The Devil's Third (40 page)

 “You can thank me later.” She waggled her eyebrows.

I laughed. “Oh, I will. You can count on it.” The heaviness in my chest lifted, and I could breathe easier. But to say I was nervous was an understatement. I was anxious as hell and clasped my hands in my lap while I watched her position herself at the edge of the room, like she had when she contacted Kora. She lifted her hands above her head, her palms positioned skyward, and in my mind I said a prayer to please make this work.

Chapter Forty

Paige

I closed my eyes, and in a strong, commanding voice, I said, “In love and pure light, I call forth Nathan’s immediate family to join us in this room.” Just like the last time, a tingling sensation developed on my palms and at the crown of my head, moving up my arms and through my body, leaving an energizing warmth in its wake. “In love and pure light, I call forth Nathan’s immediate family to join us in this room.” I repeated in the same forceful voice.

“Paige,” Nathan whispered, causing me to look.

In the center of the living room, three glowing basketball sized orbs hovered in the air. Bright, beautiful colors swirled inside them: violet, pink, orange, green, blue, and so forth. It was like a living lava lamp in a white round ball.

My heart leaped in my chest.

I did it!

Nathan sat on the edge of the couch, his legs spread apart, his forearms on his thighs. We grinned at each other, and I continued, “Forgive me for the intrusion, but Nathan would like to have a word with you.”

The orbs plummeted to the floor. When they bounced, two men and a woman appeared in the center of my living room. I could see Nathan’s likeness in all of them. There was no doubt in my mind who stood before me. They had to be his dad, mom, and one of his brothers. Nathan rose to his feet and moved beside me, his mouth agape.

“Nathan, darling,” the woman said, “how wonderful to see and talk to you once again.”

 She was pretty with dark blonde shoulder length hair, curled at the bottom and the sides held back with jeweled silver combs. She wore a simple white and blue striped dress that brushed her ankles.

“Mom,” Nathan said. He breathed in and out a couple times. I was guessing to control his emotions, because I could feel them rolling off him. “I’m sorry for what I put you through.” His gaze shifted on the handsome older male. “I apologize to you as well, Father. Please forgive me.”

His mother moved toward us, gliding across the room. Her smile reaching her blue eyes. “You’ve been punishing yourself over this far too long, son. There is nothing to forgive. You chose an honorable path, and I understand now why you deceived us.”

“I should have told you,” Nathan said, his tone drenched in bitterness.

She shook her head. “No, son. You and your father did the right thing. I know it now and carry no ill will toward you or your father. In fact, I have a deep respect for you both.”

A tear escaped Nathan’s eye. “Thank you. I-I love and miss you both terribly.”

His father and brother joined his mother’s side. His father had dark brown hair and eyes, whereas is brother’s hair was a lighter brown, his eyes a bluish gray in color. They were taller than Nathan by an inch–six feet two to be exact–and wore black knee high boots, brown trousers with buckled suspenders over a long sleeve white shirt. The only difference was Nathan’s brother had on a newsboy cap and held a mischievous glint in his eyes like he was always looking for a good time.

“We’ve been watching you off and on throughout the years,” his father replied. “We’re proud of you and share the same sentiments.”

Nathan opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. More tears trailed down his face. He wiped at them and sniffed a couple times.

“What’s with the waterworks?” his brother asked, his tone light and full of humor.

“Give me a break, Thomas,” Nathan said, half-smiling. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Where’s Jeremiah and Samuel?”

“They moved on,” his mother said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But they loved you very much.”

“They wanted to be with their families,” Thomas clarified.

“What about you?” I asked.

Nathan blinked, and his body jerked as if he’d been startled out of a deep sleep. “Oh, I’m sorry. How terribly rude of me.” He gestured to me. “This is Paige. Paige, this is my father, Jesse, my mother, Sarah, and my brother Thomas.”

“Please to finally meet you,” I said, moving my hand up to shake theirs, but then quickly dropped it, hoping nobody noticed.
How lame. They wouldn’t be able to shake it. Duh, Paige.

“The pleasure is all ours, dear,” Sarah said with a warm smile, and Jesse made an agreeable sound.

Thomas touched the brim of his hat and nodded. “I can see why my little brother is smitten by you.” An appreciative smile crossed his handsome face.

“Oh, well . . .” I stammered, not knowing what to say.

“To answer your question,” he went on, “my family is with me, but we’ll be moving on as well.”

Their images began to flicker, signaling their time here was about to come to an end. I was surprised how short their visit was and frowned in disappointment.

“We have to go,” Sarah said. She rested her eyes on mine. “I cannot thank you enough for allowing us to reconnect with our son.”

“I’m glad I was able to,” I said.

“Will I see you again?” Nathan asked with a hitch in his throat. He didn’t want them to go. I knew the feeling quite well. My heart squeezed when the sense of longing to be with my own family washed over me. I knew Nathan must be going through the same heartache.

“Perhaps,” Jesse answered. “I’d like to think so. But your mother and I plan on leaving Summer Land now that we were able to visit with you.”

“I understand,” Nathan said lamely.

“You’ve done well, little brother,” Thomas said. “I’m proud of you.”

“We all are,” Jesse stated.

“Always remember, son,” Sarah said as they faded away. “Our love for you will never perish.”

“Bend an elbow for me,” Thomas’ disembodied voice called.

Then, they were gone.

Nathan sat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. He tilted his head to the side and squinted at me. “Thank you.”

“Are you okay?” I wasn’t sure because his expression was unreadable. “I didn’t think their visit would be so short.” I felt bad he didn’t have much time with them, like it was my fault. Maybe if I would have concentrated harder or had said something else when I was invoking their spirits . . .

He took my hand and pulled me onto his lap. “I’m absolutely wonderful.” He hugged me to his chest, tightening his arms around me. “I cannot stress enough how heavy of a burden I had on my shoulders and the guilt I’d been harboring for all these years. Thanks to you it’s gone now.”

“But you didn’t get to spend much time with your family.”

“I would love to spend hours with them, but I understand the veil can only be lifted for so long.” He patted my arm. “Don’t feel bad about it.”

“What does bend an elbow mean?”

Nathan laughed. “It means have a drink.”

I laughed with him. “Thomas seems like he’d be fun to be around.”

“He is. It didn’t surprise me Jeremiah and Samuel moved on. They were always restless.”

“Your family is nice. I’m glad I had the chance to meet them.”

He kissed my cheek. “They liked you as well.”

“Really? How do you know?” For some reason it meant a lot to me to have his family’s approval, even though I’d probably never see them again.

“Oh, I could tell.”

An idea came to me that had nothing to do with what we were talking about. But I felt good and up to trying it. “Since I appear to be on a roll, can you call Ameerah and have her come over?”

“I spoke to her earlier, while you were in the shower,” Nathan said. “She won’t come because of Zeruel. I told her I’d pick her up tomorrow afternoon and we’ll go to my house. She said hi, by the way.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about Zeruel.” I sat up, causing him to loosen his arms around me. I shifted in his lap, facing him. “Call her anyway. We can pick her up right now and go to your house.”

“Okay, but first,” he said, running his fingertip down my cheek, over to my lips, his dark blue eyes brightening, “I need to pay my debt to you.” His hand went to the back of my head, and he pulled me toward him, kissing me. My stomach flipped and a wave of heat shot to parts of my body. Our tongues connected. I held his face in my hands, kissing him deeper, softly moaning in his mouth. Our breaths quickened, hearts beating faster. “I want you,” he said, his voice low almost feral.

I took my thermal top off, leaving on my see-through, white lace camisole, my breasts erect, stretching the material. At the same time Nathan removed his shirt, baring his smooth, muscular chest and hard abs. Locking eyes with his, I ran my hand down his torso. He shivered and lolled his head back, breathing heavy. I pulled him on top of me, our tongues once again connecting, exploring, his skin hot against mine. The air grew thick and heady with passion as we huffed into each other’s mouths. My elbows were next to my ears; my hands held fast to the arm of the couch as his mouth and tongue roamed my body. First down my neck and then through the flimsy lace until he pushed it up, making contact with my bare breasts. My moans rose, and I arched my back when his hands slid between my thighs, his mouth moving downward, leaving a trail of heat in its wake.

An hour later, I was lying in Nathan’s arms on the couch. We were both happy and for the first time in a while . . . content. I knew I made the right decision to be with him. I was crazy in love with Nathan and wanted us to spend the rest of our lives together. I also somehow knew this bullcrap that kept coming between us to try and break us up had ended. Finally, it was just him and me and nothing else.

Now, I needed to help Ameerah reunite with her girlfriend Nadia. I said a quick, silent prayer that Nadia was still in Summer Land. Otherwise, I feared Ameerah might backslide and return to her old, dark ways.

Oh, please have Ameerah find peace and happiness once and for all.

Chapter Forty-One

Nathan

Ameerah was happy to see us when we picked her up. She hopped in the backseat with a black backpack slung over her shoulder and chatted with Paige the whole way to my house. They acted like old friends catching up on lost time. One of the first things she said to Paige, though, was she had nothing to do with Volac and his group ambushing us. It seemed important to her, like Paige’s opinion mattered. I found it odd for a dark spirit to care what an immortal thought, but then again Ameerah was in the process of evolving herself, stepping away from the dark planes of existence. I had to give her credit for it and did so when Paige made a point to tell her how proud she was of her for wanting to make things right. Unable to accept our compliments, Ameerah shrugged them off and quickly changed the subject, shifting the attention away from herself. “I have a picture of Nadia,” she said, digging in her bag. She withdrew a photo and handed it to Paige. “It’s the only one I have. Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is,” Paige agreed. She turned it so I could have a quick look. It was a black and white picture of a girl around Paige’s age, with long dark hair and round doe eyes. There was a tiny smile appearing shy against her delicate features. “She has a haunting, sad look,” Paige noted, handing it back.

Ameerah stared at the photo for a long while before answering, “Nadia had the misfortune of being born into the wrong family.”

I parked in front of my house. The lights automatically came on, illuminating the broad deck. A strained, uncomfortable silence fell between us. I didn’t know how to respond to her comment and shot Paige a helpless look. She winked at me and turned to Ameerah. “C’mon,” she said, sounding cheerful. “Let’s go see if I can reach her.”

Ameerah didn’t budge. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?” I asked.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Paige told her. “Nathan and I are with you.”

Ameerah lifted her eyes off the worn photo. “What if Nadia doesn’t want to be with me?”

“You’re being silly,” Paige said, playfully rolling her eyes. “It’ll be fine.”

“What if I’m not forgiven?” Ameerah’s voice shook, and her bottom lip trembled.

Paige took Ameerah’s hand. “From what I understand . . . you only need to forgive yourself.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Ameerah questioned with wide, turbulent eyes.

“Then I’ll help you until you are forgiven,” Paige said with such a fierce conviction it left no doubt in my mind she’d keep her word.

Ameerah cast her eyes down to Paige holding her hand.“You’re a good friend. Thanks.”

I opened the door and stepped out into the cool night, then stuck my head back inside the Jeep. “Shall we, ladies?”

Ameerah grabbed her pack and sighed.“I guess.”

“Fear not, fallen one. All will be well,” I said as they exited the Jeep.

“Fallen one?” Paige asked, wrapping her arm around mine.

Ameerah scowled. “Don’t call me that name.”

“Jade acknowledged Ameerah by labeling her the ‘fallen one,’” I said in a stage whisper.

“I can hear you,” Ameerah said, raising her eyebrows.

“Fallen from grace?” Paige guessed.

Ameerah made a face and kicked a rock. “Something like that.” She looked at me as we climbed the steps on the deck. “Cool pad. I’ve always loved A-frame houses. The wood and stone complement each other beautifully.”

“Thanks.” I unlocked the door and turned on lights. “Make yourself at home.”

Ameerah stood by the front door, breathing in through her nostrils. Her eyes fluttered closed, then opened. A pleasant smile formed on her face. “Your house smells like pine and oak. I love the earthy aroma the two create.” She wandered to the living room and absently set her pack on the couch while looking around in wonder. She pointed to the wood railing bordering the loft above. “Was this made by hand? The scroll work is superb.”