Page 66 of Jake

“The knife is special,” Serafine whispered. “It is the only way to stop them.”

“What do you mean?”

“The goddess. Kasdeya.”

“But sweetie, Kasdeya is a vampire,” Kai said, her forehead crinkling in confusion.

“Kasdeya is the trinity.”

Jake blew out a breath, his eyes darting to Quintus. “She’s not just a vampire. She’s a goddamned three-headed Goddess.”

“Things just got a whole lot more complicated.” Quintus nodded.

“Serafine, I need the Kris. Kasdeya might have my sister or know who took her. You know my fairy wings?” Kai asked gently.

“Yes, they’re so strong. You’re scary, but pretty too.”

“Thank you, honey. But my wings…everything about me…Kasdeya, she’s been trying to kill me ever since I was your age. If you show us the Kris…let us borrow it, I’ll be able to find my sister. We can find who did this to you and make sure they never do it to anyone else.”

“My mother…have you seen her?” Serafine twirled a lock of her hair round her finger.

“Your mother was sick but she’s okay now. She’s been staying with friends, resting.”

“Friends like him?” Serafine’s eyes went to Quintus, who gave a small smile. “He kills people.”

Kai’s heart sank at her words. Quintus was lethal, but he’d lived a long life, had learned to protect himself from evil.

“Quintus. He’s a vampire. But he won’t hurt you. And he’d never hurt your mom either. He’s my friend. He’s been helping me.”

“He’s lonely. Mr. Vampire, you need a friend,” Serafine told him, compassion on her face. “You need to be nice. Stop killing people.”

Kai gave a sad smile. “Quintus will be fine, I promise. Yes, your mother is with a man like him. He’s strong. He can protect her. She’ll come back to you soon.”

Kai’s heart tightened at the white lie. From what Jake had told her, although Dominique was alive, she wasn’t the same person she’d been. The demon had nearly destroyed her. Serafine looked to each of her sisters, and Kai suspected they communicated silently.

“Do you promise mother won’t be angry?” the girl asked.

“I promise you. I will go see her myself.” Kai wasn’t sure how she’d make it happen, but she wouldn’t go back on her word to a child. “It’s okay. You can trust it with us.”

“It’s hidden where she sleeps,” she whispered. “But you need to hurry. The wind. It carries demons. They can see you. They could try to steal it.”

“Thank you,” Kai said, exhaling an audible breath. She glanced to Jake, and reached for his hand as he extended it to her. “I promise you Kasdeya will never hurt you again. Or your mother. We need a few days but we can do this.”

“Thank you,” Jake said, backing away from the entities.

“Grazie, patatino.” Quintus gave a small bow in thanks, waiting as Kai stepped onto the ladder.

“Goodbye,” Kai said, but as she turned to the girls, they’d disappeared.

“Let’s go, sweetheart. We’ve gotta get out of here.” Jake glanced around the attic one more time before following Kai downward onto the landing. The whistle of wind whipped through the drafty home as Quintus made his way into the hallway.

“This way…try that bed,” Kai said, her pulse racing. Her eyes went to the window, and she noted the ominous darkened sky.

“Wait up,” Jake told her, following on her heels.

“Here.” Kai pointed to the four poster bed. She ran her palm over the dark mahogany post but sensed nothing. “I don’t get it. Do you think it’s between the mattresses?”

“Maybe, but think about it. If you were hiding something special, where would you put it? My guess is,” Jake ran a hand over the snowy Marseilles bedspread, tracing its intricate pattern, “you’d put it somewhere that it wouldn’t be easily discovered.”