Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(79)

And the baby in Dev’s arms held her hand up and the bullet stopped in midair. It just stopped and sat there until she giggled and pinched it with her little fat fingers and pulled it inevitably into her mouth.

“No.” I was unable to stay down any longer. I pulled the bullet away. “Why do you put everything in your mouth? Bad. Nasty.”

Sarah watched with her mouth slack-jawed with amazement. Dev was talking, not wasting a moment. He was the only one who understood what the baby was.

“You can protect us,” he said quietly to the girl. “Just think of a bubble. It’s like a circle. Reach in my mind, and you can see it. That’s right. Just like that.”

And I felt the air shift. When Sarah tried to move toward us, she was stopped by some invisible wall. She was forced to step back. The baby giggled at her trick. She touched the wall she made and laughed.

“She’s magic, Sarah. She’s faery magic, and she’ll learn quickly to protect what she loves.” Dev stroked my hair. He seemed much happier behind our protective wall. “She’s a part of Zoey. She won’t let you hurt her.”

“Fine,” Sarah said with an ugly, angry shout. “Let’s see if she will protect the things Zoey loves.”

Sarah turned and walked out of the room. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach because Daniel and Neil were in the outer room, and they were completely helpless. Despite Dev’s pulling hands, I broke out of the circle and ran for the room.

Sarah stood beside the bed where Daniel and Neil lay. Daniel was still as the death his sleep emulated, but Neil was curled up at the end of the bed like a puppy taking a nap. He snuffled in his sleep but didn’t wake.

“You don’t speak Latin, Zoey, so let me translate for you,” Sarah said to me from across the king-sized bed. “Exuro. I’m going to hold my hand over the bed and put my will into it, and I’m going to say exuro. It means burn. This bed will go up in flames, and your vampire will go with it. Have you watched a vampire burn? It isn’t pretty.”

“Please don’t,” I begged. “Please, Sarah.”

“Do you think I want to do this?” She practically shouted the question. “I just want the f*cking kid. I don’t want to hurt any of you.” Tears streaked down her face. She took a breath and calmed herself momentarily. “Stay back,” she said as Dev walked into the room.

“I’m sorry, but the baby wants to be with Zoey,” he said. “She’s quite insistent.”

She bit back a cry, looking right at me. “It’s all your fault. You’re the one who just had to sign a contract with a demon. You just had to have that money. It’s your downfall, that arrogant greed of yours.”

Anger burned in my gut. “Oh, I disagree. My downfall is obviously my shitty choice in friends.”

Sarah frowned. “I never wanted to betray you. I just want to save my sister. My mother contracted the both of us to Brixalnax before we were born. We have twenty-five years on this plane before we have to serve our master in Hell. I was told if I bring in the Light, he will let me and my sister go. She turns twenty-five next month. She isn’t strong. She can’t survive it. Please understand. I don’t have a choice.”

“So you’re willing to give up Daniel and me for you and your sister.” I finally understood the plot of the little drama I found myself in.

“Zoey, Daniel doesn’t have a soul. He’ll be fine. This is all about you,” Sarah said as though my na?veté was offensive. “I’m sorry, but she’s my sister. And Daniel will figure something out to save you. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met. I’m counting on it. He won’t let you go. He really does love you. No one is going to help me or Lily. No one gives a damn about us.”

“I did. I would have helped you.”

Sarah sniffled. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I was put on this path before I was born. I just wish I hadn’t…I really liked being around you guys. I liked being your friend, and I am so sorry it has to end this way.”

“But it doesn’t.” Tears streamed down my face. “You trust Daniel. He is a smart guy, and he can get us out of this.” I tried to make it sound believable because I didn’t see how Daniel could think or muscle us out of the contract. I just had to make sure she didn’t torch that bed.

Tears streamed down Sarah’s face and the gun fell out of her hand. “What am I doing?”

Just like that all the tension in the room fled. “Nothing. You haven’t really done anything yet.”

“I shot you. Oh, god, I shot you. Zoey, you have to understand. He gave me a preview of what was going to happen.”

I’d seen that preview myself. I could only imagine what Sarah’s Hell had been like. And her sister would have to go first. What would I have done to save my father or one of my friends? “Just calm down. No one died. We’re going to be okay. So Halfer offered you a way out.”

Sarah nodded, her face mottled and red. “Yes. He came to me a couple of weeks ago. He told me if I found the box for him he would cancel mine and Lily’s contracts. I didn’t know it would have anything to do with you. I was going to ask you to help me the night you met with him.”

Dev kicked the gun away. “So Halfer wanted to cause some major chaos.”