Both Charlie and I had little to move so the transition went quick. What did take a while, however, was finding a home of my own. Charlie tried to convince me to stay in the same apartments as him, but I felt strongly that I needed to be on my own. Eventually, I found a two-story home in a nice neighborhood within two miles of the Deific office.
The office itself was a miniature replica of the New York office. Standing three stories high, it was tucked between two much taller buildings. There was nothing architecturally pleasing about it. It was such a plain square building that one could easily walk right by it without ever noticing it.
The employees were as Henry described: broken and full of despair on behalf of their friends and coworkers whose lives had been lost. Charlie was wonderful with them. His humor and gentle nature did as Henry expected. Within two weeks, the mood had lightened dramatically.
Finding Lucien proved harder than I anticipated. I recognized a few landmarks from my dreams, but whenever I visited them, he was never there. I was anxious to find him as Henry’s words had frightened me, and I didn’t want to waste any more time. Charlie hadn’t been much help. He’d been so focused with helping the people in the office that he hadn’t brought up Lucien’s name, but I couldn’t do this alone anymore.
“Charlie,” I said in his office after a staff meeting, “I need some help.”
He looked up from an open folder in his hands. “This is a first. How may I be of service?”
“It’s time we found Lucien. I’ve tried finding him myself using landmarks from my dreams, but it hasn’t helped. I was wondering if you would use your ability.”
Charlie pushed the folder away and sighed. “I know it seems like I have forgotten the task Henry gave us, but I haven’t. Lucien has been on my mind a lot.”
“Then why haven’t you said anything?”
He averted his eyes. “I don’t think it’s time yet. I have a bad feeling about Lucien. He’s nowhere near ready, and I don’t want you risking your life.”
“But you heard what Henry said! The Deific needs him. You know that for every second we waste, The Dark Prince only grows stronger. I thought you wanted to finish him!”
Charlie jumped to his feet and pointed his finger at me. “Do you think I like being here, especially knowing my friends are out there fighting? I should be out there with them, destroying the bastard who killed my wife! Instead I’ve been sent here to find a vampire who could possibly kill you. Forgive me if I’m a little hesitant!”
I was too stunned to respond right away. I’d never considered how hard this might be for him. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”
Charlie dropped back into the chair and inhaled deeply. “No, I’m sorry. There’s so much going on up here—” He tapped his head. “—that sometimes I snap. I shouldn’t speak to you like that. And you’re right. We do need to find Lucien, but we must proceed with caution, do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Do you still have that picture of him?”
I reached into my back pocket and removed a folded piece of paper. Charlie took it and smoothed it out. “Come see me after work. I should have something then. Oh, and would you meet with a couple of employees? I’m not sure how to help them.”
“Of course,” I said. “And Charlie?” His gaze met mine. “Thank you.”
During the next couple of hours, I spoke with two women. They had been close friends with a couple of the deceased, and they couldn’t understand why their friend had to die. They believed in the Deific and what it stood for, but thought it should’ve been better protected or at least have been given a warning about the attack. My senses told me that these women weren’t necessarily looking for changes. They simply needed to talk about what happened, and maybe through that they could understand better what happened.
“How about we start a support group?” I offered. “We could meet every Wednesday night to discuss what happened, how we can prevent it in the future, and more importantly talk about the ones we miss.”
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Susanne, the older woman, said. “I’ll post an announcement today.”
A few hours later, I returned to Charlie. He looked agitated and shook his head at me before I had the chance to speak. He stood up and pulled his coat on. “I’m sorry, but it’s too soon. Lucien is too dangerous.”
“What do you mean?”
“The more I looked at his picture, the more I felt how dangerous he is. He’s done something horrible, and I don’t want you to have anything to do with him. Not yet.”
“I don’t care what he’s done in the past,” I said.
“You should.”
In a softer voice, I said, “Charlie, I’ve seen him do good things. There is hope for him. Besides, you’ve seen our future. You know what he’s capable of!”
“That’s in the future. He needs more time.”
I steeled my voice and stared Charlie straight in the eyes. “I need to know where he is now, but I promise to keep a distance until I know it’s safe.”