Page 30

“It’s what I told you about Jeremy. He can’t take what you don’t give. Neither can I. Free will is a gift no one can take away from us.” He reaches behind him to the coffee table and hands me the big bag he’d mentioned. “Go get dressed. I’ll go make breakfast. Food will be ready when you get back.”

“You actually cook your own meals?”

“I’m the Master Chef of demon hunters.”

“Does this mean you’ll be wearing an apron and holding a spatula when I get back?”

“Go get dressed.” He turns me the other direction.

I’m actually smiling as I head toward his room.

My name slides off his tongue with a hint of warmth I feel in every part of me. There is something about Micah that burns like fire in my belly. “Yes?” I say, pausing at the doorway to find him unmoved, still standing in the same spot where I’d left him.

“Next time, don’t wait for me.” There’s steel in his words. “Never wait on anyone.” He doesn’t wait for a reply or offer me the chance to ask him to explain what he means. He’s already dismissed me, walking toward the kitchen.

I can’t possibly know what he meant, but I don’t think I like it.

The Sacred Book of Nephilim

A werewolf will bite you. A vampire will seduce you. A Mulch Demon will scratch you. These are lower-level demons, mere fool’s play for a Nephilim warrior. Then there are the upper-level demons. They will own you if you offer them the chance.

Chapter fifteen

Once I’ve showered and dried my hair, I find my new bag of goodies to be loaded with makeup, hair products, and moisturizer. As a Crystal Seer, I may well save or destroy the world—the jury’s out on that one—but I’ll look good doing it.

I dress in black jeans and a black tee. I have no option but to wear my damp bra, but there’s a sturdy pair of black lace-up boots that are a half size too big, but they work. I’ve also been given a lightweight black leather jacket, because apparently that’s part of my new Seer dress code.

Once I’m fully put together, I stand in front of the mirror and braid my blonde hair, my blue eyes glinting sharply back at me. I turn and look at myself in mirror number two, the full-length view, inspecting my image. I’m different, I decide. I can’t explain how, but I’m most definitely different. The images in my head are crisper, too, my senses more alive. Every sound is slightly amplified, and everything smells stronger. For instance, I know Micah prepared bacon and eggs with sharp cheddar cheese. I could reason away the bacon and egg smells as common, but the cheese is not just any cheese. It’s sharp cheddar, and I know this detail. I could stand here and contemplate all the ways my mind could be playing tricks on me, but that’s still going to lead me to the same place, or rather, person.

Micah.

I turn away from this new me and head through the room and toward the door, ready for the learning I’ve been promised. I exit the bedroom to find Micah in the kitchen, standing behind the stove. “Just in time,” he says, turning away from the stove to greet me. “The food is ready, and you look like you are, too.” He picks up two plates and walks my direction, cutting to the small, round, brown-finished table. “Did the bag have everything you need?”

“Everything and more,” I say, joining him at the table. “Please tell the ladies I am in their debt.”

“One day you can tell them. When you’re ready.” He motions to the chair. “Sit.”

Once we’re sitting across from each other, he points to the basket between us, covered by a napkin. “Fresh biscuits. Egg whites, ham, bacon, sausage. Breakfast of champions.”

“With sharp cheddar cheese.”

“Yes.” His eyes light with understanding. “With sharp cheddar cheese. At least a little part of you is waking up.”

“Are demons the same as us? Do they have enhanced smell?”

“Demons are more like us than any of us want to believe,” he says, grabbing a biscuit. “Stronger in some ways.” He tilts the basket in my direction, and I remove a serving of warm bread. “We’re corruptible,” he adds. “They’re already corrupt, and there’s no redemption for them, like, say, a human who’s slid to the wrong side of the road.”

I pick up a piece of bacon and take a bite. “But humans can be possessed.”

“Yes, and then they’re fucked. They’re dead inside.” He lifts a pitcher of juice. “If you’d rather have coffee, there’s a Keurig waiting for action.”

“Later, yes. This is fine for now. If we’re here later?”

“We’ll leave in a few days. In the meantime, we’re going to find those answers we both need and want.” He stuffs eggs into a biscuit and takes a bite.

“How were my powers suppressed?” I ask, finishing off my bacon and reaching for my fork, looking for confirmation of what I think I know already.

“Magic is always the answer.”