Annie glared at Cassie. Her logic made sense, but something was off. The longer she stood there the more leery she was of Cassie’s plan. One of her lead investigators was MIA and she was calm as hell.
“Aren’t you worried about Pete?” Annie carefully watched Cassie’s reaction.
“Like Derick said, Peter is headstrong. He goes off on his own way too often. I don’t see a point in sending Derick off on a wild goose chase when there is work to be done. We are wasting time and money. Josilyn, gear up and go track Peter down. Derick, you should get back to your investigation,” Cassie said quickly, staring back at Annie.
Annie didn’t give a crap about Cassie or her money; she was there to protect the group from Alazar. If Pete were in trouble, she was going to find him.
“See, that’s the good part about not being paid by you, I don’t have to listen to you. Pete’s safety is more important than your documentary. I’m sure the others will agree to that. So get your aerobicised ass out of my way and stop hindering,” she was itching to punch Cassie in the face, but refrained for Derick’s sake. She didn’t want Derick’s deal to fall apart because his producer was in the hospital.
Derick shook his head at Cassie. “Annie’s right. I’m not going anywhere until I make sure Pete is safe. We still have plenty of time to get to the dungeon. Morgan and I can film later if you want it done tonight, but not until I know Pete is safe.”
Derick knew Annie was right about one thing, if something crossed her path, she wouldn’t run from it. He saw the determination on her face and knew there was no talking her out of coming with him. He secretly wished that she had punched Cassie in the face. He had no idea why Cassie was being a pain in the ass, though he had a feeling it was solely because Cassie didn’t like Annie.
Cassie huffed, and shrugged indifferently.
Derick ignored Cassie and grabbed Annie’s hand, pulling her toward the hall that led to the staircase.
“Do you think he’s hurt?” Derick asked as they rushed through the Meeting Hall and rounded the corner.
“I don’t know, but he might need a doctor,” she hoped that he was still breathing when they found him. If Alazar got to him first, Pete might very well be a smear on the floor. She didn’t know Pete well, but from what Derick had told her, he was a good guy. She didn’t want Derick to have to bear the death of his closest friend after all that he’d been through.
They reached the second floor and made their way to the third floor landing. This was the dangerous part of the castle. There were holes in the walls and floors that could easily cause an injury. Derick helped her across some of the troubled areas while she made sure that he didn’t lose his footing on a broken step.
They finally arrived at the room where Morgan had left Pete, but it was empty. Derick searched the room, hoping to find something that would lead them to Pete.
Annie was relieved not to find Pete hanging from the rafters, but was still unsettled.
Derick tried contacting him once more over the walkie-talkie, but again nothing. They tried calling out to him, but were greeted with silence.
“There are a million places he could be; I think Wedge was right, we need to split up. Radio me if you find him,” Annie needed to separate from Derick. She could search faster without him.
“I don’t want you going by yourself. It’s not safe,” Derick touched her elbow, wishing that she had stayed behind where it was safe.
“Right now Pete could be hurt. It’ll be okay, I promise to be careful. You search this floor and I’ll go up to the towers and make my way down,” she quickly kissed him to keep him from arguing and ran out the door before he could object.
Annie turned off the flashlight as soon as she entered the corridor. It was nothing more than a prop, one that would distract her. She disappeared and reappeared in the hallway above her. Panic started to rise when she thought about all the things Alazar could do to someone, especially someone innocent like Pete. She was angry with herself for not protecting him. It was difficult, but she admitted that she had underestimated her angel. She had thought maybe, just maybe, seeing her and knowing that she was looking for him would persuade him not to kill anyone. She had been naïve. He was a killing machine that she was responsible for creating.
She was frantic when she finally reached the last room in the corridor. If Alazar were nearby, there was only one way to find him quickly. Closing her eyes, she sought out the emotions associated with death, just as she had in the city. It might alert Alazar to her presence, having done it before, but she was short on options.
Her heart stopped when she found what she was looking for. High up in the tower above her, Death responded to her call. She appeared outside the doorway of the tower, hoping to find Pete alive.
Afraid that she would spook Alazar, she slowly crept through the doorway and looked around the room.
The tower was round and smaller than Lucifer’s Throne Room. Five tall glassless windows overlooked the city and countryside. Just to her left was a figure crouching on one of the ledges, the breeze ruffling his clothes and hair. Pete was motionless as he gazed out into the open air.
Annie quietly took a step forward, not wanting to scare Pete.
“Go ahead and take another step Anjali, unless you actually care if the mortal lives or dies. Personally, he means nothing to me and he’s more than willing to end his pathetic life ever so dramatically. It’s your choice, Destroyer,” Alazar appeared behind her, close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck.
“Let him go,” she said calmly.
Alazar leaned forward and whispered over her shoulder. “Toss the walkie-talkie and flashlight and don’t make any sudden movements. One word from me and the boy dies painfully.”
Annie took her walkie-talkie, video camera, and the flashlight from her belt and slid them to the far side of the room to where Pete’s equipment helplessly sat.
She prayed that Derick didn’t find her. She knew Alazar would use him against her. That fear alone forced her to change her approach with Alazar. He had wiped the pavement with her last time, literally. She couldn’t allow that to happen again. She was done playing the victim and being the sympathetic bleeding heart. If she couldn’t make Alazar surrender, they would be scraping Pete off the concrete and he and Derick would be headed to the Realm of Fire as suicides.
Annie closed her eyes and pushed Derick from her mind. She turned to face Alazar, donning her dress and attitude. “The name is Lady Black,” she intentionally used her authoritative voice.
Alazar took a step back, sensing a shift in the Destroyer’s demeanor. “Since when? I’ve never heard you referred to as such, Destroyer.”
“Since I died and ended up in Hell at Lucifer’s feet. The bastard told me that I was there to be his servant and handed me this dress. Stupidly, I accepted him at his word, since I knew nothing about him or the deal that was made by Gabriel. He doesn’t want anyone calling me by my given name, though technically he referred to me only as Mistress in the beginning. You can imagine why he would want to call me that. Personally, I like Lady Black much better,” she glared at him.
“You should have known better than to listen to Lucifer, though I’m sure Gabriel told you that,” Alazar snickered as he imagined the Destroyer trying to take Lucifer’s head for calling her Mistress.
“I told you before; I didn’t know who I was or what I was meant to do. Gabriel never told me anything. I died believing that I was a mortal, Alazar. It would have been nice to know, since it would have saved me a trip through the realms,” she grimaced. “I know you’re angry with me for leaving you to rot in Hell, but I knew nothing about being the Destroyer. Once I found out, I came looking for you,” she saw the anger on Alazar’s face. It wasn’t going to be easy to convince him that she was telling the truth.
Alazar was confused. She sounded sincere and irate, but her story couldn’t be true.
When he realized that she was taking advantage of his confusion, he stopped hi
s retreat and stood tall. “You are so full of lies, little one. Gabriel told us time and again that neither of you thought it was prudent to take possession of us because you didn’t have control over your power. Besides, Lucifer wouldn’t have the balls to throw you into the realms. Gabriel would have skinned him alive.”
“Gabriel never wanted to hand me over to Lucifer, but I’m sure you figured that out along the way, though I never had any choice in the matter. It’s true that I have trouble controlling my power. I’ve caused a lot of damage, unintentionally. The lie is that I knowingly turned my back on you,” she said, trying to keep the sadness from her voice. “Lucifer broke the rules of the contract and found me in the Mortal Realm. I was never introduced to Hell; I arrived on my own, innocent, and naïve. Gabriel didn’t have a chance to warn me about anything and Lucifer took complete advantage of that fact. It was only when Gabriel broke into Hell that I found out who and what I was.”
Alazar narrowed his eyes, refusing to believe her words. “Gabriel would never allow Lucifer to take you from him, nor would he lie to the Council about his intentions. Above all, I don’t believe that he would ever withhold the truth from you,” Alazar was offended that his Master thought he was so dimwitted. “You hold the power of deception within you and you think you can fool me. It won’t work; I lived with Sacha for millenniums. You are just trying to justify your mistakes,” he crossed his arms and stared at her.
“You would be surprised to know what Gabriel has kept from me to keep me safe. Gabriel would do anything to protect me; you have to admit that’s true. He lied to you and Lucifer. What would keep him from lying to the Council?” she asked smugly. She knew she shouldn’t badmouth her father, but she was tired of Alazar ignoring her explanation.
Her logic was sound, even if he didn’t want to accept it. She was right about one thing, Gabriel would do anything to keep her safe, even sacrifice himself, as he had learned centuries ago.
“How about I choose not to believe either of you?” he snapped.
“Alazar, I’m sorry that Lucifer treated you terribly. I feel your pain, better than you think. It kills me to know that he injured you, or any of the Predznak. I assure you that I would have done everything within my power to stop him, had I known,” she stepped closer to him wanting to comfort him, but knew he would rebuff her.
“Lies! Every word that comes from your mouth is a filthy lie! Where is Sacha? Tell the King of Deception to get his ass out here and stop pulling the strings. I know you have possession of him and Zacharael, at the bare minimum. Show yourselves, dear brothers!” Alazar called to the sky.
“Are you on something? I don’t have any of the other Predznak and I’m telling you the truth, if you were to stop and listen for a second,” she huffed and threw her hands into the air.
“I refuse to listen to anything you have to say to me. If you wanted to tell me the truth, you could have done so the day I was summoned to report to you in Hell, but instead was greeted by Lucifer, the crazed maniac that tried to force us into servitude. You have no idea what he did to us,” Alazar wanted to pace, but was afraid to turn his back on her. “I waited for centuries for you to arrive. Why are you here now? Did you finally seek me out to kill me?” Alazar growled. There was no way he was going to be slaughtered by her hand.
He propelled himself closer to her, and took hold of her face with both hands. He forced her face upward despite her protest. It was time to end this charade.
Anjali was surprised by his attack but wasn’t concerned. If looking into his eyes was a way to gain his trust, then so be it.
“I’m not here to kill you, Alazar,” she said softly.
Alazar gazed deeply into Anjali’s eyes and sought what he was looking for. Beneath her beauty and mesmerizing blue eyes, he found what he had seen the first time, death. He dug deeper until he saw the reason for it. She wasn’t just the Keeper of Death, she had died mortal deaths on countless occasions, yet her last death had left a mark on her soul.
“You hid your identity and assumed a mortal form multiple times over the years, clever girl. I would have never found you,” Alazar smirked.
“Yes, I lived as a mortal. Can’t you see that I’m telling you the truth?” Anjali sighed.
He ignored her question and broke his stare to look down at her wrists. He found the all too familiar scars, a tale-tell sign of temptation and what happens when a pathetic sap falls victim to it. A smile spread across his face, knowing that his luck had just changed.
“You killed yourself,” he said as he took possession of her gaze again.
“You’re the Master of Observation, I see,” Anjali replied sarcastically. She looked into Alazar’s amazingly bright blue eyes. She thought that she would fear him, if he turned his icy gaze on her, but instead, she was fascinated by their brilliant color.
“I want to know why you killed yourself. Tell me what happened,” he whispered and moved his face closer to hers.
“Why does it matter?” she asked glibly.
He needed to see his Master’s weaknesses, so that he could exploit them. She had succumbed to the lure of suicide. He finally had what he needed. He no longer had to fear that she would force him into subjugation and become his Master. She had no control over death if she had willingly killed herself. As the Bringer of Death, Alazar could take possession of her, become her Master, and save his own ass.
“Oh, it matters. What do you remember about that night, the night you ended your mortal life?” he purred. He wanted to explore all her secrets. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he anxiously awaited her answers. He could crack her wide open and tear every excruciating detail from her, but this was so much better. He would make her tell him everything. She would beg for the usual kind of torture after he painfully forced her to remember every gruesome, morbid thought as she relived her suicide and all the deaths before it.
“It was dark,” she sneered.
“Don’t play games with me. All I have to do it focus my power and the boy will plummet to the bottom of the ravine. Now, what do you remember about that night?” he stroked her hair and face, willing her to answer.
Alazar’s voice was mesmerizing. The night of her death raced to the forefront of her mind. She could see her bathroom. The walls were dark green with white tile, her mother’s favorite colors. The fluffy green towels were hanging on the rack on the back of the door. She had stood before the large sink and counter thousands of times, having grown up in the house. She felt tired and disoriented.
He knew Anjali was under his power when her eyes glazed over and her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “What do you see?” he whispered.
“A mirror,” she mumbled when she saw her reflection. Her pink pajamas made her look pale and washed out.
“Go on. Tell me more,” Alazar murmured, inching closer.
Tears came to her eyes as pain radiated through her skull, through her whole body. The crushing headache she had experienced that night overwhelmed her. She had tried so desperately to escape from it, but it was too strong. Nothing she did could dull its sharp edges. The strongest painkillers available hadn’t even made a dent. She was drowning in the pressure and agony in her head. Nothing seemed real except for the pain.
“I see my reflection, but it’s blurry and distorted. My face looks tired and worn like I’ve been sick for a long time. I’m pale and sweating. Water is running into the sink,” she replied weakly as she looked at the water pooling in the sink despite the faucet being off.
“It was your blood flowing into the sink. It was spilling out of you in buckets. You sliced your wrists to end your life. What do you remember after the sink?” he continued to stare into her eyes. He moved his left hand under her chin and held her in place. This was going to be easier than he’d imagined.
She spoke before she could stop herself. “I feel dizzy and fall to the floor. It’s easier than standing,” she remembered slumping to the floor as the strength left her body. “The room is cold and bright,” she ha
d been too weak to raise her arms to see what she was holding in her hand.
“Then what?” he whispered. He moved closer to her, nearly touching her body.
Her body trembled as it became harder and harder to breathe. She panted from the lack of breath in her lungs. “The pain in my head has finally stopped and it’s quiet, but I can’t breathe. The floor is wet and feels like ice.”
“Yes, the floor was drenched in your blood. You took your own life. Were you so desperate to escape your destiny, and escape us, that you tried to kill yourself and leave it all behind? Stupidly, you forgot that killing your mortal form wouldn’t end your pathetic life. What was your final mortal thought? Were you happy to forget about your responsibilities? Did you even think about your Predznak? I wonder, were you sad when you breathed air into your lungs again and found that you hadn’t accomplished anything? Admit your weakness. Death was the only way to escape who you were meant to be. The problem is, you succumbed to one of your own temptations, Destroyer, my temptation,” Alazar hissed, knowing that victory was within his grasp. He would never have to fear her again. She would be under his control and he would become her Master.
Her tears flowed freely as she remembered her final thoughts just before the darkness consumed her. Memories of her family never entered her mind. Her beloved best friend CJ hadn’t appeared in a beautiful montage. She didn’t think about her life at home or school. Her mind had been blank, aside from Lucifer’s lies. His threats rushed through her mind. He had told her that she was weak, that she had to join him, or she would suffer for an eternity. She hadn’t believed his threats, but she had believed the tone of his voice. She had felt his desperation. Lucifer was begging her to join him because he was lonely.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 22