“Do not close your eyes, Spirit Children. Look upon the true history of this world.” Peter rested his back against the door and spread his arms wide. “This is what the Shadow Children strive to protect. A world where all creatures procreate and mix their blood, even unto the ends of the Earth. The union of the blood has ever brought war and decay. Even the Great Divide has not purified the earth. The darkness remains at the core of our world—a world where babes shrivel at their mother’s breasts, and rapists and murderers roam free—but it need not be. The Circle has found a way to allow a new world to be reborn from the ashes of this one. A phoenix rising from the flames.”
“Using our powers?” Sam asked the question through gritted teeth.
Peter’s smile remained intact, but his jaw tightened. “Using the powers, we have given you. Nature did not create you in this image, Samuel. We did.” Peter jabbed his finger against his own chest and his face contorted in a flash of egotistical mania, before settling once again into a neutral state. He brushed down his flowing robe and straightened its collar. “You would do well not to forget that fact, children. We created you as a gift to the world, but the power is ours. The Circle giveth, and the Circle taketh away.”
“It’s no gift.” Peter’s glare burned across my face, but I refused to look at my feet. “You didn’t create us as a gift to the world; you created us as a weapon of mass genocide.”
“Purification!” Peter’s shout echoed along the corridor, and he pressed his lips together as if surprised by the volume of his own voice. He inhaled slowly. “You are struggling to understand the true nature of our struggle. I sympathize, there was once a time when I too was blind. The Circle follows the path of the righteous. We see what many are too ignorant to see. When the fire has cleansed the earth, you will look upon its beauty and know that we did what was necessary.”
From the other side of the door at Peter’s back, a horn sounded. Peter straightened himself and pushed it open to reveal an amphitheater, hidden at the center of the citadel. Sam stepped forward, and his head swiveled as he took in the rows of stone benches surrounding the ring, and the nine narrow platforms positioned at even intervals. Seven of the raised platforms were occupied by men and women wearing robes that matched Peter’s.
Peter smiled and nodded in their direction. “My brothers, some of whom are my sisters, as you can see. Not born of the one womb, but born of the same belief—that our world was deserving of salvation, whatever the cost.”
“How long has this place been here?” Sam gripped my hands tightly in his as he eyed the gaping hole in the center of the ring, carved into the shape of an ornate sun.
“The city is ancient. It predates much of what is recalled in any of the history books we studied together, Samuel.” Peter swept his hand toward the people who had begun to trickle into the theater and sit on the stone benches. There appeared to be a few hundred, at most. Many of them looked younger than Sam and me, and few seemed older than Cain or Cat. “The Circle began to populate it with our loyal followers, and our Spirit Children, a few decades ago.”
My gaze was drawn immediately to the single lined face amongst the crowd, and I recognized her as the woman I had seen in the building with the potions in the window. She sat alone, a black shawl wrapped tightly around her frail shoulders, and stared down at the center of the ring. Her eyebrows were drawn together tightly, and her fingers plucked at her clothes repeatedly. I followed her line of vision into the ring, and my fingers spasmed inside Sam’s.
“Valerie and Diamond What are you going to do to them?” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sight of the two small girls being dragged across the sand. Diamond kicked and scraped at the hands of the guards, screaming at them to release her sister, but Valerie didn’t fight.
Her wide eyes darted over the crowd, and panic wrapped itself around my heart and squeezed tightly. I reached out and grabbed Peter’s sleeve. “They did what you wanted. They handed us over to you—why are you punishing them?”
Peter released his clothing from my grasp with a look of disdain. “Silly girl, they are not being punished, they’re being rewarded. The Circle is offering them the greatest honor that any Demon-Born child can be given—a chance to be tested to see if they possess one of the Lost Powers. Fergus reports that these children charmed your party with ease. They claim they used their basic potion training, but to charm three children of power and a Demon-Born with as much training and skill as I know Cain possesses—well, it’s exceptional. I think we could be in for quite the show.”
Sam pulled me into him and wrapped both of his arms around my body. I stiffened, afraid that Peter would punish him for embracing me without asking permission, but Peter’s attention was focused on the two girls. He leaned over the stone wall of the balcony and licked his lips. “I should make my way to my podium, but I think I would enjoy the show better from here. It’s such a pleasant change to have company while I watch.”
I squinted at the two empty podiums, one of which I assumed belonged to Peter. “Who owns the other empty podium?”
The question had burst from my lips before I had a chance to consider the wisdom of engaging Peter in further conversation. Peter watched me out of the corner of his eye. “A brother who cannot be with us today.”
I nodded, and Peter turned back to the spectacle below. I shivered as a cloud passed over the open roof, and the temperature plummeted. Sam’s fingers tightened, and his nails dug into my skin. My eyes jerked upward, and I pressed my fist against my mouth to stop the whimper escaping from my lips. It wasn’t a cloud. The Spirit Demons had arrived.
Peter threw his head back and sucked a greedy mouthful of air into his lungs. “It begins.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Diamond shot her hands above her head and screamed for Valerie to get behind her. The air around them shivered as the skinny blond child created a swirling blizzard of light particles to shield herself and her timid sister from the encroaching Spirit Demons. Valerie’s lips moved rapidly as Diamond searched the crowded with frantic eyes. I squeezed Sam’s fingers in mine. “What is she looking for?”
Sam’s jaw hopped as Peter slid closer to answer my question. “She’s a clever girl. Must have paid attention when she was a spectator—she knows the Hounds are on their way.”
“The Hounds?” Dread made my tongue thicken and swell, as though I had eaten poisonous berries. My gaze flickered toward the old woman from the potion house. I saw that she was no longer alone, but I couldn’t tell if her companion was man, woman, or child because of the large hooded cloak that concealed their face from view. A cry of terror drew my attention back to the ring. Valerie pressed her palms over her eyes and screamed again.
Sam crushed my body against his chest, but I twisted my neck to watch the scene unfold, ripping at the silver band around my wrist desperately as I saw the black forms of the Hounds creeping into the ring.
They were men, not beasts, but their black-clad limbs, tipped with razor sharp blades, reminded me of venomous spiders trapping their prey in their web. Diamond spun in a circle, using one hand to keep Valeri tucked behind her, and the smell of burning flesh filled the amphitheater as a bolt of lightning sent one of the Hounds howling through the air.
I felt a rush of respect for the fierce little urchin, despite her treachery. A garbled scream split the silence as a second Hound fell, pierced through the chest by a needle-sharp icicle. The woman on the podium closest to us leaned forward and caught Peter’s eye. He nodded, and in tandem, the rest of the Circle members lifted their arms into the air and began to hum. Every trace of blood drained from Sam’s face.
“What are they doing, Sam?” My throat was so raw; I wasn’t sure Sam would be able to decipher my words.
“Tightening the screws.” His eyes were riveted on Peter and the Circle. “They think that if they frighten her enough, she’ll crack and release her hidden power—if she has one.”
I stared down at Diamond
’s skinny frame as she flipped over the blades of two Hounds, causing them to collide and embed their knives in each other’s chests. The blond girl skidded over the sand and pulled a weeping Valerie behind her back once more, shielding her from the two remaining Hounds. The humming of the Circle grew louder, and the Spirit Demons began to circle with greater speed, wearing away at the shield of light that Diamond had created. Valerie began to sob.
“But they have it all wrong—it wasn’t fear that released our powers, it was love,” I said. “Ozzie wasn’t in any danger today. He found his strength because Dawn was in danger.”
Sam’s voice was as taut as a tightrope. “That’s why they have both girls in the ring.”
“To try and break Diamond? Because she is afraid for her sister?” My eyes widened as Diamond smashed her fist forward and released an explosion of wind, sending the two final Hounds soaring through the air. Their heads connected with the stone barriers and the sickening crack of shattering bone rang through the theater. “I think she’s powerful enough already. She’s phenomenal. How could she have more power?”
Peter’s lips curved into a lopsided grin and he started to make his way down the stone steps, toward the ring. “Oh, the gift is there alright. I wasn’t certain, but now I am.”
Sam tried to hold me back, but I jolted down the steps after Peter, my skin prickling as his stare fixed on Valerie’s petrified form. I clawed at the back of Peter’s robes. “Please, Peter. Please, don’t hurt her. Valerie’s just a frightened kid. She’s gentle and kind—please don’t use her as something to draw out Diamond’s power. I’ll work with her, I promise. I’ll help Diamond free her gift. Whatever you want! Please, don’t do this. You don’t have to do this.”
Peter flicked my fingers off his clothes and gave me a contemptuous sneer. “Sometimes I wonder did we make a mistake with you, Seeker. So little insight. So little to offer the Circle.” He shrugged me off and pursed his lips. “Perhaps, tomorrow when we test Cain and Cat, we will find that one of those is the really Seeker.”
He kicked me out of his way and leaped effortlessly over the barrier and into the ring. My knees gave way, and I sank onto the closest stone bench. Sam slid onto the seat behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
I wanted to look away as Peter plucked a blade from the dead hand of a bleeding Hound and made his way toward the girls, but my eyes refused to listen to reason. Peter grinned and batted away the wall of ice that Diamond hurled at him.
My head jerked to the left as I heard a little moan escape from the person on the other end of the bench, and I realized we had sat down beside the old lady from the poison shop. I had guessed correctly; this must be the woman Valerie had spoken about—Anna. Tears stung my eyelids as I watched the old woman crush her fist against her lips. Her hands flew open, and a cry escaped her sunken mouth. “Diamond.”
Diamond? I swung my gaze back onto the ring, and my spine snapped as I jolted upright. Peter walked straight past Valerie’s shuddering form and snatched the small blond off the ground, jabbing the blade against her throat. Blood trickled down her neck and stained her threadbare shift. Valerie’s eyes widened, and her hands shook violently. Diamond said something to her sister, but I couldn’t decipher her words.
Low chanting crept into my ears and I leaned forward to look at the figure on the other side of the old lady. The person’s hood had slipped back a little, and from his profile, I could tell it was a young man. His lips were moving frantically, and his attention was focused on Diamond’s skinny body as Peter lifted her in the air and tossed her against a stone column like a rag doll. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to watch as she heaved herself onto her hands and knees with blood spilling from her mouth.
“Why is he doing this, Sam? She’s shown them everything she has. She doesn’t have any more power. He’s going to kill her.” I snapped my lips shut again to stop their quivering.
Sam’s hands curled into a fist. “It’s not Diamond he’s testing, Grace.”
I followed Sam’s stare and realized that Valerie was beginning to convulse on the sand. Her eyes rolled back in her head as Peter dragged Diamond’s broken form and waved it in front of Valerie’s contorted face. His jubilant tones echoed around the amphitheater. “That’s right, my little Spirit Child, show us what’s hiding in there. Show us what gifts you have, and your friend will be offered our grace.”
A scream was ripped from Valerie’s lips, and the world around me warmed and shivered. Emotion rolled over me like a warm mist, and I grabbed Sam by the wrist and twisted my body so I could stare into his eyes. “I don’t care how dark your soul is. I don’t care what you’ve done, or what you do—I want you, and I know that makes me sound weak, but when you touch me I feel as though I could set the world on fire with a flick of my fingers.”
Sam dragged me into his arms and crushed my lips against his—as if he could drink me, as if he could melt our bodies into one. I felt his fingers slipping under the cloak the guard had given me to wear, suddenly aware that I was half-naked beneath the thin layer of linen, but I felt none of my usual fear and nervousness. I wanted to feel his hands on my skin. I wanted to press myself against him so that there was nothing between our hearts but bare flesh.
Peter’s cry of triumph tore through the air and shattered Valerie’s spell. I slid off Sam’s lap with burning cheeks and tugged my cloak back into place, conscious that all around the amphitheater people were returning to their seats with baffled faces. Only the leaders of the Circle on their podiums appeared unaffected. Peter raised his hands in the air and addressed the crowd. “The Heart. We have found the Heart.”
The crowd responded in unison with chants of thanks and praise to the Circle. Valerie scrabbled to her feet and scurried to Diamond’s side, curly dark hair brushing against the blood soaked blond locks of her sister. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she kissed Diamond’s forehead.
Peter placed a hand on Valerie’s shoulder, and she raised her chin. “You said you would offer her the grace of the Circle. Please hurry, her heartbeat is so weak.”
“Let me lift her, child.” Peter scooped Diamond in his arms and held her up to the crowd. “We offer this child the grace of the Circle.”
The old woman beside me hissed, and I stared in her direction. The young man was gripping her hand tightly, his lips moving in a desperate frenzy of silent words. The skin under my silver binding burned and itched, and I had a sudden flash of recognition. I knew why his face was so familiar. I reached out to touch his arm, but the sudden scent of rotting and decay drew my attention, and I gaped in horror at the sun shaped hole in the center of the ring as the Spirit Demons began to funnel toward it. My chest pounded. I knew that smell. I pinched Sam’s arm. “It’s the darkness. The energy I felt at the Silent Home.”
Sam pressed my palm against his mouth as Peter raised Diamond’s body in one hand. In the other his blade glinted.
Valerie’s scream split the air, joined by mine and the old woman’s, as Peter’s knife slashed forward and severed Diamond’s head from her body. The Spirit Demons descended like a tornado and swept her tiny body through the gaping chasm, leaving only her head to watch us through sightless eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“The Circle will see you when your companions sleeping spell wears off.” The guard nudged his foot in the direction of Cain’s sleeping body and pointed at a tray set on a low stone ledge. “Make sure your friends eat before the Circle greets them. It will be easier for everyone that way.”
He didn’t look back before he snapped the door shut. The sound of the keys grating in the lock scraped across my eardrums, and I waited until the echoing footsteps had faded into the distance before I turned to Sam. “Sam, the old lady on the bench—”
“Was Anna, the woman Diamond called a crazy old hag? I guessed that myself. Potion maker. How did she end up in this mess? She’s too old to be Demon-Born, but she didn’t look like one of the Circle’s devoted Angelic fo
llowers. Greedy bastards. Pretending they want pure blood to cleanse the sins of the earth, all they want is a world they don’t have to share.” Sam ground his back teeth together.
I shook his shoulder. “No. Well, yes, but not just that. The guy, the one who was with her, did you see his face?”
“I saw him praying, or trying to do some sort of spell, for all the good it did.” We both stared at the ground for a moment, neither of us capable of discussing the horror we had witnessed without dissolving into tears. Sam took a breath. “Why? What did he look like?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I think I know him.”
“No. Please, Grace, don’t start with the conspiracy theories. I just can’t.” Sam’s brow creased, and he crushed his thumbs against his temples. “No.”
I grabbed his hand. “Listen! When Gabriel sent me here through the portal, he said I wouldn’t be harmed because—”
“Please! Just leave it for a minute, Grace!”
As my name left his lips, a moan came from a pile of rags on the opposite side of the room. Sam wrapped his fingers around my wrist as the moaning became a hoarse cry, muttering the same thing over and over. Grace. Grace.
I felt the cold cell slip away.
I took a faltering step toward the crumpled bundle of clothes and the stick-thin limbs, with my hand pressed against my lips. My heart told me that I knew what I would find, but my head begged me to be cautious. As I edged closer to the groaning figure, their head lolled to one side, revealing the painfully familiar profile.
For a year, I had imagined seeing a glimpse of her face in every crowd I passed through. I had stared into my bathroom mirror and practiced the speech I would make, but as I crossed the cracked concrete floor, none of that mattered. Nothing mattered. I was home.
The tears had already begun to spill over my cheeks and drip from my chin as I carefully rolled Eve onto her back. Her head hung to the side at an awkward angle, and I bit back a sob. The fine bones of her face, always sharp, protruded through translucent skin. I pulled her body onto my lap and cradled her in my arms, begging her to open her eyes, praying to a god I couldn’t believe in.
The Demon-Born Trilogy: (Complete Paranormal Fantasy Series) Page 43
