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There was a moment's pause. "My records say that Cedric was in Seattle when Jerome disappeared."
"Well, when I left, Cedric was still up there, yeah. But then when the Army of Darkness did their thing on the Space Needle, I called Cedric because I figured he'd want to know. I thought that was when he came down here."
"Did you say Army of Darkness?"
"Um, yeah. It's this cult in Vancouver that was doing embarrassing things."
"Ah. The ones with the spray paint."
"Yup. I'd been helping Cedric with them, and when he heard they were down here, I guess he came to talk to Jerome and do some damage control so Jerome wouldn't think he'd sent them."
"Your information's incorrect. Cedric never met with Jerome."
"What?" I frowned, thinking back to my conversation with Kristin. I'd asked if Cedric had come to talk to Jerome, and while she'd confirmed that he'd been down here, she hadn't mentioned them actually speaking.
"When Cedric came, Jerome was already missing. He and Mei attempted to find him, and when the lesser immortals began showing the effects of the summoning, we knew what had happened." Ephraim's words were still brisk. Clearly, he had no interest in discussing what he already knew.
I was close to something here-so, so close. Had Jerome been summoned before Cedric arrived? That would rule him out as the summoner. Of course, if Ephraim had received his information from Cedric, then it could have been a lie. Maybe Cedric was being framed. Maybe he'd actually been here the exact moment Jerome was summoned. Mentioning Mei meant that she had probably corroborated Cedric's story. Which meant what, exactly? Was she in on this too? I knew Grace was involved already. It was possible Mei and Cedric were working with her, but that meant three demons were in the conspiracy now. There was only one reward in Seattle, and I couldn't see how they'd all benefit. Getting a large group of demons to organize was hard. Getting them to do it when it offered no advantage for all of them? Impossible.
Ephraim was eager to get back on track. He asked me a few more questions about Jerome's disappearance and a bit about my day-to-day affairs. He never asked for my opinion about who should replace Jerome or what I thought of other demons. That wasn't particularly surprising, however. As my friends and I had discussed, our input probably wouldn't play a large role here.
I hung up and went to find Roman. I expected him to have practically finished the search, but instead, I found him playing ball with some kids over in a clearing near the trees. They were pretty little, and there wasn't much to the game. Mostly everyone stood in a circle and tossed the ball back and forth. Roman's throws were gentle and carefully aimed so as to make it easy for the kids to catch the ball. I stood off to the side, watching them in wonder. He actually seemed pretty into it, and the oddity of a sociopathic half-angelic bastard playing with small children wasn't lost on me.
Roman caught sight of me watching them and tossed the ball over to a little girl. He left the circle to approach me, much to the dismay of the kids left behind. They entreated him to stay, but he merely waved and told them he had to go.
"Maybe we can come back later," he said jovially.
"I can't decide if that was cute or creepy," I told him. "Maybe a little of both."
"Why creepy? I only kill immortal beings. Not kids."
"The fact that you just said all that with a straight face is proof enough." I gestured around. "Did you check this place out?"
"Nope. Didn't want to steal the fun from you. Who was on the phone?"
We started walking along the beach, and I recapped what Ephraim had told me. "I almost told him what I knew about Grace," I admitted.
"No, better that you didn't," said Roman. "We still need more information."
"We're running out of time," I grumbled. "There's not much more info we can get. And there's something there...something weird about the day Jerome was summoned. I just can't-" I froze, staring off down the beach. "Roman. Look."
He followed my gaze. There, near a trash can, was a patch of small, rough rocks mixed in with the sand. Gray and white. I ran off down the beach, ignoring the sand filling my shoes. Holy shit. After all these fruitless searches, after relying on all these sketchy half-assed clues, we'd actually found something. We'd found Jerome, and not a moment too soon.
Ignoring the looks of some startled kids, I knelt down near the rocks and began pushing them aside, digging through the sand. I realized then I should have brought a spade or something. A few moments later, Roman arrived and stood over me.
"Well, what are you doing?" I demanded. "Help me."
"He's not here, Georgina."
"He has to be! We're near salt water. There's sand. There's white stones. For the rest of the seal's camouflage to work, he's buried here somewhere."
"I can't sense anything. He's not here."
The rocks were cutting my hands as I dug, and I felt tears stinging my eyes. Until that moment, I didn't realize just how horribly and truly afraid I'd been of Jerome not returning. My time as a succubus had been filled with upheaval. I liked the small piece of tranquility I'd carved out here in Seattle. I didn't want that to change. I couldn't let it change, not after everything else I'd been through recently.
"The whole point of the seal imprinting its magic was to mask Jerome's prison! Of course you wouldn't feel it."
"The seal hides it from anyone not actively seeking it. I am, and I'm telling you it's not here."
"Maybe it's because you're not strong enough."
With a sigh, Roman knelt down behind me. "Georgina, stop."
"Damn it! He has to be here!"
Roman reached from behind me and grabbed my arms. I struggled, but he was too strong. "Georgina, enough. Jerome isn't here. The only thing unusual about this spot is the smell from the garbage can. I'm sorry."
I struggled against him a little bit more and finally gave up. Apparently feeling certain I wouldn't fight anymore, Roman released me. I turned and looked at him, swallowing back my tears. "This was our last chance," I said softly. "We don't have any time left."
Roman studied me with his sea-green eyes. I saw no anger or threat on his face, only compassion. "I'm sorry. And you don't know for sure that it's too late."
"Ephraim will finish his assessment anytime now. And where are we going to go next? The Olympic Peninsula? Wenatchee? Hitting places at random was one thing when they were in our backyard. These others are too far away. We choose the wrong one, and that's it. Game over. We won't have time for anything else."
"I'm sorry," he repeated. From his face, I could see that he spoke the truth. "I want to find him as much as you do."
I stared beyond him out at the blue-gray water and the circling gulls. "Why? Why do you want to find someone who tried to kill you?"
Roman smiled. "Why do you cling to a romantic ideal when everything in your life has pretty much shown you that it's impossible?"
I think he'd spoken rhetorically and seemed surprised when I dragged my eyes from the water to look at him and answer. "Because of a dream."
He arched an eyebrow. "What dream?"
I took a deep breath, and like that, the images flashed through my mind, just as vivid and real as they'd been the first time. "Awhile ago...Nyx was here."
He looked startled. "What, the mother of time and chaos?"
"Yeah. Long story."
"What is it about this city?"
"Beats me. Anyway, she was preying on my energy and distracting me by sending me these dreams. They were so real, Roman. You can't even imagine." My voice was small as I spoke. "I was washing dishes in a kitchen, and 'Sweet Home Alabama' was playing. In the other room, there was this little girl sitting on a blanket. She hurt herself, and I came in there to comfort her. She was maybe two or three, and she was mine . My daughter. Not someone else's. Not adopted. The daughter of my body. Aubrey was there too and this tortie and-"
"A what?"
"A tortie. A tortoiseshell cat." I waited, but his expression was still blank. "It's like a calico, but without any white. Just brown and orange patches. How can you be millennia old and not know that?"
"Because I don't subscribe to Cat Fancy magazine. And I can't believe you remember things like cat breed and background music."
