; A shiver ran up my spine when he said my name.
My dad turned away and joined Gabriel and Dimitri in the cell, circling around them like they were infected with a deadly virus. “I assume this is the Andras, the demon responsible for killing my sister?” He rested his boot against Jared’s side and pushed his body over. “I didn’t realize the Illuminati was keeping them as pets these days. Which is the only reason I can come up with to explain why you haven’t killed him.”
“We’re trying to save my brother,” Lukas said, from where he stood outside the cell. “And they’re helping us.”
When my dad saw Lukas, a troubled look passed across his face.
“It’s a delicate situation.” Dimitri flicked the cigarette against the wall and walked toward my father. “One that just became even more complicated before you showed up.”
“There’s a second demon,” Gabriel said.
My dad whipped around at the sound of Gabriel’s voice. “Gabriel Archer. I thought you crawled back into your hole after the last time I saw you.”
Gabriel stiffened, and he looked at the floor.
“If I find out you had anything to do with Faith’s death after what you did to her, I swear I’ll kill you with that aberration you’re holding.”
Gabriel Archer.
“You’re the one who spied on my aunt? The one who used her and broke her heart?” I waited for Gabriel to deny it.
“Your mom and I were mixed up with the wrong people, Kennedy.” Gabriel raised his eyes to meet mine. “We thought we were doing the right thing.”
“Shut your mouth.” My dad pointed at Gabriel. “Don’t talk to her. When this is over, I’m going to bury you.”
“How did you find us?” Priest asked.
“Bear.” My dad said the Doberman’s name, and the dog trotted over to him and sat at his feet. My dad scratched his ears. “He has a chip. I went to check on Faith and found the grave.” He frowned and swallowed hard. “When I realized she was gone, and I saw that crap all over her bedroom walls, I tracked Bear here.”
“What’s the radius on the GPS?” Priest asked. “In square miles.”
Alara elbowed him.
“Ouch.” He rubbed his arm. “It was a scientific question.”
“You were serious? There’s another demon?” My dad stared at Dimitri. “Want to explain how you superheroes let this happen?”
I pointed at the summoning circle hidden within the writing on the walls and the symbols that were already in the cell when Dimitri and Gabriel locked him up. “He summoned her.”
Dimitri fumbled through the pockets of his long, black coat until he found of cigarettes. “Which means the Gate is at least partially open.”
“Nice work.” My dad’s voice was full of contempt. “So what’s your plan?”
“After we figure out how to get Andras under control, we’ll go after her. But we can’t leave while he’s this strong.” Dimitri cocked his head to the side, studying my father. “Does that mean you’re in?”
Gabriel watched my dad from lowered eyes.
“Do I have a choice?” My dad asked.
“There’s another complication,” Gabriel added.
“Lay it on me.”
“The other demon is a shapeshifter, which means she can be anyone. Or any one of us.”
“Kennedy, can I have a minute?” My father caught me as I came up the stairs from the containment area.
You could’ve had thousands of minutes if you’d bothered to stick around.
I stood in the sterile steel hallway. I had imagined this moment—the one where he’d finally come back and tell me how much he regretted leaving, and promise that he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to me. Those were the fantasies of my eight-year-old and twelve-year-old selves.
By the time I was fourteen, I started thinking about what I’d say to him. How I would find a way to emotionally scar him the way he had scarred me.
It was only when I saw him standing on the other end of the tunnel that something else occurred to me—something that could bring me more pain.
What if I threw every hateful thought I’d been saving at him, and he didn’t care?
“I don’t know what your mother told you—” he began.
“She didn’t tell me anything. I memorized the note you left, even though I couldn’t read it.” All the pain I’d bottled up inside for so long poured out. “Mom wouldn’t tell me what it said. She cried herself to sleep at night for years after you left.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” His emerald eyes seemed even greener than I remembered.
“That’s not what I thought when I was old enough to read it.” I pictured the lined sheet of paper, ripped on the corner.
Elizabeth,
You’re the first woman I ever loved, and I know
you’ll be the last. But I can’t stay. All I ever
wanted for us—and for Kennedy—was a normal
life. I think we both know that’s impossible.
Alex
“ ‘All I ever wanted for us—and for Kennedy—was a normal life. I think we both know that’s impossible.’ What part of that doesn’t sound like it’s about me?” I asked.
My dad raked a hand through his salt and pepper hair. “When I found out about your mother, I had to leave. Faith didn’t know how to protect herself. I don’t know how much she told you, but the Illuminati hunted her for years.”
“Dimitri and Gabriel?” I had to know.
“No. But Gabriel had already destroyed Faith. She never trusted anyone except me after what happened. She’s my younger sister, and our parents were dead. It was my responsibility to protect her.”
“What about your responsibility your daughter?” I demanded.
He leaned against the wall, his shoulders sagging. “I couldn’t take you from your mom. You would’ve hated me, and she loved you. She never would’ve done anything to hurt you.”
My father dug in his pocket and held out a stack of photographs. “But I made sure you were okay.”
He fanned out the photos, and my childhood unfolded like a deck of cards: a shot of me sitting on the slide with pigtails in my hair and my Osh Kosh overalls, wearing my second grade Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume with the stuffed wolf puppet my mom sewn over the shoulder, me and Elle eating ice cream cones in front of Baskin Robins a block from our junior high school, last year carrying a canvas to the art fair in a different pair of baggy overalls with charcoal smudged on my cheek.
There were at least a half dozen more.
“Did you take all these?” I couldn’t look away from the photographs.
“I’ve always kept track of you, Kennedy. But I didn’t want to put you or Faith in danger. She was kidnapped by the Order once. They wanted information about her painting. Faith had what they call prophetic dreams, and she painted her visions of the future.”
I thought about the entry in Faith’s journal that predicted my birth and called me the white dove. “She told me about the kidnapping.”
He gave me an incredulous look.
“Are you the fifth member of the Legion now?” As much as I hated to ask him, I needed to know for sure.
My father put the photos back in his pocket. “I’m afraid so.”
I closed my eyes and nodded, trying to swallow the knot in my throat. “Guess I’ll never be a black dove, after all. Glad I didn’t rush out and get the tattoo.”
“Faith used to say black doves fight the battles that need fighting, but the white dove ends them and sets us all free. For what it’s worth, she always said you were our white dove.”
It wasn’t worth anything coming from him. He obviously didn’t know I’d read the entry in Faith’s journal. She was the one I believed.
“It didn’t stop you from leaving.” I sounded heartless and cold, but he deserved every word.
“I hope you’ll be able to forgive me one day. I’ve always loved you.”
The walls that started to slip during the co
nversation went right back up. “One day I might forgive you, but it won’t be today.” I walked by him, letting all the missed birthdays and Christmases, all the nights I was afraid and he wasn’t there, rebuild the walls around me, one broken promise at a time.
And I’ll never forget.
33. SERPENT OF BONES
Can I touch one of the bones?” Priest asked.
Gabriel cracked the whip against the ground, and Azazel’s bones uncoiled, rippling forward like a dragon’s tail. “Be careful. Demon bones are almost as unpredictable as demons themselves.”
Bear ran back and forth in front of the whip like he still didn’t know what to make of it.
Priest poked at a claw with his finger, and the bone recoiled, drawing itself closer to the hooked claw behind it.
After four hours of sleep—for those who had actually slept—I woke everyone up. We didn’t have time to sleep, not until we figured out how to save Jared.
“I think we’re approaching this the wrong way.” Priest stood up and started pacing. “Andras is so strong now, he’s practically showering in holy water. Your whip is one of the only things that still weakens him.”
“Go on.” Gabriel sat on the edge of the table, listening.
I couldn’t stand to look at him now that I knew he was the one who betrayed Faith. I was probably next.
“What if there was a way to expose Andras to Azazel’s power all the time? Would it weaken him enough to buy us some time?” Priest stopped.
Gabriel looped the bones around his arm. “In theory. But a demon whip can only be commanded by its maker.”
“Can I borrow your black marker for a minute?” Priest asked me.
I handed it to him and watched as he drew a diagram on the back of an old receipt. “Is that a necklace?” I asked.
“No.” Priest shook his head. “A collar.”
Everyone crowded around to get a better look.
“Azazel needs a whip master because by nature, a whip requires someone to handle it,” Priest explained. “A collar just needs someone to wear it.”