"So, here to save your princess, are you?" Rose splayed her arms out at her sides, the tendons running up her fingers pulsing as her talons came, “It’s quite noble.”
Verrine pursed her lips as she went for the woman with a vengeance, blind to anything else around her, including a speedy Danielle who, in a flash, was on the demon’s back, digging claws into her shoulder.
“Does it hurt?” Danielle had her face up to the demon’s ear, “If you surrender now it doesn’t have to be nearly as painful as last time.”
Mona moved to go to her, but saw Rose had the same idea. As Verrine reached back and took hold of Danielle’s arms, Mona switched her attention to Rose. She took a deep breath, crouched, and leapt at the woman. Electricity instantly ran through her veins as she felt her own talons come, and the taste of metal filled her mouth as her fangs sprang forth.
Rose was not oblivious to her, turning and throwing out an extended hand in Mona’s line of flight, her eyes flashing green. Mona evaded her, slashing at Rose's chest. The woman sidestepped her hand and swiped at the traitor again, catching her neck and reopening the bite Michael had made days before. Mona’s hand flew to the reexposed wound, and she stumbled forward.
"How could you ever think you could leave us?" Rose plunged her claws into Mona’s shoulder, "You really are just a stupid little girl, aren’t you?"
Mona peered up into Rose’s eyes flickering red with anger and hunger. She felt Rose’s hand slide deeper into her flesh and snorted, clasping onto the strigori's wrist and lifting her body from the ground. Fast and hard, Mona slammed her feet into Rose's stomach, sending the woman backward and into the chamber’s wall. The strigori collapsed there, her claws receding.
"Shit!" Danielle's shriek echoed throughout the chamber as she scurried toward where Rose had fallen. She was vigorously beating at her own head, attempting to stifle flames there. Mona looked to Verrine, a satisfied smirk across the demon’s face despite the blood that dripped from her neck; her fireball had caught one of the strigori's pigtails and set it alight.
As the strigori flailed around on the ground, shrieking, Verrine began to sway. She held out an arm to steady herself, and Mona went to her, grabbing it. The demon was barely keeping herself on her feet. “Verrine, were you bitten?” Mona pushed her white locks away from her neck and noted the fang marks there. “Dammit,” she murmured and tried to steady the woman, “Are you going to be—” but she choked on the blood the suddenly pooled in her mouth. Pain ripped through her body and she could read the terror in Verrine’s eyes.
***
Adam stepped cautiously from the sloping, narrow hall. The chamber was darker and colder than the one before and eerily silent. Still, he stopped. Something was here. It slid against the far wall in the shadows, it breathed in the stale, musty air.
“Show yourself,” he spoke in a loud, clear tone.
A small blue light ignited deep in the shadows, then quickly mutated into a mass of orange fire, sailing toward Adam in answer. He leapt from its path and skidded into the wall, hearing the bricks to his left crumble and scatter across the ground. This wasn't strigori power, he was sure, but what was a demon doing here?
Another blue spark appeared in the shadows, quickly changing to orange, but did not leave its keeper this time. The fire's glow illuminated a large hand and arm cloaked in black leading up to a sturdy jaw and bronze skin, dirty blond hair and finally reflecting back in amber eyes. The resemblance to Sophie was uncanny.
But before he could question the demon, the bright, orange mass flew at Adam, barely missing his head as he ducked. Completely bewildered, he frantically searched the room for the demon with his eyes, but couldn't find him amongst the shadows. "Troian!" he called out blindly, “What are you doing? I’m Adam, I’m here to help!”
Another fireball sailed through the air towards Adam, crashing into the wall behind him.
"I know who you are." Troian's voice was suddenly in Adam's ear.
The demon’s fist found its way to Adam's face, knocking him across the floor. Adam blinked wildly, the room spinning, and he gripped his nose to feel for breaks. His eyes focused on the demon standing above him. "Troian, please," blood begin to trickle down face, "We don't have time for this. Sophie's in trouble."
"Sophie's safe now," Fire ignited in his hand, "She's away from you!"
Adam rolled across the floor, out of the flame’s path. He growled, scrambling to his feet and throwing up his hands, “I really don’t want to fight you.”
“No, you don’t,” Troian rushed at him and pulled back another fist. Adam dodged his punches, one after the other, with restraint. Troian was relentless with his speed, but his eyes, Adam could see, were staring straight ahead, fixed on nothing. It was then he knew Troian was not wholly himself.
Matched with his frustration for not having landed a fist, Troian tired himself after throwing his whole weight into the speedy barrage and stopped, jumping away and sliding back into the shadows. Adam sighed, the demon giving him little recourse: this needed to end. He took a firm stance and slammed his palms together, the symbols there aligning, and spoke the invocation in his mind. A yellowed glow emanated from between his hands, and he pulled them apart, a golden staff appearing in the space between. He pulled it from the air and spun it from one hand to the other, reacquainting himself with its weight. As he did so, a mass of flames sailed toward him, but he parried the attack, the blast ricocheting off his staff and back at Troian.
The demon ducked, the flame just barely missing him, and he stared down Adam, “And so you finally show yourself, angel.” With a flick of his wrist, flames again ignited in his palm, but this time contorted into a long shaft which Troian gripped. He flew at Adam and swung the newly forged fiery blade at him.
Adam blocked him, holding his staff at two ends as the demon pressed hard against its middle. He could feel the heat coming from the weapon and leaned away from it, the glow lighting up Troian’s face and his deadened eyes. “Troian,” he spoke through grit teeth, “This is not right! Can’t you see what you’re doing?”
***
Rose's claws dug deep into Mona's back. She fell to the ground, sliding off the strigori's talons with a sickening sound. Rose laughed, licking her fingers, "Definitely not pureblood, but a little better than human."
Mona choked, clawing at the floor. This was not how she wanted to die. She did not want to die at all. She peered over her shoulder at Rose, the shadows falling sinisterly around the woman.
"It only seems fair, doesn't it? You stab us in the back, and I stab you," Rose motioned toward Verrine, "And all for what? Some vile little demon? You're such a pathetic child."
Rose's words echoed in her mind. A child. That's all Mona had been to them all along. They had never trusted her, and it only took time for her to give them a reason not to. Something within Mona pulsated. Her blood boiled, and she felt her strength return. She was angry.
Springing from the ground, Mona tore in Rose's direction, slashing wildly with her claws. Rose cried out into the room, completely unprepared for Mona’s talons to sink into her arms. Spattering blood only drove Mona forward, striking at the woman again before Rose reached out and pushed the girl off of her.
Mona fell onto her back, the breath knocked from her, the warmth of her and Rose’s lifeblood across her face. The attack had taken more out of her than she’d expected, and she struggled to push herself up onto her elbows. Rose stood in a sanguine pool, hands covering cuts. She snarled, catching her breath, and stepped forward.
The flames sped across the room, too fast for Rose to escape. Her screams filled the chamber as she fell to the ground, beating at her arm where the fire had taken her. Retching on the floor, she ripped at her sleeve. She tore the delicate fabric from her arm and cast it away before it completely melted to her flesh. Beneath, her pale skin was blackened and though the fire had gone out, the charring crept down her arm, bubbling and smoldering.
Mona whipped herself around to see Ver
rine collapse, eyelids heavy, and caught herself just before she hit the ground. Danielle, finally composed, stumbled across the room, and Mona tracked her as she made her way to Rose. The sniffling strigori tried to help Rose, but was slapped away. Instead, Rose gripped Danielle’s upper arm and yanked her onto her feet as she stood, shouting into the room, "Michael! Take care of this.”
Chapter 16
Mona glanced wildly about the room and staggered to her feet. Had she really heard Rose call to Michael? She could smell Verrine as she crossed the room, her blood pungent and tart, tainted with venom.
"Are you all right?" Mona asked quietly as she felt Verrine's back press against her own.
"Yeah," Verrine spoke breathlessly, their blood-soaked backs sticking as they moved against one another, “You?”
Mona winced, "Fine."
A tall figure stepped out of the shadows as Rose and Danielle receded into them.
"So, this is Michael?” Verrine crouched, a flicker of blue igniting in her palm.
Mona reached back and grabbed Verrine’s arm. “Don’t.” Where energy and power had emanated from the woman before, she now breathed too heavily, moved too slowly. "The more you move, the quicker it's going to spread. I can handle this."
Verrine huffed, short and annoyed, then relaxed. Mona released her and stood to her full height, ignoring the pain that stabbed at her body. She touched her shoulder where Rose had first clawed her and felt the wound had already begun to close.
In a flash, Michael sprung from the ground and passed over the two. He landed a few feet from Verrine, low to the ground. Mona spun and stepped in front of her, "What's with the theatrics, Michael?" She kept his gaze and lured him away from the demon.
Michael rose slowly, never looking away from her, then broke into a sprint. Mona jumped backward as he sailed forward, missing her with his claws and skidded to a stop just past her. Again, he turned toward her and ran, but she easily evaded him. Too easily, she thought.
"What are you doing?" Mona crinkled her nose and looked him over, second guessing his identity, "Come on, I know you're bet—"
Suddenly, Michael's hand was around her throat. She sailed through the air, and her tiny body was smashed between the wall and his. The shadowed outline of his face glared eerily back at her. His eyes pulsed yellow, then the color receded, the claws about her throat sunk back into his skin, and his grip loosened, "Why did you leave us?"
Mona searched his darkened face, bewildered. His hot breath fell over her and she plastered herself against the wall. She was scared, "I don't know."
Her whisper enraged him, his eyes flaring bright yellow and his grip tightening again, "That's not an answer!"
Mona caught sight of Verrine over his shoulder, attempting to conjure. Mona held a hand out to her in what little voice she could muster, “Don’t!” Verrine hesitated, then backed off.
Michael never looked away from Mona's face, "Why did you leave us?" he repeated, loosening his grip again. His hand began to shake, "Why did you leave me?"
"I..." Mona searched her mind for the right words. He was so close to her she could see the pink scars she’d given him, still raised and angry across his face. His skin had sallowed and if she didn’t know better she would say he looked ill. She swallowed, "I realized what was right."
He sighed. His hand left her neck and touched the side of her face, "Do you remember when we met?”
She relaxed against the wall, guilt suddenly crawling inside her belly, “I would have starved to death.”
He nodded and took a step back from her, “I knew you weren’t made for this.”
“Of course not,” she spat out, her veins burning as blood rushed through them. She made a tight fist and glared at him, “I had hoped you weren’t.”
"No. It will never be over for me until I’m dead," he glanced down momentarily at her fist, "Until someone kills me."
Mona opened her mouth, but no words came. She peered down at her hand and loosened it, "Are you asking me to?"
“Either that, or I'll kill you," Michael's arm flinched and his talons grew, "That's the way things have to be." The yellow was gone from his eyes, leaving them dark and empty. She wanted to look away, but his incessant stare wouldn’t let her. A feeling that she couldn't place swam around her stomach then fluttered in her chest. She felt her own claws escape from her flesh slowly, the black anger inside now completely suppressed.
Michael's warm lifeblood spilled down her arm as her talons ripped through his flesh. He hadn't resisted at all as she thrust her hand into his chest, piercing his heart. He slumped forward, pushing her again against the wall. Mona clutched his shoulder, steadying him and squeezed her eyes shut, disgusted for the first time by the sound of her claws shredding skin.
His body jerked as she wrenched her hand away, and she squeezed him tighter, shuddering at his stifled groans. She felt herself begin to slide down the wall, Michael's body collapsing into her lap as she hit the floor, a crimson pool growing on the stones below them. The room spun, the stench of his blood fouling the air. She wanted to scream, to push him away, to beg him to fight, but knew it was impossible. He had given up so easily.
She took a deep breath and pushed his body from her lap, stood, and marched to Verrine. As she helped the demon to her feet, the woman swallowed hard, “Are you going to—”
“Fine,” she interrupted, then sighed. She tried to muster a reassuring look on her face and met Verrine’s eyes. The demon, for once, did not look utterly disgusted by her. “It’s fine.”
***
"Troian," Adam strained between clenched teeth, pushing back against the fiery blade with his golden staff, "Stop this."
Troian only grunted.
Adam rolled his eyes, "Fine." He channeled his energy into the staff, letting it mass there, then released. A blast exploded between the two, sending Troian into the far wall, his faux sword crashing to the ground and vanishing. He growled from the floor, gripping his shoulder, and pushed himself back to his feet.
Adam sighed. It seemed the demon still would not give up and time was quickly slipping by. Troian pushed off the wall and ran at Adam, apparently abandoning his astral abilities. Adam leveled his staff at the demon, challenging him to continue, but Troian would stop for nothing, even the threat of impaling himself upon the angel's staff. Adam quickly released the weapon and it fell, disappearing just before it hit the ground, and Troian's body slammed into his own.
The demon pinned Adam against the wall holding some kind of metal to his throat. Troian's free arm pressed against Adam's chest as the angel peered down to see the object. His eyes grew wide and he quickly looked back up, "Where did you get that?"
Troian smiled, "An angel gave it to me."
Adam scowled. He knew the metallic pentagram would mean death to an angel of his echelon if it pierced his skin and went untreated. He tried to reason with him, "Troian, you know I could have killed you, but I didn't. You’re Sophie’s brother, I wouldn't kill you."
Snorting, Troian pushed the metal closer to the pulsing veins in his neck, "But you had no trouble killing Sophie's best friend, didn’t you?"
"What are you talking about?" Adam pressed himself against the wall, leaning away from the pentagram, "I haven't killed any—"
"Shut up!" Despite how his body trembled and his voice cracked, his amber eyes, so reminiscent of Sophie’s, revealed nothing. It was increasingly clear he’d been spellbound, but Adam had no idea how to break it. "I saw it! I saw her dead,” he pressed the pentagram onto Adam’s neck, and it instantly burned into his skin, “You killed Verrine!"
"Troi?" The quiet voice sounded into the room, silencing the demon's cries. Troian’s body, just for a moment, relaxed, and he turned away from Adam to see a woman and a girl in the opening to the chamber, using one another for support.
"No!" Troian ripped his attention back to the angel, "It's a lie! Why are you doing this?"
"I'm not!" Adam cried out, smelling his own flesh. His breaths be
came ragged, and his voice cracked, "It’s real. She's real. I can’t create illusions."
"Liar!" Troian's hand shook, his eyes burning, the pentagram bearing down against Adam’s skin, "You're all liars! I saw her, and she was dead! He told me...you killed her."
Adam stared hard at the demon, determined to show him the truth. He slowly lifted his shaking arm and wrapped his fingers, weakly, around Troian's wrist.
The weapon danced across the floor, the metallic sound echoing through the room. Verrine broke from Mona's side and hobbled toward Troian. She collapsed onto his back and he grasped at her, choking on her name.
Adam slid down the wall, touching his neck and thanking the Heavens, but mostly the Hells, to still be alive. Mona was at his side in an instant. She was covered in blood, but appeared shockingly spry. She helped him to his feet and he felt himself stumble.
“Are you all right?” Mona grabbed his arm to steady him.
“Damn,” he felt the place on his neck where the pentagram had scratched him, “I’ll be fine.”
Troian had turned and embraced Verrine fully, "Why did you leave?"
“I got the book from, and I didn’t want to get you in trouble,” Verrine sighed, squeezing him back, "I had to do something. I couldn't just give up." She looked up at him, her gray eyes glassy and full.
He traced his finger down her chin, "I thought you were..."
Verrine squeezed him gently, "Why? You know Adam would never do that."
"But he said," Troian looked past her as if he were working to remember, "Raziel showed me your body."
"Raziel?" Adam sneered, "That recluse talked to you?"
Troian nodded, "In fact, he's got Sophie right now. He said I could see her as soon as,” his eyes grew wide, and he released Verrine. He turned and met Adam’s gaze, "as soon as I took care of you."
The Nephilim: Book One Page 17
