help right now.” I hold my breath, waiting for something—anything, but I get nothing. “Julian?” I try next, not expecting to hear from him either. He left right before I went to bed last night, saying he was summoned by Alona, who needed him to round up another legion of demons Lucifer set loose on a college campus in Arizona. The demons were living it up again, getting students to drink, smoke pot, and party.
Illegal, yes.
Evil, hell fucking no.
“Whatever,” I sigh and drop my hands to my sides. I lay back against Lucas, and he holds me, knowing I’m not in the right mindset to talk or even be reminded that it’s not my fault Bael is murdering innocent people.
I know it’s not, yet I can’t help but shake the feeling that, again, I don’t belong here on earth, that maybe the angels were right all along to say it’s dangerous to allow a Nephilim to live.
“Lucas is right.” Kristy sets the bowl of stuffing on the counter. “You cannot blame yourself, Cal. Bael is a bad, bad guy and he’s the one killing innocent people.”
“To get to me.” I run my fingers though my hair. “I’m not trying to be a dramatic martyr or anything, but think of everyone who’s been caught in the crossfire. Ever since the rumors started surfacing in the spring about me being alive, demons have sought me out, killing anyone in their way. Varrador killed how many witches before he finally found me?”
“And again, that’s not your fault. Did you ask to be born?”
“No one asks to be born.”
“Exactly.” She opens the fridge and takes out a Tupperware full of turkey. After a busy Black Friday at the store, she came over for leftovers.
“Do you want any wine?” I ask her.
“Can we get it from the wine cellar? I want to go down there. With a sleeping bag and my pillow. And move in.”
I laugh. “You know I’d love you here, and this house is big enough we could easily not even run into each other for like a day or two.”
“I don’t think Lucas would be too happy about that, though,” Kristy laughs and puts a few pieces of turkey on a plate and puts it in the microwave.
“We’ve had kind of a full house lately,” I say. “Though not a full house that’s this big. My old house could fit inside the foyer.”
Kristy laughs. “Good thing Eliza just left then, right?”
“Right, though Lucas does like having her around, and I do too. I need someone to keep me humble with not-so-sarcastic insults.” I take two wine glasses from the cabinet and fill mine with water. Yawning, I get the rest of the food out of the fridge.
“Tired?” Kristy asks.
“I’ve been tired pretty much since conception. But it’s normal, don’t worry.
“Yeah, for someone who’s human,” Kristy says with a frown and takes the lid off another Tupperware of food. Once everything is heated and served, we dash downstairs to the wine cellar so Kristy can pick out a bottle of wine.
Lucas joins us, sitting next to me at the breakfast table, as we eat. Our conversation is stilted, and it’s obvious Lucas is trying to distract and take my mind off how Bael is slaughtering innocent people to try and get to me.
“Do you want to talk a walk?” Kristy asks, watching me push my mashed potatoes around on my plate. “Scarlet could use the exercise, right?”
“Yeah, she could,” I say, so thankful for my best friend right now. Next to Lucas, Kristy knows me better than anyone, and right now she knows that I need some space. We can talk and plan for Christmas until I’m blue in the face, but it doesn’t change how I feel, and right now I’m feeling more than a little shitty that the common denominator in so many murders has been me.
Lucas says he’ll clean up the kitchen and sends me off with a kiss. Instead of my go-to combat boots, I put on a pair of knee-high leather boots instead, helping to keep me warm on this chilly evening.
“You alright?” Kristy asks when we get a few feet from the house, frosted grass crunching under our feet.
“Yeah,” I say right away.
“You don’t have to put on a brave face,” she reminds me.
“I know,” I sigh. “I wish there was a way to stop all of this, and honestly, I don’t even know what’s right anymore. We have to keep my heritage a secret or I