Demon Day by Penelope Fletcher (best novels in english .TXT) 📕

spell to break the hex on theDisciples had gone so horribly wrong before I steppedin.

“You’re the he-witch’s kin,aren’t you? And not just because he’s Coven Father, you’re hisblood relation. You look far too alike so don’t try andlie.”

Her shoulders slumped. She nodded.“Yes,” she whispered. “I am First Daughter of Cael. Father ofBlackthorn Coven.”

I stared at her. The names meantnothing to me but I got a distinct feeling from the way the othersstiffened it was not a name to carry with pride. “Why didn’t youtell me?” Her eyes clouded over and I snapped my fingers in herface. “Don’t you dare. Stay focused on me and ignore everythingelse.” She sent a frightened look at Breandan who started to speak,but I held up my hand. “You’ve said enough. I understand why youdid what you did, and how in a twisted way you thought you wereprotecting me. But she can lie and she did.”

He reached for my hand and I slappedhim away. He sighed. “It’s not her fault. I asked her not to tellyou. Not to tell anyone who she was.”

I kept my eyes on Ana. “Tell me whathappened.”

She rubbed her tummy. “You saw thescars.” Her eyes briefly flittered across mine and her face creasedin sympathy. “The Tribe caught me and Wasp tortured me forinformation on Cael’s plans.”

“I’ve already heard thisstory.” I paused. “An altered version no doubt but–”

“What I didn’t tell you isthe real reason why I’ve given my loyalty to thefairies.”

“You told me you were fromthe upper dwells–”

Ana made an annoyed sound. “No, youassumed and I didn’t correct you.”

My tail cracked from side to side inirritation. Ana side-stepped to avoid getting lashed by the tip. Itook a deep breath. “But you told me about demons hiding behind theWall.”

“Demons hide in plain sightbehind the Wall.” She shrugged as if this was common knowledge.“There are humans with goblin, witch, and shifter blood. Not enoughto mark them as demon though. Many probably don’t realize they’redescendant from a supernatural. The fairies have always tended tostay within their own race, but recent events wouldn’t be the firsttime a fairy had tied themselves to one outside their gene pool.Your own mother bred with a human.”

Fisting my hands, I looked down atthem as if they held all the answers. “Are you saying that I mighthave more family somewhere?”

This time Breandan did take my hand.He unfurled my fingers and stroked my palm. “I would ask that youforget any thought of more family. It will cause you nothing butpain. Alright?”

As always, he was blunt and matter offact. Not that it bothered me anymore. Better to flatten a sillyhope then let it take root and grow. Still, I struggled with thisbecause I still fought to understand the timelines of when this alloccurred.

I asked, “Why have I not aged? Youbelieve what you’re saying to be the truth, I get that, butshouldn’t I have two hundred years worth of memory, or physicallybe older than I am?”

Breandan stroked one of my wing tipsthen followed the curve of my pinion down to my back. “Physically,you’re still growing.” His own wings flexed then and the corners ofhis mouth kicked back in a smile. “As am I. When we reach our primeour aging slows drastically. Combine this with our temperament andwe begin to look matured yet remain … youthful in appearance. Ourminds refresh themselves to stave away the apathy and ennui thatcomes with long life. Understand?” I nodded. Really, what elsecould I do? Burst into tears? Breandan smiled at me, and that wasmore than enough reward for sucking it up. “Do you remember whatyou did when we fought Devlin?”

My own smile slid from my face. Ashudder rippled through me as I remembered the feeling of beingstretched and yanked from one place to another. “Somehow I moved usfrom the forest into the old church.”

Breandan nodded. “No other fairy wouldthink of attempting such a thing. Generally we do not hold enoughpower therefore physically it is not possible for us. Yet youmanaged to not only move yourself, but Devlin and myself, purely oninstinct.”

From the look of awe on Conall’s face,I could tell this was a big deal. I eyed Breandan speculatively.“You didn’t seem shocked at the time.”

His face creased with amusement. “Whenhave I ever looked shocked to you? When has Conall, Devlin, orMaeve? It is not something we experience often. And when we aresurprised we adjust so quickly you’d be lucky to catch us sufferingthrough it.” He smoothed his hand down the space between my wingsand I squirmed. “We suspect Sorcha did something similar whenDevlin and the warriors chased her down after she broke the amuletsand took you. Only I don’t think it worked the sameway.”

Conall reached to touch my shoulder,but then held back and looked down to his booted feet. “Our motherwas powerful. Beautiful and powerful in ways not even her ownfamily truly understood. When it happened those of us sensitive tomagic felt it rattle our bones.” His eyes closed as if in memory.“Everything stopped and was quiet. A silence so loud it wasdeafening.”

The way he stood, arm reaching andears twitching it was like he was back there, remembering. He hadonce told me that as a young boy he had peeked into my cradle. Myeyes bugged as the implications of that became clear.

He smiled faintly, and when he openedhis eyes, they were already trained on me. “I’ve been looking foryou for a long time, little sister. It brings me joy to know that Idid not fail you. I could not find you because you were not thereto be found.”

I floundered, shook my head. Were theyhonestly trying to say my mother had used her magic to walk throughan opening in time and leave me on a Temple Priestsdoorstep?

No, impossible.

“I’m struggling to acceptthis,” I admitted. “I mean, you can’t be serious.”

My brother touched my amulets briefly.“What are we Rae? What is the first thing I taught you about magic?”

“That it’senergy.”

He nodded. “Energy that flows andconnects all things. When you and Breandan touch how does the nexusmanifest itself to you?”

I swallowed. Was this a trick questionso that he could scold me? “Light,” I