by Maya Daniels
“You had to ruin it by calling me a cupcake, didn’t you monster boy?”
Chuckling, I pull her to stand next to me. “You wouldn’t want me to go easy on you, now would you? Besides, someone must keep you in line.”
Helena
I appreciate Eric’s efforts to keep things light, especially since I don’t want Jared to see what kind of a freak I’m turning out to be. I’m no longer part of the team, so he has no reason to trust me. If I collapse this building on his head, I’m not sure Jared will be willing to do anything with me, little less help with finding Hector. As soon as he mentioned the patrons, my blood curdled in my veins. There was never love lost between the rest of them and my father. A blind person could’ve seen that their respect was based on fear of consequences. They wanted his position in the Order but were unwilling to let it show. For some reason, I never thought of any of them doing something foolish. Like actually hurting Hector. Now that I think of it, after an Archangel dismissed my father, they might be doing this to get in Michael’s good graces. They might also be doing it as some twisted power play. If Adam is involved in it, the last thought might be spot on. I always thought there was something sadistic lurking behind his eyes.
Eric moves his hand up and down my back when I shiver at my thoughts. Glancing around, I see everyone else still seated, watching me warily like I’m a ticking bomb. Filling my lungs with as much air as I can, I blow a raspberry in the air, making Eric chuckle.
“This is so messed up,” saying it to no one in particular, I turn to Jared. “You should go back before you get in trouble. Tell George and Cass to be ready tonight. Meet us on the west side of Sanctuary in the wooded area. George will know the place, but just in case, tell him the same place Hector told us we would meet him the night before Michael snatched me away.”
“Hel, you’re not going anywhere near that place,” Eric says calmly, with so much authority in his voice one might think I’m his underling.
My head turns slowly in his direction, not missing Maddison grinning like a loon at his words. “And who will stop me, Eric? You?” With my full attention on him, I make sure he sees that I’m ready to win this argument. “Why don’t you try and see how that goes for you.”
“He might have a point,” Raphael pipes in, sounding so hopeful I almost think he is sticking up for his best friend. “As I said a couple of times, I can go there to check.”
“Any one of us can go check, which means you don’t need to be there.” Eric hasn’t looked away from me, but I can tell that he understands the futility of this conversation.
He still tries, so I must give him credit for that.
“Because you know how to sneak inside? You know the layout of the place?” Shaking my head in disappointment at Eric, I turn to the Archangel in the room, “And how about you? When was the last time you were there, holy one?”
“I thought Michael was the holy whatever, not me,” Raphael mumbles before pursing his lips. “It’s been a while…”
“How long Raphael?” Making sure he understands I’m not in the mood for games, I raise my eyebrow in challenge.
“Since the day I accompanied Michael to drop you off to Hector as a baby.” When I open my mouth to speak, he hurries to add his logic. “It can’t be changed that much. I would’ve known if it was renovated because I would’ve been needed to set the wards, along with the others.”
“You were planning to walk in through the front door?” Staring at him incredulously, I can’t help but wonder if he really is insane. “You plan on walking in and doing what exactly? Calling a meeting and asking them where they are keeping Hector since you have his cut off hand to give back?”
“His what?” Jared’s shout of surprise makes me groan. I need to stop letting my mouth run before my brain.
“His hand…” With a deep sigh, I press a hand to my forehead. “We were not sure it was his, but after what you told us, I’m willing to bet my father is definitely missing an appendage.”
“Oh, dear God,” Jared whispers, the color draining from his face as he covers his mouth with his hand.
“You haven’t recovered yet, Hel. Let me do this while you at least take a day of not dealing with any of them. It might do you some good.” Pulling me in his arms, Eric looks down at me. “I will not stop you from fighting them, just don’t be stubborn when it comes to accepting help. Even I needed it, or I wouldn’t have found you so soon.” I can tell he admits that last part begrudgingly in front of Raphael. “Why are you being quiet right now when you always have a lot to say?” Turning, he glares at Maddison, taking his anger out on her because I’m refusing to obey him.
“Oh, I’m just here for the show.” Grinning, she leans back on the sofa. “And the food.”
“I’m going, Eric, and there is nothing else to discuss. I’m a hunter. I’ve been doing this type of thing my whole life. And before you continue with all the reasons why I should stay behind, let me remind you that it’s me they are all after. My life hangs in the balance, and that of my father. For all his shortcomings, Hector is a good man. I will go after him to try and save him before I receive any other body parts.”
Jared whimpers.
Eric doesn’t look happy, but he presses his lips in a thin line and nods sharply. Giddiness fills me at the prospect of finding Hector and making those that hurt him pay. My mind gets ahead of me, imagining all the ways I’m going to hurt Adam if he really is behind all this. He was there, too, when Amanda died, and he acted like he couldn’t care less what happened to her. He even told me I was hallucinating, and the hunts were getting to me when I said that she was killed.
Thoughts like this would’ve sickened me not long ago. Hurting a human being was never on my bucket list, but surprisingly, I don’t feel anything. Well, anything apart from the excitement and maybe some anxiety as well. Glancing around, I notice that there is no clock anywhere in the living room. Just the paintings on the walls with their burst of color in an otherwise black and white room.
“You don’t have a clock here.” I found it necessary to inform Eric of his lack of ordinary things to have. He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“There is one hour left until sundown,” Maddison informs me, sounding as official as a weather girl trying to impress a producer.
“Jared you should go.” Making sure he understands the gravity of the situation, I pull him to his feet. “You need to tell the others so you guys are ready if things go to shit and we need a hand. Tell George to meet us in the woods. One way or another, I’m getting inside the Sanctuary tonight, and God help the patrons if they are the ones that have hurt Hector. Demons will not be what they fear most after tonight.”
Eric
After Jared reluctantly left, closing the door behind him like he just got a death sentence, Helena slumps on the sofa, curling into herself. Raphael opens his mouth, no doubt to begin spurting some nonsense in hopes to make her feel better—at least judging by the compassionate look on his face—but Maddison shakes her head at him, grabs his arm, and pulls him away from the living room. I keep watching my mate until their silhouettes disappear somewhere in the apartment. With a sigh, I gingerly sit next to her, not knowing what to say to make this better.
She looks small and lost, hugging her knees as she stares at nothing. It makes me want to rage and kill just so I never have to see her like this again. Pushing my anger aside, I pull her to me and wrap her in my arms.
“Hel…” The look she gives me stabs me in the heart like claws embedding into the muscle, ripping it to shreds and shriveling it to a husk. Full of despair and guilt, it does not belong on her beautiful face. But what do I say to take it away?
“How did this happen, Eric?” She must’ve seen the slight crease of my eyebrows in my attempt to understand what exactly she’s asking because she sighs, shakes her head, and looks out the window at nothing. “Couple of weeks ago, I was just a girl, you know? I had this purpose, this mission to keep the world safe. Part of the goo
d guys, a family, a cog in something so much bigger than me, but needed to make everything work.” Those green eyes focus back on my face, and I see the need there for me to tell her that it still stands true. I will not lie to her; things have never been as black and white as she was led to believe. “It was all a lie.” Saying nothing, I don’t shy away from her pain. “My life was a lie.” She laughs humorlessly, rubbing a hand over her face with slow, tired movements.
“I think you give yourself too much credit on this one, Hel.” She looks at me sharply like I’ve slapped her, but shaking my head, I smooth her hair away from her face. “You take responsibility for other people’s actions. The only thing you’ve done is trust those that raised you. The ones that were supposed to protect you and love you just for you. Their motives and agendas are not your cross to bear, beautiful. You did nothing but stay true to your heart. You protected those that couldn’t do it for themselves.” Seeing her look at me doubtfully finally makes my lips tilt up in a small smile. “You were ridding the world of the rogues, weren’t you?” She grimaces, but I can tell I have her attention, so I press more. “For all their shortcomings, they did one thing right. They taught you to survive, regardless if it was intentional or not. As much as I would like nothing more than to storm that damn place and put them all out of their misery, they kept you alive. I don’t think you would’ve survived this long on your own, as much as it pains me to say it.”
“Fewer people would’ve been hurt if I never found my way to the Sanctuary. I can tell myself things to feel better, but that’s the ugly truth.” Leaning her head on my shoulder, her trembling fingers are tracing circles on my chest. “Amanda would still be alive. Hector wouldn’t be hurt and shunned from the people he dedicated his life to.” She whispers the words with a raw, wobbly voice, making me swallow thickly.
“Did you kill your friend?”
“What?” She straightens to look at me, frowning. “I didn’t do it, no, but it was because of me that she is dead, Eric. Nothing can change that.”
“She died because of others’ actions and agendas. You forget that I watched you on a few of your missions, Hel. How long do you think that girl would’ve stayed alive if you didn’t stand between her and the rogues?” Her lips part, ready to argue her point, but I’ll have none of that. It’s time she knows what she has done for those that hunt her now. “I wasn’t watching only you. Your team was good, yes. She was a good hunter. They were all very well trained very. They were not invincible! Yet, they stayed alive, all of them, thanks to you. What you are makes you better than an average hunter, no matter how blessed they are. You kept all of them alive. I’m not telling you to forget about her death. All I’m saying is you can’t put it on your shoulders. You didn’t kill her. They did. You want someone to blame for it? You have an entire group of assholes you can point your finger at, but never yourself.”
I got her attention. She searches my face for a long time, unblinking. Watching her calmly, my hand moving up and down her back in a slow caress, I let her see that I genuinely mean it. They might not want her alive, but I’ll be damned if I let them put all their sins on her. They will answer for their actions, one way or another. To me, or to my father, when they cross the veil and meet him face to face. I’ll make sure of it.
“I wish it was that easy to not feel responsible for everything that happened,” she tells me after a while. “I understand what you are saying, but my heart doesn’t accept it as an excuse. Not yet, anyway. It feels like if I accept what you are saying, her death means nothing. Hector’s suffering means nothing. Someone needs to take responsibility for it, to acknowledge that their lives matter, and I’m willing to do that for them.”
“But not with guilt, Hel. Never with guilt.” Taking her face in my hands, I kiss her until her eyes go unfocused. “You want what happened to matter? I need Helena back. The kick-ass, smart-mouthed hunter that took my breath away the first time my eyes landed on her. She will hold everyone accountable for their actions. She will collect the dues owed to those she loves. Don’t let them take her from me, Hel. Not just you, I need her as well.”
Tears spill down her cheeks at my words. A trembling hand lifts to my face and she smiles sadly. I’m prepared to keep talking, to say whatever comes from deep inside my heart, to tell this woman that turned my life inside out something that might stop her tears, but all the words get stuck in my throat when the dull look in her green eyes disappears. Like emeralds, they start sparkling with determination and anger, taking my breath away.
“Thank you!” Kissing me stupid, making me blink a few times after she pulls away so I can get my brain back into gear, Helena grins wickedly at me. “You are right! I will not let them destroy me inside. If they try to break me, I’ll just fight harder. And thanks to you, I know what I want to do now.”
“Go kick some righteous ass?” Smirking, I tangle my hands in her hair, tilting her face up. “Playtime for the she-devil?”
“Revenge, Eric.” The power she packs in her words shakes me to my core like I’ve been kicked by a bull, gooseflesh covers me from head to toe. “They will pay for what they did. I want revenge!”
She lifts herself off the sofa, squaring her shoulders and smiling down at my stupefied face. I wanted to take away the pain she felt for everything that’s been happening to her after that night when her friend died. Looking at her right now, I’m not sure, but I think I might have opened Pandora’s box. The woman standing in front of me is ready to bring Heaven and Hell down to their knees. Power pulses out of her like strong waves of an ocean, causing me to take slow, shallow breaths from the intensity. I accept the hand she has reached out to help me to my feet, but my mind is spinning. I hope I didn’t create a monster.
“Hell is paved with good intentions,” my mind supplied John Ray’s quote as if mocking me. There is only one way to find out how true that is.
Helena
Eric’s words play on repeat in my head, fueling my determination. I’m not sure when, along the way, Michael managed to screw my head up but he obviously did. It’s not a big revelation what Eric said. It’s evident to anyone with a brain, yet I kept drowning in my pain and guilt with not even a straw to grasp onto and keep my head above it.
Warmth spreads in my chest like the first warm breeze of spring after a long, harsh winter. Eric is watching me warily, like I’ve grown horns or something. My lips stretch wide all the way to my ears, seeing the Prince of Hell being worried because of little ol’ me. It might come off as a drastic change from one blink of an eye to the next to him, but I find it easy to flip that switch inside me and see this whole clusterfuck for what it is.
Mind games.
The Order and the Archangel are powerful beyond measure. There is no question about it. What they did, however, is they made sure I forgot that they are trying to eliminate me because I am powerful in my own right. They wouldn’t have bothered with everything they’ve done if that wasn’t true. By being on the defensive the entire time, they made sure I didn’t see through their tactics. Tactics that worked well for them, until now that is. Hurt or kill those around me, hunt me to keep me looking over my shoulder with every breath I take. Worry about the rest of those I care about. Eric’s words cleared the fog around my mind so that I can see clearly in this cat and mouse chase, instead of wandering aimlessly, blind to everything.
I was predictable. That was my downfall.
Time to show them how this abomination can play!
“Maybe we should talk about this, Hel.” Pulling Eric up to his feet, my lips twitch at his wariness. “When we let emotions guide our actions, we make mistakes. Sometimes important ones that we can’t take back.” Searching my face, he looks troubled, making my heart melt when I see how much he cares. “I should know all about those mistakes…” he mumbles under his breath.
“I’m not going on a killing spree, monster boy!” Laughing at his frown, I kiss his full lips, unable to pass up the opportunity. “I’m just going to play a littl
e. This mouse is about to turn the tables on the cat. Won’t that be fun?”
“I’m all for you having fun, Hel cat. I’m right there with you. I am a demon, after all.” Smiling wickedly at me, he pulls me harshly to his chest. Wariness creeps up in his gaze again when he looks down at me, his heart thumping fast under my fingertips that are pressed against his chest. “I just don’t want you to act rashly and do things you will regret later. Especially since we don’t yet understand this new power coming out of you in waves.”
“I don’t have time to explore new powers, no matter what they are. Hector needs me now, not next week.” Glaring at him, I push gently on his chest.
Eric flies back, his ass hitting the sofa behind him, skidding a few feet back with it. Gasping, I stare dumbly from him to my raised hands, wide-eyed. I would’ve thought this was his way of trying to get me to slow down with my plans, acting as if I hurt him, but the incredulous look on his face tells me otherwise. He definitely did not expect it, just like me. Eric is still sitting on the askew sofa, his hands firmly pressed on the leather, his legs spread wide and planted on the floor, checking me strangely. Taking a deep breath to say—I have no idea what to say to him at this point—my mouth opens and closes a few times before a peel of feminine laughter makes both of us jerk our heads sharply to look at Maddison.
“Oh, my!” Leaning against the entrance to the kitchen with one shoulder, her arms folded over her chest, she has a Cheshire cat smile stretching her red lips. “You two should see the looks on your faces right now!” Throwing her head back, she keeps laughing like this is all a joke to her.
Not like my life hit a new speed like a rollercoaster ride from my worst nightmares.
“What happened?” Raphael pokes his head out above Maddison. They look funny standing next to each other, him with his six-foot-five frame and Maddison barely above five-foot-five, and all curvy like any man’s wild, wet dreams.
