Black Lament

by Christina Henry

  “If you open that door, then whatever horde is standing behind it will surely descend upon us,” Nathaniel pointed out.

  “Then I’ll veil myself and go through the wall as the Hound of the Hunt,” I said.

  “No,” Jude and Nathaniel said. Samiel shook his head.

  “Look, I’m not going through there to pick a fight. I’ll be under a veil. I’ll do some surveillance, and then I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m not surveilling anything,” Beezle said, climbing out of my coat and flying to Samiel’s shoulder. “If you want to go into the room with the hundreds of whatevers, be my guest.”

  “Why must it always be you to take the risk?” Nathaniel said. “Why not one of us?”

  “You can’t pass through walls,” I pointed out. “And we didn’t come all this way to stand and stare at a door. I’m going. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Then let me veil you,” Nathaniel said. “Your own veil may not be enough.”

  I stood still while Nathaniel muttered the spell. His magic draped over me, warm and comforting, and I felt a surprising burst of tenderness toward him.

  “Can you see me?” I asked.

  They all shook their heads.

  “I won’t do anything stupid,” I promised.

  “Then you wouldn’t be you,” Beezle said. “Just come back in one piece. And with no more pieces missing.”

  I smiled at that, glancing down at my left hand. I’d once promised Beezle I’d come back in one piece, and returned with two fingers missing. Lucifer had sworn that the digits would return, but they never had. The skin there had grown smooth over the place where the sword had cauterized the wound.

  I put my right palm against the door and spoke the invocation of the Hound of the Hunt. A moment later I was through the door.

  And bumped into the charcarion demon that stood there.

  I went still, holding my breath, as it turned around. Seeing no one behind him he smacked the head of the demon that stood next to him, saying something in a harsh, guttural language.

  I could see why he thought that another demon had bumped into him. There were hundreds of them crammed into the cave of the nephilim. The cages that had imprisoned the Grigori’s monstrous children hung empty at the ceiling. Charcarion demons covered every inch of the floor, crawled up the walls, dangled from the top of the cavern.

  It was like being inside a massive, seething hive of insects.

  Very carefully, I spread my wings and took flight. I felt like I threaded a very fine needle, trying to pass over the heads of the demons on the floor and below the demons that were suspended above.

  The nephilim’s cavern emptied into another, smaller chamber. This was the place where Ramuell and Ariell had lived, and where I had died. I lowered to the ground, pulling the veil tighter around me.

  The charcarion demons confined themselves to the larger cavern. This one was empty. There were signs that someone had been living here—a mattress, some scraps of food on the floor.

  And a large wooden cupboard. A cupboard a lot like the one that…

  Antares entered from the opposite side of the cavern, a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows slung across his shoulder. My half brother looks like a medieval priest’s idea of a demon—large, curving black horns, red skin, claws, cloven hoofs, the works. I noticed with some satisfaction that there were several scars on his chest, the result of his battle with Gabriel a couple of weeks before.

  I felt so secure under the veil that it didn’t occur to me that Antares might be able to see me. So it took me by surprise when he shot an arrow straight for my heart.

  I dodged out of the way at the last moment, and the tip of the arrow buried itself in my left shoulder instead.

  “Hello, little sister,” Antares crooned. “Come for a family visit?”

  I pushed Nathaniel’s veil off me and shot a bolt of nightfire at Antares. It bounced in the air about a foot away from him, and rebounded back at me. I dove out of the way again and the nightfire smashed into the cavern wall. The arrow dug painfully into my shoulder as I rolled on the floor. I reached up and broke off the shaft, but the tip was still buried inside. I’d have to remove it later. If I had a later.

  Antares giggled. “No magic for you, sister. My mother’s spell protects me.”

  “Too bad you didn’t think to have Mommy protect you when Gabriel was taking pieces of you,” I said, coming to my feet and drawing Lucifer’s sword.

  “Yes, well, never let it be said that I don’t learn from my mistakes,” Antares said. “But the thrall is dead, and I still live.”

  “I can take care of that problem,” I said, running toward him with the sword upraised.

  He shot another arrow at me, and I knocked it away with the blade. Antares dropped the bow and pulled a charm from a small bag that hung around his neck.

  I quickly muttered an incantation and tossed up a shield as Antares threw the charm at me. The spell smashed into the shield and melted it, but the magic didn’t hit me. Which was good. Because I had no desire to be melted.

  I swung the sword at Antares and he danced away, the blade just skimming across his right arm. That meant that his shield blocked magic, but I could still hurt him with the sword.

  Some of the charcarion demons in the other cavern had taken notice of the battle, and a cry went up inside the hive. Several of them poured out and surrounded us so that Antares and I were locked inside a ring. Their chitters and howls echoed loudly inside the cave and made it hard to think.

  I needed to get rid of Antares’ advantage. I couldn’t use magic against him, but he could throw his mother’s spells at me all day. I ducked out of the way of another flying charm that hit the crowd of demons behind me. Three of the demons burst into flame. I stepped forward, jabbed upward with the sword, aiming for his jaw.

  Antares jerked his head away, but I managed to slice through the cord that held the spells and pull it away with my sword.

  “Now what, baby brother?” I said, smiling grimly.

  Antares backed away as I stalked toward him. He shouted to the crowd, and one of the demons tossed him a sword. His blade clashed against mine as I swung forward for the kill.

  I hacked and slashed and took chunks out of him, and he always managed to move at the last moment. His sword flashed, slicing my leg, my side, opening wounds that bled and weakened me, while the wound from the arrow festered. I was getting tired.

  Even if I defeated Antares, I’d still have a room of charcarion demons to deal with, and I didn’t think they were going to just let me go.

  “Jude,” I said, and hoped that he could hear me. “Jude.”

  “Who are you calling for now, sister?” Antares taunted. “There is no one here to save you, and you are growing weak.”

  He was so confident, so sure of his ability to defeat me. And why shouldn’t he be? He’d always managed to escape me before.

  My vision blurred, and for a second it looked like there were two Antares standing there. He slashed with the sword, and I just barely managed to block him.

  “You have always been weak,” he said. “Small, human, beneath me. My father knew this. That is why I have been chosen to rule.”

  Small. Human. Weak. His words echoed in my ears as I desperately tried to fight him off. I wasn’t attacking anymore. I was fading fast. I just needed to keep him away from me. I needed to live.

  The child inside me fluttered its wings frantically.

  A wolf howled, and from inside the other cavern came the sound of charcarion demons screaming as they met their death.

  Antares paused for a moment, turning toward the sound in surprise.

  And I had him.

  I stabbed upward, and the sword pierced his heart.

  His eyes widened in shock, and when he opened his mouth to speak blood poured from his lips.

  The sword pulled free as he fell to the ground.

  “Impossible,” I heard him say.

  He turned over, tried to crawl
away from me, a pathetic and broken thing. Crimson liquid spread in a widening pool beneath his body. The charcarion demons that surrounded us had fallen silent in shock even as their brothers fought for their lives against Nathaniel, Samiel and Jude.

  There was no mercy in my heart for Antares. He was my half brother, and he had tried to kill me countless times since I had first met him. I knew with a certainty that if I did not finish this now, he would rise up again like the cockroach that he was, always hunting me.

  My blade flashed once more, and a moment later Antares’ head rolled away from his body.

  “Who’s laughing now?” I said.

  Then the charcarion demons descended upon me.

  I didn’t have to worry about shields on demons, so I started blasting away with every spell that I had. If a demon came close enough, I hacked at it with the sword.

  “Maddy!” Beezle cried, flying over the heads of the demons. “The others are coming!”

  I nodded so that he would know that I heard and kept throwing every last bit of magic I had in me. But I was still bleeding, still weakened from my battle with Antares.

  Lucifer’s tattoo still lay silent on my palm, and I knew that I would not be able to draw upon the power of the Morningstar to help me.

  The cavern filled with the cry of a terrible voice, a voice filled with anguish. Everyone stopped, and the charcarion demons looked around, fear in their eyes, but I knew who it was.

  “Missing something, Daddy?” I said.

  I curse you, Madeline Black, least beloved of my line. You shall never know peace, for you have taken that which is most precious to me.

  “Do you know how many times in the last couple of days someone has sworn that they will hound me until I’m dead? Get in line.”

  You shall know pain like no other.

  “How about you say that to my face?” I said. “Where are you hiding, coward?”

  Silence. Wherever Azazel was, he wasn’t here. I suspected that he was watching from afar somewhere. Wherever he held the Agents, and his pet vampires.

  There was the sound of rock shifting, and then a loud crack. Huge boulders tumbled down the sides of the cavern. The charcarion demons desperately tried to escape the crush of falling rock, knocking one another over and trampling other demons in their haste. I fought to stay on my feet, saw Nathaniel and Samiel flying toward me over the heads of the demons.

  One demon, either smarter or more dedicated to the cause than the others, took advantage of my momentary distraction. It closed its claws around my neck, shutting off the passage of air.

  I barely had any energy left to fight. I reached up with my hands, tried to pry the demon away, but it held on with fierce glee. Black spots danced in front of my eyes.

  “Madeline!” Nathaniel cried, and for a moment he sounded like Gabriel. His voice was full of anguish.

  Why so sad? I thought as my vision narrowed to just the demon’s vicious, triumphant smile. It’s not as if you really care…

  I gasped as the demon’s grip was abruptly loosened. Nathaniel stood before me, panting, holding the demon’s head in his hands. He tossed the demon’s remains away like garbage and scooped me up, flying to the narrow exit that every demon was fleeing toward. The exit was barely as tall as a man and narrow enough that only one person could pass through it. Hundreds of demons were bottlenecked in the door. We wouldn’t be able to get out that way.

  I looked over Nathaniel’s shoulder and saw Samiel carrying Jude in his wolf form. Beezle clung to Samiel’s shoulder. There was a sound like thunder, and a lot of screaming as the nephilim’s cave collapsed. We wouldn’t be getting out the way we came in, either. The cavern around us rumbled ominously.

  Nathaniel sped toward the exit.

  He calmly blasted the demons out of the way and swooped through the tiny exit, the others on our heels.

  The exit was only a few feet from a high precipice that stood above a valley. The demons that did manage to escape the cavern were pushed by the crowd over the edge, falling to their deaths far below.

  Nathaniel flew straight across the valley to an outcropping that jutted from the mountain on the other side. There was just enough room for all of us to huddle there as we listened to the sounds of the cavern folding in on itself. The stream of charcarion demons pouring from the exit trickled to a halt.

  Nathaniel put me on the ground. I am embarrassed to say that I fainted. In my defense, I was pregnant and heavily injured.

  I woke to a feeling of warmth spreading throughout my body, and Nathaniel’s lips pressed against mine. For a moment I forgot who he was, and what he was doing, and I kissed him back with a passion.

  Then I remembered, and opened my eyes, and pulled away. His eyes were steady on mine. I didn’t know what to say. My feelings for Nathaniel got more confused every day.

  “Thank you,” I finally said, just to break the silence.

  He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  As he stood I saw that he held the broken shaft of the arrow that had pierced me in his hand, but instead of throwing it away, he tucked it in his pocket.

  I started to ask him why, but Beezle landed on my chest. He scowled at me.

  “I thought you were just going to do some surveillance?” he asked. “What was up with the gladiator routine?”

  “Antares saw through my veil,” I said. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “Now, how did he do that?” Jude asked, giving Nathaniel a suspicious look. “I thought you veiled her because your spell was more powerful than hers.”

  “It was,” Nathaniel said, looking surprised. “I do not know how Antares was able to penetrate it.”

  “Maybe,” Jude growled, “you didn’t do such a great job. Maybe you wanted Maddy to get hurt so you could swoop in and save her, present yourself in a better light to Lucifer.”

  A second before, I’d been thinking that maybe Nathaniel wasn’t so bad after all. Now Jude’s words forced me to consider him in a different light.

  Nathaniel shot an angry look at Jude. “I assure you, I would not risk Madeline’s life in such a manner. You saw the veil’s effectiveness for yourself.”

  “How do we know that you didn’t set that spell to fade after a few minutes?” Jude asked.

  “How was I to know that Antares would be there just in time to see Madeline? Think about what you are saying, wolf,” Nathaniel replied.

  “All I know is that it’s mighty convenient that your spell failed just as Maddy needed it most.”

  “Enough,” I said, covering my eyes for a moment. “Just enough.”

  I looked between Nathaniel and Jude. Jude made a good point, but he was inclined to mistrust Nathaniel. I wasn’t completely certain of Nathaniel’s agenda, but I had to believe that he didn’t intend me any harm. If he did, he could have easily left me in the cavern, or dropped me as we passed over the valley.

  I had plenty of troubles without suspecting Nathaniel, too. I was going to have to trust him, at least for now.

  “So,” I said, trying to cover up the tension. “Antares and his army of demons are gone, but Azazel is still out there somewhere.”

  “And if Antares is dead, then our best chance of finding Azazel is gone,” Beezle said.

  Samiel shook his head. He reached in his pocket for something and held it out to the rest of us.

  It was Antares’ spell bag.

  Look inside, Samiel said.

  I opened the bag. Inside was a collection of charms and spells hidden inside small stones. Each stone had a rune on it.

  “The runes probably told Antares what spell was which,” Beezle said.

  “Can you read them?” I asked.

  Beezle shook his head. “Nope.”

  I can, Samiel signed. My mother taught me the old language.

  “What good will this pile of stones do us?” Jude asked.

  Samiel took the bag from my hands and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for.

  He held the stone out in f
ront of him. It was small and shiny and black, like a pressed piece of coal.

  Inscribed upon it was a symbol—a five-pointed star. Crossed over the star was a sword with a rose wrapped around its hilt.

  Azazel’s mark.

  17

  “IT’S A PORTAL TO AZAZEL?” I ASKED EXCITEDLY.

  Samiel nodded.

  “How can we be sure?” Nathaniel asked.

  “It makes sense,” I said. “Antares had no magic of his own. This is like the portal charms that the lesser demons use. How else could he quickly and easily come and go from Azazel’s side?”

  “How did you get this?” Beezle asked.

  I saw it on the floor of the cavern as we flew overhead, and I used my will to draw it to me.

  “You did a Jedi mind trick?” Beezle said, awe in his voice.

  “That’s handy,” I said to Samiel. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that.”

  He nodded, grinning.

  “So now it’s off through this portal to the unknown again?” Nathaniel said. “Do you really think that’s wise?”

  I glared up at him. “What other option do we have? I won’t leave the missing Agents to Azazel.”

  “But—”

  “No,” I said. “I’m tired of being crossed every time I make a decision. We have a lead. We’re going. If you don’t like it, then go back to Lucifer and explain why you’re not with me.”

  Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at me. “Your gratitude didn’t last very long.”

  “Are you coming, or are you going?” I asked.

  I appreciated that Nathaniel had saved my life, and that he had healed me. But I was sick of arguing with all and sundry. They’d made me the leader, so they’d damned well better follow or go the hell home.

  “Of course I am coming with you,” Nathaniel said.

  “Fine,” I said, and looked at the charm in my hand. “Take us to Azazel.”

  I threw the charm in front of me, and a portal appeared in the air where the charm had been. All of the men immediately shouldered their way in front of me. I didn’t even try to argue. Let them work out who would go first.

  Samiel won, followed by Jude, and then Nathaniel.

  Beezle climbed inside my coat.