by Elicia Hyder
“Kane, is there someplace private where Kelvin and I can talk?” I asked.
Kane thought about it. “The bedrooms are soundproof. If you go back to the living room, there’s a door inside it that leads to three rooms. All of them are empty.”
“Thanks.” I passed my hand in front of the lock on the cage. Nothing happened.
“Here.” Kane tossed me a set of keys.
Old school. I liked it, but it would take some getting used to.
“Everything’s gotten so high tech that low tech is hard to beat these days,” he said.
The second key I tried opened the cell door.
“I’ll come with you,” Jett said.
“No. I’ll handle this one alone.”
Jett looked surprised. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being denied.
Kelvin held out his hands for me to cuff them.
I glanced down at his hands. “Is that necessary, or will you behave?”
He dropped his hands. “I’ll behave.”
He and I walked past Jett and out of the jail door. Cruz and Nash were coming down the hall with the last two soldiers. Both of them carried an armload of assault rifles, and they each had magazines shoved into every pocket on their cargo pants.
Kelvin and I flattened our backs against the wall to allow them room to pass. “Everything okay?” Cruz asked, eyeing Kelvin.
“We’re all good. I’ll see you in a few,” I answered.
Cruz tipped up his chin, and they continued on down the hall.
At the end other end of the hall, we entered the living room. It was empty. Across the room, more doors opened to a shorter hallway with three rooms off the right side.
I opened the first one to a small room that could have been plucked from a college dorm. There were two twin beds, a nightstand between them, and a desk on each side of the room. Just inside was the door to a tiny bathroom.
I gestured to one of the beds. “Have a seat.”
Kelvin sat down, and I sat on the other bed facing him. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, and clasped my hands. “One of the first things I learned when I joined Claymore back in 2010 was that we never give up company secrets. It was beaten into us, almost literally.”
His eyes widened. “You worked at Claymore?”
“For a short time, I owned Claymore.”
Kelvin’s head pulled back with surprise. “Who are you?”
“My name is Warren. Damon Claymore is my father.”
His jaw dropped, and he ran his hands down his cheeks. “Damn.” He studied my face for a moment. “You do kind of look like him.”
I straightened. “You know what Damon looks like?”
Kelvin lifted a shoulder. “Of course. He’s the CEO and the owner.”
Azrael had always been the CEO and owner of Claymore. He hadn’t always let himself be known. I had worked there for years and had never seen his face.
Damon Claymore was a ghost. A legend.
Now, something about him being so recognizable reminded me of his finite mortality.
“So you’re Michael’s brother?” With the mention of the name, concern flashed across Kelvin’s face.
“Michael and I are not related.”
Kelvin visibly relaxed.
“Why do you ask?”
He shifted on the mattress.
“You can speak freely. Nothing you say in this room will ever get back to your men. I promise you that.”
After a moment of silent deliberation, Kelvin finally spoke. “I was among the first group of Claymore recruits who were given the new vaccine four years ago. We were about six weeks into training when they pulled us out of the chow hall one morning and sent us to the infirmary.
“It was surprising because we’d all gotten our shots on day two of orientation. It was even more surprising to see Michael Claymore—a kid, and the heir to the whole damn dynasty—there to watch us be injected.”
“That had to have been strange. I don’t guess he shows up often,” I said.
“Never. It definitely stuck with me, you know?”
I nodded.
“Well, when I was in line to get my shot, I overheard one of the veteran soldiers saying the vaccine should protect us from a new disease. All the way across the room, Michael perked up and looked over at the guy, like he’d heard him talking. Then two guards removed the dude, and we never saw him again.”
“What do you think happened to him?”
“Honestly?” He looked around the room and lowered his voice. “I think they killed him. I tried looking him up a few times. His name was Carmichael, and I couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“What happened with your injection?”
“That shit hurt like hell. It was huge.”
“And Michael was there the whole time?”
“The whole time and a few times after that. Like he was coming to check on us. Now, I think we were a bunch of guinea pigs.”
I nodded. “I think that’s a reasonable assumption.”
“Fast forward a year, and people on the outside started getting sick. All those people died in Blackmouth, right down the interstate from our headquarters. Back then, I wondered if this was the reason for the new vaccine. And something in my gut told me Michael Claymore at least knew about it…or that he was behind it. It was just too damn coincidental.”
Coincidence.
The word rattled around in my brain. It had always been a buzzword for me and Sloan before we knew what we were. So many strange events we couldn’t find any better way to explain. Everything that had happened since she and I had met began with some kind of unexplainable coincidence.
“By the end of that year, almost everyone in my family was dead.” His voice cracked. “They had moved to New Bern to be closer to me, and every single one of them got sick.” He started counting on his fingers. “My mom, my dad, my two sisters, LaShae and Katrina. Even my grandmother. LaShae was the only one who survived.”
Leaning on my knees again, I steepled my fingers and rested my forehead on my fingertips. “Kelvin, I’m sorry.”
“LaShae still needs around-the-clock care. The doctor’s say her lungs and heart will never fully recover. We were lucky to find help when I was transferred to Asheville. Almost nobody got sick here.”
“I know.”
“It’s because you’re here, isn’t it?”
I shook my head. “It’s because my daughter is. She’s the one who healed you.”
A crease formed between his eyebrows. “Your daughter? You can’t be old enough to be her dad. Your sister, maybe.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got a feeling you could tell a lot of long stories.”
“You have no idea.”
“What I do know is Michael Claymore is responsible for the virus that killed my family. I have absolutely no doubt about that.”
“Yet you still work for him.”
“My sister depends on me. I’m all she has left. I have to provide for her, and it’s not like I can accuse anybody of anything. You know they’d kill me just like they killed that guy, Carmichael.”
Kelvin was probably right.
“When your daughter told me my boss was evil, I knew you guys were on the right side of this battle. And Michael’s so afraid of you; I think you’re the only person who can take him down.”
“He’s not afraid of me.” I smiled with the satisfaction of knowing how dangerous Iliana was. “He’s afraid of her.”
“Iliana,” he said.
I nodded.
“Is what she said true?” He visibly swallowed. “You’re angels?”
“Yes, and Iliana is the most powerful one who’s ever existed.”
“And Damon and Michael Claymore?”
I thought for a second. “Damon is…a long story as well, but Michael is definitely an angel. A fallen one.” I took a deep breath. “And you’re right, he did kill all those people and your family.”
Kelvin broke, slumping
over onto his knees and burying his face in his hands. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just let him cry.
After a minute or two, his sobs subsided. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his uniform’s sleeve. “Are you really going to kill me?”
I chuckled. “Not unless I have to. Will you help us?”
Kelvin sobered. “I’ll do anything I can.”
“Those bullets, the angel killers, I need to know what’s in them.”
“My girlfriend works in the lab. She can probably find out.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Claymore has a lab?”
He nodded. “I actually met her because I was snooping around to see if it was true that they had developed a biological weapon. Turns out, her division is just one of many. She works in biological security.”
“What is biological security?”
“The team that works on restraints for fairies”—he stopped himself—“for angels, I mean. They developed the cuffs that can take away your powers.”
“Would she know about the bullets?”
“If she doesn’t, she can put us in touch with someone who does.”
“Think she’ll be on board?”
“Oh yeah. A lot of employees would be. Most of us are just too scared to leave.”
“You’re right for being scared. And helping us will be dangerous. For you and for her.”
He thought for a moment. “No more dangerous than working for a man who murdered a quarter of the world.”
“Don’t underestimate him. Your boss is not a man. His name isn’t Michael Claymore; it’s the Morning Star.” I leveled a serious look at Kelvin. “And the Morning Star is Satan himself.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Pssssst.”
I rubbed my face and rolled toward Fury. In the darkness and under the warmth of the covers, I curled my arm around her and nuzzled her bare back.
“Psssssssssssssttt…”
Something grabbed my foot.
I bolted upright in bed with a loud gasp.
A woman screamed.
Then Fury screamed and reached for the pistol on the nightstand Kane had given her before bed. She and I were both panting.
The woman in our bedroom cowered back against the wall with her hands raised over her head. A picture frame crashed to the floor and shattered. She screamed again.
“What the hell is that? Another ghost?” Fury was aiming at the figure across the room.
“Not a ghost.” The woman’s soul was very familiar to me.
“Ahab, turn on the lights,” Fury said to the computer system that controlled Echo-5.
Nothing happened. “I don’t think that works down here.” I brightened my wings.
The light reflected in a pair of bright blue eyes as wide as saucers.
Taiya.
Her hands were still raised in the air, and the tips of all her fingers bent in a silent wave of greeting.
My whole upper body slumped with relief. I pushed Fury’s gun back down. “Taiya, what are you doing in here?”
With a groan, Fury put the gun back on the nightstand. She pulled the comforter up over her head as she flopped back down onto the mattress.
“I-I say hello?” Taiya stammered in English.
My head pulled back with surprise. She’d only ever really spoken Katavukai before. I smiled. “Hello. You can relax.”
Slowly, Taiya lowered her arms.
Had I not known who she was, I never would’ve recognized her. Her red hair was still red, but rather than being long and stringy, it was thick and healthy and cut short at an angle toward her chin. Her face was lined with age, but her cheeks were plump and rosy.
She looked so much healthier than the last time I saw her. No longer malnourished. No longer pale and fragile.
She was the same age as Sloan, but thanks to constant exposure to her now-deceased demon father, Ysha, her mental development had stopped somewhere around age six. Consequences such as this were the main reason I was unable to raise my daughter.
That, and my unintentional seventeen-year absence.
I rubbed my eyes. “Did you need something?”
She ran across the room and threw her arms around my neck. With a startled laugh, I hugged her back. “I’ve missed you too.”
Suddenly realizing I was naked under the covers, I eased her back and tugged the sheet up a little higher around my waist.
Taiya clasped her hands beneath her chin. “Miss Kathy says breakfast.”
“Okay. We’ll be upstairs soon.”
My stomach growled at the thought of a home-cooked breakfast by Nathan’s mother. Then my stomach dropped with the thought of having to tell her that her son was missing.
With a smile and another wave, Taiya skipped from the room, leaving the door open behind her. Light poured in from the hallway, and I dimmed my wings.
I picked up my boxer briefs off the floor and pulled them on before standing up.
“What time is it?” Fury asked, her voice muffled by the covers.
I closed the door and flipped on the bathroom light. Then I searched the room for a clock without finding one. “No idea.”
“It feels like it’s the middle of the night.” She rolled onto her back.
“That it does.” I gathered my clothes off the floor. “Nathan’s mom is a wizard in the kitchen. I promise whatever she’s made is worth getting up for.”
“I know.”
Of course she did. She and John had lived down the road from the McNamaras for a while.
Fury draped her arm across her forehead. “I am starving.”
I stepped into my pants. “I want to check on Cassiel before I eat, but you can go on up without me.”
“You still really care for her, don’t you?”
“I do. Does it bother you?”
Fury shook her head. “I’d probably think something was wrong with you if you didn’t. And we need her.”
“Yes, we do. We have to find out what’s in those bullets.”
Fury rolled onto her side toward me. “I felt much better when you were truly bulletproof.”
I smiled. “Worried about me?”
“Yes. If Iliana hadn’t been there last night, Cassiel wouldn’t have made it out of the yard.”
“I hope we’ll have some answers today.”
“From that Claymore soldier?”
I nodded and stuck my arms through the sleeves of my T-shirt.
“Can we trust him?”
“We don’t really have a choice. The only person who could tell us if he’s lying is the one who needs his help most.” I sat down to put on my socks and boots. “We’re just going to have to revert to giving people the benefit of the doubt.”
“People who work for the Morning Star.”
Worry tumbled through my spirit. “We don’t have another choice,” I said again, as much for my own benefit as for hers.
“That sucks.” She laid on her back again.
There was a knock at our door. “You guys OK in there?” Anya called. We’d shared one of the two-bedroom apartments with her.
“Come on in,” I said.
She opened the door with a yawn. “I heard screaming.” Anya’s sweatshirt was on backward, and her hair was matted on the right side.
“We had an unexpected visitor.” I tied my right boot. “Everything’s fine. Taiya came to tell us breakfast is ready.”
“Ugh. I’m going back to bed.” She backed out of the room without another word.
I smiled back at Fury. “You two look alike, but that’s about where the similarities end.”
“Because she doesn’t wake up in a panic?”
“That’s one thing.” I chuckled as I stood. “I was afraid bullets were going to fly.”
“Anya isn’t as easy to kill as I am,” she said with a sigh.
“You are far from easy to kill.” I walked around to her side of the bed. “Do you want to walk upstairs with me?”
“I’m going to see if there’s hot water.
If there is, I’d like to take a shower before I rejoin the world.”
“All right. If you don’t mind, I won’t wait for you then.”
“I don’t mind. Go check on Cassiel. If I don’t see you in the dining room, I’ll save you a plate.”
I leaned over her, bracing my arms against the mattress. “How are you doing? Seeing John yesterday must have been tough, and we haven’t had any time alone to talk about it.”
Her shoulders rose. “It was better than I expected. I thought for sure he’d shoot us both.”
She was making light of it, a clear Fury-signal that she didn’t want to rehash the situation. At least not before coffee.
I kissed her. “I’ll see you in a little while?”
“Yeah.”
I walked out of our apartment, a little disoriented. I’d been pretty tired the night before, and all the doors looked the same. Both doors at the ends of the hallway had exit signs.
With a mental coin toss, I turned right. That door was locked. I used my power to try to open it, but nothing happened.
“Wrong door,” a voice said over an intercom. “That goes to the escape hatch.”
Feeling like an idiot, I walked all the way to the other end of the hallway. That door was unlocked. I took the stairs up to the lobby, and the smell of sausage flooded my senses.
My knees wobbled, and my stomach growled.
Kane was cleaning a rifle at the lobby table.
“Man, do you ever rest?” I let the stairwell door close behind me with a heavy thud.
“About as much as you.” He put the weapon down. “Sorry, we should’ve labeled the doors.”
“It’s OK. Seriously, did you get any sleep?” I asked.
“A couple of hours. I’ll sneak a nap when Cruz is awake. You?”
“Yeah, but I don’t even know what time it is.”
He looked at his watch. “Eight thirty.”
Fury and I had fallen into bed just before four.
I pointed up at the light bulb. “Explain to me why the power is on down here and not upstairs in Echo-5?”
“The bunker is on a completely separate power grid from the building. Az didn’t want them linked if Echo-5 was compromised.”
