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“But, how does any of what a Vessel can do help demons?”
Her gaze shifted back to me. “If you are corrupted by evil, all those gifts would become the gifts of darkness, to do terrible things.”
A shudder shook me to the bone as something finally dawned on me.
“So, none of the Vessels are actually free of a demon host, as you say. They are all owned and possessed by a high demon?”
She nodded.
“Has any Vessel you’ve ever known been able to live free of a demon host?” My voice sounded low and choked with fear.
“None that lived.”
I blinked hard and gazed at the fountain on our left. I’d never actually seen the figures poised in white stone above the trickling water. Eros and Psyche locked in a passionate embrace. He held her voluptuous nude form, partially horizontal, from behind—his right hand caressing her face that fell back to gaze up at him, his left wrapped around her rib cage and gently cupped her breast. Her arms encircled his head as he dipped low to gaze on her beauty, his wings lifted high as if he would take flight with her at any moment.
I jumped when Kat put her hand over mine in my lap.
“Don’t worry, Genevieve. I never knew any of these other Vessels. I don’t think they had anyone to train them, to help them, before they were captured. Some survived and fought for several years, but eventually, they succumbed to the darkness or to death.” I couldn’t breathe, wondering how in the world I would survive. “But Jude tells me there is an inner strength in you, and—” Her full lips tightened into a line.
“And what? What is it?”
She glanced up at the balcony overlooking the courtyard as if searching for the owner’s stalwart form.
“He doesn’t want me saying too much, but I think you have a right to know because I’m sure I’m right.”
“Right about what?”
“There is mention of someone, a woman, a Vessel, in a prophecy. She will tip the scales one way or another in the war.”
“In what war? Like the Middle East or something?”
She shook her head. “The war between the hosts of heaven and hell.”
I blinked several times. “Excuse me?”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “The hosts of the two realms have battled one another from afar, using humans as pawns, since the beginning. But there will come a time when the powers of light and dark will wage their war on this middle ground, on earth. This war will ultimately determine who reigns for eternity.”
“And when will this war take place?”
“It could be any time. Today, tomorrow, in a year, in a hundred.”
“Well, if it’s a hundred, then it definitely can’t be me.”
“Why is that?”
Could she be that bad at math?
“Umm, I’ll be dead by then. I mean, we have longevity in my family’s genes. I had a great grandmother who lived to ninety-six, but I doubt I’ll live another hundred.”
Her head angled to the right. Her eyebrows rose in a questioning way. The long rope of her golden braid fell across one shoulder. “Jude did not tell you?”
The way her words were spoken slow and low, my heart skipped a beat or two. “Tell me what?”
“All human Flamma are ageless. This would include you.”
Now my heart was really pumping. “Ageless. What does that mean? Immortal?”
“Not exactly immortal. Your human body can certainly die, there is no doubt. However, we do heal faster. All Flamma, that is. One of the perks of fighting nasty demons.”
