Blood of night, p.15
Blood of Night, page 15
Students are finishing breakfast and are milling through the halls, grumbling about being tired or an unfinished homework assignment from last night. I keep my head down, trying not to draw any extra attention to myself, though walking through the academy with a baby is enough to draw a few stares.
Thankfully, I make it to Tabatha’s office without being stopped, and she answers the door only seconds after I knock.
“My darling! And my granddaughter!” Tabatha smiles and then immediately looks worried. “Is everything all right? Kristy told me about the djinn.”
“I’m fine, the djinn is dead, and when I left the hospital last night, Easton was doing well.” I pause, wondering if Kristy mentioned the fact that the whole djinn mess happened because I’m trying to rescue Lucas. “I don’t know where the ring the djinn used as a vessel is, but if she’s dead it shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
“My knowledge of djinns is limited,” Tabatha starts, stepping to the side so I can come in. “Though with no djinn to bind to it, the ring should be harmless. Are you all right, my darling? Djinn don’t just attack your body, but first make you suffer through psychological warfare.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. It wasn’t my wish I got stuck in, and Easton didn’t even mean to make a wish.” I let out a breath. “It’s confusing, I suppose. I know what happened didn’t happen, yet it feels like it did. It’s more vivid than any dream I’ve ever had.” I shake my head. “Though at the same time, I knew it wasn’t real. There’s no world for me where this place doesn’t exist. And my family…I couldn’t forget you all.”
“You are resilient, Callie.”
“You can say stubborn.” My lips curve into a smile and I sit on the couch near the fireplace so I can take Juliet out of the sling. She’s fast asleep and stirs as soon as she’s not pressed against my body again. “Which is kinda why I’m here.”
Tabatha takes Juliet from me, smiling down at her. “Evander did say you were going to stop by yesterday.”
“I, um, I…I found the oracle Julian had been looking for. Turns out, it can bring a bit of bad luck if you don’t know how to use it, so the Field Museum turned it over to the Order of the Mystic Realm and long story short, they do not have the best security when it comes to guarding haunted objects.”
“You stole from the Order?”
“Stole…rescued…depends on how you look at it. In doing so, I did kill a djinn.”
“The ring housing the djinn was also from the Order?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t take it.” I wince. “It, uh, attached to either me or Easton. But again. Luckily it went after me and learned fast that it messed with the wrong witch. Or nephilim? Honestly it feels weird calling myself that.”
Tabatha just looks at me, face blank, and blinks. It’s an expression I’ve seen many times when I was a kid when she wasn’t sure if she should punish me or go out and buy me ice cream for saving the day—again.
“Anyway, since this thing is supposedly cursed, though it does not give off bad vibes, I thought it would be safer to do here where someone else could maybe help cast a circle of protection.”
“If something were to go wrong, you’d at least have help here.”
“That’s exactly what I told Eliza.” I unzip the diaper bag and pull out the scarab, which is still in the little velvet bag filled with salt. “Only if that’s okay,” I say and look back up at Tabatha. “I don’t want anyone else getting involved if they don’t have to. I never have.”
“We know that, Callie. What are you hoping to accomplish with the oracle?”
It’s her way of asking if I’m going to bust all four of the Horsemen out of the Underworld in my attempt to save Lucas. “I just want to talk to Osiris and see if Lucas…if he’s okay. And we don’t know what the other part of the deal was. Julian hand delivered four very powerful weapons to an ancient god and we have no freaking clue what he’s going to do with them.”
“That has been a worry of mine,” Tabatha confesses. “We know the damage the Horsemen can do when in the wrong hands.”
“Exactly. And it seems like Osiris has been laying low for many, many centuries. Acquiring something like that could be what he needs to tip the scale and…I don’t know…send mummies to attack us or something.”
“You’ve already handled a bunch of zombies, let’s hope mummies aren’t much more of a threat.” She smiles, but her eyes hold back worry. “I am aware this is another calm before yet another storm. Paimon is a threat to us all, and since your identity has been revealed, you’ve been the object of many demons’ affection, so to speak. They have figured out they can use you and we know they will attack again.”
“I know.” My eyes fall shut. “I know I should go after Paimon and come up with a plan to burst into Hell, guns blazing, and take him out before he tries to take me or Juliet again. But I have nothing.” I open my eyes and shake my head. “Everyone thinks I come up with these genius plans and somehow save the day by the skin of my teeth, but I don’t. Not alone.” I wipe a tear away. “I’ve been in bad situations before, I know, that I’ve gotten myself out of. But things were never this bad. It was me versus a demon, not me versus the possible end of the world.”
“I know,” Tabatha says simply and sits on the couch next to me. “And as long as you are alive, the threat will be out there. You kill Paimon and another will come for you. There’s only one solution I can think of to all this.”
“What is it?”
Tabatha’s eyes gloss over and she looks down at Juliet, smiling. “You need to be protected by the other archangels.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
The soft thudding of my boots on the cobblestone echo off the walls. I’m on my way to meet Evander in his office, oracle in hand. Tabatha’s words repeat in my head, and I know she’s right. As long as I’m alive, a demon will see me as a tool to use to help them win the war against the angels, Lucifer included.
If my aunts and uncles swear to look over and protect me, it will make the demons think twice. Paimon might be too much for one archangel to take on, but all of them? He wouldn’t stand a chance.
But getting my not-so-holy aunts and uncles to agree to first not kill me and then second to protect me? Hah. I have a better chance asking Death to let me ride double with him and terrorize a few villages. Binx shadows along next to me, and my mind drifts back to when my father fought his own brother. The clash of wings, the explosion of energy…it was terrifying.
Remiel first tried to kill me—the abomination—and then went after my father for protecting me. He did it out of duty and I know many others will side with him. Other than my father, I have Lucifer on my side and he’s not the most popular with his siblings from the start.
“Knock-knock,” I say, stopping outside Evander’s open door.
“Good morning,” he says, looking up from papers he’s grading. “Did you stay up all night?”
“Hah. Not this time. My new alarm clock is rather persistent though.”
“How is my little god-witch doing today?”
“She’s perfect.” I can’t help but smile when I talk about her. “And busy being spoiled rotten.”
“Ah, Mother has her.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s already showing her off to all the witches in the library. Apparently, they finished the fairytale book last time she was here and now needs something more serious to read.”
Evander chuckles. “Yes, because every three-week-old needs to hear about the serious nature of black magic.”
“Hey, gotta start her young.” I close the door and hold out the black velvet bag. “I found the oracle Julian had been searching for.”
“So I heard.” Evander comes over and takes the bag, carefully and curiously taking the stone out.
“From whom?”
“Kristy filled me in on everything last night.”
My brows go up. “Because she spent the night in your bed?”
“Will you stop with that?” Evander gives me an annoyed look. “She’s like a sister to me.”
“Don’t say that and deny true love.”
“Do you want my help or not?”
“Fine,” I huff. “Any idea how to get that thing to work? It’s supposedly cursed, but it doesn’t feel cursed, does it?”
“Not at all.” He sets it on his desk and opens a drawer, pulling out a black crystal hanging on a chain. He holds it over the scarab, waiting a bit before reading the energy. “Whatever this has is well contained.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“When we were researching the Underworld in the library, I came across a section about how the witches and warlocks of the time would communicate with the gods. This should act almost like a phone, in a sense.” He picks up the scarab and turns it over in his hands. “I say we cast a circle and go about using this like a spirit board.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say back. “And easy. I can do it at home so you’re not—”
“If there’s a chance this thing is cursed, best to keep it here where we can whisk it away with little consequences. Eliza’s helped you a lot lately, but she can’t help you break a curse,” he adds pointedly. If I wasn’t so focused on the chance of getting to see Lucas, I would be bothered by his last statement.
“Good idea.”
I move the little couch and coffee table away from the fireplace and pour a circle of salt on the floor. Evander casts a protective spell on his office, and we have the velvet bag full of salt ready just in case we need to throw the scarab in and make a run for it.
“Ready, sis?”
“I am.” My head bobs up and down. “Please, work,” I whisper to the stone. Evander steps out of the circle and I put my fingertips on the scarab, as if it was a planchette for a spirit board. I quiet my mind and start to feel a vibration coming from deep within the stone. “Osiris?” I call into the vibration. “God of the Underworld, please hear my cries.”
My whole body begins to vibrate and tremble along with the stone, and I can feel the thrums of energy pulsing around me. My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. I wait several beats and then straighten up…but something feels different.
I’m not seated on the soft rug in Evander’s office anymore. The ground beneath me is hard, cold, and gritty, like sand covering stone. My eyes fly open and I realize that’s exactly what it is. I’m not in the office anymore, but in some sort of temple. The oracle isn’t in front of me anymore, and I scramble to my feet
“Lucas!” I call, more than aware I’m screaming into the dark, announcing my presence for anything and everything in this place. But I don’t care. “Lucas!” I whirl around, looking down a dark hall, illuminated only with flickering the flames from the torches on the wall. I tip my head up, looking above me. The ceiling is endless, or maybe not there at all. Yet no stars dot the sky and suddenly the darkness feels too close, like it’s falling down on me.
I’m in some sort of hall, maybe? The air is cool and has a faint smell of dirt, yet I can’t tell if I’m inside or outside and it’s messing with my head, making me dizzy. I’m astral projecting—I think—or maybe I’m communicating all in my head, sort of like the way I was able to talk to Lucifer in my dreams. Whatever I’m doing, I’m here, and I’m not leaving until I find Lucas.
And I’m taking him with me.
Going over to one of the torches, I carefully pull it out of the holder and run my hand over the wall, feeling the smooth stones. I think I’m in some sort of pyramid. It’s endless, like Hell. Holding the torch out in front of me, I let my eyes fall shut and try to feel a pull on my heart, telling me which direction to go.
I start going straight forward, walking as fast as I can down the wide, dark hall. Everything is quiet except for the soft sound of wind blowing through the hall, yet I feel no breeze on my skin. Maybe because I’m only here in astral form? It would be easy to feel unnerved by this place, yet it has the same familiar energy as Hell.
It feels like I’ve been walking forever by the time I finally come to a crossroads of sorts. Stopping in the middle, I slowly turn around, looking down each dark hall. To my right, there’s a faint blue glow and I recognize it right away.
Hellfire.
“Lucas!” I call again and rush toward the glow of the fire. Sand crunches under my feet and the hall starts to narrow. Pushing into a run, I hold the torch to my side and come to a stop at a large door. Two torches are on either side of it, but unlike the one in my hand, they’re lit with hellfire.
“Lucas?” I ask and reach for the door. Something powerful vibrates with energy behind it. I square my shoulders and extend my free hand, telekinetically opening the heavy, stone door.
It slowly slides open, and I see a glimpse of a throne room, with tall pillars painted in vibrant colors. The room is several stories tall and beautiful, filled with intricate paintings and a pool of water on either side of what has to be the throne. Hellfire burns on the surface of the water, and I’m overcome with the desire to walk down the painted stone and sit my ass on that throne. “Lucas,” I call again, voice hardly louder than a whisper.
“He can’t hear you.”
I whirl around and my breath hitches in my chest. Standing just feet from me is Osiris.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“Forgive me,” Osiris says and steps back, giving me a slight bow. “For we have not been properly introduced. I am—”
“I know who you are,” I interrupt. The large stone door behind me starts to slowly close, creaking loudly against the silence of the rest of this place. “Where is Lucas?” My eyes close in a long blink as I remember the last time I saw him and want nothing more than to go back in time and keep him from swinging himself up on that damn horse. “The…the Horsemen.”
“You’re here for the vampire.” Osiris curiously looks me over. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“We? You mean Lucas? Where is he? Is he okay?” I can’t help the tears that fill my eyes. “Please, he’s my husband and I love him. Just let me know if he’s okay.”
“He’s a Horseman.”
“What does that mean?” I shoot back, lowering the torch just a bit. Osiris looks just as he did when he appeared in a whirlwind of sand only days ago, though now he’s not wearing anything on his head and his thick, wavy hair hangs only an inch or two from his shoulders. He has deep brown eyes and full lips and appears to be only a bit older than me. I know the lore is that his own brother hacked him to pieces. I can see mummy wrappings on his arms and legs, as if they’re covering the marks of being stitched back together. I bring my eyes back to his. “Is he okay or not?”
Osiris takes a step closer, and the aura around him is both oppressive and welcoming at the same time. It gives off the same odd familiar feeling I get when I’m around other angels, and Julian’s words echo through my head. Divinity seeks divinity. But Osiris isn’t an angel…right?
“His mind has remained sound.” Osiris goes on and I watch him closely, seeing his chest rise up and down as he breathes. “It’s a curious thing, perhaps the most curious thing I’ve witnessed in quite a while.” He strides forward, closing the distance between us. “You are curious as well.” Gently, he reaches out and touches my hair. “Curious enough I almost couldn’t place you. Not human, yet not quite something else.” He tips his head, looking me up and down, and then locks eyes with me. “You have both light and dark in you. It’s…it’s fascinating.”
“I’m a nephilim. You get the best of both worlds with me and if you don’t take me to Lucas in the next three seconds I swear to god I will just—just I’ll start singing the Hannah Montana theme song!” I finish. I’d laugh at myself if I weren’t feeling so frazzled.
Osiris steps back, amusement on his face. “Such threats! That theme song does have a way of getting stuck in your head. Very well then.”
“That’s it?” I blurt out, expecting him to put up some sort of fight. “You’re just going to take me to him?”
He looks at me curiously again. “Isn’t that what you want?”
“Yeah, I thought you’d say no.”
“I have no reason to keep you from him. Though, I do want to warn you,” he starts and my stomach drops. “He is in a suspended state, as all the Horsemen are.”
“Oh.” I slowly take in a breath, trying to keep it together. “Makes sense.”
Osiris sweeps his hand out, motioning for me to walk with him. My heart skips a beat and I focus on each and every step I’m taking. “The deal Julian made with you,” I start, turning to look at Osiris as we walk. “What were the terms?”
“He would deliver the Horsemen to a secure location on earth where I could procure them and then bring them here. His terms were to hold them for three hundred years and then I can use them as I see fit.”
That sounds like something Julian would do. Three hundred years isn’t long when it comes to immortal beings, but it could possibly be my lifetime. I’m still not sure how the whole aging thing is going to work since I’m technically half human.
“And what will you do with them when the three hundred years are up?” We’re going back the way I came, yet this time, more hallways appear off the one we’re walking down. I can tell now that we’re underground, and I can feel a river of hellfire below me. I hear the flesh crackling and melting and can smell the burning of souls damned for eternity.
“I’d like to destroy them.”
His words make me stop dead in my tracks. “Destroy?” I echo, wanting to make sure I heard him right. “Like kill them?”
“Yes.”
“You wouldn’t try to use them?”
Osiris stops as well, one brow going up. “Unlike their previous keeper, I do not wish to see the world destroyed.”
“Lucifer doesn’t anymore,” I say, unable to help myself but defend my uncle.
“He doesn’t currently,” Osiris corrects, and dammit, I can’t disagree. Lucifer is definitely a loose cannon and I’ve let my guard down around him. I feel sorry for him in a sense now that I see his perspective.
