by Brea Essex
“Why does she want to kill me?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes. Does my blood open the gate to Heaven, or something like that?”
“Well, that’s part of it. It probably could. But it’s more than that.”
“What is it then?”
“She believes that in killing you, Logan will lose the will to be good. She thinks your death will cause his devil nature to completely take over.”
“Isn’t that what’s happening now, while he’s under the spell?”
“Not entirely. There’s still a good part of Logan in there. That’s why you were able to pull him out of it the one time. My mother believes that if you die, it will send him so completely over the edge there will be no way for him to return.”
“My death wouldn’t do that to him,” I insisted.
“I think you underestimate my brother’s love for you. If you died, it might very well kill him. I know it would kill me.”
“Is this why you keep trying to get me to forget about him?”
“In part. I won’t deny I want you to be with me. But yes, this does have something to do with it.”
“So how do we break the spell?”
My phone rang, interrupting whatever Andrei was about to say. He grabbed my phone from my nightstand and glanced at the caller ID. “I think you’re about to get your answer. It’s the psychic.” He tossed it at me.
“Don’t throw my phone. It’s expensive.” I grabbed it in midair and answered it. “Hello?”
“Come to the shop,” Ismene’s voice came over the line.
I didn’t question her. “I’ll be right there.” I hung up and looked at Andrei. “We have to go.”
****
Andrei
I paid no attention to Rae’s phone call. I felt a little stunned at what just happened. Swearing myself to Rae’s service… I had certainly never expected to do that. My head spun with the implications. If the Queen found out, I would certainly be killed. I didn’t fear her, but I feared for Rae. If I died with Logan still under Serafina’s spell, Rae would be left vulnerable to whomever or whatever my mother sent after her. She would certainly send someone if she learned of my betrayal. Luckily, she hadn’t believed Serafina when the witch tried to accuse me of not following through with orders before. I had to step carefully. Some said that a bond of service changed those who undertook it. The Queen may sense it if I got too near to her. How could I possibly avoid her and still seem as though I were on her side?
My lips tingled with the residual sensation of Rae’s kiss. It didn’t matter what she said. She might be in love with my brother, but she still had feelings for me. I hadn’t compelled her too much. If she didn’t hold onto feelings for me still, she wouldn’t have responded nearly as well as she had. I wished the kiss lasted longer before her thoughts of Logan had broken through. Maybe there was still time to win her over.
Now, how to save my brother? I didn’t have the heart to tell Rae that the easiest way to break the spell was to kill him. She wouldn’t like that much, and it certainly wouldn’t help any of us. We likely needed him to defeat our mother. I hadn’t been lying when I told her I believed Logan had some of the power of the archangels. While my mother never told anyone who Logan’s father was, I certainly had my suspicions.
It was definitely better to tell Rae about the killing Logan idea as a last resort. I wanted to see her happy, even if it wasn’t with me. Besides, if he died, my mother might win. I wouldn’t entertain the idea of killing my brother until I had a sure-fire way to bring him back to life.
What other options did we have? I could ask Serafina to break the spell. The witch was in love with me, after all. That was why I had chosen her to ensorcell Logan to begin with. For many thousands of years, she would do anything I asked her. She had even helped take care of Rae when I held her in the Shadow Imperium, even though she knew I was in love with Rae. But now that she believed me to be a traitor, which I was in her eyes, she might not be as willing to help me. She was convinced Rae had stolen me away from her, and she would likely stop at nothing to try to get me back… even though I had never been hers in the first place.
I wondered briefly what would happen if Rae found out that Serafina had been the “nameless girl” who had brought her food while in the Shadow Imperium. I had forbidden the witch to give Rae any information, even her name. I didn’t even know if Serafina was her true name, just as she didn’t know my name was truly Abaddon. Names held power in the realm of the devils. Only my mother knew everyone’s true name. I had run a risk in telling Rae my real name. It had been a gesture, perhaps a silly one, to show how much I trusted her, how much I valued her. The gesture had been lost on her, as I had known it would be. I would have to explain to her eventually, about my true name, and about Serafina, but not now. Not when she was just beginning to trust me.
I didn’t have any other ideas as to how to help my brother and the girl that I loved. I wanted to kick myself for being such an idiot. The old me would have just left my brother under Serafina’s spell and taken the time to woo Rae. I would have had plenty of time to do it. With her Nephilim blood, she was bound to live for at least several hundred years, if not thousands.
Did she know that she would live that long? The thought had to have crossed her mind, right? I wondered if she fully understood the implications of being immortal, or nearly so. Did she realize that whomever she chose, either myself or my brother, if he lived that long, would likely be her mate for all eternity? I wished with all my heart that it would end up being me. I would no longer try to force her. The girl had a mind of her own. She definitely didn’t like to be told what to do or how to act. No, she needed to make her own choice. I just had to believe she would eventually turn to me. This wasn’t some high school game. I couldn’t play “I saw her first” with my brother. For all that, my swearing into her service was a binding contract, so would be her choice in mate. When all of this with my mother was over, I would have to sit Rae down and explain all of this for her. If she was going to make a choice, it would have to be an informed one. Surely, she would choose me. I had the wisdom, the experience, of living thousands of years. Logan didn’t remember anything beyond the seventeen human years he had walked the earth. When our mother caused him to be reborn, it wiped his entire memory of ever living in the Shadow Imperium. Also, unlike me, Logan had never experienced Heaven. He had been born after the Fall, although our mother carried him when she stood with Lucifer against the Creator.
Had Logan’s immortality been wiped out as well when he was reborn? I didn’t know how our mother had gone about the process. I knew the Morningstar and a powerful witch had helped her. If that was the case, I might win Rae after all, even if she chose my brother. If he lived a mortal life, she would be free once he was gone. She would live on, as would I.
I needed to stop entertaining these thoughts of eternity with Rae. I had to let her make her own decision, although I likely needed to explain much to her. In the meantime, I needed to concentrate on keeping her safe. There would be no eternity together if my mother won. If Rae died, if I died, it was all over. My mother couldn’t win. I needed to protect Rae, and I needed to find a way to pretend that I was still on my mother’s side without her sensing the bond. There had to be a way around it. I just wasn’t seeing it yet. One thing was for sure though. If Serafina found out about the bond, then we were all as good as dead. It would likely take all my skills of manipulation. It was lucky that my mother had taught me well. Little did she know that one day I would use those skills against her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Raena
“I’ve been doing a lot of research, and you’re not going to like it,” Ismene was saying. I had gone to the shop alone. Andrei decided to head home. It seemed as though she was trying to talk me out of her idea.
“I don’t care if I’m going to like it or not! I just want it to work. It’ll definitely work, right?”
She hesitated f
or a moment. “All my research says it will absolutely work.”
“Then what is it?”
“You need to kill him,” she informed me dispassionately.
My mind was reeling. “What do you mean, kill him?”
“It’s the only way to break the witch’s spell,” she insisted.
“Ismene! The whole point is to get him away from her, not kill him!” I protested loudly.
“I don’t mean kill him permanently,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You just have to… temporarily… kill him.”
“Temporarily kill him? How the heck do I do that?” I wanted to know.
“I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never had to do it myself,” she admitted.
“So how do you know that we have to kill him? Isn’t there any other way? Something else we haven’t thought of yet?”
“Trust me. I’ve been through every book I could find on the matter, not to mention all over the Internet. Killing him is the only way. Death is the only surefire way to break the spell. It will be brief. We just need to stop his heart for a short time. Then when we bring him back, he will return to his normal self.”
“You didn’t say anything about stopping his heart!”
“Well, what did you think ‘killing him’ meant? Seriously, Raena, you’re smarter than that!”
“Sorry. I don’t know where my mind is,” I said. “So exactly how brief of a time are we talking about here?”
“Just a couple of beats. We will have an antidote on hand and administer it to him immediately,” she explained.
“An antidote? What, are we poisoning him?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
I balked at the idea. It was bad enough that we had to kill him — for however short of a time — but with poison? It seemed like such a cruel way to go.
Ismene sensed my hesitation. “Rae, I wish there was another way, but if you want Logan back to his old self, we have to do this.”
“I don’t like it,” I told her.
“I know.”
“What if the antidote doesn’t work?” I wanted to know.
“The antidote will work. I will mix it myself,” she promised.
“Why can’t I just — you know?” I waved my hand in a vague gesture.
“Your powers aren’t nearly strong enough for this. You should leave it to me.”
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t see anything other choice. “Okay…” I finally agreed.
“I won’t let you down.”
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just wait until I’ve mixed the poison and the antidote. Then when all is ready, you will have to bring Logan to me.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to do that?”
“That is up to you. A connection between the two of you still remains. It’s buried deep, but it’s there. You will find a way. You must, otherwise he may remain trapped forever.”
I certainly didn’t like the sound of this. Kill him or I lose him forever? They definitely didn’t sound like good options. I sighed. “I guess I have no choice, do I?”
“Not really.”
“Well, isn’t that just great?” I muttered.
“You understand this is the only way, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t like it though.”
“I’ll call you when it’s ready,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Logan stood before me, lost in fog. “Save me,” he whispered.
I reached for him, but my hand passed through his. “How?”
“Save me,” he repeated.
“I’m trying!” I shouted. “If you know something, tell me.”
“Please…” his voice trailed off as he disappeared.
“Logan!” I jumped out of bed, instantly awake. I looked around frantically, realizing it had just been a dream.
Nuada lay on my bed in her cat-form. She shifted to human, but remained lying down. “Bad dream?”
“Yes.”
“Like the ones Andrei sent you?”
“You mean before he kidnapped me? No, not quite, although there was fog. This time it was Logan.”
She propped her head up with one hand, her elbow digging into a pillow. Her black hair spilled across the bed. “What happened? Did he say anything?”
“Just to save him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Any chance he told you how to do that?”
“No. I asked. He just repeated ‘save me’.”
“Anything else?”
“No, he just said ‘please’ and then disappeared.”
“That’s helpful. Look, it’s obvious his subconscious is still aware of his normal self. He wants you to help him… he just doesn’t consciously know it. Understand?”
I nodded slowly. “I guess so.”
“He’s coming to you the only way he can — in your dreams. Just like he came to you in your dreams when you were trapped in the Shadow Imperium. Even though he’s under the witch’s spell, he still knows how to reach you. Maybe he’ll come again and give you some more useful information.” She studied me for a moment. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way. We’ll bring him back.”
Sighing, I sat back down on the bed. “I know.”
“Good, then let’s go back to sleep. We can worry about it in the morning.” She shifted back to a cat. It wouldn’t be good if my family walked in and saw her as a human. I lay awake for a long time before I finally drifted back off to sleep.
****
Andrei
I dialed Nuada first thing in the morning. How she managed to carry a cell phone when she was in her cat-form was beyond me. Even with all my other powers, I lacked the ability to shape-shift. I didn’t quite comprehend it.
“What do you want?” she demanded when she answered.
“Meet me at the park.”
“Why? Am I supposed to bring Rae? She’s on her way to work.”
“No. Come alone.” I hung up before she could protest further.
When I arrived at the park near Rae’s house, Nuada was already waiting, seated on the tabletop of the lone picnic table. She stared out at the street, pointedly ignoring my approach until I stood in front of her. “What’s this all about?”
“We need to find a way to deal with Serafina,” I told her.
“Deal? How?”
“I don’t know. Trap her, take her powers away… something.”
“I might be able to manage controlling her powers. I don’t think I can actually take them away, but I could probably make her think I took them away.”
“How?”
“Let me handle it.”
“Nuada, I didn’t call you here so you could take over. I called you for advice.”
“So you want to ride in on your white horse and save the day? You think that’s going to make Rae love you? I have news for you. She’s already chosen your brother. It’s done.”
“It’s not done. She may have chosen him, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. She chose me first, I just… made some wrong decisions.”
“You’re not going to get her back. She doesn’t trust you.”
“Then I’ll make her trust me.”
“Good luck with that.”
I spun on my heel and started to walk back to my car. “Hey, what about the witch?” Nuada called after me.
“Forget I asked. I’ll take care of it,” I called over my shoulder.
I heard her jump lightly from the tabletop and sprint across the grass toward me. She was practically silent, but I had good hearing. She grabbed my bicep and I allowed her to haul me around to face her. There’s no way she could have deterred me if I hadn’t let her.
“I think there’s a spell,” she informed me.
“What does this spell do?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never used it before.”
“Then how do you know it will work?”
“I don’t. But it’s worth a try.”
&
nbsp; “Fine. Let me know what you need. We’ll meet again soon.”
“When?”
I shrugged loose of her grip on my arm. “I’ll call you.” I left her standing in the middle of the park as I reached my car, got in, and pulled away.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Raena
My heart sank when I walked into work the next morning. Bianca was standing behind the counter. “What’s she doing here?” I asked Cady.
Cady ignored me. Bianca answered in her stead. “She,” she said, pointing at herself, “got a job here.”
“You don’t need a job,” I said. “I know you don’t.” Her parents had more than enough money.
“Neither do you. That’s right, I do my research,” she said, responding to the incredulous look I knew was on my face. “I know all about your inheritance. But you probably work just to take your mind off your pathetic life.”
“So why are you working? Are you saying your life is as pathetic as you claim mine is?”
She snorted, sounding completely unlike herself. I had never known Bianca to make such an unladylike sound. “Hardly. My life is nowhere near as miserable as yours.”
If she only knew she was probably right. “So why then?”
Rolling her eyes, she responded, “If you must know, my parents thought it would be good experience for me.”
“They’re right. Maybe it will teach you to stop being so horrible.” I knew I was antagonizing her, but I couldn’t help it.
“Truth be told, I took this particular job to keep an eye on you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.” She stepped closer to me. “You’ll regret you ever tried to steal Logan Conner from our friend Sera. They’re supposed to be together. Everyone knows it.”
“Our friend?” I glanced at Cady. “Surely she isn’t including you in this ridiculous statement.”
Cady shrugged. “So I’m friends with Sera now. Deal with it. It’s not like you and I were ever really friends to begin with.”
“Of course we were, Cady. We were best friends.”
