Page 28 of Lower World
“Yes.”
“How did he die?” The question passed through me with a jolt. I never thought to ask how my father died. I believed the stories I was told about him. It was the only solid truth I had.
“The Council killed him.”
Alice gasped as my knees gave out, and I dropped hard at the bottom of the stairs. The world tilted under my feet, and everything was spinning uncontrollably.No, no, no, no,a voice was shrieking inside my head. It can’t be. They had his portrait looming over them in their chamber. Why would any psychopath kill someone and then tell stories of braveries and honor, holding that person in such high regard that every Atua wanted to be just like him. My father died protecting the Council, protecting the Syndicate. I had to believe that. It was the truth.
Wasn’t it?
“Why would they kill him?” My friend’s voice sounded distant until Johnathan spoke, and his words snapped everything back into focus.
“Because he loved a witch more than his own kind,” the Atua spat the words like a curse. “And they created a freak like her that should have never existed.” Johnathan’s dark eyes were shooting daggers at me when I locked my gaze on his. “The Council has killed any hybrid that has ever been born, apart from her. Not from lack of trying.”
The cages, the pain, the never-ending drifting through agony in an abyss threatening to devour my soul … it all crushed me, pressing me to the cement floor. Johnathan laughed, insanity visible in every line of his face.
“The bitch just won’t die. So, they used her, and instead, they killed everything and everyone she cared about. She will be their weapon and under their thumb, or she’ll be nothing at all. They’ll destroy countries to get to her.” His sneering face tilted toward Alice. “And now, it’ll be your turn. You and that dumb fuck I can feel standing at the top of the stairs. Both of you are about to die.”
“No, you’re about to die, you piece of shit,” Alice hissed.
I felt Dominic too, but I couldn’t look away from Johnathan. Not even when Alice screamed and slapped her hand with the swirling magic on his face. The Atua’s roars of agony echoed for a very long time, matching the anguish suffocating me. I didn’t care.
I felt empty.
Numb.
17
“At the first inkling of trouble—” Dominic started for the umpteenth time.
“I’ll start taking my clothes off and slow dancing,” I deadpanned, but he didn’t look impressed. “I’ll get the hell out. Yeah, you told me.”
“The human is rubbing off on you.”
“Please don’t tell her that. I’m having enough trouble convincing her she’s not an X-man.” Dominic arched a brow. “Her words, not mine. It’s all movie or book references with her. Apparently that’s how her brain can process things.”
“Humans are strange creatures.”
We were crouched on top of a warehouse in downtown Chicago, Dominic’s thigh and arm brushing mine as we waited. The lights of the city were casting blue, yellow, and red hues on everything, an occasional honk or hoot from a passing car piercing the night. The stench of stale water, wet asphalt, and petrol permeated the air, clogging my nostrils. A chain-link fence rattled in the blast of wind that slapped my ponytail around my face. The deep bark of a dog punctuated my sentiments.
I felt like barking, too.
Barking and biting.
“You filled her head with Mimico, or did you forget.” Talking to him was a good distraction or I would curl up in a ball and never get up. “Next, we’ll be chasing her across the city when she decides it’s time to dash out her own brand of justice. I hope you are aware of that.”
“Reminds you of someone we know?” He snickered when I glared at him, that damn dimple blinking at me.
“That wolf better do what he was told.” In my attempt to get some distance between us so I didn’t feel his body touching mine, my foot kicked a pebble. The sound ricocheted on the roof like a bullet, and we held our breath, but the guardians we were scouting never looked up. “The last thing we needed was Alice popping out of nowhere. I couldn’t deal with that right now.”
“He will.”
“What’s his deal anyway?” My head stuck out over the edge of the roof, flicking fast to assess the situation. The two guardians were still talking to the person shrouded in shadows at the mouth of an alley separating the warehouse and an impound lot filled with vehicles in all shapes and sizes. “Why does he stay in his animal form? Is there something wrong with him?”
“It happens at times of high destress or trauma.” He tugged me back when I hung over the edge for longer than he liked. “Our animal tries to protect us, and until we are okay, it’ll stay in control.”
“I wish I had an animal to take my place when I needed a break from life,” I muttered begrudgingly.
“You still feel everything.” A smile ghosted over his full mouth, which I found fascinating for some dumb reason. I jerked my gaze away with effort. “We just do it on four legs instead of two.”
