Page 22 of Another Damned Storm (Another Damned #3)

HOOK

“Enough with the show and tell,” I cut in. “Can you help?”

Emerson’s reluctant smile disappeared, and he was all business again. “I’ve told you what we know. In truth, we weren’t aware the situation in Charleston had gotten as bad as you say.”

“How is that possible?” Lily asked. “You and the others have your finger on the demon pulse in this realm, don’t you?”

He nodded. “But our attention has been pulled in many directions lately.”

“So, the storms and the demons aren’t limited to Charleston?”

“Yes and no.”

I glared at him. “That isn’t an answer.”

Emerson tipped his head back and stared up at the sky for a beat. “The storms weren’t registering as an odd phenomenon to our systems, but there are many areas where demons that have been in this world for lifetimes have started acting up.”

Lily shook her head. “The storms and the demons are happening at the same time in Charleston, but it’s not every time. When a storm manifests out of the blue, I can guarantee you we’ll see at least one or two demons coming out of that park. But if a storm rolls in the old-fashioned way, nada.”

He studied her before taking a seat on the bench, spreading his arms across the back. “That is unusual. If the veil between the human realm and the Alius is weakening and weather is the trigger, I would expect to see more demon activity with each storm.”

“Unless the weather and the demons are a concerted effort,” I offered.

That got Emerson’s attention. “You have a theory?”

“I suspect a forgotten weather god may be attempting to re-establish himself in the human realm.” While I did reserve a respectable amount of trust for Emerson, I was still hesitant to share too much.

For all I knew, saying Thrain’s name aloud might be enough to draw his attention.

“Realistically, this god shouldn’t even be capable of creating storms. That is how long forgotten he is.

The more perplexing part, however, is even if he did find a fresh pool of believers to feed power into him, the council should have taken notice of the storms.”

Surprise lit Emerson’s face. “They haven’t?”

“According to my source, no.”

“They also haven’t noticed the demon attacks, apparently,” Never added.

I nodded. “Are there any demons in this realm powerful enough to draw others through the veil?”

Emerson sat forward and sucked air through his teeth. “No. At least, not without considerable help.”

“What about you and your brothers? You guys have a crap ton of power, right?” Never asked.

I braced for Emerson to take offense at the accusation, but he didn’t.

“We only use our power to send demons back through the veil into the Alius. Drawing them here?” He shook his head.

“It hasn’t been attempted in ages. Not to mention every member of the Brethren has sworn his immortal life to the protection of humans.

Drawing new demons here would be breaking that oath. It would be a betrayal of us all.”

For a team that had been together as long as they had, betrayal seemed like something of an eventuality, especially amongst demons. Except the members of the Brethren weren’t just any demons.

“What about a demon that’s still in the Alius?” Lily asked. “What’s to stop a god from working with one of them?”

He shrugged noncommittally. “Nothing, but I don’t see how they would coordinate attacks like you’re describing.

Most gods can’t even enter the Alius. I’m guessing Never is the exception because of her demon blood.

If Atlas were to try, the realm would temporarily drain his power before expelling him.

Just like how demons can’t visit Othrys. ”

A fresh pang of defeat twisted inside me. “Are you certain?”

He pressed his lips together as though he could read my thoughts. “I’m afraid so.”

So, there was no way I could rescue Never, or even join her, if she were forced to spend eternity in the demon realm.

“And you’re sure there aren’t any other demons with enough power right here in our world?” Never asked. “I mean, the demon that helped Wendy get to the Nassa packed a punch, and he would have had to come from this world, right?”

“That was a lifetime ago,” Lily said.

“It’s not like they die.”

Some could, but not one powerful enough to aid Wendy the way he did. “Do you know of the demon she’s referencing?”

Emerson’s stoic gaze slid between us before he let out a heavy exhale. “I do.” A long silence followed.

“Well?” Never motioned for him to go on.

A look of disgust flickered across his features. “His name is LaPalme. ”

Did I hear that right? “You don’t mean your LaPalme? As in, one of the Brethren?”

He pulled himself up off the bench and came to stand in front of us. “The very same.”

Curious energy pulsing from Never spilled into me, but it did nothing to soothe my rising anger. “Never is the descendant of a primordial demon?”

He nodded. “All demons have descended from one of the primordial lines. Her connection just happens to be closer to the top.”

If I’d still had all the power I’d been born with, I might have struck him down in the seconds that followed. Instead, I blocked off my connection to Never so she wouldn’t have to sift through my furious jumble of emotions as she processed the truth. “How long have you known?”

He rolled his shoulders back. “We discovered LaPalme’s misdeeds shortly after the first demonic Darling child was born, and he was punished accordingly.

It is one thing for one of us to become romantically involved with a human.

We have no rules forbidding that. But manipulating a human the way he did, bartering to produce offspring, that crossed a line.

He was exiled from the Brethren temporarily, but there has been some talk of commuting his sentence given Theloneus’s disappearance. ”

“He’s missing?” Lily asked.

“We’re not sure. When you’ve lived as long as we have, taking a few years to yourself isn’t that unusual, but there is protocol. He should have notified one of us, and he didn’t. All we know for certain is that he has not been seen nor heard from in close to five years.”

Lily flicked the tip of her canine with her tongue, and her eyes took on an animalistic shine I knew all too well. “There’s that five-year mark again. ”

His brow pulled down. “What does that mean?”

“A lot of things in the human realm started changing five years ago,” I said. The storms, the demons, and a member of the Brethren went missing. That was one too many coincidences to write off as happenstance.

“What about your realm?” he asked.

“The oddities have been escalating since I pulled Never back from the Alius,” I admitted. “Which occurred mere hours after we left you and Theloneus in that clearing with Lily and Matt.”

“Twenty-six years ago,” Lily said quietly.

“For us,” I motioned between Never and myself, “that was a few months ago.”

His responding huff smacked of irritation.

“I would love to know why the fates have allowed the flow of time to become so convoluted. In the beginning, before humans existed in their current forms, the realms were in sync. All this time slippage nonsense makes me wonder what the hell they’re up to. ”

And just like that, another puzzle piece fell into place. I knew the fates shared the responsibility of maintaining the so-called fabric of life. If they also controlled the flow of time, that would mean one of them was behind the enormous gap we stumbled upon in returning to Never’s realm.

“They want to take me out, right?” Never asked, clearly tumbling down her own rabbit hole.

“But they can’t force me back to the Alius like they would with a regular resurrected human.

What if, instead of me causing all the problems, this is all their doing somehow?

I’m an abomination. Fine. Whatever. And I know Nerebis told you this has happened before, but what if it hasn’t? At least, not the way he implied.

“Dragging a human back from the afterlife and turning them into a god is one thing. But I’m rocking some serious demon heritage, apparently.

What if they don’t actually know what will happen?

What if they’re fucking things up and playing on my conscience to keep me in line so they don’t have to find out? ”

For all the defiance in her voice, if that was their play, it was working. Before I’d closed the door between us, I hadn’t missed the guilt she was trying to keep buried. It had been eating away at her since she’d first started to suspect the problems in the Nassa might be related to her.

I nodded, then shook my head. “I see what you’re saying, but the fates can only manipulate certain things.

They can shift weather patterns over time, but they can’t conjure storms out of the blue or summon demons from one realm to another on their own.

Think of what they do as steering a very big ship. It takes time to change course.”

But if they also controlled time…

“Can they work with others? Or facilitate meetings to speed things along?” Lily asked. “Say, between a powerful demon and a disgruntled god?”

Silence followed her questions. If one of the fates was moving pieces on a chessboard in order to rein Never in, when there was no proof that she would ever become a real threat, that alone was a big accusation. Then add in Thrain and LaPalme.

The old god was frustrated because he’d fallen into obscurity.

The demon was furious because his own brothers had cast him out.

All they would have to do was cross paths.

The fates could be using them without them even knowing it.

“How did Theloneus feel about the vote to banish LaPalme?” I asked.

Emerson frowned. “He was the one who suggested it. ”

Probably making him enemy number one in LaPalme’s eyes. “Could LaPalme have done something to Theloneus?”

He shook his head. “Theloneus has always been one of our most powerful. If it came to a fight between the two of us, I might be able to take him down on my own, but it would be close. LaPalme wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“You can die?” Never asked, perking up.

“Lesser demons, yes. We can destroy them, though we try to avoid that outcome when we can. A full-blooded primordial is a different story.”

“So, when you say you could take him down?”

“I mean incapacitate.” Emerson balled his hands into fists in front of him and squeezed until his knuckles popped audibly. “Which doesn’t matter in any case. We’ve been looking into Theloneus’s disappearance for five years, and the only solid lead we have points elsewhere.”

Never arched a brow. “And that would be?”

“Unrelated to your situation,” he said firmly.

“One of your strongest goes missing, and the shady ass weak link—that I’m apparently related to—might get to come home from exile early? Right around the time all of this shit is starting up?” She huffed out a bitter laugh. “That’s all a little too convenient if you ask me.”

A sound of dissatisfaction rumbled out of him, and I stepped to put myself between them.

“Relax,” Never said. “He’s just pissed because he knows I’m right.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but you do make a good point,” Emerson said.

“Where does that leave us?” Lily asked. She’d been standing stock still the way only a member of the feline family could. Watching. Waiting .

Emerson glanced between us. “It’s just a theory. If we’re going to do anything, we need confirmation.”

“Can you summon your source, the guy who told you about the god?” Never asked, looking at me expectantly.

“Possibly.” I turned to Emerson. “Can you find out what LaPalme has been up to?”

He dipped his head. “I’ll need time.”

“How much?”

“Give me a few days.”

A few days of digging for information while Never defied the fates and I defied the council of gods to remain at her side. What could go wrong?