“Yes? What is it?” Kushiel responded, obviously catching on to the fact that Cass was a little out of sorts.
Cass took a deep breath before he said, “Did Grams, the woman who raised Michael, give you a gift?”
“Yes, she did. A white scarf,” Kushiel answered, clearly perplexed.
“Where is it?” Cass asked, almost holding his breath. He had completely forgotten about his vision of a white scarf until Kushiel mentioned it, and he had no idea if his vision had been a warning about the scarf or a premonition that Kushiel was supposed to wear it.
“I have it with me. Well, sort of. It is where I keep things, like a change of clothes. A magical space, I guess? I’m not sure how to explain. I simply will it into being here and will it back into being stored,” Kushiel explained.
Cass took another deep breath.
“What is wrong, Cassius? I can tell you are… agitated, but I’m not sure why. It is just a white scarf,” Kushiel murmured.
Cass took a slow blink at that. “Kushiel, I don’t blame you, because really, Michael or even Arioch should have had more sense about this…” Cass trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief.
“What?” Kushiel asked.
“Do you know who Grams is, Kushiel? She is Lilith, and she gave you a scarf. She probably knit the damn thing, if I’m guessing. And they didn’t think that perhaps that was, I don’t know,reallyimportant? Lilith doesn’t just do things on whims. Then a bunch of souls go missing and no one thinks anything of a knit white scarf gifted to you by Lilith?” Cass groused.
Kushiel blinked at him, then he asked, “Are you thinking she somehow had something to do with the lost souls? You said it was a demon, but she isn’t quite a demon.”
“No, I don’t think she had anything to do with it. Can you take the scarf out?” Cass asked.
Kushiel reached down, and then a large, fluffy, shining white scarf was being pulled out of Kushiel’s lap under the table. Yes,Cass supposed he should have thought about the fact that they were in his shop.
Kushiel readily handed it over, and Cass took it. It was incredibly soft, and itshone. “It matches you,” Cass murmured, running his hands along the soft material. He had no idea what it was, because it certainly wasn’t animal fiber.
“Not quite matching,” Kushiel laughed uncomfortably. “It is blindingly white. I am more of a gray hue.”
Cass looked up then. “Your soul, Kushiel. It matches your soul.”
Kushiel looked shocked, but Cass couldn’t help looking back down at the scarf. He could see things, see inside things, see true forms, and yet there was something about this scarf that he couldn’t quite grasp. It was like… it was like he was looking into a mirror, only it was really dirty so he couldn’t quite see the reflection in it. He had the urge to wipe away the haze, but of course there was no haze, just this strange material that was bright and shining. He supposed it looked like a normal knit scarf to everyone else, but it wasn’t.
Before Kushiel could stop him, he wrapped the scarf around his neck. He trusted Lilith—he had only ever had good interactions with her, and his family respected her—but he wouldn’t take a chance with Kushiel.
He waited. He looked around. He looked down at the scarf. Nothing happened.
“It looks lovely on you,” Kushiel stated.
“I think I’ll wear it for the walk back,” Cass stated. He didn’t sense anything malicious, and nothing had gone wrong, but better safe than sorry.
“Perhaps I was meant to give the gift to you,” Kushiel smiled, and he reached out to run his hand along the scarf.
Cass fought off the urge to grab Kushiel’s hand and hold it. Baby steps. His angel was… shy. Hesitant. Cass wouldn’t scarehim off, so he simply smiled back, pushing his chair back and getting up. Kushiel followed suit.
They walked over to Steph and made their goodbyes, and Cass made sure again that everything was set with the shop.
“I told you, I have it. Stop worrying,” she grumbled at him. “Although I do think I found a guy who would work as another manager. He’s really good with numbers. I’m going to call him for an interview if that sounds good to you.”
“Yes, please, especially if he’ll do some of the paperwork,” Cass told her. “If it goes well, let me know what kind of salary he’s looking for, and I can set up a meeting with him. I trust you to do the initial interview, though.”
“Thanks, Cass. You two have fun and enjoy a few days off,” she winked.
Cass laughed at her, and he couldn’t help being entertained at the blush that stained Kushiel’s cheeks. Yes, Steph obviously thought he was taking some time off for a little fun. He didn’t correct her.
They made their way out the door, and they walked for a few minutes in companionable silence. Cass looked around and kept constant stock of how he felt, but absolutely nothing was different with the scarf on. He looked over at Kushiel and looked more closely. The angel was as blindingly bright as usual, and those gold threads were still on, or in, his soul. Were there more? Were they reaching out a little closer to Cass?
He wasn’t sure if that was actually the case or if it was wishful thinking on his part.
