I didn't want to look, but my head swiveled slowly as if pulled by a noose. I stared at my son in horror. All vestiges of Brevyn had disappeared. A monster stared back at me.
I knew monsters. I had a special place in my heart for those whose horrifying faces hid golden souls. But this was a different kind of monster; it's opposite. A beast with a beautiful face and a black soul—several souls actually. Ice crept up my legs; freezing me in place. I couldn't escape the beast; couldn't run when it opened its mouth wide... wider... wider still. All I could do was watch as skeletal hands reached for me from within the black depths of the monster's evil maw; clawing at the thick black tongue and sharp teeth as a chorus of screams burst from his throat.
I jerked away from Brevyn and out of the vision; gasping for breath as I did so. The bedroom was back; with Rian and Arach staring at Brevyn and me expectantly. But I wasn't looking at them; my gaze was focused on the air before me and the frozen breath I'd just exhaled.
Brevyn's visions were getting stronger.
“Do you know what it means, Mother?” Brevyn asked me calmly.
I yanked him into my arms and hugged him tightly. I couldn't let him see my tears. My brave son who faced such nightmares with the calm resolve of his ancient soul. What kind of fresh start had I given Ull? Had he been better off as the God of Justice? But what would have happened to Rian and me then? If I hadn't placed Ull's soul in my unborn son, would my child and I have survived Ptah's attack? I didn't think so. My breathing calmed and my tears dried as I realized that Brevyn had been meant to be here. This life would have its difficulties, but it would also have its rewards. Who was I to take that from my son?
“I'm okay, Mother,” Brevyn said gently. “The visions don't scare me.”
“Of course they don't.” I eased back and stroked his hair proudly. “You've got the soul of a warrior.”
“I know,” he whispered and winked at me.
I gaped at him.
“Do you know what the vision means?” He asked me again.
“I think so,” my voice had gone shaky. “And it has nothing to do with you or Faerie.”
Arach and Rian both exhaled in relief.
“I know,” Brevyn said. “But what about Grandma Holly and Grandpa Luke?”
“I'm going to make sure they're okay,” I assured him. “And your vision will help me.”
“It will?” Brevyn asked hopefully.
“What about Grandpa and Grandma?” Rian asked with panicked eyes.
“They're going to be fine,” Brevyn said confidently to his brother. “Mommy will take care of them.”
My heart sped up. Brevyn's slip—calling me Mommy instead of Mother—meant only one thing; he was scared. I took a deep breath and caught the scent. I hated it when my babies were scared. It made me scared too... and very angry. Ah; so that was why Arach was furious; he had scented Brevyn's fear.
“Hey,” I took Brevyn's hand. “They're going to be all right. I promise you. And I'm going to tell them that you helped save them.”
Brevyn finally smiled and it was like sunshine on my soul. “Thank you, Mother.”
“Thank you for being such a brave boy.” I hugged both of my boys to me but the face I turned up to Arach was full of fear I'd taken from my son.
Chapter Twenty
Later that night—after Arach and I had put the boys to bed—we laid on our new mattress and talked about Brevyn's vision.
“What do you think it means?” Arach asked me.
“I think that Athena was right; this is about Luke,” I said. “Someone is trying to take Satan's power, and they're doing it through his demons.”
“Is that possible?”
“Normally, I would have said no; that no god would be able to take another god's power. In fact, if you had merely told me that someone was going to take Luke out by stealing demon souls, I would have said it had to be a witch.”
“Someone like you,” Arach murmured.
“Someone stronger than me,” I corrected.
Arach made a scoffing expression. “No human is stronger than you.”
“You never know,” I said. “But it's not a human. The man in Brevyn's vision was definitely a god; a god who could take much more than the three magics that I can.”
“Not necessarily.” Arach's brow furrowed. “You can take three different magics; this god is taking one type of magic that has been split into several demi-gods.”
I blinked and processed. “Right; that would make it easier.”
“Easier, but still impossible for a god,” he said. “It's hard enough for them to kill each other; to steal another god's magic just can't be done.”
“Brevyn's vision seems to be proof that it can,” I pointed out. “A path lined with dead demons and an empty hell-mansion? That sounds like the demon souls were a means to an end; the path to power.”
“I agree,” he said. “If only the vision had given you more information.”
“It did,” I said. “I know it's a mother and son working together, and I also know what the son looks like. The man I saw in the vision matches the description given to us by the families of the possessed. I'm certain that I just saw Reginald MacKenzie, and he definitely wasn't Scottish.”
“What was he?”
“Something exotic,” I mused. “Dark skin, swarthy; I think he was Indian.”
“Native American?”
“No; the other Indian. From India.” I blinked in shock. “It's a Hindu god.”
“We just killed a whole lot of those.” Arach shifted a grim gaze my way. “Weren't some of them demons?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “That's an
