Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,39

out an old scroll. He took it to the table, and I followed him diligently. I could only hope that what he had there was intended for me and that it would help me carry out my mission. By now, I’d figured out why he’d told me he was an astrologer as well. He’d known I’d come. Astrologers could predict the future, and I was sure Lucien was one of the best. Nothing that had happened today had been coincidental. Maybe I was supposed to fall from the observatory of Hotel Fortitude. Maybe Domina had only done what she was meant to do all along, and there was no reason for me to hold it against her.

“It’s all in here,” he said as he unrolled the scroll gently.

“Won’t it break?”

He chuckled, amused. “It’s fragile, but no. Haven’t I told you that all we have in Heaven is more durable than what you have on Earth?”

“Right.”

I looked over his shoulder, but I couldn’t understand a word. The language must have been ancient and most likely, not even human. Nowadays, everyone spoke English. There were maybe some smaller communities in the most remote pocket universes that didn’t, but we rarely interacted with them.

“This is my great-grandfather’s diary. He recounts how he went through the transition himself, how he lost his immortality and in exchange received the gift of carnal pleasure and the ability to produce offspring. The men on my ancestral line always chose to marry within their ranks.”

“This must be so valuable,” I said as I traced my fingers over the edges of the scroll. It was a privilege to touch something so old, something that had been written by one of the first heavenly bearings God had created and man had perverted. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

He stole a glance at me. “I’m not giving it to you.”

“I… didn’t mean it like that.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, what I really wanted to show you is the names of the five mages who did the ritual.” He pointed at a string of characters that said exactly nothing to me. When I didn’t react, he sighed. “Silly me. I’ll write them down for you.”

He found a piece of paper and wrote down five names:

Cosmo Merton

Tatiana De Marco

Bastien Castegny

Miranda Elkin

Atticus Hamelin

Only one of them sounded somewhat familiar to me. Hamelin. Where had I heard it before? I took the paper, folded it, and slipped it in my pocket. My stomach twisted when I remembered I’d lost Corri’s bell. I couldn’t call her. I’d sent her to find Mila the day before, and she hadn’t returned yet. All I could hope was that she’d find my cousin soon and come looking for me. She was able to find me anywhere, even in Heaven.

“You must be tired. And hungry. Lie down, and I will bring you something to eat.”

“I can’t stay…”

“Oh, but you must. You haven’t seen all of Heaven. Rest, and I’ll take you later. Or tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?! I can’t stay that long. They’ll be looking for me.”

“So, let them look.”

Hm. He’s right. Let them look, for once.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lucien was just telling me that the next time the stars would be aligned right for a potential banishing ritual would be next year on Christmas Night. No pressure. He’d insisted I spent the night in his tower, and I’d reluctantly agreed. In the morning, he brought breakfast, and we ate together by the tall windows overlooking the Fourth Sphere of Heaven. When Mila and Corri teleported right before us, I was complaining that it was absolutely impossible for me to figure out how to banish the cosmic spawns by next Christmas. I had a year at my disposal, but it wasn’t going to be enough. I had this strange feeling that more was involved. Things that not even Lucien knew about.

“Mistress, what happened?” Corri buzzed around me, checking my transparent cast, touching my hand, my shoulder, my clavicle, trying to assess the damage. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. I told you the RDC is bad news!”

“Corri, calm down. Everything is fine. Things happened exactly as they were supposed to.” I looked at Lucien. “Isn’t that right?”

“It is, angel.”

“You knew we were going to meet one day.”

He nodded. “I didn’t know what the circumstances would be, but yes. I knew it would happen. I’m sorry you had to break your arm to get here.”

I shrugged. “Bad karma, I’m sure. I have some things to pay for.”

“Nonsense!” Mila left her tall, curved scythe by the window and