“You are very brave,” Leo said, appraising me. “I have no way to tell which way Enid will lean, but she would have to outright ignore your strength and power to harm you, which I don’t believe she will do. She is passionate, and angry, and fearful, but she has never been stupid. She is one of the oldest supernaturals ever to be created. We have to hope that she will see what her sister does. Now, would you like to walk there, or shall I take us?” He grinned.
“Walk!” Danny shouted, answering for all of us.
We made our way down the hill toward the church.
I contemplated my next moves. First and foremost, I had to reason with Enid and implore her to listen to me. Rourke was right. I had no idea how to bring her dead sister back. Instead, I would have to convince her of my willingness to make a sacrifice. If she didn’t believe me, or take my words to heart, she wouldn’t keep me around, and that would be the end of it.
My heart felt heavy with the risk we were walking into, but I knew I was headed in the right direction. “Juanita,” I muttered under my breath, “I could use your help about now. I know you said you wouldn’t interfere, but if Enid doesn’t listen, what am I supposed to do?” Immediately, one of Rourke’s back pockets buzzed, and I arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you have a Pack phone on you?”
“I do,” he answered as he reached around. “Unlike you, I can’t talk internally with anyone but you.”
I held my hand out. “I think Juanita is trying to get a hold of me.” She was using the same tricks she’d used before.
The screen flashed: YOU ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Then the words disappeared and new ones popped up.
GO WITH YOUR HEART.
I glanced up at the sky as dawn broke over the rolling hills of Tuscany. “I’m glad you’re with me,” I said, “even if you can’t be here in person. I hope your sister hears me out.” Then I looked at Leo. “How come Juanita knows where I am, but Enid can’t see me?”
“You and Juanita have a very special bond,” he answered. Then he shrugged. “And I may have left a little doorway open for her to get through. She’s crafty, that one. I only knew her in another form when she went by the name Pandora. She chose to go through a rebirth so she could watch over you. It’s very rare for a supernatural to do that, but the process has strengthened her. She has been immersed in human culture for a long while now. It has made her more amenable to change, as she knew it would.”
I almost tripped, launching myself down the hill. “Pandora? As in Pandora’s box?”
Leo chuckled softly. “That is an old myth, indeed. But, technically, yes, she is that Pandora. Pandora was the first woman created by the gods, but there wasn’t just one woman. Three sisters were tasked with keeping a watchful eye over Fate for both the humans and the supernaturals. Pandora’s box was said to contain plagues and diseases and all the evils of the world and that Pandora unleashed them by opening the box. But that is far from the truth. The sisters were forced to watch as the diseases came, sometimes wiping out entire civilizations, along with wars, death and destruction, famine, all of which led to civilization as we know it. And they could do nothing to stop it. Pandora’s box, as I know the origin of the myth, actually contained her tears and sorrow. Of course, it’s not a physical box, but a metaphor for her emotions. But the tellings of tales get twisted through the ages, as to be expected.”
That was incredible news.
Juanita was Pandora.
It was hard to believe that she had been reborn to protect me and keep me from harm so this day could come. It felt momentous. “I don’t know what to say,” I answered truthfully. “It seems the supernatural world is much larger in scope than I’d ever imagined. Growing up, I heard myths and tales about angels and demons, gods and goddesses, from all walks of life. But even for a supernatural, it’s hard to grasp that those myths are actually truths.”
“Indeed, it is,” Leo agreed. “As a leader on the Coalition, you will be privy to every detail of this world and every realm contained within it. There will be a lot to learn. There are a lot of creatures and beings that have thought to have been extinct, but who still exist. Your job will not be an easy one.”
Rourke said, “She won’t be alone. Her family will stay by her side.”
Leo nodded, his face contemplative. “The Coalition has been made up of five females for as long as it’s existed. They interact and share power, but each has her own job to do. Jessica will bring new dimension by opening up the Coalition to others. I believe this is the right thing to do, as it’s been stagnant for far too long. I believe this will be the most successful Coalition ever created. Supernaturals will be forced to obey the laws, not just by five, but by many.”
“Why has there been such a long time between the last Coalition and this one?” I asked. “I was told my birth was late, but that I killed Ardat Lili too early. I don’t understand how it works.”
“Fate is incredibly complicated,” Leo said. “I don’t think anybody is really meant to understand it. Not only were you born late, but so was the vampire you seek today. But it had to happen that way, for she met with Enid long ago. And when Enid took her this time, Enid remembered her from those long years ago, and what she had said to the vampire. It’s all part of the fabric.”
We were almost to the church. “Do you feel Enid inside?”
“I do,” Leo replied. “In fact, she has let me know she is expecting us. She has deduced that we would come here, even though she had no prior knowledge.”
When we got within fifty yards, the church door swung open.
A lone figure stood in the doorway of crumbling bricks, the sun just poking its rays over the treetops.
She was dressed in a simple white gown. Her hair was also white, flowing freely down over her shoulders. Her face was aged, but not overly so. She looked to be roughly sixty human years. She glanced at us and swung her arm toward the interior of the church. “Won’t you come in?”
21
I was unsure what to do. I was relieved Enid was here and willing to talk, but I looked to Leo for guidance. He didn’t hesitate as he moved forward with grace, tucking his vibrant wings tightly to his back. I’d been right—as the first rays of sunlight glinted off them, they shone the purest white. In contrast to his olive skin, it made him look ethereal.
“I trust you have been well,” Leo said as he approached Enid. “It has been many years since we last encountered each other. You have not changed overly much.”