"Did you hear that?" she asked me. "Those notes weren't complicated, yet he managed to put so much into them. His heart, his emotions, his soul. A world of sorrow, exquisite agony…all in those few notes." She took a sip of her wine. "You can't do that. Not even I can do that-not the way he did."
Her words surprised me, but I knew exactly what she meant. Part of the reason I was always a little in awe of Seth's books was because he, as a mortal, had a talent that an immortal like me never could possess. "Only humans have the gift of creation," I murmured.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, and she smiled. "Yes, exactly. So tell me, what can I do for you, Jerome's succubus?"
I felt a little weird interrogating her now. There was something a little sad and vulnerable about her that made her appealing. Nonetheless, I pushed forward. Angels and demons came from the same stock. Both were good at making you believe what they wanted. "You…you know about those so-called Satanists, right? The Army of Darkness?"
Isabelle's smile twitched. "Great movie, silly cult. Did you have anything to do with their display today? I really liked the goat mask."
I shook my head. "Actually, I was wondering if you had anything to do with it."
"Me?" She laughed. "I only wish I could think up things that good-but there we are again: humans and creation. Why do you ask?"
"Because they say they're being directed by an angel." I gave her an abridged version of what the group had told me.
"And you assume they literally meant an angel?"
"I'm trying not to assume anything. But I think someone or something is directing them, and your side has as good a reason as any to stir up trouble for Cedric and make the authorities on all sides come down on him."
"And your side has just as good a reason. Demons try to oust each other all the time."
I tapped my nails along my glass's edge and eyed her warily. "And you haven't actually answered my question," I pointed out. "You haven't directly denied being involved." Angels couldn't technically lie, but oh, they were masters at not always telling the truth.
Isabelle finished off her wine and smiled at me again. "Oh, you are delightful. This is just like being on a TV cop show. No wonder Carter likes you so much."
I sighed in exasperation, realizing I was going to get nowhere. Fucking angels.
Her grin dimmed a little, but she was still clearly amused. "Look, Georgina," she said. She knew my name; no real surprise. "I like you. You're clever and endearing, but here's how it is: I don't want to see Cedric leave Vancouver. I like him. And anyway, that saying about keeping your enemies close is true. I know him, I understand him. And when you're playing a game like ours, the better you know the pieces on the board, the better you'll do. I don't want to have to live with an archdemon I don't know, one who's a lot more unpleasant than he is." A new glass of wine had been delivered, and she paused to take a sip. "And that's the truth."
I didn't know what to say. I wanted to believe her but had no idea if I could. I simply sighed again.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"I wish I could believe you when you say you aren't involved. Even with the whole not-lying thing, I don't know that I can. I don't think that I can trust anyone."
"That," she said firmly, "is absolutely something I agree with: you can't trust anyone. On any side. Everyone's got their own agenda, and there's something in the air right now-it's like a building storm, to use a cliché. Be careful." Her face looked momentarily troubled, and then she relaxed again as her attention returned to the stage. "Ah, the soloist is back."
I slid my empty glass to the center of the table. I started to take out some cash too, but she waved it away. "Thanks for talking," I told her, rising from my chair. Suddenly, I hesitated. "You mentioned Carter. I don't suppose…I don't suppose you know where he's been lately?"
I'd never thought I would utter those words. Carter had tormented me for years with his unsolicited, cryptic advice. He'd particularly loved to comment about Seth and me, as though he had some special interest in our relationship. Since it had ended, I'd hardly seen Carter at all. He used to come hang out with my friends and me but had only surfaced a couple of times in the last few months.
Isabelle smiled. "He's closer than you think."
"Typical angel answer," I groaned. I turned around to leave and then yelped.
Carter stood by the club's entrance.
Abandoning Isabelle, I hurried across the crowded room. Oblivious to the dress code, Carter wore his typical grungy clothing, ratty jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. A flannel shirt was tied around his waist, and his blond hair could have handled a good washing and brushing. He smiled expectantly at my approach and stepped outside to the crowded street. I followed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking out my cigarettes. I grabbed one for myself and then offered him the pack. He took one too.
"What are you doing here?" he returned pleasantly.
"You know what I'm doing here. Everyone knows what I'm doing here." I fumbled in my purse for my new lighter and found a matchbook instead. I pulled it out. Mark's Mad Martini Bar. I'd forgotten them.
"What's wrong?" asked Carter, noting my frown.
I shook my head. "Nothing." I traded the matches for my lighter, and we lit up. "You were lurking with your signature hidden," I continued. "Why?"
"Element of surprise," he said. "It was worth it to see your face."
We walked past the club lines and drunken groups, no clear destination in mind-at least none that I knew of. "You haven't been around in a while," I accused.
"Why, Daughter of Lilith, have you missed me?"
"No! But I was starting to feel like you were only interested in me while I was dating Seth."
"Of course not." There was a long, overly nonchalant pause. "So…have you talked to him lately?"
I rolled my eyes. "You are only interested in Seth! You're going to have to let it go, Carter. Seth and I are finished. Why can't you obsess on me and my new boyfriend instead?"
"Because you can do better."
"Everyone keeps saying that. But I'm a succubus. How much better can I do?"
"The fact that people keep telling you that should be answer enough."
"Seth broke up with me ," I said through gritted teeth. "He doesn't want me anymore, end of story."
"Oh, come now. Do you really believe that?"
"Seeing as I was there at the break-up? Yes."
Carter tsked. "Georgina, Georgina. You're letting your anger and other emotions cloud your reason, which is unfortunate since you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for. Go back and think. Why did Seth break up with you?"
I stared off at the far side of the street, refusing to look at him. "Because he thought if we stayed together, we'd both get hurt. That it would be better if we split, no matter how painful at the time."
"And you think that makes him a bad person?"
"Yes." I turned back toward Carter. "Because I didn't agree. I was willing to take the risk. He gave up."
"Sometimes it takes more courage to know when to retreat than to keep fighting."
"I don't think it could have taken that much courage. He ended up with Maddie pretty quickly." No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep the bitterness from my voice.
"That takes courage too, forcing yourself to start over with someone new, to keep moving on with your life."
"Seems more like a rebound to me."
Carter took a long drag on his cigarette. "Seth didn't leave and go to Maddie because he stopped loving you. If there were no complications in the world, you would be the one he chose. You are his ideal, his first choice."