Sins of the Innocent

by Jamie McGuire

  As I got comfortable in the plush leather chair in front of her desk, Beth knocked on the door just before entering. "Just wanted to let you know that I have the Bergman meeting at three, and then I'm going home to pack."

  "Thank you," Mom said with a smile. "Have a safe trip."

  Beth waved at me. "Maybe we can plan a dinner at the new house when I get back? Chad makes a pretty mean barbeque chicken."

  "I remember," I said.

  Beth's shoulders fell, but her smile remained. "I know you're busy. I just hate it that we don't see much of you anymore. Just if you have time."

  "You're right," Mom said. "We need to make it a priority this summer before Eden starts classes at Brown."

  "Congratulations on getting in, by the way," Beth said. "As if there were any doubt."

  "Thank you," I said, smiling.

  Beth closed the door behind her.

  "She's meeting with the Bergmans? Isn't that one of your biggest accounts?"

  Mom nodded. "Yes, and Beth landed that account. I've tried to give her an office at least a dozen times. She won't take it. She insists I'll never find an assistant as good as her. She's right."

  "She doesn't ask questions either," I pointed out.

  "True. She never has."

  "You at least pay her like you would a partner?"

  "She just bought a seven-thousand-square-foot house in College Hill. She's well taken care of. Thank you for your concern." Mom's sarcastic tone wasn't fully committed.

  She ran Titan much like grandfather had. As a woman, she had to be even less patient and forgiving, and she found it difficult to let down her walls when I came to visit, which was why I didn't come often.

  Mom took a deep breath, willing herself to relax. "How did training go this morning?"

  "Bex is nursing a broken rib. Claire really needs to learn when to quit."

  Mom laughed out loud. "I wouldn't count on that. Did you say hi to Daddy on your way in?"

  "Dad? Yes, I did. He's reading Faulkner--again."

  Mom chuckled. "The Sound and the Fury?"

  I nodded.

  She shook her head. "He's obsessed. I think the confusion keeps his mind off ... things."

  "Mom, you remember what it's like, right? Trying to figure things out. Trying to do the right thing. Wondering if every choice will ruin everything?"

  She sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. "Remember? I don't think it ever stops. But it's that way for everyone, honey. The stakes are just a little higher for us."

  "Just a little?" I teased.

  "A little," she said, smiling. "Beth returns on Friday. Keep your weekend free."

  I nodded, absently staring out Mom's large windows overlooking downtown.

  "Eden?"

  "Yes?" I said, not tearing my eyes away from the outside world. It was so jarring to watch mortals live out their lives without the slightest clue as to how much went on behind the scenes.

  "The boy."

  I blinked, returning my attention to her. "What about him?"

  "Is that why you're here?"

  "I just came to say hi, Mom."

  "I'm glad. But you never come here."

  I closed my eyes, feeling the flapping wings pushing a dark breeze through my soul. Talons, teeth, and hatred--that was all that surrounded her building. Only three points of light broke up the darkness--my parents and Grant. I was glad my mom couldn't sense these things, but I often wondered how Grant could work here every day.

  "Remember when you used to take me down to the pier?"

  She smiled, losing herself in the memory. "And the park and down the coast ..."

  "Maybe we could do that again? Before fall semester?"

  "Yes." She swallowed the jagged edges of her lie.

  She knew as well as I did that recent events were the build to the finale of our family as we once knew it. College would likely not be an experience I would live long enough to have.

  "Maybe I could just let Beth take over for the summer?"

  "Mom, no. Life as usual, right?"

  Her heart sped up, and her muscles tensed. "Right."

  She stood, and I did, too, leaning in as she took me into her arms. She was a few inches shorter than me, even in heels.

  "Eden," she began, "if Levi is going to make this right, let him. But don't let him be the reason I lose you." She held me at bay, looking into my eyes. "Promise me."

  "Stop worrying. I'm going to stay away from him."

  "Oh? Why?"

  "Bex figured out that ... I, um ... it's a long story. I don't quite understand it myself."

  "Try me," she said, unamused.

  "I've been offered a second chance."

  She waited.

  "This life ... my purpose ... ugh. It sounds crazy."

  "Who do you think you're talking to?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I'm kind of like Eli. I've always been around. I've always been the Keeper of the Balance."

  Mom arched an eyebrow and returned to her desk.

  "I disobeyed," I continued. "I'm not sure how. It has something to do with Levi."

  "I think it has everything to do with Levi."

  "I fell in love with him. It disturbed the Balance. I failed."

  Mom leaned forward and intertwined her fingers. I felt like she was getting ready to lecture me or ground me or both. "You've fallen in love with him?"

  "No. I fell in love with him before."

  She watched me, suspicious. "You're sure?"

  "Eli confirmed it. So did Bex. Dad knows."

  She sighed. "Of course he does. What about Levi?"

  "He was told to kill me, but then he found out who I really was, so he left and came here as a human."

  "Are we talking immaculate conception?"

  I made a face. "No. I'm sure he chose the first financially stable woman who blacked out at a party and woke up pregnant. He's the son of Satan, not Christ. He doesn't care how he got here."

  "Interesting," she said, tapping a pen on her desk. "It's all coming together then."

  "Looks that way. Everything is going to be okay, just like Dad said."

  She crossed her arms, sitting back in her executive's chair, and then stood up. She walked around her desk and put a finger on my chest. "Don't coddle me." She smoothed a stray hair and then touched my cheek. "You're so like your father that way. I'm human, but emotions don't mean that I'm weak."

  I shook my head. "I've never thought you were weak. You did save me from Satan once."

  "Damn right I did. And I'd do it again." She hugged me, this time tighter.

  I held her as close as I could without hurting her, and then the moment I sensed she might cry, I let her go, but she kept hold of my arms.

  "You didn't just come by to say hi. Ask me."

  I hesitated. "Do you regret anything? Falling in love with Dad? Learning about his world?"

  "Not a single second. It brought me the two greatest loves of my life."

  "If you've loved someone once ... can you stop?"

  She shrugged. "People do it all the time, but only if they want to. What is this about, Eden?"

  "I'm afraid this all looks like a choice, but none of it really is. I'm afraid I'm being set up to fail."

  "Fear isn't real. Isn't that what you always say?"

  "No, I think I got that one from Dad."

  "No," Mom said with a smile. "That one was all you. You've said it since you were five."

  I thought about that. "Really? Kind of an odd thing for a five-year-old to say."

  "You weren't an ordinary five-year-old."

  I sensed Bex moving farther away and Claire's arrival. "I'd better go," I said.

  Mom kissed my cheek. "I love you. I expect to be notified if anything changes."

  "Like what?"

  "Oh, you know ... news, an attack, war ..."

  "I think you would know if there were a war."

  A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "Not if your father could help it."

  I lau
ghed once. "I'll see you at dinner. I'm sure nothing will change between now and then."

  I left Titan for the white light of the hot summer sun and the birds singing from their perch on the electrical wires and maple branches. Somehow, the blue sky and freshly cut grass couldn't pull me from the storms inside my soul.

  Claire stood next to my Audi, her backside leaning against the front fender. Her arms were crossed, her eyes shielded behind enormous sunglasses with round white frames to match her platinum-white hair and skinny jeans. Her stiletto thigh-high boots were peep-toe and black, like her shirt. They were the only pieces besides her bright orange nail polish that broke up the glaring glow of the rest of her ensemble.

  She lowered her chin and looked at me over her glasses, pushing them down for dramatic emphasis. "You look like hell. That's okay. Talking to Nina sometimes makes me feel that way, too."

  I made a face, trying not to smile, while fishing my keys from my pocket.

  "You should have your keys ready. What if something attacked you while you were walking to your car?"

  "Then I would fight back."

  "Keys make a great weapon."

  I sighed. "Does it ever stop being a lesson?"

  She looked offended. "Have I ever talked down to you?"

  "You just did."

  "I'm just being Captain Obvious. Get in the car."

  I obeyed, sitting behind the wheel and buckling my seat belt, while Claire took her time to walk around and open the car door. She yanked off her glasses and blew her blunt-cut bangs from her eyes.

  My bottom lip trembled. I could handle a lot of things, but Claire being mad at me wasn't one of them.

  "What?" she asked.

  "Haven't you heard? Hell wants me dead, so I'm out of the way. Heaven is trying to teach me some cosmic lesson, and ..."

  Claire smirked. "Your boyfriend's back? Yeah, I've heard."

  "I realize that, as a family, we've beaten impossible odds before, but this is overwhelming."

  She waved me off. "Just stay away from him."

  "What if he doesn't stay away from me?"

  She shrugged. "Kick his ass. He'll quit coming back."

  "That didn't work with Ryan," I grumbled.

  "My husband is a very special man who is too stupid to realize his own mortality."

  "Well, Levi was mortal and gave it up for me, so ..." I wiped my cheek.

  "You can't cry, Eden. Don't give in to it. Our way of life won't change," she said, less than zero apology in her tone.

  "You mean, what's left of mine?"

  "Feeling sorry for yourself gets you nowhere. And besides, nothing is set in stone. You're not stuck."

  "I'm not feeling sorry for myself."

  "The tears on your face tell a different story."

  She was so straightforward. I used to love it but not when she turned it in my direction.

  "Apparently, I had this epic love with Levi, and now, he's here. He's turned his back on everything he knows to be with me, and I have to stay away from him, or I'll die a traitor's death. You don't want me to be scared or sad about that?"

  She rolled her eyes. "You're not dying. I've been there. I would know."

  "Good. Just because I'm not afraid to die doesn't mean I want to."

  "Good, because I won't let you."

  "If I can't stop it, Claire, you can't either."

  "You might be stronger than I am, but I would kill any demon who comes within a mile of you. We all would."

  "I know you would, but I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

  Her nose wrinkled. "You should be preparing to survive instead of preparing to die."

  "I have been. My entire life. But Bex said ..." I sighed. "Where is Bex?"

  Claire's expression changed, and she tensed. "Visiting."

  "Allison?"

  Claire paused. "Yeah," she said, tasting the word as it slipped from her mouth.

  Her heart was beating faster, and her pupils dilated. She was lying.

  "Where's Dad?" I asked.

  "Out of sight."

  I shook my head. "No, he's not, Claire. C'mon. He's nowhere near here, and you're alone. Do we wait until he gets back?"

  She shook her head. "No. Ryan is two trucks back. Drive where you want."

  I sighed. "I can't leave Mom unprotected."

  "I told you, Ryan is here."

  "He can't even hit a goblin with a full clip."

  "Grant is in his office."

  "Claire."

  "Fine. We'll wait." She slammed her back into the seat.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's your hurry?"

  "Jared got a lead on possible intel," she said, looking at her nails. "I'd like to sit in."

  "What kind of intel?"

  She casually bit at a hangnail. "He's talking to Levi."

  "What?" I said, bristling.

  She spit out the piece of skin. "He wanted to ask his own questions. Levi agreed to meet with him."

  "Where?"

  "It doesn't matter. You weren't invited."

  "Claire! Where are they?"

  "Where else? The warehouse."

  I started the car.

  "I thought you said you couldn't leave your mom unprotected?"

  I turned to her. "Get out."

  She frowned. "What?"

  "Get out of my car."

  She pulled a breath in through her nose. "Sometimes, I really wish I could get a few punches in on you."

  I glowered at her. "Get out."

  "Geez. Fine." She pushed the door open and slammed it.

  I tore away from the curb. The Audi's engine whined as I pushed it to its limits all the way to the edge of town where the warehouse sat alone behind a chain-link fence, surrounded by bare ground and patchy grass.

  I ran from the car to the front door. Deciding to bypass the traditional entry, I instead climbed the wall to the windows and slipped through a broken pane.

  Though I'd moved silently through the warehouse, both Dad and Levi were facing me when I entered the vast room where we usually waited for Eli. The air was stagnate, very different from the so many times I'd visited that building before. Levi's presence made the warehouse seem ominous instead of home even though his eyes turned bright the moment he saw me.

  He took a step, as if he'd forgotten himself for a moment.

  "Eden," Dad said, his tone harsh, "why are you here?"

  "This meeting is about me, right?" I said, approaching them.

  Dad blinked, glancing at Levi. "He ... it's true. He's renounced his position. He's completely detached from his father."

  "I know," I said.

  "Then let me help you," Levi said.

  I took a step, angry. "I don't need your help. I need you to stay away from me." My bones shuddered, my senses picking up a familiar presence. "What is Bex doing here? I thought he was checking on Allison."

  Dad sighed. "He's just ... sitting in."

  I clenched my teeth. "Stop. Stop lying to me. I'm not a child."

  Dad and Levi traded glances.

  Levi lifted his hands and let them fall back to his thighs. "Bex noticed something new when I attacked you."

  "No," I breathed, already knowing what they were about to say.

  Dad touched my shoulder. "All this time, he hasn't found his Taleh. Now, we know why."

  "I don't believe it," I said. "How is that even possible?"

  Dad frowned. "Levi is mortal. When he renounced his father, he was given protection."

  I puffed out a breath, raking back my bangs with my fingers. "So, now, we have to make sure Levi stays alive, so Bex is okay."

  Dad nodded.

  "How am I supposed to stay away from him if he's Bex's Taleh?" I wailed. "Are you freaking kidding me? I am being set up to fail! How is that fair? And Bex is too pale to be Cimmerian. Who decided that a hybrid should be the one to protect the son of Satan? I don't care that we don't or can't understand it. None of this makes sense!"

  Dad shook his head. "Eli
named Levi as an ally, Eden. We have to trust that. I don't think you're supposed to stay away from him."

  "So, I'm just supposed to fail and die. This is not forgiveness," I said, pointing to the floor in protest. "This is not a second chance and definitely not mercy. This is punishment. I'm being punished."

  Levi reached out for me. "I won't let that happen. I promise you, it's going to be okay."

  I glared at Levi. "I don't love you. And even if I did, you're not even part of Hell anymore, so ..."

  Levi breathed out a laugh. "Exactly. Exactly! I'm on your side, no one else's. You're not going to fail. You're still neutral."

  Dad shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I want to look into this further. There's more to it than your past with Levi. You were sent here for a second chance, and now, Levi has abandoned his dominion. This turn of events is nowhere in either of the texts, Hell's or Heaven's, but I have a theory. The prophecies in those texts speak of dying, that you're destined to kill one another. But because of Levi's choice, I have to assume that we've interpreted it wrong. That's what Eli meant when he said the punishment for failing is death, but you won't be killed." He smiled. "It means you were both stripped of your immortality."

  "Why is this a good thing?" I asked.

  "In that case," Dad explained, "the prophecy has already been fulfilled. You upset the Balance, and both of you were sent to Earth as mortals, which has happened."

  "No." I shook my head. "Eli would have told me."

  "His purpose is to guide you," Dad said.

  "So, what do we do?" I asked, looking to both of them.

  "Let's go for a drive," Levi said, relief washing over his face.

  Dad's brows pulled in. He seemed conflicted, but he pushed his fists into his pockets and took a step back, a gesture of his consent.

  "You trust him?" I asked Dad.

  "Eli trusts him. It's important that we figure out a strategy."

  "For what?" I asked.

  Levi took a step toward me. "To keep you alive."

  "But doesn't this solve our problem? The prophecy is fulfilled."

  "You still have a job to do," Levi said. "And I'm going to help you do it. We still have enemies--on both sides."

  "In that case ... you were going to show me our past, weren't you?"

  Levi beamed. "Yes."

  I peeked over at Dad, seeing his uncomfortable expression. "Okay then. We'll drive," I said, looking back to Levi.

  We left Dad in the warehouse, and I drove without direction, waiting for Levi to tell me where to go. He didn't speak, and his typical arrogance had vanished. I slowed for a yellow light, coming to a full stop, while noticing the bright blue sky turning dark on the horizon.

  "Where are we going?" I asked.