Lapidary

I woke with my head pounding. When I opened my eyes, I had no idea where I was, and I instantly sat upright. I was in a double bed, with soft, clean sheets and feather pillows. They looked expensive – like the big dresser and silver mirror hanging above it, across the bed. I got up and opened the windows – I was on the ground floor and close to the beach.

I touched my head and tried to remember what had happened. Slowly, it returned to me how I had acted like a drunken fool, how I had cried my heart out in Devton’s arms, and how kind he had been to me. But where had he taken me?

The bedding was only crinkled at one side – which meant he hadn’t slept next to me. I opened the door and entered a living room with a big, flat screen TV and white leather couches. Blankets were laid on one of the couches, which made me think Devton had slept there. To my left I could see the edge of a bed and in front of me was the kitchen, where someone was moving. I went there, expecting to find Devton, but instead I encountered a human woman. She was standing with her back toward me, facing the stove on which she was boiling eggs and cooking bacon. She had the same ash-blond hair as Devton – and her hair was cut neatly in a bob. She turned around, and I unintentionally scared her.

She cried out and then touched her heart. “My gods, you scared me!”

“I’m sorry…” I said. She had Devton’s ocean blue eyes, which made me think that they were related.

She smiled and approached me. “I’m Linda Palmers.” She extended her hand. “Dev’s mother.”

I took her soft hand in mine – she was clearly not a fighter. Did she spend most of her days in her luxurious house?

“Natka Roqueze,” I answered.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Natka.” Something in her smile told me she was sincere.

Devton was a half-daimon, which meant he was a crossbreed, but until now, I hadn’t realized he had human blood. Had he treated me kindly because his mother was human, like me? His father was either half- or full-daimon.

“Don’t look so lost.” She smiled. “Dev brought you here last night.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” she responded. “He never introduces me to any of his friends, so I am delighted to have you here.”

I tried to smile, but my pounding head made it difficult. No doubt Devton didn’t introduce his mother to any of his friends because they were all magical and hated humans. Maybe he was ashamed to have a human mother and preferred to keep her a secret.

“Where is he?” I wondered.

“He left early because he has business to attend to. He said he’ll be back.”

Linda poured me a glass of water and took two small green pills from a bottle – herbal painkillers. I accepted the glass and swallowed the pills.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Now, sit down. Breakfast is almost ready.”

I liked Linda immediately. She was friendly and made me feel incredibly welcome. Yet, I felt ashamed that Devton had to carry me into her house the previous night. I was a bloody alcoholic.

“How do you know Dev?” she asked.

If Devton hadn’t introduced his mom to his friends, then he probably didn’t tell her about all of the things he did either. I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that I had met him when I intervened with his punishment of a human who owed him money. “I met him when I came here, two weeks ago, and needed work.”

“Dev isn’t the person to ask for work – if you’re human,” she told me.

She probably thought I might be a daimon, pretending to be human. Many daimons pretended to be human so that others would underestimate them. “I’m human,” I told her. If I was part angel, that side of me was dormant.

“Why did you come to Vesea?” she asked. “It’s a dangerous city.”

“Then why are you here?” I countered.

Linda placed a plate filled with bacon, eggs, and toast next to me before she sat down. “I stay for Dev.”

“Is he around a lot?” I asked. As a member of The Risen who owned multiple bars and casinos, he had to be busy.

“He is always busy with something,” she said.

“Like what?”

She took a bite of her eggs. “I don’t know. Nor do I want to know. The Risen aren’t exactly known for obeying the law.”

So, she knew. I thought of Volgrun, leader of The Risen, and how he had tried to possess me, and I shuddered.

“Especially not Volgrun,” I grumbled.

She raised her eyebrows. “Have you met him?”

“Unfortunately.” I ate the bacon, savoring the crispy, salty taste.

“That daimon is pure evil and has no respect for human life,” she warned.

“I’ve noticed.” I chose my next words carefully. “Devton doesn’t strike me as evil. So why would he be in a gang with such a daimon?”

She hesitated. “Devton understands that in order to survive in this world you need power – and being a part of The Risen gives him that power.”

My whole life I’d felt powerless as a human, so I understood why he’d want the safety and protection of a gang. “Does the gang really look out for each other?”

“They stick together – against other gangs, against the world,” Linda said. “But they also have their quarrels. But it’s been a while since anyone has been murdered.”

I went still, and she read the shock on my face.

“Didn’t you know that to become the leader of The Risen, you have to kill the current leader in single combat?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Who would challenge Volgrun? He is powerful, and most can’t beat him…”

“No one has challenged him for a while. I think the only person who might be able to beat him is Devton.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What?”

“Dev is powerful.”

I knew this was true because I had seen his golden eyes, I’ve seen him summon Hellfire, and how he had shifted into shadow form. Most daimons couldn’t even do one of those things.

“Do you think he will challenge Volgrun for his position?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t think Dev will – but if he does, I think it will be a mistake.”

“Why?”

“To lead The Risen you have to be brutal and cruel. You have to be worse than your enemies. Devton’s heart is too good for that.”

I couldn’t picture Devton murdering someone.

“But I’m not worried about him challenging Volgrun. Dev’s big dream has always been to bring his father back from the dead.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.

“He died when the tsunami hit, on The Shaking. The saltwater killed him.”

I trembled, realizing his father had been a full-daimon. If Devton was to resurrect his father, he’d have to open a portal to the Netherworld, and that would be disastrous. I wanted Ryker back and wondered if I could use the crystal to do that. But I wouldn’t risk killing innocents.

“What was he like?” I wondered.

“He was strong and driven.” Longing crept into her eyes – the same look I had when I talked about Ryker.

“You loved him,” I stated.

She nodded. “I loved him very much.”

I had never heard of a human loving a daimon before. Most creatures would judge this mixed-race relationship, but I didn’t. People should be able to love others regardless of their sexual preference, gender, or race.

“You must think that’s weird,” she said.

“Not at all,” I responded.

She smiled sadly. “Daimons are capable of love as well. They are not all evil, and they can’t help that they are born the way they are.” She shook her head. “Anyway, Devton must be very fond of you.”

“Why do you say that?”

As far as I knew, Devton was only using me because he wanted to get the White Crystal. But then again, he had helped me last night. I was so embarrassed I did not want to think about it.

“Because if he wasn’t fond of you, he would not have brought you to my house. He is a good daimon – my Dev. He bought me this place and takes excellent care of me.”

Linda knew that Dev broke the law to get his money, but she turned a blind eye. I considered what she said about needing power to survive. People who followed the rules usually lost in life.

We finished our breakfast, and I helped Linda clean. As we worked, she switched on the radio and beautiful classical music filled the room. My heart ached when I heard the violin, and I remembered how good, how right, it had felt to hold an instrument.

The front door opened, and Devton entered the room. He paused, as if he hadn’t expected to find us cleaning while listening to music.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Linda and I said simultaneously.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked me.

“Yeah.” Did he want to get me out of there as soon as possible because he feared that I might embarrass him?

“Oh, stay!” Linda said to him. “I hardly ever see you.”

“I can’t, Mom,” he said, then looked at me. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you for your hospitality. Can I help you to finish cleaning up before I go?”

“She has a maid,” Devton said and turned to walk. I gave her a half smile and followed Devton out of the house.

“What was that about?” I asked.

He turned his blue eyes to me. “I live a risky and dangerous life, Natka. The more time I spend with my mom, the more I involve her, and the more she is involved, the more I place her at risk.”

I shuddered. “So, you stay away to protect her.”

He nodded. “You know how this world treats humans. Just look at what Volgrun tried to do to you last night.”

My pulse picked up just thinking about that. What had happened to Devton after he brought me to his mother’s house? “Where were you?”

“I tried to find him and talk to him, but I don’t know where he went.”

“Your mother says you might be able to take his place,” I said.

Devton chuckled. “I’m not planning on murdering him for his position. It’s a position I don’t want because it will require all my time and attention.”

“Which means you won’t be able to spend your time searching for the White Crystal, to bring your father back.”

He nodded as we strolled along the busy street toward my cottage. Then the voices started, and I couldn’t help but touch my head.

“Didn’t Linda give you painkillers? I asked her to,” Dev said.

“It’s not the alcohol,” I said.

“Then what is it?”

I hesitated. Devton had seen the scars on my wrists. He had seen me drunk and out of control. He had listened to me cry over Ryker. It felt like he already knew a lot about me, more than most, actually. And I knew about him, that he had a human mother, who loved him very much. Behind his rough exterior was a gentle soul. He missed his father and wanted him back more than he wanted power.

We knew so many of each other’s secrets; would it matter if I added one more thing to the list?

I didn’t trust easily. Maybe it was because I had grown up in a world where I constantly had to fear for my life. Maybe it was because I had been bullied, bruised, betrayed, and lied to in the past. But somewhere, deep inside me, I summoned the courage to tell him.

“I have schizophrenia,” I said. “I hear voices in my head.”

There was no judgment in his face, but his silence made me feel the need to continue explaining.

“It started after Ryker died, in New Peace. It’s worse here, and I think that’s because I don’t take my sickening medication anymore.”

“I think I know what can drown out the voices,” Devton said.

“What?” I asked.

“Music.”

I gave him a curious look.

“I’ve just added ‘Take Nat to Reverie Stadium’, to our bucket list.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” I wondered.

“If I am, will you say yes?”

“That depends on how nicely you ask me.”

He laughed, and I caught myself smiling. “Natka Roqueze, may I please take you on a date?”

We reached the cottage, and I turned to face him. He looked human, like me, but he was nothing like me. His fingers were playing, nervously, with the side of his pants.

“Wow,” I realized. “You’re actually afraid I’ll say no.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’m a daimon. Why would you want to hang out with me?”

He didn’t think highly of himself, at all, and no doubt had low self-esteem because of how he has been judged, for being a daimon, his whole life. I am what I am.

“You give yourself too little credit. I’d love to go with you.”

His eyes lit up. “Two weeks from now is the show.”

I smiled. “Perfect.”

Devton owned bars and casinos, which told me he was used to being surrounded by females. He was in The Risen, which demanded fear and respect and probably had many girls drooling. I didn’t think he asked many girls out because they were usually chasing after him. And I didn’t think any of them made him nervous, because none of them ever mattered to him.

I considered Linda’s words: He must be very fond of you.

Back when we had gone to Shark Bay Prison, I had jumped off that wall to save him. I had been scared; I still feared heights. Yet, I had jumped in after him.

I must be very fond of him as well.