She quickly retracted the claws and fur, her hand returning to normal, and stared at me with terrified eyes.
“Have you always been able to do that?” I didn’t know much about the abilities of demons, but my guess was no. I only posed the question so she continued to feel comfortable around me.
“It started happening a few days after I mated with Flint.” She hung her head, as if ashamed. Then she looked back up at me and continued, “That’s the most I’ve shifted so far. But I know I can do more. I feel the wolf inside of me, aching to be released. I’ve been controlling her so far by only shifting parts of my body at a time. But it’s not enough. I’m terrified I’m going to lose control of my emotions, and she’s going to burst out completely, and everyone will see me shift and know I’ve been tainted.”
Well, that explained why she smelled like wolf along with demon.
“How do the others not know?” I asked. “I mean no offense, but you smell slightly of wolf.”
“They assume it’s because I’ve mated with Flint—that a part of him rubbed off on me,” she said. “They just don’t know how much rubbed off on me. And they can never find out. Because if they know I’m not pure anymore…” She rubbed her hands over her arms, as if trying to wipe away what she’d become. “Who knows what they’ll do to me? There’s no one else like this. I’m a freak of nature. I’ll never be accepted by anyone ever again.”
“That’s not true,” I said, even though I had no way of knowing if it was true or not. I didn’t doubt her that the demons might reject her if they learned about this. But I needed to say something to calm her down and make her feel better. “Have you tried talking to Flint about this?” I asked. “I know you said things have been strained between you, but he’s your mate. The universe wouldn’t have brought you together for no reason.”
“You don’t understand,” she said. “If I tell Flint, he’ll go to my father. And he’ll take my father’s side. That’s how the bond works. Flint’s will is my father’s will. I knew that when I encouraged him to go through with the binding ceremony. I just didn’t realize how much it would change him, and how much mating with him would change me…” Her voice wavered at the final part, the tears starting again. She wiped them away, getting control of herself quicker this time. “This is why I need your help. I need you to use your gift to turn me back to what I used to be. Take the wolf away. Take these new feelings away. I don’t want any of it.”
I watched the girl sadly, knowing full well that what she was asking was beyond anything I could do. At least, it was beyond anything I knew I could do.
But Mara was so desperate. So open. It sounded like mating with Flint had somehow humanized her and made her vulnerable. She was the only person living here who had emotions and the freedom to do as she wanted.
If anyone in this compound could be the key to my eventual escape, it was Mara.
The plan formed quickly in my mind. I’d spend time with her, using all the homeopathic remedies I knew to try to “fix” her. Once that didn’t work—since those remedies weren’t made for something like this—I’d tell her I needed to do tarot readings for her to learn what truly needed to be done to help her. I’d tell her that I could only do tarot readings if she could get me off the complacent potion. Once she did that, I’d tell her we needed to go to holy ground for the spell to work.
When we were far enough away from the compound, I’d run.
In conversation today, the shifters had mentioned a mansion of powerful witches living in Beverly Hills who were actively working against them. The Devereux Circle. I’d find them. If the Devereux witches were truly fighting against the demons—which it sounded like they were—they’d help me.
Mara was looking up at me with so much hope that I felt bad taking advantage of her. But she was a demon. She was the daughter of my enemy.
If I needed to use her to escape and find Raven, then so be it.
“I can help you,” I lied, feeling guilty with each word that came out of my mouth. “We’ll work together one on one on healing your soul, but it’s going to take time. And for your sake, we need to make sure no one else at the compound knows what we’re doing.”
“That’ll be easy,” she said. “The shifters here are all afraid to get close to me, since I’m Azazel’s daughter and married to their alpha. And my father and Flint are so busy plotting together that they barely pay me any attention. I’ll just say I’m bored and you’re the best entertainment in this place. They won’t think twice about it.”
“Perfect,” I said. “I’ll do what I can with the limited materials we have here. But it would help if I had more. How much access do you have to the outside world?”
Her eyes hardened—apparently I’d struck a nerve. “After we mated, Flint commanded me not to leave the compound. He said it was for my own protection.” The annoyance in her tone got across how she felt about that. “I have free will, so I can technically leave if I wanted to. But the entire pack is making sure I heed Flint’s command. So I’m stuck here. But I have access to the internet and Flint’s credit cards. Anything I order online appears on the doorstep two days later. It’s incredible—like magic.”
From the way she was smiling about online delivery, I assumed they didn’t have the internet in Hell.
The only hiccup in my plan was that she was stuck here, just like me. But we had time. Surely we could devise a way for her to get around that.
I smiled back at her, hope brewing more and more in my chest. One of the initial commands Azazel had given me under the complacent potion was that I wasn’t allowed to communicate with the outside world, including not using the internet. But he never said anything about no one using the internet for me. It had probably never crossed his mind that anyone would do that, since everyone at the compound was either a demon devoted to his cause or another supernatural forcefully under his control.
Everyone except for Mara.
“Great,” I said. “We can start with a few crystals and essential oils…”
I made a small list for her, and just like that, I was officially working with a demon.
38
Annika
Getting myself presentable and putting on a confident appearance at the welcome banquet had taken more energy than anyone knew. I’d managed to put on a good show. But since then, I’d returned to my room, completely depleted.
When I’d become the Earth Angel, no one had warned me about the increased empathy and how it would affect my energy. It wouldn’t have changed my decision to drink from the Grail and become an angel, but a warning would have been nice. At least then I would have been able to brace myself and prepare.
I’d always been a relatively energetic person. Even when I was a blood slave in the Vale, I’d been able to keep focused and do what needed to be done to get by each day.
But watching the humans that I’d brought to Avalon die after drinking from the Grail had killed a part of my soul. At least, that’s what it felt like.
No spell or potion that the witches and mages had concocted had been able to help me. I’d tried praying to the angels above, asking them for advice about how they dealt with their heightened emotions. But I was only met with radio silence.
Being the only one of my kind on Earth was lonelier than anyone could imagine. And after a time, loneliness hurt. Like a heavy blanket smothering my soul, making it harder to breathe with each passing day.
At least I had Jacen. Without him, I might have given up completely by now.
Jacen was constantly reminding me that I had fire in me, and that becoming a new species was bound to take its toll. He’d experienced something similar when he’d been changed into a vampire and hadn’t been able to control his blood lust. It had taken him a year to adjust to his “new normal.”
So I held onto that spark buried within myself. No matter how much these new, strong emotions were trying to snuff it out, I refused to let it die.
But for now, we were having dinner in ou
r quarters—just the two of us. Tonight, my mana tasted like grilled cheese and tomato soup. Delicious and comforting.
“I don’t want to speak too soon,” Jacen said once we’d finished eating. “But I think Raven will finally be the one to drink from the Grail and survive.”
“She certainly seems to think she’s indestructible.” I shrugged, wishing I still had that same faith that Raven seemed to have—the faith that I could do anything. I used to have it. But not anymore.
I glanced out the window to the beautiful mountains outside, remembering how barren they’d been when we’d first arrived. The way the island used to be reflected the way I currently felt. The beauty out there now felt farther away than ever.
“What are you thinking about?” Jacen asked, concerned. He’d been concerned about me since the first human had sipped from the Grail and died.
“The day we first got here,” I said, turning back around to look at him. “When I signed the contract, binding myself to Avalon, and we stood in the garden and watched everything bloom back to life.” I tried to remember how happy I’d been that day, but I hit a brick wall. Happiness wasn’t something I’d been able to feel since condemning so many humans to their deaths. “Everything seemed so full of hope back then. I never imagined we’d be where we are now.”
“I know you didn’t.” Jacen reached across the table and placed his hand over mine, his familiar silver eyes full of love as they gazed deep into my soul. “But Raven’s arrival here has renewed my hope. It renewed everyone on Avalon’s hope—I saw it at the banquet. Rosella sent her to us for a reason, just like Rosella guided you on the path to becoming the Earth Angel for a reason.”
“I do trust Rosella,” I said. “I guess I just thought the hardest part would be over after winning the Battle of the Vale.”
“None of this will be over until the final demon on Earth is killed for good,” he said what I already knew. “But no matter how difficult it gets, I love you, and you love me.”
“I do.” I nodded. “Of course I love you.”
Then he did the last thing I expected.
He slid out of his seat and got down on one knee, gazing up at me with eyes full of endless love. “There’s no one else I want by my side while saving the world from demons,” he said. “And I’m ready to make our love official before God. So, Annika Pearce, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He removed a black felt box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. It was classic and simple—exactly my style.
My eyes lingered on the ring, and then back to Jacen’s adoring gaze, filling with tears. “It’s beautiful,” I said, the words getting stuck in my throat. “But how can we get married when everything here is so grim?”
Honestly, I didn’t know how I could get married when my soul was so grim.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Because I’d yet to feel comfortable voicing how awful I truly felt. I couldn’t tell anyone—not even Jacen—how bad my despair was. It was like the world used to be technicolor, but now it was black and white. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see the color anymore. Even around the ones I loved the most.
Saying it out loud would make me feel more helpless than I already did.
A wedding day was supposed to be one of the happiest of a person’s life. But how could mine be like that when I’d forgotten what happiness felt like?
“This isn’t about Avalon, or about the rest of the world,” he said, still looking up at me with pure love. “This is about us. We’ll overcome every challenge thrown at us, and then some. And we’re both immortal, so we should be looking at an eternity together. But if something happens to us—to either of us—I don’t want our time here together to end without us being married.”
“You mean if we die?” I asked.
“Yes.” He nodded, and I was grateful for his honesty, no matter how dark the circumstances. “I don’t know what the Beyond holds, but I want to be married to you before we have to find out. I also think a wedding is exactly what Avalon needs to lift everyone’s spirits. And most importantly, I love you, and I’ll only ever love you. I loved you since the moment I saw you at the Christmas Eve festival at the Vale. So… what do you say? Will you marry me?”
He looked so open and vulnerable that I could barely bring myself to say no.
“Of course I want to marry you,” I said, since it was the truth. “But not like this. Not how I feel right now—like there are shadows surrounding me, and I can’t see the light, no matter how hard I try. Our wedding day is something that can only happen once, and I want to be able to enjoy it. Anything else isn’t fair to either of us.”
“You’re right.” He frowned and started to put the ring away. “It’s too soon. I should have realized you weren’t ready.”
“No.” I reached out, stopping him from putting the ring away. “I do want to marry you. You’re my soul mate, Jacen. My always and forever, for eternity and more. You know that. But we only get to do this once, and I want to do it right. So yes. My answer is yes. But I don’t want to feel like this on our wedding day.” He nodded, and I was glad he understood what I meant, since speaking it out loud again hurt too much to bear. “Once a human is able to drink from the Grail and survive, I think my hope—and my soul—will feel restored, too,” I continued. “Then I’ll be ready. And if you have as much faith in Raven as you say you do, it doesn’t sound like that will be too long from now.”
“I do have faith in her.” He straightened his shoulders, looking like he truly believed it. “I also have faith that you’ll pull through this. Even if we have to wait longer than after the first human survives the Grail, I don’t want you feeling anything other than whole and happy on our wedding day. If that means a long engagement, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
I smiled, loving how understanding he was about all of this. It wasn’t exactly an easy situation.
I was eternally grateful that we’d found each other.
“So… are you going to put that ring on my finger or what?” I asked, glancing at the sparkling diamond.
He removed it from the case, slid it onto my finger, and pulled me into a kiss.
Before I knew what was happening, he swept me off my feet and pulled me onto the bed, and I was staring up into his silver eyes that were more beautiful than any diamond on Earth.
“I love you,” I said, smiling up at him through tear-filled eyes as he lowered himself to kiss me again—this time longer, deeper, and full of all the love we felt for each other that was too strong and intense to ever properly speak out loud.
And just then, I felt a flicker within myself… something I almost didn’t recognize, since I hadn’t felt it in months.
Happiness.
39
Lavinia
The young boy’s body was useless to us after the vampire venom had poisoned him from the inside out. He’d been disposed of immediately after rejecting the change.
Harry, on the other hand… he’d taken to the change well. It had been too easy to find a homeless beggar in LA to throw into the pool house so Harry could drain the human and complete his transition to a vampire.
Azazel had no intention of keeping Harry alive. He’d only kept Skylar because of her unique psychic gift. But we weren’t changing gifted humans into vampires to use them for their enhanced abilities.
We were changing them for their blood. The blood of a slain gifted vampire was far more useful to us than their gifts could ever be.
I marched into the pool house, my knife at one side and a stake at the other. I was ready for the fun part.
“It’s time?” asked the demon who’d been guarding the door. It was Alex—the demon who was supposed to have been killed by the hunters in Chicago. The one who had kindly allowed Azazel to use his DNA for transformation potion so Azazel could trap and stop the hunters that night instead.
“It’s time.” I nodded, and we both entered the pool house.
&nb
sp; Despite Harry’s new vampire scent, it still reeked of wolf inside. Apparently a wolf shifter had been crashing here before Azazel had taken over the compound. And not just any wolf. The legendary First Prophet himself, Noah of the Vale. His stuff was still everywhere, like he thought he was coming back.
From what I’d heard of Noah, he could have been a strong ally for Azazel. But apparently he’d joined the other side.
Pity.
Harry sat serenely on the couch. He’d been given complacent potion and had been ordered to stay where he was, not to speak, and not to fight.
He was helpless.
Just how I liked them.
The bucket I’d requested had already been delivered to the pool house. It was waiting for us in the kitchen area.
I walked to the table and reached for one of the chairs, turning it around. Then I walked over to the bucket, picked it up, and placed it in front of the chair.
The setup was nearly identical to what we’d been doing in the farmhouse attic above the bunker in Nebraska.
“Prepare the vampire,” I ordered Alex.
He swiftly grabbed Harry and stood up in the chair. He held onto Harry’s ankles so the new vampire dangled upside-down, his head directly over the bucket. Harry couldn’t speak—thank you, complacent potion—but his wide brown eyes spoke of unimaginable confusion and fear. He kept opening his mouth as if trying to say something, but nothing came out.
“Don’t worry,” I said, drawing the stake from my weapons belt. “This will only hurt for a second.”
I sprung forward and drove the stake through his heart.
His eyes unfocused, going blank and still. Dead.
I left the stake where it was. If I removed it, blood would escape from the hole in his chest, and there was no need to make this any messier than necessary. Especially since I was wearing one of my favorite white dresses.
I reached for my dagger next. It was my favored dagger, with a black opal stone at the hilt. The opal had a bit of green gleaming from the inside, making the weapon ebb with power.
The Angel Trials- The Complete Series Page 92