Both she and Hannah had thought it was a load, but Jonah had insisted, and for years, he'd take night trips out to the desert to look for it.
"Jonah didn't find the serum. He found Coyote, who told him that the legend was real and that if he'd help Coyote find the two jars that contained it, Coyote would share. They were still looking for it when..." She passed a harsh stare to Abigail. "Jonah died. Anyway, they've been working together for decades now. So when Coyote called Kurt and asked him to round up Daimons to kill a Dark-Hunter, we came."
Abigail's heart stopped beating. "We?"
"I took gallu blood with Kurt. I don't want to kill humans, Abby, but I don't want to die either. I figure no one will miss a demon."
Grateful for her compassion and humanity, Abigail hugged her. "I love you, little sister."
"I love you, too. It's why I couldn't let them kill you. Even if you are with the enemy." Hannah pulled a small box out of her jacket and pressed a button on it.
Jess breathed a sigh of relief. She'd turned off the damper.
Hannah hung her head down. "I feel like I've just betrayed one family member for another."
Abigail shook her head. "You haven't betrayed Kurt. He doesn't want me dead, does he?"
"I don't know. He's so angry and hard to read. Especially when it comes to Jonah. You know how close the two of them were. But I don't want to live like that. It takes too much energy to hate. I'd rather get on with my life than worry about someone else's."
Jess cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to find Ren."
"He's probably in the lower chamber."
Abigail arched her brow at that. Hannah had responded without any thought whatsoever. "How much time have you spent here?"
"Too much. Coyote..." Hannah paused as if seeking the right adjective for him.
"What?" Abigail prompted.
She squirmed like she used to do as a kid whenever she'd done something she thought their parents might punish her for. "Promise you won't hate me if I tell you something."
Abigail went cold with dread. What was wrong now? "Tell me what?"
"Promise me first."
Oh, she could wring her little sister's neck whenever she played these stupid games. "All right. I promise."
Hannah licked her lips and glanced about nervously. "Coyote was the one who killed your parents."
That news slammed into her with the force of gale winds and left her reeling. "What?"
She nodded. "He wanted your mom, but she wouldn't have anything to do with him. He'd gone to see her in various disguises and tried to seduce her. No matter what he did, she wouldn't look at him. Apparently the last time, she said something she shouldn't have and he killed them for it."
Abigail was flabbergasted. And she would have denied it, but it all made sense now. It hadn't been Jess in her room. It'd been Coyote wearing his skin. "How do you know this?"
"Jonah. He got drunk one night back when we were dating and told me all about it. He was there with Coyote when he did it."
It was just as she'd seen in her house. That was why the voice had seemed so familiar to her.
"I should have told you when I found out, but Kurt and the others were in love with the idea of turning you into their own personal Terminator to slay the evil Dark-Hunters. It's all they talked about. They saw you as the perfect weapon against our enemies."
The sad thing was, she had been.
And Abigail didn't know what to say to that. Raw emotions warred inside her. Anger, hatred, betrayal. And even relief. At least she finally knew the truth about the night her parents died.
"Thank you, Hannah."
"You're not mad?"
"Not at you." Kurt and the others, she could kill over it.
Most of all, it was Coyote blood she wanted. That need was so strong that it bubbled up inside her like a volcano.
"Hey, Jess?"
Jess turned his attention to Sasha. "Yeah?"
He pointed to Abigail.
Jess looked over at her, then actually jumped when he saw what she looked like.
Holy shit. She barely looked human right now.
In fact, all three of them took a step back as they saw her eyes. They weren't just red. They had stripes of orange laced through them.
Her teeth grew longer, and there was an evil aura around her that said she was open for business.
Jess approached her slowly. Any sudden movement might make her gut him. "Baby?"
Abigail put her hand on his chest to stop him from coming any closer. "Not this time, Jess." Her voice sounded like it had reverb on it. "I want the blood of Coyote, and I won't be stopped."
Normally, he'd have stopped her anyway. But you know what?
Payback's a bitch, and this one was way overdue. If she wanted to rip Coyote's head off and play basketball with it, he'd bring the net.
"I've got your back, Abs."
Sasha screwed his face up. "You're going to make me get her back, too, aren't you?"
He gave the wolf a droll stare. "You wanna live?"
"Some days." Sasha let out a long, tired groan. "Fine. I'll follow even if it kills me, and it better not."
When Abigail started toward the lower chamber, Hannah fell in line to go with them.
As soon as Abigail noticed her slinking behind Sasha, she stopped her. "I want you to sit this one out."
Hannah scowled. "I don't understand."
"If anyone sees you aiding a Dark-Hunter..."
"I'm aiding my sister."
Abigail was touched by the offer. But she knew exactly what kind of repercussions Hannah would have. From everyone. "They won't see it that way, and you know it." They would make her life a living hell, and they might even drive her out of their community.
Hannah sighed. "Fine. Take care of you." It was a line from their favorite girl movie, Pretty Woman.
Abigail hugged her again. "Take care of you." Then she set her sister aside and accessed the part of her that was still foreign and terrifying.
The demon.
Jess exchanged a wary grimace with Sasha. The old school cowboy in him didn't like giving such a tiny woman the lead in anything so dangerous. His job was to protect the woman he loved. Not put her in the line of fire.
But he knew if he said that out loud, she'd have his boys for jewelry and make him pay for eternity for his chauvinistic ways. So he rode herd on his tongue, but stayed extra vigilant where she was concerned.
If anyone came for her, they'd answer to him.
And he'd gut them for it.