Sins of the Innocent - Jamie McGuire Page 0,21
to her side, using her free hand to hold my head to her cheek. Her entire body was tense, as if she were bracing for the worst pain imaginable. A tear fell down my cheek, but it wasn’t mine.
“Jared,” she said, “you will keep your promise. You will protect our baby. She didn’t ask for this.”
“Nina,” Dad began.
“She is my daughter. I won’t let them take her from me because of some stupid cosmic game. Do you understand me? I won’t.” Her fingers pressed into my skin, and she sucked in a breath.
Bex spoke, “None of us will, Nina. We’ve all promised to keep her safe.”
Dad stood up and knelt in front of my mom and me, placing one hand on her cheek and the other on my knee. “We’re going to figure this out. We’ve beaten fate before.”
“I’m not afraid, Mom.”
Her teeth clenched, as if she were experiencing the worst kind of torture, the kind only a mother could feel, the kind you couldn’t see. She held it in, refusing to set it free in front of me.
Her expression hardened, and she forced a smile. “Good. You don’t have to be. I might be just a human, but I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I nodded, not wanting to argue with her. She was in enough pain.
“What else did he say?” Dad asked.
“That I’m like Mom,” I said, wiping her wet cheek. She smiled. “And that it’s okay to cry.”
Her bottom lip trembled, but still, she held it in.
“And?” Dad prompted. “Anything else?”
“That Levi has decided to be my ally. That Hell’s Bible foretelling Levi causing my death doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll kill me.”
Dad’s entire face compressed.
“Who?” Ryan asked.
“Levi,” Bex said.
Ryan looked to his wife. “Who’s Levi?”
Claire’s mouth fell open and then snapped shut. She wasn’t afraid. She was amused. “The Levi?”
“Leviathan,” Dad seethed.
Claire nodded. “That would explain the drudens. Trying to throw her off the scent maybe.”
Bex nodded to confirm. “I’m still watching him. He has an agenda, but I don’t think it’s to kill her.”
“When you find out, tell me,” I quipped. “I’m curious to know what made him change his allegiance, if it’s even true.”
“Eli would know Levi’s heart,” Bex said. “If he said it, it’s true.”
Dad touched his finger to his lips, lost in thought. “Failure means death. Did Eli elaborate on that?”
“He said I wouldn’t fail.”
“Damn straight you won’t. You’re a Ryel,” Claire said with an encouraging smile.
Mom relaxed.
Grandmother finally spoke from her corner, “Well, finally, some good news.” She pulled back a stray hair and tucked it back into her French bun, patting the rest as she attempted to hide her concern.
“Tell them about the neutrality,” Bex said.
The air in the room changed, humming and restless. Everyone shifted in their seats as they waited—not because of what I might say, but because everyone but Mom could feel the Others concentrating around the house, even more than usual.
“That’s enough for me for one day,” Grandmother said, straightening her blazer as she stood. She touched her chest and then nodded to Mom before leaving the room, her heels clicking down the hall to the other side of the house.
“I’m not on your side or anyone’s side. To keep the Balance, I must be for and against Heaven and Hell.”
Mom looked to Bex. “What does that mean?”
“It means that she is a killer of the Others, as we thought. She is also a killer of Archs.”
“Well,” Mom said, fidgeting with her necklace, “Archs don’t break the rules, so this family has nothing to worry about.”
“Technically,” Bex said, “this family was created because of a broken rule. Kind of an important one.”
“So what?” Mom said, breathing out a laugh. “Is she supposed to kill us?”
Bex frowned. “If it threatened the Balance, yes, or she would be struck down.”
Mom swallowed and glanced at me before looking to Dad for comfort.
Ryan sat forward, his backside just barely on the edge of the sofa. “Exactly what threatens the Balance?”
Dad took in a deep breath. “Humans are not to be influenced.”
Ryan shrugged. “So, wouldn’t that mean the Bible threatens the Balance?”
Dad shook his head. “No. Only actions by the Others or Archs. Direct supernatural interference is forbidden. That is why these things aren’t rampant.”
“These things?” I asked.
Dad’s expression turned somber. “Why prayers aren’t always answered, Eden. Cancer, genocide, war. When help arrives just a few minutes too late. Archs are guardians, not superheroes. They are bound by rules, and this is why people aren’t always saved. It’s the same reason possession