Arabella
“Bells? You listening?”
“Not really,” I muttered, my eyes closed. The three of us were back in Brodie’s rental car, heading for Los Angeles. Or as Brodie liked to call it, the City of Angels. The place where I’d been born, raised, and trained to fight demons. The place where I’d fallen in love with a traitor, and thrown away everything important to me for him. Everything Brodie and Lucas had been telling me was true—Jax’s memories confirmed it. There was no running away from it.
There was only going forward.
“Oh. Well, I was telling you that I bet your father’s going to be thrilled to see you.” Jax’s voice was bubbling with excitement. “I know things didn’t exactly end well, but he misses you. A lot of us do. Three years doesn’t erase friendships and camaraderie.”
Three years. It had been three years since I’d “died”. Three years until Lucas had somehow figured out I was still alive and came looking for me. I remembered everything now, even if those memories were filtered through Jax’s brain instead of mine. The official story surrounding my death was that Lucas had tried to convince me to steal the Infinity Key from my parents, and that he’d murdered me when I defied him. That was what Jax and everyone had been told.
But surely there was more. After all, I was still alive, wasn’t I? And Lucas thought I had the Infinity Key, or at least knew where it was. He wasn’t going after my parents, who by all rights should still be in possession of it. I shuddered at the thought of that thing being loose in the world. The Infinity Key was one of five such keys in existence—it was a door between worlds, specifically the door that separated Hell from Earth. If Lucas got his hands on the key, he could bring any demon he wanted across the threshold, no matter how powerful. There were spells that could be used to entrap them in objects or people, and bind them to a person’s will. He could amass himself a demonic army that could be used to conquer the earth. And no one would be able to stop them.
“I’m going to be really happy to see him too, Jax,” I said in a hollow voice.
There was a pause, and I could imagine Jax frowning, even though she was sitting in the backseat and I couldn’t see her. After I’d come out of the trance, I’d demanded she take us to the Watchtower, which she’d readily agreed to. Much to Brodie’s consternation, she’d elected to return her own rental car and ride in ours, instead of using up two cars worth of gas on a single trip.
“You don’t sound too happy,” she finally said. “Are you nervous?”
“I haven’t seen him in three years. Who wouldn’t be nervous?” But it was more than simple anxiety. I was worried that my father wouldn’t welcome me—that, in fact, he’d be angry with me. My father wasn’t just any old Sentinel—I’d learned from Jax’s memories that he was the Watchtower Commander. How could a man in his position not be ashamed of a daughter like me? After all, I’d slept with a traitor to our kind. What if I’d been complicit in Lucas’s wrongdoings? What if I’d been his partner in crime? Oh God, no wonder that deranged bastard thought I’d be happy to stand at his side.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why I’d acted the way I’d seen myself in the vision. I’d been like some love-sick sophomore, necking in the hallways and flaunting authority, turning my back on my partner and my best friend. And for what? A man who had turned out to be the enemy? Why had I been afflicted with such bad judgment? What was wrong with me? If I was really that selfish and vapid, would my father even want to see me?
Stop thinking that way,I scolded myself. It would do no good to dwell on has-beens or could-have-beens. What mattered was who I was now, and what I was going to do about all this. I needed to keep my head up, stay positive.
I spent the rest of the car ride sifting through Jax’s memories, trying to learn as much as I could. They’d all hit me at once, like a pack of cards being flashed before my eyes, with only a few glimpses to hold onto at first. Going through them one by one was time-consuming, and the task wasn’t made any easier by Brodie and Jax’s constant bickering. Which radio station to play. Which rock band was the best. Whether we should stop for a bathroom break.
“Jesus, can the two of you act like adults already?” I exclaimed as Jax leaned past me to change the radio station again. I slapped her hand away and gave Brodie a glare that could melt rock. “Why don’t we just stop at the nearest gas station? We need to fill up the tank, and I could use some food.”
“Aye, that’s true enough,” Brodie said, a wary look in his eyes. He glanced at the gas gauge. “We’re close to runnin’ on empty.”
“We wouldn’t be if you’d filled up before we left,” Jax pointed out smugly. “Like I told you to.”
“We were three quarters of a tank full!” Brodie snapped, and I groaned. “There was no need.”
The two continued to argue as we pulled into a gas station on the side of the highway, and I could not get out of the car fast enough. After relieving myself and buying a hot dog, I trekked around the side of the station and into the woods. We were at one of those off-road gas stations that butted up against a forest, away from any actual cities. I needed to get away from those two for a while, to clear my head enough to actually think.
“Jesus,” I muttered as my boots crunched through the thicket. A chill wind blew through the trees, and I tucked my hands beneath my armpits to keep warm. It figured that the two most important people in my life had to be at such odds with each other. My life was never easy. I wished they would learn to get along, at least for my sake.
They’re just protective of you, I reminded myself. Both were strong-willed alphas who weren’t used to sharing.
I let out a breath. Yeah, that was true. And as I was continuously telling myself, Brodie was selflessly putting himself on the line for me. I could cut him some slack here, even if I didn’t totally understand his reasoning. And Jax had thought I was dead until just a few hours ago. She deserved some credit for staying as calm as she had, especially since her memories told me she was a spirited hothead who tended to shoot first and ask questions later.
I was just starting to relax when a dark, sinuous presence brushed up against my head, exactly the way it had back in the motel room before those demon-possessed men had attacked. I stiffened, recognizing the feeling for what it was. I’d learned from Jax’s memories that all Watchers had the ability to demon-sense—to detect a demon when it was nearby. Usually within ten yards, though some Sentinels had much more heightened abilities and were utilized as trackers. Fear seized me as I realized I was a good fifty yards past the tree line—far from Brodie and Jax. They wouldn’t be able to get here in time to save me.
I realized I didn’t need saving as the brand on my chest began to burn again. That same tingle from before spread down my arm, and I curled my fingers inward, envisioning them gripping a glowing bow. The air hummed with power as my celestial weapon materialized, and I nocked an arrow and pivoted simultaneously at the sound of an inhuman growl. A man with glowing red eyes burst from the thicket, ropes of green saliva hanging from his grotesque open jaw, and I screamed in terror even as I loosed an arrow. The bolt struck true, straight between the eyes, and the demon-possessed man dropped to the ground, screaming and writhing as the monster within his flesh was purified.
“Bravo, my darling,” Lucas drawled from behind me, and I spun around to see him standing just a few feet away. He clapped slowly as I nocked another arrow, then smiled enigmatically when I aimed it at his heart. “So glad I finally got you alone. We have a lot to talk about.”
18
Brodie
Iwas just returningthe gas hose to its perch when I heard the lass’s scream. My heart shot into my throat at the sound of her terror, and I whipped around, scanning for her. What the bloody hell was going on? I’d thought she was just taking her time in the loo, but judging by the direction of the sound, she’d gone for a walk in the forest.
“Dammit!” I snarled, charging for the tree line. Couldn’t she have informed one of us before she decided to go traipsing about the woods on her own?
“Hey!” Jax, who’d been inside the convenience store, came running after me. “Where the hell are you going?”
