AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it?”
His father ran his finger over the stone. “It’s all that’s left of Bones.”
“A stone?”
Thanatos nodded. “When a hell stallion or mare dies, their essences are compacted into a single stone. In a way, they leave their power behind. These stones are rare, priceless, and powerful.” He placed the piece on the bench. “It’ll deflect Draven’s mental and telekinetic attacks. But it won’t just deflect them. It’ll send them back to him at half-power. So be careful if you want him alive.”
“I’m not going to need it at all.”
“Why? Because Draven won’t hurt you?” His dad laughed. “Sometimes, I forget how young you are.”
Not this again.
Generally, his dad was cool. He’d been a great father. Strict but fair, and as willing to play catch with Logan as he’d been to have a tea party with Amber and her stuffed animals.
But the guy liked to play the I-know-better-than-you-do-because-I’m-ancient card every chance he got.
“I’m thirty-three. I know I haven’t been alive for thousands of years, but I’m not naïve. I studied demons and battle tactics in school. I’ve trained my entire life with angels and demons. And I’ve had you, Limos, Ares, and Reseph breathing down my neck constantly. I might as well be hundreds of years old with all the knowledge I have.”
His dad snorted and turned back to his project. “The universe doesn’t care about your hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge. You’re a child on the scale of our existence.”
Logan watched his dad run sandpaper along the wooden handle of the weapon. He’d always been good with wood. Had even hand-carved Logan and Amber’s cradle—a cradle that would soon rock another baby to sleep.
“Dad?”
Thanatos didn’t look up from the workbench. “Yeah?”
“I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
He paused, then blurted, “How was I conceived?”
“Sex,” his dad said, not missing a beat. “We had this talk when you were, like, eight. When you caught me and your mom—”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t need to relive that.” Logan’s pop wasn’t making this easy. “But I mean…how?”
His dad tossed the sandpaper aside and grabbed a woodworking tool. “That particular night, I was on the bottom, and your mom was on top—”
“Stop! Criminy.” Logan shook his head, hoping to prevent any traumatic images from forming. Catching them going at it like rabbits when he was eight was more than enough mental damage. “I’m serious.”
Thanatos scraped gently along the edge of the weapon. “So was I.”
“Stop it!” Frustrated, Logan jammed his hands into his pockets and started over. “Dad. Can we talk? Please?”
The scrapes slowed and became deliberate. Calm. But Logan wasn’t buying the act. His dad had set aside the sandpaper and went to a more familiar tool. A comforting one. “We’re not discussing your conception.”
Logan’s palms grew damp. Sure, his dad could be protecting the intimacy of his marriage, but he could also be hiding something. Also, if he wanted to protect the intimacy of his marriage, he shouldn’t have said that thing about Logan’s mom being on top.
Because…gross. Logan could have gone his entire life without that knowledge.
“Fine. I’ll talk. You can nod yes or no.”
“No.” Thanatos’s grip on the scraping tool turned his knuckles white as the strokes along the edge of the wood came faster. Became less precise. Fat slivers and wood chips started to fall to the floor, out of place among the finer dust from earlier scrapings.
Now was probably not the time to do this, but there would never be agoodtime. So, what the hell?
“Did Mom trick you into getting her pregnant?” He vomited the words, sickened to even speak them.
