Page 46 of Gray
There went those butterflies in my belly again.
After I put on my shoes—choosing checkered Converse today—we went outside. The temperature hovered around fifty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, but with the cloudless sky and endless sunshine, it felt warmer. The beginning of March meant spring was right around the corner.
“Did you have a good talk with Al?” I asked as we walked through the grass at a leisurely pace.
“I did. This war is more serious than I thought.”
“Yeah, it’s been crazy. I almost died last year.”
Mason stopped walking. “You did?”
I nodded. “Did Al tell you about Asa and the ring?”
“He told me the basics. The son of Lucifer was trapped inside the ring. That’s how Simon got involved with all of you because the ring came through his shop. Simon was possessed by the ring, kidnapped, and then used to reawaken Asa.” Mason shook his head. “Wow. That sounds insane when I say it out loud.”
“Stranger than fiction, right?”
His eyes crinkled at the edges. “Something like that.”
“Okay, so you know most of it. Good. Al left something out though. Before Asa returned, the ring was here. The enemy kidnapped Castor and tortured him for information.” My gut rolled at the reminder that my dad had been one of the ones to hurt him. “Once they got our location, they performed a spell that broke through the barrier around this place.”
“I thought demons couldn’t find you here.”
“There’s always a loophole,” I said. “They were able to perform a onetime spell that took down our barrier’s defenses long enough for them to get inside. They attacked us. We protected the mansion, and the ring, as best as we could. But we failed. A demon slit my throat.”
Mason’s lips parted as air escaped them. Frowning, he reached for me, his hand hovering above my hair, almost touching me but not quite. Maybe he thought he wasn’t allowed to.
I rose up a bit, making contact with his palm, and smiled. He didn’t fully return my smile, but his eyes softened a little.
“So a gun can’t hurt you, but a knife can?” He petted my hair before threading his fingers through it.
Did he like touching me as much as I liked him doing it? I hoped so. Because I didn’t want him to stop.
“Not just any knife. It has to be a celestial blade.”
“Like the ones you carry?”
“Yep, but some demons have them too. Oh, we have awesome healing powers. I’m not sure you knew that.”
“Healing powers?”
“Mhm. Like if I get shot, my body will spit out the bullet, and then I’ll heal. We can heal other people’s injuries too. The exception to our healing abilities? A celestial blade. It cancels our power and harms us as if we’re human. Think of it like our kryptonite. It’s the only thing that can kill us. So when the demon slit my throat, I couldn’t heal myself and was bleeding out on the stairs. Galen found me.”
“What happened after that?” Mason’s hand shook a bit before he pulled away, dropping his arm back to his side.
“They called Clara. She saved me.”
“Clara?”
“She’s a witch. I love her. She specializes in healing magic. You’ll probably meet her soon. Anyway, she was able to stop the bleeding and stitch me up. She stayed by me all night to make sure I was okay. It left a gnarly scar though.” I tugged down the front of my hoodie, showing the mark across my neck. “My battle wound.”
Mason lightly touched the base of my throat, his brow drawn tight. I liked the softness of his fingertips as they glided across my skin—across my scar.
I likedhim. So much. But he might not likemeonce he knew the full truth.
“Let’s keep walking.” I pulled my collar back up, nerves trickling through me again. “Did you talk to your hunter friends?”
“Some of them.”
