Her chin sagged. “I can’t believe this. You’re laughing.” She let out something close to a growl. “I meant it, Duncan. When I performed the spell, I never wanted to be with any man. I have no idea what the spell might do if I try to enter into a real relationship.”
“Suits me fine.” He pulled his pant leg down over his boot and stood. “Ain’t any human men ’round here.” He grinned. “Just us daemon males.”
He left her behind to think about that.
*****
He wasn’t a man. He was a daemon male. She’d forgotten they made that distinction—referring to daemons as male and female, while calling humans men and women.
No matter how serious she’d been about the spell, it wouldn’t affect Duncan because it wasn’t direct to daemons. It hadn’t ever occurred to her to include daemons.
She raced into the hall to find Duncan, but slowed as she reached the top of the steps.
The hall echoed with noise as a group of women crowded through the front doors. The coven.
She hadn’t seen most of these women more than once since she was seventeen—just the night they’d fought Julius Crowley together. They hadn’t liked her much as kids. Though they had been nice enough, all things considered, when she’d seen them last. She came around the table, her stomach knotting, and forced a smile.
At first, they didn’t notice her. The women stared at their surroundings, trying to answer their daughters’ multitude of questions. She counted thirteen children, so a few of them had multiple kids, because she, Lilith, and Kat didn’t have any. The kids, all girls, appeared to range in age from five to early-teens.
She cleared her throat. “Welcome.”
As one, they turned her direction. For a heartbeat or two they stared. Someone squealed and the sound acted as a starting pistol of sorts. They all ran toward her, arms extended, shouting all at once so that she couldn’t understand what any of them were saying.
The first reached her, her halo of curly red hair giving her away as Rowena’s daughter, Kat. “Gaia be blessed, it’s good to see you safe!” She gave her a quick hug and stepped back, allowing the others to gather around.
They hugged and patted her. Someone ran her fingers through her damp hair. It was like being in the middle of a multi-armed tornado.
“Oh, the girls,” said a gothed-out woman, who wore platform army boots and black lipstick.
“Violet?”
Violet nodded. “Come here, girls.”
The children gathered around, wide-eyed.
“This is your Auntie Trina. Remember we told you—”
A little blonde started jumping up and down. “You invited a vampire into your house when you were my age!”
“Mom said you turned Monopoly money into real money and used it to trick Lilith’s grandmother once.” One of the older girls leaned closer and whispered, “Can you teach me that spell?”
“They all say you have the best April Fool’s jokes!” One of the little ones tugged on the hem of her shirt. “Is it April yet?”
Another, the youngest of the lot considering her small stature, held her arms up in a timeless plea to be held.
She picked the child up as she shook her head in answer to the other kid, the lump in her throat making it impossible to speak. All these years she’d thought they hated her because of their unfiltered thoughts from when they were children. She’d never considered that they’d grown up. Never allowed for the possibility that they’d changed. And while she’d harbored resentment for them, they’d told their children about their Auntie Trina.
Goddess bless them. She’d never asked them to, but they’d forgiven her. The only one who hadn’t . . . was her. All these years she’d been projecting her own self-loathing and resentment onto others and hiding from them, as if that would protect her.
Augustina had been right, she had been lying to herself. She’d put herself into exile with the only person who actually hated her—her. The Judgment card made sense now.
She was ruining things with Duncan because she’d never forgiven herself. Because she feared her Magic and a stupid spell that wouldn’t even affect him.
Brenda sidled up next to her. “You all right? You’re looking a little watery.”
“I’m . . . .” She sniffed. Wiped at her eyes. “Happy to see you all.”
The next few minutes were full of introductions, but she had no hope of remembering all the little girls’ names.
Kat cleared her throat. “Listen, when we were walking up here, we were followed by things like that.” She pointed to Harry and George.
“It’s the kids.” Trina smiled. “The minions follow Harry around, too.” She explained about the spell closing the portal and how the minions had been waiting in the grove around the portal for the children to return. “They seem to act as protectors for them.”
Zoe shivered, biting down on her lip. “I wonder if they’ll follow the girls back home.”
“You’ll have to let me know. I had to promise to stay here in order to re-open the portal.”
Violet reared back. “You’re stuck here?”
She nodded. “Well, if Lilith is willing, she can give me a break now and again. One of us has to remain here at all times and I’m okay with it being me.” When they stared at her, she shrugged. “I was freaked at first, but it’s not so bad. And, you know, now that the portal is open, I’m sure we’ll get Netflix and Starbucks soon.”
They laughed.
Sherri nudged her and pointed to the other side of the room. “Is that him? The one we summoned?”
Duncan. He leaned against the wall, chatting with Harry, but his gaze never left her. “Yeah.”
Meredith hummed in her throat. “Mm. He that big everywhere?”
A rash of giggles broke out and Trina’s cheeks flared with heat.
“Never mind that,” Zoe said, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder. “Does he know how to use it?”
Claire shook her head. “Okay, I admit it. I’m jealous. I want one. The next summoning is for me.” A playful argument broke out over who would be next to meet their mate. Rowena had kept a tight leash on the coven, not allowing them to date or have relationships. All the children were the result of artificial insemination, not love. She imagined they were all ready to get on with their lives and find their mates.
“Where’s Lilith? I keep expecting her to walk in, but . . . .”
All at once, they said, “James.” Several rolled their eyes.
“James what?”
“He’s making her wait for half an hour . . . to make sure nothing happens to us before he lets her in.”
He was still worried she’d hurt Lilith. She pulled a face. “Why half an hour?”
Kat grinned. “She told him if he ever wanted to have sex again, she wasn’t waiting more than thirty minutes.”
As if on cue, she heard James bellow, “Lilith!” The door swung open and her friend marched in, James stalking in behind her. “It hasn’t been half an hour.”
“It’ll take me thirty seconds to cross the room, you over-protective ass.”
Lilith looked . . . normal. Healthy. Mad as a wet hornet, but she couldn’t blame her. She started walking toward her before she’d even made the decision to take the risk.
Two more strides and Lilith started running. “Look at you!”
“Me? You almost look human.” She opened her arms.
“No hugging!”
Trina stuck her tongue out at James. “Fuck off.” She hugged her friend. “It’s so good to see you.”
Lilith rocked her from side to side. “You have no idea. I love James to death but . . . .” She let out a growl. He’s been making me crazy!
“I can hear you again!”
Still hugging they jumped up and down, laughing. Everything was back to normal.
“I think I figured everything out. We talked to the Watcher and—” Trina started to pull away and something tugged her skin. She didn’t feel right. “What the hell?
” She tried to take a step back at the same time Lilith did, but they stuck. Panic ripped through her with white-hot intensity, heating her face and making her hair stand on end. She tried to lift her arms from Lilith’s back but her skin was . . . fused to her. Her skin looked like cheese pulling away from a pizza box, stringy and tacky. All along her temple, cheek, neck, and down the front of her torso she felt the pulling and stretching. Pain lanced through her, originating everywhere Lilith touched.
Lilith chanted, “Oh, gods. Oh, gods. Oh, gods.”
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her back at the same time James reached Lilith. The men pulled them apart and she stared at Lilith. The World crossed by Death. A sacrifice to get close to her goal.
Duncan turned her around and ran his hands down her face. Her arms. “You all right, Duchess? Anything hurt?”
Am I whole? Did I melt? Her heart thundered in her chest. She touched her cheek. Ran her hands down her clothes, but everything felt fine. “How’d you get here so fast?”
Meredith leaned forward. “That one had your back the minute he heard James bellowing at Lilith.”
Her gaze locked onto Duncan. “I didn’t do that.” She turned to the coven. “I would never do that.”
“No one’s blaming you.” His gaze hardened and settled on something over her shoulder. “No one is blaming you.”
James sighed. “At least neither of you is hurt.” He glanced around at the coven. “Anyone have any idea what happened?”
The women shook their heads.
Duncan’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “We’ve been hearing a lot about how the Original has to merge and become one in order to fight the Watcher as an equal.”
Lilith’s gaze widened. “What?”
Trina grimaced. “I thought it more a metaphor than literal.”
“What’s got me worried,” Duncan said, “is they keep talking about you two merging, but no one’s said anything about you going back to being separate women afterward.”
“Maybe they don’t think we’ll survive that long.” Trina chewed her lip. She’d thought being stuck here in Machon was the sacrifice she had to make. What if they had to sacrifice themselves? “Or maybe we won’t be able to go back to being ourselves.”
*****
Trina introduced the coven to Duncan, Harry, George, and Doom, and they’d all sat around the tables in the great hall. The children hanging out and giggling in the corner, their words too soft for the adults to hear.
Duncan had pulled Lilith to the side. She had no idea what the two of them were talking about, but he’d put his hand on her shoulder and stooped down as they strolled toward the table. When he finished talking, Lilith pressed her lips together as if fighting off a laugh. She composed herself. Nodded. Glanced at Trina and winked. I like him.
Back off sister, he’s mine.
Kat asked. “So what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to summon Julius Crowley, exorcize the Watcher from him, and destroy the Watcher.”
Lilith and Duncan came and sat at the table. He shook his head. “About that. Kasdeja said that without knowing the name of the Watcher, you can’t destroy him, but you can imprison him again.”
“You’ll have to draw him up close to one of the ruins.” Doom leaned back in his chair. “A tower will appear once he’s close and you can imprison him there.”
She glanced at Lilith, who shrugged. “I don’t know how we’re going to lure him anywhere.”
“Kasdeja said you’d know how to turn into the Original—”
Lilith rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we figured that part out, Duncan.”
“So, I’m assuming, once merged, you’d know what to do. Thing is, with all this talk of merging, no one is saying anything about being able to separate again.”
James scrubbed his hand over his bald head. “So we find another way.”
“I don’t see this as a problem.” Brenda closed her eyes. “If they learned how to unite, they will learn how to go back to being themselves again.” When she opened her eyes again, she gave each male a pointed stare. “You worry for nothing.”
Trina met Lilith’s gaze. What do you think?
Brenda’s visions are always right.
The oldest of the girls sidled up next to Harry. “Hi. I’m Skye.”
He smirked. “Hi, Skye. I’m a twenty-one year-old man stuck in the body of a late-blooming teenage vampire.”
Skye’s eyes widened and she left.
Everyone stared at him. “What?”
“We’re going to fix that.” Brenda nodded. “You’re going to do great things someday. Be a protector of women, children, and lost souls.” She opened her eyes. “And you’re going to look like a man when you do so.”
Harry went completely still. Eyes wide. Lips parted. He checked his watch but didn’t say a thing.
As the coven’s seer, Brenda’s visions came sporadically, but they were always accurate from what she’d heard. “When? How long does he have to wait?”
A shiver shook Brenda violently. “We have to practice casting as a coven. We’ll practice on him.”
Duncan’s hand came down on the table hard enough to rattle glasses. “No one’s ‘practicing’ fuck all on the lad.” He stood, cocked his finger at Trina. “Can I have a word?”
She winked at Harry and joined Duncan away from the table.
“This is a bunch of shite. Tell me you’re not encouraging this?” His mouth drew down, worry lines appeared between his brows. He’d folded his arms over his chest, but his whole body vibrated in agitation.
“Brenda’s visions are never wrong. If she’s seen him as a man in the future . . . then he’s going to survive the spell.”
“How do you know? Has she ever had visions in Machon before? Have any of you?” His accent grew thicker with every word he spoke. “Your Magic works better here, maybe hers is worse.”
“No. But have you considered what Harry wants?”
“You think I haven’t?” He kept his voice to a whisper. “You think I don’t want the same for him? I’m not taking exception to the idea. I’m taking exception to the method.”
She put her hand on her hip. “You’d rather wait for medical science? Yeah, let’s leave him looking like a little boy for the next thousand years.”
“Christ. Be a little melodramatic while you’re at it.” He scowled. “This is me lad you’re talking about, not some lab rat.” Duncan’s phone buzzed. “Fuck’s sake.” He pulled it out of his pocket at the same time that everyone else’s phones started buzzing and ringing.
“Duncan—”
“What!” All his focus snapped to the side where Lilith held out her phone. “I think this is for you.”
Trina had a text from Anonymous Caller: Scott Mason requests your presence. An address followed.
“Where the hell is Nogales, Arizona?” Duncan asked.
Violet looked up. “Down near the Mexican border. My phone says someone named Scott Mason wants to see you there.”
“Mine, too.” Trina put her phone back in her pocket, lifting her brow at Duncan. “You told that guy at RI to say your name if he needed to speak to you.”
“I’d forgotten.” His hand dragged down his face. “Feels like a lifetime ago.” He pointed at Harry. “You and I are going to have a chat about this whole thing when I get back.”
Trina took hold of his hand. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
She glanced at Lilith. Sort Harry out while we’re gone.
All over it. Lilith winked.
She spoke the words to the spell, picturing the red dirt and dry air of Nogales. Between one blink and the next, they were there. They stood on the corner of Arroyo and Oak and after studying the numbers on nearby buildings, she pointed up the street. “We need to go up there.”
“Looks like the Nephilim hit this place hard.” He withdrew his blade.
All the town’s signs were in Spanish even though they were on American soil. The adobe-style h
omes and brick and plyboard buildings from a bygone era. Half the town had burned, the acrid scent making her nose itch. No one was around, but dozens of alarms rang. An overturned police car sat on the sidewalk near the Gran Mercado, its lights still flashing, siren still whining. “You think he’s still alive?”
“Mason? Watchers haven’t said otherwise.”
They passed a Catholic School. The doors hung wide open, blood smeared across one—as if wounded kids had tried to hold themselves up as they exited.
They stayed to the center of the street, putting space between them and the dark nooks and crannies between buildings. “It’s quiet. The Nephilim are noisy.”
“Yeah.” He nudged her arm with his elbow. “There.”
Straight ahead of them, the street dead-ended at the front of a church, a two-story, white-washed adobe structure with several long stone steps leading up to the Spanish-scrolled French doors. One man stood to the side wearing a biohazard suit. Four more lay on the ground, blood a dark contrast to the bright yellow suits they wore. And on the steps, a little boy lay unmoving, covered in blood, on his back, arms outstretched, his head lower than his feet like some satanic sacrifice.
“Goddess bless us.”
They approached the scene, slowly, unsure what had happened, unsure what to expect from the remaining human. When a few feet away, Duncan put his arm out, forcing her to stop.
“Mason?”
“Yeah.” The guy in the yellow suit stepped forward.
Duncan motioned at the suit. “Don’t need that. It’s gonna be more hindrance than help.”
“How do you—”
“It’s not biological.” Trina kneeled down by the kid. Nephilim didn’t kill him. Gunshots did. “He was human.”
“I know.” Mason cursed and pulled off the helmet to his suit. “We came in by chopper. Those creatures had swarmed the place—”
“Nephilim.” If they insisted on getting involved, they should have the correct information.
“Nephilim.” He nodded. “Bodies—” He held his arm out, palm down and slowly rotated from left to right. “Everywhere. Blood and broken glass and . . . .” He sighed. “They hadn’t started transforming yet. Took longer this time; I thought they were dead for good.”
The Shadow: The Original's Trilogy Page 28