Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell) (26 page)

“One more thing. What about my father?”

Priya lightly grazed the backs of his fingers over my cheek. “I’m afraid he isn’t alive.”

I nodded, unsure if this was good or bad, or how I felt about it. “Please be careful.”

“You, as well. Guard yourself and call if you need me.” In a flash, his entire body just disappeared. Gone. As if he was never there.

I looked up at Lon. He was unhappy. Maybe even a little shocked at seeing Priya’s new form—how could he not be? But whatever he was thinking about how my guardian looked, or whatever he’d heard inside his head, he had the good sense to keep it to himself.

“Lon,” I said in a voice that sounded smaller than I intended. “I’m scared.”

He shifted down, pulled me into his arms, and held me. But he didn’t tell me it would be okay this time. He merely said, “I know.”

After Priya’s unwelcome news, Lon and I rejoined the group and carried on like nothing was wrong. At least for awhile. Rose and Lon made a huge Caribbean feast for Christmas dinner: rice and peas, plantains, coconut snapper, curry, and some chicken that was so spicy, I nearly choked—much to everyone’s great amusement.

But when we were clearing the table, a knock on the door made my stomach flip. Jupe ran to answer it. A couple of seconds later, Yvonne entered the house: designer clothes, gold-framed sunglasses perched on top of her perfectly coiffed hair, arms filled with presents.

She paused in front of me. We stared each other down for several beats. Then she said, “Merry Christmas, Arcadia.”

“You, too,” I managed.

I didn’t talk to her directly after that, and I stayed my distance when she was showering Jupe with expensive presents, only hearing his excitement as I helped the Holidays wash up dishes in the kitchen. And when I’d towel-dried every single speck of water off the plates and had no more excuses to stay away, I lurked in the dining room and listened to her chattering with Jupe about new stores in La Sirena. About the pool in her tropical Floridian backyard. About her celebrity neighbors and the season tickets she had for the Miami Heat.

And she was apparently modeling for a national jewelry company, doing print and television ads, so I could look forward to seeing her face during commercial breaks of our family TV time. Maybe she’d even haunt me in Tambuku, too, her too-perfect face and body hawking diamond pendants during the bar’s weekly viewing of
Paranormal Patrol.
Then all my regulars could say, “Hey, isn’t that Lon’s ex-wife? Looks like she’s making a comeback.”

Everyone loves an underdog.

But how could I be anything but encouraging to Jupe? If anyone knew how he felt, being abandoned by her all these years, it was me. I couldn’t deny him a chance for a relationship with her. The Giovannis seemed impressed by her new sober life, and Yvonne might actually be stable and trying.

Even so, there was only so much I could take of her Celebrity Rehab success story. So when everyone decided to move the party outside on the deck, I excused myself and left the house for a couple of hours.

Kar Yee was glad to see me. Bob came over and after I gave them the update on my quest to find Telly, we watched
Miracle on 34
_th
Street
on television. Kar Yee was healing up enough to drive. She’d made plans to get out of the city the next day and go upstate to visit an old college friend of ours. I don’t think she knew what to do with herself, since Tambuku wasn’t open. Bob neither. He told us he’d made a couple of appointments that week to do some minor healing on people in his group. I was glad. Seemed to keep his spirits up.

Life almost seemed calm for a couple of days. No winged Æthyric being popping up with news about my mother, no crimes fueled by bionic knacks. Just . . . normality. But two days after Christmas, some magazine bigwig called Lon up to San Francisco for the afternoon to meet with the president of an advertising firm. It was only a two-hour drive, and he’d be back early evening.

Meanwhile, I stayed in with the Giovannis. Rose was showing me how to make something called “black cake” when Yvonne called, wanting to take Jupe to the movies. Rose said she trusted her to spend a few hours alone with her son and thought maybe it would be good for both of them.

Maybe they were right. If Jupe wanted a relationship with her, I couldn’t stop him. I called Lon and told him what was going on. He said it was okay.

So we let him go.

After the movie ended, Yvonne called Rose and said they were stopping by a diner for a bite to eat. So we waited some more. Two hours later, they still hadn’t come back. Rose called her. Several times. No answer. I called Jupe. Texted Jupe. No response. That’s when I started full-on panicking. He’d never,
never
failed to respond to my texts. Rose couldn’t get a decent cell signal in the house, so she stepped out on the back patio and called the diner while Adella paced the living room.

His life wasn’t in danger. I knew this because the thread that connected us wasn’t visible like it was when he got demon-snatched by Duke Chora on Halloween. I considered sharing this with the Giovannis, but I wasn’t sure how they’d react to knowing he’d tattooed my sigil on his hip, and I didn’t want to get into the sordid events from Halloween. That would only make them more worried.

“I knew better than to trust her,” Adella said, as she paced, volcanic curls jostling beneath the blue-and-white striped scarf she’d tied to keep them off her forehead.

“I’m sure there’s a rational explanation,” I told her. And if the diner couldn’t confirm they were still there, I’d drive out to the Village to find them; I already had my keys in my pocket.

She snorted. “You don’t know my sister very well. Expect the worst, and you won’t be disappointed.”

How the hell I’d put myself in the position to defend Yvonne was beyond me. “You said before that you’d never forgive her. I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve been curious. Was there something she did to you specifically, or . . . ?”

Adella stopped pacing behind the couch. “She slept with my husband fifteen years ago.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t even realized she’d been married. Lon and Jupe never mentioned it.

She gave me a tight smile. “We met in college, Samuel and I. It was love at first sight. We’d been married for a year when she came to stay with us. I think she’d been seeing Lon on and off at the time, but this was before she got pregnant with Jupe.” She stopped in front of a black-and-white photo of Jupe, one Lon took when he was a baby. “I, on the other hand,
was
pregnant. Three months. She seduced Samuel with her knack. He said he couldn’t stop himself. I believed him—you felt what she can do, right?”

“Yes.”

“Now imagine her when she goes all—” She mimicked horns with her fingers. “I confronted her. We fought. It could’ve been the end of it. Samuel and I would’ve pieced our life back together. But she was so angry. Petty. She slept with him again. He killed himself later that night. I lost the baby the next day.”

“Oh,
God
. Adella, I—”

She shook her head. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I survived—I didn’t let her pull me under. But maybe you understand a little better now. I know Lon probably keeps most of those old stories under his hat. He’s just that way.”

“He tells me some things, but it’s difficult for him to dredge it all up.”

“Oh, I know. I love Lon like a brother, but I think I’d go crazy if I had to live with him, all quiet about everything.”

I gave her a gentle smile. “He’s getting better.”

“You’re good for him. Good for Jupe, too. I’m really glad you’re in their lives.”

“Me too.” I wanted to say something more, but a silence hung between us for a moment. It was broken by the sound of the patio door sliding open.

Rose stepped inside the living room. The fringe of white bangs that normally was perfectly styled around her forehead was messily pushed to one side. Her glasses dangled from a slender chain around her neck. Her face was still as a stone. “Owner talked with all the waitresses. No pair with their description came in.”

Fuck. What the hell was going on?

“Someone needs to stay here in case they come back,” I said heading toward the foyer. “I’ll drive down to the Village. There’s only one way here, so if Yvonne’s on that road, I should see her.”

“I’ll come with you,” Adella said reaching for her purse. “Mama, you stay.”

“It’s eight,” I said, glancing at the clock on the mantle. “Lon should be finished with his business dinner and on his way home soon.”

“I’m not calling him,” Rose said. “I don’t want him worried while he’s on the highway. He drives like a bat out of hell when he’s upset.”

That was true. “He keeps his ringer off most of the time anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I’m sure Jupe is fine,” I said, more for me than them. “There’s a logical explanation for why he’s not answering my texts, and—”

“Car!” Rose shouted out of the blue. “Someone’s pulling up the driveway.”

I didn’t hear it, but I didn’t have her knack. We all raced out the front door to find Yvonne helping Jupe out of her car. Relief washed over me. Christ, I’d gotten way too worked up.

“Why haven’t you answered your phone?” Rose shouted angrily at Yvonne. “It’s been two hours. I know you weren’t at the diner, so don’t tell me you were.”

“I’m sorry,” Yvonne said as shut Jupe’s door. Why was she holding onto him like that? I couldn’t see what was going on. The driveway lights were on, but they weren’t bright. Everything was cloaked in shadow. “Time got away from me. I ran into someone Lon and I used to know from the Hellfire Club. We were chatting, and I guess I didn’t hear the phone.”

She turned around and was mumbling something to Jupe, blocking my view of him.

“What’s going on?” I said. This was all wrong. Jupe should be bounding over to see us. Why was he so quiet?

“What the hell?” Rose said. “What did you do, Yvonne? What—”

“There’s no need to throw a big hissy fit,” Yvonne snapped as she turned around. That’s when I saw Jupe’s face for the first time. His head bobbed. He took a step and faltered.

I was already running toward them.

“He had a couple of glasses of wine, that’s all.”

“What?” I reached out and caught him just as he was stumbling. Couple of glasses of wine? He smelled like he’d been smashing grapes in a vineyard. His body was limp. He fell into my arms like a sack of bricks. I hoisted him as Adella ran up and helped.

“What in the devil are you talking about?” Rose shouted. She didn’t believe it. She hadn’t caught up—couldn’t see him. He was stinking drunk. Moaning and weak. “Where did you go that serves wine? It sure wasn’t the diner.”

Yvonne was panicked. Her cool, aloof exterior had melted away completely. “We went to a different restaurant. It was Evan’s idea, and I hadn’t seen him in—”

Rose slapped Yvonne across the face.

And again.

Yvonne slid down the side of the car and crouched into ball, covering her head with her arms as Rose continued to flail at her.

Christ.

“Come on,” I said against Jupe’s ear, as calm as I could. “Let’s get you inside, okay?”

I half carried, half dragged him across the driveway in a daze. He could walk a few steps, then his legs would turn to noodles and give out. He was trying to say something, but his words were slurred. Everything seemed surreal. Like time had slowed. I could hear Rose screaming at Yvonne behind me.

“I’ve got him,” I told Adella firmly. “I do this at the bar all the time. I can handle this. Go stop your mother from hurting her. If she’s drunk as well, better call her a cab and get her out of here before Lon gets back, or he’ll kill her.”

Getting him up the stairs was the hardest part, but I managed. He seemed to sober up a little and started talking in a small, roughened voice. Mostly just little drunken observations that made no sense, like his shoes were too big, and that was the reason he was having trouble walking. And was he at home? Where were we going?

“Here’s your room,” I said, kicking open his door and dragging him through in the dark. It was cleaner than usual, due to the Giovannis’ visit, so I didn’t have to wade through piles of clothes and teetering stacks of comics. Right before I made it to his bed, he made a horrible noise, tried to push me back, and vomited all over my arm. Twice. Good
God
, it stunk of wine.

“I’m sorry,” he said brokenly. “So sorry.”

“Hush. It’s not the first time someone’s done that,” I said. “Bartender, remember? I’m a vomit cleaning expert. Sit down on the bed. Can you do that? Mind the nightstand.” I got him down, half sprawled on his pillows. Wrangled his shirt off and used it to mop up vomit around his mouth and off my arm. It took some work to prop him up against the headboard. I turned on the lamp next to his bed. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned.

“Don’t move,” I said. “I’m going to get something that will make you feel better.”

My medicinals from the bar were locked up in a drawer in Lon’s walk-in closet. I didn’t want to leave them in Tambuku while it was closed, just in case we got robbed again—whether it be Telly on a revenge mission or some other hopped-up Earthbound deciding we looked weak enough to hit. I quickly changed shirts and washed my arm in the bathroom sink, then rummaged through the vials until I found one that I used to sober up bar patrons.