Hawwa's office reminded me of Belle's library in Beauty and the Beast. Towering shelves of gleaming, light-colored wood held thousands of books. No haphazard stacks of information teetered in messy piles on the floor as in Nick's workspace. A glittering chandelier dangled in the center of the room, directly over four armchairs arranged around a low antique table with legs carved in the shape of lion's paws. Her desk, a small, spindly legged affair, had been arranged at an angle in the corner. Sitting there, she could turn her head slightly to the left and view the entirety of the room or to the right and gaze out upon the now-dark sea.
She perched on the edge of her chair and tapped on a wireless keyboard, leaving Brian and me to stand there awkwardly. No unwieldy monitor took up unnecessary space. Rather, a projected image appeared in the air directly in front of her. As that nifty device flickered to life, the door opened and Abtin entered, holding the hand of a child. Her glossy chestnut curls bobbed around her round shoulders with each skipping step, and she peered around at each of us with bright brown eyes.
"Thank you, Abtin," she said without looking up from her work. "Olivia, this is Ginerva. Ginerva, Agent Olivia Nowicki is a friend of Nicolai's. They work together."
The little girl beamed at me, revealing long, pointed fangs. "Is Nicky here with you?" She had the voice of an angel.
I choked down my pathetic whimper and shook my head.
"He's asked us to call, sweetheart. That's why we're here," Hawwa said. She tapped a final key and waited a moment. A bell chimed. With a flourish of her hand, the projection shifted and grew in size until a large image of Nick, still glowing and unearthly, hovered in front of the window.
His eyes found me instantly. "You are unharmed?"
Stupid, ridiculous, unexplainable tears welled up in my eyes and I blinked fast to make them go away. "I'm fine. Thank you for sending help."
He shifted his attention to Brian. "Still sucking off your mother's teat, I see."
"This human has the stink of your soul in her core and you're too weak to remain in human form. What did you do to her?" Brian shot back.
Nick didn't answer, but looked at the child. His expression softened. A smile played on his lips. "Look at you, Ginerva. You're getting so grown up."
She bared her fangs at him in a toothy grin.
I edged a few inches further away from her.
"And Abtin," Nick said. "Thank you. I am grateful for your help."
Abtin gave a nod of his head.
"Where are the others? Where is Adom?"
Hawwa stood and stepped around the desk to join us, facing the projection. She stood at my side, so we formed a row. I didn't mind having her between me and the others. "We have done what you asked. Your agent is safe. In the morning, she shall fly home. The arrangements have been made. Her lack of credentials will not be an issue."
"Thank you," Nick said again.
Hawwa waved his words away. "She has told us she encountered a holy woman while working a case for you. The woman used spellwork to transport her to the place of her thoughts. And she came to your forest. I found that interesting."
My face burned. Thankfully, Nick did not look at me.
"The forest is our family's hunting ground," Brian said. "It would have been a real shame if someone you cared for deeply had been hurt."
A muscle jumped in Nick's jaw. "I am grateful that she is safe,"
"For now," Brian muttered.
Hawwa took a small step forward. "Nicolai, when we spoke earlier, you promised us more information once your agent had been recovered."
With visible effort, Nick dragged his gaze away from Brian and focused on Hawwa. "What do you want to know?"
"For starters, we're all curious about this case you're working on. Our agreement states explicitly that you will not work in this part of the world."
"I'm not," Nick said. "Nowicki explained that she was transported there against her will. She is not working there."
Hawwa folded her hands together. "It is a powerful witch who can cast such a spell."
"Agreed."
"Agent Nowicki explained that the witch is not the subject of your investigation. Rather, she is a person of interest."
"That's right."
"Who is she?"
Nick's wooden fountain pen turned slowly between his fingers. "Why does it matter to you?"
Brian took a step toward the projection. "Because, once again, your foolishness has drawn us into—"
"Brian, stop," Hawwa said.
The big man choked on his words as if they were a physical object blocking his throat.
"Your concern in this case seems odd to me," Nick said. "You've never cared to hear about my work before."
Abtin spoke for the first time. "These are strange times."
Nick leaned back in his chair. "Where are the others?" he asked again.
Hawwa sighed. It was the sound of a warm springtime breeze, drifting through the fragrant buds of trees just beginning to bloom with new life. "Abtin speaks the truth. These are strange times. Adom and the others are traveling, speaking with our kin in distant lands."
"I am your kin in a distant land. No one has come to speak with me," Nick said.
Hawwa spread her hands in a gesture of openness. "Are we not speaking with you now?"
"I have a dolly named Kin," the little girl said. "Father said I must not give it human hair or The Organ-zation will be mad, so we made her hair from yarn."
Nick offered her a weak smile. "That is good. Listen well to Father's advice on such matters."
"Do as I say, not as I do," Brian growled.
Hawwa sighed again. "As to the matter at hand, there are things you should know." She cast a quick glance at me. "This case you are working on, would it involve the demon, Sathanas?"
A deep scowl line formed between Nick's brows.
Hawwa seemed to accept that as confirmation. "I'm afraid you have involved yourself in matters..." One hand drifted vaguely through the air. "Beyond the scope of your usual work."
"Tell me more." The blue sparks in Nick's eyes flashed.
"There are rumors."
"There are always rumors."
She shook her head. "Not like this. Valynais is distracted."
Nick's voice was almost too quiet to hear when he asked, "What do you mean, distracted?"
"Things aren't happening like they should," Brian said. "The natural order is too often disrupted."
"Death continues, as always." His gaze darted to me and back to the giant.
"Not in the usual way," Hawwa said. "Something has shifted. Perhaps, at this time, not so much that the humans have noticed, but we notice. Valynais's attention is not where it should be. Not everyone who should die does. Some who should not are taken."
I cleared my throat. "Sor—" I caught myself and redirected. "Who is Valynais?"
Brian scoffed. "By the gods, Nicolai, it's as if you want her to get killed. Why would you send someone so ignorant into our world?"
"Hey!"
They all turned to me, and my moral outrage disintegrated. "I'm not totally ignorant. I've been very helpful so far."
"She has a hunter's gift," Nick said, drawing their attention away from me. "I have seen it more than once in a short time."
Brian crossed his tree-trunk arms. "I wonder what other gifts she has that led to the stink that lingers on her."
Rather than rise to the bait, Nick focused on me. "Valynais is Death."
"Death?" I glanced at the others to see if I was being teased. "Like... the Grim Reaper?"
"He is Death, incarnate. The personification of Death, not some ferryman," Brian said.
Little Ginerva piped up. "He is even older than my Father."
"He is older than any of us and all of us, as old as life itself," Nick said.
I focused on not swooning like a maiden in distress. "Right. Death. Got it. Carry on."
"The celestials are concerned about the shift," Hawwa said.
Nick leaned forward on his desk. "So, the angels and the demons are working together against Valynais?"
"It is too strong to say they are against him. They are concerned. We are all concerned."
"Sathanas is part of this?" Nick asked.
Hawwa nodded. "Sathanas is the leader of the coalition."
"Why is this the first I've heard of any of this?"
Brian snarled at him. "You've been away, haven't you?"
"I am not so hard to find."
"We know where you are. We are less certain of where your loyalties lie."
Nick narrowed his electric eyes. "My loyalty to my family has never wavered."
"Your family includes more than those who call this house their home," Hawwa said.
"What I do benefits us all."
"I know you believe that to be true," she said. "It was good to speak with you again, Nicolai."
He leaned back again and nodded. "I am glad that you are well. Thank you, again, for your help."
Hawwa nodded.
Nick looked at me. "What you have learned so far in your investigation must be viewed in light of this new information. I will have a car at the airport when you arrive. They will bring you to the office and we will discuss all of this face-to-face."
The idea of being face-to-face with Nick again brought me back to worrying about swooning. Before I could say or do anything stupid, though, the call disconnected. Hawwa said something about keeping up my strength, and the beautiful child with the horrible fangs put a pomegranate in my hands. Abtin led me up a flight of stairs to a bedroom out of a fairytale, and then I was alone.
I blinked at my dazed reflection in a mirror roughly the size of my entire living room wall, and finally my scattered thoughts coalesced into a single question.
But what about the baby?
The girl in the mirror had no answer. She was clearly ignorant.