Wrath of the Gods [Legacy, BK 3 - Hiatus]

4.4 - Jett

"When I was younger, I'd get these nightmares. My uncle took me to a bunch of doctors, they gave me all these tests. But all they would say was it from the trauma of being abandoned by my parents. But," I paused, shaking my head, "the nightmares, they never went away. Nothing I did, no matter how many therapy sessions I went to. The only thing that helped were sleeping meds, but I hate how they make me feel, so I don't take them."

Glancing up at the others, I was afraid they would judge me. See me as some unstable freak because I had gone to the shrink so much. Their expressions were far from judgmental. Hunter was petting Mai, his eyes soft with sympathy as he met my gaze. Poe and Ezra's expressions were more guarded, but there wasn't any malice there either.

"The nightmare is always the same," I continued. "The same as the night I suddenly found myself at my Uncle's when I was four. I remember it being really dark and quiet, but feeling safe. I was somewhere with my parents. We were camping, I think. Wherever we were, it was hot and humid, like the air here. But everything changed really quickly. Screaming, yelling. Fire. Flashes of red light. I remember being held close to my mom, her saying something in my ear before she pushed me away. I stumbled and fell, but when I looked up, I was all alone, on the floor of my uncle's living room in New York."

After I was quiet for a moment, Ezra cleared his throat. "I guess that's why you weren't freaked out by the portal."

I nodded. "It was proof that I wasn't as crazy as all those doctors thought I was."

Vasco winged down from Ezra's shoulder to land on the ground near me. Even with its bright red eyes, it was hard to think of him as a demon. His movements were so bird-like. I held my hand out to him and he came right up to me, ducking his head under my figures, clearly indicating that I was to pet him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Hunter said.

Looking back at them, I wondered if they had similar memories of their parents. "Do you remember your parents?"

"Mine died the day I was born, but Poe took me to the Stanwoods, and I grew up with them," Ezra said and glanced at Hunter.

"I was barely two when mine were in an 'accident,'" Hunter said. "Then I ended up in foster care until I was adopted."

Mai stretched a playful paw out towards Vasco, batting at one of the demon's outstretched wings. Vasco let out a shriek, pecking at Mai's paw as she continued to bat at him.

"Mai, stop that." Hunter tried to distract Mai as Vasco hopped backward toward Ezra.

Watching the demons play, I couldn't help but laugh a little. It was light-hearted and fun.

Ezra reached out and picked up Vasco, soothing the feathers down on his back before looking back at me.

"I need to ask now because your answer will dictate what we do next. Is initiation something you want to do? Do you want to find your talent and take a demon for your own?"

I let my gaze settle on Mai, her golden green eyes looking right back at me with an intelligence that I wasn't expecting. Being able to open a portal wherever I wanted was tempting, but the real incentive was the friendship I saw in front of me.

"What do I have to give in return?" I asked slowly, turning to look at Ezra again.

"Nothing," was Ezra's immediate answer. "You are a Reinhardt; this power is yours by birthright if you want it. If this is something that you want, though, I would like you to stay with us for a little while, at the very least. To learn how to use it and to learn how to protect yourself."

"From the witches?"

"From anyone who might threaten you, whether they are a witch or a necromancer," Poe said. "Our war is not so black and white anymore. There are necromancers that have turned against us."