“Is that what the sword does?” Patti asked. “Sends souls to hell?”
Dad eyed the hilt with discomfort. “It disperses justice as God would have it. It can send a soul somewhere, or it can wipe a soul from existence. It knows what to do when it hits. Go ahead and touch it, baby. Don’t be afraid.”
I stared at it for a long time before wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts. With shaking hands I opened the top of the leather casing and let the hilt slide out a few inches. I sucked in a breath and brought my hands down to the shimmery metal.
I gasped as an electric current blasted through my skin, zapping up my arm. Then I curled my fingers around the hilt and let the buzz throb through my body. No flaming sword came to life from the hilt, because I wasn’t in danger. But it worked. It recognized my heart and would allow me to wield it. Every cell of my body was alive with its energy.
Patti and Dad were both watching me, their eyes shining with hope and love.
I could do this. I wanted to live with purpose. I needed there to be a worthwhile reason for all the pain.
I slid the hilt back into its case.
“Dad?”
“Hm?” He glanced up, having been lost in his own imaginings.
“When can I go to California? To tell Blake and Kaidan?” His eyes narrowed at me and I fumbled on, a tightness clamping over my insides. “’Cause they live the closest. They need to know, right? Allies and all?”
He entwined his fingers and put them behind his head. “Maybe I’ll tell them myself.”
My shoulders slumped, and I quickly squared them back again. He was testing me. Patti could tell, as well. She crossed her arms.
“Okay,” I said, unable to keep the hint of bad attitude from my voice. “Just so long as they know about it. Soon.” I crossed my arms to match Patti.
Dad closed his eyes. “Anna.”
“Yes?”
“How long’s it been since you saw the son of Pharzuph?”
Oh, crap. “Um . . . a day?”
Two giant brown eyes popped open.
“Just for a few minutes at a record store,” I clarified. “Pharzuph was out of town.”
He grumbled a muffled curse into his hand, then asked, “He called you?”
“No. He won’t talk to me. I found out about it from my friend Jay.”
Dad nodded. Where was he going with this?
“You still got a crush on him?” He linked his fingers on the table in front of him.
“It’s not a crush, Dad.”
He sighed. “And that’s exactly why it’s not a good idea for you to see him, Anna. He seems to understand that. Why don’t you?”
I bit down hard, not trusting myself to answer.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be harsh, but you still don’t have that killer instinct most Neph come to learn during childhood. You’re not cautious enough in your relationships. You can be mad at me all you want, but it’s my job to keep you out of danger. Over time your feelings for him will fade.”
“You of all people know it doesn’t work like that,” Patti said to him. “You spent hundreds of years looking for Anna’s mother.”
He sat back in his chair, regarding her with wary respect and I wanted to punch the air. He knew she was right. He’d scoured the earth looking for Mariantha—my mother, a guardian angel whom he’d never stopped loving. Dad gave me a slow nod.
“The fact is, you’ll be less distracted with him out of the picture. So, for now, no trips to California, and I don’t want to hear anything else about him. Got it?”
Patti winked at me.
“Got it,” I whispered.
He’d said “for now.” It was a flimsy phrase to cling to, but still I clung.
CHAPTER FIVE
FIRST ASSIGNMENT
Five weeks passed that summer without hearing from Dad. The good thing was, whisperers were checking on me only once every couple of weeks. The bad thing was, I hated being kept in the dark, and I was impatient. Summer was flying by and I’d been hoping to get some things accomplished before the start of senior year.
I sat on our balcony after my jog, wishing for a breeze in the stifling late morning air.
Patti came out and handed me a steaming mug of coffee.
“You work today?” Patti asked.
I shook my head. “Tomorrow.” I still had my job at the soft-serve stand.
She took a long drink of her coffee and grinned. “Wanna hear something weird? I feel like spending some of that demon loot.”
I almost choked on the sip I’d just taken. Patti never wanted to spend money, especially the haul Dad had given us. She laughed at my expression.
“Come on,” she said. “It’ll be fun. Let’s go crazy.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I said.
We were worn out by the time we headed home. A good song came on the country station, and Patti cranked up the volume. We belted out the twangy chorus so loudly it’s a wonder I heard my cell phone ring. I turned down the radio and my heart hammered at the sight of Dad’s number.
“Where are you?” he grumbled.
“I’m on my way home with Patti.”
“From where?”
Biting my thumbnail, I mumbled, “Atlanta.”