Lethal Rider

Twenty-nine

Regan woke up with stomach pains. They were worse than the Braxton Hicks she’d experienced before, but they weren’t regular. Damn…what if sex had triggered labor? With her due date less than a week away, the baby could come any time, and while in any other circumstance she’d be happy to help it along, right now would be a very bad time if they couldn’t nail Pestilence.

A sense of urgency drove her out of bed and into a pair of maternity pants and a sweatshirt. Even though a glance at the clock told her she’d slept less than an hour, she couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep, not when there was so much to do and so much going on. It was as if the baby had taken away her soul-sucking ability and given her narcolepsy.

The hellhound, whom she was going to call Velcro from now on, was waiting for her outside the bedroom door. He followed her, his nails clacking on the floor, until she reached the great room, where Thanatos was just entering from outside. Tension came with him, a tangible crackle in the air.

“You don’t have to worry about my daywalkers anymore,” he said, his voice a dull monotone. “They’re dead.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “All of them? Did you—?”

“The Aegis killed those loyal to me, and Artur … he killed those who weren’t. He’s gone, too.”

Regan wasn’t sure what to say. Thanatos had protected his vampires for thousands of years, had kept them with him and gave them a home in the only way he’d known how. They had been as much his family as The Aegis was hers.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and before she could even finish, he pulled her against him and held her tight. A lump swelled in her throat. In a way, this was the most intimate they’d been. She wished she could do more, wished there was a way to ease his pain the way sex eased his violent tendencies. She couldn’t bear to see him in so much pain. If she could take it, she would.

“And I’m sorry about your colleagues,” he said roughly. She knew he wasn’t really sorry, but it was nice of him to say.

They stayed that way until Velcro took it upon himself to separate them by wedging his nose between them, and that fast, the world crashed down on them again.

Regan glanced up at Thanatos. “I need your phone.”

Than said nothing, merely dug a cell phone from his pocket and paced as she dialed.

Kynan answered on the second ring, but she didn’t allow him to say anything beyond a snappish “What?”

“Ky, it’s Regan. I need to you to keep your mouth shut until I’m finished talking, and then you had better give me the truth.” She spilled the events of the day, keeping one eye on Than. With each word, the storm cloud surrounding him grew more intense, until she could almost feel the static undercurrents of it on her skin.

Her voice was quavering by the time she was done, and for a long time, Kynan didn’t say anything. Finally, his gravelly voice, much more torn up than usual, came over the airwaves.

“Are you and the baby okay?”

All she could manage was a quiet “yes.”

“And Thanatos? Is he level?”

Saying yes would be a lie, but “no” wasn’t entirely accurate. “For now.”

“Okay, listen to me. If our people have been compromised with possession or a spell, this could be widespread. Pestilence knows the locations of too many regional headquarters. Fuck, this is worse than—”

“Worse than what?” she blurted.

“Nothing. Stay close to Thanatos and keep him calm. I’ll be there as soon as I find out anything.”

He hung up just as the door burst open and Ares rushed in. “Than, got your text. Fuck… Regan, you okay?”

Not even close. But she nodded.

Ares shifted his gaze to Thanatos. “Our brother is gearing up for something big. I went to Underworld General to find Idess—”

“Did you get her?” Than interrupted.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Pestilence took out the anti-violence spell inside the hospital. Brought in his minions and turned the place into a fucking meat grinder. He got to Idess before I did.”

“What do you mean, he got to her?” Thanatos said tightly. “Did he kill her?”

“He took her. Hades told you Pestilence was trying to destroy Sheoul-gra. With Idess, he can get in, just like we planned.”

Regan didn’t take her eyes off Thanatos. “Do you think he has the same idea about Azagoth? Maybe he wants to destroy Azagoth to prevent him from breaking your Seals and starting the, uh, good Apocalypse.” Not that any Apocalypse could be good, but at least three of the Horsemen would be fighting on the right side of it.

“Either way, this is bad news.” Anger laced Than’s words. “Pestilence will release all the souls from Sheoulgra. Millions of them. If that happens, it won’t matter if our Seals are broken, because the Earth is going to become a demon Disneyland.”

Kynan shook with rage and disbelief for a good five minutes after he hung up the phone. A moment later, his wife Gem hurried out of the bathroom, her red-streaked black hair wet, her hands fumbling with the ties to her skull-and-crossbones robe.

“I heard the phone ring. Who was it? Any news about Idess?”

“No.” His voice was lower and raspier than usual, and not just because he was exhausted after getting home only half an hour ago from the chaos at Underworld General. “It was Regan.”

He dropped the towel he’d wrapped around his waist after showering with Gem. They’d come home to clean up and check on their daughter Dawn who, thank God, had been here with Shade’s mate Runa and their triplets when Pestilence struck UG. It had been a stroke of luck that Eidolon had shut down the nursery a couple of days ago, although that had nothing to do with keeping the kids out of there. The hospital had needed more space for the patient overflow.

“Is she okay?”

“For now.” He tugged on his jeans and a sweatshirt. “But I gotta get to Scotland.”

“Why? I was hoping you could stay with Dawn while I head back to UG.”

He kissed her lightly on the forehead, wishing he could do exactly that. Right now he wanted nothing more than to hold his daughter and keep her safe from all the horrors that had invaded their lives.

“It’s an emergency. Some Elders did something really fucked up, and I need to get answers before the Horsemen go crazy and kill us all.”

“When their Seals break?”

He tore open the closet door and spun the lock on the weapons safe concealed inside. “No. Like today.” The safe opened up, and he yanked out a weapons harness. “I need a spellcaster or exorcist. Pestilence killed ours in the attack on headquarters. I don’t suppose you know a good one.”

Gem sank down on the end of the mattress as if her legs had given out. They might have. She’d been working almost nonstop for weeks. He hated that. Hated that he and his wife were so exhausted they couldn’t find time to do anything together but sleep. Sure, they’d showered together just now, but only the soap had seen any action from either of them.

“You think someone in The Aegis has been possessed or is under an enemy spell?”

“It’s the only explanation.” The only one he’d consider, because the idea that his friends and colleagues had gone rogue, had planned to kill an innocent child, was just not possible.

Gem sighed. “Underworld General has a few magic users on staff, but you won’t want them knowing about your new headquarters.”

“I’ll get Wraith. With all the artifacts he’s found over the years, he’s got to have something that can break an enchantment.”

He finished weaponing-up, checked on his daughter, and then gave Gem a good-bye kiss that he hoped conveyed everything he felt for her. Lore’s pain when he learned Idess had been taken by Pestilence was still fresh in Kynan’s mind, the demon’s roar of anguish still ringing in his ears. Ky wasn’t sure what he’d do if Gem was in that kind of danger, but even the thought of it made his heart hurt.

He called Wraith during the fifteen minutes it took him to drive to the nearest Harrowgate, which sat in a sparsely populated suburban New York neighborhood, and then he gated himself to a remote beach in Scotland. Wraith showed up within five minutes, dressed in his beat-up leather duster, jeans, and combat boots. As the demon stepped out of the gate, which was camouflaged against a cliff face, he tapped the backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Got some potions, powders, and metal doodads. Something should help un-enchant people.”

Ky started up the rocky trail to the vehicle he kept parked in a nearby field, since the Harrowgate they’d just come out of was the closest one to the Aegis castle, and there was no way Ky was walking the twenty miles. “Are you sure?”

Wraith shrugged. “No, but it’s always more fun when there’s a risk factor involved.” He flashed fang. “We gonna get to kick some ass?”

“I fucking hope not.” Normally, Ky would be up for a battle, but he wasn’t up for a fight with people he’d worked with and trusted for years. “How’s Lore? Any luck locating Idess?”

Wraith kicked a rock and watched it plummet to the shore below. “Lore’s about how you’d expect. E had to sedate him, but it’s not going to hold him long. We got nothing on Idess.”

They reached the top of the cliff, and Ky unlocked the little Volvo. “When we get done here, do what you can to keep Lore from doing something crazy. Once I gauge the situation at Than’s place, taking Lore there might be a good idea. They’ll want any help they can get locating Pestilence.”

They piled into the car, and Ky floored it, tearing up the road to get to headquarters. Wraith’s oddball observations about the countryside kept Kynan level, which was, he suspected, Wraith’s goal. The demon might be a pain in the ass, but he was a lot more astute than people gave him credit for.

Ky parked at the base of the castle grounds, and he and Wraith wasted no time in jogging through the late morning gloom and into the damp castle, and what perfect timing… the very assholes he’d been seeking were gathered around a pile of books in the makeshift front office. And oddly, there were a dozen Guardians standing sentinel throughout the room, heavily armed.

“Who wants to explain what happened with Regan?”

Juan closed the book he’d been poring through. “Hello to you, too, Morgan.”

Lance wheeled around, his swollen, bruised face going purple with rage when he saw Wraith. “You brought a demon to our headquarters?”

“Do you really want a pissing match to see who’s made the most egregious offense to The Aegis lately?”

Takumi stiffened with a wince. Someone had beaten these guys senseless, and Kynan popped Regan a mental high-five. “We did what we thought was necessary.”

“And you thought it was necessary to cut open Regan and kill her innocent baby?”

“Innocent?” Lance scoffed. “It’s a demon.”

Wraith snorted as he unzipped his backpack. “See, Ky, this is why I always want to kill all your friends.” He pulled out a glass vial filled with green liquid. “No offense.”

“Trust me, none taken.” Kynan glared at the four men in front of him. “You guys want to explain why you didn’t consult the rest of the Elders before you changed our plan?” He doubted anyone would mention getting possessed or something, but it was worth a shot.

“We told you earlier. Tried to.” Omar gave Kynan a sad look, as if he felt sorry for him. “You and Valeriu are too blinded by your relationships to the demons to consider other options. And despite Decker’s pledge of allegiance to the Sigil, he’s still a member of the American military, and some of us don’t trust him.”

“There is something seriously wrong with you,” Kynan said, his temper mounting.

He nodded sharply at Wraith, who grinned as he flipped the vial into the air. Lance dove for it, but it hit the stone floor and shattered before he could catch it.

A sickly brown mist exploded through the room, shifting and writhing as if it were alive. Ten seconds later, it disappeared.

“What the fuck was that?” Juan shouted.

Wraith dropped his pack to the floor. “A revealing elixir. It would have made anyone suffering a magical enchantment glow like they took a swim in nuclear waste. None of you are glowy.” He shrugged. “You’re douche bags, though.”

Lance whipped his head around to Kynan. “You thought we were compromised by a spell?”

“Why else would you have pulled such a stupid stunt?” Kynan shot back.

“Bastard.” Lance came at him, although he should have known that doing so was useless. As long as Kynan was wearing Heofon, the amulet around his neck, he was impervious to harm.

Wraith moved in a blur, and in an instant, had his teeth buried in Lance’s throat. The Guardian sentinels sprang into action, firing their crossbows and hurling weapons, but Wraith, the recipient of a similar immunity charm, was protected.

After a few seconds, the demon disengaged his fangs and shoved Lance away. “He’s not possessed by a demon. He’s just naturally a dickmunch.”

“You thought we were possessed, too?” Lance’s voice was strangled, his eyes bugging out of his head.

“I hoped so,” Kynan said. “God, I’d hoped so.” Kynan’s temples throbbed with anger, and his skin felt tight, scoured raw by their betrayal. “What in God’s name made you think you were doing the right thing?”

“We didn’t think we were. We knew it.” Juan gestured to one of the guards, who disappeared down a hallway. “We were given new information that led us to believe that the prophecy isn’t about stabbing Pestilence in the heart, but stabbing the infant. We’re certain that will destroy Pestilence.”

“Who gave you the new info?”

“A trusted source,” Lance said. “Unlike all the clues we’ve been patching together over the years that turned out to be false or planted or just wrong, this is real.”

Kynan couldn’t believe this. What kind of fucking Kool-Aid had these morons drunk? “You’re wrong. The infant is Thanatos’s agimortus. Killing the baby will break Thanatos’s Seal. You should have come to me and Val with this. We could have worked it out.”

“We can’t trust you or Val anymore. You’ve led us down a path that failed. Working with demons? Forming an alliance with werewolves? Making peace with vampires in trade for intel? What part of the fact that we’re demon slayers are you not understanding?”

“It’s called changing tactics and turning enemies into allies. It’s called progress, Juan. Making alliances in unlikely places.”

Lance, his palm slapped over Wraith’s bite wound, snarled. “We like the old ways. Since the day you came along, involved in that demon hospital and married to a goddamned monster, things have gotten worse, and now we’re on the verge of an Apocalypse. Thanks a fucking lot.”

Married to a goddamned monster? Crimson fury cut a scalding swath of rage across Kynan’s field of vision. “You son of a bitch.” Kynan barely recognized his own voice, warped and molten with the depth of his anger. He lunged at Lance, but Wraith seized him around the waist and dragged him back.

“Dude.” Wraith spoke in a hushed tone into Kynan’s ear. “Check up. I’m all for ripping these fucks to shreds, but eyeball your perimeter, man. Something bad is going down.”

Kynan sucked air through clenched teeth, desperate to take chunks out of Lance, but as the demon held him tight, Kynan noticed four new guys entering the room, each holding a flask … but one also held a furry baby Slogthu demon, a tiny silver charm Ky had seen before but couldn’t place, and a dagger, all of which he handed to Takumi.

“What is this?” Kynan demanded. “What the hell are you doing with that demon?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Leave it to you to be concerned about a damned demon.” He gestured to the four newcomers. “And these are our new Elders.”

“New…what?” Kynan glanced at the new Elders. Two had been on The Aegis’s short list for future promotion to the Sigil. The other two were Regents, the heads of individual cells, one in Toronto and one in Rio de Janeiro. “You can’t promote new members without a unanimous vote from every Elder, and you know that.”

“Yeah,” Lance said. “That’s the thing. We did get a unanimous vote, because you, Val, Regan, and Decker are no longer welcome in the Sigil.” He made an encompassing gesture with a sweep of his arm indicating the eight men standing in a semi-circle in front of Ky and Wraith. “We are the Sigil. And you … you are no longer welcome here.”

“You can’t do this.”

“We can. And we have.” Takumi’s gaze dropped, as if maybe this didn’t sit entirely well with him. “Sentinelium angelicus expellum.” He plunged the dagger into the little demon.

“Motherfuckers!” Wraith shouted.

The four flasks flashed, glowing as brightly as the sun. Pain pierced Kynan’s brain. Wraith grabbed his head, and as the agony drilled them both, Kynan stumbled backward, overcome by a driving need to get out of the castle. He and Wraith were shoved by an invisible force as the eight Elders advanced, the glow forming a wall in front of them.

“What the fuck,” Wraith growled, voicing Kynan’s thoughts exactly.

They staggered out the doors, and once the fresh air hit them, the pain stopped, although Ky’s brain felt bruised, as if he’d gotten clocked by a heavyweight boxer.

Lance and the others halted at the threshold. “Don’t come back. Headquarters is now warded against your angelic charms.”

“How? How did you do this?”

“You aren’t the only one with an angel friend.” Lance smirked.

Kynan wanted to knock the cockiness off Lance’s face. An… angel friend? Who—“Harvester.” Now he remembered where he’d seen the silver charm Takumi was holding. Harvester had worn it on a necklace. “Jesus Christ, she’s a fallen angel. She’s evil. You killed a baby demon and used black fucking magic in your ward. Do you know how wrong that can go?”

Lance’s expression grew amused. “It’s called changing tactics,” he mocked. “Making alliances in unlikely places.”

“You shortsighted idiots! There’s a fucking Apocalypse coming. We can’t afford to fragment like this. Not now.”

“You’ve given us no choice,” Juan said.

“So this is it. You take over headquarters, bring in new Elders, and banish anyone who doesn’t agree with you.”

“We’re the new Aegis,” Omar said. “Or, the way we see it, the original Aegis. We’re taking back the old ways.”

“You won’t win,” Kynan said. “We won’t let you.”

Lance spread his arms. “Look around you, charmed boy. We have all the toys. We’ve already won.”

Kynan’s temper snapped, and he started for Lance, intending to beat him to a pulp, but before he reached the threshold, he ran into an invisible wall that felt as solid as a steel barrier. Wraith grabbed him before the crushing head pain could take hold.

“You know what, buddy?” Wraith said. “They aren’t worth it. Not now. But later …” He jabbed his finger at Lance and bared his fangs. “You’re mine. And dude, I play with my food.”