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When he had left, I relaxed and leaned into Seth.
"What...?"
"That man that was talking to Alec," I said, still in shock. "He's an immortal."
Seth's eyebrows rose. "Really? What kind? Angel? Demon?"
"None of the above. He's not one of mine."
"What do you mean not one of yours?"
"Not all immortals are part of the heaven and hell system. There are a lot of other creatures walking the world: nymphs, orisha, oni..."
"You do realize you've just thrust me into a theological quandary likely to keep me awake at night for years," he joked. When I didn't answer, he turned serious. "Okay. So what kind was he?"
I shook my head. "That's the thing. I don't know. I don't know what he was exactly."
CHAPTER 10
Jerome didn't seem very happy to hear from me the next morning.
"Do you have any idea what time it is, Georgie?" he growled into the phone.
"Why are you whining? You don't even need to sleep."
"Make this fast."
I told him about my experience at the concert and my inability to ID the mystery immortal. "He wasn't one of us. Er, I mean, you know...not part of our...pantheon," I finished lamely.
"'Pantheon?' I've never heard it put quite like that - outside of an introductory mythology class, of course."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So isn't that weird? I've met hundreds of different immortals and never felt one like this. He didn't feel...normal. I mean, he did feel like an immortal, but it was just weird."
"Well, hard as it is to believe, there are still a lot of things out there you haven't experienced - despite your vast age. "
"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm an infant, all right? But doesn't this worry you at all?"
He yawned. "Not in the least. Something angelic ordemonic would, but some random demigod or satyr? Hardly. They're not part of the game. Well, they're all part of the Game. What I mean is, they're not part of our game. They don't have to get permission to be here. As long as they don't interfere with our business, I don't really care. They do their own thing. We'll just catalog them and move on."
"Catalog? You've got a record then?"
"Well, I don't, of course. That's one of Grace and Mei's things."
No surprise there. Jerome wasn't really big on...well, work. Grace and Mei were subordinate demonesses who did a lot of the dirty jobs he didn't want to. I hardly ever saw them.
"I'll have to page them," I murmured, mind spinning.
"You know, I suppose it goes without saying that there are a hundred other more useful projects you could be channeling your energy into. Like, say, helping your incubus friend. From what I hear, he's stuck high and dry out in the suburbs. Emphasis on the high."
"Hey," I said, defensive of Bastien's honor, "he's just taking his time. You can't rush quality work. Besides, he learned everything he knows from me. "
"Somehow that doesn't reassure me." Jerome disconnected.
I hunted down Grace and Mei's number. I waited for the tone, punched in my call-back number, and hung up. A minute later, a Fourth of July worthy shower of sparks appeared in my living room and the two demonesses stood before me.
For having chosen two very different bodies, the pair looked remarkably alike. Grace was slim in an all-business, non-nubile sort of way, enhanced by the designer black skirt and jacket she wore. She had pale blond hair cut bluntly at chin length, brown-black eyes, and skin that never saw the sun. The only true color on her was the fire engine red lipstick she wore.
Mei dressed exactly the same, down to the red lipstick. Her hair, also chin-length, was a deep blue-black. Despite the softer lines, higher cheekbones, and delicate almond shape of her dark eyes, she radiated no more warmth or friendliness than her counterpart.
The two always stuck together, and I assumed they must be friends. Sort of. I had no doubt they'd claw each other's eyes out - or Jerome's, for that matter - if an opportunity for power or promotion was on the line.
"Georgina," said Mei.
"Long time no see," said Grace.
Both watched me expectantly. Aubrey watched them from the back of my couch, her hair on end and tail poofed out.
"Hey guys," I replied uneasily. "Thanks for coming over so fast. Slow day?"
They both stared at me.
"Um, so, okay. Jerome said you keep records of immortals who pass in and out of the city. Immortals who are outside of our..."
"Game?" suggested Grace.
"Pantheon?" suggested Mei.
"Yeah. Sure. So...do you?"
"Who are you looking for?" asked Mei.
"What kind of immortal?" asked Grace.
"That's the problem."
I told them everything I knew about him, which mostly included appearance and other encounters when I'd felt that weird sensation. Describing his signature was harder. I couldn't exactly say he felt like an incubus or an angel or a nymph or an oni. I hadn't run across his type before.
The demonesses processed this information, glanced at each other, and then shook their heads.
"He doesn't sound familiar," said Grace.
"But we can double-check the records," said Mei.
"Thanks," I told them. "I'd really appreciate it."
They nodded curtly and turned as if to leave. Mei suddenly glanced back at me.
"You should hang out with us sometime," she said unexpectedly. "Cleo's in Capitol Hill has great specials on Ladies Night."
"There are so few of us girls around here," added Grace. "We need to stick together."
They smiled and disappeared. I shivered. Going to a bar with those two sounded only marginally more appealing than stamping with Dana's CPFV friends.
Speaking of which, I decided to visit Bastien later that afternoon. I hadn't heard from him in a few days.
"Do you have any idea how much I don't care about your mortal friends?" he snapped when I told him about the whole bizarre situation surrounding Doug, Alec, and the mystery man. "I have real problems here. I'm dying. I'm getting nowhere with Dana. I keep seeing her, she's nice, and that's it! It's like she only wants - "
"To be friends?"
He stopped pacing around his kitchen and cut me an arch look. "Women are never just friends with me." He leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. "I just can't think what else to do. If I don't act fast, one of our superiors is going to find out how bad things are."
I decided not to mention Jerome's "high and dry" comment just then.
"Well, jeez, take a break and do something fun. Peter's having another poker game. Come over and play with us. I'm going to bring Seth."
"I thought you said this was going to be fun."
"Hey! Who was that a dig at? Peter or Seth?"
"Pick one, Fleur .Although, admittedly, Peter does make a pretty decentsouffle. What can the author do?"
"I wish you'd stop picking on Seth. You don't even know him."
Bastien shrugged. "Sorry. You just make it so easy."
"You're jealous."
"Hardly," he snorted. "I've had my share of mortal infatuations, thank you. So have you, if memory serves. And you've also had a number of immortal boyfriends you seemed to have liked reasonably well. None of them ever gave you as much grief as this guy."
"Seth's different. I can't explain it. Being with him just feels so...right. I feel like I've known him forever. "
" Fleur , I've known you forever. You've only known this guy for a couple months."
We had gotten involved pretty quickly, and it did bug me sometimes, but I truly believed in the strength and depth of my feelings for Seth. They were neither superficial nor transient - I hoped.
He had once told me there was no one else in the world for him but me. When I'd pointed out that was a bold statement in light of how long we'd known each other, he'd simply said, "Sometimes you just know."
It was remarkably similar to what my husband, Kyriakos, had told me when we'd first met, back in my long-ago, dust-covered days as a mortal. I'd been fifteen at the time, and my father had sent me down to the docks of our town with a message for Kyriakos, father. Sending me alone was a bit unorthodox, but my father hadn't thought much about it since he was only a short distance away at the market. Nonetheless, I found it a frightening walk.
