Page 63 of Demon Unleashed

Enya braced her hands at her hips. “Yeah, he fucking is. But that’s not why I’m defending him. Zoltan is one of us.”

Confused rumblings went through the room.

“And what would that be?” Aiden asked, turning out to be the calmest of all her colleagues today.

Enya took a deep breath. “Zoltan is Cinead’s lost son, Angus.” She let the news sink in.

“You’re making this shit up,” Pearce said.

Winter shook her head. “I don’t think she is.”

Everybody looked at her.

“When Enya accompanied me to see Cinead, I had to tell him that I know what happened to his baby son. He’s not dead. He’s a demon.”

Enya nodded. “Thanks, Winter. At least one person here is supporting me.”

“Oh, I’m not supporting you. I’m just presenting the facts.”

“Whatever,” Enya said.

“Even if Winter is correct that Cinead’s son is a demon, that doesn’t mean Zoltan is that demon,” Pearce said.

“I have proof.” Enya pulled out her phone and navigated to her pictures. With her wireless connection, she sent a picture to the main screen in the command center.

Everybody stared at the photo.

Hamish stretched out his good arm. “That’s Zoltan. I fought him just an hour ago. So what’s his portrait gonna prove?”

Enya turned to him. “That’s not Zoltan. That’s Cinead when he was a young man.”

Gasps echoed in the room and bounced off the bare walls.

She sent two more photos to the screen to show side by side. “On the left, you see the birthmark Angus carries on his butt; on the left is Zoltan’s birthmark. They’re identical. Zoltan is Angus.”

Silence fell over the assembled. They exchanged looks and shook their heads, but from the expressions on their faces, Enya knew they believed the evidence she’d presented.

“Enya, I don’t know how to say this,” Pearce said, “but even though we now know what happened to Cinead’s son, it doesn’t change who Zoltan is. He’s still a demon, no matter his origin. Cinead will be the first to tell you to kill him, even though he was once his son.”

Enya shook her head. “No. You don’t understand. Zoltan has some good in him. He’s not all evil. He can be redeemed.”

Kim put her hand on Enya’s arm. “I’m sorry, Enya. I know you want to believe that he’s good. But I’ve been at the other end. His demons killed my mother. And he nearly killed me for the book he was after.” She motioned to Leila, Winter, Daphne, and Tessa. “We all suffered because of him. You can’t just expect us to forget what we’ve been through because of him. You’re blinded by whatever you think you feel for him.”

Enya ripped her arm from Kim’s touch. “It’s not about what I feel. He can be saved.” She looked at the assembled, desperate to find an ally. Her gaze settled on Hamish. “Hamish! You fought with him today. You said yourself that Zoltan had a chance to kill you. Instead, he spared your life. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Hamish hesitated. “I admit he could have killed me. I even admit that he didn’t want to fight me in the first place. But does that really prove that there’s still some good in him? Enya, he did it only for you. Because he needs you to be his advocate. What if it’s still part of his plan?”

“No, no.” She couldn’t allow her brethren to plant doubt in her. “He confessed everything to me. He told me about his original plan, but he’s changed. He won’t do anything to hurt us. He risked everything for me. His own people are chasing him now, because he betrayed them—for me.”

“Maybe that’s what he wants you to believe,” Aiden said.

“You’re wrong. You’re all wrong.”

“Fine,” Logan said. “Then tell us where he is. Let us bring him in and interrogate him. Then we’ll see whether he can convince us too.”

Enya glared at Logan. “How stupid do you think I am? The moment I tell you where he is, you’ll kill him.” Not that she knew where Zoltan was hiding out at present. However, before leaving the Underworld, she’d asked him to keep his burner switched on, so she could get a message to him should they get separated.

“Damn it, Enya,” Manus said. “Don’t you see that Zoltan’s been manipulating you? Wake up!”