Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell) (25 page)

“And this,” he said, handing me a small, flat box. Inside was a silver bangle bracelet. Two beautifully molded snakes looped around the bangle. Their heads twined at the center over a pair of wings.

“It’s a caduceus,” I said in surprise. One that was designed to fit a circle instead of the usual straight staff. Around the inside was a Latin phrase
: quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius.
As above, so below.

“It’s reputedly from a medieval mage’s tomb in Rome,” he said as I slipped it on. Good God, this thing was probably worth a small fortune. “It doesn’t seem to have any practical uses, but I thought you might like the aesthetics of it.”

I threw my arms around his neck. “It’s wonderful. I adore it.”

“I’m glad,” he said, definitely pleased with himself. “I have something else for you, but I wanted to wait to give it to you . . .” He nodded toward the mayhem in front of the Christmas tree. “. . . when things return to normal around here.”

“Might be waiting a long time.”

“It’ll keep.”

Once Jupe noticed we were exchanging gifts, he paused his chaotic present-extravaganza. “Get your laptop, Dad.”

Lon reached over me and handed me a computer, while Jupe bookended himself on my opposite side. “What’s all this?” I asked.

“Hold on,” Jupe said, leaning all over me to type an address into the web browser.

I watched a page pop up on the screen. It was Tambuku’s website. But nicer. Way nicer. It wasn’t just a static page with our address and a badly lit photo that Kar Yee had taken when we first opened. It had style. Professional photography. A drink menu. And on the page with our hours, it even said that we were temporarily closed for construction and would reopen after the holidays.

“What? How . . . Who did this?”

“I did!” Jupe announced proudly. “I mean, Dad took the photos and helped me with some of the graphics, and he said that I couldn’t use Papyrus or Comic Sans for the fonts. And that the background up here couldn’t be purple. And that I couldn’t post photos of you and Kar Yee because it just encourages weirdos—”

I gave Lon an appreciative look.

“—but I did most of the CSS and I got Kar Yee to send me the drink menu and I got this little map thingy to work and I wrote all the stuff about the bar and it was all my idea,” he ended, inhaling a big breath.

I clicked around, going back through all the pages.

“Do you love it?” he asked. Not “like,” but “love,” as if he meant “isn’t it the greatest thing in the world and didn’t I do a good job?” It was such a Jupe thing to say, and he was so eager and enthusiastic.

I pressed my forehead against his. “I love it
so
much. It’s my favorite gift.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Dad’s going to be pissed. His gift cost way more. Like, mine was free, and his—”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Lon said. “We don’t talk about the cost of things.”

“Oops.” Jupe glanced at the French chalet brochure on the coffee table. “Hey, what’s all this?”

“Our vacation stuff,” I said. But I wasn’t concentrating. I thought I heard a strange noise, but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I wanted to shush everyone, but Jupe plowed on.

“We’re going to France?

“No,
we’re
going to France,” Lon said. “As in Cady and me. You’re going to stay here with Mr. and Mrs. Holiday.”

“Hey, no fair!”

“You let him think he was coming with us?” I said to Lon. Maybe I was just imagining the noise. “That’s not nice.”

“I—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You never said anything about a vacation,” Jupe clarified.

“What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly confused. “Kar Yee said she was keeping a secret for you.”

Jupe cringed. “Uh . . . that was nothing. Barely even a secret. Don’t ask her about it, though.”

While Jupe hedged, the strange noise became clearer. No wonder I couldn’t pinpoint the source: it was coming from inside in my head. And when it repeated, louder, I realized what was going on.

May I show myself?

“No!”
Hell
no. Not here, in front of everyone. “Hold on!”

Jupe frowned. “What?”

“Not you,” I said, handing him the computer as I scrambled off the couch. “Be right back.” I jogged to the back of the house, to a place that was the farthest distance from the living room—and, hopefully, far enough away that the clairaudient Earthbound in the house couldn’t hear me—and pressed my finger into the security lock on Lon’s library door

“Okay. Now,” I commanded, standing in front of the unlit library fireplace, pulse pounding. Polished wood built-in shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, all of them filled with hundreds and hundreds of occult tomes: grimoires and goetic tomes, spellbooks and hand-painted illuminated bibles, all carefully arranged and cataloged according to Lon’s exacting standards.

The air shuddered as a black line of light appeared in the middle of my palm. A mass of crackling white light whooshed a few yards in front of me. When it flashed, Priya flew out of it.

Black wings brushed over book spines, knocking several grimoires off the shelves.

He just took up so much space with those wings. It was one thing out on Kar Yee’s rooftop, but quite another in this room. Startling, really. He began to fly forward, but his black-haired head clunked against a dangling pendant light. He made a very human face, while gritting a pair of very non-human silver pointy teeth, and said, “Oww.”

“Come down and land, for the love of Pete,” I said nervously. “Stop flying. Whatever. Just quit wrecking the place. Lon’s going to be furious!”

He rubbed a hand over his injured forehead and lowered to the carpet, landing awkwardly as he folded up his wings behind his back. His grimace turned to a smile. “Hello, mistress,” he said, bowing his head briefly. The swinging pendant light above cast a moving shadow over his silvery gray chest.

“Thank God,” I murmured. “I was worried something had happened to you.”

His mouth tilted up. Black hole eyes softened as the corners crinkled. “You were worried about me?”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t want you getting killed.” I paused. “Again. And you were gone for so long.”

“I’m sorry to have disappointed you,” he said, hanging his head. “It was a longer journey than I expected, and I can’t travel as fast in this body.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He brightened. “As am I. You look lovely,” he said, looking at me with unabashed interest.

New Priya was easily distracted. No wonder it took him so long. “Can you tell me what you’ve learned?”

His shoulders straightened. “Of course. But I fear you will not like what I have to say.”

“Oh, God.”

“Enola Duval is still alive.”

I closed my eyes as a dark disappointment weighed down my bones. I suppose I’d known it all along, since that first vision of her on the beach at Merrimoth’s house. I just didn’t want to believe it.

“I did not see her personally,” he continued. “But I spoke with many who have. I know of her general whereabouts on the demon plane. She has taken control of a citadel in a remote region that is on the brink of war. Rumors are spreading about her. The demons under her snare are threatening another group of demons—a strong legion under the command of a Grand Duke.”

My pulse went haywire. Surely there were many,
many
Grand Dukes in the Æthyr. But I had to know. “His name isn’t Chora, by chance?”

Priya was surprised. “You know of him?”

“You can’t be serious. It’s Duke Chora?”

“Yes.”

“Sh-h-hit.”

“What is wrong, mistress?”

“This Duke almost killed someone I love a couple of months ago.”

“Your demon child?”

“What?”

Priya pointed to my palm. “The one bound to you.”

“He’s not
my
child. I mean, I didn’t give birth to him. Anyway, I was talking about someone else.”

The door to the library swung open. “She’s talking about me.” Lon burst inside the room, all fiery halo and spiraling horns, eyes narrowed to slits.

Priya rushed in front of me and snapped his wings open. “Stay back, Kerub.”

Lon balked at the reference to his demonic heritage—or perhaps at the fact that Priya was protecting me against him.

“Priya, calm down,” I said. “This is Lon. He’s, uh . . . well, he’s the father of the demon boy under my protection.” I couldn’t think straight. I was still reeling from Priya’s news about my mom. “This is his home.”

Priya’s wings fluttered and drooped. He stepped aside and lowered his head, black halo trailing. “Forgive me.” I couldn’t tell if he was hurt or angry, but his mouth was drawn in a tight, straight line, and he was unwilling to take his eyes off Lon.

“It’s fine.” I put a hand on Priya’s arm, which was cooler and smoother than I expected. It was a simple gesture, meant to be casual, but it seemed to surprise both of us, and I quickly moved my hand away. I still couldn’t reconcile the familiarity I felt around him with the foreignness of his new body. I did my best to push away my confused feelings and cleared my throat. “Lon, this is Priya. He’s one of my oldest friends, so please stop glowering.”

Lon glanced at the spilled books on the floor. Yeah. Not happy about that.
An accident,
I said to him in my head.

He made a disgruntled noise then spoke to Priya. “What else have you learned about her mother?” He’d been listening to our conversation, which meant he’d heard me say the L-word. And now he was listening to me obsess over it. Awesome.

Priya glanced at me. “Would you like me to continue to discuss this in front of the Kerub?”

“Yes. Anything you tell me, you can tell Lon. He’s empathic, by the way. And he can hear your thoughts.” Only fair that he knew.

Priya nodded. Surely he was well acquainted with demonic knacks. Regardless, he wasn’t happy. He crossed his arms over his bare chest and turned to me. “As I was saying, rumors are spreading about your mother. Whenever there is a human in the Æthyr, it is momentous. But it has been said that she wields a great power. I am worried that this power is . . .”

“Yes?”

He blinked black, feathery lashes. “I am worried the power she wields is connected to you.”

“What power is that, exactly?” My voice came out squeakier than I wanted.

He shook his head. “I do not know. But there is talk that she’s given birth to someone who could decimate armies of demons.”

Oh, God.

“And since you are her only child . . .” Priya shrugged and narrowed his gaze at me. “You used your Moonchild ability recently.”

“What? Yes. A day ago.”

He nodded. “I thought I detected your Heka in the Æthyr. Not strong, but if I can sense it, then your mother may likely sense it, as you suspected. And because of this, I would be wary when you are drawing on those powers. Shield yourself. I think you are opening up a channel to the Æthyr when you use moon magick.”

I groaned.

“I do not know the repercussions of doing such a thing,” he said. “There are magicks that can track energy signatures. Creatures who can follow your Heka and use it to slip between the planes, or to spy on you.”

I thought about the spy in the shadows I’d seen at the racetrack after I’d used my moon power. Chills pricked my skin. What if it was something spying on me from the Æthyr? Although that wouldn’t explain the mystery sedan I’d seen at Diablo Market, or the one I thought I saw after Telly tore the bridge down. Æthyric creatures don’t drive cars.

“Perhaps it is not something to worry about,” Priya continued. “But I am concerned it will attract the attention of other beings in the Æthyr who are familiar with the scent of your Heka.”

“Like?” Lon prompted.

Priya glanced at him, chin tilted. “Any Æthyric demon she has summoned might remember her scent. I am connected to her. I carry a trace of her Heka in me.” He said this as if he were proud of it. Like he was goading Lon. And from the way Lon’s jaw tightened, I assumed it worked.

“Priya,” I said. “You need to be concerned about your own safety. Do not go near Duke Chora.”

“Chora is a respected leader.”

“He is also dangerous. Please stay away from him.”

“As you wish. I am following another trail that may bring me more information concerning your mother’s intentions. Once I know more, I will return to you.”

“Okay, but—”

A crackling energy emanated around his halo. He winced. “It is hard for me to remain much longer.”

“Crap.” I hated this. Now I was going to freak out about his safety, as well as my own. “Look, you’ve got to be careful. Promise me you will.”

A faint smile lifted his mouth. “I promise.”

“If you can find out what my mother’s intentions are, that would be great. But if you can find out anything about me, that would be better. You don’t know, do you? What exactly she bred into me? Whatever
this
is that can ‘decimate’ armies of demons?”

“No more than you do. But maybe she is sharing this secret with demons in the Æthyr. I will trace the rumors and see what I can discover.”

“Thank you.”

“It is my honor to serve you.” The air around him crackled again.