Sacrifice (Revelations Book 1)

by Mia Bishop

  Abby interrupted "You aren't elderly."

  "We are much older than we look. Old enough to have an adult grandchild." He waved off the statement. "We'd given up hope and I thought it would be for the best because as much as I wanted another child, I didn't want to risk the heartbreak if something else were to happen. Then a man came to us and said that for a price he could give us what we wanted. For me a child that I would never lose, and your mother would get what she desired most."

  "Which was what?"

  "Revenge on the bastard who'd gotten our daughter killed." His eyes shifted to Nico.

  Abby shook her head. "No, Molly wasn't your daughter. That was only ten years ago and I was already your daughter by then."

  He shook his head. "Not Molly. Her name was Crystal, she was beautiful and smart. But she had her own way of doing things and at a very young age she got pregnant and ran away. She changed her name to Lucy, got married, and had a child. And when we finally found her, years later she had a whole new life. Her husband had died, it was just her and the child, but they seemed to do alright. We were going to make contact but then…” He paused and rubbed his tear-filled eyes. “Then she was killed and the man was never caught by the authorities." His gaze flickered to Nico. "Because of him."

  “Lucy? Nico’s mother?” Abby turned to look at Nico and gasped. No wonder he'd sounded so far away. There was a barrier between them. He was pounding against the invisible force, screaming for her to get away. She looked back at her father. "What are you saying?"

  "He told the police it was a vampire. And of course, no one believed him. He told them that the vampire had vanished into thin air."

  Abby clinched her fist at her side. "He was a scared child and it was the truth. He’d just seen his mother killed by a monster what did you expect him to say?"

  "It didn’t matter to your mother. It broke her. She wanted revenge. And the man who came to us with you promised your mother that Nico would have a life of misery he would suffer a pain so deep he’d wish for death only to have to suffer through more."

  "That is all a lie. I died, you killed me, so clearly you didn't get what you wanted."

  Jackson smiled. "But I did, I got a daughter who will never die. I did what I had to do to give you this gift of immortality."

  "It's not a gift!" she screamed.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, but from where I stand I think it is.” He took his wife’s hand and Abby swallowed hard. “It’s time to come home.” She shook her head, but he pressed again. “Jane, this is what is meant to happen. Come home with us. Fulfill your mother’s wish. You owe it to us.”

  She gaped. “I owe you.”

  “I’ve received my wish. I’ll have you forever and never lose you. Your mother deserves her revenge.”

  “And how is my coming with you going to—” Abby stopped and clenched her fists. “You want to take me away from him, that’s how she’ll hurt him. You’re both insane. I’m not leaving. I’m not coming home with you. It isn’t his fault that his mother died.”

  “She was protecting him!” Katherine screamed. “I sent the vampire there to kill him.” Abby’s eyes widened and so did her father’s.

  Jackson whispered. “What?”

  “I sent him. I wanted that little bastard out of our daughter’s life, she would never come home as long as he was around. All I wanted was her.” She shrugged. “So I went looking for someone to take care of him, to make him disappear. She would be so heartbroken that she’d have no choice but to come home for support. I tried it before, but hadn’t worked with his father. I knew she was carrying on and staying strong for that child. But if I could get rid of that burden, she would come back to us.”

  Jackson took a step back, dropping her hand to his sides. “You never told me.”

  “I couldn’t. But I gave you this ungrateful child as a replacement and you’ve been happy to raise her no matter how much I despised her. I did it to make you happy, now I want him to suffer.”

  Abby lunged at her mother, pulling the black sword from her belt and slashed with a cry. Jackson pushed her mother back, the black sword sliced his midsection and the man she’d known her entire life doubled over clenching at his stomach. His salt and pepper hair turned white before her eyes. His smooth skin took on a brittle, wrinkled appearance and eyes older than she remembered looked up at her.

  “Dad?” Abby ran forward. It was an instinct she couldn’t fight. “Why did you—”

  He lifted his had to press a finger against her lips. “She’s my wife. I would never be able to forgive you if you hurt her.”

  “You let Chris do horrible things to me. You say you love me but you protected her and you hurt me.” She paused and caught her breath. “I loved you once. I loved the man I thought you were, but you aren’t that man.”

  “Don’t say that, I did all of this for you.”

  “No.” Abby looked back at Nico who stood silently watching the scene play out. “You did it for yourself. You’re a selfish man.”

  Abby’s hand tightened around the hilt of the sword and she thrust it deep into her father’s stomach. A furious cry broke out and Abby spun in time to see her mother jumping for her. A silver blade gleamed in her hands. Abby pulled the sword from her father but not soon enough, the tip of the blade bit into her forearm. Abby struggled to turn herself into a better position but a blur of black fur and fangs knocked into her mother and sent the older woman flying.

  Abby shakily stood up to see her hellhound savagely ripping flesh and bone from her mother’s struggling body. She covered her hand to her mouth and gasped. He’d protected her.

  It only took seconds for Moose to kill her mother, as soon as Katherine had stopped moving the barrier keeping Nico away came down and Abby felt familiar arms wrap around her. His rough stubble rubbed against her ear as he whispered. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I mean, I’m alive. Figuratively speaking anyways.”

  He turned her to face him and tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. “You know what I mean. Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “They weren’t my parents.” Pausing for a second she let out a heavy sigh. “Did you hear all of that? The stuff about your mom?”

  Nico’s jaw clenched. Several seconds ticked by as his gaze lingered over the bodies of his mother’s parents. The tension slowly eased from his features. “Yeah, I heard. Those people mean nothing to me and my mother got the justice she deserved. Everyone involved in her death will now have to live an eternity paying for their crimes in Hell, where they belong. Besides, this proves that Jack was right all along.”

  “Right about what?”

  “That this was all planned long before we had any control over the situation. Our fates have been intertwined since the beginning.” He leaned down to place a kiss to her forehead. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. Nico’s scent engulfed her, his strong arms held her tight and she let herself enjoy this peaceful moment in the midst of the carnage.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The field cleared quickly, the able-bodied Striga dragged the body of the Beast away. Moose gnawed happily on what looked like a meaty leg, and no one seemed to be in a hurry to take his prize away from him. Josephine carted off the head, swinging it by the horn while humming a tune. Abby smirked as she recognized the chorus of Work It by Missy Elliott. She would wager a guess that hauling away a severed head while humming hip-hop was not normal for anyone else.

  Then again, nothing about this night or the weeks leading up to it were normal. She hoped one day she would be able to look back on tonight and not feel the stinging loss of friends and loved ones. Kara was eagerly trying to scoop up the remaining goo that used to be the heart of the Beast. Abby recoiled. “What are you doing?”

  Kara snorted. “What? It could be very useful for spells. Waste not, want not.”

  It wasn’t the strangest thing she’d heard, which in
and of itself said a whole lot about the life she now lived. She searched and found Nico hovering over something. When she approached she was stunned to see he was kneeling next to Arveda and the old Striga was gripping his hand. They were so deep in conversation that Abby felt like it would be intrusive to come any closer. She waited for several seconds before clearing her throat. “Is she alright?”

  Nico looked over his shoulder and smiled. “She’ll live, much to my chagrin.”

  Arveda coughed in what sounded like an attempt to laugh. “Get me to the church, please. We have to make plans.”

  Abby reached out to help Arveda to her feet and scowled. “Plans? It’s over, Arveda, we won.”

  The older woman reached over, caressing Abby’s cheek as if soothing a child. “No, my dear. The battle is over. The war, unfortunately, has just begun.”

  Again the church was bustling, the damage and debris from their fight with Rosa was being cleaned up by anyone who didn’t have a body to bury or a plan to make. Abby wandered around the room, picking up bits and pieces as others started to arrange the pews, recover any bibles, and other items. It looked a million times better than it had a few short hours ago. The humans were also helping and this time they didn’t bother to give her questioning glances, now they embraced her. Moose trailed behind her and she could see that some sort of glamour had been cast to make him look like a giant mastiff. They embraced Nico as well. He handled their praise, he talked freely, and most of all he reassured them that it was going to be okay. The old Nico would have scolded and rebuked them. Abby smiled.

  Someone nudged her from behind, she turned to see Jack. “What are you smiling about?”

  She nodded her head towards Nico. “Him. He seems, I don’t know, lighter. I guess.”

  “He is. His soul doesn’t carry the burden of guilt anymore. He’s been absolved of Molly’s death, of his mother’s death, and of his many sins.”

  She gnawed on her bottom lip. “Why would God have found him guilty of his mother’s death or even Molly’s? They weren’t his fault.”

  “The guilt didn’t come from God. It came from him. He blamed himself. As irrational as it sounds, he blamed himself for not saving his mom. Even though there was no way for him to save her. He blamed himself for Molly even though he’d tried everything he could.” Jack paused. “Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies.”

  “But he’s at peace now?”

  “Yep, from what I can tell he’s forgiven himself and there is no better feeling in the world than that. He’s a leader now, one that will be followed out of love and loyalty.”

  Arveda was standing at the damaged podium, looking tired and disheveled. Abby was surprised the old woman was still standing let alone addressing the crowd yet again. “Tonight we say goodbye to one of our own.” She paused and choked back her tears. “Meredith stood by all of you. She loved you.” Arveda’s eyes roamed the room until they settled briefly on Nico and then found their home with Lobo. “I was wrong for trying to keep her away from this world. I was wrong for trying to shelter Chloe, and now we’ve lost them both.”

  The other Striga carried Meri’s body in, a white sheet over her still frame. She was beautiful, peaceful, but Abby winced, knowing that underneath the white sheet was the gaping hole of her mortal wound. Lobo and Nico probably saw it in their minds as well. Meri’s fiery hair fanned out like flames ready to engulf her porcelain skin.

  Arveda stepped down from the podium and made her way toward her daughter. “Meredith, I am sorry I failed you. But know this, I will protect the things you held dear. This town, these people.” A single tear splashed down on Meri’s pale cheek, then Arveda leaned down breathing the words against her daughter’s ear, “And I will make him pay for taking you from me. His blood will coat the earth.”

  Ah, there’s the Arveda I know.

  Abby rubbed her forearms and shifted uncomfortably as Arveda kissed her daughter’s forehead and then waved over Nico. Nico simply stroked Meri’s cheek and gave a smile. “Good bye, old friend.”

  He stepped aside and Lobo approached. Pain etched his face. His eyes were bloodshot and sunken in with dark circles underneath. Abby expected him to say something, anything. A goodbye. A heart-wrenching confession of love that they all knew existed. Some lingering words of revenge. She was ready for it, prepared for anything. Anything except what happened.

  Lobo reached out, snipped off a lock of Meri’s hair and slipped it in his pocket. Arveda clenched her jaw, but the old woman stayed silent. The room was void of all sound, everyone seemed to be holding their breath, no one so much as moved. She knew they were all anticipating the same reactions that she was. Lobo laid his hand over Meri’s chest, right over the hole made by the Beast’s horn. He visibly swallowed as if he might finally speak, then he turned and walked away.

  Abby blinked, he didn’t say a word. Nothing. Confusion boiled inside of her. Where was the resolution? Where was his declaration of love and revenge? Lobo stopped at the door. “I’ll go after Famine, she went south and I know the terrain. She’ll be heading to a heavily populated area. Somewhere she can make an impact. Probably Mexico City. I’ll keep in contact and let you know if I find anything.” He tossed something at Nico who caught it and opened his hand to reveal a key. “The bar is yours now. Take care of it.”

  Abby’s mouth fell open. He was just leaving without closure, without grieving. She started to step forward but Nico’s large hand clasped her shoulder. “He’ll grieve when he’s ready.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Lobo, the church took a collective gasp and broke out in mutters of concern. Arveda ignored the chaos and hummed quietly to herself as she and her daughters started to move Meri. Abby put her hand on Arveda’s arm. “Where are you taking her?”

  “She’ll be entombed here inside the church like Lucas so that no demon can defile her body.”

  Abby nodded. “Do you need help?”

  “No, child. Striga take care of their own, it is forbidden for anyone outside of our coven to witness death magick.”

  Abby took a step back. Whatever death magick was, she had no interest in witnessing it. The Striga made their way to the back of the church. Most everyone else headed to their homes, reassured that, no matter what, their lives in the desert would go back to normal once the sun came up. Personifications were eager to hear if Nico would be joining them back in the city while Virtues argued that he and everyone else should go as one group to track down the Seals one at a time.

  The church doors swung open and Abby turned, expecting to see Lobo again, instead she found herself staring at two ridiculously gorgeous people. Humans. Or at least they appeared human, and since they’d just walked right into a church she couldn’t imagine that they could be demons. The woman was dressed head to toe in black, skin-tight leather. She had red hair that fell to her waist, not the color of fire like Meri’s, more like the color of autumn leaves, and blue eyes that practically glowed. Strapped to her back was a giant sword. The man standing next to her had shoulder-length blond hair, brown eyes that emitted the same eerie glow, and also dressed head to toe in black leather. The glowing eyes were definitely familiar. She still hadn’t forgotten the slight glow of Graham’s blue eyes.

  One of the Personifications called out. “Little late to the party.” The woman offered a wordless reply by giving him the finger and the man simply shrugged and growled out sarcastically, “Better late than never.”

  Jack parted the crowd and Nico joined him as they greeted the newcomers. Nico gave a polite bow of his head. “Sabina, always a pleasure. I see you brought your lapdog with you.” He regarded the other male coolly.

  The name struck her, this was the woman Graham had asked Enzo about. Abby arched a brow and watched her. What were they? Other than the glowing eyes they bore no resemblance to Graham.

  The man reacted with a snarl and from his back burst a pair of black, leathery wings, and short white horns sprung from his head. “You’re Dark-Souls?” she said aloud
without thinking.

  The woman nodded and gave a soft smile. “Aye. We are. And you are the vampire we’ve heard so much about.” It almost sounded like it should be an insult but not an ounce of malice dripped from the woman’s words. She directed her words to the crowd, “We would have come sooner, but you all know how the Order and the Mother Superior can be. Red tape and paperwork before every mission.”

  Small talk again broke out. Abby tapped her toes impatiently, for a bunch of immortal defenders of mankind these beings all had a serious case of ADD. None of them seemed to notice when Arveda reappeared at the podium except for Jack and Nico, who quickly excused themselves and headed toward her. Abby hopped up on the stage as well, figuring it would be better to be in on the plan than to get left out of whatever was going down. Arveda tapped the mic and grimaced when no one gave her their attention. Apparently seeing a Dark-Soul, let alone two of them, was a rarity amongst the Personifications, Virtues, Vamps, and other allied creatures that Abby had yet to categorize.

  Everyone in the room had apparently forgotten why they were all there until there was a clearing of someone’s throat. Jack spoke up, “We will need to start locating key players. If we can get our hands on our new prophet we would have an upper hand. Someone needs to locate Rosa, the Beast,” he paused and added quietly, “and Chloe.”

  Alex cleared his throat. “Why a new prophet? I thought you were our prophet. Isn’t that why you’re helping us?”

  Jack closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. “My abilities have weakened. This isn’t the apocalypse I had foreseen, it’s not the one I documented. My job was supposed to be over when I wrote Revelations, and the bulk of my abilities have been passed to another. A worthy prophet.”

  The vampire folded his arms over his chest. “So you’re a prophetic dud now?”

  Jack laughed. “I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. But this isn’t my time. We have someone new, someone who needs us.”

  Arveda stepped forward. “My daughters and I can start scrying for Rosa, there is nowhere on Earth that The Whore can hide. I will find her.” She was back in her role as leader or at least the one person in the room that no one wanted to challenge at the moment. “As for Nico and Abby, they can’t leave Dusk unprotected.” Nico started to protest but Arveda held up her hand to silence him. “You are the patron saint of this town now. You protected them, you sacrificed yourself for them, and the people of this town need you. They need you both. You have a responsibility to them, first and foremost. Revenge is secondary.”