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“My father and he never got along,” he said. “Estefan was proud and ambitious. He wanted more than to be a gate keeper. He wanted prestige. He wanted power. I didn’t try to stop him from leaving. I was too young to understand the world. We both were.”
“I didn’t know Nephilim could leave.”
I couldn’t think of a single reason why someone would leave this world. After longing for acceptance and a family all my life, I’d found it here within the Nephilim. They lived big lives, with an eternal purpose.
“It doesn’t happen very often.” He looked up at me. “We may seem like gods with our long lives and strength. But out there, we’re freaks. Humans don’t take kindly to anyone different. That’s why we usually keep to our own kind.”
I supposed that had to be true. Even the humans who lived at the manor were unique and a bit odd. Like my friend Laramie in the stables. They’d found a home here, but most people would never understand the Nephilim.
“What happened to him? To your brother?”
“He got caught up in the Spanish-American war.” A grim frown passed over Manuel’s lips. “He passionately believed that Cuba should be free from America’s grip. His mind was so twisted with hate that when he fell in with the wrong people, they easily convinced him to go to Cuba as a terrorist. I begged him not to go. He wouldn’t listen.”
The Spanish-American war had happened over a hundred years ago. It still felt crazy that someone who looked like he was nearing thirty could be over two hundred years old. Even Gabe was nearing two hundred. It was easy to forget.
I dropped my head on my hands and shrugged. “What, did he fall in with some demons?”
“No, which makes it even harder to swallow.” He stood up and stared across the grass. “No, my brother made his own decision to do evil. He helped sink a U.S. ship in Cuba. Killed nearly three hundred innocent people. Started a war that killed many more. The only saving grace I could find in the whole thing was that he didn’t make it out alive.”
My jaw dropped. “He died?”
Manuel nodded, his face stricken. “Killed, by his own evil deeds. No doubt, he thought he’d receive fame and glory for his terrorist actions. Instead, he was trapped in the explosion and a hundred years later, no one even remembers his name. No one, except for me.”
I looked down at my hands. It was a horrible thought to have, but at least my mother was inhabited by a demon. Any evil she did could be blamed on the deceiver inside her. Manuel’s brother had made his own decisions. It’d be terrible to have that riding on your shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He returned to the bench beside me. “Me, too.”
We didn’t have time to fall back into a comfortable silence. Luke came marching around the corner of the house, following Silvia as closely as he could. The two of them were arguing, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. My father’s face was red and the blue veins on his temples throbbed. Silvia shook her long main of hair and flung her hand dismissively at his face, strutting toward us in six inch heels that somehow managed to keep her vertical.
“There you are, Manuel,” Silvia said as they drew nearer. “Thank you for guarding Ms. Redding. We’re ready to take her into custody.”
I looked from Manuel to my father, my mind blanking. Custody? What was she talking about?
“You can’t do this.” Luke stepped in-between Manuel and me. “I won’t allow it.”
Silvia flung her hair over her shoulder. “Luke, because of your association with a deceiver, you and your sister are temporarily suspended from the board. As such, you have no authority here. Now step aside, or I will be forced to take you into custody as well.”
Luke worked his jaw in frustration, but didn’t protest when Manuel moved to my side. I looked up into his eyes and was surprised to see sympathy there. He placed his hand lightly on my shoulder and nodded reassuringly.
“This is just until we can sort everything out,” he explained. “You’re not a prisoner. We just need to get more information about this key.”
“That’s why I called in someone to help,” Silvia offered, squinting at me with nothing but cold, calculating dislike.
If I hated Silvia before, it was nothing to what I felt now. I hated her black heels, her dark green dress, and the dozen or so bracelets she always wore on her wrists.
“Who’s this expert?” Luke asked. He looked puzzled. “Where did you find him?”
“Oh, she wasn’t far.” Silvia placed a hand on her hip and gestured at a silver truck coming up the road. “And here’s Oscar with her now. With her help, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
The large silver truck pulled to a stop on the gravel drive that connected the manor to the outside world. Dust swirled around its tires. Oscar stepped out of the driver’s side, his long legs easily reaching to the ground. He smiled and pointed at u
s, speaking to someone still inside the truck.
The passenger door opened. Out slipped a woman of average height, her wispy gray hair pulled back into a loose ponytail that fell to her shoulder blades. The very sight of her made my insides quiver with rage.
Silvia turned and pursed her lips into a snarky smile. “I hope you don’t mind, Lizzy. We’ve invited your Granny to the manor. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do, as I understand it.”
