The Strategy

DELLA

“Damn.” Sorin looks terrified.

“I need to go see the headmaster,” I murmur, my voice distant.

“I think you need to visit Tenn first,” Sorin suggests.

I stop in the middle of getting up to look at him. “What?”

“I know you guys don’t get along very well, but I think he’s our best option for immediate help,” Sorin explains.

“Why?”

“First, he already knows the whole story. Second, he does portal magic, so if we need to get you or Kade somewhere else, he can do it quickly.”

Ugh, I hate that that makes sense. I really hope I don’t end up regretting this. “Fine. Okay, but first we need to find Kade. We’ll see what he thinks.” I sigh.

“Agreed.” Sorin nods.

“Yeah, that’s fair. Where do you think he is?” Micha asks.

“Nephilim dorms?” I offer.

“My money is on him waiting for our girl outside the demon dorms,” Sorin teases, making me blush like a tomato.

“Our girl?” Micha asks, raising an eyebrow. His smug grin makes my face heat even further. “Sounds good. Come on, let’s go find your other boyfriend before he gets himself killed.”

“That’s a bad joke,” I scold. I really need to find Kade. What happens if Raziel has him already? What if he’s hurt?

A tug in my chest pulls at my attention, and I find myself falling into my center with ease. Just like in power training class.

I don’t see my usual small broken center. Instead, I find a blinding light of warmth pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Four strings extend outward into the dark shadows of my center. Only one is a glittering red. Two are a glowing white, and one is black.

I run my hand along the red one, and my mind fills with an image of Kade laughing as he’s pressed against the wall by the gargoyles outside the dorm. Looks like Sorin was right.

I let go of the string and come back to the library, where Micha and Sorin are watching me in concern.

“You okay?” Micha asks, looking rather pale.

“I’m fine. Sorin was right. Kade is at the demon dorm,” I tell them. I start making my way through the aisles of books and out into the hall.

“How do you know that?” Sorin asks with wide eyes as he catches up to me.

“How do I know anything? Demon magic.” I shrug and wiggle my fingers dramatically, making them both laugh. I can’t, though. We need to get Kade safe.

Sure enough, we find Kade just as he escapes the gargoyles. There’s a small tear in his shirt, but he’s okay. Thank God.

“Dude. We gotta go to Tenn’s,” Sorin commands before I can say anything.

“I thought your detention wasn’t until tomorrow?” Kade frowns.

“It’s not that. We’ll explain once we’re there,” Sorin assures him.

Kade looks like he wants to argue, so I grip his hand in mine. He looks down at me and gives my fingers a gentle squeeze. I instantly feel a little calmer. “Okay,” he says with a nod, and we set off.

I knock urgently on Dr. Tenn’s office door when we arrive. The silence that follows has me panicking a little. What if he can’t help? What if he ~won’t~ help? He and Raziel work together. What if they’re friends? What if…

“Doc!” I knock again, and this time he answers, shirtless and in low-slung gray sweatpants. Holy crap.

“Della?” He looks almost excited, but that doesn’t make sense. I start to take a step back, and he straightens when he sees my fear. “What’s the matter?”

“Can we come in?” I ask.

“Um…of course. Is everything all right?” he asks, glancing at Micha, Sorin, and Kade. He lets us in, and I close and lock the door.

“I need help. Professor Raziel was talking to someone. I think it might have been my dad. Raziel said he was going to get a punisher to kill me.” The words tumble out of my mouth in a rush, and I see the doubt on his face. I don’t blame him; it sounds crazy.

“It’s true. We were there. We heard the whole thing,” Micha says, supporting my claim.

“But why? It doesn’t add up,” Doc argues.

“He discovered what I am…” I take a deep breath. ~Tell~, my inner voice prompts me. I know we need him, but I wonder if letting The Doctor in on the secret will make things worse. ~Trust~, my inner voice insists, and I obey. “I’m a Sin-Eater.”

“Damn…,” I hear Kade whisper.

I think I broke The Doctor. He’s just staring at me.

“Doc?” Nothing. “Dr. Tenn!”

He startles at that and shakes his head clear. “All right. Let’s start from the beginning. There’s only one punisher in the school.” His eyes swivel to the giant Nephilim at my side.

“Kade,” I whisper, looking up at him. He’s pale, staring down at me with wide eyes and his mouth agape.

“We can’t let him talk to me,” he says, panic in his voice. “I can’t disobey a direct order from an angel.” My eyes widen in shock as he falls to his knees in front of me, cradling my face in his large hands. “I don’t want to hurt you. I won’t survive it.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I promise.

“You and Kade?” Doc asks with a frown.

“And Sorin and Micha,” I mutter, not wanting to see the ever-present judgment I get from this man.

“So you have found your consorts already?” Tenn asks.

I nod, staring at my fingers tangling in my lap. “Some… I still haven’t found the last one yet.”

“Hold on, I don’t understand,” Kade admits.

“Yeah, I’m kind of lost on this too,” Micha adds.

“Ditto.” Sorin nods. Ditto?

“Okay,” Doc begins, sounding like a professor starting a lesson. “A Sin-Eater is a type of Scion. Scions are thought of as half-breeds because they’re the result of a supe and a celestial procreating. So, like, God and Satan. The big guys,” he explains. “Because of that, there aren’t many Scions around. Usually, there’s one every few hundred years. And even fewer of them are Sin-Eaters. Scions have a very emotionally taxing job. Wouldn’t you say, Della?”

“I can’t argue that,” I admit.

“Well, because of that, they need a strong support base, so they choose consorts—people they love and who love them. It’s quite clear you’ve already chosen Kade. And now Sorin and Micha too?” He looks at me expectantly.

“I—I don’t know. It’s not like I’m going grocery shopping,” I say, frustrated.

Kade laughs his big, booming laugh.

“What do you mean?” Sorin asks, chuckling.

“I mean I’m not actively choosing people. Kade and I just kind of happened. Quickly, I’ll grant you, but it wasn’t a conscious decision,” I clarify. “And even if this consort business is a thing, stop talking about it like I’m collecting trading cards!”

Micha snorts a laugh. “That ~is~ how it sounded,” he admits.

“Sorry. I’m just curious,” Tenn says gently. Why is he being so…nice? Is he sick?

“Whatever,” I concede, shaking my head, and focus back on the issue at hand. “Right now, we need to focus on how to keep Kade safe from Raziel.” I look up at the men around me.

“You’re right. I can’t go back to the Nephilim dorms. What are my options?” Kade asks, looking at Tenn. Tenn looks like he’s at a loss.

“Well… There’s my old place.” I shrug. “It’s not the best, but I was there for a year. It will be safe at least.”

“The asylum?” Tenn asks.

I nod, ignoring the confused looks from the others.

“That might not be the worst idea. And Raziel doesn’t know about it.” He turns to Kade. “What do you think?”

“How will I get to class?” he asks.

“I’ll set up a portal for you to come through my office,” Tenn offers.

“I’ll come with you and show you around.” I smile, and then let it fall. “Oh… I also have to get rid of those bodies…,” I say, grimacing at the memory.

“What bodies?” Sorin asks, anxious.

“Um… So when we met, the reason I came up on the radar was because two guys tried to attack me and I killed them. I ate their souls,” I confess.

“Fuck,” Kade whispers.

I don’t like how he said that. I can’t look at him. He’s so sweet, there’s no way he’ll want to be with me after learning all the dirty details of my past. None of them will. I swallow back tears. He will still be protected. I can’t bear to see him hurt. Any of them.

“I should probably tell everyone, in the spirit of full disclosure, I also ate the soul of the last priest that tried to exorcise me,” I admit, not looking at anyone.

“We’ve seen the scars. He deserved it,” Sorin states in a hard, angry voice. “And from what I understand of Sin-Eaters, if you ate their souls, they deserved it.”

I look up at that comment.

“I agree.” Micha nods.

“I feel out of the loop here,” Kade admits.

Sorin fills him in on what we just learned in the library as Tenn gets the mirror ready.

It looks like we’re all taking a field trip. I just wish we were going somewhere fun instead. Italy sounds nice…