by S. J. West
“Where are they anyway?” I ask, having not seen either Watcher for quite some time.
“At the moment,” Brand says, “I have them in Beijing to help protect Jai Lin. As soon as we upload her video, she’ll become a target for Ravan’s sympathizers. I need them there to protect her so I can concentrate on the things we need to do. Otherwise, my attention would be split.”
The worry on Brand’s face is familiar. I’ve seen it a dozen times over the past few years from our own version of Brand. He’s worried about the woman he loves, but trying not to show it. I hope we can leave Brand and Jai Lin with a world that allows them to freely explore their feelings for one another. I know my life became a thousand times richer after finding Mason. I wish the two of them such unfettered joy.
The rest of the day goes by without much excitement. Brand says there isn’t much else we can do until we learn more about the princes’ movements. He hopes the party being given in Xavier’s honor that evening will allow our new set of eyes and ears in Lucian’s inner circle to learn something as of yet undiscovered by us. At this point, we’re not even sure which of the princes have the sixth and seventh seals.
Around lunchtime, Leah and Mia come downstairs, seeking something to eat. I’m glad to see Leah look better today than she did yesterday, but that’s little comfort. There’s sadness within the brown pools of her eyes that I know will only go away with time. She’s suffered a loss of missed opportunities to get to know her mother better. As she grows older, I hope the few memories she was able to forge with Xiulan bring her some comfort.
I talk Mason into cooking lunch for Lucifer, but his cooperation didn’t come without a price. I had to promise not to see Lucifer anymore that day. Mason seems to fear Lucifer’s influence on me, and the bargain I made to spend one hour with him on my birthday every year until I die did little to help matters. I don’t know if Lucifer thought his demand would force a wedge between Mason and me, or not. If that was his endgame, I knew it would fail miserably. Mason and I practically shared one heart, and nothing, not even the devil, could change that immutable fact.
Late in the afternoon, Mason and I are passing by the living room, where we spot Sophia crying. Tristan is there, trying his best to console her, but she seems beyond that kindness. Jered stands off to the side, watching the two of them helplessly.
“What happened?” I ask as we walk into the room.
Sophia continues to cry on Tristan’s shoulder as he tells us, “Logan is gone. She went back to her father.”
“Why?” I ask.
“She said it was the safest place for her and Dillon to be,” Tristan explains.
“So you were able to rescue Dillon?”
“Yes, but Peyton went crazy and swore that she would get Dillon back, no matter what. We told Logan she could bring Dillon here, but she didn’t feel like she could trust us, considering the bargain Brand made with Peyton a while back.”
I can’t say I don’t understand Logan’s hesitation in trusting us. We did make a bargain with Peyton that none of us liked at the time, but the idea of doing something for the ‘greater good’ had been the driving force in that decision.
“I’ll never get her back now,” Sophia wails, seeming inconsolable.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” I ask, even though I don’t see any options open to us at the moment, beside just kidnapping Dillon and Logan, and forcing them to live here with us. I’m confident that would just make matters worse.
“Not yet,” Tristan tells me, lightly patting Sophia on the back to bring her comfort. “If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
Mason and I leave a sobbing Sophia. I’m glad she has Tristan with her, though. He might not be her actual son, but, considering the fact that Sophia is Tristan’s father’s counterpart in this reality, there is a connection between the two of them that neither can deny.
By the time 7pm rolls around, I am more than ready to get something productive done that day. When Noel comes to get us, she is dressed in a short, black, sequined cocktail dress, and very high heels.
“Don’t say anything about the dress,” Noel tells us, looking uncomfortable all dolled up for a party. “Xavier is making me wear it. He says we need to project more class since we’re part of the elite crowd now.”
“He’s not letting his new position go to his head, is he?” I ask.
Noel smiles and shakes her head. “Absolutely not in the way you’re thinking. Besides, I don’t think his head could get any bigger than it already is. He might be puffing out his chest a little bit more, but he knows what’s at stake. I promise you that if he ever starts acting uppity, I’ll ram one of these stilettos he’s making me wear into his thick skull.”
I let out a small laugh at the imagery of such an event.
“Do you have the ring?” Noel asks me.
I pull King Solomon’s ring out of a front pocket in my jacket.
“Should I put it on now, or wait?” I ask Mason.
“Put it on now,” he tells me. “We don’t know exactly what we’ll be phasing into, but as soon as we have Horace’s ring and leave Faust’s apartment, take it off. I wish I could wear it instead of you, but only a human can control the power of the ring.”
“I will be phasing you directly onto the veranda outside Faust’s private rooms. There aren’t any security cameras out there. I don’t think there will be any guards, either, but you never know. All you have to do is walk through the French doors to get into his bedroom. Faust has always been lax about his security. Like I told you before, he doesn’t like having angelic guards around. If you happen to encounter one of his bodyguards, they’ll be human.”
“Humans are definitely easier to incapacitate than angels,” Mason says.
“Are you both ready?” Noel asks, looking at Mason and me.
I slip King Solomon’s ring onto my right index finger before saying, “Ready.”
Noel holds her hands out to both of us. The instant we touch her, we find ourselves standing on Faust’s veranda. The New York City skyline looks like something out of a political thriller, or horror film. Both describe the sight aptly. Ravan’s banners now hang from the most important buildings in the city. I can hear their silky song whistle in the wind, sounding like a warning that something wicked this way comes.
“I hate to phase and run,” Noel says to us, “but I think you guys can handle things from here.”
“Thank you,” Mason says, holding out his hand for Noel to shake.
“Not a problem,” she says, shaking my husband’s hand. “And good luck to the two of you.”
After Noel phases, Mason and I make our way into Faust’s room. Mason carefully rotates the handle of one of the doors so he doesn’t make a sound to give away our presence too soon. When we step into the room, we find it empty, but we hear Faust singing, and the water of a shower running.
“I vote that we wait until he’s through,” I tell Mason.
“Since you’re wearing the ring, maybe you can just say his name and order him to come out so we don’t have to wait that long,” Mason suggests.
“Do you think that will work?” I ask doubtfully, but I have no idea what the true extent of the ring’s power is.
Mason shrugs. “Couldn’t hurt to try.”
I clear my throat, feeling a little awkward and a little nervous at the same time. I’ve never controlled anyone before. Being able to command someone else’s actions isn’t exactly my sort of thing.
“Faust,” I say in a normal voice, “shut the water off and walk into your bedroom.”
Almost instantly, Faust stops singing, and we hear the spray of the water end. A few seconds later, Faust comes out of the bathroom, which is located straight ahead of us, buck naked.
“Oh, dear Lord,” I say, covering my eyes with one hand, “put something on to cover yourself.”
Faust walks back into the bathroom. I lower my hand and see him reappear in the doorway a few seconds later, wearing a white tow
el around his hips.
“Better?” he asks with a lopsided grin, making him resemble a movie star from a by gone era, with his classically handsome features and slicked-back hair. “You really need to be more specific if you’re going to order me around with that trinket on your finger.”
“Whatever,” I say. “Let’s make this fast and simple for everyone. Give me Horace’s ring.”
“I can’t.”
I feel my brow furrow involuntarily, because I’m definitely confused by his refusal to do what I told him to do.
“What do you mean, you can’t?” I ask. “Don’t you have it?”
“Not anymore,” Faust says openly, “I did have it, but now I don’t.”
“Then where is it?”
“Honestly, I don’t know where the ring is.”
“How can you not know? When was the last time you saw it?”
“Last night.”
“Did you lose it?”
“No.”
“Did you give it to someone?”
“Yes.”
“Who did you give Horace’s ring to?”
“Lucian.”
I feel my heart drop into my stomach.
“Why did Lucian want it?”
“To make a deal.”
“A deal with whom?”
“Horace.”
Something wicked just slammed me in the face, hard.
“Why?” I ask, feeling as though my world is about to fall apart with Faust’s next answer.
“Horace went to him and offered to tell him what he did for you if Lucian gave him his ring back.”
“What did Horace tell Lucian?” Mason asks.
Faust looks at Mason and shakes his head at him disappointedly.
“You have no control over me,” Faust says. “She needs to ask the question.”
“What did Horace tell Lucian?” I ask, following the rules of the game.
“That you had the trumpets and the ring in your possession. Though, Horace didn’t actually know it was the trumpets that you recovered from King Solomon’s tomb, but it wasn’t hard for Lucian to put two and two together.”
“Crap,” I say. “Does Lucian know where the trumpets are being kept?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
I let out an uneasy sigh. It isn’t proof positive that the location of the trumpets is still a secret, but it is better than having the alternative verified.
“But… he definitely knows where you are…” Faust says ominously to me.
The jewels embedded in King Solomon’s ring begin to glow, illuminating the area around us and immediately luring my attention.
“Jess!” Mason yells. “Take off the…”
I never get to hear the last words Mason says, because a new voice reverberates in my mind, saying, “Come to me.”
I’m suddenly standing on a weathered, wooden dock. A steel guardrail runs around its perimeter, with spotlights chasing away the night. The city is on the other side of the bay from me, but I know I’m still in New York.
“I’m so glad you could join us, Jessica.”
I turn around to find Lucian and Ravan standing a few feet away. Lucian is smartly dressed in a black tuxedo with a bow tie, and Ravan is wearing a stunning one-shoulder, red silk evening gown that is similar in style to the one I saw her wear the very first time I saw her.
On instinct, I pull my sword out of its sheath on my back and hold it out in front of me. With their attention diverted to the unsheathing of my sword, I quickly touch the small camera Josh placed inside the snap on my collar. Even if I don’t survive this encounter, I might be able to record Ravan saying something incriminating for Jai Lin’s video.
“Why have you brought me here?” I demand, wondering if Mason has any clue where I am. I know in ten minutes the little camera will upload the video it shoots and send it directly to Josh’s computer. I just hope I can stay alive for ten more minutes.
“We thought you might enjoy watching the show from here,” Ravan tells me. “It should be quite spectacular, though you never can tell what might happen when you open a seal.”
I tighten my grip on my sword after hearing Ravan’s warning.
“Who has it?” I ask. “Who has the sixth seal?”
Lucian undoes his bow tie in a single pull and begins to unbutton his shirt. He only releases four of them before pulling the left half aside for me to see the brand of his seal over his heart.
“I have the honor of carrying that particular seal,” Lucian says smugly.
“Who has the seventh one?” I ask, wondering if they will actually divulge such pertinent information to me.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Lucian says to me in disappointment, with a shake of his head. “Do you honestly think we would just tell you that? I would hate to ruin the surprise for you, Jessica.”
Before I even have a chance to ask another question, Lucian raises his arms into the air, and I watch helplessly as a ball of white light flies out of his chest and into the sky. Unlike what happened when Baal released the fourth seal, Lucian’s ball of light soars so far into the atmosphere it appears to be swallowed up by the darkness of space before exploding into a ring of light.
Lucian lowers his arms and sighs in displeasure, “Well, that was rather anti-climactic. I was hoping for something a bit more on the dramatic side.”
“Patience, Lucian,” Ravan says consolingly. “I’m sure there’s more to come.”
“I suppose we shall see,” Lucian replies, staring into the sky expectantly.
Ravan returns her attention to me, something I would rather she not do.
“I have a bit of a score to settle with you,” Ravan tells me, her voice as cold as a winter wind. “You made me lose the baby I was carrying.” Ravan starts to shake her head at me in displeasure. “That was a very naughty thing for you to do, Jess. You’ve caused me to lose a great deal of time, and thrown me completely off my schedule.”
“You sound like I inconvenienced you,” I say, troubled by the way Ravan talked about her miscarriage, “not like a mother who just lost her unborn child.”
“Like I said, you cost me some time. The child can be replaced easily enough in this era. Technology is a wonderful thing. I don’t even have to lay with a man anymore to become pregnant.”
“So the child wasn’t Gabriel’s?” I ask.
Ravan lets out a derisive laugh. “Good lord, no. I wouldn’t let one of the princes touch me in such an intimate way. But I do need to have Gabriel back to continue the illusion that he’s the father of the child I need to have.”
“I wouldn’t count on that happening anytime soon,” I tell her smugly.
“Oh,” Ravan says with a suspicious looking smile, “you might be surprised how soon our reunion will occur.”
A warning goes off inside my head, but I don’t let them see how much what Ravan just said has set me on edge.
“You don’t know where he is,” I reply with conviction.
“True,” Ravan admits, her smile widening, “but we have someone who is bringing him to us as we speak, and guess what, Jess? She’s not only bringing me my fiancé, but she’s also bringing us the trumpets. Isn’t that exciting?”
I race through the possible traitors in our midst, and instantly settle on the most likely candidate.
“Logan,” I say with certainty, realizing Jered and I had been right in not trusting her motivations for coming to the castle.
Ravan begins to giggle. “Oh, my, no. That child is innocent of any crimes against you. Though, when she came to us asking for our help in hiding Dillon from Peyton, it seemed like fortune was finally smiling down on us. Unfortunately, for Logan at least, she wouldn’t tell us where your little hiding place was. I have to say, I didn’t think she could withstand so much torture. Fortunately, we were able to use the one person who could be weakened by Logan’s suffering.”
It didn’t take me long to figure out who Ravan was talking about. “Sophia.”
Ravan winks at
me. “You really do have excellent deductive skills. Sophia went to Robert early this evening to beg him to tell her where Logan was. When we showed her Logan’s tortured body, Sophia instantly became willing to do whatever we wanted her to do. Lucian’s opening of the sixth seal was her cue to take Gabriel and the trumpets from you and bring them to us. In fact, I bet Amon is patiently waiting for his signal to blow the first trumpet.”
I have no reason to doubt what Ravan is telling me. I know Sophia would do whatever it took to save her daughter. She was just that kind of mother, and I couldn’t fault her for her weakness. I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do the exact same thing if Max or Brynlee’s life depended on it. In fact, I’m sure I would have, with the mindset that I would find a way to fix the problems I caused by saving them, at a later date.
“Who has the seventh seal?” I ask again.
Ravan reaches up and pulls the silk draped over her left shoulder out of the way to show me the patch of skin over her heart, revealing the answer to my question.
“How?” I ask, staring at the brand of the seventh seal on her chest.
“Well, it hasn’t been easy keeping this all these years,” Ravan tells me, sounding like the task has been quite a daunting one. “Human bodies aren’t meant to contain so much power. Luckily for me, though, the Guardian of the Guf who made my soul was very powerful. Her gift made my soul strong enough to withstand the power the seal contains. Still, the fragility of a human body makes it rather difficult to stay alive past the age of fifty.”
“Then how have you remained alive for all this time?” I ask, remembering how all the Watchers said Ravan didn’t look anything like the Lilith they remembered.
“Ahh, the mystery behind my immortality…” Ravan says, letting the words trail off. “Well, that’s been a family secret practically since the beginning of time, now hasn’t it?”
“How?” I ask again, more stridently.
“There was really only one way to make that miracle happen,” Ravan tells me. “I made a deal with Faust for a very specific kind of immortality.”