Succubus Heat CHAPTER 23

Dante wasnt most when I got home, no(prenominal) was he reachable by ph atomic number 53(a). That eased me of whatever(prenominal) guilt I had ab bug out exit out with Seth, convey my only new(prenominal) obstacle was the accusatory grimace Ro homo gave me when we parted. I had no idea how he would sp suppress his evening, and h nonpareilstly, I didnt re every go(predicate)y motivation to manage.The problem Seth and I had with going out was that we pretty often terms had to avoid the city. We knew battalion in the suburbs too, allay the odds of running into anyone were a forget me drug smaller. The rainy weather Roman and I had experienced in the after(prenominal)noon had bl possess everyplace, and we suddenly found ourselves in semi-w subsection conditions that made it nigh possible to go without a coat. I would fool read the causeless weather as a divine blessing, if not for the fact that Id prone up on such be inhabitfs immense ago.To my astonishment, t hough, Seth state he wanted to go downtown and mat up pretty confident we wouldnt be spotted. He drove us over to Belltown, parking underneath one of the many lavishly-rise apartment buildings that seemed to be sprouting up at that place every day. A mysterious key let him at heart, and the elevator took us all the way to the top floor.What is this? I asked when we entered a sprawling penthouse suite. It pleasing of made me wonder if I should acquire been setting my real soil aspirations in a different direction. I gave him a startled opinion. You dont own this, do you? Seth having a secret vacation home wasnt totally improbable.Be foresightfuls to nighone I fill out whos out of town. I called in a favor.You redeem friends I dont fuck?He gave me A Look, and I let the matter go. Besides, the place was so beautiful that I had plenty of distraction. The modify were all done in shades of navy and gray, and the furniture was luxuriant and expensive. I eespecial(a)ly the homogeneouss ofd the fact that the walls were decorated with huge reproductions of Pre-Raphaelite work. Nowadays, abstract art was the trendy way to go, and it was nice to see whatever(prenominal)thing a little different.Waitll you see the rest, said Seth, beckoning me out to the balcony.Or, well, balcony was the closest word I could cause up with. It was practically half the size of my apartment and set about west, showing part of downtowns glittering aline of lights and all of Puget Sound. I stared in wonder, watching a ferry move across the dark orbit of water.Wow. That about summed it up.We stood there for a a couple of(prenominal) jiffys, and Seths arm slipped around me. This high up, the unseasonable warmth had can stalled to seasonable gusts and c seniorness. I shivered, and Seth intent me in a blanket that had been neatly folded on a wrought-iron chair.have a female genital organ, he said. Ill be back with dinner.I grinned at the valorousness and sat at an ornat e, candlelit glass table that unsounded allowed me to wages in the view. Waiting for Seth, I felt all sorts of strange feelings stir to heart within me. This was it, I realized. I didnt cut how I knew, precisely this was the end of whatever it was that we had right now. perchance something new would take its place. Maybe wed neer have anything once again. Regardless, this moment was crystallized in sentence for me. Nothing resembling it would ever catch again.Dinner turned out to be an array of tapenade and bread, as well as-to my shock-a store of wine. Is that whole thing for me? I asked.He shook his head. Ill have a glass.What? Starbucks, now this? I peered at the bottle to invent certainly it wasnt some kind of weird alcohol-free kind. Nope.Its a special occasion, he said with a smile, and I knew hed gotten the same vibe that I had, that this was the end of something. Besides, how can I live out the Rubaiyat if I dont have all the accoutrements?Of course. Your uber- romantic date would be based on a poem. I could already see him getting into quotation mode. He cleared his throat to speak.Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the BoughA flask of Wine, a Book of Verse-and ThouBeside me singing in the Wilderness-And Wilderness is enlightenment enow.I tsked. Youve got the bread, wine, and me hardly no bough. And hardly the wilderness.Its the urban jungle, he argued.And no book of verse, I continued, liking my contrary role. Then I reconsidered. Although, I did finish All Fools Night .Seths expression immediately grew serious. And?You already admit. It was beautiful.No, I dont. Its a mystery every time-no pun intended. The language come out, entirely in the end He shrugged. You never know how theyll be received, what people ordain recover. Im continuously kind of surprised.What did the opening quote mean? The Kate pubic hair lyrics about making a be intimate with God?You should hear the do by of that song that Placebo did. Itll blow you away. Seth gave me a knowing look. You think theres some hidden meaning?thithers always a hidden meaning. You added it in after you met me, didnt you?YeahI mean, it relates to the book obviouslyto ONeills revelation at the end. only if I guess it relates to us too. His eyes drifted away, befogged in the chance around us. I dont know. Weve had to deal with so many complications. Were still transaction with them. And what can we do? Nothing-well, unless we take your sides point of view and make deals with the devil. scarce why? why cant we make deals with God?People do all the time. God, if you do this for me, I promise to be dangerous. Stuff the like that.Yeah, yet I dont see any contracts like you guys have. No hard exhibit that it works. If I wasnt mistaken, there was a little bitterness in his component part. How come we can only get the things we want by organism prominent? Why cant we get them by cosmos reasoned?Ill ask Carter the beside time I see him, I said dryly. But I have a feeling hed say goodness is its own reward.Wed collapseed over the tapenade by now further hardly touched the wine. His claims aside, I wasnt sure Seth had even sipped his. He turned back toward me.You and I arent being very good, are we? he asked. That was an understatement.You and I are the victims of unfortunate timing. I paused. And a lot of another(prenominal) unfortunate things.Would have been a lot simpler if this stasis thing had happened when we were dating. Or if wed respectable given in then.No, I said. No way. I dont care if this is a mess. Its worth it that I didnt end up hurting you. You spared him physical pain , a nasty voice inside me taunted. But what about Maddie? Pain isnt always physical, you of all people know that. What about the heartache youve caused her? I ignored the voice.I dont care, said Seth. I would have done it. I would have sold my soul for you. You and meI told you. Somethings always going to keep us near each othereven if we arent tog ether.I rose from my chair and sat on his lap, negligee my arms around him and wondering how it was possible that my heart was both excrescence and breaking at the same time. I leaned my head against his shoulder.I neck you, I said softly. And I forgive you. Something weird about those words made me shiver, as though Id never said them to anyone. And I reckon now why you did what you did. I didnt elaborate on the what. I didnt accept to.Seth kissed my cheek. Do you ever feel likewere reliving this moment over and over?I thought about our troubled past. If we are, I dont want to worry about it. Not right now.I think he was going to say to a greater extent, possibly even correct me, scarcely I didnt give him a chance. I kissed him, and like every other time, it was sweet and powerful and the most right thing in the world. We wrapped ourselves together, and somehow, despite the cold weather, we got enough clothes off and made love with the wind whipping our hair and the stars shin ing down on us. And like that first time, I still had that sense that we werent close enough. Even when our bodies get together and he moved in me, it still felt like I could never, ever be close enough to him. Maybe it was this mystical companionship he kept talking about. Or maybe it was just a metaphor for our lot in life.We sat together for a long time afterward, draped in blankets and saying little. I wanted to squelch there all night. Forever, even. In this affair, it was the one thing we hadnt done come about the night together after wake up. We always had to part and go on to the rest of our lives.He finally dropped me off at my car, and we kissed for a long time forwards I could finally extricate myself. Seth ran his mess along my cheek and hair, reluctant to let me go. I shared the sentiment.What ordain you do now? he asked.I dont know. One more take care tomorrow, I guess. If theres even time. I expect Ephraim to name somebody any minute now.Seth nodded, eyes dar k and thoughtful. Well, if you need company againI smiled, unsure if that was a smart idea or not, but it wasnt a decision I wanted to make tonight. I didnt know if I wanted the balcony to be our last moment together in this fling or if I wanted to cling to another few precious seconds, even on the beach.Ill let you know, I promised. I kissed him one last time and then left to give away my own car. I had just unlocked it when a voice spoke to me out of the darkness. sess you give me a lift?I sighed. I really didnt like the way everyone could sneak up on me lately. Of course, with Carters sick sense of humor, I wasnt entirely shocked. Hed lurked piece of music hiding his aura plenty of times in the past because he liked the element of surprise. Still. I didnt even have a fighting chance now.I open(a) my door. Sorry. I dont pick up hitchhikers.Undeterred, he slid into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. Did you have a good evening, madam? He spoke in an old-fashioned, gent eel sort of way.Dont take that odour with me.What tone? I was being polite.You know but what Ive been doing, so dont act like youre making enjoyable conversation.Why are they mutually exclusive?I refused to look at him. I dont want to be judged.Am I judging you? Sounds more like youre judging yourself, which really, is the way it should be. The best jury of your peers that youll ever find iswell, you. Only you know what youre capable of and what you want to be.Did you find me just to hand into the philosophy of my morals? I grumbled.Nah, he said. Whenever I find you, I just sort of go with this free-form thing and see where the mood takes me.Maybe the mood could take you to Jerome.Thats your quest, not mine. Any luck?Again, I approach that dilemma. Who could I tell what? Grace, Romanso many players on the bill now and no clear opponent. Some, I said at last.Oh-ho, he laughed. You could be an nonpareil with an answer like that.Well, I dont think its going to be enough to find Jerome, not unless a miracle happens. The drive was short. I pulled up outside my building, getting a lucky front spot.Carter turned and winked at me. Well, you know my take on those. Thanks for the lift.Wait, I said, realizing he was about to teleport away. I have a question.He arced an eyebrow. Oh?How come when mortals want things, their only option is to make a deal with Hell and sell their soul? Why cant they make deals with God in exchange for good behavior?It was another of those rare moments when Id surprised Carter. I waited for the glib answer Id mentioned to Seth, something along the lines of goodness being its own reward. The angel considered for several seconds.Humans make those deals all the time, he said finally. They just dont make them with God.Then who are they making them with? I exclaimed.Themselves. He vanished. derriere angels, I muttered.I arrived in my apartment only minutes before Dante showed up. Oh, Im in luck, he said, seeing me on the couch with Aubrey. You seem to always be busy lately.I felt a small ache of guilt at what Id done tonight. A lie was still a lie, no matter who you were lying to.Im saving Seattle, I explained, making populate for him beside me.He sat down, clean-shaven for a change and looking good in his usual jeans, thermal shirt, watch, and boots. His insecurity was driving him to buy me gifts lately, but I realized Id need to step it up and get him some wardrobe variety once all this madness ended.And hows that going exactly?Everyone kept asking me that. Seth. Carter. Dante. And my answer was lame each time. Not so great, in truth. I think tomorrowll be the day it all resolves, and Jeromes going to be lost forever. Even if hes not, itll be too late for him to get his old position back. His best-case scenarioll be someones lieutenant in northern Michigan.Dante put his arm around me and his feet on my coffee table. Well, succubus, dont take this wrong way, but Ill be glad when this is over, new archdemon or no. I m tired of you being dysphoric all the time, and Im tired of not getting any face time with you. He toyed with the strands of my hair. Im also kind of tired of how frizzy this is. Isnt there some product you can use?Hey, I said. Not funny. What happened to internal steady?He seemed undaunted. Youve got plenty of that. I just want the whole package. Besides, the look on your face was great when I said that.His hand slipped from around my waist to trace patterns between my hip and thigh. It wasnt overtly sexual but I had a feeling that between that and his good mood-which I was expert for, dont get me wrong-there was an amorous advance in my future.Will you read my card? I asked abruptly.He gave me a shocked look. Tarot card?Yeah.You know thats all bullshit.It is when you bend the truth for your clients. Please? Just do a quick one.Fine. Ill give you a card-of-the-day one. All the mysteries of the universe in one card. I could hear the eye roll in his voice as he got up to get hi s cards out of his satchel. He ordinarily kept them on him in the event of an impromptu client opportunity.Dont lie to me, I warned. I know more than your clients.Wouldnt dream of it, he said, dextrously shuffling the cards. Id seen him scam clients plenty of times, telling them what they wanted to hear. Seeing as I didnt know what I wanted, I supposed that excluded me from that category. After the cards were thoroughly randomized, he had me cut them, and then he neatly restacked them. Draw.I took the first card off the top and flipped it over. Fuck.The Five of Cups. Spilled chalices. Lost hopes and dreams. Dante support as much.Disappointments ahead, the loss of something you had. It can be a failure or inability to resolve a recurring problem. Pretty typical narration for you.Whats that supposed to mean?Doom and gloom always surround you. I didnt make up that palm reading for you. That had been even worse than this. Its likely just verifying that Jeromes gone for good-if you even want to believe in this. And, hey, look. He tapped the card. One cup stayed upright. Not all hope is lost.I wondered about that as I thought about losing Seth and the man in the dream. I wondered also if Roman was right, if it was avowedly that I wouldnt know what to do if I ever was in reality happy.As I suspected, Dante did make sexual moves on me, but I demurred as I had all week. I knew it didnt matter at this point. My cups had emptied, and the ride with Seth was over. until now, our time on the balcony had been so sweet and so powerful that once again, I couldnt be with someone else after an encounter like that. Soon enough my sex life with Dante would return to normal-but not tonight. He didnt seem angry at being turned down, so much as hurt. I felt a little bad about that but realized Id instead feel guilty about betraying him than Seth.Dante was up and gone before me the succeeding(a) dawn, but Roman was sitting in my living room have cereal and generally making himself at home. He had to know I was standing there, but he kept his eyes on the morning news. When he finished the cereal, he clicked for Aubrey and set the bowl down for her.Hey, I said, scooping it up. Milks bad for cats.You need to let her live a little, he protested, still watching the news. So whats the plan today?I dont know. Im still in stasis, so I guess that gives us time. Want to throw a dart at the map and go somewhere? I gestured to the atlas vertebra of the Pacific Northwest lying on my coffee table.Might be the most productive method weve tried, he mused.He had that light tone he often used, but I could hear the disappointment too. It was still a mystery to me as to why hed be so into parcel find Jerome. It was a mystery best solved with coffee, I decided, and while the pot brewed, I rummaged for my own breakfast. I unearthed Pop-Tarts and again wondered about exercising weight gain.Um, GeorginaIf youre asking if you can feed her anything else, the answer is no. You need to come see this. His voice was deadly earnest. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I hurried back into the living room. Roman pointed at the TV.You have got to be kidding me, I groaned.The Army of Darkness had struck again. We were watching a Seattle station, but apparently, this north-of-the-border escapade had been deemed newsworthy. The prank had actually taken place over in Victoria, a city on an island just west of Vancouver but still in British Columbia. There were some very noted and very beautiful gardens there, and the Army had apparently broken in at night and done their best to clip a pentangle into a huge expanse of bushes. Theyd enhanced it with spray paint.Jesus Christ, I muttered. The pentagram job was bad, but the group had been savvy enough to get out of there without being caught. One shot of a courtyard there showed where theyd spray-painted ALL HAIL THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS .Glad to see they havent lost their touch, Roman said wryly.I sank down onto the couch beside him, my mind spinning. Why? Why now? Id toyed with the theory that the Armys activities had been an absurdly elaborate distraction to take everyones attention away from Seattle. By that reasoning, their shenanigans should have stopped once Jerome was summoned. Yet here they were again. Had they acted on their own, just for the fun of it? Had Blake discovered a spray-paint change? Or had Grace directed them again-and if so, why?Most of their other activities had lined up with some other significant part of the seals creation or Jeromes summoning. Without wasting another moment, I picked up my cell and called Cedric. I actually got through to him rather than Kristin.What? he demanded when he answered.This is Georgina. I just sawing machine the news.Look, I do not have the time for you. In fact, youre the last person I want to talk to right now, seeing as how none of this would have happened if youd done your job in the first place.Yeah, yeah, I know, but liste nwas anything important going on today?His voice was incredulous. What, you mean aside from those idiots embarrassing me again ?No, I meanany events or, I dont knowjust anything important, um, demonicallyWell, if you consider my evaluation with Ephraim important, then yes. The badinage dripped through the phone.I froze. Thank you. Thats all I needed to know.He actually seemed surprised by that. Really?Yeah, no, wait-when I talked to Kristin the other day, she said that you came to Seattle the day Jerome was summoned, but then Ephraim said when you got here, he was already gone. Is that true?Yes, of course. Do you doubt him?No, nojust making sure I heard right. And you were in Seattle for a while?Yeah, was with Grace and Mei dealing with the aftermath. Look, if you want to track my activities, wait until Kristins back in the office. He sighed in frustration. Fuck. I wish she was here now.I hesitated, then figured I couldnt make things worse. Hey, just some friendly advicebut the ne xt time youre looking at Match. com or asking out succubi, why dont you look a little closer to home?What the hell are you talking about?Kristin. If youre looking for someone who gets you, youve already got her. See you later on. I hung up before I could hear his response. Roman gave me a bemused look. atomic number 18 you matchmaking in the middle of this crisis?Just doing a good deed. I tossed my cell phone from hand to hand, thinking. Okay, so. The Army did a prank today-while Ephraim was interviewing Cedric. Not good for Cedric.Which is going to ruin his candidacy for Seattle.Likely, even though he claims he doesnt want it. Still, it makes sense that Grace would have them do it today if she had them do it and they didnt act randomlyHe shrugged. Makes sense, but whats it matter? You already know shes got a role in this. All this does is clear him.I frowned. I had the same sense I had the other day while analyzing the cults activities, like I was so close but couldnt grasp all th e threads. Against my best judgment, I dialed Evan. He flipped out when he realized it was me.Georgina Weve been wondering what happened to you. Man, you will not believe what we did today, it was this-I already know, I interrupted. It was on the news down here.What? Holy shit. Hey You guys I pulled the phone away as he yelled at whoever was with him. We made the Seattle news A moment later he returned to me. Wow, thats awesome. International recognitionLook, Evan. I need to know something. Did the paragon actually tell you to do this? And when I say that, I mean, did she actually appear in one of those visions or did you presume she wanted this?She was here. Told us to leave our mark at Butchart Gardens, so the world would know her glory. cool too, since you know, its a powerful place and all. No wonder its having such far-reaching effects. sizable place My fist closed around all the threads. Evan, listen to me. be you familiar with other places of power around you? Id always d ismissed this groups esoteric knowledge, never considering they might know a few things about the spiritual world world.Of course.Romans eyes were fixed on me so hard, I thought theyd drive lasers right through me. He could tell I was on to something. I took a deep breath. Do you know of any place up there thats by a beach-on the ocean-that has white rocks or gravel or sand or anything like that? Thats infused with power?White rocks? he asked. There was a few seconds silence. Welltheres White Rock.What?Its this town that has, well, a giant star white rock. Some kind of glacial thing, but the Indians thought it came from the gods or something. Always been a holy place.White Rock, I repeated flatly.Yup.No, no. It could not be that obvious. Balancing the phone with one hand, I opened the atlas with the other and flipped to the section on British Columbia. There it was, on the coast, just barely north of the American border.White Rock.Son of a bitch, I said.