Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

kiss him.  I hugged him… twice, but it was an impulse not well thought out.”
“I will not waste my voice.  You don’t need another lecture on your impulsive nature.”
“Thank you.”
“Why are you here?”
“Advice.  I came for your advice, your counsel.”
“Go on.”
“Sabine called me from Lucifer’s Lip island.  She was concerned with the effects she was experiencing from waves of negative vibes being generated on the isle.  I told her how to protect herself, but I doubt she’ll follow through.  She asked me to alert Angelo to her situation, which I did.”
“I take it from your body language, you didn’t enjoy the call.”
“No.  Angelo, for obvious reasons, isn’t my favorite birdman.”
“I hear your new favorite is Victor.”
“Don’t believe what you hear.  If I had to have a favorite, it would be my grandfather, because he’s my grandfather.”
Roumain’s laughter echoed across the wide expanse of desert surrounding the pool.  “Angelo did defend you at the hearing.”
“I defended myself,” Mia corrected.  “Not that he wouldn’t have if I wasn’t so pigheaded.”
“A wise woman doesn’t depend upon the mirror to know herself,” Roumain said.  “Please go on.”
“He thought I should go down and check on Sabine when I suggested he contact his people to do so.”
“It’s unusual for Angelo to be stubborn.  It must be the humans he hangs around with.”
“Touché.”
“Surely, a bad call from Sabine, and another from Angelo, would not be enough to send you scurrying to me.”
Mia winced at the scurrying comment.
“Whitney Martin hunted me down after his agency picked up the satellite calls from Sabine to myself.  He’s been asked to look in on a missing person’s case originating from the same area.  He thought I should travel with him, gratis, to check on Sabine.”
“Alone with Whitney?”
“He suggested I bring Ted.  I told him Ted was too expensive.  He said he wasn’t going to pay us.  I declined.”
“Seems to me you made up your mind.  Why are you here then?”
“Mark Leighton.”
“The would-be angel hunter?”
“The won’t-be angel hunter,” Mia corrected.  “He said that this is your area of expertise and that maybe I should ask you to weigh in on the situation.”
“Do you mind, Mia, if I read you first?”
“No.  I’ll open up my mind,” Mia said, expecting Roumain to read her from where he stood.
Instead, he pulled her close to him and put his forehead to hers.
When he was through, he released Mia and she fainted.  Roumain smiled, scooped her up, walked to the palm tree, and told Guillaume Bouché to take a hike.  Roumain gently laid her on the soft grass of the oasis and caressed her cheek until she woke.
Mia looked up into Roumain’s eyes and studied him before she asked, “Should I be worried?”
“About Sabine, yes.”
“No, about what you just did to me?”
“Maybe.  I’ll not lie to you.  I did take advantage, but not of your body.  It’s been too long since I walked the corridors of your mind house.  I saw for myself that you’ve been behaving in an admirable manner.  Boring.”
Mia smiled.  “I’m pretty boring these days.”
“You took such a chance with the Sentinel Woods demon.”
“It wasn’t me who killed it.  So, there’s no use sending me to demon court.”
“I didn’t send you to the court.  You volunteered.  The idiot you are.”
“Yes.  Let’s not humiliate me further.  What did you do to me?” Mia asked again.
“I examined you to see what other time bombs Elizabeth installed in your head.”
“The tumor wasn’t from Elizabeth.  It was from the imbalance, according to…  Shit.”
Roumain smiled.
“That’s why you’ve been so staid and distant.”
“I don’t like him.”
“So he said.”  Mia looked at Roumain.  “It’s not like I told Raphael to send you here.  And I didn’t ask him to…”
“Heal you and then insert part of Lazar deep into you.”
“Yikes!  You make it sound so dirty.”
Roumain looked at Mia.  His face was cold.
“K.  You’ve got to tell me.  Is it because I agreed that you do a good job here?  Damn, I can’t give a compliment anymore.”
Roumain looked at Mia sideways before speaking, “I’ve decided that I don’t want you anymore.”
“Great!  I’ll throw a party for myself when I leave here,” Mia assured him.
“You don’t have to be so happy about it,” he complained.
“You’re afraid of the Crone magic, aren’t you?” Mia said.  “Or is it the sword?  I assure you, Altair has it once more.  I would never use it against you.”
“Are you trying to get me back?” Roumain asked, his voice low and sexy.
“No.  I just don’t want you worried about some fool thing you think I’m going to do next.”
“You’ve come a long way since Beverly tried to sell you to Angelo Michaels.”
“That’s when we first met,” Mia said.  “You saved me then.”
“But you still ended up with bird wings.  Although, I’ve heard they are only second to one.”
“I admit they are too much for me.  But if they help me to defend my family, then I’ll wear them with pride.”
Roumain smiled.  “I’m glad you came to see me, Mia.”
“You could have fooled me with your reception.”
“Look at it from my point of view.  I heard rumors Victor had outfitted you with wings again, you’ve been with Raphael, Altair has given you a God-killer sword, and you show up here unannounced.  I was worried you had turned assassin again.”
“Ouch, I can see your point, but it doesn’t take away the sharpness of your words,” Mia said, putting her hand on her chest.  She got up and prepared herself to go.  “I’m sorry to have disturbed you.  I won’t come unannounced again,” she promised.
“Talk to Guillaume Bouché about the island.  I believe he was one of the only ones to escape it.  He will tell you