Page 39 of Shadows of the Soul

“I need you to come with me,” Harry pressed.

I wanted to shout, “Damn it, Harry, I know the house is experiencing a scene out of ‘The Day of the Triffids’’. But I wasn’t about to advertise I could see the dead. Hudson had figured it out, and by extension, Dave knew. Rebecca was also clued in, because my room was above hers and she could hear me talking to them. I came clean soon after she moved in. It was that or claim insanity. However, Maggie and my aunts were in the dark, and that was the way I wanted to keep things.

“First order of business,” I started.

“Cora,” Harry huffed. “Do not ignore me. Nothing could be more important.”

“Lucifer,” I finished.

Harry’s face went three shades paler than it had before, and that was saying something. Death wasn’t great for the pallor.

“You win,” he sighed. “I’ll wait.”

“What about him?” Dayna asked as Maggie reentered the room with a round tray of cups and a teapot. We eyeballed the tray, each of us ready to intervene should she find trouble between the door and the coffee table. A ball of white fur shot between her legs. Maggie spun and lifted the tray in the air. Everyone exploded out of their seats. Rebecca reached her first and, like a circus act, caught each of the china pieces without damage.

“Damn cat,” Maggie muttered as I flopped back on to the sofa, Hudson following. Rebecca placed the tray on the table and smirked as Bella stuck her tail in the air and slinked over to Dave. She wrapped her tail around his legs before trotting over and giving Hudson the same treatment. A loud meow was directed at me.

I folded my arms. “Go find your own food and your own man.”

She meowed again. I rolled my eyes and glanced at Maggie. “Would you feed her, please?”

“Sure, come on, Bella,” she said. Bella hissed in her direction but followed all the same as she exited the room and went to the kitchen.

The external wards clanged, and a familiar power swept through my senses. I’d changed them to not detect shifters, but everything else was still registering. The door flew open and the vampire prince graced us with his suited and booted presence.

“Who died?” I asked.

Sebastian fixed his favorite tie. “No one.” He grinned. “Yet. But the day is still young.” He glanced at my proximity to Hudson and pointedly at my empty chair. I waved a hand at it. He smirked and folded himself into my chair. It was the comfiest.

“What did I miss?” he asked, helping himself to a cup of tea.

“Nothing. Cora was about to explain why Lucifer is targeting her,” Rebecca said.

“Did we already deal with the queen of hearts style overgrown garden situation?”

Harry lifted his hand and opened his mouth. I shook my head at Sebastian and also in response to my ghostly friend.

“Back to Lucifer,” I started.

“Who invited you?” Hudson growled at Sebastian.

My eyes rolled so hard, they did a 360 and checked out the state of my brain. “I did,” Rebecca said, glaring at Hudson. “He’s been her friend longer than she’s been in your bed.”

Sebastian took a sip of his tea and smiled. It wasn’t friendly. It was his calculating smile that made me want to slap the information out of him.

“And in the interest of political treaties,” Sebastian said, “I think it best that I represent my faction on all matters that concern the wellbeing of the supernatural community.”

Hudson narrowed his gaze, folded his arms, and leaned back next to me. I slid my gaze between them. What treaties? What had I missed? Ugh.

“Proceed, Cora, before they burn each other into the ground,” Dave said, his predatory gaze tracked on Sebastian.

“Lucifer kidnapped Dayna, demanded my attention, then put up a piss poor fight when we rescued her. He let us go.”

Silence coated the room as everyone struggled to connect the dots I was hinting at. I’d have to draw them a map to navigate my mind. “He couldn’t locate me, so he drew me out, made some overtures about needing my power, but ultimately let me go.”

Hudson put it together first. “He followed you home.”

I nodded. “What about the blood magic?” Dave asked.

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