Another reason to get some answers from Richard before checking in with Roland or any of the more dangerous items on my to do list. Fabrizio had told me that the Vatican had given me twenty-four hours to meet with them, but I’d slept right past that deadline without a care in the world. I’d only just remembered.
And here we were. The world was still turning.
I appeared on the balcony overlooking the infamous gardens spread out before Solomon’s Temple. I took a deep breath, inhaling the vibrant smell of raw, fresh greenery and flowers. In the distance, I saw the dark sphere of Castle Dracula that I had just departed. I dismissed the strange logistical observation and made my way towards the entrance, wondering if I should stop by and check on Aphrodite. And Phix, for that matter.
I owed Aphrodite a hefty, hefty wham-bam, thank you, ma’am for getting Phix out of my hair last night.
But I owed Phix an explanation. She was my partner and she needed to know everything. That sounded exhausting as an initial task of the day item, so I opted for finding Richard, first.
I heard two men talking around the corner and followed the sound of their voices to find Solomon and Richard chatting together over coffee and croissants.
The two finished speaking before turning to me, not looking remotely surprised by my arrival. They must have heard the familiar crack of power that announced Shadow Walking, and they knew I was one of the very few people able to come here without permission. The wards around Solomon’s Temple were ridiculous. Not even the residents of Castle Dracula could visit Solomon’s Temple without prior approval.
But with the Archangels and Archdemons able to sneak into Castle Dracula, I knew no area was foolproof. Even these two could be Archdemons or Archangels hoping to lure me into a trap. Now that they were all after me, and that Ryuu was no longer here to protect me from them, I wasn’t actually confident in how wise it was to be running figurative errands. This was the best opportunity to take me—while Ryuu was elsewhere.
I smothered that cowardly thought under a warm blanket of denial and let out a long breath. “Morning,” I said, smiling at the both of them. “What are you two whispering about?” I asked, wondering if they were even aware they had a sexy new roommate-slash-prisoner named Aphrodite.
They grinned, boyishly. “The dinner tomorrow night,” Richard said, excitedly. “I kept the guest list small for our first run, but it’s going to be a blast.”
My eyes widened, even as I smiled at the joyful look in his eyes. “Oh. So soon?” I asked.
He nodded. “I already sent out the invites,” he said, tapping a stack of cards on the table beside the tray of croissants. “Here are ten out of twelve RSVPs. Waiting on two stubborn men—Roland and Ryuu.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s…pretty quick. Why the rush? We just talked about this yesterday. And how did you already get invites sent and responses back?” I asked, incredulously.
“Magic,” Richard said, solemnly, waggling his fingers. “That, and I refused to leave them alone until they gave me an answer. In writing,” he said, tapping the stack of cards, “because that’s what professionals do.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Right. Have either of you seen Claire lately?” I asked, eyeing their coffee cups longingly.
They shook their heads. “Few days ago,” Solomon said, glancing at Richard.
He nodded his agreement before turning to me. “Spending time with family is vitally important and never an inconvenience. We should all spend a little more time appreciating what we have rather than focusing so much on tomorrow. At one point in your life, today was your ultimate goal. Living in the moment is taking the time to enjoy the gift earned from your past labors and efforts. There is a reason it’s called the present—it’s a gift.”
I smiled, nodding. “It’s easy to forget that sometimes,” I agreed, letting out a breath. Solomon smiled at me, kindly. “Well, I look forward to it. Thank you. But I actually swung by to ask you about the research we discussed.”
Richard nodded, rising to his feet. “Perfect. I put everything I found in two different libraries,” he explained. “Some books are warded from leaving the room, so that’s the best I could do,” he explained.
Solomon rose to his feet, sipping his coffee with a concerned look in his eyes. “The Seven Sins,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s been a long time since I banished one of them. They’re slippery, tricky creatures. The usual tactics won’t work,” he said, eyeing the Seal of Solomon on my finger.
I nodded, having assumed as much. I hadn’t realized that he’d ever encountered them before, though. “Join us. Your experience would be a great help as I look through the books. Especially since I was under the impression I could take them back and study them at my leisure,” I said, sighing. Now I had to schedule research time, locking myself up in a specific library, when I had assassins out in the city trying to kill my people.
Solomon shook his head with a compassionate frown. “You could take most of them with you, actually. I think there are only three bound by the library wards. Not even I can take those out—a safety precaution I put in place so that even extreme leverage against me won’t permit me to hand over such dangerous information to my enemies.”
I grimaced. “How cynical of you,” I said. “But effective and warranted,” I admitted. “Well, let’s go for a walk, gents.”
Solomon shook his head. “Absolutely not. I have reached the age where I do not go looking for adventure; adventure comes to me.”
Richard chuckled, shaking his head. “Lazy bum.”
Solomon dipped his chin as if it had been a compliment. Then he turned back to me. “Take a look over the restricted books and then bring the others down. I’ll tell you what I know and answer any questions you have.”
I nodded. “Have a pot of coffee ready. I’m starving.”
He arched an eyebrow in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense. Do you want me to make some food?”
I gave him a stern glare. “Coffee is a food.” Then I turned to Richard. “Let’s go study Archdemons, kitty.”
We made our way towards the temple entrance and then Richard guided me towards one of the main hallways to the right of the grand staircase leading to the second floor. I admired the beautiful art hanging from the walls, promising myself that I really would take a break to spend some more time exploring this place. Richard was obviously lonely and the place truly was breathtaking.
Richard drew me out of my thoughts by clearing his throat. “The first-floor library has a book that may prove most useful on the Seven, and it’s not restricted. It’s called the Sev’n Most Sinist’r.”
“You’re kidding,” I said, feeling a thrill of excitement. Then I hesitated, frowning. “Wait. The Sinister Six were plagiarized from an ancient book about demons?” I demanded. “Is there no originality these days?”
Richard frowned, obviously not understanding my question. They weren’t big on comics, here at Solomon’s Temple. “One problem. I’m going to need your help finding it. We must have mis-categorized it a few hundred years ago.”
I frowned on multiple levels—at how casually he’d said a few hundred years ago, and the fact that they’d misplaced a very important book on Archdemons. It wasn’t like they were inundated with things to do around here. “Sure. But if that book is the most informative, yet it’s not restricted, which books were too dangerous to leave the library?” I asked, shaking my head. “That makes no sense.”
Richard shot me a wary look. “The books on Divines and the Azrael Scrolls,” he said, making the sign of the cross.
I felt a shiver creep up the back of my neck at his tone. “Azrael, as in the Angel of Death? Didn’t he lead the angels that came down to Earth and…” I trailed off, not knowing how to say it politely. “The angels who first parented the Nephilim with mortal women?”
Richard nodded, soberly. “The Watchers.”
I rubbed my arms, feeling a faint chill. “Isn’t that already public knowledge? The
Book of Enoch talks about that.”
Richard met my eyes. “I was recently informed that the Book of Enoch…glossed over quite a bit,” he said, sounding troubled. “The Azrael Scrolls are the unadulterated truth.”
I sighed. “Well, it’s better than nothing. Have you read these restricted books?”
He shook his head, firmly. “I didn’t even know about them until you asked for them. Solomon told me that when he first read them, he had nightmares.”
I blinked, glancing at him sidelong. “Nightmares,” I said, deadpan.
Richard nodded. “For six-hundred-sixty-six nights straight.” I sucked in a breath of disbelief. He shot me a meaningful look. “So, no. Solomon locked them up, never told me about them, and then spent the better part of last night strongly advising me never to look at them.”
I shuddered, wondering how badly I needed these answers. “He didn’t seem very concerned a few minutes ago.”
Richard did not respond immediately, but I could see him clenching his jaw. “Your father was a Nephilim and your mother was a Solomon. If anyone could read such apparent horrors without falling victim to them, it would be the amalgamation of Solomon and Nephilim bloodlines.”
I grunted, trying to mask my discomfort. “Well, I sure as hell hope so. I don’t have time for nightmares. My daily life is a nightmare. Sleep is my only escape from insanity.”
55
I decided to shift topics to something less foreboding. “What did you learn about the Divines?”
He took a right turn at an intersection of hallways but I halted, inhaling through my nose. I…could smell something strange. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was enticing. Almost like a wisp of fresh baked rolls or something equally familiar. One of those smells from your childhood that made you smile before you even recognized exactly what it was. The kind of smell that could wake you up out of a deep sleep, like sizzling bacon.
“Let’s go this way,” I said, absently. “I haven’t been down this hall.”
Richard paused, glancing back at me. Then he sighed and spun on a heel. “Of course, you pick the direction leading to the library with the Azrael Scrolls,” he said, warily. We continued walking and I did my best to not mimic Toucan Sam while cackling Follow your nose! “Why did you ask me about the Divines?”
His words almost made me jump because my thoughts were so distracted by the mystery scent. It kept fading and shifting to the point where I felt like I had almost imagined it, only to return a few moments later like a feather tickling my nostrils. “They are obviously rooted in Asian mythology yet Angels and Demons fear them. You are also a mysterious creature with ties to the Christian faith, so I thought that maybe—”
“And I currently resemble an Asian man,” he said in a dry tone.
My cheeks heated at my unintended correlation and I swatted him in the arm. “No! You were close to my mother, who was close to Samael and Lilith. I’m just trying to connect dots. My mother spent some time here but then fled, not wanting to put you in danger. She didn’t tell you about me and left you in the dark. While doing so, she secretly chose to make a greater demon and greater demoness my godparents. Then those godparents chose to form a Trinity—whatever the fuck that is—with these Divines. Finally, my mother chose to secretly plant one of these Divines here to guard her lab, which almost ended up killing her ancestor, King Solomon. That’s why I’m asking you, moron!”
He smirked. “I was just teasing you.”
I narrowed my eyes, dangerously. “Maybe it’s not healthy for you to do that…”
He chuckled, lifting his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Solomon and I have spent a great deal of time discussing those very things. Why the secret unions, and why secret unions with dark forces rather than asking for our help? It was almost as if she feared us. We have scoured the libraries about Samael and Lilith and any other number of curiosities you unveiled, but we had not attempted researching the Divines since we thought only two of them remained. We shifted our efforts to vampires after you picked up that after-school activity,” he said dryly.
I froze, skidding to a halt as we passed a darkened hallway without the usual stand lamps or burning braziers. It seemed unused, dark, and smelled musty, but that wasn’t what had made me stop. I could practically taste the mysterious smell, and my mouth had begun to salivate. “Callie?” Richard asked in a careful tone. “This way.”
I didn’t look over at him. Instead, I entered the dark hallway. “What’s down here?” I asked, sniffing openly.
Richard jogged up behind me. “We shouldn’t be back here. This is Solomon’s private hall. The rest of the temple is public but he asks for this one slip of privacy. Your mother did the same with the laboratory corridor. You could do the same, but I must insist that you respect his one single wish and ask his permission before going this way,” he said, jostling my shoulder.
I instinctively spun and my fangs popped out as I hissed at his uninvited physical contact. He lunged back, shifting to his white tiger form as fog began pooling around his feet and his eyes flared to a cerulean glow. He loomed over me as a broad-chested, bipedal white tiger. The world’s deadliest supernatural assassin—at least by reputation—going back hundreds of years. Until I’d met Ryuu, anyway. “I will go where I please,” I growled, extending my silver claws at his escalation to the problem he’d created, no longer caring that he’d seen my fangs.
Last Breath curled his lips at me and let out a coughing snarl. Then he shook his head, looking startled at his own reaction. “S-sorry,” he growled in a low, rattling purr. “For a moment, you didn’t quite seem like yourself,” he said, cocking his head as he studied my face, blatantly giving me the opportunity to explain the silver fangs that he could clearly see for himself.
I swallowed, forcing myself to dial it down a notch, even though I couldn’t explain why his touch had triggered me. “I apologize, too. I’ve had a very rough couple of days and I have no idea how to explain this recent development,” I said, touching the tip of my fang with my finger. I let out a nervous breath, waiting for him to say something.
“Is this the real reason why you’re so curious about the Nephilim?”
I shrugged. “One of three reasons, to be precise.” I glanced down the dark hallway, feeling as if it was pulling me closer. “I’m going down this hall whether you like it or not, Last Breath. I don’t know why, but I need to do this. My instincts are screaming at me, and I’ve learned to follow them, even when it hurts someone’s feelings.”
Last Breath’s shoulders loosened and he gave me a hesitant nod. “What do you sense?” he asked, sounding entirely on board now that he knew I sensed a danger of some kind. He was highly protective of Solomon, me, and this place. “Did you see something?” he asked, eyeing me up and down. “No offense, but if we’re talking about senses, your skillset is not as fine-tuned as mine. Even with the killer instincts you picked up…yesterday,” he teased, tapping his own fangs for emphasis.
I shook my head, firmly. “I can practically taste it,” I said, feeling both disgusted and strangely euphoric. A very sickening feeling came over me, recalling the last few times I’d felt so…invigorated.
Blood.
Without further commentary, I turned away from Last Breath and called up a ball of light to hover over my palm. I tracked the scent, which grew stronger with each step. It didn’t taste or smell like any blood I’d encountered before, but that was just semantics. It didn’t smell the same as Eae’s angel blood, the Nephilim blood, the demon blood from Dorian’s party, or even the Olympian ichor from last night. Yet it was still similar. This tasted…crisp and fruity, reminding me of an apple.
“I don’t hear anything,” Last Breath said, speaking in a breathy whisper. His purring continued, but it was a comforting, rumbling noise that reminded me I wasn’t alone. “I can’t see or smell anything either. Are you following some kind of magical trail? Maybe Solomon was working on an experiment in his quarters and left a potion on the b
urner…”
His words faded from my mind as I focused all my attention on the crisp, fruity taste in the air. I closed my eyes, realizing I could focus much better on the scent without the figurative noise of my other senses bombarding me as they vied for my attention. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the crisp, bitter-sweet scent, trying not to drool. It didn’t make me hungry—which was a huge fucking relief—but it did make my jaw ache. Kind of like how you can smell a pickle and want it so badly that the first bite, for some weird reason, makes your jaw ache for a moment.
Unless I was weird and that happened to no one else, ever.
My jaw ached exactly like that pickle nibble, and I hadn’t actually tasted anything yet.
My boots squeaked, and I froze, not realizing that I’d actually been walking. Last Breath cursed and I opened my eyes, staring down at the ground. A motionless pool of blood fanned out into the hall, originating from an old wooden door that looked like nothing more than a janitor’s closet.
A shiver went down my spine. I’d just scented this all by myself. Even Last Breath hadn’t noticed a pool of freaking blood. Not even after I’d warned him something was wrong. I really was changing.
I pointed down at the blood, sniffing the air and feeling my heart drop into my chest at an abrupt certainty in my mind. “That…is Solomon’s blood,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
Last Breath snarled, crouching down to sniff the blood. “Why can’t I smell it?” he murmured, sounding terrified that his senses were at war with each other. He could see it right in front of him but not smell it. He then yanked open the door and let out a savage yowl as the light from my ball of magic illuminated a nightmare.
A pile of ancient books, manuscripts, and historical parchments were piled up on the floor, looking like it had all been swept up here in a hurry. King Solomon sat upon the millennia of recorded history and mythology and philosophy like it was a throne of wisdom or a shrine to his life. Yet all that wisdom had not been enough to protect the wisest man in the world. Solomon’s throat had been ripped out, and feather quills had been gouged into his eyes.
Trinity: Feathers and Fire Book 9 Page 32
