“Come along, Katie. Time for a bath. And guess what? Uncle Epi has got a real bath for you now. No more showers.”
Nonny captured the little girls hand and led her towards the back of the church. I kept forgetting we had a small child amongst us and should all be careful about what we discussed in her presence. Would she have nightmares tonight? With everything she'd seen and heard today, it wouldn't be surprising. I knew I would probably dream about what I'd seen and done - and the dreams wouldn't be pleasant.
“How many of the vampires were at Sfantu Drâghici?” Epi questioned, after assisting Jerome to exchange empty blood bags for fresh ones on the women.
“Three,” Conal answered. “One of them was the blonde guy with the curls.” He glanced at me for confirmation.
“His name is Arawn. We met two others, Odin and Hyperion, but we didn't have photos of them.”
“So that makes six?” Epi confirmed.
“Seven,” Lucas said. “There are seven members of the Consiliului. The three you mentioned, plus Bellona, Qadesh, Bendis and Enlil.” He glanced pointedly towards the beds where the women lay, before his gaze returned to me. It was apparent he wanted this subject deferred and I nodded my acknowledgement.
“And there was one kickass demon,” Marco added with a grin. “That one was a monster.”
Epi abruptly sank down onto the edge of Holden's bed. “A demon? What did it look like?”
I shrugged, sipping my drink. “Big. Black. Ugly. Sharp pointy teeth, big snappy claws. The usual.”
“As I regularly tell you, young lady, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit,” Epi chided.
“Well on a humor scale of one to ten, sarcasm is the best I've got right now,” I replied. Epi's beady eyes studied me, pointedly waiting for an answer. I huffed out a heavy sigh. “About fifteen feet tall, two mouths, double rows of teeth, tentacle things all over its head, stood upright, big claws. How's that?”
Epi's brow puckered. “Who called this demon from the Otherworld?”
We all heard the change in Epi's voice. There was a tension, an edge which hadn't been there until Marco mentioned the demon we faced. “Archangelo. He created the pentagram.”
“You're certain of that?” He glanced from me to Nick for confirmation, his stare piercing.
Nick pursed his lips, raising one eyebrow. “Don't ask me, I was still a rock when this was happening.”
“Why, old man? What's so important?” Conal questioned.
“It means there is someone else involved in this plot and Archangelo is far more dangerous than I'd ever imagined.”
Nick straightened up, grey eyes narrowing. “What does that mean, exactly?”
Epi stood up and paced back and forth between the beds, deep in thought. “Archangelo is part angel, part vampire. He should not have the ability to call demons.”
“Well, he did,” I insisted. A glance at Conal confirmed his confusion mirrored mine. “Odin ordered Archangelo into the room when I called them on his existence. He told Archangelo to show me something to prove his power. He drew a pentagram and out popped an ugly big demon.”
“Who should have the ability to summon demons?” Conal asked.
“Warlocks, of course, as you have observed in the past few months, I can summon them. Some witches, although they tend to frown upon the practice. And wizards, although there are very few of them alive now.” He continued to pace up and down, while we silently watched.
“So you're saying?” Rafe pressed, losing patience with the protracted silence.
“I'm saying that the Consiliului have a warlock, a witch or possibly a wizard in their service. And whomever that is, they're teaching Archangelo the capacity to summon demons,” Epi explained impatiently, adjusting his glasses. “Of course I assumed with demon blood in his body, he would have extraordinary powers, beyond the normal abilities of an Angel child. But I'm stunned that he would be able to summon a demon. He should not have the magical talent to manage such a feat.”
“So… if you didn't expect them to be using demons, why, exactly, have we been fighting them for the past three months?” Conal asked dryly.
“Because I suspected we would come across them during this battle. It was the original role of Nememiah's Children to rid the world of demons. When I first met Charlotte, I thought that was why she'd presented herself now, because we faced a threat from the Otherworld. Now though, it appears we face a bigger threat than I first suspected. The demons aren't going to come from the Otherworld of their own volition. They're being summoned.”
Phelan caught my eye and lifted his eyebrows in question, and I shrugged blankly, shaking my head. I had absolutely no idea what Epi was getting at, why this was so important. “Okay, Epi. Spit it out. What the hell's wrong with this scenario that's got you so bothered?”
Epi stopped pacing and stared down at me, his eyes shadowed with exasperation. “I keep forgetting how little you know, child. One thousand years ago, Nememiah's Children were placed on this earth and part of their role was to rid the world of demons.”
“Yeah, we know that,” I interrupted, impatient to get to the point, whatever it might be.
Epi glared and continued. “Those demons found their own way here. There were many of them, but they came through from the Otherworld of their own free will - finding a way to portal to our world to create mischief and mayhem. Very few were actually summoned to our world from this end.” He shook his head, slipping his glasses off and wiping them on his tunic. “This is bad, very bad. If Archangelo has the ability to bring demons from the Otherworld…” he paused, placing his glasses carefully onto the bridge of his nose before he met my eyes. “Your description of the demon you faced today. It sounds like an Omias. Nasty things.” He shuddered a little. “You did remarkably well to battle it and survive. Which reminds me, you will require a poison sigil if it's fangs broke your skin. It carries a slow-reacting poison which will ultimately destroy your vital organs.”
“Gee, thanks for the heads up, Epi.” I drew the Hjördis from my pocket and marked a poison sigil hurriedly against my arm.
“Which, may I point out, is why I ask for an accurate description of these demons. Big, black and ugly does not suffice,” Epi retorted.
“Can we get back to the point of the matter?” Conal said impatiently. “What does it mean if Archangelo can call these demons?
“I originally surmised that Charlotte and Archangelo made their appearance now because we faced a future threat. Something that had not yet presented itself. Then when the Consiliului plan became apparent, I thought she'd been placed here in the present to ensure future harmony between supernaturals, assuming the threat was a war between the various supernatural groups. The Children of Nememiah had also undertaken that role. But now, to find out Archangelo is transformed and has the capability to summon demons…”
“The point, Epi,” I interrupted loudly. “Get to the damn point.”
He turned to stare at me, his blue eyes magnified behind his glasses. “Archangelo called one Omias from the Otherworld today. If he can call one, he can easily call one hundred. Or one thousand.”
“Can't we fight them?” Striker asked. Characteristically, Striker was delighted at the thought of a brawl, weak or not. His earlier anger had been washed away, replaced by cold enthusiasm for tackling the enemy.
“We can fight them. But we can't kill them,” Nick explained heavily.
Lucas frowned. “Why?”
I closed my eyes, understanding exactly what Epi's point was and my heart sank. “They can only be killed with the weapons, the Katchet and Philaris I used today. Those weapons can only be used by Nememiah's Children.” I sighed. “Which means I'm the only one who has the ability to send them back to the Otherworld.”
There was silence for a minute, while everyone digested Epi's words. Now that Epi had finally gotten to the point, I could see why he was so concerned. If Archangelo could summons hundreds, perhaps thousands of demons from the Otherworld… how could
one person defeat them all? I studied my arms, determining which sigils still had an effect. It seemed courage was operational, because I was positive I should be feeling a lot more panic than I was.
“You're sure they can't be killed by us?” Striker said. “I know you guys are strong, granted, but what about a vampire? Could we kill them?”
Conal shook his head. “We've tried everything. Even with six of us against one demon, we can cause a huge amount of injuries, but it's the weapons Charlotte uses which return them to the Otherworld.”
“I should have made sure he was definitely dead,” I muttered.
“We certainly need to find out more about him, Charlotte. You will need to contact your spirit friends, see what advice they give you,” Epi ordered. “In the meantime,” he glanced at the large, old-fashioned wristwatch he wore. “I suggest you and Conal head back to the apartment, get some rest and meet us back here in the morning.”
If the ground had opened up and swallowed me - right at that minute I would have been grateful. Hell, if a demon had erupted from the ground and swallowed me, it would have been an improvement.
The silence was absolute, you could have heard a pin drop inside the church. Keeping my head low, I tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensation of staring eyes, everyone contemplating Epi's casual inference to Conal and I living together. Not that it wasn't true - we did live together.
Technically.
I hadn't considered what would happen after the Tines were rescued. There was no room here for us - the church was packed to the rafters with bodies. Between Nick and his men, Epi, Nonny and Katie, plus ten vampires, there was no room for anyone else and it made sense that those of us who lived in the area would return to our own homes. It was something I should have thought through - and while I was at it, much more thoroughly. The heat of a blush travelled across my chest, racing up my neck to fill my cheeks with color.
“We should stay here,” I mumbled self-consciously. “You'll need help…”
“Nonsense. There are plenty of us here to keep an eye on our charges,” Epi announced, completely oblivious to my distress. “You have had an eventful day, child. You need to rest, particularly after giving blood to your friends.”
Conal drew himself to his feet and held his hand out. “Sugar?” He made it a question, waiting for me to make up my mind.
I couldn't go. Could I? How would that look to my friends… to Lucas? On the other hand, it would hurt Conal's feelings if I abandoned him like yesterday's newspaper because Lucas was here… oh hell. I didn't know what to do. I let Conal pull me to my feet but kept my eyes downcast, not willing to face anyone.
Conal leaned forward to whisper against my ear. “Stay or go, Charlotte?”
An interminable period of time passed as I wavered in indecision. “I'll stay,” I finally whispered.
He straightened up, his back stiffening. A quick peek confirmed he was angry and hurting, the tension apparent in his stubbled jaw line. “Fine.” That one word confirmed everything was far from fine.
“Conal…”
He'd already dragged his car keys out of his pocket and turned on his heel to head towards the door.
“I'll see you in the morning,” Conal announced. He didn't turn back, refusing to look at me or anyone else.
I searched the room and found Ralph sitting by Ripley's bed, sending him a frantic message with my eyes. I was enormously relieved when he understood what I was trying to convey and stood up. “Conal, hang on. Phelan and I will come with you. I need another beer or two before I'll sleep, after the day we've had.”
Phelan whispered against my cheek as he left. “We'll keep an eye on him, don't worry.” With a gentle squeeze of my arm, he followed Conal and Ralph out and Epi locked the door behind them.
I wish I could say I held my head high and didn't allow the events of the past few minutes to affect me, focusing instead on caring for the Tines. I wish I could say I walked across to Lucas and sat down to have an open and honest discussion regarding my relationship with Conal.
I did neither one of those things. Instead, I kept my head lowered and walked away from them, skulking out to the small room Epi had created for Katie. Nonny had bathed the little girl and settled her to sleep, sitting on a stool beside the bed she was brushing her fingertips through Katie's dark hair. When she saw the stricken look on my face, she slipped from the room and returned a few minutes later with a pillow and blankets, creating a makeshift bed in the corner. I slumped down onto the blankets and Nonny settled cross-legged beside me, proving once again she was far more supple and active than most elderly people.
She brushed her fingers through my curls when I turned onto my side and stared at the wall. Despite feeling wretched, my eyes stubbornly remained dry and the lump in my throat was painful to swallow past. Nonny continued to gently finger brush my hair and it was only as I drifted off into a fitful sleep that I heard her speak, her voice low and tinged with sadness. “We can't help who we love, mi pequeño ángel.”
Chapter 5: Awkward
The following morning I woke early, blinking rapidly in the dusky light which filtered into the room. There'd been no nightmares, a welcome surprise when undisturbed sleep happened so rarely. Cautiously stretching my limbs, I discovered I was sore, but not unduly so. The bruise on my arm was enormous and nearly black in the early light.
My mood was tranquil this morning, resigned to the situation I found myself in. Hiding out wasn't going to resolve anything and my friends needed help. Whatever the situation between Conal, Lucas and I would lead to, for now I intended to get my mind back in the game and behave like an adult.
Within half an hour I'd showered and changed into fresh jeans and a t-shirt. Refusing to skulk for a minute longer, I headed out into the main part of the church, glancing around in stunned silence at the scene before me.
The vampires were asleep.
Not all of them, certainly, but there was no doubt the women were all sleeping, as were Ripley and Ben. They were tucked up in the beds, curled in various states of repose and quite definitely in the relaxed state of slumber.
William was still lying beside Gwynn and he smiled, offering a little wave. Further down the room, Striker and Holden were laying on top of the sheets, looking much improved on the previous day. Both men's hair had been washed and brushed, the filth and dirt gone. They were dressed in borrowed clothes and talking quietly together, drinking from bottles of blood. A fleeting glance at Lucas's bed confirmed he was absent.
“Lucas is showering,” Nonny announced, handing me a mug of coffee. “Rafe is keeping an eye on him, they're still a bit shaky this morning.”
I sipped the too-hot coffee, inhaling the wonderfully bitter aroma of Nonny's special blend. “They're… asleep?”
Nonny nodded, glancing around at her charges. “Lucas says it's part of some regenerative process, they'd suffered so much damage over an extended period of time, he believes their bodies have shut down to allow the blood to heal damaged tissue more rapidly.”
“Did Lucas sleep?”
Nonny shook her head. “No. Neither did Holden or Striker. Jerome believes it might be because they were more physically powerful to begin with, consequently they will recover more rapidly.” She raised an eyebrow, glancing across at William. “Your young friend there, William, he slept for a little while. He seemed brighter when he woke again, so perhaps Lucas and Jerome are correct.”
It was utterly astounding. For long months I'd lived with the Tines and never once had they appeared tired. I'd never seen so much as a yawn from any of them. To watch them sleeping peacefully… it was surreal. Studying the dark rings beneath Nonny's eyes, I squeezed her shoulder. “Have you slept?”
She nodded. “Yes, I had a few hours, then took over from Jerome and allowed him to get some sleep. We are all fine.”
“Thank you, Nonny. You've been a trooper.”
Nonny grinned. “They are good people, Charlotte. It's been an honor to help you and your fri
ends.” She crossed her arms and surveyed the room, carefully checking her charges. “I'll get you some breakfast,” she announced a moment later. “Conal telephoned ten minutes ago, he's on his way.”
“Is he…okay?”
“He's fine, Charlotte. He knows how difficult this is for you. For both of you and Lucas.” She shook her head. “To have the love of one good man is a great thing. To have the love of two good men is indeed a wondrous thing.”
“It's a painful thing,” I muttered, the words slipping out before I'd had a chance to regroup.
Nonny offered a solemn nod. “Indeed it is, but you must choose what is best for you, mi pequeño ángel. Conal is my grandson and I love him dearly, but you can't choose what is best for either him, or your friend Lucas. You must choose for yourself and yourself alone.” She uncrossed her arms and turned away. “I'll get you some breakfast.”
I wandered across and stopped by William's bedside, calling out a hello to Holden and Striker. The two men grinned and waved their bottles in salute before I turned back to William. “How is she?”
William glanced down at his precious wife, curled against his side. “She's a little better today, but she's been restless,” he admitted. “Her sleep, if that's what this is, has been affected by her memory of our captivity.”
“I wish I could have come sooner, William. Epi was insistent we had to wait until as close as possible to my birthday to retrieve you.”
“Why?” William asked. There was no condemnation in his question as he gazed at me calmly. I wasn't sure I would feel the same way in his situation.
I sighed, slumping onto a chair beside the bed. “My abilities have increased swiftly in the past few months. According to Epi, Nememiah's Children reach their peak at the age of twenty one.” I glanced at my watch. “Which is today.”
Knowledge Hurts Page 4