Vincent and I woke up wearing matching post-coital grins, and while he sauntered off to the kitchen to make coffee, I excused myself to the bathroom, where I pampered my sore bottom with a warm washcloth. How much sex was too much? When I returned, Vincent had tossed bagels on a couple plates with a large helping of cream cheese, a treat I used to feel guilty about, but now that I needed the carbs for flight, I told my guilty conscience to take a flying leap.
"It will be dawn soon," Vincent said as he set the plates between us. "Consider this a breakfast warm-up. I'm making scrambled eggs with spinach and onion later."
"You've been holding out on me. Apart from the lasagna, I have never seen you cook."
"All the Valentinos know how to cook. I've been taking a break while I give Griffin an opportunity to hone her culinary skills." Vincent spoke as he leaned back with his breakfast, looking uncharacteristically relaxed. Probably from all the sex.
"That sounds like the perfect excuse not to cook."
As I prepared to eat my bagel, a hush fell over the room, and it remained there while we enjoyed our pre-breakfast, but I think we were also avoiding Cecile's letters. At least I was.
"I knew you were somehow tied up with the demons when we found you." Vincent said, bringing up the thing I wanted to avoid. "I even suspected you might not be full gollum, but that never influenced my feelings for you."
"I'm glad to hear that," I said, just in case he was worried about my feelings.
"A connection like ours is rare. I never thought I would find it with another gollum, and I have dated a lot of gollums."
"But what good is a rare connection if it only produces little abominations? I haven't forgotten our conversation about demon and gollum offspring. I now have firsthand experience with prejudice against hybrids, and I wouldn't wish that burden on anyone."
Vincent listened attentively to my argument, although the point seemed moot. We already made the choice to bring little abominations into the world.
"I didn't say demons and gollums produced abominations. That conversation had to do with humans, but I won't deny that hybrids are shamed. To be honest, I have been deliberately avoiding the subject. All I know is that I love you, and I will love our offspring should we be blessed with them." Vincent offered his version of a reassuring smile before motioning to the unopened letters on the table. "Let's end the torture."
With a resigned sigh, I pushed away my breakfast plate and opened the first letter. As I suspected, it read like a list, and I named off all the cities and locations Cecile thought I might find the amulet. But, the most likely place was with my grandmother who lived in Chicago in a convent. Other churches and temples were mentioned, but the tone of the letter rang clear. Cecile believed Petula had the amulet or a gollum domus nearby. And she offered something else...
"She gives the location of my birth father," I said as I quickly read ahead. "His name is Marco Bourdain. He lives in Chicago, but apparently he has never admitted to my paternity. Interesting. Cecile thinks the amulet might be with him if Petula doesn't have it."
I lifted my gaze to gauge Vincent's reaction. To say his face looked pale would not do it justice, but his skin resembled the pallor of the ornamental statues of his home.
"You know this family, don't you? Your mom's domus is in Chicago. I remember you telling me that."
"Yes. You met one of the Bourdain's at the All Hallows Eve party. Omar. He is the elder of his domus. My Uncle Caleb was trying to set him up with my mother."
"I thought he looked a little old for her."
"He is twenty-two years her senior. They have known each other since she was a child."
"So, if Omar Bourdain is the elder of the domus, then who is the magister?"
"That would be your father, Marco."
"Holy shit."
"I was going to go with 'Holy fuck', but your sentiment works too."
"Didn't you have some idea about my parentage, Vincent? Not long after we met, you told me you knew how to find my birth parents."
"I said I might be able to find them. I knew you were a gollum, so that helped. And, if you turned out to be the child my father tried to rescue, that would pretty much confirm it."
"But you never pursued it once you figured out I was that child."
"Technically, I didn't confirm it until just now." He pointed at the letter. "This amulet Cecile is after... did she describe it?"
"There's a drawing of it at the bottom of the page. She says the amulet was forged from gold into the Seal of Solomon, although it doesn't look like any Seal of Solomon I've ever seen." I turned the letter over to him, letting him see for himself.
"That's because this was the original symbol. It wasn't until after the seventeenth century that the seal took on its current design." He handed the letter back, but his eyebrows had furrowed, giving his face that contemplative look. I let him have his moment as I folded up the paper, setting it next to its mate.
"Should I keep going or wait until you've had a chance to absorb all that?" I said.
"It's not going to be easy getting invited to the Bourdain domus," Vincent said as he held me in the path of his eyes. "If Cecile wants you to search for the amulet there, you will need a Valentino with you, and when your father finds out you're alive... Well, you should prepare for the prospect he will turn you away."
"So, everyone thinks I died during the rescue attempt?"
"There was no indication either way, so they all assumed the worst."
I nodded my understanding, although it happened without my help, and Vincent waved me on. I picked up the second letter, opening it slowly, like a jack-in-the-box. What else did Cecile want to say that couldn't be trusted in the hands of hive patrol? Was Austin untrustworthy? Were there spies among her ranks?
The second letter had been written more formally, like one friend to another, and I hesitated a moment, wondering whether or not I should read it to myself first. Before the doubt crept in, I went ahead and read it out loud.
"Reese, I have written this letter under separate cover. Its contents are only known by you and me and your grandfather. I consider Willem to be my most trusted confidant, not my daughter, Hadria, and I will tell you why. She is plotting to kill me."
I lifted my gaze. Assessing Vincent's reaction. As expected, he didn't appear surprised or concerned. I continued reading.
"Hadria is an ambitious would-be queen. She is intelligent, tenacious, and wants what is best for the hive, but our philosophies differ greatly on how to maintain stability and help each member flourish. Where I have chosen to facilitate comradery, and encourage young demons to pursue more exemplary paths, Hadria is hungry for power and domination over gollums and humans alike."
"Exemplary?" Vincent snorted his reaction but offered nothing more. I continued.
"I admit most hive queens promote the practice of kill or be killed. After all, our species carries the burden of oppression, making survival our priority. Hadria is still young, at only forty-five, and her unique DNA will keep her looking youthful far into her eighties. She is also young in the mind, having not experienced a war or famine or natural disasters. Events that can wipe out entire colonies of demons. It takes more than strength in battle to overcome these obstacles.
"If you procure the amulet for me, Reese, I can appease Hadria while I mentor another daughter to succeed me as queen. Hadria's temper has become volatile, and I keep guards around me at all times due to her unpredictable behavior. I am afraid Hadria will eventually need to be eliminated. While this action may seem extreme to you, I believe it is necessary to maintain the health of the hive and prevent disruption between the species. I hope this letter and our meeting in the hive helped you understand your ancestry a bit better. I am sure the gollums have shared their genealogy with you, but they would not be able to share ours for they know very little about their demon enemy, and this is done with a purpose."
I glanced up. "She signed it with a quote."
"What's the quote?"
"The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent. – Sun Tzu."
I curbed my desire to put in my two cents because I didn't want to pull Vincent's trigger. His fingers were steepled at his lips, and he stared at the wall with sober intent. He was mulling things over. Cecile had written Christoph's phone number after her scrolling signature, instructing me to use him as my contact when I recovered the amulet. Apparently, Christoph would be getting his wish to shadow me. I picked up my cellphone and started punching the number into my contacts list, although I had a feeling Vincent wouldn't be fond of the arrangement.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Geez.
"I'm adding Christoph's phone number to my contacts. I'm supposed let him know when I find the amulet."
"Why him? I don't trust that guy."
"Are there any demons you do trust?"
"No, but he kissed you without your permission. I saw it with my own eyes. If I hadn't been the one commanding the rescue party, I would have done something about it."
"I know you would have, and it would have been unnecessary. Christoph apologized afterwards."
"He shouldn't have had to."
"He also told me I could consider him a friend, so you won't have to worry about him attacking me in a dark alley."
Vincent shook his head disapprovingly. "I hope you didn't take him seriously. They're using you, Reese. Surely, you see that."
"Yes, but it doesn't mean they're going to kill me once I give them what they want. They aren't the blood thirsty beasts the gollums think they are. They're just trying to make the best of the hand they've been dealt."
"Your compassionate nature is a virtue, but it could get you killed," he said, squinting his eyes and using his CEO wizardry on me. "I know you want to believe the demons are not a threat to you, but they would have no qualms taking you out if you posed a threat to them."
"Of course they would, and gollums would respond the same way. It's pack mentality."
If I didn't know Vincent better, I would have missed the subtle twitch of his head, giving away his annoyance. And that was fine. He could cling to his dogma until he realized his world was changing. That's what happens when you fall for a sympathizer.
Vincent stood suddenly and picked up his phone. "I have to call home. I'll have Charleton set up a video conference with the others. We need to tell them everything."
"Everything?" I said as my mind immediately flew to the porch and the shower and the fireplace.
"Yes, Reese. Everything."