to be Watchers. Not my mom, whose life was stolen from the moment she was born. Not Artemis, who always should have been more.
And none of these creatures chose to be here. I don’t doubt they all would have preferred to be somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Somewhere they weren’t other, weren’t hunted, weren’t used.
And suddenly, I know a place they can go.
I pull the book—the real book, not the fake notebook I brought with me as a decoy—out of my shirt. It’s filled with other demons like Doug. It’s filled with Slayers, out there all alone. Targets because of a power they never asked for. I hold the book close to my heart, and I remember what we’ve lost. I remember my vow to be the Watcher for every Slayer.
“Now,” I say, smiling at Rhys. “Now we change what it means to be Watchers. We protect the vulnerable. Whoever they are.” I take off my coat and put it over the skinless demon’s shoulders. It snuggles in, and this time I’m certain it’s smiling.
• • •
“I will not have demons infesting my castle!” Wanda Wyndam-Pryce shrieks, slamming her fist down on the table. We’re in the Council room. It used to intimidate and awe me. Now all I see is an empty, useless room with a too-big table and only one person sitting there. Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed for her. “This is an outrage! You will remove them immediately.”
I smile. “I’m sorry. You don’t have the authority to demand that.”
“I’m on the Council!”
“You’ve been voted out.” Rhys takes off his glasses and polishes them.
Wanda glares down her long nose at him. “By whom?”
“By the next generation of Watchers.” Jade pops her gum. She puts her feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankles. “We’re in charge now.”
Ruth Zabuto, knitting in the corner, giggles. “This should be fun.” Her wrinkled face is mischievously gleeful. I told her she could keep her library. She didn’t much care what we did after that.
I escort a huffing and indignant Wanda to the gate. We’ve already packed one of the cars with all her things. She snatches the keys from me, pausing only to give a withering glare to the skinless demon playing a game of tag with two of the Littles. Rhys joins Cillian, who’s attaching a rope swing in the deep shade of an oak tree. The tiny purple demons, whose names I don’t have the right mandibles to pronounce, critique their every choice.
“Disgusting,” Wanda spits. Then she climbs in the car and takes generations of Watcher tradition with her.
“Good riddance.” Jade wanders off to join Doug in setting up a game of croquet. She’s taken to him nicely. I suspect it’s because he’s quite liberal with doling out his happiness boosts.
Back in the great hall entry, Imogen is lying on the floor, coloring next to little George. She looks up at me and smiles, her sleeves pushed up, revealing pen doodles all along her forearms. She was amazing during our time of need. We won’t neglect her like the Council did. We all know that our parents don’t determine who we are.
I bend down to ruffle George’s hair, then keep going to the residence wing. My mom is confined to bed for a while yet. Eve broke three of her ribs, puncturing a lung. And she still managed to carry me out to safety.
She tries to sit up when I come into her room.
“Hey, relax.” I pull up a chair and sit next to her bed.
“How did Wanda take it?”
“About as well as you’d expect. I’m glad she doesn’t have magic anymore. I think we’d all be cursed if she did.”
A grin works at the corner of her lips. “I wish I could have seen it.” A puff of air escapes her, and then she closes her eyes. Her eyelids are thin, almost translucent. They make her look fragile. “You should take Doug with you when you contact more Slayers or demons. He’s a good go-between. If things get tense . . .”
“He happies them right up.” I take out the book and stare at the entries. Tonight I’ll open it to the Slayer section. I can’t reach them in my dreams anymore, but I can find them in person. And even though I’m not strong, I have something to offer them. To offer the world. The world I’m no longer capable of breaking. So that’s a relief, at least. We’re free from all the history of the Watchers,