to eat my own arm.”
“First of all, I’m telling Gram you said that,” Tim announced. “Secondly, it would grow back. You’re Immortal. And third, eating your own body parts is disgusting and it tastes awful.”
“And you know this how?” Charlie inquired, glancing over at Tim in horror.
“Don’t ask if you don’t want to know,” Tim said primly. “It’s not a pretty story.”
The chat had taken a left turn and was careening in a direction that was going to make me hurl.
“As I said,” I announced loudly before anyone could ask Tim to expound on self-cannibalism. “I was wrong. I don’t think I want to know any of you that well. Who here can plant thoughts in humans’ minds?”
Everyone was silent… and surprised, except Heather. I wasn’t sure if they were surprised that I knew about it or if it was bad manners to have asked.
“I can,” Heather said. “And I’m sure some of the other’s here can as well.”
“I can’t,” Gideon said, looking at me. His expression was filled with curiosity.
I shook my head and prayed it conveyed that I knew he hadn’t done it.
His expression didn’t change. Dammit, why the hell hadn’t I told him? I was an idiot.
He thought I suspected him of planting the false story in Gram’s mind. My chest tightened and I hoped he’d forgive me after the fact—not for suspecting him, because I didn’t—for not sharing my thoughts. He’d asked me to trust him and I hadn’t… again. Shit. I was already rocking the foundation and the house wasn’t built yet.
Turning away from him, because I wasn’t about to have that conversation with him publicly, I focused on the Immortals who had not yet spoken.
“And the rest of you?” I asked.
“Only those with Heavenly Angelic blood can implant thoughts,” Charlie said. “That would preclude Tim, Candy and myself. Gideon lost the ability when he fell from the Heavens. Heather, you’re an anomaly.”
“Wait. That can’t be correct,” Heather insisted, confused.
“Yes, it can,” my father said.
Heather’s head whipped to the Archangel and her eyes narrowed. “How?”
He sighed and looked down at the floor for a long moment. A very long moment.
I could literally hear Heather’s teeth grinding. “If by some chance we’re about to have another Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader moment, we should probably take this outside,” she ground out.
“As you wish,” John Travolta said, standing up.
The gasps were loud, but the sounds of Heather’s furiously shouted profanity then her fist connecting to Darth Vader’s face were positively horrifying. I was sure his head must have flown off. I idly wondered if an Immortal could grow another head or if it could be superglued back on. Tim would probably know.
Faster than a human eye could follow, Gideon dove into the fray and pulled a murderous Heather off the man who clearly got around with the ladies. Charlie stood between Heather and John Travolta with his hands held high. His eyes sparked a blinding silver and his entire body glowed.
I said a quick prayer that my house would still be standing in the next few minutes, but I kind of doubted it.
Candy Vargo sat down on the couch next to Tim. They both started shoving burnt Wiener Winks into their mouths like they were eating popcorn as they watched the shitshow unfold.
“This is turning out to be a great fucking party,” Candy said with a mouthful, elbowing Tim who, in between grabbing another burnt weenie, elbowed her right back.
The Archangel Michael made no move to attack Heather, just as he’d made no move to retaliate against me when I’d broken his nose. I could only believe he was getting no less than he thought he deserved.
“I was created!” Heather yelled.
“Some of us were,” Charlie agreed, eyes still shimmering bright. “Some of us were not.”
“I have no memory of you,” Heather hissed at the Archangel, trying to break Gideon’s hold and failing. “You lie.”
“No,” Michael said. “I omit. I do not lie.”
The meeting had gone very wrong. I’d found out who could plant memories, and a whole hell of a lot more. “Lying by omission counts as lying. You have no sense of responsibility. You’re vile.”
“Be that as it may,” he said, glancing at me then turning his attention back to Heather, “it came from a higher power than myself that I was to sire you and then leave you to the Universe.”
Heather shook like a leaf. “I have a mother?” she demanded.
“I am unaware of who she is,” he said emotionlessly.
“That seems a little off. Were the lights