by Liz Schulte
She moved closer, looking up at me through her thick black lashes with dark mischievous eyes. Her draw was even stronger now than it had been before. She had only grown more powerful since we were together. Her lips crushed into mine and an immediate fog tried to cloud my mind.
I picked her up, moving her away from me. Her gorgeous mouth frowned and I raised an eyebrow. “Do not presume to know me or why I do what I do. I am simply here to offer you a job. A job that will not involve me or a renewal of our partnership in any way. My interests lie in insuring our past remains buried. That’s all.”
She studied her fingernails. “I do believe you think you mean that. We were great once, though.” Her tongue flicked over her lips. “It isn’t too late. We could be again.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not interested. Now what did they offer you?”
She closed her eyes and her lips pursed as if the words pained her. “The first life I took. They offered it back. Can you make me such a deal?” She knew I couldn’t. “Then you might as well kill me. I am bored here. The world holds no amusement anymore and I am not foolish enough to believe in the other option. I have nothing else left. The most fun I have had in twenty years was trying to kill your girlfriend. Pathetic.”
Most succubi ended up starving themselves when they were ready to make their final exit. Normally they met someone, fell in love, and instead of taking their life (the natural course for a succubus) they slowly withered away and died. But starvation wasn’t a path I could imagine Sybil taking. She loved the thrill of the hunt, and she never passed on a chance to reap the rewards either. She was strong, but her huge brown eyes were sad. Had they always been that way and I never noticed or was this new?
“What sort of deal would you like me to make?” I asked.
She pouted and encircled me with her arms. “My life. You must promise to end it as soon as we’re finished. Fast and painlessly.”
She was the second woman in the past twelve hours to ask me to kill her. It seemed no one wanted me to be good except Olivia, and she wasn’t here. “Fine.” I offered her my hand.
She shook it. “Just like that. No, ‘but Sybil you have everything to live for. You are young and beautiful. The world will mourn your loss’?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
She laughed. “Good. It’s a deal.” She finally sat down, crossing her legs beneath her. “Now what am I to do?”
I chose my words carefully. Sybil agreed to help, but if a better offer came along she’d take it. “It has come to my attention that demons here are searching for a pathway to Hell. I want to know why. What do they want to use it for?”
She frowned. “Why not just seduce a demon yourself? Why do you need me?”
I could have told her I couldn’t seduce demons or their minions (they always had minions) while they actively hunted me—probably true. But I didn’t. The truth, instead, came from my lips as naturally as breathing. “I will not be unfaithful to Olivia.”
Her eyes widened and her jaw fell. “The angel?”
I repressed a sigh. Being honest was so inconvenient.
She shook her head. “You can’t have…”
Sybil wasn’t going to drop this without more from me. “She’s changed everything.”
“Say the words, Holden. I need to hear you say them.”
“What? That I love her. I do. I love her. Happy?”
“And she loves you?”
I smiled a little, despite having to make an utterly humiliating confession of weakness. “Most of the time.”
Sybil’s hands dropped to her side. After she shook off the shock, she smiled back. “I’ll see what I can find out. No promises.”
I shook her hand, sealing the deal, and allowed the mist to overtake me.
****
“I think I know what her plan is,” Quintus’s voice stopped me from going into the warehouse.
I turned back to him. “To create an army of jinn who are forced to help us because they are bound. Yeah, we already figured that out. Baker identified the rune. I forgot to tell you.”
He shook his head. “Runes can be removed. That isn’t a permanent solution. It is simply a Band-Aid until she has a more permanent plan in place.”
“So what is it?”
“You..”
The guardian had finally lost his mind. There wasn’t anything I could do to make the jinn follow us once they were free. Even if they declared their allegiance, I expected immediate mutiny.
“I followed her to the high council records. I questioned a few people and she’s been going there every day. No one knows what she’s looking for though—and they’re too scared to ask. I waited until she left and looked at what she’d been reading.”
“Get to the point.”
“She was reading about the Seal of Solomon.” He paused as if expecting me to react. Finally he shook his head and moved on. “The Seal is supposed to give the one who wears it the power to control the jinn and demons, but she can’t wear it. She needs an old one to do it. That is why Hell never tried to find it or destroy it. All the old ones were killed as soon as they made the deal with Hell. No one has had the power to carry the Seal until you. You’re her secret weapon. The rune will block the others from becoming like you.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Let’s say I believe you. I don’t have the powers of the old ones. At least not all of them.”
“Yet. Which is probably why she’s implanting runes in the jinn she turns. She’s giving you time.”
The angel’s comment about embracing the jinn came back to me, making more sense. She wouldn’t let me let me leave because she needed me to rule the jinn—and, as she pointed out, so long as she had Olivia, she ruled me. Neither of us could ever be free of her. “Is she just doing this to defeat Hell or does she have other motives?”
He shook his head. “Escaping Hell is one thing, defeating it is another. Dark and light. Good and evil. Strength and weakness. All of it is necessary. The universe has a way of sorting itself out.” He looked at me with emotion filled eyes. “If she intends to go after Lucifer, she will either lose and join his side or, even worse, win and take his place. The balance will always be restored but countless lives will be lost if this course is pursued.”
Countless lives—including Olivia’s. She would be forever buried in the angel and I would spend eternity doing whatever the angel asked in hopes of having another glimpse of my love. I would only be lying to myself to deny that would be my future. I had tried to walk away before and it didn’t work. I couldn’t leave, even in death I would be abandoning her.
“She must be stopped,” Quintus said. “Maybe we should report this to the angels.”
My attention snapped back to him. “Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. I need to think.”
“If you need me, you know where I am.” He vanished into a ball of light.
I texted Baker to find out what he could about the Seal of Solomon, then took several deep breaths. I would give up anything to get Olivia back. My freedom was a small price to pay for her and the angel knew it. What was the angel really trying to do? I doubted our little rebellion against Hell was high on her priority list. Whatever she wanted she was aiming much higher than we ever dreamed. Inside, Olivia was gone and I found Phoenix on his hands and knees trying to coax the kid out from under my bed.
The chain on the belt loops of his skinny jeans dragged on the floor as he inched closer. “Come out of there, kid. I’ll give you anything you want.” He took a swipe at her and she screamed bloody murder. “You want to get ice cream? I’ll take you for ice cream. All kids like ice cream.”
I cleared my throat. “What exactly are you doing?”
Phoenix tried to sit up, smacking his head on the bed frame. A string of swear words spewed from his mouth as he sat up slower, hand on the back of his head. “I didn’t do anything to her. She’s been hiding here since Femi left.”
I motioned him away and gently moved the bed out from the
wall, peeking over the edge. The kid looked up at me with a grin and held up her arms. “Holden,” she said.
The little devil.
I scooped her up and she gave Phoenix a side-eyed glare all the way out of the room. I plopped her down on the couch. “Who am I?” I placed a hand on my chest.
“”Holden.” She pointed at me.
I held up a hand to her. “Stay.” She started to follow me. “Stay here.” I pointed at the ground and her lower lip trembled. I took my cell phone from my pocket and hit the button at the top so it would light up for her. Enormously intrigued, she took it from me, content for the moment.
I went back outside and sent a prayer to Quintus. He was back in a matter of seconds.
“You can speak any language, right?”
“If a human needs help, I can converse with them.”
“Good enough. Come with me.” I took him into the warehouse. The kid stood exactly where I’d left her, but pieces of the phone were scattered around her little feet. She watched us approach, scrunching her nose at Quintus like she smelled something bad. Obviously she had good taste; I couldn’t be mad about the phone.
Quintus glanced back at me. “Why is there a child here?”
“Found her. Can you help talk to her?”
“Olivia would be better at this.” I gave him an impatient look. He shrugged, then took a seat on the floor and studied the air around her, glowing like a spotlight. After a few minutes the kid reached out and poked at the light. Quintus smiled. “She can see me.”
He was quiet for a few more minutes as they inspected each other. “She speaks English.”
“She’s only said two words since we found her. Eat and Holden.”
The girl perked up. “Eat.”
I nodded to her. “Phoenix, get some food.”
“What do I look like—” he started but I cut him off.
“Now.”
He mumbled to himself as he left the warehouse.
“I don’t know what to tell you. She speaks English. That’s all I know.” Quintus offered her his hand. The kid poked it once and her eyes widened. She looked back at me. I nodded and she touched him again. His fingers wrapped around her thin arm and light flowed from him into her like a sponge. The longer he held on, the more his face twisted. Finally he let go. The kid blinked several times, then abandoned the couch and came over, taking my hand.
Quintus raised an eyebrow. “Can we talk?” he asked.
“I don’t think she’s going to repeat anything we say.”
He nodded. “That’s probably true. Other than being malnourished, she is fine. She is physically able to talk.”
“Okay.”
“Where did you find her?”
“She was being kept prisoner in an attic of a houseful of demons.”
“Because she’s a void?”
I nodded.
He sighed. “Find her a home, Holden. She’s been through more than anyone can imagine. Place her somewhere stable.” He glanced around the warehouse, then back at me. “That isn’t here.”
I glanced down at the kid. “I can protect her here. If I give her to someone else, what will keep them from taking her back?”
Quintus ran his hands through his hair. “She has attached herself to you. The longer you keep her, the harder it will be for her to ever accept a normal life. She’s almost been in the Abyss too long as it is. If she doesn’t live as a human soon, she never will. In light of everything that’s happening, are you prepared to raise her? Can you protect her all the time even when a war with Hell is looming? She’s just a child.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t answer. Obviously keeping the human child wasn’t my long-term plan, especially if I did what the angel wanted me to. But finding her a new home wasn’t going to fix anything. “How long do I have?”
He pressed his lips together. “It’s not an exact science. Before any large decisions are made, find a place for her. I can help with that if you want.”
The kid released my hand, bored, and headed toward my bookshelves, touching everything but looking back to make sure it was okay. “Do it,” I told him.
Quintus put a hand on my shoulder. “If things were different…”
He didn’t have to finish what he was saying. I knew what he meant. If Olivia were here, then maybe we wouldn’t be such a bad option for her. I brushed off his hand. “Even if everything was normal, the kid would always be better off with a regular family, far away from the Abyss. The monsters under the bed here are real.”
“You’re good with her.” He was still trying to comfort me, which was not only annoying but also insulting. He could take his comfort and shove up his ass.
“What can I say, I’m a people person,” I said dryly. “Find her a home as far away from here as possible. In the meantime I’ll try to find her a better babysitter than Phoenix.”
Quintus’s eyebrows shot up. “You left her alone with him?”
“Well Maggie wasn’t really available.”
Quintus gave me a disappointed look, which made me smile. “I’ll find something.” He left after glancing back at the kid one more time with sad eyes.
When he was gone, I went over to see what had caught her attention. She ran her finger along the worn volumes of Shakespeare, probably attracted by the color and cloth bindings. My eyes swept the shelves. I didn’t have a damn thing for her to play with. I picked up the book she was most fascinated with and headed to the couch with her trailing behind me. I sat down and she climbed up beside me. I looked at the front of the volume, Hamlet.
I opened the book and started reading. Though there was no way she could understand a single word I said, and I was probably wasting my time, she sat next to me, listening intently as if just the sound of my voice soothed her. The kid definitely needed a home and fast.
The Seal of Solomon? Well I’d be a monkey’s uncle! I let Femi know she was on her own talking to Corbin, which was probably for the best. There was a better chance he’d talk to her than me. Corbin wasn’t known for making allies, but he liked the ladies.
I hadn’t heard anyone mention the Seal in eons, then Holden texted me the very phrase like it was nothing. It had been lost for whatever measurement is more than a long time. It simply vanished and we were all better off with it gone. Believers speculated that God removed it from the world because one person should never hold so much power. Others thought perhaps it had been destroyed or buried or stashed away for a rainy day. Countless treasure hunters searched for the Seal until the legend slowly faded into dust. Barely anyone even mentioned it anymore.
If the Seal popped up on Holden’s radar that meant the angel was looking for I, and if the angel was looking, I was willing to stake my left nut on the fact that Hell was looking too. If they found it first, it meant certain death of all of us. If the angel found it—well, I couldn’t honestly say what that would mean. Maybe that Olivia was never coming back, something Holden probably wouldn’t survive. I’d never known two people more wrapped up in each other than those two cats. Inquiries needed to be made without alerting everyone that the Seal was back in the playing field. Otherwise the council, Heaven, and every other major player would jump into the game, which was the last thing we needed.
“Chol,” the angel said from behind me. “It’s time we talked.”
I turned slowly and grinned. “What can I do you for, angel?”
Her chin tilted upward though there was no expression on her blank face. “I have plans for the jinni.”
I nodded. “I deduced as much.”
She looked directly at me. “I have allowed you and the Sekhmet to stay because you have proven yourselves useful on occasion, and the jinni likes the two of you. However, if you continue to interfere with my plans, you will be eliminated. Because you have been an ally I am extending you a warning. Do not cross me, chol.”
I met her gaze head on. “Exactly how am I interfering?”
The smallest of smiles eased onto her face. “Your
sloppy rune work has managed to stall some of my abilities inside the warehouse. I may not be able to see outside the building, but do you believe there’s a conversation you can have that I cannot hear? You cannot begin to fathom the extent of my power. The jinni will do what I want him to do, one way or another. Your whispers of dissent only make it harder on him. He will accept me, with or without her in the end. But above all else, he will play his part.”
I put my hands in my pockets. The angel was a creature of power which meant it only responded to one thing: strength. “Hells bells, angel. Kill me if you don’t like what I do. I’m not afraid to die.” I smiled widely at her. “But let me warn you about something. I’m a domino. If you kill me, you will open Holden’s eyes to what you really are. I’ve met bulls less stubborn than him. Start murdering his friends and he’ll never, no matter what you do to him, fulfill whatever plan you’re trying to hide from us. In the process of trying to convince him, you’ll awaken Olivia’s fury—no matter how deeply you’ve trapped her soul. her depth of human emotion could fill oceans and it runs deeper in Olivia than anyone. She’ll tear you apart from the inside. My only regret is I won’t be here to watch it.”
I took a step toward her. “So kill me because it will mean the end of you.”
Her head tilted in acknowledgement. “Very dramatic, but I never said I would kill you. There are far better ways to demonstrate my power. Perhaps on the half-vampire. I take it neither Holden or Olivia have formed much of an attachment to her. In fact, you are the only one who has seemed to. Or perhaps the Sekhmet, if the vampire does not help you see my side more clearly. Perhaps someone else entirely.” She looked past me. “A family perhaps. I assure you, chol, I will find your weakness. I am making the world a better place for everyone. It is a noble occupation. One you should stand with me in.” She raised an eyebrow for a second before her face froze back into ice. “Heed my warning.”
My heart thundered in my chest. Killing me was one thing, but seeking out the people who meant the most to me was another story. Normally I was safe. I went to great lengths to protect my past from my present. I always had. But I had shared some things, some stories, with Olivia, succumbing to the yearning to share a bit of my real self with someone else. After all, she was an angel, what harm could come?