The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2)

by Felicity Kross

  Uden’s presence, the only other darkness besides my in this base, is easy to follow. I break down the door to the empty storage room they’re holding him in. The angel watching him is that same guard who was terrified of me, the same one I used against Imae when I fought her. He looks surprised to see me, I can smell the fear on him, but he doesn’t back down. He swings at me with his silver sword. He’s faster than I gave him credit for. He stops me from reaching Uden and decapitating him. Instead of stabbing me like I expect him to, the angel kicks me square in the chest, sending me skidding across the floor and to a wall.

  “Stand down,” the guard warns as he points his sword at me. He’s shaking, but it looks like he means what he says. His orange eyes aren’t wavering. I’ll give him that much.

  Uden sits helplessly on the floor, impaled and chained by silver, but at least he managed to reattach his arm. He’s got one thing going for him. The angel and I circle around him, watching each other.

  “I’m here to help you,” I say. “I’m here to put this demon out of his misery.”

  I jump over Uden, claws extended as I knock the angel’s sword out of his hands. I’m about to rip out his heart by tearing through his silver armor when another angel jumps at me and pins me to the wall. Valor. She holds my neck with one hand for a moment before she replaces that hand with her silver sword.

  “Stand down,” she says with a serenity that makes me want to get even wilder.

  I growl, taking out my claws, fully intent on ripping through her silver armor instead. She responds by pressing her silver sword right against my throat making me bleed. I repress the urge to cough. The burning sensation is painful, but nothing compared to Cassius’s bare hands.

  “I’m not against killing you, Arsen,” she informs. “Cassius may want you to live, but if you’re causing too much trouble, I’ll put you down here and now. I’ll tell him there was an accident.”

  “What a bunch of shit,” I say with a growl. “Do it if you mean it, because I’d rather die than kill Yuki for you bastards. I know you want me to. I know you’re going to make Tasia force me to do it.”

  Valor opens her mouth slowly. “Yuki? You act as if you care for her. How is she any different from any of the other demons you’ve killed before? Is it because you’ve used her? Is it because she’s your pet? Maybe you regard her as one of your most prized possessions and it’s a matter of greed.”

  I don’t respond.

  “Regardless, if Yuki really means that much to you, based on your actions here, shouldn’t you be able to resist Tasia should she tell you to kill her?”

  I stay silent. She does have a point. I did almost kill the angel guarding Uden. I almost felt like myself again, but I’m not myself. If Tasia was right there with me, and Yuki was standing in front of me, if Tasia told me to kill her, and she kept telling me to kill her, I doubt my resolve. I doubt I’d be able to go against her. Yuki would die at my hands. That’s what I think. I don’t want to face that reality, and that’s why I came here now.

  “You are a coward, son of Maelstrom,” Valor states. “For that alone, I will see to it that you meet Yuki and face your fears. Don’t disappoint me.”

  She cuts my neck just a little deeper, and then she lets me go. I see the made angel in the room now too, carrying a set of chains identical to Uden’s.

  “Give me the chains, Rynne,” Valor says as she sheaths her sword.

  The made angel hands them over. I growl at the sight of them, but Valor moves fast, catching my wrists and shoving the silver bar through my hands as she cuffs me. I bite my lip so hard it bleeds, rather than allowing myself to scream in pain. She does the same to my feet, and then she gives me a silver collar like Uden’s. I want to fight more, but I already feel my strength getting sapped. It hurts, but no pain is equal to what Cassius put me through recently. However, I see how effective these bindings are. I’m getting weaker by the second. Soon standing is even too much effort, and I fall down to my knees. It’s a slow drain of life essence, wounds not serious enough to drain my life essence too quickly, but serious enough that they take energy from my body in a constant steady stream. If angels had ever done anything like this to the demons they keep in the Dregs, they’d have died the next day because of the bloodletting they have to undergo. That must be why I’ve never seen them used before. It must be an older method, something angels used when they were first getting demons under control.

  “What are you doing,” I demand, but my voice sounds quieter than I intend, another result of the silver bindings. “I thought I was supposed to help you bastards. How am I supposed to do that like this?”

  “You almost cost us a valuable informant. I’d say you’ve helped quite enough. And now I know how to break you,” Valor replies. “Depending on how long it takes Uden to give up the information we need about Yuki, information he must obviously be hiding if you are so intent on killing him, will decide on how long you are chained up for. You’ve been causing too much trouble. However, once we find Yuki and once you’re forced to face her and kill her, I doubt this will ever be necessary again.”

  She turns her attention to Uden. “If you tell me everything you know about other natural demons, I’ll arrange for you to live. You won’t be allowed to live in Terra, but you will be allowed to go back to Ilenima. You’ll be allowed to live in the Dregs with every other demon. Your only other option is death. Make the better choice.”

  Without hesitation, Uden replies, “I accept that deal.”

  “You worthless piece of shit!” I shout. “With an attitude like that you won’t live in the Dregs for long. There is no Favor. There is no safe haven. I haven’t been to Ilenima for a long time, but you haven’t been there for even longer. You left when angels started taking over the damn place and never went back for a reason, and now imagine how bad it must be there. It would be better to die. The demons there probably believe that. To them, freedom is probably worth more than death.”

  “And yet there are still demons in the Dregs,” Uden shoots back. “Obviously freedom can’t mean that much if they still pick life over it.” He glares at me with his almost all white eyes. “Freedom is priceless, but if there is no chance at it, what’s the point? Even the proudest and most powerful demons understand that.”

  He focuses on Valor. “You said you wanted Yuki’s location? That’s an easy one. She came to me the day after Arsen told her to leave him, a week or so ago now. She said she’d be in California, Hollywood specifically. Apparently she heard there was a studio there looking to make a horror film, and she thought it sounded like it could be amusing. She’s kept in touch with me, and she told me she’s signed on. Monster Works is what they are called. I’m sure you can look them up online and find contact information if that’s what you want. Yuki said she’d be filming with them for a few months.”

  “Why the hell would she tell you so much information?” I snap.

  “She wanted to make it easy for you to find her, Arsen.”

  I growl and struggle against the silver bar piercing through my hands, ripping my hands apart as they slide against the cuffs holding the silver bar in place. I try to force the cuffs to give so I can get out of this trap, but I don’t have enough strength. I use my teeth to bite down on the silver bar instead. If not for the constant drain of life essence, if not for the constant drain of overall energy, I would be able to snap it easily, but as I am, I can’t. The angels really know what they’re doing with this. I stop when I see it’s futile.

  Fuck.

  “I’m going to kill you myself,” I tell Uden. “That’s a promise.”

  “Arsen, your threats really don’t mean anything here,” he replies, unfazed. “Besides, you’ve proved how weak you are. I never had anything to fear from you in the first place.”

  “Bellamy,” Valor says, looking at the orange eyed angel. “I need you to stay here and watch over Arsen and Uden while I get things arranged.” She turns to the made angel. “Rynne, you’re coming with me.”<
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  “Bellamy?” I ask. “So you do have a name.”

  The skittish angel glances at me.

  I bare my teeth and say, “I’ll make you the same promise. As soon as I get the chance, I’ll kill you too.”

  I FOLLOW THE CONFIDANT as we leave Arsen and Uden in Bellamy’s care. She’s walking so quickly I have to speed walk just to try and keep up with her.

  “Confidant Valor!” I shout.

  She slows her pace, until she comes to a complete stop, allowing me to catch up to her.

  “Yes?” she responds.

  “Was all of that really necessary? And what were you talking about? You said if Arsen really cared for Yuki, he’d be able to fight against Tasia’s hold on him. Is that true?”

  “It would be an interesting test,” she replies.

  “It’s cruel,” I say. “If he really does care about Yuki, if it’s really possible for a demon to care that much, so much that he’d go through such lengths to try and protect her, why would you pin him against her? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “But is it really possible for a demon to care? It seems even less plausible for a demon to love,” she replies.

  “Maybe,” I say. “I’ve only ever known made demons to be just as vile as the demons who created them, but yesterday I met a woman who was a werebeast, and she wasn’t anything like the demon who created her. She wasn’t even like her own made demon kind. She was willing to sacrifice her life in order to stop herself from killing others.”

  I try to make sure that the confidant understands the significance of what I’m saying as I gaze into her eyes.

  “If she could care like that,” I say, “maybe it’s possible for a natural demon to do the same. Arsen may be many things, but I think I can figure out when he’s lying versus when he’s telling the truth. He was honestly upset at the thought of being pitted against Yuki. He cares for her. Who knows what she really is to him, but he doesn’t want to kill her. Doesn’t that mean something?”

  The confidant replies, “Be that as it may, I’m not going back on my word. Arsen will face Yuki.”

  “Please,” I beg. “What good does this do us?”

  “Yuki is a demon. She’s just one of many we are to eliminate from Terra.”

  “Then one of us should execute her. Don’t make Arsen do it.”

  Her blue eyes shine brightly. “So stop me, Rynne.”

  I don’t know what to do, say, or think. She isn’t challenging me. She isn’t look for a rise. It’s a simple statement. Nothing more and nothing less.

  My overseer, Imae, appears from down the hall. As soon as she sees me with the confidant, without Arsen, her face pales more than its already naturally pale color.

  “Where were you?” The confidant demands immediately.

  Imae comes up to us, and she bows her head to the confidant. “I apologize, Confidant. No excuse.”

  “That’s right,” the confidant replies. “Never leave your post like that again.”

  “Understood.”

  “Having said that, you are no longer Arsen’s babysitter. He’s currently in detention with Uden.”

  “Understood.”

  “I do, however, want you to keep an eye on him and Uden along with Bellamy. Go there now.”

  “As you wish.”

  Imae slips past us and on to her new assignment.

  “Rynne, I’m going to send you, Tasia, Imae, and Arsen to California first thing in the morning,” the confidant informs.

  “Really?” I ask, slightly confused. “Why us four?”

  “Because you four is all it will take,” she says.

  The confidant resumes her way down the hall. This time I don’t follow.

  What should I do? I can’t think of the right thing to do. I can’t think. I’ll go to the gym and clear my head. I’ll think better there. I make my way to the gym. It’s late, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not going to sleep. Just before entering, I run into Blade and Divya exiting after a workout.

  “You’ll probably be hearing from Confidant Valor soon,” I say abruptly. They need to know what’s going on, and I want to be the first to tell them. “Arsen has been locked up in confinement with Uden, and the confidant plans on sending a team, consisting of me, Tasia, Imae, and Arsen, out to California to eliminate Yuki first thing in the morning. The confidant believes that will break Arsen once and for all.”

  “What?!” Blade demands, clearly upset.

  “I thought you should know,” I say.

  Blade looks like she wants to say something else, but she responds with, “Thank you for telling me.”

  “You’re okay with it even though Arsen’s been pushing Tasia so hard?”

  Blade looks at me as if she’s not sure how she should answer that question. She must see me as one of the angels, so she probably finds my question strange—or maybe not. The angels haven’t done anything against the hunters. Blade has agreed to cooperate with them, so nothing has been done without her permission. If she really didn’t like something, she should speak up. The confidant tried to make that known, but it’s hard to go against an angel. I know how intimidating they are. What does a human really know compared to an angel? But because the confidant is trying to maintain a good relationship with the EEA, if Blade says she isn’t okay with this, it might be enough to stop the confidant.

  “If Tasia is okay with it, I’m okay with it,” Blade replies.

  “I see,” I say.

  And that means this will happen. Tasia will insist on going, and Blade will support her.

  Damn it.

  “What do you have planned, Rynne?” Divya asks.

  “What are you talking about?” Blade asks.

  “Just what I said,” she replies without taking her eyes off me.

  Divya’s been observing everything that’s been happening the past couple weeks more than anyone. She must see I’m not happy with this arrangement. I can’t help but think she is unhappy with it too. She hasn’t spoken her mind, but I’ve seen her actions. I’ve seen her compassion—even for Arsen. I saw her care for him.

  I meet her gaze and say, “I’m going to follow my heart and do what I believe is right, even if the world is against me.”

  I SIT ON THE floor in my room on a yoga mat first thing in the morning. I’m meditating, being totally at peace. A lot has happened, but I don’t have my emotions driving me crazy. It’s never been so easy to meditate. It’s almost like I’ve ascended to some other plane. There’s no room to feel here.

  I told Rynne we should break up, and I meant it. It’s not that I don’t love Rynne, but I don’t feel like I need to be attached to him like I did before. Maybe I don’t love him the way I thought I did. It’s hard to tell. My feelings aren’t a factor anymore. I just know what I have to do, and I do it. It’s a lot easier this way. A lot easier.

  A knock sounds at my door.

  I open my eyes and say, “Come in.”

  Valor reveals herself, standing tall in all her silver armored glory. She looks me over, but she doesn’t bother with a greeting.

  “I have a job for you,” she says. “I want you to crush Arsen. I want you to break him so there will be no more fight in him. I found out how you can make him completely submissive.”

  “I’m listening,” I say, hanging on her every word.

  “Uden gave us Yuki’s location. She seems to be the only thing Arsen cares about even remotely. In whatever way he cares about her, it’s a strong enough feeling that he let Uden get away before. He even tried killing Uden under our watch.”

  “Attachment? Caring? Arsen?” I ask. “Arsen doesn’t care about anyone or anything.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t,” Valor agrees. “But he still doesn’t want to fight Yuki for whatever his twisted reasoning might be. He doesn’t want to kill her, but I want you to make sure that he does. Even if he cries and begs, you can’t give in to him.”

  “Cries and begs? If he does something like that, he’ll just be trying another w
ay to get under my skin. His tricks don’t work on me anymore. I’ll do what has to be done,” I say. “Nothing Arsen says or does will stop me from carrying out this mission.”

  “Good, because making him sever this only connection he cares about is all it will take.”

  “Demons don’t feel. They’re evil, and evil doesn’t deserve any leniency,” I say.

  Valor smiles. “Spoken just like the oracle,” she comments.

  “I learned from the best,” I reply.

  “You certainly have. Good luck, Tasia. You should set out immediately. I’ll come with you to where Arsen is being held, and I’ll explain everything. If all goes well, you’ll be finished with this assignment by the end of the day.”

  I say, “The sooner the better.”

  “WOW,” I SAY AS I enter the storage room to find Arsen bound just like Uden in the same kind of silver restraints. “You really must’ve crossed the line this time.”

  I glance at Valor. She’s explaining everything to Imae, so I go back to focusing on Arsen. The demon beside Arsen eyes me, looking between me and Valor, but he doesn’t say anything.

  “You can’t break out of these chains?” I ask.

  But, for once, Arsen isn’t paying attention to me. He’s listening to what Valor’s telling Imae, about how we’ll be going to California, and how we’re going to find Yuki and exterminate her.

  I don’t mind him being silent instead of talking back for once.

  I look at the restraints and see all I have to do is unclip them. There are a fair amount of clasps, but I don’t see anything requiring a key. Demons must really hate silver. This set up specifically must really leave a demon weak if they can’t get out of this themselves. I start by unclasping the silver cuffs from Arsen’s hands and feet. He has the energy to pull out the silver bar skewering his hands and feet, but it takes a lot of shaking and effort. He tosses the silver aside as he grunts. The last thing I do is take off his collar. I see the wounds in his neck continue to bleed even though the collar is gone. The same goes for his hands and feet. This is the kind of effect silver has on a demon. He’ll feel better soon enough though, I’m sure. Immortals heal fast.