Derick nearly vomited when he heard the fear in her voice. He’d definitely come on too strong. He was a total idiot. He had practically shoved his tongue down the throat of the first girl who had his undivided attention in almost two years. Where the hell were his manners? He cursed himself thoroughly for his idiotic behavior.
“Yeah, okay. You should check in with your family. I don’t want your parents to worry. We can catch up later. I’m hoping that we can take the tour by late morning and set up in the afternoon. We want to start filming at nightfall,” Derick knew he’d blown it with Annie. He would ask Pete to kick him in the balls later for being stupid. He was pissed at himself for scaring her off.
Annie couldn’t come up with a better lie, so she simply said, “Okay.”
Derick stumbled a bit, trying to make his legs move in a direction opposite from her, which was harder than expected. He half-waved, half-shrugged as he made his way down the hall to his room, nearly walking into an ornamental table.
Annie couldn’t help but chuckle when she witnessed his complete lack of coordination and depth perception. It was obvious that he was a total mess. Before she could stop herself, and without a sound reason, she called to Derick just as he opened the door and put his foot inside his room.
“Maybe we could get breakfast?” she gulped, trying to fill her lungs with air. Why had she said that? Spending even more time with this man was problematic, yet she was now asking him to breakfast.
Derick blinked and tilted his head until he understood that she was asking to see him again. A look of pure delight spread across his face. He looked carefree as he nodded enthusiastically. She thought he looked better with a carefree expression than one filled with regret and guilt.
For some reason, she didn’t think that Derick had planned their kiss, or almost kiss, in the van. He was as flustered as she was, perhaps even more so. No, whatever she was feeling while in his company, he undeniably felt the same way. He was an open book. There was no evil intent in his actions or plan of deception. He was merely a lust-struck boy who had sadly picked the wrong girl to like. It was an unfortunate thing since instead of calling home, she needed to return to Lucifer, who would have more than a shotgun waiting if he knew about Derick.
Annie quickly opened the door to Room 5, and stepped inside before she did something that she would regret.
Cassie watched with interest from the bottom of the staircase. She couldn’t figure out what was going on between Derick and this new girl, but she didn’t like it. She had done her research; Derick had never been with a woman for any length of time, and now he was sucking face with a woman off the street. Something was definitely amiss.
She needed to find out more about this Annie. A personal invite to explore the castle should afford her enough time to ferret out her secrets. The girl could easily be handled if she caused any problems, but first she needed to track down their absent hostess and make sure all the arrangements were in order.
∞
Nathanael surveyed the damage, impressed by the power of the vampire hiding in the town. It was no wonder that the death toll was so high and that the Xiphos Warriors were not present; they were undoubtedly afraid of the beast. It took serious strength to throw a car through a building, though he had no idea why the vampire would do such a thing. He didn’t care how vicious the creature was; he would make short work of killing it and be back at home before sunrise.
He knelt next to a streak of blood that dotted the thin layer of snow on the street. The previous attack sites had been a bloody affair, according to Lord Michael. The vampire must have eaten and run, or worse, taken its victim with it. The victim was most likely a female since the footprints were small. He cringed for a moment, afraid that he had scared it off mid-drink, though he didn’t see any drag marks in the snow. It could have easily grabbed the mortal, jumped to the nearest rooftop, and carried her away to its lair.
Nathanael tracked the larger footprints, which were partially visible in the snow, back to the building with the demolished storefront. He sifted around the rubble, hoping to find a clue as to which dank sewer the creature had crawled into. Kicking the bricks around, he found nothing of interest. Stepping back out to the street, he searched the area again and was surprised by what he found. A feather, more importantly, a long black feather too long to belong to a bird, was sticking out of the snow. His night had just brightened considerably. He was now hunting an angel, hopefully a Rogue.
He tucked the feather into his belt and was about to disappear when something across the street caught his attention. A black ribbon was blowing in the breeze, trapped by the twisted metal on the ground. As he knelt to examine it, his interest was piqued. It appeared to be a strip of black fabric with black beads embroidered on it. Whomever the angel was fighting was definitely a female and strong enough to throw a car.
He was happy to finally have something worthy of his abilities to investigate.
∞
Anjali sighed as she appeared in the Hall of Mirrors and headed toward the rotunda. She needed time for her injuries to heal before facing Alazar again. She didn’t need Death having any advantages over her. The Spirit Experts wouldn’t be at the castle until late morning, so she had time to plan her next move.
She was out of her depth with Alazar and needed advice. Lucifer would likely hunt Alazar down for attacking her, so she decided it was best to avoid him for the time being. Mark would only complicate matters and she didn’t want to bother Gabriel. The Council might get angry with Gabriel if they found out he had seen her, since they were still waiting to interrogate her about the Rusalka.
She tapped her fingers against her dress. She needed to find someone else who knew Alazar when he resided in Hell.
Radek cleared his throat behind her. She hadn’t noticed him standing by her throne.
“You’re back sooner than I expected. I decided to give you some privacy, though I’m glad you’re here. Lord Hades is demanding your presence. Jared was here when I arrived. He was staking out your throne waiting to give one of us the message,” he grimaced.
“I have no doubt that Hades is demanding my presence, but I have more important matters to worry about than being yelled at because of what I did to Katarina. He can get over it,” she rolled her eyes, but stopped. She hated herself for thinking it, but perhaps Hades might be the one she needed to speak to about Alazar. Unfortunately, questioning him would require some kind of atonement for harming Katarina. She wasn’t in the mood to apologize, or worse, kiss his ass, so she needed to find someone else.
“More important matters like kissing that boy?” Radek raised his eyebrows.
Anjali hung her head and rubbed her forehead. “I am the stupidest person on the face of the earth. What is wrong with me? Am I that pissed at Lucifer that I would allow myself to almost kiss a mortal?” she muttered frantically to herself.
“Yes. Yes, you are,” Radek replied matter-of-factly.
“Are you going to tell Lucifer what I did, or almost did?” she looked up at Radek. By all rights, she should have commanded Radek not to tell Lucifer, but she didn’t want him lying for her.
“You’re joking, right? My Master will skin me alive before I even finish my sentence. I’m not dense. I won’t tell him, as long as it doesn’t become an issue. I figured you might want a little payback after what Lord Lucifer did to you, so I booked the room for you, but I hope it doesn’t become a habit,” Radek looked at her pointedly. He didn’t need to be set on fire for Lady Black’s indiscretions, but at the same time, he had never seen her interested in a mortal before, so he saw no reason to snitch on her.
“Thank you,” she exhaled slowly.
Turning, she headed toward the rotunda. She unconsciously walked around the spot where she had nearly died at Aganon’s hand.
“You do that a lot,” Radek said quietly, motioning to the spot with his chin as he came up next to her.
She had been avoiding that particular section of floor for a whi
le now. Confronting Aganon for attacking her was high on her to-do list, but she feared that her anger would take over and she would kill him. She didn’t want to kill anyone, not even Aganon, but even she had limits.
“This is where I fell when Aganon stabbed me in the back,” she replied coldly. Suddenly she knew to whom she wanted to speak. “I think it’s finally time to talk to Aganon. He might have some insight into Alazar, which I can beat out of him before I decide what to do with him,” she closed her eyes and searched for the strength to complete the long overdue task.
Aganon might be the only impartial person in Hell who knew Alazar. He had been present while the Predznak were in Hell and he would certainly know as much as Lucifer and possibly more. The servants were notorious spies who used their valuable information at key moments to avoid punishment. Aganon was undoubtedly a wealth of secrets.
“Do you want me to deal with him for you? Servants are allowed to punish other servants while in the Hall of Torment. One of the many reasons I try not to get caught,” he smirked and folded his arms.
Radek wasn’t a violent person by nature. It brought him no joy to harm others, but he would certainly defend himself in a fight. She was surprised that he offered to interrogate Aganon for her. “Thank you for the offer, but this is something that I have to do.”
Trying to clear her head of the beautiful mortal boy, she reminded herself that Hell was where she belonged, and she had work to do. She marched out of the hall and nearly collided with Hades who was headed toward the staircase. Apparently, she was still too preoccupied with a pair of warm lips to watch where she was going.
“What’s the matter, can’t remember how to walk? Did Lucifer really hit you that hard?” Hades snapped. He stepped back and straightened out his suit jacket.
Hades was wearing his black tie, an indicator of his foul mood. She always hoped for the colorful ties or even the leather outfit that he wore while in the realms. She had wondered how long it would take him to comment on Lucifer’s faux pas. Three seconds was a new personal best.
“I’m healed now, thank you for the concern,” she replied tersely. She stepped back, not wanting to be within striking distance.
“I do so hate to see the two of you quarrel,” Hades grinned snidely, adjusting his tie.
“Why don’t I believe that?” she rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hip.
“We both know that it’s only a matter of time before Lucifer throws himself down on his knees and begs for forgiveness. You have this strange flaw that makes you unable to stay mad at him. I’m sure that you will give him a stern lecture, make him cry, and then all will be right with the world,” Hades sighed, tired of the tedium of their relationship.
“What would you have me do, hit him back? What would be the point?” Anjali shrugged.
“It would be fun to watch,” Hades chuckled darkly.
“Hades, I’m stuck here with no chance of parole and no time off for good behavior. Pissing off Lucifer would only make my day worse. Am I mad that he hurt me? Of course, but I’m not going to punish him in front of the others. They need to know that Lucifer has the final say and that he can do as he wishes. If I start defying him at every turn, then the Fallen will start to question him. After all, I’m a servant of Hell. It was you who told me that we have to work together or the system falls apart. I could follow in the path of Serena and start beating everyone in sight, but how will that help? Lucifer killed her because he couldn’t control her. You wanted to kill me because I complicate Lucifer’s moods by making him kind and forgiving. Why would I want to wreak more havoc? Yes, he will apologize, and yes, I will begrudgingly forgive him. After he spends enough time around me, he will lose some of the darkness that consumes him and I will try to remember that underneath it all, he’s a good angel doing an impossible task for God. Now, if you summoned me to pour salt in my wounds, you can save it, I have business to attend to,” she was happy to take some of her aggravation out on Hades instead of Lucifer.
Hades was stunned by her speech. It seemed that she was starting to understand the inner workings of Hell after all. He hated an ass-kicking from Lucifer as much as the next person, but he accepted it on occasion to maintain the status quo and to make sure that everyone believed that Lucifer was in control.
“Well, well, maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought and no, that’s not why I summoned you,” Hades sneered and brushed the imaginary wrinkles from his suit to avoid looking at her.
Anjali glared at Hades. As she tried to think of an awesome comeback, she stared at his black tie. Hades was notorious for plotting against people. She had never spoken to him about Aganon’s attack or questioned him to see if he was secretly involved, despite Lucifer believing that he was innocent. She was certain that Lucifer would have interrogated him at knifepoint if he thought Hades had a hand in the attack, but Hades was a professional liar. He was known to fool even Lucifer. If Hades had sent Aganon to finish her off after he had failed to take her head, Lucifer himself wouldn’t be able to save Hades from a fiery death from her hands.
Ignoring Hades’ comment, she decided that she wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. “Hades, where were you when Aganon stabbed me in the back with a Celestial Sword?” she purred sweetly. She knew her sudden mood swing would catch him off guard. She usually growled and snarled at him.
Hades’ head snapped up, confused by the question. “You know where I was. You put me there,” he replied quickly.
“You put yourself in the Hall of Torment when you tried to remove my head. I want to know if you were still there when Aganon stabbed me in the Hall of Mirrors,” Anjali stepped closer to him, invading his personal space.
Hades immediately retreated a few steps and seemed taken aback by her boldness.
“I was chained to the ceiling and you were the last one to see me before the attack. I’m sure you will be interested to hear that Aganon was the one who retrieved me from my chains. It was before Lucifer knew that he was the responsible party. I assure you, if Lucifer had known it was him, he would have released me and clapped the same chains onto Aganon,” Hades replied indignantly.
“Why did Lucifer call for your release? Gabriel was with him while I was bleeding onto the floor. Why did he summon you, especially after you tried to kill me?” Anjali’s eyes narrowed as she stalked closer to Hades.
She was fascinated by his retreat. Normally, he was the aggressive one in their encounters and tried to intimidate her. She liked having power over him, even if it was temporary.
“You were dying; Lucifer panicked and called me for help, just as he does every time he can’t handle a situation. I am his second-in-command. Besides, you and I had come to an agreement. You held no ill will against me for attacking you, and I had agreed to your truce.” Hades said rationally.
“Lucifer didn’t know of our pact. I hadn’t had the chance to tell him. For all he knew you would have lashed out at me again,” Anjali replied in a cold voice.
“I doubt he was thinking clearly while his favorite pet was dying on the floor,” Hades didn’t like the coldness in her voice. He had never seen her act this way, but he knew that no good would come of a pissed off Destroyer.
Anjali looked Hades directly in the eye and asked the question that was burning in her mind. “Did you send Aganon to kill me? Were you so desperate to remove me from the throne that you had yet another servant turn against Lucifer and do your bidding?” she asked in a threatening tone.
Hades was staggered by her question. She truly believed that he had something to do with Aganon’s attack and she was trying to make him confess. He couldn’t very well tell her the truth. He would never admit that he had panicked when he saw her dying on the floor. He had been truthful about honoring their truce and had sadly started to tolerate her presence. Still disturbed by seeing Lucifer harm her in the Throne Room, part of him wanted to show her a bit of kindness. He wanted to examine her wrist to see if it had healed properly; though judging from the dark
bruises on her neck it was likely still broken. Not wanting to ponder the reasons behind his sudden impulse to comfort her, he pushed the thought away before he did something stupid.
“One, why would I bother trying to kill you again after agreeing to your truce? If you know nothing about me, you should know that I always have a reason for everything I do. There was nothing to gain from your death. You had agreed to stay away from Lucifer long enough to allow his darkness to return so that he could rule Hell and not sit in his room crying and moaning about all of his regrets in life.
“Two, I’ve seen and felt you unleash your power and I’m not interested in being electrocuted again. I was hanging in the Hall of Torment a few floors from here enduring my punishment for nearly taking your head. I would have at least waited until my injuries were healed before making another attempt on your life. Besides, I have a grasp of physics and know that your power would have brought the walls down around me, which is not how I would have wanted to spend my day.
“Three, if I were going to kill you, I would never again trust someone else to do it. I would stand before you to make sure that you were fully aware that it was I bringing about your downfall. I would kill you slowly, painfully, and watch the light die from your eyes as your breath ceased, so that I would know that you were truly dead,” Hades replied grimly. The darkness inside of him crawled to the surface when he thought about killing her, but he quickly pushed away the sensation. He had no reason to kill her, today.
“You ordered Caleb to throw me into the Realms of Torture against Lucifer’s orders. You trusted him to do your dirty work,” she replied snidely.
“That was nothing more than a game. I was trying to convince you to end your own life before you further complicated things with Lucifer. Suffering in the Realms wouldn’t kill you, so that hardly counts,” Hades said nonchalantly. “While I admire your distrust of me, given our history, I had nothing to do with Aganon’s attack.”
“So you came to Lucifer’s aid just to watch me die?” Anjali said with disdain.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 15