by Lizzy Ford
Gabriel shrugged.
"And you escaped?"
"Long story. Not about to relive it," Katie said, crossing her arms. "You dragged me into this shitty world."
Kris rubbed his face and glanced at Jade, whose frown was more pronounced than Ileana’s.
"We’ll talk about it later," Kris said. "I asked Gabriel to find you days ago. Didn’t realize why it took him so long. Andre’s dead."
"Oh." She softened. "I’m sorry, Kris."
His gaze lingered on her, as if he smelled her perfume and was trying hard to identify it.
"You summoned me here. Do you want something or were you curious if I’d survived the bombing after you all ditched me?" she asked at the uneasy silence.
"There isn’t a creature in this realm that talks to me like you do," Kris muttered. "How the fuck did you survive Hell?"
"Made some friends. Met the devil himself and decided I’d had enough of this shit. Used my newfound power to steal a key from some robed freak."
"You met Sasha?" Ileana asked, interested for the first time.
"Intimately acquainted," she replied, cold gaze on Kris. "Not a fan of yours, either."
"No one has to like me. My job is to protect the fate of humanity, and I do it well," he snapped. "You can’t possibly have somewhere else to be. My brother, Andre, was the mediator on the Council That Was Seven on which my brothers sat. World War Three is about to break out and the Council will dissolve if I don’t introduce the human who’s immune to us."
"You want me to meet the Council?"
"You will meet the Council this evening."
Rhyn’ll be so pissed. Yet the thought of the alleged good guys losing the ultimate war because she didn’t attend a stupid meeting didn’t sit well with her. Her gaze again went to Jade, who looked ready to pounce. Whatever happened, she couldn't be alone with him.
"I need some coffee," she said.
Kris relaxed, as if expecting a refusal. He motioned toward a hole in the wall, and he and Jade and Ileana trailed her out of the destroyed building.
"I really am sorry about Andre," Katie said. "I liked him."
"He kept the Council focused on defending humanity and not killing each other," Kris replied. "I’ll miss my dear brother."
"There are…were seven of you, right?" she asked.
"Who told you this?"
At his sharp tone, she quickly changed the subject, saying, "After the meeting, I have to go."
"No. You’re staying where my brothers can’t get to you, which is with me."
"No can do,” she replied. “Gabriel knows where I’m staying. You can send him when you want."
"It’s too dangerous for you alone," he said firmly.
"I’m not alone, and I’m leaving."
They squared off, glaring at one another. His gaze dropped to the thin, stubborn line that was her mouth and then to her scarf. Understanding crossed his features, and he unwound it, ignoring her attempts to slap him away. His stunned look was accompanied by Jade’s alarmed exclamation.
"That son of a bitch claimed you? I thought he was dead-dead!"
"Betrayer of humanity," Ileana whispered. "Almost succeeded in destroying the world."
Ileana's reaction scared her. Jade's look turned to one of horror. Katie knew Rhyn was a monster, but of this magnitude…
"Thank god Gabriel got you away from him. There’s no telling what he’d do to you," Kris said. "He’s been in Hell for hundreds of thousands of years. He and Sasha betrayed the Council and humanity long ago."
She gazed at him, confused. Rhyn had been a prisoner like her.
"There goes that plan," Ileana said with a sigh. "Kris had planned to claim you. Ully found out Kris can use your power to make him immune from the other Ancients."
Jade glanced sharply at Ileana, then at Kris. Kris met his gaze, and the intensity of the exchange left Katie no doubt as to their relationship. A red flush rose in the normally unflappable Council leader's face.
A chill went through her. Was this why Jade sold her out? And did Rhyn know of her gift? Was that the plan of the betrayer of humanity, to use her to destroy the world?
But he’d treated her so differently than Sasha. Sasha she could see raping and bleeding her nightly to mask him from the Ancients. Rhyn had been…nice. Almost.
"Kris, what time is the damned…"
The voice was unfamiliar. She turned to see a tall, lean man with olive features that more closely resembled Rhyn's.
"Tamer, this is our Katie. Katie, my brother Tamer, who's in charge of Africa," Kris grated. "The meeting’s at seven."
"So you weren’t lying, brother," Tamer purred. His gaze fell to her neck. He frowned. "Kris, you have enough immortals to destroy Rhyn again? He can’t be allowed to betray us again."
…destroy Rhyn again…betray us.
"I'll keep an eye on her," Jade offered.
How did she tell Kris his closest advisor had betrayed him? She was panicking, recalling the horrors of the hours at Sasha’s hands. She met Jade's gaze, unable to look away. Her throat felt raw again, and the scent of her blood returned. If she looked, she’d be covered in it…
She had to get out of there before Jade found a way to alert Sasha.
"You look sick, Katie. I’ll get you some whiskey," Ileana said. "And a bottle for me as well."
Katie nodded stiffly, unable to speak. She sensed Rhyn's presence before any of the others and braced herself, almost hyperventilating.
"Fuck," Kris whispered, rigid.
He stared past her. She feared looking at Rhyn, feared knowing what shape he’d taken. Instead, she tried to keep her trembling body upright and her vision from growing tunneled.
"You have something that’s mine, brother," came the familiar, low growl.
"You should be in Hell with your fuck-buddy Sasha," Kris snapped.
"You couldn’t defeat me and Hell couldn’t hold me."
By the look on Ileana’s face, Katie knew Rhyn spoke the truth. Katie faced him and saw that he was dressed like Gabriel, all in black. His chiseled features were sinister in the fractured light, his eyes glowing with quiet fury. He was as tense as she’d seen him, ready to morph and attack.
Without looking at her, Rhyn pointed to the spot beside him.
"No, Katie," Kris said quickly, starting forward. He stopped at the growl that came from deep within Rhyn’s chest. "Stay with us. He’ll destroy you and then the rest of humanity."
"Stay with us, Katie," Ileana seconded.
She hesitated, her gaze turning to Tamer.
"Stay with us," Jade echoed.
"Now." Rhyn’s tone made her jump.
She went to him, shaking with the thought of being vulnerable to a creature like Sasha again. Kris didn’t know what Jade had done. He couldn’t protect her. Rhyn could protect her from anything. Her head was spinning, her vision narrowing, and she paused close enough to Rhyn to lean against him.
"Take us away, take us away," she whispered.
He steadied her with one hand, and a second later the cool dampness of the shadow world swallowed her. He guided her through the fog, and they emerged in a dark room with the light of streetlamps filtering through two windows across what looked another hotel room. She rested fully against him, shaking too hard to stay on her feet. He pushed her head to the side. She didn’t object when his fangs bit into her, instead sighing as the comforting warmth consumed her.
When he’d drunk his fill, his arms remained around her. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. Her shaking subsided. While she feared him, she feared the rest of the monsters more. At least this monster had indicated he was interested in keeping her around.
"Not so tough anymore, are you, little girl," he murmured.
"You’re not exactly the greatest protector!"
"You’re still alive."
"Is that your standard? Me surviving?" she asked incredulously.
"If they turn that beautiful face ugly, I still g
et blood.”
She opened her mouth to retort but stopped. In his own twisted way, he’d just called her beautiful. He smelled of rain and night, a masculine musk she found as soothing as his bite. He seemed at once disgusted by the fact she was a difficult mortal blood monkey and yet primitively protective, holding her as she quaked after her run-in with a man who wanted to kill her.
"Why on earth did you choose me over a nymph?" she demanded.
He released her, the peaceful moment over. It was dark wherever he’d brought her, and she looked around in wary curiosity. He didn’t answer but crossed to a window and flipped on a light.
"No more warnings," he growled. "You go nowhere without my permission."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Nowhere," he emphasized. "I don’t care if Death herself comes for you."
"It’s not like I have a chance to call you when you disappear," she pointed out. "You want me to tell Death to wait till you get back?"
His silver gaze swept over her. "No more scarves. Or alcohol."
She rolled her eyes. There was one bed--a California king--in what she now realized was a plain hotel room. She flung herself onto her back and stared at the ceiling. He sat at the window overlooking the street two dozen stories below.
"You need only say my name, and I’ll come to you," he grated at last, as if the words cost him a hefty bet. "Like you did when those immortal sons of bitches attacked you in Ireland."
"Some sort of monster psychic connection between us?"
He gave her a scathing look.
"Thanks for rescuing me again,” she said and sighed, exhausted. “You can teach me how to defend myself against monsters if you get tired of bailing me out."
"It’s my duty," he said, eyes returning to the street.
"Thank you anyway."
He bristled. She assumed he was angry with her again for some reason. When she felt the cool touch of the shadow world, she sat up straight.
"Gabriel!" she exclaimed, her gaze going to Rhyn.
To her surprise, the monster didn’t leap up and attack him. If anything, he ignored the death dealer.
"Sorry, Rhyn. I should've asked first," Gabriel said with a glance toward the window.
Rhyn shrugged.
"Gabriel, you have to tell Kris that Jade is working with Sasha!" she exclaimed. "He can’t know."
"He doesn’t," Gabriel confirmed, and sat in an armchair near Rhyn.
"Do you know?"
"Of course."
"Why the hell…is this that damn I-don’t-interfere-in-other-people's-business thing?" she demanded.
"Something like that," Gabriel said with mild amusement.
"Can you tell him I told you to tell him?"
"No."
"Can you take him a note?" she pushed.
"Why do you give a fuck, girl?" Rhyn snapped.
"He’s your brother, Shapeshifter," Gabriel chided.
"Brother?" she repeated. She stared at Rhyn. "You’re one of the seven Ancients."
"Who spent the last million years in Hell, thanks to Kris."
At the warning note in Rhyn’s icy tone, she fell quiet. He wasn’t a patient creature, whatever he was. She crossed to the small desk and rustled around for the complimentary paper and pen.
"Marriott, St. Louis?" she said with a frown. "Never wanted to go to St. Louis."
Neither spoke. She glanced up. Gabriel’s head was tilted to the side, as if listening, and Rhyn’s form had relaxed.
They were communicating silently. She wrote Kris a short message and folded the paper, presenting it to Gabriel. Rhyn snatched it and read it before tearing off the strip at the bottom with the hotel’s address.
He gave her a dirty look. She rolled her eyes at him.
"I’ll let Kris know not to worry about Katie," Gabriel said.
"He only need concern himself with his head," Rhyn responded. "The girl is mine. Nothing anyone can do about it."
"Unless someone kills you permanently," she said. "Right?"
Both looked at her, fleeting amusement on Gabriel’s face but Rhyn’s gaze flaring.
"Try it, and you’ll spend eternity with Sasha," Rhyn snapped.
"How much do you charge for assassinations, Gabriel?" she asked, ignoring Rhyn.
"A life for a life."
"Defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?"
"Not if you’re already dead or immortal."
"Out, Gabriel," Rhyn growled.
The death dealer disappeared. Rhyn gave Katie a long, withering look that she bore with crossed arms. Looking ready to explode, he rose, snatching his trench coat.
"What does it mean that I’m your mate?" she asked.
"It means I can’t kill you, as much as I’d like to!"
He breezed by her and wrenched the door open, slamming it closed. Frustrated when he was around, she couldn’t help but feel unusually alone when he was gone.
Gabriel returned to the Sanctuary in the Caribbean and paced in front of the hourglass perched on the altar. He wasn't able to shake his unease. Rhyn wasn't as far along as he'd hoped.
The sand in the hourglass had begun to fall faster the past two days. Rhyn didn't have a week.
He needed more time.
Gabriel crossed to the window and stared at where the dark ocean and night sky met in the distance. He willed his friend to learn the lessons he needed to, and fast.
Of all the mortals and immortals alike Gabriel had ever known, he'd never considered one a friend, not since his father's death. He'd often wondered if he had more family somewhere. If he did, he hoped he had a brother like Rhyn, who had been no older than Toby when Gabriel stumbled across him long, long ago. Gabriel delivered Rhyn to Andre and left him, though he always checked up on the half-demon whenever Andre hired him for an assassination.
Feeling helpless, Gabriel glanced again at the hourglass. For the first time since he was a child, he was worried.
Katie awoke in a sweat, the blurred scenes of gore and screams of dying from her dreams fading. The room was dark. She was alone. Disoriented, she leaned over to turn on the lamp. It was almost two in the morning.
St. Louis. She was in St. Louis.
Rhyn was still gone.
A tremor of dread slid through her. She’d had an impending sense of doom since meeting Gabriel on the street outside the faux police station, but this feeling was…defined.
"Rhyn? Can you hear me?" she called, feeling foolish when nothing happened.
She rose. As she bent to tie her shoes, a gory vision made her stagger. It was her dream all over, the flashes of light, darkness and blood, the scent of sulfur and death. She landed on her knees, horrified yet knowing something was very wrong. Rhyn was in trouble.
She glanced out the window and spotted the Arch. It flashed, silver glinting off its graceful curve. She closed her eyes, and dampness slid through her, over her. She opened her eyes and froze, recognizing the shadow world. Portals to other places glowed around her.
"Rhyn?" she whispered, close to panicking.
One of the portals flickered as if in response. Terrified of what she'd find on the other side, she stepped through and tripped. Grass tickled her hands, a chilled wind nipped her neck, and the scents from her vision intensified until she was near gagging.
She pulled her shirt over her nose and mouth and sat back on her heels. She sat on the river bank across from a series of wide, large steps leading up a hill to the park where the Arch stood, framed against a black sky.
Death. It was everywhere. She rose, trying hard not to look or touch anything. The grass, the road, the steps…all were littered with bodies and soaked in blood. She didn’t know what kind of massacre had occurred here--was it even real or was it a dream? She stepped through masses of flesh and body parts, holding her mouth, until she reached the road. It was less cluttered with bodies. Some of the tattoos of the dead still glowed, the eerie red tribal patterns punctuating the landscape.
She didn’t feel cold inside; she felt
frozen. She’d grown up never having seen death, and in the past week, she’d seen it in its most gruesome forms. She felt something squish beneath her shoe and almost vomited.
The sounds of heated discussion made her look toward the river. Three forms with glowing tattoos were moving slowly toward the road, stopping to sift through the dead bodies. One grabbed an arm and took a bite.
"Not here."
The words were loud. She looked around, panicked, and darted to the massive stairs. Keeping along the long wall, she inched her way upward, sticking to the shadows. The three creatures continued to hunt through the fallen, sometimes eating, most of the times pushing body parts aside in search of something.
In search of Rhyn. She reached the top of the stairs and stared at a similar scene leading past the Arch and all the way up the park toward the city.
She heard a shout and whirled. The three creatures made a run for the stairs.
"Rhyn!" she called, darting forward. "Rhyn!"
Another vision, one of the Arch through the branches of a tree. She staggered and looked around widely before going to the right. She stepped on something squishy but didn’t let herself stop to think about what it was. Instead, she half ran, half leapt through the piles of bodies into the treed area lining two wide walkways.
"Rhyn!"
She was closer. She felt him. No vision came to her and she continued. The creatures had reached the top of the stairs and were looking around, trying to figure out which way she’d gone.
"Rhyn!"
Her shout drew their attention, and they started toward her.
"Goddammit, Rhyn!" she said, tears rising to blur her path.
The taste of death was in her mouth and if she looked, she knew her shoes would be covered in blood. She ran, eyes blurry and stomach turning.
Stop. His command was weak, yet the air around her stiffened until she hit an invisible wall.
She dropped, surprised and disgusted when one hand landed in what was a human or creature at one point. She wiped her hand on her shirt and leapt up.
"Rhyn?"
Katie.
She turned, not sure if she heard his voice or if he was in her head. She hopped over another mess and searched the darkness. His was the only form in one piece; he was propped up against the base of a tree. She dropped beside him, crying, shaking, terrified, and found he was unconscious.