“I think you’re right,” she told Steve, scratching her head. “But Missy here has a TV. Don’t you, darlin’?”
I shook my head at Missy. She read me correctly even though she had no idea what I was doing.
“Oh, Gram, my cable is out,” she lied. “I have a repair person coming tomorrow.”
“Bummer,” Gram said—right before she froze.
“Mama?” Alana said, floating out from behind me with a timid smile on her lips.
Gram gasped with delight and began to shake. “Alana baby?” she choked out.
“It’s me, Mama,” Alana said. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Gram’s smile turned into a pained grimace and her body began to convulse brutally. She became more transparent, and ghastly keening noises came out of her mouth from low in her throat.
“No!” I shouted as I pulled Gram from the air and held her tightly in my arms. “It’s okay, Gram. You’re fine. You were dreaming. You’re fine.”
“Your mama killed herself to follow her lover into the darkness. Suicide. Guaranteed ticket to Hell,” Gram said in a monotone as her thin body continued to jerk and contort in my embrace.
“What’s happening?” Charlie demanded. His eyes had turned silver and he became the badass Enforcer I’d witnessed several times.
“Mom,” my mother said weakly. My father quickly motioned for my mother to hide herself behind him. She followed the directive immediately.
“Your mama killed herself to follow her lover into the darkness. Suicide. Guaranteed ticket to Hell,” Gram repeated like a broken record.
“Yes, she did,” I told Gram, rocking her like a child in my arms. “That’s right.”
“Your mama killed herself to follow her lover into the darkness. Suicide. Guaranteed ticket to Hell.” Her voice was robotic and dead-sounding.
“What is happening?” Charlie repeated, alarmed.
“As we established, Clarissa planted the false narrative years ago. This is what happens when someone who has believed a vicious lie for decades is confronted with the truth,” Heather said.
“Can it be reversed?” I heard my mother whisper.
Gram heard her, too, and began having seizures in my arms until she literally passed out. What had been one of the best moments of my life was turning into one of the worst.
“It can only be reversed by the person who planted it,” Heather replied.
“Incorrect,” Michael said, looking down at the unconscious ghost of Gram in my arms. “Planted thoughts done in malice can’t be reversed. Unless…”
“Unless what?” I demanded, staring at the woman who’d given up her life to raise me. The woman who’d loved me unconditionally. Steve floated over and quietly sat beside me. His steady presence calmed me.
“Unless the one who planted it is destroyed,” Michael finished.
Clarissa was Immortal. Was that even possible? Was Gram going to be a freaking zombie now all the time? Could I even send her into the light if she never came back to me?
“Define destroyed,” my mother said, looking down at her own mother with utter devastation written all over her ghostly face.
“Completely turned to ash,” Gideon said, putting his hand on my shoulder for comfort. I reached back and placed my hand over his. “It’s not possible.”
“Nope, not buying it,” I said, letting go of Gideon and gently pushing Gram’s hair off her face and tucking it behind her ears the way she liked it. “You’re the one who keeps reminding me everything is possible if you believe.”
My mother observed Gideon’s and my gesture of ownership with each other and gave us a small smile. “I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past thirty-five years. Clarissa has been on my mind quite a bit,” she said. “I think I know how it can be done.”
Charlie shook his head. “The destruction of an Angel—true destruction—has dire consequences for the destroyer.”
“I concur,” Tim said. “It’s a death wish.”
“I’ll do it,” I said. “I don’t care what the price is.”
“Absolutely not,” Gideon said firmly. “I have the best chance of surviving. I will annihilate her.”
“Let’s not forget how much Karma enjoys assassination,” Tim pointed out.
Heather eyed Tim with annoyance. “Tim, volunteering Candy Vargo for a death mission is a shitty thing to do.”
Tim shrugged. “Trust me, Candy will be very put out if she’s not included in something that includes extermination.”
“Be that as it may,” Michael said. “I’m the reason we’re in this mess. The only one paying the price for ending the Angel of Mercy is me.”
“Well,” Missy said, glancing around. “There are certainly a lot of volunteers.”
“Clarissa is not a very well-liked individual,” my mother said dryly as she leaned in and kissed my cheek. She then touched Gram with reverence and adoration. “I’m so sorry, Mama,” she whispered to Gram. “I will make this right for you because I love you, and because you loved my baby and raised her when I couldn’t.”
“Will it work?” I asked. “Can we truly destroy her?”
My mother paused and glanced over at my father. Their eyes locked and they shared a secret exchange.
“That remains to be seen, Daisy,” she said. “And indeed, we shall see.”
Chapter Two
The next morning dawned bright, sunny and seriously cold. After what had gone down last night, I could have slept for a year. However, that was not in the cards. Instead, I was the somewhat unwilling human guest on an Immortal field trip.
Frozen blades of grass crunched under my sneakers as I followed Gideon in sleepy confusion. Exhaling, I could see my breath. I should be at home in front of a fire making plans to fix the mess that was my life. Instead, I was… Well, I had no clue what I was doing. No one would tell me.
Candy Vargo and Tim flanked me. Charlie brought up the rear. The mood was somber—felt like I was walking to the guillotine.
“Gideon, am I in trouble somehow?” The rules of the Immortal world were wildly unclear to me.
“No, babe,” he said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “We just want to make sure that you don’t get into trouble.”
The words were somewhat ominous and cryptic. Actually, my life felt ominous and cryptic at the moment. The more I found out, the less I knew. If wisdom came with age, I was at a disadvantage. I was a baby compared to my company. Clearly, no one was going to answer me, so I’d play along… for now.
I was a list maker—not that I ever completed them. However, they centered me and made me feel a little bit more in control. Having no paper or pen, I decided on a head list. It was better than badgering people for info that wasn’t forthcoming.
One—Gram’s ghostly coma-like condition was unchanged. Not good.
Two—My mom was with my father hidden safely away in his home. Good. My mom’s cryptic plan was a mystery, but that was on my list to unravel.
Three—Gram was at my house being guarded by Heather—my newly discovered sister and longtime dear friend—who just so happened to be the Immortal Arbitrator between Heaven and Hell. The fact that there were centuries separating us in age didn’t faze me. Heather looked like she was in her late thirties. It amazed me that Immortals could choose their age and change it on a whim.