Death In Her Eyes - Erin Bedford Page 0,27

points from me. As far as I could tell he was still just looking out for himself. After all, he dumped me off here and took off again. He couldn't even be bothered to explain what the hell was going on himself.

"Are you going to wait outside my door all day? The tea is getting cold."

The door had cracked open while I was having my internal hissy fit. A grey-haired woman with stormy grey eyes peeked out of the door at me.

"Oh, sorry." I shifted out of the way so she could open the door completely. I brushed passed her noticing how much she did not scream seer. She wore a fuzzy pink sweater over a pale blue house dress with little white flowers decorating it. Her cream-colored slippers had seen better days. She seemed more like someone's grandmother than some mystical being who would know what I was going through.

"Please come, have a seat." She ushered me to a small table with a pretty white lace tablecloth. A tea pot with a yellow daisy painted on the side of it sat in the middle of the table. I slid into the chair before one of the teacups, noticing how there was only two cups. Had she known Azazel wouldn't be joining us?

If she was a seer, then probably.

"Tea?" She sat down across from me and lifted the pot up with a quirk of her brow.

I didn't actually care for the stuff but didn't want to be rude. Get more flies with honey and all that. Or in this case, answers.

"Yes, please." I picked the saucer and cup up, holding it steady while she poured the tea.

"Sugar? Cream?"

I waved her off, settling to sip the vile bitter leaf water in silence.

The woman filled her own cup with tea and then piled in more sugar than was probably healthy for someone her age and only a dash of cream. "So...why don't you tell me about yourself?"

I gaped at her. "Uh, don't you already know?"

She laughed jovially and then sipped from her cup. Once she put her cup back down and swallowed, she leveled a look at me. "I could look into your past, your future, even your present but I find it quite rude, don't you?"

I ducked my head down, staring at the dark liquid in my cup. "Yeah. I suppose so."

"Well, then we are in agreement. Introductions are best to start don't you think?" She waited for me to answer as she brought her cup up to her mouth.

"Elle."

"Ah, yes. Batariel's daughter." When I flinched at my father's name she smiled. "We can get back to him in a moment. I am Sarah." My brows rose and she laughed. "Yes, I know. Quite the boring Biblical name. I'm sure you were expecting something far more exotic like Camilla or Lucia. Both of whom are quite lovely ladies, so you know. They work down in the kitchens."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that. Sarah seemed to know what I was thinking before I even said it, but she wasn't a mind reader. Perhaps it was part of her abilities? It was odd. I was used to being the one who knew things about others that could be used against them. Now I was on the opposite end of the table and I found myself unsettled.

"I really like your...room." I glanced around the cozy area, searching for something to say to break the tension. After a long look at her collection of porcelain clowns I wished I'd kept my mouth shut.

And people called me weird.

Sarah simply took it all in stride, laughing as she watched me struggle to keep my expression pleasant. "You needed pretend with me, Elle. Our gift is not the easiest one to live with."

I drank deeply of my tea grimacing against the bitter taste but preferring it to talking about my gift.

"It's my understanding that you didn't come here of your own volition."

I snorted. "You could say that."

"Hmm." Sarah stared at me for a long moment, then her eyes dipped to my hand, the one with the scar. "Your mother and father tried extremely hard to keep you hidden. It's a pity she had to die. She was a lovely woman."

I almost dropped my teacup. "You knew my mother."

Sarah smiled behind her teacup. "Oh yes, she was one of my favorite students. For a time. A rare thing indeed for an angel to bed a Nephilim let alone marry one. Your mother was indeed special."

Dad had