“Ster, I kill people. I am possessed by a demon who could lift my Prius and throw it over a fence. I don’t need your protection any longer. I need the goddamned truth.” Denny pulled into the parking lot of a closed Blockbuster store. “All these secrets and lies...I don’t know what to believe anymore. All this time, all this time, I thought you entered the church because you were afraid of the legacy, afraid the Hanta would choose you. But that’s not why, is it?”
Sterling’s eyes filled with tears as she looked away.
Denny leaned over. “Just tell me the truth, Sterling. All of it. I’m a big girl. You don’t have to protect me anymore.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Golden. I do. Mom and Valeria both made me promise to do everything I could to keep you safe. At first, I had no idea what they were talking about. Then, after the accident, Valeria came to Mom’s room while I was there. She stared long and hard into my face, her eyes boring into mine as if she was searching for something. Then she shook her head and said I did not possess the strength. I didn’t know what she meant, but what she told me was not to touch Mom as long as she was in the hospital.”
“Which you didn’t.”
Sterling wiped her eyes. “No. I didn’t. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I never hugged Mom, I never held her hand. Not until she came home.
Denny nodded. “She was afraid the Hanta would choose you.”
Sterling looked back at Denny. “Yes. Then, the next day, when Mom coded and it was clear we were probably never getting her back, Valeria came once more. She knelt in front of me and told me our family would, one day, be in grave danger and that the best way—the only way I could truly keep the three of you safe—was to serve the Lord.”
Denny frowned. “Wait. What are you saying? That you didn’t want to be a nun?”
“Of course I wanted to serve the Lord. I just had no idea she meant forever. This is not a temporary job, Golden. This is for life, and as long as me wearing a habit keeps you three safe, I will stay married to the Lord.”
“But that’s not what you wanted? All this time, you led me to think you were this holier-than-thou person who spent your days praying for your wayward sister.”
“Not at all. Golden, I love you more than you could know. I am doing my part to keep us all safe. I trust Valeria. I have always done what she asked me to do. I haven’t suffered as a sister. I love living here. I…well…the truth is, Valeria was right. I wasn’t strong enough to handle it. She needed me to allow you the room to do what you needed to do around the Legacy.
When I realized that Valeria had the capability of speaking with Mom, I understood the directives were from her. Mom and I had talked when I was younger about taking my vows. She merely gave me permission and support sooner than I’d expected. Don’t you see, Golden, I needed to go. I would have done everything in my power to exorcise the Hanta from you—I would have made our lives so much more dangerous by stifling the beast within you. I see that now. Valeria and Mom saw it back then, so it was best I go.”
“Sterling, you left me to raise Pure! I wasn’t ready for that.”
“You did a wonderful job raising her the last years of her high school career. She’s a wonderful young woman. You never gave yourself enough credit. You may not have had faith in yourself, but I did.”
“But you let me curse you, and rail at you, and be all pissed off that you were going to serve God and not take care of us. Why would you do that?”
“You were fifteen, Golden. Still a little kid. I could take care of myself. I needed you to take care of Pure.”
“How can you not hate my guts?”
Sterling smiled. “You never understood how much you mean to me. I could never hate you. Valeria promised me we would all be fine as long as I joined the church. So I did. There were never any doubts or second thoughts.”
Denny wiped her face, her stomach tight. “Do you know where they are?”
“I wish I did, but I don’t. Oh, Golden, please don’t be angry with me. I was only twenty-one when the accident happened. Suddenly, in charge of three siblings—”
“Six, if you count all the trouble Quick was in.”
Sterling smiled softly. “It wasn’t terrible. Then Valeria came to me and said it was time. I knew you didn’t understand. I saw the hurt and anger in your eyes, but I couldn’t tell you. I—”
Denny flung her arms around Sterling’s neck and hugged her tightly. “All this time, I thought you’d abandoned us for your God.”
Sterling pulled away and straightened her habit. “I know you did, and it killed me. So many times I wanted to tell you, but I knew you’d want to fix it. You’d see it as unjust and you, my sweet, sweet little sister, have always been upright and just. You are the right one for the Legacy. You were the only one of us strong enough to keep it contained. Mom knew it. Valeria knew it.”
Denny blinked back her tears. “Can I take back all the horrible things I said to you all these years?”
“Of course, but please don’t apologize after that. We all have a role to play in this life, Golden, and sometimes those roles tear a family apart; sometimes they bring a family together.” She squeezed Denny’s hand. “For now, I pray every day we will be able to find a balance.”
“Your good mixed with my evil?”
“Oh Golden, you are far from evil. I told you to stop saying that about yourself. Don’t you see it in Quick and Pure’s eyes? You’re a superhero to them. You are a wonderful human being. In time, you will learn better how to control it. You will gain a reputation like Mom’s and they’ll leave you alone. It won’t always be this way.”
Denny stared at her. “Who are you?”
They both laughed like two little girls who’d found something only they thought funny. Denny couldn’t remember the last time they’d laughed like this together.
Ever?
“Forgive me for keeping this secret for so long. Valeria said I would know when the time was right.”
Denny nodded. “Is there anything else I need to know? Do we have another sibling? Is Mom really our aunt? Am I adopted?”
Sterling blinked.
They laughed together once more.
“I love you, Sterling.”
“I love you more.”
They looked at each other a moment.
That was how their mom had always answered.
“Go get her, Golden. And Godspeed.”
Iris was sitting with Ames, Cassandra, Rush, and Lauren at the dinner table.
Denny stopped dead as she walked through the door. The Hanta became agitated. “What in the hell?”
“I can explain—” Iris started.
Lauren held her hand up. “I called her.”
Denny blinked. “You know Iris’s number?”
This made Lauren shrug. “How smart am I, Den? Come on now.”
“Fine. Not important, anyway. Why would you do that?”
Rush rose. “Because you’re not going to Europe alone. You might think you and your demon are all that and a bag of pork chops, but you need help.”
“I’m not going alone. I told Iris I called Annalee—”
“And you lied,” Iris said. “I called her and she was pretty pissed off you didn’t ask her for her help. Don’t worry. She’s on her way.”
“To?”
“Germany.”
Denny didn’t move. “Why would you do that? There’s no reason to put more people than necessary in harm’s way.”
Cassandra rose. “Calm yourself, Hunter. You are well-loved. We have devised a plan to protect those who remain behind while also sending you with a few soldiers. That is all.”
Denny walked over to Ames. “Ames? Even you?”
He nodded. “We all agree. You need not shoulder this on your own. You know a little about the supernatural world of the US, but Europe? They’re major leaguers and you’re more like a batboy of the minors. You need our help.”
“I’m not contesting that, A
mes. I just...I’m touched.”
He smiled. “Good. Now, why don’t you sit down and let’s have a council of war.”
The council of war went into the wee hours of the night, and when they were done, Denny finally had a plan. The coven’s protection would be Ames’s responsibility, and Lauren would continue researching the remaining cities from the map. So far, she’d found three and was busy delving into the research. Cassandra would address the witches of the highest order to see if they could find Valeria. Everyone had a task.
The next morning, Denny and company would be on a plane to Berlin.
Two hours into the air, Cassandra finally turned to Denny. “I would have sent Brianna with you, but the truth is, I know far more than she does about witchcraft’s history. You need a strong witch knowledgeable enough to take the heat off Iris.”
Iris nodded in agreement. “I have a lot to learn, but I’m too hot to stay with the coven. With you and me gone, everyone else can get back to living.”
“It’s a good plan working with what we have,” Ames said. “Annalee was a peach. She wrapped up a hunt, and will meet us there.”
Denny glanced around the private jet Ames had procured.
This was her tribe: her family.
What was it Sterling had said? Legacies like hers tear families apart or pull them together. This was the first time she’d ever seen any benefit to having the Hanta. These were her people and they would all fight to the death for her.
She would have to make sure that never happened.
Closing her eyes, Denny replayed all the facts and details she had so far.
That her father came from a family of renowned witchers was hard enough to swallow, but that Valeria had brought her mother to Europe made it all that much worse.
Denny was afraid. For the first time in a long time, she was scared to death she would lose someone she cared about.
What was Valeria’s end play? There had to be a reason why she would choose Europe. Wasn’t Gwen safer anywhere else?
Or was this not about Gwen or her safety?
The more she thought, the more questions she had.
Suddenly, Cassandra slid her hand into Denny’s. “You’ll make yourself crazy with all these thoughts, hunter. Calm yourself. Get some rest.”
Denny glanced down at the perfectly manicured hand on top of hers. “Am I ever going to get a break, Cassandra? Or is my life as a hunter going to involve putting out one fire after another?”
Cassandra turned Denny’s hand over and lightly ran her red nails along the middle of Denny’s palm.
It sent chills up her spine.
“Listen to me, my delicious lover,” Cassandra purred. “Your demon hails from Germany. You have to come full circle with a past to be able to free yourself for the present.”
Denny’s head began to bob slightly.
“Free yourself with the truth. Free yourself by learning all you can about what you hold within you. Free yourself by asking the right questions and receiving the right answers. Only then can you move forward. Only then can you find some peace.”
“Peace...” Denny was practically drooling on herself. “Yes...I’d...like...”
If she fell asleep, she wasn’t sure. Suddenly, she stood in a knee-high mist that hovered above the mossy ground. In the distance was an enormous monolith of grey castle; to her left, a row of hedges that had melded with rose bushes.
“Where am I, Cassandra?”
“Not Cassandra, Golden. She is merely the conduit through which I come.” From the mist walked Valeria, her maroon robe gently flowing behind her, her long white plait hanging over one shoulder.
“How...”
She held up a hand. “Not important. And that is lesson number one: ask the right questions. You do not have time for minutiae, Golden, so you must ask the right questions to move forward on this path.”
“This path. What path is that, exactly?”
Valeria smiled as she stood in front of Denny. “That is a good question. What path is this? Why on earth would Valeria bring your catatonic mother, her lover, the person who means more to her than anyone on this planet to Europe—the very seat of the witcher congregation?”
“Yes! That’s what I want to know.”
Valeria toyed with her plait. “Ever since that night when your father died, the Kramer family has been plotting their revenge against your mother...and me. They have patiently been waiting to see if your mother still carries the Hanta. For the last six years, they assumed she was catatonic with the Hanta still inside her. This is what kept you all safe, but when you started hunting, they saw the truth of it and knew you carried the Legacy demon now. Then you took Iris as your witch and they decided now was the time to strike—before you get too strong. I’ve brought you all to Europe to settle this once and for all...to release your mother, as well as your family and friends, from all the retribution the Kramer family wishes to rain down on you. If you do not end it here, we will all be looking over our shoulders for the remainder of our lives.”
Denny blinked. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. What, exactly, was this? A dream? A vision?
“Again, you focus on the wrong thing, Golden. Ask the right questions.”
“Are we here to kill the Kramers?”
“Do you think killing your father’s witcher family will change anything?” Valeria asked.
Denny shook her head. “No. No, I don’t. Witch hunters are like weeds.”
“Then what will?”
“The truth? Perhaps they need to understand if they want war, we are more than willing to engage and that we will…or at least, I will, go after everyone they care about.”
Valeria opened her mouth, then closed it.
“I am not wholly human any longer, Valeria, so those laws and rules no longer apply to me. If they want to bloody the earth, then their blood will mingle with ours.”
Valeria’s eyebrows rose. “Those are bold sentiments, Golden, but the truth is what you must discover. Maybe it is a war, maybe it isn’t.”
“Do you know?”
“I do not. I only know that your mother’s life is in danger and there is but one place I could bring her to ensure her safety until you have completed your role.”
“One place. Seriously? You think bringing her to the middle of the fire would keep her from getting burned.”
Valeria sighed. “You have good people who love you enough to risk their lives in a war that does not concern them. You are so much like your mother. She, too, had excellent allies. Rely on them, Golden. Trust them. They will see you through this, and when you are on the other side of this, your life...your mother’s life, will have regained balance so you can find the peace you so deserve.”
“Is that it, Obi Wan Kenobi? That’s all the help I get in some weird, funky mist? Platitudes and proverbs?”
Valeria grinned as she backed away. “My singular role in this drama is to protect your mother at all costs. The rest, I am afraid, is up to you.”
And then she withdrew into the mist, leaving Denny standing alone. “What the fuck? Cassandra! Goddamn you and your fucked-up witchcraft. Get in here and tell me what that was about!”
To her surprise, Cassandra appeared from behind her. “Easy, lover. Do not shoot the messenger.”
“I don’t even know what the message really was.”
“Sure you do. Your Hanta is ancient. It is time to come full circle. Otherwise, it will keep you running like headless chickens.”
“I still don’t understand.”
Cassandra bent down and kissed Denny softly on the lips. “The sum of you as a hunter isn’t merely about going out into the world and saving it from demons. You could do that every hour of every day and still they will come. You have a greater responsibility now. Your mother could not do this because she had a family she could not risk. You do not. You are free to spread your demonic wings and become more in the supernatural world. So much more. And with Iris by your side as your witch,
you two will be nigh unstoppable.”
“What’s this responsibility you all seem to think is sitting firmly on my shoulders?”
Cassandra raked a single nail lightly down Denny’s cheek. “What else, sweetheart? You must destroy your father’s family completely and for good.”
“For good?”
“If you can. Forever.”
They landed in England, where they were hoping to meet up with Annalee the next day. London was the perfect place to regroup and get their bearings, making sure there was a full council of war before stepping foot into Germany.
Germany.
Denny studied a map of this country she knew so little about. With Google Earth on her iPad, she studied the area surrounding the Speyer Cathedral in order to get a bearing on where everything was in relation.
Sitting in her London hotel room, she pored over maps and anything else she could get her hands on before leaving for Germany.
“You’re working too hard already,” Iris said, massaging Denny’s shoulders.
“My Hanta came from Germany. A nun who was charged with killing Hildegard von Bingen chose to accept the Legacy rather than kill her beloved mentor. This is the best place to start.”
“Your Hanta was inside a nun who was to kill some other nun? Brutal.”
“Oh, Hildegard wasn’t just ‘some other nun’. She was one of the greatest women of the whole of twelfth-century Europe.”
Iris kept digging into Denny’s tight shoulders. “Go on. I love it when you get all college-like on me.”
Denny grinned. “Well, Hildegard was a writer, a poet, a polymath, a visionary. She was a composer of music and wrote books on botany, medicine, and theology. In twelve-twenty, Pope Benedict named her Doctor of the Church, a very high level for a woman born of such low status.”
Iris paused her massage. “Why, DH, you sound like you have a little crush on old Hildy.”
“You know, I kind of do. What an inspiring woman she was. She was five when she realized she had visions. At forty-two, she heard God tell her to write them down—which she did. Her first theological text, Scivias, is in print today. Her fourth novel went missing, and no one has ever managed to find it.” Denny pulled the laptop over and opened up a file on Hildegard. “She was so special, her lover —or assistant, hard to know which— took the demon that was supposed to possess Hildegard.”
Coven Betrayed (The Silver Legacy Book 4) Page 7