Page 61 of Too Cursed To Kiss
“No, because Britannia’s given it to Elizabeth.”
“She has, yes.” Devlyn put the apple down.
“When are you going to realize your mother is not one of your allies? She’d be happy to gut you as fast as any of her other victims if you ever did anything that didn’t please her.” Wald stiffened, and his chin raised.
“Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I continue to make her a priority. Stop referring to me as someone who doesn’t think for himself. My alliances are closely considered and very trustworthy, which is also why I don’t count you amongst them. I’ll do this my way or not at all. Don’t pressure me.”
“Why not invite your mother in and have her ask Agatha? It would speed up the process. That’s if you trust her of course.”
Devlyn crossed his arms and studied Wald for a moment. His jaw set. “Fine. You know I have the wards laid so she can’t enter. But I will meet her upstairs, and we can talk to Agatha and find out what happened.”
The cheerleaders inside me rah-rahed. Britannia was going down. Released from the uneasiness, I reached out to pull a book calledHerbarium Essentialeoff the shelf. My hand banged into something about two inches short of touching the book. Devlyn whipped around, his eyes locked on me.
“You need to control your girlfriend. If she pisses me offone more time, I’ll negate our deal, and Sert can teach you both a few lessons.”
Wald’s eyes narrowed, and his cheek twitched with a murderous scowl. Fortunately, it was at Devlyn. I didn’t want Wald pissed at me.
Devlyn led the way up the stairs. I didn’t dare reach for the marble. I glued my arm across my nose and mouth and started up after them. At the top of the pit, Britannia and Elizabeth were standing beyond the white-sand tracery. My heart beat against my ribs, and I had to concentrate to keep my feet moving. Britannia had changed from the catsuit into a sexy pink sundress with bows at each strap. Black stilettos turned her legs stratospheric. Under her arm, the metal clasps of the family album glinted. She made a hip-swinging step toward us and the flimsy skirt flounced up revealing pink garters. I gritted my teeth. My God, she was still interested in Wald. The wave of anger obliterated the fear. I lunged at her. Wald’s hands grasped mine like a lightning strike, pulling me back. Nonchalantly, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder like I really was his girlfriend. Breathlessly I settled into him, the burrito rolling around in my stomach. Perhaps food hadn’t been the best choice after all.
Elizabeth’s eyes were fixed on Wald and had been since I noticed her. She didn’t even blink. Sensible me should have been cringing in a corner, but despite what I was facing, Wald’s arm around me soothed me into a happy place.
Devlyn walked across the tracery, approaching Elizabeth as if she were no one special. He was taller than Elizabeth, his blond curls bounced with the movement, which took the edge off whatever evil brutality lay underneath. “Mother, Wald says Britannia was in fact responsible for Agatha’s untimely demise. I would appreciate it if you would take astep back from your arrangements with Britannia until we can find some factual resolution.”
I knew damn well Elizabeth didn’t want the truth out, and I didn’t even have to look at Britannia to know it. Was Devlyn that stupid? He didn’t seem stupid.
When he reached out for the family album, Britannia hugged it against her chest like a twelve-year-old protecting her diary. Another adult acting like a petulant child in the last five minutes made me wonder if Britannia and Sert were related. I hoped she hadn’t slept with him too. Musing, my arm dropped from my nose for a second, and the stink blasted into me, sending gorge bubbling into my throat. I coughed it down and silently chanted,I will not throw up. I will not throw up.
Devlyn walked up to Britannia, then ripped the album out of her hands. She stuck her forked tongue out at him and hissed. But a small gesture from Elizabeth, literally an upturn of her palm, stopped Britannia cold.
I leaned into Wald.
Devlyn opened the album and paged through it. I was curious to see what Agatha’s picture looked like, but even if I had been close enough, I wasn’t brave enough to look over his shoulder.
Elizabeth’s eyes were still locked on Wald as if she were biding time, waiting for something.
“How does the summoning work?” I whispered to Wald, but it was already too late. Devlyn had his hand over the page, ready to release Agatha, when Elizabeth doubled in height and, in a slicing blur of shiny brown talon, cut his head off.
Time slowed.
My scream echoed in my ears as blood pumped from Devlyn’s neck onto the album.
Oh my God. Elizabeth had killed her son.
The images in front of me were surreal. If a little blood released one family member, how many were about to be released from a blood-drenched album?
Wald pushed me behind him, but my eyes were glued to the gushing blood and the smoke pouring from the album that had fallen to the ground. “The marble,” he hissed. I dropped my arm from my face, and the stench was gone. I fumbled against the leather of the jacket pocket while the darkness of my imagination formed in front of me.
Elizabeth’s towering body was a thing of nightmares but not mine, as I’ve never seen anything like her even in a movie. Imagine something giant-sized but not quite formed, like strobing light without the flash. Even looking at her hurt my eyes. I turned away and spotted Britannia edging to the door.
My fingers got to the marble a second before Elizabeth-thing’s talon hit the spot I’d been standing in, leaving a divot in the concrete. I couldn’t even get a scream out as the Mother-monster silently howled, its attention locking on to Wald. Wald made a blurring run toward Britannia, leaving me exposed. It wasn’t the right word, but apparently, I was the one left standing in the middle of the room. Technically, I couldn’t be seen. I was frozen in place, having significant trouble even processing what was happening.
My world seemed to slow as the smoke pouring out of the blood-soaked book began to form into… things. The glowing, red-eyed Frank, a pair of feathery-winged things, which might be angels if angels had smoke form, and glowing eyes that shifted their place in a face more like an amorphous form with needle-like teeth.
Nine hells. So in my head, angels meant feathery wings? I was going to have reflect on that if I fucking survived.
It was time to get out of here.
I fixated on the door where Wald was grappling with Britannia. The smoke things were beginning to move around. One whizzed by me, and I swear I could feel the crush of the smoke as it passed.
