Page 71 of Even Angels fall
“My lady of the dark,” she says as she keeps her head low and her palms up.
“Where did you bring us?” I hiss at Cassiopé, who is muffling her laugh behind her hand as she watches the old lady dropping to the ground in a move that makes me think she’s about to kiss the ground or my feet.
“I should have known that she would believe you’re a goddess of some sort,” Cassiopé says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Hi Mariane, we’re just here for business,” she adds, a little louder, so the woman on the ground can hear it.
The old lady—Mariane—raises her head and watches at my side, still not willing to look at me directly.
“Oh, I didn’t see it was you, Cassie,” she says in a warm voice that makes me think she would give awesome hugs.
She’s small, smaller than even Cassie, and her back doesn’t stay quite straight from her old age. Her skin is tanned by the sun, as if she never stops enjoying its warmth on her. Her hair is completely white and tied up into a bun that looks so tight I’m not sure one could remove it.
Her light blue eyes are a stark contrast to her skin color, and I can see that, even though she is avoiding looking me in the eye, she hasn’t stopped studying me with a small, knowing smile.
She walks to Cassiopé, avoiding my wings as much as she can, and then she holds her arms open for Cassiopé to hug her.
Did I say Cassiopé was a hugger? She doesn’t lose a second before she’s in the old lady’s arms.
“Why are you bringing the devil’s daughter into my shop? Not that I mind. You know I still practice witchcraft, but warn a woman next time, would you? You don’t want to be the reason I have a heart attack,” she says in Cassiopé’s ear, thinking I can’t hear her, and I almost want to laugh at how ridiculous the conversation sounds.
Except… It's not so ridiculous, since the birds have set a dynasty of archangels, and no one really knew what I looked like until yesterday. For anyone who wasn’t on theparvisyesterday, and maybe even those who were at the back, for all they know, I could be Samaël’s daughter—the devil’s daughter.
I could be wrong, though, because as much as I’m not used to using holos, someone could have been recording the fight yesterday.
“You didn’t see her on the TV last night?” Cassiopé asks, surprised.
“Why would I put that awful thing on? It’s full of bad waves,” Mariane asks, as she waves at a black surface on her wall. Is that her TV? It looks like it’s a hundred years old and doesn’t even belong in this life.
I wouldn’t turn that thing on, either.
“Well, you’d recognize Angélique if you did,” Cassiopé tells her with a pointed look. “You’d also know that she’s Michaël’s daughter, and as much as I think that he’s Satan reborn, she’s not the devil’s daughter.”
Mariane huffs and finally looks at me directly.
“You look too dangerous for that name of yours, young lady,” she says after a moment, scrutinizing me.
“You’ll pick a new name for her later, Mariane. We have a wedding to attend in… three hours and twenty-two minutes exactly, and we have work for you.”
We explain what we want and then wait for a couple of hours, but the result is worth it, and I feel like I can breathe again.
45
Elhyor
My bride disappeared this morning, and if that wasn’t enough, I had to deal with her prick of a father for an hour.
I was relieved to see that he kept his words and brought Léandre with him. It’s the first time I’ve seen the guy, and I’m surprised that, like Angélique, he isn’t displaying his wings for everyone to see. The poor guy also looks like he hasn’t slept in a while. He looks… absent. Almost as if he doesn’t really know what he is doing here.
I hope Angélique will be able to help him somehow.
For now, he’s sitting in the front row next to Michaël, who’s decided to attend full wings out.
I hadn’t planned to let mine out, but the church part of Notre Dame is big enough for me to have them out and avoid bumping into anything, so I decided to show off a bit. Because I can.
And because they look perfect with the all black tuxedo that I’m wearing today.
Brice is just behind me, and on the other side, there’s only Cassiopé, waiting for Angélique. I asked Léandre if he wanted to join her on the bride’s side, but he remained seated with a sigh instead, in a pile of exhaustion.
