by Lan Chan
“Are you trying to make me feel bad?” I snapped.
“Yes.” She glided past me into the room. “Whatever else is going on in that head of yours, I want you to feel awful about what you might be leaving behind.”
Excusing myself, I asked the closest Nephilim attendant to find me something to write on. He returned in the blink of an eye with a set of golden-trimmed note cards with matching envelopes and a fountain pen. Even their scrap paper was fancier here. Bloody Nephilim. While the party was in full swing, I was literally in the closet writing notes. One for Cassie and the other for Astrid. When I was done, I gave them to the one person I knew I could trust not to peek.
Charles did a full double-take when I tapped him on the shoulder. “You look so pretty,” he blurted out in his half-breaking voice. The boy in him grabbed me and spun me around in a circle. “I wish this was your bonding.”
He left it at that, and I wanted to just lean my forehead against his chest and bawl my bloody eyes out, because out of everybody, Charles had never questioned why I did anything. He simply accepted that I had my reasons and trusted that I could look after myself.
“I need you to give these to the girls,” I told him. “You’ll know when.”
“Okay,” he said, drawing the word out in his confusion. “Don’t I get one?”
You could have ripped my heart out there and then. Getting up on my toes, I kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you it hurts.”
Smiling at his perplexed expression, I allowed myself to be pulled away into the orbit around my friends. Trey, Roland and Sasha were engaged in a heated discussion with Dev about what kinds of tests we would be assigned for our end-of-semester exam trials. Isla spent fifteen minutes arguing with Orla about whether it was morally objectionable to accidentally on purpose injure James in said trials. I found it disconcerting that Isla was the one arguing that they shouldn’t do it.
Nanna stood on the outside of the gathering, whispering conspiratorially with Nora and Mani, their identically furrowed brows making me nervous. Not as nervous as where Jacqueline and Professor Mortimer had their heads together with Professor McKenna who had a vial of what looked like blood hanging around her neck.
Once in a while, Meryl Laurent would try to sidle up to them in order to claim some of Jacqueline’s attention. At which point the headmistress did a startling impression of Cassie and marched off with her nose in the air.
As six o’clock crept closer, I found myself outside the ballroom sitting next to Basil and Sophie on the stone lip of the fountain. With so many guests, hundreds by my quick census, the hall itself was overflowing onto the courtyard and lawns surrounding it. There were just as many people inside as there were out here. But we sat in a quiet bubble that I was grateful nobody else tried to burst.
I blinked and we could be inside the dorm room again, the three of us talking late into the night about nothing and everything. I closed my eyes for a second and drew the Ley dimension around us, asking for a moment in time to savour these two people who had become irrevocably linked to me.
Opening my eyes to the Ley sight, I blinked from the assault of colour around me. It made the lack of everything around the rainbow nucleus more pronounced.
“Basil,” I asked. “What’s going on around the perimeter of Seraphina?”
“The elite guard are putting up veil barriers.”
My blank look begged for an explanation. “They’re pockets, or in this case, whole sections of barriers that destroy magic of any kind. It means that anything trying to attack the city will have a much more difficult time getting their hooks in.”
“Kind of like the way the wards try and stop magic from getting into a space?” Sophie asked.
“A little like that. It’s more closely aligned to the way a draining works. It takes away the magic until it renders a supernatural, or in this case, a demon, completely mortal.”
“I wish it could do that to Lucifer,” I blurted out.
“If only.” Basil leaned over and touched his shoulder with mine. “This is still unbelievable.”
I gave him a wry smile. “Are you sure you’re not secretly happy that Kai is out of the picture?”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in closer. “I would have gotten used to it eventually,” he said. “By the time you turned forty or fifty, I might have even gotten used to the idea of you settling down. But this...” He shook his head. “It’s unnatural.”
“What kind of heartless cow jumps on somebody who has just gotten out of a relationship?” Sophie asked.
At that precise moment, the music died out and the heartless cow in question made an appearance in the alcove beside the entrance to the ballroom. Her ivory gown floated around her like a soft cloud, playing backdrop nicely to her mop of wavy, dark hair that hung like a curtain down her back. A circlet in starlit Mithril wove around the crown of her head, dripping emeralds at even intervals. Like Lucifer, she was so beautiful it was painful to look at her for too long. And then Kai appeared beside her and everything became background noise.
He was a certified sweatpants and T-shirt man, and it was a punch in the heart every time he put on a suit. Nephilim who were guards were supposed to be bonded in their armour as a sign of their dedication to their calling. But Kai in armour was more breathtaking than the sunrise and I had a feeling Chanelle might have had something to do with his outfit choice.
Whether or not she had taken advantage, Kai had enough affection for her that he had made himself lesser. I took in a pained breath, feeling like there was acid corroding my heart. There was nothing ostentatious about him, just clean, honourable, faithful to a fault, Malachi Pendragon. Those things made him shine far brighter than Chanelle’s material adornments, and I found myself hopping off the ledge as though I might take a step towards him. Basil was suddenly there beside me, anchoring me to the spot.
His grip on my hand was tight. My returned grip was tighter. As the Fae lights dimmed, we waited for the bonding couple to enter the ballroom. The lights around the couple were meant to be the only ones lit, but as it grew darker, a lick of magic whispered over my gown. Uh oh.
It started as a sprinkling of starlight at the hem and crawled up the skirt, over my hips and settled on my chest. The cornflower blue deepened until it became midnight blue in a hue that would make the night sky envious. I was literally glowing with starlight. Gasps broke out all around me. The doorway to the hall became blocked with guests wanting a better view. Feeling a sweep of ill intent, I refused to catch Chanelle’s eye, knowing she was ripping chunks out of me with her gaze.
Unsure how to stop it, I shook the skirt which only served to send sparks of light onto the surrounding grass. When they landed, the lawn became dusted by light that sank into the earth and started to grow.
Oh heavens no! I felt the tug of hedge magic as each little moonlight seed sent forth a shoot that grew before my very eyes into a circle of soft blue blooms. After I died, I was going to come back as a vengeful spirit to haunt Celine’s shop for eternity.
“You little bitch!” Chanelle wailed.
I took a step back, the mortification sinking in despite the many faces grinning at me from the sidelines. And then, a voice that cut out all other distractions gripped me.
“Blue.” It came out in a harsh rasp that made me think he was in pain. The theory was vindicated when he clutched at his head, falling down on one knee and groaning.
Blue! he screamed, and I knew it was for my ears only. A soul-wrenching scream of such unbelievable torment it snatched at a piece of my soul. That was when I saw it. Not the bond but something I had forgotten about, because like Kai, it wasn’t as showy as a Nephilim bond. It was a soul link. The one I had established when the Sisterhood had tried to steal his soul.
A demure little thread that had been chipping away at the Angelical, making inroads until it succeeded in its task of freeing him. It was then that I knew my time was up. There was no way for me to spare him or anyon
e else the pain of my death.
As the supernaturals swarmed on him, I stepped back and commanded Gabriel’s Key take me to the chamber. What I hadn’t counted on was the tenacity of a kitchen witch who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Just before I made the transition, she lashed out and grabbed me. I landed inside the cold of Lucifer’s tomb with Sophie clinging to my arm, the self-satisfied smile on her face disintegrating as she laid eyes on the Prince of Darkness.
51
I latched onto her elbow, fully intending to throw her back, when a wave of nausea rocked me sideways. “Lex?” Sophie was by my side. Sucking in a breath, I pushed her off, knowing I had scant time.
“Why did you do that?” I shouted even as I raced to place my hand on Lucifer’s shoulder.
“Why do you think?” she snapped at me. “You’re trying to die.”
“No.” I shook my head at her. “I’m going to die. I’m trying to make it count.”
“Lex....”
“No! Go back to the ballroom. You can’t be here!”
Rather than argue with her, I grabbed her shoulder and teleported to the garden where the Evil Three were waiting for me. Sophie wrapped her arms around me, refusing to let go as soon as she saw who was there.
“So you’ll let them help you but not me?” she snarled.
“Get off me!” Hysteria laced my words. The thought of her dying made cold spread through my body.
Harlow scowled. “We don’t have time for this!”
I knew that, but Sophie wouldn’t be dissuaded. She clamped her hands around my temples. “We started this together,” she said, eyes watering even though her jaw was tight. “I’m not letting you run off and sacrifice yourself. So either you let me help you, or I’ll bring the supernaturals down on us.”
“This isn’t some sort of picnic!” I shot back. “It’s a one-time deal.”
“So? I’m not some kind of worthless sidekick! Don’t sideline me and call it protection!”
Her desperate argument was the exact same one I’d had with Kai. Now that I was on the other end of it, I could see why he was always so pissed off by my reaction. Couldn’t she see that I was doing this because I loved her? In her eyes, I saw that she was asking the same question. She was doing this because she loved me.
And then thudding footsteps coming closer took the choice from me. The Evil Three laced hands. I grabbed Sophie who held on to Harlow and took us all back to the chamber. The Evil Three immediately threw up a soul barrier. An oppressive weight of consciousness pressed against it. Oh shit! Whatever was happening back at the grand hall was not enough to keep the seraphim engaged.
Harlow tossed a knife at me. Slicing indiscriminately across my palm, I slammed my hand on Lucifer’s chest. The connection wrought a terrible, thundering groan that sounded like old hardwood cracking.
The others held on to my shoulder, my arms, and my waist as I pinpointed the Angelical word and released it in my mind.
“No!” I heard Uriel cry aloud because even under these dire circumstances, he was unable to go against my free will.
Exholvah. Unbind.
Being careful not to allow cosmic misinterpretation of the word, I sensed it the moment the wards keeping Lucifer inside the chamber shattered. It was a miracle considering the ice pick that was boring its way into my brain.
A boom hit the side of the chamber, spitting rock and dust at us as it exploded. My eyelids flickered as a stone the size of my fist collided with where my head would have been if I wasn’t phasing. The last thing I saw was Uriel’s pained expression before we teleported away.
The crystal cathedral in Hell had no wards against me. I had a feeling that my essence would allow me to slip inside, as welcomed as Lucifer himself. It helped that I was bringing his vessel home.
We crash landed on the other side in a room that would make a human king weep. You could fly a plane in here the ceiling was so high. To match the grandeur of the room, alternate cathedral and plain-glass windows spanned the entire length of the wall behind our back. Stained glass threw multicoloured lights that reminded me very much of the colours I’d only ever seen in the Ley dimension.
It had clearly been constructed for use being a ruling entity. To the far left, I spotted a pair of double golden doors. To my right was a dais with about twenty steps that led to a golden throne with a winged back that was crowned by a morning star.
Proving that nice things and me didn’t mix, I immediately spat blood on the pristine marble floor. Pushing myself up despite the brain-splitting headache, I teleported to Ravenhall and snatched up the Sisterhood.
By the time we arrived back at the crystal palace, my vision was swimming in blood. It leaked out the sides of my eyes every time the pulse in my brain thudded.
“Lex!” Sophie screamed, coming up beside me where I was doubled over, trying not to expel my lungs.
“Why is she here?” Giselle roared.
“We don’t have time for this!” I said. “Start the summoning.”
Giselle tossed my backpack at me which Sophie caught. She dragged me out of the way as the Sisterhood raced around like ants, sealing us into the throne room and erecting a version of a soul gate. While I sat there taking gulping breaths and trying not to pass out, Sophie rummaged around in my backpack. She found the remaining vials of her potion and forced them down my throat.
She turned to inspect the still body of Lucifer’s vessel. Typical that I had come through the teleport looking and feeling like week-old roadkill and he was unmarred by all of it. A tremble ran down Sophie’s spine.
“This is unbelievable,” she said. Belief had nothing to do with it.
“I need to draw a circle.” I forced myself to my feet and grabbed a piece of red chalk from the backpack. “Can you please set up the candles?”
Mouth pressed into a thin line, Sophie piled up the dozen or so black votive candles in front of her and lit them with her magic. The feeling of fingernails scraping up my neck had me shuddering as the soul circle ignited into life around us. It flicked with an iridescent glow like the coating of a priceless cream pearl. At intervals around the soul gate, the remaining members of the Sisterhood positioned themselves for their task.
While I drew my own circle with Lucifer’s vessel at its centre, I watched as Harlow and Giselle made their own. Their circles were rudimentary constructs of Earth magic and runes. Mine was a complex patchwork of Angelical and demonic symbols. The horror of them brushed against my soul, making a chill sweep over me. Unable to move Lucifer fully, each time I had to complete two lines, Sophie and I had to move parts of him aside. Both of us shuddered with revulsion.
“I’m never going to get the taint off me,” Sophie said, her skin ashen. Pushing forward with the task at hand regardless of the obstacle, I grit my teeth as the temperature in the room began to drop steadily.
“Why the hell is it so cold?” Matilda asked. Her breath came out in a dense cloud.
“Shut up and keep going,” Giselle told her.
Falling down on her knees, Matilda’s head bent over the sheet of paper in front of her. Each one of them had been given a list of the souls they were charged with stealing. I bit back a sudden sob, thinking about what I was going to do. Though they had all been judged as criminals, it still felt intrinsically wrong to take their souls. If I thought too hard about it, I would walk away.
An intrusive presence in my mind snapped its jaws at me. Hold it together! Giselle snarled in my thoughts. I should have known the mind witch wouldn’t have allowed me to go into this alone. In her thoughts I saw that she viewed me as soft. Anyone was soft compared to her.
A few of them for the lives of all of us. It’s not even a contest, she urged. Just to prove that manipulation wasn’t above her pay grade, she threw up mental images of everyone I loved to remind me why this had to be done. I whimpered as she cemented our connection into place, while at the same time reaching into the Soul dimension, filtering through all the people in the supermax prison and rip
ping out the soul of her target.
Unable to stand the man’s agonised cry, I tried to withdraw but she held me firm. Serial rapist, Giselle reminded me. I bit my lip drawing blood.
In the depths of my mind, I knew that I was doing this for another reason. Staring ahead at Lucifer’s vessel, bile and bitter hatred coated my throat. My whole life had been his construct. My death would be a testament to his absolute control. Despite all the power I had been given, when it really mattered most, I would be helpless. It made me enraged.
Tearing the heavenly blade from my backpack, I unsheathed it and laid it down in front of me. With the knife that Giselle had given me, I reopened the wound in my palm and began to crawl around the demonic circle I had drawn. Dripping blood at even intervals along the inside perimeter, I infused the blood with words of power. When I was done, I pressed my finger to a drop of blood and used it to draw a word of Angelical. While the blood faded towards the end, each word was clear as permanent marker in my brain.
“Are you ready?” Giselle called out.
No. “Yes.”
My hands were already shaking. The exertion of even thinking the Angelical had burned through the reserves of Sophie’s potion. How in the world was I going to keep this together?
“Which one of you is going to do it?” I gulped. Despite what the MirrorNet said, I knew my soul was the strongest by far. We needed it to reinforce the circle when Lucifer exploded. The sticky issue was that stealing my soul would mean killing me. While we’d made plans, the intention had always been there. It was just that we had never settled on who would do it. I was adamant that it couldn’t be one of the Evil Three. It was bad enough that they were here at all. To make them take my life was impossible.
“Me,” Simone said. It made sense. She barely knew me. The fact that she hadn’t chosen to return until now said that she had very little investment in anything but her mission.
“Do what?” Sophie asked, returning to my side.
Nobody said a word, but as she took in my resigned posture and the rigid positions of the Sisterhood, it dawned on her. “No way!” she shouted.