by Jaci Burton
Tears streaked down Angelique’s face as she watched the destruction of a human being. She wanted to cover her face and not watch, to sob at the savagery of the act, but she knew what was being done was necessary in order to kill a demon. Lou had made the ultimate sacrifice, one she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to make.
When they stopped, there was nothing left of Lou, or the demon that had taken up residence inside him.
Afterward, there were no words. With zero emotion showing on her face, Mandy shouldered her weapon, pivoted, and walked away. Derek dropped his head down and Gina laced her fingers with his, tears streaming down her face.
The grief was palpable.
It was over. Lou was dead. And so was the demon inside him. The black diamond sat on the ground, now a lifeless dark rock.
Ryder wrapped his arm around her and lifted her chin.
“Are you all right?”
“No. I’m miserable. Why did this have to happen?”
“I don’t know, darlin’. It sucks. But at least that thing inside the black diamond is dead.” Ryder turned to Michael. “It is dead, isn’t it?”
Michael nodded, his expression grim. “The demon’s dead.”
And so was Lou. She hated even thinking it. It made her hurt all over.
“Let’s go,” Michael said. “I’ll debrief you all when we get back to the Realm headquarters.”
Angelique inhaled on a shudder, then allowed Ryder to lead them back to the vehicles.
One of the SUV’s was missing. “Where’s the other car?” she asked.
“Dalton. . took Isabelle away so the Sons of Darkness wouldn’t get to her,” Michael said.
There was something vague about his response, but she pushed it away. She’d ask him about it when they got back to headquarters. There were too many other things occupying her mind right now.
After they said their good-byes to Father Vintaldi, they piled into the one remaining SUV, crushed together like sardines. Angelique stared out the window at the church, still unable to fathom what had just happened.
Ryder put his arm around her shoulder and she laid her head there, comforted by his presence and wanting to comfort him, too. Killing Lou had to have hurt him, and yet he was the one soothing her. He kissed the top of her head and she relaxed against him. The only thing she could do was be there for him, love him, just as he loved her. And maybe they had a couple things to be grateful for.
The Sons of Darkness had disappeared, but they hadn’t taken Isabelle. And the hunters had killed a lot of demons. The black diamond was obliterated.
There was sadness, though. Isabelle had shown how much darkness she possessed. They didn’t even know if she could come back from it.
And they’d lost one of their own in the process. A kind, wonderful man she was just beginning to get to know.
Really, they had won nothing.
“We’ve lost.”
“We were supposed to emerge triumphant, and look at us. Not only did we not keep Isabelle, we lost the black diamond, and Drucilla within it.”
Tase paced back and forth in front of his brothers, listening to them lament. He shook his head at their stupidity.
They could never see the big picture.
“You are all fools. Don’t you see how much we’ve won?”
They ceased their wailing and focused on him.
“How can you say that?” Badon asked.
“Easy. If you’d stop your blaming and bickering long enough, you’d see how much we really did profit from all that happened.”
Kal crossed his arms. “Do explain it to us, brother.”
“Isabelle is in darkness, lost to the human world. We saw to that. You all felt it. She is still one with us and will remain so, regardless of her location.”
“That is true,” Aron said with a reluctant nod. “She was immersed.”
“We will someday use that to our benefit. Everything doesn’t have to occur right now. You all must learn patience. Isabelle will have her time of usefulness.”
Now that he had their rapt attention, he went on.
“Yes, we lost Drucilla. But great things sometimes come at great sacrifice. Though it would have been beneficial to have her as one of us and wielding her power at our sides, she served her purpose.”
“In what way?” Badon asked.
“She died, but she took a Keeper of the Realm of Light with her. And a very powerful Keeper at that. Louis has been a nemesis of ours for years. Now he’s gone, and we have once again taken something the Realm holds dear. We have sliced into their power.”
There were nods of agreement all around.
“Our new demons, though not without flaws, are working out well. With each new generation our goal is coming to fruition. Soon they will be doing our bidding without detection.”
“True,” Badon said. “We are closer than ever in our quest to have our brethren walk among the humans.”
“And there is one more thing,” Tase said, his heated stare making them all decidedly uncomfortable.
“What is that?” Kal asked, his frown showing his confusion.
They didn’t know. They simply weren’t aware. Tase smiled, his grin showing his superiority over his brothers.
“Dalton, one of the hunters, has once again stepped into darkness. He has fallen again.
“The Realm is fractured, falling apart. They will soon pit their own against each other. And we will reap the rewards.”
The Sons of Darkness had won this skirmish.
And soon, they would win the war.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ryder sat outside, needing a half hour or so after he’d left Michael’s office. Too much going on in his head and he had to sort it through. The whole atmosphere in Michael’s office had been bad. Really bad. Lou had been much more than a leader to all of them. He’d been friend and mentor, even a father figure to some, and he was going to be missed.
And now, in addition to all the grieving, Ryder had more bad news for Angie and he had to figure out how to deliver it.
The truth was always the best way. Angelique was tough. She could handle it, and she deserved honesty.
He found her in the kitchen, staring into a cup of tea. Mandy sat across from her doing the same thing.
“Hey,” he said.
Angelique looked up, smiled. “Hey. Where’ve you been?”
“Outside. Needed a few minutes after the meeting with Michael.”
She nodded. Mandy finally dragged her gaze from the porcelain. She didn’t smile. She hadn’t smiled since they’d returned back from the church.
Mandy had taken Lou’s death really hard. She’d been with Lou since she was a kid. He was, essentially, the only father she’d ever known. And she’d had to take part in killing him. Ryder couldn’t even imagine how much that was messing with her head.
Derek wasn’t handling it well, either. The whole thing was one giant clusterfuck. There were decisions to be made and no one wanted to make them. But they knew it was going to have to be done, and soon. It had to be. War was war, and it went on, even when someone died.
“Hey, kid, you okay?” he asked, squeezing Mandy’s shoulder as he brushed by.
“Just fucking fine,” she mumbled.
Ryder went to the cabinet and grabbed a cup, filled it with what he hoped was damn strong black coffee, and pulled up a chair next to Angelique.
Mandy pushed back and stood. “I’m going into the workout room to beat the shit out of something.”
“Want me to come with you?” Ryder asked.
Mandy leaned against the doorway and shook her head. “No. Thanks, but no. I’m not good company right now and I need to be alone. I might kill something.” She snorted. “Something else. Hell, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ll catch you all later.”
She pushed off the doorway and left the kitchen.
“She’s really hurting bad,” Angelique said, her gaze trailing after Mandy.
“Yeah. Everyo
ne is. Lou was a good guy.”
“I don’t understand what happened out there, Ryder.”
Ryder shrugged. “None of us do. Michael tried to explain about Keepers knowing their destiny, and how no one lives forever. I guess in his way he was attempting to tell us that Lou had been prepared for this.”
She shivered. “That kind of destiny sucks.”
“Yes, it does.”
Angelique studied Ryder. He’d been quiet, and she understood why. She couldn’t even offer him comfort. What could she say? It was hard for her to comprehend all this, and yet it was now part of her life. “Do you ever get used to it?”
He reached out and smoothed his hand over her hair. “To what?”
“Death.”
“Some parts of it, yes. Losing friends. . no. It always hurts, but it’s part of what we do. Any one of us could die, Angie. It’s the vow we take. We’ll die defending our world against the Sons of Darkness.”
She blinked back tears, not sure what she’d signed on for. And yet, the man she loved was deeply embroiled in this life, and she wanted to be with him.
“If you can’t handle it-”
She reached up, ran her palm over the rough stubble of his unshaven jaw. “I can handle anything as long as I’m with you. If it’s a day, a month, a year, forever. Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it.”
He leaned in, brushed his lips across hers. “You give me strength I didn’t know I had.”
She smiled. “You were always strong.”
“Not that kind of strength. The kind to believe in myself. I’ll always take care of you.”
“I know you will. And I’ll take care of you. Right here.” She moved her palm to his heart.
He touched his forehead to hers, and Angelique had her first few moments of feeling content in what seemed like a very long time.
Then she pulled back. “So when you met with Michael, did he discuss Dalton and Isabelle? Any word on them yet?”
He frowned. “No. And I need to tell you something.”
His tone sounded ominous. “Okay.”
“Dalton was instructed to take Isabelle away from the church and graveyard.”
“Yes.”
“To destroy her.”
Dread filled her. “No.” She’d refused to think that’s why her sister and Dalton had disappeared. Dalton wouldn’t have killed Izzy. Not him.
“They had no choice. Isabelle had become a full demon. They didn’t want to eliminate her in front of you. She was a threat to the Realm, Angie.”
The logical part of her understood that had been an option, but the emotional side that loved her sister no matter what railed against the thought of it.
She hated asking the question, but she had to know. Her voice, thick with unshed tears, wavered. “Is Izzy dead?”
Ryder dragged her onto his lap. “Not that we’re aware of. They can’t find Dalton. They tracked his cell phone to just outside the church grounds. He must have tossed it.”
Of course. Hope leaped inside her like a sparking flame. “He couldn’t do it, could he?”
“My guess is that he wasn’t able to follow through on his orders to kill her. He stopped me from hitting her with laser fire when she was holding you.”
She leaned back. “You would have destroyed Isabelle?”
His gaze never wavered. “If it came to a choice between you and your sister, then there was no choice. I would have killed her to save your life.”
She couldn’t fault Ryder for putting her first above everyone else, even Isabelle. He loved her that much. “Thank you.”
“But Dalton asked me to wait, said he could get through to her. My guess is he still thinks that.”
“But the Realm doesn’t know where he is?”
Ryder shook his head. “Michael doesn’t have a sense of their location. Dalton’s gone underground, and I’m sure he has Isabelle with him.”
“They’re going to hunt for them, aren’t they?”
Ryder nodded. “Yes. They have to. Dalton disobeyed a Realm order. And the Realm still considers Isabelle a danger.”
“And when they locate them?”
He swept her hair away from her face. “I don’t know, darlin’. I guess that depends on what they discover when they find Dalton and Isabelle.”
At least she had hope. Isabelle wasn’t dead. Somehow, she’d know if Izzy was gone. “Maybe I can help.”
Ryder’s brows lifted. “You want to help find her?”
“I have to know, one way or the other.”
“What if it’s bad?”
“I don’t want her living like that. I couldn’t bear it, knowing my sister was one of them. I’d rather see her dead.”
Ryder nodded, pulled her closer. “Are you still linked to her?”
“I don’t know. Right now I feel. . nothing, no vibe from her at all. But maybe that’s just shock from Lou’s death. Perhaps the connection with Isabelle will come back. And we don’t know what state she’s in right now. If she’s not. . conscious or aware, it might affect our link.”
“That’s true. I know the Realm would like you to help.”
“I’m part of the team, aren’t I?”
He squeezed her hip. “You’re part of my team. It’s the only one that counts.”
The feelings she had for him both frightened and elated her. She’d never been so overwhelmed with emotion for one person before. She’d been alone for so long, making all the decisions, carrying the burden.
Now she didn’t have to. She had Ryder by her side.
“I love you, Ryder.”
Light beamed from his eyes. “I love you, too.”
All she needed from him was his love. As long as she had that, anything was possible.
FB2 document info
Document ID: fbd-1b4cd9-358e-374c-c79a-1582-60c0-8f1436
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 08.06.2011
Created using: calibre 0.8.4, Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 software
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