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her head and the witches followed suit. “We, the witches of the Red Skull bind together now. We call on the magic that has sustained our line for more than twelve hundred years. In it, we find warmth, light and eternal goodness. Without it, we perish. This night, divine the true nature of this gift before us. Let us seek the greater good for our sister Lizzie and for the magic that empowers us.”
    I sucked in a breath. For all my abilities, it always amazed me just what these witches could do.
    Grandma drew her hands around the jar once, twice, three times before she dropped the eyeball inside. We watched with rapt anticipation as the eyeball latched on to the enchanted rope and burrowed until we could no longer see it.
    The rope thrashed like a stuck pig. It slammed against the side of the jar, squealing before it shuddered and fell limp. Grandma held her hands over the concoction, her eyes closed tight.
    “Ostendo,” she uttered, as if forcing the words from somewhere deep inside. “Ostendo!” She repeated, louder this time.
    I stared at the jar in front of her, then back to her face. Her skin had gone pale. Red color rose to her cheeks. “Ostendo!”
    Her face contorted. “The man you saw is your father, Lizzie. He came to you because he needs your help.”
    I’d already known. I’d felt that connection.
    The rope began to smoke and hiss in the jar. Grandma struggled to maintain her hold on her vision.
    “What your mother didn’t know. Wait. She knew! What your mother didn’t tell me is your father saw… No. Knew… No –” Her eyes flew open. “Holy crap, your dad is a fallen angel.”
    “What?” I blurted.
    Frieda clutched my hand harder and yanked.
    “Ow!” A fallen angel? I’d detected death and sulfur. I’d never met an angel before, but I doubted they smelled like demonic minions. And another thing – if he was an angel, that meant I was half angel and that was too impossible to contemplate.
    It had taken almost a year to get used to the fact that I was a demon slayer. I was still learning to control those powers and now I might be something completely different.
    Being a demon slayer meant I could levitate, slow time and fry bad guys on occasion. But it still meant I was fully human.
    And now?
    If I was part angel, I wasn’t all human.
    I wanted to leave. I had to get out of there and think about this. I had to tell Dimitri. He’d know what to do. We could turn our date into a therapy session.
    Heaven above.
    I looked around the room, to the circle of witches. They watched Grandma.
    “Hold it together, Gertie,” Ant Eater warned her.
           Grandma shook her head, focusing hard. “Damn it, Phoenix. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Because Phoenix, otherwise known as my mom, was a royal jerk. Not only did she shove off her demon slaying powers on me, it seemed she neglected to tell anyone she’d been running around with a fallen angel.
    Grandma swallowed, collecting herself. “Sorry.”
    Considering the circumstances, she was doing better than I was. My mind could barely hold a thought. I forced myself to slow down.
    Relax.
    Focus.
    I’d always prided myself on my control, and if there was ever a time to shut up and take it in, it was now.
           The rope grew still and began to smoke as Grandma redoubled her efforts. “Why, Xavier? Why did you come back now?” She struggled, her mouth hanging open, her eyes fixed on something none of the rest of us could see.
    “Grandma?”
    Her eyes bugged out. “Your dad’s been fiddling with the wrong side, Lizzie. He made some bad friends.” Sweat beaded on her forehead. “He might not have known what he was doing. Hell, he’d better not have known what his jackass friends were pulling. Either way, he got demoted.”
    “Before or after he had me?” It was a selfish thing to ask, but darn it, I needed to know.
    She just shook her head, concentrating. “He tried to work his way back, but now he’s really struggling. Dang it. I