Finally, Constantine located his son. The boy, named Boaz, had reached his nineteenth summer and was of full maturity. Constantine, still fearful of God’s prophecy, waited until night had fallen to approach his son. He crept in and visited him while he slept, while the boy was at his weakest.
Constantine bit him in the neck, emptying into him a venom so toxic no mere mortal could have survived its effects. Only this boy was no mere mortal, and the venom, though it made him frightfully ill, did not destroy the child as Lucifer had hoped.
Constantine, desperate to escape death, yet unable to kill his son, fed the boy his own powerfully angelic blood and then planted false memories in his mind. He made sure that Boaz would live a life free from the remembrance of his mission until such a time as Constantine could find a way to kill him.
For centuries, Constantine and Lucifer have worked to destroy the boy, each time failing and each time being forced to provide the boy with new memories. And so the cycle will continue, as Boaz remains immortal under God’s pledge that he will not taste of death until he sees his father take his last breath.
The words melted into a breathless tangle inside my mind. The story. The legend. Boaz. Constantine. Angels. The boy who can’t be killed. Could it be related to what Lucius had told me? Could it be related to what had happened with Bo? Could Boaz be my Bo?
I blinked my eyes and saw dark wooden beams across a soft white ceiling.
Confusion hammered at my brain. I closed my eyes, counted to ten and opened them again. Still, I was looking at the ceiling. Somewhere. And why was I on my back?
I’d just been standing in Sebastian’s office in front of that book. And now…
“I was wondering if I was going to have to wake you up.”
I looked to my left and saw Sebastian. I sat up so fast my head spun. We were in the den and I was on one of the three sofas, Sebastian on the one across from me.
“Was it that boring? I’ve always loved that movie,” he said, grinning pleasantly.
“Movie?”
Sebastian’s brows twitched, but they didn’t draw together. “Yeah. I know it predates you a bit, but I thought you might—”
“We were watching a movie?”
This time, Sebastian did frown. “Are you alright?”
“I- I’m not sure. How long have I been asleep?”
“I don’t know. Maybe half an hour. I hated to wake you.”
I rubbed the back of my hand across my eyes. His answer only served to exacerbate my puzzlement.
“What time is it?”
Sebastian glanced at his expensive-looking watch. It was then that I noticed he was in different clothes than the ones he’d left wearing.
“12:15.”
Ohmigod! I thought. Where had the last two and a half hours gone?
“Oh,” I said, trying to sound casual. “What time was it when you got in? I forgot to check the clock.”
Sebastian gave me a concerned look, but said nothing about it.
“11:30.”
He’d been here for forty-five minutes and I remembered none of it! We’d apparently watched part of a movie together, too.
“I guess I’d better get going then,” I said, pushing myself to my feet.
“Are you sure you’re alright? I can drive you if you’re feeling ill,” Sebastian offered, coming to his feet as well.
“Oh, no, I’m fine. But thank you.”
I hated to seem as if I was rushing off, but I was so addled, I felt almost desperate to get away, to clear the fog from my mind. As I walked down the hall toward the front door, I could hear Sebastian’s footsteps trailing close behind.
“Hold on, Ridley. I owe you some money for tonight,” Sebastian said, coming to stand in front of me at the door. I had my hand on the knob, ready to bolt.
“Oh.” I couldn’t think of one good, sane reason to leave without taking the money, so I waited while Sebastian pulled his money clip from his pocket and flipped through the denominations until he came up with a hundred dollar bill.
When he handed it to me, I felt guilty for taking it. I mean, apparently I’d blacked out for the last half of my stint and then had the nerve to fall asleep in front of him. That hardly sounded like he was getting his money’s worth. But arguing would only prolong the time I had to hang around, so I pocketed the money, thanked him and opened the door.
“Are you free Sunday night? It would only be for two or three hours in the evening.”
I wanted to snap at him and scream, Not now! But instead, I managed to control myself enough to smile politely and say, “Can you call me Saturday?”
Sebastian nodded. “Will do.”
“Alright, I’ll talk to you then.”
“Drive safe.”
I muttered something like okie dokie over my shoulder as I practically ran down the steps toward my car. Once I was inside it, I started up the engine and backed out, racing down the driveway at breakneck speed. When I reached the bottom, I came to a gravel-slinging stop and slammed the car into park.
I rolled the window down to let the cool night air in then I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the rest. I pulled in gulp after gulp of the chilly air, hoping the cleansing breaths would clear my mind of the cotton that seemed to have invaded it.
When I was feeling marginally more alert, I raised my head and opened my eyes just in time to see a red blur flash in front of my headlights. I looked around, hoping to catch sight of what was out there. I neither saw nor heard anything, but nevertheless, I locked my door and rolled up my window.
Just before the window sealed out the light breeze, something disturbing and vaguely familiar tickled my nostrils. It was a sweet floral scent that I’d smelled before, and not at a good time. It was the same aroma I’d detected on the vampire that had crawled into my room and attacked me.
A noise at the back of the car had me pulling the gear shift down into drive and flooring the gas pedal. I looked left and right then checked my rearview mirror, but I saw no sign of anyone or anything. But that didn’t slow me down. I barely even paused until I was pulling in behind Mom’s car in the driveway.
Since I’d met Bo, I’d left my bedroom window open nearly every night.
Except tonight. With no idea where Bo was or how to reach him, and some kind of crazed vampire after me, I’d never felt more vulnerable.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next day, I was pleased to have the distraction of Summer’s impromptu Forest Fest to dive into. Though I had no intention of going, it was all the rage at school and it’s all anyone was talking about. I let myself melt into the conversations, let myself get lost in the normalcy of parties, popularity and high school in general.