Consideration for Scoundrels

TWENTY-SIX

Six Months Later

"Hey there little hellion." Her brother teased her through the phone. "How's Alexandria?"

Selena rolled her eyes.

"It's beautiful Alex, more than I ever even imagined."

"That's great, Lena. And how's your research going?"

"Celestine is on the hunt for spirits who are willing to give up their secrets." Selena grinned. "But, I don't think it will take long. How was the coronation? We watched it on television here but, I can't imagine what London must have looked like.

Queen Elizabeth, second of the name, had officially been crowned at Westminster the week before. It had been a strange moment of national pride to observe it all, even Celeste had grinned to see anyone other than an old man take the seat.

"It was a madhouse." Alex chuckled. "Dad hated it."

"Long live the Queen." She told her brother.

"When are you coming back to London?"

"Not sure." Selena admitted. "Depends on if we uncover anything here first."

"When do I get to meet this girl?"

"Goodbye Alexander." But Selena grinned all the same. Alex and Celeste in the same room? God give her strength at that prospect.

"Bye Lena, behave."

Celeste was waiting for her at the end of the pier, the sun a shimmer of gold spread across the harbor. Her hair caught fire in the glow, though this time, it was just a trick of the light.

"Everything alright?" Celeste asked at the sound of Selena's approach.

"Ship shape. My brother says hello."

"He's not jealous his little sister is going to be the one to uncover the lost scrolls of the Library of Alexandria, is he?"

"Of course he is."

Selena came to stand beside her, watching as the surf gently lapped at the lighthouse in the distance. Even in the evening, the days warmth hadn't completely forsaken the air. She caught Celeste glancing down at her fingers, as if she were still half-expecting to find fire licking at her skin. She could still see and hear the dead, but the fiends powers...they were gone.

They'd buried Anita's body deep beneath the church, back under the altar and sealed with enough spells to keep nosy explorers out for centuries.

"Are you sure this place won't get bulldozed for a parking lot?" Rick had asked.

"Not after I have it slated a protected historical site." Evy had told them.

As for the ka, with that small remaining sliver of power? They'd taken Celeste's suggestion and locked it in a steel safe, where it now rested at the bottom of the Atlantic.

The morning they'd left London, Rick had practically cornered Celeste in the foyer.

"Hey wait a sec." Rick coughed, suddenly awkward. "I...you...uh..."

Celeste stood there, waiting, wondering why the man seemed to have such difficulty forming a single coherent sentence.

They were both saved thanks to Evy;

"Darling, why don't you go help Lena with the bags?"

"On it." Rick slipped away, grateful as always for his wife's appearance.

Evy shook her head and chuckled. Fathers, always the same when it came to their daughters.

"I can't say it's not a shame those powers of your have faded before I got a good look at them. I would have loved to see what you could do."

"Yeah well," Celeste shrugged; "it's a good compromise."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Tell me, where will you go now?"

"Well, I did hear Lena has a bone or two to pick about the Library of Alexandria. I think I can find a ghost or to who can let us in on a few secrets."

Evy laughed, a light sound, weightless. "Well, if you ever want to settle down for a bit, I'd be happy to have you at the British Museum with me."

"If your daughter doesn't get me killed...again."

Celeste thought nothing could surprise her anymore, but she was caught completely off her guard when Evy suddenly pulled her in to an embrace. "Take care of her."

"I will."

"I know."

And when she'd hugged her daughter goodbye, she'd leaned in and told her; "Go discover something wonderful."

"I miss it, a bit." Selena admitted.

Celeste turned to her. "Miss what?"

"Hearing your thoughts."

Celeste's eyebrow quirked upward. "Oh, do you now O'Connell?" She asked, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Selena returned her own wicked smile. "Though, I bet I could wager a guess."

"Go on then." Celeste challenged.

Selena caught her chin between her fingers, her thumb brushing gently against Celeste's jawline.

"That's a good guess." Celeste whispered to her. "A very good guess."

And as the sun slipped beneath the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, Selena kissed her. 

The End.