The moment of fan-girl-ism was short lived when there a streak of light against something silver in Octavian’s hand. Before she could wrap her head around the long, slender object, it had vanished deep into Billius’ chest.
The man barely made a sound as he hit the ground on his knees. The object, a blade, caught the light as he crumpled onto his back. The hilt protruded from his body like a sick joke. Riley couldn’t blink enough times to make the image change.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening!
Yet, it continued to unfold before her eyes like a horrific scene from a movie. The gasp she knew was there was trapped in the cavities of her lungs, which had ceased working and she was frozen, unable to so much as blink as Octavian knelt at Billius’ side. He murmured something Riley couldn’t hear then reached out and touched Billius’ forehead with the tips of two fingers. For a moment, nothing happened and Riley thought he was saying a prayer, but then Billius’ entire body jerked like he’d been yanked up by invisible strings. Horror and terror tore through her as Billius’ body shuddering and convulsing as water gushed from every orifice of his body the way a balloon full of water would if holes were punctured into the rubber. It puddled beneath him, filling the air with the sound like a fish flopping out of water.
“What do we do with him now?” Gideon asked as Octavian rose to his feet.
“What we do with all of them, I guess,” Magnus replied solemnly.
“Take him out back and burn him,” Octavian said tiredly, already turning away from the sprawled figure like the sight of it disgusted him.
Without a word of refusal, the two brothers stepped forward and hoisted the limp figure between them, each grabbing an arm. Riley watched in frozen horror as the lump began to take shape, forming a lulling head and a drooping torso with legs dragging out behind it. The gritting sound of weight being dragged across gravel coiled cold and bitter in the pit of her stomach. Was she really seeing a murder take place? She wasn’t. It wasn’t possible.
Yet even as she stood there watching, Gideon and Magnus carted Billius towards the back of Final Judgment and out of sight. But the sound of their footsteps and the sound of Billius’ dragging feet would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Riley?”
Paralyzed, Riley had no idea what she was supposed to do, while at the same time, every fiber in her being screamed for her to run. The ground had formed claws and held her in place even as her mind raced with panic and terror.
“Riley!”
The scuffle of his shoes on gravel was the last straw for Riley. She turned on her heels and ran, uncaring that the probability of a broken ankle in three inch pumps was very likely when running blindly through a gravel paved parking lot in the dead of night. But a broken ankle was a small price to pay compared to, oh, not breathing. She liked breathing. She wanted to keep doing that.
Adrenaline shot through her, mingling with the panic and fear breeding inside her. Her heart hammered thick and pasty in her throat as she ran for the restaurant doors. If she could just get inside, she’d be safe. No way would they try anything with a room full of people, people with phones she could use to call the police.
“Riley, wait!” she heard Octavian shout after her.
Yeah. Right, pal! She wanted to shout back, but opted to save her breath. She would need it if she wanted to get out of there with her life.
“Damn it!” She heard him curse two seconds before he materialized in a black puff of smoke right in front of her, blocking her from the door.
Chapter 9
Riley screamed, scrambling back. The heel of her shoe caught and she went down with a bone rattling crash that exploded through her like fire. The arm she’d landed on spiked with white hot agony that sent the world sparking with crimson stars. For a moment, she couldn’t catch her breath and everything dipped into a vat of ebony. But even the pain of landing on sharp bits of rock didn’t deter her mind’s determination to flee. She was scampering up and running before the cuts on her leg and the heels of her hands had time to begin throbbing. The blossoming thrum in her hip was another story. It put a nasty limp in her escape plan, but even that was forced aside.
“Riley, please wait.” For the second time, he materialized before her, emerging from a puff of smoke that was as black as the night with soft highlights of purple. He put up a hand, palm out in what he probably considered a calming gesture. “Please, don’t be afraid.”
Riley wanted to laugh, she tried to, but the sound came out a choked wheeze. “You killed a man.” She gasped, wheezed, clutching the stitch in her side. “You came out of smoke.” She doubled over slightly as her stomach rebelled. “You… what the hell are you?”
“Come inside,” he said calmly, in a manner one would use with a spooked horse. “I’ll explain.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
From behind her, the sound of running feet had her defenses rising again. She whipped around just as Gideon and Magnus came charging out from around the corner, neither looking like they just helped murder and dump a body.
“What’s going on?” Magnus demanded.
“We heard a scream,” Gideon added. His gaze fell on Riley, taking in her ashen complexion, her torn and dirty clothes and the steady flow of blood trickling down her leg and dripping from her fingers. His eyes narrowed dangerously. “What happened? Who did this?”
“Stay away!” she warned when he took a step towards her. “All of you, just… stay back!”
Gideon froze. His eyes widened. They snapped to Octavian, demanding an explanation.
Octavian ignored him, attention turned on Riley. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
She did laugh this time, sharp and bitter. “Right, like I haven’t seen enough Godfather movies to know better.” She stumbled back into the trunk of a car when her knees gave out. She used the cold metal as support, ignoring what a stupid and vulnerable position she was placing herself in. The pain had caught up with her and it was all she could do to keep from giving into it. “Tell me you didn’t kill him.” Breathing hard, she turned to Octavian. “Tell me I saw wrong.”
“We didn’t—”
“We did.” Octavian ignored Magnus’ sharp glower. “I did.”
A strangled sound escaped her, a sound between a whimper and a moan. “Oh God… of all the men I could have fallen for, of course he would be a killer.”
Something dark flashed across his face. “Come inside. I promise I’ll explain everything.”
“You can’t tell her anything,” Magnus hissed.
Octavian spared his brother a weary glance. “I have to.”
“Say something!” Magnus shoved Gideon.
The other man tipped slightly, but remained upright. His gray eyes flickered from Octavian to Riley, his expression blank. He said nothing for several minutes as he weighed the situation. Finally, after several more sharp jabs from Magnus, he relented. “I’ll call Dad,” was all he said.
It was the slow fire burning up her body and the need for witnesses that made her yield and agree to head back inside, all the while keeping a close eye on the trio, who were doing a great job keeping their distance, while simultaneously remaining within distance. Riley was guided to the corner table and offered a seat, which she took with silence. Octavian pulled out the chair across from her while Magnus stormed off to appease the long line that had formed behind the bar. It was a wonder the place hadn’t gotten ransacked in their absence. Gideon left them to disappear into the kitchen. Riley watched the door swing closed behind him and even long after, refusing to look at the man watching her.
“Look at me, Riley,” he murmured as though reading her mind.
She shook her head. “Not until you tell me what the hell just happened.” Despite her refusal, her gaze swung over to him. “What are you?”
He seemed to hesitate a moment. His eyes darted to where Magnus stood behind the bar, mixing and pouring drinks. The other brother gave h
im a warning glower and shook his head. Octavian turned back to Riley.
“It’s a long story, but I promise to tell you.”
He was saved from further prodding when Gideon returned, a white metal box in hand. He set it on the table between Riley and Octavian.
Octavian stared at it, sadness dark in his eyes. “I can’t touch her,” he told his brother.
Gideon said nothing. He drew a chair forward so the three of them sat in a triangle and pried open the first aid kit. He removed band aids, gauze wraps and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He set them neatly on the table then reached for her. She jerked away.
“No.” She swallowed hard. “Not until I get some answers.”
Instead of answering her, Gideon turned to Octavian. “Mom and Dad are on the way.” When he got no response from his brother, he turned to Riley. “Those wounds need tending or they’ll get infected. If you won’t let me, then you do it.”
Seeing no reason to argue that, she reached for the cotton balls. Keeping an eye on the two in front of her, she dampened it with alcohol and set to work cleaning the raw and torn bits of flesh peeled away from her kneecap. She managed to wipe away most of the blood, but her new dress was ruined. There was no fixing the torn hem or the blood now staining it. She felt her eyes begin to sting as she desperately tried to salvage it. It annoyed her that, despite everything that had happened that evening, getting her dress wrecked was the breaking point.
“Riley…” Octavian made as though to reach for her. But at the last second, before she could, he jerked back, curling his fingers and returning them to the table in a tight fist.
“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Her head came up sharply, tears still dangerously close to falling.
“Here.” Magnus appeared at the table and set a glass of something clear, like water, down in front of her, but she’d served enough of those to know it wasn’t.
She shook her head. “I don’t drink.”
Magnus frowned. “How do you work at a bar and not drink?”
“Because it wasn’t in the job requirement!” she snapped back, grateful for a reason to fight the tears back. “Just like watching a murder being committed wasn’t or… or watching someone… poof into…” she trailed off, voice wavering along with her sanity. Suddenly drinking didn’t sound like such a bad idea. She needed something to strive away the blinking halo of darkness looming closer with every second. So she did. She gave herself no room to second guess her actions. She grabbed the drink and threw it back and waited for the burn.
But there was none. It was sweet, like grape juice and it flowed down her throat warm and rich like a root beer float. When it struck her stomach, she almost moaned. It was delicious and it made everything so… focused, like a very clear dream. The edges remained fuzzy while everything inside the circle stayed crisp and sharp.
“What is this?” Her voice sounded slurred even to her own ears and it nearly made her giggle. Man she was a lousy drunk.
“Riley? What happened?”
Riley blinked, surprised by Liam’s face hovering over her. “When did you get here?”
“I’ve always been here,” he replied with his warm smile.
Riley frowned. “No, no you haven’t.” Had he? She couldn’t be sure. Everything was so hazy and scenes kept overlapping like a dream. “I’m so tired.”
He took her hand lightly and patted the back. “We’ll take you home in just a moment. I’m going to look at your injuries first, okay?”
Her frown deepened. She was injured? How had that happened?
“I’m not injured.” she slurred, fighting to keep her eyes open. “Can I have more of… this?” She shoved her empty hand into Liam’s face, blinked. Where’d the glass go? She stared at her hand, baffled by its existence. Had her fingers always been so small? She shook her head and the room spun. Her stomach groaned and she shut her eyes.
“Riley?”
She opened her eyes, squinting to bring the face into focus.
Kyaerin smiled kindly at her. “Hello sweetie. How are you feeling?”
“Where’d Liam go?” Wow, this was the trippiest dream she’d ever had.
“Sweetie, what happened to your arm?”
“My arm?” It took some effort to find it, but she did. Kyaerin held it. She was unwrapping the gauze from around the burn marks. “Oh, you shouldn’t do that,” Riley said trying to jerk away.
Kyaerin ignored her as she peeled the wrap from the tender flesh. Riley hissed as bits of skin tore away with it.
“I’m sorry, love,” Kyaerin soothed softly. “I just want a look.” But no sooner had the injuries been brought into light when her face transformed into one of rage. “Who’s responsible for this?” Her snarl was things of horror movies. It sent chills down Riley’s spine.
There was a scuffle somewhere in the background. “I am.”
Her head whipped around. “Octavian? What have you done?”
Riley recoiled at the sharpness in her tone. “He didn’t—”
“It was an accident,” Magnus interrupted. “We were there.”
“You all knew?” She slammed her hand with the gauze on the table. Riley jumped. “And you didn’t think you ought to tell your father and me?”
The brothers exchanged sheepish glances.
“I told them not to,” Octavian said at last.
“That wasn’t your call to make,” Kyaerin said, tone hovering just an octave below hysterical.
“We were trying to protect you,” Reggie interrupted. “We didn’t want you to have to lie to the Summit.”
Kyaerin threw her arms out wide and let them drop back to her sides with a smack. “The Summit already knows about Riley. We had to notify them the moment she walked through those doors. What do you think will happen when they come to collect her—?”
“They can’t have her!” Octavian’s rage slammed through the room with gale force winds.
“That isn’t our choice to make!” his mother shot back. “They could arrive at any moment and there is nothing any of us can do to stop them. We’re only lucky they haven’t, that our time and celestial time differ so greatly. Otherwise, can you imagine that chaos that would have ensued? We would have all been mediated or worse!”
“Hush, sweetheart.” Liam appeared behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Is there nothing you can do?”
“Do? No! I can’t…” She rubbed a hand over her face. “He marked her, Liam.”
He kissed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s all right, darling. We’ll fix it.”
Kyaerin shook her head, the tears in her eyes bright. “We can’t fix this.”
“Don’t cry. I’m sorry,” Riley murmured, wishing she knew where her arms were so she could reach out to the other woman. Oh, there they were, lying useless in her lap.
Instead of giving comfort, her words only seemed to upset Kyaerin further. “Oh, sweetie—”
“There’s no mark,” Gideon intervened, straining his neck to have a look. “Maybe it didn’t happen.”
Wiping her eyes, Kyaerin stared down at Riley’s arm. “That’s because what Octavian has done is forbidden. We don’t mark humans. We swore…” She exhaled loudly. “Our oath is restricting her ascension. If she doesn’t ascend soon…”
“What will happen?” Coils of tension edged Octavian’s question.
Kyaerin turned her head to peer at her son from over her shoulder. “Without her mark, her ascension will overtake her and she won’t be strong enough to survive it. She will die.”
Whoa, that so did not sound good.
“What are you talking about?” Riley heard her voice slip incoherently through the air, but she never felt her lips move. Maybe she thought the question? She couldn’t be sure.
“How do we stop it?” Octavian stepped into view, his eyes shiny with fear and anxiety, but also unwavering determination. “Tell me and I’ll do it.”
“There is no way to stop the ascension once a mate is m
arked,” his mother said. “There’s no taking it back. She’s yours.”
Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) Page 12