Premonition of Peace (Her Immortal Monsters #3)

Chapter 20

twenty

NATHALIE

One of the many benefits of a best friend was they would show up for you, no questions asked. After what Piper and I had been through together, we were no different. If she called me and told me to bring a shovel, I’d ask when and where. So when I called to tell her Marcel was dying and that I needed her and the kids at Se?ora Rosara’s shop, like a true best friend, she said they were on their way.

Within minutes, Piper and Ronan arrived, each holding the hand of one of their twins as they walked through the light realm and appeared inside the store. Honor and Orson smiled as they saw me.

“Auntie Nat!” they said in unison as I scooped them into a hug.

“Hey, guys,” I said softly, glancing up at their parents. No doubt they could see the urgency in my eyes. I gestured to August standing beside me. “This is my friend, August. He’s safe. Can you hang out with him for a minute while I talk to Mom and Dad about something?”

August snapped his head in my direction, giving me a quick look of uncertainty.

“It’s fine,” I whispered. “Just show them the gemstones on the shelves over there. Honor likes geodes. They can pet the cats. But not the tuxedo cat, and not the orange tabby. They’re both pissy.”

Piper inclined her chin when they looked to her for confirmation, and August reached his hands out for each of them to take one. I could feel Ronan tense at the sight of another man walking away with his kids, but August was the safer choice. Lucifer had stayed in the back room with Marcel, though I knew he was irritated by it. I would have to tell him at some point that I appreciated the fact he didn’t fight me on it. We both knew that if he were present, it would make this harder for Piper and Ronan. My eyes strayed to the back room, my heart clenching at the thought of Marcel being so frail and vulnerable.

“Where’s Hallie?” I asked.

“With Morfayus and Ailaine,” Piper answered, watching her kids walk away. “If you need her too, Ronan can go get her.”

I shook my head, but before I could speak, Ronan glanced at the back room, no doubt sensing his brother’s presence. “I’m not leaving.”

Piper elbowed him in the stomach. “Nat wouldn’t put the kids in harm’s way.”

“You said Marcel is dying,” Ronan began, crossing his arms. “Why are we here?”

Piper glared at him. “A little tact, maybe?”

I waved it off, placing a hand on Piper’s arm. “No, he’s right. There’s no time to sugarcoat any of this.”

She pressed her lips together. “Fair enough. What can we do?”

I looked between Piper and Ronan, knowing what I was about to ask would worry them both. I knew Ronan wouldn’t like it. I knew Piper would be hesitant. But it was all I had.

“The death magic in Marcel can’t be slowed down anymore. He’s about to die,” I said, pausing as emotion began to clog my throat. I cleared it out, trying to keep my composure. If I didn’t remain calm, this wouldn’t work. “I need to change him into an immortal.”

Piper’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand. We talked about this already. You’d said his body can’t handle it.”

“It can’t. I need Honor’s magic to change his reality,” I said quickly, holding my breath and waiting for Ronan to shut me down.

I volleyed between Piper and Ronan as they exchanged a heavy look. I could practically see the silent, mental conversation happening between them. Their hesitation was palpable, the heaviness of the decision pressing down on all of us.

“That’s . . . risky,” Piper said softly. The concern in her voice was evident, and it mirrored the fear gnawing at me. “Honor’s magic isn’t stable, Nat. We can’t ask her to use it. Hell, we’ve done everything possible so she won’t use it. She can’t control it.”

“But I can,” I said, placing a hand on my chest. “I can channel and control her magic.” Their silence indicated more mental conversation, so I pressed on. “She needs to be okay with me doing this and give me consent, of course, but there’s no risk to Honor. She’ll be perfectly safe, and Orson’s presence brings her comfort. I knew if she said yes, she’d want him here.”

Ronan spoke up, his voice low and stern. “There’s no question that she’d say yes, but we’re not worried about Honor’s safety. We’re worried about yours.”

I raised my brows, almost chuckling internally. Considering the deal Ronan and I had, his concern for my well-being tickled me a bit.

“I can handle it. You both know what I’m capable of.”

“Nat,” Piper began, blowing out a breath as she considered her words. “Honor’s power is immense. She literally holds part of the source of magic itself. Not only is she a demon, but she’s damn near a god. The strain of channeling that will overload you. It would overload anyone. It’s not that we don’t trust you to not hurt Honor. It’s that we don’t trust her magic not to kill you. Even if she’s not the one using it, it doesn’t change its strength. You can channel her magic, fine. But who will protect you when it becomes too much?” Her voice was gentle but serious.

“I . . . then . . . I don’t know.” With a stuttering and uneven exhale, a tight ball of anxiety twisted in my gut. Hope drained out of me, and my fingertips felt numb as a result. The truth was I didn’t know what to do. I knew for certain I had the ability to channel her magic, but if I didn’t have the strength to ground me through it, none of this mattered. I’d just end up dead and that helped no one. And gods forbid something did happen to Honor if I wasn’t able to ground myself.

“I’m so sorry,” Piper said, wrapping her arms around me. “If there was a way to stabilize you . . . It’s just?—”

“Perhaps I can offer my assistance,” Lucifer said, his voice steady and confident. Piper tensed around me, and I glanced at Ronan as she did the same. The devil strolled out from between shelving units in the shop, his hands in his pockets.

“No,” Ronan said gruffly, his jaw clenching.

Lucifer glanced at his brother, but ignored him, choosing to address me and, to an extent, Piper. “I’m your familiar, Nathalie. I can act as your anchor as you channel Honor’s power.”

Piper raised a brow, assessing him. “Can you?”

He lifted his shoulder in a slight shrug. “As the power channels through her, who better to take the brunt of it than an undead demon? It can’t hurt me.”

That little glimmer of hope reappeared, and I played out the scenarios in my head. Ann scrambled in my mind, doing the mental math, and calculating how to perform the spell in this way. While Piper and Ronan were no doubt having their own mental debate, I was figuring out the probability of success.

“It will work,” I whispered, nodding my head as Ann and I had come to the final conclusion. “He’s right. He has the strength to anchor me.”

Piper and Ronan exchanged another glance, silently weighing the proposal. Ronan’s nostrils flared at the idea his brother would be involved.

“You may be overestimating yourself, Nathalie,” Se?ora Rosara said, coming into view. My eyes shot toward the back room. She’d left him. He was alone. Not that he was conscious, but the thought still terrified me. My heart skipped a beat, and she rested her hand on my arm. “Nevertheless, his breathing has slowed, and his heartrate has begun to drop. You are out of time, child. The veil calls to him.”

“Lucifer will have no contact with Honor,” I said quickly, looking directly at Ronan. “The spell requires a three-looped salt sigil; one loop for each of us. Marcel in the middle. She wouldn’t even be near him. He can’t touch her magic. It’ll flow through us like a circuit breaker. Nothing more.” When I glanced at Lucifer, he held his hands up and raised his brows. “This is the only shot I have to save Marcel, you guys. I’ve got nothing else. Whatever shit is between brothers, this has nothing to do with it. Lucifer is my familiar. He knows how I feel about Piper. How I feel about the kids. He would never harm someone I love.”

A parent was protective, no matter if they were human or immortal. Even demons that were almost untouchable. They looked at each other, and Ronan’s shoulders lost some of their tension.

“Okay,” she said, dipping her chin. I could still sense their discomfort, but I also knew Piper and Ronan would never agree if they weren’t actually okay with it.

I threw my arms around her. “Thank you,” I breathed.

“If you plan on doing this, I would save the hugs for later,” Lucifer said, putting a hand on my shoulder and tilting his head toward Se?ora.

She squeezed my hand, turning and walking toward the back room, her skirts shuffling.

I shook my hands out, wishing I could make the anxiety leave my body. “Ronan, will you bring Marcel into my living room?”

He nodded, following the Se?ora.

Without another word, Piper turned to get the twins. We didn’t need to speak. She knew where we were going, and she knew how urgent this was.

I turned to look at Lucifer. “Bring August.”

After running up the stairs to my apartment, I left the door open as I quickly moved things out of the way, not giving a care about where I shoved things. August and Lucifer came in and didn’t question anything. They both jumped to action and moved what furniture was left while I grabbed my supplies. The middle of the living room floor was wide open, with the couch and chairs haphazardly shoved against the walls and windows. We’d done some version of this routine quite a few times now.

I hoped this would be the last.

Ronan appeared, cradling Marcel’s frail body, and Piper and the kids were right behind him.

“She’s ready,” Piper said, giving me the go-ahead as Honor gently waved at me. I wanted to save Marcel more than anything, but if Honor had said no, I never would have forced her.

I gave them a tight-lipped acknowledgment as I kept moving. With a deliberate process, I let salt flow from its box, drawing the sigil with three loops, all connecting at a common point. Each line was precise, each curve intentional. This symbol would serve as the foundation of our ritual and allow for a continual flow of magic between all of us.

Lucifer handed me my athame, and I carefully cleansed it, making sure it was purified for the new spell work. He snapped his fingers, and each candle flickered at once, the tiny flames dancing and creating shadows in the room. The blade gleamed under the dim light, and the weight of the athame in my hand was both comforting and daunting.

Ronan laid Marcel in the center of the sigil, and I pushed emotion aside. There was no room for that right now. His breathing was even more shallow than I’d expected. As if the pulsing death magic ravaging his veins wasn’t enough of a reminder of how close he was to dying, each raspy rise and fall of his chest certainly did the trick.

“Okay,” I began, my voice clear and firm as I turned to Honor, giving her a reassuring smile. “All you need to do is stay in your loop, okay, honey? I’ll do the rest.”

Honor nodded happily. “Yes, Auntie Nat. Mama told me.”

I thanked her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and then looked to Orson. “Thank you for being here too, kiddo.”

He smiled, looking at his twin as they made eye contact and shared some secret moment between them.

Piper led her to sit in the top loop. Honor watched us with curiosity as Lucifer and I positioned ourselves in the two loops at the bottom, side by side. The air was thick with anticipation, every moment stretching out painfully.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and refocused my thoughts and my energy, willing the object of fate to appear.

The spindle.

The loom.

The shears.

Ancient and powerful; the coveted tools of destiny.

I vividly pictured them as they hovered in my mind. They were mine to control. I reminded myself of my strength. What I had done to get here. That these objects belonged to me.

Honor let out a tiny gasp, and Orson whispered, “Mama, did you see that?” Piper lightly shushed him.

When I opened my eyes, the objects sat in front of me, gleaming in the candlelight. Se?ora Rosara and August stood near the door, a stoic expression on her features and a smirk of pride on his face. Orson stood between Piper and Ronan as they watched the circle.

My gaze found Lucifer’s and he dipped his chin, silently encouraging me. Steeling myself, I looked at the others and gave a determined nod.

The Nats of the loci sat at the table, waiting with bated breath. Everyone was holding hands, except Bad Nat. She paced and flicked at her thumbnails anxiously instead.

“Don’t fuck this up,” she whispered in the recesses of my mind as I put up walls to shutter the outside world.

It was time.