She claims she was married. She claims she had a child of her own, one whose life was taken by a demon. And she claims that after years of standing by Aidan’s side, he forced her to give up her powers in exchange for helping her poor daughter’s beleaguered spirit move on.
She says Aidan never made good on his promise. She says her daughter’s spirit still lingers here on Earth. Yet that woman can’t find it, so even I can’t help the poor child move on.
That woman won’t stop crying.
I want to turn her away, but I know how it feels to be betrayed by Aidan, just as I know how it feels to trust him with the most sacred parts of yourself. After the things we exposed to that child while she was in the womb . . . just thinking about it makes me tremble. That baby, and the things we did to her—all of it was a mistake.
As became crystal clear the very instant she was born.
I trusted Aidan to do what had to be done. I trusted that woman too. I thought they understood the girl had to be destroyed, no matter how tiny her pink hands and feet, how piercing her cries, how round her little mouth, or how green her enormous eyes.
It was months before I realized he didn’t do what we’d discussed. That he’d allowed the child to thrive. I must admit it: for one selfish instant I was relieved. More than relieved—I was overjoyed. But I shoved my joy aside. Such feelings didn’t matter: the child must be eliminated, no matter my personal feelings on the matter. There was the greater good to bear in mind.
Aidan refused to see reason. He wouldn’t reveal the child’s location. I did everything in my power to find her. Most of our people rallied to my side, but even our collective powers weren’t enough to locate her. The child was only an infant when Aidan took her, and by the time I discovered what he had done, it was impossible to distinguish her from the other lost and abandoned children. We checked every foster home, every adoption record, but there was no sign of her. Aidan erased all traces of the girl.
So I waited. It was only a matter of time. Now that she has come into her powers, I can sense her. After all, my blood pumps through her veins as well.
And now, here is that woman telling me that Aidan used her offspring for the girl’s test. Telling me she knows where the girl is now. Weeping as she admits that for all these years her loyalties were misplaced. She offers to lead me to her.
I won’t think about what that baby might have grown up to look like, sound like, act like all these years later. I won’t hope she was raised with love and support, that she had a good life up until now. I won’t be proud of her for passing her test.
I will only find the girl—and eliminate her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Danger
Aidan is waiting at the house when Mom and I get home from the hospital, wearing yet another perfectly pressed suit. This one is slate gray, with a pale blue tie secured tightly around his neck. I wonder if he even owns a pair of jeans, like the ones I’m wearing as I close the car door behind me. I wonder if he thinks that my mother is a slob because she’s still wearing the scrubs she wore when he met her, the same ones she slept in, sitting beside my hospital bed all night long.
“You should get packed,” Aidan instructs as we step inside the house. I notice he doesn’t wait for Mom to invite him in.
“Packed?” I echo.
“Wait a minute,” Mom interjects. “I said my daughter could begin her training with you. I had no idea that meant you’d be taking her away.”
Aidan nods solemnly. “I understand your hesitation. But I’m afraid we cannot afford to waste any more time.”
“You mean that what happened last night might happen again?” Mom blinks and I shudder, remembering how cold I was in the car.
“No,” Aidan answers. “Although, I suppose it might. But that is not the danger I’m concerned about at the moment.”
“My daughter is in danger?”
“She’s been in danger almost from the moment she was born.”
I reach out and take Mom’s hand. “What do you mean?”
“All I can tell you is you’re not safe here anymore and I’m taking you someplace where you will be.”
“Safe from what?”
He doesn’t answer.
“I’m not letting you take my daughter away from me without a good reason.”
“There are about a dozen reasons, all of them very good,” Aidan looks directly into Mom’s eyes. “But I can’t explain now.” He glances at his watch. “Time is of the essence.” Despite the cool January air, I think I see a hint of sweat on his upper lip. Wherever he’s taking me, he wants to get on the road right away.
“Will my birth mother be there?”
“No,” Aidan sets his lips into a line so straight and firmly shut that I can tell he’s not going to elaborate.
“What about school? It literally just started again.”
“Believe me, school isn’t important right now. The lessons you have to learn—”