2. Dagon
Chapter two
Dagon
Ihit the gas pedal and stormed away from the house. My breathing was heavy, and I was holding the wheel in a death grip. Somewhere in the back of my clouded mind, a voice warned me to slow down, since Andras was probably right behind me. But I couldn’t.
I had to get away from there.
Fuck!
I slammed the wheel until pain shot up my arms.
How did I not know? All these years, I called King Hughes my father. I became part of this family, and I didn’t know. He was the man who showed me the genuine meaning behind the word father.
A guttural scream tore from my throat, echoing in the space around me. I hit the wheel again as my vision blurred. There was ringing in my ears now, drowning the sound of my cries.
If I had known, I would have never gone with King.
If I had known, I would have never become part of the Hughes.
What would he do if he found out the truth about me? With a bitter, maniacal laugh, I answered my own question. He would do precisely what I was taught those like him did. That was what he would do.
I snickered at the harsh reality. The sound was cruel even to my ears, and there was nothing else I could do besides drown in it.
I drove like crazy, not even paying attention to where I was going. The farther, the better. My phone was blowing up with calls from Andras, so I turned it off. There was no way I could talk with him right now. I was on the verge of losing it.
Without realizing it, I ended up at the park where I first met King.
I exited my car and stared at the view before me.
Truth be told, I wasn’t seeing anything.
All I could see was the knife in my father’s hand and his shock when I burst into his office.
He tried to brush it off like nothing, like I had hallucinated the blade that emitted light.
What he didn’t know was the knowledge I had and what I was.
I knew all about angels and demons, and the knife in his hands wasn’t an ordinary one.
The worst part? I sensed what he was the moment our eyes met. Why now and not before? The only plausible explanation was that he was holding that knife. My stomach still swirled, and I felt nauseous all over again when I remembered.
I exploded and demanded answers. We fought, and King’s attempt to make me seem delusional which angered me even more. I didn’t know what that knife was, but just as I knew Hell existed, I knew what King was.
I could have never imagined that my whole world would change when I opened that door. One moment, one small action, and everything fell apart.
I was transported back into that room. The hair on my arms stood up, and I froze on the threshold, looking straight into the eyes of my adopted father - the eyes of an angel.
King Hughes - my father - was an angel. And not an ordinary one.
The person who opened his arms to me, who welcomed me into his family, was a freaking angel.
This sentence kept repeating in my mind on a loop.
My brain refused to comprehend what was right in front of me.
It was like watching your whole world crumble before you: the devastation, the unimaginable shock leaving you unmovable.
The magnitude of it all was too much for the rational part of my brain to make sense of, and for the first time in my life, I fucking hoped my instincts were wrong.
The weight of the truth lay heavily on my shoulders. I needed to make a decision. Knowing what I did now, there was no way I could stay. But at the same time, I couldn’t leave either. If I did, I would be doomed. If I didn’t, I would be doomed again.
Cursing, I started pacing in front of my car.
Fuck it!
Anger churned in me, and I poured gasoline over it. Anger was far better than all the other emotions whirling inside me right now. Who the hell did he think he was, lying to us all this time? And now what? He would try to deny it, pretend I imagined everything. Was that the angel’s game plan?
I faltered in my steps when a chilling thought popped into my mind. What if tomorrow’s meeting was for King to reveal he was an angel? No, there must be another reason.
From what I had heard, I knew five angels were on Earth.
I never learned why they were here. Honestly, I never cared.
I didn’t know if this was their punishment for something they did or if it was their choice.
I didn’t even know whether they were allowed in Heaven.
Whatever their reason for being here, they still served the light, protecting humans and killing demons.
There had always been animosity between the angels on the surface and demons. Of course, there would be.
Still, there was a lot I didn’t know. I’d never had the chance to learn.
However, I knew one thing: angels were no better than demons.
They would kill and do whatever it took to protect what they deemed right.
I was no fool. Just because they were called angels didn’t make everything they did rainbows.
If our father discovered who I was, that would be the death of one of us. Most likely me.
My life was already Hell, and he had to go and make it worse, hiding the truth on top of everything else, didn’t he?
My days were spent going through the motions of life as I battled with myself.
My nights were filled with dreams of what I couldn't have.
Now, I had to live in constant anticipation of King learning the truth and being cast aside from my family.
I thought about Di, and my heart broke. No. I couldn't think about him right now, or I would do something I might regret later.
My focus switched to my brothers and what might happen to them.
I had to ensure our father has no ulterior motive for revealing his secret now.
If he decided to uproot our lives, I had a feeling the reason wouldn’t be: "woke up today and decided to tell you I’m an angel.
That’s it. Enjoy life." It made no sense for him to tell the truth just for the sake of it after keeping it secret for years. God help him if he wanted to drag my brothers into this world, and worse, even God wouldn’t be able to help him if he pulled Di into this.
He may be my father, but he became my enemy the moment I discovered he was an angel, or at least I did my best to convince myself of that. I was trying because I had no other alternative.
I wouldn't let him bring my brothers into this world.
They didn't deserve the brutality and danger this world poses. I would do whatever it takes to protect them, much like I did in the past. I didn’t care how much I was risking.
If I had to become a monster who went against his father to save his brothers… then so be it.
Just moments ago, pain, and confusion had ruled me. Now, only resentment remained and a burning need to act. I was determined to discover his plans and protect Di and my brothers. I might be the moody bastard of the family, but I cared about all of them.
Knowing who King was, I was torn between hating him like I was supposed to and loving him as the father who raised me. Just for tonight, though, I would try to forget it all. One day, that was all I had. One day before, I had to face my biggest fear.
Bren had planned a game night. It had been years since I had gone to those. An overwhelming ache settled in my gut. I missed our time together.
Just for one night, I would have it all back, before it was ripped away.
I would have my family for one more night before everything fell apart.