to tell me what you did to her.”
“You say that like we harmed her. We brought her great power. What happened to her in this room is what ultimately led to Gabriel’s defeat.”
“Then how come I get a little sick to my stomach looking down at that thing?”
For a handful of seconds he stared down at the pentagram without saying anything. Then he sniffed, brushed his hands together as if they were dusty, and faced Jessie. “I brought you here for a reason.”
Jessie looked from side to side, noticing for the first time that the golden walls reflected light, yet the room didn’t have any visible light source. She also noticed the temperature had risen since they first entered. The air even felt a touch on the humid side.
“This where my secret mission is?”
“You’ve heard a hundred times about your role as the Chosen One—”
“More like a thousand.”
“You take it lightly?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how to take it. Three years ago I was just a kid who couldn’t stand her mom, hated her step-dad, and had dreams of running off to Hollywood to make it big as a filmmaker. Turned out, I didn’t know my mom as well as I thought, I had a damn good reason for hating my step-dad, seeing as he turned out to be a werewolf and all, and my big dreams will never happen because I’m a freaking vampire now.”
“You’ve had a difficult road.”
Jessie snorted. “No, dude. There ain’t no road. I’ve been off-roading it the last few years.”
Kress smiled, chuckled. “I think you would have made a fine filmmaker. But you are destined for greater things.”
“If you say so.”
“Jessie, you are the key to bringing balance back to the mortal plane. You are the one meant to trigger The Return and send the supernaturals back to where they belong. That is a big deal.”
“What about people like me? Will I go back to wherever the vamps belong even though I started here?”
His hesitation sent a chill up Jessie’s spine.
“We don’t know the specifics. We’re talking about a prophecy pieced together from texts belonging to at least a hundred different paranormal races. Ogres, vampires, were-creatures of all kinds. The Return won’t eliminate the supernatural. Magic is as real on the mortal plane as it is anywhere. But many of the beings that now call this plane home defy the natural order.”
“At least according to a bunch of old books.”
Jessie turned and paced away, head tilted back to admire the mural. No, admire wasn’t the right word. Marvel was probably better. Despite its gruesome subject matter, the painting resonated a frightening beauty. Looking at it, she felt the same way she did watching a nature show about dangerous creatures like great whites or black mambas, both horrified and amazed.
“After all you have seen,” Kress said. His voice sounded thick and hungry. “You can still doubt your significance?”
Hard as it was, she pulled her eyes off the mural, and faced Kress. “What do you want from me?”
He pressed his lips together and focused on some point in space between them, as if concentrating on coming to a decision on how to proceed. After a moment, he blinked and his gaze returned to Jessie. “I had hoped, once we found you, the way to move forward with the prophecy would become apparent. I had assumed forming this new Agency and investigating paranormal anomalies would eventually lead us to the next step.”
A sheen of sweat made his forehead glisten. A tremor crept into his voice.
Jessie found herself taking an instinctive step backward.
“But we…I…do not have time to wait. I brought you here because I want to ask you a favor.”
Jessie took another step back. “A favor?”
“The power is in you, Jessie. So much power.”
Not lately , she thought with the incident at the hospital firmly in mind.
Kress took a couple steps toward Jessie, closing the space between them. “I know you’re doubting yourself. I know you suffered a terrible
“You say that like we harmed her. We brought her great power. What happened to her in this room is what ultimately led to Gabriel’s defeat.”
“Then how come I get a little sick to my stomach looking down at that thing?”
For a handful of seconds he stared down at the pentagram without saying anything. Then he sniffed, brushed his hands together as if they were dusty, and faced Jessie. “I brought you here for a reason.”
Jessie looked from side to side, noticing for the first time that the golden walls reflected light, yet the room didn’t have any visible light source. She also noticed the temperature had risen since they first entered. The air even felt a touch on the humid side.
“This where my secret mission is?”
“You’ve heard a hundred times about your role as the Chosen One—”
“More like a thousand.”
“You take it lightly?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how to take it. Three years ago I was just a kid who couldn’t stand her mom, hated her step-dad, and had dreams of running off to Hollywood to make it big as a filmmaker. Turned out, I didn’t know my mom as well as I thought, I had a damn good reason for hating my step-dad, seeing as he turned out to be a werewolf and all, and my big dreams will never happen because I’m a freaking vampire now.”
“You’ve had a difficult road.”
Jessie snorted. “No, dude. There ain’t no road. I’ve been off-roading it the last few years.”
Kress smiled, chuckled. “I think you would have made a fine filmmaker. But you are destined for greater things.”
“If you say so.”
“Jessie, you are the key to bringing balance back to the mortal plane. You are the one meant to trigger The Return and send the supernaturals back to where they belong. That is a big deal.”
“What about people like me? Will I go back to wherever the vamps belong even though I started here?”
His hesitation sent a chill up Jessie’s spine.
“We don’t know the specifics. We’re talking about a prophecy pieced together from texts belonging to at least a hundred different paranormal races. Ogres, vampires, were-creatures of all kinds. The Return won’t eliminate the supernatural. Magic is as real on the mortal plane as it is anywhere. But many of the beings that now call this plane home defy the natural order.”
“At least according to a bunch of old books.”
Jessie turned and paced away, head tilted back to admire the mural. No, admire wasn’t the right word. Marvel was probably better. Despite its gruesome subject matter, the painting resonated a frightening beauty. Looking at it, she felt the same way she did watching a nature show about dangerous creatures like great whites or black mambas, both horrified and amazed.
“After all you have seen,” Kress said. His voice sounded thick and hungry. “You can still doubt your significance?”
Hard as it was, she pulled her eyes off the mural, and faced Kress. “What do you want from me?”
He pressed his lips together and focused on some point in space between them, as if concentrating on coming to a decision on how to proceed. After a moment, he blinked and his gaze returned to Jessie. “I had hoped, once we found you, the way to move forward with the prophecy would become apparent. I had assumed forming this new Agency and investigating paranormal anomalies would eventually lead us to the next step.”
A sheen of sweat made his forehead glisten. A tremor crept into his voice.
Jessie found herself taking an instinctive step backward.
“But we…I…do not have time to wait. I brought you here because I want to ask you a favor.”
Jessie took another step back. “A favor?”
“The power is in you, Jessie. So much power.”
Not lately , she thought with the incident at the hospital firmly in mind.
Kress took a couple steps toward Jessie, closing the space between them. “I know you’re doubting yourself. I know you suffered a terrible
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