DEMON SENSE (Completed)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

Larson and I sat across from Nathan. We were in his upstairs office, debriefing him on what had just gone down in his basement. Actually, Larson was the one recapping. I was still in shock—though, not enough that I hadn't brushed my teeth prior.

Kelsey was in the room, too, but she wasn't sitting at Nathan's desk with the rest of us. Instead, she was admiring Nathan's collection of vintage books and artifacts, aesthetically placed in a large mahogany oak bookcase. Larson and I had picked her up on our way to look for Nathan, so she already knew Atlas was dead.

We hadn't told Nathan yet, but he apparently had assumed as much. "Did you manage to learn anything before you killed him?"

I could tell from his tone, Nathan expected us to give him disappointing news. His expression was surprised when Larson admitted otherwise.

"Really? So you discovered something about Viktoriya's demon?"

Unable to answer, I stared into my lap. I'd found out much more than that.

"Indeed," Larson nodded.

My mind wandered from the conversation. I couldn't stop thinking about my mother. How could she? There was no reasoning, of course, that would excuse her actions. She'd messed around on my dad. Not just that, but she'd been disloyal to all of us. I felt betrayed.

All this time, I'd thought my ability to see the damned was just an unfortunate chance of nature. Occasionally, I even felt I'd somehow brought it upon myself. Knowing I wasn't to blame was a weight off my shoulders. Now, however, a feeling of anger and resentment replaced the weight of my guilt. It had been my mother's choices—not mine—that had led to my curse, and the undoing of our family.

If, two hours ago, anyone had told me I'd hate someone more than Roland, I wouldn't have believed it. But I did. I hated my mother more than anything. After all, if it wasn't for her, I'd have never crossed paths with the demon in the first place.

Larson's voice pulled me back from my trance. "Atlas was Nephilim."

Nathan looked at me. His expression was odd. It was partly sympathetic, and partly an emotion I couldn't place. Pained? Guilty?

"What's that," Kelsey asked, coming to stand between Larson and me.

"Half demon, half human," Larson explained.

Nathan was still watching me. It gave me an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Yikes," Kelsey said, winning the Understatement of the Year Award.

"And," I said, watching the enigmatic man across from me. "According to Roland, so am I."

Kelsey gasped, but didn't say anything else. Nathan, on the other hand, didn't even bother to look surprised.

"You knew, didn't you?" I thought I might be sick again.

He continued to stare. "I had my suspicions."

My throat felt tight, and my nose started to sting from the effort not to cry. "Why didn't you tell me? A warning would have been nice."

"They were only suspicions, Viktoriya. I was not certain. Even if I had shared with you my theory, would have believed me?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know. Maybe. Regardless," I said, tearing up and almost losing it, "you should have tried." Maybe then, it wouldn't have been such a painful shock.

I rose from my seat, and left the room without another word. I managed to make it to my room before breaking down. As soon as my door was shut behind me, the tears started to fall. Falling onto my bed, I buried my face into my pillow, hoping it would muffle my sobs.