Kristie Cook - Genesis

“Answers to what?”

“To what Father revealed to us. He kept it hidden all these years, so there must be a reason he told us. Don’t you want to know what that reason is? Don’t you want to know more about us?”

“And just where do you plan on finding these answers?”

Jordan’s eyes lit up. “There are others out there like us. I know where to find them.”

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? You know others like us? How?”

“I don’t exactly know them, but four of them live in a village about a five-days’ walk from here. I’ve been there many times over the years and they don’t look a day older than the first time I saw them. We have aged faster than them.”

“Impossible.”

“I’ve seen it myself.”

She put her fists on her hips. “Then how could they live in the village all these years and no one has questioned them?”

“They only come outside at night and the rest of the village ignores them, as if they don’t even see them. Besides, only I have lived long enough to notice.”

“So they live secret lives while everyone else sleeps? Others ignore them, as if they aren’t even real people? If all this is true and they’re older than us but look younger, well … they sound like … like demons, Jordan.”

“Exactly.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened. “And you want to seek them out? Have you lost your mind?”

“We’re no different! We don’t sneak around at night, but instead hide out on the edge of civilization. Why would Father make us live like this? Because he was afraid people would know what we really are.”

“But we’re not demons. We’re from ang—”

Jordan cut her off with a roar. “Don’t even say it. Stop lying to yourself!”

She narrowed her eyes, raised up on her toes to lean toward him and lifted her chin. She kept her voice low and her words deliberate. “I am not evil. I am not a demon. And I am not going with you.”

Then she turned on her heel and stalked off toward the hut. Jordan’s hand clamped down on her shoulder and he spun her around.

“At least come with me to get answers. They must know something.”

“You can get your answers. I don’t need them. I know who and what I am. It changes nothing. I don’t care about the rest.”

“I can’t just leave you here alone!”

She threw her arms in the air. “Why not? Isn’t that what you always wanted? Your freedom to do as you please without worrying about your father and sister? I can take care of myself. Now, I have a sick man to tend to and I won’t leave him to die, either.” She turned again and stomped toward the hut.

“Is that what it is?” Jordan asked, catching up with her. “This strange man? You’ll stay for him rather than go with your own brother?”

“I stay for myself, but, yes, I will take care of him until he is well.”

“I want him gone. He leaves immediately.”

“Leave?” She let out a bark of a laugh. “You know he’s too ill. I thought you had questions for him anyway.”

“I won’t wait around for answers he probably doesn’t have. I already know where to find them. And I will not have him here with you alone.”

“Then don’t leave. You’re the one insisting on going.”

Jordan stopped. “So that’s it? You’re choosing a stranger over me? Over your own family, all that you have left?”

Cassandra didn’t answer, didn’t even acknowledge the question. Her decision had nothing to do with Niko. Well, little to do with him. She wasn’t ready to go yet, to leave Father’s memories behind. She needed peace to grieve and time to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. If Jordan wanted to be a part of it, she would be happy. And if he insisted on leaving, she would accept that, too. But she would not go with him now.

“You can’t do enough good in the world to cleanse the blood in your veins,” Jordan yelled. “You’re a demon. Father was a liar and a coward but now you know the truth!”

Cassandra stopped cold. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her nostrils flared and her eyes sparked. She spun around and strode several paces toward the man she called her brother. Jordan stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his muscles bulging out of his chiton, his face twisted.

“How dare you?” she demanded, her voice rising several octaves. “How dare you speak of Father like that?”

“Face the truth, little sister. He lied to us. And you—” He jabbed a finger at her chest. “—you want that man. You want to lie naked in his bed. Admit it.”

Cassandra’s face burned and her eyes bulged as she stared at her brother. She wanted to deny his accusations, but anger kept any words from forming. Her silence seemed to only fuel Jordan’s anger.

“See?” he sneered. “Demon blood. It makes you want him. It makes you choose a stranger over me, makes you want to behave like a prostitute. If you deny it, you’re a liar just like Father.”

“Do not speak of him that way!” Cassandra yelled. “Do not speak of him at all.”

“Demon blood makes us act like this, little sister. That’s why I am the way I am. And you are no different. Not really. I see it in your eyes. Your lust. Your desire. Your defiance. Thank Father for all that.” He leaned back and stroked his chin. “Oh, but you can’t. He conveniently died instead of facing his own children. The coward I always thought he was!”

Sickened by Jordan’s words, Cassandra could think of only one way to shut him up. She pulled her hand back and let it fly forward. But she didn’t slap him. She curled her hand into a fist and punched him in the jaw. As strong as he was, he staggered several steps backward. His blue eyes widened with surprise and his hand went to his injured face. Cassandra turned once again and never looked back.

When she entered the hut, she was grateful to find Niko still sleeping soundly. She sank to her knees and cried. Life had already changed so much. Why did Father wait until he died to tell us? Is Jordan right? She refused to believe her brother’s theory. But she also couldn’t explain his behavior. How could he be so cruel? So selfish? What happened to him? They were so different and she almost had to wonder if he did have demon blood in him.

But if he did …

“Is everything okay?” a husky voice asked.

Cassandra looked up in surprise to find Niko watching her from his bed—her bed—with those strangely beautiful green eyes. She scrubbed the tears from her face.

“Not really,” she admitted, but then she lifted her chin and went to him. She held her hand to his cheek and found his skin temperature to be nearly normal. “How are you?”

“I think I’ll be okay.” Niko covered her hand with his, pressing it tighter against his face. “With you here.”

He closed his eyes and drifted off again. Her hand on his face suddenly felt more intimate than the touch of a healer. She should pull away, but she liked the feeling of his large hand over her small one. She liked the strange tingle of his skin against hers. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have all of him pressed against all of her. Then she gasped and yanked her hand away.

She sprang back, landing on her feet near Father’s bed. How could I think such a thing? Is the demon blood coming out in me? She looked at her palm that had pressed against Niko’s face. She’d never felt anything like that. It felt good, not bad. But Mother had told her many things that felt good weren’t. Especially when it came to men. And punching Jordan had also felt good … at the time. Now her heart squeezed with guilt for hurting her own brother.

She didn’t know what to believe. Was she letting Jordan get to her? Or did she just prove him right? But how could she be a demon? She cared for people. Healed strangers. Gave them everything she could. But what Jordan said … what just happened … Lust and desire—Jordan said he’d seen it in her eyes. Was that what she’d just felt? Was wanting to be close to a man wrong?