RISE OF THE LYCANS - Mates and Bonds

Selena

“The Devil’s Doors?” I asked Jose, wondering why I hadn’t heard the story before.

“The doors were designed by an ironworker named Biscornet. He was eager to show off his work and convinced the church he was their man,” Jose explained. “He slaved away for months in the heat of his workshop and would regularly be found sleeping on the floor. Everyone thought he had bitten off more than he could chew and saw that the task wouldn’t be completed on time.”

“You mean to tell me one man created this artistic mastery by himself?” Grandma moved closer to the doors.

“Well, that’s just it. The church was finished in the thirteenth century, so keep in mind this level of artistry was unheard of. It was a masterpiece ahead of its time,” Jose continued. “It blew Parisians’ minds, and the only way they could explain it was that Biscornet had made a deal with the devil.”

“The Devil’s Doors,” Storm nodded with understanding.

“It’s believed that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the masterpiece. When he woke up the next morning, the project had mysteriously been finished. The metal was secured to the doors, but they wouldn’t open until holy water was used on the lock.”

“See! This is exactly why I need to fill my little bottle up,” Grandma said.

“Biscornet was found dead a few days later, and people believed the Devil had come to collect his soul,” Jose said. “The name Biscornet literally means two horns, and some people believe the metal worker was the Devil in disguise. The doors even survived the great fire that ravaged Notre-Dame and took out the spire.”

“Imagine that…” Grandma whistled. “Being ushered into church by Satan himself!”

Jose stood nodding. “Modern-day metal experts can’t even explain how ironwork so intricate could have been accomplished with the limited tools of the Middle Ages.”

“That’s interesting,” Flaym laughed. “If you look closely at the designs, it looks like triple sixes are hidden in the ironwork.”

Lukas, Storm, Caspian, and Flaym suppressed their auras before we entered the church. Devil’s doors or not, it was a sign of respect for the holy institution we had entered. I had been living in the human world, so suppressing my aura had become second nature to me. Everyone looked up to admire the Gothic French architecture as we walked in. It wasn’t just the architecture that wowed; it was the stained-glass windows, elaborate stone carvings, and soaring spires. This building had stood the test of time and witnessed countless historical events, wars, and revolutions.

“I remember seeing my mother cry when the fire devastated the cathedral,” Lukas said.

Shifters believed in the old Gods because the Moon Goddess created us. Shifters who lived in areas where religion was deeply rooted in culture, like Italy and Mexico, also practiced other religions. Eudora was a human who was raised in Mexico as a Catholic, and Notre-Dame Cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who was also the Patron Saint of Mexico.

“This was the first place Dad brought Mom to visit when they landed in Paris,” Storm told us.

“There’s an altar in the side room to the left dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe with the flag of Mexico. I’m sure she didn’t miss it.”

“The Virgin Mother holds a special place in the hearts of Parisian parishioners and visitors alike,” a deep voice spoke, and we turned to find a priest standing behind us.

His gaze almost seemed to see right through me, as if he was trying to x-ray us. His eyes narrowed on Storm, and the tension in the air felt charged. Storm controlled the air element, but I knew she would be as respectful as possible in church because of her mother’s influence.

“Hello, Father. I was hoping you could help me,” Grandma said. “I still have a small bottle of holy water from the Vatican, but I wasn’t sure if holy water has an expiration date. I should probably stock up since I’m here.”

“Ah,” he nodded. “Welcome. I’m Father Fontenay.”

Grandma started digging around in her purse, and I noticed the top of a red bingo dauber shuffling around in there with several old lottery scratch-off tickets that nearly fell out. “I brought a special bottle for the fresh holy water.”

Father Fontenay smiled, and I couldn’t help but notice how forced it was. “Where are you from?”

“We’re visiting from New York,” Caspian replied.

“I’ve spent some time in New York,” he said. “Which church do you belong to?”

“Saint Frances, of course,” Grandma lied with a sweet smile. “We’re very fond of the Patron Saint of Animals.”

“I see. If there’s anything I can help you with,” Father Fontenay offered. “Prayer, Confession, blessing... you only need to ask.”

“Thank you, Father Fontenay,” I said as I tried to move us along. “We’re just going to get some holy water, light some candles, and make a donation.”

“Does the church prefer the donation in gold, frankincense, or myrrh?” Grandma asked.

“I bet she has all three in her purse,” my wolf snuffled.

“I think the euro will be just fine, Grandma,” Caspian said as he extracted a money roll from his pocket.

We walked around the church trying to look like normal tourists. Lukas held my hand and refused to let me stand more than a foot apart. We watched as Grandma snapped photos of the high altar, rose windows, the beautiful organ, and other artwork inside the cathedral. Lukas continued to look up and scan the upper levels of the church as if he was looking for something.

“Does anything look familiar to you in here?” Lukas asked Storm.

“Why would it look familiar to her?” Jose inquired. “Isn’t this your first time here?”

“I had a dream about this place,” Storm told him.

“Why? Are you getting married?” He asked, and Lukas chuckled.

She shook her head. “No, I’m not getting married. And nothing feels familiar. Perhaps I need to take another nap and see if the dream comes back.”

“Well, that statue of theirs looks familiar to me,” Grandma pointed.

“That’s Joan of Arc. She was canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church nearly five hundred years after her death,” Jose told Grandma.

“Yeah… After she was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake,” Grandma scoffed. “Five hundred years to save your soul! Talk about being slower than molasses.”

“We should check out the gift shop area,” Flaym suggested.

“They don’t sell snacks,” I told him. I always had mixed feelings about the gift shop located in the cathedral’s main hall. The commercialization seemed a bit unseemly in such a holy place. On the other hand, over a million visitors flocked to the church every month, and the rosaries they sell are beautiful.

“I found it!” Grandma piped, waving a small glass bottle above her head. “Now I can collect my water.”

“I think there’s a tank on the back wall,” Jose said and stepped away with Grandma.

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Caspian mumbled and followed behind.

Father Fontenay continued to eyeball us, almost as if he sensed the threat in his church.

“The threat of Grandma causing another fire,” my wolf yapped.

“The church is full of people,” Storm noted.

“Over a million people visit this cathedral a month. It’s going to be busy,” I told her.

“All these people, and he’s not speaking to or greeting anyone else,” her eyes narrowed.

This was the house of God, and Father Fontenay was going to do everything he could to protect it. He shuffled off to the back of the church where Grandma, Jose, and Caspian had disappeared. I turned and noticed a figure walking faster than the average sightseer milling around. He wasn’t admiring the architecture, the stained glass, or the art. He had his head down and seemed to be on a mission.

“Erick…” I said just above a whisper.

“Where?” Lukas asked, and I motioned with my head.

We watched Erick weave around people and make his way to the side of the cathedral where the confessional was. He looked around nervously and tapped on the door. He didn’t seem to notice us. Erick pulled the door open where the priest normally sat and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“I’m not Catholic, but I’m fairly certain that’s not the box where the person confessing goes,” Storm said.

When we reached the confessional, Lukas’ eyes started swirling. He was using his lycan hearing and senses to spy on Erick. Storm wrenched the door open, and the confessional was empty. Flaym looked in the other compartment and found nothing.

“Maybe it’s one of those magician boxes or something,” Flaym suggested. “Like a portal?”

“Did you see him slip out?” Lukas asked Storm, and she shook her head.

“If he’s a mage, he could have opened a portal,” Flaym repeated.

“On holy ground?” Storm questioned.

“It wasn’t always holy,” I told her. “This church was built on top of another world, and the remains are still under here.”

“Are we checking out the crypt below?” Jose asked as they returned.

Flaym shook his head. “I think we’ve seen enough dead people in the catacombs.”

“It’s not a burial crypt,” I explained. “It’s mostly the remains of an archeological dig from the old city that was here before. It has the remains of buildings, roads, a portion of the old dock under here.”

“So, no bodies or a hunchback?”Flaym questioned.

Grandma joined us again with Caspian closely on her heels. “What was that about a hunchback?”

“The hunchback was fictional,” Storm replied.

“But the Crown of Thorns is real,” Jose told us.

“Crown of Thorns?” Grandma looked wide-eyed.

“It’s too bad you didn’t come yesterday,” he said. “They take it out of the vault on the first Friday of the month and allow people to view it.”

“Do they let people try it on?”

“Grandma!” Caspian scolded her.

“Cool your jets. I was just kidding. I stocked up on holy water and snatched a few candles,” she said as she patted her purse. “You never know when they might come in handy or when a spontaneous romantic moment arises.”

Caspian took in the confessional and gave Lukas a questioning look. Judging by the way he frowned and looked around, Lukas had told him about Erick through the mind link.

“Should we ask Father Fontenay if he knows anything about the eight-point star outside?” Flaym asked.

“That’s a good idea,” Grandma said. “My bet is on demon hole.”

I squeezed Lukas’ hand tighter. “I don’t know. He’s not as warm and welcoming as the priests I’ve met. I’m not getting a good read on him.”

“That makes two of us,” Storm replied.

“Yeah, I’m getting creeper vibes from him,” Jose agreed.

“Let’s ask Balthazar tonight about the star,” Lukas suggested, leading us to the front exit.

I glanced back and met the priest’s eyes. He kept his dark eyes trained on us the entire time, and I had to agree with Jose… he was giving me creeper vibes, too. I took another look at the confessional, and Erick was nowhere to be found. With all the people, there was a good chance he slipped out, and we just missed it.

“Maybe he knows we’re shifters,” Stella suggested.

The driver couldn’t find parking on the small island for the stretched limousine and was waiting on the right bank. We walked to the bridge that I had crossed when Lukas walked me home from the sex club, and I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed since that night. Jose had also noticed because he was giving me the side eye when Lukas wrapped his arm around me.

No one was talking about Erick, and I wondered how Jose would react since Erick had dumped him.

“We should get something to eat,” Flaym said. “One of those long ham sandwiches.”

“We’ve checked off the catacombs, Point Zero, and Notre-Dame,” Caspian groaned. “We really need to get back to the hotel before Ares gets back.”

“Food sounds good,” Grandma replied.

“I know a great spot for jambon beurre,” Jose said. “There’s no place to sit, so we’ll have to take it to go.”

“That’s it!” Flaym lit up with recognition. “A jambon beurre.”

“I could use a sandwich,” my wolf hummed, and Lukas chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” I asked through the mind link.

“Hearing Stella in your thoughts,” he linked back, and she yipped in surprise.

Lukas had been listening to my thoughts, which felt strange and sweet at the same time. It was also nice to hear more from her than the occasional whisper. “She’s finally happy,” I told him through the link. We had our mate and a pup on the way.

“Kas is looking forward to taking a run with Stella soon.” He pulled me closer under his arm and kissed the top of my head.

“Isn’t there a bridge covered with locks around here?” Grandma asked. “Maybe you two love birds should place a lock on it.”

“It was just over there,” I pointed to the bridge on the left. “The railing with all the locks was removed because the bridge couldn’t support all that weight.”

“I suppose it was caving under the weight of all that love,” Storm snickered.

We reached the white stretched limousine waiting for us. Jose gave the driver the name of the charcuterie shop and joined us in the back of the car. Lukas retrieved his phone and checked it for messages. Flaym and Jose had a detailed conversation about the French meaning of charcuterie and its origins compared to what Americans considered charcuterie.

“Jose, have you ever seen a demon before?” Lukas asked.

“A demon… no,” he replied. “But there’s a good chance I saw a shapeshifting dog once.”

“A shapeshifting dog?” Storm asked with a raised eyebrow. “And this seemed normal to you?”

“We saw a creature with horns today, and you think a shapeshifting dog is strange?” Jose laughed.

“Can you describe the man or dog?”

“Okay, this might sound crazy… but I thought Erick was seeing someone else a few months ago, so my crazy ass followed him,” Jose said. “He was meeting his mother and some of Monsieur Darc’s business associates in Chaumont.”

“Chaumont?” Grandma asked.

“It’s the champagne region… wine country,” he clarified. “It was late, but one moment, there was a big black dog that ran past my car, and the next moment, it turned into a naked man.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it would have sounded absolutely crazy,” he replied. “What was I supposed to say? Hey Selena, you should come with me and hide near the woods to see if we can spot any hot men who can turn into dogs.”

A rumble rippled in my mate’s chest, and both Caspian and Flaym broke out in a fit of coughing to try and cover it up.

“We should get some extra sandwiches,” Grandma said. “Lukas has a loud stomach growl, and he gets cranky when he hasn’t eaten.”

******

If you want to see what the Devil's Doors on Notre-Dame look like, feel free to google search it! Same for Point Zero :)