Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)(81)

“Thanks for boosting my confidence.”

“But you still haven’t answered my question. Why do you keep denying your destiny? The world needs you.”

“I’m not a hero. I’m not that smart. I do dumb things. I gave my half-demon friend a cursed chest, after all.”

“You put it in safe hands, from what I can tell.”

“I helped destroy her shop. If it weren’t for Kalli, Lucy’s shop would still be under water.”

“Things happen for a reason. There are no coincidences.”

“I killed Nonni.”

Matthias blinked. “What do you mean? I was told she died of a stroke. Hardly something that you could have caused.”

“It was the day of my birthday. Usually I spent the evening with Nonni, playing cards and watching old movies.” She wiped tears from her cheek. “Nonni called and said I didn’t have to come if I didn’t want to. She knew someone had given me tickets to a concert and she didn’t want me to miss my favorite band. I felt guilty the whole time. I didn’t enjoy the concert at all.”

“What happened?”

“The hospital called me. Nonni had a stroke and was on life support.” Serah couldn’t stop the tears. They fell from her lids, down her cheeks. She gulped. “I stayed by her bedside. I never gave up hope. But Nonni had always told me she never wanted to live like that. So, when the doctors told me there was nothing more they could do, I had them turn off the machines.

“She said to me once that if she wasn’t able to see me through to my destiny, she’d find a way. I guess this is her way.” Serah reached down and ran her fingertips across the locket.

“Your Nonni loved you very much. You’re lucky to have had her.” Matthias ran his hand across her forehead.

“I can’t help but think that there’s more.” She brushed her fingertip across the locket, one stone jiggling at her touch. “Oh no. A stone’s loose.”

“Huh?”

“One of the diamonds. It’s loose.” She wiggled her finger over the stone, just like a kid would wiggle her first loose tooth. The stone popped out. Serah caught the diamond in her hand.

All of a sudden the locket flew open. “What the hell?” God, she was really starting to hate that expression.

“There’s something inside,” Matthias said, pointing to the now-open locket.

Serah took the locket and turned it over. On one side was a picture of her mother. On the other side, a folded piece of paper. Serah took out the paper. Behind it was a picture of her father. Shaking her head, she brushed her fingertips across their photos—the only reminder she had of them.

Unfolding the paper, she breathed in deeply. She squinted to read the ornate print.

“Damn it, Nonni. You know I can’t read Latin.”

“Do you need me to translate?”

Serah nodded. She went to hand the letter to Matthias, until she caught a glimpse of some of the words.

“Wait.” On second thought, maybe she didn’t need a translator after all. Tracing her fingertips across the words, she read. “Actually, I don’t!”

The key is in your hand. Stand Watch and Face your fears.





“The key is in my hand?” Serah groaned. “Stand watch and face my fears?” Her Nonni couldn’t have been any more cryptic. It was her specialty. Sadly enough, Serah missed it.

“Can I have a look?”

“Have at it.” She handed him the scrawled note. “I’m as clueless as I was before the locket opened.”

She glanced down at the locket, looking at the tiny hole where the stone once fit. Picking the stone up with her fingertips, she placed it in the empty socket. The locket snapped shut and locked.

“It’s the key!”

“What?”

“The stone.” She brushed her fingertips across the stone again. It loosened and fell, the locket snapping back open. “See?”

Matthias nodded. He plucked the stone from Serah’s hand and looked closer. “There are two tiny prongs at the bottom. Not visible to the human eye.”

She took the stone back and held it up to the light. Sure enough, two silver prongs jutted from the setting. “But how come I can see them?”

“Let me rephrase: They are not visible to the normal human eye.”

“Of course,” she said with a snort. “But what does ‘stand watch and face your fears’ mean?” Serah threw up her hands. “I’m stumped.”

Matthias reached up and snatched her wrist, his hand encircling her watch. “Your grandmother was clever.”

“Huh?”

Matthias pointed at the W on the slip of paper. “Look. Watch is capitalized.” He then moved to the F. “And so is face, but none of the other words are written that way.”

“I hate to blow a hole in your theory, but my grandmother wasn’t very good at grammar.”

Matthias shook his head. “I think it was deliberate.” He examined her watch. “There.” He pointed to a spot on the watch. “See the gap there?”

Serah glanced down to where Matthias pointed. A tiny spot, but it was still large enough for the stone to fit. She took the stone and placed it in the gap. It snapped into place.