Page 59 of Another Damned Storm
“Unless the weather and the demons are a concerted effort,” I offered.
That got Emerson’s attention. “You have a theory?”
“I suspect a forgotten weather god may be attempting to re-establish himself in the human realm.” While I did reserve a respectable amount of trust for Emerson, I was still hesitant to share too much. For all I knew, saying Thrain’s name aloud might be enough to draw his attention. “Realistically, this god shouldn’t even be capable of creating storms. That is how long forgotten he is. The more perplexing part, however, is even if he did find a fresh pool of believers to feed power into him, the council should have taken notice of the storms.”
Surprise lit Emerson’s face. “They haven’t?”
“According to my source, no.”
“They also haven’t noticed the demon attacks, apparently,” Never added.
I nodded. “Are there any demons in this realm powerful enough to draw others through the veil?”
Emerson sat forward and sucked air through his teeth. “No. At least, not without considerable help.”
“What about you and your brothers? You guys have a crap ton of power, right?” Never asked.
I braced for Emerson to take offense at the accusation, but he didn’t. “We only use our power to send demons back through the veil into the Alius. Drawing them here?” He shook his head. “It hasn’t been attempted in ages. Not to mention every memberof the Brethren has sworn his immortal life to the protection of humans. Drawing new demons here would be breaking that oath. It would be a betrayal of us all.”
For a team that had been together as long as they had, betrayal seemed like something of an eventuality, especially amongst demons. Except the members of the Brethren weren’t just any demons.
“What about a demon that’s still in the Alius?” Lily asked. “What’s to stop a god from working with one of them?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “Nothing, but I don’t see how they would coordinate attacks like you’re describing. Most gods can’t even enter the Alius. I’m guessing Never is the exception because of her demon blood. If Atlas were to try, the realm would temporarily drain his power before expelling him. Just like how demons can’t visit Othrys.”
A fresh pang of defeat twisted inside me. “Are you certain?”
He pressed his lips together as though he could read my thoughts. “I’m afraid so.”
So, there was no way I could rescue Never, or even join her, if she were forced to spend eternity in the demon realm.
“And you’re sure there aren’t any other demons with enough power right here in our world?” Never asked. “I mean, the demon that helped Wendy get to the Nassa packed a punch, and he would have had to come from this world, right?”
“That was a lifetime ago,” Lily said.
“It’s not like they die.”
Some could, but not one powerful enough to aid Wendy the way he did. “Do you know of the demon she’s referencing?”
Emerson’s stoic gaze slid between us before he let out a heavy exhale. “I do.” A long silence followed.
“Well?” Never motioned for him to go on.
A look of disgust flickered across his features. “His name is LaPalme.”
Did I hear that right? “You don’t mean your LaPalme? As in, one of the Brethren?”
He pulled himself up off the bench and came to stand in front of us. “The very same.”
Curious energy pulsing from Never spilled into me, but it did nothing to soothe my rising anger. “Never is the descendant of a primordial demon?”
He nodded. “All demons have descended from one of the primordial lines. Her connection just happens to be closer to the top.”
If I’d still had all the power I’d been born with, I might have struck him down in the seconds that followed. Instead, I blocked off my connection to Never so she wouldn’t have to sift through my furious jumble of emotions as she processed the truth. “How long have you known?”
He rolled his shoulders back. “We discovered LaPalme’s misdeeds shortly after the first demonic Darling child was born, and he was punished accordingly. It is one thing for one of us to become romantically involved with a human. We have no rules forbidding that. But manipulating a human the way he did, bartering to produce offspring, that crossed a line. He was exiled from the Brethren temporarily, but there has been some talk of commuting his sentence given Theloneus’s disappearance.”
“He’s missing?” Lily asked.
