Page 31 of Midnight in the Garden of Okay and Meh
“Parisi of Madurai?” Mabel held up her pendant. “I am Mabel, a reaper who has been tasked to locate you.”
The woman slowly lowered her sword. “Yes, I am Parisi. A reaper? Why do you seek me out? I am already in the Beyond.” Her voice held a soft Indian accent, but the tone was all business. Her gaze flickered through us. “And why have you brought a demon and two dragons with you?”
“That’s a bit of a story, and since it’s not mine to tell, I will yield the floor to Jim and May and Gabriel,” Mabel answered, gesturing toward us. “However, I will remind everyone that I am on a very strict time limit, so any help toward wrapping things up would be much appreciated.”
Gabriel sent her a little frown before bowing to Parisi. “I am Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern of the silver dragons, and this is my mate, May Northcott. The demon is a friend of ours. Its name is Jim.”
“Hi,” Jim said, its expression somewhat frozen. “Name’s really Effrijim.”
We all waited to see what Parisi would do with that bit of news, but she simply continued to look mildly annoyed. “I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you all, but as you can see, I’m very busy training right now. Perhaps if you came back later, say a year or two, then we can have a chat. But right now, I must adhere to my training program, or all my progress will be lost.”
“Oh, I hear you on that,” Mabel said, grimacing as she wiggled her shoulders. “My body just doesn’t feel right if I don’t stick to my exercise program.”
Parisi pointed the sword at Mabel. “You understand. Are you a defender, too?”
“Ballet dancer,” she answered. “Who do you defend, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Those in need. I am a Defender of the Blood. It is my sworn duty to answer the call of those who need my aid. Now, I really must get back to working on my slashing. It’s always a useful attack, and one underrated by those who believe stabbing is the way to go. Don Diego, for instance, is extremely wrong about his system of maiming and beheading.”
“Who’s Don Diego when he’s at home?” Jim asked before I could offer the explanation we’d decided would be the easiest to describe the situation.
“My archnemesis!” Parisi said with an audible outraged snort, before spinning on her heel and striding through her garden to her target dummy. “And a damned fool idiot if he thinks I won’t take him down if he tries touching my arse again.”
I looked at Gabriel, worried.
He evidently felt the same.
“A defender is exactly the type of person we need. We would very much like to talk to you about a problem that we believe you can help with. Would you come with us so that we can have that discussion? I can assure you that Mabel will be happy to bring you back afterward, if that is what you desire,” Gabriel said, his voice extremely smooth and persuasive.
“I couldn’t leave the Beyond,” Parisi insisted, evidently immune to Gabriel’s charms, because she returned to hacking up the target dummy.
“Because of who you used to be?” I asked, wondering how we could persuade her if she didn’t want to help us. I had assumed that once she saw Jim, she would be willing to do what was needed, but if she didn’t accept him ...
“Who I used to be? I don’t know who you think I am, but my life is simple: I am a warrior, first and foremost,” she insisted, her breath coming short as she worked over the dummy. Bits of straw and shredded cloth drifted in a halo around her. “I protect those who need protecting, and give aid to the worthy.”
We drew together and held a quiet conference.
“Why doesn’t she know who she is?” I asked Mabel. “You’d think someone who is as powerful as the Sovereign would have her wits together.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of wits,” Gabriel said slowly, watching Parisi with speculation rife in his beautiful eyes.
“It’s not. At least, I don’t think it is, not being personally acquainted with her. The thing about the Beyond is that the longer you reside here, the more your ties to the mortal realm are severed,” Mabel said, nodding toward Parisi. “I think of it as a bunch of tiny threads that start in the mortal realm. The longer someone remains outside that world, the weaker the ties, until they crumble away to nothing. In short, the previous life outside the Beyond ceases to have meaning.”
“So she’s not going to know who I am if I tell her?” Jim asked. There was pain in its voice, enough that I felt compelled to give it a reassuring pet on the head. Aisling had asked me to take care of Jim, since we were both worried about its reactions to meeting its parents.
Mabel gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’m afraid it’s likely she won’t, but I could be wrong.”
“What happens if she returns to the mortal world?” Gabriel asked. “Would those ties that were severed re-form? Or are her memories of the past gone?”
“That I can’t tell you,” Mabel answered, sliding a glance at her phone. “Also, my time for this job is almost over. Is there something else I can do for you?”
“I’m not going to just go away without seeing if she remembers me,” Jim said, and without another word hustled over to where Parisi was swearing under her breath at the target dummy.
“Heya. So, it turns out that you’re my mom, but you probably don’t remember me, because for one, you basically died when I was born, and for another, the ballerina says you don’t.”
Parisi stopped and narrowed her eyes on it. “Do I look like the sort of person who has demonic dog children?”
“Jim wasn’t always a demon,” I said quickly, feeling bad for it. “In fact, it used to be a sprite at the Court of Divine Blood. I don’t suppose you remember that?”
