42. Blane

CHAPTER 42

Blane

“ C an’t I get five minutes’ peace?” Decima grumbled. “What have you done this time?”

Three days had passed since Delphine had invaded my apartment, and my older sister had finally returned from the fifty-fourth realm. Late, and with a smile on her face, which meant she’d probably hooked up with some poor schmuck who wasn’t yet aware of her dragonish reputation. Or possibly several schmucks, if the rumours on the celestial grapevine were to be believed.

“I didn’t do anything. A madwoman broke into my apartment and shot Lola.”

“Lola? That child you’re weirdly obsessed with?” Decima looked Joseph up and down from her seat in my former office. In my opinion, she spent too much time behind a desk and not enough time getting to know Plane Three’s varied guests. “And what happened to you? Did you lose your other body in a poker game?”

“I’m not weirdly obsessed with her. Our souls are bonded.”

“Bonded, schmonded. You know the celestial-human aetherbond is a myth, don’t you? Someone on the Celestial Council made it up when they couldn’t get enough volunteers to fill the monitoring roles in Plane Five.”

“I thought that too until I felt it.” Aurelia had taken great delight in saying “I told you so,” and it was then that I began to take more of an interest when she talked about the weird and wonderful texts she found in the library. Decima, on the other hand, was yet to have an “aha” moment and remained a firm sceptic. “Rather than getting into an argument you can’t win, will you just come and fix Lola?”

“You can’t win either.”

“I’m aware of that, which is why I’m not going to bother explaining how meeting your soulmate is better than a hot-tub party with three lacrosse players and an assistant professor from the ninety-third realm.”

Decima’s cheeks turned scarlet. “Who told you about the hot-tub party?”

“So it’s true?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

“I’ll never bring it up again if you come and fix Lola.”

My darling sister glared at me.

“Ooh, Thaddeus, turn the jets on higher. Yes, yes, that feels so good.”

“Shut up! And Thaddeus isn’t an assistant; he’s a full professor now.”

“I’m not sure that’s much better, but you do you.” Although she’d passed the corrections course he was teaching with a glowing report, so Thaddeus had clearly been satisfied with the experience. I glanced at my watch. “Lola’s waiting.”

“Fine, I’ll come, but you have to do me a favour first.”

“What kind of favour?”

“Three Category M prisoners escaped their bonds and fled to Mount Malum.”

“Guests. We call them guests, or residents in a pinch. ‘Prisoners’ doesn’t foster a community spirit.”

“Whatever. You need to get them back.”

“Give me five minutes.”

The three assholes from maximum security were chilling on a boulder halfway up the volcano, and I ignored their protests as I herded them back to their shackles. Apparently, Decima had cancelled the weekly movie night, so they’d left because they were bored. Banning movies was such a petty move, but that was Decima all over. She never saw the bigger picture.

Anyhow, we were soon back in Vegas, and Wren gaped as Decima healed the hole in Lola’s chest. To give Decima credit, she always did an excellent job with healing, partly due to her natural ability but also because she liked to show off. She never left a scar.

I was about to return Lola’s soul when Joseph interrupted.

“Wait.”

“What now?”

“If Lola’s going back, then she won’t need the hot body anymore, will she?”

I should have known this was coming.

“I suppose not.”

“So, can I have it? This one doesn’t suit me. It has heartburn and indigestion, and I think it’s allergic to whatever they put in your shampoo.”

“Why are you using my shampoo?”

“I ran out.”

For goodness’ sake, the grocery store was five minutes away. But I had to admit, a body swap wasn’t the worst idea Joseph had ever come up with. No, the worst idea was hand-grenade-dodgeball because those fragments got everywhere .

“Let him swap,” Wren whispered, crinkling her nose. “Please.”

I understood where she was coming from. Joseph 12.0 passed wind constantly, and I suspected the new body also had a faulty sense of smell because he didn’t seem to notice the problem. No amount of scented candles could cover up the stink.

“What should we call you? Josephine?”

The switch only took a moment, and Joseph began twitching afresh before running to the mirror on the closet door.

“Hey, look at my ass. I need a whole new wardrobe.”

“Can I come to the mall?” Aurelia asked.

“Sure, bestie. And after we’ve shopped till we drop, we can get mani-pedis and catch a show.”

Heaven help me, he was going to drive me insane.

But if he was going on a shopping spree with Aurelia, at least I’d have some time alone with Wren for the first time since the shooting. Decima wouldn’t hang around. And my relationship with Wren was still on shaky ground as we learned to navigate the new normal.

Lola sat up and stretched, yawning.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Aurelia said. “You got a little something on your shirt. How about we go find you a clean one?”

“I’m hungry.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Cookies.”

“Sure, we have cookies. You want chocolate chip or oatmeal and raisin?”

“Oatmeal is yucky.”

As Aurelia left the room with Lola, she released her hold on Marianna, who blinked slowly as she took in her surroundings. Wren and Vee had been caring for Pablo while his mother was resting, and that was another problem for the future. I could see how good Wren was with the little boy. What if she wanted children? I had no idea whether it was physically possible for me to grant that wish, or what might happen if I tried. Aurelia had found references to a handful of human-celestial hybrids throughout history, but the logistical details were hazy. Nev hadn’t been maternal. I hadn’t needed to consider that conundrum before.

“Why am I here?” Marianna asked. Her gaze landed on Decima. “Who are you?”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “You weren’t feeling too good. Probably a bug of some kind. We thought it best for you to stay here for a few days while you fought it off.”

“A few…days?”

“You slept for most of it. Don’t worry; we’ve had a full complement of babysitters. This is Decima, my older sister.”

Marianna pushed herself up to sitting. “You have two sisters?”

“Unfortunately. How are you feeling now?”

“Tired. So tired. Where’s Lola?”

“She’s with?—”

“I’m here, Mommy!”

Lola ran into the bedroom in a clean T-shirt, dropping cookie crumbs as she went, and I swallowed hard to force down the lump in my throat. I’d been sent to Plane Five to learn about sin, and I’d done that, but I’d also learned about love. I knew now that it came in many different forms. Love between friends, love between family, and all-consuming romantic love.

In truth, being fired was the best thing that had ever happened to me, not that I’d ever confess that to Decima.

Wren handed Pablo back to Marianna and then took her place at my side. Right where she belonged. Death, destruction, and difficulties with Voltaire aside, life in Vegas was better than it had ever been.

“How do you feel about going out for dinner tonight?” I whispered to Wren as we moved back to give the Vasquez family some space.

“Like a date?”

“The first of many.”

“I don’t have anything fancy to wear.”

“You don’t need fancy clothes to look beautiful, but I’ll buy you as many dresses as you want.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“No, but I want to. Wren, you’ve done more for me than you could ever know. You accepted me for who I am. I love you, and I’m going to spend an eternity proving that.”

“You…you love me?”

“How could I not?”

“I…I…”

“You’ll say it when you’re ready. We have all the time in the world now.”

“I think I’m getting there.”

“Good.” I kissed her hair. “Italian? Chinese?”

“Chinese.”

“I’m done here,” Decima announced. “This place smells weird, by the way. You should get different candles.”

“Say hi to Cathy and Ivan for me.”

Decima huffed and strode out of the room, out of Plane Five, and out of my life, albeit temporarily. With Voltaire around, I had a horrible feeling I’d have to grovel for her services again, sooner rather than later.

But not tonight. Tonight, I was going to enjoy this new beginning with Wren.