Page 16 of Malice

“What do you mean?” He gives me an incredulous look. “How the hell do you relate to a demon?”

“I was used and manipulated by the Order, too. They kept me on a leash, scared of my powers. And I followed orders. I did exactly what they wanted me to do. Did you know that Vivian and Marco—our parents—were drugging me in my sleep and taking my blood? The Order wanted to replicate my powers and make their own little army. I thought it was so they could have super soldiers to hunt demons but now, now I’m wondering if it was something else.”

“I…I had no idea.”

“You didn’t. Because they lied to you, too. The Order is evil and needs to be stopped.”

“Not everyone in the Order is evil, Wren,” Antonio tries to reason. “I’m not. Leo and Larissa⁠—”

“Don’t get me started on her,” I snap, tone shrill. Energy burns around my fingers. “She’s always hated me and went out of her way to make sure I knew I wasn’t part of the family. Look at how many lives the Order has destroyed and I’m not talking about the people that died because of them. Look at us! Raised like warriors. Expected to perform like murderous robots. Gia should be in school worried about boys and makeup and making cringy videos on social media. Her biggest threat should be bullies, not demons.”

“Someone has to hunt the bad things, Wren.”

“Do they?”

“Yes, Wren,” Antonio says, voice calm. “The heroes do. You’re a hero.”

“You sound so brainwashed,” I go on, unable to help myself. “You died, Toni! Died! Like bled-to-death died. And here you are, still spitting their bullshit propaganda!”

His face darkens. “I’m not spitting bullshit propaganda,” he repeats, obviously offended. “There are good people in this world, Wren. People who want to make a difference. I’m not just talking about hunters. What about firefighters? Social workers? Special ed teachers? People who work with the elderly or disabled? None of those jobs are necessarily easy, yet people do them because they want to make a difference.”

I look at the koi pond, tears blurring my eyes. “Nothing makes sense.”

“I don’t think life is supposed to make sense.” Antonio comes over next to me, leaning on the railing and looking down at the fish. “Hell, this garden doesn’t make sense. Neither does the big-ass kitchen. Vampires live here.”

I can’t help but laugh. “The garden is all lit up at night. It’s pretty. The kitchen though, I agree. Especially considering this house was built for vampires.”

“Resale value?”

“Maybe,” I reply with another snort of laughter. We both stare into the pond for a moment. “I think I know a way we can contact Leo.”

“A spell?”

“That’s an option, but I don’t want to wait until tonight to do a dream spell, and if he thinks we’re all dead, he might not be in the right state of mind to receive a message.”

“Good point.”

“I made a friend. Shocking, I know. She’s a werewolf, and she would be willing to help. I can’t send her into enemy territory, though,” I say, doubting my plan to ask Delphi to find Leo and deliver a message for us. “Okay,” I say, thinking out loud. “Where was Leo when you came to get me?”

“He went out with a few other hunters to look for Gia.” He raises his eyebrows. “Mom sent him in the opposite direction.”

“She kept you guys apart on purpose.”

His jaw tenses, and I can only guess what he’s thinking. Did they know Marcus Henry was going to use his blood to draw the sigil? Were they okay with him dying if it meant they got unlimited power? I know how it feels to be discarded by your family.

It fucking hurts.

“Even when we kill this demon,” Antonio starts, and I love him for saying when and not if, “the Order isn’t just going to go away.”

“I know,” I tell him. “They’ll be even more mad.”

“They’ll come after you, Wren. Knowing they spent thousands of dollars, manipulated the system, cheated and lied in an attempt to hurt you, but in the end you still came out on top. That’s a whole new level of embarrassment for them. The Order isn’t going to take it well. This whole situation wasn’t supposed to happen and I can’t help but wonder…Never mind.”

“You have to say it,” I tell him. “You can’t leave me hanging now.”

“Fine,” he huffs. “I can’t help but wonder if things would be like this if Larissa had come here. We both know Xavier wouldn’t care about her the same way he cares about you. Vampires can’t hold witches spellbound, so you were definitely not part of the plan.”

“So you agree with me: Larissa fucks everything up.”