The Girl and The Raven (28 page)

I glance over my shoulder and ask, “Have you read them all?”

He steeples his fingers. “Most of them.”

I turn back to the books and exhale. I think better when there’s some space between us.

“So tell me, Lucy.” His voice is near my ear. I gasp and spin around to face him. I never heard him move from his desk. “Why did you come today? Are you here as my daughter? Or as an errand girl for Pierce Douglas?”

My heart thunders in my chest. “I have your blood running through my veins, but I don’t know anything about you.”

“What do you want to know, Lucy?”

I shiver at the sound of my name. He draws it out like a hiss.

“How did you do it? The deal with Pierce Douglas. You made him rich.” My mouth is dry again, but I’m too far from my drink. It would probably fall out of my shaking hands anyway.

A small smile plays on his lips as he arches one eyebrow. “Do you want to know what you’re capable of?”

“We already talked about my powers.”

He laughs and the darkness is gone. He’s handsome when he smiles. In that moment, I understand how Momma could have fallen for him. 

“You’ve only scratched the surface!” He walks past me and out the office door.

Marcus’ voice fills my head:
Get in, ask your favor and get out.

“I came to talk about Ethan and Brandi Douglas,” I call after him.

“You’ll need to earn that conversation.”

Exactly what I was afraid of.

I follow Jude down the hall and up a dark, winding staircase. I run my hand along the walls to keep from stumbling. Is there any chance he means Gram’s powers? Maybe he’s taking me to Lola? “Where are we going?”

“To the roof. It’s the safest place for a demonstration.”

The roof? Suddenly, my legs give out and I stumble on the stairs. I can’t go onto the roof. Marcus isn’t here to save me if something goes wrong. I can’t do this. I’m not ready for whatever Jude has in store for me.

“Are you always this clumsy?” Jude asks, pulling me to my feet and up the stairs.

By the time we make it up two more flights of stairs and Jude opens the door to the roof, I’m out of breath.

It’s bright outside and it takes several blinks for my eyes to adjust. I let the sunlight wash over me, relieved to be out of the darkness. Jude proceeds to the roof ledge, which reaches his thighs and is made from the same dark gray brick as the rest of the exterior. I stay back, near the door we just came through.

Jude won’t hurt me. I’m his daughter, his only child.

He gestures for me to join him. I take several cautious steps forward. Then a few more. He smiles, taking my hand and pulling me to the ledge. The jolt is immediate. I try to yank my hand away, but his grip is too strong.

“I really hate that! With all of your powers, can’t you make that stop?”

He grins wickedly. “I rather like it. It’s like a hug and a kiss from my favorite person in the world.”

I shut up, knowing I would never be willing to greet him with the real thing.

We approach the ledge and my stomach lurches when I see how high we are. Being on his roof is far scarier than the roof at home. My entire body starts to tremble. 

“You must conquer your fear, Lucy,” he says. “Once you realize how powerful you are, you’ll never be afraid of anything again.”

“That’s true, if only I had both your powers
and
the powers I’m supposed to inherit from my grandmother.” Will he take the bait and bring me to Lola?

Instead, he leans in close, a gleam in his eye. “Watch this.”

He steps onto the ledge and then casually hops off, disappearing from view.

I cry out in alarm and peer over the ledge. I expect to see his body twisted and broken on the ground below. But there he is, standing squarely on his feet, hands on his hips, staring up at me. I struggle to catch my breath. I watch in amazement as he puts his hands on the brick and scurries back up, just like Spiderman.
That’s impossible.
A dark, queasy feeling swirls in my stomach.

Seconds later, Jude jumps over the ledge, smacks imaginary dust from his hands and smiles. “Your turn.”

“Uh….no, I don’t think so.” I feel dizzy and reach out to grab the short brick wall to steady myself.

Jude holds out his hand. “You have nothing to fear.”

“I only have half your genes. I could die.”

“Only one way to find out.” He grins, his eyes bright with adrenaline or whatever else runs through his veins. “Now…jump or I’ll throw you over.”

My legs threaten to give out.

“Lucy, you’re going to be fine!” He laughs heartily. “People with far less power than you have done this without breaking so much as a fingernail.”

When he throws his head back like that…and laughs…for that moment, there is nothing evil or scary about him. “Really?”

The laughter is gone and he grows serious. “You’re my daughter, Lucy. I would never allow harm to come to you. Would it make you feel better if we did it together?”

Strangely, this offer does make me feel better.

He extends his hand again. The tightness returns to my chest. What if he lets go? I’ll break lots of bones, including my neck.

I glance over my shoulder at the door. Jude will never let me leave. I have to do this or forget about freeing Ethan and Brandi from whatever he has in store for them. Or is this to pay my debt for Dylan?

I place my hand in his, feeling the familiar energy surge between us.

He pulls me onto the ledge. The wind pushes against my body. My stomach rolls and a sour taste fills my mouth. I close my eyes against the dread, knowing what it feels like to fall.

“Lucy, focus on landing on your feet.” His voice is loud as he instructs me. “Don’t lock your knees. Land softly.”

“Land softly,” I echo. I tighten my grip on his hand.

“Are you ready to experience the greatest rush of your life?”

I open my eyes and look at him, at the crazy smile on his face. Does my terror excite him?

Without waiting for my response, he steps off the ledge and yanks me with him. My heartbeat is sluggish. I feel an unfamiliar tingling in my chest. Am I having a heart attack? I scream my head off all the way down. This is it. Sixteen-year-old girl with gorgeous boyfriend dies after evil father convinces her to step off a four-story mansion, every bone in her body broken on impact. Gorgeous boyfriend is quoted as saying:
Yeah, she was crazy. Just like her mother. I knew it all along
.

I forget about not locking my knees and landing softly. It doesn’t matter though, because seconds before we hit the ground, Jude lets go and I tumble onto the grass. Coming up on all fours, it takes a moment to catch my breath. Slowly I rise to my feet and take an inventory of my body.

I’m not hurt
. The words replay over and over through my head. I check again. Arms, legs, feet, knees, back, head. Fine. I’m fine. Better than fine actually. I thought for sure I was having a heart attack. My cheeks flush hot. I throw my head back and laugh.

“How was it?”

I whirl around to face him. “Let’s do it again.”

“First you have to climb back up.”

He shows me where to place my fingers between the bricks. Then without any effort at all, he climbs upward, his feet doing some of the work. He really does look like Spiderman. I stare from the ground, my mouth open. I have zero upper body strength.

Jude leaps off the roof again and lands with a soft thud beside me. He places his fingers on the brick and nods for me to do the same.

I learn pretty quickly that he isn’t going to baby me. I can huff and puff and whine all I want. He just tells me to try again. And again. And again. It takes a couple dozen tries before I can mimic the way he grips the brick. Climbing has more to do with quick movements than strength. My lack of confidence makes me hesitate, and I drop to the ground after making it several feet up.

“I can bring the dogs, if that will help motivate you.”

My hands hurt. My shoulders hurt. My fingers are on fire. But he will set his dogs on me if that’s what it takes. I get into position beside him, gripping the brick with my fingertips, and remind myself my feet are there to help propel me upward.

“Move!” he roars, swatting my butt.

We practice over and over until I become good at it. I’m leaving bloody fingerprints on the brick, but I make it to the roof three times.

Then Jude says, “This time you’re going to jump on your own.”

“Wh…what?” I stumble. I’m too tired. I don’t want to do this anymore. “I’m not ready.”

He ignores my protests. “On the count of three, we’ll jump off simultaneously. Remember not to lock your knees. Land soft, feet wide apart.”

There’s no sense fighting him. I take several deep breaths and roll out my shoulders. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner he’ll let me quit.

He grabs my hand and pulls me over with him, letting go as soon as we start to fall. I know I’m not going to die, but I’m still afraid. I force my eyes open.

I land in a wide squat, my fingertips touching the ground. From that position, my gaze travels from left to right, all while my mind surveys my body, searching for pain. There is none. I stand, feeling my blood coursing through my body. Hear it even, an unfamiliar whooshing sound in my ears. I cock my head and listen, intrigued by the sound. I hear birds squawking and jerk my head around, looking for the crows with red eyes. I don’t see any. With a shock, it dawns on me. I’m hearing the birds in the trees from the front of the house.

I turn to Jude with wide eyes. He studies me for a moment and a slow smile spreads across his face.

His eyes shine with pride. “Lucy, your life is about to get a hell of a lot more interesting.”

He gestures and I follow him to the brick. My eyes narrow as I focus. I plant my fingers where the mortar and brick meet, digging in. I sense Jude is ready. No, that isn’t it. He’s
telling
me he’s ready. I whip my head to the right and our eyes lock.

Well…are you?
He asks the question without uttering a word.

Oh my God! Seriously? Can this get any weirder? Can he read all my thoughts? I think of Marcus shirtless—I can’t help it. My cheeks burn hot and I force my mind to think of the brick. Only the brick.

I glance at Jude sheepishly and nod.

He shakes his head.
Are you ready?
He asks again. Biting my bottom lip, I concentrate. I
think
the words…feeling totally stupid as I try to project them, tilting my head toward him, as if that will make any difference.
YES, I AM READY!

His raised eyebrows and grin acknowledge that my message is received.

My fingers renew their grip on the brick. I hear Jude’s voice explode in my head like a gun going off:
NOW!
I climb faster than I thought possible. I feel rejuvenated. So
alive!
I can’t wait to tell Marcus about this. No…that’s probably a bad idea.

Back on the roof, as my body twitches from adrenaline overload, Jude calls quitting time. We head back inside. My legs quiver as we climb down all those flights of stairs, and I cling to the railing for support.

After cleaning the blood from my hands, I meet Jude back in his office. My drink has been refreshed, and bowls of fresh berries and cheddar flavored snack crackers have been set out. I shove a handful of crackers in my mouth.

“You’ve done well for your first day.” He fills his glass with more bourbon. He doesn’t seem affected by the alcohol.

“My first day?” I toss several raspberries and blackberries into my mouth, savoring their sweetness as they burst, spreading juice across my tongue.

“Your first day as a demon,” he says proudly.

Arriving home, I thank Arnold again for the ride. My legs wobble as I make my way around back, up the stairs, wind around to the balcony and climb to the roof, my raw fingers screaming in pain. Marcus is there. I rush to him, throwing myself into his arms. His wings wrap around me.

“Tell me everything’s going to be all right,” I beg, knowing it’s not true. I can’t ignore it anymore. I am a demon and nothing is going to be all right ever again.

“I promise to keep you safe. Always.” Marcus kisses the top of my head. “What about Ethan and Brandi? What does he want from you in exchange for their freedom?”

Ethan and Brandi. I was so wrapped up in discovering my powers I forgot about them. And Lola.

I swallow a guilty sob and press my face against his chest.

How could I let this happen? I close my eyes, taking a deep pained breath. Is this a sign that Jude’s corrupted me? Or that my demon side is starting to take over?

Or maybe I’ve always been a bad person and only thought I was good because I was comparing myself to Momma.