by Diem, J. C.
“We can’t let them have the object,” I said. “If it really is powerful, I’m going to need it to fight the Hellmaster.”
“It would be wise to allow our allies to keep hold of the pieces for now,” Sophia cautioned me. “We will have to find a way to steal them back when it is time for you to face your ultimate foe.”
If her vision of me dying from the Wraith Warrior’s toxin came true, I’d never get the chance to face off against my arch nemesis. I had to find the cure before it was too late for me to save humanity from the coming darkness.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fifteen
Without Brie here to spy on us, I could tell the guys what we’d discovered during their absence. “Sophia and I have some good news for you,” I said.
“That would be a nice change,” Leo muttered.
“What is it?” Nathan asked. His tone was dubious and I couldn’t really blame him. So many things had gone wrong lately that it was hard to believe anything could actually go our way for once.
“Sophia isn’t chained here by the demon wards.”
Nathan, Leo and Sam were confused by my statement for a moment, then hope flared in Nathan’s dark blue eyes. “Does this mean she can leave Manhattan?”
Sophia’s smile was wide when she nodded. “That is correct. While you three were gone, we asked Brie to take us to the Brooklyn Bridge. I was able to walk through the barrier without setting off an alarm.”
“That is good news,” Sam said doubtfully, “but why would you want to leave the city?” His expression was bordering on being disappointed, as if he thought she intended to flee and not come back.
“There might be something in my old apartment that could help me win this war,” I said.
“What is it?” Leo queried. His eyes narrowed in suspicion when I didn’t answer him straight away. “Please do not tell me you are keeping more secrets from us.”
I exchanged a look with Sophia, silently asking her how I should proceed. She took over and I held my breath, waiting for her to come up with a plausible explanation. “I received a vision regarding Violet’s missing soul.”
Everyone turned to me and I did my best not to strangle on the breath I was still holding. I motioned for her to go on and surreptitiously let the air out before my face turned blue.
“Asteraoth removed Violet’s essence when she was just a baby,” she went on. “She has placed it in a safe location. I was not shown exactly where her soul is. I believe it is still in Denver.”
“Why did your mother remove your soul?” Leo asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied irritably. “She never said anything about any of this to me. I only just figured out that she was a former angel. Who knows why she removed my soul?”
We all looked at Sophia and I hoped I’d bought her enough time to come up with a reason.
“Violet was chosen to be the savior of this world,” she reminded us. “Her soul is different from everyone else’s. Asteraoth must have removed it out of fear that the demons could sense it and could use it to track them both down.”
Relief coursed through me as the guys bought her story. She hadn’t lied, she just hadn’t told them the entire truth.
“How will you get into the apartment to search it?” Leo asked. “New tenants are probably living there by now.” He sent me an apologetic look even though he was probably right.
“I will figure that out when I get there,” Sophia said serenely.
“When will you leave?” Nathan queried.
“I will have to check to see when the first bus will be leaving tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you just fly there?” I asked.
She shuddered hard. “The thought of being thirty-thousand feet in the air without wings of my own fills me with horror.”
“Okay, travelling by bus it is,” I said in sympathy. I felt a bit better since I wasn’t the only one in the team who had a phobia. “I’ll check the internet and find out the bus schedule.”
She nodded her thanks and I headed for the counter where she kept a laptop. It took me only a few minutes to find the information I needed. “A bus will be leaving from the Port Authority Bus Terminal at eight tomorrow morning.” At least she wouldn’t have to catch the bus from Chinatown where I’d been dumped when I’d first entered the city. Then again, Nathan or Leo could easily teleport her to Chinatown in an instant.
“That will be fine,” she said. “I will most likely be gone for several days. You boys will have to be vigilant and watch over Violet.”
“We will not let her out of our sight,” Sam vowed.
“Except when she needs to go to the bathroom,” Leo added. “I would not like to volunteer for that particular duty.”
I sniggered, reminded of my earlier exchange with Brie about this exact topic.
“If you do manage to find Violet’s soul,” Nathan said, “how will it help her in her mission?”
“We’re not sure,” I replied. “Maybe it will help me fight off the toxin from the Wraith Warrior.”
Hope lit his face. “Could that be the cure Fate told you of?”
“There is a cure?” Sam said in astonishment. “Why did you not tell us of this sooner?”
“Because she didn’t tell me what it is,” I told him. “I’m hoping that getting my soul back will give me more strength so I don’t have to rely on the legion so much.” There was also a possibility that one of the demons that were inside me would take possession of me once I had my soul back. The only reason they couldn’t control me now was that I was soulless. I’d worry about that if and when my missing essence turned up.
“It will be interesting to see what powers you might gain when you have your essence restored,” Leo mused. “Being Hellscourge, there has never been anyone quite like you before.”
I smiled and hid my trepidation. He had no idea how right he was about that. Being a new breed of Nephilim and the only half-angel, half-demon, I had no way of knowing what sort of powers I’d have. There was no way for me to know what I’d be capable of until after my soul was back where it belonged.
I’d had a long, trying day and was exhausted enough that I went to bed early. I woke up in time to see Sophia off. She’d packed a small bag with a few changes of clothes.
“Be careful,” I warned her and gave her a hug. “Demons might be watching the building.” I’d written down my old address for her and had given her directions on how to find the building.
“I will watch carefully before attempting to approach the apartment,” she replied and hugged me back. I was worried about her and she hadn’t even left yet. She didn’t have the ability to see or sense demons. Her bracelet hid her from their view, but she no longer possessed enough magic to teleport to safety if she needed to flee.
“Call us if you find my soul,” I said. She didn’t have a cell phone, but she should be able to find a pay phone somewhere in the city.
Leo slanted me a look. “If anyone ever overheard our conversations, they would think that we were crazy.”
I sighed, realizing how strange my words had been. This was my life now. Nothing could be classed as normal anymore.
“Stay out of trouble while I am gone,” Sophia ordered me.
I smiled instead of taking offense. She was one of the few people who could get away with telling me what to do. “I’m not planning on leaving this building for at least a few days,” I responded. Reynolds was out there somewhere, probably wondering what the hell had happened to me. It was best for me to lie low and stay out of sight for a while.
“That is probably for the best,” Sophia agreed. “I will let you know if I am successful or not.” With that, Leo teleported her away from the store.
“We should do some training,” I said before Sam could slink off to watch TV. It was a good idea for both of us to hone our skills. At least I had a chance of winning against him. He was even more inept than I’d been when I’d first started learning how to fight.
Huffing out a for
lorn sigh, Sam went to retrieve the wooden sticks that we used to practice stabbing each other with.
Nathan turned his chair around so he could watch us. Leaning back, his long legs were crossed at the ankles and his arms were folded across his chest. His dark gray t-shirt was just tight enough to show his muscled arms and abs.
Sam snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Violet. Are we going to train or are you going to stare at Nathanael all day?”
I flushed and caught Nathan’s amused smile before I resolutely turned away from him. I always became mesmerized when I looked at him for too long. He was just as fascinated with me and I felt his eyes on me as I lunged at Sam.
Leo returned after a few minutes and took a seat beside my guardian. I grew tired far too easily and had to give up after half an hour. White spots were dancing in front of my eyes and my legs were wobbly. “I have to stop,” I said.
Nathan was on his feet in an instant. His arm came around my waist and he guided me to my seat.
“I will make you some tea,” Sam offered and scurried off to the kitchen.
“How are you going to fight the demons when your health is failing more and more every day?” Leo asked in concern.
“The toxin doesn’t affect me in the same way when I’m in hell,” I said without thinking.
He and Nathan both went still. Sam dropped the kettle in the sink and it landed with a metallic clink. “How does it affect you when you are in their dimension?” Nathan asked.
No power on this planet could have forced me to tell him the truth. “I think the legion leech the poison away somehow,” I lied. I felt guilty for being untruthful, but I couldn’t let them know that I was turning into a demon. “They’re a lot closer to the surface in hell. When I’m here, they’re shoved to the back of my brain.”
“I wish you did not have to face the danger of becoming an imp while you are in hell,” Nathan said and brushed my hair back from my face with a finger. “It sounds as though you are stronger when you are there.”
I nodded bleakly. “That’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked.
“The toxin is affecting me in both worlds. It’s killing me here, but it’s changing me in hell. Maybe it’s making me turn into an imp far faster than normal.” Turning into an imp wasn’t as bad as becoming a demon, but they were both horrified at the prospect.
“We will not allow you to die or to become a monster,” Nathan said, as if he could somehow stop the process by the force of his will alone.
“I agree,” Sam said from the doorway. His expression was profoundly sad. “We will not allow you to become like me.”
“I did not mean it like that,” my guardian said.
“I know,” Sam replied. “Yet it is the truth. I am not a human and Violet faces the danger that she will become like me if she spends too long in the underworld. We must do everything in our power to save her from that fate.” We both knew I’d become something far worse than an imp if the toxin spread throughout my body. To me, death would be better than turning into a Demon Lord.
₪₪₪
Chapter Sixteen
Brie arrived while I was making myself a sandwich for lunch. Leo was in the middle of training Sam and Nathan was sitting at the table. I heard Brie’s voice filter through the open door. “Where is Sophia?” I didn’t know how she knew it was me in the kitchen instead of Sophia.
“She has gone out,” Nathan replied.
“Out where?” Brie’s tone was insistent and demanding, as if she had a right to know our every move.
Nathan’s reply was cool. “It does not concern you.”
“When will she be back?”
Leo halted his training session. “Why do you want to know so badly?” he asked. “Do you intend to report every little thing that we do to your superiors?”
I carried my breakfast on a tray into the front room in time to see her scowl. “I did not inform them of your abandonment of Violet yesterday,” she said sulkily.
“I wondered why they hadn’t turned up here to lecture us,” I said as I took my seat.
She shot me a dark look then ignored me. “Sophia is my friend. I am simply concerned about her.”
Leo looked as skeptical as I felt about that. “She is fine and she will return in a few days.”
Brie put two and two together. “She has left the city?” At her twin’s nod, she shook her head. “What could be so important that she would choose to leave now? Was she sent a vision that told her to leave? Where did she go?”
Nathan fielded that question. “She is acting on a hunch and nothing more. Her journey might not amount to anything and it is pointless to tell you more at this time.”
She studied his set face and realized that he didn’t trust her enough to tell her where Sophia had gone or what she was up to. “It is not wise to keep secrets from your allies,” she said darkly.
“In that case, what are Hagith and Orifiel planning?” Leo asked. Her lips thinned in annoyance that he’d turned her words back on her. “I am sure they are keeping us updated with everything that they are doing.” His dry tone reflected his doubt about that.
“They are working on a plan that will fight back the demon hordes with the least number of human casualties.”
“Really?” I said in exaggerated surprise. “I thought they were working on saving their own butts because people aren’t worth their time and effort.”
“They have not given up on humans,” she argued. “They are simply gathering as many of our kind as they can first. Once they have found all of the angels that are trapped here, they will then figure out how they will stop the demons from overwhelming Manhattan and then the rest of the world.”
I rolled my eyes at their grandiose plan. We’d already had this discussion without her. We’d come to the conclusion that our allies wouldn’t be able to use the objects that they’d stolen from us. We wisely kept silent about it. They couldn’t know that we’d been snooping around their not so secret headquarters.
Our conversation stalled and I focused on eating. My peanut butter sandwich tasted bland and unappetizing. Bit by bit, all of the joy was being sucked out of my life. Even colors seemed more washed out now. The poison inside me was responsible for this, or so I assumed.
Leo and Sam resumed their training with Nathan watching on. Brie stared glumly at the tabletop. If I hadn’t disliked her so much, I could almost feel sorry for her. I knew what it felt like to be ignored and ostracized. Unfortunately, she’d brought this on herself by defecting to the other side.
As if sensing that my thoughts were on her, she turned to me. “Why are you not training? You require practice if you wish to retain what little combat skills you have gained.”
I took my time chewing and swallowing before I deigned to respond. “I’m too weak. My insides are rotting at a faster rate now.”
She blanched at the reminder that I was tainted and her upper lip curled. “You should not be sitting around here doing nothing. You should be out scouring the city for the next portal to hell. Your time is limited and you only have a few months left to accomplish your goals.”
“I’m laying low for a few days while I get my strength back,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, the cops saw me get shot off the roof of the church. My body wasn’t found, so they’ll be searching for me. It probably isn’t a good idea to be walking the streets right now.”
She couldn’t argue with that logic and subsided into silence again.
I hadn’t lied about my plan to rest for a few days. An idea had been forming in the back of my mind and I needed everyone to believe that I really was weak and tired. Since we weren’t doing anything interesting, Brie didn’t stay for long. She was just checking to make sure I was being watched by someone who Hag and Orifice had deemed to be qualified.
During the next few days, I spent most of my time reading or watching TV with Sam. Nathan was still recovering from giving me his grace and kept his magical activit
ies to a bare minimum. Leo was the only one who went out on patrol. He had nothing interesting to report each time he returned.
On the fourth night after Sophia left, the phone rang, startling us all. I scrambled to the counter and snatched up the phone. “Hello?” I said cautiously, hoping it would be her. If it was one of her clients, I’d have to take a message.
“It is me,” Sophia said and relief washed through me that she’d finally gotten in touch with us. “I am afraid that I have bad news.” Her tone was somber and I knew what she was going to say next. “I finally managed to search your old apartment from top to bottom and I did not find your soul.”
Brie was sitting at the table and her head snapped towards me. Her hearing was acute enough to be able to hear what Sophia was saying.
“I didn’t think it would be that easy,” I said with a sigh. “Thanks for searching for it. When will you be coming back?”
“I will be staying here for the night and will begin the return journey tomorrow afternoon. Has anything happened while I have been gone?”
“Nope. It’s so quiet that I’m going out of my mind with boredom.”
“Try to hold onto your sanity for a bit longer,” she said dryly. “I will see you in a couple of days.”
“Okay. Travel safely.”
We both hung up and I turned to find Brie staring at me. “Sophia went to Denver to search for your soul?” she asked. At my nod, she frowned. “I thought you had been born without one.” She’d made a lot of assumptions about me that had proven to be untrue, but I didn’t bother to point that out.
“She had a vision that my Mom removed my soul so the demons couldn’t track us,” I told her. There was no point in lying about it now that she knew the truth. “My soul is different from normal, apparently. Sophia thought it would be a good idea to try to find it.”
Her frown deepened as she took in this new information. “How did your mother know how to remove your soul?”