Dark Ascension

by J. D. Brown

  Jesu didn’t seem to notice the difference in size. Or he didn’t care. With a flash of green flames in his eyes, Jesu shoved the stubborn militant toward the door, using enough force to send Tancred stumbling back a step.

  “Or,” Jesu suggested sharply, “you can come with me to get dinner.”

  Tancred glared at him, his lips pulled back in a snarl, posture stiff. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes. I held my ground. I didn’t ask for privacy exactly, but I was still feeling vindictive toward Tancred. It was his own fault. Why he decided to switch his loyalties and turn the tables against me, I had no idea, but I wasn’t about to make it easy for him.

  A growl rode his throaty breath as Tancred huffed and then turned away. He nearly yanked the suite door off its hinges as he stomped out. Jesu sighed and then turned to follow.

  “Wait.” Dad sat the toiletry bottles on the coffee table, and then reached under the collar of his plaid shirt. He produced his necklace. It was identical to the one I wore, eye symbol and all. He pulled the leather cord over his head and then handed it to Jesu. “Just in case.”

  Jesu glanced at me briefly before he took the necklace and nodded. My hand went to the charm around my neck as Jesu looped the ugly woodchip over his raven hair and then left me alone with my father.

  “Okay,” I said while unearthing my own copy of the necklace from under my T-shirt. “For starters, what the heck is this thing? And how much did Jesu tell you about me?”

  Dad reached into his coat pocket and pulled out what remained of the smudge stick. He found Jesu’s lighter in his jeans and lit the herbs. After a silent moment waiting for the smoke to rise, Dad rubbed his brow and sighed.

  “I think he only told me the headlines. I knew you were messed up in something involving the succubus. I was able to piece that together on my own when she kidnaped us. But Jesu said you didn’t know what she wanted or why.”

  “That much is true. And this?” I dangled the strange woodchip with the eye-shaped engraving between two fingers. “I take it Jesu got this from you, and I’m assuming it’s not just a good-luck charm.”

  “Is that what he told you?” Dad had the audacity to chuckle. When I didn’t even crack a grin, he quickly sobered and pointed at the charm. “It’s called a claror. It’s a talisman that lets the wearer sense when a succubus or incubus is near. Sometimes the claror will even let you see them when they’re phased and you might see through their glamour.”

  “Glamour?”

  “The older ones like to wear a...” Dad waved a hand over the length of his torso while trying to summon the words to explain. “Well, it’s like a magical guise. It makes them look younger.”

  I scrunched my nose. “Younger?”

  Dad looked at me and upped his brow. “How much do you know about them?”

  “Nothing.” I shrugged. “Except that they’re stronger than vampyres.”

  Dad put his hands on his belt and grimaced. “Well, pumpkin, they live longer than vampyres too, but they don’t age as gracefully. There’s something... not quite right about their genetic makeup. Eons ago, Lilith figured out how to magic herself in a way to appear young and beautiful. She’s quite vain.”

  “So that’s how she tricked Anthony,” I whispered to myself. My words were too soft for Dad to hear, but I made sure he heard my next question. “How do you know all this? Humans aren’t supposed to know.”

  “I’m Jumlin,” he said with a curt laugh, like that explained everything. But being Jumlin meant nothing to me.

  My lack of understanding must have finally dawned on my father. He cocked his brow and sucked in a deep breath. “Oh boy...” He went to one end of the couch, sat down, and then gestured for me to do the same. I decided to remain standing with my arms crossed. Dad wet his lips and then continued. “The Jumlin are a rare exception to the rules. Biologically, we are human until we choose to transition, but on paper we are all considered vampyres.”

  “I guess it’s easier that way,” I said. “No bureaucracy is particularly fond of any group that doesn’t fit into a neat little box.”

  Dad nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s one reason. Another is that my ancestors made themselves too important to be excluded. We’re more of a brotherhood than a clan. Those of us who chose to remain human often do so with the explicit purpose of continuing the brotherhood.” He looked at me and his copper lips teetered in a smile. “We’re Hunters, sweetie. We’re specifically trained to track and kill Lilith’s kind.”

  I scoffed. “But you’re human. And they have the Elite for killing succubae.”

  “You know about the Elite, but not the Jumlin?”

  “Well whose fault is that?” I mumbled.

  His mouth tightened into a thin line. “The Elite are a group of assassins. They do whatever they are paid to do. Hunters have only one mission; eradicate Lilith and her offspring. As for our humanity, yes it can be a weakness, but it is also our greatest strength.”

  He sounded a lot less like a dad, and a lot more like Tancred when he was giving orders to the Alpan soldiers; all business and discipline. Still, I couldn’t see how being human would offer any kind of strength in this world.

  “What about the stress?” I asked.

  Dad blinked. “Well, it is stressful, I won’t lie. We lose good men to the cause all the time.”

  “No, I mean... How do you avoid becoming a vampyre when stress can trigger the gene? Is meditation part of your training?”

  Dad looked like he wanted to smack himself. He tilted his head to one side as though to apologize. “Ema, sweetie, that’s just a silly rumor. Transitioning for a Jumlin requires a great deal more than that.”

  Unease curled in the pit of my stomach. “But, then how did I...?”

  Dad’s expression hid nothing. His milk-chocolate gaze softened, and the edges of his mouth tugged downward. If that wasn’t enough, his human body also gave him away through scent. A deep sadness permeated the space around my father, mixing with the sweet smoke of the Adder’s Tongue. My Nephilim senses could practically taste it. It tasted like regret.

  “Ema, you were never supposed to turn.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and gave my father a sidelong glance. “But I did.”

  Dad nodded. “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect...” He paused and studied me. I cocked my brow.

  “You suspect what?”

  He shook his head. “I think Lilith is responsible.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “Really? You don’t think you and Mom might have something to do with it?”

  “Oh,” Dad grunted with a nod. “Sure. But I meant...” He stopped himself and pulled his lips between his teeth while looking at the floor. “I can help you kill Lilith for the Alpan Council. That’s what matters.”

  My brow furrowed. I’d been so focused on the conversation—trying to digest Dad’s words without missing anything between the lines—that it took me several moments before I realized he’d decided not to answer me, and had instead changed the subject.

  “Uh-huh. You don’t get to slither out of this twice. As far as I’m concerned, your negligence is the reason I became a vampyre. I deserve an explanation. You owe me that much.”

  “I know.” He slid his hands over his lap and drew a breath. “It’s just...”

  Silence stretched between us as my father avoided meeting my eyes, his shame pliable. But there was another element laced all through the cloud of regret—doubt. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand him. Hugging myself, I whispered the one thing I’d spent my entire life asking.

  “Why did you leave us?”

  He didn’t react, but I knew he heard me. Was he choosing his words, or was he choosing not to answer? Anger bloomed in my chest and rose like a heatwave over my arms and face. He owes me an explanation. He wanted to talk all this time, and now he’s silent?

  “You must have known it was possible for me to turn,” I said. “Why did you leave me all alone? I had no idea. No way to prep
are. You have no clue what I went through.”

  It wasn’t just becoming a vampyre. It was everything else too; Mom’s temper, how she blamed me for his abandonment, the years of strain and loathing and obsession as I lay awake all those nights asking myself why.

  “You’re right,” he said softly. “I did know. You were an early bloomer.”

  “I was a late bloomer,” I said, not sure why we were discussing the timing of my adolescence. Honestly, I didn’t bloom until high school, and it was years later before I could fill out a bra.

  Dad shook his head. “No, honey, I remember it like it was yesterday. You were eight years old when the changes started. You lost a baby tooth in the front, an incisor. But a canine grew in its place.”

  “So I needed braces.”

  He met my gaze, but it was a sad look. “There were other signs as you got older. You cried when it was too sunny outside because your eyes were sensitive. You started to favor meat—and I know kids don’t like vegetables, but this was different. You wanted it raw. Scared your mother silly. I knew what it meant, though. I always thought the change would be a choice for you; that your Jumlin blood would make it so, but you’re only half Jumlin. Your mother’s side must have made you more like the European clans in that regard. You were changing, Ema.”

  “Then what happened? How did it stop?”

  “I went to an alchemist. I asked if there was a way to stop it. They gave me a hex.”

  “You hexed me?”

  Dad lowered his gaze. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  “The right thing for whom?”

  “For you. And for your mother. What your mom thinks she knows about vampyres is fiction.”

  I guessed as much, but it was another thing hearing it confirmed. Still, knowing only infuriated me. “So you lied to your own wife?” I turned away and scoffed. “You married her and lived with her and fathered a child with her all under false pretenses? What kind of lowlife are you?”

  “Now just a minute, I love your mother.”

  “Then why did you leave? I can understand the hex, but if you really loved us, then why did you take the coward’s way out?”

  He pushed to his feet, rising several inches taller than me. “To protect you.”

  I scanned him and then upped my brow. “Some protector you are. I’d rather deal with Lilith alone, thank you.” I turned and marched toward my room, with every intention of slamming the door shut.

  “Ema, wait. You can hate me if you want to, but there’s something you need to know.” I ignored him and kept going. One foot was across the entrance when Dad frantically added, “It’s about your children.”

  I stopped. Turned. Glared. “What do you know about my children?”

  “Jesu told me about his premonition. It’s why I trust him.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the girl in Jesu’s vision. We just... let everyone believe I am. Jesu’s here because he chooses to be.”

  Dad shook his head. “No, pumpkin. Jesu’s here because of your daughter.”

  CHAPTER 19

  I stared at my father, shell-shocked, and wondered if I hallucinated his words. I heard somewhere that stress could cause hallucinations. “What did you say?”

  Dad tilted his head to the side and turned his arms palm-side-up in a slight shrug. “I’m afraid this is the hard part of the conversation, pumpkin.”

  I narrowed my gaze. If he thought any part of this discussion was easy, then he was the delusional one.

  “What makes you think the girl in Jesu’s premonition is my daughter?”

  Dad motioned to the couch. “Please?”

  I put my hands on my hips and stood my ground. Honestly, it was for Dad’s own safety that I didn’t sit next to him. My fangs itched to destroy something. He nodded as though accepting my stance, and then drew a breath.

  “Like most people, the Jumlin have their own End-of-Days prophecy. According to scripture, twins will be born; a prince and a princess. The Prince is said to be the embodiment of evil. His birth marks the beginning of the end of the world. Only the Princess, his sister, can stop him. If she is successful, she will unite the clans under a new era of peace.”

  “And you think the twins in the story are mine?” I arched my brow. He must have known how ridiculous that sounded.

  Dad sighed. “I know it’s difficult to believe. I was a skeptic myself, until you started to change.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “There are signs, so we’d know when the prophecy began. The mother of the twins is the sign. You.”

  I snorted. “Well this ought to be good. Do tell.”

  Dad looked apologetic, like he didn’t want to repeat any of it. Like he wished he didn’t believe it himself.

  “The mother is said to be a vampyre born to two humans.”

  I scoffed. I couldn’t help it.

  “Ema, other than the Jumlin, that is impossible. It has never happened before.”

  “But I am half Jumlin. I come from an entire clan of human-born vampyres. Even if I wasn’t, vampyres have human babies all the time. Jesu was one of them, and the Romani, Mom’s ancestors. Why pin your conspiracy theories on me?”

  “Because you are having twins. A girl and a boy. Shénshèng said he has the sins of his father. Apollyon’s the evilest father I can think of.”

  That doesn’t mean my son will be evil.

  A lump welled in my throat as I thought of something else; Jalmari was right. He wasn’t the father. He was right about everything.

  “Is that why you hexed me?” I asked. “You were trying to stop this prophecy?”

  Dad shook his head. “I did it to protect you. I never believed in the prophecy, but the rest of the brotherhood does. They would’ve taken you away from your mother and me. They would have...” Dad lowered his gaze and shrugged. “I don’t know... Worshiped you, maybe? Locked you up. Possibly worse. And if word were to spread to the rest of the clans, or the R.E.D.? I panicked, Ema. So I hexed your Nephilim genes into submission. Made you as good as human. But I was still paranoid that someone would learn the truth. I wasn’t a Hunter back then, but the clan and the R.E.D. still kept tabs on me. So I left, hoping it would draw their attention away from you and your mother. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, but I was convinced a normal human childhood was the best thing for you. And it worked. For a while, anyway.”

  A glassy sheen welled in Dad’s eyes, and my own emotion turned on me. I lowered my gaze as a weight sat heavily in my chest.

  “You think Lilith is the reason the hex stopped working?”

  Dad nodded. “She is a skilled alchemist. She would know how to counter it.”

  “But why? What does she want with me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I hugged myself. Everything seemed to lead back to Lilith. She was there when all this started; with Anthony in Chicago, in the Underworld with Leena, in Egypt when Apollyon tried to experiment on me, and at the battle in Panama. But what was it all for?

  “Ema,” Dad spoke softly. “I don’t know if there is any truth to the prophecy. All I know is that you and your children fit the prerequisites, and that alone will put them in danger.”

  “Can you do the hex again?” I blurted. “When they’re born, can you hex them and make them human like you did to me?”

  Dad hesitated. “I... I don’t know. Maybe.”

  I pulled my arms tighter around myself and turned away. My fingernails pinched into my skin, but I hardly noticed. My poor babies. They weren’t even born yet, didn’t even have names, but already the world turned against them. And I, their mother, would be a million miles away if the damn contract came to fruition. Guess I ought to be grateful to Tancred. I wouldn’t kill Lilith. I couldn’t. She was the only one with answers. I had no choice but to let the contract fall through the cracks and protect my children myself—somehow.

  The last tendrils of the smudge stick burned out. The suite wa
s large enough that the smoke wasn’t visible by the time it reached the ceiling. Only the scent lingered to attest to its presence. Dad looked at the coffee table. He crossed the sleek marble and reached for the shampoo bottle.

  “We need to use this wisely. It’s all we have left until we can buy more.”

  I was about to suggest asking Shénshèng where she got her herbs when a sharp sting punctured my sternum. I gasped into a hunch and clawed at my chest, finding the claror. The wood stung my palms as I frantically yanked the cord from my neck and threw the necklace to the floor.

  “What the heck was that?” I glanced up to find my father staring at me with his brow furrowed. Valafar stood directly behind him, shimmering in and out of the physical plane with a devious little smile. I inhaled sharply. My breath caught somewhere between shouting words of warning and just plain screaming. Either way, I was too late. In the split second that I noticed him, Valafar whispered a word into my father’s ear. Dad’s eyelids slid closed and he fell, a dead weight, into Valafar’s arms.

  The incubus kept his gaze on me as he gently laid my father on the floor. “Hello, love.”

  My hands fisted at my sides and I took a few steps toward him before hesitating.

  Lilith’s the reason I’m a vampyre.

  And Valafar wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t ordered him to come. I had to tread carefully. I gestured to my snoring father with a nod. “What is this about?”

  Valafar stayed crouched on his heels at Dad’s side. His gaze slid to my father’s face. “We have a very large problem.” He paused, as though considering his words. “Lilith wants to know everything Shénshèng told you.”

  “Well it wasn’t much,” I said, crossing my arms and taking another step forward. “She said my son is tainted. Something about inheriting the sins of his father, whatever that means. But I doubt Lilith doesn’t already know that.”

  Valafar scoffed. His deep violet gaze sparkled at me from beneath a fan of long, thick lashes. I remembered what Dad said about glamours, and I glanced toward the claror. The necklace lay a few feet to the side, nearer the kitchen than the living room. Valafar followed my line of sight and a darkness passed over his gaze. I sprung for it. He shot forward too, but I managed to beat him by a hairline, scraping the claror into my hands as I skidded to my knees. Valafar grabbed hold of the leather cord, but it broke as I yanked the charm against my chest.