Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2)

by Sophia Stafford

  “I don’t want to kill you, Lilliah!” Lucifer shouted like a madman as they rolled on the ground, hitting each other and screaming.

  “I want to kill you.”

  Someone was shouting her name from behind, but all she could focus on was Lucifer and how she was somehow gaining the upper hand.

  “Lilliah, watch out!” Sebastian shouted.

  She looked up in time to see Azrael approaching them. His black hair danced wildly with the wind the helicopter was making. His grey suit was immaculate, even despite the fighting. Though injured, Sebastian ran at him, screaming and punching the air. Azrael deflected him easily. Lilliah watched in horror as Sebastian hit the ground. Azrael didn’t fight to wound; he fought to kill. Getting off Lucifer, Lilliah got up and ran for Azrael.

  “No!” she screamed.

  Azrael looked up at Lilliah as she ran towards him. Lilliah saw it immediately, though it was brief. His blood-red eyes dimmed and turned blue. Without thinking about her safety, or even that of those around her, she flew into his arms and crushed her lips against his. He didn’t respond. She pulled back, anxious. His eyes were now a dirty grey. Not his usual clear blue, but not the blood-red, either.

  “I love you,” she blurted out, her eyes anxiously holding his.

  “No!” Lucifer grabbed her arms and yanked her away from Azrael. Lilliah fell, hitting her head on the hard dirt. When she opened her eyes and looked up, Azrael and Lucifer were gone.

  They were all sitting in the helicopter, none of them speaking. Iris looked as if she might faint.

  Lilliah reached for her hand. “Are you okay?”

  She managed a stiff nod. “I’ve never flown before, and I can see everything.” She let go of the seat for a second to point through the window. “I’ve never been in a helicopter before, either.”

  Lilliah rested her head back. With the adrenaline wearing off, her jaw and stomach were starting to hurt.

  Rebecca and Sebastian sat opposite, holding hands and staring out the window. Sebastian looked awful; his whole face was nearly covered in bruises and one eye had swelled shut. Derek sat next to Lilliah, typing furiously into his phone, but he hadn’t said a word to her since the helicopter took off.

  “That was really crazy,” Iris said, her voice breaking. “I thought we were all going to die back there.”

  Lilliah didn’t admit it, but for a moment, she’d thought the same. Despite all the agents with guns, Lucifer had managed to reach them without breaking a sweat. The thought petrified her. No matter where they hid or who was guarding them, Lucifer would find them.

  “How did you move so fast?” Iris asked.

  Lilliah turned her head and frowned.

  “I’ve seen you fight before. You fight amazingly well, but at human speed. Tonight, you were so fast I couldn’t really see you.”

  “It was crazy,” Rebecca chimed in. She looked worn out, but she still managed a smile. “I’ve never seen you move that fast. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.”

  Lilliah stared out the window. She couldn’t even really remember the fight. She just remembered the feeling of wanting to hurt Lucifer more than anything, and she had hurt him. Well, she’d gotten a few hits in at the very least.

  “Why did you kiss him?” Sebastian demanded, not even trying to suppress the harshness in his voice. “He’s not your Azrael anymore, Lilliah. He’s a different guy completely, and he could have killed you.”

  Rebecca grabbed his hand. “I don’t think now is the right time.” She motioned with her eyes towards Derek, who was sitting in the corner, watching everyone.

  “No,” Sebastian pulled his hand away. “I want to know. Why would you put yourself in that situation?”

  “His eyes changed.” Lilliah closed her eyes to rein in her emotions. All she wanted to do was cry, but right now crying wouldn’t help anyone. She opened her eyes once she was certain tears wouldn’t spill out. “For a second, his eyes weren’t red. For a second, my Azrael came back.”

  Sebastian fell back in his seat. “Well, what does that mean?”

  She shrugged. “No idea, but I saw an opportunity, and I took it.”

  They flew the rest of the way in silence. Lilliah didn’t even want to make eye contact with anyone. She stared out of the window, ignoring Derek’s stares. He wasn’t hiding it, either. She occasionally spied him out of the corner of her eye. His face was blank and his sunglasses sat at the top of his head, nestled in his hair, even though the sun had started to set. His dark green eyes watched her, assessing her.

  “We’ll be landing soon,” he said, still staring.

  “Where are we going?” Sebastian sat forward, looking out the window.

  Lilliah still had no idea where they were. Were they still in Vegas? The weather was warm, so it was possible.

  Derek pulled his sunglasses off his head. “You need to get away. There’s a plane waiting.”

  “We can’t fly,” Lilliah reminded him. “They can track us.”

  “Not this plane, they can’t.” He pointed out of the window at the same time Sebastian whistled.

  “Now that is a nice-ass jet.”

  A plane was waiting not too far from where they were landing. Sebastian was right. The jet was huge. She squinted as a man stepped out of it and her breath hitched. Benedict.

  As soon as she could, Lilliah got out of the helicopter and ran towards him. “We saw him.” She sniffed, stopping when she was close enough that she could have touched Benedict if she had wanted to. She didn’t—just his being there was soothing enough. “We saw Azrael and Lucifer.”

  Benedict nodded, his eyes sad. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  She crossed her arms. “Why are you sorry? I think I saw him, the old Azrael. My Azrael.”

  She bit her lip, thinking about her fight. She’d fought the Devil again, and was alive to tell the tale. The question that had been swirling around her mind ever since Iris told her she’d moved faster than normal was how? How had she lived and how had she gotten faster?

  Benedict must have seen the change on her face. He reached out touched her elbow. “Lilliah? Are you okay?”

  The others joined them, giving her the perfect distraction. She didn’t want to analyse that here, on an airfield.

  “Oh, Benedict, this is Iris,” she introduced. “Iris, Benedict.”

  Iris looked intimidated and gave a small wave as she took in Benedict’s tall stature and broad shoulders.

  Benedict, ever the gentleman, took Iris’s hand in his. “It’s great to see you, Iris. I’ve heard so much about your family.”

  Derek walked up to them, his sunglasses back on.

  “We need to leave,” was all he said before walking around them and onto the plane.

  Lilliah followed first. She stopped once she was inside. “Oh, wow,” she sighed, taking in the length of the plane. It was huge, bigger than Azrael’s plane even.

  “These private planes just keep getting better.” Sebastian hobbled past her, grinning.

  The main area had three different seating sections. Everything was covered in cream-coloured leather and dark wood. She really needed to get the name of the agency Derek worked for, Lilliah decided as she dropped into a plush leather seat.

  “There’s a bedroom back here,” Sebastian called back. “There’s an actual double bed back here!”

  Rebecca laughed and sat next to Lilliah. “Who would have thought that after waking up tied to a chair, we’d be here now.” She made a point of sniffing the air. “Can you smell the richness? Our lives are so crazy.”

  “I’ve been kidnapped, I’ve seen the Devil, I’ve been on a helicopter, and now I’m on a private jet. All firsts for me.” Iris sat next to Rebecca and nervously folded her arms.

  Rebecca draped an arm over Iris’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “You can totally drop out, you know. All of this is batshit crazy and not for everyone.”

  Lilliah rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. They’d asked Iris the qu
estion before, but that was before—before the attack and before the kidnapping.

  “You need to stop asking me that.” Iris wasn’t smiling; she was beaming. “A few days ago, I was in my apartment, alone. Now I’m here with you guys. It’s crazy and scary as hell, but exciting.”

  Sebastian walked back into the room. “This is a cute bonding experience.” He sat down in another plush chair and kicked up his feet on the table. “Does anyone know where we’re going?”

  Lilliah turned to Benedict. He was on the other side of the plane, talking to Derek.

  “I haven’t asked yet.” She rubbed her temples with her fingers. “And at this moment, I don’t really care.”

  They were in the air when Benedict and Derek approached Lilliah. The others had all split off, each sleeping on different sofas or chairs. Lilliah couldn’t sleep. She had too much on her mind. She’d been over her fight a million times, replaying every move she and Lucifer had made. Something just didn’t feel right.

  “I fought Lucifer,” Lilliah said as Benedict sat opposite her. Derek remained standing, his arms folded over his chest.

  “I heard. Are you okay?” Benedict leaned forward, worry etched into his face.

  “Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “That Harold guy turned out to be a snake.”

  “They’re all snakes, Lil. We know the people we can trust, and we hold them close.” He looked around the plane, at the people sleeping. “Remember that.”

  “I think that was the first time you’ve called me Lil.” Her body shook with silent laughter.

  Benedict just shrugged.

  “I think we should talk about your fight.” Derek finally took a seat, his body filled with tension. “You left out the part about her power, Benedict. If I’m going to be of any help, I need to know everything.”

  “Lilliah’s powers have been coming and going,” Benedict said simply. “There isn’t really much to tell.” He then looked at Lilliah. “Tell me what happened.”

  She breathed in deep and then started from the beginning, when she woke up tied to a chair, and finished with Lucifer’s attack.

  “Before, I could never really get close enough to him to actually fight. He had just been way too fast. But this time I did and he didn’t seem trained.” She stopped, trying to gauge everyone’s reactions.

  Benedict looked confused. “Not trained? As in, not trained to fight?” he asked.

  Lilliah nodded. “I kind of have a theory. Why do you think Lucifer came after Azrael first?”

  “Because he’s the strongest,” Benedict answered immediately.

  “Divide and conquer,” Derek added.

  “Because he’s the strongest, yes. I think he needs me for my blood, so there wouldn’t really be a need to divide and conquer. I think he needs Azrael for protection.” Everyone remained silent, so Lilliah continued. “Azrael used to run Lucifer’s army. He was the fighter, the warrior. I think he made sure no one got close to Lucifer so he didn’t have to fight.”

  “He fought Michael, though,” Benedict said. Lilliah could see him thinking it through, going over everything in his head.

  “Can Michael fight?” She only had a brief memory of Michael from when she’d been sent back through her past lives. He certainly hadn’t looked like a fighter. And when the fighting had started, Michael had been hidden away with all the other archangels.

  “There is literature that talks about him fighting. He is known for fighting with a sword,” Derek answered, leaning forward.

  “Maybe it’s wrong. Maybe neither of them fought that well. Maybe he just stood there holding a sword, and everyone assumed he could fight?” She could tell by their faces that she’d lost her momentum. “You get the idea,” she said, deciding to stop talking for a second.

  “What would that even mean? So he can’t fight. So what? He’s fast, and he’s strong. He’s still deadly.” Derek toyed with his sunglasses, twirling them between his fingers.

  “I’m saying he’s vulnerable. Get Azrael out of the way, and we can kill him or send him back to Hell at the very least.”

  “What if you’re wrong? What if he’s not fully back to strength yet? In the week you’ve been gone, he’s been around the world causing destruction and mayhem. It’s getting worse.” Benedict sat forward, his jaw tense.

  “What mayhem? What are you talking about? What has he done?” Lilliah’s eyes bounced from Benedict to Derek.

  Derek leaned over to a nearby table and picked up a brown file. “My recon team have informed me that Lucifer has been busy. In Africa, mass murders. In England, fires, killing hundreds of werewolves and vampires. In France, two hundred vampires all stabbed themselves, just in front of the Eiffel tower. Right out there for the world to see.” He passed Lilliah the file.

  She opened it and was almost sick. The first picture was a bloodied mess of what used to be a person. A life. “Oh, my.” She covered her mouth and looked away.

  “Those pictures are very graphic, but it’s the truth,” Derek commented, not taking his eyes off the file.

  Lilliah carried on flicking through the pictures and reports. “How has none of this been on the news?”

  “We can keep the press under control. They’re reporting the killings in France as a piece of contemporary art.”

  Lilliah shut the file, unable to see anymore.

  “What’s even more worrying is the weather changes: we’re talking flash floods and droughts. All of our data shows Lucifer getting stronger, not weaker.” Derek took the file from her and put it back on the table.

  “I’m not saying he’s powerless,” Lilliah corrected. Lucifer was dangerous and she knew it. “I’m just saying hand-to-hand combat isn’t his forte.”

  They all sat in silence, pondering what this new information could possibly mean—if it meant anything at all. Lilliah didn’t have all the answers. She had no idea what killing Lucifer would take or even if she could bring herself to do it. She’d seen death, she’d seen Azrael kill people, but killing someone herself was something else entirely.

  “We need to look into this further, but your powers are back. Even if not fully, you’re definitely getting stronger.”

  Lilliah looked at Benedict. “I don’t know. I can’t control the blue fire thing that comes out of my hands, and I had no idea I was moving fast until Iris told me.” She rubbed her hands together. She really had no idea what to tell them. “Sometimes it comes, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

  “You need to practice more,” he told her. “Your power is in there. Everything that is happening around you must be triggering it.”

  It sounded plausible, so Lilliah agreed. “I’ll try.”

  Benedict stood to leave.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We’re taking you back to England. It’s the last place Lucifer will look now. We also have the Keeper.” Benedict headed to the other side of the plane and opened one of the three closed doors.

  “The Keeper?” Lilliah sat up straighter, this was news to her, amazing news. “How long were we captured for? The last time I checked we still didn’t know where he was.”

  “Yeah, we picked him up early this morning. Don’t worry, Benedict will come back and go through everything with you. You’ve just given him a lot to think about. It’s a long trip. Try and sleep.” Derek smiled briefly, then followed Benedict.

  She’d get answers from Benedict. The thought soothed Lilliah as she brought her legs up on the sofa and drifted off.

  Chapter 18

  Lilliah had always loved the smell of England. It was different from all the other countries. It smelt fresh; maybe it was the rain. She didn’t know. She just loved it.

  She sat back in her seat and stared out of the car window at the early London traffic. She wasn’t sure how safe it was here, but she was glad to be back in familiar surroundings. Somehow, it made everything a little less scary. Instead of going to her mum’s house like she’d hoped, they’d all been whisked away. Apparently, meeting
the Keeper couldn’t wait.

  Lilliah hadn’t been surprised to find two blacked-out Mercedes waiting for them at the airfield. Lilliah, Rebecca, and Iris rode in one, while the men rode in the other.

  She guessed it had been Derek’s doing. One thing she had learned about him in the short time she’d known him was that he never did anything halfway. She’d watched him on the flight over as he’d deliberated between two suits. The man had had suits waiting for him on his private plane, which was crazy. The more Lilliah thought about it, the more she couldn’t imagine him with Kristy. Granted she had only met her briefly, but as a couple, she never would have put them together.

  “This is pretty cool.” Iris looked out her window. “I’ve never been here before. I want to try some real English food. If we can, of course.”

  “I don’t think anyone has ever said that before,” Lilliah joked, staring out at Trafalgar square.

  Of course she’d seen all the monuments a million times before, but today was as if she was seeing everything for the first time. Everything was so beautiful.

  Rebecca nudged Lilliah with her elbow to get her attention. “Did Benedict tell you anything about this Keeper dude?”

  “Not really. I get the vibe he doesn’t like him, though. There is definitely history.”

  Rebecca grinned, raising her eyebrows. “What do you think it is?”

  “No idea.” Lilliah dragged her teeth over her lower lip. “I like to think the Keeper was Benedict’s teacher. Something went wrong and they had a falling out.”

  “Oh no, wait.” Rebecca laughed, holding up her hand. “Maybe the Keeper is a woman.”

  Lilliah’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, that would be amazing!”

  “Childhood sweethearts”—Rebecca closed her eyes—“ripped apart by magic and duty.”

  Iris returned her attention to the inside of the car. “What are you guys talking about?”

  “We’re just making up some crap.” Lilliah shrugged. “We used to sit in the Subway and make up stories about people that walked past.”