Then I walked up to Eae to get a closer look. I jumped to discover that Aala was seated on the ground on the other side of the bed. She looked up at me with a warm smile. “Morning, sleepyhead. You here for a swim?”
I smiled back. “I guess I needed it more than I thought. No swimming for me. I’ve got…a thing,” I said, gesturing lamely in the general direction of Kansas City. “Just wanted to check on Eae. You feeling okay? Have the Nephilim been bothering you?” I asked him.
Eae was still staring at the Nephilim but he finally glanced up at me. “By bothering, do you mean slicing my throat and stabbing me in the stomach with claws?” he asked, deadpan. “Because they already did that.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, like that. But I guess I meant have they been bothering you again.”
Surprisingly, Eae smirked, shaking his head. “No. But they do avoid me. I can’t blame them.”
I nodded. “After I broke their bracelets off, you made it sound like you knew all along. What the heck is going on in Heaven, Eae? First, you show up telling me that Eden calls and that I’ve been summoned for judgment. And for the record, the angels and their Nephilim have been awfully quiet—nonexistent, in fact—since our park fiasco.” His face grew pensive. “But drop that for the moment. Next, you offer to play double agent, and then I learn that you knew the Nephilim were brainwashed prisoners—trained Dobermans who were strong enough to take down an angel one-on-one.” Eae pursed his lips, looking both guilty and angry. “How long have you known about this fun little fact?”
Eae rested his head back against the pillow, staring up at the bright tree leaves that formed a canopy over his head. “Not long enough. I found out during a routine raid when two of my Nephilim were killed and the last one had his arm chopped off at the elbow after an altercation with two vampires. Between one second and the next, the Nephilim and vampires stopped fighting and stared at each other with strange, puzzled looks—no longer wanting to kill each other. Then the three of them turned their attention to me and I saw claws sprout out from the Nephilim’s remaining hand before the three of them rushed me. I was forced to kill them all,” he whispered, “and I kept the bracelet from his severed hand before incinerating his body. The paperwork I had to fill out on that job took me months, and I had no less than a dozen higher up angels harassing me by putting me through repeated depositions and inquiries on what happened to the missing third Nephilim.” He looked up at me, his face troubled. “I never got an official explanation or found a smoking gun, but I could read between the lines. The angels were hiding something and it was all related to those cuffs.”
“So, where does that leave you, Eae? I’m sure they’re all out looking for you.”
He was staring at the Nephilim, lost in thought. “I do not wish to be found,” he said in a soft tone. He asked Adrian and Quentin to approach, even though he was vulnerable and tied down. They did, warily, as if expecting a trap.
“Some angels are good and some are bad,” he told them. “Remember there is always someone higher up the food chain. The angels were treating the Nephilim as they were told to treat the Nephilim. Until recently, I wasn’t aware that the cuffs were anything other than a mark of your station. A rank on a uniform.” He took a deep breath. “Although I did not know what was happening, I am still complicit in your imprisonment. I ask your forgiveness.”
I frowned. “Did you just admit that some angels are bad?” I asked, incredulously. “That’s proof enough for me that you’ve changed. But I would really love to hear you say the Lord’s name in vain,” I said with a smile.
Because that would just break poor Greta’s heart, and my petty game was strong.
45
Eae seemed hung up on my first comment, furrowing his eyebrows in deep thought. “I guess you’re right,” he mused, sounding just as surprised as I felt. “Some angels are bad,” he repeated, seeming to be tasting the words.
Adrian and Quentin were studying him like they’d never seen him before. They hadn’t responded to his request, but they didn’t look hateful or anything either. “You two don’t have an instinct to kill him and drink his blood anymore?” I asked. “Or did I just imagine you felt that way back in the park?”
Adrian shook his head. “I wanted to protect you. I’ll admit that I wanted to hurt him before, and that I got caught up in the moment with a sudden hunger for violence when I thought you were in danger, but I don’t feel anything like that now,” he said, sounding concerned about his own lack of answers. “He feels different than before.”
I eyed Eae’s wings, wondering why they hadn’t burned away for his blasphemy. “So…does this mean you fell?” I asked him, gently. He had only changed after Adrian stabbed him with his new claws—likely drinking some of the angel’s blood in the process. So…how had Eae been changed by someone drinking his blood?
Because if I learned that he was now an angel vampire, I was quitting this job and moving to Montana.
Eae opened his mouth, and I was surprised that he didn’t instinctively react with a horrified gasp at my question—talk about fallen angels was taboo. Instead of getting angry, his teeth clicked shut and his eyes widened, and I realized the thought had not occurred to him until I’d voiced it. “Goddamn,” he whispered, glancing up at the sky as if expecting a hurricane of smite from the Pearly Realm.
Nothing happened and I saw him let out a faint, crooked smile.
Lucky strolled up to us from the pond, naked and loudly slurping a Frappuccino through a straw. “Hey! It’s the boob guy!” he said, pointing at Quentin and glancing my way as if expecting me to hand him an award for tattling. He frowned at my lack of surprise or appreciation and turned back to Quentin. “Hey, boob guy. I hope you’re cooler than this one,” he said, pointing a thumb at Adrian. “Because he is a boob.”
Adrian frowned, his feelings mildly wounded, but he masked it quickly. “Hey, Lucky. So nice to see you again,” he said in a monotone.
Quentin was smirking, studying Lucky with a calculating gleam in his eyes. “You seem…different. Not human, but there is something familiar about you…”
Lucky lowered his drink and a slow scowl split his face. “I am different, boob guy. I am an Anghellian.”
Eae choked, rocking his head instinctively as he sputtered in disbelief. “What in the world is an Anghellian?” he wheezed.
Lucky glanced over at him with an amused smile. “Part Archangel Michael. Part Archdemon Lucifer—or Pride, as the hip kids called me,” he clarified with a wink. “Part banished grace from Purgatory. Shake them up and you get a full cup of awesomeness. Anghellian,” he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. “Retro angel.” Then he slurped his Frappuccino for dramatic effect.
Eae…
Well, he passed out.
Aala let out an annoyed sigh. “He keeps doing that,” she muttered. Then she pulled out a stethoscope and began checking his vitals.
My eyes widened in alarm to hear Eae’s reaction was a common occurrence. “Have you found anything wrong with him? Are his wounds healing okay?” I demanded. Adrian looked completely healed. Fabrizio—who was watching in complete silence—was the only one who hadn’t fully recuperated.
She waved a hand. “Healthy as a horse. I think he’s just overstressed. He’s lived longer than anyone else I’ve personally met, and he’s never had to deal with free will before,” she said with an absent frown.
“Wait. Free will?” I pressed, feeling an icy shiver roll down my spine. Wasn’t that what had caused Adam and Eve to commit Original Sin in the Garden of Eden?
Fabrizio frowned, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. “Free will is the one thing humans have that angels do not,” he mused, frowning at the angel’s feathers.
With those wings sticking out of his back, the gift of free will definitely hadn’t made him human. In fact, I could still sense his power, even though he was asleep. Although recovering, he was still a veritable powerhouse. In fact, it might have been my imagination, but he actually felt stronger than bef
ore.
First, I’d made an Anghellian, and now I’d given an angel and two Nephilim an identity crisis.
Bang up job, Callie, I thought to myself.
“He’ll probably be down for an hour,” Aala said, interrupting us. “Shoo.” We made as if to leave but she cleared her throat. “Not you, Fabrizio,” she said in a gentler tone. “I have a few…questions, if you don’t mind.”
I arched an eyebrow as a broad smile split my cheeks upon hearing her drastic shift in tone. It had almost sounded flirtatious. I glanced back just in time to see Fabrizio’s cheeks turn beet red, letting me know he’d taken it the same way. He turned away, stiffly, and approached Aala, pretending that none of us were present.
Lucky walked up beside me, eyeing Eae thoughtfully. “You’re knocking down their house of cards, Callie,” he said, his tone soft but full of pride.
I grunted. “But we don’t have any real answers. What are they?” I asked, eyeing the Nephilim, who were being ushered ahead of us by Phix’s barking commands. “Are they actually vampires? Adrian took down Eae like it was nothing. Now, I’m sure if Eae hadn’t been surprised, the fight wouldn’t have been so one-sided, but still. He was able to hurt the angel, and his claws consumed the blood just like a vampire’s fangs. And I can feel them, Lucky. Right now, I can feel their emotions and eagerness to fight my enemies.”
Lucky nodded, thoughtfully. “Yet they no longer seem to see Eae as an angel.”
I nodded with a weary grunt. “For once, I’d like to not destroy something when I encounter it.”
Lucky grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to a halt. “You’re out of focus, child. You’re too wrapped up in thinking that what you took from Eae made him a lesser person. What if you took something from him that was harming him? You gave him free will, for crying out loud. And because I’m all about encouraging pride, you should remember that the only other person to grant free will was God.”
I rolled my shoulders uneasily, shrugging off his hand. “Technically, Adrian gave him free will when he whooped Eae’s ass and absorbed his blood.”
Lucky snorted. “And was it my imagination, or did Adrian jump out of nowhere to protect you—seconds after he had been willing to fight you to the death. The Nephilim are yours, Master Dracula. By extension, their victories are also yours. This is the way of kings and queens, and you are a Solomon,” he added with a wink.
I nodded, glancing at the Nephilim. “But what does this mean? If Nephilim are vampires and have the power to harm angels, give them free will, and use their blood to grow stronger…what powers do my blood vampires have that we don’t know about?”
Lucky was silent for a time, considering the question. “Hell. Maybe your blood vampires can absolve demons of their sins,” he joked. Then he cocked his head at a new realization. “You seem to have formed another Trinity. You, the Nephilim, and the Sanguine Council. Interesting…” he mused. And then he strode ahead of me, reminding me that he was stark naked by causing me to stare at his perfectly muscled ass. He glanced over his shoulder at me and winked. “Made you look.”
I averted my eyes and growled under my breath. “Trinity is not the word I would have chosen,” I muttered. None of this explained why my fangs had chosen this moment to make an appearance. They hadn’t popped out before I bumped into Eae and the Nephilim. Not even before Lust interrupted my picnic with Ryuu.
My phone rang and I jumped like a startled cat, causing Phix to glance back at me with a frown. I fumbled it out of my pocket and answered without looking.
“It’s time, Callie,” Gunnar growled in a clipped tone. “I just received word about when and where Nate needs us for a meeting with the Olympians.”
I muttered a curse. “Of course you did,” I growled, knowing I couldn’t speak plainly over the phone. Who had given him the information? Fake Nate—Zeus? Or one of the other Olympians?
“Sharpen your swords and meet me here at Chateau Falco in an hour,” Gunnar said, cryptically.
“Will do.” I hung up the phone, feeling frustrated about my impromptu nap. It had stolen valuable time. An update from Roland would have to wait, as would answers from Richard about my book requests. I also didn’t have time to check in on Claire about her supposed presence at Dorian Gray’s party or drill Xuanwu about the Four Divines.
Because I hadn’t seen any of the others since I’d arrived here with Quentin and Phix.
Speaking of Phix, I needed to get away from her without her asking—or demanding—to tag along. “Hey, Phix,” I called out. “Keep an eye on your new students and give them a history lesson about me. I need to go talk to Xylo at Solomon’s Temple,” I lied, “but I’ll be back later tonight. I need them to stay here where no one can find them,” I explained, referring to the protective barrier around Xuanwu’s estate.
She eyed me suspiciously and I held my breath. “Can I make them fight each other if I get annoyed?”
Quentin and Adrian slowed, turning to look at me with a wary frown. I nodded, hurriedly. “Only near the revival pond.” I turned to the Nephilim. “Don’t annoy her.”
And I made a Gateway before anyone could argue with me.
46
Gunnar and Alucard faced me with determined scowls, wearing the same clothes they had on earlier. Chateau Falco loomed over their shoulders and I made a silent oath that we were bringing Nate home to her, no matter how many Olympians stood in our path. After all, it was the only way to get Ryuu, Yahn, and Gunnar’s pups back. Gunnar had received a visit from Hermes and had been given a coin that would supposedly take us to the meeting. The messenger god had been strangely tight-lipped, according to Gunnar.
I did not bring up my own meeting with Hermes. It wouldn’t provide any answers but it would ignite at least a dozen questions, and we were already swimming in a plethora of those.
Gunnar was gripping Mjolnir tightly, but Alucard held no visible weapon. He looked like he was ready for a road trip, only needing his sunglasses. They had agreed to follow my lead during the meeting, watching my back in case we were bait for the trap Zeus was obviously laying for Nate. The two men were playing chess, and we were the pieces, as were the other Olympians attending the meeting. I gave Gunnar a nod and he flipped the golden coin into the air. A wavering haze appeared before us—an invisible Gateway. I couldn’t see or hear anything through it, so I had no idea what we were stepping into.
I took a deep breath, and then stepped through. Gunnar and Alucard followed, and we found ourselves standing on a vast expanse of flat rock near the peak of a colossal mountain, surrounded above and below by thick black clouds. Red lightning crackled in every direction, dancing from cloud to cloud, and thunder growled ominously like some great monster lurked just out of sight, waiting to devour us. It was the most ominous storm I could have imagined in my darkest nightmares. The very air felt pregnant with violence, intrigue, anticipation, and deep, deep hatred.
The actual peak climbed up from the plateau about fifty yards away—a sharp pyramid of stone that stretched maybe another hundred feet higher than our current elevation. I swiveled my head in a circle, assessing the shifting, roiling black clouds surrounding us. I saw no other mountains in the distance, making this feel like a lonely island in the sky. It was obviously not Mount Olympus, judging by the lack of buildings or structures, but we were in the right neighborhood.
Because a thirty-foot-wide set of stairs stretched up towards a raised pavilion ringed with elegant Greek columns that were topped with ornate marble entablatures to form a perfect circle overhead. I shared a long look with Gunnar and Alucard, spotting the upper half of an older man with long, iron-gray hair waiting for us.
“Let’s go take our places,” I murmured, striding up the stairs and keeping my eyes on the stranger. Even from a distance, I had a damned good idea who he was. Power radiated from him. Zeus, Father of the Olympians and, according to Nate, the biggest son of a bitch to have ever lived. He would hurt his own children to get what he wants, I reminded myself, steeling
my spine for whatever came next.
As I crested the steps, my eyes latched onto something else, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Gunnar and Alucard flinched behind me. Peter knelt before Zeus—previously out of our view from the base of the stairs or I would have approached with more caution. His face was pale and he looked to be on the verge of passing out from pain. Probably because his hands had been chopped off at the forearms. The ends were now cauterized and black with burned skin and dried blood. I didn’t see a Sensate hanging from his neck, and I managed to keep my face blank, even though I wanted to fall to my knees in relief. It wasn’t Nate, and that was a win.
Gunnar and Alucard growled aggressively, thankfully also aware that it wasn’t Nate or they might have charged to attack Zeus. But we still had to put on a show since Peter had kidnapped our friends.
I sniffed indelicately and then resumed my scan of our surroundings to make sure no one else was lying in wait as I led my group to the opposite end of the pavilion from Zeus.
I blinked to see that the Temple family crest dominated the center of the pavilion’s polished marble floor; it was at least eight-feet in diameter and ringed in twin bands of gold and silver. The crest was stained with liberal splashes of golden ichor—the blood of the gods—reminding me of a murder scene. What the hell was Nate’s family crest doing way the hell up here?
I looked up at Zeus, directly across the Temple crest from us, careful to keep my face blank and neutral since I was supposed to believe Nate had been working for him. As far as I was supposed to know, Zeus was our ally. He was a tan, older man in the prime of his life, and his eyes seemed to flicker with electricity. He had a long white beard and wavy, iron gray hair. His body was chiseled with muscle, exactly like every statue depicting him, but his face was devoid of wrinkles or liver spots. A few creases at the corners of his eyes were the only indication of age.
I flicked my gaze down at Peter, curling my lip in disdain. “Charming,” I said. “He kidnapped our friends, so don’t expect any tears from us. We only came for blood.” Zeus nodded, almost imperceptibly, but I caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes. That wasn’t good. We couldn’t afford his suspicion before Nate even arrived. I glanced from left to right, indicating the lack of people. “Where is Nate? Hermes told us to meet him here.”
Trinity: Feathers and Fire Book 9 Page 26
