Mydeadmother sat in that chair! She’d died and there had been no one to notice or care. Had her decomposing corpse been there for months?
Kobal stepped forward. My hand shot out and I gripped his forearm, holding him back. If she’d died months ago, the place would smell worse than mildew, wouldn’t it? Maybe the stench of decay would have faded by now, but I believed there would at least be a hint of it on the air. All I smelled beneath the mildew was the faint hint of ocean air, body odor, and rotten food.
If she’d died more recently, she wouldn’t stink yet.
No movement came from the chair. If she’d been alive, she would have heard us open the door, or the creak of the floorboards as Caim, Raphael, Hawk, and Corson entered the house. She didn’t so much as flinch.
***
Kobal
I glanced between River and the chair as her fingers bit so deep into my flesh that her nails pierced my skin. Yet, she showed no sign of realizing she clung to me like a lifeline. She’d stared down all the creatures and angels of Hell with less terror than what shimmered in her eyes now.
I’d long ago realized the only thing that made River vulnerable, the only thing she’d ever feared, was her mother—the woman who I believed to be sitting in the chair before us.
I went to draw River closer, but her feet remained planted on the ground. Then, she lifted her chin, took a deep breath, and stepped further into the room. My upper lip curled as I took in the room. Unlike the other human homes I’d entered, with their pictures and small signs of family and love within them, this place was bleak.
How anyone like River had managed to come from this place, I didn’t know, but I would ensure she was cherished for the rest of her days.
The blank screen across from the woman reflected her pale face and unblinking eyes as River edged closer. Following River around the recliner, I spotted the plates of food on the floor. Most of the moldy food was unrecognizable, though an apple sat on the floor near the woman’s right foot.
“Mother?” River whispered.
There was no response, no sign of a reaction. My other hand fell on River’s waist as her nails dug deeper into my arm. Blood welled forth, but I didn’t try to ease her hold on me. “We should go,” I said gruffly, intending to carry her out of this place and away from that woman forever.
“No. I have to… I have to know.”
***
River
Stepping next to the chair, I gazed down at the woman staring at the TV. Her fingers gripped the threadbare arms of the chair. The stringy blonde hair waving around her face emphasized the shadows lining her eyes. Her face was gaunter than I recalled and far paler, but she was otherwise unchanged.
I still couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive as I tried to detect the smallest rise and fall of her chest. When I stretched trembling fingers out to touch her unlined cheek, her watery blue eyes darted to me. Unable to suppress a squeak, I jumped as I snatched my hand back. I would have stumbled away if Kobal hadn’t been there to prevent me from doing so.
He rested his hand in the small of my back, his body turning protectively sideways. My heart hammered in my chest as my mother’s eyes burned into me. If hatred could take form and kill someone, she would have sliced me open from head to toe with that look.
“The devil’s progeny has returned,” she grated in a voice that sounded as if it hadn’t been used in months.
“Mother,” I whispered, unsure of what else to say or what to do. I couldn’t deny her words. Lucifer’s blood ran through me, and somehow she’d known this, or suspected it all along. Maybe her rotten mind had accidentally stumbled onto the belief she’d born the devil’s spawn and never let go of it.
“I’d hoped you’d die when they took you to the wall,” she said.
I rubbed my hand over my heart before I comprehended what I was doing and dropped it. I’d come to realize that no matter how much I armored myself against this woman, she always found a way past my defenses. I had no weapons against her, but as soon as I found Gage and Bailey, I would leave her here to rot in this place.
Beside me, Kobal growled and stepped toward her. “No.” I placed my hand on his chest to hold him back.
My mother’s eyes flicked to Kobal and enlarged when she took him in. “Demon! You brought a demon intomyhome!” Her voice took on a hysterical note that I’d never heard before. “Be gone, demon! Get out!”
“Go,” I said to Kobal and nudged him toward the doorway.
“I’m not leaving you with her,” he stated as she continued to shriek at him to get out.
“I’ll be fine.” I pushed harder against his chest. “I have to learn if she knows anything about my brothers, and she won’t tell me with you here. Go.”
He relented, walked into the hall, and out of sight. The front door opened and clicked shut again, but I knew he hadn’t left. That had been for her benefit. My mother continued to shriek like a bird for a full minute before abruptly stopping and turning her head to gaze at the blank TV.
“Mother, where is everyone from town?” I asked.
