Tension in the room had soared to a new level. The waiting room we occupied was in a wing separate from the main hall, so it would be very easy for Claire to let some of her pent up aggression go in Kim’s general direction. Kim didn’t seem phased in the slightest.
Jared stood. “Enough.”
Claire glanced at her brother. “Does she have to be here?”
The longer they spoke as if I knew what was going on, the angrier I became. “What in the hell is going on?” I yelled.
“Sssh!” Claire hissed.
“Are you human?” I asked Kim.
Kim paused in thought. “Some days it doesn’t feel like it, but yes.”
Jared sat, pulling me to the sofa with him. Claire sat in the seat next to us, fidgeting with her hijab. Kim looked at her watch, and then settled into her chair. Suddenly the air felt very easy, the opposite of just a few moments before, but it was forced, unnatural.
“You know those that are aware of demons attract them.” Kim said this matter-of-factly, making my reality feel twisted. Jared told me a few specifics about the Others during the talk we had on our first date — the moment we affectionately dubbed, ‘The Conversation That Changed Everything’. Kim was the other side; someone I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t shared our secrets from that night with anyone, and Kim repeating part of it verbatim disconcerted me.
“Stay calm, Nina,” Jared said, quiet and smooth. He placed his hand on mine. “They feed on aggression and fear.”
Kim’s body language was casual, but deliberately so. “What we’re talking about is going to bring them here, Nigh. The more upset you are, the more access they will have to this situation, so just take it all in. Don’t try to analyze it, just listen and accept.”
“Listen and accept,” I said, taking a deep breath. I looked to Jared, who offered a small, comforting grin. I returned my attention to Kim. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
Kim’s mouth turned up infinitesimally. “When I was sixteen I was possessed by a demon.”
It was hard to concentrate. Months of perfecting the art of keeping my emotions under control was the only advantage I had, and I was determined to keep my cool. “You’re kidding.”
Kim continued, “I’m going to make this short if you don’t mind.”
I nodded and Kim rolled her eyes. “The story bores me, so to get to the point, the Pollocks, my family, descend from Crusade Knights. Those Crusade Knights used the Holy Sepulchre as an end point of their pilgrimages…you okay?” Kim asked, pausing.
“Yeah,” I said casually. “Because I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” I yelled.
Jared held my hands in my lap, and lowered his chin, looking directly into my eyes. “You need to stay calm. It’s important.”
I looked back to Kim. “Sorry.”
Kim dismissed my apology. “Whatever. You remember learning about the Crusades, Nigh. English knights…Robin Hood…King Richard?” I nodded. “It has nothing to do with that.”
I sighed, and Jared jerked his head to the side in frustration. “You’re not helping.”
Kim laughed once and looked down. “I'm sorry. I just can't describe to you how much I hate telling this story.”
“Try,” Jared seethed.
Kim looked to me. “Templar Knights took their crusades to a very holy place in Jerusalem. It’s called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was once the temple of Aphrodite. Christians refer to it as Golgotha…the place where Christ was crucified.
“The First Crusade was envisioned as an armed pilgrimage, and no crusader could consider his journey complete unless he had prayed as a pilgrim at the Holy Sepulchre. This is where it gets a little hairy. During my great-great times infinity grandfather’s pilgrimage, he came upon something under the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. It was a book. A Bible.”
“So you’re Bible savers?” I looked at Jared in disbelief. “Cool? I guess?”
“We’re not talking about the Holy Bible, here, Nigh,” Kim said. “You’ve seen it.”
“Shax’s bible?” I asked.
Kim nodded. “It was kept safely hidden away in the cistern under the basilica, which is where it was rumored that the mother of Hadrian found the true cross and the tomb of Christ.”
“Isn’t that pretty much sacrilegious? The Bible of Hell being kept under what was thought to be the tomb of Jesus Christ?” I said.
Kim rubbed her temples. I had clearly asked a question she’d answered a thousand times. “The Holy presence there kept Shax and his legions from finding it. My grandfather didn’t know that. He removed the book, and after learning of its importance, he vowed to keep it safe. That vow, and the book, has cursed our family for generations.”
“Curses seem to be the popular thing around here,” I grumbled.
Kim glanced at Jared.
“I’m sorry,” I said, laughing without humor, “this is all a little far-fetched. Even for me, and I’ve seen Shax.”
The room grew cold, and Jared and Claire immediately extended their necks, looking to the ceiling. Jared pulled me closer to him, and Claire sat on the other side of me, lightly touching my knee.
The lights flickered, and even with Jared’s and Claire’s warm bodies on each side of me, I shook from the cold. The dim fluorescent lights created an eerie glow to the air we exhaled, now warmer than the air in the room.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“For the fiftieth time, Nina, stay calm,” Claire said, her voice even. “Nothing will happen to you while we’re here. This is just what happens when there’s a higher concentration of them than normal.”
“Higher concentration?” I asked.
Kim looked above her. “Oh there’s probably an army or two around…or one really strong one.”
I shivered. “Which is worse?”
“One,” Claire whispered, her eyes unfocused. She was relying on her senses, creating a thoughtful, confused expression on her face.
Kim returned her attention to me. Her demeanor was baffling. She had always been relaxed, and at times aloof, but it was hard to believe she could remain that way with so many Others around. Every part of me wanted to run screaming down the hall.
“Anyone who’s made the trip to return the book to the Sulpulchre never came back. We thought Jack and Gabe stealing the book from my uncle was the best thing that could have happened to our family, until Shax held us personally responsible. That’s when I got sick…or that’s what we thought it was.”
Even with the drop in temperature and the knowledge that a million demons might have been hovering over us, I sat hunched over, with my chin resting on my fist, suddenly unimpressed. “You were possessed. Like priests and green pea soup possessed? C’mon, Kim.”
“I don’t remember most of it. I just know that my father spared no expense to bring in the best of the best, and when Father Gary and Father Carmine were finished…I was different.”
Jared squeezed my hand. “When humans are overtaken in that way, they are often left weak for the rest of their lives. Kim kept something with her when Father Carmine finally extracted the demons. And they wouldn’t have left behind power voluntarily. She took it from them, and because of that, they fear her.”
“What kind of power?” I asked.
“The all-knowing, understanding dead languages blah, blah, blah. I also know when they move, when they approach, when they leave, and why they’re doing it. And I think I can take their power at will, but none of them have gotten close enough for me to try.”
“So Kim is an asset,” Claire said, sullen. “She affects them in ways no one understands.”
“I…you….” A million questions swirled in my head, but the most upsetting revelation was that nothing was separate, now. My normal life just had a head-on collision with my life with Jared.
The air around me felt thick and full of static. An end table next to one of the chairs shook for a moment, and then slid across the floor a few inches.
“What just
happened?” I said.
The table vibrated again, and then shot to the wall, the legs squealing as they grated across the tile.
“Sweetheart,” Jared warned.
My fingers worked in small circles against my temple. “Okay,” I whispered. I worked to release any negativity that the demons could use to fuel their power. “What now?”
“I can help you,” Kim said, uncharacteristically sympathetic. “I can help you find the book, Nigh. They’ll tell me. They have to.”
All expression fell from my face. “So you’re like…you’re like the demon whisperer. My wacky friend Kim. That’s just great.”
Kim nodded, unaffected by my jab.
“You never said why you’re here,” I said.
“I wanted to check on Ryan. I also have news.”
News was usually the job of Samuel, and I wondered why Kim had been sent instead. The more I knew, the less any of it made sense — which was annoyingly typical.
Claire crossed her legs, settling in her chair. “Well? Tell us already.”
“Jared and his covert operation tipped them off. He’s asked too many questions, and they know what he's after. The book has been moved six times in as many days. We’ve got some work to do when we get home.”
Jared glared at Kim, annoyed. “I have to look it over before we take it back. There are things within those pages that could help Nina.”
“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” Kim replied.
Jared nodded, and then looked to his sister. “Now that Ryan’s stable, we should head back. Did the Colonel say how long you’d be here?”
Claire shrugged. “At least until he’s stable enough to ship state-side, and then we’ll probably be at a VA rehab until he’s functional. I’ll keep you updated.”
I stared at the small table that had slid across the floor. Two hundred or so demons had been swirling about, and they were already onto the next subject. The air had returned to its normal temperature, but watching an inanimate object glide across the room left me uneasy — not that I had felt anything close to composed since Gabe had infiltrated my dream on the plane. Life was spinning out of control again, but this time there was no normal life to escape to.
One-third of my anchor to normal was lying in a hospital bed, and another sitting beside me, talking about things so opposite of the realm of ordinary, it was difficult to remember she was part of my other life at all.
Anger consumed me. I felt I'd been lied to. “What deal are you two talking about?” I asked.
“Your man is going to help me return the book to the Sepulchre if I help him get it from Shax,” Kim said.
“Were you going to tell me about any of this?” I said to Jared.
Jared took my hands in his. “We talked about this.”
“Yes, that you would omit things that didn't directly me, but first Ryan, and now Kim? They were my friends, Jared!”
“We still are,” Kim said.
I ignored Kim. “Are you sure I can’t see Ryan?” I asked Claire. She shook her head with an apologetic expression. “It was good to see you again,” I said to Claire, hugging her. “Kim….” I trailed off, unable to find anything nice to say.
Kim had betrayed me; sneaking her mystical bullshit in the back door, and sucker punching me with her possession-crusades-basilica sob story. Now she was supposed to help us find the book because of her Oh So Spooky to the Demons powers. I didn’t care! She was supposed to be my normal, and she had ripped it right out from under me.
Gabe had wanted us to turn back, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I wasn’t supposed to know about Kim. Could Gabe’s appearance be mundane as a paternal need to protect me again, or was it something different? Maybe Kim wasn’t supposed to help us? Maybe she was working for the other side.
I had almost reached the elevator when Jared called my name. Soon, his hand was in mine. He stopped mid-step, causing me to jerk backward.
“We have to go,” I said, tugging him down the hall.
Jared stopped me again. “Would you please tell me what’s going on?”
“No,” I snapped, smacking the button to the elevator. “That would require me telling you the whole truth…and that's not really how our relationship works.”
The door opened, and I pulled Jared inside. We were alone, and for the first time I felt I could breathe. I leaned against the wall and sighed. “This isn’t happening.”
“What isn’t happening? Nina, talk to me,” Jared said, putting his hands on the wall at each side of my head.
“She’s my friend, Jared! She was on the other side, the side that kept me grounded…sometimes kept me sane, and now it’s gone! It’s all gone!”
Jared cupped my face. “She’s still your friend. You’re life at Brown is no different.”
“It’s not different? It’s disappeared!”
He frowned. “Let’s think of this as a positive thing. You have someone to talk to about this, now. Someone on the other side that understands.”
I crossed my arms. “I needed them, Jared…so I wouldn’t get lost in all of the heaven/hell fiasco.”
“She’s human, Nina. She may handle it differently, but she knows how you feel. She knows what it’s like to know things, and be different because of it. Embrace it.”
“Embrace it,” I grumbled. “You don’t understand.”
Jared took my hand and kissed my fingers. “This is a good thing. With her help, we can find the book.”
“Great!” I said as the doors opened to the main floor. “Let’s find the damn thing and get rid of it! Take it back to the church, I’ll stop having the dreams, Kim can be Kim again, and I can get my life back!”
Colonel Brand waited next to the car that would take us to the base. Jared and I remained silent during the trip, but once the plane took off from the runway, he began again.
“Nina, we can’t just take the book back. We have to read it; find out why Jack stole it from Kim’s uncle in the first place.”
“Because Jack was crazy, that’s why,” I snapped.
Jared sighed with frustration. “They’ve been telling us why. In your dreams.”
I thought for a moment, recalling Jack’s words on the roof. He had to save her. I could think of only two women in the world my father would risk his life for. The inscription on my ring leading to a deposit box only Jared and I could access…he had stolen the book to save me.
But from what?
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you insinuating that I'm keeping something from you? Because that would be just…totally and completely hypocritical.”
Jared frowned. “No. But we need to find someone that can interpret what your dreams mean.”
“Who would know, Jared? Besides Eli or Samuel. They wouldn’t tell us, anyway, right? Who would know?”
“Asking them again wouldn’t be a good idea. Kim said they’re already onto us. It’s impossible to keep a secret in that realm. We need a human.”
“A human isn't going to be able to make sense of my dreams, Jared, unless it's someone that already knows. One of Graham’s men, maybe?”
Jared shook his head, deep in thought. “Claire didn’t leave any of them alive. Anyone that might have known anything about it is long gone.”
An idea popped into my head, instantly creating a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“What is it?” Jared asked, concerned.
My mind instantly searched for other options. I was desperate to make the name stuck in my throat a last resort, but she was our only choice. “My mother,” I whispered. “Cynthia would know.”
Jared’s brows pulled in for a moment. “Jack left her in the dark.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” I asked, incredulous.
He peeked over at me, and then relaxed. “You’re right. How to get her to tell us anything is the question.”
“She’ll tell us,” I said, determined.
Chapter Seven
The Perfect Storm
“Isn’t
this a surprise,” Cynthia said, fussing with her hair. “I’m on my way to the Komen fundraiser, Nina dear. We’ll have lunch tomorrow.”
I side-stepped, guarding the front door. “This is important.”
Cynthia laughed once, unamused. “Not more important than breast cancer, I assure you.” When I didn’t move, she cocked her head. The expression she used for immediate intimidation lit her face. “You will let me pass this instant, young lady.”
Instinctively, I obeyed. Seeing that she was in no mood for antics, I decided to try the blindside approach.
“Daddy stole a book from someone a few years ago. Do you remember?”
She blinked a few times, my words clearly unsettling to her. “Your father was in shipping, Nina. What interest would he have in a book?”
“He did it, Mother. I’ve seen the book myself. Jared’s held it in his hands.”
Cynthia’s cold eyes darted to Jared, and then narrowed. “I must ask at this point, Jared. Are you trying to get Nina killed?”
“No,” Jared said emphatically, taking a step toward her. “No, that’s why we’re here. We need to know why Jack took the book. What was inside that he was hoping to find?”
Cynthia relaxed, lifting her chin. “Nina, you’ll find that if you ignore things…they tend to go away. Now, I really must be going….”
Jared’s jaw flitted, and then he took an obstinate step in front of the door.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Grey, but I can’t allow you to leave until you tell us what you know.”
Cynthia stood unaffected, as if she could brush past Jared if she chose, but she was simply too much of a lady to shove her way through.
“What makes you think I know anything?” she asked, a tiny smirk on her face.
I crossed my arms. “Because you know everything, Mother.”
A small grin of satisfaction crept across Cynthia’s face. “Your father underestimated that particular talent of mine for years. It’s nice that someone noticed.”
“We need your help, Cynthia,” Jared said. “Why did Jack think Shax’s book could save Nina?”
“The truth will only hurt you, Dear,” Cynthia said. Her words were meant to be empathetic, but her eyes were devoid of emotion.
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