Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (55 page)

My eyes quickly darted around, scared we were being overheard.

No one was close enough to hear. I relaxed. “Yeah.”

“Don’t know. Lincoln dropped in at one point, said something

to Griffin, grabbed a few things, and went back out. Haven’t seen Maggy. Not much love lost between you two, hey?”

“Not much.”

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The door opened and in walked Nyla and Rudyard. Their arms

were linked. Almost every time I had seen them, they had been

holding hands or touching in some way, as if they were drawn to each other. Moths to flames.

“They’re amazing,” I said to myself.

“Yeah. Rarest thing around,” Spence said.

I looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“They’re the real deal. Less than one in a million…or more.”

“I don’t understand. What are you talking about?” But even as I asked, I felt my throat tightening because I knew: this was crucial.

He looked at me as if I had taken a stupid pill, but before he

could answer, Nyla was standing in front of us with a look that made Spence stop in his tracks. My eyes darted between them.

“Violet, it’s time for your lesson. I believe since Zoe, Salvatore, and Spence have finished for the day, we will have the place to ourselves and can have our lesson here.” She turned her attention to Spence and the others and gestured toward the door. “We will see the rest of you back at the hotel.”

Spence mumbled something under his breath about the unfair-

ness of it all and grabbed his bag along with the others, leaving me alone with Nyla and Rudyard.

I reached to get a notepad and pen out of my school bag. It was obvious Nyla was the fighter, so I wondered who would be giving the theory lesson.

Rudyard called out from the kitchen. “How do you work this thing?” I dropped everything and bolted over to him.

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“Don’t!” I said, throwing myself between him and my baby. “Ah,

I’ll make you coffee.” No one touched the espresso machine except for me. It had been a birthday gift from Lincoln, and since I’d waited two years to finally be able to have good coffee at his place, I wasn’t about to have Mr. Four- hundred- plus, who probably missed the entire discovery of the espresso bean, mess with my well cared for and appreciated machine.

“Thank you,” Rudyard said, smiling at my reaction. He pointed

to my notepad and pen on the bench. “You won’t be needing those.

This isn’t the type of lesson you will need to document, Violet.

Nyla and I thought it was time you understood more about life as a Grigori and about your history.”

“Okay,” I said, suddenly feeling a little nervous. I passed him a black coffee, and after I made a latte for myself and Nyla poured a juice, we all sat at the table.

“First of all, both Nyla and I believe it is only right to disclose to you some things about your mother.”

My hands gripped my cup and I froze. “Did you…know her?”

I heard the smile in Nyla’s voice even though I couldn’t look at her. “She was a good friend for many years.”

“Oh.” I was sure there were a million things I could have said.

But not one came to me at that moment. I never knew my mother.

The only things I had ever received from her had been left for my seventeenth birthday a couple of months ago. I always feel uncomfortable when people talk about her. It’s like they expect me to know her, to have some bond with her even though we never met, some

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kind of filial connection. I don’t know. I don’t have it. All I have is the knowledge that, before me, she was Grigori, and somehow, she knew it would be my destiny too. She left me one of her wristbands and a cryptic note. Bottom line: it all left me feeling pretty cheated.

I figured since she knew what was coming, she could have done

more to give me the heads up.

“She lived in New York with us for about thirty years, before she met your father. Rudy and I were her teachers when she first became Grigori, and then later, she herself was a tutor at the college for some time. Her partner’s name was Jonathan. They were together

for one hundred and twenty- eight years.”

I lifted my head. Nyla’s smile softened.

“Grigori partner, nothing more. They were like brother and

sister. Fought like cats and dogs, but loved each other dearly.” I noticed her voice dropped off at the end.

“What happened?”

“Jonathan and Evelyn had a single overarching assignment.

Together they were responsible for only one exile of unparalleled power. It took them one hundred and twenty- eight years to defeat her, and it cost Jonathan his life.”

“Lilith,” I said, choking on the word.

Rudyard and Nyla both looked shocked. “How did you know?

Griffin said you hadn’t been told of your mother’s history. He

doesn’t even know himself.”

“When I embraced, my guides told me some bits. The rest I just

kind of pieced together.”

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“Well, that’s impressive. I am sorry you had to work these things out on your own. Especially given your…previous involvement

with Phoenix.”

I looked down, blushing. It seemed everyone in the world knew

about that one stupid decision I’d made, with Lilith’s son no less.

“That is part of the reason Rudy and I wanted to be the ones to come here, so that we could tell you about her.”

“So what happened?”

“We don’t know exactly. The battles with Lilith were legendary.

She was very strong, very clever, and had many followers. Jonathan died in their final confrontation, protecting Evelyn. It was Evelyn who discovered how to defeat Lilith. That last battle cost her

greatly. She never forgave herself for Jonathan’s death. After that, she refused a new partner and stayed with us at the college, training new Grigori. Then she met your father and found a new happiness.

I’m ashamed to admit that, after she left, we lost contact. I think that was what Evelyn had wanted.

“She hoped she could have a normal life with James— as much

as possible, anyway. We didn’t even hear of her death until a few years after it happened, and we certainly didn’t realize that she had borne a child or that her child had been given an angel essence. If we had, we would have kept a better eye on you. It would’ve been the least we could do. When Lincoln first embraced and was told your name, no one in this city knew of your mother, and since you went under your father’s name, Eden, you were off our radar.”

“She left me her box with one wristband…and a letter.”

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“Just one?” Rudyard interrupted, looking confused.

I nodded and his look morphed into something I couldn’t deci-

pher as he glanced toward Nyla.

“She knew she was going to die.” I had suspected it for some

time, maybe even known, but it was the first time I had truly

admitted it aloud.

Rudy nodded. “It makes sense. She was talented, Evelyn. A

dreamwalker. She could converse with angels in her dreams if they wished for it. Grigori made by the Seraphim, like Griffin, can be fed information in dreams, told things they need to know— like the names of the first of a partner set— but nothing like what Evelyn could do. I imagine she may have known for some time before you were born that this would be the outcome. I also imagine she may have played a hand in the decision.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, shifting in my chair, increasingly self- conscious. It’s one thing to wonder if your mother gave you up to this life; it’s another thing for outsiders to confirm it.

“It’s only speculation, but given her history and her power, I

believe she would have been offered a choice.”

“In her letter. She asked me to forgive her…” And like pieces

of a puzzle, one more snapped into place. “That’s why. She chose to die, to make me this.” I tried to blink back the tears that started trickling down my face. “She left me.” My voice dropped to a

whisper. “She killed us both.”

Nyla’s hand touched mine. I pulled mine away.

“What do you mean? You’re alive and well, Violet.”

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I didn’t respond. How could I even begin to explain?

“She loved your father dearly,” Nyla continued. “She never

believed she would discover a love so strong, especially with

someone…so normal. I know she would’ve been so excited to have

a child with James and it would have been the hardest thing she ever had to do, leaving you both. She knew better than anyone the sacrifices that a Grigori must make. But she would not have chosen this life for you if she believed there was another way.”

“Yes,” agreed Rudyard. “And that’s the other reason we are

here. For Evelyn to have made such a choice, to have committed

her daughter to a life as a Grigori, we know the reason must have been…Well, she must have felt that it was critical and there was no alternative. We believe she was made privy to information, information so cataclysmic possibilities that it led her to believe it was only through you that they could be stopped.”

“Stopped how?”

“That we do not know.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the Scripture?”

“Perhaps. We certainly need to find it before the exiles do. We have people in New York looking into the history of the Scripture.

The problem is, we just don’t know the original thread to track it by.” The feeling in the room had become so charged that when the

front door opened, we all jumped.

Lincoln walked in. “Hi. Where’s everyone else?” He glanced at

me and gave a small smile, and I let go of the breath I was holding.

I hadn’t known what to expect from him after the previous night.

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“Everyone finished a little early today so we could talk with

Violet,” Nyla responded.

Lincoln’s eyebrows went up. “Oh.” Then he quickly added, “Do

you want me to leave?”

Nyla stood. “No. Not at all. In fact, this is perfect timing. Rudy and I were hoping to talk to you as well. Would you mind?” She

gestured to a seat.

Lincoln tentatively sat down. I wasn’t much help; I was still

absorbing everything else.

What now?

“Lincoln, though you trained in New York, we did not get a

chance to get to know you well, unfortunately.”

Lincoln nodded and spoke for my benefit. “I wasn’t one of

Nyla or Rudyard’s students. It’s a pretty big facility. We only met a couple of times.”

“That’s right. So there are some things that you do not know

about Rudy and me that probably were not explained to you during your training.”

“Such as?” he asked while I looked up, more interested now.

Rudy answered, “There are some things about being Grigori

that others do not think important to teach. For Nyla and I, we believe in it more because it affects us directly.”

When we didn’t say anything else, he went on. “Have either of

you known another pair of Grigori like Nyla and me? Who are not only partners in work but in life?”

I froze.

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Did
they
just
admit
they
are
together- together?

Lincoln looked over the table to me. I could see his mind

working, trying to see where this was going. “No. Grigori aren’t compatible. I’ve been meaning to ask you how…I mean, you still

have power, but…”

“I believe you have only heard one side of the possibilities,

Lincoln, and with good reason, I dare say. What Nyla and I

are— we would be what you would call an exception as opposed

to a rule.”

“Sorry, but I’m not following,” I said, trying to remain calm.

Rudyard looked to Nyla, who nodded him on.

“In a nutshell, Grigori partners often— usually fairly early on in a new partnership— have an inclination to explore…possibilities.

When we realize that we are bound to one person for a very long time, it seems logical that if we could be partners in life as well as work, that would be a good outcome. However, history has shown

us that the compatibility of Grigori is almost nonexistent. Often, when partners explore the…”

“Physicalities,” Nyla offered, the corners of her mouth lifting.

I couldn’t stop the quick glance at Lincoln. He was sitting very still, looking at his hands laid flat on the table as if he were about to push it into the ground.

“Yes”—Rudyard smiled at her—“
physicalities
of a relationship, they quickly discover there are some very severe consequences.

Many believe it is a type of fail- safe system the angels put in us to prevent emotional bonding that could distract us from our duties.

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Others”— he smiled again at Nyla— “believe it has more to do with the angel part in us interfering, because angels are independent beings; they do not partner the way humans do. Either way, it has become apparent that making a…physical connection is not something to be done without all the information.”

“But you two are together?” Lincoln said, still not looking up.

“Yes, we are.” Nyla looked at me, a soft knowing smile settling on her lips. “It is generally seen as a rule, a guideline to being Grigori, that we must all accept that partners are not compatible…as mates.