by Parker Blue
Shawn glanced at his father for confirmation, but he said nothing. Just sat there, a beaten man, with his head still in his hands.
Diesel continued, “Portals open when shadow demons lose control of their emotions. And the more demon blood you carry, the less control you have.”
Shawn and his sister were only one-eighth demon, but Dad was one-fourth, making it twice as difficult for him. Did that mean . . .?
YES, Max confirmed. AND YOU HAD TO KEEP PUSHING HIM, DIDN’T YOU?
Horror rose within Shawn. I didn’t know . . .
“Dad would never—” Sharra began.
Diesel interrupted her. “It’s usually not intentional.”
“Why do you think it was our father?” Shawn asked. “It could have been some other shadow demon.” Not that he knew any, but if Dad existed, there were probably more somewhere.
“There are no other shadow demons in the US,” Diesel said.
“Three years ago is when Mom left,” Shawn said, grasping for straws. “Whatever Dad did, it’s not his fault. It’s hers, for deserting us.”
When Diesel looked skeptical, Shawn added, “Ask Max. He can read my mind, he’ll tell you.”
Diesel shook his head, looking regretful. “Yes, Max can read any part demon’s mind, including your father’s.”
“What does that mean?” Sharra asked, sounding worried.
“Your father accidentally opened a portal three years ago. We knew it was probably him but couldn’t find him. I finally tracked him down today. Just in the nick of time, apparently.”
“No!” Sharra screamed. “Dad, tell them you didn’t.”
I’M AFRAID HE DID, Max said. THE DEMON CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE, HURT A LOT OF PEOPLE BEFORE WE . . . STOPPED IT.
Killed it, they meant.
When Dad remained silent and didn’t say a word, Shawn knew it was true. Fear raised its ugly head again. “So what are you going to do? Murder him, too?”
To Shawn’s horror, Diesel didn’t deny it. “That’s not for me to decide,” he said gravely. “We’re taking him to face a judgment ritual in Albuquerque. The will of the Underground decides his fate. They might even find him innocent.”
But Diesel didn’t believe that—Shawn could see it in his face. So far, the dog was the only one they could count on to give them the full unvarnished truth. Shawn stared at the hellhound. “Max, you tell us. What will happen to my father?”
Max sighed. AS DIESEL SAID, THE RITUAL DECIDES.
“Don’t give me that crap. Tell it to me straight.”
Max glanced up at Diesel and the Paladin nodded, as if giving Max permission. “They deserve to know the truth.”
THE UNDERGROUND CAN’T AFFORD TO HAVE A ROGUE SHADOW DEMON JEOPARDIZING THE WORLD. THE JUDGMENT RITUAL WILL PROBABLY SEND HIM TO THE MEMORY EATER.
“What’s a Memory Eater?” Sharra asked, sounding horrified.
“The proper term is Lethe,” Diesel said. “The Lethe . . . removes harmful memories. Or, in cases where the demon is a potential threat to good order, the Lethe might block his knowledge of how to use his demonic abilities.”
“How would that help?” Sharra asked. “I mean, if the portal only forms when he gets mad, wouldn’t blocking his memory of how to use his abilities make it harder for him to stop it?”
Diesel’s gaze shifted away from them and was silent for a moment before he spoke again, reluctantly. “Since anger triggers the problem, the Lethe would remove his ability to get angry.”
“What? Like an emotional lobotomy?” Shawn asked in disbelief.
YES, OR THE DEMON COULD CHOOSE DEATH, IF HE PREFERS, Max added helpfully.
Shawn gulped. Lobotomy or murder were the only choices? No. This wasn’t right. He couldn’t let this happen. Fear threatened to swamp his senses.
Sharra turned and slugged Shawn in the shoulder as hard as she could. “This is all your fault,” she yelled. “You and your wanting to join the Underground.”
Stunned by the way his normally meek sister turned on him, Shawn massaged his shoulder where she’d hit him. “I didn’t want this.” Not at the expense of his father’s life. “Dad, tell them it isn’t so,” he pleaded.
“It’s true,” his father said heavily. “And you deserve to know the whole truth.”
“We don’t need to know,” Sharra said. “Honest, we know you’re a good person.”
“No, Sunshine Girl, you need to know so you don’t make the same mistake I did.”
“What about us?” Sharra asked, her voice shaking. “We’re shadow demons, too.”
“But you’ve done nothing wrong,” Diesel soothed. “The Demon Underground in Albuquerque will take you in, give you a good home, continue to train you to control your powers.”
Diesel laid his hand on Dad’s shoulder, and now that Dad was grounded in another being of this world, Shawn saw his father’s face for the first time in three years. Careworn, looking as if he’d aged five years for each of the three that had passed, Dad looked like an old man, beaten down by life. Worse, scars crisscrossed his face and neck, healed scars Shawn had never seen before. He wanted to tell Diesel to remove his hand and let Dad have his privacy, but he couldn’t. He had to know what happened, see his father’s face to know it was true.
“What mistake?” Sharra asked in a small voice.
“When your mother left, I followed her, begged her to come back and be there for you children.”
He paused, and Shawn had to know. “What did she say?”
“She loved you, she really did, but she wasn’t strong enough to handle our life. She couldn’t take living in secret anymore, and she’d met a man, a full human, who loved her and wanted to take care of her.”
“Mom left us for another man?” Sharra wailed.
Dad nodded, looking sad. “She was going to, yes, so I . . . became angry.”
NO WONDER, Max said in disgust. SHE CALLED HER OWN CHILDREN MONSTERS.
Dad shot the hellhound a dirty look. “They didn’t need to know that,” he said in a clipped tone.
“You read that in Dad’s mind?” Sharra asked, sounding as stricken as Shawn felt.
YES. THAT’S WHEN YOUR FATHER GOT MAD.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean it,” Dad said, looking earnest. “But yes, I got angry. And the damned portal opened.” He glared up at Diesel. “I tried to stop the demon that came through. How do you think I got these scars? But I couldn’t. He killed your mother and knocked me unconscious.”
Shawn gasped. Mom was dead? All this time, he thought she’d just left and never come back. He didn’t realize . . . he’d never see her again. Tears filled his eyes, and for once, he was glad no one could see his face.
Dad turned to look at Shawn and Sharra, grief-stricken. “I’m sorry I kept it from you. I didn’t want you to hurt more than you already do.”
THERE’S MORE, ISN’T THERE? Max said.
“Yes.” Dad looked at Diesel, remorse in his eyes. “What you don’t know is that a second demon came through that day, one I’ve been trying to track down ever since.”
Diesel looked shocked. “Did you find it?”
“No. I’ve followed every lead I could, but I haven’t found any demonic happenings anywhere in the area.” He paused. “I think it either went so far underground we can’t find it, or it died shortly after it got here. Maybe the first demon killed it.”
Diesel shook his head, his mouth a grim line as his hand tightened on Dad’s shoulder. “You’d better hope so.”
Shame rippled through Shawn. Dad had a good reason for keeping his secrets. All of a sudden, he wished he could time travel back to the events of this morning, back to when he was ignorant of all this, back to when his life hadn’t been turned upside-down.
His stomach churned so much he wanted
to throw up. Why had he pushed Dad so hard? Why hadn’t he left well enough alone, damn it? Instead, he’d just turned everyone’s lives into pure and utter crap.
DIESEL DIDN’T GIVE them time to pack much, saying the Underground would send someone back to get their belongings. They took just enough to last for a few days and headed toward Albuquerque in a van with heavily tinted windows. Sharra cuddled up next to Dad the whole way, pointedly ignoring her brother, as Shawn marinated in guilt.
IT’S NOT REALLY YOUR FAULT, YOU KNOW, Max said.
Shawn knew that intellectually, but it didn’t feel that way, especially since Sharra was so pissed at him. Tell Sharra that.
I DID. SHE’S NOT LISTENING TO REASON RIGHT NOW.
Stubborn as always. But Shawn couldn’t blame her. Whose fault is it, then? Diesel’s? he asked the hellhound. After all, if the Paladin hadn’t arrived, they wouldn’t be on the way to his father’s trial. Maybe Dad was right to hate Paladins.
YOU CAN’T BLAME DIESEL FOR DOING HIS JOB, Max said. IF ANYONE IS TO BLAME, IT’S YOUR FATHER, OR MAYBE YOUR MOTHER.
No way. They’d all been doing just fine until Diesel showed up. The Paladin was the one who’d ruined their lives. He brooded all the way to Albuquerque, worrying about what might happen to Dad, to him and his sister, praying with all his might that everything would turn out fine, that Dad would be found innocent of wrongdoing. After all, he hadn’t done anything bad on purpose. That had to count for something, right?
They arrived at a bar in Albuquerque, where the Demon Underground had its headquarters, and were rushed down to the spacious basement where a bunch of people sat around in a circle. All conversation died as they came into the room and everyone gawked. Guess they’d never seen a shadow demon before, let alone three.
They practically had to pry Sharra from Dad’s side as they seated her and Shawn outside the circle. Max settled himself between them, saying in what sounded like a gruff mental whisper, TOUCH ME AND SHOW THEM YOU’RE MOSTLY HUMAN. THAT MIGHT HELP.
Yeah, he had a point. Though Shawn didn’t really want anyone to see how terrified he was right now, he didn’t want them to be scared of him, either. He and Sharra grounded themselves by touching Max, and people stared even more at their human faces. He shifted uneasily under the scrutiny. Sheesh, what did it mean if other freaks thought they were weird?
A gray-haired woman came over and took his father’s hand so everyone could see him, and led him to the center of the circle. “I’m Kathryn, Albuquerque’s Underground leader. We have a quorum here today to form a judgment circle. Would you like to have the ritual now, or wait a few days?”
Please say you’ll wait, Shawn begged silently. He had a feeling this was going to go horribly wrong, and he wanted to put it off as long as possible.
“I want it over with,” his father said, his face set in hard lines. “I’d like to have the judgment now.”
Crap. It was all moving too fast. He needed everything to slow down long enough for him to get a real grip on what was going on, find his options, fix this.
“Very well,” the woman said. “Please, have a seat.”
She led him to a chair at one end of the circle, then sat next to him, keeping her hand on his so everyone could see his face. The Paladin stood behind them, ready to take action in case Dad tried anything.
It wasn’t like any trial Shawn had seen on television. Kathryn asked a bunch of questions about what happened, and Dad answered them honestly and completely, telling them the same story Shawn had heard earlier. He didn’t even try to defend himself. And, when asked, Max confirmed he was telling the truth.
Horror warred with worry within Shawn. This whole thing was surreal. Shawn desperately wished this was all a dream and that he’d wake up soon because things didn’t look so good for Dad right now.
Finally, Kathryn asked, “Does anyone else have anything to add?”
Shawn opened his mouth, but Sharra beat him by a millisecond. “I do,” his sister said. “Can I speak?”
The look Kathryn gave them was compassionate but resolved. “Were you a witness to the portal opening?”
“No, but I am a witness to my father’s character,” Sharra said in a pleading tone. “Doesn’t that count?”
Kathryn looked sad. “It isn’t customary for non-members to speak unless they are witnesses, but I’ll make an exception in your case. Please, say your piece.”
Sharra stood and Max shifted to keep contact so everyone could see her face. She took a deep breath, then said, “He’s a good father, kind and loving but gives us discipline when we need it. He’s been teaching us how to use our powers, how to control them, and make sure that what happened to him will never happen to us. He bugs us all the time about keeping our anger in check and won’t allow us to do anything that would jeopardize that. Doesn’t that prove he won’t allow himself to lose control again?” She looked around, and the faces looking back wore expressions from compassionate to unfeeling. “He only started to lose control this last time because my brother was being so nasty.” Sharra shot Shawn a dirty look, and he couldn’t help but wince at the truth in her statement.
Sounding more passionate now, Sharra added, “I was calming him down, I always do, but Diesel arrived before I could finish. I promise, if you let him go, I’ll watch him and ensure this never happens again. Please, please, find him innocent.” Her voice broke then, and tears started flowing. She sat down abruptly.
Shawn stood up, carefully keeping contact with Max. “I agree with everything my sister said. We love him . . . we need him. It was an accident—he didn’t do it on purpose. You can’t do this to him when he doesn’t deserve to be punished.” He didn’t know what else to say, how to convince these indifferent strangers to believe them, so he sat down again, his eyes as watery as his sister’s.
“Anyone else?” Kathryn asked. When no one said anything, she rose and said, “Then, we shall conduct the ritual. Soothsayer, if you will?”
As everyone put on dark blue robes and dimmed the lights, Shawn turned to Max. “What do we do?” he whispered.
YOU CAN STAY OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE AND OBSERVE, BUT DON’T TRY TO INTERFERE, OR IT WILL GO BADLY FOR YOUR FATHER.
Shawn glanced at Sharra to see her reaction, but she was still ignoring him. Suddenly, he felt all alone and vulnerable, as if something momentous was about to take place out of his control, and the only one who cared a hoot was the ugly dog at his feet.
The soothsayer—a short, thin guy who couldn’t be much older than Shawn—had everyone but Sharra and Shawn sit in the circle, with Dad, Kathryn and the soothsayer on the inside.
The soothsayer, who was the only one wearing a white robe, lit a large candle in the center and asked for silence.
When it was totally silent, the three of them formed a triangle inside the circle, with the candle centered between them.
Kathryn turned to Dad and asked in a formal voice, “Will you accept the judgment of your peers and abide by any decision they make?”
Dad, who now looked swirly, maybe even scary to everyone else, said, “I will.”
He sounded resigned, as if he already knew there would be a guilty verdict. Shawn’s heart clenched and it hurt so bad he could hardly stand it.
Kathryn took a deep breath, then spoke, sounding solemn. “You have come before us today to be judged for your actions in opening a portal and letting full-blooded demons into our world. We have heard your testimony and are ready to pass judgment. If you would all join hands?”
There was a rustle of fabric around the circle as everyone clasped hands. They closed their eyes and concentrated, and the room seemed to heat up. Shawn desperately wished he could hold someone’s hand, too, but Sharra was still angry at him, and he didn’t want to try it. Instead, he gripped the rolls on the dog’s neck, needing to hold onto something real. What’s going on?
he asked Max silently. What are they doing?
THEY ARE FOCUSING THEIR ENERGY ON THE SOOTHSAYER. HE WILL GO INTO A TRANCE AND READ THEIR WILL IN THIS MATTER.
His father’s fate was in the hands of one puny little guy? It didn’t seem fair.
NO, IT’S IN THE HANDS OF THE UNDERGROUND MEMBERS HERE TODAY, Max told him. SOOTHSAYERS DON’T MAKE MISTAKES.
The short guy raised his hands, palms up, and stared at the ceiling.
“Everyone, repeat after me,” Kathryn said. “Demonkind come together to hide, to encourage, to flourish and thrive.”
They repeated the words solemnly and warmth flowed across Shawn’s skin, raising the hackles on the back of his neck. Some kind of magic?
“Everyone is important, every one alive.
“Our rules are simple, our rules are true.
“Follow them faithfully, that you must do.
“But one amongst us has broken that trust.
“Truth we seek, only right, only just.”
They repeated every line after Kathryn, and tension built until power, full of truth and foreboding, spiraled around the circle, ruffling hair and clothing, making the candle flame leap higher.
Kathryn looked up from the book to stare at the little guy. “Soothsayer, this shadow demon is accused of opening a portal and admitting full-blooded demons into this world. What is the circle’s verdict?”
The soothsayer stared blankly at Kathryn, then said, “Guilty,” in an eerie voice.
Oh, crap, no! Shawn let out a disbelieving whimper.
DON’T SAY ANYTHING, Max reminded them quickly.
Sharra gasped but clapped her hands over her mouth.
“And the circle’s judgment?” Kathryn asked.
They paused, and Shawn held his breath for what seemed like forever as the soothsayer weighed the intentions of the people of the Underground.
Finally, he turned to Kathryn, his unfocused gaze implacable, and spoke. “There was no malice involved, no intent. The death penalty is not warranted.”
