My mouth fell open. That was news to me.
“What are you talking about?”
“The goddess – or whatever she is – she’s angry that she didn’t get her sacrifice. She’s been coming back to Hanna and picking people off. The elders say that she won’t stop until she has you in her claws again.”
I blew a slow breath through my lips, trying to comprehend what Kate was saying. Not only was the goddess still looking for me, she was killing people until she got what she wanted. No one at the manor had thought to share that bit of information with me.
“How many?” I glared into Kate’s big brown eyes. “Tell me, Kate. How many have died?”
She gulped. “Five. Elder Sarah was the first to go. Then Ruth Baker disappeared. Trixie, from the diner. Bonnie disappeared on her way to the town meeting. The last person to go was Queenie. The goddess took her from her home.”
It felt like I’d been shot in the chest. Queenie had been one of my favorite people in the world. Always cheerful, never harsh like Granny. If she was gone, the world had lost a saint.
Kate’s tears were really beginning to fall. Raquel took a Kleenex from her purse and handed it to her without a word. She nodded her thanks and blew her nose before continuing.
“My mom made me take some of the younger girls into Rapid City for a while. We’re hiding out at a house on the south side that belongs to Dr. Richt’s sister, until they can figure out what to do. I was just stopping here to pick up some stuff for the girls.”
It was really bad if the Elders had allowed people to leave town. That had never happened. Not even during the big demon slaughter fifty years ago.
“I’m really scared, Lizzy.” Kate reached out and softly grabbed my hand. When I didn’t pull away, she closed it between both of her clammy hands. “I’m worried about my mom. She won’t come with me. She says she needs to help protect our town. I think the goddess is going to kill her.”
Looking at Kate standing there, so fragile and afraid, I knew I had to do something. In a way, this had all started because of me. It was time it ended with me.
Chapter Twenty-One
As soon as we got back from Rapid City, I marched right up to Luke’s office in the manor and burst through the door. To my surprise, he wasn’t alone like usual. Sitting in the plush black chairs across from Luke’s antique library desk was Gabe and Adam. I was too caught up in my anger about Kate’s news to give them much pause.
“Luke, please tell me you didn’t know the goddess has been picking people off at my hometown?”
The guilty look he shot me told me all I needed to know. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.
“You’re kidding me!” I took a couple of shallow breaths to keep my temper down, but it was reaching boiling point. “From what I heard, the disappearances started the day after Gabe brought me here. All this time, you didn’t say anything? I have a right to know these things.”
“Lizzy…” Gabe began. I put my hand up and refused to be distracted by him. The last thing I needed was his handsome face talking me out of saying what I’d come here to say.
“I didn’t want to upset you.” Luke put his hands on the desk and pressed his fingertips together. In another life, he would’ve made a good therapist. All he needed here was a couch. “You’ve already been through so much.”
“You don’t get to treat me like a child, Luke. I’m sorry you missed that part of my life, but it’s over and done with. I’d appreciate it if you remembered that.”
Luke pressed his lips together and slowly closed his eyes. At the same time, Adam snorted behind me and I could practically feel the leer I knew was smack dab in the middle of his face. I took a step back and nervously tucked the hair behind my ears. As angry as I was for being kept out of the loop, I didn’t want to destroy the relationship Luke and I’d been building.
“Look, I’m sorry for losing my temper.” I sighed, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. “You don’t deserve that. But I want to be kept in the loop from now on.”
Luke sucked in his cheeks and opened his eyes. “I’m sorry, Lizzy. I shouldn’t have been so secretive. You’re absolutely right.” He pointed to the remaining empty black chair. “Please, have a seat. We were just discussing it, actually.”
I glanced at the abnormally quiet Gabe and Adam, and realized quickly that both looked a little worse for wear. Gabe had a cut that extended from his shoulder to his cheek. Adam’s shirt had been shredded across his chest like a giant cat took a swipe at him. Weary expressions pulled at their chiseled jaws.
“What happened to you?” I couldn’t help taking Gabe’s face in my hands and turning it so that I could look at the wound better. It was long, but shallow. No permanent damage. “Were you out patrolling?”
He took my hands in his and pulled them off his face, looking up at me with an earnest expression that melted the remaining anger I had left.
“I’m fine. Adam and I were patrolling the northern woods. We ran into some unsavory company.”
“Don’t worry, I’m okay, too,” Adam grumbled.
I ignored him and turned to Luke, my hands still clasped softly in Gabe’s. “The goddess?”
He nodded. “Please, let’s talk.”
Reluctantly, I pulled my hands out of Gabe’s and sat next to him. Behind me was a large bookshelf that housed works from Socrates to Tina Fey’s memoir. From what I’d learned about Luke so far, he was an eclectic reader. I suppose, when you’d been around for hundreds of years, reading would be one of the ways to remember your humanity. Living in a manor in the middle of a national forest probably isolated most of the Nephilim here. Raquel had become a voracious watcher of reality TV. I didn’t have the heart to tell her most of that stuff was scripted.
Luke leaned forward in his chair and ran a finger over one of the dozen books opened on his desk. “This demon that you call the goddess is known to us as Margaret. She is a deceiver demon that slipped through the gate and took the founder of your little town of Hanna. That is the body she still wears to this day.”
I put my hands on the arm rests of the chair to keep the world from tilting. No wonder this demon had been so obsessed with the women of my town. She’d created it. Her portrait still hung above the altar of the church. That decrepit and decaying creature was once the beautiful and prim Margaret Thatcher. I could hardly wrap my mind around it.
“Unfortunately, Margaret has evaded our capture for hundreds of years. The sacrifices and worship of her by the townspeople of Hanna have made her stronger. She derives power from being worshipped. A human sacrifice would’ve given her an untold amount of power, which is why she wants you back. She’s been attacking your hometown and has taken five of the residents there. I take it you already knew that?”
Clenching my jaw, I nodded. “Do you think they’re still alive?”
Adam choked on a bitter laugh. “Doubtful. If they aren’t dead by now, they’re wishing they are.”
I gave him a cold stare which he returned with a haughty lift of his chin.
“No, I’m afraid they’re dead,” Luke said with a somber tone, turning my attention back to them. “And now, it seems like Margaret has added a new strategy. She’s started attacking Nephilim patrols near the Hell Gate. This is the third attack this week.”
“Why is she so obsessed with finding me?” It wasn’t like I was the only person in the entire Black Hills.
“Deceivers have one-track minds,” Gabe said. He raked a hand through his already messy hair. “She’ll hunt you down until the day she dies. You’re the sacrifice that got away. Deceivers aren’t used to losing.”
“Then no one will be safe while she’s out there,” I said bitterly.
All because of me. People were dying because of me. In a sick and twisted way, this was all my fault. Not that I regretted saving Gabe, but my actions had led to this demon stalking my town, and now the Nephilim that had granted me shelter.
“What can we do to stop her?”
“I’ve doubled the patrols. We’re trying to lure her out, but this demon is wilier than your average deceiver. She’s got about a thousand years of experience surviving in the Black Hills. I’ve found some references to her in old journals, and I’m doing as much research as I can. All I know is, it won’t be easy.”
“That, and she has the frustrating habit of running away before we can confront her,” Gabe added.
“Except for today.” Adam pursed his lips and crossed his arm. If he wasn’t so infuriating, I would’ve thought he looked like a little boy that didn’t get his way. “Today, she was only too happy to show her face and get in a few swipes.”
“That’s because we were distracted,” Gabe replied. “When we took down those two ferals, she saw an opportunity. I’m just glad it was us and not one of the new warriors out there. She nearly dragged Adam off before we could fight her off.”
A flush crept up Adam’s neck. It was a nice change, seeing him embarrassed like that.
“I would’ve killed her if you hadn’t gotten in the way, trying to be all heroic. Now, we have no idea when she’ll strike again.”
A thought suddenly struck me. “Will she attack the manor?”
There were kids and humans here who didn’t stand a chance against her. With no fence guarding the joint, I didn’t imagine we’d stand much of a chance.
“No.” Luke fixed his pale blue eyes on mine with a reassuring tilt of his head. “You’ll be safe here. We have protection methods that work better than walls or fences. Surrounding the manor is a system of blessings and demon boundaries that have remained effective since we built the place. Rest assured, she’s not coming in here to get you.”
I imagined a priest walking around the grounds and sprinkling holy water everywhere, but couldn’t imagine what the other demon boundaries could be. That was a question for another day.
Adam snapped his fingers and nearly jumped out of his chair. “If she won’t come here to get her, maybe we should take the girl to it.”
Gabe stood, his shoulders tensed. “I hope you’re not suggesting we just give Lizzy up to the demon.”
Adam lazily rested his eyes on me. “Tempting. At least no more Nephilim would get hurt.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. As much as I hated Adam, he had a point. Once the demon got me, she’d stop attacking innocent people. But the thought of being in her clutches again made me want to crawl beneath my chair and hide.
“Over my dead body,” Gabe growled.
Adam put up his hands in defense. “As nice as a solution that would be, that’s not what I was actually suggesting.” He stood and began to play with a marble horsehead bookend on Luke’s desk. “The way I see it, we’re never going to kill her if she keeps up with these random little waves of attack. The best way to get her is to have some assurance that she’ll show up. Your little girlfriend can provide that insurance.”
“Use her as bait?” Gabe had closed his hands into tight fists at his side. “No way in hell.”
They began arguing with each other while Luke stood up and tried to talk them into calming down. No one heard me clear my throat. It wasn’t until I threw my hands in the air and shouted, did they pause their yelling and look at me.
“Maybe Adam’s got a good idea,” I told them.
It was hard to keep the trembling out of my voice, but I think I managed it. Acting as the wriggling worm on the end of a hook wasn’t exactly my idea of a perfect plan, but it was the only thing that could work. Until Margaret Thatcher was killed, the senseless killings and attacks were going to be on my conscience.
Adam’s triumphant grin did nothing to help the nerves go away. He worked his jaw, like he wanted to say something smart, but remained silent.
“I won’t let you,” Gabe said, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Gabe’s right,” Luke added with a sharp nod of his head. “I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”
And just like that, I was shut down.
Adam started another round of argument as I sat down and rubbed my temples. We were getting nowhere. The goddess was out there, still hunting for me. I couldn’t go to her and she couldn’t come to me. How many people were going to die before she got what she wanted?
Chapter Twenty-Two
I ate dinner that night with Raquel and the three other nineteen-year-olds she trained with every day. Despite the delicious fillet mignon paired with perfectly whipped potatoes and bright green asparagus, my attention wandered over the room. Adam was sitting two tables away with Ashley, Bree, and Dominic. He kept making eye contact with me and raising his eyebrows. I wasn’t sure if he was hitting on me or trying to tell me something. I hoped it was the latter.
The meeting with Luke had produced zero results. I’d been banned from moving forward with Adam’s plan, and the three of them had basically reached an impasse. The patrols would continue to search for the goddess, and I would stay in the manor like a good little girl. Not that I wanted to put my life in jeopardy, but it just didn’t seem fair to everyone else in harm’s way that I was here, safe and sound, where Margaret Thatcher couldn’t reach me.
Grinding my teeth in frustration, I said goodnight to Raquel’s friends and headed toward the lobby. There were some leather chairs tucked in a corner, and I planned on hiding there until I stopped feeling so antisocial. Maybe with a good book and a little alone time, my head would stop buzzing with restless anger.
“Lizzy!”
Gabe’s voice reached me before I could sit in one of the brown leather chairs. I turned to see him walking toward me, a bandage peeking out from under his clean t-shirt at the neck. Even though he’d been attacked just hours earlier, he was nearly back to normal; which meant he looked as gorgeous as ever, with the shirt that clung a little too tight to his trim torso and stretched to cover his muscular arms. Even his customary frown sent a thrill through me.
“What do you need?” I bit my bottom lip until it stung, in the effort to distract myself. It didn’t work.
“Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. We’re going to find a way to kill that demon without putting you in harm’s way. I promise.”
I looked at him through my lashes. It was starting to become clear to me why Gabe acted the way he did around me. He was a protector. He couldn’t help himself. That’s why he made such a great warrior.
“Lizzy, I can’t let you get hurt,” Gabe said, stepping closer. “You’re my partner, now. We’re in this together. Just remember that.”
I closed the gap between us and put my hands on his shoulders. They tensed under my touch as I reached up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his cheek. Maybe it didn’t make up for the fact that he was putting his life on the line for me, but it felt good to touch him and show him I appreciated his help.
His cheek was surprisingly soft underneath my lips. I heard him swallow and work his jaw while I pulled away. A dark flush filled his cheeks. For once, I wasn’t nervous around him.
“Goodnight, Gabe.”
He blinked a few times and then nodded his head. I sat down in the leather chair and watched him ascend the stairs, his eyes firmly planted to the ground in front of him.
He was only gone for a minute when Adam came strutting through the lobby, his eyes zooming straight in on mine. My stomach sank when I saw Ashley at his side. His hand was on her backside, sinking lower and lower. She whispered something into his ear which I was glad I couldn’t hear from my chair.
They stopped by the chair opposite me.
“Lizzy, can we talk?” Adam asked.
Ashley pursed her lips and stared at me like I was a worm on the sidewalk. Reluctantly, I nodded. It wasn’t like I could run and hide. They had me cornered.
“So, about the meeting we had earlier today…” he raised his eyebrow, as if hoping I would pick up what he was throwing down. “You know… the one about bait?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yes…”
“I think we should go ahead with the plan.” He plopped himself in the empty leather chair and draped his arm across the back.
“But Luke…”
“Luke’s too cautious. So is Gabe. They’re going to get more people killed if we don’t take action soon.”
Ashley looked back and forth between us, her lower lip pushing out into the perfect pout. “Tell me you’re not working with her. I thought we were going to have nothing to do with her.”
Adam shrugged. “If we want to get rid of that deceiver demon, Lizzy’s going to play an integral part of the plan.”
I closed the book in my lap and leaned back into the plush leather. As much as I wanted to stop the goddess, I hadn’t considered going rogue and sidestepping Luke and Gabe. They’d lock me up forever if they found out. That was, if the goddess didn’t kill me first.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I started. “We don’t even know where to find her.”
“Oh, she’ll come,” he said with a grin. “She’s got a taste for your blood. Trust me, she’ll show up.”
“But…”
Adam clicked his tongue and leaned forward in his chair.
“And here I was, thinking you would do anything to save the rest of your friends in that little dump of a town. I mean, for all you know, Margaret Thatcher’s demon could be snatching another one as we speak.” He ran a hand along the armrest, looking at me through his thick brown lashes. “Or what if she attacks Gabe again? You know that we barely got away. Next time, Gabe might not be so lucky.”
I swallowed hard. Those were the exact thoughts that had been bouncing around my head all evening.
When I didn’t answer, Adam grinned as if I’d verbally agreed to his plan and pulled Ashley into his lap. She squealed and hit him on the shoulder playfully, before disengaging herself and moving to the chair next to him. I tried hard not to vomit on their laced combat boots.
“I want to do it tonight,” Adam said. He waited until I looked up in surprise before continuing. “Before anyone else has a chance to be hurt.”
Heart of a Demon: A New Adult Paranormal Romance Page 14