Genocide and dictatorial attitudes came to mind.
“The source is ours.” When Veronica appeared as if she’d launch from the couch, Orville held her back, murmuring, “Patience. It won’t be long now before she’s nothing and we reign supreme.”
“I would have preferred she die in the crash instead of my son.” Veronica proved blunt, and it worried me.
In the movies, there was one thing I knew. When the bad guys stopped hiding, it was because they thought they’d won. Veronica and Orville no longer cared what I knew, meaning either there was no escape or it was happening too soon for me to do anything about it.
Leaving me with two choices: run now, as far as I could to try and escape, or stop whatever it was from happening. Running hadn’t worked thus far, so I chose to get answers.
I snapped my fingers. “Returning to the body snatchers, you said one of them took over Kane. Which is horrible, by the way. He’s your son.”
Veronica’s chin lifted. “He did it willingly. It is considered an honor among the Orgh’kks.”
“How much of Kane was left behind?” Or was the man I’d met all demon?
“All of him, but with improvement.”
So the man I’d flirted with was the demon and man. “What happens if the body dies?”
“The body dies.”
“And the parasite leeching on to it?” Because if it was passed down, then it would have jumped to a new host.
“Would have jumped to a new host that hasn’t made himself known yet. And it could be he’s not even a he anymore. The eleven choose the shape that suits them best.” Veronica sounded nonchalant about it.
“If they can choose, then why Orville and not you? Rich woman with tons of power and yet he’s the one with a demon inside.” I pointed out.
That brought a slow smile to Orville’s lips. “This new host was a step down from my previous one.”
“Who were you before you took over Orville?” I asked.
“A man with a position in government, high enough to shift laws.”
“And you dumped it to become a short order cook?” I was confused.
“He suited my needs, although, I’ve had to shift my vessel’s mindset quite a bit. He wasn’t happy to share the body.”
“Is Orville still inside?”
“He is now a part of me, sharing all his knowledge and abilities. And when I move vessels, he’ll move with me.”
“Meaning whoever got Kane’s demon spirit, will also have Kane.” This all seemed wild, and yet I knew it to be true. Which again made me think of the movies. Was everything in life comparable to a show? “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because it soon won’t matter.” Veronica gestured. “You’re not your grandmother. You don’t know how to stop us. And if you tried, we’d remove you and use the next heir. After all we made sure you had two.”
Those were heart attack words, but I’m glad to say I remained alive but not well. Not well at all. “Pretty sure you had nothing to do with my babies.” I remembered pushing them out all too well.
Veronica’s expression turned sly. “Did you know Martin was sterile?”
The query out of the blue threw me. “No, he wasn’t.” Geoff was proof, even if I wasn’t sure about Winnie anymore.
“Neither of your children was fathered by him. Best we can tell he was sterilized by magic. Didn’t your grandmother’s recipe book have a spell for that?”
I wanted to say impossible. She’d never do that.
Only I was beginning to see there were lots of things I didn’t know.
Veronica clapped her hands and laughed. “Oh my. Yet more surprises. Imagine ours when we discovered one of the eleven accidentally found you and ensured you had heirs.”
“Who?” I could barely say it.
“Berith. He made sure you got impregnated, twice. He used two different Orgh’kks to do it and then hid your existence from us for the longest time. Kept an eye on you via a spell he placed on your husband.”
It made me think of some of Martin’s journal entries about feeling watched. They made a lot more sense now. “He’s the reason Martin went crazy.”
“The seed of his insanity already lingered inside.”
“But this Berith triggered it. You pushed him off the edge and made him hate me. Our kids.” I reeled at the strange fount of information. “You people have been manipulating me almost my entire life.”
“Haven’t you grasped the truth yet? We’ll do anything to unlock our magic and rule the world.”
28
Nothing like having your whole worldview blown apart,