I held my breath, and then his father started laughing. He looked down at the end of the dagger. The tip of it stuck out of his chest. “This was supposed to kill me?” He reached for it and began to pull it the rest of the way out of him, through his front. “Kellan, you couldn’t have thought that would work—”

“No, but this will.”

While we were distracted, watching his father start to pull the dagger out of his chest, Kellan had gone to Giuseppa and held her up by her arm, literally lifting her in the air. She was too weak to fight and new blood poured from her throat. Kellan was covered in it. His father realized what was going to happen and he sucked in his breath. His hand fell away from the dagger, and he started forward. “No, Kell—”

He was too late.

Kellan threw Giuseppa through the hole, and as he did, another explosion like when the hole was created occurred once again. “NO!” Then, just as quick as it happened, it was done. This time, instead of exploding outward, it imploded. Giuseppa vanished, and so did his father.

Kellan’s father was gone. The hole in the air was gone, and everything was in shambles around us.

“What just happened?” Damien asked.

Aumae started to murmur to herself, stepping forward, clutching her blanket over her shoulders, “One sacrifice to call him—”

Kellan finished, “—one sacrifice to expel him.” He stopped, closing his eyes, and hung his head for a moment. He hurt. I felt it from him and because he did, so did I. I was aching. I started forward. “Kellan.”

He stopped me, holding a hand in the air. “Don’t, Shay. I don’t deserve any comfort you’re going to give me.”

His words hurt, like a knife twisting in my chest.

He added, “She called him forward. If I threw her body in there, he’d have to go. She was the reason he was here and I don’t deserve any kindness from you. I murdered Vespar and Gus. They were our brother and sister. That…you’re right. I do care and they meant something to me. They don’t mean what you mean to me, but they meant something and…” He stopped again, drawing in one more ragged breath. “You were disgusted when you watched her kill Matt. You can’t pretend otherwise.”

“She murdered him. Killing and murder are different. One’s in cold blood, and that’s what she did. She planned it, and she executed it. That was different.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t. I executed her. I executed Vespar.”

“But they called your father here. They sent those demons after us.”

“And Matt helped torture Vespar and Gus, too. He was human, just like half of Gus and Vespar were. No, Shay. I know you’re going to turn a blind eye because that’s what you do for me, but I can’t let you this time.”

“Kellan.” I couldn’t hear anymore. He was twisting that knife in my chest, over and over again. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. “Stop.” He was going to leave. I felt his withdrawal from inside of me, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it. “Kellan, don’t go.”

And he walked away…

“I don’t get it.”

I was sitting at the kitchen table with Aumae and Damien later that night. The owner, whose name was Kent Ocean and that Kellan had moved to the basement without telling anyone, sat with us. He was cradling a mug of hot tea between his hands, clenched with white knuckles and shaking arms. Aumae brought him out of the basement and coaxed him to sit with us. He hadn’t been tied up or anything. There’d been nothing keeping him down there, except pure fear. When he realized Kellan wasn’t with us, he noticeably relaxed, but he was still cautious and every now and then, like just now, his arms began shaking. He couldn’t seem to control them, but he offered a trepid apology, “So sorry. So sorry.” He kept repeating those words until Aumae reassured him enough times that we weren’t going to hurt him.

It hadn’t mattered. He kept uttering those words until his shaking stopped and another bout hit him, but this time I saw that the hot tea was spilling onto his arms. He still didn’t stop. He didn’t even react to his burning skin.

“Oh dear.” Aumae took the mug away, patting his shoulder. “We’ll just, huh, how about some cold water instead?”

I cleared my throat.

She amended, “I mean some room-temperature water.”

He glanced up, pale, and his lips parted to say thank you. He couldn’t. His bottom lip was shaking as well. A brief stutter was the only thing that sounded from him.

I pitied him. He hadn’t asked us to come here. He hadn’t done a thing to us, and we muscled our way into his house, taking over. I wondered what Kellan had done to scare him so much, but rethought that. I’d rather not know, though his parting words still lingered with me.

“…you’re going to turn a blind eye because that’s what you do for me.”

“Excuse me.”

Damien and Aumae gave me knowing looks as I stood from the table and headed toward the master bedroom. Kellan left the property, but returned ten minutes earlier. Mr. Ocean jerked away from the table, but Kellan scanned the group, lingered on me, and turned down the hallway. We heard the shower running moments later and when I went in there, Kellan was just standing in the shower. He’d left the door open, and his clothes were still on, plastered to him now.

I knew he felt me, but he didn’t say anything. I perched against the counter, watching him.