‘Dad, I know it’s hard, but she’s a liar. She traded our futures, our happiness, for her place in Heaven. I don’t know why she’s back or for how long, but I think you need to be prepared for the possibility that if she has the opportunity to help herself, she’ll ditch us without another thought.’
Dad stayed silent. But I’d been there for the last seventeen years, I’d seen what losing her did to him. I just couldn’t let him go through it again.
Or me.
No. The best thing I could do for Dad was prepare him for her departure.
‘Dad, please, look at the facts. She’s using you.’
I closed my eyes briefly, sensing his hurt, but I needed to look after him. He was my father.
‘Have you even spoken to Caroline since Evelyn came back?’ I asked, reminding him of the good things that had started to happen in his life recently with his PA. Finally, Dad had been acting like he was ready for a relationship.
He shook his head. ‘I … I told her I couldn’t keep seeing her. It just didn’t feel right and I had no other explanation.’
Poor Caroline.
I hadn’t been thrilled about her interfering in Dad’s and my relationship, but she was a good person and I knew she genuinely cared for Dad.
‘What did she say?’
His hands combed his hair again. ‘She resigned. Said it was for the best.’
‘Oh, Dad.’
It made me so cross. Dad was turning his world upside down for Evelyn and I knew it could only end badly.
‘Just promise me you’ll keep your guard up,’ I urged.
And, as if accepting the cruel truth, he nodded. ‘I … I can’t go through this again. You’re right, Vi.’
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
‘I’ll keep my distance, but what happens now? I can’t just let you go off to face this Academy on your own.’
‘She won’t be alone, Mr Eden,’ Lincoln said.
Dad sent a dubious look in his direction. ‘If any harm comes to her–’
‘I’ll look after her,’ Lincoln jumped in. ‘I’d never let any harm come to her.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘When you two are finished …’ I pointed out the window. ‘We’re home.’
Lincoln didn’t get out so before I closed the door I looked back at him as Dad crossed the road. ‘Thanks for the outrageously fun night.’
He winked. ‘I aim to please.’
‘Then we’re going to have to reassess your pleasure standards.’ At the smile on his face and raised eyebrow, my cheeks pinked. ‘Ah … I mean …’
‘Goodnight, Vi.’
I bit my lip. ‘’Night, Linc.’
Dad and I rode the lift together and walked hand in hand to our apartment. For the first time since Evelyn had reappeared I felt as though we were back on the right track.
The front door was ajar. I could sense the others inside already – that faint buzz of Grigori. Clearly Griffin and Evelyn had arrived before us.
Dad paused outside the door and pulled me into a hug. ‘I love you, Vi.’
‘You too, Dad.’
But as we stepped apart and I moved to push the door open, we heard Griffin’s voice from inside. There are times when you just freeze – times when you somehow know that whatever it is you’re seeing or hearing is important.
‘To be pulled back to earth in a ceremony like that – I’ve thought of it from every angle and I can only come up with one explanation.’
There was a long silence before Evelyn spoke. ‘Don’t do this, Griffin.’
‘You made terms, didn’t you? When Violet was born?’
I knew that tone. Griffin was on a mission.
I looked at Dad. He was listening intently.
Why is my heart pounding?
There was another delay before Evelyn responded. We both heard her heavy sigh.
‘It was the only way I could protect them. Lilith is eternal. She will always find a way to return. I always knew that Violet may have to face her. I was the one who sent Lilith to Hell and she is vengeful. She’ll come for Violet.’
‘Is that why you wanted Violet to be Grigori? So she had a chance at defending herself?’
‘No,’ she responded sharply. ‘Never. I would’ve taken her and James far away if there had been any option. I would’ve kept them safe on my own but … They needed her.’
I swallowed hard.
‘You made a deal with the angels?’ Griffin pushed on.
‘Two things. That Violet be partnered with a Grigori who came from a Power and that if Lilith returns in Violet’s lifetime, that I would return with her.’
My eyes went wide and I felt myself shaking my head at her revelations, refusing to let the words sink in. She couldn’t be trusted.
‘And the price?’
‘This isn’t the time,’ Evelyn replied, the warning in her voice clear.
‘I think it’s well overdue, actually. Where exactly have you been for the past seventeen years, Evelyn?’
Dad was frozen in place, his palm flat on the door.
‘Not now,’ she insisted, but I knew Griffin wasn’t about to let it go. I had a terrible sinking feeling.
‘If the deal was for you to be resurrected when she was, then you had to have been connected to her life-force. It’s the only way, and we both know it. Evelyn, stand in front of me and tell me you have not spent the last seventeen years trapped in the pits of Hell.’
There was the sound of movement and I guessed she must have started to pace the floor. It helped to cover Dad’s whimper.
‘There’s no point lying to you. You already know the truth,’ Evelyn said.
I practically stopped breathing. Griffin would have known if she was lying but I couldn’t accept it. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.
She traded me in, gave me away. Not … this. No. No!
I looked at Dad. I’d never seen him so stunned, so blank. His eyes met mine and I shook my head.
‘She’s lying,’ I whispered. ‘She’s lying!’
His expression changed, eyes welling, looking at me with something new – a darkness filled with fear and anger. No … with blame.
I shook my head again. ‘You can’t trust her!’ I heard myself saying frantically. And that’s when it happened.
Rage took over and he slapped me across the face.
I saw it coming. I knew what he was doing. And it didn’t even occur to me to move out of his way. His palm struck high on my cheek – the sting greater than from any blow I’d ever received.
Dad gasped, his hand dropping into his other as if to restrain it, his expression filled with shock.
I stumbled back into the wall, one hand covering my cheek.
We must’ve been noisy because the apartment door swung open.
‘James!’ Evelyn said, looking between us. ‘Oh, God, you heard.’
I stared at my feet – unable to look at either one of them – and felt tears welling.
Not now, not now. Don’t cry.
‘Violet?’ At the sound of Griffin’s voice I glanced up.
A slap barely tickles Grigori. Griffin had given me my own fair share of playful punches along the way to toughen me up. But what Dad had done, the emotion and intent that came with it … hit me in so many painful ways. Griffin must have seen it all in my eyes. And, worse, I saw the sympathy in his.
Suck it up, Vi.
I stood up straight, blinking back the tears, and cleared my throat. I wouldn’t be weak.
‘Griff, can you wait a minute before leaving? I’m coming with you.’
As I was zipping up my bag, Evelyn let herself into my bedroom.
‘Don’t,’ I said putting a hand up to stop whatever she was about to say. ‘Just … don’t.’ I slung my duffle bag over my shoulder and grabbed my other bag, not pausing to look at her again as I headed to the front door, where Griffin and Dad were talking.
Dad had recovered and found his voice. ‘I’m going to New York, too,’ he stated.
Griffin was trying to settle him down. ‘I understand how you feel, but they won’t allow it, James. The Academy do not admit non-Grigori.’
‘I don’t care. I’m going with her,’ Dad said adamantly.
I knew the ‘her’ he was referring to was not me.
I joined them. ‘It’s fine, Griff. We’ll find a way.’ I glanced at Dad, my expression blank. ‘You’ll be able to go with her, I’ll make sure of it.’ Then I turned back to Griffin with a nod, signalling I was ready to leave.
‘Violet, wait!’ Dad said.
I paused, head down.
‘I … I’m so sorry. I lost my mind. I don’t know what’s going on – I just snapped. The idea of her being in … All this time. Please forgive me.’
But I couldn’t. Because I didn’t know what was going on either but my response hadn’t been to blame him. So I shook my head, ignored my welling eyes, and headed for the lift.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘No man chooses evil because it is evil … he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.’
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
The car trip was silent – Griffin leaving me to my thoughts as I stared out the window, wondering how things had come to this.
He cleared his throat, bringing me out of my thoughts as we pulled up outside Lincoln’s warehouse. ‘Are you going to be okay?’
I clutched my bags. ‘Sure. Tell the Academy I won’t go unless Dad is allowed to escort her.’
‘They might not agree.’
I shrugged. ‘Then I won’t go. Tell them those are my terms for full cooperation.’
He nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll do that.’
I looked out the window and Griffin began to tap his hand on the steering wheel. It was starting to rain and steam was rising from the road.
‘Violet, he didn’t mean it.’
I wasn’t so sure. Dad had been tested in so many ways and his loyalty to Evelyn had shone through above all else. I swallowed. ‘Has she really been in Hell?’
‘Yes,’ he said, with the kind of certainty only Griffin, a seeker of truth, could deliver.
‘Why did she do it?’
‘She’s a warrior. She knew what was at stake. I think she thought doing things this way would give you the best chance.’ He gestured a hand towards Lincoln’s front door, which was already open. Lincoln had obviously sensed my arrival. ‘Is this the best place for you?’
Yes. No. Maybe.
Lost for an answer, I opened the car door.
Griffin grabbed my arm before I stepped out, his eyes full of promise. ‘Thank you, Violet. I know you’re only going to the Academy because I asked. I want you to know that you won’t be alone. You’re one of mine, and my Grigori stand together.’
I knew it was true. One thing about my friends: not a coward among them.
‘Thanks, Griff,’ I said, honoured but keen to change the subject. ‘So, do you think Dapper will be able to find all the ingredients?’
By the time we’d left Dapper’s place he’d found – among the hundreds he had hidden in his concealed library – the book he believed would point us in the right direction. He had, however, remained tight-lipped on his theory about the poisonous thirteenth ingredient, insisting he needed to consult with his brothers before sharing.
‘If anyone can, it’s Dapper.’ Griffin sighed. He was exhausted. ‘Let’s meet with him in the morning and make a plan.’
I nodded. ‘Breakfast at Hades?’
‘Yes. And just us for this one,’ he said, letting me know I wouldn’t have to see Evelyn.
Lincoln stood by the door as I walked up the stairs, his eyes on my bags.
I threw my shoulders back. ‘I’m moving in,’ I said simply. ‘For tonight, anyway.’ But as I walked past him, with all my false bravado that he saw right through, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a hug – into which I sank helplessly. He knew me too well.
‘Dad slapped me,’ I said into his chest, tears now flowing.
Lincoln tensed, the way he did when he was trying to control his anger.
‘And apparently Evelyn’s been stuck in Hell for the past seventeen years,’ I added.
He pulled me tighter and I was struck by the realisation that he’d already figured it out.
Was I the only one who hadn’t?
And then came the sickening thought … Deep down, had I known, too?
‘Can I stay?’ I asked, my nerves now breaking through. Lincoln’s hand stroked my hair. ‘I’ve already told you, you’ll always have a home here.’
With that he relieved me of my bags, pointed me towards the espresso machine, and took my things straight to his room. ‘Where’s Spence?’ I asked when he came back.
‘Staying at Zoe and Salvatore’s,’ he answered. ‘You hungry?’ I smiled sheepishly. ‘Starving.’
It was almost two in the morning and it had been a long night, but Lincoln made pizza and we sat on the sofa watching an action flick, laughing at all the special effects between steaming mouthfuls of heavy-on-the-cheese pizza.
He didn’t say anything about what had happened and we didn’t talk about what was to come. We were still on our ‘fun night’ it seemed, and I was grateful for the reprieve. We pretended to be normal and some time after we’d polished off the rocky-road ice cream we fell asleep on the sofa – his arm draped around my body – guarding me from the world. It hurt – that soul-deep pain surfacing. And it was worth it.
‘You’re becoming increasingly difficult to track down, lover,’ Phoenix said.
Startled, I looked around. ‘How … I don’t understand …’ I stuttered.
We were standing in the cafe he’d once called ‘ours’, Dough to Bread. It was empty. No staff, no customers, nothing apart from one table and two chairs. I was seated on one, Phoenix on the other.
He rapped his fingertips on the tabletop to a non-existent beat. ‘Things are not going the way I planned,’ he said.
Still taking in my surroundings, I suddenly stood up. ‘You’ve pulled me into your dreamscape!’ I yelled.
The last time someone who wasn’t my angel maker had done this to me, I’d woken up standing over a dead body with blood on my hands. I ran to the cafe door only to gasp when I opened it. Beyond the cafe there was nothing. Empty space. A vortex.
Phoenix stood behind me.
‘We need to talk. This was the only way. It’s already taken me weeks to break through your shields. You mustn’t have been having a good day.’
The sincerity in his voice unnerved me. It infuriated me that he could use a dip in my emotions to get to me. I slammed the door and spun round to face him. He was so close. Instinctively, I struck out to hit him across the face.
He stumbled back. I moved forwards, using my small advantage. ‘Send me back!’ I demanded. All I could think of was the last time I’d been under exile power in a dream … I needed to regain control.
Phoenix smirked, wiping away a bead of blood that ran from his nose. ‘Dreams hurt,’ he said, shrugging, before his gaze returned to me. ‘Not exactly news.’
I narrowed my eyes at him and, lightning fast, he crouched and kicked his leg out, taking my feet from under me. I landed on my back.
He was right. Dreams hurt.
He launched himself on top of me, pinning me down. ‘I told you, lover, we need to talk. I’ve gone to considerable lengths to make this happen.’
It was then that I noticed the strain in his expression. In fact, he was all but trembling.
‘You can’t hold me,’ I said.
He smiled. ‘You’re getting stronger, I’ll give you that.’ He leaned in closer. I was trapped beneath his strength, but even if I hadn’t been, in that moment I was powerless to move under the intensity of his chocolate gaze.
‘I could do it, you know. Even here, in our dreams, I could give you everything you desire and take away all that you don’t,’ he said, his voice barely a murmur, as he teased me with the prospect of his empath abilities. The same
abilities that I fought so hard against remembering but never succeeded; Phoenix could deliver pure bliss when he chose.
I was acutely aware of his body on top of mine and hated that the idea of giving in to his power stirred something in me. I gritted my teeth against the temptation.
‘Why don’t you, then?’ I challenged.
He leaned closer, his lips so close that when he spoke they grazed mine. ‘I won’t force you, lover. Despite what you think of me, despite my previous … slip-ups, I’m not that man.’
I turned my head to the side and started to concentrate on my will, the one thing I knew could pull me out of this dream.
‘I thought you weren’t a man at all. You told me you were all exile now.’ I tried to get a handle on my emotions. If I couldn’t control myself, I had no chance of getting out of this.
‘Lilith’s growing stronger every day,’ he said.
I wasn’t interested in hearing him gloat about how they were going to be all-powerful.
‘Soon, none of your Grigori will be able to stop her,’ he continued.
I felt a surge of power within me as I grappled to pull myself away from him. Suddenly we were both back on our feet, standing on opposite sides of the cafe. Any other time, that would have been cool, but not now.
Phoenix’s eyes widened and his hand reached out. ‘No, Violet, please! We need to talk.’
I shook my head, finally in control again. ‘So you can tell me how we’re all going to die? I don’t think so.’ I took a step back and the wall behind engulfed me.
Phoenix screamed. ‘Wait! I need you!’
I woke with a start, sucking in deep gulps of air.
Oh God. Oh God.
I swept my hands through my damp hair. Lincoln was still asleep. I considered waking him but he looked so content that I just couldn’t.
Why did he come to me? Was it just to torment me?
My hands shook and my thoughts raced.
Why do his final words keep replaying in my head? And that look in his eyes …
Eventually, sleep impossible, I got up and pulled back the drop-sheet on the wall that Lincoln had set aside for me to paint.
Endless: Violet Eden Chapters: Book Four Page 6
