Cosmic Memphis

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

"I was there to kill you, Memphis." Dez took the seat next to Catherine and clenched her jaw while staring at the gaudy floral tablecloth. Her arm was in a sling but she didn't appear to be in any physical pain.

Obviously, I was speechless, even though I really should be used to it by this point. Dez refused to make eye contact while my jaw flapped open and closed in a silent imitation of speech. Catherine placed an encouraging hand on Dez's shoulder and Dez looked up to meet her grandmother's eyes. A silent understanding passed between them. Dez nodded and clenched her jaw even tighter. She took a deep breath and began. "The Euthyphro Organization, pronounced U-thee-fro, has members who have dedicated their lives to capturing, studying, hunting, and destroying any and all supernatural beings. Countless sprites, spirits, fae, demigods, and even gods and goddesses have been destroyed through the EO's ruthless and relentless efforts. One of their crowning achievements was the destruction of Horus from the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. They have insane amounts of resources at their disposal and connections with every government on the planet. I was an initiate in the Hunter's Program, sent to your father's facility to kill a demon that had been rumored to have been captured. My task was to find and either capture for study or kill whatever this demon was and I'd be considered a full-fledged Hunter. The EO classifies everything that is not natural to Earth as a 'demon' and that includes gods."

Dez had maintained steady eye contact throughout most of her spiel, but looked away at this part. "I broke in and when I saw you huddled beside your toilet, I saw a scared little girl, not a heartless monster like I thought you would be. They told me it was my duty, and that it would be so easy and justified since demons are a threat to humanity's very existence, but I just couldn't do it. I saw how scared you were and couldn't bring myself to kill you." Dez paused, her gray eyes avoiding mine. Catherine placed a comforting arm around Dez's shoulders.

Dez continued, "But I couldn't just leave you there. Like I said, I saw some of the security footage of what they did to you, so I took you with me. And now we're being hunted by your father and soon, when the EO realizes I've gone AWOL, they'll be hunting us too. I'm so sorry Memphis." Dez's voice hitched and she sniffled, a lone tear rolling down her cheek and falling onto the tablecloth. I took a moment to process this. Catherine kept her arm wrapped around Dez's shoulders and handed her a tissue from a cardboard box wrapped in a knitted sleeve on the table behind her. Dez had been there... to kill me? But she was so, I don't know, nice? She had helped me learn about the outside world; in fact, she'd been the one who reminded me that there even was an outside world and that it wasn't always dangerous and scary. Then I recalled her steely gaze and the lethal efficiency with which she murdered Gregory by the library; her intense expression when she held the knife at Mariah's throat while aiming her gun at me. A foreign mixture of betrayal and gratitude, condemnation and relief tore through me. I pressed my fingers to my temples and squeezed my eyes shut tight. I wanted to be back in my safe and quiet room; I wanted to lash out at Dez and Catherine, sitting there alive and well after ripping me from my home. I wanted to hug Dez and tell her that it's okay, that I'm glad she freed me, yet I'm angry because I also hadn't felt like I needed freeing and I felt bad for feeling angry at Dez after all she'd done to help me. I felt weightless as the weight of the world settled onto my shoulders.

Taking a shaky breath, I reached out and rested my left hand on Dez's clenched right fist. "It's okay, Dez. Please don't cry, it's okay." I repeated. "It's okay."

Dez sniffed again, finally looking up to meet my eyes. My words seemed to relax her just a little, and I was glad that she felt better. I wasn't any better, but I smiled reassuringly. Dez drew in a steadying breath and nodded gratefully. Catherine, who hadn't yet uttered a word, smiled at us with a deep sadness lurking beneath her kind eyes. She almost seemed to know and understand what just happened even more than we did and she foresaw what we were soon going to have to face, and that terrified me.