Page 86 of Obsession

“Who was Cora’s lover?” Chris asks. It’s possible Bettina was lying about Augustus.

“Cora didn’t say. All I know is she cursed Bettina, and I wasn’t sorry about it. Bettina single-handedly destroyed our coven. Look, I sent you the necklace because I didn’t want Bettina to trick you into undoing something your mama wouldn’t have wanted done.” I don’t know what to believe. If Lucy’s lying, she’s good. If Bettina’s lying, she’s good. Maybe they’re both good? Oh, good. “Aubry, think about it. Your mama hid you from Bettina for a reason.”

“Ever seen him?” Chris interjects, holding up a picture of Augustus.

“I’m sorry, who are you again?”

Chris answers by shifting into his angelic form. Welp, she did ask. “Ever seen him?” he says a bit more forcefully.

“That’s Augustus, the Angel of Occult Knowledge,” Lucy says with a shaky breath. “Our coven summoned him a few times.”

“For what purpose?” he demands.

“We’d run spells by him and he’d offer suggestions, but we wanted for him to be our coven’s patron angel and to confer on us secret knowledge.”

“Did he?” I ask.

“No, he refused. He said some of us had too much darkness in our hearts for such power. He was talking about Bettina. I’m ashamed to say that when the angel left for good, I allowed Bettina to open the door to dark magic. It’s seductive and addictive. We had to rip the problem out by the roots, and so I kicked Bettina out of the coven. It was divine timing Delilah inherited a farm, far away from New Orleans. It was a fresh start for me and her.”

“Bettina tells a much different story. That you were the one to lead the coven to dark magic,” I point out. “That you propositioned Augustus, and he turned you down.”

She shakes her head in disgust. “Lies. But that doesn’t surprise me. She betrayed your mama—her supposed best friend. Would an honest and trustworthy person sleep with her best friend’s man? Bettina was pissed when I became coven leader instead of her. I should have known she’d be trouble, but I can’t change any of it now,” she says sadly.

“Mind if I take a look around?” Chris says as he takes off down the hall, not waiting on permission. I run to catch up to him as we search the house, for what I assume is some trace of Augustus.

We come to the last room down the hall, and Chris opens the door. I don’t feel any evidence of dark magic. Lucy’s magical tools are lined up neatly on a dresser. Crystals, incense, candles, and angel figurines—nothing nefarious-looking like what I saw on Bettina’s altar.

“Aubry, I’m sorry I tricked you with the necklace,” Lucy says from the doorway. “But you’ve got to believe me—Bettina is dangerous. If Cora wanted her cursed, we should all respect that and leave it be.”

“Thanks for the warning. I think it’s best we be on our way.”

Chris’s skin shimmers so brightly I have to look away. Lucy begins trembling, her eyes wide as saucers. “Lucy Parks, you never saw me. Aubry came to dinner alone, but she had to cut the evening short.”

Lucy nods, standing in a trance-like state as we escort ourselves out. “That’s one way to get out of a boring dinner party. Well, what did you think?” I ask.

“I’m going to check out the barn. Go on without me,” he commands, disappearing.

“There’s no ‘I’ in team!” I growl to thin air.

Chapter 35

“There’s no way I’m part angel,” I tell B.B., who’s watching me pace back and forth. “Right?” I close my eyes and try to teleport to the bathroom, but all I do is give myself a low-grade headache straining too hard.

Last night when I returned home, Damion was waiting on me, demanding to know what happened. I filled him in, and then he tried to persuade me to let him spend the night. And let me tell you, a demon lawyer is very persuasive. But I held firm. It’s unfair of me to keep things hanging in limbo; at some point, I either have to get over it or let him go. I feel exactly like that damned Hanged Man reversed.

Flipping through my cards until I find the Hanged Man, I place it reversed on my yoga mat, and then I get into a wall-supported headstand. After a few minutes hanging out upside down, I get out of the pose, still feeling uncertain, but my cheeks are now nice and rosy from the increased blood flow, so that’s something.

Later that day, I get a call from the bank letting me know the funds are available, and I can pick up the certified check to cover my aunt’s idiocy. The nice lady didn’t say the last part—that’s just my commentary. I open the cash register and grab a check Florence paid with the last time she was in, even though the sign clearly says, No Checks Accepted.

“B.B., I’ll be back in a little while.” I don’t have time to find Aunt Callie or Grandma, so I flip the closed sign, lock up behind me, and make the short drive.

I park and enter the building, waiting in line for the next available teller. Glancing over to a private office, my mouth drops open when I see Florence and her new boy toy. Uh-oh.

The office door is open so I barge right in. “Ma’am, you’ll need to wait in the lobby until we’re finished,” the bank employee tells me.

Not happening. “Florence, what are you doing? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.”

“Aubry, darling, I’m adding Nolan to my accounts,” she explains. “This wonderful man is going to handle my finances. He’s much better with numbers than I am.”

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