***
River
It was taking everything I had to stay on myfeet as I stared at the man Kobal held before him. I’d seen hisface only once before in a photo my mom had in her closet. I neverwould have seen it if Gage hadn’t decided to go snooping forChristmas presents when he was six. He’d torn the closet apart, butall he’d found were memories that were better off buried in thejunk filling the small space.
Thankfully, I’d caught him instead of ourmother and cleaned up the mess before she returned home. I’ddiscovered the photo while putting everything back where it camefrom. Staring at that photo, I’d known immediately who the man init was. The resemblance had been unmistakable; it still was.
He bore the masculine version of my nose; myeyes were more his color than my mother’s, and his hair was nearlythe same shade of black as mine. I clearly got my height from himas my mother barely stood over five feet tall. He wasn’t nearly astall as Kobal, but he was pushing six feet.
Unlike the ghosts, there wasn’t a grayish,misty appearance to him. No, he was full-on color and looked soliddangling there in Kobal’s tight grip.
I inhaled a labored breath as cold encasedmy lungs once more. My father’s eyes flicked toward me, but hislips remained clamped together. Were those freckles on his nose?Had I gotten those from him too?
I tried to clear my head of the conflictingemotions battering against me. This man had taken off before I’dbeen born. I’d never known him, never dreamed of him riding in torescue me from my mother. He’d proven he wasn’t the rescuing typewhen he’d rode out of town and never looked back. Besides, I’dnever been one for fairy tales.
Despite my lack of any connection to thisman, other than DNA, sorrow and pity tugged at me for him. He hadcreated me, and now he was one of the twistedthingsthedemons fed from, and he was in Hell.
He’s in Hell!
The implications behind that realizationsank into my dazed mind. He’d done something to deserve beinglocated on this side of death. Not only that, but he was alsohelping to bring down the seals. How was he doing it?Whywas he doing it?
Because he’s helping Lucifer.
The answer hit me like a bullet between theeyes, and my vision crossed for a minute. Even dead, my father hadthe power to help Lucifer, which meant I might too. I’d alreadyhelped Kobal to hold up the seal; it made sense that I could helptopple it.
Bile burned my throat. I’d accepted the factthat both my parents cared less for me than a dog did for theiryoung, accepted I was a mix of all three worlds, but now I was toaccept this too?
“Shit,” I moaned. My hands fell to my kneesas I bent over.
“Corson, help her!” Kobal barked.
I held up my hand to hold Corson back. “Giveme a minute.”
Corson remained where he was, lookingcompletely helpless and uncomfortable as he tried to figure outwhat to do. I lifted my head to look at my father again. I’d keptmyself detached from Lucifer by thinking of him as only a distantancestor, but I couldn’t do that with this man.
No, with this man, there was no denying thedirect tie between me and evil. Despite the discomfort in my bonesand the chill in my body, I rose back to my full height and met hisgaze head-on. I had questions, and damn it, this man owed meanswers.
“What did you do to end up in here?” Idemanded. “Or does abandoning your child qualify as a big enoughsin?”
“It doesn’t,” Corson said when my fathersimply stared at me with his lips flattened into a thin line. “Butthere are more than a few ghosts who have done it.”
“I wasn’t prepared to be saddled with achild so young,” my father replied. “Your mother was only afling.”
“At least you’re honest,” I said. “What didyou do to end up here then?” I didn’t really want to know theanswer, but I felt Ihadto know. To live in denial of whathe was, of whatIwas, would only catch up with me in theend. There would never be any burying my head in the sand againafter this.
Kobal’s gaze was drawn away from me as hefocused on the man within his grasp once more. “Answer her,” hecommanded, and pain filled my father’s face.
I didn’t know what Kobal was doing to him,but whatever it was caused words to tumble from his lips. “I mayhave killed a few people. You aren’t the only one in our family whocan do things.”
“Obviously.” I didn’t ask who he’d killed orwhy; it didn’t matter. If he’d done it because it had been anaccident or in self-defense, he wouldn’t be here. “Why would youhelp Lucifer bring the seals down?”
“You have no idea what it’s like to feelthesethingsfeeding from you.” He waved a hand at thedemons surrounding him, earning him a scathing look from each oneof them. “Satan found me, and saved me from them.”
“How did Lucifer know you were here?” Kobalinquired.
“I have no idea,” my father replied, and Isuspected that if he did know, he wouldn’t tell us.
Kobal’s hand tightened on his throat. Myfather’s legs kicked in desperation; his fingers clawed at Kobal’sas he turned bright red and agony altered his features. Kobal’sskin took on a deeper brown hue as the marks on him darkened to ajet black. I’d seen this happen to him when he’d fed on the wraithsbefore, and I realized he was drawing enough life from my father tomake him speak.
