“—that it’s only the good stuff in me. Strength. Speed. Blah, blah, blah. I know what he said. But how do I know he’s right?”
“You’re scared,” I said. “Rightfully so.” Considering how scared I was I knew she must be terrified. “But Father Donnelly’s as close to an expert as we’ve got. And it’s not as if you’ve ever showed the slightest sign of being evil.”
I forced a grin, gave her hand a squeeze. “I mean, there are times when I’ve thought your room represents the kind of chaos you might find in one of the circles of hell, but?—”
“You aresonot funny,” she said in thatmy mom is an idiottone I knew so well.
“Maybe a little funny?”
Her mouth twitched and I forced myself not to show relief when she cocked her head and said, “Nope. Not even a little.”
“And yet I try so hard.”
I waited for her to say more, but she stayed silent. “What happened?”
She licked her lips, then drew a breath. “I had a nightmare.”
I wanted to relax. I wanted this to be like all those times when she was in elementary school, and I would have to go get her from slumber parties because she’d had a bad dream. But I knew in my gut that wasn’t what was going on this time.
Whatever she’d seen in her sleep, it wasn’t just a nightmare. It was something important. Something horrible. Something that was going to spook me as much as it has spooked her.
I forced my expression not to change as I looked back at her, this time taking both of her hands and leaving Floppy Dog between us. “Can you tell me about it?”
She bit her lower lip, but nodded. Then she closed her eyes and started to speak. “It was—it was that night. You know, the night we got the demon out of Daddy. And in the dream, there was this black slimy goo that seeped into the ground and then oozed over to where Nadia was. Only she didn’t even look like Nadia anymore. She just looked like Lilith. Or, what I think Lilith looks like.”
I nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“I mean, I don’t really know what she looks like. I guess nobody does, but I’ve done all that research and seen all those ancient books with the pictures of demons and stuff. She was supposed to be beautiful and horrible all at the same time, and that’s how she was in my dream.”
She drew in a stuttering breath, then swallowed like she was holding back tears. “But Mom, it wasn’t anything like I’d seen in those books. I think—I think I was seeing what she really looks like.”
I winced, but not from her words. She’d been squeezing my hand, almost cracking my bones. “It’s okay, baby. Go on and tell me the rest.”
“That’s really it. I just— I just think she’s coming back. I think she may already be here. And I’m afraid that she’s going to go after Daddy again.”
I forced my expression not to change as I nodded, trying to pretend like her words didn’t terrify me. Before the beach, I probably would have written this off as a bad dream. Now, though…
Well, now I’m scared.
Consort.
The one who’s blood runs dark.
The demon’s words rattle in my head, haunting me. Terrifying me.
I wanted to hug her close. To reassure her that even if it was a premonition, it didn’t matter. That we would fix it.
But those would be hollow words. Because with every gain, we have losses. And how am I to know what we might lose this time?
So I did the only thing I could do. I hugged her tight, then whispered, “Whatever happens, baby, we’ll face it together.” And then, because she was still my little girl, I added, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your father.”
At that, she actually laughed. “A nice thought, Mom, but I’m old enough to know that you can’t make that promise.”
“Yes, I can,” I said fiercely. “I can make it, and I will do everything in my power to make it come true. But you’re right. I can’t do better than that. All I can promise is that I’ll try.” I hugged her tighter, then pulled back to face her. “Is that enough?”
She nodded. “I love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, Al. More than you’ll probably ever know.”
