The trudge through the snow was not pleasant. We lived about eight blocks from the nearest grocery. Many people had done a half-assed job of shoveling the walks in front of their buildings. The snow was tamped down into an icy, slippery crust in many places, and it made for treacherous walking even when you weren’t laden with bags of food.
Something gray and misty darted across the road when we were about a block away from home.
“Hey,” I said, staring. “That’s Amarantha.”
Gabriel frowned. “Do not get any ideas, Madeline. J.B. asked you not to follow her.”
I looked around, but I didn’t see any Agent in the vicinity. “No one else is doing it.”
I was already pushing my wings out, disappearing into the night. The grocery bags fell to the ground.
“Madeline,” Gabriel said, scooping up the bags.
“I want to know what she’s up to,” I said.
“She is near our home. Doubtless she was attempting to haunt you and found that she was unable because of the spell the Agency provided.”
“She’s not hanging around as a ghost to haunt me or J.B. That’s a side benefit. She’s still out to get revenge against Lucifer. I’m sure of it.”
Gabriel sighed as we chased after her as inconspicuously as we could. She glanced around a lot, obviously expecting a tail.
“She must have shaken off whoever was following her before,” I whispered.
“I am not going to carry this food all over creation while you do the exact opposite of what was asked of you,” Gabriel said.
“Why do I hear J.B. in your voice?” I said. “Just stow the groceries somewhere and we’ll come back for them. Come on, she’s getting farther away. I don’t want to lose her.”
Amarantha was drifting along the sidewalk, her head moving around constantly. I got the impression that while she was concerned about being followed, she was also unsure exactly where she was going. She seemed to be checking landmarks.
Gabriel quickly flew to the top of a multi-unit apartment building and put our groceries on the roof. The building was only a couple of blocks from our house so the stuff would be easy to find later. I can’t afford to throw away groceries, and I was glad that Gabriel was conscientious enough to remember that even when I couldn’t.
Amarantha turned on Lincoln just past the Metra tracks and went north. She went past the underpass where Ramuell had killed Patrick. I always have to swallow the lump in my throat when I pass by that place.
Gabriel murmured something and I felt a weight like a heavy cloak settle over me.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Redoubled our spell of invisibility,” he replied. “It will better protect us from the eyes of supernatural creatures—or ghosts.”
“Cool,” I said. “When are you going to show me how to do all this neat stuff?”
Gabriel gave me a half smile. “We have plenty of time.”
We followed Amarantha for more than a half hour. She seemed to be wandering aimlessly at times, stopping to stare at sculptures or the glowing signs of chain stores.
“This is really boring,” I muttered.
“As I understand it, this is what surveillance work is usually like,” Gabriel said.
“Who told you that?”
“Beezle. It seems he spends a great deal of time watching police procedurals on television. We can always contact J.B., let him know her location and return home.”
It pained me to admit that he might be right. Amarantha seemed to have no clear purpose in mind, and my stomach had been rumbling for a while. I pulled my phone out to make the call to J.B. It was a given that he would scold me for ignoring his wishes, and I braced myself for the argument that would follow.
We followed her into Welles Park, which is across the street from Sulzer, the large regional library branch on the north side. Amarantha floated over the baseball fields, which would be crowded with leagues for the young and old in the summer. Now they were covered in drifts of snow.
There was a large gazebo in the center of the park, just south of the complex that housed a fitness center and pool. Several feet to the right and left of the gazebo were play lots filled with swings and slides and things from which children could jump. Between the two play lots was a wide, empty field.
A shadowy figure stood inside the gazebo.
Amarantha moved with purpose now, shooting across the snow directly toward the gazebo. I dropped my phone back into my pocket. This was what she had been up to all along.
She entered the gazebo, and the figure turned to speak to her. There was very little light in the center of the park this time of year. I couldn’t see the other person clearly. I had an impression of height, but the deep shadow may have been distorting my perception.
“We have to get closer,” I whispered.
“This is exceedingly foolish,” Gabriel said. “I am calling J.B. so he can deal with his mother’s ghost.”
“Call him after we find out who she’s talking to,” I hissed. “It’s not helpful if we call him with no new information.”
I again had the impression of a heavy weight thrown over me.
“Are you adding to the invisibility spell again?” I asked.
“Yes,” Gabriel said grimly. “Since you insist on staying, the least we can do is ensure that we are not detected.”
“Are we having our first argument as a married couple?” I asked innocently.
We flew closer to the gazebo. Amarantha and the other person talked in low whispers, and I couldn’t make out what they said.
“I never thought I would say this, but I wish Jude was here,” I said wistfully.
The couple concluded their business, and Amarantha exited the gazebo. The person inside lingered for a few moments longer.
“Come on, come on,” I whispered.
“Shall I follow Amarantha?” Gabriel said.
“No,” I replied. “Call J.B. and tell him where she is.”
“Which is what I wanted to do in the first place,” Gabriel muttered.
The figure in the gazebo stirred just as Gabriel concluded his call to J.B. Amarantha had resumed her slow drifting down Lincoln, and there didn’t seem to be any urgency in chasing after her now.
The clouds shifted, and the moon, which was three-quarters full, was revealed. A shaft of light fell across the person who had met with Amarantha.
It was Nathaniel.
“I’ll kill him,” I snarled, and shot forward. I had no real plan in mind other than grinding Nathaniel into tiny pieces.
Gabriel snatched me out of the air and pulled me back to him, both arms around my middle.
Nathaniel left the gazebo with a furtive look and crossed to the northwestern side of the park, disappearing into shadow.
“I’ll kill him,” I repeated. “That dirty sneaking scumbag!”
“Wait,” Gabriel soothed. “Wait. You can gain nothing by killing him now.”
“I can gain the satisfaction that comes from knowing I have squashed a poisonous bug,” I said angrily, thrashing in Gabriel’s arms. “This is what he was talking about when I overheard him on the phone at Amarantha’s castle. I figured it had to be some stupid angelic shit. I didn’t think he had the balls to kill humans and participate in rebellion right under Azazel’s nose.”
“Think,” Gabriel said. “Just think. We already have enough difficulties with the Grigori. If you murder Zerachiel’s son in cold blood, then it will cause additional problems.”
“My blood is not cold right now,” I growled. “Jude was right. Nathaniel helped kidnap the cubs. He helped take away their memories. Little kids. And they were nothing to him—just another means to an end. Like me.”