by Avery Rae
"Hey, we've got a live one." Zachariah's shout echoed through the room. He was pulling a flailing young woman out of a closet. Teeth bared, fingers curled into claws, the girl raked at his skin and screamed like a banshee. My blood ran cold. Not because of the terror in her eyes, but the glee I saw in Zachariah's.
He was enjoying it.
I was there in an instant, ripping the woman from his grasp and sending him staggering backwards with a blow to his stomach. A string of curses flew from his lips, but I didn't care. I just knew that I didn't want him touching her a second more, even if she was possessed by some psychotic soul.
I quickly fished out my new stone, held it aloft, then awkwardly pressed it to her arm. I felt stupid doing it, but, to my surprise, she went still and looked up at me with wide eyes.
"What're you doing? Are you one of them?" Her words came out in a panicked rush. "Please, don't hurt me."
I looked around for help, unsure of what to do. The crystal didn't seem to be doing anything. Maybe I was doing something wrong, or maybe she wasn't possessed?
When I met Zachariah's gaze, he just scowled. Gael's stone was glowing brightly as he held it to a shadowy presence in the corner of the room. Why isn't mine doing that?
"Stop making things weird," Edwin said as he walked over. "The girl's clean. Your stone would be lit up like a Christmas tree if she wasn't."
"Oh. Right. I kinda figured." I pulled the stone away and quickly shoved it back into my pocket, then stepped back. "Sorry about that."
"What's happening? I don't understand." The woman's voice was strained, as if she was holding back another wave of tears. "They were going to sacrifice me. They—they said I was perfect and my death would help the Earth. They were crazy. All of them. They started chanting and—and—" The sob that had been threatening to break through finally won over. She covered her face as tears began to pour down her cheeks.
"Sacrifice?" I asked, feeling even more out of the loop than ever. Edwin gave me a grim nod as he removed his jacket.
"You don't need to explain. Everything's going to be okay," he murmured to the young woman as he placed his jacket around her shoulders. "I promise I'll get you home and make sure you're safe."
Not only had this been the most I'd really heard Edwin talk, but he was being so much nicer than usual. I couldn't hide my surprise, my brows inching their way up to my forehead. I looked at Gael out of the corner of my eye. He shook his head, telling me not to say a word.
As Edwin escorted the young woman toward the exit, Amberlynn stalked over and grabbed him by the arm. "We need to talk to her about this mess, hero."
When he looked down at her hand, his expression chilled me to the bone. "She's not a Druid, she was a sacrifice. She doesn't know anything. If she says something relevant, I'll message you. Now, get your hand off me or I'll break it."
Amberlynn hesitated for a moment then lifted her hands high into the air as if he was pointing a loaded gun at her. "Sorry for doing my job, tough guy."
He scowled at her once more before escorting the trembling woman outside.
"Will she be alright with him?" I asked quietly, body tense and prepared to rush after them.
"Edwin's got a soft spot for women. He'll take good care of her," Gael reassured me. "He was an immoral, philandering piece of shit in his past life, but he never physically hurt anyone."
That was when the girl started to scream. I dashed forward and shouldered my way through the doors. Edwin was standing with his hands in the air, eyes wide with disbelief, as the girl screamed and clawed at herself.
The moment she saw me, she stopped and smiled. "Whoops, you got here too fast on me, newbie. I was going to say that he tried to attack me. Bummer."
Edwin cursed and pulled out his stone as the others rushed through the door behind me. "She's possessed."
"But my stone didn't work," I said, confused. "I thought I just had to touch it to the vessel?"
"You do. Give me your stone," Gael replied with the sort of suspicion in his voice that alarmed me. He pressed it to the woman. Nothing happened. "What the hell? Since when do these things break?"
I looked over at Zachariah in confusion and he gave me an apologetic shrug. Before I could ask him about it, the possessed woman sighed and flicked her hair over her shoulders. "Bored now. Bye."
Edwin lunged forward, but it was too late. I watched in horror as a shimmering fog spiraled out of the woman's mouth, ears, and nose, converging up high and out of reach. Before anyone could move, it blew down the street with a sudden burst of speed.
The woman collapsed to her knees, palms pressed to the ground as she gasped and wheezed for air. "What the fuck?" she cried out.
"Everyone, we need to go," Gael shouted as he started after the escaping soul. Edwin crouched down next to the young woman—who seemed more furious than scared.
"It's alright," Edwin assured me. "I'll help her. You go make sure none of the others do something stupid trying to get that soul."
I nodded, took a deep breath, then burst into a full-speed run down the sidewalk, ignoring the shocked and disgruntled looks from the few people I passed. Thankfully, it was a dull night out here. It was even colder than when we had arrived, and it wasn't just my newfound preference for higher temperatures talking.
19
Gael
We were closing in on the soul when it pulled one of their favorite tricks. A curious older woman had peeked out of her door as we thudded down the pavement and the soul attacked. The foggy form shot toward her, sinking into her mouth, wide open with shock. She jerked backwards, froze, then gave us all a wide smile before slamming the door shut.
I cursed and vaulted over the fence, the others following suit. I flung open the screen door. The frame crashed against the house as I barreled through the door. The air inside was sweet and warm, as if the woman had been baking. Chest heaving from my run, I quickly took stock of the small home to figure out where the soul had taken her. If it was this cunning, there was every chance it planned on hurting her, and I sure as hell didn't plan on letting it.
A sudden metallic clatter had me looking to the left. Prissy was already moving. "They're in the kitchen."
I watched her with a hint of pride as she booked it down the hall without hesitation. For all the regret I felt in altering her path, I didn't doubt for a minute that she belonged with us.
"They better not all be like this," Amberlynn grumbled. "I hate when we have to chase them."
"The chase is what makes all this worthwhile," Zach replied.
I gave him a harsh look over my shoulder. I had been trying to help him for so long. Each time we came up here, I went looking for books and shit, just trying to find something to help him. I knew Samael saw something in him, but Zach did his damnedest to prove him wrong. More often than not, I caught myself doubting that it was even possible. I tried to trust him, help him, but then I would see him looking at a woman with that dark look of his, or he would say something that skirted the line, and it pissed me off.
Up ahead, Prissy turned left and disappeared into a brightly lit doorway. When we stepped inside, I found her standing in front of the old woman, who held up a hand that was marked with long, evenly spaced welts. I looked to Prissy. She shook her head, disgust written all over her face. "This asshole had her hand in the oven."
"I was only doing a little baking. She already had cookies in there, so I figured, why not help?" The old woman suddenly focused on someone behind me and let out a harsh, grating squeal. "Zachy, sweetie-pie, come give Grandma a hug."
Everyone except Prissy groaned. There was only one soul that enjoyed screwing with Zach. Nelson Kincaid, otherwise known as our biggest pain in the ass. Nearly every time the Druids pulled out souls, Nelson would be among them.
The only benefit to him was that he knew Zach, which is how I learned a little about his crimes. The two of them had been partners for a long time before Zach decided he was annoying and killed him. It was rare that I agreed wi
th murder, but he had made the right choice.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Zach groaned. "Out of all the souls, how do they always manage to pull you out of Hell, Kincaid?"
The woman held up a finger as if calling for a pause, then shoved it beneath her wig to scratch what appeared to be a particularly aggressive itch. "If I told you how I got out, you might be a little tattle-tale and ruin it for me. Then we couldn't have these reunions."
"I would be so, so disappointed," Zach replied in a flat tone.
"Get out of the woman, Nelson," I ground out. "Don't ruin the years she's got left with your bullshit."
People just snapped sometimes, but every once in a while when the Druids decided to be stupid, souls like Nelson would get out and make good people do some really screwed up things. They usually had a preference, but not Nelson. He was a wildcard because he was every shade of insane.
"How do you know you're not already too late?" The old woman danced over to the knife block, her slippers swishing against the floor. She pulled out a butcher knife, then waggled her gray brows. "Better just put her out of her misery right now."
"You're so pathetic," Zach grumbled. He rubbed at his brow before striding over to the woman. Nelson held the knife out straight ahead. Zach only came to a stop when the blade was right in front of his eyes.
"Is that really wise?" Prissy asked with a nervous edge to her voice. "I know we can heal and all, but that doesn't seem like a good idea."
The woman suddenly tilted her head to the side with a look of concentration. "Wait just one gosh darn minute. I've seen you before, pretty girl," Nelson said through the woman, who started giggling maniacally. "Oh my, this is too good. Zachariah, you old dog. When I saw you kill her, I thought you were just up to your old tricks, but you turned her into a superpower sex doll? Bravo, buddy. Bravo."
Those words stopped me cold. Zach had been out with me hunting that night. He went off to get Nelson while I got another. Mine had been an easy catch. Zach had said he didn't need any help, so I'd tracked down Prissy instead. I didn't know why I did it then. I just had this compulsion to see her. So I went. And I must've led him right to her. In the minute or so I had turned my back and started to leave, he must've attacked. I had my suspicions, even back then, but . . .
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I seethed, prepared to beat Zach into a bloody mess, but then I heard it. A faint, trembling gasp to my left. My heart crashed against my chest as I turned to look at Prissy. No.
"You didn't save me," she said, her voice softened by disbelief, "you killed me. I couldn't figure out why—why you would risk everything for me, for some stupid woman—but now . . . now I get it."
"You don't. I swear to you—"
She was already running. I cursed and started after her, then felt a sharp tug on my arm. "Just let her go blow off some steam," Zachariah said. "She'll come around, so just—"
I turned around and punched him square in the jaw. He stumbled backwards in surprise, but he had no time to recover before my fists were flying at him in a blind rage. Each smack of my fist against his flesh only made me angrier.
So I hit him harder with each blow.
I didn't think I could stop. I didn't know that I wanted to.
I had tried so hard to help him. Zach was tight-lipped about his crimes, but I knew that Samael had started to question his decision to let him join the Brotherhood. He wasn't sure that he was redeemable like the rest of us. Now I knew why. I had tried to prove Samael wrong. I wanted to show that there was some good in everyone, but he was just a killer through and through.
"Gael." Lucas' voice cut through the rage clouding my mind. "If you don't stop, Samael will hand you over to Ronove before you get a chance to see your pissed off girl again."
Prissy. Fuck. Chest heaving with ragged breaths, I sat back and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"How could you?" I asked Zachariah, despite knowing the answer. "I tried so hard to help you. But you just can't resist killing, can you? It's fucking hard-wired into your brain."
"Have you considered that I just don't want to stop?" He smiled, his teeth bright red with fresh blood. "I thought you would at least appreciate me helping you get a chance to enjoy your little obsession."
"You murdered her. You knew I wouldn't be able to resist. That I wouldn't want to take the risk of—" I swallowed. "The risk of losing her. She could've gotten into Heaven, couldn't she? But you made sure I fucked that up."
"Who the fuck cares, Gael? C'mon. We both know it's not that much better up there. We're all just unused toys in the big guys' overflowing toy box. Might as well get you a Barbie, right, Ken?"
"I didn't want this."
"You did, you just didn't want to have to do the dirty work to get it."
"What are you even saying? In what world was that the only option, you psychopath?"
Lucas stepped between us. "Gael, man, I know you want to beat the demon out of him, but we've still got nearly a hundred souls left. We need you and him. If you want to take a few more shots at him when we're done, I'll cover for you with Samael. Just save it, will you? And Amberlynn, for fuck's sake—put your knife away."
"He killed her, Lucas. She didn't do a damn thing to him and he just killed her."
"Amber, you've killed—"
"I swear, don't you dare start chastising me like Zachariah. Every single one of them tried to hurt me. They thought 'cause I was a whore I wasn't worthy of a damned dust bunny worth of respect. And you know what they acted like? Just like fucking All-American Cowboy over there. They got what they deserved, and he should too."
I held up a hand. "Samael doesn't do third chances. This is your last chance at living and paying back some of your debt to the world. You don't want to go down for killing him, he's not worth it."
"Oh, deary me, I do believe I've caused a big ol' mess," Nelson said through the woman. Before he could celebrate for long, I grabbed my crystal and pressed it to the old woman's chest. Nelson scowled as the stone glowed, then his murky, shitty soul was sucked inside.
Although she was frightened, the woman let me bandage up her hand. I reassured her that we had thwarted a break-in and anonymously called an ambulance to get her checked out just in case.
As we left, I desperately wanted to double back to the townhouse, figuring that's where Prissy went. Seeing me hesitate, Lucas slapped a hand to my shoulder. "Just go, man. We'll come find you if we really need help."
Zachariah, still busy wiping the blood from his rapidly healing face, scowled at all of us. "It's his sworn duty to collect souls. Samael won't like it if he finds out—"
Teeth gritted, I loomed over him. "Do you really think you can pull that shit on me right now? Something tells me Samael will be a hell of a lot more pissed about you murdering someone instead. Besides, since when do you give a shit about duty?"
That was when it hit me. Zach was distracting me. "What have you done, man?"
He was already backing away, hands in the air. "I'm afraid you're asking that question a little too late. Wouldn't matter if I told you anyway."
"Does it have something to do with Prissy?"
He smiled and gave me a half-shrug that was more infuriating than anything. Every step I took toward him, he took another back. When I lunged for him, he jumped back, then took off at a run. I looked back at the rest of the Brotherhood.
"Go get your lady," Amberlynn said. "We've got this."
Zach was long gone by now, but I didn't care. I had to go find Prissy.
I didn't need to be told she was in danger to know she was.
I just hoped I could make it in time.
20
Priscilla
I had no idea where I was going. I was trying to retrace my steps to that portal, but my head was spinning so fast that it was a miracle I was still standing. I felt hurt. Stupid. Screwed over. I couldn't imagine spending the rest of eternity with my stalker and the man who killed me. Even by Hell's standards that seemed pretty messed up.
/> Even worse, I didn't even feel at home up here anymore and I had no idea why. Maybe I never really did. The night air was too cool. The drunk bar-goers were too loud. I had grown used to the heat below. The silence. The violence, too. Maybe I was fit for the demon life. Although, if I was, I think I would be far less wounded by such a betrayal. It wasn't the place I wanted. It was the person. The one who had started everything.
Gael. Fucking Gael.
I wouldn't buy for a minute that he didn't know it was a demon that did that to me. Looking back on that night, which I had been trying so damn hard to avoid, I remember feeling like I had been run over by a truck. Or maybe like I had been hit head on by a psychopathic demon. And Gael had been there that night. Stalking me or whatever it was he did in his spare time.
Recognizing the alley we had walked down near the townhouses, I ran for it gratefully and the swirling flames appeared. I looked behind me with a frown. I didn't want to admit it, but some part of me had hoped that Gael would chase after me. That he could come up with a reasonable explanation. Tell me he had nothing to do with it at all.
But he wasn't there. And that was all the answer I needed.
I stepped through the portal, closing my eyes as the flames licked and stung at my skin. It spat me out on the other side and I stumbled around, trying to orient myself and clear my blurry vision. To my surprise, soft hands gently took me by the shoulders, helping me still myself.
"Priscilla?" Lilith spoke in her silken voice. "Why are you crying?"
I took a step back and hurriedly touched my fingers to my eyes. She was right. I was crying. I didn't cry. Even when I was dying, I didn't cry. I mean, I couldn't, because Zachariah had completely destroyed me, but why . . . ? I didn't have an answer for myself or Lilith.
"Tell me what's wrong. Did you see family while on Earth? What can I do to help you?"