Page 60 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
When we were halfway through our breakfast, Dani cleared her throat and asked a question that had crossed my mind last night, but I’d since forgotten.
“How did you know to come here?” She narrowed her eyes at Drevan. “Healing wounds caused by dualistic weapons isn’t a common skill among healers.”
Drevan set his fork down and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “There’s a certain tome you recently got a hold of.”
She shifted in her chair and, judging by how fast she took a bite of her English muffin, it seemed she regretted her question.
“You don’t think those types of obscure sources fall on people’s laps every day, do you?”
“Wait a minute,” I intervened. “Are you trying to say that whatever book Dani’s been studying came from you?”
Drevan nodded thoughtfully. “I did give this… material a notch in the right direction.”
Next to me, my sister was starting to look pale and sick to her stomach. I had no idea exactly what she was into, but she clearly didn’t like finding out that the prince of Hell was involved.
“Dani,” I said, “is there something I should worry about?”
Never in my life had I thought I would be asking my oldest sister the same question she’d asked me a thousand times.
She sipped her coffee and cleared her throat. “How about you stay out of my business and I stay out of yours?”
Not the answer I was expecting but not a bad deal. I was into my own kind of mess, and the less my family knew, the better.
Drevan rose from the table. “Since we understand each other, maybe it’s time we head back, Lucia. What do you say? There’s a certain situation that requires our attention.”
We had left oursituationlying unconscious on the floor. I wondered what Solar would make out of waking up to a hole in the glass door and my sudden absence. Whatever the case, I hoped we would be able to use what had happened to our advantage.
Drevan walked out of the kitchen.
As we stood, Dani wrapped me in a tight hug. “Please be careful. You’re playing with fire, pun intended.”
“I know, but it’s something I must do.”
She inclined her head to one side, holding me at arm’s length. “He said something about destiny.”
“Yeah, apparently, some of us are not as free as others.”
“Keep in touch, please.”
“Of course.”
I squeezed her tightly once more, then walked out of the kitchen. Drevan was waiting in the living room, and as soon as he saw me, he grabbed my hand and took me through one of his awful portals.
22
Wereappearedsomewhereunexpected.I glanced up at the early morning sky, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Pastel colors blended through the clouds like in some sort of whimsical painting. There was grass under my feet, and the wide Mississippi River stretched before me, East St. Louis sprawling on the other side of it.
Slowly I turned and glanced up. The Gateway Arch loomed right above me, offering me a sight I hadn’t seen in many years—at least not from this angle.
“Why are we here?” I asked as I appreciated the quiet of the morning. It was too early for the riverboats to be out, filling the air with the stench of their exhaust. Or for the tourists to be meddling about, taking pictures, and admiring the monument.
Drevan shrugged in answer to my question as he sat on the grass, looking glorious even in pink. “It’s nice out.” He bent his knees and rested his arms on top of them.
It really was nice, and I was in no hurry to get back to New York. It felt comfortable being home with him, even if I was still a bit mad at him for risking his life.
We sat in silence for a long moment, watching the river’s brown waters flow past. At last, he angled his body slightly to face me. A strand of my hair had gotten loose and was fluttering under my nose. Drevan smiled and pushed it out of the way, tucking it behind my ear.
“Thank you,” he said.
