“Isn’t that pretty much sacrilegious? The Bible of Hel being kept under what was thought to be the tomb of Jesus Christ?” I said.
Kim rubbed her temples. I had clearly asked a question she’d answered a thousand times. “The Holy presence there kept Shax and his legions from finding it. My grandfather didn’t know that. He removed the book, and after learning of its importance, he vowed to keep it safe. That vow, and the book, has cursed our family for generations.”
“Curses seem to be the popular thing around here,” I grumbled.
Kim glanced at Jared.
“I’m sorry,” I said, laughing without humor, “this is al a little far-fetched. Even for me, and I’ve seen Shax.”
The room grew cold, and Jared and Claire immediately extended their necks, looking to the ceiling. Jared pul ed me closer to him, and Claire sat on the other side of me, lightly touching my knee.
The lights flickered, and even with Jared’s and Claire’s warm bodies on each side of me, I shook from the cold. The dim fluorescent lights created an eerie glow to the air we exhaled, now warmer than the air in the room.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“For the fiftieth time, Nina, stay calm,” Claire said, her voice even. “Nothing wil happen to you while we’re here. This is just what happens when there’s a higher concentration of them than normal.”
“Higher concentration?” I asked.
Kim looked above her. “Oh there’s probably an army or two around...or one real y strong one.”
I shivered. “Which is worse?”
“One,” Claire whispered, her eyes unfocused. She was relying on her senses, creating a thoughtful, confused expression on her face.
Kim returned her attention to me. Her demeanor was baffling. She had always been relaxed, and at times aloof, but it was hard to believe she could remain that way with so many Others around. Every part of me wanted to run screaming down the hal .
“Anyone who’s made the trip to return the book to the Sulpulchre never came back. We thought Jack and Gabe stealing the book from my uncle was the best thing that could have happened to our family, until Shax held us personal y responsible. That’s when I got sick…or that’s what we thought it was.”
Even with the drop in temperature and the knowledge that a mil ion demons might have been hovering over us, I sat hunched over, with my chin resting on my fist, suddenly unimpressed. “You were possessed. Like priests and green pea soup possessed? C’mon, Kim.”
“I don’t remember most of it. I just know that my father spared no expense to bring in the best of the best, and when Father Gary and Father Carmine were finished...I was different.”
Jared squeezed my hand. “When humans are overtaken in that way, they are often left weak for the rest of their lives. Kim kept something with her when Father Carmine final y extracted the demons. And they wouldn’t have left behind power voluntarily. She took it from them, and because of that, they fear her.”
“What kind of power?” I asked.
“The al -knowing, understanding dead languages blah, blah, blah. I also know when they move, when they approach, when they leave, and why they’re doing it. And I think I can take their power at wil , but none of them have gotten close enough for me to try.”
“So Kim is an asset,” Claire said, sul en. “She affects them in ways no one understands.”
“I…you….” A mil ion questions swirled in my head, but the most upsetting revelation was that nothing was separate, now. My normal life just had a head-on col ision with my life with Jared.
The air around me felt thick and ful of static. An end table next to one of the chairs shook for a moment, and then slid across the floor a few inches.
“What just happened?” I said.
The table vibrated again, and then shot to the wal , the legs squealing as they grated across the tile.
“Sweetheart,” Jared warned.
My fingers worked in smal circles against my temple. “Okay,” I whispered. I worked to release any negativity that the demons could use to fuel their power. “What now?”
“I can help you,” Kim said, uncharacteristical y sympathetic. “I can help you find the book, Nigh. They’l tel me. They have to.”
Al expression fel from my face. “So you’re like…you’re like the demon whisperer. My wacky friend Kim. That’s just great.”
Kim nodded, unaffected by my jab.
“You never said why you’re here,” I said.
“I wanted to check on Ryan. I also have news.”
News was usual y the job of Samuel, and I wondered why Kim had been sent instead. The more I knew, the less any of it made sense—which was annoyingly typical.
Claire crossed her legs, settling in her chair. “Wel ? Tel us already.”
“Jared and his covert operation tipped them off. He’s asked too many questions, and they know what he's after. The book has been moved six times in as many days. We’ve got some work to do when we get home.”
Jared glared at Kim, annoyed. “I have to look it over before we take it back. There are things within those pages that could help Nina.”
“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” Kim replied.
Jared nodded, and then looked to his sister. “Now that Ryan’s stable, we should head back. Did the Colonel say how long you’d be here?”
Claire shrugged. “At least until he’s stable enough to ship state-side, and then we’l probably be at a VA rehab until he’s functional. I’ll keep you updated.”
I stared at the smal table that had slid across the floor. Two hundred or so demons had been swirling about, and they were already onto the next subject. The air had returned to its normal temperature, but watching an inanimate object glide across the room left me uneasy—not that I had felt anything close to composed since Gabe had infiltrated my dream on the plane. Life was spinning out of control again, but this time there was no normal life to escape to.
One-third of my anchor to normal was lying in a hospital bed, and another sitting beside me, talking about things so opposite of the realm of ordinary, it was difficult to remember she was part of my other life at al .
Anger consumed me. I felt I'd been lied to. “What deal are you two talking about?” I asked.
“Your man is going to help me return the book to the Sepulchre if I help him get it from Shax,” Kim said.
“Were you going to tel me about any of this?” I said to Jared.
Jared took my hands in his. “We talked about this.”
“Yes, that you would omit things that didn't directly me, but first Ryan, and now Kim? They were my friends, Jared!”
“We stil are,” Kim said.
I ignored Kim. “Are you sure I can’t see Ryan?” I asked Claire. She shook her head with an apologetic expression. “It was good to see you again,” I said to Claire, hugging her. “Kim….” I trailed off, unable to find anything nice to say.
Kim had betrayed me; sneaking her mystical bul shit in the back door, and sucker punching me with her possession-crusades-basilica sob story.
Now she was supposed to help us find the book because of her Oh So Spooky to the Demons powers. I didn’t care! She was supposed to be my normal, and she had ripped it right out from under me.
Gabe had wanted us to turn back, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I wasn’t supposed to know about Kim. Could Gabe’s appearance be mundane as a paternal need to protect me again, or was it something different? Maybe Kim wasn’t supposed to help us? Maybe she was working for the other side.