“Anything is possible, darling. But in the last few days, he seems to have stabilized. He’s hosting a little get-together for a few of his business cronies here in a couple of days.” Martin screwed his face up at me. “He’s told them that he canceled some bookings so that we had the rooms for them, but to be honest, we’ve had a few last-minute cancelations. I think he’s trying to save face, pretend that Revelations is as exclusive and sought-after as usual.”
My mind was going crazy trying to process what he was telling me. His ‘business cronies’ - it had to be some of the Quarters. They were coming here to check things out, I was sure of it.
“What business cronies are these?” I said idly, tapping away at my computer at the same time, to try and give the impression that I was barely interested. “They’re not going to decide to close Revelations, are they?”
Martin shrugged. “If we were any other hotel that had a vicious murder on-site, we would have closed already. It’s not going to happen, Eve. We’ve got the best PR team in the world. I’m sure they’re working on putting a spin on these events to make them attractive.”
“So why is he holding a conference here?” My hand paused on the computer mouse.
“It’s not a conference. Apparently, just a networking thing. Old business buddies having some R&R. Although,” he lowered his voice again, “these buddies are the most powerful men in the business right now.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “They’re not even new faces. Four of them just left here, actually. They were doing the Overlander, and were going to take off from Darwin to head back to the Middle East, but they’ve cut short their trip to come back here.” Martin chuckled. “Probably couldn’t handle it.”
Oh, my God. The Horsemen.
They were coming back here.
What did that mean? Was the apocalypse postponed? Were they coming back here to decide whether or not Bentleigh Savage needed to be terminated?
Would they decide to terminate me?
I knew that funding the Sanctum Domeni was just a little side-project for them, not really something worthy of putting too much attention on. They hadn’t really believed that the apocalypse was coming.
But what if they did now? They had all of the world’s resources at their disposal. They could have my throat slit in a heartbeat if they wanted to.
Fear ran through me, rooting me to the spot.
“Eve, are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”
I gave Martin a weak smile. “I’m alright. I’ve probably got a touch of your gastro,” I said cheekily, hoping he didn’t notice how my voice shook.
He did notice. “Clover said that you’ve been tired lately. And that you got a bit of food poisoning from that test menu last week. Are you sure you’re okay?”
With a monumental effort, I shook off my fear, promising it that I would give it full attention later, when I had Alex beside me to help me. “I’m fine,” I said to Martin with a smile. “I don’t want you to worry about me.”
“It’s my job to worry about you, sweetheart,” he patted my shoulder.
“You’ve got enough on your plate.” I looked back towards my computer screen, thinking about what I needed to ask him. “You have enough crazy staff to worry about.”
He smiled. “You’re not so bad.”
I looked away and tried to make my voice sound neutral. “Are there any bad ones?”
“Bad what?”
“Staff members. Any crazy ones at the moment?”
He frowned, thinking. “Not on nights, that’s for sure. All you night staff have just the right amount of crazy, but you’ve all got good hearts.”
“What about the day staff? Does Heidi ever have any trouble?”
“Not that I know of. Anyway, you know that the second anyone shows any sign of madness, they get shipped back to Cairns straight away.”
It was true. Because we were so isolated, occasionally one of the staff would go a little stir-crazy. Martin and Heidi watched us like hawks for signs of it. And when the madness struck, we’d get shipped out to the real world for a couple of weeks. There was even a psychology test you had to do to before you were allowed to come back to work. Both Martin and Heidi were highly trained in spotting nutcases.
So there goes that idea, I thought glumly. It wasn’t a disgruntled staff member trying to wreck the place.
So who the hell was drawing these circles?
Martin handed me the sign-in sheet. “Dale will be back in a moment. I’m heading up to the suites. You’ll be okay for a bit?”
I nodded, deep in thought. I wasn’t worried - I wasn’t alone. Both Alex and Nate were right outside somewhere, taking turns to sweep the perimeter, or whatever they called it. I’d even spotted a nuntius, a little imp, shrunk to the size of a butterfly, floating past the window on the breeze. There was no chance that I’d be attacked any time soon.
Just in case, I turned to the safe cupboard and popped it open, quickly checking to make sure that the floor was empty.
It was. I sighed out the breath I was holding, and I went back to my spreadsheets and my thoughts.
So it wasn’t a staff member drawing these circles. Could it be a guest? I quickly brought up the list of all the people staying here at the moment. It took me a quick second to cut out all the guests that hadn’t been here when the first circles started showing up. Soon, I had a list of about fifteen suspects.
None of them jumped out at me as being immediately suspicious. There were the usual old-world rich folk, members of dynasties that reached back to their respective countries founding fathers. Other than that, there was a movie star and his designer wife, and a couple of shady mobsters...
But that was the usual clientele. It was hard for me to try and guess if they were nutcases or not, because they were all nutcases to start with. They were crazy folk, but I wasn’t sure if they were just crazy-rich, or crazy-crazy.
I frowned at my little spreadsheet of suspects. So far, I wasn’t doing very good with this mystery-solving business. Determined not to give up, I added staff members to the list - the ones I knew had been on duty on the day where the circle had shown up in the safe cupboard. There weren’t many of us, but I knew almost everyone, at least by sight. I jotted down a few names: Bellboys and beauty therapists and a couple of bartenders. I didn’t remember all the gardener’s names, but I had my own nicknames for them. There were stable hands and kitchen staff. Before I knew it, the list was almost fifty names long.
I sighed. Dale had already checked the cameras, and it had come up with nothing. According to him, no one had opened the door at all. But there had been some static on the vision. Although the cameras were all high-tech, they occasionally succumbed to the weird electromagnetic energy around the caves, so they gave us a bit of static here and there. It made me uneasy. Mags had managed to clip the video footage of Hannah’s murder easily. I knew she wasn’t behind this, but the idea that she might still be around made me shiver. If anyone were crazy enough to call forth a few tortured souls from Hell to wreak havoc on Revelations, it would be her.
However, she could do much better than that. She could call on Vane to come through a circle to murder me. He’d have my throat slit in a heartbeat.
I swallowed roughly.
One thing was certain. These mysterious circles were here for me. The first one I’d found was in the back office, right in a corner, meters away from where I was working right now. The second one was right outside my door at staff quarters, and the third one was in a cupboard, literally inches away from where I’d been standing all night. If that told me anything, it was that whoever was trying to cast them absolutely intended on calling something to cause harm to me.
Or, maybe Clover, at a stretch. Clover, however, wasn’t destined to give birth to the Antichrist like I was, so I could probably discount her as the potential victim. Just in case, I added a few of her most recent lovers to the list of suspects. Suddenly I had seventy names on my list.
I sighed again and shut down the spreadsheet. It wasn’t doing me any good. My thoughts were just getting darker as I was forced to contemplate which one of my colleagues was trying to kill me.
To cheer myself up, I decided to watch the outside cameras for a bit. The valets had started breakdancing classes on their days off, and they often spent their down-time standing in a circle, taking turns to spin on their heads. Settling myself on a high stool, I enlarged the screen beside the garage and watched a couple of them perform b-boy moves for a bit. They looked like they were gearing up to do something, but would stop, back away, and wind up again. I had all night, so I settled in to wait.
One of them was called away, and I watched with interest as he sped towards the front entrance. We must have had an early check-in. Quickly, I checked the register and spotted a name that I hadn’t seen before: Bruce Dewar.
I furrowed my brow. It wasn’t a name I recognized. That didn't really mean anything. He could have just been a late booking. Quickly, I brought up his notes to see if an assistant had sent us anything on him - his preferences, a photo.
There was no photo, so it was someone who values his privacy. There was nothing else. His check-out had been scheduled for next week.
It was odd. I felt my pulse speed up, and I wished I wasn’t alone. Dale should be back by now.
I glanced out the reception doors, but it was so dark out there. I couldn’t see a thing. There was no moon tonight, however the stars seemed closer than ever, like I could reach out and pluck one from the sky.
A bang outside made me jump; a car door shutting. A shiver ran down the back of my neck.
Suddenly, a cool breeze drifted over me, and with it came a sunshine-and-ocean scent. I realized that Nate had appeared, and stood right beside me.
His dark eyes were full of concern, his lithe muscles tensed and ready. “Are you okay?” he asked, once he had scanned the room for danger.
I nodded. “I think so. Why? What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” he murmured, his gaze traveling around the space again. “Alex’s imps felt the presence of an otherworldly creature.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know,” he repeated softly.
Goosebumps rose on my skin. “Where is Alex?”
“He is traveling on the Plane right now. I will guard you.”
“He is what?” I grew frantic. “He’s where?”
“On the Astral Plane. Alex is at the bungalow, but he’s not in his own body right now. He’s…” Nate’s expression grew frustrated as he tried to explain. “He’s sent his spirit on the Astral Highways, to see if he can talk to any entities that might have seen something to do with your circles.”
“He can do that?” My heart was beating a little fast. I felt simultaneously anxious, scared, and a bit proud of him. I was also overwhelmingly grateful to him for forgiving Nate and me to the extent that he would trust his best friend to guard me right now.
“Yes,” Nate nodded. “Although I fear he’s chosen a bad time to travel. I’ve sent him a message, hopefully he will be on his way back. There is something coming…” His focus moved to the front doors, and I felt another shiver run down my spine.
The doors opened. A huge figure - almost twice the size of a mortal man - moved through the doorway. The first thing I registered was his size, then his terrifying aura, then his overwhelmingly muscular figure, naked except for a small, white loincloth.
Finally, as he moved out of the dim lights, I spotted his short, bright-blue hair.
I recognized it instantly. Last time I’d seen him, his hair had been slicked back with lube.
I exhaled with relief. “Bruce Dewar, I presume?” I called out sarcastically.
Zel D’Wa, demon of Rome, walked towards me. He chuckled, a deep, booming sound. “I thought Bruce sounded more… contemporary.” He crossed his arms over his enormous chest. The power that emanated from him was both sinister and seductive.
“Yeah, I’m not calling you Bruce,” I snorted.
He tilted his head toward me. “Why are you not scared of me, little Chalice? Most mortals quake in fear at my arrival.”
“I don’t know,” I cocked my head and smiled at him. “I’ve seen too many muscled-up creatures of the otherworlds lately. I guess I’m just not impressed anymore.”
He chuckled heartily, throwing his handsome head back. After a moment, he turned to acknowledge Nate. “Hello, young Armanduccio."
Nate didn’t smile back. “What are you doing here, Zel?”
“Just visiting,” he said smoothly, in his booming voice.
“Well,” I said. “Do you think you could tone it down a bit? I’m surprised that security didn’t have a heart attack when you came in.”
Zel glanced down at his enormous, spectacularly muscled chest, his eyes lingering on his bright-white loincloth. “They see what they want to see,” he replied, shrugging. “I ensure that.”
“What did they see?” I asked him tartily. “A huge, semi-naked man wearing only a flannel on his willy?”
He burst out laughing again. “You amuse me, young Chalice,” he chuckled.
“Glad I can entertain you,” I muttered. “Seriously, Zel, can you please adjust your physical form, for me? You’re terrifying, and I’m finding it hard to concentrate.”
“That’s better,” he smiled. “You were making me self-conscious.”
Nate smirked. “You’d be devastated if you couldn’t terrify the mortals anymore, wouldn’t you?”
Zel tossed back his head. I felt the air around me shiver. His physical body blurred slightly, then suddenly he was slightly over-average, human-sized, wearing tan chinos and a white t-shirt with the words Demon In Bed written on it.
“Very subtle, Zel.”
“I’m keeping the hair, Chalice.”
“You can call me Eve. And your hair looks great.”
He stepped up to the counter. “Nice place you’ve got here.”
“Thanks,” I said evenly. “It’s a great job.”
“Job? Do you not own this establishment?”
“Of course I don’t, Zel, I’m human, and not even out of my teens. I just work here.”
“Oh.” He seemed nonplussed, but brightened quickly. “So what work do you do here?”
“I check people in and out. I arrange for whatever they need while they’re staying...” Zel’s face was unimpressed, so I trailed off. “I… I don’t know. I guard the desk, I guess.”
“You are a guard!” Zel boomed, straightening his shoulders. “That is an admirable occupation.”
“Er, yes,” I said, remembering the Omani princess who had made me cry because I couldn’t get her the weird soda she had asked for. “I’m a great guard, too. We haven’t had a crazy monk penetrate these halls in at least twelve hours.”
Nate sniggered. I nudged him in the ribs. He straightened up and met Zel’s gaze evenly. “Why are you here, Zel?”
“Alex asked me for information, so I’ve come to relay what I know,” Zel replied grandly.
“Have you heard of a phone?” Nate muttered under his breath.
Zel stretched out his massive arms and lifted his head high, letting his body occupy all the space in front of me. My eyes popped. “But here,” he thundered, “this is where the action is happening. I can feel it,” He took a huge, appreciative breath through his nose. “There is so much energy swirling around here, it’s enchanting. I feel it coalescing, morphing… it’s impossible to resist.”
“Good or bad energy?”
“Energy is neither good nor bad, young Chal- ...sorry, I mean Eve. Energy has no motivation or agenda. Energy is just that. It has the potential to be whatever the wielder wants it to be.”
“So you’re checking in to Revelations for a week to suck up some energy?”
“No,” he laughed. “I’m just here to observe,” he said. “And to help, if I can. I like your boyfriend,” he nodded at me. “Alex has helped me out on a few occasions, he is an
excellent friend. His mother, too, remains loyal and kind to me, when she could easily have shunned me. I would like to help you if I can.”
“Hands off,” I muttered, remembering that Zel swung every which way you could think of. I checked the register. “You’ve booked yourself into the Banksia bungalow?”
He nodded.
“Were you responsible for the princess having her epiphany?”
Zel looked puzzled. “What princess?”
“There was a princess staying here, and she’s just gone to throw her crown away so she can work with orphans for the rest of her days.”
He looked horrified for a moment, but then attempted a smile. “Good for her!” He tried.
“I know unbridled hedonism is more your scene. I just thought for a moment you might be responsible for her trying to be a better person.”
“It sounds like she’s a better person already, Eve,” Zel replied, nodding sagely.
I smiled. He was hard not to like. Nate, I could tell, was less impressed. He was still on guard, his expression distrustful.
“You said you have news for us, Zel?”
Zel almost rolled his eyes. “I do, in fact, young Nephilim. It has to do with your sister.”
“With Mags?” Nate’s eyes flew wide.
Zel held up his hands, palms out. “Now, before I give you any information at all, I need to know where your allegiances lie,” he said sternly. “Magdalena’s betrayal of you has sent a shockwave through the supernatural community. We all thought she was a goody-two-shoes suck-up type,” he cocked his head to the side. “Albeit a very pretty one.”
“You’re not the only one who thought that,” I muttered.
“We thought she was harmless. I always knew she was a crusading anti-sin advocate, so of course, she was my enemy. On the other hand, never in a million years did I think she would betray you, conspire to have Eve murdered, lure assassins here, and torture Alex.”
“Again, you’re not the only one who thought that,” I told him. “But Mags’ actions have nothing to do with Nate.”
“I fought my sister,” Nate said in a dangerous tone, his eyes burning hot. “I felt her betrayal like a stab through the heart. I still fought her, because I know she is wrong. She’s been radicalized by the Percuitait.”
Revelations: The Fallen Page 8
