Page 78 of Destined for Dreams
“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.”
