He kissed me again, long and deep, and I forgot the question. I kissed him back and laughed when he flipped me over and pinned me to the ground.
Yep, the dragon was definitely glad to see me.
Chapter Twenty-two – A Little Knowledge Can Be Dangerous
Somewhere around the time I lost my underwear and experienced what can only be described in heavenly terms as ‘jubilation’, I decided purgatory wasn’t all that bad.
In fact, my purgatory kicked ass.
The horror movie monsters had gone bye-bye. My magic was stronger than ever and I had used it for good, not evil, to heal Luc. (That is, of course, if you disregard the fact Luc embodies evil, but hey, he was my slave now, so I could keep him on the straight and narrow, right?)
The Mark was gone. The souls I’d brokered were free, except for my mother’s, which I intended to do something about as soon as I had all the facts.
And the cherry on top of this purgatory sundae? Luc was with me. Nothing could keep us apart here. Not God, not Michael…not even my previous failings as a witch.
I fell asleep in Luc’s arms inside the cave. While we were making love, my magic came to the rescue, carpeting the cave’s floor with a soft, thick moss. Overhead, dozens of fireflies clung to the ceiling, casting soft light in undulating pulses. Sweet-smelling herbs and night-blooming flowers burst to life at each spot Luc and I christened with our bodies.
I woke sometime later to see Luc standing at the cave’s entrance, backlit by a glow in the forest. Shallow disappointment flashed through me when I noticed he was dressed in a suit and tie. Where had those clothes come from? Had he gotten his magic back?
My own magic reached for his, but felt nothing. Too weird.
Not that he didn’t rock the high-end designer runway look. As always, no matter what clothes he wore, sex and power oozed out of him. This look, however, all business and I had hoped he’d still be naked.
He’s much more fun without clothes.
Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I sat up and tugged on my sweater and jeans. “Hey.”
He didn’t look at me, just continued to stare out the entrance. His hands were on his hips in a protective stance. “Good. You’re awake.”
“What is it?”
Leaving his spot, he took my hand, kissed it and interlaced our fingers. “Come see.”
He drew me outside and my breath caught in my throat. The moss inside the cave had trailed out and turned the blackened forest into a lush meadow filled with healthy trees, white-petaled flowers and a bubbling stream that wound its way past my mother’s tree.
She was no longer leafless, and instead, sported a full head of shiny green leaves that reflected a sky jam-packed with stars. Deer gathered at the stream to drink. Frogs, crickets and other nocturnal creatures hummed and crooned in the warm night air.
Peace.
This was what peace felt like. What it looked like. I drew a deep breath and leaned into Luc’s chest. How ironic, the two of us had brought peace to purgatory.
Hey, God. How’s that for universal balance?
Luc kissed the top of my head, stepped away. “This is all my fault.”
This? As in utopia? “It’s amazing. I never dreamed our combined magics could create so much peace and beauty. The only thing it needs is a big ol’ ice cream shop down there by my mom’s tree.”
Luc frowned. “Combined magics? I have no magic, and you’re in purgatory, Amy. There is no peace or beauty here.”
One man’s purgatory was another man’s Heaven. “Of course there is. Just look at it. It’s…perfect.”
He searched my face, the corners of his eyes pinching. “Whatever you’re seeing is an illusion.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“But there are flowers and deer.” I pointed at the center of the meadow. “A pretty little stream and my mother’s tree…”
Luc waved a hand in front of my face as if testing my vision. I flinched and stepped back. The look on his face told me he thought my Happy Meal was short about a dozen fries.
My heart dropped. “You honestly don’t see any of that?”
The corners of his lips dipped. Once more, he took my hand and led me forward, down the moss-covered—at least to me—hill and into the meadow. We headed toward my mother’s tree, me pulling up short at the edge of the stream while Luc marched across, walking on top of the water.
On the other side, he motioned me to come. Wondering how deep the stream was or if it really was all an illusion and the water was as solid as the ground I stood on, I hesitated. “God’s playing a joke on me, isn’t He?”
“Forget God,” Luc said. He held out a hand. “Come to me.”