Free Echo by Alyson Noël Page A

anger rising inside me. “Besides, I’d be doing the whole world a favor. Things have changed since your day. It’s beyond hostile out there. And while some of that may be my fault for sparing your soul, which allowed them access to the Lowerworld, the fact is, if some prior Seeker had had the foresight to kill them all a long time ago, I wouldn’t be sitting here now feeling like my heart has been crushed while the only future I can look forward to is a dark, lonely, bleak one where I’m expected to fight a battle I’ve been set up to lose.” I narrow my gaze, eager to see how she’ll respond. But Paloma remains true to herself. Steady. On course. Refusing to veer from the message no matter how much I bait her.
    “And if some prior Seeker had done as you wish, then Dace never would’ve been born. He may have come in another form, yes, but he wouldn’t have been your fated one. It is written. Nothing here is an accident.”
    I sit with the words, unable to deny them no matter how much I despise them.
    “ Nieta , make no mistake, a Seeker’s job is to restore and heal—to keep the balance between the worlds—and to never stray from the light. We can only contain evil. We cannot eradicate it. As long as humans exist, evil will too. It’s up to us to lessen its effects.”
    I pick at the gauze on my finger, unwilling to fold quite so easily. “Yeah, well, maybe that no longer holds true. Maybe it’s time for a new generation of Seeker—one who works in new ways. The balance is clearly out of whack, and I can honestly say, after this last trip to the Lowerworld, that it’s getting worse every day. The enemy is not one you’re used to fighting, abuela . He’s bigger, stronger, more … demonic.” I pause, remembering the way Cade rose up before us—how he and his creepy coyote tripled in size. “You’re used to dealing with humans—bad humans, dark humans, but still humans. But Cade is not human. He’s a psychopathic, demonic freak—the result of magick of the darkest kind. Driven by a pathetic need to impress Leandro by achieving world domination. Oh, and he can also turn into a scaly-skinned, snake-tongued monster at will. I know, because I’ve seen it, and let me tell you, it is not pretty. So, with that in mind, I hardly think pounding a drum and waving an eagle feather will do anything to stop him.”
    “Then what about Dace, his twin—is he human?” Paloma asks, her gaze on mine, her voice quiet and even.
    “Of course he is!” I frown. Annoyed by the question. “He’s good, and kind, and—”
    “And yet, he’s also the result of the dark magick you speak of.”
    I squirm under her gaze, not liking what she’s getting at, even though I’m not entirely sure what that is.
    “So you’re saying that Dace is the human half of an inhuman twin? How can that be?” She waits for me to respond, but for once, I have nothing to say. My silence prompting her to add, “The world’s greatest atrocities were committed by humans, nieta . Dark, deranged, misguided, egomaniacal humans—and yet humans all the same.”
    I continue to rub my thumb over the gauze, enjoying the cooling sensation the poultice provides. At the moment, it’s the only thing I feel good about. “Listen, if he turns into a demon, then he’s a demon.” I nod. Hoping that’ll put an end to the argument. But one look at Paloma, and a quick peek at Xotichl, tells me I’ve failed to convince.
    “It’s not quite that simple…” Xotichl pauses, tilting her head toward mine. “I’m sorry, Daire, but I have to side with Paloma on this one. Cade’s energy patterns are not at all like that of the demons that guard the Rabbit Hole vortex.”
    “Maybe he’s a different kind of demon,” I say, barely giving her time to finish. “Maybe there’s more than one breed.”
    Xotichl shakes her head. Toying with the hem of her sleeve, she drags it over her knuckles and down toward her fingertips. “A demon’s energy is like