Page 43 of Devils and the Dead
“Are there dead in the elven kingdom? Do they die? Does anyone die? Threatening her with an army of animated corpses isn’t going to work if there aren’t any corpses to animate.”
Cassie shrugged. “I’ve never seen a fairy die. I’ve always assumed they were incredibly long-lived, or even immortal as far as aging and disease went. But this queen murdered thirteen elves and cursed their spirits, so I’m assuming there are probably murdered corpses in their kingdom at the very least.”
Babylon turned to me again. “I just thought of something! You said you designed more than just heaven, hell, and purgatory. Did you have anything to do with the design and creation of the elven lands?”
I shook my head, hating to let her down. “Unfortunately, no. I only design places where the dead reside. I mean, living beings are there as well, but the places function is to serve as a resting place for souls. There is an afterlife for the fae that I helped build, but the kingdom for their living isn’t something I had a hand in.”
She sighed. “Drat. I’d hoped you’d know about a backdoor or an emergency exit or something.”
I did know something that would allow her to escape the elven world, or anywhere, but I was afraid to suggest it. We barely knew each other, and while this witch stirred my heart, I knew I needed to take things slow.
I’d rushed a relationship before, and it had ended in disaster. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with Babylon.
Babylon ran a hand through her hair. “I really screwed this up. Now the entire town has been threatened and we have to worry that this queen will find a way to attack us in spite of our deal.”
“What that queen did was wrong,” Cassie insisted. “If we let her get away with murdering and cursing those elves, then we’d be derelict in our duty as the protectors of Accident.”
“Besides, if we failed to right that wrong and protect those who were cursed, then how could any of the residents trust us to protect and help them?” Ophelia asked. “We cannot turn our backs on any of our residents.”
“If she wiggles out of her deal and attacks us, we’ll be ready,” Glenda said.
“All of us,” Adrienne agreed. “The townfolk will take up arms to protect Accident as well. They’ll fight by our sides.”
“And I’ll call upon the minions of hell to assist,” Lucien vowed.
“We’ve got this,” Cassie insisted. “All of us. Together.”
“Me, too.” I looked at Babylon, knowing I’d do anything to help her, anything to protect her—even if it meant risking my heart once more.
Chapter 20
Babylon
Early the next morning I sat in the diner, gripping my mug of coffee and waiting for Hades. He wasn’t late, it was me that was half an hour early and trying to work up the nerve to tell him about Maude. I really liked this guy, but this secret was eating me up inside.
He must think I was a total hot mess with my crazy family, the cursed elves, and a potential war with an elf queen. If I added Maude to that mess, he’d run screaming. And if he didn’t run screaming, he’d probably just walk away and never see me again. I knew he was looking for Maude. I knew what was riding on this whole thing. But I just couldn’t make myself tell him.
I didn’t want to see that look on his face—the one where he was disgusted at what I’d done, disappointed that I hadn’t fessed up to it right away, angry that I hadn’t been honest with him from the very start.
Why had I invited him to come today? What was it about me that I thought spending a whole day tromping around a mountain looking for a stolen elven item would be romantic? Plus, I’d need to contact Tinsel again to try to narrow down where to look for the Everbloom. There would be blood and screaming. Not romantic at all. Nope.
Maybe I wouldn’t have to tell him about Maude. He’d see my freaky magic in action and witness Tinsel’s agony over the curse, and this relationship would be over before it truly started.
The door chimed and Hades walked in, casually dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, a leather jacket slung over one shoulder. My breath lodged in my throat then I exhaled with a whoosh. Wow, he looked good. Really good. I didn’t want him to walk away from me.
I needed to tell him. Today. I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Hades smiled at me and made his way to my table, sliding in across from me. “I wasn’t sure what to wear to go hunting for an Everbloom. I assumed it might involve some digging?”
I waved the waiter over to fill a mug with coffee for Hades. “Possibly. I’d supposed this thing was a flower, but Tinsel might have buried it. Heck, for all I know, it needs to be buried in the ground to do its magic.”
“It might not even look like a flower,” he commented.
“It could look like a rock or a leaf,” I agreed.
“Or a clump of dirt,” he suggested.
“A stick. A petrified chunk of deer poo.” I sighed. Hopefully Tinsel would be able to give us information on not just where the Everbloom was, but how to recognize it when we saw it. “Even if we have exact coordinates, how are we going to know which stick or leaf or chunk of poo is the Everbloom?”
