Hunted

- 23 - THE DEAL

“No humility even in defeat,” Solange said, then threw a disdainful look my way. “Little sister, nice to see you again.”

“I hardly think we are defeated,” I said, recovering. I’d known we would meet again. I just hadn’t spent time thinking about it.

“Wait until you meet the archangels,” she said.

“Already did,” I shot back and grinned. “Raphael is quite the character, but I wasn’t impressed.”

Her smile faltered. “You are lying.”

I faked boredom, even pretended to study my nails, which was childish, but Solange rubbed me the wrong way every time our paths crossed. Why couldn’t I have gotten a nicer sister?

“Believe what you want, Solange, but we kicked ass. Bran even clipped a few wings.”

Gasps came from the occupants of the table. Solange’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, as though she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe me. I went for the kill.

“Isn’t funny how every time our father comes up with a diabolical plan, you are always at the center of it? When are you going to understand that you will never please him?”

“Oh, but I have. Without me, the Tribunal would not have brought him back. Without me, the archangels wouldn’t be after you now.”

I wanted to wipe the smug smile off her beautiful face. “Yet, as soon as he returned, he came looking for me. No matter what you do, he’ll always need me more.”

“He doesn’t need yow. He needs your dagger and the power that comes with it.”

“Not from the message I received through Gavyn. He’s willing to summon the Tribunal and ask them to rescind the orders given to the archangels if I agree to join you.”

“That’s a lie,” Solange yelled. “We presented our case and the Tribunal ruled in our favor. The archangels will come for you and the Kris Dagger will be ours.”

I shook my head. “Oh, you are about the dumbest daughter ever. The dagger belongs to us, and it always will.”

A snicker drew my attention to the other Cardinals. I’d completely forgotten their presence. A flash of amusement flickered in Bran’s eyes. Sykes smirked while Remy’s scowl hadn’t changed since we left home. Esras looked like he’d landed in the Twilight Zone. Guess he hadn’t heard of my evil sister. Solaris…

“Watch out, Lil,” Solaris yelled.

I whipped around, instinctively knowing that the threat came from Solange. A knife whipped through the air, the blade glistening. I froze it a few inches from my neck. Her aim was good. Pissed, I flipped the knife around and…someone grabbed my arm. It was Remy.

Don’t. We need her, he said.

No, we don’t.

Silver flashed in his gray eyes. She knows where Kim is.

She tried to kill me. That I couldn’t do anything about it pissed me off. I jerked my arm from Remy’s hand, reached out, and closed my hand around Solange’s knife. Her eyes widened when it burst into flame.

“You are such a freak,” Solange said, the sneer marring the perfection of her face. “No wonder no one wants you to live. Your presence is destroying the balance between good—”

“Already heard the speech from Raphael,” I cut her off. “Where is Kim?”

“With our father of course.” She moved closer and sat at the edge of the table, one booted leg resting on a chair, her back to Lord Gabreel and the members of the Order. She studied us, one at a time. “All you have to do is hand over the Kris Dagger, and I’ll get her.”

Remy inched closer to her, the expression on his face saying exactly where he’d like to send Solange. “Do you think we are that stupid? That we would trust you to keep your word?”

“I have the upper hand here, handsome. That means I call the shots.” She glanced at me and sneered. “So what is it going to be, little sis? The dagger or your friend?”

That was a no-brainer, but I now understood why the Goddess Xenia had transferred the powers of the dagger to me. She’d known Solange and her minions would come after it. Had she also known they’d kidnap Kim?

“You can have it.” I pulled the dagger out and stopped the power inside me from connecting with it, rendering it useless.

Bran gripped my arm. “No. We will meet somewhere neutral for the trade. Away from humans, her followers, or the Order.”

“That’s out of the question,” Solange said. “I take it now or you forget your friend ever existed.”

Remy growled.

Solange studied him. “What? Is she someone special to you, or do you just hate me?”

“I wouldn’t waste an emotion on you, Solange,” Remy retorted. “You touch a hair on her head and you are mine.”

Solange faked a shudder. “I can’t wait. I haven’t had fun with a Guardian…” she winked at Bran, “since our time together. If my memories are correct, it was exciting.”

Now I was the one vowing to hunt her down. How dare she bring up her past relationship with Bran!

“You have fifteen minutes to bring Kim to the old train station or we are coming for you, your father, and his army,” Bran added.

Solange laughed. “Now who’s underestimating the other? First, you have no idea where my hideout is. Second, I’m not walking into a trap. Third, we don’t have an army.” Solange threw a hasty look over her shoulder at Lord Gabreel and his cronies, then stood. “I’ll mingle with the others in the common room while you discuss my terms, then do as I say.”

But we had seen her reaction and reached the same conclusion.

Bran chuckled. “They don’t know about your little army, do they?” He glanced at the demons behind Solange. They hadn’t said a thing since she arrived. “Do you? She and her renegade friends are the ones kidnapping your children.”

“Is this true?” Lord Gabreel roared.

Solange glared at the demon. “No, it’s not. Why do I need an army when I have Coronis’ Athame?”

Bran blocked her path when she started for the door. “Or maybe it is not an army you are after. Maybe an unlimited supply of power is what you and your father need. Living in the pit can be a bitch when you can’t self-heal. Does he have blistered skin from being vanquished? Maybe the flesh is falling off his skin from infection?”

“You don’t know what you are talking about.” Solange gripped the hilt of her dagger and backed up.

Bran followed her, reckless with his taunts and his life. I inched closer in case my crazy sister forgot we were in the room and did something stupid. The others positioned themselves around the room, keeping an eye on the Order in case all this was staged.

“How many demons does he drain a day?” Bran asked. “The young men and women you rounded up just don’t cut it anymore, right? He needs the unlimited power of the Kris Dagger, and you, his dutiful daughter, decided to get it for him.”

“He doesn’t need anyone’s energy,” Solange said with a sneer. “He’s stronger than ever, and the wielder of the red Athame is the one that drains psi energies. I am the wielder, not him.” She pulled out the dagger, the blade glowing red. “I could drain your powers where you stand, Bran Llyr,” Solange threatened in a cold voice, her eyes changing color until they were the color of her blade.

The monkey on my back leapt and shot toward my right hand. I didn’t care if the archangels locked on us when I used my powers. The Red Athame was a leech, a life-sucker, and my sister wasn’t using it in my presence.

Contain your powers, Bran warned me.

I got them under control, but one false move and she’s dead.

A smile flickered in his emerald eyes. I got this.

“No one forced those demons to join us. We offered them a better life and leadership than they did,” she jerked her head to indicate the Order. “You have your army, and so do we.” She raised the dagger in the air and red light streamed from it, passing through the paneled ceiling.

“What is she doing?” Lunaris asked.

“Sending a signal,” Remy ground out.

In a second, Lord Gabreel went from seated to Solange’s side, his hand wrapped around her neck, his fangs elongating. For one brief moment I was sure he would tilt her head and sink his fangs into her neck. Solange must have thought the same because color drained from her face.

“My sons and daughters are your father’s power source?” the Nosferatu asked, speaking slowly. “You will tell me where he is hiding.” He bared his fangs. “Now.”

Solange shifted into smoke form, her laughter echoing eerily in the room. Before it stopped, screams from the hall split the air, sending a chill up my spine. A loud crash followed, then the door collapsed under the weight of demons in costumes. Some still wore their masks. Others tripped on their gowns before bursting into flames as energy balls hit them from behind. I shoved the Kris Dagger in its sheath and pulled two knives from the straps around my thighs.

“Leave…go…teleport out of here,” Lord Gabreel yelled to his followers as they poured into the ballroom.

“Where do we go, Lord Gabreel?” one demoness asked.

“Check into human hotels and wait for my signal.”

“Bunch of sissies,” Sykes said, lips curled in distaste, his hazel eyes already glowing as he switched to battle mode.

“They are not fighters,” Lord Gabreel snapped. “Most of them are Civilians, and this is their home.”

“Then get them out of our way,” Bran called back, already moving toward the hell pit in the other room.

We followed.

“Bring me the Kris Dagger.” Solange’s words floated into the ballroom, and a feeling of déjà vu washed over me. Coronis had said the exact same words a year ago.

Bran paused, moved to my side, grabbed the back of my head and kissed me. It wasn’t a soft kiss. It was hard, merciless and an affirmation of his feelings for me under the circumstances. “I love you, Sunshine, but right now, I want you to do whatever it takes to put her under your spell. I don’t care how you do it…knock her out, get inside her head just stop her from leaving. She’s the key to finding Kim.” He turned and disappeared in the chaos.

Remember, don’t use your powers, Remy reminded us telepathically from somewhere in the atrium. The last thing we need is Raphael and his army finding us.

Yelps and screams sent another jolt of disgust through me. The stench of dying demons—a mixture of rotten garbage and a sickly scent like baby powder—hung heavy in the air.

Izzy shoved something in my pocket before she disappeared. I dug into the pocket and touched crystals. Someone grabbed my arm and I responded instinctively—raising my dagger and bringing it down.

“It’s me, Lilith.” Lord Gabreel let go of my arm and teleported out of the way before I made contact. “We thought you had our children and we were willing to negotiate a deal for their return. We didn’t know one of our own was doing this.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” I asked impatiently.

“Don’t trap Solange. Kill her. The more people she drains, the stronger and hungrier for power she’ll become. Just like Coronis. Kill her now.”

There ought to be a law against having demented siblings. Bran had Gavyn, whom he refused to kill. I had Solange, whom I couldn’t touch until we had Kim. “How many switched sides?”

“They were kidnapped,” Lord Gabreel corrected me.

“How many?” I snapped, not even sure why I needed to know.

“Hundreds. Between three and four.”

That was a lot. I glanced at the other members of the Order. “I hope you get your children out, because no one takes my dagger.”

The tingle on my spine had become an ache that needed release. So I did. The power shot to my limbs; the head rush felt like pure endorphins. I might not be able to use my powers, but I was a weapon, my very presence a demon’s worst nightmare. I gripped my knives and lunged through the crowd, searching for Solange in a sea of black with an occasional colorful costume.

What was it with Nephilim and wearing black? The only way to tell us apart was our eyes, which tended to have the same glow as Guardian amulets during a battle. The demons’ red eyes matched the red stones on their belts and the pommels of their weapons. Lottius’s security team wore all black, like ninjas, but unlike Solange’s renegades they had no marks on their clothes.

Demons scurried out of my way, their faces distorted in pain from the energy pouring from my pores.

“Bring me the dagger,” Solange screamed somewhere from above.

I looked up to find her, but two demons braved the pain and came after me. I released the knives and sank them into their throats. The knives floated back into my hands as the demons burst into flame. Another came from my right; I feinted left, blocked his arm and kneed him. He went down and my knife followed.

Solange was gone when I looked up. Instead, I found Bran, wings out, three demons surrounding him. He whipped around, his wings slicing one in half. He then teleported and reappeared behind another, raising his dagger and bringing it down in one swift fatal blow. A well-aimed kick sent the third off the rail. Before he could land on the fighters below, Bran flicked his wrist and released a ninja star. It caught the guy between the eyes. He burst into flame.

Graceful and deadly.

I caught a flash of red from the corner of my eye and I whipped around, hoping it was Solange. A smoldering energy ball rolled toward me. I dodged and it caught a demon behind me. I hit the demon who’d thrown the omni ball in the chest with a ninja star.

Where was Solange? And why were some demons creeping upstairs like zombies in masquerade costumes? I teleported behind them.

Your three o’clock, Bran yelled in my head.

I turned swinging, but the demon ducked. She kicked, aiming for my ribs. I caught her foot and twisted it. She whipped around in the air, but before I could finish her off, a blade sank into her chest. I looked up and my gaze connected with the person who had thrown it.

Lottius.

She grinned and gave me a mocking bow, which would have been her last if Izzy hadn’t seen the demon charging her from behind. Who would have thought we’d have Lottius and the Order’s guards fighting alongside us? We were outnumbered, and more of Solange’s men kept teleporting in.

I spied Dante and grinned. He caught several demons with lightning bolts, coming to Sykes’ aid without him even knowing it. Sykes was busy having fun throwing ninja stars, his grin deliciously devilish. On the floor to my left, Remy and Kael stood back to back, taking on four demons. I couldn’t see Izzy or Lunaris, but Solaris was unstoppable with her lethal whip, the metal tip sailing through the air and slicing demons in half.

Someone landed on me, knocking me down and causing me to lose hold of my knife. I flung them aside and jumped up, tripping over demons in costumes. Looking at their wizened faces, realization hit me like a ton of bricks—Solange was using the Athame. The zombified demons on the stairs made sense.

An older demon blocked me. He winced with pain, but still moved closer. “Your father needs you, Lilith,” he begged. “Only you can help him.”

“No one told him to come back from Tartarus,” I retorted.

“He didn’t ask to be brought back. Bring her to the island,” he added.

He teleported just as an arrow pierced my left side, I sucked in a painful breath. Numbness spread on that side of my body as I searched for the demon that had attacked me. I found her reloading her crossbow.

I didn’t stop to think. I just reacted and willed lightning bolts, vaporizing her on the spot.

Bran appeared beside me. You okay?

I could be better. Biting my lower lip, I grabbed the shaft and yanked it out.

How bad is it? he asked.

It’s already healing. Watch your back.

He turned and rejoined the battle. My side hurt, but now wasn’t time to cry or complain. Not using our powers sucked, but our bodies could still self-heal. The numbness was already fading away, my wound healing faster because of the Kris Dagger’s powers.

A loud cackle came from the top of the stairs and I turned. Solange had her dagger pointed at the remaining half-dozen demons, red light streaming from their eyes to the tip of the dagger. Once again, ghastly memories flashed through my head—Coronis draining Bran and my friends with the same Athame before we killed her.

I sent the knife I’d dropped toward Solange. She dissolved into smoke and floated away. The blade flew back to my hand as drained demons rolled down the stairs, some of them still alive, their sunken eyes following me and begging me to end their misery.

“Sorry, can’t help.” Not without using my powers again. I kept an eye out for Solange. She materialized near the rail several floors up. I followed.

“Come on, little sis,” she mocked when I rematerialized. “Pull out the Kris Dagger and fight me.”

“That’s too easy. You’ll be dead in seconds.” I had to catch her off-guard and set the trap. “Take a whack at me. I know you’d like nothing better than to punish me for being Daddy’s favorite,” I laid it on thick.

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’ll give you the dagger if you beat me,” I added.

“I’ll just take it after I beat the crap out of you,” she bragged, then shoved the Athame in its sheath. “I’ve wanted to do this for sixteen years.”

She rushed me, throwing a punch. I feinted to the right, swung and aimed for her ribs. I got a solid hit, but she didn’t even flinch. Her grin widened as though pain was her source of pleasure.

“You’ll have to do better than that, little sis,” she mocked and came at me with a kick, her movement so fast she was a blur.

I teleported out of the way, causing her to lose her balance. Reappearing behind her, I brought my elbow down hard on her back. She went down on one knee and shifted into smoke.

“Not bad,” she said when she rematerialized.

“How about not shape-shifting?” I dared her.

“If you swear not to teleport,” she retorted and lunged at me again.

I met her, trading blows, kicks and jabs. She was fast, but I was better trained. I caught her with a roundhouse kick, the force whipping her around and causing her to lose her balance again. She broke her fall and came back swinging, catching me on the still-healing spot the arrow had hit. I hissed at the pain and staggered back.

Laughing gleefully, she launched herself at me again. I side-stepped, grabbed her arm and used her weight against her, sending her flying over my head. Instead of going down, she flipped over like a gymnast and landed in a crouching position, then came at me low, barreling into my stomach.

I brought my elbow down on her back, but the effort was lost when we both went down, arms and legs tangled. She got some lucky hits before I flipped her and pressed my elbow against her neck. I reached for the crystals to trap her.

She cheated and shifted into smoke form, leaving me on all fours before she aimed a vicious kick on my side. I hissed at the pain, sure she’d cracked ribs.

A hand yanked me from the floor as though I weighed nothing. Solange laughed and dissolved into smoke form. I twisted, ready to fight my captor, and gulped. “Grampa?”

He scowled. “Stop wasting time. Finish with her and get out of here,” he ordered. “We have the situation under control.”

My mouth opened and closed, but I didn’t ask the questions that burned the tip of my tongue. How had they found us? Was he angry we’d disobeyed them again? Too late—he was already gone.

I got to my feet. While Solange and I had been making up for missed years of sibling rivalry, I had forgotten about the other Cardinals. The battle had taken on a new intensity. Lord Gabreel and his followers had abandoned their home, leaving behind their mummified friends on the stairs. Solange’s demons had changed to their real forms—hairy or scaly faces, horns and tails, fangs and rows of shark-like teeth. Nephilim powers were enhanced when they took their real shapes.

Solange surprised me, landing a blow on my chest and slamming me against the rail. Grampa was right. This was no time for games. I got inside her head before she realized my intention.

Sit down. Her legs folded and she dropped on the floor.

“That’s cheating,” she screeched.

“So did you.” I removed the crystals from my pocket, then, with a flick of my fingers, placed them around her. Light shot out and curved above her head, creating a cage.

Solange sneered. “I’ll never tell you where our father and Kim are.”

“I already know. What is it with you demons and islands? Can’t stand living among humans?”

“Not when we can’t rule the…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened.

I turned to see what had her eyes wide with fear and my heart sank. “The archangels,” I whispered.

Lightning flashed around the court, the surge of power knocking me backward. I skidded on the floor until my back slammed against the wall. The floor shook and a continuously fizzing, brittle sound came from behind me.

I turned to see fissures race across the glass wall and teleported out of the way, but there was no place to hide. Shards of glass rained down on us. Lights went out, leaving the angelic lightning as our only source of light.

Panic and chaos followed as the archangels swooped down the tenstory foyer, their wings causing a gale, swords gleaming under the flashing lights and reflecting their emotionless, perfect faces. How could beings so beautiful be so vicious?