Just do it.
I stepped through the door quickly. No fire raced over my skin. No power cut me down. Nothing. Relief flooded me. Thank fuck. Right, so I was in another corridor, wider than the last, and there was an intersection up ahead. The lights flickered, giving the place a broken, creepy vibe, and silence reigned.
Where was everyone?
Only one way to find out. I set off, taking a left then a right, past signs written in a language I couldn’t understand, the written version of Enochian probably. Light spilled out from what looked like an elevator. Yeah, not going in there with the power on the fritz.
There had to be some stairs somewhere.
Left or right. Which way? Surely I should have come across a celestial by now.
A scream sliced through the silence. Movement to my left. My body reacted by going into fight mode as the blood-spattered figure ran at me, blade glinting in the flickering lights.
Dread.
My hand tingled, signaling the arrival of my scythe.
Don’t.
Wait.
The tingle stopped.
No, what the hell? I called my celestial weapon, swinging it in time to eviscerate the Dread. He fell back, and I swiped again, this time taking his head.
Another scream from behind me.
Shit.
I spun to face two more Dread. But two metal-winged figures rushed out of the corridor in front of me and cut down the Dread with fiery swords. They turned and advanced on me.
Dominions like Cassius.
They thought I was one of the Dread.
“Whoa!” I held up my hands, sans scythe, because the damn thing had gone out once the threat was gone. Except these guys were a threat.
I pulled my daggers out instead, backing up, ready to fight. “Listen, I’m not one of them.”
They attacked.
“Stop!” a male voice bellowed.
The Dominions immediately fell back and parted to let a third one through. This Dominion was larger, blood-spattered, and feral.
“Cassius?”
He sheathed his sword and glared at me. “What are you doing here? I said I’d come to you once I had the information we needed.”
“Yes, you did. But it’s been three days and—”
He blinked sharply. “Three days?”
“Yes.”
He ran a hand over his face. “We’ve been fighting them for three days…How?”
“Cassius, we’re running out of time. The foyer is gone, and so is Celestia. You’re losing power rapidly.”
His jaw ticked. “The Dread’s presence is draining our reserves quicker than anticipated.”
“Then you need to speak to the Righteous and get me answers so I can help.”
The power in the corridor went out, leaving us standing in darkness. If not for the light from the elevator, I wouldn’t have been able to see shit.
The questions surrounding Uriel and the cores in Purgatory would have to wait for now. We needed the location of the power source, and we needed it stat.
Cassius must have realized this too because his jaw hardened and he nodded curtly. “Come with me.”
Chapter Six
Cora
Plexus Gymnasium is a dive. It looks like a drug den from the outside, the kind they show in movies, but yes, this is the address Dayna gave me. Dillon owns this place, and when not working on reaper stuff can be found here. Apparently, most of the reapers have regular jobs and live in Necro, finding it easier to stay in the city than travel back and forth from the Underealm.
But this part of the city is less than pleasant. We’re in Crimson Pack territory. Biker gang, Loup domain. Why would Dillon choose here to open a business?
A car swerves way too close to the curb as it passes me, and someone lets out a wolf whistle, and then there’s silence again.
There are only a few stores on this block, and business is slow. Not a soul on foot, well, no live soul anyway. I do spot a young man hovering outside the 7-Eleven holding out his hand for loose change. I can see the sandwich board and the words buy one get one free through him.
The dead sometimes get stuck re-enacting moments of their lives, and it seems that this one never registered. I’ll need to let Dayna know about him too.
It begins to snow as I cross the street, and by the time I’m at the doors, it’s a full-on blizzard.
Bloody hell, the weather in this city has a mind of its own. I push on the thick glass and step inside. It’s warm, and the smell of sweat and rubber hits me.
Nice.
There’s no reception. No foyer. Just a huge, high-ceilinged, open-plan space filled with workout equipment and gym mats. There’s even a boxing ring in the center where two guys are sparring.
Grunts and pants and the whirr of machinery fill the air.
Now, where is Dillon?
Is he one of the two guys in the ring? Or one of the couples wrestling on the mats. There’s a man on the treadmill, and then there’s another punching the shit out of a punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
Fuck this. “Dillon?” I walk into the room. “I need to speak to Dillon.”
The guy at the punch bag halts its swing with the palm of his hand and looks over at me.
“Yeah? And who the fuck are you?”
I guess this is Dillon.
He doesn’t look like a reaper. He’s not built like Azazel, Mal, or Conah. But there’s an air of power about him. His body is lithe, compact muscle, the kind you find on a sprinter. His face is lean, and he looks kinda mean.
He reads the message on the comm and shrugs. “Nothing new there. Humans go missing all the time.”
“You need to meet up with Ursula.”
“Where’s Azazel?”
“Underealm on important business.”
His mouth twists, and something dark crosses his face. “Saving Lilith.”
My heart stills in my chest. No one knows about Lilith. The guys are keeping it under wraps so as not to incite panic, so how the fuck does this reaper know?
Dillon slings a towel around his neck and crosses his arms. “My days of dancing to Azazel’s tune are over, and soon demons everywhere will be free to make their own choices, to be the gods we were meant to be and have”—he opened his arms—“everything and anything we fucking desire.”
“A Mammon supporter.”
He inclines his head. “And I’m not the only one.” He turns his back on me. “Now get the fuck out of my gym.”
I make it outside before the anger can make me do something stupid. Mammon has supporters here in Necro City. Sleeper agents ready to be activated when the time comes. The news Azazel and Mal are trying to keep under wraps is already out. Mammon could have reapers loyal to him on every reaper team.
Oh, fucking hell.
He could have them at the Academy too!
I need to get a message to Keon. Now.
Chapter Seven
Keon
I wasn’t sure about the celestial joining me at the Academy to help with the training, but I think he needs this. Needs to feel back in control after everything that’s happened.
He’s fast. He mastered the tails easily.
Maybe he will be useful, after all.
The cadets seem star-struck by him, a celestial amongst them. Fighting alongside them in the arena Master Luena has set up.
I watch the monitors, count the kills, and make mental notes on what needs to be worked on for each cadet.
Master Luena sits tensely beside me. I look down at her hands, which are clasped tightly in front of her.
I can read people well, and she isn’t herself today. “What’s wrong with you?”
She stares at me in horror. “I’m sorry?”
“You’re tense. Why?”
She presses her lips together. “War is coming and these cadets…my cadets… Many will die.”
“Yes.”
She closes her eyes, and I can see the pulse in her throat throbbing, and then th
e scent of fear hits me, and it’s off. This woman is not a coward. What is happening?
She opens her eyes and locks gazes with me, about to speak, when the doors to the training room burst open and another tutor rushes in. Two more demons spill into the room. Academy security.
I don’t understand what’s happening. “What is this?”
“We just had communication from Deadside HQ letting us know that we may have sleeper agents working for Mammon in the building. We need to secure the cadets and investigate.”
He means interrogate.
Luena slowly stands, hands still clasped in front of her. “No need. There’s only one sleeper agent in this building… and I’ve just woken up.”
Master Jenkins stares at her as if she’s grown an extra head. “No. Not you.” He looks devastated.
The guards don’t hesitate. They don’t wait for orders. They move to arrest her.
She holds up her hands, eyes wide and earnest. “Before you lock me up, you need to hear me out. Every life in this building may depend on it.”
Luena doesn’t resist as she’s cuffed. The bands on her wrists glow with celestial enchantments to mute her demon abilities. The cadets have been sent back to their quarters. It’s just us in the room with her now: Uriel, Jenkins, the guards, and me.
“I took an oath decades ago,” Luena said. “Before I knew how things could be. Mammon was my lord. He is charming and persuasive, and his ideas sparked ambition and…greed.” She licks her lips. “I wanted to be the ruling species. To go where I wished and take what I wanted. He promises wealth and freedoms, the likes of which Lilith cannot. He promises the earthly realm.”
“So, you work for him?” Jenkins says as if he needs to hear her say it to truly believe.
“I do. I mean, I did.” She looks up at him, eyes brimming. “But I don’t want to. I stopped wanting what he offered a long time ago. I told myself it would never happen anyway, so what was the harm in continuing, and in truth, I wanted to protect the cadets I’d grown to love. I knew if he discovered that I’d gone soft, he’d send a replacement.”
He would do more than that. “He would kill you.”
“I don’t care about my life. But these cadets, these wonderful younglings with such promise…I could not let them be hurt.”
“So, you stayed,” Uriel says. “And now what?”
“Now, Mammon has Lilith, and he’s sent word to his agents. He’s mobilizing his forces. I had my orders yesterday.”
“And?” Uriel probes.
“I’m meant to take the cadets to the Underealm on the pretext of a field trip. Mammon wishes to add them to his army.” She gives me a level gaze. “Just as he wishes to add the rest of the cadets from the other academies.”
Fuck. “Jenkins, warn the other academies. Do it now.”
He rushes from the room.
“There’s more,” Luena continues. “He wanted me to set off an explosion on a timer to blow once we were clear of the place.” She shakes her head. “I haven’t set it up. I…I knew I had to come clean, but when I don’t arrive at the rendezvous point with the cadets, he’ll know I backed out, and he will send someone else to do his dirty work. Maybe more than one person.”
“Then we make sure we’re prepared,” Uriel says. “We’ll triple the wards on the academies.”
Luena exhales and nods. “Thank you. You can lock me up now.”
I grip her chin and force her to look at me. “Oh you’re not getting off so easily, demon. You’re going to tell me exactly where this rendezvous point is, and then we’re going to stage a little coup of our own.”
Chapter Eight
Fee
Cassius led me up two flights of stairs and into a plush part of the Beyond, where a bloodstained carpet led to a set of firmly closed golden doors.
A Dominion stood in front of the doors, shoulders slumped. He straightened as Cassius approached but didn’t move out of the way.
“Semil, open the doors,” Cassius demanded.
“I cannot,” Semil said. “The Righteous have sealed the chamber from within, and the lock will only disengage once all the Dread have been slaughtered.”
Cassius looked like he needed a few curses, but so far, I hadn’t heard him swear.
I’d do it for him. “Fucking hell.”
Cassius grunted in agreement. “Typical,” he muttered. “Hiding away, saving their own skins.” He walked away from the door. “How many left?”
Semil pulled out a tablet from his back pocket and studied it. “Forty on radar. Clustered in sector four, sublevel two.”
“We best get back to work then.” He pulled his sword from his belt. “Stay here,” he ordered me.
“Like hell. I’m coming with you. I can help.” And this time, my scythe appeared like a dutiful weapon to illustrate my point.
“Fine,” he said. “But try to keep up.”
Sublevel two was smooth silver metal walls and gridded metal floors. Cassius stopped us at a set of swipe doors.
“Looks like Celestia locked down this area,” Cassius said. “She must have sensed an influx of signatures that weren’t meant to be here.”
“What about personnel?” one of the Dominions asked.
Cassius didn’t answer the question, but his face said it all.
If the celestials trapped in there weren’t warriors, then they were most likely dead.
I cleared my throat. “Can we get in?”
“I can try to override,” one of the other Dominions said.
“Do it,” Cassius ordered.
The younger Dominion set to work on the panel by the door. God, this was weird. The Beyond governed by technology—panels, sliding doors, and overrides.
Long minutes passed, and I could see Cassius was getting impatient from the way he kept tapping his foot.
But then the panel fizzed and made a popping sound.
“I think that should do it,” the Dominion said. “Just need your code.” He stepped back, and Cassius took his place.
“Be ready,” he said, and then he placed his palm on the panel.
The doors swung open and screams tore through the air.
Fuck, the door had blocked sound.
The Dominions moved fast, pouring into the corridor beyond.
Cassius gave me a stern look. “Do not get killed.”
And then he was gone. I took a deep breath, allowing heat to course through my veins in readiness for battle, and then I followed.
The next few minutes were a blur of blood and death. The Dominion swords glowed like my scythe, stripping heads from shoulders and eviscerating.
I stepped over dead celestials and bloody, torn wings to cut down the Dread responsible. Yes, they’d been given a dud deal, but this…This was bringing calamity on us all, and it had to be stopped.
The sublevel was made up of chambers lined with cells and linked by corridors. There were beings behind the doors. I could sense them. Prisoners like Uriel had been? No time to think. I fought on instinct, my body a weapon as I ducked and dove, evaded and attacked. I caught a glimpse of Cassius to my right as he plunged his sword through a Dread’s mouth so the end protruded out the back of the creature’s head.
Nephilim and third-generation Dread were here, but soon they would be no more.
“Up there!” a Dominion shouted. “On the balcony.” He ran for the stairs, wings flaring as he took off in the air. A Dread came out of nowhere and grabbed his wing, yanking him down.
The Dominion careened in the air, taken off balance by the weight of the Dread. I broke into a sprint and skidded to a halt, close enough to plunge my blade into the Dread’s back.
The Dominion was free. He shot up after the other Dread. The one stuck on my blade pitched forward, pulling himself off the steel. He turned to me, hands in the air.
“You don’t understand,” he said. “If we die, they die. If we die, they starve.”
I brought my scythe up, ready to make the death swing that would take off his h
ead, but he moved fast, using some final reserve of strength, passing out of range but not away from me, toward me, and then his hands were on my head, gripping me hard.
“See!” he screamed in my face.
My vision went white, and something surged up from the back of my mind. No. Not this time. Never again.
“Fuck you!” I stabbed him in the face with my obsidian dagger.
I staggered back, suddenly free, and the silence registered.
Eerie and complete. Around me, Dominion flexed and folded their armored wings.
“Clear!” Cassius said.
I wiped my bloody hands on my pants. “Now let’s get that fucking audience with the Righteous.”
This time the Dominion guarding the golden doors stepped aside, and the doors swung open to admit us.
Cassius ordered his men to stay behind but didn’t stop me from following him into the vast chamber beyond. It was a circular room with several balconies, but the celestials were all gathered around an impressive-looking table on the ground floor. Silver goblets and trays of strange glowing fruits covered the surface.
My ire rose at the sight. While we were out there busting our asses to kill the Dread, they’d been cloistered in here sipping beverages and eating magical fruit.
The Righteous, my fucking ass. They were cowards. Look at them in their flowy robes with their pinched faces and silver hair.
“Cassius, the threat is averted. Well done,” one of the Righteous said.
“Lianel, the Dread are all dead, but we’re losing power fast,” Cassius said.
The Righteous exchanged glances. “Yes. We are aware. Which is why we have decided to initiate protocol Flagship.”
Cassius went very still. “You wish to abandon our home?”
“We are at a juncture where there is no other alternative. Seats are limited. Righteous, of course, will be given priority. You’ll select twenty of your best men, and the rest of the seats will be filled with domestic celestials. We will use the last of the power we have to propel the Flagship into the ether.”
Reaper Unhinged (Deadside Reapers Book 6) Page 4
