Chapter Fourteen

“ G one?” My voice turned shrill as I glared at Ethyl, and I felt as if a banshee was speaking through me. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

Glass shattered somewhere behind me as my vision turned red.

“Luciella, calm down,” I thought I heard my aunt say. “We’ll find him.”

My world slipped out from beneath me, and I was spiraling into a void of despair. I’d returned home from the succubi’s house only to discover my son was gone! My mind raced, my veins turned to sludge, and though I was sorely tempted to collapse onto my aunt’s plush carpet, I had to think. “Did you see who took him?” I asked Ethyl whose eyes were bloodshot from crying.

She vehemently shook her head while motioning to the table where he’d been sitting. “One minute he was playing his computer game, and the next he was gone.” She bit down on her knuckles. “Puffy, too!”

I breathed out a slow breath, forcing myself to calm down. I would find him. I went to the spot where he’d been sitting, noting his laptop and headphones were gone. So was the little case he used to store his computer. If the succubi had somehow broken through the Insurgi’s wards, my son would’ve fought them, and he certainly wouldn’t have stopped to grab his computer case and Puffy. Serena had already sent her best mages to check the perimeters of the underground cavern, but I didn’t think he was here.

I looked at the cold pizza on the table. He’d only eaten a few bites. That was unlike Des. He loved pizza. I took a bite then spit it out. It was so dry and very garlicky. Des wasn’t a big fan of strong garlic.

I grabbed Ethyl’s hand. “Do you know how to get to the restaurant we ate at last night?”

She nodded.

I squared my shoulders. “Then let’s go.” I prayed my son was there and that we found him before the succubi did.

I’D NEVER HAD SUCH a sloppy landing as when I stumbled from my broom and smacked into a waiter’s back, nearly making him spill his plates of pasta.

Ethyl grabbed my arm, steadying me while simultaneously helping the waiter, a stunned little leprechaun, balance his tray.

I heard our Insurgi guards land somewhere behind us, though when I looked over my shoulder, they’d already faded into the shadows.

“Sorry,” I mouthed to the leprechaun while frantically searching the restaurant.

My knees nearly buckled when I saw a lanky boy sitting in a darkened corner, his head buried in a video game, an empty pizza tray on the table. Puffy jumped from his shoulder with a squeal and flew to Ethyl, oblivious to the grumbling witches whose hair he mussed along the way. I didn’t know how I found the strength to walk to my son’s table, but my legs gave out after I pulled out the chair across from him. I was vaguely aware of Ethyl flirting with another waiter on the other side of the room while Puffy perched on her shoulder.

Des looked up from his screen long enough to smile. “Hi, Mama.”

I reached across the table, tapping his arm. He paused his game and slipped off his headphones.

“Des, baby,” I asked through a constricted throat, “how did you get here?”

“I poofed here.” He motioned toward his empty pizza tray. “I was hungry.”

I swallowed back a dozen different emotions, ranging from fear to anger to overwhelming relief. “And you didn’t like Aunt Serena’s pizza?”

He made a face. “No.”

Fighting back tears, I squeezed his arm. “Sweetheart, next time ask Ethyl or Mama, and one of us will go with you, okay?” I dropped my voice to a strained whisper. “It’s too dangerous for you to go out alone. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

He shrugged. “Okay, Mama.”

I heaved a shuddering breath, then thanked the waiter when he set a glass of wine and some fruit, cheese, and olives in front of me. “From Ethyl,” he said with a wink. “She said you could use it.”

I thanked him and then slowly ate and drank while my son played his game. Though the wine relaxed me a fraction, I had already made up my mind. Come morning, Des and I, and hopefully Ethyl if she was willing, were catching the first flight out of here. I’d done what I’d set out to do. I’d provided testimony for Ric. And though I liked my sexy sphinx lover—a lot—my son’s safety came first. I’d helped my aunt and the Insurgi find the nest. The rest was up to them. My son and I were going home.

I FELT LIKE A BATTERED selkie that had been dragged across a coral minefield by the time Ethyl transported us to my aunt’s suite in the Insurgi underground caverns.

“He’s safe!” Serena practically flew at us, the lines around her eyes tightened with worry. “Where was he?”

“Eating pizza,” I said as I pocketed my wand.

Puffy excitedly flew around our heads before landing on a perch and drinking from a bowl of water.

My aunt’s features fell. “He didn’t like my pizza?”

“Apparently not.” Holding tightly to Des’s hand, I brushed past her. “We’re going home in the morning.”

Ignoring Serena’s gasp, I sat beside Des on the sofa. I brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes when he pulled out his iPad. “How about some more educational games for a while?”

He gave me a funny look. “I want to learn about succubi.”

That caught me off guard. “What? Why?”

He shrugged. “I just do.”

He got up and rummaged through my bag, grabbing that book the ghosts had given me about succubi and sitting at the table. I chewed my lip, worried he was too young to read such sinister stuff, but he put on his headphones and turned on his iPad music, making it clear he didn’t want any distractions.

“What about Ric?”

I faced my aunt with a scowl. “I’ve done all I can for him.” A blade of guilt twisted in my heart. Had I? He’d told me to get out of here. He didn’t want me to help him. In leaving, I was only doing what he’d asked.

I stiffened when Serena knelt beside me.

“Luciella, the succubi will keep hunting you.” Her hard stare made me want to crawl out of my own skin. “We need Ric to help us protect Des.”

A knot of dread twisted in my gut as I recalled the helpless feeling when Ethyl told me she’d lost Des. “I can’t lose my son again.”

“We’ll keep him safe.”

I didn’t like the pity reflecting in her eyes, as if she was trying to console a spoiled child. A mother had a right to protect her son!

I jumped to my feet, clenching my hands by my sides. “No, you won’t!”

“Hello.” Shu walked into the bedroom wearing a pink, fuzzy bathrobe, a green mud mask on his face, and spongy curlers in his hair. “Does anyone have a TV Guide ?” He gave us an impatient look while filing his nails. “Serena said there are more seasons of The Golden Girls , and I need to find out when they’re airing.”

Serena opened her mouth as if to speak before giving me a helpless look. I slapped a hand over my mouth when the strong stench of perfumed soap and baby powder hit me.

Ethyl scrunched her pixie nose. “What’s a TV Guide ?”

“Are you trippin’?” Shu rolled his eyes. “Duh! The magazine that tells us what’s on TV. It’s my favorite after my Smashhits , GQ , and Cosmo . Magazines are life! Where have you been?”

“Uhh.” Ethyl gave me a funny look. “This century.”

“Shu,” Serena said with a groan.

“There is no Shu.” He cocked a hand on his hip, wagging a nail file in her direction. “I’m Sparkles. Shu is grody to the max. I told you this.”

“That’s right.” She stood, holding out her hands. “Sorry, Sparkles.”

Ethyl shook her head. “Do we have any word on Frederica?”

“None yet.” Serena gave her a pitying look. “But the night is still young. She may show.”

I cringed at that, hoping the Tribunal wasn’t interrogating her, or worse. The night wasn’t young at all. She should’ve returned from work hours ago.

Ethyl stiffened and her eyes misted. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said before miniaturizing and fluttering up to the ceiling.

I wanted to go to my friend and offer her comfort, though I had none to give when I wasn’t sure Ric would survive, either. Curse those stuck-up witches. I was starting to understand why those protestors called them the Diablo Medici.

Shu turned up his nose, glaring down at us. “If no one has a TV Guide , just say so. I’ll pop on over to the drug store and get one.”

“You’re sad,” Des blurted.

I hadn’t noticed my son had taken off his headphones and was slowly approaching Shu like he was trying to corner a cat.

“Of course I’m sad.” Shu waved his nail file like a baton. “I can’t find a TV Guide anywhere.”

Des took another step up to Shu and held open his arms. “Sparkles.”

Shu cocked a hand on his hip, attitude locked and loaded. “What is the kid doing?” he asked me.

“He wants to hug you.” I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling as if my heart was stuck in my throat. “It’s a huge honor. He never lets anyone but me hug him.”

“Oh, okay.” Shu relented, standing stiff in Des’s arms when he hugged him.

My breath hitched. What was he doing?

“Oh.” Shu sagged against Des. “That feels nice.”

I sucked in a hiss when an ethereal glow surrounded them, pulsing like a heartbeat. I elbowed Serena, speaking through the side of my mouth. “What’s happening?”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “It looks like Des is healing him.”

“Oh, my son.” I clutched my throat, my eyes watering over as the light strengthened and pulsed faster. “My amazing son.”

Shu let out a strangled sob, and then the light turned so bright, I was forced to shield my eyes as a soothing warmth flowed through me.

By the time the light had faded, Shu’s mud mask had melted all down his chest and robe and had even smeared Des’s shirt. I tensed, waiting for Des’s sensory disorder to kick in, but Des whispered something beneath his breath and the mess was gone.

Serena crossed over to Shu, leading him to the sofa. I sat beside him as Ethyl returned and handed him a glass of water. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He downed the water and then set the glass on the coffee table with trembling hands. He stared at the darkened wall in front of him, a haunted look in his eyes. “The demons came after Sam and Deryk, but I held them off until they got away. They tried to kill me, so I hid in my lamp. I knew they couldn’t harm me in there.” He wiped a tear from his eyes. “I’ve been hiding ever since.”

“I’m so sorry.” Serena sat on the coffee table across from him and leaned forward. “We’ve been looking for you for almost forty years, but we couldn’t locate the succubi’s den until Luciella helped us.”

“Luciella.” Shu turned toward me, staring at me as if seeing me for the first time. “You were just a tot last I saw you. Wh-what happened to your parents?”

I swallowed back my sorrow while pushing out the words. “A succubus killed them when I was fifteen.”

Shu turned from me, biting down on his knuckles. “Then I failed them.”

“You didn’t fail them,” I reassured him, squeezing his other hand. “They lived another twelve years thanks to you.”

He smiled up at Des. “And this is your son?”

“Yes.” Pride warmed my chest as I beamed at my son. “This is Des.”

Shu heaved a shaky breath. “He’s the phoenix.”

“Yes.” I tensed, watching Des’s reaction.

My son blinked at us but didn’t say anything. What I wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking.

“He’s a very special boy,” Shu said.

“He is.” I didn’t know Shu yet, but I liked him already. “Now that you’re feeling better, would you prefer to go by Shu or Sparkles? It’s your choice.”

“My choice?” Shu tapped his chin. “I think I’ll go back to Shu if that’s okay.”

“It’s perfectly fine,” I said to him.

“Did you defeat the demons?” Shu asked us.

Serena frowned while leaning back on the table. “We uncovered the nest and killed several Vindicti and one succubus, but the queen wasn’t there. We have Insurgi watching the nest in case she returns.”

Shu’s eyes widened then narrowed. “Get them out of there. The queen will kill them all.” He shot Des a look. “The queen’s magic is stronger than your average succubus. No amount of sugar can repel her mind-control magic. Only the phoenix will be powerful enough to defeat her.”

I tensed, curling my hands into claws. “My son is twelve. He’s not fighting demons.”

“What about a sphinx?” Serena asked. “Can a sphinx defeat the queen?”

I knew where Serena was going with this, and though I wanted to resent her, she was right to want to save Ric. I still felt like a bucket of troll dung for wanting to leave, but my son had to come first.

Shu rubbed his chin, now smeared with patches of green mask. “I suppose, but the sphinx race has gone extinct.”

“No.” Serena avoided looking at me. “There’s one left. The Tribunal jailed him.”

Shu jumped up with a gasp. “He must be freed.”

“We’re trying.”

I felt like sinking beneath the sofa cushions when my aunt gave me an accusatory look.

“The Tribunal has accused him of murder,” I said to Shu, a note of desperation slipping into my voice. “I already helped him get acquitted for one murder, but I can’t disprove the one that happened eighty years ago.”

“The succubus queen has Maga Sagredo under a very powerful spell,” Serena said. “She will make sure he’s never freed.”

A loud squawk sounded outside, followed by a rattle on the door. Serena got up and quickly opened the door, and a giant owl swooped into the room. But no, it wasn’t an owl. It was a harpy, a birdlike creature with a woman’s face, one of the rarest of the unseen creatures. Like Puffy, they were known to have disappearing abilities, which probably helped them spy for the Insurgi.

The creature flew above the stand where Puffy was resting and let out a shrill squawk. Puffy jumped from the stand with a huff, flying to Des’s shoulder. He glared at the harpy while angrily ruffling his wings. Though I’d read about harpies in books, this was my first time seeing one in person. She was about the size of a six-year-old child and had mesmerizing eyes with bright golden swirls.

“ Generale Sagredo.” The harpy let out more strange squawks, sounding like a cat trying to cough up a furball. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“What is it?” my aunt asked.

The harpy shifted from claw to claw like a dancing parrot. “We’ve received word the Tribunal has found Conte Ricardo Romero guilty of murder. They’re hanging him tomorrow.”

“What?” I jumped to my feet, crying out when a loud crack rent the air.

I rushed Des, shielding him and Ethyl with a spell, an enchanted forcefield that looked like an umbrella, when the entire room shook with earthquake tremors. The tremors stopped as quickly as they begun, so I released my shield. Luckily, only a few rocks had fallen. Puffy angrily huffed while flying circles above our heads.

My aunt had protected Shu with a forcefield similar to mine. She snapped her fingers, and the shield dissipated. She shot me with a glare. “You need to learn how to control your earth splitting, niece.”

I arched back. “My what?”

She enunciated each word like she was speaking to a child. “Your. Earth. Splitting.”

I shook my head. “I’m not doing that.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You certainly are.”

“Well, I don’t know how I’m doing it.”

The corners of her mouth turned up in the slightest of smirks. “It comes on when you’re upset?”

I chewed my lip, thinking about all those windows I’d shattered while arguing with Colin. “Yes.”

“All the Sagredos have a special magical gift.” She waved at the pebbles and dust scattered over the carpet and furniture. “This is yours.”

“More like a curse,” I grumbled.

She shook her head. “Not once you learn how to wield it. Now, where were we?” she asked matter-of-factly, as if we were discussing the weather, not Ric’s imminent death. “They don’t intend on hanging him. It’s a trap. They know you’ll come to his aid.”

I inwardly cursed, aware my son was within earshot, though I had a litany of words I wanted to spew.

Ethyl impatiently tapped her foot while eyeing the harpy. “Any news on Frederica?”

The bird-woman squawked. “The Tribunal has imprisoned her.”

In a surprising act of defiance, Ethyl spun on Serena with a snarl. “Did you know this would happen?”

She gave Ethyl a long, cool look. “I knew the risks. So did she.”

Ethyl’s face turned redder than Mt. Vesuvius, but to her credit, she didn’t miniaturize and flutter into the rafters. She challenged Serena with a glare. “So now we have two striga to save.”

Serena’s features turned to stone. “The sphinx is our priority.”

Wow. She was all business, not even calling Ric by name. He was just ‘the sphinx.’ I felt like we were all pawns in her game of war. No wonder she was the general.

Ethyl stomped a foot, her eyes welling with moisture. “Frederica is my priority!”

I rubbed her back, not knowing how else to soothe her.

Serena marched up to Ethyl, bearing down on her with a frown. “You want to save her? Then you go in and get her.”

“How?” I asked.

Grimacing, she took a step back. “We have Des teleport us.”

“Absolutely not!” I raged. “No way in nine hells is my son going back there!”

She held up her palms and took another step back. “Then there’s only one other way to get in. The plumbing isn’t warded.”

“The plumbing?” Had she lost her mind? “Nobody can fit through the plumbing, not even Ethyl in her pixie form.”

The color drained from Serena’s face. “Actually, there’s one toilet that we can fit through if we miniaturize.”

“No.” I clutched my gut while bile burned my throat. “I’m not going through the janitor’s toilet. Besides, I’m not a pixie.” Thank the Goddess. I was not climbing through a troll’s toilet. Eww times infinity!

“But you have pixie blood.” My aunt motioned toward Ethyl. “Our cousin obviously has more of it, but I know a spell that can activate our pixie blood and shrink us down.”

I gaped at my aunt as if she’d grown a penis out of her forehead, and not a keratin horn, either, but a real one-eyed monster. “You expect me to go through a troll toilet.”

She worked a tic in her jaw while staring at me. “Either that or we let Ric hang.”

My stomach roiled and pitched, that cheese and wine threatening to hurl back up exorcist style.

The harpy let out a boisterous squawk. “The good news is the troll has a fairly regular toilet schedule, as long as it’s not Taco Tuesday.”

Ethyl’s face turned a diaper-doo shade of green. “Tomorrow’s Tuesday.”

Holy troll turds! Literally!