by Ching, G. P.
Bonnie shook her head. “But she’s a Soulkeeper. She’s Abigail’s daughter. She can’t die. We need her.”
“I know. I’m going to figure out a way.”
“I couldn’t stand it if she died,” Bonnie sobbed. “When she came, it was like a message from God.”
“She was. She is. She was the bringer of the third gift. Something about her and you together changed Cord.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows drew together. “Are you sure? Maybe he was going to change anyway.”
Jacob busted through the door. “Bonnie, we gotta go.”
“There’s no time,” Malini said. “The fifth gift has come to pass. It’s complete chaos out there. I need you to help protect the humans until dawn.”
“I’ll fill her in,” Jacob said.
With a look of confusion, Bonnie followed Jacob from the room. Malini cradled Hope in her arms. The baby broke into a fit of coughing again, and a guilty weight settled over the Healer’s chest. She had to find a way to save the girl so that the girl could save them all.
Chapter 18
A Demon’s Plaything
Cord woke in a dark room with a single candle, wrists bound, chained to one of four black walls. There wasn’t much more in the room: a table, the candle, and a set of sharp metal instruments that glinted in the flickering light. A door in the wall across from him was closed. A tile floor chilled his bare feet, the type of floor that was easy to clean. A floor not easily stained by blood.
Focusing on the light, he tried to fold into it in order to free himself, but his power fizzled. His body remained bound.
“It’s cursed,” Auriel said. She’d materialized in the room without opening the door. “This light is enough to help you heal but insufficient for you to escape. Ten feet of pitch black surrounds you on all sides.”
“Why heal me? Why not kill me?”
She stepped forward until their cheeks almost touched. Almost. Actually touching would be painful for both of them. “Death would be too easy for you,” she whispered. “No, I’m going to rip everything you know about the Soulkeepers out of your body one silvery chunk at a time. Then, when you are in so much pain that you can’t bear to take your next breath, I’ll turn on the lights and watch you stitch back together so I can do it all over again.”
Cord gagged a little. His horror was made more acute by the familiarity of her face. He had memories of a long relationship with Auriel, although he couldn’t characterize it based on the scenes that played out in his head.
“We were friends once,” he said.
“Friends?” She laughed. “We were competitors for Lucifer’s attention. I was his right, and you were his left.”
Cord allowed his thoughts to journey into the past, to dredge up the personal history he would have rather not remembered. “No,” he said slowly, deliberately. “I was the right, and you were the left. And we were friends. You sent me f-fingers for my collection when you didn’t have to.”
She turned her face away. “You never did understand your place.”
“Explain it to me.” If he could keep her talking, he might … he might, what? Delay the inevitable? He knew the Soulkeepers couldn’t risk coming to his aid. He’d been incredibly stupid doing what he did alone and against the rules. Only, the chance to do something truly good and selfless was enough of a motivation to drive him forward. So, if he were meant to die, he would distract this Watcher for as long as possible. One less for the Soulkeepers to deal with.
“You, Cord, were being used. You thought you were Lucifer’s right, and you sucked up to him and me like a calf to a heifer’s teat, but you were always the rube. We used you and nothing more.”
“We used you. Don’t you mean that Lucifer used us both, just like he uses everyone?”
She shook her head. “When all of this is done, I will be queen of everything, Watcher and human alike. Lucifer and I will rule, side by side.”
“That’s not what it looked like to me. When I was hovering in that conference room, it looked like the Wicked Brethren were being groomed for the job.”
She growled. He was getting to her.
“Free me, Auriel. If I can become an angel, you can too. You can leave your Watcher ways behind and go where you are truly needed.”
She paced over to the table of implements, selecting a silver tool with a curled end like a pig’s tail. Twirling it between her fingers, he could see her jaw working beside her platinum hair, the anger tightening the muscles under her illusion.
“How did you become an angel, Cord?” Auriel asked.
He couldn’t tell her about Bonnie or Hope. Truth was he didn’t fully understand how the miracle had occurred. So he said nothing.
“Just as I thought.” She took a step toward him. “Thank you for not answering. This way I get to ask again, and then I get to do the torture thing.”
Cord shook his head. “But I don’t know the answer to your question. I’m not sure how it happened.”
Auriel smiled and stepped closer. She plunged the razor-sharp tip into his gut.
The scream stuck in Cord’s throat, the pain so intense as to render him silent. Something hot and wet dripped onto his toes. Silver blood. His blood. Finally the scream came, and he tipped his head back to let it out. He knew little about his anatomy as an angel, but the thought crossed his mind that he couldn’t live through much more than this. Surely this was as bad as it could get.
But he was wrong.
With a grin worthy of evil incarnate, she twisted the sharp tool in his side, and a new wave of agony overcame him.
* * * * *
Bonnie couldn’t stop thinking about Cord, but acting on those thoughts was far from possible at the moment. Merged with her sister, she swung a heavy metal club at a Watcher, knocking the beast’s head off its winged shoulders. Its human prey staggered away, bloody and injured but strong enough to get up and run for the nearest building.
From a bag tied around her waist, she tossed the man a Ziploc of holy water. “On the door,” she ordered. The man nodded and dragged himself inside, splashing the contents wildly as he entered. Good enough.
Bonnie scanned the now empty street. “I think we lost Lillian on Second Street. Let’s double back. She always knows where the action is.”
“Fine, but only if you get your head in the game,” Sam said through the set of lips they presently shared.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You keep thinking about Cord. We’re sharing a brain. Kind of hard to keep it a secret.”
Bonnie sighed. “Can we separate for a second? I want to talk to you face to face.”
The familiar tug started at her belly button, a spinning top whose force expanded like a supernova, then collapsed in on itself, leaving both of them on the outside of its gravitational pull.
Samantha used both hands to heave the club onto her shoulder, much heavier now that she was half the size. Smoothing her long red hair into a high ponytail, she pulled a dagger from a sheath on her forearm. “Talk,” she said. She lumbered in the direction of Second Street, and Bonnie fell into step beside her.
“About Cord, I think we should make an attempt to rescue him.”
“Malini says no. He broke the rules. We can’t risk anyone else.”
“I know what she said.”
“Then why do you insist on fighting it? You’re always questioning the Healer. She’s the Healer for a reason, you know?”
“I know, but—”
“But what, Bonnie?” Samantha asked incredulously.
Bonnie watched their shoes fall in perfect rhythm on the sidewalk. “Do you remember much about Dad?”
“A little. Images mostly.” Sam shook her head.
“I have this memory of him reading the story of Jonah and the whale. Do you remember it?”
“I think so.”
“Well, God tells Jonah to preach to this city called Nineveh because the people there are corrupt. Jonah doesn’t want to do it. So, instea
d, he jumps a ship and sails in the complete opposite direction. God isn’t happy about this and sends a storm to rough up the ship. The crew, suspecting Jonah is to blame, throws him overboard where he is swallowed by a giant fish, and after three days is vomited on the shores of Nineveh.” Bonnie hoped it was an accurate summary. She hadn’t memorized the story word for word.
“And this has to do with what?” Samantha looked frustrated.
“I remember Dad telling me something about Jonah, about why he didn’t want to preach to Nineveh. Jonah was Jewish, and the people who lived in Nineveh weren’t. Plus they did awful, sinful things there.”
“So?”
“So, Jonah didn’t want to go there to preach because he was afraid it might work. He did not want the Ninevites to be saved. Dad said Jonah allowed his own prejudices to get in the way of God’s work.”
Samantha groaned, clearly not following what this had to do with Cord.
“Don’t you see? I am Jonah. I didn’t want to forgive Cord even when his transformation was clearly a gift from God. It took him saving my life twice, my own personal fish swallowing, for me to accept His will.”
Rolling her eyes, Samantha stopped and turned toward her sister. “Don’t you think you are overanalyzing the situation? Bonnie, you are a Soulkeeper. He was a Watcher. No one expected you to welcome him with open arms. You are not Jonah. Lillian still doesn’t believe he’s an angel, but you do. You eventually accepted him.”
“Still, there must have been a reason God changed him. Why him? God could have changed any Watcher. Cord has a purpose, a purpose we should have been figuring out all that time I was starving him in the pantry. I think we need him back.”
“Malini says—”
“I know what she says, but the fact is, if I hadn’t been so hard on Cord, maybe he wouldn’t have felt the need to prove himself to us. Maybe it’s my fault, my pushing him away, that has left us without our God-given angel. If I had been more open and forgiving, if I had trusted in his redemption, would he have left without permission?”
Sam shrugged. “Who knows? It might not have had anything to do with you.”
“I need to get him back.”
“You don’t know where he is.”
“I think I do.”
“Huh?”
“I have this really strong feeling he’s in Lucifer’s penthouse. Shit is hitting the fan for Harrington, Samantha. Lucifer is going to be distracted while this Asher thing blows up. Now’s my chance to find out if my intuition is correct.”
“Oh, Bonnie, you can’t go alone. It’s too dangerous.”
“Then come with me.”
Samantha balked, glancing down at her Mizunos and repositioning the dagger in her hand. “I can’t come with you. I get what you’re saying, I do. You feel guilty about something you’ve done, and you want to set it right. But I’m not guilty, and I think the idea is reckless. What if you die? What if they capture you? I can’t be part of this.”
Righteous indignation burned within Bonnie’s chest until she paused long enough to digest what her sister was saying. “You won’t go, but you aren’t going to stop me, are you?”
“Stop you? Who could stop Bonnie Guillian? You’re practically swallowed by a fish.”
“Thank you. You won’t be sorry.”
“I’m already sorry. Sorry I didn’t kick your ass about this a month ago when it would have made a difference. Are you equipped?”
Bonnie checked the blades on her arms and down her back. “I think so.”
“Your appearance?”
“I don’t think the wanted posters have the same kind of power anymore. Still, can you give me a few pounds?”
Sam nodded and gripped her hand, shifting mass in her direction. Bonnie incorporated her sister’s gift, but maintained her identical appearance. Still, the potential was there, right below the surface, to disguise herself if needed.
“You’re twenty minutes from the penthouse,” Sam said. “You have an hour. After that, if you’re not back, I’m telling Malini.”
“Deal.”
Her sister wrapped her arms around her neck and squeezed. Bonnie could feel the stiff form of the weapon holster she was wearing under her shirt. “Don’t do anything else stupid. Love you.”
“Love you too, sister.”
Bonnie scanned the street then took off running toward Lucifer’s penthouse.
Chapter 19
The Devil’s Due
Lucifer arrived at his penthouse with a singular purpose, wrath. Anger consumed him. What happened today was inexcusable. Disastrous. Closing his eyes, he called the Wicked Brethren from shadow. Auriel, on the other hand, arrived first, without request or invitation, apron and rubber gloves covered in silver. Careful not to get Cord’s blood on her skin, she stripped the soiled garments off and dumped them in the kitchen sink.
“Is there anything left of him?” Lucifer asked.
“A few gurgling parts.”
As upset as he was, he gave her a weak grin. Auriel was truly without conscience. He could respect that. Perhaps he hadn’t given her enough credit. Before he could sooth himself with the tale of Cord’s torture, three columns of smoke formed in the center of the room: Damien, Levi, and Asher.
“What has happened?” Auriel asked at the sight of their distraught expressions.
Lucifer paced to the brethren, eyes narrowing as they fell on Asher. Striking his chest, Lucifer fisted Asher’s shirt, the skin of his hand peeling back from his talons. He lifted the sizable demon from the ground as if he weighed nothing.
“You revealed yourself. The world knows what you are,” the Devil hissed, quiet as a whisper but with more venom.
“What?” Auriel eyed Asher scornfully. “You idiot!”
Asher’s aqua blue eyes flashed. “I did no such thing. I did not reveal myself. I was revealed. Bastard human doused me in holy water, and not your usual run-of-the-mill corner church variety. The damage hurt like a bitch. It was the real deal.” Grasping Lucifer’s wrist, he struggled and kicked his feet.
Lucifer let go, sending Asher crashing to the carpet. “Oh, I have no doubt it was, as you say, the real deal. I smelled the Great Oppressor’s signature all over that conference room. Your incompetence proved a useful vessel for delivering the fifth gift.”
Asher rolled onto his hands and knees. “What of it, then? The damage is done.”
Without warning, Lucifer delivered a swift kick to Asher’s ribs, sending him flying into the sofa. While he paced, deciding how to punish Asher further, Damien and Levi positioned themselves in a protective, albeit cautious, stance near his unconscious body.
Awkwardly, Auriel interjected her opinion. “Surely you, the master of lies, can spin a tale to cover the damage. Perhaps a demon broke in and was confused for Asher?”
“Unfortunately, while you were here playing in the dark with our captive, a video of Asher ingesting the Council for the Eradication of the Unholy was transmitted around the globe. The association between Milton Blake and Asher James is well known. The humans are turning away in record numbers, soaking off my seal in holy water. Harrington stock is tanking.”
“A quarter of our human employees have already resigned,” Damien said.
“Some will undoubtedly stay. Winners want to be on the winning side, after all,” Auriel said hopefully.
Levi swept his hair back from his eyes, his Mediterranean complexion reddening with anger. “You took me from a well-fed existence on a Romanian hillside for this? What is your plan, Lucifer? Or has the Great Oppressor gotten the best of you?”
In a heartbeat, Lucifer crossed the room, gripped Levi’s neck, and bent him backward until his spine threatened to snap. He brought his face within a half-inch of Levi’s.
“You will do as I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it.” Lucifer’s teeth ground together. He let go abruptly, and Levi’s body slapped the floor.
“Call in the Watchers,” Lucifer said.
“Which ones?” Levi a
sked, scrambling to his feet.
“All of them.”
Damien turned a confused visage toward his lord and master. “There are thousands. Where should we have them come?”
“For my sixth curse, it is imperative that my Watchers are in my physical presence. There must be a place in this city large enough for us to entertain them.”
“The humans have large gatherings at the United Center,” Auriel offered.
“Very well. Levi, order the Watchers to meet in the United Center. I want them there tomorrow night. We will enchant the building for our purposes.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“The rest of you, prepare for our guests.”
“What preparations should we make?” Damien asked.
“I will need equipment so that every attending Watcher can see my face. And we will need a suitable security system to keep out the undesirables.”
“The Soulkeepers,” Auriel clarified.
Lucifer grinned. “Do you know what the benefit is of having that angel almost dead in the next room?”
Damien smirked. “His protection is no more.”
Lucifer nodded and closed his eyes. A column of black smoke funneled into the middle of the room, and soon the persistent pain in his side, Malini, formed behind the magical glass that separated him from her soul.
Her eyes grew wide when she saw where she was.
“Lucifer,” she spat.
“Yes,” he said. “It appears your protective mechanism has been eliminated, which means I again have the ability to call your soul to me.”
“Eliminated,” Malini murmured inside her glass cell.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know,” Lucifer said, laughing. “The presence of an angel hinders my ability to find your soul.”
“Cord,” Malini muttered.
“You sent your shield to spy on me.” He shook his head and clucked his tongue. “And now your spy is a puddle of silver on the floor of my dungeon, and your soul is mine to call again.”
