"No!" Kurt drew the word out, but it was too late.
Jonah was dead. She'd killed him.
Numb and dizzy, she stared down at her pristine hand. There was no blood there. Nothing left of Jonah except a shimmering film that graced the floor. Iridescent like the wings of a summer butterfly.
She could hear the laughter of the human souls as they finally ascended to their rightful places. But more than that, she heard their gratitude. At least she had saved them. Too bad no one had saved her parents.
"What have you done?" His eyes wide, Kurt stared at her as if she was a stranger.
And she was. She didn't know herself any more than he did. "What have you made me?"
"You were supposed to be stronger. Not ... not-" He gestured wildly at her. "-this."
A weird odor filled her head. It was like sulfur, only stronger. It was ...
"You took demon blood, too," she accused him as she understood what the demon was telling her.
He didn't deny it. "What was I supposed to do? I'll turn twenty-seven in a few months. I don't want to die any more than you do. At least it's better than killing a human."
Was it?
Hannah came out from the back of the house. She stared at Abigail with horrified eyes before she let out a shrill scream.
Abigail covered her ears as pain split her skull. She glared at her "brother." "You lied to me. All of you. You didn't tell me about Daimons."
Kurt narrowed his gaze on her. "You didn't need to know about them."
Oh, now there was an award-winning answer. "You told me the Dark-Hunters were our enemies."
"They are our enemies. They hunt and kill us."
It wasn't that simple. Not anymore. Jess had been right. They had lied to her. Used her. "You have no idea what you've done. What you've set into motion."
You will be known forever by the tracks you leave. Her mother's words haunted her now.
I will be known as the woman who ended the world. She felt so sick. Lost. Confused.
Betrayed.
Kurt grabbed her arm. "Abigail, listen to me. We're not your enemies. We took you in when no one else would have. My parents raised you like one of their own."
But there was more to it than that.
The truth hovered around the fringes of her mind like a ghost she could neither see nor touch. Only feel.
She stared at him as her conscience shredded her over her actions. "I don't trust you anymore."
Hannah stepped forward. "Abby-"
She moved away from Hannah's grasp.
I need to go. She didn't want to be here. It no longer felt like home.
It felt like hell.
She'd taken innocent lives. Killed an elder Guardian. Her life would never be the same. And it shouldn't be. Not after what she'd done. She stumbled back toward the door and went outside. The sky above twinkled with stars. It looked a thousand times brighter tonight than it ever had before.
Why?