Hades (23 page)

the sight of her fil ed me with sadness. I hadn’t realized until

that moment how much I missed her. Mol y had been my

first friend, my best friend, and one of my strongest links to

the human world. Now here she was so close and yet so far

away. I saw the faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of

her nose, her peaches-and-cream complexion, and her

long eyelashes that brushed her cheeks. I was horrified at

the idea of my earthly memories beginning to blur around

the edges and was grateful for the gift Tucker had given

me. It would have been too much to bear if al I could

remember of Mol y was a flash of corkscrew curls and a

pretty smile. With my new sight, I would be able to watch

over her always. Right now, her blue eyes were ful of

accusation. She even had one hand on her hip as she

looked chal engingly around the room.

“It’s good to see you, Mol y,” said Gabriel. He looked as

though he meant it. Her liveliness did have the effect of

dispeling some of the gloom that had settled over them.

“Please join us.”

“Can I get you some tea?” Ivy offered.

“I haven’t come here to socialize. Where is she?” Mol y

demanded. “The school told me she was sick, but it’s been

ages now.”

“Mol y … ,” Gabriel began slowly. “It’s complicated … and

difficult to explain.”

“I just want to know where she is and what’s happened to

her.” Mol y’s voice broke at the end, revealing a glimpse of

the emotion she was struggling to contain. “I’m not leaving

until I get some answers.”

Ivy stood stiffly, her long, slender fingers tracing the

patterns on the linen tablecloth. “Bethany has gone away for

a while,” she said. My sister wasn’t any better than I was at

twisting the truth; honesty was too ingrained in her. Her

voice came out sounding too rehearsed and her face

betrayed her. “She was offered an opportunity to study

abroad and decided to take it.”

“Sure she did. And left without tel ing any of her friends?”

“Wel , it was al very last minute,” my sister said. “I’m sure

she would have told you if there’d been more time.”

“What a load of crap!” Mol y cut in. “I’m not buying it. I’ve

already lost one best friend; I’m not going to lose another

one. I don’t want to hear any more lies.”

Xavier pushed back his chair and went to stand by the

mantelpiece. As he did he took a deep breath and exhaled

loudly. Mol y’s head whipped in his direction.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook,” she snapped, marching

over to him. Xavier didn’t even raise his head as she

berated him. “For months I haven’t been able to drag Beth

away from your side and now she’s suddenly vanished off

the face of the earth and you’re standing here twiddling your

thumbs.”

I winced at Mol y’s words, knowing how much they would

hurt Xavier. He was beating himself up enough without her

criticism to add to his stress. “I may not be a mathlete, but

I’m not a total idiot,” she continued. “I know something’s up.

If Beth had gone away for a while, there’s no way you’d stil

be here. You’d have gone with her.”

“I wish I could have,” Xavier said, his voice ragged with

emotion. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mol y’s face grew pale

as she assumed the worst. Fearing he’d said too much,

Xavier backed away from her. He looked so overwhelmed

by the situation that Gabriel felt the need to take over.

“Bethany is not in Venus Cove anymore,” he explained

calmly. “She’s not even in Georgia anymore … but she had

no choice in the matter.”

“That makes no sense. I asked you not to lie to me!”

“Mol y.” Gabriel crossed the room in two long strides and

took a firm hold of her shoulders. She stared up at him the

way you do when someone you thought you knew does

something completely out of character. I was standing so

close I could almost feel her tremor of surprise. Gabriel had

never touched her before in al the time she’d known him

and she could see in his eyes that he was shaken by

whatever had transpired. “We think we know where

Bethany is, but we can’t say for sure,” Gabriel said. “That’s

what we’re trying to figure out.”

“Are you trying to tel me she’s gone missing?” Mol y

asked breathlessly.

“Not

missing”—Gabriel

hesitated—”more

like

kidnapped.” Mol y’s hands flew to her mouth and her eyes

widened with alarm. Xavier half raised his head dejectedly,

watching her reaction.

“What’s come over you?” Ivy was at Gabriel’s side in an

instant, positioning herself between him and Mol y. Gabriel

let his hand drop listlessly from Mol y’s shoulder.

“There’s no point in lying to her,” he said firmly. “She’s as

close to Bethany as any of us. We’re not getting anywhere

on our own. Maybe she can help.”

“I don’t see how.” Ivy’s usual y bel -like voice came out

sounding sharp and her silver-gray eyes flashed like shards

of ice. “She has no business here.”

“The hel I don’t,” Mol y cut in vociferously. “If some

psycho’s taken Beth, what are we gonna do about it?”

“See what you’ve started,” Ivy muttered. “Humans cannot

help us now.” She threw a resigned look at Xavier.

“Especial y those who are emotional y involved.”

“We weren’t there that night,” Gabriel retorted. “Humans

are the only witnesses we’ve got.”

“Excuse me.” Mol y stared at them. “Did you just cal me a

human? I’m pretty sure I’m not the only human in the room.”

Gabriel ignored her comment and decided to pursue his

own line of thinking.

“What’s the last thing you remember Bethany saying or

doing on the night of Hal oween?”

I saw the air around Ivy ripple and shimmer slightly and

knew that she was trying to contain her disapproval. She

obviously found Gabriel’s decision to involve Mol y

objectionable. She closed her eyes and breathed through

clenched teeth. I could read my sister’s face. It was as if

she were readying herself for a decision she knew would

end in disaster.

“Wel , she was upset … ,” Mol y began and then

hesitated.

“What about?”

“Wel , we planned to have this seance at the party. It was

just for fun. Beth wasn’t happy about it from the start. She

thought it was a bad idea and kept tel ing us not to get

involved. We didn’t listen and did it anyway. Then things

started to get weird and we al got a bit freaked out.”

Mol y had given her account without taking a breath,

trying hard to sound casual. Listening to her, Ivy’s eyes flew

open and her perfect, pale hands instinctively curled into

fists. “What did you say?” she asked in a low voice.

“I said we got al freaked out and …”

“No, before that. You said you performed a seance?”

“Wel , yeah, but we were just screwing around, it was

Hal oween.”

“Foolish girl,” Ivy hissed. “Didn’t your parents ever teach

you not to play around with things you don’t understand?”

Mol y looked taken aback. “Just chil , Ivy,” she said.

“What’s the big deal? What does a stupid seance have to

do with this?”

“It has everything to do with this,” Ivy said, talking almost

to herself now. “In fact, I would bet my life that the seance is

what began it.” She and Gabriel shared a knowing look.

She was real y only talking to him now. “It must have

opened a portal. Without one there’s no way he could have

returned to Venus Cove after we banished him.”

“Huh?” Mol y asked blankly. I could almost see the wheels

turning in her head as she struggled to put together the

cryptic fragments of information being thrown at her. I

wanted to shout out and tel them to stop—they were giving

too much away. It was unauthorized by Heaven and might

end up adding to their problems.

Xavier suddenly came to life. He spun around to face Ivy

while shooting Mol y a murderous look.

“You think the seance is what raised him?” he asked.

“Raised who?” Mol y interrupted loudly.

“They can be a lot more powerful than most people

realize,” my sister said. “Gabe, do you think this could be a

lead?”

“I think al information is worth considering. It’s imperative

that we find a way to break through.”

“Break through what?” Mol y demanded. She was looking

baffled and hurt at being excluded from the conversation.

My siblings were forgetting their manners and would

normal y never be this inconsiderate. I knew that finding me

was the only thing on their minds. It was so al -consuming

that they forgot about poor Mol y trying to keep up with their

discussion.

“But how do we find a gateway?” Ivy murmured. “Do you

think we could attempt a seance again? No, that’s too

dangerous. Who knows what we might let out of the pit.”

“What pit? Where?” Mol y’s voice had gone up several

octaves.

“Shut up!” Xavier burst out. I’d never seen him this irate.

“Just shut up just for two seconds!”

Mol y looked offended for a moment before her eyes

narrowed in hostility. “You shut up!” she yel ed back at

Xavier.

“Great comeback,” Xavier muttered. “Do you always

have to be so immature?”

“Pretty sure I’m the only sane person in this room right

now,” Mol y said. “You’re al out of your freaking minds.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Xavier said

darkly. “Isn’t there some quarterback you should be chasing

around right now?”

“How dare you!” Mol y yel ed. “Did Tara say something to

you? Don’t listen to anything she says, she’s just pissed

because …”

“Cut it out!” Xavier threw his hands up in frustration.

“We don’t care about you and Tara and your petty

adolescent disputes. Beth is
missing
and you’re not

helping so why don’t you just leave.”

Mol y folded her arms. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“Make me!”

“Don’t think I won’t.”

“Enough!”
Gabriel’s deep, stern voice cut through the

escalating argument. “This isn’t helping anyone.” He turned

to Ivy. “Do you see? Mol y knows things we don’t.”

“Yeah, wel , I’m not tel ing you squat until I find out the

truth,” said Mol y stubbornly, and Xavier cast a withering

look in her direction. Ivy moaned softly and pressed a hand

to her temple. Mol y was hard work and my sister found her

exhausting.

“Bethany’s friend or not, this girl could make a preacher

cuss.”

“Perhaps we should try explaining things to her,” Gabriel

said kindly.

Xavier raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, this should be

interesting.”

“Sit down, Mol y,” Gabriel began. “And try to listen without

interrupting. If you have questions I’l answer them after.”

Mol y perched on the sofa obediently while Gabriel

paced back and forth as he considered how to begin.

“We are not what we seem,” he said eventual y, choosing

his words careful y. “It’s hard to explain, but first it’s

important that you trust me. Do you trust me, Mol y?”

Mol y appraised him slowly from head to foot. He was so

beautiful that I saw her face become wistful as she took him

in. I wondered whether she’d be able to concentrate. Blond

hair framed his sculpted face and his silver eyes gazed at

her attentively. A faint golden light seemed to radiate

several inches around him, trailing after him like a misty

haze.

“Of course, I do,” she murmured. I could see she liked

being the focus of his undivided attention and she wanted it

to last. “If you’re not what you seem, then what are you?”

“That, I cannot tel you,” Gabriel replied.

“Or what, you’d have to kil me?” Mol y rol ed her eyes,

looking drol .

“No,” Gabriel replied in an even voice. “But the truth might

compromise your safety and ours.”

“Does
he
know the truth?” Mol y jerked her thumb in

Xavier’s direction. I got the feeling their relationship was on

a downward spiral and wished I could be there to heal the

rift.

“He is an exception,” Ivy said flatly.

“Real y? Why can’t I be an exception too?”

“You wouldn’t believe the truth if we told you,” Gabriel

said, trying to placate her. But Mol y was defiant.

“Try me.”

“Put it this way, how do you feel about the supernatural?”

“I’m fine with it,” Mol y replied cool y. “I used to watch

Charmed
and
Buffy
and al those shows.”