“Where’s the mother?” I steeled myself for the answer. “Is she alive?”
Legara squeezed past Kronin through the door. She returned a moment later, dragging an Ester by the hair. Half of her face was a mask of blood and her eyes were swollen shut. Legara pulled Ester as far as the front porch and dropped her. Ester’s head bounced against the ground. My knees nearly gave way with relief when I heard her moan softly in pain. I reached for the baby in Kronin’s arms, when a small figure stepped into view. A little figure with long blonde pigtails.
“The Bad Man sent you, didn’t he?” Pigtails stared up at Kronin, face scrunched up in anger. Her hair was beginning to come loose in a tangle of golden strands, her round cheeks flushed with anger. “You leave us alone.”
“You heard the girl.” I inched forward, trying to keep the hellspawn’s attention on me. “We’re wasting time. Leave the baby with its mother, it’ll just cry and attract unwanted attention. You might be able to fight me, but maybe a squadron of City Watch patrols would slow you down.”
Kronin stared down at Pigtails with a thoughtful expression. He turned away from me, dropping the baby carelessly on Ester’s half-unconscious body. The baby fell harmlessly onto his mother’s stomach and began to wail in earnest, face like a little beetroot. Curtains twitched in the neighbour’s windows, but no one appeared to help. Legara poked him with a fat toe and he tumbled over, hiccupping with distress. My hands rolled into fists, willing myself not to lunge forward and scoop him up. They had to keep their attention on me and my promise. “Let’s go.”
One of Legara’s fat hands curled around Pigtail’s arms. “This one will come with us. She makes much less noise.”
“An excellent idea.” Kronin stepped towards me. He paused to take a few shaky breaths, then made a polite gesture to me. “Let us go now. No more delays, nephilim.”
Chapter 45
Thunder rumbled outside as if the sky was clearing its throat. The sound echoed through the church, rattling the glass windows. The air felt humid, pressing down on me. I glanced up to the soaring ceiling above me, looking for inspiration. I sat in the front pew of the Church of Saint Pendergrast with Pigtails huddled next to me. I’d bought the hellspawn to the only place I could think of. This is where they’d been born into The Weald, a church named after the mad saint who had written The Key of Aldebaran. Here, power strummed along the ground. Here, somehow, I’d end this.
It crossed my mind to run, or at least to send Pigtails for help, while I fended Legara off. But the giant blob of a hellspawn was fast. As we’d tripped through the shadows of the backstreets of Applecross to Saint Pendergrast, Legara had trailed me easily, her massive bulk moving on ballerina toes, feet and eyes lightening fast. My eyes skipped over the broken body of Lacrone lying to the side of the dais. Legara had broken his neck the moment he had opened the church doors, then dragged him to the altar, tossing him aside. I hadn’t had a chance to warn him.
Soft crying turned my attention to the little girl next to me. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” I asked.
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, smearing snot everywhere. “Ruby.”
“That’s a real pretty name.”
“My brother’s call me Ruby-Runny-Nose.”
“Brothers can be mean, I guess.”
“Are we going to die?”
“No.”
My attention turned back to Kronin as he took a shaky breath, rising to stand with Legara’s help. He walked down the short steps of dais to stand in front of me.
“We are here, nephilim. You told us to come here. Now, where is The Key of Aldebaran?”
“Let the child go first.” I stood also, motioning to Ruby to stay still. “She has no place here.”
“Where is the book?” Legara hissed. She let go of Kronin, I blinked, then she was next to me, Ruby clutched in her chunky arms. The little girl’s face was white, her eyes fixed on me, bottom lip trembling. She didn’t start to cry, just watched me like I was her life-line.
Which I was.
“Tell me or I rip her head off, like I did your friend.” Legara’s arms tightened around Ruby and the girl began to struggle.
“Stop. I have it. I have it here.” I tugged the grimoire from my back pocket. “It’s yours.”
Legara squealed with delight. Dropping Ruby, she dashed forward to snatch the book out of my hands. I grabbed the little girl and pushed her to the door, whispering in her ear, “Run.”
Ruby gave me a wide-eyed look, then she dashed down the aisle, her feet making no noise.
“The girl?” Legara began.
“Let her go.” I stepped in front of her line of sight. “You’ve got what you wanted. She means nothing.”
“She’s right, my love.” Kronin was flipping through the grimoire, a frown on his face. “Don’t waste your energy.”
“But I’m so hungry,” Legara sighed.
Kronin looked up from the book. “Nephilim, what language is the book written in? I do not recognise it.”
“I couldn’t read it either.” I shot an accusing glare at Legara. “The priest might have known.”
Legara flushed, hands tangling with each other. Her eyes skipped over Lacrone’s body, turning hungry.
“Don’t you touch him,” I said, my voice cracking. “Don’t you dare!”
“I think you know how to read this book, but won’t tell me.” Kronin passed the grimoire to Legara. He came in close to me, his movements liquid and with the suggestion of hidden strength. His breath was fetid and foul, but I didn’t retreat. A shimmer of heat wafted off him, washing over me and sweat broke out on my upper lip.
His hand flashed out to wrap around my throat, his touch like a burn. I grabbed at his fingers, trying to pry them loose, but my broken finger made it hard and his grip was too strong.
Kronin lifted his other hand and dealt me with a slap that rang my ears like a church bell. My hands fell away and he pulled me in close, smelling like a nightmare; of something ancient and alien, half-dead and left to rot in the sun. The burning sensation became real and I realised his touch was scalding me. Crying out in pain, I twisted and bucked, but couldn’t get free of those burning hands around my neck. My heart slammed in my chest and my breath started to hitch as I began to panic.
There was a twitch of silver in the corner of my eye and I saw he had pulled the terrible chisel I’d seen before. The point rested between my eyes, its end needle sharp. It pinched my skin and something hot and wet trickled into my eyes. I hissed and stopped struggling, meeting the deep pools of Kronin’s eyes. A sweet smell came from the chisel. Its touch sent something like a frozen paralysis through my limbs. The burning didn’t increase, but the scalding sensation was raging through me, my nerves on fire.
“I am so…hungry,” Kronin said softly. “My soul-taker is starving along with me. The blood barely sustains it. It…we need souls to survive.”
“My love.” Legara’s voice was calm. “Don’t be too rash. We aren’t sure if the blood will retain its magic if she dies.”
Kronin’s feverish eyes never left mine. “Tell me, nephilim. Do you know what a soul tastes like?” The point of his pale tongue ran over his lips. “They taste like the dreams of children. Full of sweet innocence, with such capacity for corruption.”
I raised my hands again and tried to gouge my thumbs into his eyes. Kronin laughed and shifted, pulling me against his chest, trapping my arms by my side. My lame leg wobbled, threatening to give. Then a voice echoed through the church, bouncing off the walls.
“Would you look at this? A party going on and me without an invite.”
My eyes rolled to the front of the church. A silhouette of a man stood at the threshold, legs spread wide. A fork of lightning stabbed the sky, washing the outside world white. The figure entered the church with a swagger and I nearly fainted with relief. I knew that walk, that arrogant roll of the hips. Kronin let go of me. I fell to the ground, pain rolling down my neck like a hot wave.
“Watch
out,” I rasped, my throat raw. “They’re stronger then they look.”
“What coincidences this life gives us.” Kronin opened his arms wide. “How did you find us, old friend?”
Seth approached, wearing an unbuttoned dark leather coat; a sword was strapped to his back, a wheellock pistol holstered against one thigh. He walked with slow deliberate steps, his hair looking wind-blown and his skin flushed like he’d been running. He met my eyes and a strange sadness washed through his expression. I felt a prickly sensation crept through me, unease made my skin tingle.
“Seth?”
“It’s not what you think, Lora.”
“It has been a long time, Sarquious,” Legara smiled coyly at him and my stomach flipped. “They still talk about you, back home. The great battles you fought. The legions who followed you.”
“That was a long time ago,” Seth said.
Legara shrugged. “It seems like just yesterday we were together in the Hell Lands, commanding the Army of Nine.”
“I’m not here to reminisce about old times, Legara. I’m here to bargain for the life of the nephilim.”
“I would have thought you’d have died a human death by now.” Kronin dropped his arms when Seth didn’t come any closer.
“Do you know this female, Sarquious?” Legara sounded like a jealous woman, like someone who shared a history with him.
“Lora Blackgoat is my friend,” Seth nodded, his eyes avoiding mine.
“Does she know who you were?” Legara saw the horror dawning on my face and smiled. When Seth didn’t reply, delight shone in Legara’s eyes. “She didn’t know. She didn’t know,” she bawled with laughter to Kronin.
Seth looked at me then, and I stared back at the man I had thought my friend, my lover. His eyes were full of regret and I knew Legara spoke the truth. Beneath the numbing shock, I wondered how human he was, how long he had lived. Did he have the same anatomy inside, like Legara and Kronin? Was a grotesque figure lurking beneath the smooth and cocky veneer?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered.
Seth’s lips hitched into a small, crooked smile. “Would you have had anything to do with me if I had told you?”
“Sarquious comes from the Great City of Cheol, as we do,” Legara told me, voice amused. “Of course, that was before he was cast from the Hell Lands and made human. Such a waste. Such a scandal. He was one of the great ones.”
“Were you in on this plan?” I asked Seth coldly. “Did you help summon them?”
“No. Lora,” Seth said softly. “Please?”
“Shut up.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear his words, not sure if I’d believe him when he denied it. “I don’t want to hear another word.”
“I wasn’t responsible for that, you have to believe me.” Seth’s voice was raw, with something desperate at its edges. “It warned me though, that you’d been discovered. That someone had a copy of The Key of Aldebaran and knew its connection to you. What happened here on the night when the blood moon rose was enough to confirm my suspicions.”
“You knew what I was, didn’t you.” I was angry now. Very angry. “You played me. How did you find me here? Were you working with the hellspawn the whole time?”
“Your Mercury boy found me. It’s like I’ve always said, Dimples, I can find you anywhere in the city. But you have to believe me when I tell you that I had no part in this.” Seth’s eyes gave a silent plead for a forgiveness. My upper lip twitched into a sneer. Another person wanting my forgiveness, like I could just hand it out. Let go of what they’d done to me. My heart gave a pinch of pain, like something had skewered it. I looked away from him, my eyes burning with tears I couldn’t afford.
“Can you read this language?” Kronin held the Aldebaran out. Seth tore his eyes from me, glancing at the book. He gave a nod after a moment.
“I can. It’s Enochian.”
“You can read the language of angels?” Legara pulled a face. “How vulgar.”
Seth put his hands out, palms up. “I am willing to exchange my help for the life of Lora. What is it you want tonight?”
“We need to break the glamour spell that binds us,” Kronin told him. “I need to feed.”
So much for wanting to return home. In my haste to save Caleb’s family, I’d served myself and The Key of Aldebaran up on a platter. I mentally kicked myself a few dozen times. Stupid, stupid, stupid Lora.
“Once we are free, I shall call forth Azazel the Destroyer and his army. We will be his masters and command him to lay waste to this city,” Kronin said.
“Not if I can help it.” Seth’s fingers dipped into a pocket and he began to cast, throwing salt in the air to ignite the spell. I recognised binding words and heard Legara whimper. The air around Seth’s arms begun to crackling with energy, then something whistled past me. The words of power stopped abruptly on Seth’s lips. His hands flew to his stomach, fingers touching Kronin’s chisel that sat embedded in his stomach. Dark blood dripped from his hands in a steady flow.
“No!” Legara screamed, rushing to Seth’s side. “What have you done?”
“He moved to attack us,” Kronin said hoarsely. “We cannot trust him.”
“You’ve killed him!” Legara tore at her ratty hair. “You’ve killed my Sarquious.”
Kronin gave an airy wave. “We will find another to read the words. The important thing is we have the grimoire and the angel half-breed.”
With one bloodied hand, Seth pulled his wheellock and aimed at Kronin. The gun cracked and Kronin’s head snapped back. Legara gave a little shriek, a hand flying up to cover her mouth. Kronin straightened up with a grimace. A bullet hole sat between his eyes, trickling black blood. “That hurt. And it’s hardly going to kill me in this form.”
“This isn’t what I want,” Legara moaned. “Sarquious could have helped us.”
Kronin gave a rattling breath, wiping the oily blood from his eyes. “Be still about it. Accept he is gone.”
Seth gave a small sound and fell to his knees, ignoring Legara’s clumsy attempt to keep him up. He fell back against one of the isles, pained eyes meeting mine. I wanted to go to him, but his revelation and betrayal stayed my hand.
“Legara. Bring me back the soul-taker.” Kronin motioned to Legara impatiently. “We have more work to do this night.”
The female leant over Seth and pulled the soul-taker out of Seth. It came with a sucking, fleshy sound and Seth gave a grunt of pain. Legara’s head bowed, looking down at the bloodied tool in her hands. “I don’t like our plan anymore,” she said softly.
“What?” Kronin cupped an ear. “What did you say?”
“I said, I don’t like our plan anymore,” Legara looked up, her chin at a stubborn angle. “I don’t want to call forth Azazel the Destroyer. He’s an asshole who never gave me any respect.”
Kronin’s astonishment turned into anger, his sunken eyes flashing. “It’s the plan, it’s the best move for us.”
“No. It’s the best move for you.” Legara’s large hands curled around the chisel. “Azazel doesn’t even like me. Why would I want to share this glory with him?”
“Need I remind you I cannot feed in this form? I will waste to nothing.”
Legara glared up at him. “And yet I grow strong with flesh.” She pointed at me. “And I grow stronger with the blood of the nephilim.”
“You fed from her?” Kronin looked aghast. “You might have tainted the blood, what were you thinking?”
Legara threw back her head and screeched. She heaved back her arm and cast the chisel through the air. The thin blade hit Kronin in the chest with a wet thud. He grunted and looked down in surprise, then up at Legara. “What are you doing?” he asked weakly.
“I shall rule this city by myself.” Legara pounced up the dais and grasped Kronin’s head with her powerful hands and gave a vicious wrench. Bones cracked as Kronin’s head was twisted around. With a sickening crunch, Kronin’s head tore off, skin snapping, black blood squirting high in the a
ir. Legara threw the head and it bounced away, face contorted with rage. Legara pushed the body to the ground and fell upon it, tearing at Kronin’s flesh with her hands.
“I will call forth the dead from your cemeteries.” Black liquid sprayed from her lips as she shoved flesh into her mouth. “I will devastate this city with my flock. It shall be my victory.” Her eyes shifted to glare at me, the lower half of her face covered in gore. “Don’t think about running off on me, nephilim. I can move faster than you.”
I watched as she went back to task on Kronin. Bad, bad, bad. This was bad. My hands went to the flask in my jacket pocket, pulling it out. I unscrewed the lid and quickly tilted it over my lips, letting the remaining drops fall on my tongue, the foul liquid running down my throat.
“What are you doing?” Legara caught the movement. She pushed the remains of Kronin’s body aside and stood. “What did you just do?”
A beat pulsed through me, and a tickle of power raced through my blood, followed by a crackle of lightning down my arms. I was waiting for the surge of power this time though, and braced myself against the pain. I relaxed into the rush, even tried to welcome it. I felt my broken finger heal, my bruises fade away to nothing.
I looked down to see where I stood in relation to the lines. Six ley-lines wavered beneath the ground, converging into a knot at the centre of the dais. But something was wrong with them. Instead of shining, beautiful cords, they were all diseased looking, like the line I’d seen outside the Venitia Theatre. They heaved sluggishly, twitching and boiling with something terrible.
A chilled terror froze me to the spot, but I forced myself to look down at my feet. One shoe rested on clean ground, but the other sat on the edge of a filthy line. I jerked my foot away, but wisps of the line followed me, and began to crawl up my leg. A scream threatened my throat, but I locked it down. I could beat this. I did it before, and I could do it again. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move forward, to pull myself away from the cord. It gripped my leg, but I moved anyway, dragging it with me as it climbed higher up my leg.
“Tell me, nephilim, what have you done?”
Chaos Born Page 30
