“The Revelators,” I whisper. The word tumbles out of my mouth from some memory that has scratched its way to the surface. It triggers a visceral reaction that slides through me like poison. Bile churns in my empty stomach, and I hold back a gag. “I remember the name now.”
Ripp nods his head and releases one arm to grab a small notebook from the nightstand. A shudder rolls through him. “There were pictures of children, Mattie. Cutouts of stories with names that matched each one. All of them reported as missing.”
Each detail adds to the unease swirling inside me. Nausea racks its way through my body, and I throw a hand over my mouth. Ripp waits for me to sink back into him before he continues.
“Not all of my kind feed on the parasites of humanity.” His words are slow, making sure each one sinks in, like he’s hoping he won’t have to spell it out to me in more detail. I give him a nod then bury my face in my hands. “You did the world a favor by wiping them out of existence.”
I take long, deliberate breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. Even the air I force into my lungs feels like it’s drowning me. My teeth chatter, rattling the spiraling thoughts around in my skull. “The witch—she said the relic was in exchange for a promise, a promise I was fated to keep.”
“Fucking useless,” Ripp shouts, slamming the book against his thigh. I shake at his sudden outburst, and he pulls me tighter to him. “I should have known she was playing us like pawns in some cosmic fucking game of hers.”
His grip on my side loosens, and he uses the other to open the book between us. I lift enough so I can stare down at it, unsure if I even want the knowledge it might hold. Ripp flips to a page towards the end, and I recognize my ma’s handwriting. Her scrawl is messy, like she was in a hurry to get each word onto the page.
My Dear Mattie Mae,
I’m not sure if you’ll ever read this. My hope is that you’ll find it once I’m gone so ya stand a chance at knowin’ the truth. I’m not much longer for this world. The weight of my sins hangs too heavy upon my soul to continue this way.
There’s a great evil in your pa. I’ve watched it festerin’ in him more each day. The children. God rest their souls. I couldn’t save them, but I’m hopin’ I can still save you.
The darkness came to Ezra, an old horned god banished to these woods. I told him it was the devil, temptin’ us with a life beyond the simple one we’re livin.’ But he kept feedin’ and feedin’ it until one day, that wasn’t good enough no more. No. He wanted somethin’ else. He wanted you. A baby born to this world just for him. Born in blood and water, he said. Born to bring tragedy to all who crossed their path before returnin’ to the woods from which it came.
Ezra said it was a price worth payin.’ But I saw it for what it was: a devil’s trap. It’s in the name of the woods after all—Hellsmouth. But then I saw the darkness in you too, Mattie. And I knew. Knew these woods were comin’ for us all.
I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.
Ma
Tears roll down my cheeks, falling onto the same page her tears stained before mine. They gave me away. They brought me into this world knowing what I’d become. In exchange for what? A broken piece of antler? For my pa to be able to commit atrocities without consequence?
Ripp’s warm lips against my cheek break my spiral. My breathing sputters as I try to steady myself. I slam the journal shut and throw it across the room, like it could make her letter to me less true. “Your mother birthed war but expected to raise peace,” Ripp whispers into my skin. “But I’ve found you now. You’ve always been my angel of death.”
A sense of knowing mixes in like cool water through the fiery river of rage flowing through my veins. I’ve never felt like I was a part of this world because I was never made for it. I was born to bring chaos and destruction to those who wronged me, to rid the world of those who created me. The knowledge lifts the veil of guilt I’ve covered myself in and, for once, I don’t feel like a stranger in my own skin. It doesn’t ease the pain of betrayal from those who were supposed to protect me, but it dulls it to a soft hum.
I turn into Ripp and let him hold me until the morning light begins to stream in through the curtains. The moment is broken by the noise of cars pulling in on the gravel outside the cabin. Both our bodies tense, neither wanting to let go.
“Mattie Mae Gibson, come out with your hands where we can see ‘em,” a sheriff’s deputy’s voice blares across a speaker, shattering the morning silence. A roar begins to rumble in Ripp’s chest, but I place a palm on it and shake my head.
“We both know how this ends.” My eyes are wide, pleading with him to let me do this my way. To go out with dignity, knowing they didn’t extinguish my fire. I clutch the vial necklace tightly in one fist. He gives me one long, last glance before disappearing out the window to watch from the woods.
This is it. I can only hope my last breath will be a sigh of relief.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ripp
Dense trees hide me from the nervous glances of the deputies gathered in front of Mattie’s cabin. Each one turns their heads in every direction, jumping at every cracked branch or rustle in the leaves. I no longer care to control my shift and let my true form unfold from its human prison. I long to wrap my shadowy vines around each of their throats, letting the thorns pierce their fragile skin. But I stay put—for her.
The deputies all draw their weapons as she opens the door. As she steps out, her hands are spread wide in the air. Once she’s on the porch, she lowers them. Her face is steel, giving nothing away. The men all twitch nervously, waiting for her next move.
“Come on down here, Miss Gibson. Let’s do this the easy way now,” one of them calls to her. She shakes her head. A wicked smile tugs at her lips as she places her hands in her pockets. A chorus of metallic clicks sounds through the air, every man readying his firearm. Mattie steadily descends from the porch, one step at a time.
“Kill me,” she shouts at them. “Go ahead. I know you want to. You want the glory of takin’ me down. Endin’ me.” She laughs, tossing her head back before facing them again. “Makin’ sure I don’t ‘hurt anyone else.’ I’m ready.” Her lips curl back in a snarl. “Because the truth is, you’d rather kill me than arrest any of the pieces of shit I killed.”
Shadows form around her, swirling violently like her own little tornado. Her emerald eyes glow hot, like she could burn them all down with a look. The outline of her body blurs from the vibration of her being as the magic inside her begs to erupt. The deputies don’t seem to notice the storm brewing in front of them, which is a shame, because she has never been more beautiful.
The clouds in the sky above us curl in on each other, trapped in the vortex of energy rotating below. They flash with green against the dark grey as lightning crackles through them. A few men take the risk of looking up before focusing on Mattie once more.
“Men like you don’t give a shit about women like me.” Her eyes narrow, and she chokes on her next words before spitting them out. “Or children. How many of us have to go missin’ before you turn on one of your own?”
