"whose stupid idea was that? what are they going to name it, underworld?"

"house assad wants to create an eastern bloc and a group of minor houses have already created an army of supernatural mercenaries to combat the templars. kassallandra and i can unite the halves again. keep them whole."

fury and sadness ripped apart my insides and tears of anger threatened to break loose. he was abandoning mom and ivy. giving up on them. destroying our family. "this is stupid, dad. what makes you think it'll even work? house slade-your own family despises you."

"i've already worked out details with them. i'll do my penance."

i looked at the beautiful daemas, her flaming red hair, the smooth curves of her body. "i know why you're doing it. mom obviously wasn't pretty enough."

he shook his head sadly and wiped one eye with the back of his hand. "your mom is the most beautiful woman in the world to me. i still love her with all my heart." his voice ached with sincerity. "what i'm doing isn't for me, justin. it's for the future of our race. for the future of this world. i know you don't see it now, but you will in time." he touched my shoulder. hugged me and kissed me on the forehead.

i shoved him away. "get out of my sight you faithless bastard. i never want to see you again." everything inside me hurt. part of me said he was right. another selfish part felt he was betraying me. i grit my teeth so hard they ached. turned my back on him as he walked away. kept it turned so he wouldn't see the tear leaking from the corner of my eye.

a hand touched my shoulder. i shook it off and spun. shelton backed away, hands up. "whoa, cowboy."

bella stood by his side. i saw my father and kassallandra walking away. i wanted to run to my dad and tell him i was sorry. i hadn't meant what i'd said. but the hurt and anger surged again, reminding me why i had to be right. first, mom had abandoned me. now, dad had given up on our family. ivy and i were the only real family, both of us betrayed by our parents. both of them had gone to the enemy-mom to the conroys and dad to the slades. we had no one else to count on. it was up to me to save her.

"bella tells me you're ready to learn some magic," shelton said, glancing back at my father as he spoke.

i nodded, fighting back the regret. pushing away the hurt. i braced my throat so i could speak without a trembling voice. "it's time for me to prepare. i'll need every advantage i can get."

"we start first thing tomorrow then." his eyes hardened. "i won't go easy on you, so you better man up and keep your mouth shut if you want to learn."

my face grew hot but i stopped the smart retort forming on my lips. "you got it."

by now, the parking lot was almost empty. no more bodies or wrecked cars, and the templar mind-benders had evidently worked their magic on the local populace.

"looks like we're in the clear," shelton said. "no way in hell anyone at this place would call the cops even if a dragon took a dump in the parking lot. ninety-percent of their business is probably from pimps and hookers, and the only kind of poking around they want here sure as hell doesn't involve the law." he laughed. "damn, i crack myself up."

i didn't ask shelton how he knew such things.

i found elyssa and nightliss sitting in the same spot the angel had taken me earlier. i decided i needed to figure out if the word "angel" really was the best word to describe her and daelissa. i had, after all, seen nightliss's wings. they weren't exactly how i imagined angel wings, consisting of pure energy rather than fluffy white feathers. even so, the word "angel" sent images of corpulent cherubs with harps and love-inducing arrows dancing through my mind as opposed to an adorable gal who sometimes fancied turning into a cat.

a white fog steamed from elyssa's eyes. i stood, mesmerized at the sight. i glanced around for a sign of her family, but didn't see any of them. after several minutes of waiting, i took a seat. nightliss continued the operation, seemingly oblivious to my presence. fear tried to rear its ugly head. it questioned why i trusted nightliss so much with elyssa's mind.

"dude, i hope she's not turning her into an mrf," a familiar voice said from my side.

i jerked from my thoughts and saw beck. in an instant, i was on my feet, ready to punch him in the face for calling thomas and his army of templars.

"whoa, man!" he said, backing off. "i'm sorry, okay? i thought i was doing the right thing."

"getting yourself a promotion, you mean."

"not just that." he sighed and looked at elyssa. "it's just-"

"wait a minute. you did it so you could get into her pants?"

"nah, man. i grew up with her. and when her dad caught us kissing and sent my family into exile-"

"he exiled you?"

"might as well have, sending us to australia three years ago. i guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. i love her."

"you don't love elyssa. you just want to have sex with her."

he laughed, sounding like a kid riding high on a sugar rush. "well, okay, fine. i wanted her. always have."

"just for sex, or because you want to be with her forever?"

he scratched his head. "it's not that simple."

"yeah. it is." i rolled my eyes. i'd been saving an eye-roll for a good occasion and this was it. i stepped closer to him. "beck, let's get one thing clear. elyssa and i are together. you go have your fun with some other girl and forget about her."

his eyes narrowed and his jaw went tight. but he didn't argue. just shrugged and said, "whatever, dude."

i turned. stopped. "what's mrf mean, anyway?"

he snorted. "mentally retarded female." walked away.

"mentally retarded female?" i said, watching him go.

"what are you calling me?" elyssa said.

i almost jumped out of my skin. i spun and looked into those gorgeous eyes. "please tell me you remember."

her eyes widened. "i do! i remember it all!"

relief breathed into me like a calming salve. "thank god."

"where's beck?" she asked.

"huh? what do you want with him?"

"he's my boyfriend." her eyebrow arched. "who are you and where's my father?"

"but-but-"

"oh, i can't wait to kiss my becky-poo."

i'd kill beck before that happened. my fists tightened and i felt a mix of hopeless anger come over me.

elyssa burst into laughter. she laughed so hard, tears streamed from her eyes. "you should see your face right now. oh god, i really got you good."

embarrassment burned through my anger. i face-palmed out of sheer habit. "i'm going to spank you for this one," i said.

she leaned forward and kissed me hard on the lips, her hands pressing hard against my back. "promise?"

i grinned. "promise."

i hugged her and saw nightliss still sitting on the stairs, tears streaming from her eyes, her body shaking with grief. concern overwhelmed my happiness. what had gone wrong?

i kissed elyssa again. "meet me in the parking lot in a minute? i need to talk with nightliss."

she nodded. "i need to find my becky-poo anyway."

i growled. "only if you want him to die horribly."

she stuck out her tongue as she walked away.

i knelt next to nightliss. "what's wrong? why are you crying?"

she managed a tiny smile. "i thought while i was in there i would remove a burden from her soul."

"a burden?"

"the death of her brother."

"oh crap, please tell me you didn't make her forget it. it's not like she won't find out in five minutes all over again."

she shook her head. "no, she remembers. but i took much of the grief onto myself. her heart was broken, but i have softened the loss."

"how-never mind." i was tempted to ask for some grief management of my own, thanks to my father, but my sadness couldn't begin to compare to the death of a sibling.

nightliss sniffled and wiped the wetness from her face. "you have some memories of your own, clouded by your mother."

i hadn't thought about it, but it was true. "can you tell how much stuff i still haven't remembered?"

"no. the memory block your mother used is far different from what daelissa used." she shook with sobs as grief overcame her again.

"you're in too much pain," i said. "don't worry about me right now. there will be time."

she smiled and stood, leaning her head into my chest. i wasn't sure what else to do, so i hugged her and let her tears soak my shirt. she pressed tight against me and for a moment, i thought she'd never let me go. then she seemed to snap out of her distress and pulled away, an almost embarrassed expression clear on her face. "i must go for now, justin."

"before you go, i have one more question."

"yes?"

"when you turn into a cat, do you ever lick your bottom?"

her eyes widened and a smile broke through the clouds of sorrow on her face. she laughed long and deep until what i hoped were tears of mirth trailed down her cheeks. when she caught her breath, she kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my hand. "you are so funny. i love this about you." she sighed, and a hint of melancholy drifted across her features. "i will see you soon."

i expected her to use angel magic or blinding speed. instead, she walked away, shoulders slumped and head low, vanishing into the darkness at the far edge of the lot. i felt terrible for her and wished i could have done more than given her a good laugh. was she all alone with such incredible pain? could she recover faster? i didn't know, but i wished i could help. i almost ran after her to tell her i would gladly join her side. but i had to stop. to think. to be sure i knew what i was doing.

even though partnering with nightliss seemed like a slam dunk, i had a foreboding feeling my decision was a trigger to unlocking all kinds of world-wide nastiness. and i wasn't ready. not by a long shot.