Song for the Dead (Ada Palomino 2)

I can do this.

I find that energy inside me, waiting to be let loose, and use it like we use the air we breathe. I’m able to push off my feet into the air, doing a somersault above the kid until I land on his shoulders, my hands going to his head, pressing my palms in until his skin starts to burn me, searing my skin.

But instead of ripping his head off, because I don’t think I can for numerous reasons, I roll off the front of him, still holding on to his head. I then swing him around, getting momentum, letting go when I see the portal.

He goes flying through and I immediately throw my palms out, sealing the portal shut.

All the electricity in the air stills and the only thing I can hear is the beating of my heart, going so fast I think I might have a heart attack.

I stare at Max, unable to process what just happened.

“You did good,” he says, slowly sauntering over to me as if he didn’t just rip the head off of someone. He still has some blood on his face. “But the point of this exercise is to actually destroy them. Not just send them back to where they came from. Believe me, that kid will be back again.”

I press my hands against my face, then quickly remove them when my skin stings. I hold them out. They’re red and blistering.

“Shit,” Max swears, his face falling as he stares at my hands. “I forget how new at this you are. Come on, we’ll get some cream on that. You should heal fast, faster each time.”

He grabs my elbow, trying to lead me to the house, but I stand my ground.

“No,” I tell him. “Forget that for now. Just…what the hell was that, Maximus?”

He shoves his hands into his pockets and gives me a quick smile. “Just trying to get some demons in your demon slaying. That’s all.”

“That’s all? I never did that with Jay. I don’t even know if Jay could do that.”

“Ada, I know you hate to hear it, but I am not Jay.”

“No shit you’re not,” I say, trying not to sound bitter.

“Look,” he says, ignoring that. “I’m just trying to make things work. What’s the point of doing all of this if you rarely get to face the very things you’re training against?”

“So, you mean to tell me this is how you taught Rose?”

He shakes his head, pressing his lips together as he looks off into the distance. “No. To be honest, I wanted to but…things are different now. I’m different now.”

I frown, feeling uneasy. “Different how?”

“Like…I’m a target.”

“A target?!”

“Leaving Hell…I suppose that put some sort of tracking device on me.”

“Tracking device?!” What the actual fuck is he talking about?

He looks at me. “There are demons out there, like the ones we just saw, like Michael, who are hybrids. They pass for humans. They are either possessed or they’re a product of humans and demons, well, you know. They exist in our world. They also exist in other worlds. And it turns out that they’re drawn to me. That they can travel to me through the Veil.”

“But…but you just created the portal. You let them out.”

“I did. But I worry that maybe one day I won’t have to. That they’ll be able to cross through without any help from me. That there’s something about me, about the fact that I’ve been to Hell and come back, that they’re flocking to me for some reason. Maybe because I was a Jacob who escaped, I don’t know. But they’re here.” He waves at the space in front of us. “I can feel them. And I’m not looking forward to the day they can just walk on through anytime they want.”

“Well, fuck.”

“And so,” he goes on, “I figured I should at least help you train against them, because you’re going to be seeing them a lot.”

“Why?”

“Destiny?”

I glare at him. “This is your shit, Max.”

He gives me a stiff smile. “It would be, except you pulled me out. And now it’s your shit.”

I blink at him for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

“That thing that Jacob was talking about on New Year’s? About the consequences for us…”

My heart drops. I don’t know what he’s about to tell me, but I know it’s not going to be good.

“What about it?” I whisper. It’s not like I’d forgotten about it, but Jacob hasn’t been home that much in the last few weeks.

He runs his hand through his thick red hair. “Jacob wanted to pull me out eventually. He wouldn’t have left me there forever. He had a plan. But Perry wanted to help me, and I wasn’t about to say no. I was in the dark, same as you. Then you came and you…you sacrificed yourself for me, Ada,” Max says, meeting my eyes. The flames are gone, just the green remains, and they hold me in place. “You got me out.”