Chapter 16
As soon as Jared arrived in the ballroom, the girls begged to go outside and practice knife throwing and fighting.
Eric and I agreed, and after giving her “Uncle David” a huge hug of greeting and thanks, Allie led Mindy and Jared down the staircase that led from the ballroom’s balcony to the larger balcony one level below.
That main balcony had been damaged during Lilith’s temper tantrum, but Stuart and Bernie had already implemented the structural repairs to both it and the spiral staircase leading down to the cemetery.
That’s where the kids went now.
As far as cemeteries go, this one was unusual. Not only did its location offer a stunning view of the Pacific, but it had also been mystically enchanted decades ago. As far as I knew, though, there was no active enchantment at the moment.
I considered that a good thing.
As the kids got settled in the cemetery and began practicing with their knives, Eric and I stood in companionable silence watching.
“How bad do you think it’s going to get?” I asked.
“With Lilith involved, it could get beyond bad.” His voice was steady and conversational, but I knew him well. I also knew what he’d been through. And I knew that he was scared. I couldn’t blame him. I was scared, too.
“We beat her before,” I said. “We’ll beat her again.”
He turned to face me, and as he did, his eye-patch came into view. “I believe you,” he said. “But at what cost?” He turned his head again so that he could look down into the cemetery with his good left eye.
“I only lost an eye in the last battle. Do you think either of us could stand it if we lost our daughter?”
I shivered and shook my head. “Don’t.”
“We have to think about it.”
“No,” I said firmly. “We don’t.”
“Kate—”
“No.” I drew a breath. “I get that you want me to face reality. But I can’t face that. As far as I’m concerned that will never be reality. If that’s a problem for you, you can leave right now. I need you on your A-game, Eric. I need you to know we can win. If you don’t know it, how can it happen?”
I could hear the fear and frustration in my voice, but I didn’t care. I was frustrated. And I was scared. But I was determined, too. We would win this. Failing—losing Allie—was not something I would let into my head.
“We’ll win,” he said. “We’ll win even if I have to sacrifice myself to do it.”
I closed my eyes. I wanted to tell him that would never be a possibility. I wanted to tell him that he couldn’t do that.
But the truth was, of course he could. For Allie or for me, I knew I couldn’t stop him. He would sacrifice himself if that’s what it took. I might not want to lose him, but he wouldn’t care. He would do whatever it took to protect Allie. To protect me. Even to save the world.
And that was just one of the reasons that I still loved him … and always would.
“You won’t have to,” I whispered as I took his hand, knowing he understood.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then he nodded toward the cemetery. “They’re good.”
“They are. I’m especially impressed with how well Mindy’s doing.”
“Not that Allie’s noticing. Her eyes are on that boy.” I hear both humor and worry in his voice
I sighed. “She’s fifteen. I expect there to be crushes. But I’d really prefer the crush wasn’t a vampire.”
“Yeah, that’s what all the moms say,” he said, making me laugh.
I was about to say something else, when I saw a burst of something fast and white leap from behind a tall grave marker. It tackled Mindy, and I saw a flash of metal as the creature—I assumed it was a demon in some sort of white jogging suit—started to drive the knife home.
In an instant, Jared flew forward with such speed I almost wondered if he really had flown. He knocked the demon aside, and the two went tumbling as Allie rushed forward to grab Mindy by the arms and help her to her feet.
A second later, Jared had stabbed the demon’s own knife into its eye. I saw the familiar shimmer as the demonic essence left the body, leaving the corpse behind, and empty shell.
I realized my hand was numb because Eric was squeezing it so tight.
Jared went over to where Mindy and Allie stood and spoke to Mindy. I couldn’t hear, but she nodded, looking more than a little shaken even from this distance.
Allie threw herself at him and hugged him, and he hugged her back, a reaction that made me tense, but under the circumstances made perfect sense.
A moment later, they all three looked our direction, apparently only now realizing we’d been watching.
“Hey, Daddy! Did you see our knife work?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she winced. “Um, I mean Uncle David. Sorry.”
Eric rubbed his temples. “I guess Jared knows the truth now,” he muttered to me.
“He knew your name, remember? He knows a lot. I want to know why.”
“Can we go patrolling?” Mindy called. “We’ll be safe. You saw. Jared will make sure of it.”
I looked at Eric. “What do you think?”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “I think it’s okay.”
“Really? Are you sure? I’m going back-and-forth.”
He glanced back to the cemetery before returning his gaze to me. “Does Mindy know? About Allie, I mean?”
I shook my head. “I told Laura, but we both think that it’s Allie’s decision as to whether or not Mindy knows. As far as I know, she hasn’t told her yet.”
“She needs too. Allie’s not just a Demon Hunter right now, she’s a target for demons. More so than usual. That puts Mindy in the crossfire.”
“Agreed. I’ll talk to Laura and Allie. Tell soon, or I will.”
Eric nodded approval. “And vampire boy?”
“He must know something. He’s the one who said that Allie was the one who could take out Lilith.
I assure you that’s not because of her Algebra grade last year.
Which means there must be rumors floating around about some prophesied savior or something.
The truth is, I have no idea. But he knows that much at least. Assuming it’s true. ”
“Assuming?”
“Well, I hope it’s true. If Allie can take out Lilith, that’s a very good thing. And like we’ve said, something happened in that crypt. That light. It was like it—”
“Anointed her,” Eric finished for me.
“Yeah.”
For a moment, Eric just watched the kids. Then he said, “I’m going to go patrolling with them. If this vampire wants to watch out for our daughter, I need to see if I want him on the job.”
“Good. I like that.”
I went with him down the stairs and across the patio, following the path that the kids had taken. We passed Mindy coming up. “Are you not coming?” Eric said.
She rolled her eyes. “Allie said she thought I should probably go.” She made a face. “I don’t know why I should. I don’t suck at this, and I’ve been training really hard.”
“She’s probably thinking about the musical,” I said, proud of myself for coming up with such a reasonable lie. Even if you twist an ankle, they’ll use your understudy. You have to dance, right?”
“Oh. Yeah. But she should have just said so.”
I shrugged. “You know Allie.” Which was really no answer at all.
In fact, right then I thought that maybe Mindy didn’t know Allie, after all. Because it was perfectly clear to me that this was a boy issue, not a hunting issue. But I supposed Mindy would figure that out soon enough.
“Have fun,” I said to Eric, wondering if the excitement of patrolling with her dad would outweigh the humiliation of having a chaperone. “Keep them safe.”
“Always. And tell Stuart I came by. Reassure him that I bathe in holy water and eat Communion wafers for breakfast. So he has nothing to worry about.”
“And your dream?” I asked once Mindy was back upstairs and out of earshot. “Do I tell him about that?”
He reached out, then tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, Kate, I think you have to. You told him no more secrets, right?”
I had, yes. But I hadn’t realized what a hard habit that was going to be to break.
I spent a few hours alone in the house, walking up and down the seemingly endless maze of hallways.
I found the wing in which the staff used to reside.
I found secret doorways that led between the levels.
And I found a charming little garden in the backyard, tucked away on the only patch of land that was on the same level as the house.
Everything else was down below, the only thing passing for a yard being the cemetery itself.
I stood there for a moment surrounded by flowers in a garden that had become much too overgrown. I looked out at the ocean amazed at what a gorgeous day it was, because how could it be so beautiful when there was so much danger brewing around us?
My phone buzzed with a text, and I looked down to see that it was Stuart. Where are you?
I answered quickly. The mansion. Back garden.
Just parked. Meet me inside.
I hurried in, and arrived a few moments after he’d stepped over the threshold. He was looking at the various deliveries, inspecting them for damage. “Thanks for doing this,” he said. “I know it took a chunk out of your day.”
“It wasn’t a problem. I enjoyed having the chance to look around the place. And the girls did some training up in the ballroom. They even killed a demon.”
“Well, that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days,” he said. “Everyone okay?”
“Just another day at the office.”
That earned me a grin as Stuart slid his hands into the pockets of his suit. “Bernie thinks a gang came up from Los Angeles, had a wild party, and wrecked the place.”
“I always knew Bernie was naive.”
“I think he just can’t imagine what else it could have been. So he’s going with what works.”
“You couldn’t think of anything better?”
“Honestly, I didn’t even try.”
He looked around shaking his head. “I told you once that I wanted to buy this place for us, but now…” He trailed off with a shrug.
“Is it the expense? Or because you’re going to leave again?” The minute the words were out of my mouth I regretted them. We’d been down this road so many times. But I couldn’t deny that the hurt was still there.
“Kate... I’m not going anywhere. Not again. There’s still a lot to process, I know that. But I know the score. And now I know how bad it can get.”
It can always get worse...
That, however, wasn’t something I said aloud.
“As much as I think it would be incredible to live in a place like this,” he continued, “with two kids to put through college, it’s probably not the best idea.”
That was true, of course. But I couldn’t deny that there was something appealing about it. This place may have been invaded by a demon and owned by a crazy occultist, but in its bones, it also understood what we were dealing with.
“— some investors.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I was saying that I met with some investors in LA this morning. They’re considering turning it into a spa-style hotel retreat.”
“Oh.” I was more disappointed in the news than I should have been. “Well, it’s roomy enough. I went all over the place today. You could house a small army here. Allie loves it,” I added, which wasn’t relevant to anything.
“Where is she?”
She and Jared went patrolling with Eric.”
“Jared? The vampire?”
“Um, yeah.” I’d brought him up to speed when we’d talked on the phone this morning.
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“No. I think it’s a terrible idea, that’s why I let her do it. Of course I think it’s a good idea,” I snapped. “And so does Eric.”
He held up his hands. “Just asking the question. I worry about her. She’s my daughter, too.”
“Is she?” A slow fury was bubbling up inside me, and I was tired enough and worried enough not to try to tamp it down. “You haven’t hugged her since Rome.”
“Of course, I have.”
“No. You haven’t.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded, and he leaned against one of the stacks of boxes looking a little broken. “I really haven’t, have I?” His words were a whisper, and when he met my eyes, he looked bewildered.
“She’s scared,” I said, taking his hands. “So am I. So are you. But she saved the world, Stuart. Don’t you think that has to count for something?”