“Well,” I mustered a smile, pushing aside my concerns for now, “if you’re looking for all things out of the ordinary, I’m your girl,” I said, not quite as enthusiastic as Spence was that this was now my life.
“Count me in,” Spence said without hesitation.
“Don’t you even want to know—?”
“Nope. I’m in.”
“Great,” I said, slapping a hand on his back. Then I pulled out some cash and passed it to Spence. “You’re going to need that glamour of yours. And steer clear of Dapper; he can see right through it.”
“Yeah, crafty bugger, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “Just stay down the other end of the bar. We need bourbon, Onyx’s brand.”
His excitement dropped a gear. “I was kind of hoping more for torture than bribery.”
“You’ll have to run and catch up with Nyla for that one. Torturing Onyx isn’t going to work.”
And I don’t want to have to torture anyone, ever!
Spence obligingly made his way to the bar. I knew he wouldn’t have too much trouble when I spotted Dapper busily chatting away with customers on one of the sofas. Sure enough, Spence returned in a few minutes, two bottles of bourbon in his hands.
He gave me a wink and then waggled his eyebrows. “You sure you don’t want to just hit the town with these?”
“Absolutely sure,” I said, already walking toward the stairs. Something told me Onyx was key to all this.
Onyx’s door was ajar. I was surprised to see the studio was now in relatively good order. Onyx himself looked much cleaner than he had when we first saw him on the street. It didn’t inspire the best feeling, unfortunately. Sitting on his sofa, feet on the small glass coffee table and wearing what was no doubt one of the shirts I had paid for and Steph had selected, he reminded me of how he used to look—when he was stark raving mad and, oh yeah, evil as all hell.
“Still alive, then?” Onyx remarked as we walked in, barely looking up. He was watching TV.
“Catching up on Gossip Girl, huh?” I asked, noticing his viewing selection.
“Yes. Chuck is a very entertaining human. At first, I was sure he was an exile, but he lacks follow-through. I imagine the show is somehow inspired or influenced by an exile, though,” he said, totally at ease despite the absurdity of the conversation. His eyes flashed up to me and then across to Spence, who was standing beside me. It was easy to tell the moment he registered the two bottles of bourbon. He picked up the remote and turned off the TV.
“You’ve brought me a gift.”
“Yes. And when I get the information I came for, it’s all yours,” I said, crossing my arms and giving off as much “tough” as I could muster.
Onyx spread his arms wide. “Well, what do you want to know? I must admit, even I am intrigued to know where your little adventures are headed. Who would have thought you would be so keen for more knowledge since the last I gave you…Well, it wasn’t exactly cheery, was it?”
I did my best to ignore him—rewarding Onyx’s goading never fared well for me. “I want to know about an exile called Nahilius.”
“Nahilius. Yes, I know of him. Seedy immortal, used to be a Cherubim of light.” His lip curled. “Why do you want to know about him? Surely you have bigger fish to fry?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively. He knew I didn’t need the reminder that I had an almighty exile after me.
“That’s funny; I’d forgotten,” I said, sounding every bit the petulant adolescent I missed being so much. “It’s none of your business why. If you want the bourbon, just tell me.”
Spence nudged me from behind and whispered, “Maybe we should show him we’re serious.”
I spun and stared at him.
“Okay, sorry to interrupt,” he said.
I turned back to Onyx. “So?”
“So, little rainbow, it’s very simple. You are terrible at negotiating. I have tortured, maimed, killed for less, and enjoyed it. There was a time when it was more effort for me to not kill than to kill. You are standing in front of me and I have no powers left, but I can see that same desperate human need you have. It’s pathetic and even with no supernatural enhancement, I’ve still got more nasty than you. You want to know, you tell me why.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Thank you, it’s something that took an eternity to perfect.”
I turned, determined to leave, but stopped and turned back before I’d even taken a step. Onyx knew something, and if there was any chance of finding this exile, he was it.
After all, you have jumped off a cliff and given up your life as you knew it for Lincoln. Surely you can endure a bully?
I stared at the ceiling while I took a few deep breaths.
“Okay,” I said, looking at Onyx, trying to ignore the overly smug look on his face. I walked to the center of his room and sat in the chair opposite him. I was damned if I was going to be left standing awkwardly in the doorway. Onyx was right, I had to stop letting other people rule me. Spence, following my lead, took a seat on the only other chair, a dingy kitchen stool positioned between the kitchenette and the living area—no man’s land. He looked ridiculous.
“Nahilius hurt Lincoln’s mother years ago. Lincoln heard he’s back in town and he’s going after him. I want to help.” I tried to stay neutral, not give away too much in my tone, nervously clutching at my hands, twisting my fingers.
“Still saving the one you love, little rainbow? What is it you are most worried about: That he will never find Nahilius and put this revenge to rest? Or that he will find him?”
I stared at my hands.
“I see. You want to get there first. And what is your plan if you do find him first? Will you kill him for your Lincoln? Can you do that?”
Spence jumped off his stool from behind me. “I’ve had it with this shit!”
Before I could stop him, he threw himself on top of Onyx, hauling him off the sofa and throwing him, face first, to the ground. Onyx, reduced to mere human strength, went down like a feather pillow. He could offer Spence no resistance.
“I’ve got your measure. I’ve been watching you tell your stories, ask your stupid questions, and you know what? You may not care about Violet or anyone else, but I don’t buy the crap about you not caring for yourself. Selfishness like yours only comes from one place: self frickin’ love!”
“Spence!” I yelled, worried I was about to lose my only chance.
“I got this, Vi,” he answered, flashing me a quick smile.
Shitshitshit.
Spence pulled Onyx’s arm behind him, hard. I was sure it was about to break. Onyx’s face was smushed into the sea-grass carpet, his cheeks bulging at the sides as Spence’s knee ground heavily into the space between his shoulder blades. I could see his face going beet red as he closed his eyes tight with the pain and groaned.
I took a step forward to intervene. Just as I did, Onyx cried out.
“Okay! Get off me.” He forced the muffled words out.
“You going to tell her what she needs to know?” Spence asked, completely calm now, in control.
Onyx didn’t respond. Spence pushed harder and I flinched, torn between staying put to get the information I so badly needed and stepping in. Need outweighed my sense of right and wrong.
Finally, Onyx caved. “Yes, yes. Get off!”
Spence looked at me—for gratitude or permission, I wasn’t sure. I gave him a nod. He eased off Onyx, giving him a last dig with a trailing knee. I just watched while he went through the motions and eased himself back onto the stool. Onyx pulled himself up gingerly.
Spence had helped me big-time. Just like Nyla, he had the ability to zone in and simply get the job at hand done. On this occasion, it had worked in my favor, but I had an uneasy feeling that that might not always be the case.
Onyx kept his back to us as he straightened his
shirt and combed his fingers through his now not-so-styled hair. When he turned to face me, he held his head high, despite it being dotted with the carpet’s imprint, and tried to maintain some dignity as he limped back to the sofa. He ignored Spence.
After an uncomfortable silence, he cleared his throat. “Nahilius is a weapon. Alone, he is not to be feared. It is not him you should be seeking.” Onyx did not hold my eyes, did not look for my reaction.
I tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. “Onyx, English please.”
“A weapon is ineffective without an operator.”
I stared at him blankly.
“I honestly can’t believe someone who is so dense at times was sharp enough to undo me.” He shook his head to himself, muttering something else. Clearly all the insane hadn’t left him when he became human—or maybe it was gradually leaving him.
“He’s a gun for hire. Nahilius wouldn’t know how to act alone even if he wanted to. He is one of the tempted. In the angel realm, there are angels who are more dominant than others. There are divisions between light and dark, the way you have divisions between political parties or races. As a result, naturally there are those who are leaders, those who follow, those who persuade, and those who are persuaded. The ones who are so weak they can be persuaded have no true belief system. They can be made to do many things.”
“Even exile?” I asked, starting to grasp where this might be going. I spotted a box of tissues near the TV and jumped up to get them.
“Yes, finally, some almost intelligent words. The angels who are persuaded are more often than not subjugated by means of temptation. An angel like Nahilius would have been lured into serving another angel. When that angel decided to exile, he would have recruited Nahilius, tempted him with material riches, and had him chose exile to serve his purposes on earth.”
I offered the tissues to Onyx, who abruptly snatched them from my hold and started wiping at his bloodied nose.
“So who does he work for?”
“Well, that’s the very interesting part. Nahilius is a modern exile, preferring to use technology and financial structures to hide within. He has an instinctive aptitude for survival. You see, his leader was killed by one of your lot half a century ago. Nahilius has become somewhat of an entrepreneur since then.”
Onyx pepped up. He was getting back into the swing of things. “He’s a freelancer—working for the highest bidder, so to speak—and not only for exiles. I don’t know who he’s working for, but I can guess.” He practically sang the last words.
Here we go.
“Look, Onyx, I need to find him. As you so kindly pointed out, I do have some other problems I need to be dealing with and it would be great if I could have Lincoln back with me. So okay, if it makes you happy to hear, then yes, I admit I want to stop him before he makes a huge mistake, so tell me what it’s going to cost. I’ll buy you more bourbon, shirts, whatever. But you will tell me”—I looked over to Spence—“or I’ll tell Spence he can have it out with you, and frankly, I don’t think you need to be a mind reader to know he wouldn’t really have a problem with that.”
I turned back to Onyx, whose eyes were now transfixed by Spence. Spence had been right; Onyx was starting to care about his life, even if it was only human.
“You have to think the way we do,” Onyx said, flipping a hand out and then frowning a little. “The way they do,” he corrected. “Right now, you have big problems. Instead of focusing on where this is all coming from, focus on the main problem for a moment. Usually things will lead back to that.”
My main problem was easy. Phoenix was going to find the Scriptures before me, and when he did, there would be nothing I could do about it because he had the power to kill me.
“Phoenix.”
Onyx nodded. “I imagine that this little issue Lincoln is having has worked quite well to divert his attentions away from the Scriptures…and you.”
As he spoke, I realized he had been the first one I’d heard refer to the Scriptures in plural. He’d always known there were two—a reminder that he wasn’t divulging more than needed at any time.
“It’s perfect,” Onyx continued. “Lincoln is off seeking revenge instead of helping you find a way to stop Phoenix. It’s distracting you almost as much as him and, best of all, separating you both physically and emotionally. Lincoln is your best shot at trying to heal you if Phoenix reinstates your wounds…” He paused, considering something. “I have to say this is not a good sign for you. I wondered if, in the end, Phoenix would really be willing to destroy you. His love for you seemed real, but it appears you were successful in disintegrating that love completely, and in return, he is apparently ready to ensure that when he defeats you, it will be—”
“For good,” I finished.
Onyx smiled, but for once, I didn’t think his heart was truly in it. He was too busy dabbing his bleeding nose and watching Spence out of the corner of his eye.
He was right, though. As soon as he said it, it made sense. Of course this was Phoenix and of course he wanted to drive a wedge between Lincoln and me, weaken us.
And you walked right into it!
I wanted to slap myself. He must be laughing so hard at how easy it was to separate us, how easily I just let Lincoln go off on these renegade missions instead of focusing on the Scriptures, how easily Lincoln was derailed and turned from his responsibilities.
Of all things, this—the exile who had hurt his mother—was the only thing that could spoil him so effectively, have him turn his back on his obligations. Lincoln had an excuse—he was blinded by his love for his mom and his need for closure—but what the hell was mine? I should have seen this coming.
“Now, if you don’t mind, could you please instruct your brawn to hand over my payment and go away?”
“Spence, give him the bourbon. Thank you, Onyx.” I nodded at him and he looked away.
Spence put the bottles on the coffee table, and I could tell he was even less pleased than I was about having to pay him for information.
As we walked out, Onyx spoke again. “I know someone who might know where he is. I’ll let you know.”
I didn’t turn around. I just paused in the doorway. “Thank you.”
Spence and I left Hades without talking after I’d stopped to let Dapper know that Onyx could do with an ice pack. When we hit the pavement, Spence was all pumped up.
“Do you think he’ll send through the address tonight?” he asked.
In the dark, the night air was cool and made me feel unprotected and somehow all alone, despite my company. I turned a wary look to Spence. “Not tonight. I have to get home before Dad calls, and anyway, I’m too tired for anything else. If I get the address, we can go tomorrow.”
Spence’s shoulders sagged forward.
“I promise I’ll let you know. I won’t go without you,” I assured him.
He smiled. Spence still hadn’t asked for the full story about Nahilius. It occurred to me he didn’t care. As long as there was the potential for a fight, he was in.
“Um, Spence, can we keep this to ourselves for now?”
“You won’t catch me telling anyone,” he said. And I knew he wouldn’t. Spence wouldn’t risk missing out.
Another good thing to remember!
“Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love.”
George Eliot
The phone was ringing when I opened the door.
“Hello? Hello?” I called into the receiver after lunging to get it before it stopped.
“Hello?” I said, again.
“Vi, it’s me. Where have you been?”
“Oh, hi, Dad. I was out with Sp—Steph. We were at the library.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Dad, seriously. If you don’t believe me, call Steph. She’s probably still there.” Lying just isn’t someth
ing that sits well with me, so the fact that I seemed to be lying to everyone in my life at the moment and was turning out to be pretty damn good at it was disturbing. For whatever reason to whatever person, it never feels right. I’ve felt like that my whole life, always thinking it was something I had inherited from my mother. Until I discovered she was the biggest liar of all!
“Okay, okay, so you were at the library. Sweetheart, I was worried about you. I’ve called the apartment a few times today and you haven’t been home. I tried the other night as well, but you weren’t there. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. How’s Lincoln?” Dad asked, trying out the question.
“He’s okay. You know, same as always.”
“Are you two still…friends?” he asked, a lilt in his voice.
“Yes,” I deadpanned.
“Just friends?”
“Dad,” I warned.
“Okay. But you’re okay then?”
“I’m fine. How’s your trip going?”
“Same as always, sweetheart. Somehow Caroline has managed to arrange meetings with almost every client the company has.” Beneath the obvious exhaustion, I noticed something that sounded a lot like endearment. If I hadn’t known Dad as well as I did, I would’ve wondered if something were going on between him and his PA. Dad sighed. “I miss you. I’m trying to rearrange the schedule. With any luck, I’ll see you in a few days.”
Talking to Dad, I had an idea—a memory really—of the dreams I’d had. Until now, they had seemed so unreal I’d just brushed them off as weird, but with everything that was happening, I realized for the first time that maybe they were the clue I had needed.
“Sure. Dad?”
“Yes.”
“When you met Mom, when you lived in New York—did she ever mention any friends she had there? Um…Did she ever mention anyone’s name…like Nyla or Rudyard?”
“No, not that I remember. Your mom didn’t have many connections when we met. She had only recently moved from a small town to New York. Why?”
See! My mom, biggest liar of all.
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