Invision - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 0,32
agrees to the terms, those souls are allowed to work off their debt to Thorn. If they keep their noses clean and behave, at the end of their term, they’re set free to live out normal, happy lives.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
Dr. Burdette let out a bitter laugh. “You’ve no idea the things the other side sends after us to reclaim us. They know every thought, every fear. Every desire. And they use it all against you. It’s the worst hell you can conceive. They’re completely unrelenting and highly imaginative.”
Caleb nodded. “Yeah. They are bad. I’m on a first-name basis with a large number of them.” He rubbed at his temple. “So how did you end up in Thorn’s clutches?”
“I bargained my soul for my son’s life.”
Nick’s jaw went slack as he finally understood at least part of this. “When Bubba had that really bad wreck with Hank in college?”
Hank had been Mark’s older brother that Bubba had named his son for. Bubba’s lifelong best friend who’d been killed in the crash. It was something no one talked about, but it haunted both Bubba and Mark, and was why Bubba was so protective of his “sidekick,” and why the two of them had become as close as brothers.
Why they might fight like an old married couple, but if anyone so much as lifted an evil eyebrow in Mark’s general direction, Bubba would lay them out cold.
His father nodded. “Michael almost died that night, too. It didn’t happen exactly the way he remembers it … that was part of my bargain. I didn’t want my boy to have any worse guilt from it than what he already does.”
Dr. Burdette paused as if his emotions overwhelmed him. When he spoke again, his voice trembled. “They’d already told us to pick out funeral clothes for Michael. Said he wouldn’t make it through the night.” A tear slid from the corner of his eye. “You’ve no idea what it feels like to hear those words about someone you love.…”
Caleb laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I do. Trust me.”
He wiped at his face and sniffed back his tears. “Anyway, from the moment Michael was born and I saw those aged, celestial eyes of his, I knew he carried the bloodline, and that he was one of the chosen who might be called on one day to fight the unspeakable horrors no one should know walks in the daylight with us. I did everything I could to keep him as far away from all of it as I could. Moved him away from my family, kept him shielded and ignorant of the things we deal with daily. Yet somehow, evil like you always seeks him out, no matter where he goes.”
“Excuse me?” Nick asked. “I do have feelings, people!”
Rolling his eyes, Caleb shook his head. “Yeah, Nick’s not the one you need to be fearing.… But go on.”
He let out a tired breath. “A part of me always believed that it was why Michael had that wreck. It was them trolls going after him that night, either to get to me or him before he became active and aware of his powers.”
“Probably.” Caleb shook his head in sympathy. “Who’d you summon for your bargain?”
“Kaiaphas.”
He made a noise that said Dr. Burdette had chosen poorly. Either that, or the demon had mutated into a hen and was about to lay an egg.
With Caleb, just about anything was possible.
Groaning and covering his face with his hand, Caleb stared at Dr. Burdette from between his spread fingers. “Why in the name of all unholy would you summon that jackass?”
“He answered and no one else did,” he said simply. “My blood wasn’t even dry on the contract before Thorn showed up, screaming the deal was invalid and that it went against whatever it is they have for a code. For whatever reason, he took up my cause and was able to negotiate a reprieve because I’d done it with noble intentions.”
“You’re lucky. Thorn doesn’t often do that.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s why I still hunt for him, from time to time. I feel like I owe him that much.”
“If you knew what he has to bargain with, you’d realize you owe him a lot more than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” Caleb returned to Nick’s side. “You feeling any better?”
“Nope and I’m a lot worse with all this confusion. What’s a Hell-Hunter?”
Caleb growled deep in his throat. “Like a dog with a mangy, old bone. You never know when to let it go and