“Thank you, Night.” She nuzzles into my neck. I brush her mane with my fingers and sigh. Nightshade is the best. “I’m so glad you found me, girl.”
She whinnies softly and takes off at a gallop.
When I walk through my front door, the house is quiet and empty. I roam the rooms until I find a note from Mom on the kitchen table. She’s running errands with Walker and won’t be home until late. I make myself a quick bite to eat and slip into bed, a peaceful smile on my face for the first time in recent memory. You don’t get many chances to kick ass like I did today. The only thing that could’ve made it better would be video.
***
Once I close my eyes, my dreams return me to the Gray Sea. I stand on a familiar stretch of dark sand beside a tall stonewall. Crouching low, I set my hands onto the desert floor. A circle of white fire erupts from the ground. From its center rises the form of my mother made from sand. She sits at a desk.
The earth continues to rise, the granules building into the shape of an office.
The circle of fire flares higher, then disappears. The moving sand transforms into flesh and blood. The scene before me comes to life.
Mom looks up from her desk. “Hello, Tim.” She runs her fingertips along the neckline of her blue suit.
Tim’s gaze follows the movement of her fingers across her chest. “You should call me TIM-29.” His voice comes out a little husky.
I’m no lust expert, but it’s possible that Tim has a thing for my Mom. My stomach lurches. Could this guy be my father?
“I’ve been calling you Tim for six months now, that isn’t going to change.” She smiles. Her face looks animated, alive, and dazzling.
I scratch my neck, my head wagging from side to side. I still can’t believe this is the same person who conducts my Maternal Inquisition each morning.
Tim bows again. “As you wish, Senator.”
“For the hundredth time, call me Camilla.”
Tim shakes his head. “No, that wouldn’t be right, Senator.” He gingerly sets a cup of coffee onto her desktop.
“Thank you.”
Tim leans over Mom’s head and inhales deeply. He whispers one word: “Lavender.”
Hair-smelling? That confirms it. Tim definitely has a thing for Mom.
“What did you say?” She scribbles away on a pad.
“Nothing, Senator.” He takes a few quick steps backwards. “Xavier Cross is in the waiting room, again. He insists on seeing you.”
Mom sighs. “He has an appointment in a month.”
I’ve heard that sigh, many times. Whoever this guy is, he’s getting on Mom’s last nerve.
Tim grips his hands at his waist. “He wants to see you today.”
A rotary phone on the desk begins to ring. Mom sets her hand on the receiver and looks to Tim. “Please tell him to wait one month.” Tim nods and leaves the room.
Mom picks up her phone. “Senator Lewis speaking.” She swivels her chair so she faces the wall. “Yes, Ambassador. I understand the complaint.”
On the opposite side of the room, the door swings open. A man slides through. He’s tall and fit with short brown hair, piercing blue eyes and skin the color of milky cocoa. He adjusts the lapels of his gray suit.
Still facing the wall, Mom continues her phone call. “I understand the demand, but we cannot guarantee that a particular soul will go to Hell. I’ll certainly pass the request to Senator Myung.”
Damn, she’s not taking shizz from that caller. My brows arch. This is the same woman who now spends an hour to choose a frozen dinner from the freezer. I never imagined she could be so decisive.
The stranger walks around the room, studying the pictures lining the walls, his long arms clasped behind him. He moves with a calculated grace that I find oddly soothing.
Mom kicks at the base of the wall, her features cringing into her ‘exasperated face.’ She takes a deep breath. “Senator Myung holds the Afterlife Management seat, I head Other-Realm Diplomacy. As I’ve told you before, I have no formal say in this matter but I promise to make your request known.” She pauses, listening. “Excellent, goodbye.” She slams the receiver onto the phone. “Hells bells! That’s the fourth time this week.” She twists about in her chair, seeing the stranger in her office for the first time.
Mom’s chocolate eyes narrow into slits. “And you are?”
The man reaches out his hand. “Xavier Cross.”
Mom doesn’t flinch. “You have an appointment in one month, Mister Cross. Tim should have stopped you.”
Xavier seats himself in a chair across from Mom’s desk. “It won’t take five minutes, I promise.” He smiles. His face is handsome with a square jaw and high cheekbones.
Mom stares at him, her lips pursed. “Five minutes.” She glances at her watch. “Go.”
I click my tongue. Nice move, Mom!
Xavier taps his knee with his pointer finger. “You’re new to the Senate, aren’t you?”
“My family’s held the Senate Diplomacy Seat for eight hundred years, but yes, I’ve served in this particular role for six months.”
“I saw your pictures on the walls. Annual Lewis family picnics.”