with holy water hidden everywhere. Stakes. Actually, in the kitchen, every wooden stirring spoon still has a sharpened end. Anyway, as we got older, they got more elaborate. The fan was our project when we moved here and both needed a distraction from what happened with the Council going boom and all.” I go to the spot right under the fan. “See here? This board is loose. On a fulcrum. There’s a spring on the other side. The idea is you lure the vampire or whatever to this spot, then stomp on the board. Ta-da! Instant decapitation.”
Leo is still staring up at the fan. “I was always afraid ceiling fans would come loose and kill me. How can you sleep under this thing?”
“We don’t turn it on.” I point to the fireplace. “We never use that, either. Not huge fans of fires. But there’s a pressurized gas canister there.” I point to what looks like a normal gas feed for the fire. “Jade helped us rig it up. If you flip this switch right inside the mantel, it’s a flamethrower. But again, stationary. The vampire would have to be standing right here. We weren’t really big on practicality. It was mostly to keep ourselves busy, to pretend like we had some control.”
“You wanted to feel safe.”
I sit on Artemis’s bed, sad and exhausted. “Yeah. Artemis was always good at keeping me busy. And at making me feel safe.” But she’s not here. Maybe it’s better that he’s here. He’s easier to talk to than Artemis lately. “So, I just saw my mother out in the woods with Doug.”
“What? Did she catch him?”
“They were having a meeting. I went for a run, and there they were. My mom had her address book, which apparently also contains a who’s who of demons in Dublin. And a lot of other Slayers. I don’t know what they’re planning, or why. But I think it has to do with me and a prophecy. So I’m freaking out. A little bit.”
Leo nods, but he speaks slowly, like he’s holding something back. “Nothing is ever black and white. Not prophecies, and certainly not people. We don’t know what your mom is doing, but Doug didn’t kill Cosmina or Bradford. If there is a prophecy, it’s kept for this long. It’ll keep for a few more days. So we keep our cards close to our chests. We don’t talk to anyone else about this until we figure it out. In the meantime, you should get some sleep.”
As soon as he says it, I realize how bone-deep tired I am. “You too.” I feel his presence in my room acutely. It’s not a huge room to begin with, but he takes up far more space in it than just his body can account for. “You can, uh, use my bed. If you don’t want to sleep in the hall.”
“I’d like to read, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” I lie back on Artemis’s bed. Leo pulls a book from my shelf—it’s called Joseph Lister and the Story of Antiseptics. “That’s good bedtime reading. Lister was the man who revolutionized surgery by introducing antiseptic procedures.”
“There’s a museum of surgery in Edinburgh that highlights his achievements.” Leo sits down with the book and opens it up. “We should go. Though it will break your no-dead-bodies rule.”
“I’d break that rule for you.” I turn away so he can’t see my blush. I can’t be as hopeless as I was three years ago. I peek over at him after a few minutes. He reads with his eyebrows drawn ever-so-slightly together, giving him a look of deep concern. I force my eyes closed. But there’s no way I’m falling asleep with Leo right there.
I roll onto my side, hitting the notes I left all over Artemis’s bed. Any thoughts of museum field trips fall away. I look at the prophecy with new eyes, no longer suspecting it might be about us—knowing it is, or at least that my parents thought so. And my mother still does.
Child of Slayer
Child of Watcher
My parents.
The two become one
Eew. Arcturius liked a good euphemism, and I can’t believe I’m reading a sentence about my parents getting it on written centuries ago.
The one becomes two
Identical twins.
Girls of fire
Our hair is quite red.
Protector and Hunter
One to mend the world
And one to tear it asunder
A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have known which was which. But it’s obvious now. Artemis is the protector. She always has been. She’s protected me not only from harm