Midnight Soul (54 page)

But they all were marvelous, in their own
way.

As was this world, it’s liveliness, fast
pace, music, food.

I simply had to open my mind to it.

And being on Bourbon Street there was no way
you could keep your mind closed. You became one with the mood, that
mood being revelry and frivolity, and were swept away by it. And
one could most assuredly say being swept away with revelry and
frivolity was a joyous thing.

But even if we had not liked what we had seen
during the house showings we’d had, Josette and I would eventually
find a home and then we would need to settle into the new lives
we’d chosen. It couldn’t all be shopping, eating and frivolity.

It could, of course. We were wealthy enough
to have this. But then it might become boring, and when frivolity
became boring, what did you do after that?

So settling into the lives we’d chosen it
was.

And for me to do this required Valentine.

Not to mention, we had plans for Circe and
the Dax Lahn of this world and there had been no time to waste…now
there was even less.

It was on that thought I sensed someone in
the hall. I turned in my chair and saw Valentine walk past the
doorway.

“Sister,” I called.

It was unlikely she didn’t hear me but there
was a moment when I thought I would have to rise from my chair and
follow her before she finally retraced her steps and filled the
doorframe.

“Franka,” she greeted.

I sensed immediately all was not well.

This was not by look.

It was by feel.

I stood, examining her closely. “Are you
well?”

Valentine walked but a foot into the room and
lied, “I am.”

“We’ve not seen much of you,” I noted
carefully.

“I’d been spending a good deal of time in
your world,” she stated. “This means there’s a good deal to see to
now that I’ve returned to my own.”

A likely explanation.

But not a truthful one.

Before I could ask after it, her eyes dropped
to my crystal and came back to me.

“You practice?”

I shook my head. “I’m searching for
Frey.”

She nodded. “Of course. You’re curious, as
you would be. The child is born. A girl. They’ve named her Aurora
Eugenie.”

I blinked at the brusque delivery of this
important news.

“Frey and Finnie’s child has been born?”

“Yes. As has Circe and Lahn’s. A boy. They’ve
named him Ashur. An odd choice, being of our world, but ancient,
the Assyrian god of war. But perhaps it will become a prophetic
one.” She offered me no opportunity to make comment, she carried
on, “Tor and Cora have not yet been delivered of their joy but it
could be any day now. And as you know, Apollo and Madeleine have
had their Valentine.”

I could not believe what I was hearing.

“I knew no such thing,” I shared.

Her head twitched, but she replied simply,
“Well, they have.”

“When did all this news come?” I asked.

“Circe and Lahn, just yesterday. Finnie and
Frey, I found out later that it was occurring as I was spiriting
you to this world. I’m afraid I was lax in keeping track of
Madeleine but discovered that wonderful news prior to your
departure from your world. I’m afraid I was also lax in sharing
it.”

She was
lax
indeed!

“Did you not think we would wish to hear this
news?” I queried, tamping down my annoyance due to her queer
demeanor.

“You’re hearing it now.”

I studied her and repeated, again carefully,
“Things are not well.”

“They are,” she returned and again shifted
her gaze to my crystal before looking back to me. “And I’ll note,
if you wish any news of the others, you simply have to seek them
out yourself. You’ve been busy, this I know. But I’m not a
messenger, my sister. If you want to know,” she tossed a hand
lazily toward my crystal, “look.”

She was correct.

She still could have told me.

I let that go and shared, “I actually wasn’t
looking for the Frey I know. I was looking for the Frey of this
world.”

Her brows rose. “And why would you do
that?”

“Curiosity,” I replied. “Noc has explained
that the two worlds are unbalanced in regards to that part of the
equation. Noc and I both are interested in understanding, as we
provide a kind of balance to the loss of Cora and the loss of the
me of this world, how the situation with the Frey of this world and
the Sjofn once of my own balances between the universes.”

“The Frey of this world was in need of money
to start his own custom furniture business,” Valentine began to
explain instantly. “Thus some time ago he sold his sperm to a sperm
bank. Perhaps a rash thing to do, but with his IQ and other charms,
a smart one for he was unsurprisingly remunerated very well for it.
This sperm was selected by Sjofn and the lover she’s married since
coming to this world, and it has been selected twice. They have a
son, Viktor, and a daughter was just born to them, Aurora Eugenie,
both children Sjofn carried. Quite the coincidence, unless you
understand the destiny at work.”

I stared at her.

She carried on.

“To fully assuage your curiosity, Frey of
this world lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife, who is barren. His
custom furniture business is quite the success now that he’s put a
goodly amount of time, effort and talent into it. He sells
furniture across the country. And they’re raising three children,
all of Vietnamese descent who they adopted from that land. He’s
quite happy, quite in love and quite proud of his family, having no
idea he has a son and daughter of his seed, nor will he ever know.
However, Sjofn does know as she’s seen photos of the donor she
selected, which was one of the reasons she selected him. If
possible, balance must be maintained and that is not lost on our
deposed princess.”

“Well, that answers that,” I murmured, and it
did, even if some of it I didn’t quite understand.

“Now, if that’ll be all…” she trailed off
doing it moving out the door.

If that’ll be all?

I hadn’t spoken directly to her in days!

I took a step toward her, calling,
“Valentine.”

She stopped, turned to me and again lifted
her brows, doing all with clear impatience.

“There are things we must see to,” I told her
something she had to know.

“Agreed, and we shall, after I see to the
things
I
need to see to,” she returned.

“Can you perhaps share when you feel this
would be?” I requested.

She tipped her head to the side. “Do you not
have enough to occupy your time?”

“Of course I do, however, in the case of
Circe and Lahn—”

“Yes,” she interrupted me quickly. “If you’d
like to carry on with that, be my guest and keep me apprised.”

She finished that again turning to leave.

“Sister,” I said sharply, keeping tight hold
on my displeasure.

And concern.

She turned back on a sigh.

I held her gaze steady. “Things are not
well.”

I saw her jaw tighten. “I’ll not answer that
again.”

“Things are not well,” I repeated.

“Franka, I have little time for—”

I took a step toward her and quieted my
voice. “I know things are not well. I don’t know
what
is not
well, but I know whatever it is is troubling you. And you need to
know I know, so you’ll also know I’m here to listen and help should
you have the need.”

She turned her head away and it appeared she
was collecting herself before she turned back and the remoteness
was gone.

I did not have the Valentine I knew returned
when she again gazed at me but at least she’d removed the shield
she’d been holding up against me.

And what I saw made my breath catch, I
couldn’t quite read it, but I most assuredly didn’t like it.

“You’re right,
ma petite sorcière
,”
she said softly, “things are not well. I find I’m experiencing
something I had not thought I ever would. And I’m having some
difficulty finding my way around it. I wish to do that on my own,
but,” she lifted a hand when I opened my mouth, “if I should fail
to find that way, I will take you up on your offer.”

I nodded and pressed no more. I knew women of
her ilk for, until very recently, I was just that kind of
woman.

“You’re also correct,” she continued. “You’re
here and our plans for Circe and Dax Lahn need to commence. I
just…I simply…” Again it seemed she was collecting herself before
she finished, “This is not something I can do right now.”

She’d been seeing to her business but she
could not see to that business.

That
business.

I studied her carefully and at what I finally
read, I felt my throat constrict.

By the gods, she’d had her heart broken.

Gods
, the despair I now saw hidden
deep in her eyes was that she’d lost a lover.

I took a step toward her, whispering,
“Valentine.”

I saw her body brace. “Please, Franka,
don’t.”

I stopped moving.

“All will be well,” she lied.

I nodded and assured her of the only thing I
could assure her of in that moment, or at least all she would
allow.

“I shall begin with Circe and Lahn. I’ll keep
you apprised.”

She dipped her chin. “Thank you.”

Before I could utter another word, without a
glance back, she swept from the room.

I stood staring at the empty doorway for some
time, my heart heavy for my friend, feeling some frustration her
pride forced her to block the efforts of help of those who cared
about her.

And it was not lost on me that perhaps, in
the past, those who cared about me felt the same with my prideful
ways.

If this was the case, it was good that Noc
had delivered me of that on our first night of normal, for now I
knew the pain of having pain without allowing oneself to seek
solace was much akin to the pain of caring about someone who
refused solace offered.

I heaved a sigh and moved back to my crystal
ball, fluttering a hand over it to clear the blue smoke that
drifted through it and called up the this-world Lahn.

When I did, regardless of how often I’d
observed him, I found myself surprised at just how easy he was to
observe.

Unlike losing my concentration earlier in
attempting to understand the life of the this-world Frey, I got
quite lost in watching the this-word Lahn.

So much so I jumped when I heard Noc’s voice
saying, “Ready to go find a house, sugarlips?”

I looked to the door to see him sauntering
through.

Therefore I smiled and rose again from my
seat.

He walked right to me, smiling back, rounding
me with an arm and dipping his head to mine to drop a closed-mouth
kiss on my lips.

After delivering me that morning from his
home so I could have breakfast with Josette and he could leave to
give her and I time to spend together, as planned, he’d returned to
take us, what he referred to as, “house hunting.”

We’d been apart perhaps three hours.

I’d missed him.

“I’m ready, darling,” I answered.

His arm around me gave me a squeeze and I
could feel him preparing to let me go but I lifted a hand to his
chest to forestall him.

“Before we go, you must know I have news,” I
shared.

“And that would be?”

Standing close together, I told him all I’d
learned.

His joy at Finnie and Frey, Lahn and Circe
and Apollo and Maddie’s news was unhidden, this one of the many
things I loved about him.

There was no subterfuge with Noc. He did not
feel it made him more of a man to hide his emotions. It was a thing
of beauty, a gift he bestowed on anyone who was fortunate enough to
witness it, and I treasured it for just that.

But when I told him of the Frey and Sjofn of
this world, he burst out laughing.

When his mirth settled to chuckles, he said,
“Well, that takes care of that.”

“Although I do believe I can put it together,
can you explain what a sperm bank is?”

He grinned and explained.

When he did, it was I who burst out
laughing.

When my mirth had settled to chuckles, I
wondered if I looked upon him with the warmth that he was right
then looking at me after he did the same.

I hoped so.

“This world has many conveniences,” I
observed. “
Many
.”

“Yeah,” Noc agreed through a grin. “Now,
after we look at places, we’ll go to the mall again. Get baby
presents. See if we can wrangle five minutes with Valentine so
she’ll deliver them.”

“What a lovely idea,” I murmured, not at all
surprised that Noc had had it.

I had not shared with him about Valentine
except to tell him I’d seen her and she’d given me the news I’d
imparted on Noc.

I wouldn’t either, unless he asked about
it.

That wasn’t what sisters did.

And I finally had sisters. I needed to take
care of them.

And this, however I needed to do,
specifically with Valentine, I would do.

* * * * *

“This is revolting,” I said under my breath
to Noc.

“This is suburbia, Frannie,” he replied under
his breath to me. “You told the agent you wanted greenspace, you
aren’t gonna find much of that in a city.”

I tore my gaze from the personality-less room
of what had been referred to as a “model home,” though my
understanding of the word “model” did not reconcile with anything
to do with the home we were in, and looked to Josette.

She felt my regard, turned to me and curled
her lip.

I looked to the agent who was pretending she
wasn’t trying to listen and stated, “I’m sorry for taking you so
far away from the city to show us this property, but I’m afraid it
won’t do.”

She forced a smile and moved my way, saying,
“Well, now we’ve seen four properties so perhaps you can share what
you liked, and didn’t, about each and maybe I can narrow my
search.”