by Noree Cosper
“We’re going to need a way to deal with them and the angel,” Adrian said.
“There may still be something,” I said. “Viktor knows about the entity possessing Esais.”
Adrian stood up. “Then we find him and get my brother back.”
“He just ran off on me,” I said. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”
“I thought he was staying with Esais at his apartment,” Lucy said.
“He seemed afraid of Sariel,” I said. “I’m not sure if he would go back to Esais’s apartment.”
“Hmm.” Lucy nodded, still staring at Tres’s face.
“Do you think you could find out?” I asked.
“Maybe,” Lucy said. “But I think Tres needs me… something is going on in there… I’m not sure, though. I think I need to consult my cards.”
I swallowed and nodded. “Okay, concentrate on Tres. If you can help him, all the better.”
“You could check Viktor’s original address. Perhaps there may be a clue at where he went.” Jonah pulled out his phone. “I have it.”
I blinked at Jonah. “Really?”
“Of course. I keep all the addresses of the Organization’s members. Ah, here it is. 5285 Name Street, Apartment 234 in the Bronx,” Jonah said.
“Great,” I said. “I’ll see if I can find anything.”
“I’ll go with you,” Adrian said.
I glanced from him to Tres. “You don’t want to stay here?”
“There’s not a whole lot I can do here,” he said.
I glanced at Marge. “What about you? You still can kick. Are you up for going?”
She shook her head and held up her arm. “Probably best if I don’t. Besides, I’m still feeling a little out of it from the whole dying thing. I’ll go ask a few of my contacts in the city if they know anything about this angel or the nephilim.”
I grabbed a notepad from an end table and drew the two symbols I’d seen burned in the city. I handed the paper to her. “See if you can find anything about these, too. I found them both at spots near where we’d found demons. They’re angelic and I think they might be part of a bigger symbol.”
“Will do,” she said.
I glanced at Adrian. “I need to stop and pick up some sort of weapons from my apartment.”
“I need a weapon as well,” Adrian said. “Most of my guns were in the office.”
Jonah cleared his throat. “I have a few things in my car that may be able to assist both of you. It’s not what you are used to, but we always need to be prepared.”
“Great,” I said. “Can we borrow your car then?”
For the entire ride, Adrian stayed silent as he drove Jonah’s black town car. He held his shoulders stiff and his fingers tapped against the steering wheel in agitation. I wanted to take his hand in mine, but I pushed the urge aside. Adrian didn’t want my comfort and wouldn’t welcome my touch. We both stayed on our sides of the car, wrapped up in our own grief and worry.
We pulled up in front of a four-story brown brick apartment building. Several of the windows had iron bars on the outside. Most of the buildings on the street had a dirty, rundown look to them. Trash littered the rain gutters.
“I guess this is it,” I said. “Not much to look at.”
“I see why he preferred to stay with Esais,” Adrian said.
Adrian parked along the side of the road and we hopped out. I opened the trunk and lifted the carpeted board up that usually hid the spare tire. Instead of the tire, Jonah had had the area fitted for a small round case. Several vials of holy water, a couple of Adrian’s garlic bombs, a set of knives in sheaths, and a pistol with various types of bullets were all fitted in their separate compartments.
“Leave it to Jonah to be so organized.” I pulled out the knives and attached them to the insides of my boots.
“Hmm.” Adrian took out the gun and examined it. With a nod, he holstered it inside his jacket and took the bullets.
I stared up at the apartment building. “I guess we go through the front door for once.”
“And if he’s not home?” Adrian asked.
“You use your tiny robots and unlock the door.”
Three children around the age of six or seven sat in front of the elevator playing a board game. The sign on the elevator read out of order.
I gave Adrian a ghost of a smile. “Stairs it is.”
“Seems like you’re off the hook this once,” he said.
We climbed the stairs to the second floor. Shouts echoed down the hall coming from Viktor’s apartment and grew louder as we approached. Both were male, and one was Viktor’s, though I couldn’t make out the words. I raised my hand to knock but Adrian shook his head. His gaze focused on the lock and his brow furrowed in concentration. After a few seconds, he twisted the handle and the door swung open.
Viktor’s living room looked to be in a state of constant clutter. The walls were lined with old movie posters and fliers from live bands that had played in venues around the city. Magazines and books were stacked on the kitchen counter and the coffee table. To make the clutter even worse, shirts and jeans were tossed about the couch and chairs in the living room. A pile of clothes was stuffed in a brown suitcase with ragged corners.
Viktor and Aaron stood behind the couch close to each other, shoulders stiff. Viktor glanced at us and his eyes widened and his mouth hung open in surprise.
Aaron glanced back at us. He grinned with his gaze lingering on me, and my skin crawled.
“Ah, Gabby. I knew you’d survive by the Grace of God. Looks like you’re no worse for wear. Irae will be disappointed, I suppose.”
I gritted my teeth. It seemed Irae had a penchant for hurting even those who saved her. Ungrateful bitch.
“Not all of us are,” I said. “Tres is hurt. I don’t think Esais would like his brothers injured. That should go against the deal with Sariel.”
Aaron shrugged. “I can’t speak for that. Esais knows his place in all this though. He is the Vessel.”
My fists clenched. “He doesn’t want to be.”
“He agreed to the compact,” Aaron said.
“Only because Sariel had possessed him and killed Marge. That’s cheating,” I said.
Aaron smirked. “So pretty, but you don’t know much.”
I took a step forward, intent on smashing my fist in that smug face of his. Adrian gripped my arm.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, gaze focused on Aaron.
“I am doing Sariel’s will,” Aaron said. “As should Viktor.”
Adrian’s voice remained a steady tone. “And what is his will?”
“So faithless,” Aaron said. “All will be cleansed in the end. All will be at peace.”
“Fuck that.” Adrian’s voice dripped with ice.
He raised the gun and fired. The silencer on the end muffled the sound somewhat, but the explosion rang in my ear. The temperature of the room dropped as a wall of ice appeared between Aaron and Viktor and us. The bullet slammed into the wall, creating little cracks as it became embedded.
Aaron, his shape distorted through the ice, grabbed Viktor and the two of them disappeared through the bedroom. I rushed forward, pulling the knives from inside my boot. I slammed them into the crack, widening them, but not enough to break it.
“You’re wasting time.” Adrian turned towards the door. “They’re most likely heading out through the fire escape.”
With a growl, I followed after him. We raced down the steps and around to the side of the building. Aaron stood on the metal railing of the fire escape with his hands-on Viktor.
Viktor stared down at us with wide eyes. He just shook his head with a resigned look on his face. Aaron waved and smiled before casting his gaze up at the gray sky filled with clouds. The wind picked up. I tried to walk forward but it knocked me back, slamming me into the wall of the opposite building. Adrian skidded across the concrete and into the side of a dumpster.
Aaron pulled Viktor against him and jumped off the fire escap
e. I stared in shock as the wind caught both of them and lifted them higher into the sky until they disappeared into the clouds.
Chapter 21
If the ride to Viktor’s apartment had been quiet, it had nothing on the trip back to the hospital. Adrian didn’t look at me at all. Instead, he chose to stare out at the street ahead with his brow furrowed. I lay my head back against the seat cushion and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
I’d lost Viktor twice today. The second had even been with another nephilim. What kind of hunter was I that I couldn’t even capture two young men? Sure, Aaron had weather manipulation powers, but I’d been hunting demons for almost five centuries.
Adrian pulled into the parking garage of the hospital, cut the engine, and slid out of the car. He stood by the trunk, waiting for me to get out. With a sigh, I slid out and slammed the door behind me. An echo reverberated through the surrounding concrete.
“Stop berating yourself,” Adrian said. “We were unprepared for another nephilim to be at the apartment. Next time, we will have something prepared.”
“We should have already,” I said. “I should have expected it.”
“Esais was our mind reader and Lucy is distracted with Tres.” Adrian’s voice took on a softer tone at his brothers’ names. “Besides, blame doesn’t get us a solution. It’s a waste of time.”
“Fine,” I said. “What now? How can we handle a nephilim? Your workshop is gone as are Esais’s books.”
“Give me a little time to think,” he said.
“We don’t have much time,” I trudged towards the doors of the hospital. “Only seven days.”
“A few hours won’t hurt,” Adrian said. “Better than trying to rush into this again.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “I’ll helped Lucy with Tres then. Hopefully, she knows something by now.”
Adrian pulled me into the elevator. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths as we ascended. The doors slid open and I stepped into the lobby, awash with the medicinal smell that seemed to permeate all hospitals. That smell always turned my stomach.
I froze at the sight of Jonah talking to Detective Anderson through the large window of the waiting room. It looked like the police were still sniffing around on what had happened. Adrian gave an annoyed sigh and stepped around me and into the room. I followed him. They weren’t alone. A man and woman sat together on one corner and an old man flipped through a magazine in another corner. Detective Anderson’s gaze met mine and he waved for us to join Jonah and him. I gritted my teeth and walked over to them.
“Detective.” I nodded to him. “I thought you would have talked to Jonah already.”
“I have,” Detective Anderson said. “However, I had some follow-up questions.”
Jonah cleared his throat. “The detective wished to know our clientele. I explained to him that was confidential.”
“Our clients do like their privacy,” I said.
“I’m glad that I ran into you again, as well, Ms. Lucco,” Anderson said. “I was wondering if you could spare a little more detail on your cases?”
I crossed my arms. “What does this have to do with our office collapsing? You still don’t think there was a bomb or anything?”
“No,” the detective said. “But some interesting devices have been found in the rubble.”
“That would have been mine,” Adrian said. “I had a workshop in the office where I worked on mechanical equipment.”
“And what sort of equipment would this be?” the detective asked.
“Surveillance and tracking equipment,” Adrian said. “I could go into more detail, but I doubt you would understand the nuances.”
Anderson’s eyes narrowed on Adrian. “Perhaps not, but I can call in an expert for reference.”
“You never answered my question,” I broke in. “Why were you interested in looking into my cases?”
“There have been several cases over the last two months where a woman matching your description was witnessed on the scene.” Anderson pulled out his notebook and flipped it open. “The most recent was a case of a reported gunshot at an abandoned diner during the day of January fifteenth. Did any of your cases lead you to that neighborhood on that date?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “This is a big city. I’m sure there are a lot of women that look similar to me.”
The detective tilted his head down so his gaze rested on the top of my head. “I don’t know. You seem pretty distinctive.”
A vein in my temple ticked. “I’m sure there are several women at my stature with black hair.”
“And our cases are as confidential as our clients,” Jonah said. “You would need to go through the proper legal channels to be able to obtain that information.”
“Very well.” Anderson jotted something down in his notebook and glanced up at Adrian. “I would still like an explanation of what sort of surveillance equipment you were working on.”
Adrian launched into a long dissertation of technical terms in which the syllable length of the words grew with each sentence. Anderson seemed to try to follow along with Adrian, scribbling in his notebook as fast as he could. At times, he would interrupt to ask a question. This only spurred Adrian to go into an even more complicated explanation. Halfway through, I began to tune out most of what he said. The surrounding noises in the waiting room became more pronounced to where I could make out a husband arguing with his wife over their insurance information and a commercial for a new coffee creamer on the television.
After some time, Anderson shut his notebook with a soft snap. “Thank you for your time. It looks like I have an expert to find and legal channels to go through.”
“Have a good day detective,” Jonah said.
He nodded to each of us and left, heading towards the elevators.
I turned to Adrian with a frown, lowering my voice to a whisper. “What if they found the other projects?”
He nudged out of the waiting room and towards Tres’s room. “They won’t. While we were still in the collapse after I woke… I sent my nanites to disassemble anything incriminating.”
Jonah followed behind us. “Still, his keen interest is disconcerting. I may have to make some arrangements.”
“Has there been any change with Tres?” I asked Jonah.
He shook his head. “Lucy has gone home to see what she can find, and hopefully to get some sleep.”
My shoulders slumped and my steps slowed, allowing Jonah and Adrian to take the lead. Jonah stopped short at the doorway. I’d been staring at the floor and had to do a quick sidestep. I glanced at what had taken him by surprise. Ice rushed through my veins.
Delilah stood over Tres’s bed, staring down at him.
Chapter 22
Delilah ran her hand over Tres’s leg, her nails sliding along the rough knit blanket. Wrinkles appeared on her forehead. Her bright pink lips curled down into a frown.
What was she doing here? She should have been caught in the office collapse.
She glared at us with narrowed eyes, her lips forming into an unconscious pout. “What’s wrong with him? Why won’t he wake up?”
“How are you still alive?” Coldness accompanied Adrian’s words.
“I was saved.” Her voice took on a reverent tone and her eyes glazed. “An angel rescued me.”
A chill ran up my spine and my shoulders stiffened. What would Sariel want from Delilah? If he’d been influencing Esais all this time, he found her to be a blight, not worth saving.
“Where is the angel now?” Adrian asked.
“I don’t know.” Delilah glared at him. “You had me in that room and the building began to shake and fall to pieces. I remember a light surrounding me and filling me. Then I woke up on a bench in Central Park.”
“What about the other two?” I asked. “The men?”
“I’m not sure,” she said.
“I reported them as being in the building at the time when the police talked to me. Her too.” Adrian nodded toward Deli
lah.
Delilah scowled at him. “All of you should pay for what you did to me. I hope the angel burns you alive.”
Jonah sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We were trying to help you. The drug you were taking would have made it easy for a demon to permanently possess your body.”
She waved her hand at him. “Yeah, I’ve heard your bullshit several times.”
“You’ve felt the power of an angel and you still think we’re lying to you?” I shook my head.
Her breath came out in a loud huff and she stared back at Tres. “He was the only one who seemed to care.”
“If you go to the police, there may be legal ramifications for you as well,” Jonah said.
She shot him a look filled with burning resentment. “I’m not going to do that to Tres. I’m going to find a way to help him and get him away from all of you.
She pushed past me and Jonah to leave. Adrian stood in front of her with his arms crossed.
“If you don’t move, I will scream and bring all those nurses here,” Delilah said through gritted teeth.
“Let her go, Adrian,” Jonah said. “There’s not much we can do, now. She’s on her own.”
Adrian stepped back a few inches, to where she had to brush past his arm to get by. She stomped down the hall with her back straight and her shoulders stiffened. Adrian closed the door after she disappeared around a corner.
“She’s going to be a problem,” I muttered.
“I’ll keep watch on her,” Adrian said. “I doubt she’ll come across anything that can remove the nanites I just put on her.”
The barest of smiles raised on my lips but was lost at a thought. “Sariel probably could. And Viktor.”
“She’s a lead to them then, until that time.” Adrian sat in one of the chairs near the window and rested his forehead on his fingertips.
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. “Better than what we had ten minutes ago.”
“I take it there were no clues at Viktor’s apartment, then?” Jonah asked.
“Oh, we found something,” I said. “We found Viktor and Aaron. Then Aaron flew off with Viktor. Literally.”
