As the party is winding down, Callan corners me outside the bathroom. “I got my Order task,” he says quietly.
“What is it?”
He looks behind us, where Grace, Cyrus, and Isaiah are sitting on the couch, laughing about something. “They want me to beat up Isaiah to punish Cyrus for failing his mission.”
My hand flies to my mouth to cover my gasp. Cyrus’s mission was to get close to Araceli, but ever since I found out about it, she’s been avoiding him. The Order must have noticed. “That’s horrible. Are you going to do it?”
His face darkens. “Of course not. Do you really think I’m the kind of man who would?”
I consider this. He rules over the school and intimidates everyone. He bullied me, although he did it thinking it was in my best interests. He never actually hurt me or anything else though. “No, I know you’re not like that.” Then I have another thought, and it makes me grip his shirt. “But if you don’t do it, they’ll punish you next. Someone you love. Maybe your mom.”
“They can try, but I won’t be intimidated by them,” he growls. “Besides, we’re going to take them down anyway, right?”
He always seemed like he was on the fence before about going up against the Order, but not anymore. He’s willing to do what’s right, even if it’s dangerous. The last little ice in my heart melts, and I give him a hug, resting my head on his chest. “Yes, we are.”
He stiffens and awkwardly pats my back, probably worried about people seeing us. I don’t care. I can finally admit that I don’t hate Callan, not anymore. I don’t think he hates me either. If he did, he wouldn’t protect me so fiercely, and he wouldn’t kiss me so hard. He cares about me, even if he won’t admit it.
When I get home, I’m destroying that video of us having sex. I’m done with revenge.
Araceli’s right—I’m better than that. Or at least, I want to be.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Olivia
When I get to my bedroom, I find someone waiting for me. I grip my dagger tight as I hit the light switch.
“Lilith?” I ask, so shocked I drop my weapon.
She’s been lounging on my bed like it’s her own while playing on her phone in the dark. She looks up at me with a smile. “Hello, daughter.”
How does one describe the Archdemon of the Lilim? She’s so beautiful it nearly hurts to look at her, yet so alluring you can’t do anything but stare. We share the same olive skin, dark brown curls, green eyes, and seductive curves. If someone were to look at us side by side, they’d probably think we were sisters, except she has this magnanimous power that is unique to her. And much like the Archangels, when you look into her eyes you can somehow sense the thousands of years she’s lived.
“What are you doing here?” I awkwardly bend down and pick up the dagger, then close the door behind me.
“It’s your birthday. I came to give you a gift.”
“I haven’t seen you in years!” My shock is starting to give way to anger. “Where have you been all this time?”
Lilith rises from the bed like a queen, and I’m reminded of the first time I met her, when I was six years old.
“Are you a princess?” I asked with awe in my voice.
She laughed. “More like a queen.”
“An evil queen?”
A wicked smile touched her red lips. “Some would say so. But you have nothing to fear from me.”
“I’m sorry for my absence, but it was unavoidable,” she says now.
“I haven’t seen you since I was eighteen.” She vanished right after she finished my succubus training, and all I got after that were a few birthday cards and postcards from various places around the world. Even when I was revealed as a half-succubus to the world, she didn’t come for me. Only Gabriel did.
“I didn’t mean to stay away so long, but someone I care about dearly went missing. I’ve been searching for her ever since.” Lilith moves to stand in front of me and brushes the back of her hand against my cheek. “But this past year I’ve come to visit you, many times. You simply didn’t know it.”
She takes something from her pocket and puts it on. A gold ring with rubies on it. As she does, her appearance melts into something else. Her hair and skin turn darker. Her nose and mouth shift slightly. The only thing that remains are her eyes. Even her presence and power are lessened a little. A perfect disguise.
“Delilah?” I step back, my stomach twisting. “You were her all along?”
“Yes, thanks to a fae relic from Culann.” She gestures at my neck. “Much like your necklace, it allows me to hide myself. He made that for me too, you know.”
I can barely process what she’s saying, because I have so many other questions. “Why would you hide? Is Delilah real?”
“I hid because I couldn’t exactly show up on your campus as Lilith. Delilah is one of my disguises, like Laylah. She doesn’t exist, but everything I said to you during our meetings was true otherwise.”
Laylah’s the name I was said to use whenever anyone asked about my mom. I was told demons might have heard the name, but wouldn’t know exactly who she was—unlike the name Lilith, which everyone knows.
“But why hide from me?”
She looks down, her lashes lowered. “I worried you’d be mad, since I’ve been away so long. I wanted to get to know you as a friend or peer, not as your absent mother. I am sorry for that.”
I sigh, but it’s hard to stay mad with her. I think it’s probably part of her magic. Or maybe I’m just so happy to see my mom again and to know she’s been there for me over the past few months after all.
I open my arms to her. “I’m happy to see you, Mother.”
She moves close and embraces me tightly, and I breathe in her rose-scented hair. Yes, she even smells amazing.
I pull back with a frown. “Why didn’t you tell me about my brother?”
She waves a light hand. “Asmodeus is thousands of years old. He’s your brother by blood, but his concerns are very different from yours. He used to rule for me in Hell, and he’s had a hard time adjusting to Earth. I thought I would introduce you someday, when you were both ready. For now, he doesn’t know you’re related. I never told him about you for your own protection.”
“Are there others?”
“Yes. Some living. Some not.” Sadness crosses her face. “Some lost.”
“Lost?”
She takes my face in her hands and kisses my forehead. “I’ll reveal all in time, I promise. For now, I must continue my travels. After you open your present, of course.” She picks up something off the bed that’s wrapped in a dark silk shawl, then places it in my hands carefully. I remove the fabric and find two daggers, one glowing with pure white light, the other pulsing with inky black darkness.
“These daggers have served me well for many years, but I wish for you to have them now.”
I hold one in each hand, feeling the weight of them, and how perfect they fit. Like they were made just for me. “I understand the dark-infused blade, but why do you have a light-infused blade too?”
“Sometimes the greatest threat to us comes from one of our own.”
I nod, thinking of my father and Azrael. The daggers have a belt sheath, and Lilith helps me attach it, so the daggers rest on either side of my hips.
“Perfect.” She claps her hands together. “I feel a lot better now, knowing you have those.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll try to visit more often. I promise.” Her phone makes a noise and she checks it, then lets out a short laugh. “Sorry, I’m totally addicted to this Star Wars game and my energy is full.”
“You…what? You like Star Wars?”
“Oh yeah. Saw the first movie in the theater, and I’ve loved it ever since.” She winks at me. “I’m an original fangirl.”
Wow. That is something I never knew about my mother…and totally unexpected.
We embrace again and she kisses me on the cheek, before she walks out my door and slips away into
the night. Without wings, she has to find some other way off campus, but I have no doubt she’ll manage.
That’s my mom—ancient demon, leader of all Lilim, queen of lust…and a Star Wars geek. Who would have thought?
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Bastien
School is almost over, and it’s time for our penultimate Order meeting. We go as a group this time—me, Callan, Marcus, and Olivia. After we put on the golden robes and masks in the bell tower, we link our hands in a chain, allowing Olivia to turn us all invisible. Flying is difficult and feels rather foolish, like we’re holding hands and about to sing songs or something. Good thing no one can see us.
The woods are quiet and dark at this early hour of the morning, as we set down in the soft dirt. Olivia leads us forward, her hand tightly grasping mine. It feels small in my own, and I rub my thumb reassuringly along the back of it as we wait for the boulder to open. As I do, I realize this is not normal behavior for someone who cares nothing for her.
I can’t deny it any longer. I’ve developed feelings for her.
How peculiar.
As I ponder this new development, we release each other’s hands and lose our invisibility, then move down the corridor to the cavern at the bottom. We split up and join the other Order members, sitting beside them on the bench. Others continue to file in, until we’re all present, and our leader steps from the shadows, wearing his crown.
He clasps his hands together. “You should all have been given tasks by now. Some of you have completed them. Some have not.” His gaze scans the crowd, and even though we can’t see his face or hear his voice, his displeasure is obvious from the tilt of his head. “Remember there will be consequences should you fail.”
“I completed my task this week,” I speak up.
“Excellent. Come forward.”
I move closer and open a small, clear container. Inside is an inky black feather that emanates darkness, which once lived in my father’s office. My task was to steal it, though I’m not sure what it does. Uriel told me it was one of Lucifer’s feathers, and I can’t imagine why the Order would want it.
I hold it out to the leader, who takes it carefully at the end and holds it up to the light. Shadows cling to it like mist, and the room seems a little darker.
“You have done well,” he tells me with a nod. “This, my friends, is a feather from Lucifer’s wings, stolen from Headmaster Uriel’s office.” A few people gasp, while some cringe backward, and others lean forward like they want to get a better look. “The feather has many interesting properties, but we’re only interested in one of them. It can lead us to the Staff of Eternity.”
Soft murmurs go around the room at this. “How does it work?” someone asks. I think it’s Olivia.
“The feather will try to seek out its master. Here on Earth, it would fly to Lucifer. In Faerie, it will seek out the Staff, which contains a touch of Lucifer’s essence.”
“What about Jonah?” That’s Marcus, I’m sure of it. “Can it find him too?”
“It is my hope he is with the Staff, but if not, we will do what we can to find him. However, we must stay focused on our purpose.”
Another member nods. “Jonah knew the risks when he volunteered. He would want us to make finding the Staff the priority.”
Callous, but practical. I would say the same thing, if I believed in this foolish mission. I still have a hard time understanding why Jonah went to get the Staff in the first place, especially after meeting Olivia. Why would he put his sister at risk?
“But how will we get to Faerie?” someone else asks. Callan maybe.
“Do we have a key?” the person I think is Olivia asks.
“We do not, but the fae coming to the championship game will have at least one, possibly more. There are also ways of getting to Faerie without keys, using fae blood.”
I’ve heard rumors along those lines, and it explains why they want Araceli so badly, but it must be a highly guarded secret among the fae if it’s true.
The Order’s leader continues. “We will kidnap a few fae from the game tomorrow. The initiates will be tasked with torturing them into opening a portal to Faerie for us. If they don’t succeed, I’m sure one of us can be very convincing. You’ll receive your instructions after this meeting.” He stops and looks around the circle, his gaze landing on each of us for a second. “If all goes well, we will have the Staff within a few days’ time. It’s taken us many years to get to this point, and soon our hard will work all pay off—and the demons will be returned to Hell.”
A few of the Order members begin to clap, and more join in a moment later, so I add my applause so I don’t stand out. Then we’re all dismissed, and we exit the cavern and disperse into the woods. The four of us split up, and then meet back in the bell tower.
“How could you give them that feather?” Olivia asks, as soon as I land.
“I didn’t know what it did.” I scowl, angrier with myself than her. I should have made more of an effort to find out why they wanted it first.
She slumps down on the couch and rests her head in her hands. “Now they can find the Staff, and we’re no closer to finding Jonah or getting to Faerie.”
“We’ll need to stop the kidnapping and then convince the fae to let us go with them to Faerie, in the hopes that Jonah is with the Staff,” Marcus says. “Oh, and steal the feather from the Order.”
Callan rolls his eyes. “You make it sound so easy.”
“At the very least, we need to stop the kidnapping attempt,” Olivia says. “We can try to get the feather too.”
Suddenly there’s a rush of wind and Tanwen lands on the balcony. “If you guys are planning something, I want in.”
Marcus glances at us and then back at her awkwardly. “Uhh…I’m not sure…”
Olivia stands up. “It’s okay. Tanwen is on our side. She’s agreed to help us take down the Order.”
Callan’s jaw drops. “What?”
Tanwen tosses her blond hair. “It’s true. I want to take the bastards down, and I have inside information that can help you—if you agree to help me fight the Duskhunters in return.”
I nod as the rightness of her words makes my Ofanim senses tingle. “She’s speaking the truth.”
“Then we agree to that deal,” Callan says, crossing his arms.
Tanwen gives a short nod in response. “When I got back to my room there were instructions waiting for me. I’m supposed to pack a light bag with supplies and food for a few days of travel, and then I’m supposed to join them in the Order’s cavern during halftime. Someone else must be handling the kidnapping. Probably an Ishim.”
“Maybe Grace or Nariel,” I speculate. We know Grace is a member, and it makes logical sense that her uncle would be one as well. Plus the Order tends to favor using invisibility to hide its members, a trick only a few powerful Ishim can handle.
Callan rubs his chin. “Do everything they said, and keep us updated if anything changes. They obviously trust you more than us, since we weren’t invited to go on this mission, so you’ll be our inside woman.”
“Got it,” Tanwen says.
“Marcus can keep an eye on Jeremy, since they’re both on the soccer team.” Callan’s eyes scan the group. “The rest of us will split up and follow the other members we know are in the Order, or have suspicions about. Grace. Cyrus. Nariel.”
“And Professor Kassiel,” Tanwen adds. “He’s a member.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“During the final test last year, when the demon escaped, there was chaos and fighting, and his mask got dislodged slightly. I recognized him.”
“Kassiel is working to take down the Order also,” Olivia says. “We can trust him.”
“How do you know?” Marcus asks.
She hesitates, considering her words. “He and I made a pact at the end of last year to stop the Order. He has his own reasons for doing so, which aren’t mine to share. I was going to ask him to help us tomorrow.”
&nbs
p; “I don’t like it,” Callan says.
Marcus shrugs. “If Olivia says we can trust him, then we can.”
I cross my arms. “You realize that if we do this we’ll be going up against the Order, and they’ll know it. There won’t be any turning back.”
“That’s why we have to succeed,” Olivia says, her eyes burning with determination. “This is our one chance to stop the Order from getting the Staff, and to rescue my brother at the same time. Failure is not an option.”
Chapter Forty
Olivia
It’s the day of the final tournament game against the fae, and I step back and check myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a new pair of black jeans that happen to make my butt look amazing, with my mom’s infused daggers on my hips. A long, flowy red shirt covers them up and hides my butt too, which is probably for the best. I don’t need anyone’s lust distracting me. Then I double-check my necklace and make sure it’s secure. We’re going to need it today.
There’s a knock on our door and I head to answer it, thinking it must be one of the Princes, or maybe Tanwen. When I open it, there’s a man with sharp features who is wearing a hood over his head, even though we’re indoors.
“Oh, hello. Is Araceli here?"
Araceli walks out of her bedroom at that moment, and her face goes from confusion to disbelief to delight. “Dad?”
He gives her a hesitant smile. “I got your messages. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to Family Day, but I was halfway around the world at the time. I hope it’s okay that I’m here now.”
“It’s great.” She walks over and I see her eyes are wet. “Thank you for coming.”
“I’m so happy to see you, my little plum.” The two of them embrace, and as they do, his hood falls back and I see pointed ears and shiny purple hair, slightly darker than Araceli’s.
“I’ll give you two a few minutes to catch up,” I tell them, before retreating to my room. I’m happy they’re reconnecting, but also worried. I’ve now completed my Order task, of all the irony, but it puts Araceli’s dad at risk.
Seraphim Academy 2: Sinful Things Page 18
