Page 121 of A Shade of Myself
I gathered up the pitcher and my empty glass. “You think I could?”
They nodded but neither of them really sold it.
Five minutes later I was on the road. If Tatiana spent all her anger on Giselle, maybe I could catch her once she’d exhausted that reserve and sort of slip the car crash in. Yeah, right.
However, thinking about what Giselle had done shifted something inside me. She’d slapped this unexpected move on Tatiana, hitting her in a very vulnerable spot.
Sadie was both my biggest vulnerability and my greatest treasure. I couldn’t simply sit back and hope for the best. I’d chosen to step away from going after Edvin for Sadie’s sake, because if anything happened to me, I’d be no better than my parents. But if the demon remained out there, he could blindside me at any point.
The demon had to die.
New plan. I’d convince Tatiana to bring in Carpe Demon to do the dirty work, and once this case was firmly behind us, I’d sit her down for that important talk.
Marjorie showed me out back where Tatiana and Emmett were seated by the koi pond.
Emmett had his hand on Tatiana’s back. With each deep inhale and exhale she took, the reeds in the pond went from shriveled to healthy, causing the fish to dart back and forth in the water.
I sat down beside the golem.
Tatiana straightened up. “I’m fine now, Emmett.”
The reeds stayed healthy. Well, most of them. One poor stalk remained bent over, dead.
Before I could launch into my argument to take out the demon, my boss pointed a bony finger at me. “It’s your lucky day, bubeleh.”
“How’s that?” I yanked out the single dead reed, running a finger over the once-pink cluster of tiny blossoms at the top.
“You’re going to rescue the twins from their terrible plight.” Her eyes glimmered. “The hunters intend to attack Edvin in half an hour.”
She was on board with killing Edvin? That was easier than expected. What a nice change. I was getting exactly what I wanted: the threat to Sadie being removed without any possibility of me getting hurt.
Then I shook my head as the implication hit me. If this was already in motion, Nav had broken his word to me about not doing anything regarding the demon until I gave him my client’s go-ahead. Jerk.
“Where are the women now?” I said.
“Edvin will soon take the real Giselle to a physio appointment.” Tatiana gave me an address in Manhattan. “Our former client is heading there as well. This ends today.”
“Is it the Carpe Demon bunch here leading the charge or is there a New York chapter I need to coordinate with?”
Emmett sent a cagey look at the house but at my questioning glance, shrugged.
“No coordination at all. It’s our local group. They claimed the right since Edvin sent that other demon after you here in town,” Tatiana said. “Now, enough questions. Take Emmett and go through the Kefitzat Haderech immediately. There’s no time to lose.”
Was that safe? I wrapped the stalk around my finger. The golem had gone in their once before without triggering Smoky, but Pyotr had sworn to kill Emmett if he ever came back.
Tatiana glared at me, so I nodded. I’d placate the gargoyle.
“You got it,” I said. “But before I do, there’s just one thing. The twins are going to need each other to get through this. I’d like to spare the real Giselle the knowledge that Aurora got her into this situation.”
Tatiana narrowed her eyes. “You’re willing to let them live a lie? That’s rich.”
“It’s the kindest way forward for Gigi,” I said. “She’s lost her lifelong dream and she doesn’t need to lose her sister. Promise me that it never goes beyond the three of us that our client sold out her sibling or put the illusion into motion. We’ll say the demon did it simply to cause misery.”
Tatiana pulled her red shawl tighter around her shoulders. “You wanted to fight the good fight, reveal the truth. Now you get your wish. We owe our former client nothing.”
She was lashing out because Giselle had pushed the most vulnerable button Tatiana had—her professional reputation, be it as an artist or a macher. Tatiana definitely had a vindictive side that would relish taking Giselle down and putting Kadeem in his place, but at its heart, this was about self-preservation.
I waved away a wasp, my heart heavy because I was partially to blame for this chip in her carefully mortared identity. It was history repeating itself albeit in a less lethal way.
