Garden of Dreams and Desires - Kristen Painter Page 0,68
when y’all are here. Otherwise…” She vanished.
“Mom!” Harlow’s heart lurched. “Where are you?”
Olivia reappeared smile-first like the Cheshire cat. “I never left. I’m just not visible unless I want to be. It takes some effort being visible and solid.”
The realization of what Olivia was saying struck Harlow hard. “You’re a ghost, aren’t you?” Why that made her eyes burn with tears, she couldn’t say. Maybe it was how fine a point it put on her mother being dead.
Sadness took the shine off her mother’s smile. “I guess you could say I am.”
Harlow turned to Lally, anger creeping into her gut. “Is there nothing we can do to help her? Something we could use the tree for?” She scrubbed at the threatening tears. “I don’t care if she’s a ghost. I just want her back and out of this place.” She stood up. “I hate this place.” The wind kicked up. She thrust her chest out and screamed it into the air. “I hate this place.”
Olivia reached up to her. “Harlow, darling, there’s nothing we can—”
Two figures stepped out of the air. The man Harlow recognized as Hugo Loudreux, the father of the girl she’d helped rescue right before Ava Mae had taken control of her body. The woman was Blu, Loudreux’s personal security and Augustine’s half sister. Loudreux snapped his mirror case closed and stared at her.
A very bad feeling overwhelmed Harlow. She stepped in front of Lally. “Prime Loudreux. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m sure you didn’t.” He looked around. “I suppose Augustine is here with you somewhere?”
“No, he’s at the house. Do you need him? Is Rue okay?”
Loudreux’s expression soured further at the mention of his daughter’s name. “She’s fine.”
“That’s good.” Harlow wanted to ask if Rue’s finger and ear tip had grown back yet, but considering Harlow’s late father, Joseph Branzino, was the one who’d cut them off in the first place, she kept quiet. “Anything else I can do for you?”
He motioned to Blu and she took a step forward. “Yes. You can come with me.”
Harlow jumped down off the rock. “I thought you didn’t need help with anything.”
Blu grabbed her arm. “Sorry,” she whispered.
Harlow glared at her. “What are you doing?”
Loudreux’s smug expression made her want to punch him. “I’m arresting you. For transporting a human to the fae plane.”
Chapter Sixteen
Augustine’s new com cell had synced just fine based on the buzzing in his head. He held up his finger to Fenton and pointed at his head. “Answer.”
“Augustine, it’s Yanna, something terrible has happened. Loudreux just arrested Harlow for—”
“What? Wait, I’m putting you on speaker.” He jabbed the button on his LMD to get the call out of his head and make it available for Fenton. “Go ahead, Fenton’s here.”
“Loudreux just arrested Harlow for transporting a human onto the fae plane. Your housekeeper, I believe.”
“Fet’ka. That piece of garbage. I’m going to kill that bala’stro.” Augustine moved to get up, but Fenton clamped a hand on his arm.
Fenton’s eyes held an unfamiliar anger. “Yanna, how do you know this?”
“Because Loudreux called a special council. A few of us, myself and Salander Meer, were not included—”
“Nor was I,” Fenton snarled. “Continue.”
“Another Elektos alerted us, one who was called in but sides with us. Word is Loudreux plans to hold a tribunal to sentence Harlow to the Claustrum.”
“How the hell does he think that’s fair?” Augustine didn’t care if the man was Prime. Augustine would forcibly retire him. “He owes Rue’s life to Harlow. She was instrumental in getting Rue back after she was kidnapped.”
“Yes,” Yanna said. “Kidnapped by Branzino. That’s the sticking point. Loudreux blames you for setting the whole chain of events into action, but he blames Harlow for bringing Branzino to New Orleans and for what happened to Rue.”
Fenton stiffened. “That is ludicrous.” He shook his head. “And so typically Hugo. That man is a cancer.”
Augustine’s vision narrowed to the point that all he could see was Loudreux’s face. “The best way to remove a cancer is to cut it out.”
Fenton’s fingers squeezed harder. “Yanna, how did he know Harlow had gone to the fae plane?”
“Apparently, he’d posted a few of his own men in rotating shifts. He’d kept them on the other side of the Claustrum.”
“He planned this.” Fenton’s voice cracked with a shard of icy rage. “Yanna, is the meeting still going on?”
“Yes. Salander and I are almost there.”
Fenton looked at Augustine as he spoke. “Augustine and I are on our way, but keep that to yourselves. I prefer to