Scion

by Kelly Oram

  I suddenly had several pairs of eyes on me. Dani, Gabe, and Clara, to be precise. None of us said anything, but my hands automatically found the new set of daggers I had sheathed at my waist. I knew they’d been a special gift when Michael gave them to me, but maybe they were even more important than I’d realized. My chest burned with pride, gratitude, and love for Michael that he would trust me with such a gift.

  Dani beamed me a proud smile while Gabe continued on with his explanation before anyone asked us what our problem was. “After the Order was disbanded in 1312, a handful of surviving Templars drew their families deep into hiding for many generations, guarding the known relics and keeping the truth of their mission alive. Those are the records we have in the council archive. Though, the records stop around the time of the Great War. The council believes that the last remaining Templars must have been destroyed then.”

  “Well, the talisman is real enough,” I said, bringing us back to the present and the problem at hand. “And that old farmhouse had more mojo on it than I’ve ever felt. The stupid thing almost killed me.”

  “Is there anything that hasn’t almost killed you, Russ?” Caleb teased. “You’re like a damn cat!”

  I snorted. “I hope not. At the rate I’m going, I’m going to need way more than nine lives.”

  Caleb and I laughed, but no one else—Dani, Clara, and Cynthia, especially—thought it was all that funny. They seriously needed to lighten up. If you’re staring death in the face as often as I seem to, you have to joke about it or you might just lose your mind.

  “And you believe it is really possible that this talisman your father took from you can destroy the essence of a supernatural being?” Duncan asked skeptically.

  I wished it were that simple. “Not destroy; collect. The talisman can take a supernatural’s essence and transfer it to the person commanding the relic.”

  Not surprisingly, this caused a crap ton of murmurs throughout the room.

  “My dad planned to test it on Ethan first so that he could get to Grace. If he was successful—if he has Ethan’s warrior skills on top of his magic—it’s going to be darn near impossible to stop him. And if he turned Ethan human, then that means Grace no longer has a warrior. My dad doesn’t have any intentions to hurt her, but she’s unprotected and I doubt he’d lose any sleep if something happened to her. He tends to have a one-track mind, and he’s focused on eliminating the council.”

  “Russ, what you’re talking about…it’s not possible. There is no magic—no power—on Earth that could take a supernatural’s essence.”

  “You have to trust me on this. I haven’t seen it in action, but I know it works.”

  “How do you know?” Logan asked, causing a number of people to voice their own doubts and disbeliefs.

  I sighed, realizing that there was no way around it—these guys had to know the truth. There was a possibility I was signing my own death warrant all over again, but there was no way to convince them without giving up my secret. “Russ, no!” Clara shouted when she realized what I was about to do.

  “I have to, Clare Bear.”

  “It’s too dangerous. They won’t understand.”

  Clara’s main case in point—her mother—met my eyes with a fuming gaze. “Your mom already knows,” I whispered to Clara. “There’s no way she’ll keep it secret.”

  Clara shook her head. She sent a scathing look at Simone and whispered, “I bound her to secrecy. With my warlock magic unlocked, she’s too weak to break my spell.”

  I jerked back, blinking at her. Once the surprise wore off, my face softened into a small, sincere smile. I was touched. She’d spelled her mom to secrecy, for my sake? “Clare Bear, you spelled your mom for me?”

  Clara shrugged. “I knew it would piss her off. Anything to get back at her even a little, you know?”

  Sure. I knew. She did it for her mom. That’s why, when I gave her a knowing smile, she turned away from me and began picking at imaginary lint on her shirt. I slipped my arm around her, but she still wouldn’t turn to face me. “Thanks for being my wingman on that one, but we still have to tell them. We need their help, and they have to understand what’s going on before we go in. It’ll be dangerous if they don’t believe us.”

  Dani nodded with resignation, and eventually Gabe did, too. When it was three against one, Clara gave up her argument, but she huffed and puffed about it. I turned to Duncan and the other waiting resistance members. As I opened my mouth, Clara threw up a protective shield around me, blocking me from everyone in the room. “I’m not taking any chances,” she grumbled.

  My shock turned into a smirk. I winked at her and received the middle finger for it. It made me laugh. Clara was fun. I wished I could keep this game up forever, but now was not the time. I looked at everyone sitting around the room in front of me and settled my gaze on Duncan. “I know the relic works because Beelzebub told me himself, and I could feel its power.”

  “Impossible,” Marcus said. “No mortal can feel demon power.”

  “Except me.” I let out a big breath. This was going to be interesting. “It turns out my father sacrificed my mother to raise Beelzebub, and then traded my soul to him for the relic.”

  There was confusion from the people who didn’t understand the significance of my predicament, and horrified gasps from those that did.

  Gabe’s gasp was the loudest, and the weak-stomached jerk jumped up from the table and vomited into a nearby wastebasket. Dani ran to him and rubbed his back, frantically spouting questions of concern, while he caught his breath and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

  I didn’t get it. He knew what I was. Granted, he hadn’t heard the graphic details before now, but he knew that in order for me to be the Scion, that meant Beelzebub was in possession of my soul.

  When he was done, he met my eyes. And he looked horrified. “He laid her on an altar and cut out her heart,” he whispered. “He gave it to a man with a black soul and wings darker than the night. The devil took the heart and ate it in front of him while he cried.”

  Now I understood the puking. I wanted to do it myself. I closed my eyes and breathed deep against the rising nausea. In the dead silence of the room, I realized his problem. “You saw it.” I opened my eyes again and took in his stricken expression with new clarity. “You saw my father do it. You predicted it.”

  Gabe lowered himself all the way to the floor next to the wastebasket and leaned his back against the wall. His voice, when he answered, was near nonexistent and his whole body trembled. “A nightmare. A reoccurring dream that terrified me so much I fell ill. I stopped sleeping, eating…I refused to leave my house. My parents took me to see all kinds of doctors and even a few priests, afraid I was possessed by the demons I spoke of. I had that dream every night for months, and then one day it just stopped.”

  I swallowed. “After the deed was done.”

  Gabriel nodded. “My visions always stop once the events occur.” His eyes glazed over as he fell into a memory inside his own head. Dani sat down next to him and took his hand into hers. “I had forgotten my nightmares,” he whispered, voice distant. “I was a small child then, maybe five years old. It was nearly a year later that the council found me and explained my visions to me. I never put the two together, and did not recognize Devereaux as the man from my dream when he came for me. But I can see his face so clearly now. And Beelzebub’s.” He shuddered, and his eyes came back into focus, pinned, once again, on me. “And the small boy huddled in the corner of the room, crying for his mother.”

  This conversation was really starting to mess with my head. I had no memory of that night, and I wanted to keep it that way. A hand came down on my forearm, and I pulled Clara close to my side. I felt weak on my feet and didn’t want any of these people to see me tremble.

  “I don’t remember being there. I think my father and Beelzebub made me forget. I only found out because Ethan and I ran into a demon last week, and when I felt the demon magic for the first time, it triggered my
connection to Beelzebub.”

  Cynthia glanced at me. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “You’re connected to the devil? He really owns your soul?”

  “He holds it,” I corrected. “He doesn’t own it. Not yet. I was just a toddler when it happened. I didn’t give it to him myself, so still have my agency. I’m not his true servant unless I screw up and lose myself to him. But because he has possession of it, I am connected to him. I’ve inherited his power. He’s in my head now, and he’s trying to take over.”

  “A Scion!” Logan gasped, being the first to put all the pieces together. Marcus, Mr. Layton, Duncan and all the others echoed Logan’s horror. Clara confirmed everyone’s fears by pushing me slightly behind her and holding up her hands, ready to defend me should someone attack.

  “It’s no wonder the council wants you dead,” Duncan murmured. The dude may have been a vampire, but even he was paler than usual.

  Marcus’s eyes widened to the max. “Mother Creator, help us all. You are the Scion? And Michael allowed you to live?”

  My body tensed, and my next words came out in a growl. “I am innocent. I have done nothing wrong.”

  Mr. Layton shook his head. “You will.”

  “He won’t!” Clara snapped. Her loyalty to me was fascinating, but I wasn’t going to question it.

  “It is the destiny of every Scion,” Simone said. I’m not sure if it was because the cat was out of the bag or because Clara was concentrating too hard on shielding me, but apparently Simone could speak on the matter now. “There has never been one who could withstand Beelzebub’s influence.”

  “There’s never been one who tried.” These people were really starting to piss me off now. “I’m the first Scion who didn’t sign up willingly.”

  “Michael has faith that Russ can resist him,” Clara said.

  Logan stepped forward, placing his hand on my shoulder. He stood tall as he faced his peers. “It’s true. This boy has been angel-blessed. Michael has claimed him. I can feel his angelic heart.”

  The room was stunned quiet again. Simone even had to sit down. She plopped into a chair, releasing a heavy puff of air.

  Dani moved to Clara’s side and reinforced her shield. “Michael blessed Russ with the gift of angelic love so that he could fight off Beelzebub’s darkness. Russ has already used that connection to Michael to keep Beelzebub at bay several times. We’ve seen it with our own eyes. With our help, Russ can beat this curse, and we will help him.”

  Dani’s declaration sounded downright dangerous. She was speaking as the Chosen One now, daring everyone in the room to try going against her. “I won’t let that bastard have his soul, and I sure as hell won’t let any of you hurt him.”

  I really hoped Beelzebub was watching. I might be a thorn in his side, but I daresay he would meet his match if he ever came face-to-face with Dani.

  “We won’t,” Marcus whispered.

  He glanced to Duncan, who nodded in agreement. Logan squeezed my shoulder. “If Michael has faith in you, then we will, too. Just tell us what we have to do to help.”

  Finally. We were getting to the real point. “First things first: We have to stop my father, or my status as the devil’s godly descendant won’t matter. The relic he has will work; I’ve felt its power. If my father hasn’t stolen the council’s power already, he will soon enough, and then he’ll be the most powerful being on Earth.”

  I entwined my fingers with Dani’s, because I had some really bad news for her. Looking down at our joined hands, she pulled her brows together in concern as she waited for me to explain. “Dani, you may have to kill my father.”

  “What?”

  I knew she wasn’t going to like that. Dani loved my dad as much as I did. “Do you remember your prophecy?” I asked. “On the eve of that last great battle, there will rise up one more powerful than the world has ever known. Without her, Evil will win.”

  “I know.” Dani shook her head, as if refusing to understand. “But I fulfilled the prophecy when I defeated Addonexus.”

  I used to think it was that simple too, but now I wasn’t so sure. “The prophecy doesn’t say that you would have to fight only one battle; just that you are the most powerful being on Earth, and without you, the side of Good loses. I think we’re closer to that last great battle now than we ever have been before. I think we’re going to need you many times to fight Evil, and I think this is one of those times. The artifact my father has is evil, and I can’t rely on my demon magic to destroy it. I would be too tempted to use it. The pull to Beelzebub would be too strong. I’d lose myself. I’ll go and help, but I won’t be able to fight my father alone. I may need the help of the Chosen One.”

  Dani bit down on her lip and closed her eyes. “We can’t kill Alex, Russ. I can’t.”

  Her sorrow tugged at my new heart, and I pulled her into my arms. Not a single person protested as we held each other tightly for a moment. “Believe me, I don’t want to do it, either.” I kissed the top of the shrimp’s head. “He’s my father, but he has to be stopped.” I stepped back and looked Dani in the eyes. “Will you help me, bestie?”

  Dani sniffled and nodded. “Whatever has to be done, we’ll do it together, okay?”

  I snatched her into another embrace, grateful that after everything I’d been through, everything I’d lost, I at least had my best friend back. If I could help it, I wouldn’t let Dani have to be the one to take my dad down. He was my father. My responsibility. But I was glad to know I had backup, and I was glad it was someone who, even though he’s a monster, still loved him the same way I did. I trusted Dani to only kill him if it was absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, I feared that’s exactly what it was going to be.

  It was settled. We were going to New York and raiding the consulate to stop my father and get Ethan and Grace back. Time was important, so we left as quickly as possible and formed the best plan we could on the way there. It basically boiled down to “stay together and try not to get killed,” since we had no idea what we were walking into.

  When we reached the Woolworth Building—a famous New York skyscraper owned by the council and home to the consulate— I went in first, figuring if trouble was waiting for us, I would be fairly safe because Dad wasn’t going to hurt me. Was that ever a big mistake.

  I expected to walk into the lobby and enter a horror film. You know, power out, a trail of dead bodies leading to the bad guy…stuff like that. Instead, we found a lobby full of restless guardians.

  I came through the revolving door, was recognized immediately by all those guardians who’d been ordered to kill me on sight, and barely had time to throw up a shield around myself before a half dozen people attacked me. The shield kept me from dying, but since I was hit by about three different spells from some freaking strong magic users, I was blown across the room onto my butt and then jumped by a couple of werewolves. Not exactly a fair fight, but at least I’d had my daggers in my hands before I walked in the building.

  One of the wolves got his fangs into my shoulder and nearly ripped my arm off, but he let go pretty quickly when my knife found his belly. As he fell away, the other wolf made a lunge for my throat, but he never got the chance to see how yummy I taste because he was slammed with a wicked knockback spell. Clara, bless her hot little hybrid behind, had blasted the jerk to kingdom come, and Dani was right behind her, ready to take out the rest of the guardians.

  “What the hell!” my feisty bestie screeched, throwing up an impenetrable wall between our little gang of renegades and the room full of supernatural guardians.

  The murmurs and shouts began instantly. “It’s the Chameleon! Miss Danielle! Miss Danielle! Stand back! He’s dangerous!”

  “I’m dangerous!” Dani roared. “And the next person who tries to kill my best friend is going to get my Chosen foot up their ass!”

  “But—”

  “I know what orders the council gave you. They went against my decision, and the Seer’s. That is one of the many reasons the Seer and I forfe
ited our council seats.”

  Across the lobby, guardians turned to one another and murmured in surprised whispers.

  “The council is corrupt,” Duncan said, coming to Dani’s side, causing even more murmuring. “They ordered us to kill an innocent boy, simply because he’s powerful.”

  “Is that what you want to do?” Dani shouted. “Kill innocent people? You’re the protectors of the supernaturals. Not the executioners.”

  The man, who’d just seconds ago tried to remove my throat, glanced at me and then lowered his head into a bow. “Forgive us, Chameleon.”

  Unfortunately, he was one of only a few guardians who felt this way. Some random jerk in the crowd yelled out “He’s not innocent! His father is upstairs attacking the council right now!” and the pitchforks came out again.

  Dani had been hanging around Gabe too long, because she actually managed to stay calm. She held up a hand, and in a soothing voice said, “I am well aware of Alex’s plan. Who do you think figured out what he was up to? Russ is here to stop his father, and he’s probably the only person Alex will listen to, so I’m going to drop this shield and you are going to let us pass.” As she dropped the shield, her face hardened and that calm façade melted away. Her eyes glinted fiercely and she said, “If anyone makes one move toward Russ, I will attack first and ask questions later. You get me, people?”

  There were more grumbles, but no one dared speak out openly against Dani when she was flinging the threats around. She’s such a bad-a. Dani smirked at me, as if she could read my thoughts. “You done getting your beauty rest over there, Rusty?”

  I grinned and accepted the hand Clara was holding out to me. “It’s a good thing werewolf venom only turns humans, or I’d need a hell of a lot more beauty rest than normal from now on.” I checked out the damage on my shoulder. It definitely wasn’t pretty. The bites were deep enough that I’d have scars even after being healed. I was lucky I still had my arm. I hope I punctured that guy’s spleen or something.