Phoenix Broken (16 page)

An hour later Mags rolled up to the curb. Guido opened the restaurant door for Des, but he didn't walk her out. He was distracted, not to mention weirdly keen to avoid Mags. It bugged, but with everything else on Des' mind, Guido's sudden aversion to beautiful telepaths had to be overlooked.

She gave him a wave when she reached the bright blue Charger and slipped inside.

"Okay,
so
—"

"FYI, we've got monsters in the back seat. Davidson's kids." Mags cut Des off with a tight, apologetic smile. "He called and I said I'd pick them up from daycare for him since you were out. We didn't know you'd be done so quick."

Davidson's kids.

Kids? Her Johnny had
kids?

Plural.

Slowly, Des shut her mouth and swallowed hard, giving Mags a nod before looking warily into the back seat.

Yup. Two.
Twins.
Des hadn't been around a lot of kids, but she'd guess, eight-ish? They were rather adorable, really.

At least the girl was, with her explosion of chocolate curls and big brown eyes. The little boy was a bit scary. Like his dad—yet not. His skin was a silky milk chocolate, not pale gold, and his eyes big and brown, not deep green, but they were sharp and assessing as Des tried a weak smile.

"Toby, Tish, this is Miss Des. My new roomie, like I told you. She also kinda…works with me and your dad."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Des." Tish said brightly, waving. Des smiled at the precocious little girl, then her eyes flickered to the boy.

"Hey." He gave her a nod, before immediately looking out the window.

"So,"
Mags said. "We got a couple hours to kill before Davidson, aka Dad, cuts himself loose from his meeting. I was just telling the monsters we should head over to Space Park. The Spooktacular thingie is tonight."

The boy perked up at this, turning back around to look at Mags.

Tish squealed loud enough to burst eardrums, then her face fell. "But Miss Mags, we don't have costumes."

"Please," Mags waved a hand. "We'll hit Savers on the way, deck everyone out. Shabby chic Halloween. What'd ya say, Des?"

It was Des' turn to look at Mags, her mouth falling open, feeling a tingle of excitement. "This is a
Halloween
deal? For real?"

Mags gave her a weird look. "Well, yeah. They have a costume parade, face painting, games and the kiddos can trick or treat and crap."

"Miss Mags!" Tish giggled.

Mags rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Crap can
not
count as a swear, Tishie. Impossible."

"Memaw says it does." Toby this time, sounding almost as put out as Mags.

"Well, if Memaw says so, bud. But what'd say we let it go, Tish? Just this once?"

"Fine. If you take us to the fair, you don't have to pay up. But we
can
we go, can't we?"

"Well, Des. What'd you say?
Help me out here,"
Mags hissed, leaning over. "It's a hundred bucks a goddamn swear."

“Sure, let's go! I've never gotten to do Halloween before, but it always sounded fun.” And crazy, but she wasn't going to say that in a car full of humans. Even if two of them were bite-sized. Des restrained herself from bouncing up and down, but only barely.

There was sudden silence in the Charger. Mags' eyebrows had shot up as they all stared at her.

"What planet are
you
from?" Toby muttered under his breath.

Des turned to see Tish elbow her brother hard in the ribs. He glared at his sister, but looked sheepish when his eyes met Des'.

"It's okay," she assured him. "I guess it
is
weird." She was unsure if they knew what the Saandon was, and unwilling to mention it even if they did. "I grew up in…Jamaica." Not a lie. Technically
.
The entrance to the demon realm
was
on the island, and the whole of the Saandon overlaid it.

"They don't have Halloween in Jamaica?" Even Tish looked skeptical at this. Des hid a smile, wondering if they would hit Google to check her out. Dang modern kids.

"Not in my little village." Estate. Same diff.

"Wow." This from Tish. "That sounds…"

"Totally sucky." Toby looked horrified on her behalf, his little face finally shocked out of its' perpetual
whatever
expression.

"Definitely sucky." Des agreed.

“Alrighty then." Mags smiled as she put the Dodge in gear. “Who's for showing Miss Des what the big H is all about?”

“Me!" Tish bounced. And Toby smiled. Des smiled right back.

They had a
blast.

At Saver's, Tish became a pirate; courtesy of a plastic sword, an eyepatch and a bright red scarf that, when wrapped twice around her waist and knotted, became the perfect sash. Toby grabbed glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth and a tub of fake blood and declared himself to be 'Mister Julie', which Mags explained was the twins' godfather, Jules Gentry, a name Des recognized as one of the founders of Phoenix Inc.

Mags declined a costume, saying being a telepath made for quite enough personalities in her head, thanks very much
.

Des wandered for a bit, but at Tish's suggestion became a gypsy, complete with a silky green handkerchief tied over her curls, some kohl eyeliner from Mag's purse and one enormous clip-on gold earring. Thus appropriately attired, they hit Space Park.

The place was crazed. Lights and colors and sounds bombarded them from every direction. There was the overwhelming smell of burnt sugar, sparklers, fresh cut grass and burnt leaves.

Des was in heaven. She hadn't been kidding when she said Halloween had always fascinated her. Humans dressing up as demons and ghosts and other shades. It had always struck her as slightly ludicrous, but it'd also looked like lots of fun.

It was.

The park was filled with the oddest looking people she'd ever seen, outside The Rocky Horror Picture show. She laughed and ate huge amounts of cotton candy—another first—and danced with the twins to the corny Halloween music blasting from every speaker.

Mostly Tish. Mags and Toby tended to look on, wearing identical expressions of tolerant amusement. Several times Des found herself approached by men. Two pirates, a clown and a cowboy, all of whom she sent on their way with a laugh.

"They just want to dance." She said when she caught Tish staring. The little girl put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, then pulled Des to the next booth. And the next.

Des tried on every mask she could, including Frankenstein's monster, and others she didn't recognize. Making silly faces and sounds that made the kids giggle. At one point, a tall man with tattoos that rivaled Nolan's reluctantly let Des coax off his "demon" mask and borrow it for a bit. She had fun stomping around pretending to chase Tish, then Toby, who surprised her by cracking up at last, running away giggling.

The twins went trick or treating in the parade and then, once their plastic shopping bags were full to bursting, Mags declared it time for semi-real food.

They had just sat down at a park table with hot dogs and Slurpies in hand when Mags had to take Tish to the ladies. She insisted Des stay right outside the door with Toby. He was watching her stare at her hot dog as they waited. This was yet another first for her. Des had never eaten a hot dog before, let alone a real Chicago-style dog that had been dragged through the garden and back.

His eyebrows drew together as she examined a pickle spear with narrowed eyes.

“You’re really weird for a grown-up,” Toby observed.

“Really? I'm surprisingly okay with that. Give me your take, though—is weird good, or bad?” She licked a glob of mustard off her thumb, eyeing the boy curiously. She'd never had much to do with children. The demon ones had been unbelievably cruel and she couldn't recall ever being around the human sort as an adult.

He shrugged non-committedly. “It’s not boring.”

"I'll be honest with you, Toby. I'm also half demon."

His eyes widened. "You are?"

"Yup. You scared?" She winked at him.

"Heck, no." He snorted, folding his arms across his chest, making her hide a smile. "My godfather's a
vampire.
So, that's why you've never done Halloween, huh? Makes sense. What monsters would monsters be scared of?" Immediately, he winced. "Sorry. That was rude."

Des waved it away. "Actually, when I was your age, I
was
scared of monsters. I was terrified of golems."

"Golems? What's that?"

"It's what happens to demons if they break a blood oath." She shuddered, not entirely for his benefit either. Golems were
freaky.

"Blood oath?"

"Like a vow, a promise sealed in blood. And if you break if, you become a golem, forever enslaved to the one you broke the promise to. Plus, your skin turns to stone, your heart to dust and…" Toby's brown eyes were as big as saucers, his mouth hanging half open. "…and maybe this isn't such a great story to be telling you."

"Nah, it's awesome!" His gaze suddenly focused at a point beyond her. Des glanced back to see one of the men from earlier watching them. The one with the demon mask.

Toby looked up at her with a frown. “All those guys should leave you alone. You’re not
that
pretty.”

She raised her eyebrows. "I’m not?”

“No, my mom was way prettier." He shrugged again, but his shoulders had gone stiff in a way that told her he hadn't meant to say that. Toby sighed. "You know she died, right?"

No warning, no nothing. Toby just dropped that bomb and looked up at her with lips pressed tightly together, as if waiting for something. Des felt her knees wobble.
Scott's wife had died?

It shouldn't have shocked her, not after the taste she'd had of Scott’s pain. But the difference between
suspecting
a tragedy in his life, and knowing it beyond all doubt was stark.

Especially when it was staring at her out of the bleak eyes of a heart-broken child.

"I'm sorry, Toby," she whispered. "I didn't know."

"Oh." Once again, he tried a shrug, but failed. His eyes dropped to the litter-strewn grass as if the sincerity in her words had taken him by surprise. His lower lip quivered, then firmed suddenly. He lifted his chin.

"A bad man killed her." The words were hard and clear. Toby's small fists clenched and for a moment he looked so much like Scott, it was eerie. Her throat tightened.
Omno.
This time, though, her only thought was for the little boy in front of her.

The one that shared her own, very private pain.

Des reached out a hand to brush over the soft nap of his dark hair. "Mine, too, Toby."

His head jerked away.
"What?"

She dropped her hand. "My mom was murdered, too."

A hand flung over cracked stone, the curled fingers that had stroked her hair so many times splattered with blood. Afraid to call out, realizing there would be no answer in that musical French accent.
Oh Mama, I miss you so much.

He stared up at her for an endless minute. "Do you think it ever stops hurting?"

"Nope," Des swallowed hard. "
Never ever
."

He seemed surprised, but oddly relieved at her words. He'd probably heard the opposite from well-meaning people way too often. And knew it for the lie it was.

"That…sucks," his voice broke, and he coughed to cover it, blinking his eyes fast.

Des thought for a minute, wanting to say something that would help—but not make him lose the control he was trying so desperately to maintain. Finally, she said, "It really does suck, doesn't it? Still…I don't know about your mom, but
mine
," she smiled, thinking of happy-go-lucky Marie and her impatience with all things maudlin, "would beat me senseless if I spent the rest of my life being angry about it."

A ghost of a smile pulled at Toby's lips. "Yeah. I guess you're right," he said. Almost as quickly a frown appeared. He looked up at her, then away.

"What, Toby?"

"Do you…do you remember what she looked like? Your mom?" His whisper was guilt-stricken and full of a fear she understood all too well. A fear of losing the one thing that made death bearable.

The memories.

Oh, Scott. Is this why you're so damn angry at me? Because you can't quite remember her either …and wanting me might mean you're losing her?

She blinked and cleared her throat. "Well, that's hard. 'Cause sure, I do, but I also forget so many little things—more and more every day. I have pictures, though, and so do you, right?"

"Yeah, sure." He nodded. "Dad has tons, hundreds probably. He looks at them all the time."

She pressed her lips together, but said, "Well, see there? You won't forget."