Most of our new furniture arrived, and so far, the front sitting room, the living room, Lucas’s office, the dining room, kitchen, the master bedroom, and two guest rooms upstairs have been professionally decorated by our interior designer.
The yards and yards of garland I ordered last week will be coming soon, and obsessively checking the shipping status has given me something else to focus on other than Bael and the stupid prophecy, which we have no idea what it even is. There have been a handful of prophecies over the centuries involving Nephilim, and each have different meanings depending on how you interpret it.
Bottom line, though, we know what Bael wants with me and I hate being a pawn in his game, especially when it puts other people at risk.
I brush snow off my Jeep, happy I won’t have to do this for much longer. The detached garage won’t be done by the time we move in, though. I remember to go back inside to get my cloth grocery bags before I even pull my seatbelt over my lap this time, and I crank up the heat and dash back in, taking my time before going back out to give the Jeep a minute or two to warm up.
My road is one of the last to be plowed since I live on the outskirts of town. My Jeep handles it just fine, and I actually find it kind of fun to put it in snow-mode and plow through snow drifts. I’m a very careful driver when I get into town, however. I don’t want to slip or drift into someone, and I worry about the other drivers, who for some reason act like they’ve never driven in snow before, even though we get snow every single year.
And also typical of the first snow, the grocery store is packed full of people rushing out to get bread, milk, and eggs, thinking we might get snowed in and not be able to leave our house for days on end. Someone just happens to pull out of a parking spot right up front, and I’m able to snag it. Normally, I never drive around and look for a close parking spot. I’m more than capable of walking. Though when it’s cold and snowing like this, a close spot is much appreciated.
I’ve made it to the produce section when a weird feeling of unease starts to come over me. I turn, looking around. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, and I recognize a few of the other shoppers. I don’t know them by name, but I’ve seen them around before, and a handful shop at the bookstore at least once a month.
Wrapping my fingers around the handle of the cart, I park it to the side and grab a plastic bag to fill with tomatoes, trying to shake the feeling, but it just gets stronger.
Caallliiieeee.
I whirl around, startling an old lady who was behind me.
“Sorry,” I tell her and rush around, putting the bag of tomatoes in my cart. Someone called my name, I’m sure of it. Shifting my gaze back and forth from everyone around me, I quickly get the rest of the produce I need.
Callie.
It’s Bael’s voice, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Is he here? Or is he calling to me from an astral plane again. If he’s here, even in astral form, everyone is in danger. Shit. The store is full of unsuspecting people, and it will be a mad house if they all run out, desperate to get out of the store because a demon attacked.
“Whatever you want, leave them alone,” I say through gritted teeth. “No one else needs to get hurt.”
“I, uh, just wanted some watermelon,” a man says, slowly inching his cart back.
“This one looks good.” I blindly pick up a watermelon from the display and thrust it into the man’s arms.
“Thanks,” he says and hurries away. I shake my head and look around the store. Bael takes on a human form. If he ditched the crown and robe, he’d blend in. He could be anywhere. On edge and ready to throw an energy ball at the first creepy old man I see, I move through the store.
Callie, he calls again, and the smell of sulfur wafts through the air. Callie, come to me.
“Will you stop it?” I spin around, eyes wide. The lights flash throughout the whole store, and bags of chips come flying off the shelves. “Not here,” I say through gritted teeth and walk out into the next aisle, grabbing what I need as fast as I can.
There’s a long line at the checkout. “Fuck,” I mutter to myself. I need to get out of here before Bael shows up and attacks. Just being here, surrounded by all these people, puts them at risk. I’m not human, yet I live among them. I never thought it was wrong before, but what if I really don’t belong here?