“What did Cael say exactly? Did he have another idea as to how I can figure out where Tartarus is?”
Skye shook her head. “He just says he believes in you and that you will figure it out.”
Great, there was a super vague Yoda leading this crazy train.
“What does Aurum think?” I nodded toward the outside, to where my guardian was watching the alley for me right now.
When Aurum met me for training a few days after we’d rescued my mom, I’d hugged him so tightly and thanked him for saving my life. His hair had been a bit singed but otherwise Apollyon hadn’t hurt him. I trusted Aurum, and if he thought I should do this, that Icoulddo this, I would.
“He thinks you can do it. He said if you get stuck there he will get you out,” Skye said.
Hope bloomed in my chest. “He can do that?”
Skye grinned. “He’s your guardian angel. He can find you anywhere.”
For some reason that simple statement had tears pricking the corners of my eyes. I didn’t truly appreciate Skye and Aurum for all their help these past few weeks. I was too busy grumbling about all the bruises, but they really were amazing. If I made it out of this mission alive, it was going to be in large part because of them.
Taking in a deep breath, I nodded. “Let’s do it.”
I walked over to the table and slipped the glove back on.
Okay, no pressure, I got this, all is well, I pumped myself up.Just going into my psychotic father’s memories. No. Big. Deal.
“Your hand is shaking,” Skye said, and I glared at her. She shrugged. “Just making an observation.”
Putting Skye’s comments out of my mind, I peered at the leatherbound tome and picked it up. At the top, in an etching so fine I could barely read it, was engravedApollyon, Ruler of the Netherworld, Archangel of the Abyss, The Fallen.
Chills rose on my arms. Was I seriously about to go into this man’s memories? I exhaled deeply. I had to. There was no other way.
Lifting the cover back, I skimmed the first page.
Beloved by the Creator. Fell from grace. War in Avalon.
Yikes.I flipped a third of the way through.
Destruction. Demons and beings of absolute carnage.
Sounds like the guy I knew.
Flipping farther, I froze on three words.
Offspring. Two daughters.
My heartbeat sped at the mention of my secret sister. Until this moment I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I actually had one. My mom said she’d never known about her, only that she’d heard Apollyon speak about his “backup plan” in Los Angeles. But this made it real. Apollyon wasn’t crazy when he spoke of her. I had a sister. The life book couldn’t lie, right? My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I read on.
Apollyon, desperate to escape his Netherworld prison, courts two women in the hopes of creating a key that would one day release him.
My breathing quickened as my heart continued to hammer in my chest.
I reached for the page with my ungloved hand, desperate to know more about this mystery girl.
Skye bounced on her heels. “Oh, found something on Tartarus already?”
“Mm-hmm,” I lied, and then looked up at her. “See you soon?”
She chewed her lip and nodded.
I would quickly find out about my sister and then pop out of the memory and look for Tartarus. No biggie. I’d just tell Skye I didn’t find it in the first memory, which wouldn’t technically be a lie.
