Movement at the gate was followed by Michael’s return. He passed through the shimmering wards and walked toward us, shaking his head solemnly.
Lucifer looked incredulous. “They won’t see me?”
“You fake your disappearance and then you turn up here demanding an audience with the Powers. What did you expect?” Michael said.
“I would have thought their curiosity would have been enough to grant me an audience.”
“You’re lucky you haven’t been shot through with a bolt where you stand,” Michael said. “I can’t believe it. All this time you were here, right under our noses. You were here in Dawn, working for us as Bane, and we never knew.”
“To be fair, neither did I.”
“What was it like?” Michael asked. “What was it like being … gone?”
His gaze grew distant. “Like a dream. Like a long sleep. It feels like only yesterday that I closed my eyes, and yet so much has changed.”
“And now you’re back and you want our help.”
“No. I just want you to do what you pledged to do—protect humanity. We all want the same thing, although our methods may be at odds. You want to protect humanity physically by taking their free will and turning them into puppets. We want to allow them to flourish and evolve and protect the precious gift of free will gifted to them by our creator.”
A dark shadow passed across Michael’s face. “Humans are their own worst enemies, and left to their own devices they will ultimately destroy each other.”
“And that would be their journey. One they should be permitted to take. It is what God would have wanted.”
“And yet he isn’t here, is he? He left us to watch over them, and he retreated to goodness knows where. He left his favored creation in our hands and we watched while they abused the free will he had gifted them. They do not deserve it, and deep down you know it.”
“So instead you make them your slaves? How does getting them to serve you count as protecting them? It seems perfectly selfish to me.”
“We give them a safe home. We provide peace and harmony, and if they pay for this with servitude, then what is the harm in that? We are White Wings, we are God’s first creation.”
Well, that just wasn’t accurate. “Not if the shades are to be believed.”
He glared at me. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “The shades predate you. And I’m pretty sure the humans are just a means to an end for them. They need the hosts to get to you. It’s the winged they have a grudge against. It’s you they want to end. They’ll be coming for you once they have the manpower, which, if you don’t help us, they will have sooner rather than later. So, how about you stop hiding and get out there and fucking help us to stop them.”
Michael averted his gaze, and I saw the first shadow of doubt on his face.
“The shades were always going to spill into our world,” Lucifer said. “And Merlin and I did what we could to prepare ourselves for it. The weapon is here now, at the perfect time when needed.” He swept an arm toward me. “The Powers need to see her. They need to know what she can do.”
Michael looked shifty and Lucifer tensed.
“You did tell them about her, didn’t you? You told them about the weapon inside her?”
Michael’s gaze swept over me, and his eyes softened. “No. I didn’t, and if you’re wise you’ll keep that under wraps for as long as possible.”
Lucifer balked. “Hide our main advantage? Why would we do that?”
My mind was whirring, making connections, and when the pieces fell into place, Michael’s reluctance made sense. How had Lucifer and I not come to the same conclusion? “The weapon was made of God’s grace—the only thing that could kill a Black Wing … that could kill a winged. If I’m the weapon, then it means that I can kill the White Wings too.”
Michael’s smile was close-lipped. “If they find out. If you set foot in Dawn, then you won’t be permitted to leave. They won’t allow such a powerful weapon to remain in the Black Wings’ hands.”
Lucifer turned away in exasperation. “Fine. But even without the weapon it doesn’t change the fact that we need to join forces to band against a common threat. A threat that is using the humans as cannon fodder to get to us.”
“The shades are not a threat to us,” Michael said softly, although he didn’t sound too convinced. “They cannot infect us, and Dawn is warded against them with our divine power. It seems the threat is entirely to you.” He locked gazes with Lucifer. “And you have a weapon to fight it with.”
“And what about the humans out there in Midnight and Sunset? Do you not have a duty to protect them?” Lucifer asked.
“We have a duty to the humans who joined us, who gave us their will and became silvered, and we will not risk their lives to save the resistors. The tally of humans outside of Dawn has dropped dramatically, and we have the numbers we need to win our wager.”
So that was their ploy? Sit things out and wait for the century to be over, and when Arcadia rejoined the rest of the world, they could stake claim to all of humanity. But there was something they hadn’t thought about.
“While you hide, the rest of Arcadia could fall, and then when the magic around Arcadia fails, when you are finally reunited with the rest of the world, what then? The shades will still be here, and they will have a billion fresh humans to choose from, to build their army, to procreate, and to take you down.” I had no idea about the procreation bit, but it seemed to have an effect on him because his eyes widened in horror at the thought. “So you see, sitting back and doing nothing isn’t going to give you the advantage. All you’re doing is delaying the inevitable, but if you join us now, we can cut the head off the serpent before he grows any more. The White Wings don’t need to know about my abilities, not yet. Not until it’s time for me to burn the shades into oblivion. And trust me, once they see that, they won’t try putting their hands on me.”
“You know she’s right, Michael,” Lucifer said. “We need to work together or this world that God created will be taken from us completely.”
From the look on Michael’s face, if it had been up to him, we’d be getting that audience about now. But it wasn’t, and he quickly shuttered his emotions. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do. The Powers have made their decision. They have forsaken the humans outside of Dawn. The humans who turned their back on the White Wings are no longer our concern. We must protect the silvered at all costs.”
We weren’t going to get anywhere here. I had neph shadows to slice off and a Piper to summon. I turned to Lucifer. “Let’s go. We’re wasting our time. We’re on our own.”
Lucifer’s jaw ticked, but he nodded and held out his arms to me.
I stepped into his embrace, closing my eyes and imagining, for a brief moment, that it was Bane holding me. Lucifer’s arms tightened around me.
“One more thing,” Michael said. “As a Black Wing, you aren’t permitted to aid the humans. No interference, remember?” He winced at the words. Words probably passed to him by the Powers. “As Bane you were not yourself, and so the Powers have magnanimously agreed to excuse you, but you are Lucifer once more, and therefore, you must abide by the rules of our wager.”
Lucifer’s biceps flexed. I glanced up at his face, sharp features cut in stone.
“Fuck you, Michael. Fuck all of you.”
My pulse skipped in shock, and a chuckle spilled from my lips. His wings flapped, and we were airborne.
“You thought that was funny?” he asked, his lips close to my ear.
My mirth evaporated. “No, it’s just … that was so …”
“Bane?” he asked, his voice low.
Pain lanced through my heart. “Yeah.”
“I know.”
***
“Stand still.” I placed a hand on Rivers’s shoulder to turn him slightly, putting him directly in the path of the spotlight. His shadow stretched out behind him on the lounge floor. Orin, Ryker, and Rivers stood by the window. We�
��d moved the sofas back and locked the door to the lounge. If this shadow slicing worked, then we could start on the rest of the nephs in the building. And once they were done, then it would be time to call in the Lupin and get them sliced too. Right now, the beast men were out in the district, helping us to keep the humans safe. It would be a challenge to liberate every neph of his or her shadow, but it was one I was up for if it meant keeping them out of shade clutches.
“Just get it over with,” Rivers said.
“Nervous?” I teased.
“Do I look nervous?”
I glanced up at his deadpan face. “Okay, ice dude.” I released him and stepped back. My daggers appeared in my hands. “What about now?”
He shook his head and looked away. Yeah, there was no shaking Rivers. As soon as I’d asked for a volunteer, he’d stepped up. But despite my bravado, my palms were sweating. If I could have tried this on myself first then I would have, but that idea had been vetoed by the guys. My abilities were too important to risk losing, and if something did go wrong, if Ambrosius had got his facts wrong, then they couldn’t take the risk of messing with my power.
“And how do you do this?” Cassie asked. There was a definite mocking edge to her voice.
Wiping my clammy palms on my jeans, I fixed a confident smile on my face. “Ambrosius said I could just slice.”
“So do it,” Rivers said. “Slice.”
I crouched on the ground, checked the tremble in my hands, and made the cut, keeping close to Rivers’s heels, and fuck me sideways, the inky black shadow began to contract and then winked out completely.
“Well that was weird,” Cassie said.
“You okay, Rivers?” Ryker asked.
“Fine. Cassie can go next.” He stepped away from me.
“No way,” Cassie said. “Ryker can go next.”
“I trust you, Serenity.” Ryker took Rivers’s spot and Orin adjusted the light. “Do it.”
Taking a deep breath, I set to liberation.
Five minutes later they were all shadow free, which meant the damn shades couldn’t infect them. It was as if someone had removed a boulder off my chest. Ryker was already on the phone to Gregory, the Lupin leader, and Orin was dialing Adam, the Sanguinata liaison.
Cassie pressed a drink into my hand. “You did good.”
I’d just finished slicing off my own shadow, and it felt weird. I felt weird. “Do you feel lighter? Like you’ve lost weight?”
“Yeah, I thought I was imagining it.”
“Weird.”
She licked her lips. “So have you spoken to Orin since our chat?”
Heat climbed up my chest as the memory of the kiss in the van bloomed in my mind’s eye. “Um, yeah. He drove me to the cemetery.”
She ducked her head. “Are you going to … Are you going to get together?”
Guilt mingled with empathy. Yeah, she’d fucked up with Orin, but she still cared about him. But the things she’d said, the way she’d put him down. I couldn’t forgive that. Or maybe I was just making excuses to be with him, to clear my conscience. Thank God Cassie and I had never been close, because that would be awkward—friend code and all that.
“Yes.”
She blew out a breath. “Thanks for being honest.”
“Always.”
“Adam said he’d swing by in an hour.” Orin tucked his phone back into his jeans pocket.
“Gregory is on his way now,” Ryker added.
We may have failed in convincing the White Wings to join us, but a bunch of humans were safe in Respite, and I’d just effectively sliced the shadows off four nephs. Despite the White Wings turning their back on us, we were succeeding in gaining an advantage over the shades.
I slugged back the amber liquid in my glass. “Let’s get this done.”
***
The next two days passed in a haze of patrols and reading. The Latin books were passed to me. It seemed like my little language skill may have come from the power inside me and it was good to be of more use than blasting shades, but the lack of shade action meant the power inside me was building. When I wasn’t reading, I was over the border in Sunset expelling shades from their human hosts. Since finding out the shades had moved into Sunset, we’d scheduled patrols to cover the district, providing one MPD officer per SPD unit. The Lupin had picked up the slack in Midnight, filling in where we were lacking. The scourge were back, attacking wherever they could and stretching our resources, which I guess was the shades’ plan. Overwhelm and distract. Dorian had done the minimum. He’d provided a small team headed up by Adam, the Sanguinata who we’d met when we’d entered the House Games a few weeks ago. Then he’d cloistered himself in his moat-surrounded castle, and we hadn’t heard from him since, the bastard.
So far, there’d been only a handful of infections reported in Sunset. The citizens there seemed more aware of changes in their mental state and willingly brought themselves to the drop-in center that had been set up. The SPD had been quick to inform district citizens about the threat. Pamphlets providing information on signs and symptoms to watch for were circulated, and it was working. The shades were failing to get their hooks into their hosts. I’d made three trips to carry out expulsions, but expulsions weren’t the same as incinerating the fuckers, and I desperately needed the release of a few kills.
My temper was shorter, and both Orin and Ryker had been on the end of the sharp side of my tongue. This wasn’t me. Something had to be done about it. Ambrosius was at the clifftop house with Oleander, but as soon as he got back, I’d get his advice on what was happening. My daimon was ominously silent, and aside from everything else, this one fact was worrying.
Meanwhile, Lucifer may not have been able to convince the Powers, but he’d been a wizard at rousing the Black Wings. They couldn’t interfere directly, but he’d suggested that they place themselves in positions where they may be attacked. If they were attacked, they could retaliate, right?
For the first time since I’d met Abigor and Malphas, I’d seen a new fire in their eyes and caught a glimpse of the warriors beneath the impotence.
The Black Wings were out there now, broken into units and patrolling sectors one and two in the hope that shades would attack them. Sector three had been partially evacuated and Respite was full. It was all we could do until we found the summoning spell for the Piper.
“Are you going to finish that or not?” Orin asked.
I blinked out of my thoughts and stared at the cinnamon roll in my hand. It was still warm from the oven, and I didn’t even care about the crumbs on my duvet. Stuffing my face with baked goods in bed, courtesy of Orin, was just the ticket right now. He’d made me breakfast—rolls and freshly brewed coffee. I was rumpled from sleep, and probably looked like I’d been dragged backward through a hedge, but the way he was looking at me you’d think I’d just stepped onto the catwalk. I wrinkled my nose in an effort to defuse the sudden anticipatory tension.
He chuckled and reached across the bed to wipe crumbs from my face, his fingers lingering at the corner of my mouth. “Piglet,” he said fondly.
“Enabler.” I grinned.
His eyes darkened, and he swept a thumb across my lips. “I love cooking for you.”
Warmth flooded me. “I love it when you do.”
“I love watching you eat.”
“I love it when you feed me.”
He broke off a piece of cinnamon roll and held it to my lips. I took it in my mouth and kept my gaze trained on his while I did it. I licked the tips of his fingers before he could withdraw, and his breathing quickened.
“Finish what’s in your mouth,” he said hoarsely.
The tension was back and my body went into high alert. Yes. This was it. This was our breaking point, the tipping point. Pull away or submit? But he made the decision for me by grasping the back of my neck, leaning in, and devouring my mouth with his butterscotch lips. I kicked off the covers and pulled him on top of me, the whole of him—huge, hard, and fucking mine. Skin, I
needed to feel skin. The T-shirt had to go.
“Wait.” He reared up, staring down at me through unfathomable eyes. “I want to savor this.”
He ran his hands down my torso, over my breasts, his palms teasing my nipples and skimming my stomach. My back arched almost involuntarily into his caress, and his breath hissed through his clenched teeth.
“Fucking hell, Serenity.” He slipped his hands under my bed-T and slid it up, caressing the sides of my breasts.
Was that my moan, eager and desperate? “Orin … Please …” This was painful. Slow and painful and evil. “Please.”
He smiled, and a wicked gleam lit up his stormy eyes. “I need to feel you. Taste you.”
My stomach flipped hard, and a throb started low and wanton between my thighs. Air kissed my skin as he peeled off my shirt, and then his mouth descended on my neck. His tongue flicked out to lick and his lips brushed my skin in feather-light kisses, trailing down to my breasts, but skirting the peak, tongue making lazy circles, forcing my body to tighten and beg and moan before he finally closed his warm, wet mouth over my nipple and began to draw. My hips bucked, and my legs opened to make room for him. The world spun as he explored me with delicate intensity. My lungs were too tight, my body a knot of need. Silk between my fingers, velvet against my thighs. He was naked, his body sliding against mine, taut muscle beneath my fingertips as he found my wet core and pushed me to the edge.
“Please, Orin. Please.”
“Yes.” Hand on my forehead to hold me still, he locked gazes with me. “Look at me, Serenity. I need to see you.” And then he entered me. Inch by delicious inch, he stretched me. Big … He was big, thick, and there was no more thought, only the sensations wrung free from my sensitized flesh as we claimed each other.
***
“That was …” My legs were still quivering and every part of my body was singing. He’d given each part of me attention. Who knew that the insides of my wrists could be an erogenous zone? He stroked my arm, his gaze trailing across my face.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for … a long time,” he said.
I smiled. “Yeah? Well, you had me fooled.”
Shades of Midnight: an Urban Fantasy novel (Chronicles of Midnight Book 4) Page 11