by E. S. Moore
My hands shook as I turned him over. Even in death he had that glower on his face. His eyes were open, glazed, but hard. He’d fought back.
On Jonathan’s desk sat a pitcher with a stack of plastic cups beside it. The pitcher was almost empty. A tray of scattered cookies lay at the edge of the table, as did a partially eaten cake. Even with most of the words gone, I could make out what it said: Happy Birthday!
The urge to vomit nearly doubled me over. I’d completely forgotten it was Pablo’s birthday. Hadn’t someone been planning to throw him a party? I couldn’t remember if it was Nathan or someone else. In the end, it didn’t matter. I was going to kill whoever did this.
I spun toward the door, rage taking over. Tears burned hot behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I’d never taken the time to get to know Pablo and now, I never would. If there was a chance I could still save Jonathan, then goddamn it, I was going to take it.
I left the office and made my way up the stairs, toward his rooms. I went up slowly, gun trained upward. I wasn’t about to let someone get the jump on me because I was careless.
There were another dozen or so bodies at the top of the stairs, near the railing. When I glanced to my right, toward a part of the Den where I’d never gone, I could see a few more through a slightly open doorway. No sounds came from that end.
I turned my gaze toward Jonathan’s rooms. The gilded doors were closed, but I knew that if he was anywhere inside the Den, he’d be there.
Two bodies lay before the door. The men weren’t wearing robes, telling me they were weres. Each had a cup nearby. They’d been drinking when they’d fallen. Glancing at one, I recognized him as one of the wolves who’d come with Keira.
I kept my ears open as I walked past him to the doors. I held my breath and pressed my ear against the wood.
Something rustled inside faintly. It was almost too quiet to hear. It was soon followed by what I could only describe as a muffled groan.
That was enough for me.
I took a step back and with all the might I could put into it, I kicked the door in. I stepped inside, gun up and at the ready.
Keira hung by her wrists from chains at the far end of the room, near the heavily curtained windows. Her bleeding wrists were bound, as were both of her legs. Something was taped into her mouth, keeping her from crying out. Her eyes were wide, frightened. She tried to move, but her movements were sluggish and slow, as if she’d been drugged.
She jerked around on the chains, making loud grunting sounds. Her eyes kept flashing toward the door behind me.
Just then, something hard and cold was pressed to the back of my head. It didn’t take too much brain power to realize it was a gun.
“Well, hello there, Lady Death!” It was a man’s voice. “Welcome to the party.” He leaned closer and whispered into my ear. “You might want to drop your weapons.”
30
Both my sword and gun clattered to the floor. I raised my hands to show they were empty, staring straight at Keira. She looked stricken in her chains, as if I’d been her last hope.
“Anything else?” the man asked, gun poking me in the back of the head. “I wouldn’t want there to be any accidents.”
“You can check yourself if you want to know, Gabriel.” I took a guess at his name and was rewarded with a chuckle.
“Spunky,” he said. “I like that.”
The gun remained in place as he patted down my coat. He found the silver packets I rarely ever use and dumped them onto the floor. He checked me all over, but didn’t find the knives hidden at my belt. There was a reason I had the sheaths worked into the design.
“Much better,” he said. He kicked my gun and sword across the room, his own weapon pressed to the back of my head. “Now we can talk!”
There was a moment when I very nearly spun to try to take him down. I mean, I was fast. If this truly was Gabriel, then he had to be Pureblooded, right? An angel wouldn’t use or need a gun to pacify others.
But all it would take is a twitch of his finger and my brains would be splattered across the floor. I had no idea what kind of gun he had back there, but I was pretty damn sure it would have silver bullets. I might be fast, but I couldn’t dodge a bullet. This wasn’t the movies.
Gabriel walked slowly around me, gun trailing lightly around my skull. Once he was at my side, he backed slowly up before strolling over to where my weapons now lay. He kept his gun on me as he scooped up the sword, deposited it onto the couch, and then picked up the gun. He admired it all while keeping an eye on me.
“Interesting,” he said. “It seems like such a small gun. I figured you’d use something bigger, like a cannon.” He shrugged. “Oh well. I’m new here, but I know how legends go. People talk. They make even the smallest acts seem heroic.” He looked at me and chuckled. “Lady Death. How . . . inappropriate.”
“Never liked the name,” I said. I took a chance and lowered my hands, down near my waist.
Gabriel only laughed. “I can see why. It’s so dramatic. I mean, how many people die here on a daily basis? You didn’t kill them all. Your kind did.”
I shrugged. “I don’t exactly get along with my kind.”
“That you do not.” Gabriel leaned against the couch. The gun was no longer aimed at my head, but was still trained in my general direction. He still had hold of my gun as well. I didn’t doubt he’d use it on me.
“Where’s Jonathan?” I asked when he didn’t say anything more.
“Ah, the Denmaster,” Gabriel said. “I thought you killed monsters. He and his are demons, just like you, and yet he lives. How does that happen?”
“We’re not like the others.”
He snorted. “Isn’t that what they all say?” He spun in a circle, arms wide. I tensed to spring, but he brought my gun up and aimed it at me. “Oh, no you don’t. I can feel your intent. It seeps off you like a mist. It chokes me with your stench.”
I let my shoulders ease, never taking my eyes from the crazy man in front of me. There was no doubt there was something off in his head. His eyes had a gleam that went far beyond the manic look I’d seen from his followers. He didn’t just tell people he was a messenger from God; he actually believed it.
“You know,” he said, scratching his cheek with the barrel of my Glock. “I never understand why your kind always think they deserve special treatment. Demons don’t belong here. You should go back to where you came from and leave the rest of us alone.”
“I was born here,” I said. “I am where I belong.”
He gave me a lopsided grin. “Your body might have been born here, but the demon inside you was not.” He straightened and moved to stand on the other side of the couch, where he set his gun on the cushion. From there, he picked up a leather briefcase and set it on the armrest. “As much as I like your spunk, I can’t let you walk out of here.”
The case clicked open. I didn’t need to see inside it to know there would be syringes alongside a serrated knife.
“Is Jonathan dead?” I asked. I knew I’d have to make my move soon. I needed Gabriel to drop the gun, think he has everything under control before I could do anything.
Gabriel sighed as he picked up a syringe. “No, no,” he said. “He hasn’t gotten here yet. I’ve been waiting for him. I did all of this for him, in fact.” He gestured toward the open door where I could still see the bodies. “I did it because he wouldn’t simply lie down and die.”
My entire body sagged. I’d been so sure Jonathan lay dead somewhere, it just about caused me to burst into tears to know he was still out there, alive. If I could stall Gabriel long enough, perhaps he’d show up and we could take the leader of the Left Hand down together.
“I knew who you were the moment you came inside,” Gabriel said. “As soon as you stepped through that doorway, I knew.” He jammed the syringe into Keira’s leg. “You killed my family.”
Keira’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head. She’d already been drugged with something, so adding th
e mixture to it was too much for her. She went limp where she hung. Her wrists were bleeding and she just about slipped free.
“They were killing mine,” I said, swallowing with some difficulty. Without her there, it left me to fight him alone. I’m not sure what she could have done chained up like that, but at least she’d been an option before. Now, it was just me.
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “They were doing the bidding of a higher power, something you’ll never understand.”
“They were doing what you told them to do.”
He shrugged. “It’s all the same. I listen to God, who speaks to me and me alone. He tells me what needs to be done. I’ve scribed His word, passed it on to my disciples so they can cleanse the world of your filth.”
“We’re not all bad,” I said again, knowing it would do no good.
“Demons are demons. You might think you’re doing the right thing by killing your own kind, but all you’re really doing is showing how bloodthirsty you are. You cannot be saved.”
“And you’re any better?” My fists clenched. I wanted to draw a knife and bury it in his throat in the worst way.
But I needed him closer. As long as he was across the room, he had the advantage.
“I do His work,” Gabriel said. “You can’t fault me for that.” He sighed and picked up another syringe. “I only wish we had more time to debate this further. I’m a busy man and you’ve killed my people, meaning I have to recruit anew.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “So much work. Sometimes it’s hard to get up in the morning.” His lopsided grin was back. “Not that you’d know what it is like to be up during the day.”
He looked at the gun in his hand—my gun—and winced. “I really hate these things,” he said. He kicked Keira in the leg. “Did you know this demon actually tried to shoot me? I underestimated her and figured she’d try to jump me like the idiot downstairs. She actually picked up a gun and tried to shoot me.” He gestured toward the wall behind me.
I looked back and sure enough, there was a bullet hole in the doorframe. She must have missed him by inches.
“Lucky for me, she’s a terrible shot.”
Someone moved outside the room and for a hopeful instant, I thought it might be Jonathan or Nathan, but instead, it was someone wearing Cultist robes. She stepped into the room, glanced once at me, and then turned to look at Gabriel.
“No one else is in the building,” she said.
It wasn’t until she spoke that I recognized her.
“Mira . . .” I said, realization dawning. She’s the one who’d set up the birthday party for Pablo. Hadn’t Nathan said she was Pablo’s girlfriend? Had she gotten close to him just so she could set this entire thing up?
It was no wonder, really. As a member of the Left Hand, she must have been going insane having to live with the “monsters” she’d sworn to murder.
Looking at her again, something else clicked. Mira looked like a younger version of the woman I’d followed and killed back at the Left Hand hideout. She was the sister. It had been her letter I’d found.
“Are you sure they’re all gone?” Gabriel asked her.
“They are,” she said. “I even checked downstairs.”
She must have been in the basement when I’d come in. She could have closed the hidden door behind her and found a way to open it from the inside. I knew I should have searched the basement before heading upstairs. It was a mistake that might cost me.
“Mira here has been living in this hellhole for months now,” Gabriel said, turning to me. “She’s taken on the robes and tattoo of this demon-worshiping cult, getting information for me that has been invaluable in my goals. She’s suffered much for her faith.”
With that, he raised his gun and shot her right between the eyes.
“But her information was bad,” he said, almost indifferently. “The Denmaster and his second were supposed to be here. This would all be over if it wasn’t for that.” He shrugged. “Besides, living this close to demons like you had to have tainted her. I’ve done her a favor in killing her before the taint could take over her mind.”
I kept my mouth firmly closed. I knew that anything I said would only push him that much further. I wanted him close, not to antagonize him so much that he shot me. While the silver of the bullets wouldn’t paralyze me, a bullet to the brain was still a bullet to the brain. It was unlikely I’d survive it. And if I did, the knife across the throat that would follow would surely finish me off.
“You know,” Gabriel said, reaching into the briefcase, “I’m really not looking forward to rebuilding the faithful. It isn’t as easy as you’d think. People are afraid, and they can’t seem to get past their fear. They can’t bring themselves to do what is right. I can only recruit the strongest willed, the ones who know that to make a difference, you have to shed a lot of blood, kill a lot of monsters.”
He drew a serrated knife. He looked at it fondly before setting it on the back of the couch.
“I’d make you watch as I killed her,” he said. “But I don’t think you’d sit still for it. Besides, I believe it would be far more fun for our good friend Jonathan to watch as I bleed the both of you out.”
He showed me the syringe. “This one is for you.”
My gut clenched. I’d felt the bite of a Left Hand syringe before. I knew what it would do to me, even with my immunity to silver. I’d be helpless after only a few moments.
But not as helpless as I was the last time. I’d have a few precious seconds to get the job done if he managed to stick me with that thing.
I stood with my back straight and watched him approach. He kept his gun trained on me as he strode forward. He stopped out of lunging range and gave me a warm smile.
“If you’re a good girl, I’ll make sure you die quickly,” he said. “If you try to fight me, you’ll suffer. You will watch as I kill the rest.” He cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps I’ll even keep you as a sort of pet. Watching everyone you know die should do interesting things to that thing inside you.”
I didn’t move. He studied my face, eyes lingering on mine. “This will only sting for a moment.”
He moved so fast, he nearly caught me unprepared. Years of killing supes had honed his reflexes, made him faster than a normal Pureblood.
The syringe bit into my neck just as I struck out. I knocked the gun from his hand, but by this point, he didn’t care. He pressed down on the plunger and liquid fire raced through my veins. The world did a loop and for a heart-stopping second, I thought I was going to pass out.
I held on to consciousness and dropped my hand to my belt. Gabriel stepped back, smiling, empty syringe held high. His eyes widened as I drew the knife from my belt.
“How?” he managed as I lunged for him. Our bodies collided and I drove him back all the way to the couch. My legs gave out and I collapsed on top of him.
“The silver . . .” Gabriel’s composure cracked and I saw genuine fear in his eye. This man wasn’t an angel or a messenger of God. He was just another lunatic, thinking he was better than everyone else, just because he wasn’t tainted.
He was nothing more than a killer.
“Doesn’t work on me,” I gasped as I drove my knife into his throat and yanked sideways.
Blood splattered my face as I rolled away from him. Gabriel clawed at his throat, trying to stop the flow of blood, but it was no use. I’d severed the artery.
We lay on the ground, facing each other, neither able to move. The silver component to his injection wasn’t working, but the other parts were. I could feel myself passing out.
Gabriel gave one last gurgle and his eyes dimmed as the last of his life spurted out onto the floor.
And then I allowed myself to give in. The world darkened, leaving me vulnerable on the floor next to the spreading pool of Gabriel’s blood.
And then there was nothing.
31
There was a clicking sound.
There was pain.
I hurt everywhere. Despit
e the fact I was floating in a sea of darkness, I could still feel the fire burning through me. I wanted to stay there, to remain lost in the void, away from what I knew would be further agony.
As far as I knew, I was already dead.
Gabriel was, that’s for sure. But just because he was dead didn’t mean his lackeys were. I saw him kill the girl, Mira, but she might have been only one in a dozen. The rest could be converging on me even now.
It was a thought that nearly caused me to wake. I fought against consciousness, knowing that if I were still alive, I would have a world of problems to deal with. I still didn’t know where Jonathan was, if he was alive or dead. He hadn’t been there when he was supposed to be. He might have failed to show up because of other pressing needs.
Or someone else had gotten to him first.
The clanking continued for a moment longer and then there was a heavy thump. The floor beneath me vibrated.
“No.” The word came out in a gush of breath. I didn’t want to deal with anyone or anything right then. I wanted to sleep, wanted to remain coddled in the black.
I pulled my legs in close to my body and groaned. The fire was lessening, replaced by an emptiness that felt all-encompassing.
Hands grabbed me by the shoulders. I was rolled onto my back. I kept my eyes closed against the sudden rush of pain in my head. It felt like my skull was full of concrete that was slowly cracking. Each broken shard seared into my brain, making thinking straight downright impossible.
“Kat?”
It was a woman’s voice. She was close, breathing heavily. I could smell her perspiration, her fear, her anger.
I could smell her blood.
I shuddered and forced open an eye. The silver had run through my system. The burning pain I’d felt had all been in my head.
Still, the knockout component of Gabriel’s mixture had done a doozy on me. Add to that the blood thinners that made me feel like my brain was made of helium. I was in bad shape.