She grips the Staff harder and an aura of light surrounds it, feeding off of Grace’s power. “My mother had an affair with an Archangel. Now that I have the Staff my father will finally acknowledge me.”
I lean my head back against the stone wall. “Ah, daddy issues. I know all about that.”
“You know nothing!” She prods me with the glowing Staff again, and I cry out, playing up the pain. It’s horrible, but my father’s power inside the Staff helps soften the blow. Otherwise, it probably would’ve killed me by now.
Cyrus walks into my dungeon and frowns at the sight of us. Every time he sees my injuries, he cringes a little. I’m pretty sure he’s my best shot at getting out of here.
“Is that really necessary?” he asks Grace.
“Yes, it is.” She shoots a bolt of light at me from the Staff, and this time my screams are real. “Use the Staff, and all this goes away.”
“Even if I wanted to use the Staff, I’m too weak,” I mutter, then begin to cough, my lungs burning in pain. “You’ve kept me in light all this time. I need to feed on darkness, or I won’t last much longer.”
“He’s speaking the truth,” Cyrus confirms. I’ve never been so grateful to have an Ofanim around. “And he does look like he’s in pretty bad shape.”
Grace purses her lips. “Fine. I’ll turn off the lights for fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on him.”
She exits the room and the lights flip off, except for a small one over Cyrus. Blissful darkness surrounds me for the first time in an eternity, and I bask in the feel of it soaking into my skin and giving me strength. As my body heals itself, I think back on how I got into this mess.
It started with a few covert messages from Olivia’s father. As the leader of the Ishim he has an army of spies all over the world, and although I was surprised he wanted to work with me, Lucifer told me Gabriel had always been a decent sort. I blindly went to check each lead, and knew I was getting close. The Staff had been in those locations mere days before I arrived. I felt my father’s residual power like a calling card.
It was too fucking easy.
The fourth location was a trap. I took a few trusted demons with me to be safe, only because I promised Liv, but when we reached the farmhouse we were ambushed. My companions were killed, and I was placed in light-imbued chains in this brightly lit basement. All because I was cocky. I should have known the messages weren’t really from Gabriel. Now I might never see Olivia again because of my mistake.
When I’ve gathered enough energy, I tell Cyrus, “Thank you.”
He nods and doesn’t meet my eyes. For a while I’ve sensed he’s uncomfortable with the lengths Grace is willing to go to, and now that I’ve soaked up some darkness, I can use that against him.
“You know this isn’t right, don’t you?” I ask, putting some power behind my words. As the son of Lucifer, I’ve inherited some extra tricks. This is one I don’t like to use very often, except in dire circumstances. “They’re going to kill me.”
He runs a nervous hand through his curly hair. “You’re the son of Lucifer.”
Why does everyone always gets hung up on that fact?
“I taught you for two years. Isn’t that worth something?” When he doesn’t respond I throw more power into my voice. “What about your friends back at school? Olivia? Araceli? They trusted you, and you betrayed them. You must realize that if we use the Staff, it will hurt Olivia too.”
“I…” His voice quivers and I know I’ve gotten hold of him.
“You can’t let this go on. Free me, and I’ll put a stop to it.”
“I can’t,” he says forcefully, throwing off my coercion. “They’ll kill me and my entire family.”
That isn’t going to work. I try a new angle. “Then please get word to Olivia. Or the Princes. Tell them where I am. They can stop the Order, and then your family will be safe.”
There’s a long moment of silence, before I hear a sharp intake of breath. “Do you think they can really stop them?”
“I know they can, but they need your help.” I throw the last of my power into my voice. “Cyrus, you’re a good man. You want to do what is right. Find the others. Tell them where I am. It’s the only way out of this mess, for both of us.”
He stares at me with his mouth open and I think my suggestive power’s done its trick, but then the door flies open and Grace walks back in with the Staff.
“Time’s up.” She levels the Staff at my chest and blasts me with light until I scream. Any leftover power I got from the darkness burns away as it works to keep me alive. She grabs my hair to haul my head up, so I’m forced to look at her. “I’ll ask you again. Will you use the Staff?”
I spit in her face. “Never.”
With a sigh, she releases my head, and I don’t have the strength to hold it up. “We’re going to have to try something else,” she says.
I see the Staff swing at my face, before everything goes black.
Chapter Sixteen
Olivia
“Earth to Olivia,” Jonah says, waving a hand in front of my face.
I blink and refocus on him. “What?”
“We’re supposed to practice sneaking up on someone. You’re my partner. Remember?”
“Oh. Right.” We’re in the middle of Ishim Training, but it’s hard for me to focus on any of my classes knowing Kassiel is still missing and now Callan, Marcus, and Eveanna have gone to Utah to search for him. Lucifer found out from his people that Kassiel asked a few demon warriors to meet him near Salt Lake City, and he sent us the location. Marcus and Eveanna went to investigate two days ago, along with a somewhat reluctant Callan. We haven’t heard anything from them since.
“I should be out there looking for Kassiel too,” I hiss to Jonah as we move through the forest. “It’s wrong that I’m the only one still here.”
“I’m here,” Jonah murmurs. “Bastien is too. You’re not the only one.”
I sigh. I know he’s right. As third year students, we can’t just up and leave whenever we feel like it to chase down a lead—but I care a lot more about finding Kassiel and retrieving the Staff than my classes at the moment. I just wish I could do something more.
I feel Callan’s absence strongly during Combat Training, but I also have some success ambushing Tanwen from the air without being distracted by his stupid face, so at least there’s that.
In Immortal Ethics, Simiel lectures us on how we should treat humans, especially since we won’t age, while our human contacts will grow older and eventually die. He cautions us against developing strong relationships with any of them and to avoid human-angel romances entirely. A few people in class look annoyed, and I wonder if they have humans they’re close with, but otherwise I tune everything out as I worry about Kassiel some more. At the end of class, Simiel pulls me aside and asks me if I’m okay. Luckily Araceli is there, so he can’t be too creepy, and I wave off his concerns easily. As we walk out, I can’t help but wonder if he’s the new leader of the Order on campus. It would explain his weird fascination with me for sure.
In Human Studies, Raziel is telling us about a hunter group in the 90s who wiped out a lot of demons, and Jeremy makes a comment under his breath about how they missed one. I turn and glare at him, clutching my pen tightly, and then get an idea. I quickly text the others and they all agree to my plan.
We wait until midnight when most angels are sleeping, and then we land on Jeremy’s balcony, my Ishim powers keeping us invisible. It’s locked, but Bastien was able to get the key, and he eases the door open as quietly as possible.
Jeremy’s room is a total mess. Dirty clothes everywhere. Empty food containers. Full glasses of soda. It even smells like a boy’s locker room. Tanwen pinches her nose and makes a face as we enter, while Araceli covers a yawn. Jonah frowns at me—he thinks this is a bad idea—but then he takes Araceli’s hand, keeping her invisible, and leads her out of the room. They return a minute later and Araceli nods, signaling she was successful in putting the roommate i
n a Malakim sleep trance. He shouldn’t wake up, even if Jeremy screams.
Then I remove the invisibility and flip on the light. Jeremy opens his eyes and then lets out a little pathetic scream when he sees the five of us hovering over his bed. I sit down on the edge of it, with Bastien and Tanwen to my left, and Araceli and Jonah to my right.
“Wh-what the fuck are you doing here?” Jeremy asks, trying to sound tough as he scrambles to sit up.
“Tell us where Kassiel is being held,” I demand.
Jeremy laughs. “Yeah, right. Like I would help you demon lovers.”
Jonah grabs one of Jeremy’s arms and Tanwen grabs the other, holding him in place. He struggles, but he’s no match for them and his eyes bulge out as I draw closer. I grip his chin, digging my red nails into his skin.
“Tell me,” I demand, sending desire into him. “Where is Kassiel?”
Jeremy’s eyes change from panicked to adoring as he gazes at me and the magic takes hold. “I want you,” he sputters. “I want you so bad.”
“You can have me as soon as you answer the question.”
“It’s why I hate you so much.” He struggles against Jonah and Tanwen, but now it’s because he feels a desperate need to touch me. There’s a tent in his trousers for sure. “You’re so fucking sexy I can’t stand it. I stare at you in all our classes.”
Ugh. His lust tastes oily and disgusting, but I grip his chin tighter and smile sweetly at him anyway. “I know. Now answer the question. Where is Kassiel?”
“I don’t know.” Jeremy’s face is consumed by primal lust and his hips thrust to get close to me.
I stroke the side of his face and try not to gag, while I send even more seduction power into him. “Tell me where the Staff of Eternity is.”
“I don’t know anything!” he cries out, practically sobbing in his desperation to please me.
“Truth,” Bastien says, crossing his arms.
Dammit. I figured Jeremy was just another of the Order’s grunts, tasked with carrying out their missions while not being told anything important, but I had to try.
“What do you know about the Order?” Araceli asks him.
Jeremy looks at me, as if asking my permission, and I nod. “The Order controls Aerie industries. If I graduate as a member, I’ll get a job with them and make my parents proud.” Jeremy’s hips thrust at me again. “That’s all I know.”
If the Order controls Aerie, they’re far bigger than we ever knew. And it’s a good thing we kept the Princes’ families out of this—Callan’s mother Jophiel is the CEO of Aerie Industries. Further proof we can’t trust anyone else.
“Who is the new leader of the Order?” I bend over and press my arms against my breasts, so my cleavage spills out of my half-unbuttoned shirt.
“I have no idea,” Jeremy says.
“He doesn’t know anything,” Tanwen says with disgust. “Let’s get out of here. The smell is killing me.”
“Agreed,” Jonah says.
Jeremy suddenly lunges forward, and I jump back as Jonah and Tanwen get a better grip on him. He goes slack and throw his head back, then lets out a truly mad laugh that sends chills down my spine. “The Order controls everything. The whole fucking world. You’ll never win.”
“I think you pushed him too hard,” Bastien says.
He’s right, and what did we learn? Nothing. I press a hand to Jeremy’s chest and tell him, “In the morning, you’ll think this was a dream.”
Araceli touches his forehead, and Jeremy slumps down into a deep sleep. I stand up and pull out some hand sanitizer from my pocket, then thoroughly coat myself in the stuff. Everyone else wants to use it too, and then we fly away.
We head back to the bell tower, but there’s nothing really to say. We don’t know anything new. We’re no closer to finding Kassiel or the Staff. And we’re in way over our heads.
Chapter Seventeen
Olivia
The next night I get a text from Marcus telling us to meet in the bell tower, and I rush over as quickly as I can with Araceli in tow. Within minutes, the entire group converges in the Princess Lounge, and I hurry inside to find Marcus, Callan, and Eveanna there. I immediately throw my arms around Marcus, and he squeezes me tightly and buries his face in my neck.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I say. “I was worried.”
“It’s good to be back,” he whispers, before placing a soft kiss on my lips.
I pull back and glance at Callan, and for a second I have the urge to go to him too, to throw myself against his hard chest and feel his muscular arms surround me, but then I quickly look away.
Araceli is hugging Eveanna, and then Tanwen does the same. Our fae friend looks distinctly uncomfortable with all the attention, and Jonah laughs and pats her on the back. I give her a warm smile, while Bastien gives Callan and Marcus a nod. But as happy as I am to see them, I can’t help but notice they didn’t bring Kassiel or the Staff.
“Did you find anything?” Bastien asks.
“We found someone,” Marcus says, and nods to something behind me. I turn slowly and spot Cyrus cowering in the corner, wringing his hands together, like he’s afraid of us.
He should be.
“What’s he doing here?” I ask, unable to hide the venom in my voice. We thought Cyrus was our friend, but he manipulated, used, and betrayed us just like Grace did.
“He found us,” Marcus says. “He said he was turning himself in, but he would only speak to you.”
“Time to start talking,” Callan commands, glaring at Cyrus.
“I’m in over my head,” Cyrus says, his eyes wide as we gather around him. “I never meant for anything like this to happen, I swear.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you turned on us,” Araceli says. “We thought you were our friend, but you were just hanging out with us to get close to me!”
Cyrus drops his head. “You don’t understand. Grace was my best friend as a kid, and she convinced me to join the Order. She said it would help me get a good job after I graduated, and her uncle Nariel could pull some strings for me. I thought it was just an elite club, but when I found out what they were really doing, I realized I was in way over my head. I did not sign up for murder, blackmail, or torture.” He sucks in a long, ragged breath. “I only stayed so long because I was scared. Last year they threatened to hurt Isaiah if I didn’t do what they wanted. But I was your friend. I swear it.”
Araceli crosses her arms with a harrumph. I know Cyrus’s betrayal hurt her a lot since he was one of the few people who accepted her early on even though she was part fae. Then we found out he was ordered to get close to her because the Order wanted to use her fae blood. It was hard to trust him after that.
I glance at Bastien with raised eyebrows and he nods. Cyrus is telling the truth so far. “Have you been with Grace and the Staff all this time?” I ask. “Does she have Kassiel?”
“Yes,” Cyrus admits in a pathetic tone. “I’ve always gone along with whatever Grace told me to do, but she’s gone too far now. She’s obsessed with the Staff and is torturing Kassiel to get him to use it, but he refuses. Soon she’s going to get fed up and kill him, I know it. That’s why I decided to escape.” He glances down at his hands, which won’t keep still. “I liked Kassiel when he was our professor. I know he’s the son of Lucifer and all, but I don’t want him dead.”
My heart clenches painfully at the confirmation that Kassiel is being held captive and being tortured. I stalk forward and back Cyrus further into the corner. “Tell us where Kassiel is being held.”
“I’ll tell you, but only if you promise you’ll protect me and my family. If the Order finds out I helped you, they won’t just kill me, they’ll kill everyone in my family. I have a little sister. She’s only seven.” His eyes water at this, and I actually believe him. He’s terrified of the Order. For good reason.
“We’ll protect you,” Callan says, with his authoritative voice. “Just give us the location.”
“
Gabriel can hide your family,” Jonah says. “I promise you this.”
Cyrus nods slowly and then gives us a location, which Bastien writes down. Callan grills him for more details about the security of the place, how many people are there, and so forth, and Cyrus tells us everything he can. When he’s done, Araceli puts Cyrus in a magical sleep, so we can discuss what to do next.
“Even though he was telling the truth, can we really trust him?” Araceli asks. “It could be a trap.”
“Of course it’s a trap,” Tanwen says. “But we still have to check it out.”
Eveanna nods. “If we are cautious, it should not be a problem.”
“I’m going this time,” Jonah declares.
“We’re all going,” I say. “No one is getting left behind this time. We need everyone’s help to rescue Kassiel and get the Staff.” I glare at Callan. “And do not tell me it’s too dangerous. I’m going, end of story.”
Callan grits his teeth, but he says nothing, and everyone else nods at me. They’re all in.
“Should we notify Lucifer?” Bastien asks.
“No,” Callan says. “We don’t know if we can trust him. He could take the Staff from us.”
“We could ask our dad for help,” I suggest.
“Or Uriel?” Tanwen asks.
Jonah shakes his head. “No. The Staff is too powerful for any Archangel or Archdemon to possess, and we don’t know if we can trust any of them. Even our dad.”
“Jonah is correct,” Eveanna says. “The Staff should be returned to Faerie, where the fae can protect it. We are neutral in this battle, which is why Michael and Lucifer entrusted it to us to safeguard.”
“The fae couldn’t keep it safe forever though,” Marcus says. “Eventually the Order found it.”
Everyone starts arguing about what to do with the Staff and it’s clear no one is going to agree on a plan. Meanwhile, Kassiel is out there being tortured and there’s a ticking clock counting down to his death. We do not have time for this shit.
Seraphim Academy 3: Fallen Kings Page 8