Infernal Revelation : Collected Episodes 1-4 (9781311980007) (12 page)

Barny recovered first, driving a knee up
between Gideon's legs.

The pain exploded up Gideon's spine, and he
collapsed, clutching himself and rolling off to the side.

When he looked up, Barny was gone, and
Reverend Ross was on the phone.

Shit.

Gideon lurched painfully to his feet.

"Son, hold on!" the Reverend said.

Gideon didn't wait to hear what the man had
to say, scrambling out through the shattered patio doors. He could
hear sirens in the distance, drawing closer.

Shit.

CHAPTER SIX

Residual anger and
shame battled for supremacy as Gideon staggered home.

He took the long way to avoid the police, so
he had plenty of time to think things over. Seeing Barny the way he
was, and then going through his own changes had explained a lot.
Lily, he realized, had already gone through her own metamorphosis
without realizing it. That's how she had survived the crash. The
way that Barny's savage beating had awakened his own strength. And
Barny... he'd been 'activated' when Lily punched him out at
school.

It all confirmed what Melchizedek had said
about his own changes, being shot. Becoming stronger.

More like their father.

Gideon stopped by a parked car and examined
himself in its side mirror, looking for any physical changes. His
eyes were their normal shade of blue, his hair as copper as ever.
He was pale... but he was a ginge, and after what he'd been
through, just felt sick.

His hands were still shaking as they lightly
touched his face. There was a small cut under one eye and heavy
bruising around his jaw, healing as he watched.

He stepped away from the car. That was...
that was weird, man.

Gideon hastened on his way. He didn't like
losing his temper like that. Hurting Barny like that, not that the
guy didn't deserve it. And worse.

His anger reminded him too much of his
foster father's abuse.

There was blood on his hands. His own, maybe
a little of Barny's from when they crashed through the window. He
hated the way it was caked under his nails. Gideon had always held
those who lost their temper in contempt, and now he didn't feel
like anything more than a hypocrite.

Never again. This strength was too
dangerous. He didn't want to kill anyone.

***

When Delilah
discovered that Gideon wasn't home, she wasn't terribly
surprised.

When she found his bike in a twisted heap,
handlebars burnt through, she was more concerned. When she came
across the path of destruction leading to the Ross's house, she
started to feel a tinge of panic.

She watched the deputies scour the property
with some disquiet before riding off on her dirt bike. With all
four of the Sheriff's men busy, there wouldn't be anyone to bust
her riding it down the streets of Laton.

It didn't take her long to get to the water
tower.

"You don't look any different," she said,
standing on her tiptoes, examining his face.

"How'd you find me?"

"This is where you always go when you're
upset. And anywhere in town, it just takes a quick glance to see if
you're up here."

Gideon leaned against the railing. This late
in the day the tower didn't have a hot side.

"I saw your bike."

He glanced at her sidelong. "How bad is
it?"

"Terminal."

"Shit." He exhaled. "I got in a fight."

"I saw."

"You saw it?"

"Just the mess you made. Deputies are all
over it."

"Fuck." He pounded the railing, and the
tower shook beneath Delilah's feet. "This is all Barny's fucking
fault."

She steadied herself, looking down at her
bike. "Did you... did you kill him?"

"No." His hands clenched and unclenched.
"He's... he's one of us, too."

She felt her stomach drop. "For real?"

"Yeah."

"Shit." She gazed off into the distance. "I
had no idea he was adopted."

"He must have kept it a secret."

"It wasn't just him," Delilah said. "There
aren't any records."

Gideon grinned. "Why am I not surprised that
you've checked?"

Her face burned. "I'm sure you can agree it
was prudent, given our circumstances."

"Yeah."

She kicked at the railing. "I went to see
Melchizedek. In the desert."

Gideon looked up. "Alone?"

"I had questions."

"Yeah, but alone?"

"Well, I couldn't ask you, could I?" She
turned away. "You've been so busy following Lily around like a
little lost puppy I haven't been able to keep up with you."

"You saw how she is. I can't just... let her
go on like that."

"It's not your business. You always do
that." She slipped an arm around his.

He smiled down at her. "I can't stand by
while people are hurting, you know me. And besides, she's our
sister."

She held him tighter. Now, it was the time
now.. "That's why I love you, you know?"

Gideon paused. "You're my sister too."

She leaned her head against his side. "Not
really. I mean, not from a biological perspective."

"Melchizedek said--"

"No, that's the thing. Our father wasn't...
whatever he was, he wasn't biological. We're not really biological.
And it's not like we grew up together--"

Gideon pulled away. "Wait, we're not
what?"

"Technically we're not genetically
related--"

"We're not real?" Gideon asked.

"We're real, we're just not biological."

Gideon ran a hand through his hair. "What
does that even mean?"

"It means that I love you, Gideon." She felt
a thrill, saying it again. "I'm in love with you. I've been in love
with you."

"Oh god." Gideon turned and put his hands on
the railing. "I really can't handle this right now."

Delilah refused to be hurt. Gideon was just
overwhelmed.

"I know it's a lot to take in. Especially
given your changes. But, look, we can leave town together. Go to
Houston. Or further. Start a life together."

"No, Delilah, no."

Why wasn't he seeing reason? "Gideon--"

"It wouldn't work between us, Delilah. For a
lot of reasons."

Her stomach turned into
stone, and she felt nauseous. "It
is
her, isn't it. Lily. You like her more than
me."

Gideon reached for her. "No, no, it's not
like that. I just... with what I am now... I'm like Melchizedek. If
it's not Barny, or the cops, it'll be the men who are after him.
I... I can't protect you. I can barely take care of myself."

"Well, that's easily handled, isn't it?" She
stepped away from him, talking fast, her thoughts coming faster
than she could articulate. "I mean seriously, if that's your only
objection then there's a simple solution to the problem."

"What are you talking about?" Gideon
asked.

"Oh, so now you're concerned." Delilah
hoisted herself up on the railing.

His eyes widened. Fast as he'd become, his
fingers only just brushed the cloth of her hoodie as she leapt.

She flew.

Briefly.

***

"No, no, no, no, no!"
Gideon landed next to Delilah with a crash, a cloud of dust and
gravel rising from his impact. "Oh god, no, 'Lilah."

It was bad. Really bad. She'd landed
face-down across the wrought-iron fence, tines piercing her chest
and abdomen.

"Oh god, oh god," Gideon repeated, clenching
and un-clenching his hands. Should he take her off the fence? Leave
her where she was? Go for help?

There was so much blood.

"Why did you... oh god. Delilah. Oh,
honey."

She was the smart one. She'd have known what
to do. He grabbed her by the hip and shoulder, braced himself, then
lifted her off of the tines. He'd hear the wet sounds of suction in
his darkest nightmares for months to come. It was something he'd
never forget, even after he'd seen and heard much worse things,
even after he had become one of those worse things himself.

He held her, her hot blood soaking through
his shirt, drenching him to his shoes. "Come on."

How did this work? He'd changed and woken in
moments. It had taken Lily a week.

"Come on, Delilah. Come on. Don't leave
me."

Didn't Melchizedek say that if the gunman
had killed him instantly he wouldn't have come back at all?

He sniffled the tears back. "Come on.
Please."

The blood oozing from her wounds took on a
blackish hue, a darkness that didn't take long to spread. As Gideon
watched, the flow stopped as if frozen, then started to rise from
the ground and his clothing, rising as a black mist.

Not a black mist. A black shadow.

It rose, then seemed to suck back into
Delilah's wounds.

"Holy shit."

Delilah's eyes fluttered open. "Gideon?"

"Oh god, oh god, Delilah, you're alive!"

He held her close, letting the tears fall
from his eyes. She felt so small, so light in his arms.

She muttered something into his
shoulder.

"What?" He leaned back.

"Why don't you love me?" her voice was still
small, weak.

"I love you," Gideon said. "Of course I love
you. Just not in that way."

He carried her back to the side of the
road.

"Why not?" For perhaps the first time since
Gideon had known Delilah, she sounded like other girls her age.
Insecure, sad, young.

He sat on the curb, practically cradling
her. He looked up and down the street, biting his lip, not really
sure what to say, how to say it.

"Is it because I'm too young? Too plain? Too
much a nerd? Not enough like Lily?"

"No, no," Gideon said, wiping tears from his
eyes. "You're wonderful. A beautiful angel. And it has nothing to
do with Lily, or any other girl."

"Then why?" she asked. "Why aren't I enough
for you?"

He sighed. It was hard to say, a secret, the
only secret he had kept to himself in this small town, the only one
that mattered. He'd hoped to keep it until he left Laton and its
small minds and smaller ideas behind, but he couldn't stand to
watch Delilah suffer. If she'd died because he'd rejected her... he
owed her that much. He owed her far more.

"I'm gay, Lily." God, to actually say it.
"I'm gay."

She looked up at him, hand briefly touching
his face. "Is that all?"

***

They sat silently,
holding one another, until the sun had set and the moon risen. No
words were exchanged, none were needed, but tears shed were
mingled.

"I should get home," Delilah said. "And so
should you."

"I guess," Gideon said.

"Don't guess. Just stay out of Bill's
way."

"I'm not afraid of him," Gideon said. "Less
so now."

"We don't need attention." She lifted her
hoodie's hem, exposing the tiny marks that were all that remained
of the fence's injury. "Especially now."

"You're right," Gideon said. "Of course
you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Not always."

She smiled at him. "Almost always."

"Thanks, Delilah." Gideon said. "It feels
good. To say it. To have it out there."

She stood up from the curb and gave him a
peck on the cheek. "We need to have a serious talk about all this,"
Delilah said. "Figure out where we go from here."

"Yeah," Gideon said. "This is a game
changer, isn't it?"

"I have some ideas."

"I bet you do."

"Tomorrow? At the Spot? After school?"

"Tomorrow."

Gideon watched as Delilah rode off on her
motorbike. Smiling in the moonlight, he turned and came face to
face with Barny.

"Well, that was fucking enlightening."

Gideon's mouth went dry. "What did you
hear?"

"I've been watching since your girl there
took her swan dive off of the tower. Amazing what these new senses
can pick up."

Gideon balled his fists, staring at the
jock's smug grin. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Now you know. About me."

Barny's grin faded. "Cermak, you think I'm a
monster. Maybe you're right. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm every bit as
callous and cruel as you want me to be. But if I am, and that's a
big if... if I am, then you don't get to decide what kind of
monster I am."

"What?"

Barny turned and walked away, giving him the
finger. "Good luck with the persecution complex, asshole."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lily's parents didn't
call her out on having snuck out when she got home, and somehow
that made it worse. She wasn't lying to them about the way she
felt, but she'd never kept her problems hidden from them in the
past. Her parents had always maintained an open and honest
relationship with their daughter, and there had never been anything
she didn't believe she could talk about with them.

Until now.

She didn't think she could have a serious
discussion about it with them. She didn't even like thinking about
it, about the implications for who and what she was.

Her parents, as they always had, respected
her boundaries, not even asking her to come down when the Ross's
arrived for dinner.

Jessie Ross knocked on her door after the
meal, before her family left.

Lily opened her door a crack. "Hi."

Jessie smiled. "Hi, Lily. Do you have a
moment to talk?"

Lily looked away, then shook her head. "I'm
sorry, I'm not feeling very well."

The normally passive girl pushed her way
into the room. "I'm sorry Lily, I'd respect your wishes, but this
is very important."

Lily was too surprised to stop her. "Oh...
okay?"

Jessie walked to the middle of the room,
arms folded. "You know I'm not one to be so... brash... but
desperate times call for desperate measures."