Ais watched my face for a few moments, and then touched my forehead. But there was no cold spreading through my mind. I smiled hollowly. At least she couldn’t read my thoughts.
Ais lowered her hand and tilted her head to one side. “I don’t have to read your thoughts to know what you’re thinking,” she murmured. “You’re thinking it can’t get any worse. But you’re wrong. Just wait and see.”
Why had we come here? I rolled my head to the side in defeat, wanting only to escape Ais’ stare. Over her shoulder, I met Lucas’ eyes and I remembered why.
Lucas held my gaze, steady, determined. He rose to his feet, shaky. Gretchen’s dagger gleamed in his hand. His eyes dropped to the ground beside me. I followed his gaze and saw the hilt of Semangelof’s sword just peeking out from under the table.
Ais turned to face Lucas. “So fragile,” she said. Lucas stared at me, swaying, and I knew what he needed.
“Fight,” I said, summoning the last of the strength I’d gleaned from Matt. The call came through, weaker than I wanted, but I felt the words, pushing through the air between us.
Lucas was ready, aching for the power of that command. When the call reached him, he straightened, eyes sharpening. “You bet your ass I will.”
Ais tensed, her attention riveted on Lucas. There was no time to waste. I nudged the chair away from the doorknob with my knee. I tried to fumble with the door’s lock, but my left hand was useless – any movement sent searing waves of pain shooting across my shoulder and down my arm. I tried to reach it with my right hand, but twisting my body caused another wave of sickening pain. There was only one thing I could do.
I gripped the hilt of the dagger with my right hand. It didn’t budge. I leaned forward, pushing against the searing pain in my shoulder, biting my tongue to keep from screaming out.
Lucas, watching out of the corner of his eye, timed his lunge to the moment the dagger came free from the door. I choked back a gasp of pain and dropped to my hands and knees.
Ais didn’t hear me. She was moving to counter Lucas’ attack. He dodged back quickly, stumbling, his grip unsteady on the dagger.
My hand closed around the pommel of Semangelof’s sword. I pulled it out from under the table. It made a soft whisper as the blade swept against the cheap linoleum floor. The dagger was still embedded in my left shoulder – I didn’t trust myself to pull it out without fainting. My left arm hung uselessly at my side, and every movement threatened to blind me with pain. I forced all of this to the back of my mind and rose with the sword in my right hand. I walked toward Ais, forcing myself to place one foot in front of the other. My sense of balance was off. I had to use the sword as a crutch, leaning on it to keep from falling over.
Lucas had dropped back before Ais. When he backed into a wall, he threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Wait.”
Ais faced him, confident. “There is no mercy for the sons of Adam.”
I planted my feet on the floor and shifted the sword behind one leg, hoping to keep it out of Ais’ view for as long as possible. “Don’t hurt him,” I said. The door behind me opened.
“Braedyn, I’m here!” I heard Dad’s voice, but I didn’t turn.
Ais’ eyes slid past me to the entering Guard. But instead of drawing back in fear, Ais smirked. Something was wrong. “Excellent timing,” she murmured.
Ais raised her hands, and two curtains of rippling shadow emerged behind her. Her wings, both whole, extended to the high ceiling. “Come to me,” she said.
Her voice shook the air. I heard Dad enter the room. Ais laughed at my confusion.
“I’m nearly two thousand years old,” she said. “Full of the life energy of a hundred men. I heal fast.” Her eyes slid back to my dad, moving toward her like a puppet. She took a few steps closer, smug with anticipated triumph. “Did you honestly think I would have let your little soldiers in here if there were any chance they might prevail? You’ve lived too long with the humans, child. You have no instincts, no understanding of your powers, and very soon you’ll have no father left to save you.”
“I have one thing you don’t have,” I said, my grip tightening on the pommel of the sword.
“Oh?” Ais flicked an idle glance at me, amused. “What’s that?” When I didn’t answer, her eyes shifted back to my father, gleaming in anticipation.
I only knew one sword move - the lunge attack Hale had taught me in the last of our practice sessions. It took Ais straight through the heart in one clean motion.
Ten minutes later, I sat on the floor as Lucas knelt behind me and wrapped his good arm across my chest, bracing me. I leaned back against him, letting the pain wash over me, not fighting it.
“I never should have doubted you,” he whispered into my ear. “When I felt you in my mind... when I heard you... in that moment I knew you completely. How I ever let myself think you were one of them...” His voice sang with recrimination.
“You heard me?” I asked, feeling a heat rushing into my cheeks.
In answer, Lucas just chuckled softly. Dad stirred in the club chair. He was still a little out of it, but he was coming around. I could still hear the sounds of a battle downstairs, but it didn’t sink in. Ais was dead. Didn’t that mean we’d won?
I saw Gretchen across the room, rooting through boxes. Her arm had been dislocated, not broken. With Lucas’ help, she’d managed to slam the joint back into place with no more than a hiss of pain.
My whole body tensed as Gretchen returned to us, dousing a clean bar rag with vodka. “Top shelf,” she said appreciatively. “But I doubt that will make this any easier.”
I felt Lucas’ arm tighten around my chest. “I do love you,” he whispered.
And then Gretchen pulled the dagger free from my shoulder, and I passed out the good, old-fashioned, human way.
Dad, Lucas, Gretchen and I stumbled down the steps a few minutes later. I had revived quickly, thanks in no small part to the vodka Gretchen had poured liberally over my shoulder. It had sent a stabbing, burning pain to chase me back to consciousness. Judging from the smell rising off of Lucas, she’d treated him in the same fashion while I had been out. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Gretchen squeezed my good arm gently.
“They’ll need your help with the Thrall,” Gretchen said. I stared at her, uncomprehending. “Every Thrall will follow the last order Ais gave them until they die,” Gretchen explained. “Unless we stop them. You need to use the call again. Do you understand?”
I nodded, but the fight upstairs had weakened me. I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do.
We stepped into the hallway. I felt my stomach drop unexpectedly. I couldn’t see any Guard soldiers. A handful of Thrall saw us from the club and surged forward. That drew the attention of others. Gretchen stepped in front of us to meet the first attackers, blades in hand.
“Go back,” she shouted. “Barricade the door. Don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe!”
“We’re not leaving you,” Lucas said. Gretchen ignored him, bracing for the onslaught.
“Stop!” I shouted. I felt the call forming, but I lacked the strength to force a connection. The Thrall charging for us didn’t even hesitate. We retreated up the stairs as the Thrall advanced. I tried to summon the call again, but it would not come. There was chaos in the club beyond us. With a sick dread, I knew people were dying.
“Stop fighting!” Another voice rang out, clear and powerful. Chimes crackled through the air as the call flooded through the cramped club.
On the stairs, Gretchen and I traded a wondering look. I pushed past Gretchen and ran into the hall. I could see the club beyond. The crowd of Thrall had stopped fighting. Their fists had dropped to their sides. Their faces had eased into vacant expressions.
I edged further into the club, stunned. I could see Guardsmen, grouped into corners and behind the bar. I saw more than one bloody face, but at least ten soldiers were still on their feet.
Someone opened the emergency exit doors to my right. Crisp
dawn light flooded inside.
“Go home!” Again, the call rang out. The Guardsmen watched, stunned, as the Thrall turned and headed toward the exits. In their wake, a dozen more Thrall lay unmoving on the ground.
I stared. It was Karayan standing by the doors, watching the Thrall trickle away into the dawn. Karayan had just saved all our lives.
Lucas slipped out of the hallway and stood by my side. He watched the retreating Thrall. “That’s it? They just go home?” he asked. I looked at him and saw the pain in his eyes.
Karayan turned her green eyes on us, solemn.
It was Gretchen who answered. “They’ll return to the lives they remember. But the core of who they used to be is gone. Without Ais, they’ll slowly fade away. What she took from them - whether you think of it as the soul or the will to survive - it doesn’t grow back. In a few years, they’ll all be dead.”
Thane pushed through to the front of the crowd. Karayan’s eyes met his. He took another step toward her. Karayan flinched, and her wings wrapped tightly around her.
“Wait.” Thane couldn’t see that she hadn’t moved, or the look of pain that laid siege to her face as she watched him. “Karayan?”
Instead of answering, Karayan looked at me. I saw the confusion clear in her eyes. She turned and ran out the doors. I watched her until she had disappeared from view. I risked a glance back at Thane. He was studying me. My expression told him everything he needed to know. She was gone. Thane turned away from me abruptly.
“We need to clear out,” Marx said. The Guardsmen regrouped. In moments they’d gathered their scattered weapons and were helping the two wounded men out into the dawn light.
Dad scrutinized my shoulder, eyes creased with worry. “You should sit down. Let me bring the truck around. That shoulder doesn’t look good.”
“I’m okay, Dad.” I winced as my shoulder throbbed in protest.
“Tell that to the EMT. We’re going to the hospital.”
“Probably not a bad idea.” The ground seemed to shift, but Dad caught me before I fell.
“What happened?” I heard Dad’s voice, hushed and intense. He wasn’t speaking to me. Ais had done a real number on him. He didn’t remember anything past opening the office door.
“Ais got her with my dagger.” Gretchen’s voice answered, nearby. “But she did it, Murphy. She killed the demon with Semangelof’s sword.” Jubilation filled her voice. “That Wall’s not coming down anytime soon.”
“That’s my girl.” Dad guided me outside. The cold air felt good on my shoulder. It revived me a little. Dad helped me sit on a step. Lucas lowered himself next to me.
Gretchen studied us, lips tight. “Make that two for the hospital.”
Dad nodded. “Stay here. We’ll bring the truck around.”
Gretchen and Dad headed into the parking lot. Lucas and I had a few moments alone together. He laid his left hand on the step between us, palm facing up, and gave me a small smile. I took his hand with my right hand, and our fingers twined together.
Lucas turned to look at me. I was struck by how calm he seemed. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about those dreams.”
Even with the pain in my shoulder and the exhaustion of the fight, I felt a smile bloom on my face. I didn’t fight it. “And what dreams are you talking about, exactly?”
“Well, if you’re having trouble remembering... maybe we should try another one.”
Hale’s truck pulled up. Dad left the engine running as he got out and opened the door closest to us. Gretchen was tossing weapons and gear into the back to clear the seat for us.
“Maybe we should,” I said. Lucas’ return smile was warm enough to drive everything else away.
Epilogue
Snow blanketed the Coronado Prep campus, gleaming brilliantly under a full moon. It muted the winter night, dialing down nocturnal sounds to a whisper. Though it was freezing outside, there was no wind to slip greedy fingers of ice up our sleeves or swirl snow around our ankles. Christmas had come and gone, and school would start again on Monday. As far as the administration knew, Lucas and I had been in a car accident. The ‘accident’ was responsible for our injuries, and bought us all of winter break to study for our exams. Cassie’s voice had filled with empathy and concern when I’d called to tell her the cover story. Royal had listened as I stumbled through the same version, but his succinct ‘yuh-huh’ made clear he wasn’t buying it. And yet, he seemed to realize I wasn’t ready to talk about what had really happened, and didn’t push me for the truth.
Cassie and Royal met us in the parking lot. They looked relaxed and happy. Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and we were back on campus for the postponed Winter Ball. Dressed in our finery, we turned together and walked toward the gym. As we got closer, we could make out the roiling rhythm thumping inside the building. Lucas opened the door for me with his good arm and I gave him a warm smile. There were a few new rules in place for us at home. The Guard had finally realized that they couldn’t keep Lucas and me apart. So instead, they made us promise to keep all the physical stuff to our dreams, aside from holding hands or the occasional hug. When Lucas protested – I had kept the Lilitu storm at bay the last time we’d kissed, after all – Gretchen told him that the alternative was for the two of them to join another unit in another city. And so we both agreed to follow the rules. I know Gretchen keeps a close eye on Lucas, watching him carefully for any signs that we’ve gone too far. Dreams aren’t as nice as reality – not by a long shot – but they’ll have to do for now.
As we entered the gym, the music washed over us, along with the heat generated by five hundred dancing high school kids. The Raven had been closed as police were called to investigate the scene. They found twelve bodies. It was considered the worst crime in the city in a decade. The Guard bitterly assured me there was no hope of the police stumbling onto the truth. Ais might be gone, but there were other Lilitu about that would make sure their secret was protected.
Sure enough, days after our fight, the newspapers were filled with the story of a cult of young men, a dozen of whom had taken their own lives at the Raven Club on Winter Solstice. This story explained in convincing detail what had happened to the missing men. Most returned to their previous lives. A few were even coming forward with stories about their days in the cult - gut-wrenching stories about drugs and psychological abuse that explained why all the returned men seemed like shadows of their former selves. The police department instituted an emergency cult awareness program, and life in the city continued with no one the wiser about what had really happened the night of the Solstice.
People believe what they want to believe.
Dina and Alex, the soldier who’d died on Hale’s lawn, were buried in a simple ceremony out in the mountains. Ais and her daughters were burned, and their bones pounded to dust. Their ashes had been left in a small hole that Marx’s team had dug by the side of the road on their way out of town this morning. Only Matt had stayed behind.
Last night, before they packed for the journey, they’d thrown a party like none I’d ever seen. Hale had enlisted five soldiers to dig a massive fire pit in the backyard. We’d burned a small mountain of wood, trusting the flames to keep the frost at bay. The soldiers of the Guard had finally let loose, cheering the end of Ais, mourning the loss of Dina and Alex, and - to Lucas’ immense amusement - outdoing themselves trying to christen me with the perfect nickname. When the hyperbole got too ridiculous, someone hoisted me off my perch on Hale’s back porch, and I found myself paraded around the bonfire until Dad ran over and convinced the soldiers (drunk on whiskey and success) that I was still recovering from my wounds.
After that, things settled down a little. Hale and Marx had moved through the crowd, talking with their teams and sharing a drink here and there. There was an undercurrent to the celebration; everyone present now knew Ais’ prediction. The Ancients were reawakening. The Lilitu were still massing for another war. And while we may have reinforced the gates for a little while longer, no
one believed we’d seen the last of this war.
Lucas and I had watched most of the party from the shelter of the porch, leaning against each other. His wounds had been much more extensive than mine. Ais’ talons had wreaked havoc on his shoulder, and he’d been in surgery for close to twelve hours as his doctors fought to mend muscle and tendon. His arm would be in the sling that kept it immobilized across his middle for months. My wound had been cleaner, and the trauma much easier for the surgeons to repair, though I was also ordered into a sling for a few weeks.
But, stepping into the warmth of the gym, I didn’t mind. We were alive, and we had won the battle, if not the war.
Lucas held my right hand snugly in his left. “You look amazing.”
I smiled. I’d had neither the opportunity nor the desire to shop for something new, and so I was wearing the black floor-length dress I’d worn to Winter Ball last year. But over it, I wore the gorgeous green velvet coat Cassie had made for me. In an act of kindness that had surprised and gratified me, Gretchen had taken the coat and had it cleaned and repaired by an expert tailor in town. It looked as good as new, and Cassie couldn’t have been more thrilled when she arrived with Royal and saw me wearing it. Royal was dressed in a black tux with tails, and he knew exactly how good he looked. Cassie had tied her hair up in a simple French twist for the dance. She’d abandoned the fun and crazy hairstyles since everything with Parker had happened. I worried that some deeply hidden part of her self-confidence might never fully recover. She was wearing the same gown she’d made for Homecoming, but she’d added an elaborate boned jacket of the same shimmering material, making the whole thing look vaguely Victorian.
Thrall (Daughters Of Lilith) Page 30