Pickup Styx (7 page)

I went toward the porch swing, not trusting what she would do to me if I went inside. “Why don’t you come out here?” Stewie rubbed against my legs, purring.

She sat next to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

I closed my eyes. “You believed the worst about me.”

“I loved you. I did the best I could to protect you.” Her breath hitched. “And now it is too late. When are they taking you? Is there nothing you can do to stop it?”

Stupid nagging guilt. “I have to go to the Underworld and retrieve something. That’s the only way to stop it.”

She let out a breath. “Are you going?”

I nodded and she stood. “I have something for you.”

I focused on my breathing and the rhythmic swooshing of the ocean while she was in the house, but emotions clouded my thoughts. The salty breeze ruffled my hair. I stared out into nothing. Could I trust her?

“Here.”

I jumped. She held a small item wrapped in tissue paper out toward me. I hesitated.

“It won’t hurt you. I promise.”

I took the package and unwrapped a necklace. Seriously, this was what she’d had to run off to get? Before I could ask, the golden locket started humming with energy.

“Make sure you’re wearing it when you die so you have it with you in the Underworld.”

“What does it do?”

“It will hide you from Death.”

“But I will already be dead.”

She nodded patiently. “Yes, but you cannot be judged. If you are judged, you will be stuck forever. You must avoid judgment and this will help.” She squeezed my hand that was loosely holding the locket. “I will see you again when you come back.”

I nodded. Stewie jumped back into my lap. Everything seemed very real.

One day. One last day and we weren’t even spending it together. Selene was talking to her grandmother and aunt and then she was having dinner with her coven.

I massaged my temples, wishing I could see the future. I needed to know Selene would be back. Then I could focus. Not knowing was torture. It should’ve eased my mind that Corbin was accompanying her, but it didn’t. I didn’t know why he’d changed his mind, which concerned me.

“Cheney, are you listening?” Sebastian asked.

“No.” My eyes sought out Sy. “Do you know why Corbin changed his mind? Why he decided to go with her?”

Sebastian and I had decided to bring Sy in on the disappearance issue because he knew more about what was happening in the Abyss than anyone else. The Office was a central hub for every lowlife the Abyss had to offer, and Sy was always listening.

“I have no idea and neither does Paolo, or at least he isn’t talking about it if he does. I made some calls, but no one’s saying anything.”

“But you think he has an agenda.”

Sy nodded. “Selene is smart. She’ll figure out why he’s there.”

“By that time it will be too late. She’ll be stuck with him.”

Sy gave a helpless gesture. “We have to trust she’s strong enough.”

He was right, but it was hard to leave this up to fate. If only there were a way to control it, to manipulate the outcome.

“Which is why we should focus on the problems we can deal with,” Sebastian said. “There has been another killing. A water nymph this time.”

I suppressed a sigh. “Southbend again?”

“Yes.”

If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Sy, keep digging into Corbin. I don’t want to send Selene into a trap. Sebastian, go to Southbend and see what you can find out about the attacks. I will meet with Adan and try to track my father.”

“Couldn’t we use the coven for that?” Sebastian asked.

I nodded. “We can ask them for help after tomorrow.” Tomorrow. God, that was close. A matter of hours. “That’s all.” I waved dismissively as I walked out.

Selene and I weren’t spending our last day apart.

I stood on the same street corner as I had what seemed like years ago and watched Selene eating with her friends at a restaurant. She laughed, and from the distance, it was as if nothing had changed, like she was still the clueless human with hardly any worries. It amazed me how easily she could push everything else aside and just be in the moment. I wished I could give her that security again, but once more, her path was the opposite of mine. Sebastian’s comment about our love story being a short one rang in my thoughts.

Selene looked up suddenly, as if she could feel me, and our eyes met. She smiled again, but this time it was different. It was meant only for me and it made my heart squeeze. How many times would I have to let her go before she came back to stay for good? A moment later, her eyebrows pulled together and she stood up. She jogged across the street, watching for cars this time.

“What’s happened? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

I touched her silky cheek. “I just wanted to be with you.”

She leaned into my hand. “I was thinking the same thing just a few minutes ago, but . . . ” She trailed off and glanced back to her friends. “I still haven’t told them.”

Selene loved her human coven. They were important to her in a way I could never grasp. “I should go?”

A half smile lit her face as she shook her head. “You should join us.” She led the way back across the street, and they had already added another chair to the table.

“I thought it was just going to be us,” Jessica said and then glanced at me, “No offense.”

“None taken.” I sat back, drink in hand, to watch their puzzling friendship. They were honest with each other—sometimes painfully so. They called each other names, but no one got upset, and they laughed about the most inane sentences. Fae couldn’t have been more different. Being fae was like a constant game. Sometimes you had allies and sometimes you didn’t. We had to weigh everything we said because it would be remembered and used at the most inopportune time even by our closest friends. Over the years, I had honed my strategies and always focused forward. Selene was the first person to take me by surprise. I hadn’t expected her treachery, but more disturbing than that was the fact that I’d missed Sebastian’s. Part of me was envious of Selene’s friendships.

“So how are you, Cheney?” Devin asked with a kind smile, bringing me into the conversation.

“I am well. How have you been?”

“The nightmares are gone.” She flashed a wide smile. “Everything is getting back to normal.”

Katrina snorted, but Selene smiled sympathetically at Devin. If the mention of Devin’s ordeal at the hands of Selene’s former lover bothered her, she didn’t show it.

“What’s going on? Why did you want to meet with us?” Leslie asked. “Cheney looks about as happy as a cat being taken to the vet, and Katrina has yet to utter two words, which we all know isn’t natural. Spill.”

All eyes went to Selene. “You’re right. I did ask you here for a reason—”

“You’re pregnant,” Devin burst out with undisguised glee.

“No.” Selene laughed.

“Are you sure?”

Selene covered her eyes with her hand, still chuckling. “A baby is literally the last thing I need.”

“Devin, let her talk,” Jessica said.

Katrina pushed the food around on her plate, not nearly as amused by all of this. “Selene is going to Hell,” she said, and everyone else laughed harder.

I utterly failed to see the humor.

“Okay.” Jessica rolled her eyes. “Someone is PMSing. Don’t you think that’s a tad dramatic? Are you crying?”

The laughter stopped short, and Katrina wiped the corner of her eyes with a napkin. “Tell them.”

“She’s not wrong,” Selene said, staring at her friends. No one said anything. “But just for twelve hours—hopefully.”

We all could have lived without the “hopefully” part.

“Are you going with her?” Leslie asked. I shook my head.

“You came to say goodbye,” Devin said.

Mixed emotions flooded Selene’s face as she clenched her jaw and plucked at the tablecloth. “Just in case,” she barely whispered.

“Can’t you stop this?” Jessica looked at me.

“I wish I could.”

“Obviously we’re going with you,” Devin said, and everyone else, except Katrina, nodded as if it wasn’t even up for debate. “What do we have to do there?”

Selene bit her lower lip. “You can’t come. You’re alive.”

Leslie frowned. “So are you.”

“Only for a few more hours, but I have a way back, so don’t worry about me. Just take care of each other.”

“Why are you letting this happen?” Jessica pierced me, accusations in her eyes.

“None of this is Cheney’s fault,” Selene snapped. “This is what I have to do to pay for the spells I got to break the curse.”

“And you knew about this and didn’t tell us?” she asked Katrina.

Katrina nodded. “I was busy trying to help Selene find a way in and back out.” She frowned at Jessica. “It’s not my fault you decided not to live at the castle.”

“Dude, text me. These are things I actually want to know about.” She looked back at Selene. “Tell us your plan.”

Selene went through her plan, and it didn’t sound any better this time around. My stomach tightened. I was going to be the first fae to ever get an ulcer. I would name it Selene. Selene told them what part she needed them to play in this and they all agreed. When they were out of questions, everyone sat back in their chairs and looked at each other.

Katrina blew out a long breath. “Well, at least you’ll get a tan.”

Jessica laughed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “She might actually burn.”

“Not me. I never burn,” Selene joined in, smiling again.

“If you come back with a t-shirt that says ‘I went to hell and all I got was this stupid t-shirt,’ I will officially disown you,” Leslie said.

“It’d be a cold day in Hell before Selene wore that shirt,” Devin quipped.

Humans.

After a few more minutes of relaxed conversation, Selene and I made our excuses to which they were all understanding and headed for a less populated area.

“Are we going home?” she asked.

I pulled her to me. “Not just yet.”

I transported us, for old time’s sake, to where her yoga studio had been. It was still boarded shut. She tilted her head at me. I moved her to the exact spot. “You were here.”

It took her a second, but then she bit her lip and closed her eyes. “We both know this wasn’t the beginning.”

“It was start of us being honest with one another. It is the place where our relationship beat all odds and rose from the ashes.”

Her eyes misted and she lifted her finger. “And you were there.”

I moved to where she pointed. “I couldn’t believe you were standing in front of me again.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “I had no idea who you were.”

I wrapped my arms around her. “All I wanted to do was touch you. Hold you in my arms again.”

We transported again and were standing outside her car in the driveway of her house. “This is where you kissed me for the first time.”

Her laughter rang out. “That poor cop.”

I kissed her with the same passion and urgency I’d felt that day, pressing her back against the car. She cradled my face. “I didn’t understand my feelings, but they were so consuming.”

I leaned my forehead against hers for just a moment. Then I took her hand and led her inside. She was already in the exact spot I wanted her in when I shut the door. Anticipation glinted in her eyes. “Have you ever been kissed until you couldn’t catch your breath? Possessed until there was no other thought in your head? Set aflame with no more than a gaze upon you?” she asked, quoting what I had said to her.