“I was, yes, but…” his tone darkened, “we’re sure he’s up to no good, so we came up with a way to get close enough to him to find out. He’s still in love with me, so… I took one for the team, so to speak.”
My anger changed immediately. I hauled off and slapped the back of his head, making him yap and rub the tender spot. “You are a fucking moron, you know that?”
“Why now?” he whined.
“Why would you subject yourself to something like this? Sleeping with someone from Chandler? Someone you were literally in shambles over? Do you ever consider yourself for one Gods damn second?”
“He’s trying to find Pandora,” Dad said despondently, and that changed the mood completely. “He has a sick obsession with her and my Four Horsemen spell. I haven’t figured out a link entirely, or how they know each other, but I’m slowly putting the pieces together. I can’t get nearly close enough to him or his work/notes without doing something that keeps him occupied. Trust me…” he deflated as he spoke, “I hate myself for doing this. I hate myself for betraying your mother, for even looking at that man. I vowed to never let him in my inner circle again, and hereI am, letting him encroach in ways I swore I’d never fall victim to again.”
His sad tone broke my heart. I slipped between the two and laid my cheek on his shoulder, locking my arms around his so I could hold his hand. He gave me a gentle squeeze, thankful I wasn’t mad anymore, and snuggled into my hair. “Dad, I’m so sorry. I wish you had told me sooner, so I could have helped.”
His gaze was empty, distant, as he looked past everyone in the room. “Not everything is for you to help with, buddy. This is far more sensitive of a situation then I want you involved in.”
“I’m not a little kid anymore,” I reminded him. “You need to stop treating me like one. I’m supposed to be your successor, and part of that is knowing the good, bad, and ugly aspects of what it means to be a God, and what you have to do when times are tough.”
“I don’t want you to get any more involved with Ambermourn,” he firmly commanded. “I have a handle on things for right now, which means your nose stays in your own business.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“I mean it, Nicodemus.”
He was so serious that I knew I needed to ease his worries. I patted his leg reassuringly. “I get it, old man. Just, promise me something?”
“Sure?” he quizzically replied.
My demeanor darkened as I spoke, “Promise that you won’t let him get too close. That if you find something out, something bad, that you’ll abandon this operation. I don’t want you getting hurt, or risk him getting too close.” I sunk into the couch in shame. “I know, with Chandler, and Phillip… there’s no way sleeping with a man is an easy thing for you.”
Dad kissed my hair three times, three sweet and reassuring kisses. “I know, shrimp. I’m doing things at my pace, regardlessof what he wants. He knows not to push his luck considering the Chandler stuff. If it helps, Mom and I have been sleeping with both genders for a while!”
“OH MY FUCKING GODS! EWW, EWW! BLEACH MY BRAIN!” I screamed, wiggling free to run in circles and screech like a dying animal.
“Really, Atlas,” she groaned out.
Dad shrugged casually. “Hey, everyone gets curious after two thousand years!”
“I’M DROWNING MYSELF!” I declared rushing towards the kitchen sink.
“No, Nick!” Dad laughed as he raced after me. Mom rolled her eyes heavily and threw her face into her lap, utterly defeated by the sounds of us arguing over the running water I was submerging my head in.
Chapter seventeen
She’s Got Magic in Her Fingertips
Nicodemus
My twenty-five Demon Hunters were collected around the portal entrance for our arena, bubbling with excitement palpable in the air. They bounced in place as they rambled a mile a minute about the adventure we would have today, making me chuckle to my Shadows. “Who would have thought anyone would be excited to go to Gehenna?”
“I know, right? I’d rather jump into a pool of lava then be down there,” Stark said with a shiver.
“You’re a Life Elemental, Stark. Of course you hate it down there,” Jackson pointed out.
Stark clung to my shoulders so he could hide behind me. “Do I have to come?”
“Yes, Stark,” I chastised.
“Can’t you let me stay behind for one little, tiny, itty bitty mission?”
I whisked around to grab his shirt collar and shake him wildly. “Did you or did you not sign up to be my Shadow Walker?”
