Page 43 of Hopelessly Teavoted

The rope warmed, and she sensed Benedict and Persephone before she could even see them in the rearview mirror.

In the back seat, Benedict and Persephone appeared once more, and this time, before speaking, Benedict wound a hand around the back of Persephone’s neck, kissing her passionately and murmuring words Vickie couldn’t hear, before turning to the front.

Even in death, they were truly, madly in love.

Az looked at her, and she nodded.

“Mom. Dad,” he started, and his voice cracked a little.

She watched his lips, trying to focus on the words coming out and not the soft slope of them and the way they had felt against her skin. These were inappropriate thoughts to have while he grieved the loss of his parents. After all, to kiss him would be to send him to an untimely end.

“I wanted to say I am sorry. I wanted to say I love you. There are a thousand things I wanted you to see happen for me: I wanted you to see me be more successful, and find love, and have a family, and be happy, whatever that looked like, and I’m sorry.

So, so sorry, for how embarrassed I was of our family.

I don’t feel that way anymore. I really don’t. ”

Persephone smiled.

“First, Vickie, you must be careful not to overlook whatever objects anchor the devil dealer to not only his power but also his protection. He would have made a sacrifice, probably human, to remain undetected. You’re looking for someone who would have wished to keep him safe in life.

Something that did that to someone. And, Azrael, you could never disappoint us.

Never,” Persephone said. “We love you so much. And even when we are gone, we will be with you. Your sister already knows the same thing. When you are sad, when you struggle, remember that I have never found a heartache that wasn’t at least somewhat healed by a nice cup of tea and dessert. ”

Vickie committed the words to memory as carefully as she could.

Persephone paused, looking between Az and Vickie. “Things were complicated for your father and me at the start too. Love each other. Be happy, darling.”

Vickie choked on the last few words, both on the boldness of Persephone announcing her most secret emotions, the ones that she had been attempting to pretend away, and at the thought that she would now have to recount them.

“What did she say?”

“That she’s always near, even when she’s not right here.

That she lives in your heart, and that there is nothing bad enough that a cup of tea and a pastry can’t fix it.

I’ll tell you the rest later,” she said, avoiding Persephone’s stern look.

“We needed to ask you about Havenwall. We traced the devil dealer to the old, haunted church there. Do you have any idea where we should look? And once we’re back in Hallowcross, does the name Chet Thornington mean anything to you? ”

Persephone’s forehead wrinkled, and she frowned.

“I’ve never heard that name. Havenwall is dangerous, though.

Don’t bother with the church itself; one never knows what sort of horror you’ll find in one of those.

Go to the Rosehill Mausoleum in the graveyard behind it.

You’ll need to take an object from a dead Rosehill witch to summon their ghost. Azrael can cast a spell to secure the spot, and to counter the bad luck of grave desecration.

Be careful. Whatever evil has traded with the devil probably seeks a witch soul. ”

Vickie nodded. The knot in her hands grew warmer.

“Ah. My darling,” grumbled Benedict, his voice thick with emotion as he looked at his wife. “It is our hangman’s knot. From Jan Mydlá?.”

“Jan Mydlá??” Vickie asked.

“The Prague Punisher. I’ll tell you about him later.” Azrael’s knuckles gripped the steering wheel so tightly now that they looked white. In her hands, the cord grew more heated. He was right. Time was running out.

“Make sure we don’t see you again,” Persephone said softly.

She meant that there were no other remaining objects.

To see her again would be to kill Azrael, but the warning hung unspoken in the air.

They all knew. “Tell my children to be proud of who we are. Harts. Capable of love and magic, and so deserving of both, no matter how people may at times mistreat our people, and mistreat others in our names. Remind them that we have a duty to help mundanes. To mend the world.”

Persephone gave Vickie a stern look and continued, “Protect Azrael. Don’t let him burn.”

Hand to her mouth, Vickie was unable to stop the gasp. Persephone didn’t really think her capable of making such a mistake, did she?

Vickie’s fingers flamed a little now, leaving ash prints on the rope. It wasn’t just her magic working; it was her magic warning . Warning that she could kill him if she touched him now, and warning that if she even so much as looked at him after Halloween, she would.

Persephone looked sympathetic as the noose burst into flames.

She and Benedict were saying something more, but it was too late.

All Vickie could do was relay Persephone’s final warning.

“They said this is the last you should see them.” She left out the obvious, that if they did again, he would die.

“They said you deserve love. And magic.”

Azrael’s eyes were dark now. Angry.

“I want those things. I also want to wring the neck of the devil that did this to us. That made it so that we can’t touch without destruction.”

“We should be more concerned with the greater devil that traded with a human. Your mom said he will be looking for a witch soul. To anchor his power.”

“He would want that by Halloween.” Azrael’s knuckles clutched the wheel even tighter.

“So if we don’t figure out who it is by Halloween?”

“Not only do we never get to see each other again, but also he gets the kind of power that serves as a shield. That protects him from repercussions from any sort of crimes.”

“Why would someone do that?” She pushed her sunglasses up and pressed her palms over her eyes for a moment.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Think about it, Vickie. I think you’re right that this is a man.

The sort of man who would grab for power, in the world and the workplace, and then brag that he was infallible.

It’s usually a politician, sometimes a businessman.

Think about the men we hear of who walk away from assault with community service, with positions in the land’s highest courts.

In the land’s highest offices. More often than not, they’ve traded for that kind of shielding, whether in spells, or in human riches. ”

“Fuck,” she swore. “So this could be bigger than Hallowcross. Bigger than us.”

“Right. If we don’t stop this person before the veil thins, this is power that poisons the world.”

She didn’t know what to say. He needed her reassurance, but she couldn’t think of anything that would make him feel better about it all. So she reminded him of the only thing that she could control.

“Your mother said she loves you, and she’s proud of you. She meant it, Az. I’ve seen you with her mending spells. You’re just like her, making the world better, bit by bit.”

“Does it even matter when the people on the other side are making it worse in such drastic leaps and bounds?” He sounded tired. Defeated.

“It matters , Az. Kindness always matters. Small instances of it add up.”

They spent the rest of the drive in silence, neither one able or willing to go on with words. It was enough to sit together to the sound of the radio, to know that they sped toward danger and could try to stop it.

And maybe she could consider moving forward in how she felt too.

Vickie could stop pretending. She could tell Az she loved him still.

That it wasn’t just the incident, or the longing, but all of him, then and now, the way he cared so deeply, the way he wanted to heal sadness and sorrow when he saw it, all blended into higher love and magic than she’d ever known.

She loved him enough to sacrifice ever touching him again.

And when she was ready, if they survived this, maybe she could seal their love in a way that would fix things between them for good.