Sins of the Innocent - Jamie McGuire Page 0,31

town where the warehouse sat alone behind a chain-link fence, surrounded by bare ground and patchy grass.

I ran from the car to the front door. Deciding to bypass the traditional entry, I instead climbed the wall to the windows and slipped through a broken pane.

Though I’d moved silently through the warehouse, both Dad and Levi were facing me when I entered the vast room where we usually waited for Eli. The air was stagnate, very different from the so many times I’d visited that building before. Levi’s presence made the warehouse seem ominous instead of home even though his eyes turned bright the moment he saw me.

He took a step, as if he’d forgotten himself for a moment.

“Eden,” Dad said, his tone harsh, “why are you here?”

“This meeting is about me, right?” I said, approaching them.

Dad blinked, glancing at Levi. “He … it’s true. He’s renounced his position. He’s completely detached from his father.”

“I know,” I said.

“Then let me help you,” Levi said.

I took a step, angry. “I don’t need your help. I need you to stay away from me.” My bones shuddered, my senses picking up a familiar presence. “What is Bex doing here? I thought he was checking on Allison.”

Dad sighed. “He’s just … sitting in.”

I clenched my teeth. “Stop. Stop lying to me. I’m not a child.”

Dad and Levi traded glances.

Levi lifted his hands and let them fall back to his thighs. “Bex noticed something new when I attacked you.”

“No,” I breathed, already knowing what they were about to say.

Dad touched my shoulder. “All this time, he hasn’t found his Taleh. Now, we know why.”

“I don’t believe it,” I said. “How is that even possible?”

Dad frowned. “Levi is mortal. When he renounced his father, he was given protection.”

I puffed out a breath, raking back my bangs with my fingers. “So, now, we have to make sure Levi stays alive, so Bex is okay.”

Dad nodded.

“How am I supposed to stay away from him if he’s Bex’s Taleh?” I wailed. “Are you freaking kidding me? I am being set up to fail! How is that fair? And Bex is too pale to be Cimmerian. Who decided that a hybrid should be the one to protect the son of Satan? I don’t care that we don’t or can’t understand it. None of this makes sense!”

Dad shook his head. “Eli named Levi as an ally, Eden. We have to trust that. I don’t think you’re supposed to stay away from him.”

“So, I’m just supposed to fail and die. This is not forgiveness,” I said, pointing to the floor in protest. “This is not a second chance and definitely not mercy. This is punishment. I’m being punished.”

Levi reached out for me. “I won’t let that happen. I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”

I glared at Levi. “I don’t love you. And even if I did, you’re not even part of Hell anymore, so …”

Levi breathed out a laugh. “Exactly. Exactly! I’m on your side, no one else’s. You’re not going to fail. You’re still neutral.”

Dad shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I want to look into this further. There’s more to it than your past with Levi. You were sent here for a second chance, and now, Levi has abandoned his dominion. This turn of events is nowhere in either of the texts, Hell’s or Heaven’s, but I have a theory. The prophecies in those texts speak of dying, that you’re destined to kill one another. But because of Levi’s choice, I have to assume that we’ve interpreted it wrong. That’s what Eli meant when he said the punishment for failing is death, but you won’t be killed.” He smiled. “It means you were both stripped of your immortality.”

“Why is this a good thing?” I asked.

“In that case,” Dad explained, “the prophecy has already been fulfilled. You upset the Balance, and both of you were sent to Earth as mortals, which has happened.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Eli would have told me.”

“His purpose is to guide you,” Dad said.

“So, what do we do?” I asked, looking to both of them.

“Let’s go for a drive,” Levi said, relief washing over his face.

Dad’s brows pulled in. He seemed conflicted, but he pushed his fists into his pockets and took a step back, a gesture of his consent.

“You trust him?” I asked Dad.

“Eli trusts him. It’s important that we figure out a strategy.”

“For what?” I asked.

Levi took a step toward me. “To keep you alive.”

“But doesn’t this solve our problem? The