A little frown pulled down the corners of her mouth, but her gray eyes were content, bright, and peacefully heavy-lidded. “Your heart is beating too fast for you to act so disinterested.”
“What do you want, Ev?” he asked again, slowly. Jeremy knew she was right. His pulse was pounding in his head. She shouldn’t be here. But she was also fishing for a big reaction, and he was determined to not let her have it.
“Stop calling me that!” she growled before taking a deep breath and beginning again with that composed smile. “I’m not your Ophan anymore — or your anything else, for that matter. If you won’t call me ‘Fiora’ as you probably should, then at least call me Evangeline. That ‘Ev’ business was never cute.”
Jeremy eyed her coolly. She was almost the same as the last time he saw her. Her face was pretty, but at almost thirty it was too old for the childish moods that moved her features. Evangeline’s blonde hair was still short, with pixie-wisps sweeping down at the borders of her face, but now it shone with a strange pink cast. She was dressed like an Arch of the Third Sphere, but she had altered her uniform so that the volume of the full curves above and below her narrow waist wouldn’t be concealed. There were still the raised lines crawling up the length of her arms, and he could see the familiar symbols scrawled behind her ears that, he knew, wove down around her spine. But now, there were some blackened bones, much like his own fetters, that coiled about the base of her thumbs, wrapped over and around the heels of her palms, and ended jaggedly right above her wrists. “Alright. I get it. Za’in raised you from the dead, made you more of an abomination—” He seized her hand before it struck his cheek, keeping it caught in his grip as his eyes pierced hers. “—and let you be an Arch. Good for you, Ev. I’ll ask you one last time. What…do…you…want?”
“You never killed me,” she hissed between clenched teeth. “You think Za’in would let that happen? Leaving you to die in Madeline, your inevitable, pathetic attempt to murder me, it was all a part of his plan. You would have known that if you were capable of understanding anything he’s achieving through us…with us! Instead, you’ve always been a weak child, recognized only because some woman shat you out on the day of the Eclipse. And now, you’ve thrown everything away for some clueless twat who isn’t worthy to…to…God, she trained with him!” Evangeline’s eyelids fluttered for a moment before a spiteful smile curled her lip. “You fucked her yet? Is it out of your system? Was it worth it, Saros? Now that she traded up for Serafin—”
He let her go. “Jesus, Ev, you’re still boring. And you still can’t answer simple questions.” Jeremy turned away from her and started to head into the kitchen.
Evangeline pressed her body against his back, coiling her left arm around him, her hand resting lightly on the cheek she wasn’t able to slap, while the spiny heel of her other palm was forced against the cross on his chest. “I know that right now I can’t kill you,” she whispered into his ear, “but I can see to it that you suffer.”
“Your only tricks are what Za’in gives to you. What is it? Physical pain? Visions?”
“Of her?” she snorted.
“There’s nothing you can do that I’m not already living with right now.”
“I’ll tell you why I’m here, Saros. That’s what you want, right? Here’s how it is: you’re going to follow that girl and when you find her, it will be my pleasure to do what you don’t have the nerve to carry out.”
Jeremy shrugged off her embrace and continued walking again.
“You can evade reality for only so long!” she called to him.
He only hesitated for a moment when he heard Za’in’s words ring out from her throat. “I see some things never change,” he laughed dryly before he stepped into the kitchen. There was something pulling him there, something beyond the desire to put some distance between Evangeline and him. He was beginning to realize these insistent impulses that had been moving him were each stepping stones leading him back towards Kayla, through these fetters and Za’in’s will. Since she was caught up in this loop as well, since the tool of his destruction was the distorted pieces of her he carried on his arms…did she ever feel this too? He caught his breath, knowing he only had another moment to lose himself in thought before Evangeline would follow him, and Za’in had been silent for too long. Wherever Kayla was, could she sense him? Jeremy closed his eyes, focusing his concentration on one word. If he could choose just one sound to say everything to her, if she could hear him… Run.
A sharp pain against the back of his skull sent him to the floor. How generous of you to feel sympathy for the one who betrayed you. You think you can’t die, Saros? Don’t try that again. You know how I detest needless sacrifice.
The air stung his lungs. “You think I care…if I die?”
Your desire to survive — until you can take everything down with you — is why you’re even hearing my voice right now.
“I’m not doing any of this to fulfill Ev’s need to please you. If you really wanted me to do this, why did you send her?”
Za’in was silent. Jeremy fought to regain control of his body again, willing the pain that washed over him to recede. He could feel Evangeline standing in the doorway, but he ignored her as he crawled toward the glint of metal that came from beneath the moth-eaten blanket covering the kitchen table. His hand trembled as he clutched the fabric — a fleeting vision of Serafin lying on that table, healed by Kittie’s hands and Kayla’s tears, assaulted his senses — but when he pulled the blanket away, there was a relic of a motorbike lying on its side.
Curiosity left Evangeline’s voice without its fury and forced sweetness. “Oh, good. I didn’t want to have to tow you around. It looks beat up, though. Does it even have a Core?”
Jeremy removed the fuel cap, but he could see nothing within except for dark, gritty remnants. “It was adapted. But the Core is gone now.”
“I’ll give you one. For old time’s sake.”
He turned to look at her. “You’ll do whatever you have to do to get his approval, even if it means helping me. You don’t want revenge at all, Ev?”
She laughed. “For what? You brought me closer to him.”
Jeremy watched her carefully. There was something here he almost wanted to understand. “Lend me a Core, Ev. I’ll go get her. But let me handle it. If you touch her, I really will kill you this time.”
Evangeline smiled sweetly as she knelt beside him. She gently took his hand and laid hers over his. From the heel of her palm, a small, twisted mass of bone grew and released from the fetters she already wore, before it fell lightly into his hand. “You can only destroy, Saros. See this Core I made for you? My energy is productive. And you can’t kill that. You’re on the wrong side of things and I don’t answer to you anymore.”
His fist tightened around the barely vibrating mass. “You’re not an Angel. You’re a puppet.”
She kissed his forehead before she stood and turned around to leave. Jeremy could see a blissful smile smooth her face as she looked back for a moment. “Of course. I’m his Arch.”
25
Run…run…run… Kayla was light-headed as she gasped for air, pressing her hands to her chest and feeling irregular beats beneath her palms. Run…run! Fuzzy, black masses began to overtake her sight, and she rested her head along the dusty side of the truck to keep her balance. Ever since she had taken in her father’s Intercessor, visions moved her frequently and she had accepted the toll they took on her body and spirit, in exchange for the fragments of knowledge they brought her as she pieced together her past. She wasn’t sure if she could call it a “gift,” but still she was thankful for the burden. Without it, she wouldn’t have this certainty. She wouldn’t have been able to heal Asher’s wounds back in the churchyard’s banyan… Kayla held her breath, her face warm with the memory of his bare chest, rising and falling, the words he spoke that yielded to fate and challenged the past that tore them both from their comforts.
Run. She shook her head. This wasn’t one of those experiences. Th
is wasn’t about her father. Kayla’s arms tingled from the inside out. “Jeremy…?” she whispered, brokenly. The word tasted bitter. She glanced up quickly at the pirates, guilty, but they hadn’t noticed her shameful utterance. They were stretching their legs and staring into the distance, waiting for Asher and Kittie to return from town, their thoughts only on what supper they would enjoy, cold, here on the outskirts.
Run. This word was Jeremy’s, she was sure. The grasping blur of her memory couldn’t reconcile the existence of two banyan trees.
Run. It wasn’t a threat. But why would he warn her? He would have coolly taken his revenge on her if it wasn’t for Asher and Kittie. Could it be some kind of trick? Run. No. This was something familiar…sincere desperation. Kayla stared down at her nearly-healed palms. She didn’t want to be tied to him this way. There was no denying that she had been fighting the persistent compulsion to call out to him. The war she raged against her weakness was complicated by the impression that he would be easily within reach, if she only let her longing resonate in his direction. She swallowed hard. It was too dangerous to attempt a response; she couldn’t take the chance of revealing their location. Still, she needed a release. “Jeremy…” she breathed again. That was it. She wouldn’t allow herself to speak his name again. The desperate wish that she could keep a foothold in both worlds was unsafe and fickle. She could only hope that severing her connection would ensure the success of their mission and maybe, over time, her desire might fade.
Kayla reached for her locket. It was a comfort she hadn’t needed for some time, but the reminder of the broken trust between them drove her to her unchanging personal relic. The picture and words within never shifted, and she could always depend on the invented memories of her father. And the boy that stood beside him…now there were no doubts that the man he became was as constant as the stars that were beginning to appear in the darkening sky. She held tight to the tiny box. It didn’t even need to be opened.
The haze that held her drooping form to the side of the truck finally lifted. She was able to breathe deeply again, each intake of air strengthening her muscles and steadying her frame. Her hands felt whole and her bones were solid as the familiar elements of her training with Sebastian moved her. Since the tower came down, she had been sorting through too much sorrow to practice what he’d taught her, but now, even as she felt that this state was natural, healthy, and even useful to their cause, a crippling self-reproach crashed against her elation. Kayla held her breath, allowing her brow to furrow, her returning tension breaking up and dispersing the divine energy that moved within.
“My God, this is so dumb. Have you really thought about it? I mean, really?” Kerif’s voice burst from the quiet hum of the pirates’ conversation, the sound yanking her from her introspection.
Kayla looked up to see Bruno staring at him in disbelief. “What? Nonononono, I’m not hearing this.”
“Listen, we all agree Serafin’s awesome, right? For one, he’s pretty much the only guy who could stand up to that psycho—” Kerif paused, cringing against his friends’ stares, “whose-name-we-do-not-speak,” he whispered. Kerif coughed before continuing. “Hey, it’s not that I don’t wanna stick around — it’s not that! But we have no idea what we’re doing! We know our coordinates, but what kind of place are we going to? And what are we supposed to do when we get there? You saw what happened in that tower. Za’in can’t be killed! And what’s with this new Eclipse? I don’t get what’s supposed to happen. Why should we bother trying to stop it? If we just lay low, we’d probably survive it fine. We always do!”
Vic was eyeing Kayla nervously. “Guys…”
Bruno lifted his eye patch to double his ability to stare Kerif down. “It doesn’t even matter! We’re not leaving Serafin to do this alone. That’s it, Kerif. You’ve lost your privilege to speak!”
“Hey, guys…” Vic mumbled.
Fec had been watching Kerif with a puzzled expression for some time. “You r’member that Eclipses are bad, right?”
“Oh shut up, Fec!” The dreadlocked pirate kicked his pale, bony friend before stomping off a few feet. “We’re gonna get killed, and for what?” he called over his shoulder. “It was fun at first, yeah. Breaking into Za’in’s,” he grinned a little before shaking his head and continuing. “Okay, it was fun. I admit that. But that’s it! We should get out now before our luck runs out.”
Fec’s face fell. “Wha’ about Revolución?”
“Guys, seriously.” Vic’s voice was getting steadily louder with irritation, his gaze continually darting back into the gathering darkness.
“You got something better to do?” Bruno yelled.
“Yeah, not get dead.” Kerif was a few feet away, sitting cross-legged on the ground, his back turned to his friends.
The Captain’s expression softened. “This isn’t anything we can’t handle,” he offered, gently.
“Yeah, ’cuz we have so much experience dealing with Angels and Demons and girls with Stockholm syndrome and their deranged boyfriends who try to kill them. Next time he shows up, I’m gonna stay out of it or I gotta worry about that little girl threatening to shoot me again!” Kerif sat still in the silence that followed his outburst. When no replies or arguments chased him, he turned around to see all eyes fixed on Kayla.
“You’re scared. So you have some sense after all.” She was regarding Kerif with a cloudy stare.
He turned his head, hiding his hot cheeks with his heavy locks. “I-I’m sorry. I—”
“No, you should run away. Some of us are already cast into this, but you’re not. He’s right. We should all run.” Kayla’s voice was hard and distant.
“Who’s right?” Kittie called out.
“What?” Only Kayla’s head moved, slightly jerking in the direction of the sound. The others jumped at her sudden intrusion, their surprise emphasized by Fec’s choked cry and shaky lighting of a cigarette.
“Did someone suggest that you run?” Kittie asked quietly as she moved closer to the girl.
“I’m not taking suggestions right now.” A constricting chill began in Kayla’s palms and ended somewhere in her chest.
A flare of light appeared among them, a shelter from the deepening darkness. Vic knelt down beside Fec, his calloused hand considerably strengthening the glowing ember at the tip of the cigarette that burned slowly between his brother’s fingers.
Kerif shuffled to Kayla’s side, hanging his head. “Hey, I didn’t mean to…I’m just freaked out by the both of them. I guess Za’in is sort of like a legend. He doesn’t seem real, even after I saw him. But he’s gotta be pretty intense if his Archs are so…” He shivered. “Fec and Bruno didn’t see Saros sink the ship, but Vic and I, we didn’t stand a chance. And then later, he put those weird cuffs on you, even though you guys were like…um, well, you really could have died, right?” He trailed off, coughing before trying again. “But, uh, I’m sure you’ve seen other sides of him…” His voice was cracking under the pressure of forced tolerance.
Kayla turned from him. “Thank you for trying to help me that night. But you don’t have to worry about our misplaced affections anymore. Kittie won’t threaten you again.”
“I’ll try to contain myself,” the smaller girl mumbled.
“So, for once, you boys want a plan. Fair enough.” Asher stepped into their dimly lit circle. He passed a large, ceramic pitcher to Kittie, and then sat on a broken, concrete pillar that was lying on its side. He rested his elbows against his knees, leaning heavily on his own structure.
Kittie handed Kayla a tin cup before serving the others their portion from the pitcher, but the Nephil didn’t notice the lukewarm soup in her hand, her eyes fixed on Asher. His weariness wouldn’t cause him to falter, and that gave her strength. She held her breath, awaiting the comfort that would come from her willingness to obey whatever strategy he laid out.
Asher glanced up to meet her gaze, as if he sensed her thoughts. “The truth is we’re going into this without that luxury
. I can lay out my approach for you, but I never tried to conceal the fact that this is a last, desperate attempt. We’re going to have to improvise.” Something akin to disappointment pulled his eyes down as he bent his head to drink a mouthful of soup. “The totality of the second Eclipse will be visible from an area around Velsmere. He mapped this out too well.” Asher’s knuckles went white around his cup. “Even the rock formations in that place will aid him in his plans.” When he raised his face again, his eyes were narrowed, determined and clear. “But we’re going to give ourselves a fighting chance. We’re stopping in Azevin on the way.”
“You wanna g’see ol’ man Gabe?” Fec asked, an awkward smile freezing his features.
“Za’in has grown more powerful with each passing century: tattooing himself with angelic script and sacred blood, grafting other Intercessors to his own, and imbedding Nephilim bones beneath his skin.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the pirates. “We need some spiritual armor of our own.” Asher’s voice dropped to a nearly inaudible whisper, his eyes distant. “We have to go there. Either way, I must face him. I won’t wait for him to come to me.”
“Spiritual armor,” Kayla repeated softly. She pressed her palm against her chest, remembering the cross that damned both her father and… “Is that the only way?”
“I’m not advocating such extreme measures. But I am certain…Gabriel…possesses relics that will aid our cause. I even have reason to believe we might find some of your mother’s belongings there.”
“How?” Her features were painfully twisted. “Who is this man?”
A tight, cheerless smile seized Asher’s face and he extended his hand towards her. Kayla reached for his unyielding grip as if it was the only thing solid in this swaying world. His reply arrived with his touch. “Like me, he’s just a ghost of the past, but he sees himself as a man of the future. There was a time when Za’in only had one Arch. That was all that was necessary. But everything was different after the Eclipse. Michael had walked away and Gabriel Tregenne had changed. He was ready to lead.”
Dominion of the Star (Descendants of the Fallen Book 1) Page 18
