“I know,” Grimm said, his face hardening. “And I’m about to deal with it.”
Taking her best friend’s head between his hands, the Seeker pulled her face level with his. “Charlene, remember, your brother is alive.”
Charlene looked at him, tears falling down her eyes. “No. I saw you. He’s… he’s…”
Grimm closed his eyes and squinted his features. “Remember, he’s alive.”
Charlene shook her head, letting out a pitiful “no” before collapsing back into her sobs.
Grimm released his hold on her and stood up. In the blink of an eye, he was punching the wall, once, twice, repeatedly until his knuckles began to bleed.
“What’s happening?” Gemma didn’t understand, but she also didn’t have time to waste on whatever kind of meltdown the Seeker was having. Still, she couldn’t leave her friend, not like this.
“The memory won’t implant. Her disorder, it fucks with my powers. It would take me hours, maybe days, to unravel the web she’s got built in there.”
Gemma’s eyes narrowed.The memory won’t implant.So Grimm could control memory. That made sense of Cal’s lapse after her incident with the data terminal. Grimm had manipulated his mind.
“Go to Sanri. Make her stop the illusion.”
Grimm nodded, then paused. “Even that might not work. She’s got it in her memory now that her brother’s dead. She won’t believe otherwise unless she has proof.”
Without wasting a moment, he bent down to pick up Charlie from the floor. This time, she didn’t struggle in his arms but just continued to sob uncontrollably. “I’m taking her home.”
“Wait!” Gemma shouted, releasing the illusion and jumping up to follow him. “You can’t just take her! What are you doing?”
Her brain might be as powerful as a supercomputer, maybe even more powerful, but she couldn’t figure out what was happening. She was in the middle of a pitched battle against him and his kind, and he was going to take a time out and cart a meaningless human back to Territh so she could see her kid brother? Who, by the way, was now almost a grown man?
There was no way this man was going to hurt her best friend any more than he currently was. She hadn’t agreed to fight the ultimate battle against evil. She was just a civilian casualty.
Grimm kicked his way out into the hallway and strode down the corridor. Gemma had to jog to keep up with his long strides. She grabbed his arm, and it was like obsidian beneath her fingers. “She’s just a human. She’s not part of this.”
“Leave it be, Guardian. You’re getting what you want. A free pass. Use it wisely.”
“I don’t understand.”
“And you’re supposed to be the smart one.” Grimm eyed her. “I don’t have time to explain it to you. Suffice it to say that I’m abandoning my post, going AWOL. I’m sure this won’t end well, but at this point, I can’t say that I care anymore.”
Gemma frantically considered his words. “You’re in love with her. And you’re getting her out of here so she won’t get hurt. You’re going to try and make her better, which means you’re turning your back on your kind.”
Grimm nodded. “I’m a traitor, and they’re not going to take that lightly. But none of that matters anymore.She’sthe only thing that matters to me.”
“Make this better, Seeker,” Gemma said, patting him on the arm.
He nodded once, then took the turn toward the exit.
Grimm loved Charlie, enough to sacrifice everything. He was a demon, born and bred in Hell to destroy the light, and yet even demons were vulnerable to love. Perhaps even demons had a shot at redemption. For Charlie’s sake, she hoped so.
Although she feared for her friend, she knew Grimm’s decision to go could only make their odds of survival better. Gemma continued her exploration of the wards, hope filling her chest with warmth.Sanri’s powers can’t touch me, and Grimm’s gone. Maybe we do have a chance.
If Cal had been so devastated, Gemma would have done anything to relieve him of the pain.And he could be in the midst of that devastationright now.All the hope she’d just felt froze solid in her chest. She picked up her pace, sprinting down the hallways.
I have to find him. He was everything she’d always wanted. Now that she’d had a taste of how sweet life could be, Gemma couldn’t give it up. She just prayed he could hold on until she could get to him and figure out a way to get them out of here.
She turned the corner and saw Cal toward the other end of the hall. Without thinking, she smiled, locking eyes with the handsomest man she’d ever seen. His gaze burned into her, and hope rushed back to urge her on.
Taking a step forward, she was abruptly jerked off her feet. Powerful arms spun her around and pinned her to the wall, holding her loosely by her throat. Her legs dangled against the wall, helpless in comparison to the massive strength of the blond Seeker before her.
“You’re the little mindless one,” he said, his eyes narrowing and locking onto hers. “Grimm thinks you’re the Guardian.”
