The Demon Trappers: Foretold (9 page)

‘I saw it in your bedroom that night I stayed at your place. Dad was helping you with it, wasn’t he?’

Beck’s wariness vanished at the mention of her father.

‘Yeah. He’d tell me the words that I didn’t understand, write them out for me. Then he’d have me copy them over and over until I could spell them right.’

‘That’s how I learned,’ she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

‘Yer smarter than me.’

‘I’d argue that.’ She pointed at the book. ‘Anything I can help you with?’

For half a second she thought he’d say no to cover his ego, but instead he nodded. ‘There are some words I just don’t get.’

Riley took the book from him and checked her dad’s list against the page Beck was reading.

‘Twining?’ He nodded. ‘That means twisting something together, like thread or pieces of rope.’

‘Twi . . . ning. OK. I got that.’

She went through five more words, ensuring he understood them. If he didn’t, he asked more questions.

‘I think I got them,’ he said. ‘This book’s a lot harder than the ones I usually read. It’s takin’ forever.’

‘But you’re getting through it,’ she said.

‘I suppose. I don’t think I’ll ever read like most folks.’

‘At least you’re trying. That’s what counts.’

He didn’t go back to the story, but stared off at nothing, the book forgotten in his hands.

‘Beck?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Did your mother leave you in the swamp? I need to know the truth.’

So I know if she’s a liar or truly evil.

He sagged against the headboard, then rubbed his eyes. ‘Once I start down this road, Riley, there is no stoppin’. There’s so much.’

‘I can handle it,’ she urged. ‘Talk to me, Beck. This is eating at you like the cancer is your mom.’

He looked up at her. ‘Never thought of it like that.’ Beck placed the book on the nightstand, his jaw set. ‘I was eight. She’d been drinkin’ and we had one helluva
fight. It was the first time I stood up to her.’ He sighed. ‘I called her a . . . whore because I caught her with some guy she’d brought home from a bar. She’d said
she’d stop doin’ that and there she was with the bastard on the couch and they were . . .’ He shook his head at the thought. ‘Well, you get the picture.’

Riley bit her lip.

‘I kept thinkin’ my daddy would come back to us some day and if he saw her like that . . .’

He’d leave again.

‘The next afternoon, right after school, she gets me in the car and we go for a long drive. I had no idea where we were headed. When I ask, she says it’s a test to see if I could be
trusted.’

Riley struggled to hide the whole body shiver that shot through her.

‘Sadie drove over to the west side of Okefenokee, to the state park and then into the swamp. She seemed to know where she was going, so I didn’t say anything. I thought this might be
somethin’ fun for a change, it bein’ Friday afternoon and all.’

Riley could just imagine what it’d been like for him, out for a ride with his mom. He’d have been so excited, especially after such a big fight. He’d have thought things were
getting better between them.

‘Sadie parked the car and then we started walkin’. I don’t know how far we went, but it wasn’t easy. We kept goin’ deeper into the swamp. After a while I got
scared, but she kept urgin’ me on. Then she stopped.’

He fumbled with the sheets.

‘I still remember the look on her face. It was so . . . cruel.’ He cleared his throat. ‘“Stay here, Denver,” she said. “If ya stay right here and ya
don’t cry, I’ll tell ya the name of yer daddy.”’

Riley’s mouth dropped open. ‘And you believed her?’

‘Hell, yes,’ Beck snapped. ‘I was a kid. All I wanted was for her to love me and if that meant staying out there, I’d do it.’

‘Oh my God,’ Riley said, her blood running cold. Sadie had used the one lure that her son would never resist. The woman
was
evil.

Beck’s hands were clenched on either side of him now. When he realized it, he forced himself to let them fall slack on the covers.

‘Sadie said she was teachin’ me how to take care of myself because no one else would.’

‘How long were you . . .’ Riley barely choked out.

‘Two days and three nights. By the second mornin’ I knew she wasn’t comin’ back for me, so I set off on my own. It was right before sunset when the park ranger found
me.’

‘How did he know where to look?’

‘He didn’t, but by then Donovan knew I was missin’ so they’d put out an alert.’ Beck ran his hand over the sheet again, smoothing out the wrinkles.

‘Why the hell isn’t she in jail?’ Riley demanded. When he didn’t reply, the truth hit her. ‘You didn’t tell them what really happened, did you?’

Beck shook his head. ‘I said I ran away. Donovan knew better, but he didn’t have any proof. They couldn’t charge Sadie for anythin’.’

‘But she left you to die!’ she protested, outraged that this horror had been allowed to stand.

‘I know,’ he said, his voice trembling. ‘When you want someone to love you, you’ll do anythin’. Even lie for them.’

Then she never told you about your father. What a cold-hearted bitch.

Now Riley understood that profoundly sad expression in his eyes. He’d been betrayed by the one person who should have always been there for him.

As if exhausted by the confession, Beck shut off the reading light and curled up with his back to her. That’s what she would have done if she didn’t want him to know she was crying.
He might be nearly twenty-three years old, been to a war and back, but he was still that little boy in the swamp. He would always crave acceptance from the one woman who would never give a
damn.

‘Beck?’

‘Yeah?’ he said, his voice muffled.

‘Sadie hates you because you were better than her from the moment you were born.’

He rolled over, a sheen in his eyes. ‘You really mean that?’

‘Yes. And I’ll trash anyone who says different,’ she said defiantly, her fists clenched.

‘You might have to back up those words if we stay in this town much longer.’

‘Then let’s do what we have to and go home,’ she said.

With a murmured ‘Yeah’ he rolled over again, crawling back into his shell.

She looked down at him, all rumpled in the bed, his hair askew. He was so lost she really wanted to hug him and never let go. Every time he let down more of his defences she discovered his
hopes, dreams, his hidden pain. Every revelation made her love him that much more.

Riley left the doors between their rooms open, more for him than her. She never wanted Beck to think that she didn’t trust him, especially not now.

As she curled up her own bed, tears formed in her eyes. Some were for her parents and the gaping hole their deaths left inside her. Most were for a little tow-headed boy who’d nearly died
trying to prove he was worthy of his mother’s love.

Morning brought noises: The sound of a shower running, then the buzz of an electric razor. Riley finally blinked open her eyes. Though the connecting door she spied Beck
standing in front of a full-length wall mirror, clad only in a pair of tight black briefs as he addressed the stubble on his face. If he was worried about her seeing him in his underwear, he would
have shut the door.

Riley sighed in appreciation as she scoped out the scenery, running her eyes from the top of his head all the way to his calves and then slowly back up again. Her attention hung on the long
jagged surgical scar on his left hip. It didn’t look like a demon wound.

Probably from the war.
Her eyes edged upward. Backwoods Boy had one of the finest butts she’d ever seen and his chest and shoulders were sculpted with just the right amount of
muscle. He was definitely worth the scrutiny.

Then her eyes met his in the mirror.

‘Like what yer seein’?’ he called out, grinning.

Busted.
‘I’d like it better if it had clothes on,’ she lied, then pulled the covers over her head so he wouldn’t see her blush.

‘You lie,’ he replied, and then laughed.

There was the sound of a drawer opening, then the slide of clothes on flesh. A short time later the bottom of her bed indented. She peeked out to find him sitting on the edge, pulling on his
thick socks.

‘What time is it?’ she mumbled.

‘A little after seven.’ He put on a boot and expertly laced it up. ‘Pretty late, by my way of thinkin’.’ The second boot went on and he double knotted it like the
first. ‘How about I find us somethin’ to eat while yer gettin’ ready?’

‘That works.’
Come back in a couple of hours . . .

‘Would a breakfast sandwich work for you? How’s about some orange juice?’

It was obscenely early to be talking about food. ‘Whatever.’

‘Coffee?’

‘Tea. Hot.’

‘Won’t be gone long so don’t go back to sleep, you hear?’

Riley mumbled a swear word under her breath. Even her dad had understood it took her a while to get going in the morning. The door to her room closed and a few seconds later Beck’s truck
roared to life, headed towards some fast-food place. She rolled over, savouring the peace and quiet. Riley was just drifting back to sleep when her cellphone rang. Plucking it off the nightstand,
she didn’t bother to check the display.

‘Hello?’ she growled.

‘You want hash browns too?’ Beck asked, amusement in his voice. He’d done this on purpose. ‘Riley? I didn’t wake you, did I?’ Then he laughed again.

Jerk.

Riley turned off the phone and dropped it on the nightstand. ‘All right!’ she snarled. ‘You win! I’m up!’

As she hauled herself to the shower, she knew one thing for certain: there would be payback sometime down the line.

Bent over a book, it took Stewart a moment to realize he was not alone. He glanced up and his eyes locked on the figure in the library doorway.

The Fallen angel that had seduced Paul’s daughter studied him solemnly.

‘Yer alive, then,’ Stewart said, shutting the book with a thump. ‘Why have ya dared ta enter the house of a Grand Master without his permission?’

In lieu of a reply, Ori tossed him one of Stewart’s own swords and the master caught it one-handed. He rose in a swift motion, despite his damaged leg.

‘If yer thinkin’ about tryin’ ta kill me, it’ll not be in this room. I’ll nay have yer blue blood soakin’ into my fine books.’

‘I’m not here for you, Angus Niall Stewart.’

‘Why the blade, then?’

‘I thought it might comfort you in my presence.’

Stewart snorted in derision. ‘God, yer as arrogant as yer master.’ He gestured. ‘If yer not here to fight, have a seat, angel.’

Ori pulled out a chair and sat across from the master. He looked much the same as he had in the cemetery, but there was something subtly different now. The dark eyes seemed colder, more feral.
Haunted
.

‘Does yer boss know yer makin’ a social call?’ Stewart asked as he placed the blade on the table between them.

No reply.

‘Look, yer on borrowed time here. I’m not takin’ kindly to havin’ ya in my house, so ya’d best start talkin’ or I will be needin’ this sword.’

‘So much for that famed Scottish hospitality,’ Ori replied. ‘Hell is in turmoil. Sartael remains in chains, but his supporters have not given up.’

‘And?’

‘It is only a matter of time before those supporters free their master.’

‘While the Prince has his back turned? That I doubt. If Sartael is freed, it is because Lucifer wishes it so.’

‘The Prince is losing control. There are those who wish a . . . change. There are some that believe I should take my master’s place.’

‘Really?’ Stewart replied. ‘Looks as if I
will
have to kill ya today.’

‘You can try,’ the angel replied evenly.

‘Since we’re layin’ it all out here, do ya hold Riley Blackthorne’s soul?’

‘Yes. I accepted it during the battle at the cemetery. The fact I have not offered it to Lucifer is part of the disagreement between us.’

That caught Stewart off guard. ‘Why haven’t ya done so? It’s customary.’

‘Riley set her own terms: her soul is mine, but I am not permitted to give it to anyone else, including the Prince. If I die before her, she will be free of Hell’s debt.’ At
the master’s puzzled expression, he added, ‘I swore on the Light. I cannot break that vow.’

Stewart leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. ‘Well, no wonder yer havin’ problems with yer boss. But this isn’t all of it.’ He frowned. ‘Something else has
happened.’

Ori’s expression darkened. ‘I sought death and it was not granted to me. I am Divine and yet I am treated no better than one of his unholy demons.’

‘I see. Ya still have not told me why yer here.’

‘Because I execute those who are traitors to Lucifer, any mortal I have co-opted is in peril. The demons will seek to destroy that person to gain revenge against me. In the past, I
immediately gifted the rights to any soul to my master to spare the mortal’s life because the demons were less likely to harm them if Lucifer was involved.’

‘But not with Riley’s soul.’

‘Indeed. When she made her bargain, I saw a way out. I would die and she would be freed. Since I am still alive and the terms of our agreement do not allow me to give her soul to anyone,
she is in great danger.’

Stewart stroked his chin. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I was talkin’ to one of Heaven’s crew rather than a Fallen. Yer kind is not known for keepin’
yer word.’

‘I do keep my vows,’ Ori replied hotly. ‘That is why Riley must . . .’ He sighed. ‘To stay alive, she will need to sacrifice even more than her soul.’

‘I could kill ya. That would free her.’

‘Even if you could, she would still be in danger. She has to know how to fight Lucifer’s foes. I’m the one to teach her.’

‘So that’s the real reason yer here.’ Stewart sighed. ‘When would this trainin’ begin?’

Ori closed his eyes, as if he was trying to discern the thread of Riley’s life. ‘Once she is finished with the trapper. Providing she is still alive.’