by Mel Odom
His words hung dry and lifeless in the distance between them. Leah felt hurt and confused. Resorting to her training, she walled those feelings away.
“All right,” she said. “If that’s how you’d like it.”
“It’s not a matter of how I’d like it,” Simon said. “I’ve found I’ve got little control over the things I’d like. This is just how it has to be.”
Leah tried to think of something to say but couldn’t.
“Will you be able to see your way to safety from here?” Simon asked.
“Yes,” Lyra told Leah. “I’ve got an exfiltration team standing nearby.”
“I will,” Leah answered.
“Then take care out there, Leah. I wish you well.” Simon turned on his heel and disappeared through the door to the tube platform waiting area.
Unable to move or to speak, Leah watched him go.
“You did what you had to do,” Lyra said.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Leah said.
“It will. You had no way of knowing what Lord Cross planned to do.”
“I could have waited for another time. Or asked him about these devices.”
“If he’d wanted to tell you, he’d have told you before now.”
“He was going to tell me.”
“That’s what he says now.”
Leah headed for the platform and hauled herself up. “Didn’t you come to me and want to push him further up in the hierarchy of the Templar?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must believe in him.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Do me a favor,” Leah interrupted. “Stay out of my head for a while.” She cut comm and kept walking through the darkness.
THIRTY-TWO
G et up, Warren!”
The frantic voice dragged Warren from his sleep. He pushed the pillow from his face and glanced around groggily. It was light outside, but dawn had started when he’d gone to bed. He’d been up all night working on mastering new ways to use the arcane energy he tapped into. Since they’d returned to the building he’d claimed for himself in the Soho District, he’d worked with Lilith. Naomi had grudgingly remained around, but even she had set her enmity with the demon aside to learn more.
Naomi stood by the bed and pulled her clothes on. Her eyes locked on the security monitors on the wall by the bed.
“What’s going on?” Warren asked. He stared at the blank monitors. They shouldn’t have been blank. He’d set up a generator in the basement of the building, and shielded it so the noise wouldn’t be heard or otherwise sensed by the roving demon patrols. A large petrol tank guaranteed that it would run for weeks at a time. He’d filled it again upon their return.
“The security system is down,” Naomi replied as she stomped into her boots.
“I see that.”
“I heard a noise and woke up. When I checked the security monitors, they were dead.”
“How long have they been dead?”
“I don’t know.”
Warren stepped into his pants and pulled a rugby jersey on. The combat boots took a moment longer. He roomed on the fourth floor. It would take a moment for anyone arriving at the building to climb the stairs.
Not winged demons, he amended. He glanced through the steel security bars that blocked the windows. Many of the buildings in the neighborhood had had those in place to keep out looters before the invasion. They didn’t draw any special attention.
He touched the coat Lilith had given him and it flowed over his body as if it had a mind of its own. Perhaps it did. He still wasn’t sure about that, but it had offered better protection than any of the body armor he’d worn. Just thinking of the obsidian spear brought it into his hand. It flew across the room and settled into place.
Warren reached into the messenger satchel he habitually carried, which contained various artifacts he’d created. He knew where everything was located simply by touch. An individual pocket held Blood Angel eyes he’d harvested and tied to his own senses. He sorted out four of them that still felt wet and slimy. Two of them had dried out.
He filled the eyes with arcane energy, mapped the way each individual eye was supposed to go, and threw them into the air. They paused in the air for just a moment as if sorting out the command, then flew into action. Two of them sailed through the window, and two shot away through the door to the room.
“Where’s Lilith?” Naomi asked.
“I don’t know.”
Naomi frowned. “Awfully convenient of her not being around while this is going on.”
“She doesn’t want anything to happen to me.” Warren opened his mind to the Blood Angel eyes, tapping into what they saw. “She still needs me.”
“Don’t be too sure about that.”
Warren was, though. Until Lilith got her body back to full strength, she’d need him to care for her and help her.
One of the eyes that had flown outside broke away and flew over the top of the five-story building. The other aimed for street level.
Dozens of Gremlins poured in through the building’s front door. Massive and vaguely human-shaped, they stood on wide, two-taloned feet. Misshapen and powerful, they were fierce foes in battle. Their flat faces held several beady black eyes. Three horns jutted from the tops of their large, bulbous heads and two others stabbed down from their square jaws.
The eye viewing the other side of the building showed more Gremlins coming in through the door on the Old Compton Street side. The demons breached the security doors without problem.
The two eyes inside the building sped down the two stairwells at either end of the main hallways. Since Blood Angels saw in the dark, they easily spotted the Gremlins surging up the stairwells. They arrived at the second landing.
As Warren watched, his mind desperately racing, one of the Gremlins spotted the eye hovering on the third-floor landing. The demon pulled his rifle to his shoulder and fired.
Bright light sizzled through Warren’s vision. Pain split his temples. He cried out.
“Warren?” Naomi took his arm.
Impatiently, and more than a little afraid, Warren brushed her off. “There are Gremlins in the building.”
“How did they find us?”
“I don’t know. They’re at the second floor now. We’ve got to get out of here.”
Movement caught the attention of one of the Blood Angel eyes outside the building. It spun and focused on a flying demon just before the creature caught the eye in its razored beak.
Another wave of pain shot through Warren’s head. He kept from crying out, but nausea swirled in his stomach. When the front door of the suite blew open, he raised the spear to defend himself.
Lilith floated before him. Her feet dangled inches from the ground. She couldn’t walk fast enough to escape. Her body had begun to gradually resume some of its shape and flesh, but that left her grotesque and weak.
“We’ve been found out,” she said.
Naomi cursed. “How did they find us?”
“Now isn’t the time for questions,” Lilith stated. “Warren, get the Book. If we’re going to live, we need it.”
Warren sprinted to the ornate desk he’d found and had zombies bring up to the room for him. He laid his hand on the drawer that held the Book and pulsed arcane energy into the lock as he spoke the code phrase.
The lock released with a series of audible clicks.
Out in the hallway, the demons had reached the third-floor landing. Then that vision blinked out as one of them shot the Blood Angel eye hovering in front of them.
Warren sagged against the desk for a moment, then got control of himself again. He reached inside the desk drawer and withdrew the Book.
Eighteen inches by fourteen inches and six inches thick, the Book was covered in virulent purple leather that had lines—by design or by accident—that looked like blood veins. As always, the Book purred liked a cat. An eye the amber-green of a cat’s opened in the center of the Book. Below it, a fang
ed mouth took shape.
“I am in danger,” the Book said.
“I know,” Warren said. “I’m going to get you out of here.” For a time, he’d believed that the voice he’d heard from the Book had been Lilith. But after she’d separated from the Book, it had still continued to talk to him. Lilith hadn’t given any explanation.
“Good,” the Book said. “I do not wish to be destroyed.”
“You won’t be. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Warren Schimmer. Otherwise I would kill you.”
It was funny, Warren reflected, how many demons and people—and things—claimed to be his friend, yet offered to kill him if he ever betrayed them. But not funny in a good way. That tendency of the demons and demonic things reminded him a lot of how his life had been before the invasion.
He pressed the Book against his duster. Immediately, a pocket formed there and swallowed the Book. The eye watched him until the pocket sealed. For a moment, the bulge in the duster was obvious, then it disappeared. The garment could make any number of pockets, and Warren could store innumerable things in it. The amazing thing was that none of them had any physical weight or shape after the pockets sealed. He could even open a pocket over the top of a pocket.
The clamor of the approaching demons sounded out in the hallway.
Naomi stood at one of the windows and held the security bars.
“You can’t go out,” Warren said. “More of them are out there.”
Exasperated and scared, Naomi turned on him. “Then what are we going to do?”
“The first rule of having any sanctuary,” Warren said, “is to have a way out.” He crossed the room, took her by the hand, and pulled her into motion.
An explosion ripped through the window where Naomi had stood. The concussion knocked Warren and Naomi from their feet. Masonry and steel bars shot across the room. Two of the steel bars embedded in the wall on the opposite side. Lilith flattened against a wall but didn’t seem any worse for wear.
“Lilith!” a monstrous voice boomed.
“Korhdajj,” Lilith snarled.
Warren stood and pulled Naomi behind him. The duster he wore offered more protection than her armor.
Korhdajj clung to the side of the building. He had to have been at least twelve or fourteen feet tall, and was immense. Huge batwings helped him balance on the wall, barely visible through the hole he’d created. Iridescent red scales covered him and gave him the appearance of being on fire.
However, silvery metal that seemed constantly in motion sealed over parts of the demon. It wasn’t armor, Warren saw. It was fixed to his body like skin grafts. The metal covered half of the demon’s face, including one eye.
Lilith pulled herself from the wall. Warren felt the arcane energy building around her.
Do not fear him, Warren, Lilith spoke into his mind. He’s big—
And powerful, Warren thought.
—but he can be destroyed. Strike quickly with the spear when I tell you.
We should run. I have a way out.
If you run, he’ll destroy you.
Warren gripped the spear. Naomi grabbed him from behind, pulled on him, and whispered, “Let’s go. Let them kill each other.”
Not speaking, Warren shrugged free. “Wait.”
“We’re going to get killed.”
“Wait.”
Lilith floated above the floor and looked incredibly frail and used up, facing the giant clinging to the wall like some demonic King Kong. Winds filled the room and blew furniture and papers everywhere. Sheets and bedding billowed off the bed and swirled madly.
“I thought you were dead, Lilith.” Korhdajj knocked more of the wall away with a huge fist. Chunks of stone rained down into the street as vibrations shook the room.
“I was abandoned,” Lilith said. “Sydonai betrayed me.”
Korhdajj laughed.
“Do you understand them?” Naomi whispered into Warren’s ear.
Warren did. Until that moment he’d thought they were speaking English. “Yes.”
“What are they saying?”
“Be quiet. You’re going to get us killed.” Warren took a fresh grip on the spear.
THIRTY-THREE
K orhdajj pulled himself into the room. He ducked his head to fit inside. He peered down at Lilith, and she looked almost childlike next to him. She certainly looked defenseless.
“Where have you been all these years?” Korhdajj asked.
“Waiting for Sydonai to make good on his promise. He sent me here to defeat these people and make way for the Hellgate.”
Warren watched her face and wondered if the flesh wasn’t dead and gripped her skull so tightly that she couldn’t show fear.
“You failed,” Korhdajj taunted.
“The humans are more skilled and powerful than we’d thought.”
“But they die so easily. Even the Templar wither and perish before us.”
“Is Sydonai here?” Lilith asked.
Gremlins suddenly filled the doorway behind Warren. He faltered for a moment as he felt their baleful stares burning into his back.
Do not think of them, Lilith commanded. They will be dealt with.
“Sydonai is where he wishes to be,” Korhdajj replied. “He is the Eldest. His will is law. You had best learn your place with him. Otherwise you’ll find yourself crawling out of the Well of Midnight as far less than you ever were.”
“I see you still bear your scars.”
Self-consciously, Korhdajj ran a three-fingered hand over the metal side of his face. Then he caught himself and grinned. “This was your doing.”
“You should remember your place with me,” Lilith said.
“Once, perhaps.” Korhdajj shook his head. “But no longer. You’re not the Eldest’s protected anymore.”
“I will be again.”
“If I were inclined to let you live, I might be interested in seeing the outcome of that. But since I sensed you in this place, working your power, I knew that I wouldn’t suffer you to live again.”
“Have a care, blunderer. I’m more powerful than I appear.”
Korhdajj grinned, and the effort bared huge fangs in a double row of teeth. “I don’t believe you. All I see before me is a shriveled dakmuwah, hardly worth the trouble to skin and eat. I’d wager your skinny flesh sticks in my teeth. But I’ll pick you out with your own bones.”
Ready, Lilith told Warren.
Yes.
When the time is right, you must strike for his neck. Pierce it and we will live.
Warren swallowed hard. His hand felt sweaty. Heat from the demon washed over him. For the moment, the Gremlins held back at the door.
“I gave you those wounds that you cover,” Lilith said. “I was merciful and let you live. For thousands of years, they’ve remained with you and never healed.”
“For thousands of years they’ve served to remind me why I hate you so much.” With a quick movement, Korhdajj wrapped an impossibly huge hand around Lilith. In just that slight movement, his hand grew so large that it covered the withered demon from shoulders to knees. “Today, though, I’ll have my revenge.” He lifted Lilith and opened his mouth.
An explosion of light suddenly blazed in the room, slammed against Warren, and rocked him on his heels. He barely kept his balance. The Gremlins cowered back from the door.
Korhdajj’s hand flew open, and he screamed in agony as flames covered his palm and fingers.
Now, Warren! Lilith commanded. Strike now!
Fear pounded Warren’s temples as he set himself and threw the spear as hard as he could. The obsidian shaft flew true and sank into Korhdajj’s neck just below his jaw.
The demon’s eyes widened in sudden fear. He turned to face Warren. “No!” Korhdajj bellowed in disbelief. “What have you done?” He reached for the spear, but his neck abruptly turned to soup and ran down his shoulder. Only his bones remained intact.
Lilith flew forward as Korhdajj started to fall. Her arms moved arthriticall
y, but she caught his massive head in her hands. Unbelievably, she held the demon up as he fought for his life. Then a bold blue light dawned in Lilith’s hands.
Warren felt the exchange of arcane energy passing from Korhdajj to Lilith. Some of it spilled over onto him, and he pulled it into himself. The energy was too strong, though, and the pain of containing it lanced through him. He needed to release it before it tore him apart.
Hold on to it, Lilith said. You’re going to need it. Wait for my signal.
Warren’s eyes brimmed with tears as he fought the pain. Korhdajj shrank, dwindling into himself like a rotting jack-o’-lantern. But Lilith grew younger, till she looked like a woman in her twenties. Her hair grew in full and luxuriant. Her eyes held Warren’s as she turned to face him.
Now. Call the spear to you and use it to channel the energy within you against the Gremlins.
The connection to the spear throbbed in Warren’s mind. He threw out his hand and called it to him. With a quiver, it broke free of the demonic corpse and streaked across the room to slap into his palm. He spun as the Gremlins, spurred on by their commanders, streaked into the room.
As if he’d handled the spear all his life, Warren set himself and swung the weapon around. The spearhead ripped the first wave of Gremlins open. Some of them died immediately as the blade pierced their hearts. Others received lingering deaths from sliced throats, punctured lungs, and disembowelment. The floor ran thick with gore that flooded the area like a tidal wave.
The Gremlins backed off in awe. Warren couldn’t believe the damage he’d wreaked and stood frozen himself for a moment.
“Stand there and you’ll die,” Lilith yelled at him. She threw out a hand and a massive charge of electricity surged through the massed Gremlins. Many of them blew up, their limbs twisted free by the discharge that ripped through their bodies.
Several of the Gremlins at the door raised their weapons and took aim at Warren and Lilith. With a gesture, Warren raised a shield. Projectiles came to a sudden stop in midair, held by the shield. Beam weapons, acid, and swarms of insects fired by even stranger weapons smeared harmlessly across the shield.
“There are too many,” Naomi shouted in Warren’s ear. “We’ll have to go out the windows.”
