Covenant

by Sabrina Benulis

  She met with her reflection on three sides and a large pool of acidic water steaming beneath the dim light. A dead end.

  She turned and found Stephanie marching toward her resolutely. The jerkiness in Stephanie’s movements was gone again. Whatever control the demon had on her mind, he’d gotten it back completely for now.

  Nina threw herself against the nearest obsidian mirror, hoping it would smash. It didn’t even shudder.

  She pressed her back against the mirror again, clutching the makeshift dagger Stephanie had unwittingly given her. Nina didn’t want to use it—but what choice did she have? She held it out, her hand shaking. She feared moving too much because of the acidic water. Nina doubted she could go through that kind of pain again and stay sane.

  Stephanie must have sensed her hesitation. “You always were weak,” she sniffed at Nina, advancing without a shade of fear, sidestepping the pool. “That was why I couldn’t let you into my sorority, Nina. Well, this should at least be easy for both of us. I wonder what Angela will say when she knows you’re dead again?”

  Stephanie raced for Nina with deadly aim. More terrible laughter filled the air, echoing from everywhere.

  A black blur streaked from nowhere and pounced on Stephanie hard. It knocked directly into her, flinging her to the floor.

  There was a harsh thud. Stephanie groaned. Her body rolled to a stop perilously close to the acid pool. Half the clothes on her back had been ripped away, revealing bleeding gashes. Yet she sprang up onto her hands and knees with frightening quickness, in an echo of her best days as Westwood Academy’s most feared witch.

  “It’s you,” she hissed. “You nasty bitch.”

  Troy licked the blood from her nails and advanced snarling in such a terrifying display, Nina could barely look at her.

  Abruptly, the Jinn paused and stared at Stephanie with surprise.

  Juno scampered around her aunt and stopped at Nina’s side, growling. Fury landed on Nina’s shoulder, opened her wings, and screeched bravely.

  “I’m ready for you this time,” Stephanie said, though her face showed real fear again. Face-to-face with Troy, whatever good was left in Stephanie now resurfaced, fighting frantically for control. But it was obvious the evil overshadowing her mind was too powerful and already winning out.

  Stephanie lifted her hand and pointed at Troy, shouting ominously.

  “Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde—”

  An immense but invisible weight fell on Troy, crushing her. The Jinn’s wings trembled. Staggering, she pushed herself up from the ground, shrieking from the pain. Juno screeched in pain near her spot at Nina’s side.

  Stephanie dared to come closer. “—in nomine Dei—”

  On and on, Stephanie continued. Nina barely listened to the words themselves, because she also screamed over and over. “Stop it! You’re killing them!” Her voice grew hoarse. She rocked to her feet one more time.

  Troy groaned, forcing herself back to her feet but she could have been fighting against gravity itself. It looked like her stomach had been yanked out with a hook. She struggled anyway, staring at Nina with wide and truly agonized eyes. Juno moaned in her own pitiful corner, her little wings flapping in spasms.

  Nina had to do something. Troy and Juno were risking their lives for her, and no one had forced them to do so.

  Troy screamed. “The demon is controlling her with strings. Cut the strings!”

  Strings?

  Nina remembered how Stephanie’s arms had jerked above her head. She remembered the odd look on Troy’s face when the Jinn confronted Stephanie. Whatever invisible strings happened to be there, Troy could see them.

  Nina narrowed her eyes and concentrated.

  Just barely, she could discern a patch of distorted air above Stephanie’s head.

  The agony was almost unbearable for her bad leg, but Nina steadied herself and ran for Stephanie anyway. She held out the dagger, and Fury flapped away in sudden alarm. Tears blurred Nina’s vision, and the motion of the world slowed.

  Stephanie turned, utter shock paling her face.

  Nina swiped wildly above Stephanie’s head and shoulders, and amid a flash of brilliant red light, they collided.

  Twenty-six

  Now, I sensed the real beginning of my forever. —NINA WILLIS

  The pain was instant and all-encompassing.

  Nina couldn’t remember what death had been like. Yet she knew it couldn’t have been worse than this. More light flashed. A sound resembling the snap of steel cables filled the air. Nina tumbled with Stephanie to the ground, and something sharp slid between her ribs as her own dagger dropped from her hand. A searingly cold sensation went through her.

  Nina screamed and flung Stephanie off her body as the floor rose up, hitting her mercilessly. Warmth poured out of her.

  Nina’s cheek smacked the stone. The pain dissolved almost instantly, and a deep numbness spread through her limbs. Yards away, Stephanie stumbled and collapsed so close to the acidic water that one of her hands dangled over the edge, twitching.

  Stephanie lay still, but her eyes remained open and she gasped in shock and pain. A deep red stain blossomed on her white clothing. Nina’s knife had accidentally stabbed her—but at least the terrible battle was over.

  A penetrating silence came over everything.

  Nina wanted to move, at least to see if Troy and Juno were all right, but her body refused to obey her brain. She breathed and prayed for what felt like forever. Then a shadow fell across her, and Troy knelt down with a frightened Juno by her side. Both Jinn stared at Nina. Juno was oddly quiet, her bright eyes glazed over. Fury sat on her shoulder, croaking sadly.

  “How bad is it?” Nina whispered hoarsely. “The wound . . . doesn’t hurt anymore . . .”

  Troy shook her head, as if to say that was the worst thing possible. The bones still tied in her hair rattled gently.

  “What about Stephanie?” Nina said.

  Troy’s eyes widened in surprise. Nina’s concern seemed to be beyond the Jinn’s comprehension. “She was a puppet on strings,” Troy said grimly. “It is a dirty demonic trick, but a common one. It’s even easier if a demon’s tool happens to have a weak mind.”

  Nina tried to take comfort in the idea that Stephanie had fought one last time for control. Nina never could believe that people were completely evil. Even Stephanie had a side that cried.

  Tears filled Nina’s eyes, but she could barely feel them. All she had left was a world slowly beginning to blur away. “I bet you think I’m so stupid . . . You probably hate me. You thought I was a burden all along. I know. And maybe you were right. Look at me now.” She choked back a long sob. “I’m dying again . . . but where will I go this time? I couldn’t even figure out why I came back in the first place. There has to be a reason . . . right?”

  “There is a reason for all things,” Troy said softly. Her large eyes glowed in the growing darkness.

  “Maybe it’s because Angela needed me,” Nina whispered. “She needs friends. Without them, I don’t know what’s going to happen to her. Maybe . . . that’s the only thing keeping her from choosing to be the Ruin and reign in Lucifel’s place . . . you know. For us . . .”

  Juno’s long ears flattened. She gazed down at the trickles of blood touching her fingers and toes. But she made no move to lick them.

  “Now I’m failing her,” Nina said. She stared at Troy, trying to focus more on those hypnotic eyes that were fading from her fast. “Troy, promise me that you’ll be her friend in my place. I know it sounds silly . . . someone like you being friends with a human . . . but Angela is different, she’s the Archon and . . .”

  More tears swallowed Nina’s world.

  Troy’s face came down to the level of Nina’s ear. Her breath felt faintly warm. “No. She is not different from you,” the Jinn hissed gently.

  Nina’s eyes opened wider for a second. “What? But that’s not—”

  “Fate chose her,” Troy said. “As it also chose you. You
are equals in that sense. I am not ashamed to call you an ally, Nina Willis. You saved me, and you risked your life for the heir to the Throne of the Underworld. Once upon a time, there were many Jinn who would have died for the honor of protecting their Queen. Now honor is gone, and the old order is collapsing. You have put almost all my relatives to shame with your courage.”

  Gratefulness swelled in Nina’s heart. She felt herself cry more, but the tears, much like everything else, began to feel far away, as if they happened in another place and time.

  “I will protect the Archon with my life,” Troy said faintly. “And I will never leave her side . . .”

  “Neither will I,” Nina said slowly. “I just won’t allow it . . .” This wasn’t the end for her. Nina had cheated death before, and she could cheat it now.

  But how?

  A strange voice touched the edge of her thoughts. It sounded a lot like the one that had come from Stephanie’s mouth but more friendly and understanding.

  Work for me, it whispered, and you can live forever. I’ll even let you enjoy a life of privilege and wealth by your brother’s side . . .

  Somehow, Nina sensed every last bit of that was a lie. No thank you, she said in her mind definitively.

  The irritated face of a snake flashed within her thoughts and then it mercifully disappeared forever.

  A great weight lifted from her. Nina was now alone, peaceful, and she began to slip deeper into a surprising dream. Her tears must have finally stopped—she could see Troy and Juno clearly again.

  They were so strangely beautiful despite how fierce and frightening they could look. Troy especially had an almost regal air, her translucent skin looking as white as chalk, but with networks of blue veins so fine and delicate they resembled lace. The angles of her face were perfect. Yet she had the strangest expression, something Nina had never found in her before.

  Compassion? Pride? Sorrow? Nina wasn’t sure.

  Yet there was an enchantment to it. It was not a bad image to take into shadows that finally shut out the world.

  Twenty-seven

  So many creatures I had encountered died with less dignity than she did. At that moment, it occurred to me why Raziel had chosen a human to be the Archon. There was something in their spirits that existed nowhere else. —TROY

  Nina’s body went still.

  Troy took the girl’s tangled hair and covered her eyes with some of it. The smell of her blood was horrifically tempting, and Juno appeared to think so too. Her little limbs trembled, and she bent down to drink.

  “No,” Troy said, pushing her backward. “We do not drink the blood of great hunters and warriors, chick.”

  Juno whimpered, her large eyes averted in her shame. “Yes. I know . . . I just . . .”

  “Hush,” Troy snapped. She left Nina’s body and prowled nearer to Stephanie.

  The girl lay near the acid pool, gasping and very much alive. Fury strutted around her, inspecting Stephanie’s wounds.

  There could not be more of a difference between the two humans. While Nina had held on to the peace that heralds a noble death, Stephanie’s face blanked over with horror the second Troy leaned over her, gazing into her wild green eyes. It was clear from this human’s expression that she was insane. Her good hand clutched in terror at the ground, as if she could push herself far away from Troy with a few fingers. Her mouth was almost slack, her breathing quickened. Judging by her behavior, most of her body was probably paralyzed.

  “Who brought you here?” Troy said with a low growl.

  Troy’s insides felt like they’d been crushed; her bones ached, and her muscles screamed in torment from the exorcism.

  Stephanie said nothing, gasping more with fear.

  “Who?” Troy said again, spreading her aching wings.

  Stephanie watched, her eyes even wider than before. “A demon,” she whispered.

  “The snake?” Troy snarled.

  Stephanie nodded, entranced by Troy’s eyes. “He said he would take me to Angela again . . .” Stephanie made an expression like she’d just realized something important. “That was a lie . . . wasn’t it? It was all a lie . . .”

  Juno peered around Troy’s arm.

  Troy thrust her back. She set her fingers on Stephanie’s neck, feeling for her pulse. The human was bleeding, but it would take her a long time to die if they left her behind. When Juno’s head popped around the other side of Troy’s wing, Troy signaled to her to come closer this time. Juno crept nearer to Stephanie, her little wings held low.

  “We can leave you here,” Troy said to Stephanie. “Or . . .”

  Stephanie stared at Juno. “It was all a lie. I should have never listened. I should have never entered the door. Angela shouldn’t have entered the door either. There’s no going back now . . .” Her green eyes cleared, and a soft smile touched her face. “At least it’s over now. No more voices in my head. No more harsh noises interrupting my thoughts.” She looked out into the distance. “Naamah . . . Mother . . . I hope you are proud of me . . .”

  Troy settled down by Juno’s side. The chick sat next to Stephanie, examining her closely.

  “Do you see the difference between the two humans?” Troy said to her after a short time.

  Juno nodded.

  “This is the way of things,” Troy said to her. “All creatures die eventually. Even Jinn and angels. We are in a sacred place to determine whether this particular human lives or dies. What is the right thing to do, chick?”

  “To . . . kill her?” Juno said distantly.

  Troy sighed. “Yes. She will suffer enormously if we leave her here. She was insane and does not deserve such cruelty. You must always remember that. It is what separates our race from the demons. What else will you do?”

  There was a short pause. “I’m so hungry,” Juno finally said.

  “But how hungry? Could you survive without touching the human?”

  Juno stared, clearly at odds with herself. Finally, she nodded.

  Troy looked down at Stephanie and regarded her grimly. “Remember always, chick. In this world, hunger will always exist. And hunger is like the demons—cruel and unpredictable. You must never waste food, or as Queen allow your people to starve if you can help it. But you must also learn how to be strong—and to sacrifice when it is necessary—because every good Queen thinks of others first. Your mother spoiled you and kept you from the harsh realities of the hunt too much. Now the time has come to show me that you will make a good Queen some day. Show me that you understand what it is to live as others cannot. I will leave the human’s fate to you . . .” Juno bent over Stephanie. She hesitated for a second, scrunching up her nose. “She doesn’t smell right.”

  Troy passed a hand over Stephanie’s eyes, forcing them closed. “She was possessed,” Troy whispered. “You are smelling her tainted blood and soul.”

  Juno gazed at Stephanie sadly. Then she bent over her lower, and the reverent expression on Juno’s face made her look remarkably like Troy’s dead sister. Stephanie’s suffering would now come to a mercifully quick end.

  Pain raced through Troy’s heart.

  In her mind, she saw Hecate again and heard her cries in the nest as she and Troy jostled for food and struggled through hunger and pain to live. If Juno could exist in a better world than that, she deserved it. She and all the Jinn needed a universe where fear and famine were not ever-present ghosts. Yet change wouldn’t come easy. To their own Clan, Troy and Juno were outcasts, and now the chick had no one to rely on but an aunt with poor experience caring for infants. Juno’s position as the Jinn’s new Queen was precarious. But Troy would make sure that, no matter what mistakes she made along the way, her sister’s legacy continued. It was the one that believed in the Archon, and in her.

  Jinn always kept their promises.

  Troy had made so many, to her sister, to the Archon, to Nina—and most hauntingly to Sariel. Willingly, she lay down in exhaustion, closed her eyes, and remembered.

  Juno’s sacred mome
nts did not take long. With Stephanie now dead, it was time for all of them, including Fury, to leave the nightmarish room of mirrors.

  With renewed strength and determination, Troy stood and examined the room. If she strained her ears, she was certain she heard an odd muffled noise from the other side of one of the walls. There was probably an exit on that side, hopefully from the labyrinth itself. The maze would most likely have more than one way out. What worried Troy was that the exit would lead not to Sariel or Angela, but to the demon city of Babylon.

  This chamber had been used in the past and was certainly connected to the city somehow.

  Troy sighed, her ears flicking nervously. They had already lost so much precious time. Anything could have happened to Angela by now.

  “Are you ready?” she said to Juno.

  Juno was done cleaning her mouth and feathers. She sat up, Fury croaking by her side. “You’re going to leave her?” Juno said quietly. She looked at Nina Willis.

  Troy walked back to Nina’s body. She stopped beside it. “You are right. We will take something of her with us. For the Archon.” Troy wanted to curse herself for not thinking of that sooner, but impatience and anxiety struggled constantly for mastery of her thoughts. “I will allow you to choose and take the piece, and then give it to Angela Mathers. What? Why do you look at me like that?”

  Juno stared behind Troy, her eyes enormously wide. Fury had gone utterly still.

  The air shifted ever so slightly.

  Troy jumped aside, her wings flapping powerfully.

  A white foot thumped down on top of Nina’s body, settling on her chest. Troy dashed in front of Juno, spreading her wings protectively, rounding on their visitor with cold snarls of anger. She disliked demons, but she hated being surprised even more.

  Her nerves felt frayed. Troy hadn’t even caught his scent this time.

  “I suppose it’s going to be hard to name a winner here,” Python said smoothly. He wore a feathered snake’s mask, and he tugged it off, throwing it casually aside. Then he nudged Nina’s body, shrugging. “But it was an entertaining battle all the same. Just like in the days of my youth, when mother and I would watch the games together. Sometimes—just like today—I would get the chance to participate. Stack the odds a little in my chosen champion’s favor. Ah, Mother, you were so much less of a bitch back then.” He stared more at Nina, and then smiled at Juno. “No appetite, little crow? How disappointing.”