Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“I talked to Evander this morning,” she starts, keeping her voice low.

“When you two were in bed together, right?” I raise my eyebrows.

“Will you stop with that?” Kristy shakes her head. “I’m pretty sure he’s been low-key seeing Marcus again.”

“Their relationship was never serious,” I counter right away. “It was all hookups, and Marcus is a non.”

Kristy just shakes her head again. “Anyway, Tabatha had the council all work together to cast a memory spell on the Erdelles to make them think the priest referred them to a healer who was able to perform the exorcism. They linked it to an amulet, so if the spell is broken or wears off, we’ll know.”

“She’s a fucking genius.”

“She is quite brilliant.” Kristy smiles. “So, uh, is everything else good?”

I shrug. “Hell if I know. I’m still waiting for Julian to be able to sneak away and come back, and in the meantime…honestly, I don’t know.”

“That’s okay,” she rushes out. “I don’t want you to think I expect you to have all the answers. I kinda realized that last night. Something bad happens and we ask you what to do. It’s not fair to put that all on you.”

“It is fair,” I counter. “This is all happening because the Nephilim baby lived.” I hold up a hand. “I’m not saying I’m taking responsibility for my parents shacking up, and if I wanted to blame someone, it would be Michael and my mom for having unprotected sex and getting pregnant in the first place. But I’m the consequence of their actions and need to clean up the mess that is my existence.”

“I don’t agree, and I’m not saying that because you’re my best friend. You see your existence as a mistake and the cause of all the world’s problems.”

“That’s kind of been my thing lately.”

“True, but things usually get worse before they get better. What I mean is, you weren’t born to cause problems. I think you were born so you could solve them.”

“I’m not following.”

“Demons trying to take over Hell, Lucifer peacing out, and a vampire older than Lucas wanting to gather supernaturals so we can assert ourselves as the better race…it’s all apocalyptic shit that has nothing to do with you. It would have happened regardless, Callie. But because of you, we have a chance of stopping it. You closed the gates. You’re the only one who was able to. If anyone is going to save the world, it’s you.”

Chapter 16

“Thanks,” I tell Lucas, not taking my eyes away from the TV. I switch back to another news station when the local one cuts to commercial. “The oil spill is really bad.”

“They usually are,” Lucas says, still holding the plate of food he prepared for me.

Ever since an oil tanker malfunctioned a few days ago, I’ve been glued to the TV, trying to see if the Horsemen are behind this. I’m not sure what clue I’m looking for, but because of the oil spill, fishermen in the area haven’t been able to catch any fish, and the small village they provide food for is hurting. “And they unfortunately happen without supernatural causes. Human error has caused more environmental damage then the Horsemen ever will.”

Blinking, I finally tear my eyes away from the TV and take the plate from Lucas. He made me some sort of sandwich that I can thankfully blame morning sickness on when I don’t eat it. I love so fucking much that he makes me food, and he puts forth a very admirable amount of effort to follow recipes and remember how specific foods go together, but sometimes whatever he makes is a miss.

Like this sandwich.

“You’re right.” I let out a sigh and pick up an apple slice. A week has passed since we left the Covenstead after transferring the demon from Noah into a vampire. And nothing eventful has happened in that week. The memory-altering spell on the werewolves has held, and the Ley line has been flowing steadily. I don’t usually watch the news because I have a severe aversion to politics, thanks to my asshole of an ex-father, but I’ve had it on in the background all week.

And then a tanker had an equipment malfunction, whatever that means. The cause just came about this morning and was determined to be by human error, not by supernatural forces, just like Lucas said. Plus, he’s right. These kinds of things happen.

“I hate this.” I set my plate on the couch, hoping Scarlet will act like a normal dog and grab my sandwich when I’m not looking. “Waiting for demons to attack is worse than actually attacking.”

“I wish I could tell you whatever you fear could happen isn’t going to be as bad as what is going to happen, but you know I’ll never lie to you.”

Biting into my apple slice, I lean back against the couch and take Lucas’s hand. “Thanks for not bullshitting me.”