Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Laughter, choked and incredulous, bubbles from my throat, and I look up as Micah returns. “This is a joke, right?”
He claims his seat again, a steaming cup in his hand as he blatantly ignores my question. “Werewolves, also known as Wolf Demons, are lower-level demons.” He eases forward to flip to a drawing of a man in various forms of shifting into a giant standing wolf. “They appear human except on a full moon when they shift,” he continues, “at which point, they rip out a few human throats and steal their souls. They then deliver those souls to an upper-level demon like Jeremy, who in turn allows them to live. The wolf is pure muscle and power, and its teeth and claws are vicious weapons.” He smirks. “Need that coffee yet?”
“Yes, actually. I really need that coffee. Got any booze to go in it?”
“Ever been drunk, Ember?”
I have no idea why, but my defenses hum. “Of course I have.”
“When? What happened?”
“I…I really can’t remember details. I don’t drink much, so I don’t get drunk.”
“You don’t get drunk, period. You can’t. We’re immune to human alcohol.”
“Human alcohol? What does that even mean? We’re human, right? Or some form of human?”
“We’re descendants of angels. We are not human.”
“Angels,” I breathe out.
He flips the book shut and points. The Sacred Book of Nephilim, it reads, and the title stirs something inside me, something as familiar as what I feel with Micah. “Angels,” he says. “Fallen angels.”
“Fallen?”
“Our ancestors protected humanity, sworn to do so from the shadows, but too many caved to the temptation of human flesh. They became the Fallen, unable to rise again, sentenced to life on Earth.” And before I can ask the hundreds of questions ticking through my mind, he asks, “What do you feel when you’re near a demon?”
“I told you. Ice. I feel ice.”
“Do you feel sick?”
“I did. Yes. I do.”
“That’s because you can’t control your gifts. It’ll become more a buzz than a zap, for lack of a better description.” He indicates the book and somehow flips back to the exact spot we’d previously studied. “See those teeth on the wolf?”
“Yeah. I see the teeth. They’re hard to miss.”
“Leather doesn’t rip as easily. You’ll learn to appreciate it despite how damn hot it can become.”
“Because I’m going to fight those things?”
“You’ll not only fight, you’ll thrive on it.”
I shake my head. “This is insanity.”
“This is your destiny.”
“I want to kill Jeremy, but I don’t want a life of nothing but death.”
He shoves sharply away from the table, stands, and turns my chair to face him. His hands come down on the arms on either side of me. “You are hunted. We are always hunted. You will fight, and you will win, or you will die, and everyone you would have saved will die. I’m your come-to-Jesus. I won’t always be there to save your life. You’ll have to save yourself and others. I believe you can and will rise to that challenge, but Jeremy is coming, so do it quickly. Eat. Drink. Read the book, and I’ll come for you later.” He shoves off of my chair and straightens, already walking toward the door, and I don’t even think about following him. Suddenly, those screams are back in my head. Murdered. Tortured. Bloody and gruesome. They call to me. They want me to save them. It’s too late for them, but it is not too late for others.
By the time he’s at the door, he’s waiting on me. “You said Crystal Seers fight the wars,” I say.
“We do. When push comes to shove, it’s our job to save humans and angels alike.”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with Jeremy back at the cabin. What makes you think I can?”
“He bound my powers.”
“You have no powers?”
“It was temporary. I was useless. Which shouldn’t have happened. That’s what I spent last night tackling. How did he do it?”
“And?”
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out. But that’s why he mocked me over the gold, which he knows damn well I didn’t think would kill him. I was slowing him down until help arrived. What happened shouldn’t have been possible. No demon has the ability to bind our powers.”
“But he does. He did yours.”
“Yes, Ember. He does and did, and the fact that he could touch my powers has sent shockwaves through the Overseer community. It would cause panic if the Seer community as a whole finds out. I’m trusting you with that knowledge. That cannot get out.”
“Never. Not from me. I promise.”
He nods sharply and adds, “His abilities are not natural-born. There’s a way to banish them and him.”
“If you’d have had your powers out there—”
“My men would still be alive. I would have obliterated him and his minions.”
My pulse roars in my ears. “Do I have that kind of power?”