Page 69 of Shadows of the Soul

“You don’t remember boosting the wards?” Dave asked again. “It was before we had the conversation about Aunt Liz on the back porch.”

Dayna shook her head, then tilted it to one side. “Wait, I–” she frowned, then slapped a hand against her right temple with a yelp. “Damn that hurts.” I took her arms and guided her to sit in the chair.

“Could she have been influenced without possession?” Hudson asked.

I pressed my lips together. “Possibly.”

“How do we find out?” Dave asked.

“We need a psyche smasher,” I muttered.

“That’s an ominous name,” Hudson stated.You have no idea.

Dayna’s head shot up and her eyes went wide. She shook her head and grimaced at the pain. “No, Cora.”

I squeezed my eyes closed and let out a sigh. “You might have more instructions buried in your subconscious. You spent hours with Lucifer before I arrived. Anything is possible.”

“Do you know someone?” Dave asked.

Grimacing with resignation I said, “I do.” I would never be forgiven if I hid any of this from her—after all, it was her daughters that were affected. “It’s time to call in the big gun.” I withdrew my cell from my pocket. Hudson and Dave looked on with interest.

The phone rang three times. My heart beat double time as the line connected. “Granddaughter, what mess have you fallen into now?”

***

It stung. Calling upon the woman who had been partially responsible for my relationship breakdown with Hudson. If I was a small town elemental with no familial ties to The Order, would his decision have been different? Maybe, but he’d always be affected by the possessiveness that plagued all shifters. He held himself to higher standards, which I understood—living under the rule of the queen of impossible expectations, I got it. Didn’t mean I had to like it, and I still thought he was stupid to let it go, to let me go. But I wouldn’t be chasing his tail ever. I’d been dumped, but I could carry myself with decorum and dignity. My grandmother wouldn’t stand for anything less. As it was, she might flay him alive for daring to ditch me at all. Something I’d yet to inform her of. Oh boy, this was going to be fun.

We had congregated in the parlor, a gathering of supernaturals waiting for the doomsday woman of the hour to arrive. I fidgeted next to Sebastian, who’d been my second phone call. I needed the emotional support, and she was more likely to behave with a scattering of the supernatural elite surrounding me.

Dayna stared at the floor like she wished she could melt into a puddle and seep into the wood. Maggie kept up a steady stream of tea, coffee, and cookies. They didn’t help, but I appreciated it.

The wards clanged in my head. They were up and fully working since I had revisited them. I did indeed find some gaps - loopholes really, not enough to allow anyone in. But a crack to let a specific demon slip through undetected. What I couldn’t fathom was why. Assuming it was Lucifer behind the possession, what game was he playing sending my possessed aunt into my house? Was it the kudos of getting one by me? He had to know she would be discovered, and that the might of The Order would descend upon the house he was so intent on gaining access to. I tapped my fingers on my knee as Harry floated back and forth through the coffee table. The spirit version of pacing.

I stood and smoothed down my blouse and slacks. “She’s here.”

Rebecca and Sebastian flanked me as I went to the door. Hudson’s jaw ticked as I passed him. Rebecca was my grandmother’s favorite vampire, and Sebastian was the Crown Prince of America. Hopefully, this would soften the inevitable blow.

I opened the front door and stood on the porch as the black Bentley pulled to a stop in front of the house.

“You’ve got this,” Sebastian muttered under his breath.

The driver jumped out of the car and swung open the back door. Eloise Roberts emerged like a predatory wolf. She was immaculate, as always, in a sharp skirt suit that warned people of her serious intentions.

She glided up the steps and eyeballed my entourage. “Rebecca, Sebastian,” she greeted with a small nod.

“President,” Rebecca replied with her own nod. It was a calculated move. Factions didn’t need to greet other factions with their official titles.

My grandmother smiled, and her eyes narrowed. “I see,” she said. “Clearly, you have made quite the mess, Cora, if the vampires are deferring to me.”

I fought to keep the frown off my face. That would piss her off more. “We need you,” I stated, and stepped back to allow her into the house.

She eyeballed the people in the parlor, then turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “A mess indeed.”

I closed the door and followed her as she stalked into the room and took her usual seat in the tallest armchair. “Principal,” she said to Hudson.

He nodded. “Eloise.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Stick with the plan, asshole.

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