I shrugged and took another glance at the clock. 12:12. Had time actually stopped? How is Farrah?
The glint of dark humor faded in Becks eyes as they narrowed. Farrah is dead. I took her to the Netherworld to give birth in peace, and she delivered my son with her last breath. He died in my arms, less than fifteen minutes later. Months of hard work and hope, gone. He stepped closer, and again I stepped back, until my spine hit the edge of the kitchen counter. There was nowhere left to go.
Farrah was seven months pregnant, he said. The infant would have been viableif Id had a soul to give him. Another step toward me, and panic echoed in every whoosh of my racing pulse. But when I took my newborn son to collect the soul kept warm for him in the body of a certain young syphon, she was gone. And my son died, staring up at me with blind eyes, empty for want of a soul. Fury blazed in his own eyes, like he was the bonfire and I was the fuel. You wouldnt know anything about that, would you, Ms. Cavanaugh?
Lydia wasnt crazy, I whispered, then cleared my voice, determined to project both volume and confidence I didnt feel. She shouldnt have been there in the first place.
Yes, but she was there, and her soul was mine for the taking. Youve cost me a soul, Ms. Cavanaugh, and youre going to make up for that loss tonight.
I burst into laughter, grimly, and maybe inappropriately amused by the irony. Youre out of luck, Mr. Beck. And the truth of that statementthe unexpected upside to my imminent deathrolled through me on a sudden surge of reckless courage. I braced my hands on the counter behind me and hopped onto it, my legs dangling in front of the cabinet doors, suddenly a bit more confident because of what I knew and he did not. You cant get life out of me, Mr. Beck. Im going to die today, so Im no use to you. So why dont you just go away?
Beck blinked, and I relished those short seconds of surprise. Then they died a swift, brutal death. If I wanted you to carry my child, your expiration date would be a bit of a problem. Fortunately, thats not what I have in mind for you. My inherent charm works best on humans. The bitter irony in that is that humans are rarely able to carry an incubus baby to full term, and never able to provide the infant with a soul.
I shrugged, trying not to let him see my renewed fear. Sucks for you.
He nodded solemnly. Succinctly put. I can either breed with a human and look elsewhere for a soul, or I can try to force someone in possession of the desired soul to carry my child. And since I find physical force a repulsive way to start new life, I have no use for your body. I was going to have to kill you for your soul anyway. He shrugged, evidently satisfied with how fate had dealt the cards. But on thebright side, at least you no longer have to wonder how youre going to die.
21
Panic swelled in my chest, numbing me to the point that I could barely breathe. I couldnt think fast enough to process what hed just said. All Id understood was that I was going to die because he was going to kill me. And take my soul.
No. I slid off of the counter, terrified to realize that my legs no longer wanted to support methey were shaky from shock. I am not going to die without my soul.
Youll be deadwhat does it matter? Its not like youre going to be tortured for all of eternity. Youre simply giving life to my son. Could be worse, right?
No. It couldnt. Call me crazy, but I didnt want to be reincarnated as the hell spawn of a lust-demon. You dont need me, I insisted, edging slowly along the counter, silently counting the drawers my fingers skimmed over, headed toward the last one. Im not the only nonhuman girl in town, you know. Im not even the only one in the school. This soul doesnt have to come from a girl, right?
No, I wasnt selling out Nash and Sabine. But if I could get rid of Beck long enough to make sure Em, Sophie and I were safe, I could call Tod and he could get Sabine and Nash somewhere safe. We could call my dad and meet up for safety in numbers. Or something.
Oh, I know. Becks brows rose in mild interest. This town has become quite the hotbed of nonhuman activity. But neither your mara friendSabine is a mara, right? he asked, and I could only nod. Smart girl, but a little too eager. I never would have figured out her secret if she hadnt tried to read my fears. But my point is that neither she nor your boyfriend will suffice. I havent figured out what Nash is, thanks to the dissimulatus, but I can tell that he isnt pure, and neither is Sabine. They wont work.
Pure? Thats all I could manage, from the litany of questions firing from my overloaded synapses like sparks from a dying flame.
Oooh, missed that part of the homework, did you? Beck stepped closer, cutting off my escape. The babys soul has to be pure. Untouched, in one way or another, because it comes directly from the source, without all the purification, sterilization, or whatever they do to souls that are turned in to the proper authority. And pure souls get harder and harder to find, with each passing generation.
They do? Pointless question. Keep him talking
Nash and Sabine have been around the block a few timesI can tell that even with their psychic shields. And your boyfriends soul is bruised and battered from something else. Something dark that he tries to hide.
The glint of dark humor faded in Becks eyes as they narrowed. Farrah is dead. I took her to the Netherworld to give birth in peace, and she delivered my son with her last breath. He died in my arms, less than fifteen minutes later. Months of hard work and hope, gone. He stepped closer, and again I stepped back, until my spine hit the edge of the kitchen counter. There was nowhere left to go.
Farrah was seven months pregnant, he said. The infant would have been viableif Id had a soul to give him. Another step toward me, and panic echoed in every whoosh of my racing pulse. But when I took my newborn son to collect the soul kept warm for him in the body of a certain young syphon, she was gone. And my son died, staring up at me with blind eyes, empty for want of a soul. Fury blazed in his own eyes, like he was the bonfire and I was the fuel. You wouldnt know anything about that, would you, Ms. Cavanaugh?
Lydia wasnt crazy, I whispered, then cleared my voice, determined to project both volume and confidence I didnt feel. She shouldnt have been there in the first place.
Yes, but she was there, and her soul was mine for the taking. Youve cost me a soul, Ms. Cavanaugh, and youre going to make up for that loss tonight.
I burst into laughter, grimly, and maybe inappropriately amused by the irony. Youre out of luck, Mr. Beck. And the truth of that statementthe unexpected upside to my imminent deathrolled through me on a sudden surge of reckless courage. I braced my hands on the counter behind me and hopped onto it, my legs dangling in front of the cabinet doors, suddenly a bit more confident because of what I knew and he did not. You cant get life out of me, Mr. Beck. Im going to die today, so Im no use to you. So why dont you just go away?
Beck blinked, and I relished those short seconds of surprise. Then they died a swift, brutal death. If I wanted you to carry my child, your expiration date would be a bit of a problem. Fortunately, thats not what I have in mind for you. My inherent charm works best on humans. The bitter irony in that is that humans are rarely able to carry an incubus baby to full term, and never able to provide the infant with a soul.
I shrugged, trying not to let him see my renewed fear. Sucks for you.
He nodded solemnly. Succinctly put. I can either breed with a human and look elsewhere for a soul, or I can try to force someone in possession of the desired soul to carry my child. And since I find physical force a repulsive way to start new life, I have no use for your body. I was going to have to kill you for your soul anyway. He shrugged, evidently satisfied with how fate had dealt the cards. But on thebright side, at least you no longer have to wonder how youre going to die.
21
Panic swelled in my chest, numbing me to the point that I could barely breathe. I couldnt think fast enough to process what hed just said. All Id understood was that I was going to die because he was going to kill me. And take my soul.
No. I slid off of the counter, terrified to realize that my legs no longer wanted to support methey were shaky from shock. I am not going to die without my soul.
Youll be deadwhat does it matter? Its not like youre going to be tortured for all of eternity. Youre simply giving life to my son. Could be worse, right?
No. It couldnt. Call me crazy, but I didnt want to be reincarnated as the hell spawn of a lust-demon. You dont need me, I insisted, edging slowly along the counter, silently counting the drawers my fingers skimmed over, headed toward the last one. Im not the only nonhuman girl in town, you know. Im not even the only one in the school. This soul doesnt have to come from a girl, right?
No, I wasnt selling out Nash and Sabine. But if I could get rid of Beck long enough to make sure Em, Sophie and I were safe, I could call Tod and he could get Sabine and Nash somewhere safe. We could call my dad and meet up for safety in numbers. Or something.
Oh, I know. Becks brows rose in mild interest. This town has become quite the hotbed of nonhuman activity. But neither your mara friendSabine is a mara, right? he asked, and I could only nod. Smart girl, but a little too eager. I never would have figured out her secret if she hadnt tried to read my fears. But my point is that neither she nor your boyfriend will suffice. I havent figured out what Nash is, thanks to the dissimulatus, but I can tell that he isnt pure, and neither is Sabine. They wont work.
Pure? Thats all I could manage, from the litany of questions firing from my overloaded synapses like sparks from a dying flame.
Oooh, missed that part of the homework, did you? Beck stepped closer, cutting off my escape. The babys soul has to be pure. Untouched, in one way or another, because it comes directly from the source, without all the purification, sterilization, or whatever they do to souls that are turned in to the proper authority. And pure souls get harder and harder to find, with each passing generation.
They do? Pointless question. Keep him talking
Nash and Sabine have been around the block a few timesI can tell that even with their psychic shields. And your boyfriends soul is bruised and battered from something else. Something dark that he tries to hide.
