Mercy for the Fallen (28 page)

“Uh, hey there, Madame Oriana… I think you’re forgetting our lovely participant.” Matty appeared on the stage, nervous over the deviation in the act.  Gone was the scruff, replaced with a tidy slanted mustache and a pointy goatee.  His dark hair was longer going past his shoulders without wave or curl and he was dressed like a pirate as well.  Or maybe a musketeer, it was hard to tell. 

“Oh, Matty, she’s returned, isn’t it wonderful?” Oriana gushed.

“Yes… it is wonderful,” he said, his hat flopping as he loped to her side.  “You know what else is wonderful?  Finishing the show.”

“But Matty…”

“Now we come to the grand finale,” Matty announced, overriding her objection.  “For this we’ll need two new participants from the audience,” he said, in a passable piratey accent.  “Can we get a volunteer, or shall we have to resort to force?” He grinned, as Bert and Hubie materialized out of the shadows in the crowd, suitably filthy and decrepit looking, prodding people up from their seats with dulled swords through a smile full of rotten teeth.  They were born to play pirates. 

I’d been about to leave, but I decided to stick around and watch the finale.  It looked like it was going to be a doozie. 

“How can I concentrate on that when the fate of the child presses so?” Oriana said, wavering slightly in place. 

“What are you talking about?” Matty hissed. 

“
Don’t you see?  It’s the Grace.  It’s a magnet for destruction.”

It looked like my presence was way too distracting for Oriana, and I felt bad for Matty having a meltdown beside her.  “Oriana, it’s okay.  There’s plenty of time for you to finish your act.  I’ll be backstage and we can talk about it later.”

“If you say so,” she replied.  “But I’m ever so glad to see you again, sister dear.”

“My sister?” Matty blinked.  “You saw Mercy?”

The audience wasn’t sure what to think about the deviation from the act and her one sided conversation, and it was tempting to suddenly make myself visible, wings and all, to give her finale a kick.  But I scurried off instead, the better to stop distracting her from the act. 

It wasn’t hard to find her dressing room, her picture was on the door with a big sparkly star above it.  Inside was fairly spacious, with a dressing table, couch and coffee table, and even a small kitchenette. 

“Perhaps we should’ve waited for the show to be over,” Nelo commented once we were safely inside. 

“I forgot I wouldn’t be able to hide from her.  It’s been a long time since either one of us had to go playing hide and seek with Oriana.”

A child’s voice rang out, high and pure.  “Are you an angel?”

I spun around to see two small boys, about Eve’s age.  No – not anymore – the age she was before she went to Githa, around three.  Identical from head to toe, the big brown eyes and bowl cuts reminded me of Matty when he was a little boy and I knew they had to be my nephews. 

“What makes you say that?” I smiled.

“You’re too shiny to be a demon.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, especially when I remembered I was still making myself imperceptible to people.  Apparently he’d inherited his mother’s talent for seeing things.  “Let me guess, are you Fin?  Or maybe Col…?”

“I’m Finlay, he’s Colwyn,” the same boy answered.  So far the other one just stared at me like a creeper. 

“Nice to meet you, boys, I’m your Aunt Mercy.”

“We know you.”

“Right.  Because you’ve seen my picture?”

Fin ignored the question for one of his own.  “Why do you have a demon with you if you’re an angel?”

“I don’t like to discriminate.” 

“Mummy says we mustn’t talk to demons.  Except for Bert and Hubie.”

Okay, apart from looking like younger versions of Matty, they’d definitely gotten some personality traits from Oriana.  Swell.  “Very good advice,” I nodded.  “But I’m pretty sure she’ll let you talk to this one.  He’s an old friend.”

“I’m Nelo,” he volunteered, but they only stared.

“Do you guys always hang out here while you’re mom’s working?”

“Mummy says we must stick close by.  You never know when bad peoples will come.  Are you bad peoples?”

“No, I’m your aunt.”  They looked unconvinced.  “Shiny like an angel, remember?”  Nothing.  “I’m one of the good guys, I swear.”

“Mummy says angels ain’t always good guys.”

“Fair enough.”  I couldn’t fault her on that one.  “Hey, do you ever talk?” I asked the other one, Col.

They shook their heads in tandem.  “He don’t need to,” Fin replied for him.

“Okay, good talk,” I muttered, swiping one of the bottled waters stacked on top of the mini fridge.     

The sound of applause filtered in and I hoped that meant Oriana’s act would be over soon.  Her kids were giving me the creeps.  She breezed in a few minutes later, positively glowing with happiness.  “You’ve returned!” she exclaimed, rushing up as if to hug me only to stop a few paces away.  “May I greet you as a sister?”

“Of course, Oriana.  I’m glad to see you too,” I smiled, letting go of Nelo’s hand to hug her. 

“Oh, you’re real,” she said when her arms closed around mine.  Was that a concern?

“Yep, I’m the real deal alright.  And I hope you don’t mind, I’ve already introduced myself to the twins.”

Oriana only now seemed to realize her children were present.  “Ah, you’re still up!  And how are mummy’s darlings?”  They each presented a pale cheek to be kissed, not saying a word.  “Good, very good,” she said, as if they’d replied.  Hell, maybe they did, and I just didn’t pick up on the right brainwave.   

“Mercy?  Are you in here?”  Matty burst through the door, looking wildly around.

I’d almost forgotten I was still dim, it took no concentration at all.  Turning it off, I popped back into view, catching my very startled brother up in a fierce hug.  “Long time no see, Matty.”

“Merce!  It is you!” He hugged me back, almost desperately, as if he couldn’t believe I was there. 

“I’m here too,” Nelo said quietly, hanging back by the shadows. 

“So you are.  Come and tell me all that’s passed since we last spoke.”  Oriana patted the couch beside her and Nelo cheerfully complied, telling her all about his last trip to Midian and his new kitten.  The twins crowded around, fascinated by Nelo and his story, but never once interrupting even though Oriana did, questioning him closely. 

While they chatted, I drew Matty aside for a more ordinary conversation.  We talked about our mother, who was apparently taking it as a personal slight that I’d disappeared off the face of the planet.  And apparently our dad had been up to visit them several times, spending the weekend gambling, but also visiting with his grandsons.  I guess I couldn’t fault him for that, but I still had zero desire to introduce Eve to him if I could help it. 

We briefly touched on Parker’s marriage, and Daphne and Sam’s good fortune.  I didn’t say much about where I’d been, only saying it was necessary to keep Eve safe.

“But you’re back for good now, right?” Matty asked.

“Not until I can figure out a way to hide Eve from Lucifer.  That’s why I’m here.  Well, that and a visit is long overdue.  But we can talk about that later, after the kids go to bed.”  It was already pretty late, but I imagined their hours were unusual, given their lifestyle. 

“It’s time for children to seek their beds,” Oriana announced out of the blue, even though I was pretty sure she hadn’t been following our conversation at all. 

“Can’t we stay for cakes and tea?” The boys wore twin looks of hope.

“No, it’s too late, and you know it,” Matty replied, sounding almost responsible.  It brought a smile to my lips to see him going all parental.  “I’m sure Hubie and Bert want to get back home too.  Now, give your mom a kiss.”

“Goodnight, my darlings,” Oriana said, placing a kiss on top of their heads in turn.  “And a kiss for your aunt as well.  She is the light of the world.”

I smiled awkwardly, bending to receive a kiss on the cheek from each of them without another word.  “Goodnight, kids.  It was nice meeting you.”

Matty herded them to the door, giving me a pointed look.  “Don’t start any of the good stuff until I get back.”

Truth be told, I was glad to see them go.  The boys made me a little uncomfortable, hold the little.  “So, Bert and Hubie live with you guys?” I asked as Oriana busied herself, making a pot of tea. 

“Of course.  We are a family, just as you are,” she smiled at Nelo who nodded sagely.

“
Ohana
means family.”

“Just so,” she said with a solemn nod.  “But I long to hear of your travels.  I’m all in raptures to hear about your little one.”

That was easy enough to do.  They hadn’t heard about my trip to the underworld, so I started there.  Oriana was so caught up in the story, she forgot all about the tea, and I took over the rest of the preparations.  By the time I was done, Matty was back for the tail end of the conversation, a scowl on his face.

“I thought you were going to wait to get to the good stuff?” he pouted, sounding very much like his sulky kids. 

“Believe it or not, that wasn’t the main event.  The good stuff is yet to come.”   

“Time for some serious sugar then.”  He produced a pink box of donuts, the cakes to our tea.  Nelo showed up at my side, eager for a bite, and I wondered when he’d picked up a taste for donuts.

Briefly, I went over the basics, of Lucifer’s ability to track Eve by her Grace, and his repeated attempts to steal her away from me to age her more quickly. 

“Sounds like that backfired if she’s still five.  He should’ve left her where she was, she’d already be eight by now,” Matty snorted. 

“Adam did pose this question to me some time ago,” Oriana said thoughtfully, blowing across the top of her tea.

“He did?” I blinked.

“Oh, yes.  I had nothing to contribute at the time, and he did not say what it was for.  I thought it to hide his own Grace for some convoluted reason.” 

I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it, and why he’d supported my visit if he knew it would lead to a dead end?  “Then there’s nothing you can do?  No way to suppress the Grace at all?”

“I haven’t the strength to bind her light, but another might serve your purpose.”

“Another witch?” I sat up higher, tea forgotten.  “Who?”

“A witch with access to darker magics than I.”

Darker magics – that didn’t sound so good, but I was getting desperate.  “Someone I know?”

“I don’t know, Merce, this sounds kind of dangerous,” Matty frowned.  “I don’t think you should be messing with black magic.”

“I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of choice right now, Matty.  Who is it?”

“The witch that serves Raum.” 

“The tattooed chick?”  The one that scared even Adam?  “What makes you think she’d help me?”

“She will have a price to be met, make no mistake of that,” Oriana said grimly.

“Perhaps if you brought her a gift?” Nelo volunteered, his eyes on my donut and I slid it over to him. 

“I’m thinking the kind of gift an energy vampire wants is beyond my means.”  I wasn’t about to let her feed off of me, and bringing her a random victim wasn’t an option.   

“Perhaps it is Raum that you need to win over then, not the witch,” Nelo said around a mouth full of sugary goodness.

Of course… that was it.  Who cared whether the witch wanted to help or not, she was
Raum’s
witch and Raum was in my back pocket.  “Nelo, you’re made of good ideas.  That’s it, that’s the answer.  We’ll go see Raum and work something out.”  It all sounded so simple, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before. 

“I still think you shouldn’t mess with that stuff.” Matty shook his head, and I reached over to cover his hand with mine. 

“Like I said, I don’t have much choice.  If this is what I need to do to keep Evie safe, so be it.  But having said that, maybe Nelo should stay here with you guys until I get back?”

“Oh, we’d be ever so happy to have him,” Oriana smiled, warming to the idea.  “The boys could use a new playmate since they broke the last one.”

On second thought…
“Or I could always drop you off at home on the way.”

“
No, Mistress.  My place is by your side,” Nelo insisted.  “If Raum is contrary I can help you escape, as always.”

“Thanks, Nelo, I appreciate it.  We should probably get going then.”

“But you just got here,” Matty frowned, his ridiculous mustache dipping comically. 

“I know, but the sooner we do this, the sooner I can bring Eve back where she belongs.”

Oriana reached out for my hand, her eyes growing remote.  “
Beware.  The sacrifice he makes to bind her light might be more than you’re willing to pay.”

“Do you mean Adam?”  It made sense, if I told him where we were going, he’d probably make some new cockamamie deal with Raum for Dahlia’s cooperation.  “I’ll just leave him out of the equation then and that takes care of that.”

“It’s a dangerous path you’re on.  You will lose much.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”