by Tamar Sloan
He releases Arielle and stalks over without a backward glance. He holds up the vial to show Reign. “How would you like to do this?”
“On the rocks,” Reign spits.
Arielle yanks on her restraints. “No Reign, don’t do this!”
Kane’s hand snaps out to grab Reign’s jaw and pushes his head back into the wall. Reign holds Kane’s gaze as he opens his mouth. Wasting no time, Kane accepts the invitation and pours the clear liquid into his mouth.
He steps back, adjusting his shirt. “If you spit it out, then your girl will pay the price.”
Fury sparks from Reign’s eyes as he swallows.
“What did you just give him?” Arielle asks, her hands trembling so hard the chains softly clink.
“Thiopental,” says Kane, a quiver of anticipation running through his voice. “Otherwise known as truth serum.”
GABBY
Dumah makes the first move, just as Gabby expected him to. He’s always been driven by the need to win, no matter the cost.
He launches at her, a black and white arrow thirsting for death. Gabby vaults forward, determined to meet him halfway.
She has to stop him. The alternative isn’t one she wants to consider.
Dumah’s face twists as he lets out a roar. His hands clench into fists. He injects speed so he can crash into her with as much force as possible.
So Gabby does the same.
They slam into each other, a shock wave blasting through Gabby’s muscles as Dumah tries to power through her. She pushes back, but the split-second head start he got has her propelled backward. He grapples and punches as Gabby ducks and weaves, throwing her own blows at any opening she gets.
There’s a resounding boom when her back is battered into the wall of the warehouse. A groan is yanked out of her as agony explodes down her spine and across her shoulders. She channels the pain as she thrusts her wings, using them as leverage to push off the wall.
She shoves Dumah away, shooting after him so she can return the favor. This time, she slams him into one of the metal beams, his wings crumpling as his back arches. He grunts, his face warping with an unholy mix of pain and fury.
“You are not strong enough to stop me,” he half-growls, half-screams.
One contraction of his powerful wings and he’s free, throwing himself at Gabby with all the hatred that’s vibrating through his heavenly body. They clash again, fists trying to strike anywhere they can. Gabby blocks and punches, but for every time she connects with flesh, a blow batters her body. This is a fight neither of them are willing to lose.
They pull apart, breathing heavily as they take stock.
“It’s only a matter of time before the first Gate of Hell is thrown open,” Dumah growls.
“Or it’s only a matter of time before I kick your ass,” Gabby snaps. “Again.”
This time, Dumah soars high, which means Gabby does, too. They’re almost at the ceiling of the warehouse when they clash again, wings outstretched as their bodies become weapons. Gabby throws a punch, enjoying the jolt of satisfaction when it connects with Dumah’s shoulder. She throws another in quick succession, but he blocks it and grabs her arm. One yank and their bodies collide. One sharp movement and he has her by the throat.
Dumah’s wings tuck in as he launches into a dive, taking Gabby with him. She struggles, trying to pry his fingers loose, trying to wrench his arms away. This was his plan. To spear her into the unforgiving concrete floor.
They tumble through the air, the ground rushing at them. Dumah twists so Gabby is beneath him, but she uses the momentum to jerk him back around. Over and over they turn, each wanting the upper hand before they hit ground zero.
It’s then, as the wind whips through her and the warehouse becomes a blur of gray lines, that Gabby realizes they’re too evenly matched. This fight could go on for hours, a war of attrition until one of them tires out.
The only way she can win is to give him the advantage.
She stops struggling, bracing herself. This is going to hurt. A second later, Dumah slams her into the cement floor, shards of concrete exploding into the air as the floor cracks. Gabby gasps as the air is forced out of her crushed chest. Dumah’s fist flies for her head and she turns away at the last moment. More concrete explodes as a crater is carved out.
Dumah’s lip curls with the taste of victory. “I wonder which Sin will be the first to be released onto the world.”
As his next punch aims for head once more, Gabby reaches into her pocket. If she misses, her face is going to look like the concrete on either side of her.
A split second before Dumah’s fist ploughs through Gabby’s skull, she slaps a metal cuff around his wrist. Dumah yanks it back in shock, but Gabby already has the second clamped around his other wrist. Metal clanks as Dumah wrenches on them, screaming out his rage.
Gabby pushes him away and rolls to her feet. A second later she slams her fist through Dumah’s jaw. He collapses, unconscious before his body hits the floor.
Mac rushes over to her. “Holy heck, that was some fight!” She peers at Dumah. “What’s with the cuffs?”
“Divine chains,” she says, breathing heavily. A gift from her father. “Angels can’t escape them.”
“What do we do with him now?”
Gabby frowns. “We’ll have to take him back to Colt’s place. We need to learn what he’s planning.”
What he’s already put into motion.
An Innocent has been named. It is their grace that will open the Gate of Hell. Shock ricochets through Gabby as she realizes something else.
The obelisks. They are the monuments guarding the portals.
And Arielle has dreamed of them.
She’s foreseen the Gates of Hell opening.
The question is, why her?
31
Reign
Reign’s popped some pills in his time, but none of them have felt like this. As he sits on the floor, his head feels like it’s full of steel wool—muddled and uncomfortable. His body is strangely disconnected. And yet, there’s a pleasant buzz filtering through the parts he can feel, making him warm and strangely content.
Kane doesn’t look as scary as he did a few minutes ago. Their situation doesn’t seem so dire. In fact, a part of him just wants to take a nap.
Despite all that, he doesn’t like these feelings, he just can’t really remember why. Although contentment is a feeling that’s eluded him his whole life, this strange sense of serenity feels…wrong. For starters, he’s never wanted to nap. Sleeping involves nightmares or being vulnerable for long stretches of time. Reign isn’t a fan of either of those.
He looks around, trying to understand what he should do next. He sees Arielle, tears streaking down her cheeks, the flame blue of her eyes subdued. She sits on the ground, hair disheveled, her shoulders drooped with helplessness. Something shifts in his chest, a truth that has wanted to be said from the first moment he saw her.
“You’re beautiful.”
Arielle blinks, for some reason the words only make her look sadder. “Reign,” she whispers. “You shouldn’t have done this.”
“I disagree.” Detective Kane steps in between them, dragging Reign’s groggy gaze up to the man’s face. “The serum is working wonderfully.”
The serum. Kane made him swallow it. And yet Reign didn’t want to. He frowns as he tries to think of why. “I don’t think I should be talking to you.”
Kane smiles as he squats down, bringing himself to eye level with Reign. “But you will, nevertheless.” He angles his head. “What did you see in the Sinclair Mansion?”
Reign frowns. “A lot of stuff. Including a guy who thought he was better than me.”
“I don’t want to know about your petty insecurities, Everson,” Kane growls. “Did you find a hidden room in the library?”
“Don’t answer him,” Arielle calls out. “He’s evil!”
Reign tries to get a glance of her, hearing the desperation in Arielle’s voice and wanting
to understand it, but Kane shifts his weight, blocking her. “All I’m asking is a few questions.” He smiles reassuringly. “Some women can be quite neurotic.”
Reign rubs his forehead, confusion whirling through his mind. “That’s sexist,” he points out.
“Sorry,” Kane says, not really sounding it. “Now, did you find a hidden room in the library?”
The answer wells up in Reign, wanting to be told. He goes to stop it only for it to tumble out anyway. “We sure did. It was quite the surprise, let me tell you.”
Kane’s dark eyes blaze open wider. “How?”
“A pentagram-thingy,” says Reign, the words now tumbling out unfettered. “In the center of the room, under the rugs. It opened a door to a crypt beneath it.”
“No, Reign,” Arielle moans.
Reign tries to get up, no longer okay with sitting there and not being able to see Arielle, but Kane shoves a hand into his chest and pushes him back against the wall.
“What did you find in there?”
Irritated, Reign glares at him. The fuzzy-everything-is-good feeling is starting to wear off. “Nothing much. A lot of old, dusty stuff. We didn’t really have a good look around.” He shoves Kane’s hand away. “Now leave me alone. I need to check if Arielle is okay.”
“The serum is wearing off already,” Kane muses. “Interesting.”
The serum… Flashes of a bitter tasting liquid squirming down his throat has Reign trying to push to his feet.
But Kane pushes a hand into his chest, keeping him where he is. “She’s not going anywhere, I promise. One last question.” He leans close. “Are you the Grail Keeper?”
“No.” Reign’s answer is instant. There’s no way he could be someone as important as that. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong guy.”
For some reason, Kane looks disappointed. He pushes to his feet. “Very well.” He strides to the door. “I’m going to go get all that ‘dusty old stuff.’ Until then, why don’t you two hang tight, as you like to call it.”
Kane leaves, and Reign notes there are two men on the other side. He draws in a sharp breath when he sees their faces.
Hell-faces.
He rushes to Arielle and stands in front of her. “Get away from her!”
But the door is already shut. Reign remains where he is, heart thundering as adrenaline thrums through his veins. Those bastards are only feet away and there’s no way he’s letting them anywhere near Arielle.
“Reign, are you okay?”
He turns around, intending on telling her he’s fine. “No, I’m not.” He startles, wondering where that came from. “Those freaks scare the shit out of me.”
He takes a step back, clamping his mouth shut. That was far more honest than he intended. He rubs his temple, realizing it’s the truth serum. It must be wearing off—he’s no longer feeling like he connected with an inner Care Bear that he never knew he had—but he’s obviously still a little bit more uninhibited than he’d like. Actually, a lot more than he’d like. Control is what keeps Reign’s world…controlled.
“Me, too,” Arielle says gently. “They’re evil and they’re dangerous.”
Reign walks over and crouches down. They need to focus on more important things than his unstable mind. “Did they hurt you?”
She shakes her head. “You made sure they didn’t. You had the serum instead of me.”
“And then I told Kane exactly how to get into the crypt,” says Reign, disgust at his weakness burning in his belly.
The chains clink as Arielle moves her hands only to be stopped short. Her hands clench. “Because you’re under the influence of truth serum,” she points out. “You had no choice.”
Before Reign can answer, there’s a thump at the window. He leaps to his feet, once more standing in front of Arielle. A second later, there’s another thump, followed by the whine of metal bending.
Reign’s hands form fists as he tries to shake off the lingering effects of the drug. He can’t afford to have dull reflexes. Arielle’s life could depend on it.
The window opens just like he knew it would, revealing the intruder.
Reign’s fists drop to his side. “Colt? What the freak are you doing here?”
Colt jumps through the window, revealing the bent iron bars behind him. “Saving your asses.” He sees Arielle chained to the floor and he strides over. “I went after you not long after you left, Reign, but I lost you.” He kneels down beside her. “But then I sensed demon magic and followed it here.”
“Thank you,” says Reign.
Colt studies the chains. “Which means I’m now one up on you.”
“Actually, there’s no one I’d be happy to owe more,” blurts Reign before he can stop it.
Colt glances over his shoulder, surprised.
“He was forced to drink truth serum,” Arielle explains.
“Which means I also told Kane how to get in the crypt,” Reign adds bitterly.
Colt grips the cuffs. “Just hold still, Ari,” he instructs. His grip tightens. “And don’t worry about the crypt, we cleaned it out the day we found it. The contents are now hidden at another location, cloaked by demon magic.”
Arielle gasps as the metal around her wrists crumbles. She draws her hands up and rubs her skin. “Thanks.”
Colt stands and walks straight back to the window. “Quick, we need to go.”
Reign waits for Arielle to join Colt, then hesitates. “There are demons out the front.”
“They weren’t demons, but yes, I’ve taken care of them.”
Reign strides to the door and opens it, seeing that the men are indeed lying unconscious on the floor.
“You didn’t trust my word?” asks Colt.
“To be honest, I don’t really trust anyone,” Reign mutters. Including himself.
Because both men still have sunken, gray faces and black lips, and Colt just said they’re not demons.
Colt helps Arielle climb through the window then indicates for Reign to follow, but he shakes his head. “In the order of who jumps ship, you go first. If anything happens, you can protect her better than I can.”
Colt frowns, but quickly follows Arielle. Reign’s right behind him. He finds they’re down the side of the house, the sounds of the street not far away.
“I didn’t see any other guards,” Colt says urgently. “But we don’t want to risk it.”
The three of them break into a run, leaving the yard and sprinting down the pavement. Reign glances over his shoulder repeatedly, but no one follows them.
They managed to escape.
Back at Colt’s basement, Gabby meets them at the door. “Where have you been?” Her eyes widen when she sees Arielle’s with them. “What is she doing here?”
Colt arches a brow. “Is it okay if I come in?”
Frowning in consternation, Gabby takes a step back. “I suppose so, it is your place…”
They file in and Mac rushes toward Reign, giving him a hug. Unsure what’s going on, he hugs her back. “Are you going to make a habit of this?”
She pulls back, smiling. “Have I got a story to tell you.”
“Ditto,” he responds. “You go first, though.”
“Not yet,” Gabby says loudly, her hands on her hips. “I thought it was agreed that Arielle wouldn’t be involved in any of this.”
Arielle angles her chin in a way that’s starting to become familiar. “Yes, you did.” She takes a step forward. “But I’m in this, whether Aunt Shell agrees or not.”
“She was just abducted and kept prisoner,” Reign points out.
Gabby gasps, but quickly recovers. “It’s too dangerous.”
Arielle shakes her head. “This is my mom, Gabs.” She glances at Reign. “I’m not sitting back and watching others risk their lives for this.”
Reign suppresses the startle her words trigger. Surely she’s not talking about what happened in that room.
Gabby’s shoulders drop. “Okay.” She sighs. “I just don’t want to be there when you
tell my mom.”
“Right now, they need to lay low for a bit,” says Colt. “I think we should go and see if that house has any links to the abductions.”
“Yes, good thinking,” Gabby agrees. She turns back to the others. “We shouldn’t be long. Keep an eye on Dumah.”
Reign glances around the basement, but as far as he can tell, they’re the only ones here. “Is he a leprechaun? A fairy?”
“Nope,” Mac says, her voice hard. “He’s the angel who tried to kill me.”
MAC
Mac pushes the door open to the small bathroom that’s on the basement floor. “This is the asshat.”
Reign and Arielle enter, staring at the man trussed up in the bath, glaring at them.
“Shouldn’t we have him somewhere else?” Arielle asks cautiously.
“He can’t move. Gabby slapped divine bonds on him.”
“Is not wearing a shirt an angel thing?” Reign asks. “Cause I need to know before we see Gabby next.”
Mac rolls her eyes at his poorly timed humor. “He tried to kill me, said something about being sent to do it. If it wasn’t for Gabby, he would’ve succeeded.”
That sobers Reign. He takes a step forward, looming over Dumah. “That’s not a very angelic thing to do.”
Arielle crosses her arms. “Why would he do that?”
Mac’s hand tightens around the doorknob. “That’s exactly what I’d like to know.”
Why does Dumah have some sort of personal beef with her? She’s little more than an orphan who’s spent her life jumping around the foster care system. Heck, no one even wanted to adopt her.
She joins Reign, her stomach a storm of fury and fear. “Why me?”
Dumah curls his lip, regarding them with derision. Maybe some hatred. “You’re focusing on the wrong thing, fools. The first Gate of Hell is about to be opened. And once that happens, your precious world will be consumed by demons.”
His words punch through Mac. He’s right. They have bigger things to worry about.
“Where?” she demands. “Where is this going to happen?”
Dumah’s face hardens, resembling smooth obsidian. “Did you know my name means silence in Aramaic?” He clamps his mouth shut, telling them he has no intention of saying anything else.
