Page 63 of The Last Slayer
“Why did you abandon me?”
She blinked, then sighed and gave me a crooked little smile. “I should have expected this.”
“I thought…” I actually bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling. “I always thought I was an orphan.”
“Yes. It was necessary for you to think that until the time was right.”
We just weren’t on the same emotional wavelength. Did she understand how I’d felt, thinking I was all alone in the world? Despite what Social Services would like you to believe, foster homes aren’t what they’re cracked up to be.
“Why?”
“Oh, Ashera. I couldn’t keep you. If you’d stayed with me, Nathanael would have killed you. And if not him, then Apollyon or Semangelaf, and I can’t stop either of them. Given our…history, I’m quite sure they would have relished the opportunity.”
“Was it Semangelaf who killed you?”
She gave me a sad, almost pitying smile.
Right. He wasn’t the most murderous one out of the bunch. “Apollyon?”
“No.”
“Then who?” A vengeful part of me wanted to know more about the past so I could destroy whoever was responsible for her death. My own mother deserved as much as what I’d promised Miguel, if not more. “You’re too powerful—”
“The past isn’t important. It’s your future that you must consider.”
“But—”
“Ashera, when the time is right, when you’re older and more powerful, you can learn about the history. Even attempt to right the wrong. But that cannot be your focus now.”
She was right. I had to get the heartstone and save Valerie before it was too late. At the same time I couldn’t help feeling resentful that everyone was using Valerie’s condition to make me shut up and go along with their plans. Yet what choice did I have? Semangelaf’s poison was killing her. I wasn’t prepared to tell Jack, “Sorry, your daughter’s dead. I was too busy satisfying my curiosity.”
Leh pulled a long necklace over her head. Three vials glowing golden hung from the intricate silver chain. Each of them was spaced apart, about three inches away from one another. “Keep these with you. They will help you when you need to deal with Nathanael.”
“What are they?” I palmed them. They were light, and warm from having stayed between her breasts. The vials’ contents swirled like restless mist.
“My voice. It will open the Harmonia Chamber in Windgar and drown out the Four Winds. They’re all his to command.” She pursed her lips, and this time
two small lines appeared between her eyebrows. Probably not too fond of betrayers. “Unfortunately, they won’t help you against Apollyon or Semangelaf, which is why I asked Ramiel to guard you. He’s a formidable warrior.”
I remembered the ease with which he’d dispatched Nathanael’s wyrm. “Yes, he is. I guess that’s why you told him my name.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“He knew my full name. That surprised me.”
She laughed. “Oh, that. Well, your mortal name doesn’t matter. I’ve given you a name separate from it.”
“Really? What’s my real name?”
“I don’t know.”
I blinked. How could she not know the name she’d given me?
“I performed a spell to make myself forget.” She tilted her head, the motion exposing her throat. It made her look strangely vulnerable. “Does that bother you?”
“I guess not.” Well, as long as nobody knew my name, I was safe from any unwelcome spells. And it wasn’t like I had to know. Then something else struck me. “Do you at least remember my father?”
“No,” Leh said gently. It wasn’t an answer to my question, it was a warning not to go there.
