Hunted tgl-3

by Ednah Walters

  Within minutes, the buses pulled out. No one spoke until they were out of sight. We left the SUV in the parking lot and trekked up to the cave. Despite being a local attraction, the inside was dark and dingy. Sykes created energy balls so we could see clearly. Solaris and Lunaris added more.

  “Did you guys bring weapons?” Bran asked, his gaze moving from Esras to Solaris and Lunaris.

  “Just the usual,” Esras said, pulling a dagger from his boot. Solaris removed a whip. The tip was split into two with jadeite metal tips. Lunaris had a set of knives.

  We changed, piling our regular clothes and shoes in the satchel Remy had carried. Then we slipped weapons into hidden sheaths under our coats and boots. Esras and Remy turned some of the knives and sheaths into swords and scabbards. Even though the Kris Dagger was inactive, Remy had brought it. He must have remembered what I had told them, that Master Haziel had insisted I must always carry it.

  “Remember, we are going to talk, not fight, which means you don’t attack unless you get attacked. And no matter what they do, don’t use your powers. The last thing we need is Raphael and his tribe descending on us.”

  “I don’t get it,” Solaris said. “They have one of our people and we’re going to talk?”

  Our people? Her tune had changed.

  “Valafar has her, Solaris,” I said. “The Specials told us his men took Kim to the Order’s den in Detroit.”

  A strange look crossed her face. A mixture of anger and excitement, I thought, but I could have been wrong.

  “Let’s pair up,” Bran said. “Lil and I will take the lead. I know exactly where the Order is holed up. Sykes—”

  “I’m with Izzy,” Sykes said, taking her hand. He still couldn’t stand the twins and didn’t care who knew.

  Bran nodded at Remy and Esras. “Take the rear, guys.”

  “What if Valafar doesn’t agree to a trade?” Solaris asked.

  Bran glared at her. “There’s not going to be a trade. We’ll get Kim and we’ll all come home.” Talking only seemed to make him angrier. He grabbed my hand. “Let’s go and get this over with.”

  We appeared in a field of some kind, across the street from a hulking, abandoned building. Street lights showed three arches with columns framing what once had been a grand entrance. Bricks now replaced the large, lower glass windows, while the ones on the floors above it gaped vacant like unseeing eyes. Above the smashed cinder block door were the words, “The Lee Plaza”.

  Sirens resounded in the distance and loud music blared as an occasional car zipped past on Grand Boulevard. The tingle on my lower spine kicked into gear as we started toward the building, our amulets lighting up like stars.

  “So this is the abandoned city,” Solaris said.

  “Not for long,” Bran said. “Demons are moving in. Although they are adding sub-levels while doing very little to the surfaces.”

  As we moved closer to the building, the warning tingle on my back went crazy, sensing the humming energies of demons. Inky writing etched under my skin before the two dozen demons surrounded us. I controlled my powers with some difficulty.

  “We are here to see the Order,” Bran said.

  “Why?” a woman called and stepped forward, the street light bathing her pale face.

  Whatever hopes I had of the meeting going smoothly disappeared when I recognized Lottius, a Nosferatu girl with a bad attitude and a powerful father. We’d tortured her for information months ago. Dressed all in black like her gang, her black hair no longer had a streak of white in it.

  “Lottius, you have a Cardinal Guardian and we’re here for her,” Bran said.

  “Nice to see you again, Llyr. I see that being hunted like animals hasn’t humbled you yet,” she said, walking toward us.

  “They have to catch us first,” Bran retorted.

  “Be careful what you wish for, gorgeous.” She glanced at me and her eyes flashed. “The princess returns. Are you going to give yourself up and stop this madness?”

  “We are here for our friend,” I said, refusing to be drawn into a discussion about me.

  “My father is the head of the Order,” Lottius said. “We are part of security now, so before we can let you through, we must discuss—”

  Bran was behind her, a sickle wrapped around her throat before she finished speaking. “We’re done discussing,” he said rudely. “Take us to your father.”

  “Do you have a death wish? A signal from me and the guards will finish your team.” She tried to push his hand, but he pressed the dagger into her skin. “Unhand me.”

  “No, walk and lead us to the entrance,” Bran snarled. He could be such a badass, and he’d been in an ugly mood since we’d learned of Valafar’s existence. “Any move from any of you,” he added without glancing at the demons, “and I’ll show you how sharp this baby is.”

  The demons stopped, then fell back as we moved toward the building. The wall shimmered and disappeared to reveal a wide, arched hallway filled with debris. The elevators lining the arched hallway were all unusable, except for the one that suddenly appeared to our right, its steel doors new and shiny.

  You sure you want all of us down below? Esras asked. Shouldn’t some of us stand guard?

  We stay together until we find Kim, Bran said.

  The elevator door opened to reveal mirrored walls and a burgundy carpeted floor. Soft music played in the background. The demon guards glowered as the door closed on their faces.

  “The atrium,” Lottius said.

  The elevator descended. Lottius glanced at me from the corner of her eye and shifted away. She was more scared of me than the knife at her neck. The power radiating up and down my back couldn’t be the cause. I had it under control.

  Had I turned her? During our last meeting, she’d tried to kill me after we released her, and to punish her, I’d compelled her to fight evil—a death sentence for any demon.

  “Let her go,” I said.

  Bran frowned. “Why?”

  “She won’t try to escape or hurt us. Isn’t that right, Lottius?”

  Lottius rubbed her neck. “You cursed me.”

  “I compelled you to do good, hardly a curse.”

  “I’ve had to hide how I feel, sneak behind my friends and family to help humans,” she said through clenched teeth. “If my family finds out the things I’ve been doing, I will be banished. Remove your voice from my head, Guardian,” she spat.

  “It’s called a conscience, Lottius, but I will remove it if you do us a favor.”

  “I’m not helping you in my father’s…” She scrunched her face, as though battling herself, then snapped, “Fine, what is it?”

  “Teleport to the top of Treasure Planet Casino and tell Dante and Kael we need them.”

  Her eyes widened. “They’ll kill me before I open my mouth.”

  “Then you’d better talk fast when they appear.” The elevator door slid open to reveal the guards from upstairs. Under their watchful eyes, we stepped into a hallway. Gold accents, plants and chairs along the hallway, chandeliers and light sconces, it was a replica of the decaying hallways upstairs.

  We followed Lottius to the atrium and paused to gawk. There had to be hundreds of demons, all dressed for some kind of a ball. Music played in the background and trays of champagne and finger foods floated around.

  “They kidnap one of us and celebrate?” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Un-freaking-believable,” Sykes muttered.

  “Not everything is about you guys,” Lottius retorted.

  “They just spoiled 18th-century fashion for me,” Lunaris threw in.

  The females wore flowing gowns and fancy upswept hairdos while men actually looked dashing in waistcoats, embroidered frock coats, and stockings. I wondered if the swords on their sides were real or part of their costumes. Was my father hiding among them? The masks and wigs made it hard to tell. Not that I expected Valafar to do something so mundane. He was too arrogant to dress up for a masquerade party. Besides, their
psi energies said these were mainly mid-level demons, mixed with a few upper ones.

  The ones closest to us noticed us first and silence fell like a wave across the room. The music stopped. The tingle near my spine reached a fever pitch, but I held it back through sheer will, my heart pounding with the effort, sweat starting to run down my back.

  “This way,” Lottius mumbled.

  Eyes followed us, Lottius, and her guards across the rectangular indoor court. It looked nothing like the hotel lobby above. It was huge, about half the size of a basketball court. A set of grand stairs coiled to the second floor, then to the next ten floors. From the glass doors and walls, and the wide patios with potted plants and flowers, this wasn’t a business establishment. This was their home. The ceiling had a huge painting of the sky with a few clouds adrift, giving the illusion of outdoors.

  We appeared to be headed toward a double door with wicked etchings. It reminded me of the doors to the Guardian Academy, except it was twice as big and twice as wide. They opened to reveal a large room with a vaulted ceiling, dominated by a large round table with twenty-four chairs at one end. Half of the chairs were occupied.

  The room pulsed with demonic energy. The arrogance on the faces of the seated occupants indicated we were in the presence of the Order. None was my father. Disappointment washed over me. Annoyed with myself, I tried to remind myself that he was behind Kim’s kidnapping.

  Unlike the demons with masquerade masks, the members of the Order made no attempt to hide their faces or hair. Horns, cat eyes, pointed batlike ears, hairy or scaly faces looked almost comical against their outfits, which were similar to those of their guests. At the end of the table was a tall, pale man with pitch-black hair tied in the back.

  Lottius walked to edge of the table. “Father.”

  “Thank you, daughter. You can leave us now.”

  As she walked away, my gaze connected with her father’s. He didn’t offer us seats, just watched me with cold yellow eyes.

  “You should not be here,” he said.

  Bran stepped forward, “Gabreel, we—”

  “Silence!” the demon hissed. “You don’t speak until I give you permission.” He turned his attention back to me. “And you can address me as Lord Gabreel.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “We gave you a chance to make a deal with us, Lilith, but you ignored it. Why?”

  “We are here now.” The door closed with a loud click, bolts sliding into place. We reached the same conclusion: a trap. Hands reached for waists and thighs, and came up with daggers, sickles, knives, and a whip. Heat shot up my back then down my arm, the writings etching themselves under my skin. I’d expected that. The surprise was that they flowed to the Kris Dagger, which began to glow. My gaze connected with the others. They were all grinning.

  The Kris Dagger was back!

  The scraping of chairs on the floor filled the room as the members of the Order scrambled to their feet and tried to put distance between them and my dagger. Gabreel grew paler. Our grins probably made us appear crazier than the Mad Hatter.

  Lord Gabreel cleared his throat. “Lilith—”

  “Cardinal Lilith,” I corrected him, slipping the dagger into its sheath. I tried to release the hilt, but it clung to my palm, the writings racing from the blade back to me. Weird. The flow of power had changed. “I believe Cardinal Bran was about to explain why we are here, Lord Gabreel. Oh, and if you think you can trap us in here…” I turned and pointed at the door. Blasting it with a lightning bolt would have proved my point, but that would have drawn the archangels. I opened it, turned, and faced them.

  The demons walked back to their seats.

  “We are here for Cardinal Kim,” Bran explained.

  “She is not here,” Lord Gabreel said.

  “I think you misunderstood my words, Lord Gabreel. We know she is here, so bring her out or we’re burying all this,” he indicated the building, “along with every demon in it.”

  Mocking laughter resounded in the hall from behind us and we turned to look as a woman entered the room. Wearing tight leather pants and high-heeled boots, black hair cascading behind her like a waterfall, and bright red lips, I’d recognize her anywhere.

  Solange. My half-sister.

  - 23 -

  THE DEAL

  “No humility even in defeat,” Solange said, then threw a disdainful look my way. “Little sister, nice to see you again.”

  “I hardly think we are defeated,” I said, recovering. I’d known we would meet again. I just hadn’t spent time thinking about it.

  “Wait until you meet the archangels,” she said.

  “Already did,” I shot back and grinned. “Raphael is quite the character, but I wasn’t impressed.”

  Her smile faltered. “You are lying.”

  I faked boredom, even pretended to study my nails, which was childish, but Solange rubbed me the wrong way every time our paths crossed. Why couldn’t I have gotten a nicer sister?

  “Believe what you want, Solange, but we kicked ass. Bran even clipped a few wings.”

  Gasps came from the occupants of the table. Solange’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, as though she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe me. I went for the kill.

  “Isn’t funny how every time our father comes up with a diabolical plan, you are always at the center of it? When are you going to understand that you will never please him?”

  “Oh, but I have. Without me, the Tribunal would not have brought him back. Without me, the archangels wouldn’t be after you now.”

  I wanted to wipe the smug smile off her beautiful face. “Yet, as soon as he returned, he came looking for me. No matter what you do, he’ll always need me more.”

  “He doesn’t need yow. He needs your dagger and the power that comes with it.”

  “Not from the message I received through Gavyn. He’s willing to summon the Tribunal and ask them to rescind the orders given to the archangels if I agree to join you.”

  “That’s a lie,” Solange yelled. “We presented our case and the Tribunal ruled in our favor. The archangels will come for you and the Kris Dagger will be ours.”

  I shook my head. “Oh, you are about the dumbest daughter ever. The dagger belongs to us, and it always will.”

  A snicker drew my attention to the other Cardinals. I’d completely forgotten their presence. A flash of amusement flickered in Bran’s eyes. Sykes smirked while Remy’s scowl hadn’t changed since we left home. Esras looked like he’d landed in the Twilight Zone. Guess he hadn’t heard of my evil sister. Solaris…

  “Watch out, Lil,” Solaris yelled.

  I whipped around, instinctively knowing that the threat came from Solange. A knife whipped through the air, the blade glistening. I froze it a few inches from my neck. Her aim was good. Pissed, I flipped the knife around and…someone grabbed my arm. It was Remy.

  Don’t. We need her, he said.

  No, we don’t.

  Silver flashed in his gray eyes. She knows where Kim is.

  She tried to kill me. That I couldn’t do anything about it pissed me off. I jerked my arm from Remy’s hand, reached out, and closed my hand around Solange’s knife. Her eyes widened when it burst into flame.

  “You are such a freak,” Solange said, the sneer marring the perfection of her face. “No wonder no one wants you to live. Your presence is destroying the balance between good—”

  “Already heard the speech from Raphael,” I cut her off. “Where is Kim?”

  “With our father of course.” She moved closer and sat at the edge of the table, one booted leg resting on a chair, her back to Lord Gabreel and the members of the Order. She studied us, one at a time. “All you have to do is hand over the Kris Dagger, and I’ll get her.”

  Remy inched closer to her, the expression on his face saying exactly where he’d like to send Solange. “Do you think we are that stupid? That we would trust you to keep your word?”

  “I have the upper hand here, handsome. That mea
ns I call the shots.” She glanced at me and sneered. “So what is it going to be, little sis? The dagger or your friend?”

  That was a no-brainer, but I now understood why the Goddess Xenia had transferred the powers of the dagger to me. She’d known Solange and her minions would come after it. Had she also known they’d kidnap Kim?

  “You can have it.” I pulled the dagger out and stopped the power inside me from connecting with it, rendering it useless.

  Bran gripped my arm. “No. We will meet somewhere neutral for the trade. Away from humans, her followers, or the Order.”

  “That’s out of the question,” Solange said. “I take it now or you forget your friend ever existed.”

  Remy growled.

  Solange studied him. “What? Is she someone special to you, or do you just hate me?”

  “I wouldn’t waste an emotion on you, Solange,” Remy retorted. “You touch a hair on her head and you are mine.”

  Solange faked a shudder. “I can’t wait. I haven’t had fun with a Guardian…” she winked at Bran, “since our time together. If my memories are correct, it was exciting.”

  Now I was the one vowing to hunt her down. How dare she bring up her past relationship with Bran!

  “You have fifteen minutes to bring Kim to the old train station or we are coming for you, your father, and his army,” Bran added.

  Solange laughed. “Now who’s underestimating the other? First, you have no idea where my hideout is. Second, I’m not walking into a trap. Third, we don’t have an army.” Solange threw a hasty look over her shoulder at Lord Gabreel and his cronies, then stood. “I’ll mingle with the others in the common room while you discuss my terms, then do as I say.”

  But we had seen her reaction and reached the same conclusion.

  Bran chuckled. “They don’t know about your little army, do they?” He glanced at the demons behind Solange. They hadn’t said a thing since she arrived. “Do you? She and her renegade friends are the ones kidnapping your children.”

  “Is this true?” Lord Gabreel roared.

  Solange glared at the demon. “No, it’s not. Why do I need an army when I have Coronis’ Athame?”