"So," I said, coming to sit beside him. "Exactly how many women have stayed over in thirty-six years?"
He looked up. "None who were caught by my mother in so little clothing."
I plucked at the skirt of the nightgown. "This? This is tame."
"I'm sorry about that," he added, waving vaguely toward the door. "I should've called and warned you. They just drove into town tonight - unannounced, of course. Ian can't be expected to do what people expect. It would ruin his reputation. They showed up at Terry's, but there's no room for them there, so I sent them on ahead since they were so tired. I had no idea it would result in you trying to sleep with my brother."
"Seth!"
"Kidding, kidding." He picked up my hand and kissed the top of it. "How are you? How was your day?"
"Well, I tried my best to keep Santa from getting drunk and then found out Jerome signed us up for a Hellish bowling league."
"I see," said Seth. "So. The usual."
"Pretty much. What about you?"
The small smile that had been tugging at his lips fell. "Aside from unexpected family? The usual too. Terry was out late with work stuff, so I was there all night with the girls while Andrea rested. Kendall has to build a papier-mache solar system, so that was fun for everyone." He held up his hands and wiggled fingers coated in white powder.
"And let me guess. No writing?"
He shrugged. "It's not important."
"You should've called me. I could've watched them while you wrote."
"You were working and then . . . what, it was fondue night, right?" He stood up and stripped off his shirt and jeans, getting down to green flannel boxers.
"How did you know that?" I asked. "I barely knew that."
"I was on Peter's e-mail list."
"Well, regardless, it doesn't matter. And that mall job is nothing. I could have been over here in a flash."
He stepped into his bathroom and returned a few moments later with a toothbrush in his mouth. "That job is nuffing. Haf any of your interfeews panned out?"
"No," I said, not adding that I hadn't gone on any other interviews. Everything paled compared to Emerald City.
The conversation was put on pause while he finished brushing his teeth. "You should be doing something better," he said, once he was done.
"I'm fine where I'm at. I don't mind it. But you . . . you can't keep going on like this. You're not getting enough sleep or working."
"Don't worry about it," he said. He turned off the light and crawled into bed. In the dimness, I saw him pat the spot beside him. "Come over here. It's just me, I promise."
I smiled and curled up beside him. "Ian didn't smell right, you know. I mean, he smelled good, but not like you."
"I'm sure he spends gratuitous amounts of money to smell good," muttered Seth through a yawn.
"What's he do for a living?"
"Hard to say. He's always got new jobs. Or no job. Whatever money he's got goes toward carefully maintaining his hard-fought, effortless lifestyle. Have you seen his coat?"
"No. The only clothing of his I've seen is his boxers."
"Ah. Well, it must be in the living room. It looks like it came from a thrift store but probably cost four figures." He sighed. "Although, I shouldn't be too hard on him. I mean, yeah, he'll probably hit me up for money while he's here, but I can't knock him and Mom coming out to help. At the very least, they can help watch the kids now."
I wrapped my arms around Seth and breathed in his scent. It was the right one, and it was intoxicating. "And you can catch up on some writing."
"Maybe," he said. "We'll see how it goes. I just hope I'm not babysitting Mom and Ian more than the girls."
"How bad of an impression did I make on her?" I asked.
"Not that bad. I mean, no worse than any woman - scantily clad or otherwise - would've made who was spending the night with me." He kissed my forehead. "She's not so bad. Don't be fooled by her conservative Midwest grandma act. I think you guys will get along."
I wanted to ask if Maddie had met Margaret and, if so, how they'd gotten along. I bit my tongue on the question. It didn't matter. It was in the past, and Seth and I were the present. Sometimes, especially staying here as much as I did, I felt a little weird remembering that Maddie had lived with him too. There were still little touches here and there that bore the mark of her influence. For example, Margaret was most likely staying in Seth's office, which had a futon, courtesy of Maddie's ingenuity. She'd been the one to suggest he get it to help make the office double as a guestroom. Maddie had gone; the futon had stayed.
I tried not to think about those things very often, though. In the big picture, they didn't matter. Seth and I had come through too much for me to get hung up on something like that. We'd overcome the problems in our relationship. I'd accepted his mortality and his decision to risk his life by being physical with me. True, I still rationed our sex life, but the fact that I allowed it at all was a big concession for me. Meanwhile, he accepted the terrible truth that I was often out sleeping with other men in order to sustain my existence. They were difficult things for us both, but they were worth it for us to be together. Everything we'd gone through was worth it.
"I love you," I told him.
He placed a soft kiss on my lips and pulled me closer. "I love you too." Then, in an echo of my thoughts, he added, "You make it all worthwhile. All this stuff I'm dealing with.... I can do it because you're in my life, Thetis."
Thetis. That was his longtime nickname for me, coming from the shape-shifting goddess in Greek mythology who'd been won by a steadfast mortal. He called me that all the time - and Letha, only once. I thought again about that night. The troubled feelings it stirred never seemed to go away, but I once again tried to force them aside. It was another of those little things that I was trying not to let bug me. It was nothing compared to the greatness of our love, and like my friends had said, Seth had probably overheard the name.
I fell into a contented sleep, only to be awakened abruptly around dawn. My eyes flew open, and I sat upright. Seth shifted and rolled over but wasn't awakened by my sudden movement. I stared around the room, my heart racing. I'd been jolted out of sleep by an immortal presence, one I didn't know. It had felt demonic.
There was nothing here now, visible or invisible, but I knew for a fact some servant of Hell had just been in the room. This wasn't the first time I'd had unwelcome visitors in my sleep, often ones with nefarious intentions. Of course, I'd felt this demon just now, and demons - being higher immortals, not a lesser human-turned-immortal like me - could mask their immortal signature. If he or she had wanted to sneak around or hurt me unannounced, it could have done so. Whoever this was hadn't cared about discovery.
I slipped out of bed and continued studying the room, looking for some sign or reason for the demon's passage. I was certain there would be one. There. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of red - in my purse. There was a business envelope sitting on top of it. I hurried over and scooped up the envelope. It was warm to my touch, but as I quietly opened it, I began to feel cold. That feeling intensified as I pulled out a letter printed on official Hell stationery. No good could come of this.
Sunset had filtered more than enough light into the room to read by. The letter was addressed to Letha (alias: Georgina Kincaid), from Hell's HR:
This is the thirty-day notice for your trans fer. Your new assignment will begin on January 15. Please make travel arrangements to leave Seattle and report to your new location in a timely manner.
Chapter 3
The crisp paper with its laser printing was a lot different from scrawling script on vellum, but I knew an official transfer letter when I saw one. I'd received dozens in the last millennia, in various forms, pointing me on to new assignments and locations. The last one had come to me while I was in London fifteen years ago. From there, I'd moved here to Seattle.
And now this one was telling me it was time to move on yet again.
To leave Seattle.
"No," I breathed, far too soft for Seth to hear. "No."
I knew this letter was legitimate. It wasn't a forgery. It wasn't a joke sent on Hell's stationery. What I was praying for was that this official transfer order had just been sent to me in error. The letter had no information about my next assignment because, per protocol, employees were usually briefed by their archdemons before a transfer. The letter then came afterward, to make the termination of the old job and start of the new one official.