Julian’s lips part and his blue eyes go from me to Lucas and back again. “You…you know?”
“Yeah. He paid me a little visit.” A chill goes through me from my own words, and Lucas holds me a little tighter. Eliza quietly inches forward, arms crossed across her chest.
“What?” Julian shakes his head in disbelief. “What happened? Tell me everything.”
I nod and take in a breath. “The hunter who was hired by some rich old vampire figured out I spelled him and came looking for me wanting revenge. But Abby got shot instead of me, and I called for you and my dad to come help, but Lucifer showed up instead. He healed her and took the body of the hunter away.” I say that all very quickly, not easing the incredulous look on Julian’s face.
“He…he just showed up?” Julian asks slowly.
“Yeah. He said he could hear me and came to help.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I look up at the starry sky, blinking them away. “I asked him if he wanted anything in return. He said no, and then looked at my stomach and said maybe I do. So now I’m scared he wants our baby.”
Julian doesn’t counter me, doesn’t tell me a baby is the last thing Lucifer would want. Instead, he swallows hard, tightening his grip on the dagger. A few painful seconds tick by, filled only by the sounds of the night.
“Let’s back up,” Julian finally says. “What makes you think he wants your baby?”
“The way he looked at me,” I answer. “And I know he doesn’t do favors for free.”
“No, he doesn’t. He requires payment, typically your soul. You didn’t sign a contract, right?”
“Right.” I blink and remember Abby lying on her foyer floor, seconds away from death. “I had no choice. It was either let him heal Abby or watch her die before my eyes.”
“I don’t think you made a bad decision,” Julian tells me, somehow knowing how badly I need to hear it right now. “Without a contract—verbal or written—I don’t think there is any ground to stand on. He doesn’t own you.”
“Own me?” My eyes widen with abhorrence. “Nobody owns me, and they never fucking will. I don’t belong to Lucifer. I am not his puppet on a string.” The porch lights start to flicker, and I close my eyes, trying to get my powers in check.
“Maybe he doesn’t want anything from you,” Julian rushes out. “Maybe…maybe he’s afraid of you.”
“The fucking devil is scared of Callie?” Eliza scoffs.
Julian cocks his head, looking at me as if he can see the very fibers that make up my soul. “Lucifer is an archangel. He has several brothers and sisters who have similar power as he does. It’s long been said Michael is the only archangel who can easily oppose Lucifer. Michael is Callie’s father, and her mother was a natural witch by birth.”
“Half witch, half angel,” Lucas says softly. “But together, you have more power than either.”
“More power, and different power,” Julian goes on. “Witchcraft differs from what I am able to do as an angel. And when you consider the dark arts…”
“Your nightmares will be my daydream,” I finish, remembering a line from an old pagan fairytale Tabatha used to read to Evander and me at bedtime, putting the fear of God into us, keeping us from going all dark side.
“Yes,” Julian says seriously. “And I was going to say, with all of Heaven looking for Lucifer, it could be a good distraction from the rumors of the Nephilim.”
“Lucifer already came to Callie once,” Lucas starts. “What if he comes again and alerts the others to her presence?”
Julian considers his question for a minute. “You still have the dagger I brought you, correct?”
“The one that kills angels? Yeah.” My head bobs up and down. “We put it somewhere safe.”
“That might be our best option,” Julian says gravely.
“I can’t tough it though, right?”
“The hilt is safe to touch. But if any of the metal comes in contact with your flesh…well, it will be incredibly painful. I don’t know what it would do to your human side, either. No humans have ever used or been stabbed with that dagger. It was created strictly for killing angels.”
“Great,” I sigh. “Just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be even more bad news tonight.” I lean back against Lucas, letting my eyes fall shut as I exhale. Slowly, I take in air, holding it for a few seconds, and then breathing out again.
There. I’m fine. It’s all the time I can afford to pull myself together. “We were just about to go out to eat,” I say and straighten up. “Want to come with? I’ll be the only one eating again, so why not add another to our table?”
Julian’s eyes narrow. “You want to go out and get food? After what we just discussed?”