by Misty Evans
I brought him up to date on everything from my discussion with Lucifer to Kirill’s physical state. He shook his head. “The drama never ends, does it?”
Drama? “I’m dealing with real life here, Rad, not a glorified reality TV show.”
He slouched in the chair, fiddled with a string on his sweater. “My meeting went well, thanks for asking.”
He was having business meetings like everything was normal. “Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied with the world ending.”
He had the nerve to roll his eyes. “You said it yourself, Kali. This is a pissing match between Michael and Lucifer. It has little to nothing to do with wiping sin from the world and restoring Eden. Our best bet is to lay low, let them kill each other—or whatever angels do to each other—and survive the fallout. Things will settle down and life will go back to normal.”
I stared at him. “Are you on drugs?”
“I haven’t even had a hit of your blood today.” He waggled his eyebrows. “We should fix that.”
“I can’t decide if you’re really that selfish or if you’re trying to take my mind off things.”
His eyes flashed with irritation. “I’m selfish? All I hear is Damon this, Dru that, Lucifer yada, yada, yada. I’m telling you, they’ve sucked you into this game and you’re the one that’s going to end up screwed when all’s said and done.”
“What about the innocent humans that have died in the past forty-eight hours? The ones who’ve been injured or are lying in a hospital bed with an incurable disease? Tell me again, who’s getting screwed in this scenario?”
He tipped his head back and stared at a spot above my head, then sat forward, elbows on the chair’s arms. “Look, I know you’re dedicated to saving humans. I support that. But you can’t save them all, especially when the forces that be are working against you. Your mother prophesized this would happen. Your father wrote it down. Cultures across the globe since the beginning of time have predicted the end of the world. It’s going to happen. You can’t stop Armageddon, Kali, even if you kill the Horsemen and fight side-by-side with Lucifer. You know that, right?”
The hunger pains turned to nausea.
“It’s a noble cause, but this battle isn’t yours.” The sincerity in his eyes was real. The intensity in his aura even more so. He was scared for me. Scared I was either going to end up Lucifer’s bitch or Michael’s. “Don’t let them use you as a pawn in their fight. Once the dust clears, the world will return to normal. It may be a new normal, but even if Michael defeats Lucifer and sends him back to the pit, sin will still exist. Demons will still exist. You and I will be here to help the humans who survive and we’ll go back to protecting them.”
Was I a pawn? Would the earth and heaven and hell simply start up where they’d left off once this was over?
He gave me a look that reminded me of Damon’s stern you should listen to me expression. “We can’t do that if we don’t survive. You’ve got three strongholds—the Institute, your castle, and Nudra’s house in Oak Park. Personally, I vote for Oak Park. It’s far enough away from the South Side rioting and it’s full of weapons.”
Nudra, the vamp who’d made me his blood slave had an arsenal in his house. A house that passed on to me when I killed the bastard. Rad wanted to hang out there because it was well-fortified and filled with luxurious amenities. I had the feeling the arsenal of weapons was of secondary importance to him.
Oak Park was no safer than where I sat, and the big heaven-hell picture was impossible to see. I doubted even Damon could see it.
Do what you are.
All I could do was fight the fight handed to me. I was sorry Rad wouldn’t be fighting the same fight by my side. “I’m not a pawn, and I’m not hiding out while heaven and hell duke it out in my town.”
He let out a disgusted sigh, sat back again and tapped a thumb on his thigh. “Parker’s back in Chicago.”
The sudden change in topic confused me. Or maybe I was too tired to care. “So?”
“She’s coming for you and only you. Orders from the Pope.”
I shrugged. “I have bigger problems than Parker Burkett.”
“See that’s just it. Parker’s an assassin and her mission is to kill you before sunset tonight.”
“The Pope’s pissed I trashed his place and showed him up, huh?”
“You’re not a pawn in the game, Kali. You’re the pawn. Heaven wants you destroyed before Michael even mounts his horse. Parker’s been tasked to do the job, but the Pope’s not taking chances. He’s sent Maria as insurance.”
Rad’s go-to-ground philosophy suddenly made sense. “How do you know the Pope’s plan?”
He cleared his throat, played with the string again. “Parker told me.”
I needed a second to wrap my head around that. “You’ve spoken to Parker? Recently?”
“She’s still trying to convince me to return to the Nocts.”
Of course she was. Should have killed her when I had the chance. “She wants you back, period. Nocts or no Nocts.”
He made a whatever gesture. “I need to get you to a safe place. Here, the castle, Nudra’s compound. Wherever you feel safe. But I will not stand by while Parker or Maria or anyone else tries to harm you.”
Talk about noble. My heart pinched, torn between wanting to give in to him—wanting someone to take care of me for once—and knowing I could never leave the people and supernaturals who were counting on me in order to save my own skin.
Damn Chaos demon. I had a job to do and he was making me doubt myself. “I can’t, Rad. I can’t abandon this cause.”
“Please, Kali. Do this for me.”
“I want to—I do—but you know I can’t. It would be wrong.”
Anger flared. “It’s okay to think about yourself for once. To put yourself and your well-being ahead of others.”
No, it wasn’t. I looked in his pleading golden eyes and it tore the heart right out of me to disappoint him so. “Not gonna happen.”
He set his elbows on his knees and hung his head. “She’s pulling out all the stops. Everyone you care about is in danger. And she won’t quit until your head is on a stake in Vatican City.”
“Let her try.” The best defense was a good offense. “The only one losing her head by sundown tonight will be Parker. You can bet on it.”
“You really plan to kill her? A human?”
She’d given up her human card a long time ago. “I’m going to relish every minute of it.”
He sat there looking at me like I’d morphed into someone else.
Maybe I had. My demon hadn’t even peeked out.
“What?” I challenged. “A minute ago you wanted me to sit back and let thousands, if not millions, of innocent humans suffer and die because Michael’s got a bug up his ass, and now you’re disappointed I’d kill Parker who’s done nothing but threaten and torture me?”
I didn’t let him respond. “Not only me, Rad. She’s tortured hundreds of supernaturals in the basement of the Pope’s apartments. I felt their residual energy, their pain and suffering. She and her Noct buddies have killed thousands more. She threatened to harm you right to my face and now she’s gunning for me again. Human or not, why would I cut her one ounce of slack?”
“I’m not asking you to. But you said it yourself. Her track record is impeccable. Whether you want to admit it or not, your life is in danger. Be smart and stop getting distracted by the Armageddon mess or you won’t be around to fight it.”
I didn’t want to argue any more. Rad was not only my lover and blood slave, he was a good resource. I needed him—not the angry him, the smart him. The one who could help me defeat Parker because he knew her weaknesses.
I shifted in the chair, fidgeting with the uncomfortable feeling lodged in my chest. “All right. Your concern and credible information is duly noted. Outside of hiding from her, what do you suggest?”
“Use me as bait.”
I barked a laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
He
met my gaze with his, cool and steady.
Okay, serious it was. In the silence, I considered the idea like an objective commander would do. Parker wanted my head on a stake and she wanted Rad back in her bed. Which one did she want more?
Duh.
Sun Tzu advised to ‘hold out baits to entice the enemy.’ Who was I to argue with the master? “I’m listening.”
Rad’s mouth quirked to one side. “Meet me at your place in an hour and you’ll see.” He stood, leaned across the desk and planted a toe-curling kiss on me before strolling to the door and looking back. “And wear something sexy. Like that thing with all the ties.”
“The leather bustier? What does that have to do with killing Parker?”
“Nothing, but when your boobs are pushed up like that, I’ll fight twice as hard to save you.”
Asshole.
He left me with my mouth open, his footsteps echoing in the hallway. I heard him whistling the notes of the latest song he was working on as he left.
I laid my head down on Damon’s desk and groaned.
“What’s cookin’, home fry?” Maddy bounced into the office, took one look at me and closed the door behind her. “Whoa, girl. You look like the Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy. What’s up?”
“Besides the end of the world?”
“The look on your face isn’t apocalyptic.” She skirted the edge of the desk, held my face between her palms and studied it. “Nope. This here is your man-trouble face. Which one is it? Rad? Dru? Damon?”
She winked at me, popping her gum. “It’s Dru, isn’t it?”
“Him and every other male in the place,” I said, putting my head back down. The desk was cool against my skin. “I hate them all.”
“There, there.” She hopped up on the desk and patted my shoulder. “Maddy’s got just the thing to cure that problem.”
I looked up. “A mani-pedi at that vampire salon you love isn’t going to cure jack shit.”
She made a frowny face. “Testy much, my dear vengeance demon?”
“Hell, yes. Rough doesn’t begin to cover my day.”
She smiled again and snapped her fingers over her head in a gesture that was pure Italian. “Arman! Chop, chop. My queen needs nourishment.”
The shifter appeared, white bags of takeout with my favorite restaurant’s logo on the side in his hands. “We come bearing food, oh queen of the Undead.”
The smell of grease and seared steak hit my nose. My stomach rumbled. I might have drooled.
With one sweep of my arm, I cleared the desk top of papers. A very un-Damon-like thing to do. Then I wiggled my fingers at Arman. “Come to momma, werecat.”
Chapter Forty-three
After the last piece of steak and French fry was consumed, I thanked my young friends and went to see my lieutenants. That’s how I was thinking of Dru and the others now. Lieutenants in my hodge-podge supernatural army.
The emotions and the magics inside the conference room were still running high. Dissention was rampant. Troops fall apart when their leader is absent.
Maddy and Arman followed me and stood amongst the others. Yasmin was noticeably absent. Juliana Ballou Jackson, the Creole vamp queen of the Southern Region, and her cohort, Rafael DeMarco, the Godfather vamp king of the East, had joined us. They looked as happy to be there as everyone else. Both regaled me with questions, so I took a minute to bring them up to speed.
Once everyone had the low down on what had happened so far and what might happen in the next twenty-four hours, I divided our army into five units, assigned each a lieutenant from those gathered, and then divvied up Chicago’s South Side into four quadrants.
“Dru and Brianna—” I pointed to a map on the wall outlining the various quads, “—you and your vampire teams will police the east from Bridgeport to South Shore. Shayne, your team of Institute soldiers and shifters will take the green areas from South Chicago to Hegewisch. Akimo, your team gets the orange sections encompassing McKinley Park to West Lawn. Seraphina and Sal will stay here and handle communication, injuries and weapon detail. Cole you’re with me.”
“And what exactly are we doing?” Brianna asked. She had haughty vampire down to an art. “Controlling the human population or fighting the Horsemen?”
“Both.”
Her red glossed lips puckered in distaste. “I thought you were going to handle the Horsemen.”
Behind me, Cole stiffened.
“Brianna,” Dru admonished.
Damon’s written words rang in my head. Do what you are.
I was Brianna’s queen. Being defensive wasn’t the answer, but her attitude was unacceptable. Especially in front of the other regional managers. “Cole, show Brianna the front door since she’s unhappy with my leadership.”
Cole sucked up whatever angst it caused him and marched toward the vamp. She was unhappy alright, but had no intention of living as an outcast whether she had hours or centuries left of her Undead life. It was too cushy and she deemed herself above most of her fellow vampires. Being exiled meant no more Dru, no more Cole.
She stopped Cole with an upraised hand and tipped her head in a show of subservience to me. “My deepest apologies, queen. Current circumstances weigh heavy on my mind. My tongue gets away from me.”
“Watch yourself, vampire, or your tongue will be removed.”
The silence in the room was deafening.
Point made.
“Yes, my queen,” Brianna said, her hate simmering under her submission. “I am at your service.”
“Moving on.” I motioned Cole to return to his spot near me. “You may encounter one of the Horsemen before I do. In that case, don’t engage them. Get in touch with me and we’ll work out a plan based on the circumstances. In order to do their jobs, the Horsemen have to stick out their necks. I’m working a plan to attack them when they’re most vulnerable.”
Brianna wasn’t pacified but many of the others were. They believed in me. She set her lips into a grim line and offered no further argument.
“Look,” I said to all of them. “My first skirmish didn’t go as planned, but I’m better prepared now. The Horsemen are virtually unstoppable and behind them is an army of angels led by Michael. But on that front, we have an ally. A powerful one. When the time comes, we stand with him.”
Feet shuffled. Voices murmured. Some of them knew I was talking about Lucifer. Others guessed. I waited for discussion and dissent from the vamp regional managers. None came.
What alternative did they have? I hoped they were sticking with me because they believed my plan would work, but supernaturals weren’t welcomed by heaven and its emissaries. Earth was their only home unless they wanted an extended vacation in hell.
The door opened and Kirill appeared, white hospital gown tied awkwardly around his middle and his IV pole in tow. “Did I miss anything?”
He looked too pale and unsteady on his feet, but by hell and damnation, he was up and walking. I nearly jumped over Sal to get to him. “Kirill. Are you sure you should be up so soon?”
Seraphina moved from behind Shayne. “Feeling better, love?”
“You.” Kirill pointed a finger at her, his gown falling open in back. “What did you do to me?”
I grabbed the gown and tried to fix it. “She saved your life.”
“Miss Do-gooder. Couldn’t resist, could you, Nightingale?”
The archdemon was delusional. “That’s Seraphina, Kirill. The vitium. Not Florence Nightingale.”
“She may have changed her skin color, but I’d know the magic in those hands anywhere.”
I looked at the female, as did everyone else in the room. She hid a sly smile. “One of my gifts is shifting appearances. Kirill has known me as Florence Nightingale.”
Maddy clapped in glee. “You’re a Metamorph? How frickin’ cool is that? I didn’t think you guys existed anymore.”
A Metamorph was a shifter, only one that shifted her human looks to appear as whoever she wanted. There was no animal in her.<
br />
Sera nodded, glanced at Kirill. “We have a history together. I thought it best to adopt a new appearance before coming here.”
Kirill started forward. I grabbed his arm and held him back. His chubby cheeks shook with anger but under that, his aura shook with unrequited love. “You tricked me.”
Oh, jeez. Sexual chemistry burned bright between them. “Relax, Kirill. Trickery aside, she saved your life, and we don’t have time to fight amongst ourselves.”
“He’s in no condition to fight,” Seraphina advised.
Kirill stiffened and made a noise in the back of his throat, but she was right. I could tell it was adrenaline and anger keeping him upright. “Back to bed, archdemon. We need to talk.”
I dismissed the rest of the group. Seraphina led the way to the infirmary; Cole and I guided Kirill back to his bed. I asked Cole and Sera to leave us alone for a few minutes.
A pale Kirill closed his eyes once they were out of the room. “So you’ve taken over.”
“If you want the job, it’s all yours.”
“Where’s Yasmin?”
“No clue. She left after she found out Damon had handed me his position.”
“Damon’s lap dog.” He sighed, opened his eyes. “You’re better off without her. She’d only try to sabotage you. She’s in love with him, you know.”
“And he’s in love with Valentina. Do you know her?”
Kirill waved a weak hand. “He was never in love with her. She was nothing but a distraction. A substitution for a female he wanted and couldn’t have. But he got caught up in Val’s dream weaving shit and he couldn’t remove the barb she left in him.”
“I noticed.”
The IV continued its drip. “Where did he go?”
“He’s slumming with Lucifer. Best guess? He’s in a small river town west of here. Lucifer’s got him guarding Amy Atwood.”
Kirill tsked. “A deal with the devil. Should’ve known. For what, though?” He eyed me suspiciously. “What would make him give up head of the Bridge Council to go to work for Lucifer?”
His tone suggested he knew what. I looked away. “I didn’t ask him to make that deal. He did it without my knowledge or consent.”