just stared at him with the wide-eyed look of someone who’d just been dumped on. Then, he yanked open the door and pointed into the hall. “See that?”
“What?”
“That is the hallway where you kicked my ass. And yes, I was already a Soulkeeper. If it weren’t for the water fountain and Principal Bailey, I’d probably be a smear on the tile.” He grabbed Dane’s shoulder and whirled him around to face the parking lot again. “This is not just where shit hit the fan with Auriel. It’s where you slayed, what? A half dozen Watchers at prom?”
“It wasn’t that many. Mostly, I just helped other people kill theirs.”
“All I know is, Soulkeeper or not, you are one bad ass human being. Don’t ever think you’re helpless. Malini wouldn’t be sending you to Arizona if she didn’t know for sure you could handle it.”
Dane nodded his head and pulled the door back open. “You know what? You’re right. I could kick your ass.”
With a whack on his shoulder, Jacob led the way inside. The halls were empty as they headed for the cafeteria to meet Malini. All Dane could hear, besides the echo of their footsteps, was the tiny voice at the back of his head that said he was a fraud and a liar. There was a time when he’d believed what he’d said to Jacob. Not anymore. He’d spent days in Hell, trapped on a brimstone slab, inside a ring of unholy fire. The pain had been unbearable, but the worst part was the isolation, the certainty he’d never be in the light again, or loved again. He’d spent what felt like an eternity at Lucifer’s mercy. He couldn’t go back there. Not for anything. Sure he could talk big, but it wasn’t true.
He’d never be that brave again.
Chapter 12
From Here to There
B y Friday morning, the tension in the Michaels’s household had reached DEFCON 1. Jenny and Walter conveniently made themselves scarce to avoid the likely Armageddon while Dane finished packing. He was waiting in the kitchen for Ethan, who was supposed to pick him up and drive him to the rendezvous point. He still didn’t know how he was supposed to get to Flagstaff. As a human, he didn’t think he could travel by enchanted staff, or maybe he could. Who knew?
“You can still change your mind,” his mother said. She’d slipped into the room without notice, her face tracked with old tears.
“I don’t want to. I think Michigan would be a good choice for me. I want to see the campus.”
She shook her head, lowered her voice, and checked over her shoulder. “We talked about this. You can’t go. You have to help with the farm. I told you about your father’s health.”
Dane looked her straight in the eye. “And I told you, I’d help in the spring while you guys figured out what to do, but I’m going to college. I’m eighteen and I don’t expect you to pay for it. But this farm, this life, isn’t for me. I don’t know how to be clearer about that.”
Tears flowed down his mother’s cheeks anew, triggering his heart to make a guilt-driven swan dive into his gut. He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her but wasn’t sure what to say. Any retraction would be a lie.
“Seems like you’ve got it all figured out, boy,” his dad drawled from the door. Behind him, Ethan waited on the porch, jaw clenched against the tension the old man was putting off. “Get gone. Can’t stand looking at you, making your mother cry. Maybe some miles’ll snap your head on right. Otherwise, don’t bother coming back. If you don’t think you belong here, you don’t get to be here.”
His mother gasped. This wasn’t a threat, but a promise. Dane grabbed his bag off the table and squeezed through the door his father propped open. His old man didn’t budge, and Dane was forced to brush against his chest to fit past him. At the contact, his dad narrowed his eyes and shot Ethan a dirty look. The screen door slammed as he disappeared inside.
“So, I take it your family isn’t supportive of our trip?” Ethan
“What?”
“That is the hallway where you kicked my ass. And yes, I was already a Soulkeeper. If it weren’t for the water fountain and Principal Bailey, I’d probably be a smear on the tile.” He grabbed Dane’s shoulder and whirled him around to face the parking lot again. “This is not just where shit hit the fan with Auriel. It’s where you slayed, what? A half dozen Watchers at prom?”
“It wasn’t that many. Mostly, I just helped other people kill theirs.”
“All I know is, Soulkeeper or not, you are one bad ass human being. Don’t ever think you’re helpless. Malini wouldn’t be sending you to Arizona if she didn’t know for sure you could handle it.”
Dane nodded his head and pulled the door back open. “You know what? You’re right. I could kick your ass.”
With a whack on his shoulder, Jacob led the way inside. The halls were empty as they headed for the cafeteria to meet Malini. All Dane could hear, besides the echo of their footsteps, was the tiny voice at the back of his head that said he was a fraud and a liar. There was a time when he’d believed what he’d said to Jacob. Not anymore. He’d spent days in Hell, trapped on a brimstone slab, inside a ring of unholy fire. The pain had been unbearable, but the worst part was the isolation, the certainty he’d never be in the light again, or loved again. He’d spent what felt like an eternity at Lucifer’s mercy. He couldn’t go back there. Not for anything. Sure he could talk big, but it wasn’t true.
He’d never be that brave again.
Chapter 12
From Here to There
B y Friday morning, the tension in the Michaels’s household had reached DEFCON 1. Jenny and Walter conveniently made themselves scarce to avoid the likely Armageddon while Dane finished packing. He was waiting in the kitchen for Ethan, who was supposed to pick him up and drive him to the rendezvous point. He still didn’t know how he was supposed to get to Flagstaff. As a human, he didn’t think he could travel by enchanted staff, or maybe he could. Who knew?
“You can still change your mind,” his mother said. She’d slipped into the room without notice, her face tracked with old tears.
“I don’t want to. I think Michigan would be a good choice for me. I want to see the campus.”
She shook her head, lowered her voice, and checked over her shoulder. “We talked about this. You can’t go. You have to help with the farm. I told you about your father’s health.”
Dane looked her straight in the eye. “And I told you, I’d help in the spring while you guys figured out what to do, but I’m going to college. I’m eighteen and I don’t expect you to pay for it. But this farm, this life, isn’t for me. I don’t know how to be clearer about that.”
Tears flowed down his mother’s cheeks anew, triggering his heart to make a guilt-driven swan dive into his gut. He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her but wasn’t sure what to say. Any retraction would be a lie.
“Seems like you’ve got it all figured out, boy,” his dad drawled from the door. Behind him, Ethan waited on the porch, jaw clenched against the tension the old man was putting off. “Get gone. Can’t stand looking at you, making your mother cry. Maybe some miles’ll snap your head on right. Otherwise, don’t bother coming back. If you don’t think you belong here, you don’t get to be here.”
His mother gasped. This wasn’t a threat, but a promise. Dane grabbed his bag off the table and squeezed through the door his father propped open. His old man didn’t budge, and Dane was forced to brush against his chest to fit past him. At the contact, his dad narrowed his eyes and shot Ethan a dirty look. The screen door slammed as he disappeared inside.
“So, I take it your family isn’t supportive of our trip?” Ethan
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