“I suppose it was a little unfair, though my angel powers, or whatever you want to call them, have been bound until recently.”
“Because you found out the truth?”
“Because others found out I’m still alive.” A chill makes its way through me, and Lucas tightens his hold on me. “The demon that was going around the area, burning witches…it…it was looking for me.” I pause, grinding my teeth for a few seconds while everything sinks in even more.
“Rumors started floating around Hell about the Nephilim who was born twenty-five years ago under a Virgo moon and how I wasn’t actually dead like they were led to believe. So my father thought it would be a good idea to start undoing whatever binding he put on my powers so I could better protect myself, but it puts me at more of a risk of being found by other angels.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Ruby brings her arms closer to her body and eyes my glass of wine.
“It is,” I say, getting up to get the bottle of wine and three extra glasses, knowing Kristy and Abby could use a drink as well. “Nephilim aren’t supposed to live. When the other angels found out about me, I was ordered to death. Hence the baby swapping.”
“Wow.” Ruby blinks a few times and then takes a wine glass from me. I set the glasses on the table and fill each one up. She takes a big drink. “So now what?”
Taking my seat on Lucas’s lap again, I look from Ruby to Kristy, making sure my best friend is interpreting this the way I am. “We do what we always do,” I tell her. “Kill the demons and try not to die in the process.”
Ruby takes another long drink and leans back in her chair, studying me for a second. Then she shifts her gaze to the sword that’s still resting on the middle of the table.
“You were pretty good with that thing,” she muses.
“It’s been a while since I used one,” Lucas says and brushes my hair over my shoulder. “It’s a skill I haven’t forgotten, apparently.” He tangles his fingers in my hair, and I wonder if his mind is going back to his human days when he was forced to fight in the Coliseum.
“I’m lucky you showed up when you did.” I twist, cupping Lucas’s face in one of my hands. My throat still hurts, and I know I’ll be bruised in the morning if I’m not already.
“Luck had nothing to do with it.” Lucas slides one hand up my back. “I knew you’d need me.” He flashes a cocky grin.
“Well, I did. We did.”
“Yeah, we did,” Ruby says, words coming out a little forced. “So, uh, thanks.”
“Dinner.” I let my hands drop from Lucas’s face, turning my attention to my sister. “What can I do to help get it ready? I really am hungry.”
“Um,” she says, rapidly blinking. “I…I think it’s done. I turned the oven off. Strange, isn’t it? I came in and just turned it off. That’s not what I should have been thinking about, but I knew it would burn.”
Abby rubs her forehead, and it’s only then that Ruby does a double-take from me to Abby and back again.
“You’re not really related, are you?” she asks, and I shake my head. “And she knows about…about everything?”
“She does,” I say and get up. “We’re not related, but she’s just as much of my sister now as I thought she was before. Family doesn’t always mean blood.” I smile at Abby and then turn, opening the oven. Warm air whooshes out, and the top of the pasta is perfectly crispy looking. It smells delicious.
“Let me make sure I’ve got this all straight.” Ruby stands, taking her glass of wine with her. “You’re a Nephilim but only found out recently. Your father faked your death and stuck you with a family of nons to be raised in secret. Necromancers are after you, and you think it’s Ruth, seeking revenge.”
“Pretty much.”
She crouches down, holding out her hand for Scarlet to sniff. “I still don’t get how the hellhound fits into this. Who gave her to you? An angel?”
Lucifer is an angel. A fallen angel, but an angel, nonetheless. “Technically, yes.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, it’s a lot to take in. You can’t tell anyone,” I say, and nerves prickle through me again.
Ruby stands up and steps closer. “I won’t. If I’d known…I…I don’t know.” She rubs her forehead and lets out a breath. “I had no idea you were dealing with so much.”
“I’ve kind of gotten used to it,” I say with a shrug. “Though I was really looking forward to going on vacation. I don’t think I’m going to Disneyland next week anymore.”
“We’ll go another time,” Lucas assures me and reaches for the sword. “Your blood is on this,” he says, able to smell it. It sliced through enough root-monsters that my blood has been wiped off the surface, yet somehow, it’s still there.