“So what I did in Rome—that only locked that one gate for good? The others can still be opened?”
“Only if the key is found.”
“One key was found,” Eric reminded him. “The others could be, too.”
“Indeed. AndForzahas been seeking to find their mystical hiding place for centuries to no avail. Which is both good and bad. Find them, and we can destroy them, thereby ensuring the gates stay closed. But finding them brings them into this world.”
“And then there’s the danger that the bad guys would get it. And then the only hope would be Allie’s blood.”
“Indeed.” He met her eyes. “You will, of course, be expected to have children.”
Her eyes went wide. “Um, hello. Sixteen,” she said at the same time that Eric shoved his chair away and stood. “And just barely. So, yeah. Not breeding.”
“We are not having that conversation. My daughter is not your breeding stock.”
“You know that it is a discussion that must be had. But you are right. We do not have to talk about it now.”
“Mom?”
“It’s okay, baby,” I said, trying to control my own temper. I turned to Father Donnelly. “Right now, our focus is on protecting Allie. Lilith wants to bind with her again. That happens, and your secret weapon becomes useless. And guess what?” I added, as my anger rose. “The reason Lilithcanget into my daughter is because of what you did. So, yes, you bred a child capable of fixing the screw-up of our ancestors. She saved the world. But she saved it at one hell of a price.”
To his credit, Father Donnelly looked genuinely contrite. “I know. And I am sorry about what was done to you. But my family—and yours, Kate, Allie, Eliza—our ancestors created this problem along with Eric’s.”
“But my parents were trying to stop you,” I told him. “They were in Rome to keep you from performing the ritual on Eric.”
“They were, yes. They agreed that we needed a way to lock the gate permanently. To render the missing keys ineffective. But they didn’t agree with our method.”
“Gee, maybe that’s because your method involved putting a demon in a child,” I snapped.
“And that child grew up to be Allie’s father,” he retorted, his voice hard and sharp. “And if we hadn’t—if Eric were not what he is now—then this world would be in ruin now. Because Allie wouldn’t exist in the way she does now. She might not exist at all. She would not have been here to close the gate.”
“You think that makes it right?”
“No. I think it makes us lucky.”
“You put a demon inside me.” Eric’s voice was tight.
“I do regret the pain it has caused you. It should not have. Had you not encountered the Cardinal Fire, the demon inside you would have stayed bound. You would not have suffered the way that you have. For that I am truly sorry.”
“You only think that’s the case. It might have burst free at any time. You ran one hell of a risk.”
To his credit, Father Donnelly nodded. “It is in the past now. I can change nothing. I can only give you my apologies for the pain. As for the fact that Allie now exists—that she is a remarkable young woman with incredible skills—for that I will not apologize.”
“You can’t control me,” Allie said.
“No, you are right. And we are blood, child, and I wish only good things for you. If you choose not to follow this path I would not fault you,” he said, though I didn’t believe him. Not after his comment about Allie’s children.
“But I hope you stay on this path,” he said. “There is a storm of demons coming. More High Demons are breaking through to this world. You have seen this. You’ve fought this. We assume that some are coming through cracks in remaining gates.”
I met Eric’s eyes.Not good. Really not good.
“My hope is that we can find those gates—and their keys—and seal them. Thatyoucan seal them.”
“I hope that means you’re going to help fight Lilith,” I said. “Allie can’t do any of that if a High Demon’s inside her.”
He nodded. “Of course I will help. I’m in San Diablo now, after all.”
“Yeah, why is that?”
