Marker of Hope (29 page)

The baby’s cries echoed in the tunnel, and
then faded into the background, as time seemed to slow down. I felt
a spike of adrenaline. My jaw locked. Explosions of white light
bloomed behind my eyes. An atomic bomb of emotions burst inside
me—the foremost was primal and feral rage. The type of rage that
made people break car windows with a baseball bat, or bite off
someone’s ear, or in some cases…

“Kill them,” I mumbled.

“Isis…” David’s voice was distant.

“They won’t touch her again,” I growled.

“Isis… Isis, can you hear me?” David’s voice
sounded urgent. But I was too lost in the trance to answer him.

“Kill them,” I repeated. “They won’t touch
her again.” I shook my head. “I won’t let them touch her.”

“She’s lost it,” I heard Galilea say. “Do
something. Snap her out of it.”

Suddenly, my body shook so violently that my
head flew back and forth. I blinked, and David’s face came into
focus. His hands gripped my shoulders like iron cuffs. Galilea was
standing next to him, holding my daughter. I hadn’t felt the baby
taken from me.

“Are you hurt? Did they touch you?” David
asked, taking my face between his hands. It took a moment before I
nodded. “What happened?”

“I’m fine. They want me to…” I let out a
loud, insincere laugh. “They’re coming back in forty days. But
they’re going to regret it.”

David and Galilea gave me bewildered
looks.

“You’re sure you feel okay?” David asked
me.

“Never better.” I glanced at my daughter in
Galilea’s arms. “Let me have her.”

“Um…” Galilea gave me her back. “Maybe you
shouldn’t. I think it’s better if Dr. Gunn sees you first.”

“Galilea,” I said, and she turned to view me.
“Don’t make me come and get her.”

Galilea shot David a glance. He nodded his
consent. Galilea frowned at him, but stepped forward and set the
baby in my arms. “Be careful with her.”

“She’s my daughter. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I was talking to David,” she said. I raised
my brow at her. “Oh, you’re wondering why? Because your face makes
my skin crawl.”

I glanced at David for clarification.

“It’s nothing. You’re just in shock,” he said
to me. But the look on his face told me otherwise.

“Why are you lying?” Galilea asked David.
“Tell her!” The baby startled with Galilea’s scream, rekindling the
wails, which had ceased seconds before. “Give her to me.” Galilea
held out her arms. “You shouldn’t be holding her anyway.”

I frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Step away.” David held his hand out to
Galilea. “You’ll just make it worse.”

“Make what worse?” I asked. “What’s going
on?”

“You don’t feel different?” David asked. I
shook my head. “The top half of your face, it’s…” I reached up and
touched my brow. The tip of my fingers met leathery, scaled skin. I
ran my hand over my forehead and down my nose. The last of the
scales faded right above my nostrils.

“Take me to Dr. Gunn,” I said. “I don’t want
anyone else to see me like this.”

CHAPTER 33

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The
girl that looked back at me was no longer a girl. She was a young
woman. A wife. A mother. A monster.

“Now breathe,” Nyx said. “Tell this part of
you to become dormant until it is called upon.”

Although I’d been hesitant to do so, I
decided my family had to know. I knew that if I were going to war
against demons, I’d need, not only the doctors’ help, but also my
family’s support. It’d been six days since I’d given birth. Five
days since I’d decided to dominate the beast inside me.

“Forget it.” I put the hand mirror down.
“It’s not as easy to make it go away as it is to bring it
forth.”

“Honey, don’t give up,” Claire said, standing
in the doorway to Nyx’s room.

I gasped and covered my face. “Mom, what are
you doing here? I told you I don’t want you to see me like
this.”

Claire forced my hands down. “You’re my
daughter, and I think you’re beautiful.”

“Don’t patronize me,” I told her. “I know
what I look like.”

“And if you don’t stop talking to me in that
tone, you’re going to see what
I
can look like, young
lady.”

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s just… I’m
frustrated.”

“It’s okay.” She rubbed my arms. “I know
you’re stressed. I know I am.” She thought for a moment. “Hey, do
you know what I do when I’m upset? I think of you and of all the
wonderful things in my life, like my friends.” She glanced at Nyx,
and then back at me. “And I think of your dad, too.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“Hector.”

“Oh,” I said. “I thought… Never mind.”

“What wonderful things do you have in your
life, Isis?” Nyx asked.

“All of you. Most recently, the baby.”

“Does it make you feel happy and warm inside
to think of all of us?” Nyx asked.

“Yes. And very thankful,” I said. “I’d be
lost without all of you right now. I mean, look at me.”

Claire picked up the mirror from the bed and
held it up so I could see my reflection. The monster was gone. My
face was human, no black scaly skin covering it.

“That was easy enough,” I said. “Don’t know
if I can manage it again, though.”

“With practice, it’ll be as natural as
breathing,” Nyx said. “And Claire, dear, good job.”

“Didn’t I tell you I’d figure out how to help
her? Oh, but you doubted the
human
mother, didn’t you?”
Claire teased. “You’re welcome, by the way. Now, where’s my
granddaughter?”

“Right here,” Galilea’s voice said from
somewhere in the room. “She’s asleep.”

“Galilea?” Claire looked all around the room.
“Where is she?”

“Galilea’s invisible block is active,” I
reminded Claire. “I asked her to keep the baby hidden.”

“From her own grandmother?” Claire
frowned.

“You’re an exception,” I said.

Galilea materialized with the baby in her
arms. My mom’s face lit up like it was the first time she’d ever
seen her. Although she’d been here every day since the baby was
born, every time she saw her, her face gleamed with joy and
adoration for the delicate, miniature body now snuggled in her
arms.

“She’s precious,” Claire said. “Couldn’t you
just eat her up?”

“Hey, don’t give Isis any ideas,” Galilea
told her with a serious face.

“That’s not funny,” I said.

“It’s a little funny.” Claire nudged me. “You
keep practicing your… errr… thing. I’m taking Faith
downstairs.”

“Faith?” I raised my brow at my mother.

“Well, you can’t keep calling her ‘the baby’.
Until you figure it out, her name is Faith.”

“Do you need me to stay while you do another
run-through?” Nyx asked. I shook my head. “You’ll call me if you
need anything,” she stated rather than asked. “Come, Claire. I’ll
get the afternoon tea brewing.”

Nyx and Claire walked out of the room, cooing
at the baby, which I found odd since she was still fast asleep.
Galilea stayed behind and sat on the bed.

“You know what’s weird?” Galilea
squinted.

“What?”

“Out of all the names in the world, Claire
picked ‘Faith’.”

“Why is that weird?” I said, looking at
myself in the hand mirror.

“Because, you know how you talk in your
sleep?”

I put the mirror down. “Uh… No?”

“Well, you do.” She nodded once. “You did it
often when we arrived here from Bucharest.” I stared at her
expectantly. “You mumbled about evolution and war and David. I
couldn’t make out much of what you said. But there was one sentence
I did understand: ‘Fight for faith, and hope will be born.’”

“I said that?” I asked.

She nodded. “What does it mean?”

“I was repeating what Deus told me in the
dream, the one where he told me to give Eros his regards.”

“Oh, you mean when you tried to off yourself
with a vile of who-knows-what, Juliet?” She glared at me. “You’re
such a dumbass.”

“I’m working on my flaws, okay?”

“I can tell,” she said, and surprisingly,
there was no trace of sarcasm in her voice. “So the baby’s name is
Faith because you’re fighting for her. She’s our hope for humanity.
Just like Deus said.”

“Makes sense.” All this time I’d been
misinterpreting the phrase, thinking it was a riddle. “Faith
is
a pretty name, but I don’t know,” I said. “I have to talk
to David, make sure he’s okay with the name.”

“Well, I think Claire choosing the name is no
coincidence. I also think,” she rose from the bed, “my babysitting
break is over. I’m going to try to steal baby Faith away from the
grandmothers—if Galen and Eryx haven’t already. You keep doing the
Monster Mash, and I’ll catch ya later.” She stopped at the door. “I
almost forgot. Frederick wants to talk to you in the den when
you’re done here. How long should I tell him you’ll be?”

“I’ll be down in five minutes. I’ve been
meaning to talk to him, as well.”

“I’ll tell ‘em,” Galilea said, and she went
on her way.

The day the baby was born, David and Galilea
had been the ones to inform Frederick of the demon attack. He was
none too thrilled to learn Sub Terra had been infiltrated. The
Turpis had known everything from the time Sendor was recruited, a
few weeks after I’d agreed to lead the rebel army. Thanks to
Sendor, the demons knew where I was living. They also knew my
warriors watched the forest. No wonder things were so quiet for
such a long time prior to my giving birth. They didn’t have to find
me anymore. They had eyes on me all along. All they had to do was
wait for the right time to strike.

David told me Samuel and Alezzander suggested
closing down Sub Terra, but since none of the warriors knew about
the ordeal, Frederick refused to shut it down in hopes of capturing
more infiltrators.

“I can trust no one,” Frederick had told me
the day after the baby was born. “With the exception of Ayrie,
Onarit, and me, no other warriors are allowed near you or the
child. No other soldier will step foot in this house. No
exceptions.”

Aside from visiting the baby and checking up
on me a couple of times after, Frederick and I hadn’t spoken. It
was past time we did. We needed to devise a plan. I needed to know
what would transpire in thirty-four days when the Turpis came to
take me back to hell or wherever they lived.

“You shouldn’t be walking down the stairs on
your own,” David chided, meeting me on the bottom step.

“You tried to carry me down last time. Which,
though sweet, was a bit excessive.” I tried to walk past him, but
he blocked my way. “David, I had a baby six days ago, not open
heart surgery.”

“I know. And that’s why you should be
resting.”

“I feel fine. Great, as a matter of fact.”
That was no lie. I hadn’t felt this well in a long time.

“I worry about you.” He ran a finger across
my cheek. “Have you seen the dark circles around your eyes?”

“Yeah, those are from getting up to feed a
baby every three hours, twenty-four hours a day. It’s normal.”

“But if you’d let me help…”

I glanced at his chest. “Unless you’ve got
milk stored in those sexy pecs of yours, it’s pretty much
impossible.”

“You think my pecs are sexy?”

“Oh yeah.” I winked. He grinned. “Will you
let me through now, please?”

“Why? Where are you going in such a
rush?”

“Frederick wants to speak with me. He’s
waiting in the den.”

“Should we be concerned?” he asked, and I
shrugged. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all. You should be with me.
Always.”

David took my hand. We walked past the living
room where I heard Galilea and Eryx arguing over who got to hold
the baby next.

“Faith has them wrapped around her little
finger,” David said. “And she’s only six days old.”

“You’re calling her Faith, too?” I huffed.
“You let my mom name her, didn’t you?”

“No. Well, not officially. Your mother’s been
calling her Faith for three days. I do like the name.”

“Me too. Like, officially like it.”

“So our daughter’s name is Faith?”

“I don’t see how we can name her anything
else now,” I said, pushing the door to the study open. “I’m okay
with it if you’re okay with it. Are you?”

“Faith it is,” David said as we took a seat
on the tufted, leather couch. He looked around the room. “I thought
Frederick was supposed to be in here?”

Frederick came through the door just as David
finished his sentence.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, madam.” Frederick
tipped his head at David. “And David.” He locked the door. “I
stepped out briefly to tell Ayrie to relieve me for a few minutes
while I spoke to you in private.”

“Wait, wait. Before we begin,” I said, “how
come you call David by his name, but you can’t do that for me?”

“Because your name isn’t David,” Frederick
said. “Moving on to what I wanted to discuss… There’ve been some
developments. Our main informant came back with news from Caelum.”
He sucked in a breath. “The Council members discovered the Turpis
made an accord with you.”

“How?” David and I said at once.

“Our ex-comrade, Sendor, is the one who
officiated the pact with the Council members in the beginning. We
believe he’s in command in the Turpis battalion. It was he who
began the hunt for you.

“The Council ordered a final attack on you
last week, but Sendor had another agenda, as you know. So when the
Council called on Sendor to ask the outcome—they wanted to know if
you and the child were dead—Sendor proceeded to tell them Turpis
loyalty no longer belonged to the Council, but to you, their new
queen.”

“What does this mean for us?” I asked. “Do
you know what the Council’s next move is?”

“They’ll turn all Caelum against us,” said
David. “And then…”

“It’ll be war, Isis. Sooner than we thought.”
Frederick used my name at last, though in a sentence of poor
choice, in my opinion. “Their attack will be the same night Sendor
said the demons would return for you. I don’t know how many Turpis
will be sent to escort you, but I assume it’ll be the majority of
their army. I estimate about five hundred. And the Council… Well,
they’ll bring just as many, or more.”