I hesitated. “What…what kind of monsters?”
The priest glanced at Jared, and then back at me. “He makes many prophecies similar to Revelations. He refers to this as ‘The Beginning of Sorrows’. Jesus also states, ‘Woe to those who are pregnant or nursing babies in those days.’”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Jared said.
“You need to listen,” I said. “Maybe you’re unable to figure this out because you refuse to hear the truth. Maybe this is out of our hands.”
Jared’s brows pul ed in. “Those prophecies state an abundance of Hybrid births. If something like that were happening, we would hear about it.
Besides, Bean isn’t a Hybrid.”
Father Francis pushed up his glasses, clearly intrigued. “You know this for a fact?”
“Yes. The only child capable of this kind of reaction from Hel , a child capable of disturbing the Balance, wil be more than a Hybrid.”
“Your child isn’t human?”
I wrapped my arms around my stomach, cradling Bean protectively. “You make the baby sound like an abomination.”
“Isn’t it?” Father Francis said.
Jared stood. “No. It’s a child. Our child.” He took my hand and I stood with him.
“Forgive me,” Father Francis said. He stood before us. “I didn’t mean to offend you. We are in strange times—frightening times. I let panic get in the way of my thoughts. I just don’t see how it’s possible.”
“Nina is a descendant of the Nephilim,” Jared said, matter-of-factly.
The priest was confused. “But, this is what you are. Nephilim are children of angels, born of human women.”
Jared shook his head. “I am the son of an Arch. The Nephilim bred the likes of Goliath. Giants not meant to blend in. These angels roamed the earth. They had…rebel ed.”
The priest’s eyes grew wide, and I felt mine mirror his. I gripped Jared’s shirt. “What are you saying? That I’m a descendant of demons?”
“That’s not what I said. We’re talking thousands of years ago, Nina. Many things were different back then.”
“Rebel ious angels were cast out, Jared.”
Jared cupped my arms. “My mother is a descendant of Celts. They were savages, Nina. They drank the blood of their dead. I don’t personalize it.
That’s not what I am.”
“Then why did you leave that part out?” I covered my face with my hands, ashamed to even look at Jared. He was half angel, and I was carrying around the genes of Hel . No wonder our child was so rare. “Did you know that before?” I asked, my eyes fil ing with tears.
“No.”
My cheeks felt as if they had caught fire. I was hesitant to ask the question that had come to my mind, but I would anyway. I always did, no matter how horrible I thought the answer would be. “Does it change the way you feel about me?”
Jared took my jaws gently into his hands, and he looked straight into my eyes. “Nina, of course not. How could you even think that?”
“Because I don’t know how I feel about me, now.”
Jared put his lips on mine, and then he pul ed me to him. It was my father’s last secret, the last thing Jared had tried to keep from hurting me. But, now that it was in the open, everything made perfect sense. I could never quite fit the pieces together until now.
Stil , I felt…the only way to describe it was that I felt dirty. After all of that, we were no closer to an answer than when we’d arrived. “Is that what Uriel meant when he said ‘monsters’? What wil the baby be?”
“Our baby. Bean wil be our baby, nothing more. You know what you need?” he said with a smal smile.
“What’s that?” I said, wiping the delicate skin under my eyes.
“The comfort of experience.” Jared tugged on my hand. “Let’s invite Lil ian to dinner.”
Father Francis held out his hand. “We’re not finished, are we?”
Jared frowned. “The answers aren’t in those books. I don’t know what else to do.”
“The answer is always in this book,” Father Francis said, holding his Bible in his hands. He held it to his chest. “We’ve just missed something.”
“We haven’t missed anything. I had hoped He would lead you to the answer, Father, but He hasn’t so much as whispered in your ear.”
Jared’s words sent my mind spinning. Had we missed something? Had the answer been in front of us all along? I clicked through each idea and passage of scripture I’d heard them discuss like channels in my mind. I kept coming back to Shax’s book, and returning it to Jerusalem.
“Maybe it’s not in my ear he’s whispering?” The priest said.
Jared waved him away. “Nina’s exhausted and hungry. It’s clouding my thoughts. all I can think about is that damn book and returning it so Shax can’t get to it and we can concentrate on keeping Nina safe.”
“Wait, what?” I said, stunned.
“I have the Jerusalem trip on my mind. I can’t focus on anything else. It’s maddening.”
“He’s whispering,” I said.
Jared raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Father Francis nodded, and hobbled to where we stood. “She’s right.”
I gripped Jared’s shirt. “The Sepulchre. The only place they aren’t all owed to desecrate. The one place the book is safe from Hel ’s hands.”
Jared’s eyes lit up like twin fires. “We can keep you safe there.”
Chapter Nine
Due
Bex finished the last place setting, and then returned to the kitchen. Lil ian sat happily at one end of my mother’s long, imported table, Cynthia not so happily at the other. I waited anxiously with them, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Almost to a beat, Cynthia would shoot me glances of disapproval. She hated it when I fidgeted, but now that I was married, she felt it impolite to mother me. Bex and Jared worked furiously in the kitchen, their laughter and conversation filtering to the formal dining room along with the delicious smel s of savory herbs.
Bex appeared again with a basket of hot dinner rol s and a butter dish. His eyes darted to the empty doorway, and then back to the table. “It’s about time.”
The front door opened, and then I heard Claire grumbling under her breath. She and Ryan made their way to the table like summer and winter— Ryan was all smiles, and Claire sported her usual scowl.
Bex brought in a pot of steamed vegetables in one hand, and a bowl of rice in the other. Ryan pul ed out Claire’s chair and then clapped his hands, rubbing them together.
“I can help,” he said.
Bex nodded once toward the kitchen. “Just pick something and bring it out to the table.” He pul ed off his apron and took a seat next to his mother.
“I think you should leave it on,” Claire said. “Pink pinstripes look good on you.”
Bex stuck his tongue out at his sister and then placed his napkin in his lap. Lil ian shot a look at Claire and then smiled at Bex. “It looks wonderful, as always, son.”
Ryan returned with a casserole dish of scal oped potatoes, and Jared brought in a huge ham. They were laughing about something, and I couldn’t help but attempt to sneak a peek at Claire’s reaction. She all owed a half smile, but it quickly vanished when Ryan took a seat next to her.