Slayer(63)

An unexpected memory of Honora jumping, dancing, laughing in the middle of flashing lights is triggered by her smile, though. The concert I had remembered being at with only Artemis and Jade—Honora snuck us in. I had forgotten that part. Or repressed it.

“Listen,” she says. “I’m not here for a social call. I passed through Dublin and there’s a lot of chatter in the underground parts of the city.”

Leo’s face betrays nothing of what we did there. “Oh?”

“Some big demon trouble.”

Maybe she’s onto the gambling ring and whatever else is happening down there. If she knows we were involved, our secret is as dead as a hellhound in a pit fight. She’ll tell her mother, who will tell my mother. “What kind of trouble?”

“The bloody, high-body-count, deadly-demon kind of trouble. He left dozens of bodies in his wake. I think he came this direction. I wanted to make sure you’re all okay, then see if the Council has heard anything.”

So, not the pit. A different threat. Fantastic. I definitely don’t already have way too much to worry about.

“What kind of demon?” Leo asks.

“Pylean-human hybrid. Male. Neon-yellow skin, black horns, real nasty piece of work.”

I cover my startle with a cough. “Sorry. Wow. What has, uh, he done?”

“Kills other demons. Men. Women. Even a few kids. Pure murderer. Heard anything?”

“No,” Leo says. Which is the truth, from him.

I try to square what she’s saying with my conversation with the Coldplay demon. My instincts were that he wasn’t a threat. And while I’m not totally confident in those Slayer instincts, they’ve been pretty on point so far. Plus, you can’t fake the kind of fear he showed when I threatened to call Sean. I can’t imagine a demon on a murderous rampage would be utterly terrified of the man I saw at the pit.

Not wanting her to ask more questions, I scramble to only give her the information her mother will have. “We had a hellhound here the other day, but we think it was a stray.” No one has mentioned the second one, which means my mother didn’t say anything. Which continues to be troubling. The more I think about it, the more I suspect she’s not worried because she knows the hellhounds aren’t after us. But how could she know that? If she knew about the demon in the shed, I’d already be toast.

Honora perks, obviously intrigued. “Hellhound? Why was it here?”

I hope I don’t look as panicked as I feel. But she can’t be right about my demon. Coldplay shirt. Pierced ears. And he didn’t even try to break free. If there’s one person in the world I’m the least inclined to help, it’s Honora. I’m going to solve this demon’s mystery myself. If he is all murdery, then I’ll deal with it. I’m a Slayer. It’s my job.

I shrug. “Like you said, we’re hiding. Not a lot of demon chatter in the dorms. Maybe check with the Council?”

Honora squinches her pretty face. “They’re not likely to know anything. We’re the only ones who do any work around here.” She pauses, then smiles sweetly. “Well, I’m the only one who does any work.”

I bristle. “My mother is constantly out there. And Leo and his mother spent the last three years tracking and killing demons in South America.”

“Aww, that’s fun! We’ll have to trade stories. And Wheezy can tell us the latest techniques in removing splinters and fixing up owies.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Just kidding. I do think the medical center is a good idea. Love to see it later. I’m going to get breakfast and talk to the olds. Don’t read any good poems without me.” She sweeps out.

Leo’s hand brushes my own. “Athena,” he says, his voice soft.

I’m clenching my fists so hard they’re shaking. I don’t want to talk about this.

“She has a mean streak, and she was always jealous of you.”

I grimace. “Jealous? Why would she be jealous of me? I was nobody. I was the other Jamison-Smythe twin. The one who couldn’t do anything.”

“Exactly.” Leo takes the broom and starts cleaning up the split punching bag we had forgotten about. “Honora didn’t want to be a Watcher. But her mother put a lot of pressure on her. Everything she did was measured against her family. She was the one who was going to redeem them. To bring honor back to the Wyndam-Pryces.”

“I still don’t see how that makes her jealous of me.”

“Your mom didn’t push you to be in Watcher training or punish you for not being the best.”

“Because she was trying to keep me from doing anything that might make me a good Slayer.”

“Whatever the reasons, Honora didn’t see it that way. She saw a girl who was happy in the middle of all the Watcher misery.” He sets the broom down. “I’m not defending her. But she lashed out because she hated that you had things she never would. Even back then, you were . . . different. Special. Everything that had happened to you, everything you had lost, and you still managed to be the brightest part of any room.” He smiles full-dimples, and my heart cracks. The fissures undo all the work I’ve done to shut him out these last three years. Thirteen-year-old me crows triumphantly that he really did see me back then. Part of my humiliation—the part that was certain he thought I was stupid—finally dissolves.