having a light bulb moment.
They all shrugged at me, not getting it at all. “Surely she could point us to a witch! She seems to know everyone who is anyone.”
“Maybe,” Viola said, obviously unconvinced by my gem of an idea. “I can’t see her bypassing protocol and helping you without getting appropriate permission and all that.”
“Maybe you should contact the New York demon sovereign?” Audrey mused.
Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? Probably because I had never been introduced to him, and I wasn’t even sworn in yet. The New York sovereign probably wouldn’t even acknowledge me until I had been formally introduced to him at the coronation. Protocol–blah! Still, he might. It was definitely worth a shot. From all accounts, my father was close to him.
“Earth calling Faustine!” Viola nudged me.
“Sorry. I was thinking. How would I go about contacting the New York sovereign? I don’t even know who that is,” I sighed.
“You silly!” Neave muttered. “Lady Annabel will know! I’m sure your mom has hosted him like a million times.”
As it turned out, the New York sovereign was not a him . Mom set me straight–it was a her –Alexandra Pollop, to be precise. A less demon-like being would be hard to find. She was a regular shopping buddy of my mom’s. Another Hermès addict. So, it was only fitting to meet her over at the Madison Avenue Hermès store, by the jewelry cases on the first floor. She was busy trying on the new silver jewelry collection when Mom and I walked in.
“Hello, Annabel! So, this is your daughter? Faustine? Love the name!”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending my hand.
“Oh, don’t be silly, come here for a hug!” she said, and pulled me in for a tight one.
“I’m thinking Fred’s for tea?” Mom suggested. “Or did you want to head over to the Plaza?”
“The Palm Court at the Plaza, I think. It will be just a smidge less crowded than Fred’s at this hour,” Alexandra smiled.
Once the Maitre D’ showed us to our corner table at the Palm Court, we got down to business. I did, anyway; I had no time to waste.
“Mom, I know that I haven’t told you anything about what’s going on, or even why I needed to meet up with Alexandra. I hate to ask, but do you think you could excuse us, just for a moment? We have demon business to discuss.”
“Well, that’s okay with me, but what kind of demon business could you possibly need to discuss with Alexandra?” she asked, perplexed.
“It’s serious, and I’ll explain later. I need Alexandra’s help. Mom? Please?”
“No problem, hon. If it’s all right with you, I’ll meet you back home. I’ve got a special order Birkin waiting to be picked up, so I’ll go deal with that. Alexandra, will your drop her off at the apartment?”
Alexandra nodded. “Faustine?”
“Thanks for agreeing to talk to me,” I said gratefully, as I waved to Mom.
“My pleasure. I’m friends with both of your parents. I heard you just returned from the Academy. So, I’m intrigued. What did you want to talk about? Why not talk to Sebastian instead?”
“Dad’s missing,” I sputtered out. It was probably wrong of me to give her that information because even though she was pals with Dad, how was I to know that this news wouldn’t spur some kind of takeover craze? But, what choice did I have?
“Missing?” she repeated. “Missing from where?”
I repeated what I knew, even what I had seen during my visions at Pauline’s. Then, I shared what had happened to Luke. She sat quietly and listened without interrupting.
“I knew something was going on when I received notice from Dorian that I was to travel to London,” she mused. “I didn’t expect this, though. Sebastian missing . That’s very alarming. You poor child. You’ve just been dumped in the middle of all this without any training. And your siblings are dropping like flies while you’re still trying to get the hang of it. And you say that Luke is
They all shrugged at me, not getting it at all. “Surely she could point us to a witch! She seems to know everyone who is anyone.”
“Maybe,” Viola said, obviously unconvinced by my gem of an idea. “I can’t see her bypassing protocol and helping you without getting appropriate permission and all that.”
“Maybe you should contact the New York demon sovereign?” Audrey mused.
Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? Probably because I had never been introduced to him, and I wasn’t even sworn in yet. The New York sovereign probably wouldn’t even acknowledge me until I had been formally introduced to him at the coronation. Protocol–blah! Still, he might. It was definitely worth a shot. From all accounts, my father was close to him.
“Earth calling Faustine!” Viola nudged me.
“Sorry. I was thinking. How would I go about contacting the New York sovereign? I don’t even know who that is,” I sighed.
“You silly!” Neave muttered. “Lady Annabel will know! I’m sure your mom has hosted him like a million times.”
As it turned out, the New York sovereign was not a him . Mom set me straight–it was a her –Alexandra Pollop, to be precise. A less demon-like being would be hard to find. She was a regular shopping buddy of my mom’s. Another Hermès addict. So, it was only fitting to meet her over at the Madison Avenue Hermès store, by the jewelry cases on the first floor. She was busy trying on the new silver jewelry collection when Mom and I walked in.
“Hello, Annabel! So, this is your daughter? Faustine? Love the name!”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending my hand.
“Oh, don’t be silly, come here for a hug!” she said, and pulled me in for a tight one.
“I’m thinking Fred’s for tea?” Mom suggested. “Or did you want to head over to the Plaza?”
“The Palm Court at the Plaza, I think. It will be just a smidge less crowded than Fred’s at this hour,” Alexandra smiled.
Once the Maitre D’ showed us to our corner table at the Palm Court, we got down to business. I did, anyway; I had no time to waste.
“Mom, I know that I haven’t told you anything about what’s going on, or even why I needed to meet up with Alexandra. I hate to ask, but do you think you could excuse us, just for a moment? We have demon business to discuss.”
“Well, that’s okay with me, but what kind of demon business could you possibly need to discuss with Alexandra?” she asked, perplexed.
“It’s serious, and I’ll explain later. I need Alexandra’s help. Mom? Please?”
“No problem, hon. If it’s all right with you, I’ll meet you back home. I’ve got a special order Birkin waiting to be picked up, so I’ll go deal with that. Alexandra, will your drop her off at the apartment?”
Alexandra nodded. “Faustine?”
“Thanks for agreeing to talk to me,” I said gratefully, as I waved to Mom.
“My pleasure. I’m friends with both of your parents. I heard you just returned from the Academy. So, I’m intrigued. What did you want to talk about? Why not talk to Sebastian instead?”
“Dad’s missing,” I sputtered out. It was probably wrong of me to give her that information because even though she was pals with Dad, how was I to know that this news wouldn’t spur some kind of takeover craze? But, what choice did I have?
“Missing?” she repeated. “Missing from where?”
I repeated what I knew, even what I had seen during my visions at Pauline’s. Then, I shared what had happened to Luke. She sat quietly and listened without interrupting.
“I knew something was going on when I received notice from Dorian that I was to travel to London,” she mused. “I didn’t expect this, though. Sebastian missing . That’s very alarming. You poor child. You’ve just been dumped in the middle of all this without any training. And your siblings are dropping like flies while you’re still trying to get the hang of it. And you say that Luke is
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