“You know we’re going to have to do something about him soon,” he said as he pulled a tangle of branches back to give me room to pass. Not that it mattered, I was already covered in scrapes and bruises anyway.
“I know,” I said as my wary eyes swept the road to make sure Dominic’s car was nowhere in sight. Breathing in a sigh of relief, I stumbled out of the forest and marched toward my car.
“It doesn’t have to be you,” he continued as he opened my driver’s side door and then helped me climb into the seat. “I can take care of this if you need me to.”
I looked up and met his warm eyes. His nice, normal moss-green eyes. “It has to be me. He’s not going to give up without a fight and I can’t risk anything happening to you.” He’d probably kill his own brother just to spite me.
“And what about you?” he asked, his forearm resting on the frame of my door. “Look at yourself, Jemma. You’re covered in blood and bruises and bite marks,” he said, wincing on the last word probably because he knew one of those marks was his. “How much longer are you supposed to continue living this way?”
I refused to even glance toward the mirror to see what he was talking about. “He can’t kill me.”
“Wake up, Jemma. He already is killing you.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I refused to cry. I wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress. I was a Slayer. Granted, I’d just had my ass handed to me by Dominic, but I’d been caught off guard. Not to mention, I was playing with an uneven deck on account of the fact that I still had my damn emotions turned on and he didn’t.
Shaking off his words, I ran my palm against my hair, as though that might help the calamity. “The amulet will protect me from dying. That’s all that matters to me at the end of the day.”
Something flickered through his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for me to make out. “But at what cost, Jemma? How do you know you aren’t causing harm every time you touch death and come back from it?”
An icy shiver pressed against my spine. I hadn’t thought about that.
I didn’t want to think about that.
“I don’t know, but what other choice do I have, Gabriel? Should I send my friends and loved ones to certain death because, you know, something bad might happen to me further down the road?” I huffed out a humorless laugh. “I think we both know that’s not ever going to happen.”
I would die a thousand times and lose every single piece of myself in the process before sending someone I loved to their death. That wasn’t me. It would never be me again.
Holding my blouse closed with one hand, I tried to wiggle my way out of Gabriel’s jacket.
“You can keep it,” he said, halting my would-be bloody striptease.
“Thank you,” I said and then met his eyes pointedly. “For everything.”
He ducked his chin in a nod and then shut my door.
I watched through my rearview mirror as he walked further down the road to where he had parked his SUV. Headlights flashed into my cabin a moment later and I continued to watch as he carefully veered off the shoulder and then headed south up the winding stretch of road.
Locking my doors, I sank back in my seat and stared out into the dark, deserted road. A heaviness pushed into my heart as I wondered if this was ever going to stop. The panic, and fear. The constant ambushes. The having to look over my shoulder at every turn for the rest of my miserable life.
In that instant, everything I’d been running from—everything I’d been hiding from and burying deep inside me rose up to smack me in the face. How much more was I going to have to take? I’d already given so much. Lost so much. Died so much. Would there ever be an end to it? A happily ever after?
Tears began to fall, rolling down my cheeks like a waterfall that had no end. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself cry out every last one of them.
31. WHITE RABBIT
A light drizzle dotted my windshield as I walked into Temple later that evening. After shedding an impossible weight in tears and then pulling into a service station restroom to clean up and change into the gym clothes I had in my trunk, I decided that I needed to do what I always did: Push the intolerable pain away, pick myself up by my bootstraps and haul my ass to the meeting at Temple like nothing had happened.
It was just as well. Not only did I really need the distraction, I was also very curious to see how the Senior Magister was going to spin this latest apocalyptic disaster and how much information he was planning to divulge to the masses.
But mostly, I just wanted to find Trace.
Making my way through the atrium and toward the meeting hall, I quickly texted my Reaper one last time, letting him know that I had arrived. I had already texted and called him several times at the service station and then on the drive over here since I hadn’t been able to meet up with him after my meeting with William, but I had yet to receive a response from him. I didn’t spend too much mental energy worrying about it since he had mentioned that he was going to stop in at All Saints to do some paperwork, so I figured that’s what he had been doing.
Reaching the end of the atrium, I pushed the heavy, wooden door open and then startled as the raucous sound of excited voices and screeching chairs assaulted my ears. The room was packed, evidenced by the neat, even rows of attendee chairs that were nearly filled to capacity. I quickly scanned the edge of the room for a wall to lean up against as the Senior Magister and several other men I’d never seen before walked onto the podium at the front of the hall.
“Jem! Over here,” called Ben, waving his arm in the air to get my attention. “We saved you a seat.”
Relieved I wasn’t going to have to stand the entire time, especially in my weakened state, I shot him a grateful smile and then quickly shuffled down the aisle. Muttering apologies under my breath, I squeezed my way in between people’s knees and another neat row of chairs until I reached the center where Ben, Morgan, Carly and Caleb were sitting. Ben quickly scooched over and freed up the chair between him and Morgan.
“Thanks,” I said, my gaze sweeping the room for my missing Reaper. “Is Trace here yet?”
“I don’t think so,” said Ben, leaning toward me so that I could hear him over all the buzzing chatter. “I texted him earlier, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.”
“Me neither,” I said and then frowned as I realized he wasn’t the only one missing tonight. Nikki was nowhere to be found either. My heart clenched as an awful feeling made its way inside. What were the odds that they would both be missing from the meeting at the same time?
“Attention,” called William as he tapped his finger against the microphone, drawing my attention outward. “We’re ready to start the meeting,” he said as the room quickly slipped into an attentive silence. “Bennett, would you like to speak first?” he asked, turning to a young dark-haired man with matching dark eyes. He didn’t look a day over twenty-five.
Bennett turned to the three older men standing close by and whispered something. I tried to place them but was certain that I’d never seen either of them before. They appeared to be a little older than William, perhaps in their sixties, though their cold, intimidating presence was nothing like the Senior Magister’s. After a moment, Bennett nodded to the men and then said something back to William, though we couldn’t hear any of it from where we were sitting.
“Very well.” William nodded and then faced the crowd again. “Let’s get right to it then, shall we?” There was a small smile curving his lips, though I couldn’t help but notice the rigidness of his shoulders or the way he was furrowing his brows. He wanted to appear calm and in control, but his body language was saying something entirely different.
“As some of you already know, demon activity is on the rise again,” he began, his tone and eyes somber. “Granted, the activity is greater than what we have seen in the past but rest assured that protocol will remain the same. High Casters and the like are strongly encouraged to increase their hours this week, starting tonig
ht if possible.”
Disappointed groans and prattle rang through the hall.
“We’re already doing twenty hours a week and that doesn’t even count work,” complained a woman from the audience, though I couldn’t tell who was talking since I could only see the back of everyone’s heads.
“I’m afraid this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. If you’re already putting in twenty, you’re going to have to put in more. It’s as simple as that. Protective sigils must be put up around town, consistently, especially in vulnerable places. Hospitals, schools, local bars and discotheques, as well as every square inch of land that borders this town.”
My mind snagged on the word discotheques just as Morgan leaned in and whispered, “Did he really just say discotheques? What year is this?”
I bit down on my lip to stop myself from laughing.
“What’s more, we’re going to need all active Rigs patrolling, starting immediately. Please check in with your Handler for your new schedule if you haven’t already been given one. We want to make sure we have teams out there around the clock, especially with the kind of numbers we’re seeing right now.”
“What kind of numbers are we talking about exactly?” called someone from behind us.
“We don’t have a specific number at the moment, but it is substantial.”
“Relative to what?” asked a different man from the audience. “With all due respect, Magister, how do you expect us to prepare if we don’t know what we’re dealing with? You haven’t even told us what’s drawing them here in the first place.”
An outburst of applause sounded around the room as other people shouted out their agreement. The crowd was hungry for details and they were not leaving here until they got what they wanted.
My gaze returned to William who appeared flustered, as if debating how much he could actually share with them without eliciting mass hysteria. Turning to Bennett and another man, he covered the mic and whispered something to them. After a brief exchange, he nodded and faced the crowd again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, come to order please,” he stated firmly as the room once again quieted. “There is indeed a reason for the increased demon activity we’ve been seeing, and while I’d wanted to withhold this information until we gathered all of the necessary details, I can no longer do so without putting the rest of us at risk,” he said pointedly as he smoothed the front of his cassock, eyebrows puckered. “Most of you are already aware of the circumstances surrounding Lucifer’s visit to our realm. What you do not know is that he appears to have left behind more than just his mark on our world. A parting gift if you will.”
An eerie hush fell over the crowd as everyone waiting for the big reveal.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Lucifer’s progeny is upon us.”
Gasps and frantic chatter erupted all around the meeting hall as I turned and met Morgan’s nervous gaze. She was probably wondering the same thing I was: Was William going to call out Nikki by name?
“Rest assured we are monitoring the mother closely and already have a team in place,” continued William, speaking over the buzzing crowd. “The Son of Perdition will not be permitted to draw even a single first breath in this world. The wellbeing and safety of all mortals and Anakim alike is of the utmost importance.”
“Does that mean the child hasn’t been born yet?” asked someone else, though at this point, I wasn’t even sure which side of the room the question was coming from let alone who was asking it.
Too many people. Not enough brain power.
“That is correct,” answered William as he wiped the bead of sweat that had formed above his eyebrow.
“How can it be drawing in so many underworlders if it hasn’t even been born yet?” asked a man, standing up in the crowd near the front of the podium. “If it’s already strong enough to do that, what’s going to happen if this thing is born?”
More disruption and chatter from the audience.
“We aren’t going to allow that to happen,” assured William, though I had no idea what he was basing that confidence on. “As I said before, we already have a full team in place. The risk will be eliminated before it can become a real threat to any of us. In the meantime, we ask that you all stay vigilant and do your part to keep our town as safe and steady as it has always been. Life will be business as usual except for the inconvenience of putting in a few more hours of work each day...”
My thoughts drifted inward.
As much as I appreciated William’s calmer-heads-will-prevail schtick, I knew it was just that. A schtick. The truth of the matter was they had absolutely zero control over Nikki. Not to mention their “team” was really a trio of Horseman who needed a teenage girl to join them in order to be able to have any power in this world at all. Things were definitely not looking as good as William wanting everyone to believe.
“We are imploring that all factions work together to ensure things go as smoothly as possible,” he went on at the front of the room. “Again, your Handlers as well as the Faction Elders will be available for further instructions at the end of the meeting should any of you need further assistance. Bennett?”
The younger man rose from his chair and exchanged places with William at the podium as the three elder men watched on closely. After introducing himself as a recent transfer from Seattle, he spent the next forty-five minutes briefly reiterating everything William had said and then providing a little more detail about the new safety measures in place. He spent a good part of the meeting explaining the different types of protective sigils that would work best against these sorts of demons as well as the ones that wouldn’t. It was all very boring and monotonous, except for the part where he announced that they would be offering basic Sorcery Apprenticeships and advanced close-quarter combat training sessions for all factions, which would be available in the Lab downstairs starting tomorrow.
The fact that they felt the need to up everyone’s skill level sent a pang of trepidation through my belly. I was no expert, but it seemed that these demons were much more of a problem than William was letting on.
After Bennett was done with his part of the meeting, William retook the podium and adjourned the meeting. Chatter immediately swept through the hall while others rushed to make it to the doors ahead of the line.
“Well, that was…long,” I said, suppressing a yawn as I stood up and stretched my arms. It would have been nice to be able to say that it was an eventful meeting, but I had hardly learned anything that I didn’t already know beforehand.
“I don’t even know why we come to these things,” whined Carly as she joined our newly formed circle.
“Well, for one, they’re mandatory,” reminded Caleb, flopping his arm around his sister’s shoulder.
“Maybe someone should tell that to Trace and Nikki then,” she answered, clearly irritated that the two of them had somehow managed to get out of this bore-fest.
My stomach tightened as I pulled out my cell phone and checked the screen. No messages or missed calls. Where the hell was he? I wondered, my anxiety steadily rising.
“So, you’re all coming to my party Friday night, right?” asked Caleb, his eyes darting around the circle before landing on mine and staying there.
“Our party,” corrected Carly, rolling her eyes at him.
“What party?” I asked, this having been the first I heard of it. Not that I cared, though. I was hardly in the mood for parties these days with everything going on.
“We,” answered Caleb, exaggerating the word for his sister’s benefit, “throw a little soiree at our house every year before the Halloween dance. It’s become somewhat of a tradition.”
I made a questioning face. “Is this really the best time to throw a party with all these demons on the loose?” The whole thing sounded like a horrible plot from a D-rated horror movie where the main characters were just asking for it.
“Are you kidding? Our house is protected to the neck,” he said as he buffed his nails against his
shirt, letting me know it was his magical doing and that he was dang proud of it, too. “There’s literally no safer place in town.”
Hmm. That was a good point.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, not wanting to commit to anything in case the shit hit the fan again, and if my history was any indication of how my future was going to go, there would definitely be fan hitting.
“Come on, Jemma. You have to come,” said Carly, her wide-set caramel eyes in a tizzy as though I were her best friend and she couldn’t fathom having a party without me. “It’s the best party of the year. Everyone’s going to be there.”
“Oh, well in that case, I’ll definitely stay home.”
Carly laughed as though I were kidding. “You’re so funny, Jemma!”
Ben covered his grin because he knew I wasn’t trying to be funny.
“Me and Morgan are going costume shopping Thursday. Nikki was supposed to come too, but I doubt she’ll be showing up. She’s been so MIA lately.” Her eyes doubled in size. “Ooh! You should totally come with us instead!”
I glanced over at Morgan who gave a quick nod of her head, letting me know she was okay with me tagging along. Well, color me tickled. Who would’ve thunk it? Me and Morgan. On our way to being besties. “Thanks,” I said, turning back to Carly with a smile. “I might just take you up on that.”
“Great!” she said, clapping her hands excitedly as Morgan banged away on her phone.
“So, now that your shopping date is all settled, how about we go get some grub?” asked Ben as he absentmindedly rubbed his belly. “I’m starving.”
“Didn’t you pick up tacos on the way over here?” asked Carly as she followed Ben toward the main door, which was now free and clear since most of the attendees had already vacated the hall.
“I sure did,” he said as he flopped his arm around her shoulder. “Are you impressed?”
I waited for everyone to get out of earshot and then snagged Caleb’s elbow, holding him back.
He quirked his brow at me. “What’s up, Blackburn?”
Incipient: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Book 6) Page 22