“He reveres Allie, right? She shut that gate thing, didn’t she? That free pass thing? He’d help her, wouldn’t he?”
“And that is the way we do it,” I said. “Excellent work, Ren. Volunteers?”
Marcus and Eliza both raised their hands along with Jared. “Good. Ren’s in charge. Pick your team.”
Ren’s eyes went wide. “Me?”
“It was your plan. You lead it.”
Slightly behind him, Eliza and Marcus looked at each other. I caught Marcus’s eye, and he nodded, silently telling me that he would take over if need be. But I had a feeling Ren was up to the challenge.
“Um, Marcus and Eliza,” Ren said, then cleared his throat. “And, yeah, sorry, Jared. But you’re not going.”
The vampire was at his side in a heartbeat. “Excuse me?”
“Ren already gave you an answer,” Marcus said. “And it was the right one. We’ll have a better shot of getting more information—assuming there is more—if you’re not there. Not you or Kate or Eric. You’re too close.
I watched as Jared seethed, his fangs visible.
“He’s right,” I said, and Jared turned dark eyes on me. “He’s right,” I repeated.
“Fine,” he said, then was on the other side of the room before I could blink. Drama, maybe, but I gave him points. This was the kind of passion and protectiveness I wanted to see in a guy who was dating my daughter. And the speed and strength were a bonus, too.
After the Quiric team headed out, I dismissed the others, telling them we’d gather again in an hour, and to keep brainstorming.
“Not you,” I said, as Eric started to pass. “Eddie said something to me the other day and, oh, hang on.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Laura, asking her to bring Eddie back with her when she and Cutter brought Timmy.
“I’ll ask him when he gets here, but in the meantime, he said something to me, and I’m not sure if it’s legit or if he was just making stuff up.”
“I’m listening.”
We were still in Stuart’s room, and we sat in the two chairs by the bed so that Stuart could listen, too.
“It was the first time that Stuart talked,” I said, noticing the way Stuart’s brow furrowed with that comment. “We were at the house, remember? And Eddie said something about how maybe he had a piece of Lilith in him. A piece. Is that even possible? Can a demon—or a High Demon—split themselves like that?”
“Like mercury,” Eric said. “And then eventually the two blobs go back together?”
“You’re talking science. I’m just asking if it’s a thing.”
“Not that I’ve heard of,” Eric said. “Demonic essence is incorporeal, obviously, but my understanding is that it’s still a whole entity. Then again, Eddie’s seen a lot of things in his time. Maybe there are exceptions.”
Stuart lifted his hand, catching my attention. “Did you just say that there’s a piece of the demon Lilith in me?”
“Eddie was just running through ideas,” I told him. “We practically drenched you in holy water. You’re fine. You’re fine,” I repeated as much to soothe him as myself.
“But why did you think there was a demon in me at all?”
“You said things,” I told him gently. “Cryptic things. Do you remember any of them? Maybe you saw something while you were unconscious? Did you have visions? Maybe you saw something to suggest where Lilith might be?”
I waited for answers. For him to have anahamoment and tell me that he pictured a tacky mansion where Lilith was sitting in a gilt chair in a ball gown with her legs crossed, just waiting for us to enter and be struck down.
Of course he didn’t say that. Instead he said, “I don’t remember any of it. I don’t remember anything at all. There was nothing after the table, except for Jared. I remember him pulling me away. Then there was nothing. Then I woke up. It felt like no time had passed at all.” He looked between us. “What did I say?”
“The first time you said something about Allie. You saidBecarefulandAllie. Then you paused before sayingisn’t.Does that mean anything to you?”
“No, but it sounds like I was telling her to be careful, and that something wasn’t safe.”
