Unmasked | Book 1 in "Dark Descendants" (Editing)

Chapter 23

~Rose

I twirled the knife between my fingers once more. When was I ever going to get rid of that stupid weapon?

Joe watched me, sitting next to a sleeping Abby. He held his hand out. "Let me see."

"You've never seen this before?" I asked him, passing it to him. He shook his head, running his fingertips along the blade carefully as he examined it. "It is like the only thing that can kill you guys."

"Never seen it," he whispered.

"Funny. Fallon seemed to know about it." I recalled the moment when he first saw it. There was absolutely no look of surprise on his face. He had undoubtedly seen it before.

"And how the hell is that possible?" He paused, a frown etching its onto his face. He pursed his lips. "Unless he stole and hid it in the first place."

I've had enough of the serious, shocking discoveries for one day. Yawning, I leaned forward, holding up my head with both hands. My eyes were probably red from the exhaustion. Of course not the irises, obviously. "Wow." I feigned enthusiasm, eyes wide. I must have looked like a psychopath. "He must have ventured far away into Disneyland to steal it. I wonder who he killed to get it. Probably a mighty dragon who breathed fire, which explains why the hilt is carved into its shape." I pointed at the knife.

"No, but close." Joe seemed slightly amused. He held out the knife upright, causing the light to reflect off the blade. "People used to believe that dragons were just demons in disguise because they wreaked havoc and could breathe fire. Most of them bore our true eyes as well—in the olden days anyway. No one could possibly tame one, and it was next to impossible to kill one. That's why our demon marks, or tattoos for simplicity, are in the shape of dragons." He unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and moved it to the side, revealing his dragon tattoo.

"I've always wondered about that." I got up to inspect it closer. There was a dark contrast between the black tattoo and his pale white skin. I ran my hand across it. It was smooth, it felt like his normal skin, just like a tattoo.

I don't know, maybe I was expecting it to be rigid or something. This just seemed too normal.

"It might change its shape, though," he continued. "And position if our demonic halves are, well, awakened. Or disturbed."

I withdrew my hand to let him re-button his shirt. "But Fallon's was awakened when he turned into that thing...Right?"

"You didn't see his bare arm after that, did you?" I thought back for a moment. When he had turned back his dress shirt had resettled into place. It hadn't been torn from his transformation, so it covered his upper body. Even after that, he wore a jacket all the time. Leaving me wondering now if it was still there.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. Of course he'd hide it.

He flipped the knife in his hand, staring at the plus sign. "One of the many known death signs. This must act opposite to our rings. Glow when a demon's killed."

I had to say, whatever he was talking about was pretty damn useful. But I don't know when I felt my eyelids fluttering closed as sleep finally took over, I just know it was soon after he said "killed".

About time. I certainly needed it.

And I had a dream. Fallon was standing in the middle of the woods, glowering at someone in front of him. That man was about his height and had a gun pushed up the bottom of Fallon's chin, finger on the trigger.

I could do nothing to help him. I myself wasn't in the dream, I was just sleeping in the real world. Something about that mans face unnerved me. It was familiar yet it made me feel...Scared. I wanted to just hide under the blankets forever, squeezing the guts out of a big pink teddy bear as if it would save me. I certainly believed so when I was younger. Yes, the good old days...