Original Sin

by Allison Brennan

  “You should have let that idiot die in the fire.”

  “I considered it. But he’s useful.”

  Fiona reluctantly concurred. “We need a good plan to retrieve the tabernacle. I think they’ll store it at the mission, or at the church downtown.”

  “You’re right, dear, but I have another plan.”

  “Does it involve gutting Raphael and choking Moira with his intestines?”

  “You are imaginative, dear, but I prefer subtlety. Rafe will soon remember how he knows me. He stared for a long time, but couldn’t place me.”

  “Then you should never have left Santa Louisa. How I missed you!”

  He kissed her. “I missed you too, darling.”

  “How many women did you sleep with while you were gone?”

  “Only you, my love.” He kissed her again. “Serena should be on the beach soon. We need to go.”

  “You didn’t tell me your brilliant plan.”

  He paused for a moment. “We allow them to do the hard work.”

  “Meaning exactly what?”

  “Why should we expend our energy tracking and trapping the Seven? Anthony, Rafe, and Moira will do it for us. And when they’re done? We’ll take them back. All seven of the deadly sins will be ours.”

  Fiona considered the idea. “I can see how that might work.” She smiled. “And we can spend the extra time finding a new arca.”

  “Yes, that is truly our one stumbling block. They don’t realize they can’t keep the Seven together, except in an arca. But we have the luxury of time. And I know just the place we can go.”

  Fiona took a last look around the library where she’d spent so much of the last two years. This had been a good place for her, for her family, for her coven. And Andra Moira had destroyed it. Her daughter and Raphael Cooper. Though Matthew was trying to ease her anger, she didn’t want to let it go. How could they have such strength without magic? The heavens didn’t grant power; only demanded blind faith and obedience. Neither Cooper nor her traitorous daughter were obedient to anyone.

  “Darling, we must leave.” Matthew had gathered their most important materials, the rare herbs, the priceless grimoires, and the last of Cooper’s blood, the latter in a small cooler. Everything else could be bought or taken wherever they went.

  Fiona turned to her lover. It had been Matthew from the beginning, for now and forever. None of the men she played sex games with meant anything to her, including Garrett; they were merely a distraction when Matthew was away. She trusted him—until tonight.

  “You could have killed Moira tonight. At Good Shepherd.”

  “Yes,” he said. “But we need her alive.”

  “No! What she has done to me, to our cause! I suffered when she ran away.”

  “Darling, I know, and I promise you, we will find her again and make her suffer tenfold. But we need her alive—she has a power I don’t understand.”

  “Is that how she killed my demon?” Fiona looked into the room off the library where the demon had lain. She and Matthew had sent the slain body back to the underworld, but she was surprisingly upset over the incident.

  “It’s about her, not her tools, not St. Michael’s Order. I just haven’t figured out exactly how she’s doing it. Perhaps it is magic, but she’s masked it somehow.”

  “I haven’t felt any magic coming from her. She would have used it tonight.”

  “There was so much energy in that warehouse, I had a difficult time discerning where the power was coming from.”

  “Even you, my darling Matthew, are not infallible.”

  He frowned. Like her, he didn’t appreciate being reminded of his imperfections. She kissed him to ease the sting of the criticism.

  “Cooper cut her, poured her blood into Envy,” she said. “It weakened the demon, allowed Zaccardi to trap it.”

  “Her blood is your blood.”

  “And her father’s.”

  Matthew said quietly, “It is time.”

  Matthew didn’t have to explain what he meant. He was the only one who knew who Moira’s father really was. It had been a dangerous game from the moment Matthew approached Fiona when she was sixteen, and he ten years older, but they had been successful in everything—except keeping Moira in line. Exposing Moira’s biological father was risky, but the stakes had been raised after the release of the Seven Deadly Sins. The added danger meant bold action.

  “He will be hard for us to get to.”

  “But not impossible.”

  The final pieces were moving into place, but it would take all her concentration, all her magic, to ensure victory for her and her people. “With us,” Fiona smiled slyly, “nothing is impossible.”

  He held her eyes with a promise of the ecstasy that awaited them. “I love you, Fiona. Now, we must leave before the police arrive. We have a long journey.”

  Moira sat in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic picked small pieces of glass out of her hands and arms. “This is a nasty scar,” the guy said, pointing to where Fiona’s pet demon had bit her only a few hours ago. The injury looked months old. “What happened?”

  She just shook her head. Anthony and Rafe spoke in hushed voices just outside the doors. Anthony still held the tabernacle. They were discussing where to put the box until they figured out how to send Envy back to Hell.

  They’d caught only three of the witches, including Elizabeth Ellis. That gave Moira a small satisfaction. She really didn’t like that woman.

  Fiona, Serena, and Matthew Walker had escaped. Skye had sent patrols to the house where Rafe had been held captive, and the other two properties Moira had identified, but there was no sign of them.

  Without Father Philip, nothing was the same. She felt desperately alone. Her eyes burned; she thought she had no more tears, but they came, hot, fast, unstoppable.

  Without Father Philip, she had no one who loved her. No one who cared what happened to her. No one to love. He was her anchor, the reason she could get up every morning and continue the battle. For him.

  He was gone.

  Never had Moira felt so lost since the day she ran away the first time, before she’d met Father Philip. When all she knew how to do was run.

  She’d made her stand and failed. Father Philip was dead.

  Rafe climbed into the ambulance and sat next to her. “Is she going to be okay?” he asked the paramedic.

  “Yes,” Moira responded, blinking back the tears, unable to look at Rafe.

  The paramedic said, “I want her to go to the hospital, but she’s being stubborn.”

  “I’ll take care of her.” He looked her in the eye and she saw he meant it.

  Maybe she wasn’t completely alone.

  Rafe turned to the paramedic. “Our friend Anthony has a nasty cut—can you take a look at it?”

  “I’m not done here.”

  “Five minutes.”

  The paramedic sighed, then left Moira and Rafe alone.

  He frowned at her hands. “It was pure madness in there,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why Fiona let the demon out of the circle. It could have attacked her or any of them. But it went right for you.” She considered that. “Fiona knew it would go for you. It wanted you, Rafe, specifically. Why?”

  “I wish I knew. Was it something I said?” he half-joked. “Or did? I don’t know. Anthony said that Fiona is a powerful magician.”

  “With Walker by her side, she’s even stronger.”

  Rafe made her look at him. “What did she do to you?”

  She didn’t want to talk about it. But she owed Rafe an explanation. “She turned a memory of mine, a nightmare, into vivid Technicolor slow motion. I couldn’t get out of it. I tried, but I couldn’t.”

  Rafe touched her cheek. “Come here.” He put her head on his chest. The paramedics had given him scrubs to wear, reminding Moira of when she found Rafe two days ago.

  “I have to do this again. And again.” She closed her eyes. “I’m
not strong enough.”

  “You’re stronger than anyone I know. But you are not alone. We can do this.”

  She hoped so. The world was a dangerous place without the Seven Deadly Sins making it deadlier.

  “We’d better get started. They’re not going to wait around for us to get our act together.”

  “Sleep first,” Rafe said.

  Rafe looked at Moira’s arm and the bite marks. There had been so much blood, and the acid dripping into Moira’s cuts, her cry of pain. He would never forget what happened in that room. The bite … Moira’s pain … the demon’s dying scream. And now … he looked at the cut he’d made on her hand.

  “How did you know?” Moira whispered.

  He shook his head. “I remembered how when the Cerberus bit you, it died. I hoped … maybe your blood …” He stopped, not knowing what he was going to say because he couldn’t get his mind around it. “I just knew.”

  “Like you knew the magic words.”

  “Magic words?”

  “How you slowed him down. The exorcism or whatever it was you did. It was the language Serena was speaking. Is that what you did on the cliffs the other night?”

  He didn’t know. “Moira, I’m sorry, I wish I had answers—I don’t.”

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  “How did I earn your trust?” It mattered to him, greatly.

  “I don’t know, but—we’re in this together. All of us.”

  Anthony appeared, joining them inside the ambulance. “I agree,” he said. “Together.” He looked at Moira’s arm as well. “Are you sure it was a demon that bit you? I’ve never heard of anything like a demon dying from biting a human. I’ll research it.” He didn’t sound hopeful.

  Rafe smiled woefully as Moira dozed off. “Let’s keep it quiet. There are a lot of people who don’t like Moira.”

  Anthony nodded. “I’ll be discreet. Skye’s wrapping up the explanations.”

  “Which are?”

  “I’m not sure yet, I think she’s winging it. She knows how far she can go.” He put his hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “As soon as she’s done, we’ll go back to my place. You—and Moira—need sleep.” He left.

  Rafe looked at the sleeping beauty beside him. Her expression was uneasy and she moaned. He pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head.

  “I’ll do anything to protect you, my love,” he whispered. “Anything.”

  Read on for an excerpt from

  CARNAL SIN

  by Allison Brennan

  Published by Ballantine Books

  Moira woke up with blood on her hands.

  Her heart raced as she sat upright in the strange bed, staring at the dark red blood drip, drip, dripping onto the white sheets, disappearing as each thick drop spread. She swallowed the scream that fought to escape.

  She blinked and the blood was gone. The panicked rage faded. She almost—almost, but not quite—forgot the feeling of her hand clenching the heavy, balanced dagger. Almost forgot the sickening sound of the blade slicing through tendons, hitting bone, cutting out an invisible soul, and throwing it to demons that tore it to shreds, feeding.

  But she’d never forget the fear. It never left. She lived with it day in and day out, sometimes buried so deep she almost could believe it was gone. When she lied to herself.

  She couldn’t lie to herself now. The nightmare faded, but her vision blurred in the dim light coming from the edges of the closed blinds. The nightmare faded, and the vision hit.

  Was it a vision? While she was awake? It felt like a vision, but she’d never been fully awake for one before and her gut reaction was to stop it. But she couldn’t, even if she’d tried. In a rush, her mind was filled with thoughts not her own, sights she’d never witnessed, feelings she’d never had. Not like this. Not this evil.

  * * *

  She flew across the continent and back. Tired. Bored. Frustrated. There were many places she could stay, but none of them appealed to her. The desires of the body were weak, and she was anything but weak. She didn’t want just any body. Only the perfect body. One who wouldn’t fight. One who wanted her. One who welcomed her. A physical body to lose herself in and control. Freely. Openly.

  The Seven Deadly Sins had been released, and with them other demons, and they had freedom. Their time had come again. The Seven would protect them. The Seven would feed them.

  She grew stronger with each passing day.

  She landed where her Protector was.

  “I found you a vessel,” Lust said. “She’s yours.”

  Yesssss.

  Moira saw the woman sleeping, not knowing her fate.

  “No!” she screamed.

  The demon turned and stared at her. It saw her. Saw her vision. Shared her vision.

  It wasn’t possible.

  Was it?

  “Moira!”

  She jumped out of bed, shaky, knife in hand without even thinking about reaching under her pillow for it.

  It was Rafe. She swallowed, blinked, tried to regain her focus. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.

  She knew damn well she was lying to herself.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “You were looking right at me, but you didn’t see me.”

  She shook her head to clear her mind and sat back heavily on the edge of her bed. She had to get out of this place. She’d been in Santa Louisa for nearly a month, but for the last two weeks she’d been doing nothing. Anthony Zaccardi, Santa Louisa’s own resident demonologist, had his books and research, trying to track down the remaining Seven Deadly Sins. Rafe had his physical therapy and training. And what did she have? Exercise until her body ached. Nightmares that reminded her of her deadly flaws. Visions almost daily for the past two weeks that left her drained and on edge. And still no trace of Fiona O’Donnell or Matthew Walker. She was going stir-crazy. In the last seven years she’d never stayed in any one place this long, except Olivet when she was training to be a demon hunter with Rico.

  “I’m okay,” she said, but not fast enough. He didn’t believe her, but he didn’t need words to question. He never did. His dark, bottomless blue eyes questioned her, compelling the truth from her lips.

  “I had another vision,” she admitted.

  That she could say it out loud showed she’d accepted the fact that she was a freak. She’d always known it, but now? Well, it sounded even crazier. And it was. But Rafe didn’t think so, which was both comforting and scary as hell. They were so much alike … yet so different. He never left her alone anymore, and she was scared to death. Of what was happening between them. Of what would happen if she let down her shields. There was no future for her, she couldn’t lose her focus. Not again.

  “I think …” how could she explain? “One of them—one of the demons—found a host.”

  “Anthony doesn’t believe they’re seeking possession.”

  “Anthony doesn’t know everything,” she snapped.

  Rafe walked over to the dresser and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. Already, two weeks after he miraculously woke from his coma—if that’s what it was that had kept him unconscious for ten weeks—he’d regained his color and much of his strength. They were staying at Anthony and Skye’s place—hardly big enough for the four of them—with Rafe sleeping on the couch. She needed to get out of this place. Not just because she itched to find where her mother had disappeared to, but because the close proximately to Rafe was distracting. Not to mention Anthony’s need to control both of them day and night, and Skye’s constant questions. Moira liked the cop, but there were some things better left outside of the law. If Sheriff Skye McPherson knew even half the laws Moira had broken …

  Rafe still didn’t say anything. Damn, how annoying was that? He just pinned her with his sharp eyes, his unshaven square jaw locked, waiting for her to tell him the truth.

  “I know it’s not possible,” she began—hoping it wasn’t possible, “I just—it felt—like the demon saw me. Or—” she hesitated,
then said what she truly feared. “Or I was looking through the demon’s eyes. Then it turned and looked inside itself. At me. Knew me and that I was there. And it wasn’t one of them, not one of the Seven. But—I think—” She bit her lip.

  “What?”

  “Do you think that the Seven are somehow collecting demons who are already here? Like bodyguards. Or distractions.”

  Rafe didn’t say anything. Why was he always so damn quiet? Why couldn’t he get angry like Anthony or frustrated like Skye? Instead, he was calm.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you, demon or human.”

  He barely whispered, but she heard every word as if it was etched onto her bones, and every hair on her skin rose. He appeared serene, but he was a tightly controlled bundle of energy. His words had movement to them. Weight. She wanted to believe him. He meant what he said, but he wasn’t strong enough to protect her or anyone. Neither was she. None of them were. She felt so much despair, and feared it was residual contact with the Seven. That their power was still present even though they had long left Santa Louisa.

  All but the demon Envy, who was trapped in the tabernacle in the secure vault at St. Francis de Sales in downtown Santa Louisa—a vault that Moira commented was the supernatural equivalent to Fort Knox. Anthony hadn’t been amused. He never was.

  But Rafe had smiled at her joke behind Anthony’s back, and winked at her, another reason why she was drawn to him. He liked her sarcasm, and he made her smile.

  “I’m scared,” she now admitted. “I’ve been doing nothing for nearly two weeks. Nothing but waiting for something we can’t even identify. How can we stop the remaining Seven Deadly Sins if we don’t know where they are? Do we have to wait until someone drops dead? Do we have to wait until we hear on the news that Greed is working its evil magic on Wall Street or people die because they’re too lazy to eat? And dammit, where is Fiona? Where did she go? I can’t feel her magic anymore. They’re just gone and I’m waiting for them to come after me! And what if—”

  She stopped. She was turning into a complainer. God, she hated herself right now. When had she become a sniveling brat? She had to put the fear aside or it would bite her in the ass. Yeah, she was worried—so was everyone else involved. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself, accept her fate, and move forward. Maybe if she repeated the mantra enough it would come true.