by Trina M. Lee
Another shot of tequila. Willow held the empty glass, twisting it between his fingers. “Either you’re trying to protect him or you underestimate him greatly.”
Probably a little of both but I wasn’t about to admit that aloud. “Why are you asking me?” I challenged, my fear manifesting as frustration. “Gabriel is his own person. I don’t own him.”
“Like I said, I respect you. The truth of the matter is that I’m going to take him regardless, whether it’s the easy way or the hard way.” Willow poured more liquor into the tiny glass before turning his grim scrutiny on me. “I’d really, truly prefer not to do it the hard way.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Well, that made two of us.
I sat there dumbfounded, unsure of how to respond. Willow had just thrown down the gauntlet. He sat there, looking like my dear friend, sounding like him, but then he had to go and declare war. Subtle yes, but a declaration just the same. If I didn’t stand back and let him take Gabriel as if he were some magical trinket, there would be violence.
“What are you up to, Willow?” I asked, hard like steel. No soft approach this time. If the demon wanted to throw down, then he hadn’t given me much choice. “Tell me. If you’re going to abduct one of my people, then I think you owe me that much.”
In my peripheral vision I watched Gabriel. Oblivious to anything but his lady friends, he had no idea how much danger he was in.
Lightly I touched Arys’s mind, hoping Willow wouldn’t somehow know. ‘Arys, try to get Gabriel out of here. Be subtle about it. Willow is here for him.’
Willow stared at me, shot glass in hand. “I suppose you have a point. There’s no harm in telling you. Come to think of it, you deserve a heads up. I don’t want you blindsided when it all goes down.”
I didn’t have any air when I tried to speak. Not that I needed oxygen, but I hadn’t realized I’d stopped breathing. I took my time before asking, “When what goes down?” My chest hurt. Dread threatened to swallow me whole. There was no doubt left in my mind that Willow might prove to be the greatest foe I’d ever faced.
Then he slammed back a tequila shot and confirmed it. “Twisted justice, as you like to call it. The night of the celestial alignment, I’m conducting a ritual to unleash that justice on the city. Possibly the country. Or the world. As far as it will reach.”
Could I wake up now? Because this had to be a bad dream.
“And what exactly will that entail?” Folding my hands on the table before me, I studied Willow, from the vicious glint in his once friendly eyes to the hard set of his jaw. Still, I loved him.
“Evil needs to be expunged from this city. It’s drawn here. Birthed here. It thrives in this place. It sickens me.” He paused, abandoning the shot glass for a swig from the bottle. “They’ll turn on each other. Destroy each other. A mass purge of evildoers.”
I kept waiting for the punch line. The joke.
It never came.
“What are you saying? Evildoers attacking one another? Chaos in the streets? Have you lost your damn mind?” Incredulous, I didn’t try to hide my true feelings anymore. I was too shocked.
Willow tipped the bottle up, draining so much that I grabbed his arm to stop him. A demon didn’t get drunk easily, but if Shya were any indication, a drunk demon didn’t make for a good conversationalist.
Willow jerked away from me. “That’s debatable.” He lifted the bottle to his lips again.
“What exactly defines an evildoer in your eyes, Willow?” Panic pricked the back of my throat with an icy claw. “I’m not exactly the poster child for purity and wholesome goodness. Neither is Arys. Or pretty much my entire inner circle for that matter.”
Peering into the bottle of harsh liquor Willow considered this. “I’d like to say you won’t get caught up in this, but that’s not a promise I can make. The ritual decides who is an evildoer. Being a creature of light as you are, I’d hope you’d make it out unscathed.”
“You’d hope?” I repeated. “This thing could all blow back on me and those I care about, and you’re going to do it anyway? I know you have some bizarre need to purge your evil by killing those who commit evil, but you’re going to get people killed who don’t deserve it.”
Draining the bottle, Willow set it aside and leaned forward. The scent of booze emanated from him. “Tell me, Alexa, who doesn’t deserve it? Humanity is corrupt. Those who were once human are corrupt. This is something I need to do.”
“Tell me why,” I demanded, panic surfacing as anger. “Tell me what’s going on in your head. Your heart.”
His fingers tightened on the table’s edge until the wood creaked. “My heart? Not a damn thing. My head… Well, there’s this pressure that builds until I’m sure it will burst. But it never does. Only killing an evildoer soothes it. For a time. Until it begins to build again.”
I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see the blood tears fill my eyes before I could blink them away. Willow suffered. Because of me. Maybe it was only fair that I got what he deemed an evildoer deserved.
Maybe.
But no. Allowing Willow to go through with his fool plan would only take him further from who I knew him to be. I couldn’t let him do that. Couldn’t let him become the evil he sought to extinguish.
Because that was what this was all about it, wasn’t it? Willow was a demon. He could never die. But part of him wanted that release. Surely he felt he deserved as much. So he lived out his death in every person he killed. Seeing himself in them.
Dear God, it was so unbearably sad. The agony he lived with. I’d stop him. Somehow. And then I’d find a way to help him. Though I didn’t have any damn idea what that might be.
“Willow, I’m sorry. If we could turn back time, I’d stop you from taking my darkness.” I wanted to touch him but feared rejection.
Derision creased his brow. So dark it shook even me, a scowl twisted his face into a thing of nightmares. “What’s done is done. Instead of sitting here sniveling about it, you should start acting like the Light Flame you are, The Hound of God. Otherwise, you’re nothing but a waste of my sacrifice.”
I recoiled, stung by his harsh words. The worst part, he wasn’t wrong.
“So you want me to take you on? That’s how this is going to be?” Too many emotions fought to overwhelm the others. I wanted to throat punch him as bad as I wanted to go home and cry alone in my room. I would do neither. Not yet.
Try as he might to shut it down, emotion stormed behind his eyes. “That’s how it has to be. You know that.”
Sure, I gained comfort in knowing this was emotional hell for him too. But that didn’t change anything. I’d like to believe he wanted me to stop him, despite his many warnings. The determination etched onto his face said otherwise.
“Yeah,” I nodded. The lively party going on around us felt so wrong in my moment of sorrow. “I do know that.”
Willow sat up straighter, glancing about the room. “Where the hell is Gabriel?”
I followed his gaze to find the couch Gabriel had just occupied filled by someone else. Arys was nowhere to be seen either.
“Leave Gabriel out of it.” I rose when Willow rose. “Do your thing if you must but leave him alone. Please.”
“The ritual works better with two. He knows his shit and possesses enough power. I need him.” Willow vacated the booth and moved at a speed that had people jumping from his path. Those that didn’t move fast enough were flung aside.
I didn’t need to ask why he couldn’t have another demon assist him. They wouldn’t do it. Evil didn’t cast out evil. That was not how demon society operated.
Hurrying after Willow, I grabbed his arm in a futile attempt to slow him down. “Stop, Willow, please. Let’s talk about this some more.”
He shook me off hard enough to make me stumble. “There’s nothing left to say. We both have our role to play.”
Why did angels and demons always have to say shit like that? It was as infuriating as it was foreboding.
I
reached out in my mind to Arys, warning him that Willow was on the warpath. Literally, it seemed. From what I could glean from my vampire’s thoughts, they’d made it to the parking lot. Not far enough.
Willow barreled through the crowd toward the back hall. The hallway was mostly empty as everyone back there occupied the private rooms for their shenanigans. The one vampire who lingered with his play toy of the evening took one look at Willow and got the hell out of his way.
He headed for the back exit with me almost running to keep up. I made one last-ditch effort at holding Willow back with a hastily made energy wall between him and the door. His black wings flared wide, and with a flap, he threw me to the floor.
He walked right through my wall like it wasn’t even there.
“Motherfucker,” I muttered. With a burst of vampire speed, I was up and out the door after him.
But I was too late.
Willow cornered Arys and Gabriel between two vehicles with the brick wall of the building next door behind them. Trapped.
“I don’t want to go with you, Willow.” Hands held ready, power crackling among his fingertips, Gabriel did a good job pretending he wasn’t scared. His brave front was almost convincing, but fear trickled from him in waves that I could smell as well as feel. “I’m done with dark magic.”
“I’m sure you’d like that to be true, but you’re filled with it.” Willow could also sense his terror and kept a meager distance between them, still hoping to gain the young vamp’s cooperation. “You were turned by a Dark Flame. Your power is nothing but darkness. And your knowledge is valuable.”
“I don’t know anything about the alignment. I can’t help.” The air around Gabriel sparked and snapped. The kid had some serious power. Next to Arys and me, he had to be the most powerful vampire in the city.
I hovered uncertainly nearby. We stood on the brink of a battle that we couldn’t win. But it would happen anyway.
“You know enough about rituals. You’ll help, and then you’ll be free to walk away. Safe and sound.”
Willow made a move toward Gabriel and the precarious peace shattered. Gabriel flung up a hand, Latin tumbling from his lips. A psi ball that flickered with lightning smashed against Willow’s chest. The electricity spread out from the point of impact to engulf his entire body.
Willow fell to his knees.
The kid dropped him? I was baffled.
Or did he? Willow smirked, raising a hand to fend off the next attack Gabriel flung his way. “And that is why I need you. You’re capable. But you’ll burn yourself out long before you exhaust me.”
“I don’t care. I’m done being a demon pawn.” Latin spewed from the kid. Gabriel planned to go down fighting.
Wearing amusement like a second skin, Willow allowed the attack. A fireball exploded in his face but dissipated with a snap of his fingers.
Gabriel had never dropped him. Big faker. He was fucking with us.
Arys and I had to try something. I’d managed to push back against Willow once. It had required tapping into the power of every vampire in our bloodline. But it had worked. Briefly. If I could do it now, just to buy a few seconds, the dagger on my hip could do the rest of the job.
Tapping the power of our bloodline wasn’t something I did lightly. Not only did it piss off most of those involved, it also took great effort and burnt us all out. Still, I had no choice.
Calm but concerned, I reached for the power Arys and I shared, at its strongest when we stood together.
“No.” Willow turned on me before I could reach out to the others. He swept me with a wing that knocked me off balance. Catching me before I could steady myself, he placed a hand on my forehead. “I’m sorry, Alexa.”
A cry tore from me as he stripped my power down, leaving me fragmented and weakened. Like tearing a layer of my innermost being from within me, he took me down hard and fast. Leaving me raw inside, on my knees on the snow-covered ground, Willow turned his back on me to challenge the others.
What hurt the most wasn’t the pain—Willow hadn’t reduced me to a skeletal mess in the most vulnerable state possible—he’d hurt me the same way Shya had.
I stayed down, letting him think he’d dropped me harder than he had. So there would be no tapping into the bloodline. The Dragon Claw hung from my hip though, and I planned to use it.
Arys and Gabriel stood side by side. Facing the demon they threw everything they had at him. Several blows held him off, but nothing truly wounded or weakened him. He took it all and threw back even more. Uniting their power, the two vampires erected a barrier, but all it really did was trap them further.
Willow seemed uninterested in playing any further. He punched a fist through the barrier and grabbed hold of Arys. Flinging him to the ground, Willow stripped Arys down as he had me. Unlike me, Arys got back up. Rarely the best choice with a demon.
Willow took him down again with an irritated huff. This time Arys didn’t get up. Fingers clawing the ice and snow, he struggled.
Yeah, I knew the feeling.
“Do you see what your resistance has caused?” Willow demanded of Gabriel and swung a hand toward us. “Hurting them was not what I came for. You can stop this.”
Gabriel’s gaze darted to Arys and me. Conflicted, his energy waivered as it danced along his fingers.
“Don’t, Gabriel,” I gritted out. “Don’t worry about us.”
“I can strip you just as easily, Gabriel. Why take it that far when the end is the same?” So logical Willow sounded, as if he truly believed he wasn’t being a ruthless asshole. “Walk out of here with me on your own and save us both further trouble.”
Gabriel’s eyes sought encouragement in mine, but I shook my head. It had taken little effort for Willow to take down me, a rare hybrid, the so-called vampire queen. The kid would never get out of this on his own.
A fireball nailed Willow in the back, right between his wings. It knocked him into a nearby vehicle, giving Gabriel a small window to escape.
I glanced about to determine where it had come from and found Falon standing behind us. Both hands outstretched he followed that up with an attack that paralyzed Willow in place.
No telling how long that would hold, this might be my only chance to swing the dagger. As Gabriel darted past Willow, I shoved to my feet with a groan and unsheathed the Dragon Claw.
Willow broke free as I reached him. The blade was in motion, slicing through the air. A boom reverberated all around us as he threw both hands up and unleashed a storm of energy.
My blade never landed.
The force of Willow’s attack struck me full on. Like a pallet of brick, the weight of it hit my chest. Seconds later my back slammed into the side of an SUV. The rigid remains of its mirror dug deep into my spine, as my ribs compressed in on themselves. Crushed, I went down on my knees, keening in pain.
I struggled to follow the events taking place around me. Falon had disappeared, likely to avoid retaliation from Willow. No surprise there. Willow himself was a blur as he easily caught Gabriel before the kid could try for another spell. An explosion of sulfuric smoke filled the parking lot. Anyone lingering outside the building rushed inside. Arys and I stayed down, knowing it was too late. Willow had fled, taking Gabriel with him.
While the smoke gradually cleared, my eyes burned, blood tears welling up. The parking lot was a dead zone. Nobody remained other than Arys and me.
“Are you ok?” Somehow he’d appeared beside me while I blinked the smoke from my eyes. A wince creased his brow, but he seemed fine overall.
“Yeah.” My voice sounded breathy and weak. “Really fucking sick of these demons and their power-stripping bullshit.”
Arys slid down the dented SUV to drop heavily beside me. “Yeah, I forgot how much it hurts. It’s been a while.”
“Lucky you.” I shoved myself back against the SUV, sitting uncomfortably against the front tire. My insides hurt, like they’d been scorched by the sun despite Willow having gone easy on me.
�
�He won’t hurt Gabriel. We’ll stop him.” Arys grabbed my hand, his grip weak.
It worried me that a demon could get the drop on us so easily. We were vulnerable in such a state. Sitting in this parking lot and advertising that fact was foolish.
“We have to go inside. To my office. No one can see us like this.” With a groan I reached up to clutch the remains of the SUV’s side mirror, trying not to cut my hands as I hauled myself up.
Falon stepped out from between two vehicles across the lot. “No. We certainly wouldn’t want that.” The angel sauntered over, smirk fixed in place. Watching me struggle brought an amused glimmer to his silver eyes.
“Why are you still here?” I asked between clenched teeth.
Falon feigned hurt. “That doesn’t sound like thank you.”
“You did nothing but take a cheap shot at Willow and disappear so he couldn’t kick your ass. Don’t expect gratitude for that.”
I shoved away from the SUV, intent on getting inside. Arys followed, slowly. I didn’t think Willow had gone that hard on him. Perhaps I’d become used to this shit, or maybe demons had less agency over creatures of the light.
Hands clasped behind his back, Falon ambled along, matching my pace. “So you won’t be needing me to help you bounce back then. In that case, I’ll just be on my way.”
“Ok, wait.” I fired a glower at him. “We could use your help. Just don’t look so fucking smug about it.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I’m not touching him.” No sooner had we entered my office than Falon pointed at Arys like he was a leper.
Unwilling to take the angel’s snark personally, Arys dropped onto the couch and patted the cushion beside him. “That’s fine. I only need to touch you.”
“Like hell you will.” Disgust etched across his perfectly chiseled face, Falon turned to me. “I’ll do an energy chain but that’s it. You should consider yourself lucky I’m even offering to do that much after the way you spoke to me.”
