“Emmett didn’t think we had another choice. Why? Do you think it’s a mistake?” I asked.
“No,” Lucas said slowly. “I know how close you are to Henry, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Well, I don’t think he’s going to cast a spell to re-kill me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I wasn’t thinking that. Just worried about his role in this war.”
“Henry wouldn’t hurt a fly,” I said defensively. Why did everyone keep questioning Henry’s intentions?
“Sorry, didn’t mean to hit a sore spot.” Lucas glanced at me before turning his attention back to the road.
“I’m just sick of Henry’s character being doubted. He’s not like his father!”
“Okay, okay, point taken. I surrender.”
I didn’t respond. My mind was whirling. “So are you going to call Nicholas?” I finally asked. “Henry said he’ll track down Emmett and they’ll get to your apartment around 3.”
“As soon as we get inside,” Lucas said. We had just arrived at his complex. Lucas pulled the hood of his coat over his head before stepping out of the car.
“Hey, now that the twins aren’t a problem, are you going back to your old place?” I asked as we walked inside.
Lucas took his coat off and hung it on a hook on the wall. He looked really hot in his plain black t-shirt and jeans. Suddenly I felt nervous, even though I had been around Lucas a million times now.
“We’ll see,” he replied.
“I thought you couldn’t stand being so close to humans?” I pressed. I had thought Lucas would be thrilled at the chance to get away from people.
“I can’t.” Lucas laughed. “But I like being close to you. My house is so damn far away.”
I smiled and sat down on the couch.
“I’m going to call Nic,” Lucas said. “Be right back.” He walked into his bedroom.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I wonder if Emmett knows anything? Like when I’m getting this amazing power that can kill Senara?
“Nicholas will be here soon.” My eyes flew open. I hadn’t heard Lucas come back into the room. He had a funny expression on his face.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Nic said he had some interesting information,” Lucas replied. “He said he’ll tell all of us at once when he gets here.”
“He didn’t give you any kind of hint?” I demanded. “That’s kind of cryptic.” What was it with vampires and their inability to spit things out?
“Yeah, he gave me a hint alright.” Lucas still had that odd expression on his face.
“Why are you being so weird? Just tell me what Nicholas said!”
“He said that he found out – by complete accident – who killed you.”
Chapter 16
“What?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“I know. I’m in shock, too,” Lucas said.
“He didn’t say anything else?” I asked.
“Just that he found out while he was working last night and hadn’t had a chance to call me today.” Lucas had been pacing back and forth, but he stopped and sat down on the couch next to me.
“I’m surprised you don’t sound more excited. It’s good news, really,” Lucas said.
“I guess I’m just nervous,” I admitted. “I thought about what could have happened so many times – why I was possessed before I died and who killed me. But then, when all of the shit hit the fan – Henry’s father, Tobias, Senara – I had to put it out of my head. And now, I just don’t really know how I feel, to be honest.”
Lucas nodded. “That makes sense. Well, at least it will be another piece of the puzzle. Possibly a huge piece.”
“When’s Nicholas getting here?” I asked.
“Soon,” Lucas said. “He said he wasn’t far away.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Henry and Emmett should be here soon, too.”
As if on cue, there was knocking at the door.
Lucas stood up and walked over to answer it. Henry and Emmett were standing there. “Come on in,” Lucas said, stepping to the side.
Henry walked inside and sat down on the couch next to me.
“Sorry I don’t have much furniture,” Lucas said apologetically. “I haven’t had this many people in my apartment, well…ever.”
“No worries,” Henry said awkwardly. I could feel how tense his body was next to me. Does he hate Lucas that much or is he just nervous about the spell?
“Nicholas shouldn’t be long. He was in the area when I talked to him. Probably on his way now. Can I offer either of you some water?” he asked Emmett and Henry. Lucas looked uncomfortable.
“I’ll have a glass,” Henry said.
Emmett just shook his head.
Lucas looked relieved to have an excuse to leave the room. He headed for the kitchen to get the glass of water.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the duffel bag Henry had set down in front of him.
“The stuff I need for the spell,” he explained. He leaned down and unzipped the bag. “Here’s the book you were asking about.” Henry handed me a leather-bound book. It was huge, about the size of the dictionary we had at home on the bookshelf. The front had writing in gold lettering, but I couldn’t read it.
“What’s it say?” I asked Henry.
Emmett walked over to look at the book.
“Here’s your water,” Lucas interrupted, setting a glass down on the small end table next to the couch.
“Thanks,” Henry said. “I was just showing them my spell book, if you want to see it.” Good. Henry is at least trying to be nice to Lucas.
“Definitely.” Lucas huddled in closer and we all studied the book.
“Aurora was asking me what that says,” Henry said, pointing to the gold writing. “I don’t know the language, but it means Black and White Magic, Volume II.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked.
“Black magic is typically for evil purposes, while white magic is for good,” Emmett interjected.
“Hmm.” I flipped open the book. The pages were filled with the same writing from the cover. Some had pictures next to the text.
“What’s this?” Lucas asked, motioning to a crescent shaped drawing on one of the pages.
“It’s a picture of the leaf from a karava tree,” Henry replied.
“What the hell is that?” I muttered.
“It’s a tree that grows in purgatory, according to the book,” Henry explained.
“How in the world would you get a hold of that?” I asked.
“Good thing we don’t need to,” Henry said. “This is a spell for spontaneous combustion – to burn someone alive, from the inside out.”
I slammed the book shut with a loud thud. I’d heard and seen enough.
Henry laughed. “I’m not interested in doing anything like that. Don’t worry, Rory, there’s some scary shit in here that I have no intention of touching. Ever.”
I forced a smile.
“Did you tell them what Nicholas said?” Lucas asked.
Henry looked at me quizzically.
“He was doing his job – nothing out of the ordinary – and found out who had me killed,” I said nervously.
Henry jumped up from his seat on the couch. “That’s great!” he said enthusiastically. “If we know who killed you, that’s half of the mystery solved!”
“Right,” I said, but my voice sounded shaky.
Emmett was looking at me intently, but didn’t speak.
“What?” I snapped at him defensively.
“You’re scared to know the truth,” he said bluntly.
“And you’re full of it,” I muttered, but I knew deep down that he was right. The truth was supposed to set you free. So why did I feel like a caged animal?
Chapter 17
“Nicholas should be here by now,” Lucas said, glancing, towards the door for the umpteenth time. We’d been waiting over twenty minutes and everyone had given up
on small talk.
Henry was engrossed in the book, reading the specifics of the spell he was casting tonight – that is, if Nicholas ever arrived.
‘The one Emmett looked at used holy water; is yours the same?” I asked Henry.
He looked up briefly. “Yeah, holy water is part of it.” Henry held up a science beaker and shook it. “Don’t worry, it’s only a few drops per person. We don’t have to bathe in it or anything.”
I turned to Lucas. “Didn’t you tell me that stuff hurts like hell?”
“It’s entirely possible I said something along those lines. A few drops will just leave a burn mark for a day or so. It’s fine,” Lucas assured me. “It’s hardly a reason to call off the spell, but I appreciate you thinking about me.” Lucas’ eyes were twinkling.
I wanted to say something flirty back, but Henry was right there within earshot, and besides, I wasn’t very good at flirting in the first place. I just smiled instead.
Finally, there was a knock at the door.
Without waiting for an answer, Nicholas pushed it open and poked his head around the side. “Ah, I see I’m the last one here. You must be Henry.” Nicholas came into the room, locked the door behind him, and walked over to shake Henry’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Henry replied. “I heard about your excursion last weekend. Rory said you kept her safe, that she couldn’t have done it without you there.”
Nicholas grinned. “Thanks for the props, but it wasn’t all me. Aurora did a hell of an acting job. I’m just glad it’s over. I’m not too eager to try our luck at one of those meetings again…not anytime soon, at least.”
“So, I assume Lucas mentioned what I wanted to tell you guys,” Nicholas said, turning to me.
“He did,” I replied.
“And you didn’t rush me the second I got through the door, tackle me to the ground and threaten to beat me up if I didn’t tell you, like, yesterday.” Nicholas was joking with me, but I could barely force a smile.
Seeing my expression, he immediately apologized. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. I was just teasing you because of your enthusiasm about everything. I thought for sure you’d be more excited about this.”
“Don’t apologize,” I said to Nicholas. “It’s me being funny about it. I’m just nervous. But of course I want to know!”
“Yeah, we all do,” Lucas added. “I can get some pillows for us to sit on,” Lucas offered Nicholas. “Afraid I’m all out of furniture.”
“Floor’s fine with me.” Nicholas sat down cross-legged on the opposite side of the room. Lucas did the same.
“So since I’m hanging around with you guys for awhile, I thought I should try to get some paid jobs,” Nicholas said. “The agency I work for back home is affiliated with Lucas’ agency, so it was no problem to let me do some hunting while I’m here.”
“Last night, I got a call for a routine job,” Nicholas continued. “Some asshole demon was possessing a human and had killed the human’s husband. Normally, I’d take the opportunity to send a demon back to Hell even if he wasn’t causing problems. I really don’t know how these demons justify possessing innocent people.”
“Anyway, I’ll get off my soap box. Suffice to say I’m not a demon fan,” Nicholas said. I glanced over at Lucas, who was smiling and shaking his head.
“But this one last night had killed once and would likely kill again, so I had to act fast. I had him tied up and was ready to pull the demon out and send him back to Hell. He was begging me to let him stay on earth. I wasn’t even listening to what he was saying – they all beg so you learn to tune it out. Then, just as I was about to extract the demon-“
“How do you extract a demon?” I interrupted Nicholas.
“Oh, I forget you guys aren’t familiar with this stuff. Okay, so we have this really handy device that looks like a long tube; the only trick is you have to get it positioned at the right angle in the possessed person’s mouth. It’s a demon vacuum. Once extracted, the demon gets trapped inside, you say some words in Latin, and back to Hell he goes.”
“That’s really cool,” Henry commented.
“It made our jobs a lot easier once someone invented it. Unless the demon has just completely trashed his host’s body, the people are usually still alive while they’re possessed. The demon vacuum is painless for them,” Lucas explained. “Once the demon’s out they’re in control of their body again.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I just had to ask, especially since, well…I was possessed before I died.”
“I know what happened with that, too,” Nicholas said. “I’ll get to that part in a minute. I had started to tell you before, just as I was about to finish off the demon, who was screaming like crazy, something he said caught my attention.”
We were all leaning forward, hanging on Nicholas’ every word. “The demon said that Lord Leon had become an even bigger tyrant since learning about the living dead girl.”
“Who is Lord Leon?” Henry asked.
“The current ruler of Hell,” Nicholas replied.
“Like the devil?” Henry looked confused.
“I asked the same question before,” I told Henry. “Apparently it’s a constant power struggle down there. There’s not a devil that runs the show. Right?” I looked to Lucas and Nicholas for confirmation.
Lucas shrugged. “Sometimes you hear the current ruler referred to as the devil, but it’s usually just demons who’ve managed to gain control; it’s not a red guy with horns and a pitchfork.” Lucas and Nicholas started laughing.
“I thought Magnus was king of Hell?” Lucas questioned Nicholas.
“He was, right up until Aurora died,” Nicholas said.
“What have I got to do with Hell?” I whispered. This didn’t sound good.
“Leon had been trying to overtake Hell for years. He went to a soothsayer, asked her to look into the future and see if Leon ever became the ruler of Hell. The soothsayer told him that his future could go two ways. There was a sixteen year old girl he had to kill in order to take over Hell; if he didn’t kill her, he was going to die.”
“What?” I shrieked, finally losing my cool.
“Wait.” Lucas looked confused. “The soothsayer said Leon was going to die? Have I missed something? Demons can’t be killed; that’s why we send them to Hell.”
“That was my response,” Nicholas said. “Lucky for me, this demon was loose-lipped. He told me everything he knew, and it was quite enlightening.”
I was perched on the edge of the couch, my hands gripping the cushion so tightly that I thought I might poke a hole in the fabric with my nails. How is my future wrapped up with Leon? I wasn’t a bad person before I died. I didn’t even know supernatural creatures existed back then.
Nicholas was speaking again. I willed my mind to stop spinning and focus on his words.
“He said, according to the soothsayer, this girl was going to become a hunter. But not just any regular old hunter. Of course, the demons on earth hate hunters because they don’t want to go back to Hell, but the ones already in Hell don’t particularly care one way or another.”
“What was so special about this hunter, the demon told me, was that she had a way to kill demons,” Nicholas continued. “As in, she was going to make the demon population extinct. No demons on earth. No demons in Hell. So it wasn’t just Leon she was going to kill, it was all demons.”
Chapter 18
Everyone was looking at me. Trying to gauge my reaction to Nicholas’ announcement that I was going to exterminate the demon population.
“Are you okay?” Henry asked. He reached out to touch my arm, to comfort me.
But I didn’t need comforting. I had never heard anything so insane in my life!
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could start talking, I dissolved into laughter. I pitched forward, placing my head on my knees, and laughed so hard that my whole body was shaking. Surely I had heard Nicholas wrong. Or the demon gave him bad information.
Forcing myself to sit upright, I tried desperately to gain control. I didn’t need everyone deciding that I’d finally lost my mind from the stress of everything. I looked around the room. There was a sea of faces staring at me with worried frowns.
Just their expressions alone almost sent me back over the edge, but I managed to only let out a few giggles before I clamped my hand over my mouth.
Lucas was the first to speak. “I could understand you having a strong reaction to Nicholas’ news, but I didn’t think you’d find it quite so funny.”
“Don’t you find it hilarious?” I asked. “I can’t believe I’m the only one laughing here! Do you realize how utterly ridiculous this is? Someone’s lying – or they got their facts confused and killed the wrong person. I was a normal sixteen-year-old girl, for Christ’s sake. I didn’t even know hunters existed. How, pray tell, was I going to make a leap to demon killer? Something normal hunters haven’t even figured out!”
“I think she’s going through the first stage of grief – denial,” I heard Emmett say.
“Arrggh!” I said in frustration. “Can’t you people see where I’m coming from here?”
“There’s more, if you’re ready to hear it,” Nicholas said softly.
“Yeah, can’t wait to hear what other lies this soothsayer spun,” I said sarcastically.
“I can stop there,” Nicholas offered. “If it’s too overwhelming for you.” He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. “Your choice.”
Nicholas was calling my bluff. Of course I wasn’t going to let him stop there, even if I was 99% sure I didn’t believe any of it so far. Well, maybe 75% sure. After my laughing fit, I was starting to think a little clearer, and honestly, compared to everything else that had happened, this wasn’t the most bizarre thing.
“No, go on,” I said. “I’m calm now. I want to hear what else the demon said.”
“Leon was skeptical as well, until the soothsayer let him look into her crystal ball. This demon said that, even a year later, Leon won’t speak of what he saw in the crystal ball. But it made him believe the soothsayer without question.”
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