Against the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  The guard raised a pointed finger to grab his attention. “I have Jesse Rivers at the gate. Should I let him pass?”

  “Rivers?” Sabree paused. “Yes, let him in.” Odd, how Jesse timed this visit minutes after Brian drove off. Coincidence, or was he avoiding Brian? He opened the front door when the Cadillac CTS pulled into the driveway. Business with the Fallen seemed to pay off. “Nice ride,” he said, eyeing the waxy shine.

  “It gets me around. Thought you’d be gone. Saw the Jag leave.”

  Sabree had it all wrong. Jesse must have thought he drove off instead of Brian. Too bad. “Brian took it for a spin. If you’re here to see him, c’est la vie. How’s Gray Wolf?”

  “Good. On his way to Vegas.”

  “Not to tie the knot, I hope.” Sabree chuckled until he noticed the scowl etched across Jesse’s face. “Come in.” He stepped aside. “It’s hot. Care for some sweet tea?”

  “No need, I’ll make this brief.” Jesse shuffled in place on the porch. “Tell Brian that Eric’s in Phoenix. He might be targeting your cozy nest. Any idea why Brian snail-mailed me a complete copy of the journal and anti-serum recipe?”

  Sabree shrugged. “The man works in mysterious ways. He said he destroyed it.” Tsk tsk, Brian, another lie?

  “Well, Eric managed to intercept it.”

  The notion of Eric in possession of the anti-vamp serum shot Sabree’s stomach into his throat. He gagged. “The fiend will use it against us.” His darting gaze glanced up and down the street until it settled on a couple walking a bulldog. Why would Brian send the serum to Jesse of all people?

  “Bad news all around. I thought you should be aware—”

  “Brian will know what to do. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for him?”

  “Definitely not. Here’s a number where Colton can reach me.” Jesse handed him a card and hopped down the stairs to his car. “Later...”

  “Colton’s no longer his name. It’s Brian Ross...” Sabree fell silent. Odd how Jesse forgot, since he was the one who set them up with false IDs. He turned toward the door when Jesse slammed the car door and drove off. “Au revoir, thanks for the heads-up.” Strange how he didn’t ask about Ariane. Then again, he probably already knew she was fine. Jesse had earned the moniker as all-knowing—all-seeing when it came to their business.

  After a quick once-over to assure all was quiet in the neighborhood, Sabree pocketed the business card and strolled into the living room. On his way to the couch, he froze and spun around to greet the unannounced guest who faltered as she misted into being. The sketchy materialization reminded him of his own troubled times before he routinely fed on Brian’s blood.

  The once exotic Abyss wobbled before him, now a withered stick of flesh and bone. Scant wispy strands of hair topped her crown. Her sagging brows no longer sported the row of pierced onyx stones. Dull and lifeless eyes mirrored two milk-glass marbles. His throat tightened and the longer he stared at her, the more the zombie-like visual strangled him from uttering a word.

  Abyss leaned on the back of the sofa. “I’m dying. I don’t know why. Please…please, let me stay here long enough to pass in peace.”

  Utter silence as his only reply, Sabree continued to stare.

  “Please, Sabree! I don’t want to die alone.”

  Sabree scoffed, surprising even himself. “Why should I help you? How did you find us?”

  “My blood-tie with the twins.” Her dull eyes raked over him. “Why are you here?”

  “I’ve befriended them. You tried to kill Ariane. You ripped her throat apart.”

  “Kill? No one can destroy the ghouls, silly. Jealousy reared its ugly head, that’s all.”

  “Jealous of who? Me?” Her slight nod expressed all. “Look, you’re not dying, but I bet there are those who wish it.” Brian came to mind.

  “The Caderen for one,” she whispered. “They discovered my infliction when I turned to them for help. Cayiel insisted I submit to quarantined hibernation until the clan found a cure for my ailment. Our elder was more concerned about contracting the disease than helping me recover.” Abyss reached up and wiggled one of her eyeteeth until it fell out. She and Sabree flinched together. “See? You’re wrong. I am dying.”

  She would eventually wither away, perhaps die without Brian or Ariane’s nutritious blood. Even Sabree had not felt himself of late. The irony released a nervous chuckle. “Ariane is creating a synthetic substance that will defeat the infection and work as an artificial substitute for human blood. She’s very close. You and I will benefit from the serum.”

  “Damn it, why didn’t I leave her alone.” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait, you’re also infected? You look healthy to me,” she said, hissing dismay.

  The succubus guessed wrong. Far from his utmost health and handsomeness, it would take every drop of the twins’ blood to raise him to optimum level. “Ariane’s dosing me with the experimental serum, but its potency is miniscule.” He lied on purpose. “It doesn’t nourish my body for long. I doubt there is enough for two.”

  The adjoining townhouse door opened, releasing a rush of organic tang into the living room. Sabree knew enough chemistry to know it was not something he should inhale. His nose wrinkled. Bubblegum sweetness teased his nostrils next.

  “Who are you talking to—yourself?” Ariane glanced at Abyss, nodded, and then raised her brows at Sabree. Her eyes quickly shot back to Abyss. She lunged forward with hands and nails extended, her intention to strangle the intruder where she stood.

  “No, no!” Sabree blocked her charge. Never before had such a formidable caterwaul escape Ariane’s lips. Before he could blink, the floor met his backside.

  “What is this she-devil doing—” She stopped inches from Abyss, hissed, and skipped back to Sabree. “Oh, my God! What’s happened to her?” Curious, Ariane inched forward on tiptoes and reached out to touch Abyss’s arm. Her fingers airbrushed the frail appendage as though the woman would turn to dust if she touched her. “You’re dying.” Ariane spun on her heels to face Sabree, now on his feet. “She’s dying because of the infection, isn’t she?”

  Merde. Sabree could only nod as the tightening in his throat strangled his voice. His eyes misted over with tears he had fought and failed to hold back. Abyss didn’t deserve sympathy, but how does one shut out a friend he had shared history with for eons. “I know she hurt you and Brian, but can you find it in your heart to help her? The infection poisoned her mind, made her act like a venomous snake.”

  “What about Brian? She wasn’t infected when she attacked him.” Ariane knotted her fingers. “He will have a shitfit if I help her. You know how explosive he’s been lately.”

  And you my dear? Sabree understood her rationale. Of late, minor incidents like a frosting lid not twisting off, had launched Brian into a fit. He bounced off the walls like a spastic ping-pong ball, his speed out of control. Seeing Abyss might launch him into the twilight zone of no return. Neither understood why, but he had a hunch it had something to do with the rest stop from hell.

  Ariane’s worried glances prompted his response. “We tread lightly then. Break the news to him in wee bits as Brian would put it.” Sabree cocked his head in question. “Off subject, but why don’t you have a Scottish brogue?”

  Ariane shook her head. “Off subject? Really?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “A brogue never suited me. One in the family is enough.” She pointed at Abyss. “Either we get rid of her, or we set her up downstairs before Brian returns.”

  Abyss’s voice rose above their own. “Before I die, I wish to confess my deepest regrets. I was one of the seven who joined forces to murder Turian. The eighth assassin never revealed himself. I have an idea who it was though.”

  Slapping a hand over Abyss’s mouth to hush her would raise suspicion. Sabree spoke before Ariane. “You’re not dying. No need to confess all.” Realizing her implication, his gaze dropped to his shoes. His selfishness had forced her hand at blackmail. He sensed she could detect his guilt, which prove
d her hunch had been correct all along—he was one of the seven.

  “Perhaps Brian should be made aware of the other six,” Abyss said.

  “What are you two talking about?” Ariane stepped between them and cringed when she glanced at the withered immortal. “Seven what?”

  Again, Sabree thought fast. “Give Abyss the next batch of serum. I can survive without it for a while.” He nudged Ariane’s arm and exaggerated a wink to make sure she played along.

  “What? Yes, of course. I can give her enough to improve her health.” She leaned into Sabree’s ear and whispered, “We need my blood.”

  “Too risky. Use Brian’s instead.” Sabree winked again. “I knew you’d find it in your heart.” He caught himself twirling the bloodstone ring and stopped. Instead, he wrapped both arms around his torso and squeezed his hands under his armpits. The secrets Abyss might reveal about his involvement with the seven made him uncomfortable in his own skin.

  They would have to ask Brian for a few pints of blood to tide Abyss over. After the stunt she pulled in Mexico and then on Joker Mountain, persuading Brian to help her would be next to impossible. Sabree eyed her with care. “Never speak of the seven again.”

  “Seven?” Brian asked, interrupting the private chat. He stood at the door with arms folded over his chest.

  Both Sabree and Ariane whirled around to greet him. Behind them, Abyss hissed instinctively. Sabree leapt to Abyss’s side and took hold of her arm to support her. Worried she might answer for him, he escorted her to the couch. “Sit. Conserve your strength for the chat we’re about to have.”

  “Abyss? What the—” Brian charged into the living room and stopped short when Ariane grabbed his wrist. His dark eyes glanced from Sabree to Ariane. “What’s this murderous bitch doing here? She tried to kill you, or did that slip your mind?” Brian yanked his arm free of her grasp and pushed by Sabree. He tripped over his own feet, stopping short of the wraith-like creature. His gaze narrowed. “What the—what’s wrong with her?" His breath hitched. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes.” Sabree pulled him aside and whispered in his ear. “I beg you not to let her die. I know she attacked you to steal the amulet, and then Ariane, because your blood had infected her mind.”

  Brian stole a glance at his sister. “You agreed to this madness?” Then his darkened glare locked on Sabree.

  “You have every right to refuse. Abyss is a dangerous asp. Neither you nor I know how to play the flute well enough to charm her wiles. But she’s an old friend who needs our help. Abyss is an Original.”

  To his surprise, Ariane nodded, waved her hand at Brian to hush him, and nodded again. “Sabree’s right. I hate to admit it, but I could use Abyss to better understand the infection. Understand how to quell the wrath on their systems.”

  Brian grabbed Abyss’s arm. She yelped when he squeezed it. He yanked his hand away from the appendage as if it would break.

  “Leave her be!” Sabree shoved him aside and shielded Abyss while Ariane held Brian at bay.

  Not one to be defeated, Brian leaned over to peer around his sister. “Why should I care if she’s dying? One leech in the house is one too many.”

  Their newfound friendship, as of late, seemed to avalanche into a rocky landslide. Sabree winced at the boulder reference. Rocky indeed. “Not to change the subject, but we had more than one unexpected visitor today.” He hoped the news would make Brian forget the seven. “Jesse stopped by to warn us that Eric’s on the prowl. If Abyss can find us, so can he, but let’s worry about him later. She needs our immediate attention, and Ariane is close to finding a substitute.”

  “Damn it, I missed Jesse again. Couldn’t get away from the lab soon enough.” Ariane stomped her foot. “Brian, listen to reason. Studying another one of the Fallen could benefit my research. Besides, Sabree’s too queasy around needles.”

  Brian’s dark eyes narrowed. “You’re daft if you trust her. I don’t know whether to wish her dead or pity her. What if you come across another snag? What then? I refuse to let her stay.”

  Empathy tugged at both his hearts. Sabree eased Abyss back on the sofa when she tried to rise. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Brian. I thought you had more respect, more heart. Don’t speak of her as if she isn’t here. She can barely stand, let alone hurt anyone. I will make a place for her in the cellar. Like us, she is hiding from the Caderen.”

  “Boo focking hoo,” Brian replied in his infamous brogue. “You’re beyond daft. Thanks to you, the Caderen might show up any day. And Eric, too. We don’t need the extra attention.”

  “Enough,” Sabree snarled. “Thanks to you, she’s dying.” He ignored Brian’s rude curse and comment that the Caderen had given them plenty of warning. “If not me, then listen to Ariane. Her research can benefit.”

  Ignoring her brother’s snort, Ariane’s hold on him tightened. “She can stay in my guestroom, but only until she’s cured.”

  A harsh chortle made Sabree shudder until the laughter faded. Brian’s amber eyes darkened more than Sabree believed possible—two black holes that could have devoured his soul if he gave in. He shook the eeriness aside, and before any harm befell Abyss, he eased her into the recliner. Sabree confronted Brian, blocking her with his body.

  “And no longer.” Brian chewed on his lower lip as his gaze raked over Sabree and Abyss. “What’s this about the seven?”

  Merde! The ring on his finger spun so fast it almost sailed off. Sabree pushed it back down and squeezed both hands together. “Abyss is delusional.” He inhaled a much-needed breath and stared at the patio through the French doors, the view preferable to gazing into those black orbs. Sabree couldn’t escape the truth, not this time. “As you recall, seven clan members gathered to destroy Turian.” He paused to emphasize his next point if only to ease the rage building in those eyes. “None of the seven succeeded because an eighth assassin took the deed upon himself. He, alone, murdered Turian.”

  “How do you know? Were you there?” The perception in his gaze expressed the question need not be asked.

  Ariane tended to Abyss, but chimed in. “Seven, eight? What are you guys ranting about?”

  Braced for an outburst, Sabree rolled the kink out of his shoulders when concern etched Brian’s face. Guilt instead of rage. An aha moment rushed over Sabree. The eighth member of the clan, the one who hid behind him, hid behind the blue-lensed goggles, was Brian after all. He never put two and two together because thousands of years had slipped by. None of this made sense. Why would Brian travel back in time to murder his father?

  Sabree choked out the words. “Reluctantly, I joined the seven because Turian wished it.” Heat rose in his face from the increased thumping of his two hearts. He whispered, “Abyss too.”

  Brian’s glare urged further explanation.

  “Against our will and better judgment, Turian begged us to join the seven. He asked me to hide his offspring—you and Ariane.” Another aha flashed a neon sign. The man in blue-lensed goggles again, the one who stole the zygotes from his grasp shot into his mind. Sabree paused and realized that besides saving the twins, Turian had an ulterior motive—witness his death by the hands of his future son. The Fates threw too many aha moments at him in one day. Abyss’s return and now this. Sabree stepped back to observe his reaction from a distance.

  Brian cradled his torso, his lower lip trembling.

  Now the aggressor, Sabree leaned forward and stared into the darting orbs, the radiant scarlet fading to a buttery amber. Absolution conquered rage. To reaffirm the truth, Sabree repeated what happened that day, the day he first laid eyes on Brian. “It doesn’t matter who showed up. Although seven originally joined with the intention, or not, of destroying Turian, only one succeeded.” Sabree relayed the zinger telepathically, “You, Brian.”

  Uncertain Brian could read his mind, though Sabree doubted it, he spun around and left the room. “This isn’t finished,” he hissed under his breath. “Not by any means.” Sabree genuflected to Ariane with congenial polite
ness as though he had just finished afternoon tea with the queen. “Let’s get her settled.”

  “You or Brian had better explain this nonsense about Turian and the seven, or else. Do we understand each other?” She soothed Abyss with a hush not be bothered by their discussion. Her eyes, nowhere near as dark as Brian’s, shot daggers at him. “Agreed?”

  “Completely,” Sabree said. “But I believe the truth should come from Brian.” If convincing their lord and master to let her stay had been an achievement, the mega challenge would be to persuade Brian to surrender a few pints of blood. He would fill Ariane in on his plan as soon as they were alone.

  8

  DUST TO DUST

  W eeks had slipped by before the Caderen’s patience paid off. The tracer hidden under the Jaguar’s mud flap led them to the townhouses where they assumed the twins and Sabree hid Abyss. The clan needed to contain her, so they could analyze the infliction and prevent her from infecting others, be it human, nosophor, or one of their own. They cared less about Sabree, unaware of his infection. To carry out the abduction, Cayiel sent nine of his strongest mercenaries. The seven would telepathically join minds to destroy the twins while the other two apprehended Abyss.

  Parked outside in a van marked Scottsdale Caterers, the team waited until the SUV parked in front of the townhouse drove off. One assassin, a mister like Sabree, misted into the townhouse, unlocked the door, and opened it for the others. The taller, higher-ranking member, named Sarieff, exited the van. “Let’s get this done.”

  3 3 3

  An alarm rang inside my head, a vibrating chime I used to ignore until recently. Should I pay attention now that Abyss was boarding in the townhouse? I strolled into the living room to see if Ariane had come home and, instead, ran into Abyss.

  The alarm had to come from her. An icicle wedged my spine as we stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. My hands balled up. Thanks to my blood, her appearance improved since our last encounter. If anything, her presence expedited Ariane’s research. Even so, I sighed without meaning to exhale so loudly.