“So then why did he attack?”
“I could see in his mind that someone threatened his people, told him that he had to do what they said or they’d kill everyone. He didn’t want to fight, and he sure as heck doesn’t want to make you mad. He’s terrified of you.”
Damn. “I didn’t know.” A pathetic, weak excuse if Quade ever heard one. He should have made it his business to know everything before charging off to fight.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Dad. You couldn’t have known, and I get that. A’kosh wasn’t supposed to fail. Now that he has, he thinks his people will be killed. He’s afraid he’s going to die here. He’s sad and missing his home. Please, don’t scare him anymore.”
And just like that, Quade’s stomach knotted. He’d upset and disappointed his son. Sure, it wouldn’t be the last time, but this first one? It sucked.
“I’m sorry.” He’d once said he wouldn’t apologize to a child, but Quade was discovering that admitting his mistakes wasn’t horrible. In fact, he thought it made Ten trust him more.
Ten shook his head. “You couldn’t know. A’kosh is willing to give a sample of his venom if you think it’ll help. He feels really bad about what he did, and wants to try and make things right.” Ten turned, but then stopped. “Oh, and don’t worry about his lip. He’s got regenerative healing abilities, so it’ll be as good as new in a few days. Until then, though, it’s going to hurt a lot. I’ll do my best to keep the pain to a minimum, but even I can only do so much.”
Another lesson Quade had to learn. Because something was bug-ugly didn’t necessarily make it evil. And whoever—or whatever—they were fighting obviously didn’t care about getting innocents involved.
“What can he tell us about where they’re keeping his family?”
Ten’s gaze narrowed. “Why?”
“Because if I’m gonna save them, I have to know where I’m going.”
Ten’s eyes widened. “You’ll save them? Really?”
“Someone has been reminding me for the longest time that I’m not a monster. Maybe I should finally start to listen to him.” He ruffled Ten’s hair. “He’s pretty damned smart.”
Ten grabbed Quade’s hand and led him back to where A’kosh waited. As soon as they entered the room, A’kosh shrunk back into his chair, trembling.
“It’s okay. My dad isn’t going to hurt you.”
Still, A’kosh kept his gaze locked on Quade, his… fingers… flexing.
“Talk to him, Dad.”
Swallowing his irritation, Quade stepped closer. “I’m… sorry for what happened. I should have….” The apology wasn’t sincere, and he wouldn’t lie to Ten. “No, I shouldn’t.” He turned to Ten. “I’m sorry, but I did what I had to do.”
A’kosh gave out a series of chirps and clicks, then sat back in the chair, staring at Quade.
“He’s not upset, Dad. He understands why you did it. You were protecting your friend, just like he was trying to save his people.”
He’d done A’kosh grievous harm, but was being forgiven? “Thanks.” He sat across from A’kosh again, but this time he saw him in a different light. If Ten said he wasn’t a threat, then Quade would have to trust him. And if there was to be trust between A’kosh and Quade, he had to make the first move.
“So, how do we rescue your family?”
Chapter 20
“What do you mean, you’re going after the family of some demon?” Caden’s lip curled. “And how the hell are there demons anyway?”
Ten held up a hand. “Demons are a classification of creatures who exist on a different plane. Their world and ours intersect in locations, called nexuses, which allows beings on either side to cross over, if they have the ability. Before the rise of Christianity, a demon was seen as sort of a spirit guide or protector. Due to their appearances, however, many demons were reviled by Christians and thought unholy. This led to humans trying to exterminate the otherworldly creatures, which didn’t go well for either side. War broke out, but neither humans or demons could gain a foothold.”
Ten picked up his bottle and took a long draw of root beer. His gaze darted between Quade and Caden.
“Over time, the demons, decimated by conflict, came through the portal less and less. The only ones who did make the trip were the strongest of those who saw people as a food source, and earth was their hunting ground.”
“That’s disgusting.”
Shrugging, Ten picked up a piece of pizza. “Circle of life. Humans like to think they’re the dominant species, but they’re not. Sometimes those who thought they were the hunters end up being the prey. Think of it like Predator, only instead of hunting for sport, they hunt for food.”
“Sorry, but Ten’s right. The world is harsh. In most cases, groups like ours protect the people from knowing what’s really out there. But sometimes we can’t, and you’ll hear about a natural disaster. In those instances, if you look deep enough, you’ll see it’s more or less a cover-up. The human government fears widespread panic if word of what’s really out there becomes public knowledge.”
Tossing his pizza onto the plate, Caden sat back. “So you’re telling me that politicians decide what we should know?”
“Mm-hmm.” Quade stuffed the rest of his slice into his mouth. “They always have. People don’t need to know, and they can go ahead and live their lives blissfully ignorant of the threats that exist.”
“Sounds all kinds of wrong to me. Lying to the people you’re supposed to be serving?”
“Are you gonna eat that, Dad?” Ten asked, pointing to the last piece of pizza.
“Why? You wanna fight me for it?” Quade chuckled. “Go ahead and take it. You need some meat on your bones.”
Ten grabbed the slice and started nibbling on the edges. He stopped, put it back on the plate, then turned to Caden. “What do you think would happen if the government offered irrefutable proof of aliens, demihumans, or creatures from other dimensions? It would cause chaos all across the world. Religions would rise and fall, some people would take up arms, others would be thrilled at the prospect of meeting new life forms. And many others would simply do their best to ignore it and go on with their lives. Now, what happens when someone starts a rumor that they eat people? There are just some things humans aren’t ready to know.”
“It still doesn’t seem right.” Caden wasn’t certain why he was being so stubborn. He knew people had issues with him being gay, but how much worse would it be for people like the ones who lived in Sanctuary? Coming out as gay—tough. Coming out as otherworldly? Yeah, that would suck.
“So what’s going to happen to your friend?”
Ten sighed. “He’s still in the infirmary. The doctors took samples of his blood and venom, but they want to keep him close by in case something goes wrong.” He turned pleading eyes on Caden. “He’s not a bad guy, Poppa. He only did this to save his people.”
“Which I’m going to do.”