“Just calling it as I see it, and the truth is, I don’t see much.”
Eric cocked his head as he listened intently to Eddie. “What do you mean?”
“Just that we don’t have the whole picture. And if Father Donnelly’s running the show atForza, you never will.”
“Father Corletti is still in charge ofForza,” I said loyally. Father Corletti had been like a father to me when I’d grown up as an orphan insideForza’sdorms.
“Maybe,” Eddie said. “But he didn’t know about Father D’s little Frankenstein plan. The way that traitorous bastard helped get the demon inside of that one,” he said pointing to Eric. “Father Corletti didn’t even know the truth after you gave birth to Father D’s monster.”
“Eddie!” There was both shock and anger in my voice.
He waved away my outburst. “Just following the analogy. I couldn’t love that girl more if she really were my great-granddaughter, and you know it. I’m just saying that we thought Eric was supposed to be his secret weapon, but really it was Allie.”
“But Father Donnelly told us that he didn’t realize she had demonic essence inside her,” Stuart said, looking between me and Eric. “When we had that meeting in the Vatican before we headed home. That’s what he said. He wouldn’t lie to us. He’s a priest.”
“You go right on being a good Catholic boy,” Eddie retorted. “But as for me? I never believe a word that man says. And in the end, what does it matter whether he knew or not? The end result is that he got what he wanted. He engineered a new breed of Demon Hunter.”
“Eddie’s right,” Eric said slowly. “Whether he knew that our daughter would have demonic essence or not, she’s what he was trying to accomplish with me. That’s why he wanted her to stay behind in Rome. That’s why he used words like weapon when he talked about needing her to fight the demons.”
My stomach twisted, but I tried to think rationally. To think like a Hunter and not like a mom. And Kate the Demon Hunter knew they were right.
“You said he wasn’t happy when you refused to leave her behind to train,” Eddie reminded me, his fingers sliding over the hilt of the stiletto we’d brought back as a gift from Rome. “I think that’s because he’s not telling you something.”
“What?” I demanded.
“Don’t know. But he’s holding something back. I’m betting there’s more power in that girl than he’s telling you, and we don’t know how it’s gonna come out.”
“Good lord,” Stuart said.
Eric said nothing, but his eyes were on me, and I saw the fear in them.
“She’s a good kid,” I insisted.
“She’s a teenager,” Eddie countered. “And that means she’s gonna go a little wild. Nothing wrong with that. Except that with this one, who the hell knows what wild means?”
I stood up, then started to pace between the living room and the kitchen. I didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to think about all the other things that needed to get done. All the regular mom stuff that had been waiting for me upon our return. Getting ready for the upcoming school year. Taking care of unpacking. Getting back into a workout groove. Grocery shopping. Planning Timmy’s third birthday party. Cleaning out the damn garage.
Normal stuff. Life stuff.
And, honestly, I didn’t think that was too much to ask. After all, we just closed a gate that was going to release all of hell into the world. So surely the universe owed us a little break.
That was only fair, wasn’t it?
CHAPTER 3
Eric grabbed his cane and stood up, and on the other side of the room, Stuart did the same. Eddie didn’t stand, but he reached for the handle on the side of his recliner and tilted all the way back even while he snagged the remote with his other hand.
All in all, the living room was suddenly full of the vibe of finished business, and that was fine with me. I wanted to call Laura. I wanted to think about toddler presents and pre-school guest lists for my little boy, sound asleep in his room despite the family drama. I wanted to inventory the freezer and the pantry and figure out if we had anything to eat in the house.
I wanted to unpack and do laundry. And I’m ninety percent sure there had never been a time in my life where laundry was actually at the top of my wish list. But I’d just returned from a non-vacationy vacation in Rome, and I confess I was craving a little normalcy.
Or, at least, what passed for normal in most families.
But then Eric spoke, and I slammed headfirst back into reality. “We should talk about training Allie,” he said, as I reeled under the force of those words, so heavy with practical, horrible reality. “Kate, I don’t suppose you could make a pot of coffee?”
I wanted to protest simply on principle—about training, not about coffee, even though that would be fair since he knew perfectly well how to operate the coffeemaker—but he was right. Even before we’d learned about Allie’s demonic essence, Father Corletti suggested we formally train her. He’d even raised the possibility of her moving to Rome in order to live in theForzadorms as I had. At first, the idea had thrilled Allie no end, but after learning about her demonic heritage, she’d stopped begging.
I hated the fact that my daughter had to deal with that burden, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the mommy in me melted a bit when she tearfully told me she just wanted to be at home and train with me.
