by Elicia Hyder
“Just how they’re doing, and where exactly they’re being held. Their names are Samael and Sandalphon.”
“Black guy with crazy golden eyes?” Huffman asked.
“Samael isn’t a guy, but yeah,” I said.
“They’re holding him at the old Echo-10 building. Saw him last night when they were moving him. He was chained and cuffed, but he was fine.”
That made me feel a little better.
“What about an old, wrinkly dude?” Kane asked. “Looks a bit like Saruman with a shorter beard.”
“Haven’t seen anyone like that. Sorry.”
“Are they holding high-risk prisoners in Echo-10?” I asked.
“Not supposed to be. Only the old armory is equipped for that, but I guess there was an incident there yesterday. I don’t suppose you had anything to do with it.” I could almost see Huffman’s grin through the phone.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed softly. “Sure you—”
Commotion in the background cut him off.
Men shouting.
Static cutting in and out.
Furniture being slammed around.
Horrified, I scrambled away from the computer, like somehow putting distance between myself and the speaker might save my old friend.
There was a loud crackle of electricity, followed by the sound of Huffman screaming.
Then the line died.
And the only sound left was the pounding of my heart in my ears.
Chapter Seventeen
I eased onto the bed beside Iliana. She was on her left side, curled around a pillow. It was the same position her mother always slept in. I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Iliana.”
She didn’t respond. Or move.
“Iliana.”
With a moan, she slid her arm under her pillow.
“I’m sorry, kiddo. We’ve let you sleep as long as we can. The doctor has come to help Cassiel, so we need you downstairs.”
“I’m awake.” Her breathy muffled voice said otherwise. She rolled onto her back and beyond, resting both forearms across her face, to shield her eyes. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Not long enough. Three hours, maybe.”
“How is Cassiel?”
“No better. Getting worse again.”
She dropped her arms onto the mattress and blinked her eyes a few times. She squinted up at me. “What’s wrong?”
“I have good news and bad news.”
She pushed herself up and leaned back against her pillows and headboard.
“We found another sword.”
She perked up. “Really?”
“Yes, it’s part of the poison that’s killing Cassiel.”
“What?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid the information might have cost our friend Huffman his life.”
“What happened?”
“We called him on a secure line, but someone must’ve been listening in. We heard him being captured before the line went dead.”
“I’m so sorry. You guys were friends for a long time.”
I nodded, my eyes on the floor. “But before they took him, he told us the bullets are filled with a poison called hydrogen necroxide. Apparently, it attacks Rh-null blood cells, which all angels born into human bodies have.”
“What does it do?”
“It binds with the blood cells to create a necrotizing foam. It destroys everything it touches inside the body.”
“And it contains helkrymite?”
“Afraid so.”
“So it will kill her spirit too.”
My eyes fell.
“How do we fix it?”
I lifted my shoulders. “I don’t know if we can.”
“This is bad,” she said, staring at her ruffled gray comforter.
“Very bad. The Father and Gabriel are on their way here.”
Iliana straightened, and her wide eyes met mine. “What happens if the Father gets struck by one of these bullets?”
“I don’t even want to guess. Anyway, Rogan’s doctor just arrived. Kane watched her pull in on the security cameras upstairs.”
“Upstairs?” she asked.
“Yes. Reuel and I took down the communication tower outside, so we could turn the power back on to the building and the cameras without risking a connection to the Claymore servers.”
“You took down the tree that wasn’t a tree?”
“Yeah.”
“Dad’s gonna be pissed. He loved that thing.”
“Really? It looked ridiculous.”
“He would agree with you, but he was really proud of it. Even decorated it with a crane a few times for Christmas when I was little.”
I laughed softly, imagining Nathan decorating the tower. Iliana’s smile had wilted. I touched her cheek. “You worried about your mom and dad?”
With a nod against my hand, she closed her eyes.
“Come here,” I said softly, pulling her into my arms. I rested my head against hers. “We’re going to get them back. I promise.”
She sniffed. “Can’t we just fly out there and go all Big Bad Wolf on the house?”
I laughed softly. “I like the way you think.” I stroked her hair. “We’ll figure out a plan.”
When I pulled away, she held me close. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
“Me too, Iliana.” I kissed the top of her head and lingered, inhaling deep the scent of green apples and Sloan. “Me too.”
After a moment that could have never lasted long enough, she sat up. “I’ll change and meet you in the infirmary?”
“I’ll see you there.”
Out in the hall, I walked to the last door on the left, the apartment I was sharing with Fury and Anya. When I walked in, Anya was asleep on the sofa. I crept past her to the master bedroom.
Fury was sitting on our bed, with a laptop open on her lap. She looked up like she’d been caught. “Hey.”
I eased the door closed behind me. “Hey. What are you doing?”
Guilt washed over her face, and she turned the laptop around for me to see. On the screen was a paused video of John holding the bike seat for a little boy wearing a helmet.
I walked over and grinned as I sat beside her. “You look like I busted you committing fraud and espionage.”
She wiped her wet cheeks. “I just feel stupid. I don’t get sentimental.”
“It’s okay to have a heart.” I leaned toward her and winked. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
She laughed and closed the laptop. “I wasn’t expecting to see you down here.”
“Ionis is with Cassiel. The doctor is here to treat her.”
“Any word about Huffman?”
I shook my head sadly.
She put her hand on my cheek. “Huffman knew what he was doing when he chose to talk to you. The same as he knew what he was doing when he stuck with the company all these years. He stayed because he wanted to do good. And if he dies for that, then he already deemed it a worthy cause.”
She was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“We’re running out of time,” I said, resting my forehead against her shoulder.
She threaded her fingers up the back of my hair. “Look at us. Me feeling sentimental. You feeling hopeless. Don’t tell me this isn’t a day when the unexpected can happen.”
If she was trying to make me smile, it wasn’t working.
A speaker on the nightstand beeped. “Warren?” Cruz asked.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“The doctor is in with Cassiel now.”
“On my way.” The speaker beeped again and went silent. I looked at Fury. “You coming?”
“Of course. I’ll be right behind you.”
I stood and started toward the door.
“Warren?”
I looked back.
“Don’t give up.”
“I won’t.”
I hoped that was true.
Rogan’s do
ctor was a woman, wearing a suit instead of a lab coat, with neatly parted black-and-gray hair and glasses. She was listening to Cassiel’s heart through a stethoscope when I walked inside.
Shannon and her husband were standing by the nurse’s desk. “Thanks for helping us, Shannon,” I said.
She nodded. “Warren, you remember my husband, Tyrell. Everyone calls him Reese.”
The man reached for my hand, and I shook it. “Of course. Good to see you again, Reese.”
“Do you know where our son is?” he asked.
“I hope he’s on his way back here.”
“So that’s a no,” Shannon said, crossing her arms.
“We have no reason to believe Rogan is in any danger, but as soon as I know anything, I will tell you.”
“Thank you,” Reese said.
Ionis walked out to join us. “Warren, you should go in. The doctor has some questions.”
“Can you go find Dr. Jordan?” I asked Ionis, as none of the other humans in the room would be able to see Iliana’s grandfather.
“Already here,” a man’s voice said behind me.
I turned as Dr. Jordan floated into the room. I hadn’t heard or felt him come through the glass doors. It was a little creepy.
“Can you help make sure I don’t forget to tell the doctor anything?” I asked him.
“Of course.”
Shannon and her husband exchanged a confused glance, and Shannon searched the room for who I might be talking to.
Dr. Jordan followed me to Cassiel’s bedside, opposite from the doctor. He elbowed my arm. “Oh, she’s good,” he whispered, like the woman might be able to hear him.
I ignored him. “Hi, Dr. Swain. Thank you for coming.”
She took the stethoscope out of her ears. “This woman isn’t a human?”
I shook my head, a little surprised by her blunt delivery and curt tone.
She turned back toward Cassiel. “She was shot?”
“Yes. In the abdomen.”
“With?”
“A hollow-point 5.56 round. It did not exit the body and did a lot of damage inside.”
“Isn’t she self-healing?”
“Yes. Normally, she would heal quickly, but the bullet contained an engineered toxin that is causing her body to—”
Dr. Swain stuck her hand in my face. “Decompose.” She peered over the top of her glasses at me. “I can smell it.”
The doctor peeled Cassiel’s blanket from the foot of the bed. Her legs were swollen, and her feet were covered with lesions. “Her kidneys are shutting down.”
She pulled up Cassiel’s gown, exposing her belly. The black hole had spread, so that we could peer down inside the crater. Her insides were mostly liquified.
Even Dr. Jordan gasped with horror.
Dr. Swain covered her back up. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do for this woman.”
“Tell her to do a direct blood transfusion from Iliana to Cassiel,” Dr. Jordan said, gripping my arm.
“She needs a direct blood transfusion from my—”
Dr. Swain cut me off. “We can’t do a direct blood transfusion. That’s ridiculous to even suggest.” She started spouting off all the reasons why it was unsafe and insane, but my mind was spinning on another idea.
My eyes fell to Cassiel’s midsection. To all the blood that had turned a putrid black…
“No. Iliana’s blood won’t work.” I turned to look at Dr. Jordan. “The toxin joins to Rh-null blood cells. Iliana’s blood would only feed the poison.” I grabbed his shoulders—which I was sure looked to Dr. Swain like I was grabbing onto air.
“We need crystal water,” I said.
Ionis was hovering near the doorway. “Crystal water? Of course! Let’s just hop back to Eden and get some. Except, oh wait…we can’t. Or have you forgotten that already?”
“The Morning Star told me he created the crystal water of Eden. Iliana is a more powerful Angel of Life than he is, so she should be able to do the same.”
“Genius.” Ionis crossed his arms. “How are you going to do it?”
“I have no idea.” My excitement over the revelation deflated like a punctured balloon.
“The patient needs to be in a hospital. She needs tests, medicine, round-the-clock care.”
“That isn’t an option. We really need you to help her here.”
Frustration was laced in the creases across the doctor’s forehead.
“I’m sorry. It just isn’t possible,” I insisted.
She huffed. “The patient—”
“The patient’s name is Cassiel,” I said a little louder than I intended. “Trust me, Doctor, you should let this case get personal, and you should treat this woman as if she were your own sister. Because if she dies, we all die. Including you and everyone you love.”
Dr. Swain jerked back. “Are you threatening me?”
“Absolutely not. But this poison is killing the only things”—I gestured around at all the angels—“standing between what’s left of the human race and total annihilation. Blackmouth Fever was only the beginning of the plans our enemies have for mankind, and the only way we can save you is if you first save us.”
“He’s telling you the truth,” Reese said from the nurse’s station.
The doctor looked at Shannon.
With an eyeroll, Shannon nodded.
Before the stunned doctor could gather her wits and reply, a flash of movement caught my eye in the hallway. Iliana and Jett ran into the room.
“What did I miss?” Iliana asked.
“Your dad wants you to create crystal water,” Ionis said.
Iliana’s eyes widened. “I don’t know how to do that. I’m not even sure exactly what it is.”
“No one is sure,” Jett said. “And we don’t have access to it here.”
“What is crystal water?” Shannon asked.
“It’s the life water of Eden,” Jett told her.
Dr. Swain’s eyes pinched with skepticism. “The what of where?”
“Crystal water is the main fuel source where we live. It has incredible healing powers,” Ionis explained. “We don’t know how it was created.”
I looked at Cassiel. “I’ll bet she does.” Returning to Cassiel’s bedside, I took her hand. “Cassiel, can you hear me?”
Nothing.
I leaned closer. “I really need you to find the strength to be my favorite know-it-all again.”
Nothing.
Dr. Swain pried open one of Cassiel’s eyes and flinched. I looked over her arm. The corners of Cassiel’s eyes were webbed with black.
With a heavy sigh, the doctor let the eyelid close. Then she backed slowly toward the nurse’s station where Shannon and Reese were waiting.
I pressed my eyes closed and swore. “Ionis, we need another Angel of Knowledge. Who’s here on Earth?”
“Besides Cassiel, I think the only other Angel of Knowledge here and on our side is Sandalphon. From what I’ve heard, you guys lost him.”
I thought of our conversation with Huffman. “But I know where to find him.” I squeezed Cassiel’s hand. “Hold on a little longer. I’m going to get help.”
Iliana grabbed my arm. “You can’t go back to Claymore. Do you want to end up like Cassiel?”
“Illy, I can’t just stand by and let her die. We still don’t know if this stuff has the ability to destroy her spirit or not. And even if it doesn’t, you don’t understand how difficult it is to be trapped here on this planet without a body. I can’t do that to her.”
“Then I’m going with you,” she said.
“You can’t. You’re the only thing keeping Cassiel alive now. If you go, she’ll die before we even find out if we can save her or not.”
“No,” Jett said.
We both looked at him.
“Rogan has Torman. He’s an Angel of Knowledge, and he’s been close to the Morning Star all these years. If anyone knows, he will.”
“But we don’t know where Rogan and Torman are,”
I reminded him.
His eyes flashed toward Shannon and Reese at the nurse’s station. They were talking quietly with Dr. Swain. “Rogan is back in the States. He borrowed a car in New Jersey. They’re going to drive all night until they get here.”
“Borrowed?” I asked.
Jett grimaced. “Apparently, he ran out of cash trying to get back.”
Behind us, alarm bells sounded on Cassiel’s heart monitor.
“Iliana!” Dr. Jordan called.
She pushed past me with her healing light ready. She pressed it straight down into Cassiel’s chest. Almost instantly, Cassiel’s heart rate returned to normal.
Dr. Swain returned to the bedside, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “What are you?” she asked Iliana.
“She’s the most powerful angel in this room,” Ionis answered.
“She’s the most powerful angel in any room,” Jett corrected him.
I turned toward him. “Rogan has until morning to get back here, or I’m going to Claymore.”
He nodded. “I’ll tell him.”
Cassiel moaned in pain, a downside of being brought back from the brink of death.
“Give her the morphine,” Dr. Jordan ordered.
“I tried earlier, but she didn’t want it,” I said.
“Give it to her anyway. She’s in too much pain to argue.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir?” Confused, Dr. Swain looked around the room. “Who do you keep talking to?”
I walked around to the bedside table. “Do you remember Dr. Robert Jordan?”
“Geriatrics practitioner? Sure. He was a good man. I was sorry to hear of his passing,” she said.
I carried the bottle of morphine over to her. Then I pointed to Dr. Jordan’s spirit by the bed. “Dr. Jordan is right over there.”
“What?” Her voice was horrified.
“Ghosts are real, and a lot of them are stuck here right now. I know this is a lot to ask you to believe, but some things must be making sense to you now.”
“It’s true then?” Dr. Swain took a slow and steady breath. “Blackmouth Fever was an act of terrorism?”
“Cosmic terrorism.” Ionis wiggled his fingers in the air.
“Yes, and worse is coming.” I held out the bottle. “So do you want to administer this, or shall I?”
Dr. Swain looked like she might faint. She swallowed hard but took the bottle from my fingers. “I’ll do it.”