Page 26 of Revelations

Greylyn found the elderly psychic waiting for her with a cup of tea and sliced fruit. “This time, I knew you were coming, dearie. How have you been?"

Sofia had been an enormous help just a few months earlier when Greylyn had been anxious for answers about the innocent woman, Kelly, whom she had been sent to save. The psychic had gone above and beyond the call of duty, even undergoing a demon siege led by a fallen archangel. The attack had been a trap to lure Greylyn into a meeting with Olivier, the aforementioned fallen dirtbag. But throughout it all, the elderly woman had shown a strength and fortitude equal to that of the Spartan army.

After everything that had happened, the two women had become fast friends. It was like showing up on Grandma’s doorstep with a broken heart to have her hug the pain away. Just being in her presence calmed her overwrought nerves. With Sofia, she could be herself. There was no need to hide behind a carefully crafted mask; a mask that had begun to crack.

Sofia handed a wet towel to Greylyn. Confused, she looked at her hands—covered in soot and ash from the fire.

A giggle escaped her. “Guess I look pretty horrific, huh?”

The elderly woman shuffled around the kitchen while Greylyn wiped her face and hands with the cloth. “I thought you’d like to know that Kelly gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy just last week. He was a bit premature, but completely fine.”

Kelly and her baby were the reasons why Greylyn was in this predicament. Olivier held their lives over her head. Either she fulfilled the prophecy, or he would use them to do so, killing them in the process.

Now that the fallen archangel had also revealed her own true heritage, it had not been hard to deduce that Kelly and her child were descended from her own family, whether directly or through another relative. However, she was not sure since she had no memory of her once-human life. Logic deemed the connection to be a distant relation. She did not dare hope otherwise. Regardless, they were family.

Relief flooded Greylyn’s heart at the news. Sadly, she was not convinced that they were out of danger just yet. As long as she fulfilled her end of the bargain with Olivier, everything should be fine—‘should’ being the key word.

That was where she needed Sofia’s help. The last three months had yielded no clues to this prophecy in which he was so interested. Without any memories to help guide her as Olivier had suggested, or any hints as to what she was looking for, she worried that she would fail. That was not an option.

Who knew prophecies could be so tricky? Were they not just supposed to happen? Why had the Tree of Knowledge not gifted her visions of the prophecy if it was so damned important instead of a jumble of emotions in a psychedelic swirl?

“The boy has power inside him. Power we can pray will be used for good, but Kelly will need help guiding him along his path.” Sofia motioned for Greylyn to sit down at the faded Formica kitchen table. “I’m hopeful you can be of assistance in that capacity.”

“Sofia, right now I’m just trying to keep them both out of Olivier’s clutches. If we survive this, I’ll be more than happy to peek in on him from time to time, but I’m confident that Kelly has everything under control.”

The old woman tsked. “Oh, no mother haseverythingunder control in normal circumstances. And there is nothing normal about this situation.” Her cloudy gray eyes stared intently at Greylyn. “They will need you.”

“First things, first. I have to protect them above all else. The rest…we’ll see what happens, okay?” Her response was met with a grunt of agreement. It was the best that she could promise at the moment.

Deep down in her soul, Greylyn wanted more than anything to be there for Kelly and the child. But she was realistic. The future, her future, was not looking too bright these days. Prophecies rarely ended well for the one foretold to fulfill it.

The old woman stopped her bustling around the kitchen to peer at Greylyn with sadness. Yes, she would have already discerned the cost of the prophecy, but a sparkle of hope showed in her keen eyes.

To move the conversation along to more practical matters, Greylyn leaned forward in her seat with what had been on her mind for the last month or so. “Sofia, do you think you couldreadme?”

Perhaps a bit of hypnosis or a psychic poking around in her subconscious would reveal a clue or two. At this point, she would willingly bite into the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge if it meant figuring this thing out.

Squinting at her with faded eyes, the psychic contemplated the request. “Well, I don’t see how it could hurt to try. I’ve never read a guardian angel before.”

She shuffled toward the living room, motioning for Greylyn to follow. For an arthritic elderly woman, Sofia moved quickly to clear the faded gold brocade sofa for her patient to lie down.

Greylyn lay back against the worn material, resting her head against a throw pillow with paisleys adorning it. “What? No crystal ball or reading my palm?”

“Oh, that stuff is for the commercial psychics, to build their image. Total hogwash. No oneneedsthose trinkets to read someone. Now relax. Close your eyes. This won’t work if you’re all tensed up.”

Tensed up? As far as she knew, thiswasher natural state of relaxation—tense. “Sofia, I don’t need a shrink. I need a psychic.”

“Shush.” The maternal tone from earlier had vanished.

Considering all that she hadbeen through, lying down on the sofa for a nap was tempting. The worn furniture comforted her wearied body. She just hoped that her dirty clothes did not mar the pretty brocade fabric.

She knew better than to believe that this was going to be a relaxing experience. She had witnessed true psychic probing such as this, and it drained the subject’s energy completely—not that she had much energy left.

“Now, for pity’s sake, child, relax. You’re so tense right now that I can’t see anything. Your aura is completely blocked.”

Having Sofia chide her like a small child brought a smile to her lips. It made her feel…cared for.

Soft fingers caressed the top of Greylyn’s head and stroked her hair in a soothing motion. Sofia chanted something in Romani. It sounded like a lullaby with its seesaw rhythm and soft murmuring.

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