Page 73

“But there has to be a way,” I insisted, desperate now. “Some way to filter the memories, to ease the transition.”

“There is,” Zeryth admitted. “A wall, of sorts. A mental barrier between Cade and the worst of his Hell memories.”

Hope flared, bright and dangerous. “You can do that?”

“I can,” Zeryth confirmed. “For a price.”

I should have known. Nothing comes free, especially not from creatures like Zeryth. I braced myself for what was coming. “What's the price?”

Zeryth leaned forward, his eyes suddenly intense. “Your runes.”

I frowned, confused. “What runes?”

A knowing smile spread across Zeryth's face. “You don't even know what's been done to you, do you? Even with Cassiel following you around all this time.”

My blood ran cold at the mention of the angel. “How do you know about Cassiel?”

“I know many things, Sean,” Zeryth replied smoothly. “Including the fact that your angelic friend has been quite selective about what truths he shares with you.”

He stood and approached me, stopping just a foot away. “The runes, Sean. The Enochian symbols etched into your very bones since you were an infant. Hidden. Invisible. But always there, suppressing what you truly are.”

I instinctively touched my chest, feeling nothing unusual beneath my skin, yet somehow knowing he was telling the truth. “What are you talking about?”

“Your biological parents weren't just trying to hide you from detection when they placed you in foster care,” Zeryth explained. “They were hiding what you are from yourself. Those runes are ancient magic, designed to bind your Nephilim powers so completely that you'd never even know they existed.”

My mind reeled. After everything Cassiel had told me, I'd started to believe there might be truth to the Nephilim claims, but this was different. This was confirmation that my entire life had been built on secrets and lies.

“That's why you've always been able to sense things other hunters couldn't,” Zeryth continued, circling me slowly. “Why you heal faster than humans should. Why you've survived injuries that would have killed any normal man. You're not human, Sean. Not entirely.”

“And you want to... what? Remove these runes?” I asked, wary. “Why would you do that?”

“Not remove the runes themselves,” Zeryth clarified. “I want to break the binding. To free what's trapped inside you.”

The implications were staggering. If what he said was true, without the binding, I would be exposed, visible to every supernatural entity that knew how to look. More than that, I would begin to manifest abilities I had no training to control, powers that could be as dangerous to me as to others.

“Why?” I repeated, suspicion gnawing at me. “What do you gain from unbinding me?”

Zeryth moved to the window, gazing out at the city below. “The First Nephilim is coming, Sean. The seals are breaking, one by one. We both know it's only a matter of time before the last one falls.”

“There won't be a fight,” I insisted, the words sounding hollow even to my own ears. “We're going to secure the last seal and end Asmodeus before he can break it.”

Zeryth just smirked, not bothering to turn. “Oh, Sean. You really believe that?”

His condescension ignited my anger. “We've stopped worse.”

“Have you?” Zeryth finally turned, his expression serious. “The First Nephilim isn't just another monster. It's the original abomination, the reason angels and demons first found common ground. Both sides fear it, and with good reason.”

“And you want me unbound because...?”

“Because when the time comes, we'll need every weapon we can get,” Zeryth said simply. “And you, unbound, would be quite the weapon.”

“I'm not a weapon,” I growled. “I'm a hunter.”

“You're both,” Zeryth countered. “You always have been. The runes just kept you from realizing your full potential. Did you never wonder why you could track monsters that left no trail? Why you could sense supernatural beings that others couldn't detect? Those are just glimpses of what you're capable of.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. This was too much, too fast. “And if I say no?”

“Then I keep Cade's soul,” Zeryth replied without hesitation. “And he remains as he is. Functional but hollow. A perfect hunter with no moral compass to guide him. No capacity for love, for hope, for any of the things that made him Cade.”