by Apryl Baker
“She was far from perfect, Silas, but before the drugs consumed her, she was the best mom ever. She loved me, and that’s what I hold on to.”
He purses his lips. “Had I known she would turn to drugs, I would never have allowed her to take you.”
“What?” I glance up sharply. He allowed her to take me?
He nods, stroking his chin. “I realized Georgina was about to offer you up to Deleriel. It was I who convinced her to allow Amanda to whisk you off. I slipped into her mind while she slept and whispered to her. I convinced her in order to keep you safe for Deleriel, she had to let you go. It was only after Amanda locked her in that night, that I withdrew from her mind. I thanked her, but I warned her he would be in a rage. I gave her a chance to protect herself, but she chose to face him, thinking she could barter a new deal. Stupid woman. He punished her as I knew he would. She’s trapped in her mind, locked in her own personal hell.”
My family tree is so twisted, I long for blissful ignorance again.
“Amanda’s job was to care for you, to hide you from everyone who might come looking. I visited her several times in those first few months, and it seemed fine, so I left the two of you alone. It wasn’t until you were four that I looked in again and discovered her new habits.”
“That day, she’d been railing about the painter…she meant you.”
“Yes. All she knew was that I was a painter who had helped her. Someone started whispering in her ear, telling her things she didn’t need to know. To this day, I do not know who it was. They told her about you, your lineage. She went from trying to protect you from an abusive father to protecting you from supernatural forces. I think that is what drove her to drugs, in all honesty. She couldn’t handle the truth. The Sterlings are a ruthless bunch. I never knew she’d be the weakest one.”
“She wasn’t weak.” I stand and face him. “My mom was not weak. She couldn’t protect me, and she knew it. So she did the only thing she could do. She thought if I were dead, then no one could get to me.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because she killed herself too, Silas. She whispered to me that I’d be safe now, and I lay there and watched the life go out of her eyes. She wasn’t crazy, she wasn’t evil, she was just my mama, and she did the best she could.” I wipe the tears away and take a step closer. “If you call her weak again, I don’t care what you can do to me. I will hurt you.”
The smile that spreads across his face has me stumbling backward. It’s not a nice smile. It’s the smile I give right before I launch an attack on someone, be it verbal or physical. My body tenses, preparing to fight. I’ve tipped the demon over the edge.
He stalks over to me, the smile getting creepier by the minute. When his hand comes up to cup my cheek, I can’t help the flinch. The last time he’d lain a hand on me had been quite painful.
“You have no idea how much you please me, my darling girl.” He takes my hand and leads me over to the painting. “Come, tell me what you think.”
This is not what I’m expecting. He’s being nice. I peer at him out of the corner of my eye, and yup, that same smile is still there. What’s he up to?
Instead of trying to figure it out, I focus on the painting. No sense in trying to guess what a demon is thinking. It’ll just drive me mad. The portrait isn’t anywhere near done, but even at this stage, something’s missing. The lines and the brush strokes are perfect, the image, rough as it is, is still beautiful. But there’s something missing.
Silas turns me to face the man lying on the table, whimpering, his eyes wide with fear and a plea for help. “Look at him, Emma Rose. What do you see?”
“A poor, helpless guy?” I can’t keep the sarcasm at bay. It was such an obvious question.
“We’ve already discussed his trespasses, Emma Rose. He’s not someone to pity. Look at him, see what’s beneath the surface, what’s missing from his painting.”
How much more cryptic could he be? What am I supposed to be looking for? I turn my attention back to his face and study it. Like before, I know he’s middle-aged and deeply afraid. The lines of his face are smooth, so he’s probably someone who spends most of his time indoors. Doing things that are perverse. My stomach rolls in disgust at what those things might be.
Other than my own disgust, I don’t see or feel anything in particular. What is it Silas wants me to see? Frustrated, I turn back to him and shrug. “What am I looking for?”
He tisks at me again, but there is a faint hardening in his eyes that worries me. “Emma Rose, if you can’t see, then you will not be able to defeat Deleriel, and all will be lost.”
Even for Silas, that sounds ominous. I think Deleriel scares the bejesus out of him like Silas does me. Which ratchets up my own terror a notch or three. Anyone who frightens Silas is not someone to mess with. Yet he expects me to “deal” with him. But how? I’m lost, truth be told. I have no idea how to deal with a demon. I deal in ghosts, not demons. That’s more along the Malones’ line of work.
I let out a frustrated sigh. I don’t know what he expects me to do here. It’s only a man on a table. Afraid and helpless, but still only a man.
“Death unlocked your reaping abilities, and fear did the same for your demonic side, but I don’t think it will work for the other half of your abilities.” Silas taps a finger to his chin as he thinks. “She warned me of this, but I had no idea it would be this difficult.”
“She?”
“Your mother,” he says absently. “How do I wake up the one ability you must be able to utilize in order for any of this to work?”
“Melissa told you…”
“No, not Melissa, your mother.” He cuts me off, a frown on his face.
“Melissa, or Georgina, or whoever you want to call her is my mother, Silas.” What is he going on about now?
“Did I not just tell you there isn’t anyone on this plane of existence who could do what Deleriel needed?”
I nod, not understanding what he’s trying to say.
“Georgina Dubois was just the body that housed your mother.”
What? That makes no sense. “I don’t…”
The room is hazy and I blink, trying to focus, but my vision blurs, and before I can say anything else, the world goes dark around me.
Chapter Six
The steady beeping of machines wakes me. I’ve gotten so used to the sound, I’m not even surprised anymore. The soft light coming from the bathroom sends shards of pain ricocheting through my skull the minute I open my eyes. They seem to be more sensitive to light than the last time I woke up. It takes me a second to remember why I’m here. Seizures. They admitted me because of seizures, and Silas…Silas!
Silas dropped a bomb on me, and then I’d been pulled out of his little retreat. I guess my subconscious started waking up or something. Either way, I am in a world of trouble. Demon, reaper, and something else. Something that’s not from this plane of existence. Well, demons and reapers aren’t from here, but what else could it possibly be? What type of power is required to bring images to life?
Those questions are swirling around in my head when I hear the creaking of the leather chair that’s been pulled up beside my bed. I crack an eyelid and glance sideways. Eli. A little slide further to the right and I see Dan passed out cold in the other chair. He doesn’t look well. In fact, he looks about as bad as I feel.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
Eli’s voice is quiet, hushed. I’m guessing to keep from waking Dan.
“Hey.” My voice sounds like I’ve been sick for a week and hacked up a lung. “Can you close the bathroom door? The light…”
“Sure, sure, Hilda. Gimme a sec.” Footsteps sound across the room and I hear the door shut. This time when I open my eyes, I’m not assaulted by daggers. The room isn’t pitch dark. He’s left enough light to make out shapes, but I’m grateful for that much. The headache pounding behind my eyes makes me wonder how sick I really am. I’ve never felt pain like this before.
�
��Here, take a sip. Not too much, though.” Eli holds a bottle to my lips and lets a little bit of water tip into my mouth. The cotton balls coating my tongue are washed away, but leave behind a bitter taste. “You scared us, Mattie.”
Ohh, he’s using my name. I must have really scared them for him to resort to that.
“Sorry.” I blink, letting my eyes adjust to the near total darkness. “How long was I out?”
“Three days.”
What? Three days? No way. It felt like I was only with Silas for an hour, at most. I was there for two days with him? Well, maybe not, but he did say he called me there to protect me, so maybe. It’s confusing.
“Zeke called in three big hotshot neurosurgeons.” Eli sits on the bed, pushing my legs a little to make room. “You had a brain bleed, Mattie. That’s serious. It had to be recent because it wasn’t on your earlier head CT.”
I don’t remember hitting my head, but then again, the entire cemetery adventure is a big blank for me. I might have done it there. I’ll have to ask Kane the next time he shows up.
“That’s what was causing the seizures?”
Eli shifts closer. “No. The doctors are stumped, but Zeke thinks it has something to do with the ghost kids that keep attacking you.”
“I…” A coughing fit interrupts me and Eli presses the water back to my lips. I drink greedily, my sore throat grateful for the cool liquid. I turn my head, and pain knifes through it. “Owwwee.” I glance to Dan to make sure I didn’t wake him, but he’s still out. He needs the sleep.
“Don’t do that, Hilda.” He leans over and helps me sit up a little then adds another pillow behind me. “You just had major brain surgery. It’s a miracle you’re talking at all.”
They had to open my skull? My hand automatically goes up, and sure enough, I can feel bandages around my head. They cut me open? Before I can freak out, Eli grabs my hand and squeezes. “Calm down, Hilda. You and Dan now have matching war wounds.”
The panic recedes and leaves only a calm feeling behind. I know as soon as Eli’s gone, it’ll all rush back. His sense of calm and reassurance lasts only as long as he’s with me. Stupid Guardian Angel bond. It should work better than that.
“How did you convince them to let you stay?” Last I knew, Dan would have body checked his brother if he tried to get near me because of the curse. Heather, Eli’s mother, is afraid the curse will confuse Eli’s Guardian Angel bond as true love and he’ll attempt to kill me. I’ve seen what happens to the women who have loved his ancestors with those beautiful aqua eyes. I lived through their deaths, thanks to my shaman abilities that let me see things.
“I’m your Guardian Angel, Mathilda Louise Hathaway. There isn’t a force on this Earth that could have kept me away while you were in danger. Your dad recognized that the minute he saw me. I freaked Ava out, I think. She said I glowed.” A chuckle escapes. “Now, that, I would like to do on Halloween. Best costume ever.”
“You were glowing? Did anyone see?”
“Only supernaturals can see supernaturals, Hilda. Regular humans…they’re blind when it comes to those of us with special abilities.”
Well, that makes sense. I’d never met anyone who could see ghosts until Doc introduced me to the Malones in New Orleans. If people saw half of what I did, they’d all be locked away in the nut house on a permanent vacation.
“I’m glad you’re here, Eli.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Hilda.” He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “You owe me a date, remember?”
This time, there are no butterflies swarming around when he kisses me, only a sense of dread. He doesn’t know what I am. Eli despises demons. What’s he going to say when I tell him I’m part demon?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he whispers, his voice tickling my ear.
“I have to tell you something, Eli.” Best to get it over with. Besides, Eli knows me. He knows I’m not evil. He’s not going to denounce me and try and stab me. I’m Mattie Hathaway. I’m awesome.
“Mattie, you need to rest, honey. You look ready to fall asleep any second.” True concern bathes his voice, but I need to tell him. I hate secrets and lies, and keeping this from him, it feels like a secret.
“I’ll sleep in a bit. Promise.”
“Okay.” He sits up and stares at me. Even in the dim light, I can see his eyes. They are bright, intense.
“Couple things I found out about my mother’s side of the family, and Zeke’s too, I guess.”
“They’re criminals just like the Cranes?”
Part of me wants to snark at him over that, but I bite it back. My father’s family are criminals, but they’re my family. It is what it is.
“My mother’s real name is Georgina Dubois.”
“Dubois?” He says the word slowly, and I know the wheels are turning in his head. “The Louisiana Dubois family?”
“Yes.”
“They’re pretty scary people, Mattie.” A frown worries his lips. “Scarier than even your dad’s family. There are rumors…”
“I know.” I cut him off. “The rumors are true.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I do.” I squeeze his hand. “You remember when you asked me what was wrong with my eyes? When they went black?”
He nods. I can barely make it out, but I push on. “I’m part demon, Eli.”
“No, Mattie, you’re not.” The denial is swift and adamant. “You wouldn’t have been able to get past the demon-proofing Caleb did…”
“Did his spell cover humans who have demonic abilities?” His silence is my answer. “That’s what I thought.”
“Hilda, you’re not a demon.” He jumps up, his eyes wide. “You’re not a filthy demon!”
I wince, but stay quiet. He’s not taking it well at all. “There’s more.”
“More?” His voice is incredulous. “How can there be more?”
“Silas is my grandfather.”
Eli simply falls into the chair next to Dan’s and stares at me. I can sympathize. I still feel a mixture of disbelief and horror at the thought.
“Silas has been selectively breeding people on both sides of my family to produce me. He created me to finally deal with Deleriel.”
“Do you know how insane that sounds?”
“Yeah, Eli, I do, but it’s the truth. I have to figure out how to tap into my abilities so I can defeat a fallen angel or suffer the consequences.”
“Consequences?”
“Silas has no qualms about what he’ll do to me and the people I love if I don’t do exactly what he wants.”
“All those times he did stuff for you without asking for anything in return…it was because he was your family?”
I shrug. “I guess. I don’t know why he does anything.”
“You’re a demon.”
The empty, hollow sound in his voice scares me. I wish I could see his face better, but the darkness in the room prevents that.
“Zeke thinks I only inherited demonic abilities, that I don’t actually have the demon bloodline in me.” Though, if I’m being honest with myself, I know that’s hogwash. You can’t have demonic abilities without having demon blood coursing through you.
“I need to go.” He stands and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I need to think…”
“Eli.”
He shakes his head at me. “I need to think, Mattie.”
Without another word, he turns and walks out the door.
Pain lashes at my heart, the calm and peace giving way to despair. He left. He just left. A tear trickles down my face, and I brush it away angrily. He walked out and left me.
“Shhh, Squirt.” Dan’s fingers slip through mine. “It’ll be okay.”
“He left.”
Dan stands and pushes me over, climbing into the bed. He pulls me against him. “It’s okay, Mattie. Everything will be okay.”
“Everybody leaves me, Dan.”
“I didn’t.” He hugs me to his chest. “And I never will.”
> Chapter Seven
~Dan~
I slip out of the bed once she’s finally asleep. She’d cried herself out. Eli had better be gone, or he and I are gonna have words. So, she’s part demon? Who cares? Anyone who knows Mattie knows she doesn’t have an evil bone in her body. She even believes in God and all that. The girl is religious. Prays and trusts that everything happens because of some grand scheme the big guy upstairs has mapped out. Me, I don’t know if I buy into that. But it doesn’t matter what I believe. It matters what she believes.
I eavesdropped. I admit it, but if I’d known the crap my baby brother was gonna pull, I’d have tossed him out before she had time to open her mouth. Not that I wasn’t just as shocked as Eli when she told him Silas was her grandfather. That demon scares me. Terrifies me, really. He’s the reason I almost died. And he’s her grandfather.
The waiting room is empty save for the Cranes. Eli must have told his family. Disgust and contempt boil in my stomach. I don’t care who or what she is. She’s just Mattie to me. She’s more my family than the Malones will ever be, and if they can’t deal with her, demon blood and all, then that’s too bad. I’ll pick Squirt over any of them.
“How is she?” Zeke looks up from his laptop when he spots me.
“She woke up a while ago.”
“Why didn’t you come get me?” Zeke closes his laptop, his expression turning irritated.
“I had to calm her down.” I put up a hand to stop his questions. “She told Eli about the demon blood in her family, and he didn’t take it too well.”
“So that’s why they all hightailed it out of here.” Josiah Crane, Zeke’s father, hands his wife, Lila, a Starbucks coffee cup. “I saw them all piling into a truck when I left to go ferret out some drinks.”
“She’s sleeping now.” I rake a hand through my hair. I really need to get it cut before I see my mom again. She’ll nag me about it being too long. “I need to run home, take a shower, and get some clean clothes. Can someone sit with her? I don’t want her to wake up alone.”