In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Okay, it's official," I declare. "It was definitely colder in there than it is out here."

"That's the first thing that occurs to you after our trip of doom?" Jesse asks. "Not the fact that, oh, I don't know: Dr. White is setting up an invincible Cambion army to attack the Nephilum?"

I rub my forehead. "You don't know that's what Garnet meant," I mumble. "She was pretty vague."

Eric watches us, pressing his lips together. "So, I gather that was a success?" he offers.

"Sure," I mutter. "Whatever floats your boat."

Jesse huffs and points at his ankle. "Can you tell your snake to get off me now?"

Smirking, Eric claps his hands twice. The snakes sliver off our ankles and down the stairs.

"Don't worry," he says, "They'll find their way out of here."

"I wasn't worried," I remark.

He faces us, and says, "Okay, what did you find out down there?"

Before either one of us can reply, angry footsteps pound up the staircase. We all tense, waiting for an adult to appear and chew our heads off. But instead, a mass of curly red hair bobs into appearance.

"What were you all doing without me?" Sasha demands.

"Tea party?" Eric squeaks. I smack his head. Jesse snorts.

"Let's go somewhere without possible listening devices," I say.

I lead the way down, with Sasha murmuring behind me-complaining about excluding her-and Eric also muttering about me messing up his hair. Shoving open our dorm, I usher everybody in and slam it shut. Jesse sees the scissor-hook on the door holding up the jacket and lets loose a laugh.

"Nice."

Sasha tries to sit on the chair, but I tut at her.

"You lie down," I tell her.

"I'm fine," she says, shaking slightly. Her eyes are rimmed with red, swollen with sleep and tears.

"Lie down," I command again. "I'll mother you if I have to."

She complies, and snuggles deep into her covers. I throw her my blanket on top for extra measure.

"What were you guys doing in West Wing?" she asks, her voice steady but suspicious.

I sigh, and glance at Jesse, who is making himself at home on my bed. Eric takes a seat on the chair.

Well, I'm not going to stand all day. With an eyeroll, I shove away Jesse's long legs and plop onto the end of my bed.

"This is going to involve Ruby a lot and what really happened to Garnet. Can you handle it?"

Sasha nods with a set jaw. "Of course."

I start from the beginning, putting into words every vision I saw and then all my suspicions towards everything we have stumbled upon. It would have been easier to plant them my memories, but of course, I couldn't do that. When I get to how the girl with the ringlets died, I see Sasha bite her lip to refrain from asking if everyone in West Wing suffered like that. The answer is probably yes. Even while I talk, puzzle pieces begin to click together in my head. Some still didn't make sense, like the message from the photo.

"Maybe your grandfather left the imprint," Eric says once I explain the Cambion bloodline system Emily told me. "If Cambions can leave imprints, then so can demons right?"