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“Not going to eat the grapes?” he said, holding up a bunch.
I looked away.
“Fine, more for me.” He held them up and plucked them off, one by one, with his lips.
I listened to the grinding of his teeth as he masticated his food slowly and deliberately. He was waiting for me to speak, I just knew it. But there was nothing to say.
Finally, he sighed and shoved his rear into the small space on the step beside me.
“I’m not here to give you a pep talk,” he said, holding out his palms in surrender. “That’s the last thing you need. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
I hugged my knees closer. I’d never be okay. Not by a long shot.
“What can I say to make it better?” He peered at me, his brown eyes turning into molten chocolate as he refused to turn away.
“Nothing.” My voice cracked as I spoke.
“How about a story?” A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve got a million of them.”
A bedtime story was the last thing I wanted right now, but it made me think of my mentor, Manuel. He had one of those presences, calm and steady. He knew just what to say. If he were here now, he probably would’ve told me another story about his brother. His own personal tragedy. Together, we’d be connected through our sadness. I missed him.
“Do you have any brothers?” I asked.
“Do I?” The half-grin broke out into a full-fledged smile. “Three elder brothers. And boy, were they tough on me. I was lucky to survive my childhood.”
I rested my head on my knee and gazed at him. “You were lucky just to have them.”
A thoughtful expression came to his face and he nodded. “Yes, I was. They’re all warriors now. Protecting home. I was the geeky one. And the troublemaker.”
My mouth turned into a wry smile. It hurt my face. “I have trouble picturing you as a troublemaker.”
“Oh, I was the biggest pain.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “Little Noah was a rebel. Sneaking out late at night. Boozing, partying, chatting up the sheilas. For a long time, I rebelled against the Nephilim life. Wanted to be a rock star. You know, join the Beetles? Funny thing was, I was rubbish at singing. But that didn’t stop me from trying.”
I tried to imagine teenaged Noah with a Beetles haircut and bell bottom jeans. The image was slightly frightening.
“I even ran away to Europe with my band.” Lifting his chin, he chuckled at the memory. “We were going to conquer the world. Instead, we ended up crashing at a drug den in the screwy part of town. My eldest brother, Bartholomew, dragged me back kicking and screaming. Best thing that ever happened to me, but I wouldn’t have known that at the time.”
Closing my eyes, I smiled at the sound of Noah reminiscing. It was nice to hear someone talk about their childhood with such fondness. I had enough heartbreak in mine to last several life times.
“Yeah, my brothers made me toe the line.” He kicked at a loose rock. “But that’s what big brothers are for, isn’t it? Keep the youngest in line. Do you have any siblings?”
I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak, when an unbidden idea popped into my head. Freezing in place, I stared at the wall behind Noah’s head. The wheels in my head were beginning to turn and I didn’t want to ruin it. Something inside me told me this idea was big. This was huge. Something to solve all our problems.
Noah’s eyes narrowed in concern. He waved a hand in front of my face and snapped. “Lizzy? Are you okay? This isn’t another one of your episodes, is it?”
“Shhhh.” I placed a hand over his mouth. “Something’s coming to me.”
My answer did nothing to erase the worry etched in the lines on his forehead. Still, he remained quiet as I dropped my hand.
Brothers. Noah’s brothers made him toe the line. They’d kept him from trouble in his youth. Prince Seth had brothers. Five to be exact. Five Princes of Hell. And from everything I knew about them, they didn’t seem to get along.
Seth had told me himself that he was going to wrestle back control of Hell from his brothers as soon as he’d conquered Earth. That was why he needed me. His key. The only person with access to Hell. The only person who could open that door.
“I’ve got to go.” I shot up to my feet, nearly knocking Noah over in the process.
He caught himself before he fell backwards and shouted. “Wait, where are you going?”
“I’ve got a plan,” I yelled over my shoulder as I ran down the stairs.
