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Chapter Seven
Anger and resentment washed over Gideon’s face. He hated me for lying to him, and I couldn’t blame him. I hated myself, too.
“I’m sorry.” The words tasted like tin on the tip of my tongue. “Until today, I didn’t know for sure if Nicky was involved.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” He clenched his fists at his side, his anger threatening to boil over. “I told you about the raven’s feather. Why didn’t you say something then? What are you hiding?”
“Nothing!” The room was squeezing in on me. I walked past Gideon into the open living room and stared out the window. “I just didn’t want to get involved. Nicky’s dangerous, Gideon. But at the same time, he’s my brother. I didn’t know what to do.”
It was so quiet in the apartment, for a moment I thought he’d left. Turning around, I saw him standing in the same spot in the kitchen.
“Do you know what happens to male children in harpy families?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. “Centuries ago, they were drowned or slaughtered straight out of the womb. You see, little boys can’t inherit the harpy powers. They’re born human, so they’re basically useless. But now, instead of murdering their little boys, harpy mothers simply ignore them. That was my brother’s fate.”
Anger suppressed since childhood came roaring to the surface in a tidal wave, spilling over into my hot cheeks, the tension in my shoulders, and the whites of my knuckles.
“You said you have siblings, right?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Well, Nicky’s my older brother. I looked up to him. But at the same time, I protected him. He and I were a pair. We belonged to each other.”
“You don’t have to protect him.” Gideon’s voice was surprisingly calm. “Not anymore. He’s a monster, Aya.”
“You don’t understand.” I shook my head. “I’m not just protecting him, I’m protecting myself. I’m protecting you.”
Suddenly, the world felt too heavy to bear. I sat on the microfiber couch and buried my head in my hands. Gideon’s warm fingers enclosed my hands in his. I flinched at his unexpected touch, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he gently pried my hands away from my face, and lifted my chin until I met his gaze.
“Tell me everything,” he said. It was more of a command than a request.
Something inside of me snapped. The secrets I’d been holding inside for so long began to spill out.
“Nicky murdered for the first time the summer before I left for college. She was a family friend - Mrs. Beckett, an old crooked woman who lived in our neighborhood
, and gave away king-sized candy bars at Halloween.”
I smiled, remembering those Halloween nights Nicky and I pinky promised to hit up Mrs. Beckett’s house for giant Musketeers bars.
“Mrs. Beckett was a Grey Sister. They’re creatures with psychic powers. I guess, she should’ve seen what was coming.”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Gideon was patient with me, but I could see the urgency in his eyes.
“When the hallucinations first started, Nicky said that Mrs. Beckett was using her powers to butcher human children from the neighborhoods. I still remember that night he told me. It was so off base that I didn’t know what to do. So, I ignored it.”
Telling all my secrets was a lot easier than I had anticipated. They flowed from me. I felt like a sinner in confession and Gideon was my priest.
“He killed her?” His face was still close to mine, eyes boring into my own.
I nodded solemnly. “He was caught in the act. Too busy separating Mrs. Beckett's head from her body to stop.” A shiver ran through my body. “Somehow, he escaped the SI and has been on the run ever since. He thinks he’s enacting his own form of justice on supernatural creatures he's deemed dangerous, like a real-life Buffy the vampire slayer. But, he’s just insane.”
I didn’t know where it all went wrong. I’d gone over our history together, searching for the clues that should’ve notified me of Nicky’s madness. But, I couldn’t find them, which made it even worse. I should’ve stopped him. If anyone, it should’ve been me.
“I wish you would’ve told me all this in the beginning, instead of making me find out through my colleagues back in Texas.” Gideon dropped my hands. He leaned back onto his heels.
“But, it wouldn’t have mattered,” I said defensively. “I don’t know where Nicky is – no one does. He’s still going to kill them.”
My rage was beginning to build again. Over the past seven years, I’d kept track of Nicky on the supernatural news blogs from around the country. He’d killed probably about a dozen people and creatures. Sure, some of them were definitely bad people, but that didn’t give him the right to play judge and executioner.
“We’re going to stop him.” Gideon stood up and dusted off his knees. “And you’re going to tell me everything you know. But first, I need some whiskey. Come on, there’s a bar across the street.”
