to explain is that stone is subtle. Your parents didn’t realize anything was wrong because the stone only affected you in one part of your life—your relationship with Erna. It was the same with my husbands. They weren’t affected at all unless the wizard who put the stone there was involved. You can’t let guilt eat you up.”
His eyes finally met mine and I saw his confusion. “Why do I feel guilty? I know on an academic level that none of this was my fault. It was done to me, but I can’t help but think I should have known something was wrong.”
“Because you’re human and it’s kind of what we do,” I replied with utter sympathy. This was a hard lesson to learn, and I knew centuries-old beings who hadn’t mastered the skill yet. “Believe me. I know how this is going to go with my husbands. Dev will be rational and forgive himself because he’ll know there was nothing he could do, and my Danny will internalize it for a very long time until it threatens to drag him under. Be Dev, not Danny.”
That actually got a little smile from the kid. “I’ll try.” He sobered again. “This wizard…one of the things I remembered about the prophecy was the wizard. Do you think it’s the same one? Kelsey called him Satanspawn. The witch who prophesized my future mentioned the spawn.”
“Yes, I do believe that. How much has Kelsey told you about Myrddin?” I knew she hadn’t spent much time with the kid, but she’d managed to figure out how important he was.
“Not much, though I know the legends. Kelsey told me Nimue is with him. Some of the witches who trained me worship her.”
I would bet Kelsey didn’t want to scare the kid off, but I thought we’d moved past that now. “Yes, Nimue is with him, but I think he did the same thing to her. I’ve known Nim for a long time, but she’s changed radically. I think she’s in his thrall the same way Dev and Danny were. It’s imperative if we’re going to deal with Myrddin that we get Nimue back on our side.”
“So we’re not merely dealing with one badass wizard,” Dean said with a huff. “We’ve got to handle the most powerful witch on all the planes, too.”
I had to be honest with him about how bad this could get. And how important he was. “Dean, on the Earth plane there’s a prophecy that only two beings can kill Merlin Satanspawn. He arranged the death of one of those two beings. The other was a child not yet born. He had a Planeswalker take his mother off world.”
“Me.” He nodded. “I’m the reason my mother was kidnapped. It wasn’t because she’s a consort.”
I knew all about that. “Trust me. Her chances of disappearing and never being heard from again were high because she has that glow. But the reason she came on the demon’s radar was Myrddin. I think the reason we ended up coming through that portal was to find you, Dean. To find you and Summer and bring both of you home with us.”
“Because I’m the only one left who can do it. Myrddin killed the other one.”
This ethical quandary was what Kelsey had been trying to avoid. Yes, Myrddin had killed Lee Owens, but his soul now abided in another body—my son’s. I wanted to throw this whole thing on Dean so my son never once had to think about getting involved. But Dean had a mom, too. One who loved him. He had a dad who, like Daniel, hadn’t had a real part in his conception, but who was still his loving father. He was a young man who wanted to do good, and I couldn’t lie to him. I couldn’t become the second strike in his day. “Fate is a funny thing. The man he killed was reincarnated, and he’s growing up in the same household Myrddin resides in now.”
Dean’s eyes went wide. “Are you saying there’s a child who can kill him?”
“One day.” Even saying the words made my heart pound. “He’s my son. His name is Lee Donovan-Quinn and he’s human. He’s only eleven years old and he’s so special. I’ll be honest. I don’t know if he can still hurt Myrddin. I’m not completely sure that the prophecy is still in play or if it was only about the Lee he used to be, but I do know if Myrddin ever found out where