Chapter 20
Cori
Cori picked at the food on her plate. Her mother had made meatloaf and mashed potatoes, which was her favorite meal as a little girl, but she couldn’t seem to stomach it at the moment. Instead, she kept lifting her cell phone from the table to check it, a forlorn feeling coming over her every time the screen was blank. Just to be safe, she’d had her mom call her twice already to be sure the phone worked properly.
“I can see why Asher insisted on taking over the shop for you this evening,” Joy said, holding a spoonful of mashed potatoes in front of her. “You can hardly sit still, let alone do any work.”
Cori only had two people stop by that afternoon requesting work from her—both of them humans—and it had been agony to get through their tattoos. All she’d wanted was to hightail it out of there and book the next flight to Prague.
She shoved her plate away. “The last time I heard from Bartol was on Sunday. It’s Thursday, Mom.”
“He was late once before,” Joy pointed out.
“He was late by less than a day—not two!”
Her mother sighed. “You’ve been acting strangely ever since that last phone call. Was it that bad?”
“It was great, actually.” Cori rubbed her face. “We were talking, as in really talking and saying things a couple should be saying. I was sure things were on the right track.”
“You shouldn’t have encouraged him to go in the first place. Sending your man after a powerful demon like that was silly. If I’d been here and known what was going on, I’d have told you as much.” Joy sighed and went back to eating.
It wasn’t worth talking about it with her mother. Other than cooking and organizing the new cabin just the way she wanted, her mom had little else to do aside from nag Cori about how she should have taken her relationship with Bartol more seriously. Despite having never met him in person and only talking to him on the phone, Joy thought the world of him. This was what happened when Cori made the mistake of telling her mother details about her personal life. If her mom didn’t approve, she never heard the end of it.
“Okay, look.” She sat up straight and directed her gaze at Joy. “Bartol and I have this mate bond that can tell us if something is wrong, and I’m telling you that he is in trouble. I can feel it in my gut—hell, I can feel it in my whole body.”
Joy glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s after eight. Do you think your friend, Melena, would mind if we dropped by to talk to her about it?”
“I’ll text her,” Cori said, glad to finally be doing something.
The sensor replied a minute later saying that she and Lucas were home, and it was fine if they wanted to stop by the house. It was a small miracle that both of them were there, considering their busy schedules.
Cori stood. “Okay, let’s go.”
Her mother was already up and putting food away. “Give me a moment. We can’t leave this food out while we’re gone, or it’ll attract bugs.”
One thing about Joy, she couldn’t stand to leave a mess. There was no point in reminding her it was winter and probably not a problem. Cori jumped in and helped to speed things up. Every fiber of her being told her that she needed to get help for Bartol fast, or else they might never find him, but she had to go along with her mother’s priorities. Arguing with the woman would get her nowhere.
Cori hated that she’d waited this long to speak up. The problem was no one took her seriously because Bartol wasn’t that late on calling, and they thought the bond couldn’t possibly be strong enough to reach thousands of miles away. While the last part might have been true a month ago, they’d been strengthening their relationship during their phone calls. She knew—she just knew—they were closer than ever. The link between them was telling her something was wrong, and she wasn’t ignoring it anymore.
***
A half hour later, Cori and her mother pulled up in front of Melena’s house. A large, hulking figure appeared before the Tahoe. The man’s long black hair lifted with the breeze, partially covering his face. He crossed his arms and spread his legs wide apart.
“Who is that?” Joy asked, frowning.
“An idiot.” Cori shut off the vehicle and unbuckled her seat belt. “But some people call him Kerbasi.”
Her mother’s eyes rounded. “Kerbasi? The one who tortured Bartol?”
“That very one.”
Joy got out of the SUV before Cori could stop her and stomped over to the guardian. She poked a finger into his chest. “You have a lot of nerve, young man.”
Kerbasi lifted an imperious brow. “Young man? I came into existence when the pyramids were still being built.”
“Humph, as if that matters. From what I’ve heard about you, you haven’t matured a day since your birth.”
Cori caught up to her mother. “Don’t bother lecturing him. He loves a good argument, and you’re giving him exactly what he wants. Why else do you think he’s out here harassing us?”
“Harassing you?” Kerbasi had the gall to appear offended.
Joy dropped her finger, balling it into a fist. “Come near me again, and I may very well shoot you.”
“Like mother, like daughter,” the guardian replied, clucking his tongue. “I’m beginning to think the concept of humanity is rather overrated.”
Cori guided her mother into the house, Kerbasi trailing behind them. She wasn’t going to say a word to him and would just have to pretend he wasn’t there. He wasn’t worth the delay to argue with him. The more you tried to make the guardian stay away, the harder it was to get rid of him.
Melena opened the front door as they reached the steps. “Sorry about the guard dog.”
“Do not compare me to an inferior animal. I was just ensuring your friend wasn’t bringing any riff raff around,” Kerbasi defended. “It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”
Cori rolled her eyes. “You know I’m used to him.”
“Yeah, but your mother…” Melena began.
“I can handle myself,” Joy said, reaching the top step. “My daughter got her stubbornness from me.”
“I don’t doubt it.” The sensor waved them inside. “We are having some ice cream if you two would like some.”
Cori’s stomach twisted, letting her know she still couldn’t eat a thing. “Not me.”
Joy gave her a concerned look. “My daughter has hardly eaten in days no matter what I cook for her.”
“Why?” Melena asked, turning a worried gaze to Cori.
“Something is wrong with Bartol. I’ve been feeling it since shortly after his last call on Sunday, and it’s not going away. We have to find out what’s going on.”
The sensor frowned. “Have you had any dreams about him?”
“No.”
“What about pain? Have you felt any phantom injuries?”
These were things Melena and Lucas experienced when one or the other was hurt—even if they were as far away from each other as Purgatory. Cori knew all that, which was why she’d waited to say anything. Her symptoms weren’t exactly the same as theirs.
“It’s just a gut feeling—and he was supposed to call two days ago. I’ve tried his cell phone a dozen times, but it goes straight to voicemail.” They reached the kitchen where Lucas and Emily were eating ice cream cones. Cori took a seat at one of the barstools across from them. “Something has happened.”
Lucas finished the last of his cone with his back to them, then twisted around to face her. “Where was he during his last call? And when?”
“It was Sunday. He was about to leave Warsaw and go to Prague.”
The nephilim nodded. “And when did you start to feel something was wrong?”
“About an hour or so after his call.”
“I talked to Caius on Sunday as well, and he sounded fine at the time. I am reasonably certain there was no trouble in Poland, which leaves the Czech Republic as the place where they must have run into trouble—assuming they are truly missing.” Lucas dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “The evidence was strong that the demon might have been there at the time.”
“You think they found him that fast and didn’t bother to call for help?” Cori asked.
“It’s possible.”
Melena handed an ice cream cone to Joy, who gratefully took it.
After sampling a bite, she directed her gaze at Lucas. “Shouldn’t that archangel—Remiel, I think his name is—shouldn’t he be watching out for them?”
“It’s difficult to say,” Lucas replied to her mother. “We can never determine when Remiel is watching and when he is not.”
“But this is serious,” Cori argued. “There is a demon on earth. You’d think the archangels would be on top of monitoring the situation.”
“Remiel did say the treaty ties their hands in a lot of ways,” Melena said, putting away the ice cream after Cori stubbornly declined a cone. “I wish we could see a copy of the document to find out all the details.”
Lucas snorted. “They’d never share it with us.”
Emily finished the last of her ice cream cone. “Wait a minute. If Bartol is missing, that means Tormod would be too, or he’d have called us.”
“And Caius,” Melena added.
“Just a moment.” Lucas pulled out his cell phone and called someone. When that call failed, he cursed and tried another. He disappeared out of the kitchen for a few minutes while they waited for him.
“Anything?” Cori asked when the nephilim returned.
He shook his head. “Neither Bartol, Caius, or Tormod are answering their phones. In addition to that, my contact in Prague said they never checked into their hotel. He’s been waiting for them to reach out to him.”
That wasn’t good at all. The pit in Cori’s stomach tightened, and she had the urge to run to the bathroom. She probably would have if she had eaten anything that day.
“We’ve got to do something,” Emily said, hopping off her barstool.
Melena stared up at the ceiling with a look of concentration. “Remiel, if you’re listening or watching, we need you here right now.”
A full minute passed as they waited, but no archangel appeared.
Kerbasi, who’d sneakily gotten his own ice cream while they were talking and then proceeded to eat it while standing next to the kitchen counter, lowered his cone. “Has it occurred to you imbeciles that you’re currently in a circle of Melena’s blood and the archangel can’t listen in?”
“Oh, right.” The sensor shook her head. “Being able to nullify magic has its downsides.”
“I’m beginning to figure that out,” Cori said, sighing.
Melena took her arm. “Yeah, sorry about that. Let’s go outside and try summoning Remiel again.”
The others followed them out onto the front lawn. It was more than a little cold at this time of year in Fairbanks and a few degrees below zero. Everyone pulled their hats and gloves on since it could take a while to get the archangel’s attention, assuming he was listening at all.
“Remiel,” Melena called out. “Bartol and the others are missing. We need your help!”
The stars above twinkled at them, almost mockingly.
After a few minutes, Lucas stepped away from the group. “Remiel, get your feathered ass down here if you know what’s good for you.”
Nephilim had a love-hate relationship with angels. Under any other circumstances, Cori might have laughed, but she couldn’t find much of anything funny at the moment.
About thirty seconds later, a brilliant flash of light appeared on the lawn before them. Everyone shielded their eyes from it. An archangel’s appearance was always more blinding than a nephilim’s, and it took longer to adjust.
“You should be more patient,” Remiel said imperiously.
As usual, his white robes billowed about him, and his auburn hair was cut close to his head, looking like it was held stiff with strong gel. Cori had once seen him with a bit of scruff and longer hair, but that was during the period when Ariel was in Hell, and he was feeling guilty about sending her there. Since she’d relocated to Melena’s place, he’d gotten his act together again. The archangel gave a brief, forlorn glance toward the RV where Ariel was residing. She hadn’t come out or even peeked from one of the windows, despite all the noise they were making outside. Maybe she didn’t want to see or talk to him, which wouldn’t be all that surprising after what he did to her.
Melena took a step toward Remiel. “We are patient, but we never know when you’re listening—and this is an emergency.”
“The reason for your call is the same reason I could not respond right away,” the archangel replied.
“Or he was busy playing cards with his buddies and couldn’t be bothered,” Kerbasi muttered.
Remiel gave the guardian an imperious look. “Hardly. Some of us have real jobs.”
“Why you…” Kerbasi began but stopped when Emily grabbed his arm. The teenager had a way of controlling him like no one else, except maybe Melena, but even the sensor had her limits.
“Anyway,” Cori said, trying to keep her tone calm and civil. “Do you know where Bartol is now?”
The archangel shook his head. “We have searched, but he and the other two are nowhere to be found.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and fought down a lump in her throat. This was just as bad as she’d thought. “What does that mean?”
“The demon has grown strong enough to mask them, assuming they’re still alive.”
Cori’s knees buckled, and she fell onto the snow. Emily cried out and turned to Kerbasi, who hugged her gently and murmured reassurances. Lucas looked ready to punch the archangel. Cori gulped in huge breaths of air as Melena helped her to her feet, barely able to stand on her own. The thought of Bartol being gone forever before she had a chance to truly know him and be with him was more than she could take.
“They can’t be dead,” the sensor argued.
“Possibly not,” Remiel agreed. “But we can’t be sure they’re alive, either.”
“Cori would be in much worse shape if her mate was dead, and we wouldn’t feel the bond mark on her this strongly,” the sensor pointed out.
The archangel studied her and frowned. “You may be right.”
There was something in his expression that bothered Cori, but before she could hazard a guess as to what he was thinking, he looked away. Was there something about her mate bond that was different? Had she missed something?
“You have to find Bartol,” she pleaded. “He’s alive—I know it.” Cori worried about Tormod and Caius as well, but her mate was her priority.
Remiel nodded. “I will continue my search and let you know if I find anything.”
It hit her then. “Maybe I could go to Prague and search for him through our bond. If I’m closer, it might be easier to track him.”
“No. He is no longer in the city. Of that much, I’m certain. It would do you no good to go there now,” the archangel replied.
“You mean there’s nothing I can do?” Cori asked, voice breaking.
A hint of sympathy entered Remiel’s gaze. “Stay here and wait for word from me. As soon as I locate him, I will let you know—I promise.”
“Just don’t give up. That’s all we ask,” Melena said. They were at the archangel’s mercy to help them, and they all knew it.
Remiel nodded and flashed away.