I sank down on a wooden bench not far from the castle, desperate to process what had just happened. I had a mother and not just any mother, a freaking goddess from Olympus. Lucky me. I pulled my sparkly pink phone from my pocket. Thank God. A signal. I hit speed dial.
"Amica, I'm glad you called. Did you make it to the castle? Was Jeremiah happy to see you? Oh, and I am in the most fun shop here in Paris. I'm buying you a little gift. Wait till you see."
The sound of Flo's voice, so full of life and normalcy, took me right over the edge. I couldn't speak, just sobbed, right into the phone.
"Mio Dio! What's wrong? Glory, speak to me!" I heard rustling in the background. "Ricardo, take these bags to the car. I'm going into the dressing room."
I took a breath of the cold air, glad that all trace of my mother's scent was gone, and managed to choke out a few words. "Flo. Sorry. Rough night."
"Obviously. So I'm glad you called me." I heard a door slam. "Now I'm in a dressing room. No one will bother us. I have spent a fortune here. So talk to me. I must know everything. What happened to you? Why are you crying?"
"I got here. Jerry was happy to see me. Until he had an accident." My voice wobbled. Accident my left foot. The bitch who claimed to be my mother had done this. Was I going to take her word for that? The mother thing. Right now I couldn't think past wanting to send her screaming back to Olympus with her butt on fire. Instead I'd wimped out. At least I hadn't jumped to her command. And I'd sure never join her in Olympus.
"Is he all right? He isn't, um, dead, is he?" Flo's voice shook too. She did love me and what hurt me, hurt her. I couldn't have a better friend.
"No, but it's almost as bad. He's lost his memory! He doesn't know me." I gripped the phone until those pretty crystals made my hand bleed. I'd learned since I'd admired the cover at the phone boutique that sparkly didn't mean practical.
"How is that possible? Assurdo. Vampires remember everything. It's a curse. Why, Ricardo remembers every stupid little thing I say to him. And I...Well, you don't want to know how many centuries worth of nonsense I have crammed into my head." Flo opened the door. "I must ask Ricardo about this."
"Yes, ask him. I need answers. How to help Jerry. He was stabbed with a poisoned knife. It made him lose the last four hundred years." I looked around, making sure no one was within earshot. Why hadn't I done that sooner? Get a grip, Glory. I lowered my voice. "I have reason to believe it came from Olympus."
"No! Will they never leave you alone?" Flo broke into a spate of Italian. "Here's Ricardo. Hang on while I tell him this."
I sat with my head down, praying her brilliant husband would figure out what to do. It wasn't long before I heard his voice on the phone.
"Gloriana, how do you know this came from Olympus?" His voice was gentle and my eyes filled again.
"I, I ran into someone who told me that's what happened, Richard. Is there anything we can do? Jerry's forgotten everything that's happened after the late fifteen hundreds, since right before he met me." I was proud that I got that out without breaking down. Forget crying. I was furious, hating my mother who didn't care what this did to her child. Didn't she want me to be happy? Not unless it was her definition of happiness. On Olympus it was all about power plays and who had the biggest, um, weapon.
"Let me do some research. Florence wants to talk to you again. I'll call if I come up with something helpful. Take care, Gloriana."
"Glory! Do you want us to come there? We will if you need us by your side. This is inferno per voi!" Flo was talking a mile a minute.
I'd picked up enough Italian to know what inferno meant. "Yeah, hell. But stay there, enjoy Paris. Unless Richard finds a cure, there's nothing you can do and I'm not sure Angus would welcome a visit from my friends right now."
"We are Jeremiah's friends too, s
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