Page 90 of Crimson Promises
Ben returned with a bottle of water, and next to it was a large smoothie. “Start with the water,” he instructed. “Then if you think you can stomach it, try the smoothie to put something more solid in your stomach.
“Thank you.”
Ben snapped his fingers once again, concealing us in a secrecy sphere. He turned to stare into the abyss of water that stretched far beyond the horizon. I wondered if Ben ever flew to the horizon’s edge. What did he see there?
“Before you fainted, you asked about the night of your accident.” He tilted his head from side to side, weighing the effects of his answer. “I was there that night.”
I stilled. “What really happened that night? I remember seeing a creature.” I shuddered at the memory of its muscled body and gnashing fangs. “There was someone else there with black hair—youwere there, dealing with whatever that thing was. And I tried to say thank you, but then the red eyes came back. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital next to my dad.”
“What do you mean red eyes?” Ben’s voice was strangled.
I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s not a big deal. I just saw these red eyes before I drifted out. Probably was my subconscious playing tricks on me from all the red blood, the red sirens, and everything else that went along with the accident.” Ben didn’t need to know how often those red eyes had haunted me. Until he told me everything, I wasn’t sharing any more than I absolutely had to. He clamped his jaw shut.
“So, what really went down that night?” I pushed.
“The events of that night factor into my reasonings as to why I think you may not be human,” Ben stated matter-of-factly, then he reached out to grip the wrought iron arm of the bench. “From what I could deduce from eavesdropping on your conversations and direction, you were headed to meet Riley for coffee. You were taking a different route home, a shortcut. You approached an ’s’ turn, and out of nowhere, your car began spinning out. It’s not even like you were speeding or driving recklessly. I flew in closer to get a better look, to pull you out of that wreckage, when that thing appeared. At the time, I didn’t know what it was. I had suspicions, but it seems highly unlikely to be a targeted attack.”
I couldn’t help but burst out. “What was that thing then?”
“A demon. The night of the accident was their first attempt to kidnap you.”
“First?” My voice came out shrill.
“Yeah, the night of the house party you went to with Riley. When you guys were in the gazebo, I intercepted an upper-level demon sent to retrieve you. The demon from the night of the car accident didn’t have enough intelligence to produce an audible response, but it was likely a lower-level demon. I had seen my share of demons before but not the species that have been sent to attack you. When it failed, something more powerful, a legend of Hell, was sent with specific instructions to take you alive.”
I brought the water bottle up to my forehead. “Why would a demon want me?”
Ben looked at me with a bland expression.
“My powers,” I whispered.
“Precisely.” Ben’s fingers unconsciously tapped a rhythm on his thigh. “The night of the accident, after I eliminated the immediate danger, I rushed to you. I was ready to pull you out and fly you to the nearest hospital when I noticed your wounds had started to heal themselves. I saw your skin push a shard of glass out of your ribcage.”
“I knew I had more serious injuries than that, but no one believed anything I was saying.”
“Aurora, you, at the very least, would have needed stitches. The ability to heal yourself and others is precious and uncommon. It’s why?—“
“It’s why you think I’m not human,” I licked my lips and gulped down large mouthfuls of water.
“Exactly,” Ben adopted a softer tone, rich with understanding and acceptance. “I always knew that your abilities were rare. It’s why I had advised you to not speak or mention them to anyone after they first awakened. Throughout the years, I didn’t give much thought to the origins of your powers. The encounter with Behemoth changed that. Demons generally don’t interact with mortals. If they do, it’s in shady dealing with succubi in the underbelly of sprawling metropolitans at the The Sublime Nocturne, or humans desperate enough for the high that comes with being the pet of a succubi. However, the ‘rule’ to any demon interactions with humans is they must present themselves willingly.”
Great to know the supernatural have a complete underground syndicate happening.
“To have an upper-level demon hunt and aim to remove you from Arch Cape without your consent is playing outside the regulations. Whoever sent those demons is willing to risk breaking treaties that have existed for thousands of millennia hundreds of years because they have weighed that you are much more valuable than any punishment they would receive for breaking those rules.”
“Could have lived without knowing that demons and humans engage in, uh, relations. You’ve said before that my powers are rare and people want them, blah, blah, blah. How does this equate to me not being human?”
“I told you earlier about the healer Jos had told me about in Heaven. I’ve never seen or heard of that ability anywhere else in my time on earth. Humans have used science and natural remedies to heal ailments, but nothing like repairing skin and bone or bringing anything back to life. Your powers are unparalleled.”
“Dun, dun, dun, and the answer is…”
“It is my belief that you are adimidium. Adimidiumis a child conceived between a human and an angel.”
“How is that even possible?”
“I doubt you need me to explain the intricacies of sex. You seemed to have a pretty solid grasp on it based on the other night.”
I grimaced.
