about us,” Tempie said. “You know she doesn’t. Kathan does.
He’ll take care of us. And with him, we’ll be as powerful as any foot
soldier—maybe even as powerful as Mikal.”
“What
are you talking about?”
“The
two of us as Kathan’s familiars,” Tempie said. “Commanders raise their
familiars to a level of power humans could never experience, not even witches.
And we’ll rule with him.”
“Rule
what?” I asked.
Tempie
laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day the Great Nerd of Hannibal didn’t do
her homework.”
I
jumped up.
“I
did my homework,” I snapped. “Do you want to know what happens around Day 179
of Tempie’s Angel Rebellion? Kathan throws you out because your brain—that
squishy thing in your skull that most people use to think—falls apart. Falls.
Apart. Do you even get that?”
Tempie
shrugged one shoulder and looked down at her fingernails the way she always did
when she knew something I didn’t.
“If
he’s a commander and we’re his co-familiars,” she said, “The essence doesn’t
corrode anything. That’s part of why he wants us both. He loves me and he wants
to protect me. The day we met, he sent the foot soldiers to find you because he
was worried about me. How’s that for treating me well?”
I
sat back down, hard. “If I’m enthralled, too, the essence doesn’t…”
She
shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. And remember the power? He said we’re strong
enough to be world destroyers, maybe even god-killers. Wouldn’t that be
awesome?”
Sometimes
it’s a shock to realize that the universe or God or someone is providing you
with loopholes to jump through so you can do something that just a second ago
was impossible. I could still save Tempie. I would have to give myself up, but
I’d be with her, wouldn’t I?
I
rubbed my face with both hands and sighed. I needed to think about this. I
needed time to really do my homework, like Tempie said. And Kathan had enough
charming devil in him to offer me the space to think and research.
Tempie
stood up and grabbed my hand.
“He
wants us to come to the parlor,” she said.
Tough
I
wished I could’ve said something smart when Mikal blew into the parlor, but
even if I’d had my voice, I probably wouldn’t have been able to talk when I saw
her wearing Colt’s gray Lucky-logo shirt with the armholes that were torn
almost all the way to the bottom. He’d had that crappy thing since before Dad
died.
“Admiring
my shirt?” Mikal asked, doing a spin so I could see her wings poking out the
armholes and the lacy red underwear she had on. “Your brother and I were busy
and this was the first thing I could find to throw on. I’m anxious to get back
to him, too, so if you don’t mind, let’s keep this brief. What do you want?”
I
didn’t really know. Plans weren’t my strong suit. The only thing I’d come up
with while I was driving was to floor it through the front of the mansion, but
seeing the barn just sitting there like nothing had changed had made me wonder
whether the basketball hoop was still in the hayloft. And why hadn’t Kathan
torn the barn down when he burned the farmhouse? I wound up sitting there long
enough for a foot soldier on rounds to see me and bring me in.
“You’ve
been drinking,” Mikal said.
Not
enough.
“Well,
if you came for a threesome, I’m game, but you’ll have to ask Colter first.”
I
looked around the parlor, wondering whether Rian had brought Desty in here.
Seemed like this was always the first place they threw me.
If
I tried, I could sort of see the place through her eyes—a mansion I’d never
been in before, that wasn’t built on the ashes of the farmhouse I grew up in,
that I’d never been dragged into in chains. Not hating the place would make it
look different.
“Or
did you come to beg me to release Colt?” Mikal asked. “I won’t, but it’s nice
to be asked. Makes it seem like you care what happens to
He’ll take care of us. And with him, we’ll be as powerful as any foot
soldier—maybe even as powerful as Mikal.”
“What
are you talking about?”
“The
two of us as Kathan’s familiars,” Tempie said. “Commanders raise their
familiars to a level of power humans could never experience, not even witches.
And we’ll rule with him.”
“Rule
what?” I asked.
Tempie
laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day the Great Nerd of Hannibal didn’t do
her homework.”
I
jumped up.
“I
did my homework,” I snapped. “Do you want to know what happens around Day 179
of Tempie’s Angel Rebellion? Kathan throws you out because your brain—that
squishy thing in your skull that most people use to think—falls apart. Falls.
Apart. Do you even get that?”
Tempie
shrugged one shoulder and looked down at her fingernails the way she always did
when she knew something I didn’t.
“If
he’s a commander and we’re his co-familiars,” she said, “The essence doesn’t
corrode anything. That’s part of why he wants us both. He loves me and he wants
to protect me. The day we met, he sent the foot soldiers to find you because he
was worried about me. How’s that for treating me well?”
I
sat back down, hard. “If I’m enthralled, too, the essence doesn’t…”
She
shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. And remember the power? He said we’re strong
enough to be world destroyers, maybe even god-killers. Wouldn’t that be
awesome?”
Sometimes
it’s a shock to realize that the universe or God or someone is providing you
with loopholes to jump through so you can do something that just a second ago
was impossible. I could still save Tempie. I would have to give myself up, but
I’d be with her, wouldn’t I?
I
rubbed my face with both hands and sighed. I needed to think about this. I
needed time to really do my homework, like Tempie said. And Kathan had enough
charming devil in him to offer me the space to think and research.
Tempie
stood up and grabbed my hand.
“He
wants us to come to the parlor,” she said.
Tough
I
wished I could’ve said something smart when Mikal blew into the parlor, but
even if I’d had my voice, I probably wouldn’t have been able to talk when I saw
her wearing Colt’s gray Lucky-logo shirt with the armholes that were torn
almost all the way to the bottom. He’d had that crappy thing since before Dad
died.
“Admiring
my shirt?” Mikal asked, doing a spin so I could see her wings poking out the
armholes and the lacy red underwear she had on. “Your brother and I were busy
and this was the first thing I could find to throw on. I’m anxious to get back
to him, too, so if you don’t mind, let’s keep this brief. What do you want?”
I
didn’t really know. Plans weren’t my strong suit. The only thing I’d come up
with while I was driving was to floor it through the front of the mansion, but
seeing the barn just sitting there like nothing had changed had made me wonder
whether the basketball hoop was still in the hayloft. And why hadn’t Kathan
torn the barn down when he burned the farmhouse? I wound up sitting there long
enough for a foot soldier on rounds to see me and bring me in.
“You’ve
been drinking,” Mikal said.
Not
enough.
“Well,
if you came for a threesome, I’m game, but you’ll have to ask Colter first.”
I
looked around the parlor, wondering whether Rian had brought Desty in here.
Seemed like this was always the first place they threw me.
If
I tried, I could sort of see the place through her eyes—a mansion I’d never
been in before, that wasn’t built on the ashes of the farmhouse I grew up in,
that I’d never been dragged into in chains. Not hating the place would make it
look different.
“Or
did you come to beg me to release Colt?” Mikal asked. “I won’t, but it’s nice
to be asked. Makes it seem like you care what happens to
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