Chapter 2 #2
“But it literally is.” Leo lets his chopsticks fall from his hand.
They hit the plate in front of him, spilling fried rice onto the otherwise pristine white marble countertop.
“It was her blood. Wren was the only one who could’ve released the demon.
It’s free, and now it’s possessed our mother.
How long can a demon stay inside a body before that person dies? ”
“That’s not exactly fair,” Mabel says softly. “Wren was forced into this. She didn’t choose it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Leo replies, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Your fucking vampire husband forced you to do it. He only cared about himself and fucked over the rest of the fucking world.”
“Leo,” Antonio says with older-brother, shut-up-right-now authority. “Wren didn’t start this.”
“Well, she sure as hell finished it. And now Mom’s gonna die.”
The same rage I felt while staring down Marco in the warehouse floods my system. I splay my hands across the cold countertop in front of me in an attempt to stay grounded.
“The only reason I’m not casting a sleep spell on you, making you wake up chained in the basement, is because you’re in shock,” I say, my voice thick with anger.
The pendant lights above the countertop sway, and I slowly let out a breath, trying to release the energy I’m accidentally pulling in.
“You know as well as I do that I didn’t want this to happen.
It shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t even be here right now. ”
I dig my fingers harder against the counter until my fingertips hurt.
“I should be on the East Coast with my family. My biological family. I should’ve gone to a magical school and learned about my craft and my heritage.
I never should’ve been part of the Order, and I never should’ve met any of you.
” I lean back, swallowing hard. “But I did. My family was murdered, and I was kidnapped and forced into this life. I was treated like one of you while being used the entire time, raised to become the key that would unlock this demon.”
Another realization hits me. “And for all we know, that’s not the only one the Order plans to release.
” A chill runs down my spine as I say it out loud.
I know the Blackwoods were infamous as demon hunters in the magical world.
How many demons did they seal away in supernatural prisons?
And how many does the Order want to set free?
“She’s not the last Blackwood on Earth,” Mabel says, trying to be reasonable. “She was the convenient one in the Order’s grasp, but if it wasn’t her, it would’ve been someone else. It was only a matter of time. The Order has been trying to do this for years. This is not Wren’s fault.”
Leo looks at us, and I can tell he’s desperately trying to hang onto his rage. Because rage is so much easier to deal with than grief. Rage fires you up and gives you something to hold onto. It gives you a mission. A purpose.
But grief?
Grief rips you open and pulls everything out, putting it all on the table.
Grief makes you feel every little last thing that you have left—and sometimes there’s hardly anything left, and that absence is more painful than anything else.
And anytime the wind blows, it rips through that empty hole in your chest, reminding you again and again of what you’ve lost. For several moments, nobody moves.
Then Leo’s shoulders sag forward, and he puts his head in his hands. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I say instantly.
“No, it’s not,” Antonio counters. “That was really fucked up, Leo.”
“I think we’re beyond the point of expecting any of us not to do something a little fucked up,” I say. Mabel laughs and jumps off the counter, grabbing a plate and loading it with food for me. I sit down and pour way too much soy sauce over my fried rice, trying to force myself to eat.
If there’s one thing I’ve been good at my whole life, it’s compartmentalizing. We’ve been told that’s a normal and healthy way to deal with things, but burying shit down only causes it to come back out later.
“I don’t know what to do,” I say, my voice threatening to break as I choke back tears. “Like, I don’t know how to go to bed and wake up and live the next day, because nothing is the same.” Tears well in my eyes. I try hard to blink them back, but it only causes them to spill down my cheeks.
“I don’t know either,” Antonio confesses. “But we have to keep going. Gia needs us.”
Thinking of our younger sister, I mutter, “What the hell are we gonna tell her?”
“Nothing for now,” Mabel says, moving at vampire speed as she refills everyone’s water. “You said she’s with your aunt in Florida. Just let her enjoy that for now. Maybe send her some gift cards so they can go to Disney or something.”
“She would love that,” Leo and I say at the same time.
“Larissa?” Leo asks, looking almost guilty as he says her name.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I say seriously. Then we all laugh.
“I’m sure psychologically she’s freaking the fuck out, but technically, she’s probably safer in prison than anywhere else right now.” I continue picking at my food, trying to force myself to eat something to keep my strength up. Then Mabel suddenly stands, turning her head.
“Someone’s pulling into the driveway,” she says. “And I don’t recognize the sound of that car.”
She crosses the kitchen and taps the screen of an iPad, pulling up the security footage. A small black car parks at the end of the driveway. Then the screen gets glitchy. We all look at each other, immediately going on the defensive seconds before the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it,” Antonio says, but we all go together.
“I think I sensed her energy before,” Mabel says as Antonio opens the door. It’s Marie, and she steps right into the house, stopping on the rug in the foyer. She looks around, a sympathetic smile on her face.
“It seems my intuition isn’t as quick as it used to be.”