“Pretty amazing, huh?” he asked, stretching them a little.
My mother looked sad for a brief moment, then reached out and touched one of the beautiful gray feathers. Her fingertips lingered on the silky plumes just long enough to allow a single tear to roll down her cheek. I knew she missed having wings, but I hadn’t realized she missed them this much.
“They’re gorgeous, Nicky.” She hugged him around the neck.
“I thought you said that you weren’t immortal?” I protested. I was beyond tired of everyone lying to me. Now that some truths were coming out, I was going to make sure that I got nothing but the truth from this point on.
“I said I hadn’t been here since the beginning of time,” he reminded me. “I earned my wings. It’s not like I was born with them.”
I shot him an irritated glare. A tricky little Prophet he was turning out to be. I wasn’t born with wings either, but in my case, it was because my parents had been stripped of theirs. Another thought struck me. Did this mean that I had a chance to earn them?
“Come on, you two, let’s go to the living room,” suggested my mother with a sigh. “This is going to be a long story, so we might as well make ourselves comfortable.”
Nick put his wings away and returned the shirt to his back. I have to admit, for a second, I was disappointed.
He shot me a glance from the corner of his eye.
“Like what you see, demon girl?” he teased.
I glared back at him.
“Have no fear, you won’t get your claim on me,” he mentioned.
I turned to follow my mother to the living room. This cousin of mine was going to drive me crazy.
****
“When I first met Greta and Greg it was the day your father and I were banished,” my mother told me. “They took us in and gave us a home until we were able to get on our feet. Thankfully, your father had several offshore accounts that had built interest over the centuries he wandered the Earth looking for souls. So, we have always done well money-wise.”
She cleared her throat.
“We bought a house with cash, thinking that we would be able to stay there forever. We didn’t realize that we were not the only non-humans on Earth. I don’t think you realize how hard it was to grasp the idea that there were other creatures like us in this world. We were never told about them, at least in nothing more than ghost stories.”
I scowled at my mother. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I had gone from thinking we were the only ones like us, to finding out there were far more than just us knocking about the place. Let’s not forget I had been stalked by a vampire and beaten by a demon.
“I told you that Greta was already pregnant when I met her. Well, you and Wesley share the same birthday. The difference between you is that you were born healthy, while he was born sickly and premature.” She fumbled with her dress. “I only know this from a letter I received after Wesley was born. It was the only letter I ever received from Greta before we split. Anyway, we entrusted the house to the Jensen’s, allowing them full access to the property. We knew we couldn’t go back, but we had hope that one day you would be able to. Now, I told you I always knew she was special, that she had a gift, but that I never knew what it was. Recently I have been able to confirm her bloodline and establish that Wesley carries the same blood.”
“So, he is just like his mother then?” I asked, feeling my chest tighten. It wasn’t that I hadn’t had the thought on my own; it was the fact that it was confirmed. Wesley was in no way human. He was just as much non-human as I was. You would think this would have brought me some comfort, but you would be thinking wrong: it only brought dread.
“Yes, that would seem to be the case,” my mother said, frowning.
“What about Melissa?” I inquired. If one child had the gene, then wouldn’t a second child share that same inheritable factor? I didn’t know how the blood thing worked between human and non-human, but it seemed plausible. If a child receives half their genes from one parent and half from the other, it was entirely possible that Melissa had the same blood in her veins.
“No, Melissa was fortunate enough to be just a regular girl.” My mother smiled. “Just so you know, Greg didn’t even know until I told him.”
“Makes you wonder if Greta ever knew. How did you find all this out, Mom?” I eyed her suspiciously.
“I have friends in high places; let’s not forget that.” She winked.
“I get it,” I answered. She was always going to have her secrets. Just like each time something happened, and she ran to her room to make a phone call.
“Can I get back to my story now?” she asked sternly. I nodded, and she continued.
“Your father didn’t know what John was when he condemned him to Hell. He had no idea he was a Neutralizer, that the blood was in him. He had no clue either that Miranda had already started the change within John to recruit him for her side. John himself didn’t know what he was if it comes to that. I only found out after I ran into his father at church. He was talking about the unclean mixes, the muddied blood of the righteous and how it needed to be neutralized and any unions declared unholy. Basically, he was saying that mixing of any blood should be prohibited by the church. Those who were guilty must be exterminated. He wasn’t just talking about the holy and the unholy; he meant any blood that
