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I wondered how Marcilla even knew all this; after all, she hadn’t been here that long I guessed she host, perhaps one who’d been unsuccessful in escaping after torture and forced doer in The Underworld

I grie" us in a few hours… If Lucas didn’t --I felt certain that he would be thrust directly down to The Necropolis His home had already been in some of the deepest levels of The Underworld, and now he seehosts who shared his pool I doubted he could be put any deeper except for one place…

"Lucas," I persisted I was shouting now

We had to leave this pond before the ghouls came for their inspection, to demonstrate that we still had life in us and deserved to be kept in the upper levels Kailyn and I could try to get back to our pool in time and force ourselves to move around and deher pools But my uncle… We had to force some life into hi tohis name?

Then my mind turned back to the last two visions that I’d witnessed--the unexpected visions that did not belong toboth of our h her and transmitted to me I couldn’t think of any other way it could have happened But whatever the case, I now had more information about Lucas’ darkest secrets and fears than ever before My ownto keep my eyes open and then to sit up, I was better equipped to atteht

So if those really were Lucas’that he had a child Jeramiah’s mother--Anthea--had told hinant, but perhaps she had told her son that to make him feel better Perhaps Lucas had been still in the area as a human even up to Jeraafter that, he would have turned into a vampire and been forced to leave their town

Whatever happened, Lucas had known of his child’s existence And then, based on his second iven birth to a boy It appeared from that last vision that Lucas had even tracked his son down after he beca Perhaps that had just been out of curiosity to see what had become of his child, since he’d obviously made no attempt to enter his life, not even after Anthea had died

To think that all that time, my uncle kept Jeramiah a secret From his father, sister and brother Nobody had known that he had a son Abandoning Jeramiah was a decision that clearly tortured Lucas now

"Jeramiah," I said suddenly to Lucas, in a last-ditch attempt to rouse him "Jeramiah, your son, wants to otten through to hih to hi Jerarim cavern Slowly a slit formed between Lucas’s lids, which broadened until his eyes were half open Encouraged at the sight, I began talking more animatedly "You just need to hold on, Lucas Uncle Hold on We’ll get you out of here," I went on, even though they felt like empty words after our failed escape "You just need to keep your eyes open and sit up"

His eyelids reh his irises were still cloudy

"You’re not ready to leave yet," I urged "Your son needs you"

At this, his eyelids lifted further, and then a slightest sparkle of consciousness lit up his eyes His lips began to h no sound ca with as much force as I could--which adish "Sit up, Lucas"

Now that his eyes were alive, or at least seet him to sit up, the rest would fall into place more easily, just as it had done with Kailyn and me It was the first assertion towards life, a step away frohtly, but it slumped down

Oh, dear

For all his willpohat if he was incapable of sitting up? What if his ht of seeing his son again wasn’t enough to infuse strength in hi to rown up in a household of "couldn’ts" The word triggered a saying my mother would often recite whenever Rose or I--or :

"I know an excuse when I hear one Don’t you dare deceive yourself into believing that you’re the victirained injoke between the four of us, like when so up the laundry or take out the trash Though itsnever lost its depth

But now I foundmy mother’s words Of course, there were occasions when one really couldn’t do so Where it was not an excuse and one was incapacitated When one truly was a victim My mother herself had been a victim on a number of occasions, even if she’d refused to act like one But Lucas… as he struggled to sit up hat I was sure was his best efforts, he just looked so pathetic and helpless It was gut-wrenching If there ever truly was a victim, Lucas looked it to me now