Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 7.5) (44 page)

I catch a glimpse of Dad and my mother near the house and wave at them from over Marshall’s shoulder.

“She came back,” I whisper. I thought my mother was going to lock herself away in Paradise, or wherever it is she resides, until after the faction war.

“She very much loves you. She wouldn’t miss our introduction into the eternal commonwealth if her wings depended on it.”

“Wings,” I muse.

“Everyone has wings Skyla—they’re optional to don, like shoes.”

“Sounds entertaining.” I can barely fit another
shoe
in my closet, let alone an assortment of oversized feathers.

“You’re issued just the one pair.” He gives a knowing wink.

“So, what kind of announcement—I mean introduction are we making?”

“I much prefer your idea.” He belts out a whistle to garner everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlepersons of the great establishment.” His voice roars like thunder. It sounds foreign—indiscernible in the slightest sense. “It is my pleasure to bestow upon you the infinite beauty who is my spirit mate, as well as the corporal form of the woman who shall please me as my lover.”

I suck in a quick breath as the crowd breaks out in a delightful applause at Marshall’s rather vulgar and X-rated descriptive.

I yank him in close. “Keep it PG. My
dad
is here.” What is this “please me as my lover” crap anyway? Did I unwittingly sign on to be his sex slave? I bet this freaking dress is hexed.

A tall being, familiar in every way, steps forward. It’s Delphinius the orator from the ethereal plane.

He places a hand over both my forehead and Marshall’s and starts in on a low-lying hymn. It sounds like a choir of hallelujah but the word is ever so slightly different.

“I now proclaim a covenant of God over the two of you,” he sings the words loud and clear as a symbol.

I shrink in horror trying to sink out of his grasp but he holds firm.

“May the glory of God in the highest”—he elongates the word
highest
for close to a minute—“set your course as you go forth in the victory of his love.” He breaks the word love into two very long impractical pieces.

A wild applause breaks out from the crowd as I try to catch my breath.

It takes everything in me not to knee Marshall in the balls in front of God and the eternal commonwealth of La La Land. How dare he spring some surprise wedding on me.

Delphinius gives one loud clap and the circle of ethereal beings collapses in silence. “Let the banner of this covenant live forever as his Holy Spirit resides in your hearts. You are now entwined as one forever more.”

“It is done.” Marshall breathes over me.

“What have we done?” I squeeze his hand with a death grip.

“You and I, Skyla, have entered into a sealed and lasting covenant.” He punctuates it with a molten kiss that lingers over my lips long after he pulls away. “All that’s left is to consummate our union.”

Chapter 110

Devine Debacle

“Covenant?” I hiss as Marshall wraps an arm around my waist and we offer a spontaneous bow to the quickly dispersing social circle. “What the hell was that about?”

At least twelve different people snap their heads in our direction, offering a forlorn look to Marshall in the process.

“Congratulations.” My mother starts in on a slow sarcastic applause as she makes her way over. She’s wearing a deep indigo gown with what looks like a bevy of stars sparkling throughout. She holds the entire solar system hostage on that frock of hers.

Dad comes up from behind and drops a kiss on my head.

“I’m proud of you,” he whispers.

“For not dismembering my new husband’s crux of virility? What the hell has gotten into everyone?” I wouldn’t put it past Marshall to serve something “home brewed” with enough of his Sector-based witchcraft to make everyone fall under some mass nuptial hallucination.

Bite your tongue
. Marshall gives my hand a gentle squeeze.
Witchcraft is strictly forbidden
.

“Skyla.” Mom slips her arm around me and immediately I’m soothed by her sweet vibrations. “It was beautiful watching Sector Marshall unite with you in spirit. I only wish he had waited until Lizbeth arrived.” She frowns at Marshall’s apparent guest list blunder.

“Oh, no.” I shake my head. “He did the right thing. For sure that would not have gone over well. Anyway, I’m not marrying Marshall, in fact, I’m not even with Logan or Gage at the moment.”

“This isn’t dating.” Marshall looks aghast at my oversight. “This is everlasting love.”

The idea of everlasting love with Marshall takes my breath away. A small part of me wants it—is already there.

I gag as a jumble of words try to escape my throat all at once. “Need I remind everyone covenants are serious business?” I shake my head, incredulous at what just happened. “Besides, we didn’t say ‘until death do us part’ or anything, so this totally doesn’t count.”

The three of them tick their heads back in unison as if I had just let loose a series of vile curses over my unborn children.

“‘Until death do us part’ is simply a formality.” My mother scolds. “This is a lasting covenant, Skyla. It commences now but establishes itself in full once you’ve consummated the union.”

My mouth squares out in horror. I can’t even lift my eyes to look at my father.

“It’s all right, Skyla.” My mother pulls me in and offers a feather-soft kiss over my cheek. It feels glorious to be loved by her. “This is for a later time.”

An entire hoard of well-masked people stream outdoors—all human I assume. 

“Looks like the troops are here,” Dad whispers and everyone around us slowly lifts a long, handled mask to their faces. Birds and tigers, flowers, queens, and laughing jesters, everyone sports a unique covering that Marshall chose expressly for them.

My mother nudges me so I lift the long stem of my disguise and peer out through the cutouts while my breath warms the inside.   

Logan and Gage arrive, both wearing Phantom-like masks that require no holding of anything and I must admit they look decidedly hot. Logan’s mask is outlined with gold while the one Gage wears is outlined in clear reflective stones, bright as diamonds. I’d recognize those two if they had paper bags over their heads.

I trek my way over. A large crowd comes between us and I land smack in front of Tad, Mom, and baby Beau who happens to be wearing an odd black dress.

“Unique,” I say, plucking at the strange lace number.

“Isn’t it something?” Mom beams, removing the ornate visor from her face. Her mask is of an overly done up woman, pearl skin, large pink lips bloom like cherry blossoms, eyelids elongate like bright blue eggs. Tad’s looks like a combination of a person and a pig with crooked fat lips that drip to the ground.

“I know you!” A voice sings over the crowd.

Mom and I turn to find a heavily endowed female Fem with twin tassels strategically dotting her gown as a testament to all things mammary. She twirls and whirls in our direction revealing herself from behind the cardboard cutout of a hissing snake as the sensible Edinger of the bunch. She points to her breasts and as she strides toward Tad to punctuate the fact she’s in a discerning frame of mind.

“Nice,” I say as he ducks and dodges through the crowd to land before her in record time. “Home wrecker.”

“Isis?” Mom balks at my analysis. “She’s harmless.”

“Demetri’s not,” I say, panning the crowd for the devil in question. “He killed Dad and he’s slowly killing me.”

Her mouth opens to protest then quickly closes again as she dives past me and lands in someone’s arms.

I turn in haste, fully expecting to slash Demetri’s throat with the heel of my shoe, but it’s not Demetri. It’s Dad, and my spirit sings at the sight of my parents embracing.

I step back offering them a moment of privacy.

Melissa steps out of the house, laughing with a boy attached to her arm. She wears the mask of a rabid-looking hyena, and oddly, so does he. Although, his mask is darker, more nefarious in nature and this alarms me on some level. They take off toward a secluded area of the forest and melt into the shadows.

Mia steps out, beautiful and alone. Her paper disguise lays low at her hip and her eyes are downturned as if she’s already had a good cry. I go over and offer her a hug.

“You look great!” I smile, pushing her hair behind her ear. She’s wearing a bright red dress with a full skirt and sequined crimson heels like she might be up for a visit to the Emerald City later.

“And you look like a glow stick.” It comes out more an observation than an insult.

“I guess you’re right.” I pluck at the fabric and a sea of tiny screams fill my ears. “Remember when I told you there was someone who could cheer you up? Someone who might make you feel better about this whole Gabriel Armistead fiasco?”

“Yeah,” she says, bored by the conversation. Her gaze cuts past my shoulder, trying to decipher Melissa in the shadows.

“Well, he’s here. I’d love for you to speak with him, and I know he’s been dying to speak with you.” No pun intended.

“Is it God?” She sneers. “Because it’s going to take a miracle for me to feel better about anything.”

“No, not God,” I whisper, pulling her into a crease of darkness. “Mia, you’re special. You and Melissa, and the rest of the Landon family, you’re all angles known as the Countenance.”

“Are you on crack?” She plucks her arm free.

I crimp my lips as I consider the can of worms I might be opening.

“Dad had a twin brother and he’s here tonight. Let’s say hi.”

“What?” She squawks in disbelief. “Dad did not have a twin.”

“You’re right, he didn’t.” No use proliferating the lie.

I walk her over to where Mom and Dad have sequestered themselves with the baby. We find them out at the far end of the yard under a full-blooming olive tree. Its inky fruit dots the canopy of branches as the lavender night sky peeks between the leaves. The air is fresh with the heavy scent of moist earth and pine. “This isn’t Dad’s twin, Mia.” I take in her wide-eyed wonder. “It’s Dad.” Mom relinquishes Beau to me as Mia comes into their circle.

Honestly, there are some things only a mother and father should handle, and post-death reprisals are one of them.

Baby Beau and I circulate through the crowd until we emerge on the youthful side of the property, out by the shadowed thicket where a bunch of people from West exchange masks, and mock the event in general.

“Really, Skyla? Firefly attire?” A girl titters from behind the mask of a haggard woman, eyebrows that arch so high they can cut you.

It’s the queen bitch herself. I’d recognize the snarl in her voice anywhere.

“Would you go away? You’re scaring the baby.” I cup my hand over his head and turn his face toward the woods. 

Chloe fans herself with the effigy Marshall saw fit to gift her and offers a wicked crimson smile.

“How do you like my new haircut, Skyla?” She twirls a little before reverting a heated gaze in my direction. You could skillet fry a meal off Chloe’s hatred for me.

“What haircut?” She’s got her hair pulled back in a ponytail…only—there’s no tail. “Lop a little too much off on your hacking spree?” Oh shit. Was I supposed to say that? I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to keep up the dumb blond routine when it comes to acknowledging the fact she killed Emerson—twice. Sort of blows the whole Giselle hiding out in a Kragger body thing sky high.

“I don’t do home haircuts.” A quick puff of fog escapes her lips as she chokes out the thought.

“Looks like your hairdresser got a little liberal with the shears.” I try to step past her, but she blocks my path. “Honestly? I’ve got better things to do than deal with your bad hair day. Relax, it’ll grow out.” Chloe acts as if her follicular suicide is all my fault.

“Funny.” She drills her satanic laser beams into my skull. “That’s what the beauty school dropout who razored it off said when she was through. You wanna know what she said when she started? From
Skyla
with love.”

I swallow hard.

“Brielle,” I say it low. Shit. What the hell would she do that for? She must be crazed at the idea that we’ve all but hijacked baby Beau. I mean, for God’s sake, my mother has him parading around like a transvestite and suckling off her bosom. Pitting Chloe against me would only stand to reason.

Wait…could this be Brielle’s ultimate act of revenge?

“Let the record show,” Chloe says, crossing her arms, “I will kick your ass in the ethereal plane and I will thrash your world right here on Earth. I am so over playing nice with you.” She pokes me hard in the chest, and the baby wobbles and whines.

“You never played nice, Chloe. You killed my dad and you killed Emerson, Ethan, and—” There was a name…It was going to bubble from my lips. It felt natural, as if I knew of another Bishop casualty but my vocal cords wouldn’t give it. It was almost as if I understood something about the future, something that would happen, that had already embedded itself in my heart forever.

“Say it, Skyla.” She steps in. Her hot breath sears over me like fiery coals.

“Who is it, Chloe? Who are you going to kill?”

Chloe blows a quick breath into my eyes and I jerk, almost falling over with the baby in these sky-high heels.

“Go to hell,” I say, leveling myself as I make my way around her.

She snatches me up by the wrist. “This is hell. It’s hell every day I have to look at you.” She draws back and hawks a wad of spit into my eye, gelatinous and hot.

Chloe takes off as I put Beau’s dress to good use and wipe the venom off my face. I wish getting rid of Chloe was just as simple.  

***

A curtain of evergreens provides the perfect backdrop for Marshall’s monster mash—Chloe being the monster.

I spot Logan and Gage hanging out with Ellis so I head on over. Looks like all limbs are present and accounted for—Ellis’s included. I don’t want them warring over me tonight or any other night for that matter. I don’t know how any of this is ever going to work. I want Logan just as much as I do Gage, which defies logic and reason on every level. I was indoctrinated into the Mom and Dad, one man per woman, army. I played with Barbie and Ken for God sake, not Barbie and
Men
.