Page 44 of Beauty At Stake
“Where's the book?” Kill asked.
“I left it there. Raza found a summoning spell, but it required something from the target—blood, hair, nail clippings. Something from their body.”
“There's no way that Witch found pieces of Losuc's body lying around.”
“Exactly.”
“There wasn't anything else helpful in the book?”
I shrugged. “We didn't look through it for long. Raza attributes the spells to his grandfather's madness. We decided it was best to leave the book in the treasure room.”
“Or destroy it.”
“Destroying books like that can be tricky,” Star said as he came over holding a slender book. He went behind his desk, sat down, and opened it. “I think I've found something.”
The rest of us gathered around the desk to peer at the book. I couldn't read the language, but Sallales made a sound of interest.
“The summoner must be more powerful than their target,” Star said as he scanned the passage. “Or the summoner must have a direct connection to the target, either through kinship or a physical link.” Star looked up at me. “Such as blood. The spell is similar to the Fey one.”
“Summoning someone needs to be specific. Got it,” Kill said.
“So Demons can summon relatives?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I looked over at Losuc, frowning.
“What is it?”
“There aren't any half-Demon humans, are there? Or perhaps descendants of the offspring of Demons and humans?”
“You mean like, a Demon version of Witches?” Killian asked.
“Yes.”
A little wrinkle appeared between Star's brows. “I wouldn't rule it out, but I've never heard of such children.”
“Angels have had children with humans, right?” Killian asked me.
“I don't know,” I said in my why-are-you-asking-me tone.
“The Nephilim,” Star said. “Yes, they existed. For a while. Then the Angels slaughtered them.”
“What?” I whispered. “Why?”
“Ask your husband. He was the one who gave the order.”
I gaped at Star. Then I shook myself. “If Severriel gave that order, he had a good reason to. Either that or it was Anu's command.”
“The slaughter of an entire race?” Killian lifted his brows. “Would Anu do that?”
“If he thought they were a mistake, he would.” I met Kill's stare. “He sent Angels to destroy cities and kill babies. Why not genocide?”
“Shit.” Kill looked at Sal and Star.
They stared steadily back.
A shiver ran down my spine. Not for the first time, I had a crisis of faith. What was I doing? Deceiving the men I loved to ensure a future that Anu wanted? Raza was right. Not having babies wasn't the same as murdering them. Anu would know the difference.
