Evolution (The Divine Series Book 5)

by M. R. Forbes

  "It is simple, diuscrucis. She always believed that no matter what occurred in the mortal life, God would lift her into His Kingdom of light, beauty, and eternal happiness. I always believed that if you want something, you need to take it. That is the only way you are guaranteed a chance to achieve the kingdom you desire." He chuckled softly. "You know what that Kingdom did to her, don't you? You know how it used her, just as much as I used her. I never pretended to be something I wasn't. I never kept a hidden agenda. Not from her.

  "Can you say the same for Heaven?"

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  I kicked Gervais out of my apartment so I could deal with Rose. His parting words lingered in the back of my mind, his laughter tracking behind it the entire time. Regardless of what the demon thought, Josette had never regretted her decision to return to Earth as an angel. She had always trusted in God's path, and she walked it with humility wherever it took her.

  Even her death, her final death, was dignified.

  Gervais didn't know the difference. He would always grasp for material power, and never understand the true strength of spirit. It's what made him such an asshole.

  "Rose."

  I was leaning over her, ready to hold her still if she woke as angry as she had been when Dante knocked her out.

  Her eyes fluttered and opened. "Landon." A tear pooled in her eye. "I don't understand."

  "I was attacked in the alley. By the seraphim, the angels. By a construction of mortal engineering and Divine power. I would have died, if he hadn't helped me."

  "What?"

  "They can't sense me, Rose. They don't know who or where I am unless I'm in direct line of sight. I was in a dark alley, between two buildings. How did they know I was there?"

  She was looking up at me from the couch. Her breath hung. "Are you suggesting I betrayed you?"

  "I'm asking."

  "No. I didn't tell anyone. I'm not working with them."

  I watched her eyes. I didn't have my Divine truth-telling mojo anymore, but it was a crutch that was too easy to be fooled by, and a power I didn't need. I was smarter. More experienced. I could read the signs better.

  She was telling the truth.

  "I believe you. How are you feeling?"

  "I... I'm not sure. He did something to me. It felt good, really good, but in a bad, bad way. I'm trying to deal with it, trying to work it out. I don't feel violated, or dirty. Just... confused. A little dizzy, like a bad hangover. All of this is happening so fast." She squeezed her eyes closed, and the tears flowed from behind the lids. "I don't know if I can do this. I wanted to find you. I wanted to be part of this. You let him live. You brought him back here with you. He's killed how many girls? Anita... She was innocent. She never hurt anybody. He..."

  She trailed off. Opened her eyes. Looked up at me, the fire and anger replacing the pain. Her voice was quiet venom.

  "How could you?"

  I was calm. I had expected this, and worse. "I told you. I was attacked. He saved my life."

  "One life saved, and how many taken? He doesn't deserve to live."

  "No, he doesn't. It isn't that simple. The balance... it's never that simple."

  The anger cooled a little. She shifted her head, as though getting a different angle would let her see deeper into me. "There's something you're not telling me."

  I was impressed that she saw it.

  "I know him. His name is Gervais."

  We talked for a long time. I told her everything. How he captured and raped his own sister so that she would give birth to a true crossbreed, a mortal whose potential dwarfed that of any angel or demon. How he sided with the Beast to get to her. How he killed my friends. I told her everything I could think of. It took hours. Not because I had planned to. Not because I thought she needed to know it all. She had enough to try to make sense of already, and I was only adding to it.

  Except I found that once I started talking, I couldn't stop. I found that there was no god-power that could salve the pain of what I had endured. Of what I held inside.

  She listened. Despite her own pain, she listened. She didn't speak, she didn't move. She sat and absorbed the words without question or judgement.

  By the time I was done, my own face was wet with tears. I had spent time alone to recover after defeating the Beast, and I had cried for Charis and Clara, for my friends, and for the thousands of others who had died at his hand.

  Two years.

  It was the first time I had cried for myself.

  When it was over, when my emotions were spent, we sat together in comfortable silence. At some point, she reached out and took my hand in hers, and I focused on that connection, that simple human affection. That basic, primal comfort.

  "I understand," she said a while later.

  "Understand?"

  "Why you didn't kill him. I don't like it, but I understand."

  "It's going to get worse. What the angels are doing... You can still change your mind about helping me. I didn't hold up my end."

  There was no hesitation.

  "I'm not changing my mind. The things that are out there... I get that the angels want to help, and think they're helping, and I like the idea of getting rid of demons. To trade the many for the few? Anita wasn't a believer. Neither was I, before all of this. I don't think that made us bad people, and at the same time we would have been left for food when the Rapture happened. Now that I do believe in God... I'm not convinced He's got the right idea." She smiled and squeezed my hand. "Besides, you need someone to watch your back. To make sure this Gervais doesn't stick something in it."

  I laughed at that. "Do I need to watch his? To make sure you don't stick something in it?"

  "No. Not as long as you need him. Since Anita died, everything that has happened, it's made me stronger than I ever thought I could be. Strong enough to deal with the demon who killed her. I never imagined I would say that."

  "I felt the same way after I died."

  She laughed and leaned in, kissing me softly on the cheek.

  "I'm going to go back to my room, have something to eat, and try to get used to all of this. Goodnight, Landon."

  "Goodnight, Rose. Thank you for understanding."

  She got up and walked out.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  I had a trick up my sleeve that allowed me to cover large distances faster than conventional air travel. I knew it would be necessary, a counter to the angels' globe-hopping airspeed, or the demons' use of transport rifts. In simple terms, I could use my power to destroy a pocket of space-time in front of me and recreate it behind me, essentially folding space. The trouble was that I could only use it for myself, and it generally left me disoriented and tired when I came out the other side. It was the stretch at the very edge of my limits.

  As a result, we lost most of the next day catching a flight from JFK to LAX. As promised, Rose was neutral around Gervais. Not happy, not warm. She didn't speak a word to him, but she didn't try to stab him either. The demon returned her ignorance with ambivalence, staying fairly quiet himself and only making an occasional rude comment.

  The flight was tense and awkward. I wound up in the center seat, with Rose on the aisle and Gervais against the window, to keep the demon from having easy access to the attendants. He must have fed after he left the apartment, because he was looking healthier and stronger. More like himself.

  I hated it.

  We landed six hours later, a car already waiting at the airport to take us to Valerix's home near the coast. It was late evening, warm, and dry.

  "I can't remember the last time I was in California," Gervais said. "Eighteen forty-nine, perhaps? That was a fun vacation."

  We were in a stretch limo, on our way to pay the archfiend a visit.

  The demon turned to me. "Did you know Valerix was already establishing her territory back then? Ah, she was a spit-fire. You'll never meet another demon who is better with a sword." He paused, took a swig from the champagne bottle he'd found, and smiled. "Except for me,
of course."

  "Of course."

  "We dueled. Not with swords, with pistols. Did you know that? We couldn't do any permanent damage. We had a fresh crop of virgins. So young. So delicious. And a bet."

  Rose was sitting against the window, keeping her eyes locked on the scenery. I saw her face tighten as she tried to ignore him.

  "I need a name for myself," he said. "You have the vampires, the werewolves, the nightstalkers. You have your devils and your succubi. I'm the only one of my kind right now, so I should get to decide what I am called, should I not?"

  He took another pull from the bottle.

  "Can you shut up?" I asked.

  He put his hand on my shoulder. "Oh, come now, Landon." He laughed and looked past me. "Or do you want to, again?"

  Her head whipped around, and the blessed knife I had given her was in her hand almost before I could grab her wrist.

  "Rrraawwrrrrr." He stuck his tongue out at her, and then ran it around his mouth.

  "Just ignore him," I said.

  She relaxed, put the knife away, and returned her gaze to the window.

  "It's all in good fun." He laughed again, and finished the champagne. He held the bottle out and looked down at the label. "That was disgusting."

  I was wondering how much I really needed him when the limo turned onto a long, narrow driveway.

  We were there.

  He drove us up to a large, wrought iron gate, where a man in a dark suit waited. Not a man, a were. He approached the driver's side as we came to a stop.

  "Don't ruin my surprise," Gervais said. He changed form, back to Peter. "I'm just another of your new recruits."

  "The Mistress wasn't expecting nobody," the were said. Like most weres, his voice was deep and rough.

  "I have a Mr. Hamilton here to see her," the driver replied. "He said she's expecting him."

  "I don't know that name." A wire was running to his ear. He leaned into it. "This is Jackson. I got a Mr. Hamilton here to see you." He listened for a few seconds, then leaned down, sticking his head into the driver's side window. He looked back at me. I could see his nostrils flare as he caught my scent, and recognized that I was different. "You ain't alone."

  "My associates," I said. "Anything Valerix has to say to me, she can say in front of them."

  He pulled his head out. "Yeah, it's him, I guess. Smells funny. He's got two others in the car with him. Nah, they're human." He paused. "Yeah, okay." He raised his hand and motioned in a circle. The gate started to open.

  The driver eased through. The other side started with a large, open field and ended with a circular driveway with a huge, twisted fountain in the center, a brutal, carved depiction of chaos and violence. It was a good reference for what I thought Hell probably looked like.

  Behind the fountain was a large, white, columned mansion, with a huge colonnade and lots of dark tinted windows. There were a dozen small steps leading up to a huge door, which was nicked and dented with thousands of runes.

  Protection from angels.

  The car stopped and the driver got out, circling around and opening the door for us. Gervais exited first, his balance a little unsteady, and he leaned against the car to keep himself upright. I followed, and took Rose's hand to help her out of the car.

  "Thank you," she said softly.

  I answered with a smile, and turned back to the doorway.

  I could see her there, on the other side of the threshold. She was half-bathed in shadow; a fiery-haired, green-eyed beauty of a woman. Her skin was porcelain, her clasped hands ending in long, nimble fingers. She was wearing a short red leather skirt and a silk blouse, with gem-encrusted sandals on her feet that twinkled in the moonlight.

  Two more weres came down to greet us.

  She stayed behind the doors.

  She was afraid.

  "She's only gotten hotter," Gervais whispered.

  "What did you say?" one of the weres asked.

  "It sure is hot out here." He started giggling. Had he known the booze would go to his head? I couldn't believe this was the same demon who had nearly stolen away the Beast's power.

  "Mistress Valerix welcomes you," the other were said, stopping in front of me and moving into a sweeping bow. "Please, accept her invitation as an honored guest in her home."

  "I accept," I said, staying upright. "I expect my companions will be afforded the same honor?"

  The were huffed. "Of course."

  "Peter, Rose, let's go."

  I started walking, leaving them behind me. It was the proper decorum for meeting with an archfiend. If it had just been Rose, I wouldn't have bothered.

  I heard a grunt behind me.

  "Damn it," Rose cursed.

  I turned around. Gervais had started to fall, and she had caught him. She held him like a dirty diaper, trying to keep him upright and touch him as little as possible.

  I caught her eyes in mine.

  "Go," she said. "I've got him."

  She set her jaw and put his arm over her shoulders, helping him walk. I could only imagine how hard it was for her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  "Diuscrucis." Valerix held out her hand, palm down so I could kiss it. Now that I was closer, I could see her eyes were cat's eyes, bright and predatory, tapering at the edges in an interesting and physically appealing way. She was an archfiend, which meant she had once been human, a human so evil that Lucifer allowed her to leave Hell to regain our world as her almost immortal playground.

  I could see one of the ways she had risen to power.

  "Valerix."

  She looked past me. "Is your companion well?"

  "Peter? He'll be fine."

  She laughed. "Peter. A very... godly name."

  "I'm not on a side. You know that."

  "Yes, of course. The Great Equalizer. Since you're here, I assume you got my message."

  "And then some."

  "Do tell."

  "Once we're all inside. I'm guessing you have those wards on the door, and won't come away from them, for a reason."

  "I've put myself at great risk for you, diuscrucis."

  Rose reached the doorway, still helping Gervais along.

  "Good evening, Miss..."

  "Rose. Just Rose." She looked back at the demon, and I could tell she was trying to quell her fear. She would be able to feel Valerix's aura, an aura that was likely much stronger than anything she had already encountered, even in passing.

  Valerix's eyes ran the length of her body, an act that was anything but innocent. "Rose. By any other name, would you be as sweet?"

  "I'm Peter," Gervais said, blurting it out. He shifted in Rose's arms. "I think I'm going to be sick." His face paled, and his stomach made a horrible gurgling noise.

  Valerix looked horrified. "Take the sheep up to one of the guest rooms," she said to one of the weres. "Do not hurt him."

  "Sheep?" Rose said.

  "Baaaaa!" Gervais laughed. "Baaaa!"

  "Come on." The were grabbed him roughly and pulled him away from Rose. She looked thankful to be rid of him. "I'll bring him upstairs."

  "Landon, if you will." Valerix turned, walking ahead of us. The second were pulled the doors closed, and then lifted a heavy slab of iron across to reinforce it.

  "Sheep?" Rose whispered to me, coming to walk at my side.

  "You're human. She only sees you as food, or a toy. For now."

  We kept walking, following Valerix down a marbled hallway and into a large sitting room. It was modern, with square, white leather furniture and huge, minimalist canvases lining the walls.

  "Your companion," she said. "He is-"

  "A little rough around the edges."

  "Why did you bring them here? What do you hope to gain by consorting with mortals? They will only get in your way. Make you soft."

  "That's a demonic perspective if I've ever heard one. Have you forgotten what your own human spirit was like?"

  "I remember my desire to hear how other spirits beg and scream."

>   "Watch your tongue, Valerix," I said, taking an aggressive step towards her. "You invited us in. Have some respect."

  She pursed her lips, bristling at being challenged in her own home. I don't know how much she feared me, but she feared the bigger picture enough to back down. "My apologies, Rose. I don't spend much time around sh... mortals, these days. I have forgotten my platitudes."

  "Apology accepted," Rose said.

  The answer made her bristle more. Her face flushed, and her eyes burned. "Please, sit. Make yourselves comfortable. Would you like some tea?"

  "We can skip the polite hostess part." I took a seat on a cream colored sofa. Rose chose a white, gothic looking chair, declaring her independence from me. It was a smart choice. "You have information."

  Valerix sat on the love seat opposite the couch. Her leather skirt rode up as she dropped, an intentional maneuver to try to entice me, or maybe Rose, with a sneak peek.

  I knew how to play the game. My eyes stayed on her face.

  She smirked. "Hearst told you about Matthias Zheng?"

  "Yes. I've already seen the fruits of his labor."

  Her eyebrows lifted. "What?"

  "The machine. The angels threw it at me last night."

  "And you survived?" Was she disappointed, or excited?

  "Human spirit."

  "I've seen the fruits of their labor, too. They dropped that thing into a vampire nest. Over a hundred vampires against one. You can guess who won."

  "That's why you warded your door?"

  "The entire house, underneath the wallpaper. I spent six days without interruption inscribing it myself, wondering every minute if they would show up with their weapon before I was done."

  "Why would they target you?"

  "They know I contacted you. That I tried to warn you. I also may have... detained, one of their Touched. He was a boastful sh... man. Certain that the 'Fists of God' would destroy our kind once and for all. I enjoyed bl..." She caught herself and glanced at Rose, and then returned her attention to me. "Oh, and you."

  Fists of God? It was a cool name. I wasn't too happy about the plural.