Why?
His expression became haunted. My dream was always the sameMom and I were running through the tunnels, trying to get away from the monsters. She was screaming at them to leave me alone, and I was so tired, but I kept going because she was terrified. We were almost at the end when a black cloud swallowed her. At the same time, the exit got really bright and a voice told me to keep running. Then my mom came out of the cloud, picked me up...and thats when Id wake up.
He paused, his mouth curling down. That night, in the same tunnels, Zach showed me what really happened.
After Id seen what Demetrius could do, Id already guessed, but it still made me ache to hear Adrian say it.
What came out of the darkness that day was Demetrius, not my mom. Hed killed her, but he used her appearance to trick me into staying in the realms while he molded me into someone who hated Archons as much as demons did. I didnt think to question why I never saw my mom and Demetrius in the same room, and everyone played along, pretending he was my mother when they knew she was dead. All so when I met the last Davidian, I wouldnt hesitate to fulfill my destiny and betray him. He met my eyes. Or her, as it turns out.
My throat felt tight, both from unshed tears at the merciless manipulations Adrian had been put through back then, and the pain he still carried now. No wonder hed reacted with such horror when Zach told him who I was. I was the destiny hed been groomed for, and then rebelled against by turning his back on the creatures that raised him.
Well, I didnt believe in destiny. Fate couldnt override free will, and just because Adrians ancestors were betrayers didnt mean he was doomed to be. Hed already had several opportunities to hand me over to the demons, yet instead, hed fought them with all the power theyd assumed would be to their benefit. No matter what anyone thought, his choices determined his destiny, not the other way around.
Now to convince Adrian of that.
If your fate was already sealed, Demetrius wouldnt have worked so hard to mold you into a monster. My voice was raspy from all the emotion I held back. He must know your destiny is still up to you. Same with Zach. He helped you back then, and he keeps looking out for you now
Adrians laugh stopped me. For a moment, it sounded so ugly, it couldve come from a demon.
Zach showed me everything that happened in the tunnel that day. Something sharper than pain edged his tone. He was the light I saw at the exit. Ever since, Ive wondered if Zach couldve stopped Demetrius from taking me if hed wanted to. That night at the Mexican sanctuary, when Zach decimated Demetriuss shadows in seconds, I finally got my answer.
Shock made me stammer. But that...thats...
Indifferent at best, cruel at worst? Adrian supplied with another ragged laugh. I know, but Zachll say he was only following orders, so that means his boss doesnt want me to beat my fate. No, Im supposed to play my part like a good little Judas, but screw them. Once Demetrius is dead, Im gone, both from your life and theirs. Its the only way I can pay them back for what they allowed Demetrius to do to me.
I didnt know what to say. Everything hed been through was made more awful by the knowledge that it had all been preventable. Zach shouldve stopped Demetrius, with or without orders. He also should be supporting Adrian now, not telling him to resign himself to a fate he clearly didnt want. Couldnt they see how hard Adrian was trying? Didnt they even care?
If they didnt, I did. I might not be able to do anything about their former betrayals, but I wasnt helpless. I got out of bed and took Adrians hand, tightening my grip when he tried to pull away.
Youre right, I said huskily. Well find the weapon, use it to save Jasmine and kill Demetrius, then well walk away from each other. Both sides can choke on their expectations of your fate. They dont know how strong you are, but I do, and I trust you, Adrian.
He jerked his hand away. Ivy, dont
I trust you, I repeated, gripping his shirt so he either had to stand still or risk me ripping it off. Theres no danger of you betraying me while were working to get this weapon. I can always trust your hatred of demons, remember?
I trust you, I repeated, gripping his shirt so he either had to stand still or risk me ripping it off. Theres no danger of you betraying me while were working to get this weapon. I can always trust your hatred of demons, remember?
Some of the tension eased from his shoulders as I used his own argument to make my point. Yeah, but you still dont understand your full part in this
I do, I interrupted grimly. Tomas and Costa said that only a Davidian or a demon from Goliaths line can bring out the weapons true power, which means I have to be the one to use the slingshot, and Im not even that good with a gun.
He stared at me, emotions flickering across his face too rapidly for me to translate. Then his jaw flexed, and his expression hardened into one I recognized well.
Pure, unadulterated determination.
Ill teach you how to use a slingshot, he said, his voice rougher. With practice, you can do anything.
Then we have a plan, I agreed, smiling because I had another plan. One that involved showing Adrian he didnt have to walk away from me when this was all over, but for now, Id keep that to myself.
Demetrius had said the bond between us would grow every moment that we spent together. Demons were liars, but my heart knew that much was true. Already, I cared about Adrian more than Id cared about any other guy, and hed admitted that he was powerfully drawn to me, too. By the time wed found the weapon, killed Demetrius and rescued Jasmine, I intended to convince Adrian that he wasnt doomed to betray me. Everyone else might have given up on him, but I hadnt, and Id use every bit of our supernatural bond to show him he shouldnt give up, either.
Now to break down the wall hed erected around himself, one stubborn brick at a time.
chapter twenty-four
Adrian was right. Zach didnt even need to look at the boy before he told us that his name was Hoyt, and his family was dead. I was a little skeptical, but Adrian believed Zach. When I asked him why, he reminded me that Zach had told Adrian the exact time and place that minions would attempt to kidnap me. How Zach knew these things, I still didnt know, but according to Adrian, the Archon had never been wrong.
It was all I could do not to ask if Zach had taken the day off when my sister was kidnapped. I didnt because Id bet Zachs response would contain the word orders, and I didnt trust my reaction to that. Until I had the weapon, I needed Zach, plus punching him in the face might be the last mistake I ever made. In this case, ignorance wasnt bliss. It was necessity.
Costa was taking Hoyt to Tomass family in Phoenix. Theyd agreed to shelter the boy, and the long drive would give Costa a chance to share his own realm experience. Hoyt still wasnt speaking, but I held out hope that, with time, hed be able to recover mentally, physically and emotionally.
I had to believe that, for Hoyts sake, and for Jasmines.
This time, Zach glamoured me into looking like a young guy with shiny, cloud-rolling eyes. Having both Adrian and I pose as minions came from our being zero for two on finding the weapon, and two for two on getting caught. Not an auspicious start, but if at first you dont succeed and demons havent killed you...well, trying again was a given.
Collinsville, Illinois, was the proud owner of the worlds largest ketchup bottle. It was also home to over a hundred man-made earthen mounds. Such quaint distinctions shouldve meant the city wasnt a hotbed of demonic activity, but guess again. Tourists visiting the Cahokia Mounds only saw lots of little green hills and one big one amidst a tranquil park, but I saw a bustling populace in a dark, glacial world where the little mounds were a lot bigger, and the big one was a gargantuan pyramid.
I gotta ask, I said, following Adrian to the realm gateway, whats with demons and pyramids?
Ego, he replied succinctly. At my raised brow, he elaborated. The first demons were Archons who rebelled against their boss because they wanted to be masters instead of servants. After they were sent to the dark realms as punishment, they built their kingdoms there, using force to get the worship they craved. Pyramids, castles, towers...theyre the demonic version of bling, so whoever has the biggest and best wins.
And they realm-snatch from each other to get more. I nodded as if it made perfect sense.
The look Adrian gave me made me wonder if Id missed something important. Not just from each other. Every chance they get, they absorb more of our world into theirs.
You never mentioned how, I reminded him.
A shrug. If you believe in M theory, they do it by manipulating gravity to force contact between two dimensional layers, creating a new interdimensional bubble.
He sounded like a physicist. Laymens terms, please.
When a vacuum gets switched on, it sucks whatevers closest into a lint bag, right? When they get enough power, demons use gravity like a vacuums On switch to activate an areas natural geographic instability, crashing one multiverse into its reflective duplicate. Once the gravitational layer restabilizesin essence, the vacuum getting turned offeverything in the new lint-bag realm is trapped.
So gateways are like the hose that runs from the sweeper to the lint bag, I mused, adding, Why do you always grab me when we go through them? Couldnt I make it through myself?
A smile ghosted across his lips. Try it, he said, gesturing to an empty space to his right.
I gave it a doubtful look. Nothings there. All the other realm gateways had markers.
All the others? He snorted. Youve only seen two. More than half the gateways arent marked, Ivy. Thats why theyre so hard to find unless you can feel them.
I didnt feel anything, and all I saw next to Adrian was air and grass. Youre sure its there?
Another snort. Even if I hadnt been through this one before, Id still be sure. Think you could not notice jamming your finger into a light socket? Thats what gateways feel like to me.