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Taking a long draw in through his nose, he smelled the place and saw it in his mind’s eye: The tulips. The went-on-forever lawn. The crystal-clear water of the bathing pool and the fountain in what hadbeen the Scribe Virgin’s private quarters. Even the milky sky overhead and the ring of trees that, if you were to walk into it, just spit you out on the opposite side from which you’d entered.
As his mind puzzle-pieced all of it together, he had to remind himself that everything had color now. Gone were the shades of white and gray. Phury, as the last of the Primales, had Pantone’d the landscape, so that the flowers were pastel and the grass was vibrant and those bathing pools shimmered with blue.
Fucking hell… he was suddenly exhausted. In the way you felt after you’d come home from a long vacation that had been hectic rather than restful.
“Years,” he murmured to himself. “It’s been… decades, hasn’t it.”
Moving his head from side to side, as if he could see, he didn’t understand why he felt the time that he’d lost so acutely here. Down below, what he’d missed had been just a blink, and only as the change of circumstance and landscape had become apparent had the decades measured at all. Up here in the Sanctuary, though, he felt the calendars like he’d lived all those days and all those nights.
So, yeah, it was as though he’d been long and wearily traveled, his shoulders and spine aching, his head thumping to a dull, irregular beat.
Stress was a bitch, wasn’t it—
He stiffened. Then said, without turning around, “You didn’t keep me waiting.”
Lassiter chuckled in that good-natured way of his. “Yup, I’ve turned over a new leaf since you’ve been gone.”
Wrath looked over his shoulder even though it was a why-bother when it came to his eyeballs. “Oh really?”
“You bet your bippy, King of mine. Thirty years later, and I’m a peach. People love me. I’m hardly ever annoying, even to V. And I’ve taken up needlepoint.”
Shaking his head, Wrath had to smile. “You’re such an ass.”
“Of course I am. Especially to V—and really, that’s a public service. He needs the exercise.”
“Personally, I think self-improvement is overrated.”
Lassiter’s laugh cracked like lightning. “Well, I gave it a shot. You have no idea how many books I’ve read since I saw you last. And videos I’ve watched. And seminars I’ve attended. I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but making yourself better is a whole industry.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t taken up that pulpit.”
“Don’t think I haven’t considered it seriously. I’d be a hit, plus zebra print was overdue for a comeback way before you took your little vacation.”
“You sure about that? And if I was on a vacation, I’ll pass on R & R for the rest of my mortal existence, thanks.”
“Oh, you’ll get over that. Everyone needs a break sometime, a change of scenery. Like, I’ve heard Disney cruises aren’t half bad.”
“From who—someone who wanted to get rid of you? And make sure you suffer while you’re gone?”
“Now that I think about it—I do believe V was the one who suggested I try a five-day.”
“That checks out.”
All at once, they both fell silent, the pleasantries over and done with, the reconnection established… the real reason for the visit taking the proverbial wheel.
“Let’s walk,” Lassiter said gravely.
Wrath nodded and orientated himself by the soft rustling of the grass next to him. There was nothing to worry about in terms of trip-and-falls. The ground of the Sanctuary was a perfect undulation, no gopher holes, nothing uneven, no rocks.
And he did trust Lassiter not to run him into anything. Which was a vote of confidence in favor of the angel that surprised him. Then again, the Scribe Virgin hadn’t been completely out of her mind when she’d turned the job over to the guy.
“Tell me about the war,” Wrath said in a low voice. “How bad’s it gotten.”
“I’m surprised you’re not asking Tohr.”
“He takes things personally. It would eat him alive to report on losses suffered by our civilians. I’m not putting him through that.”
There was some silence, which was answer enough in and of itself. And then Lassiter said, “They’ve taken excellent care of Beth, you know. Her and L.W. Yourshellanand your son were well watched over, every night, all day long, by everyone.”
