The Demon Inheritance

TWENTY-SEVEN

For the following day, I never left Mary Clarkson's side. Even to go to the bathroom, I stood outside her stall. I had the feeling she would have grumbled at me for my paranoia. However, with the events that had just ended, no one blamed me for being overly attached. I had to spill everything, from the visions to the notebooks to the Apotropaics, to the prophecy to the bloodlines to details about what I thought about the people she couldn't meet.

"Mun was a little bit of the asshole, just like me. My Apotropaic is Oliver. He's your brother. He's sweet and strong and smart," I told Mary as we walked together around the gravestones, her hand in mine. "You'll get to meet him soon."

"What is Ace like?" asked the short-haired girl, curious about her own trainer. "I hope he isn't anything like his father... our father..." She shuddered.

"He's protective. We never really got along that well. You can imagine I kept to myself during all of this." I smiled at her.

"I don't know. You have changed over this summer..." She stopped, then leaned over to pick up a stray flower that had blown off of a gravestone. It was a live lily, tinted orange and white with four petals. She tucked it into her greasy black curls. "Maybe me disappearing did some good... Hahaha..."

I grimaced. "Hell no. Not at all. I'm pretty sure assaulted a few people a couple of times because of you being gone... This whole thing has been hard... You don't even understand how rough this was for me."

"Do you know how rough this was for me being without you? I wouldn't want you to go through what I did, but Em... If you had been there beside me, I would have never been afraid. I love you, Emma." She glanced towards the ground, squeezing my hand.

I let go of her, sighing. "Clarkson, you know that I'm not... You know... I hope this doesn't change anything."

She smiled, but her eyes suggested other emotions. "I'm just glad that I'm back. And we have this whole new prophecy to be part of! Fights and adventure and excitement... Something I don't want any part of anymore." She pulled the lily out of her hair, then looked at it. The edges of the flower began smoking in a thin, twizzling plume. Right. She controls fire. It reminded me of one of Oliver's cigarettes, but without nicotine. The middle of the flower had a tiny flame dancing in it, but none of it seemed to be damaging the lily. "I have powers. I never thought..."

Suddenly, I was tackled by a flying body. I fell backwards onto the ground, and the attacker bit my ear. Mary chuckled. I felt shadows soften my landing. "Dillan Raking, what's wrong with you?" I demanded, voice rough with venom. "Bite something other than my ear! You're gonna chew it off!"

"I haven't tackled you in forever! We were always so serious!" The boy adjusted himself onto my stomach. He shifted his purple headband into his black hair. "I think we should play around a little or we will most definitely die of seriousness."

"You're an idiot." I pushed the tacosexual off with my wind, then ripped the headband off his head. He gave a cry, and I returned it with a smile of contempt. "But you're a fun idiot. And I'm probably more stupid than you are for letting you be my friend."

Nahara touched my shoulder. "Thank you, Emma Whitestone. I didn't think we would get out alive. Why do you suppose you stopped them when we couldn't?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with my bloodline?" I ventured. I really didn't want to know who I was related to, but it mattered when it came to Croma, I guess. "You guys don't know who I am related to, do you? You knew about Mary."

"Not at all... Truth is, we always knew that Jupus and Salt were Mary Clarkson's parents, but not that she was Minium. We have no idea who you could be related to..."