by K. N. Banet
He shrank slowly. He jerked away from my touch and held his head in his paw-like hands, snarling as he shrank and shrank. He went to his knees as his animal back legs turned into human ones, then fell to his side as the spikes and horns withdrew.
He was finally back, in human form, staring at the sky, breathing hard.
“Good job,” I said, smiling as I pushed myself into a sitting position. “I knew you could do it.”
“Maude was thirteen,” were the first words out of his mouth. My heart squeezed. He sat up, still panting. “Sammy!” There was an urgency that spooked me. I was ready to take a long nap, not get freaked out. He got to his feet and looked around wildly. “Sammy!”
I stayed where I was as he looked for this Sammy. She appeared, holding something to her head—the dirty blonde.
“You son of a bitch,” she snapped. “You hit hard, remember?”
“I’m sorry!” he said, laughing as he pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”
I watched him reunite with the other cambions, all just excited to see him back in his human form, coming back from something I bet none of them had ever witnessed before.
After several moments, he turned back to me and walked over, leaving them where they were, looking confused at his sudden interest in me. The cambions didn’t know who or what I was, so I couldn’t blame them for being confused.
“Are you okay?” he asked, crouching beside me.
“I’ll heal…eventually,” I said, shrugging with my one good shoulder—even that hurt. He didn’t say anything, holding out a hand. Helping me to my feet, he gave me something to lean on when my legs proved they were done for the night, so done that when he got me to Cassius and Sorcha, I went back down to the ground, groaning as I leaned against a tree.
“I should have checked on you first,” Raphael whispered as he pushed my hair from my forehead and got some of that tar blood and drool on his hand. He looked at it, frowning. “I heard screams, and I heard you,” he whispered. “Only you.”
“I was the only one trying to talk to you,” I said, shaking my head. “No big deal.”
His look said otherwise. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. I was so worn out that my fangs, while down, gave me no strong urge or temptation this time. I turned slowly and let my lips graze his, just this one time. It wasn’t even a proper kiss. It was all I could give him, and the only time I could ever get away with it.
He knew its importance.
“You rest, and I’ll work with Cassius and Sorcha on what to do next,” he said, smiling. “We need to get the Tribunal, yeah?”
“That’s right,” I said. “I won’t sleep. Can’t trust sleeping here, but I’m not moving. So…don’t go far.”
He chuckled and stood, nodding to Cassius and Sorcha.
“There are still employees who survived and escaped through different exits,” Cassius said, pointing toward a group walking up slowly now, wary whether anyone would kill them.
One jogged out from the pack, a pretty woman with platinum blonde hair. She ran for Raphael and threw her arms around him, jumping as she did.
Jealousy raced through me as she planted a deep kiss on his face, and he held her hips to keep her in place.
29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When the kiss was over, Raphael put the woman down on her feet as she beamed at him.
I was screaming inside. Was he really fucking two-timing me right to my face?
No. He didn’t remember much from the lab. He didn’t remember how close he was to his own people. He didn’t remember how he got out. He probably forgot her.
Logic didn’t ease the painful slice of jealousy, though, could only bandage the wound left.
“I knew you would come back,” she said, reaching up to touch his scarred face. I wanted to cut her fucking hand off. “Now, we can get away from Mygi.”
I saw Raphael’s face as he turned away from her and looked at me. His face morphed into anger with me, her, or something, but he turned back to her and grazed his fingers over her cheek.
“That’s right, we’re away from Mygi. You can continue your research on us without them telling you what to do.”
The way he spoke sent chills down my spine.
“That’s right! I can help your people be strong, and you can help me. We’ll make amazing partners, Raphael.” She was so excited, but there was something off. “Well, we already were, weren’t we?” She ran a hand down his chest, and it made me sick.
Then it clicked.
He had seduced her, played her. She was just another researcher in the lab, a witch looking for power. It was there on her face, a hunger not just for Raphael but for what he could give her.
He looked over the woman’s head at his cambions.
“We owe her, don’t we?” he asked them. They looked between each other in the group, then nodded. “We owe her for using my body to get what she wanted, and now, we’re free to decide if we want to continue being used.”
The woman stepped back, shock taking over her face. He grabbed her neck before she could get away.
“I wasn’t the first male cambion you took to your bed,” he snarled. “I was just the first who learned to play your games. Others were killed trying to get you to love them. You refused to help them because they wouldn’t give in to your demands, but I figured out your game before I even met you, thanks to the help of my people. You were cruel with your sweet words. We’re property to you, and we won’t be property any longer.”
With a swift twist, he snapped her neck and dropped her to the ground, then walked over her body toward the other survivors of the night, Mygi employees who knew they were with the enemy.
“You have two options,” he yelled over the whispering and frightful whimpers. “Try to run and deal with the werewolves you tortured and trained, or stay here and wait for the arrival of the Tribunal. You might make it past the werewolves and live, you might be able to go into hiding, but the more likely case is that you’ll be eaten. If you stay, you will tell the Tribunal Investigator Cassius of the fae everything you know and offer your testimony against the company you work for. You’ll accept whatever punishment that’s given to you. If you pick that option and try to get out of your responsibility to my people, I’ll kill you. Make your decision.”
Nearly a third of them ran for the woods. The ones left behind, sat down. I heard whispered prayers from across the clearing.
As if their prayers can save them now.
Raphael didn’t come back to me. He walked with Cassius and Sorcha, who was no longer holding the child cambion. Together, they asked those left what they knew about the lab, what was done there, and more. I was left with the cambions, slowly coming toward me. Gabrielle was among them, looking at me as well.
“Who are you?” one of them asked, tilting their head.
“Kaliya Sahni, Tribunal Executioner and a nagini.”
“What’s a nagini?” Sammy asked, scrunching her nose.
“A female naga,” I answered, being purposefully obtuse to annoy the woman. She growled, realizing my game, and I chuckled. “I’m a…snake supernatural. I come from India, and my people are a common staple in Hindu mythology and several others. We’re mostly Hindu, though.”
“Oh.” She pointed at Raphael with a thumb. “And what’s your connection to our leader?”
“I found him while he was on the run from Mygi. I’ve been helping him for several months now. Cassius and Sorcha are fae nobility, and Cassius also works for the Tribunal. They’re good friends of mine and also helped Raphael and me find this place again.”
“What’s the Tribunal?”
Oh, fuck, here I go again. Mygi really didn’t teach them anything.
“The government that writes and enforces the supernatural Law,” I said. I waved around me. “Sit down. There’s a lot for you to learn.”
“I’m not going to give my freedom to some government I never met,” Sammy snapped.
“That’s too bad.
Raphael needed to convince them he needed protection from Mygi. He’s already added your species to our numbers. He’s your leader, take it up with him.”
Sammy was the only one not sitting. She glared at me, then turned to growl at Raphael’s distant form.
“What’s next?” she demanded, stomping up to me.
“Don’t get in my space,” I warned, looking up at her. “I’ve been killing longer than you’ve been alive.”
“You’ll have to forgive Samantha. She’s a warrior-caste demon.” This was from a male who looked bored with Sammy’s behavior.
“Sammy, be nice to her! She helped save us!” Gabrielle cried out.
Sammy backed off as they all pleaded with her to behave. She sighed and threw her hands up, obviously frustrated with all of them.
“I want to know about all of you, too,” I said, looking among them. “And if you think this is over, it is far from over. You’re free right now, but a lot is about to happen.” At that, I looked for my phone. It had a new crack in the screen, but it was functional. It had bars, which surprised me, but I could figure out what that was about later. I saw I had missed not one or two but two dozen texts and a similar number of missed calls.
“You have a phone?” someone asked, and I looked up to see a cambion coming closer.
“Yeah?”
“Cool.” He looked young and genuinely interested in the little piece of tech in my hands.
I indulged him, showing him how I missed calls and texts, most of them from Hasan, then a handful from Hisao, who was reaching out because his father couldn’t get to me.
“This is Hasan,” I explained softly, pointing at the last text that had been sent to me. “We left the coordinates to this location in a report for him to find. He said he was on his way with backup an hour ago. It’s called a text message.”
“Phones have come a long way since I was free,” the young man said. I continued to stare at him until he explained that further. “That was in ‘88.”
“Fuck. You have some catching up to do,” I said, smiling at him. “All of you do, and I’m going to make sure you get help.” I put the phone down, not bothering to reach out to my bosses, then quickly changed my mind and texted Hasan one helpful piece of advice. I gave him a full explanation of the werewolves guarding the border around the lab and tacked on one thing at the end. We were all alive.
At least the main group is.
Maude’s lifeless eyes would stay with me for a while.
I didn’t get the chance to explain more as Sorcha walked over and looked at the group.
“Do you need me for something?” I asked her as she stopped at my side, looking down at me.
“I was just wondering how you’re still alive,” she said simply. “You look like someone threw bricks at you for a couple of hours.”
“You don’t look much better,” I said, trying to keep it sounding just like her.
She cracked a smile, then turned to the cambions and the one nephilim.
“Angels and demons,” she whispered. “Who would have thought?”
Many of them looked away from her. I pushed myself to my feet and leaned on her.
“This is Sorcha,” I introduced again for everyone’s benefit. “Now, what did you need?” I elbowed her, and she sighed.
“I wanted to ask some questions, so we’re all setting our story straight. We won’t be able to fool the Tribunal, but I’m sure you understand there are some ways to get them from looking too deeply.”
I nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. A bad phrasing of anything could make them anxious about this.”
“What are the powers of the cambions?” she asked.
Sammy stepped forward, looking Sorcha over. “We have three forms. Human, demon, and…the thing in between.”
“We’ll call it the cambion form,” I said. “The grey skin and black veins?”
“Yeah. Cambion form sounds good. We’re all stronger than humans, but our physical strength depends on our caste and how much we train. We all heal really fast.”
“Some of us can become shadows,” someone added. “Warrior-caste cambions can do that. Like Sammy!”
Sammy growled, casting a glance behind her at the others.
“Caste? Is that what you call the genetic ranking?” I personally had intense hatred for the word. I grew up in a country with a strict caste system.
I didn’t like it.
“Yes. We didn’t name the system, but the lab told us what we were, and…we didn’t see a reason to try to make our own names. We didn’t need them to tell us that we had a system. We fell into it naturally. For a long time, there was no one like Raphael. We were drawn to him. All of us were. So, when they said he must have been some sort of lord or warlord, we didn’t question it…We knew here.” Sammy awkwardly tapped her chest.
“You said earlier that no one comes back from their demon form,” I said softly.
“That was the first time I’ve seen it. I don’t know what you said to him, but that was good work. I’ve…”
“Sammy was forced to kill others who lost control,” a cambion whispered from the back.
I saw the shame on her face as she looked down.
“Yeah…that.”
But the other cambions weren’t scared of her.
“We do what we have to do,” Sorcha said with noble kindness only she could masterfully use. “Are there any other caste specific abilities?”
“Not that we know of,” Sammy answered, shaking herself before she started speaking. “We’re immortal.”
“So are we,” Sorcha and I answered at the same time. I let Sorcha continue. “There are few supernatural species that aren’t immortal. Witches can extend their lives if they’re powerful enough, but they tend to live normal human lives. Fae age so slowly, many don’t notice our changes. Nagas…” She put a hand out at me.
“We generally stop aging in our early twenties or thirties, but there’re some nagas who look a bit older,” I explained.
“So we’re nothing special,” Sammy said, looking between us, then over her shoulder in the direction of Raphael and Cassius. “I was hoping—”
“Not true,” Sorcha cut in quickly. “You are special. One, the group of you finally confirms two species most had only written off as tall tales and legends. Two, I’ve never met anyone who can heal the way Raphael can. That’s special.”
“Every supernatural species is unique, something you’ll learn now that you’re free,” I promised. “We just…need to convince the Tribunal that you have a place in our world. I won’t lie to any of you. There’s a ban on the summoning of demons and angels, for good reason. Normally, when it’s done, the incident can leave dozens if not hundreds dead. Both can only be banished, and there aren’t many witches in the world with that sort of power. You are…demons and an angel.” I lifted my hands and groaned from the pain. Sorcha reached out to stop me from swaying. I took a step back and leaned on the tree. “We need to convince them that you aren’t what they have experience with. You are something new.”
“What if they aren’t convinced?” Sammy asked, going straight to the hardest question.
“They’ll order your extermination,” I answered, meeting her strong gaze as I said it. “And I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“We’re monsters,” Sammy whispered. “That’s what the lab told us. That we would be hunted down and slaughtered if we got out. They told us it happened to Raphael…”
I gestured in Raphael’s direction. “Does he look hunted down and slaughtered?”
She shook her head.
“They lied to you. They wanted to keep you scared, keep you in their control. I will say it’s lucky Raphael ended up with me. Mygi was offering a lot of money to get him back.”
“Do you know where our friend Saleem is?” the young man asked, standing to be at Sammy’s side. “He escaped, but he’s not here, and we don’t know what happened to him.”
“I…” I tried to say it right. Sorcha looked at me, stricken. How did we tell them? I went with blunt honesty, unable to find the words to soften it.
They need the whole story. Anything else wouldn’t do them justice.
“Saleem was tortured after he left here, betrayed by the witch who helped him escape. His suffering is over, but so is his time on this earth.”
They didn’t cry or look terribly surprised. Sammy nodded somberly, accepting my words.
“That’s good. He deserved rest,” she whispered.
“What was the thing with her?” I asked, turning the topic because there wasn’t really another chance I could get for this. I needed to ask while I had their attention. I pointed to the body Raphael left dead. “I got Raphael’s implication, but I don’t know more.”
“Oh, her,” Sammy said, growling as she looked at the body. “She liked fucking cambions. She wanted to research us in different ways, but others kept stopping her. It got to the point where her research was monitored, but she was a seductive bitch who could get private time with us. A lot of…a lot of them did that,” Sammy said, looking down at her feet. “Raphael figured her out and used it. He was able to convince her to get him out, so he could bring back help. Didn’t know it would take five years, but…he was right. He did it.”
“He didn’t remember,” I said gently. “He didn’t fail for five years. He truly didn’t remember most of his time here.”
“He mentioned that when he got to us in there.” She jerked her head at the lab, smoke now billowing out of its windows. “But it’s done now. There’s no reason to get up in arms about any of this shit anymore, right?” Her smile was bitter.
“You’re going to be angry for a long time. Don’t worry, you’ll be in good company. Most supernaturals are pissed off all the time.”
I finally got her to crack a real fucking smile. It was like a gods damned miracle.
30
Chapter Thirty