Chapter 35

Thirty-Five

Aweek had passed since that night. A week since I was reunited with my brother, Max. A week since I returned to my family home after the night my parents were murdered. A week since I left Mason and Carla Diaboli locked in my father's vault to suffer their fate at the hands of their own pets.

A fitting end to them, really.

After the confrontation, the three of us left the house and booked into a hotel for the night. I wasn't ready to sleep in my own room again, and I certainly wasn't going back to the Diaboli house. Max and Lucien shared the same opinion.

I decided to book into my own room, to spare Max from having to spend even a minute thinking about what was going on between Lucien and I behind closed doors. I wasn't sure how long he was going to take to recover from all of this, but to his credit, it didn't take long.

The next day, we went back to the house, and we braved the vault. None of us were sure what we were going to find on the other side of that portal. The three of us were shocked to find… nothing. No Mason, and no Carla. The crown and what was left of the Infernal Engine were there, but of the two Diaboli there was no trace.

They couldn't have escaped, which left the only conclusion being, they were taken.

Where, exactly, I wasn't sure. Was there another realm demons could go to that I didn't know about? Possibly. Lucien seemed to think so. Whatever the case may have been, they were gone, the engine was destroyed, and already my home was starting to feel a little brighter.

It took a few days for Lucien to get his families assets in order. The people who had previously worked for his father worked for him, now. Everything the Diaboli owned was his, in fact. Though he suspected he wasn't the only Diaboli still living, for now, at least, his father's mansion was his.

Of course, that wasn't where he chose to spend his time.

Most of his time he spent with us, back at my house. Max and I had been busy… rearranging things. We wanted the memory of our parents to live on, but we didn't want their ghosts to linger. So, with a combination of loud music, cleaning supplies, and a bit of elbow grease, we moved furniture around, cleaned up, and made sure wherever our parents were right now, they knew we were okay.

Maybe one day we would see them again. Maybe not. For now, all we could do was move forward. Right now, though, we were taking a moment of respite. Max was back at the house, while Lucien and I took a drive in his car. He said he wanted to go and meet an old friend who lived somewhere up the coast, up by Salem.

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was high in the sky, the ride was smooth, the music just low enough that it was comfortable, and soothing. Lucien drove with one hand on the wheel, and another on my lap. I placed my hand on his.

"How long do you think it'll last?" I asked.

"How long will what last?" Lucien asked.

"The quiet… I doubt we've seen the last of the Recondites."

"That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"My brain gets loud when the world falls silent."

"I don't know. Maybe we can still talk to them… now that my father is gone."

"They don't seem like the type to let something like this go."

"Maybe. Still, we can try. If not… we'll be ready."

"Ready for war?" I asked, looking over at him.

"If it comes to that. I won't let anything happen to you or your brother."

"I think he's come to admire you a bit."

"I'm not sure about that, but I've been trying. I won't blame him if he decides to hate me."

I shook my head. "He doesn't hate you. I know him well enough to know. Just give him some time."

Lucien nodded. He then peeled off the interstate, taking an exit I didn't expect him to take. We weren't even close to Salem, yet. We hadn't even really left Boston, but he had to have known where he was going.

He took his hand off my lap, reached into the glovebox, and pulled out a blindfold.

I stared at it, eyebrows arching. "Lucien?" I asked.

"Put this on," he said.

"Are you serious, right now."

"Yes. Put it on."

Rolling my eyes, I took the blindfold and wrapped it around my face, tying the knot behind my head. It wasn't much longer before Lucien stopped the car. "Does this contact of yours really like privacy, or something?" I asked.

"Or something. Let's go."

"Go where? I can't see!"

"Open the door, step outside, and wait there."

"I really don't like this," I said, "But alright. You first."

"No, otherwise you'll peek."

"Dammit."

Begrudgingly I stepped out of the car, fumbling awkwardly for the handle and being extra careful not to catch my hands on the door when I closed it. I wasn't sure where we were, but I could hear soft music in the distance, the push and pull of waves, and the gentle whoosh of a salty breeze.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Just wait," came Lucien's voice.

I heard him pop the trunk, rustle around inside, and then shut it again. The car bleeped as Lucien locked it, and a moment later, he wrapped his hand into mine. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?!"

"C'mon."

Lucien ushered me gently across the asphalt, letting me know when there were steps to climb or go down. As we walked, the music began to rise, as did the sound of voices, people talking, glasses, cutlery. The closer we got, the more I thought I smelled seafood.

"Are you taking me to a restaurant?" I asked.

"You ask way too many questions," he said.

"I like to know things. That's not a crime."

"Just a little further."

I wasn't sure when the ground beneath my feet became unstable, but when it happened, I almost lost my balance. We had been walking on solid ground for a while, but now it felt like I had just stepped onto something… weird.

"Careful," Lucien said, as he held onto me.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Take your blindfold off," Lucien said.

"Finally!"

I pulled the blindfold up, and the first thing I saw, was the glittering ocean. The sun beaming down on that cold, blue surface was breathtaking. I realized instantly that I was standing on sand, something I had never done before.

We were on a beach!

Looking around, I noticed there were people spaced sporadically around the place, families sitting under umbrellas, children playing in the water. There was a seaside restaurant not far from where we were standing, but Lucien wasn't taking us to it.

"Lucien…" I trailed off, smiling. "Wait, is this where we're meeting your contact?"

"There is no contact," he said, and he held up a hand basket he had been carrying. "Hungry?"

My eyes widened. "Hang on. So, instead of going to meet a contact on mage business, you've brought me to the beach, and you've made a picnic?"

"I baked you a pie, too."

"When did you have time to bake a pie?!"

"For you, all I have is time."

"Okay, that's a cop-out answer. We've been rearranging my house, going over—" Lucien kissed me, then; a soft, tender kiss that lingered a moment like the first bite of a dessert.

"What… was that for?" I breathed against his mouth.

"I'm trying to show you how in love with you I am…"

I swallowed, my heartrate rising. "You're… in love with me?" I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Madly. Why do you think I came back for you that night in the club? I didn't want us to end, I wanted to know your name and ask you to go on a real date with me. It was never just sex for me."

"Or me. That's why I tried to end it." I paused, mesmerized by the sparkle of his eyes. I brought my hand up to his cheek. "I love you, Lucien."

Lucien kissed me again, another delicate kiss. "C'mon," he said, "There's a lobster roll in this basket that I'm dying to eat."

"You made lobster rolls?!"

"With garlic butter, slaw, chips. C'mon."

I smiled at him again and walked with him along the beach until we found a spot we liked and sat down to enjoy a picnic of Lucien's own creation. When I looked at him now, relaxed as he was, it was hard to see the shadowed man from the club I had been screwing. That man was gone, replaced instead by… by this extraordinary person.

We had both been through our own personal hells, but we had survived. Now, it was time to thrive, and get ready to face whatever Boston and its mages had to throw at us.

THE END.