Straight Through The Heart ((ON HOLD))

Chapter Four

Alisa gripped the brick of the fireplace mantle so hard that she thought her fingernails were going to break.

"What do you mean, they're looking for Azima?" her father inquired. "No one in their right mind, demon or otherwise, would seek her out right now."

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"We don't know how they're getting through the Rift, but all reports have been similar. They seem desperate to find the Savior of the Rift, that her time has come to return, that their Master—"

"You don't think—"

"No." Her mother's voice was harsh. Cold. "It's not."

"I didn't come to upset you, Azima, but you needed to know. You both did."

"The Council isn't expecting her to testify, are they? We had an agreement."

"Not yet, and we'll uphold it the best that we can. But Zeud and Ostoa are convinced she's somehow involved with the attacks directly, though Talura and Blase are too green to have an opinion on the matter either way. I'm keeping them all at bay for as long as I can, but it won't last forever."

"It will never happen."

"It won't come to that," her mother interjected. "And if it turns out he is involved with this—"

"What are you doing?"

Alisa jolted, spinning around too fast that her forehead hit the corner of the brick mantle right above her eyebrow. "Shit," she hissed, immediately bringing a hand to her head.

"You were spying again, weren't you?" Bren stepped in closer with a frown.

"It's not spying," she corrected, moving to sit on her bed with her fingers gently testing the newly tender spot on her brow. "I was listening."

"But no one was talking to you."

"They didn't have to be," she muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for dinner?"

"I am. And now I'm waiting for you."

"Well— don't. I'll be right down."

His frown deepened. "Don't listen anymore."

"Mind your own business." She threw a vulgar gesture in his direction, and with a roll of his eyes, Bren retreated downstairs to where dinner waited for them.

Alisa remained where she sat, staring at the now-empty doorway, thinking about what she had heard. 

The rumors were true. Demons were attacking. Her mother not only knew but was somehow connected to the attacks. And she wasn't going to actively help the Council to stop it.

Well, Alisa wasn't going to sit by and just let such things happen any longer.

The rest of her family— Chey included— were already situating themselves in the dining room off of the kitchen. As neither of her parents ever opted to sit at either end of the long table, the space was open for Chey while Alisa and Bren sat to his left, and her parents in their usual seats across from them. The table was ladened with simple yet savory seasonal dishes— in her time not fighting the denizens of Hell, Azima Rousseau had become a decent cook— and always with some type of apple dish, whether as a side or dessert. Or both.

They ate in silence, a tension settling over the table no doubt related to the conversation had just prior to dinner. She watched as both of her parents kept their attention focused on their plates, though she felt Chey's dark gaze heavy upon her. Bren, as usual, was oblivious and content to eat his fill and then some before he could ask to excuse himself to return to his room and his books.