Laughing, she said, “Pitiful! Don’t overexert yourself. I need you to regain a little strength. I’ll need it soon.”
“What are you going to do?”
“So, Danielle didn’t tell you my intentions?”
“She was busy dying.”
Her eyebrow twitched again. “Maybe you don’t believe me when I say I do things for the greater good.”
“Lady, you have a really warped sense of what good means.”
“All of these humans—we protect them, we save their lives, and they persecute us and stone us and drown us! The Watcher Angels were sent to protect them. Their only crimes were falling in love with the women, and what did God do? He barred them from the Kingdom of Heaven and banished them! And their children, the Nephilim … they had a right to be angry. They had every right to avenge their fathers. They still do! All they need is a new king.” She gestured toward the winged man on the bed.
“A new king? That’s what Samyaza was trying to do in New Orleans. He wanted to be king. He set it up so that the other Watchers were killed by us so he would be the new leader.”
She laughed again. “Samyaza was their leader in the beginning, but Gadriel proved to be stronger. It was Gadriel who set them free of their confines. He became their leader.”
She closed her eyes, an emotional pain rising up inside her. “But he was killed by his own son, a son he wanted by his side. Samyaza brought his body back to me, to show me that he was dead. He feigned grief, but I knew he was glad. I knew he wanted to be their ruler again. He returned to New Orleans and began recruiting for his legion. He assumed he would lead them, but they wanted someone they deemed stronger. I saw an opportunity, so I took it.”
“You sent those masks.”
She nodded. “I pretended to be on his side. I told him the masks would help him. I told him how to get Miles and his paladins to help defeat the other Watchers so that he could rule the Nephilim. I even suggested that Ruby would be a good queen to have by his side. I figured I could use someone with her talents, to have her under my control. But what he didn’t know was that I had the coven put a spell on his mask. The second he put it on, it took away most of his power, making it easier for him to be killed.
“And now, we have our true leader.” She went to the desk on the far right wall and picked up the grimoire that was resting there. She brought the Book of Avelina to the altar and set it down next to the Heart of Charlemagne.
“What do you want with me?”
She opened the book and read quietly for a minute. While she kept herself busy, I tried wriggling out of my ropes, but to no avail. My hands felt numb. When she was finished reading, she lit a red candle on the altar.
“When Miles confided in me long ago that he had a daughter and who her mother was, I found it quite interesting, especially given the circumstances of your conception. As I’ve told you, I studied paladin heredity. It is not rare to have a pure paladin from one bloodline, but you were special because Miles had succumbed to being a Dark Paladin by bringing your mother back. You were created as both light and dark.
She gestured toward the bed again. “He is my lover, my one true soul mate.”
“You don’t have a soul anymore,” I said, disgusted.
She paid me no mind. “Gadriel and I were seeking the grimoire for a long time. We knew we’d be able to use it to our advantage if we could find a coven to work with us. It was so unfair that he was so brutally killed just as we got the book in our possession. I was distraught. I could not live without him, so I vowed to do whatever it took to bring him back. And one day, I found the answer, right here in the grimoire. That’s when I enlisted the help of the coven. They would do anything to get the book in their possession. They would do anything I asked.”
I shook my head, confused. “Papa Mulogo could bring people back from the dead. Why didn’t you just get him to do it?”
“Because he could not bring a soul back to the body. All he did was reanimate the body. You were the only one who could help me bring back my Gadriel. Oh, but to get you here—you would not believe all it took to get you here.”
“Like having Danielle pretend to be my mother in my dreams.”
She scoffed. “That was too easy. No, I remember when your mother was killed by Savoy. It was just before my Gadriel was killed. Miles had called me, quite distraught. He told me everything that happened, that he had a daughter and just how special she was. I knew it was you I needed. But it took me several years to find a turned coven. Once I did, I had them help Savoy evoke the demon Raum.”
“You?! You had them killed?!”
“I knew that once your grandmother saw that Savoy had returned to kill your family, she and the priest would ask you to come back. And then all it took was a few simple suggestions in your dreams to keep you in Louisiana.” She grinned. “And Danielle proved ever so useful by clouding the priest’s mind so he couldn’t see what I was up to.”
Realizing that she had killed my brother and his wife created a raging fury inside me. I mustered every ounce of energy I could and concentrated it all in her direction. She fell against the altar, clutching it for balance.
She rebounded quickly, came over to me and slapped me hard across my face. I spit on her, and she pulled my hair back and, taking a dagger from the altar, pressed the blade against my throat.
“I don’t have to drain all of your life force to kill you. Sometimes I like doing things the old fashioned way.” She held the blade against me just long enough for her message to sink through, and then she returned to the altar. I felt a couple of drops of blood run down my neck.
The door opened, and one of the witches entered.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come, Ellen,” said Charmagne, putting the down the dagger.
Ellen glanced at me, uninterested. “If Eloise knew I was here she’d feed me to the hounds. This will be the last thing I or any of my sisters help you with,” she said to Charmagne. “You will give me the book when we conclude here tonight.”
Charmagne gave her a pleasant smile. “Of course, dear. Now, let’s begin.” She turned a page in the grimoire, reading silently.
“So, you basically brought me here to bring your dead boyfriend back to life?” I said.
“That’s part of it, yes,” said Charmagne.
“Why did you kill Gretchen?”
“She was a test subject. I needed to see if the legend of the golem was true. I really did need this book, though, so she did prove useful. And, believe it or not, I deeply regretted that she had to die. It’s been so long since I came across a fire paladin. I had hopes that she would breed one day and produce more of them. Although Felix told me he found one, a twin. The other twin has an ice ability, and you’ve no idea how fascinating that is. They’re fraternal. One twin each inherited one parent’s ability. Perhaps I can breed them.”
“You’re sick and twisted.”
“Unfortunately, you’re probably right. But I truly do not care.” Without warning, I felt my energy being drained. I slumped in the chair. She came to me and whispered in my ear, “I almost forgot one small detail. I know about your niece’s power to self heal. Such a very rare ability for healer paladins. Even rarer than yours. A one-in-a-million chance, really.” Now she placed her hand on my head and joined her free hand with Ellen who began reading aloud from the book—words in ancient French, most of them I didn’t recognize.
“… absorb … into me … power …”
My head rolled back, and my eyes closed. I felt weaker and weaker as the life left my body, all warmth going with it, and I was so, so cold. Soon, I heard nothing but white noise, the sound of my blood in my ears …
Slowing …
Slowing …
Slowing …
My consciousness drifting, light behind my eyelids dimming to nothing but cold darkness.
And everything was still.
15
Back to the Bayou
Nothing existed to me exc
ept a tiny light that gradually expanded and the white noise that followed. Slowly, I became aware of my shallow breathing, the sensation of something soft against my skin, a musty odor, my tongue on the roof of my mouth, arm numb, dizziness …
My eyelids weighed a ton, and I tried several times to open them. When I finally did, I noticed I was in the chair, still tied up, lying sideways on the carpet of the bedroom. The black candles were melted down to practically nothing, some of them burned clean through the wicks.
Charmagne was speaking to the Watcher who sat on the bed. “Come, my love.”
The Watcher got shakily to his feet and steadied himself with Charmagne’s help. “Yes, I know,” she soothed. “It’s been a long time. Too long. You will regain your strength quickly, though.”
He fanned out his great wings, flapping them, extending them as far as they would go. “You’ve done well,” he told her. He laughed. “I feel almost myself again.”
“The grimoire, Charmagne!” said Ellen.
“One last task, dear. The girl. She is the last one I need. You have my word that the book will be yours once I have absorbed her power.”
Ellen said nothing. She closed the book, picked it up and headed for the door.
“Come back here, Ellen!”
The witch opened the door but stopped when Charmagne raised her hands. Ellen dropped the book and fell to the floor, disintegrating until there was nothing left but ash that moved peculiarly, and I was aghast to see hundreds of black spiders scurry from it and beyond the door.
Charmagne picked up the book, blew the ash away and placed it on the altar. She turned to the Watcher. “Let’s not wait! There are dens of Nephilim in Troyes, Reims, and Avignon. We will gather them tonight. Miles is here in Paris. We will take care of him first. And then we will go for the girl. When I absorb her power, we’ll destroy the rest of the blood line.”
They left and took the Heart with them, but they left the book. I came to, slowly. The room was empty. After a time, I heard muffled voices from somewhere. Miles and Noah, calling for me.
“Here!” My voice croaked. “HERE! I’M IN HERE!” I kicked the wall as hard as I could. I heard them coming closer and kicked harder. “HERE!”
Miles and Noah came in through the door, saw me, and picked me up. Noah untied me while Miles helped me to my feet. I was still dizzy. Miles looked drained. Noah had blood on his shirt.
“Are you okay?” I asked them. “Did you find the lair?”
“There was a trap,” said Noah. “Some kind of barrier. Saul and Alex got hurt pretty badly, but Miles fixed ‘em up. The witches escaped.” He looked at the decaying structure around us. “What the hell happened to the house?”
“It was an illusion. Danielle was projecting what she wanted us to see.”
“Danielle?!” said Miles. “How could she—”
“She’s not Charmagne’s daughter. She’s Nadia’s sister.”
He and Noah looked shocked. “How?” said Noah.
“She was taken when she was a baby.”
“No,” whispered Miles. “She can’t be the same baby Eve was pregnant with when she and Gerald were killed in the accident all those years ago. That means … if she can project illusions … she is the same. Nadia would have had the same ability if she had become a dark paladin.”
“There was no accident,” I said. “She killed them. We need to hurry. Charmagne’s rounding up the Nephilim. She brought a Watcher back to life. His name is … Gabriel or Gazriel or something.”
Noah went white.
“Gadriel?” said Miles.
“Yeah, that’s him. Charmagne’s going after Lyla. She knows Lyla can self-heal. She wants to absorb her power. She absorbed mine. I thought I was dead.”
“She probably thought you were. And you would have been. But what she doesn’t know is your grandmother had Cee Cee find a spell that would protect you as well as Lyla. It’s an ancestor protection. As long as Clothilde is alive, you and Lyla will not know death. There’s also a spell around her house. No darkness can enter.”
“As long as she’s alive?”
“Right.”
“We have to get back there now!”
“Okay. We’ll get Danielle and leave,” said Miles.
“Danielle’s dead.” His face and Noah’s sank. “She’s been sick this whole time. Projecting the illusion and controlling our dreams has been killing her. Charmagne made her do it. Ridge took her body with him.”
Miles’ heart looked broken. “Let’s go to the airport, then.”
***
As we waited for the pilot to bring Miles’ jet around, a cell phone rang. Miles took his out of his pocket. “It’s Charmagne.”
“Answer it,” I said.
He hesitated before answering and then pressed the speaker button.
“My little birdie has flown away, it seems. I thought she was dead. You wouldn’t happen to have her, would you Miles?”
“She’s with me. And so is the grimoire.”
“None of you will stand a chance. Not only do I have the aid of the Nephilim, but you’ve so angered the witches that they’ve decided to put aside our little argument and help me. They want their grimoire back, and nothing will stop them or us.”
Miles and Noah went pale.
“Witches, too,” murmured Noah.
Charmagne’s voice lightened. “Noah, my darling. I understand your wings are coming back. Perhaps your father will forget about your past transgressions and welcome you with open arms. I can talk to him for you, put in a good word.”
The only response from Noah was a clinch of his jaw and his eyes turned cold.
Charmagne continued: “Say goodbye to your loved ones, Leigh. After I get what I want out of your niece, I’ll save you for last.”
I grabbed the phone from Miles. “Come at me, bitch.” I shut it off.
“Nephilim and witches!” said Noah. He cursed.
Miles licked his dry lips and took a moment to think things through. “We’ll have to ask the other paladins to help us.” He looked at Noah. “We’ll get Felix and tell him to round them up.”
“Do we even have time for that?”
“We have to make time!”
“You two take care of that,” I said. “I need to get back home.”
Miles nodded. “You take the jet. Noah and I will be along as soon as we can. Cee Cee is still at your grandmother’s house. I’ll phone Ruby and tell her to get there as soon as possible.”
I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone. It was smashed. “Great!”
Noah gave me his phone. Before takeoff, I called Lucas.
“Where the hell have you been?” he said, his voice just above a whisper. I heard a door close and then his voice rose. “You need to get here now. We’re losing her, Leigh.”
My heart skipped, and a lump rose into my throat. I thought I’d be prepared for this, but I just wanted to put on the breaks. Everything was happening too fast. “I’m on a plane now. We’re about to take off.”
He cursed. “It’s gonna take hours.”
“Miles is calling Cee Cee. She’ll be able to help.” I hoped.
“I want to take her to the hospital, but she keeps fighting me. Damn it. Your whole damned family is stubborn like a pack of mules.”
“Luke, this is very important. Don’t let Lyla touch her. Promise me.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Lucas?”
“I won’t let her, but I don’t like it. Lyla should be able to hold her hand one last …” His voice got choked up at the end, and he couldn’t finish. “Hurry back,” he said, his voice hoarse, and then hung up.
I felt like crying then. I felt like putting my hand through the window and screaming. I looked out once more at the City of Lights, wanting them to fade away forever.
***
I arrived in Lafayette just after 6:00 PM. Lucas was waiting for me at the gate. As soon as I saw him, my heart burst with gratitude and comfort an
d a sense of being home. He looked angry, but I didn’t care. I ran toward him, let my bag drop by his side and threw myself into his arms. He seemed taken aback for a second but held me tightly, burying his face in my hair. His stubble scraped my cheek. I started crying.
“It’s okay. She’s still here,” he said.
I wanted to tell him so much, but my breath hitched several times, drowning out any words. All I could manage was “Thank you.”
My mind raced as Lucas’ truck sped down the highway. I couldn’t believe it was happening, that she was leaving us. What would I say? Would I just hold her and cry? Could I even get up enough courage to tell her goodbye? How would Lyla take this? She’s lost so much already.
When Lucas pulled up in the long driveway of Clothilde’s house, black ash was falling like snow, and the field to the right of her house was on fire.
Lucas noticed my concerned look. “It’s just that time of year to burn the sugar cane field.”
“Is Carrie here?”
“She and Cee Cee and I have been taking shifts. She had to go back to work and take care of some things at home. She didn’t want to leave, but I made her. I don’t think she slept but three hours in the last two days. She kissed Miss Clo goodbye … just in case. She wanted me to call when you came back.”
“Don’t wake her. She’s done so much already. All of you have.”
He squeezed my hand and held the door open for me.
When I entered her room, I thought she had already died. She was perfectly still, but after several seconds, she took a deep breath, her eyes still closed. Cee Cee was in a chair by her side, holding her hand. Lyla was in the chair on the other side of the bed, and Jonathan was beside her, on the floor, connecting the dots on a fun pad. Lyla’s eyes found mine, and they looked bitter.
Cee Cee got up and hugged me fiercely. “My baby!” she whispered. “She’s been holdin’ on for ya.”
I couldn’t move. I looked at the woman on the bed and didn’t recognize her. It was someone I didn’t know lying there, taking a gasping breath every now and then. When she opened her eyes, there was no fire in them. The green irises were dull.
Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 03 - Dark Legacy Page 23
