I slid my arms around his neck, shifting until I was draped across his lap instead of straddling him. Then I closed my eyes, sighing as I got as comfortable as possible. I wasn’t afraid to fall asleep next to him, demon-possessed or not. Nothing in this world or under it would make Bones drop his guard and endanger me while I was vulnerable.
“I love you,” I whispered, tucking my head under his chin.
Something teased at my subconscious right as I felt myself drift off. Balchezek, talking about the intricacies of simultaneous possession of vampires. The upside is that if you pull it off, you’re not limited to only possessing your anchor’s human family. You could also go up to the third or fourth generation of your anchor’s siring bloodline . . .
Wraith was the female demon’s anchor, but that meant she should only have been able to possess Bones first. Once in Bones, she could have split off into the other vampires when they fell asleep; everyone at the cabin except Denise was within the required first four generations of the same vampiric bloodline. But it wasn’t Bones that the demon had mutilated in that hotel room in order to force her first simultaneous possession. That had been Annette, yet Wraith and Annette weren’t related as he and Bones were, so that shouldn’t have been possible, unless . . .
I bolted upright, startling Bones. “What?” he demanded.
“Bones. I— I think Annette might be the person who changed Wraith into a vampire two centuries ago.”
THE SUN WAS just starting to set when Balchezek suddenly appeared in our underground hideout.
“Got some news,” he announced. He might disparage ghosts, but he had a lot in common with them when it came to unexpected entrances. “Let’s talk topside so we can have some privacy.”
“Go,” Bones said when I hesitated, hating the need to treat him this way because of the enemy inside him. But I pushed that back and threw on some clothes, then met Balchezek outside by the side of the road, where it was impossible for Bones to overhear us. Ian was there, too, eyeing the demon expectantly.
“I did some digging about how you boot the demon from your pals,” Balchezek started. “I was right! There is a way aside from the bone-knife-to-the-eyes approach, and the only person who has to die is the demon’s main anchor.”
“Wraith,” I said, feeling torn. “We’d have to kill Wraith?”
Balchezek beamed. “Who’s your favorite demon, huh? Told you I’d earn the revoltingly high check you’re going to give me.”
“But you said before that you could save Bones and all the others without killing them,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, your other friends.” A shrug. “Didn’t think you considered Wraith your friend.”
“I don’t, but if he’s possessed, an innocent man who happens to be my husband’s brother is still in there somewhere,” I replied sharply.
Balchezek sighed. “If you believe in the na?ve idea that anyone’s innocent, then that’s true. Look, I hate to use a cliché, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs, okay? You have to choose between the lives of all your friends or the life of one stranger you just happen to be related to.”
I said nothing, but my jaw clenched, the only outward sign of the roiling emotions that crested through me.
“If it helps, I doubt he has much personality left,” Balchezek went on. “I told you that Hazael would’ve had to possess her anchor when he was still human. How long do you think your boy has been a vampire? Because that’s how long he’s been possessed. Probably a vegetable by now.” A shrug. “Like I said, if your kind were easy to squat inside, my people wouldn’t be afraid of ruffling your feathers. We’d have taken you over millennia ago instead.”
Two centuries of being possessed. Even if Wraith did have any consciousness left, he must be a madman after having his will hijacked that long. No one’s sanity could endure that much stress.
“If it’s the only way to save the others, then Wraith dies,” Ian stated.
I wanted to disagree, to find another way, because it was awful enough to sentence an innocent man to die for the greater good, but even worse when that man was the brother Bones never knew. Yet I said nothing, and my silence confirmed my acceptance.
I was glad we couldn’t tell Bones this. He’d think we were withholding information because we didn’t want the demon in him overhearing our plots, but I didn’t want Bones to carry the guilt over it. He’d taken vengeance against my father so I wouldn’t have to. The least I could do was carry the sin of his brother’s blood on my hands versus his. I might not like sacrificing Wraith’s life, but if it was a choice between him or Bones, that was no choice to me.
And the demon didn’t seem to realize it, but he’d revealed another important detail. I exchanged a glance with Ian, who nodded almost imperceptibly. He’d caught it, too.
“When do we strike?” I asked.
“Have to wait until mid-December,” Balchezek replied.