Page 114 of Death Wish

“Of course no one wants to talk,” he went on. “Every demon I’ve managed to track down, trap, and question won’t spill the beans. Those bastards might be hideous, but they’re loyal to each other.”

“How do we know if Kay’s cured? And the baby…” Laurence glanced at Sean.

“Why do you all keep looking at me?” he asked.

“You’re the one who knows more about this stuff than anyone else,” Laurence said.

Cole started coughing again and gasped. “He’s got a point. You know just as much as your father.”

“I wouldn’t go that far…” Sean mumbled, but a smile was peeking through.

When I had first met Sean, he had gone on and on about how he didn’t want to be like his father. This life with supernaturals wasn’t for him, yet here he was, in the same place his father would be if he were still alive, helping us all with our supernatural problems. And now, it appeared that he didn’t mind it at all.

Actually, there was an air of confidence about him that I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it was just another thing Wyatt had been right about—his son was made for this type of work.

“Have you read anything about a similar case maybe?” Laurence asked him. “What comes next?”

Sean wrung his hands together. After a moment, he said, “Yes, actually. There are other cases where babies are cursed while in the womb. If a counter curse is administered correctly, the baby will be born completely normal. No longer cursed.”

Laurence let out a long breath of relief. “Oh, thank God.” Then, his face pinched in thought and began to change into complete and utter joy. “Wait. That means— I-I’m going to be a father?”

“If the cure worked, it’s very possible,” Sean said.

Kay looked up at Laurence and smiled. She looked so beautiful in that moment as the realization of it washed over her, too. After so much heartache, turmoil, and pain, it was very possible that they had something very life-changing and wonderful coming their way. And they deserved it. They’d make great parents. I thought so, anyway.

My gaze swept across the cemetery to see the onlooking spirits were starting to drift away. A few stayed behind, though. One woman stared at Kay with such fondness and love, I wondered if she knew her. That was when I saw the similarities to her ghostly facial features. They shared the same bright, hopeful eyes and rosebud-shaped mouth.

“Kay…” I whispered, nodding the spirit’s way. “Look over there.”

But the moment Kay’s head swung toward the woman, she disappeared.

“What?” Kay asked. “Oh, most of the spirits left. That’s a relief.”

I was tempted to tell her what I’d seen, but with so much going on, I decided another day might be a better time for it.

Laurence and Kay began helping Sean pick up the altar.

“Don’t throw out whatever’s left of that herb,” Cole said after spilling more vomit into the grass. His face twisted in disgust. “I’m going to need it.”

“You’re going to try again?” I asked.

“What choice do I have?” he said. “I have to find the demon responsible for cursing me and add his blood to the mix.”

“By the next solstice,” I reminded him.

“Exactly.”

“And what about Azrael?”

“What about him?”

“Technically you didn’t finish your job.”

Cole waved his hand. “He can come find me again. Then, I’ll deal with it. After all this, I promised myself a vacation, but now it looks like Hawaii will have to wait a little longer. I have a demon to catch.”

I looked over at Kay and Laurence who were embracing each other tightly and laughing. The happiness radiating off them was unavoidable, and a twinge of jealousy went through me. Of course I was thrilled for them. I wanted nothing more than my dearest friend to live her life to the fullest. A part of me just wished there was a way for me to have a piece of that happiness, too.

It just wasn’t in the cards for me. As much as it hurt to, I had to accept that. But maybe learning about my past and the life I had lived on earth could help ease some of that ache.

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