visit the gentleman in Arkansas. Today.”

Really? “Care to tell me why? What are we looking for?”

She shook her head and dropped her gaze to the floor, her frustration clear. “It’s complicated. There were so many images. But I believe there’s a chance the missing instructions for the horns are there.”

In Arkansas? “That’s a long way from Atlantis. And Serenity.”

She pulled herself to her feet using the bed and nightstand. “Indeed it is. But I’m quite certain. We’re going to need help, though. There’s strong magic involved. I saw multiple threads where we found the instructions but other images of us failing and dying.”

Nifty. “I guess I’ll get on the phone and see who’s available to jump on a plane today.”

Her smile was brilliant as she started to make up her bed. What a nice guest. I stood and walked over to help. “No need. I also saw a certain dark-skinned teenager at our side. But I will need to make a call to the island—if I may use your telephone.”

I sighed as I tucked the burgundy wedding-ring quilt Gran had given me a few years back up under the pillows. “I’m going to need to get a different phone plan. I’ve never had to make this many international calls before. But sure. Go ahead. I’ll get dressed in something more appropriate. Do you have any idea where we’re going? Specifically?”

“That will be a little bit of a problem. It was clear to me that we need to show up unexpectedly or the person who will take us to the instructions won’t show up. He both fears and craves sirens, but his fear is stronger.”

That made me frown. I didn’t like the idea of descending on someone and forcing him to take us somewhere. “That plan borders on kidnapping, you know.”

She shook her head. “Not at all. It’s merely a case of cold feet. Once we’re there, he won’t object.” Then she tipped her head with a little uncertainty in her face. “At least as far as I could see.”

And there’s the problem with visions in a nutshell. “Just so you know, if he
does
object, it stops there. I won’t be a party to manipulation again. I told you that.”

Her shoulders moved gracefully up a fraction, but she didn’t respond. “I’ll need to get dressed so we can leave soon.” Her eyes flicked to the wall clock shaped like a seagull. “We need to be there in an hour. I’d suggest you find a mage to accompany us.”

With that, she turned and walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. I heard the shower turn on seconds later.

It took most of the hour for her to get ready, while I was making calls and getting my schedule at the office changed … again. This was going to be the worst December for income I’d had in years. Normally I make enough to take a good part of January off, but now I was going to be scrambling. Provided I had any clients left after this many cancellations.

Adriana came out of the bedroom just as Bruno arrived. I hadn’t bothered to call Creede because before he’d left last night he’d said he wouldn’t be available today because of meetings. But Bruno could handle anything that might come our way. He gave her a brief nod as he entered. Her delicate features struggled between amusement and offense. I could understand why—she really did look good. I don’t know if she had dressed to impress Bruno or the man we were going to see, but the turquoise bodysuit I’d loaned her hugged every curve while the hip-huggers with the distressed panels on the thighs fit her to a T. It had actually been kind of fun to go through my clothes with her last night. Neither Vicki nor Dawna wore my size, so we hadn’t done much closet swapping. Adriana, on the other hand, was my identical size and while her coloring was different, everything she tried on from my old color palette not only fit but looked better on her than on me now.

“Good morning.” I stood as he came in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks for doing this. I know it’s short notice.” Then I whispered in his ear, “You should at least say hi and tell Adriana she looks nice. She’s used to people fawning over her.”

He got a startled look on his face and then turned to where she was about to sit down on the couch. “Oh. Good morning, Princess. I’m sorry. I’m a little distracted this morning. You look lovely today.” He paused and then looked
me
up and down. “You always look gorgeous, Celie. Sometimes I forget to mention it. Sorry.”

I hadn’t actually been fishing for a compliment, but I’d take it. “Thanks.”

Adriana had likewise brightened and dipped her head regally. “Good morning, Mage DeLuca.” She didn’t thank him for the compliment because, as I said, she expects them.

Bruno squatted down by the two shells and carefully ran his hands over the small casting circles that still vibrated around them. “Honestly, I was going to call you back and cancel because I thought you were overreacting … until the news report. Now I’m glad I rented a fast car.”

He must have seen my brow furrow, because he motioned toward the television with his chin. “You should probably take a look while I get these shells ready to travel.”