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“We do, but it’s not enough. We’ve built up our arsenal, called in spiritual guides, but nothing works. We’ve tried it all.”
I wanted to smack my hand to my forehead. So that’s what Granny was doing out in the woods that day, so far from Hanna. The townspeople had gotten desperate and probably hired some quack to lay down some boundary spells like the Nephilim. It obviously hadn’t worked, as Granny never would’ve set foot on Nephilim grounds unless she had something to gain.
Silvia’s lips twisted into a smirk. “We don’t have the manpower for such an agreement.”
Granny lifted her chin and fixed her with a cold stare. “You’ll need to find it. Ever since your little abomination here” —she gestured at me with the butt of her cigarette— “took up residence in this here mansion and killed old Margaret Thatcher, the demons have been using Hanna as a one way ticket to human land. We’ve had to arm ourselves against the ones that slip through your guard. We want protection and a guarantee that you’ll stay off our land when this is all over. We don’t want you freaks stepping foot there. I want an official agreement.”
Every Nephilim at the table tensed at Granny’s speech. Luckily for her, they had more decorum than me and could take her insults. Still, Silvia didn’t even fake a smile when she nodded her head and shook Granny’s hand.
“Deal,” she said through clenched teeth. “Now, tell us all you know.”
She leaned back and took a long drag. The seconds ticked by while she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Despite the fact that I hated this woman and everything about her, I also realized that she had information about my mother that I needed. Info about her demon possession. If there was any way to save her, Granny knew.
“Elizabeth was the product of a different time,” Granny began, gray smoke leaking out her lips with every word. “My parents were German immigrants. Barely spoke English. But they joined a colony in Iowa as soon as they got to the states. My father sold me off to an older man in the colony. One of the religious leaders. I was fourteen. He was forty. He raped me on our wedding night. Elizabeth was the result.”
She took another drag and stared off over my head. In all the years we’d spent together, Granny had never mentioned her childhood nor my grandfather—nobody outside Hanna. I guess it didn’t surprise me to learn that her childhood sucked.
“When t
he girl was two, I managed to sneak away from the colony. Back then, I was soft in the head, so I took her with me. Stumbled upon Hanna—dirty, starving, and scared. They took us in and we never had to go back to that awful colony.”
Silvia nodded and produced a notebook from her pocket. “Skip forward to Elizabeth running away and getting pregnant.”
“She was running away all the time,” Granny spat. “Ungrateful thing. Thought the world outside would be better. Always came back, though. The last time she came back, she was carrying that unnatural thing.”
She gestured at me again and I felt Manuel’s elbow pressing against my side as a silent warning to keep my cool. I didn’t move a muscle.
“But of course, something was different this time.”
“Different?” Silvia’s eyes narrowed. “How?”
“She was—I don’t know—not herself. The daughter I’d raised was bullheaded, to be sure, but this was frightening. The elders convened to test her. Sure enough, we soon realized the truth.”
She paused to drop the cigarette on the tiled floor and smash it with her boots.
Silvia slapped her hand on the table. “What was it?”
“The girl was demon possessed.”
The air went out of the room. Everyone paused, as if some great reveal were coming up. I didn’t know why they were so upset. We all knew my mother was possessed. It shouldn’t have been a big surprise.
“Are you absolutely sure?” Luke leaned into the table, his knuckles white. “Are you sure she was pregnant and possessed?”
“Of course.” Granny’s nostrils flared. “I’m not stupid. The girl was possessed. Would’ve killed her right there if it weren’t for the baby.”
All eyes went to me. I shrugged. So, what? My grandmother used to have a heart. It didn’t ease my hatred of her.
“But that’s impossible,” Manuel spoke up for the first time. He leaned forward on the table. “It can’t be true.”
“It’s true.” Granny pulled another cigarette from her pocket. “As soon as the baby was born, I dragged her hissing and spitting across the town line. It was my aim to put a bullet in her skull, but she escaped. Never came back, neither, ‘til the goddess died. My guess is the goddess chased her out of the woods and wouldn’t let her return.”
Luke stood up abruptly. He waved his hands in front of his chest in surrender and shook his head. “I can’t listen to this. I just can’t.”
“Luke, sit down,” Silvia ordered, pointing to his chair. “We’re not through.”
I wasn’t sure what else we had to go through. I could tell them the rest of my story if they really wanted it. It wasn’t much. Just twenty-one years of misery.
“Are you really going to suggest that I didn’t know my own wife was possessed?” Luke dropped back into the chair. His voice held a desperate tone. “That I would sleep with her when she carried a demon parasite in her body?”
