Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
I managed to not laugh. Kelsey might be the sheriff of our world, and she could solve a mystery like nobody else, but she wasn’t exactly a walking encyclopedia of supernatural creatures. “It’s not a name. It’s a…being. It’s what happens when a creature of angelic persuasion and a creature of demonic influence have a child together.”
“I thought angels and demons used to get it on all the time. That’s how we got the supernaturals.”
“In some cases the child was purer than others,” I explained, trying not to think about how good that coffee smelled. “I’m talking DNA, and not like sexual purity. And I would suspect in the beginning there were lots of Nephilim. They were very powerful, and that’s probably why they were hunted down and killed, and now we have companions and vampires and werewolves and demons instead of a bunch of superpowered, potentially immortal humans.”
“How would he know if Harriet’s going to be Neph…whatever…or just a regular companion?” Kelsey asked.
It was right there on the tip of my tongue to give her a lecture on how the master knew everything, and if he says the child is a monster then we should take care of it.
But I wouldn’t, I realized. If he ordered me to kill the queen’s child, I wouldn’t do it. Even if I was sure the child was Nephilim. The idea of Nephilim was something like the idea of a hellhound. If everything you knew about them came from a book, you would run from the fuckers. They look mean and ugly and they could kill you, but like all things, a hellhound was about what you put into it. Puff was never going to be a raging ball of murder. He would always protect those he loved, but he would never go after the blood of the innocent. In some ways, I worried the Nephilim had been hunted down because of their potential and not their actual actions. Beyond that, the queen’s child would be a baby. I couldn’t kill that child any more than I could have harmed Lee or Rhys or Evan or Fen.
Except I had. My body had. I’d felt his rage as he’d sent a fire bolt Evan’s way. He’d talked like me. He’d accessed my memories, and when he spoke, he spoke as me.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t think about it.” Kelsey slid off the bed and opened the cloche with a happy sigh. “Danish. Yes. Eddie makes the best pastries. Look, there’s chocolate croissants. Your favorite.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can eat now.”
Even though I wanted to.
“I already had the throwing-up portion of my day.” Kelsey took a Danish and settled onto the couch, proving she wasn’t leaving any time soon. “I wanted to talk to you about the dinner thing Lucifer is throwing.”
I knew exactly what she was going to say. “You’re not taking me.”
Her face fell. “Technically he ordered Gray to bring his family. That means I can leave you behind. I think it’s for the best. Lucifer is a tricky fellow.”
I waved that off. “He’s a massive ass, and I don’t need to hang with him and eat at his table.”
“Good,” she said, obviously relieved.
“But you have to know that if you send Lee in, he’s going to get caught,” I said.
She was right back to looking worried. “He’s got a plan.”
“Lucifer has a better one. Look, Lucifer knows we have a sick wizard. You can’t expect that he doesn’t know who Dean is and what he means to the planes.” I felt the need to talk her out of this insane plan. But I also didn’t have a better one. She would hate the only thing that would work. “So if he knows then this dinner party is about one thing.”
“Gray.”
I nodded. “You’re going to have to choose, Kels. Do you want the kid to live or do you want your husband free? Or you can let Lee try to steal it and open a whole bag of very demonic worms.”
“We don’t even know where he keeps his wings,” Kelsey said, picking off some Danish and chewing it thoughtfully.
“Even if you did, I assure you he could feel it if someone plucked one off. The truth of the matter is Dean’s best bet is to have Lucifer rescind the Uro. The fire comes from Hell. He has control over it. He could fix it at any time. I don’t think he’s going to be willing to give up a body part to save a kid who could kill a man you claim can potentially give Lucifer what he wants—to close the door to Heaven.” I was coming around to the idea. It made sense given what I knew about Myrddin.
I liked it better when I hadn’t questioned everything about my life.