much less adding two people to the mix.
“I can try to convince them to room at the bed-n-breakfast, if you want.”
And put Rebekah in even more danger? He shook his head. “No. That’s even worse. Beks should stay out of this. I’ll find room for them somewhere. It’s not like I need sleep.”
“That’s the spirit.” She looked past him for a moment, and then squeezed his hand. Though almost delicate, he knew her hands could snap a grown man’s neck if she were so inclined. “Thank you for taking this post; it means a lot to your father.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t do it for him.”
Her smile was sad. “I know. But you did it, and in the end, that’s what matters.” She hesitated. “It’s not too late, you know. If you still love her.”
“When has my love ever helped anyone?” Gabe crossed his arms. “Tell me, did loving Juliet serve her well in the end? Beks deserves a normal life.”
His mother grabbed his arm. “No. What she needs is a chance to fulfill her destiny. To honor her birthright. It’s a waste to let her bloodline go untrained.”
“You sound like father,” he hissed.
Her dark eyes hardened as she crossed her arms. “Good. At least one of us does.”
“If anyone tells her...”
She slapped him. While the blow hadn’t been a hard one, it stung nonetheless.
“I’d better never hear you threaten another Keeper again, do you understand me? This life is hard enough as it is without us fighting amongst ourselves. Now, I’m going back to headquarters. Take care of them. Anything they need.”
He saluted mockingly but let her hear a hint of respect in his voice. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“That’s the spirit.” Flashing a grin, she jogged back over to where the Hunters stood looking out over the ocean and talked to them briefly before unloading a half dozen pieces of luggage from the trunk and driving off.
Gabe took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked back over to the Hunters.
****
Moving two more people into the bunker wasn’t easy, especially with all their luggage. It took the rest of the afternoon and into the evening to get things settled enough so that there was room to set up their equipment. For a professor, Nicholas sure had a lot of gadgets: beeping and twirling and flashing devices filled the work desk and spilled out onto the floor like an automaton had vomited parts. When Gabe had carried the bags down the stairs, he’d thought them full of books or makeup.
“Sorry for the meal,” he said, passing out bowls of warmed pork-n-beans. “I don’t usually get company.”
“We’ve had worse, haven’t we,
mon petit chou
?” the professor asked, taking a bite.
Colette grinned. “There was that week in Laos where we lived off bugs and boiled grass hunting that second-order who’d slaughtered a village.” She hugged one lithe leg to her chest as she smiled softly at her husband.
“Good times.” Her husband nodded, and then cocked his head to the side. “Nope. False alarm.”
Gabe was confused. “What were you listening for?”
“Discordant frequencies,” he explained, as if Gabe should have somehow known that already. “Sound is just vibration interpreted by the eardrums. Everything emits a sound at all times; we just can’t always hear everything. Humans, plants, and animals vibrate in a certain spectrum of frequencies. Demons aren’t from this world, so their vibrations are along a higher range of the spectrum.”
“And you can hear that?”
The professor chuckled, taking off his glasses and massaging the bridge of his nose. “Of course not. No one can. This machine, however, is tuned specifically to demonic frequencies. It amplifies them to something audible to human ears.”
Putting down his bowl, Gabe stood from the floor and went over to check the monitors. Just in case.
“You don’t need to do that,” Colette said with a musical lilt to her voice. “If there’s a demon nearby, this will let us know first.”
Handy
“I can try to convince them to room at the bed-n-breakfast, if you want.”
And put Rebekah in even more danger? He shook his head. “No. That’s even worse. Beks should stay out of this. I’ll find room for them somewhere. It’s not like I need sleep.”
“That’s the spirit.” She looked past him for a moment, and then squeezed his hand. Though almost delicate, he knew her hands could snap a grown man’s neck if she were so inclined. “Thank you for taking this post; it means a lot to your father.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t do it for him.”
Her smile was sad. “I know. But you did it, and in the end, that’s what matters.” She hesitated. “It’s not too late, you know. If you still love her.”
“When has my love ever helped anyone?” Gabe crossed his arms. “Tell me, did loving Juliet serve her well in the end? Beks deserves a normal life.”
His mother grabbed his arm. “No. What she needs is a chance to fulfill her destiny. To honor her birthright. It’s a waste to let her bloodline go untrained.”
“You sound like father,” he hissed.
Her dark eyes hardened as she crossed her arms. “Good. At least one of us does.”
“If anyone tells her...”
She slapped him. While the blow hadn’t been a hard one, it stung nonetheless.
“I’d better never hear you threaten another Keeper again, do you understand me? This life is hard enough as it is without us fighting amongst ourselves. Now, I’m going back to headquarters. Take care of them. Anything they need.”
He saluted mockingly but let her hear a hint of respect in his voice. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“That’s the spirit.” Flashing a grin, she jogged back over to where the Hunters stood looking out over the ocean and talked to them briefly before unloading a half dozen pieces of luggage from the trunk and driving off.
Gabe took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked back over to the Hunters.
****
Moving two more people into the bunker wasn’t easy, especially with all their luggage. It took the rest of the afternoon and into the evening to get things settled enough so that there was room to set up their equipment. For a professor, Nicholas sure had a lot of gadgets: beeping and twirling and flashing devices filled the work desk and spilled out onto the floor like an automaton had vomited parts. When Gabe had carried the bags down the stairs, he’d thought them full of books or makeup.
“Sorry for the meal,” he said, passing out bowls of warmed pork-n-beans. “I don’t usually get company.”
“We’ve had worse, haven’t we,
mon petit chou
?” the professor asked, taking a bite.
Colette grinned. “There was that week in Laos where we lived off bugs and boiled grass hunting that second-order who’d slaughtered a village.” She hugged one lithe leg to her chest as she smiled softly at her husband.
“Good times.” Her husband nodded, and then cocked his head to the side. “Nope. False alarm.”
Gabe was confused. “What were you listening for?”
“Discordant frequencies,” he explained, as if Gabe should have somehow known that already. “Sound is just vibration interpreted by the eardrums. Everything emits a sound at all times; we just can’t always hear everything. Humans, plants, and animals vibrate in a certain spectrum of frequencies. Demons aren’t from this world, so their vibrations are along a higher range of the spectrum.”
“And you can hear that?”
The professor chuckled, taking off his glasses and massaging the bridge of his nose. “Of course not. No one can. This machine, however, is tuned specifically to demonic frequencies. It amplifies them to something audible to human ears.”
Putting down his bowl, Gabe stood from the floor and went over to check the monitors. Just in case.
“You don’t need to do that,” Colette said with a musical lilt to her voice. “If there’s a demon nearby, this will let us know first.”
Handy
Similar Books
