anyone. I left it out of my investigation notes. You know, I’d really hoped . . .” He raised his eyes to meet mine. But he didn’t finish his sentence, just looked down at his hands again.
Well, Daniel Costello’s hopes were none of my business. Those were the concern of his live-in lover, whoever she was. As far as I was concerned, he and I had nothing left to say to each other.
Nothing personal, anyway. “If Roxana finds out who leaked the info about the shield, you’ll let me know, right?” I made my voice sound as professional as I knew how.
He nodded. “And you’ll tell me if you run into that Hellion again.”
“Sure.” But something told me that I wouldn’t be calling him again, for any reason whatsoever.
As I was closing the door behind me, I knew I was right in my resolve.
“Hey, Costello,” called a detective, “your wife’s on line two.”
22
WHEN I GOT HOME, THE APARTMENT WAS SILENT. I CHECKED for phone messages; nothing from Kane. At least he didn’t want to continue our fight—or end it, for that matter. Either way, it would have been kind of nice just to hear his voice.
As I peeled off my clothes and got ready for bed, I realized that if Kane hadn’t called by now, I wouldn’t be hearing from him for a while. Tomorrow night was the full moon. That meant Kane, like all werewolves, had to report to a state-sanctioned werewolf retreat area before sundown tonight. He’d head for the Princeton retreat straight from his office. He’d be gone for three days.
It would be so good to talk to him, to drop our arguments and snuggle in together. I wanted to tell him about Roxana and the witches. I wanted to tell him how scared I was that I might be losing control. I wanted to feel his strong arms around me, to breathe in his woodsy, masculine scent. I wanted to feel the way I felt when we were laughing together. Safe. Happy. And if not exactly loved, then something not too far off.
Kane had wanted me to go on this retreat with him, but I’d said no. Now I was wishing he’d asked one more time before he left. Not that I’d have gone, of course; I had too much to deal with here in town—maybe even more than I could handle. Still, it would have been nice to be asked, I thought, as I pulled up the covers and turned out the light.
SLEEP BROUGHT NO COMFORT. I WANTED TO SINK INTO oblivion; instead, I felt as though I lay in an echoing chamber full of whispering ghosts. And all the whispers repeated a single name: Difethwr.
Only one person knew what it was like to stand alone against a Hellion. I needed to talk to Aunt Mab.
I used the dream phone. Mab’s colors, blue and silver, rose up like wisps of fog, growing and filling my vision. I walked through the swirling mist of colors until they faded, then cleared away, and I found myself in Aunt Mab’s library. The room looked exactly the way I remembered it: the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the French windows out into the garden, the chintz-covered wing chairs. A fire burned in the fireplace, its flickering light dancing around the room. But the cozy impression was ruined when I looked at the spot where my father had died. The shape of his fallen body glowed red, like the amulet Roxana had given me, as if Difethwr’s fire inside him had never stopped burning. Again, I felt the mark of the Destroyer burn in my arm.
Staring at the place where my father had fallen, feeling an echo of that night’s pain, I began to cry. The tears hit me like a tidal wave. I dropped to my knees and sobbed into my hands. That’s when I became aware of Aunt Mab, sitting in her chair in front of me.
“Don’t cry, child. He’s ten years gone.”
Her words only made me cry harder, rocking back and forth. God, it hurt so much. So much. Aunt Mab sat silently, waiting. It felt like I’d never stop crying. My father. Dad. Daddy. Dying for me, because of my stupid pride. And I couldn’t reach him now, not even in my dreams. Could he be gone—really gone—as the Hellion boasted? I wanted to keep crying and crying, as though my pain could somehow bring him to me. But it didn’t. And, gradually, the tears subsided.
Hiccupping, I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. Mab handed me a handkerchief, and I blew my nose, noisily. When I could speak, I looked at her and said, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
She looked at me, lips pursed, waiting for me to continue. But I’d just told her why I’d called her, and I didn’t know what else to say.
Finally she spoke in her familiar, stern tone. “If you’re waiting for me to say, ‘There, there, don’t worry, everything will be all right,’ you’ll be sadly disappointed.”
I bit my tongue to hold back the tears that threatened to start again. That was exactly what I
“The Destroyer is a formidable foe, child. It has been the enemy of our family for many, many generations. If you challenge the Hellion and fail, you won’t be the first.”
“It’s gathering a legion, Mab. To keep the legion out, the witches of the city have repaired the shield. That means it’s sealed inside Boston. It says it’s going to destroy the whole city, and I can’t stop it. It says it will destroy me, too.” As it destroyed my father.
She
“So I’m supposed to believe in myself? Just like that? What, and whistle a happy tune while I’m at it? Mab, this isn’t somebody’s Eidolon or Harpy. It’s a Hellion.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “And it’s inside me.” The horror fully gripped me then, and I clawed at my arm, raking it with my nails. The whisper rose to a wail. “It’s
“Hush, child.” She reached out and laid her hand on my hair. “It touched you; that’s all. The fact that you survived its touch should give you hope. Don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget the prophecy. You have Saint Michael’s sword. You’ve practiced with it. With these very eyes, I watched you grow in skill. You’re a demon slayer, Victory.” Her fingers felt like cool water on my burning scalp. “You know what to do.”
“But I didn’t tell you. When I faced the Destroyer two nights ago—my arm . . . I couldn’t raise my sword arm against it. It’s like the Destroyer owns that part of me.” In my thoughts I added,
The dream phone broadcast the unspoken thought to Aunt Mab as clearly as if I’d said it out loud. “You are not the Destroyer. The Destroyer is not you. Do not think that way, child. Open your mind, and you will see. I spoke the truth before: you know what to do.”
The feel of her hand grew lighter, then misty. The room cooled and dimmed, until all I could see was blue and silver. Through the mist, Aunt Mab’s voice echoed: “You know what to do.”
“I don’t,” I whispered. Then darkness washed over me, and I knew nothing else but dreamless sleep.
I WOKE UP AT FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON WITH A STRONG sense of determination. Aunt Mab had said I knew what to do. Well, fighting was what I knew how to do, and whatever it took, I was going to learn to fight left-handed. If I had to practice every waking moment until my left arm became as strong, fast, and flexible as the right, so be it.
What my left arm was now, mostly, was sore. I winced as I pulled on a sweatshirt, getting dressed for practice. Ow. I rolled the shoulder a few times and did some windmills, backward and forward, to loosen it up. In the bathroom, I pulled up my sleeve and rubbed some liniment into the muscles to soothe the ache. It helped some, but I really need to work on strength—aches or no aches.
The living room was empty, but I heard Juliet moving around in the kitchen. I started pushing the furniture around to clear a space in the middle of the room. Juliet came in, carrying a mug of coffee. She stopped and stared at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Ugh,” I grunted, pushing the sofa against the wall. When it was in place, I stood and surveyed the room. It’d do. “Clearing some space for a little sword practice.”
She nodded, like it was a normal answer, and sat down on the sofa with her coffee. Juliet loved coffee—with lots of cream and about six teaspoons of sugar. Perfect way to ruin good coffee, if you asked me.
She sipped from her mug, watching me as I went over to the cabinet where I kept my weapons and got out the sword of Saint Michael. It was a beautiful sword, a double-edged falchion with a golden handle and a twenty-
