Reapers of the Dark (Cora Roberts #4)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Only polite conversation at the dinner table. Leave your talk of world domination until coffee and mints.

S ometimes, bright ideas were so wonderful, they made you feel you were on top of the world. Other times, they were just idiotic. The jury was still out on which camp this fell into. If I was a betting woman, I would say the latter.

I escorted Eloise into my dining room, the eyes of the room ranging from shock to anger. Lucifer looked a little amused, but he was ever the outlier.

Abaddon quirked a brow. “This is quite the surprise, Cora. You really did invite everyone.”

I needed information from her, and we weren’t really in the tea and cake stage of our relationship anymore.

Dave grasped his fork tighter, and I could see him weighing up the many ways he could kill her.

I held up my hand. “Before you get murdery, she’s bound to me for the evening. You kill her, you kill me.” It was my idea. She knew everyone here would place my life above hers. Plus, I wasn’t ready for her to realize we knew about Donn.

Aunt Liz glowered at her mother, as did all my aunts. But Liz seemed a little unhinged at that moment. Maybe it was Dave’s influence.

Hudson, ever the gentleman, offered my grandmother his chair while he placed himself at the end of the table, creating a barrier between myself and Eloise. Maggie found a clean plate and put it in front of her.

“This looks lovely. Your doing?” Eloise asked with a look at Liz.

“We all pitched in, like family should.”

I hadn’t pitched in at all.

“Apologies for my lateness. I had a last-minute video meeting with Gareth.” The presidential candidate. She was testing us to see if we’d heard her delightful news. No one reacted, and that was answer enough for her.

“You know the rules,” I said. “No shop talk, and no drama.”

“Are veiled threats allowed?” Dave snarled. He was white-knuckling that fork like he was weighing up if I should be sacrificed.

“Depends how veiled they are,” Sophia muttered. “Eloise is a little thick skinned, so unless you pitch it just right, she won’t even notice.”

My grandmother stared down her nose at her sister. “I wasn’t aware you were in the country.”

Sophia grinned. Ah. Eloise was monitoring her passport. I suspected my aunt traveled with Lucifer Airways, which meant she’d go undetected. Clever. I enjoyed Eloise being on the back foot for once; it made for a pleasant change.

“How is the pack?” Eloise asked Hudson as she took the first bite of her meal. Everyone else followed suit, but in slow, measured bites while they side-eyed my grandmother like she was an unexploded bomb.

“Restless,” Hudson answered. Okay, we were down to one-word answers. “They don’t enjoy the fact you tried to ensnare them with a spelled pact. That’s below the belt, Eloise, even for you.”

My grandmother didn’t miss a beat. “So you discovered the magic. It would have gone so much easier if you’d signed it, then all of this could have been avoided. But you just had to make it difficult.”

“Wanting freedom isn’t being difficult,” Aira said as she passed Sebastian the turkey plate. Dave eyeballed it and snatched two slices as it went past his nose.

“You would have still maintained your freedom. There’s no need for dramatics.”

Rebecca snorted, a very un-princess like thing to do. “You might have given them the illusion of freedom while you maneuvered everyone, but it would have been just that—an illusion.”

“I thought we said no shop talk,” I snapped. I needed Eloise relaxed to get the information I needed. Everyone looked suitably chastised and started eating again.

Lucifer’s lips twitched. “It’s rare that I am the least hated person in the room. I rather enjoy it.”

Eloise’s hand froze with a forkful of mashed potatoes near her lips. “I haven’t forgotten your last visit,” she said. “I still owe you for the scar.”

Scar? My gaze scanned my grandmother. Nothing but perfection. Where and how had he scarred her? Ugh, I didn’t care.

“How goes world domination, mother?” Dayna asked. Anita scowled at her younger sister.

“Slowly, but I’m getting there,” Eloise said.

Abaddon clamped his hand around his wineglass. “It never works out well, trust me.”

“Agreed,” Lucifer added. “Try ruling a small country first as practice. That way, you can iron out the kinks before expanding your empire.”

Life coaching by Lucifer.

My grandmother smiled. “I already have. The elementals were my testing ground. I’ve cut my teeth on ruling the strongest faction.”

There were murmurs of disagreement around the table.

“It’s not a pissing contest,” I snapped. “I said no shop talk. World domination, death, ruling, presidents, politics—none of it is welcome at my Christmas table. Don’t like it, then leave.”

Harry floated around the dining table, his eyes focused on Eloise as he circled us. “I don’t trust her.”

Rebecca smirked, but said nothing. Wise woman. It was best not to remind my grandmother about the spirits that could see and hear everything she did. This was also part of my plan, one which Harry had reluctantly agreed to. Eloise was about to be haunted.

“You have commanded quite the room of powerful allies, Granddaughter. I am proud.”

Spare me. After she had her pet torturer gut me, I no longer sought her approval. “I’m awash with giddiness at your praise,” I deadpanned. Her brows furrowed. What did she expect? “You know, we were talking about the importance of family,” I said. Careful, Cora, this was like poking a beehive and hoping to score honey instead of venom.

“Family is very important. Genetics makes you who you are,” she agreed.

Not exactly. I had ended up relatively normal, even though I had the blood of a tyrannical narcissist and the angel of death in my veins.

“Exactly. I would love to know more about my mother.”

Eloise froze for a breath and then continued to eat. The supernaturals around me knew I was asking for a good reason, even if they were clueless why.

“What in particular?”

I shrugged. “What she was like as a child, her favorite food. Which subjects she enjoyed. What books she liked to read. Did she dance? Go to concerts?” You know, normal stuff I could ask my aunts—and already had. Eloise had a blind spot, however, and I was playing into it.

She recounted the many ways she knew my mother, but also revealed so much more, like the fact she didn’t know her at all. Not a surprise, since Eloise had birthed children for power, not to nurture.

Abaddon frowned at me. “ What are you up to?”

I barely suppressed the squeak. He could speak in my mind?

His lips twitched as my aunts cleared the table and dished up the apple pie. All the while, my grandmother continued her monologue about how well she knew her own blood.

“Don’t interfere.” He glanced between me and Eloise.

Raising my spoon, I pointed it at Abaddon. “I know so little about him, but he’s not exactly an open book. I’d love to know even more about the Roberts’ side to help me plug the gap.”

Abaddon pressed his lips into a thin line, and Eloise nodded like she was better than an archangel.

“Well, your great-grandmother, as you know, was an expert spell caster that altered the curse placed on our bloodline, so that the firstborn of each generation would drain their father’s magic and life force. But you seem to have found a workaround for that little problem,” she said, looking between me and Hudson. This was my opening.

“Did you stay with my grandfather long?”

Eloise shook her head. “No. As you know, all your aunts have different fathers, and your mother was no exception. I couldn’t risk the curse.”

“That was wise of you. Did you pick them specifically?” Careful, Cora, careful. Honey, not venom.

She scoffed. “Of course. I am not fooled by a pretty face and notions of love.”

No, because you wouldn’t know love if it slapped you in the face. No risk there.

She jerked her head at Liz. “Her father was a renowned air elemental from France.”

Liz didn’t react, but I could sense all my aunts soaking in their mother’s words.

My grandmother went through my living aunts, confirming she had genetically planned each of them to cover the four bases of the elementals. My grandmother had birthed herself a quad, but failed to nurture them. So instead of mindlessly following her, they hated her. But that left a burning question, and I just had to hope I’d laid enough groundwork for this to seem a natural extension of the conversation.

“And my mother?”

Eloise pressed her lips into a thin line. “A mistake.” That stung. She glanced at me, reached over Hudson, and patted my hand. “But all mistakes have silver linings, and that was you, Cora.” She glanced at Abaddon. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think your mother would seduce an angel. I underestimated her, but I guess that’s my mistake, given I had underestimated her father.”

“What do you mean?”

“He almost had me.” A wistful smile appeared on her face, one I’ve never seen her wear before. “I was done with children. I had my four, and I had no time or desire for a connection beyond that.”

“But?” Gently, Cora. Make it seem like her idea.

She smiled in full. “I guess with where we are, there’s no need for secrets now. I am posed to rule this world, so what’s the harm?”

“I’d love to hear about it,” I coaxed.

She nodded. “Your grandfather wasn’t an elemental, Cora. In fact, he wasn’t anything special at all. He was a human. A strong, but utterly ordinary, human. I think I let my guard down because he wasn’t a threat. He couldn’t hurt me or steal what power I held. He was safe, and so for a short time, I let myself believe in love.”

She chuckled like it was a ridiculous notion. “Did you fall for him?” I wondered.

She shook her head. “For a time, perhaps. Until I realized I was pregnant, then I had to make decisions. Pregnancy can make us weak.” She tilted her nose up and stared at me. “Remember that, because the hormones play havoc on your body and mind. They make you think you are not the most important thing on earth and fool you into putting your child first. It all disappears once they are born, though.”

Wow.

“Did you leave him?” I asked.

“No, I killed him.”

And any notion that my grandmother had a heart evaporated.

“Who was he?” I whispered, because deep down, I was holding on to hope that perhaps I could meet him. It was a wild dream, anyway.

She sighed. “No more, Cora. The meal is drawing to a close. Perhaps it is time to discuss why you invited me?”

Maggie jumped up and helped Aira clear the dishes. The rest of the supernaturals stayed firmly in place to listen to the end of our conversation.

I folded my arms and leaned back. “Are you aware of the ghost problem in White Castle?”

She tilted her head. “Ghosts are everywhere, Granddaughter. Be more specific.”

“There are a very large number of them, and they have shown themselves to the living.”

Her nose twitched. Ah, so she knew what that meant, but not why they were here specifically.

“They are remnants,” she stated. Ugh, tell me something I don’t know. “I’m aware their numbers have increased lately.” Yup, because you are responsible. No one said it, but we all thought it. “However, there shouldn’t be a concentration of them, and they certainly shouldn’t be here in White Castle.”

“Well, they are,” Dave snarled.

No snarling; she doesn’t respond well to it. As if she could read my mind, Liz elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt.

Eloise gazed at the wall like she was trying to make sense of the information. “Just remnants, or something else?” she finally asked.

Aha, so she was responsible for the zombies. I am one hundred percent positive zombies weren’t the technical name, but until I knew better, it was the best I had.

“What else is there? We already have a town of terrified residents,” Hudson asked.

“How terrified?”

I blinked. What did she mean, how terrified? They were being harassed by ghosts—they were scared shitless. Wait, no.

“What did you do?” I asked. They weren’t half as scared as I would expect. White Castle might be good with weird, but mass poltergeist activity should have caused a riot. People should be trying to burn down the town, not holding town meetings.

My grandmother smiled like she was super proud of herself. “You think of my previous attempts as failures, Granddaughter. But every single step I’ve made has played out perfectly. My ruling will be so much easier with the populace muted while I restore order. If I’d completely removed their fear, they wouldn’t seek a solution. But I also wanted to avoid bloodshed, at least where I could.”

“How?”

She shook her head and stood. “Thank you for dinner.”

Nobody moved to escort her out of the door. She scowled before turning on her heel and striding out into the night. The door clicked shut behind her, and the wards let me know when she’d left my premises.

Harry blinked out of existence.

“Where did the ghost go?” Dave snapped.

My lips twitched. “Oh, Dave, you have much to learn. Harry just attached himself to my grandmother. He’s haunting her, and now we have an insight into what the bitch is doing.”

“Diabolical,” Lucifer said with a grin.

My father stared at me and voiced the words he’d spoken in my head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Daughter.”

Cora Roberts—mistress of optimism and master of deception.

Harry sped back into the room and slammed against the wall. The clock wobbled and fell onto the floor, making us all jump.

Well, that didn’t go according to plan.