Kushiel had to suppress a shudder. It shouldn’t be so… attractive that Cass was chastising him.
“Got it, K?” Cass asked again, giving him a sharp look.
“Yes, Cassius. I will not risk myself,” Kushiel murmured, and he had to fight off a wildly inappropriate grin. Cass was almost yelling at him and he felt practically giddy.
Kushiel knew he was weird—gray angel with black wings after all—but he’d never enjoyed being yelled at, and he couldn’t understand why he felt so pleased.
Not that Cass had really yelled at him. Maybe it was just that Cass was looking out for him? He hadn’t had anyone worry about his well-being in… Well, ever, he guessed. He was an angel. He could take care of himself. He was fine and always would be.
Nevertheless, it was heady business to have someone else want to take on that role.
The room suddenly got a little darker, like all the lights had dimmed, and Aunt Ro began speaking in a deep voice.
“Angel or lost soul, whoever you may be, hear us now,” Aunt Ro intoned.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cassius asked, flicking his arm up and making the room appear brighter once again. “What have I told you, Aunt Ro, about screwing with the electricity? I amnotreplacing burst light bulbs again. If you want the brightness turned down I can tell Echo to do it.”
She huffed at him and mumbled something under her breath about “ambiance.”
“Besides,” Cass added, “this isn’t a damn seance. You aren’t a medium. You’re a ghost, for goodness sake.” He turned away from his aunt and looked at the ghost, mumbling, “I swear, I ought to earn some wings for having to put up with you lot. Dead people are so dramatic.”
Aunt Ro gasped. “How could you accuse that poor ghost of being dramatic, Cassius? Where are your manners?”
“I wasn’t accusing them, Aunt, I was accusing you. Now hush before I salt the doorways again,” he said, shifting his focus to the ghost.
Kushiel titled his head, asking, “Does salting doorways really work?”
“Not really,” Cass admitted. “Aunt Ro is strong enough to deal with salt, plus she can always just pass through the walls. It does annoy her, though, and sometimes she deserves a little annoyance.” He gave her a look at that, but she just rolled her eyes at him, obviously not bothered by his threat.
Cass focused his attention on the ghost then. “Someone did this to you,” Cass stated.
The ghost groaned, low and mournful.
“Well they understand us, at least,” Aunt Ro whispered.
“Was it an angel?” Kushiel asked. He still couldn’t fathom that a demon had done it, although Cass’s logic was sound in that matter. Kushiel didn’t know how an angel would have gotten into Erebus.
The ghost was quiet, and Cass asked, “Was it a demon?”
The ghost groaned again, and Kushiel thought he saw the head nodding.
“There were many of you taken? Were you all taken together?” Cass asked.
The ghost groaned again, and yes, they were definitely nodding.
“Do you know where they are? Can you take us there?” Cass asked, but the ghost was silent.
“Shit,” Cass muttered.
“Uuhhd,” the ghost muttered.
“Yes, dear, we are all frustrated, but rest assured that we shall figure it out and save your fellow lost souls. And we’ll figure out what to do with you, as well,” Aunt Ro promised.
“Uhd,” the ghost said again. “UHD!”
Aunt Ro looked helplessly at Cass, who was staring intently at the ghost.
Kushiel pushed a little more of his light into the ghost, and Cass shot him a warning look.
