The Infernal Sacrament (Guardians of Elysium Book 1)

by Nissa Leder

  “I can’t,” she keeps saying. “I can’t fight it anymore.”

  Finn is fighting a group of Familiars, but two more are approaching me from opposite directions, while the Daeva and Pey swarm together like bees. Like they expect me to run.

  “Prohibere!” Finn yells. The Familiars freeze in place.

  I’m still processing Finn’s loyalties when my palms begin itching from the inside out. I slap them against my jeans.

  Images of chaos blur in my vision and race through my mind.

  Uriah’s black wings.

  Finn’s terrified expression.

  Claire’s sacred blood stolen.

  Tuck’s chanting voice rising.

  Ava’s screams echoing through the room.

  Rachel’s light blasting the darkness.

  Mom.

  Dad.

  Pops.

  Gran.

  Ava.

  It all replays in my mind until I fall to my knees. My heart slows down, pounding against my ribs to the point of pain. Pressure builds in my chest like the brink of a heart attack.

  Just as the two Pey extend their bony arms toward me, the pain and pressure bend me backward.

  I open my mouth and scream.

  All of the pain, all of the anger, all of the fear and hate and love and loyalty I’ve ever felt intensify with the sound.

  The altar, the lights, my friends, the entire room falls away behind a gray, smoky veil that is replaced with fire, blazing every hue of blue and white, burning hot enough to blister everything in its path. Anguished screams echo in the distance, beyond an iron bridge suspended above a lake of fiery lava.

  Bony arms and hands reach through its surface every now and then, as if begging for help. Bits of remaining flesh dangle loosely from the bones until gravity pulls them down. The smell of burned flesh is overpowering, and I gag against it, fighting to concentrate.

  I picture them, then. The swarming Daeva. The Familiars fighting with Claire and Finn. The Pey hovering over Ava, scratching and clawing at her soul and whispering abominations. They don’t belong there.

  The itching in my palms intensifies with the thought. Suddenly, they burst into golden flames that consume my entire body, though I don’t burn.

  When you’re on fire, nothing can touch you.

  Pop’s words sear through my memory. He may not have told me the truth, but he was teaching me all along.

  Like attracting magnets, the Lessers burst through the walls of their fiery prison, some of them clawing desperately at the barrier, others sailing straight into the liquid fire, all of them hissing and screaming.

  Fiery shackles extend from the cracked floor of hell, the manacles locking around wrists or ankles, and pulling them down until they’ve been swallowed.

  Slowly, the fire subsides. The smoky veil departs, and I’m once again standing in the ritual room. Demons are fleeing in every direction. Daeva collapse back into the floors and walls. Familiars scamper back to the darkness. Pey beat their leathery wings and disappear through the ceiling and doorways.

  Finn unlocks Ava’s shackles and lifts her into his arms.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Claire shouts.

  She points toward the set of stairs that lead back to the bar and ushers Rachel and Tuck forward. I bring up the back, making sure Finn and Ava and Claire are in front of me.

  Outside, the air is damp, but the scent of ashes is thick all around us.

  “What now?” I ask, my voice louder than I intended.

  “Ava’s bad, D,” Tuck says. “One of the Pey broke the barrier, but I don’t think she’s fully possessed yet.”

  Tuck opens the back door of my Wagoneer and Finn slides in with Ava. Tuck hops in the very back, and Claire climbs in beside Finn.

  “There’s a Guardian’s safe house five blocks down and to the right,” Claire says. “I can get us in, and we can destroy the Pey.”

  “Tuck, I need my keys,” I yell.

  Everyone stops and looks at me, realization sinking in.

  Uriah drove. He has my keys.

  “Get out of the way,” Rachel says.

  Tiny flashes of color pop and fizzle in front of me as she pushes me out of the way and slides behind the wheel. Then, tearing open the column beneath the ignition, she fiddles with the wires, connecting two of them.

  The engine hesitates and then rattles to life.

  She pushes the door wide and scoots to the passenger side.

  “Darien, come on!” she screams.

  I barely have time to process the fact that my Lightbearer knows how to hotwire a car before I’m pressing the gas pedal to the floor while Claire shouts directions in my ears.

  Darkness envelops me.

  I feel empty.

  My body won’t respond to my commands, as I will myself to wake.

  For so long, I’d begged the heat to leave me. But now I’m cold, and somehow it’s so much worse. I hear familiar voices pleading me to hang on, but I can’t grasp onto the words and they drift away.

  I’m about to give up. Fighting so long has me too weak to care.

  But then a light appears in the distance, warm and inviting. At first, it’s yellow, but as it comes closer to me, it shifts into a prism of color.

  So beautiful.

  I drift to a memory. The summer sun shines high in the sky. Darien and Tuck wait on a branch in the large tree we’ve climbed, urging me to jump so we can catch the ice cream truck and buy ourselves a treat.

  My mother’s face surfaces next. She smiles at me, telling me how beautiful my drawing is. Pride fills me as I go back to work.

  More memories flash, and the urge inside me to keep fighting grows.

  Then the light withdraws and the chill in my veins returns.

  The darkness smothers me again.

  I yearn for the warmth, but it doesn’t come.

  A single whisper, louder than all of the others, fills my head and blocks out the familiar voices I’d heard before. It wants to take me. I can feel its darkness pierce my heart and latch itself to me.

  I envision of the faces from the memories.

  Darien. Tuck. Claire.

  My mom and dad.

  Finn.

  He told me to fight.

  But my energy is fading, and soon, I’ll have no choice but to let the darkness have me.

  24

  Before I’ve even stopped the car, Claire opens the back door and jumps out, sprinting up the sidewalk to the two-story brick house. By the time I’ve put the Jeep in park, she’s already punched in the security code and waits for us by the open door.

  I cut the engine and jump out, meeting Rachel on the other side. Nerves squirm in my stomach. As Tuck crawls over the seat and out the door, his ghostly expression tells me everything I need to know: This will be dangerous. Finn passes Ava to Tuck, and we follow them up the sidewalk.

  The house is warm and dry, and hopefully it’s as “safe” as its name implies. Claire and Finn are moving furniture, clearing out space in the middle of the room. Tuck settles Ava gently on the carpeted floor and kneels beside her.

  The room is silent, aside from Ava’s labored breathing and the distant wail of sirens outside.

  Though Rachel had healed many of her scratches, Ava’s face and arms are covered in bloody slashes left by the Familiars and Pey in an effort to weaken her resolve. Blood has soaked through her shirt from the wounds beneath her clothes. I’ve always known Ava is strong, so much stronger than she realizes, but I don’t know how much longer she can last beneath this type of torture.

  “Okay,” Tuck says. “I’m ready.”

  He meets our eyes individually to stress the importance of what is about to happen.

  “This will be dangerous. The Pey has penetrated the spiritual barrier that connects flesh to spirit. That means he is possessing her body but not necessarily the soul. Once it possesses her soul, we’ve lost her.”

  “How can we help?” Finn asks.

  His rock star hair hang
s limply around his face, which is marred with dirt and scratches. He takes her hand.

  “I need everyone’s hands on her. Rachel, I know you’re exhausted, but I can’t do this without you and Claire. I need you to fill her with peace. Claire, I need you to focus your light right into the center of her body. Finn, I need you and Darien urging her to fight. She has to keep fighting.”

  He pauses then, taking a deep breath, and meets Claire’s eyes.

  “I know,” she says. “I know how it works.”

  Tuck nods and then looks at me and Finn. “Even with your help, what I’m about to do could kill her. If she gives in for even a second while I call out the demon, we could lose her.”

  The thought of losing Ava bores out an empty space in my soul. I may not love her in the same way as I did once, but I can’t even think of losing her, of never seeing her again or hearing her laugh. Beside me, Finn stares down at her with a stricken expression. I try to forget the fact that he’s half-demon and remember the fact that he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t care.

  I place a hand on his shoulder. “Are you with me?” I ask.

  His dazed eyes slide toward me, not really seeing me, but he nods.

  “We don’t have any other choice, Marius,” Claire says to Tuck. “The longer we wait, the higher the risk.”

  “You’re right,” Tuck says. “Rachel? You got this?”

  Rachel nods, sliding forward on the carpet at Ava’s head. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and cradles Ava’s head in her bare hands. The light doesn’t blast from her this time. Instead, her body glows softly, and its light flows into Ava. A smile curls her lips, despite the scratches that mar her skin.

  “She’s still in there, guys,” Rachel whispers.

  Tuck blows out a relieved breath and places his palms, one facing up, the other facing down, just over her heart.

  “Destructive Pey,” he shouts “lesser demon of hell, commanded by Ahriman, Greater Demon of Destructive Spirit and Evil Thought, I command you in the name of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, in the name of the Dominions, Virtues, Powers, and Principalities, to leave this body in peace.”

  He repeats the words, growing louder and louder as he chants.

  The lights flicker inside the house.

  The doors to the cabinets rattle in the kitchen.

  The furniture rumbles against the walls.

  Framed artwork falls from hooks on the walls, shattering against the floor in a spray of glass. The lights flicker again just before the bulbs burst apart and the room goes dark, save for the ethereal glow radiating from Claire and Rachel.

  Beneath our hands, Ava arches her back. Her head snaps from side to side. She cries out, her voice drowned out by the rabid growl of the creature inside her body.

  “Ava!” I say. “Ava, you’ve gotta keep fighting. Don’t give up. Don’t let it take you.”

  I repeat the words over and over. Beside me, Finn does the same, urging her to stay strong, as Tuck continues the exorcism.

  “Tuck!” Rachel says. Her voice is urgent, her face twisted. “I can’t do this much longer.”

  Tuck continues chanting, his voice so loud, I can’t hear myself think. Wind howls outside, the trees creaking, their branches scratching against the windows. When I look down at Ava, something ripples beneath the skin of her chest, slithering like a snake dividing grass. It stops, suddenly, as if trapped in place.

  Ava’s eyes snap open, a dark inky film replacing the bright blue irises I expect. She gasps for breath.

  “Now, Tuck!” Claire screams.

  Tuck’s arm lights up in a soft blue haze.

  Without warning, he plunges his fist into Ava’s chest, and pulls.

  Blue light explodes from her, knocking us all backward in a powerful shockwave. I roll to my side, as Ava’s torso falls back on the floor. Above her, Tuck wrestles with the Pey that was inside her. Claire lurches forward, pulling a dagger from a sheath at her ankle.

  She lunges toward Tuck, stabbing the Lesser right in its twisted heart. Brilliant white light explodes from its chest, as if it’s heating up from the inside out. Its flesh stiffens, as Claire pushes the dagger in farther and twists, pinning it to the floor. Then, it bursts apart and falls to ash.

  I scramble to my knees after Finn and crawl to Ava’s side. Rachel’s light is fading, as she fights against exhaustion. Beneath her hands, Ava’s wounds are sealed shut with a spark of prismatic color. Tuck places a gentle hand on Rachel’s shoulder.

  “It’s done,” he says. “We did it.”

  As Rachel lets go of Ava and collapses against Tuck, my eyes zero in on the black smoke that swirls up his forearm, branding him with an inky tattoo.

  No one moves or breathes as we watch Ava’s chest steadily rise and fall.

  “Now what?” Finn whispers. “How will we know if she’s okay?”

  “Now, we wait,” Claire says. “Keep talking, Lover Boy. She can hear us.”

  I climb over Ava beside Tuck, taking Rachel in my arms. Her skin is cold to the touch, and black circles shadow her eyes. Panic surges through me, electric shocks shooting straight through my heart. Has she given too much?

  “What’s wrong with her?” I ask.

  “She’s just tired,” Claire says. Her lips curve into a rare smile. “She’s given all the light she has to Ava. It’ll take rest for her to recharge. But look at Ava.”

  I pull Rachel closer, as if I can offer her my strength, as I look down at Ava. Her body glows around the edges with Rachel’s light, her marred skin smooth and healed of the remaining scratches and scars that would have resulted. Her breaths come in even puffs with no sign of struggle.

  Tuck pushes back and sits against the wall, his legs sprawled out.

  “Good job, Priest,” Claire says. “You saved our girl.”

  Tuck smiles up at her, tears pooling in his eyes. Claire pulls him into a hug, communicating everything her words can’t say.

  Memories of the last week play in my mind like a movie.

  Darien saying it’s over. Seeing him outside with Rachel.

  Meeting Finn. Laughing with him when I thought I’d forgotten how.

  Tuck and Claire’s conversation about keeping something from me.

  Finn telling me he’s a demon and my friends are part of some angel guardian society.

  Darien’s lips on mine in his room like they’ve been so many times.

  A hand over my mouth, forcing me into a slumber.

  Pain. Darkness. Scorching heat.

  Cold.

  Emptiness.

  Then light.

  I lift my eyelids and blink as they adjust to the dim light around me. Claire, Darien, and Tuck all hover over me, their expressions full of concern. Behind them is an unfamiliar room with white walls and a brick fireplace, five lit candles spread across its mantle. Chairs lay on their sides like they’ve been kicked over and shattered glass is scattered next to broken picture frames.

  I swallow, my throat dry. “Hi.”

  I try to lift myself, but my body is so heavy.

  Tuck places his hand behind my back and helps me sit up. “Easy, V. You’ve had quite the day.”

  Claire practically pushes him out of the way and pulls me into a hug. “I’m so sorry. I never thought you’d be dragged into anything or I’d have told you.”

  Any anger I had the other day is gone now. I’m too thankful to have escaped that awful place. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze. She’s so tiny. How is it possible she’s some superhuman angel?

  I search for Darien. At first, I think he’s avoiding me, but then he approaches with a glass of water. “Thought you might be thirsty.”

  I take it from him and take a sip. “Thanks.”

  Claire links her elbow with Tuck’s. “Come on. I need your help … in the bathroom.”

  “Huh?” he asks as she drags him out of the room, leaving Darien and me alone.

  “I …” Tears pool in his eyes. “I don’t know what I’d have done if
something happened to you.”

  Love fills his gaze, and I know, despite everything he still cares about me. In a different world—where demons didn’t prey on humans and I didn’t almost just get possessed—Darien would still be mine.

  But he isn’t. And even if I yearn for him like I have the past two years, the reality is we’re over for good. I understand it now.

  “I’m okay.” I try to reassure him with a smile.

  Darien rolls his glossy eyes and laughs a sad laugh. “You’re still awful at hiding when you’re upset.”

  I shrug a shoulder. “I will be okay. That’s what matters.”

  He leans in and kisses my forehead. It takes everything in me, but I fight the tears.

  “How’s Rachel?” I feel like a jerk for not asking sooner.

  Darien’s brows press together. “Tired. But she’ll recover.”

  I owe her my life. I owe them all.

  I hear Claire before I see her. “C’mon …” She returns to the room with her elbow locked with Finn’s. “Somebody wants to see you.”

  Finn stares at me with pressed lips. His face is two shades paler than normal. “How are you feeling?”

  “Hanging in there.”

  Claire pushes Finn next to me on the couch. “I might have been a little quick to judge him so harshly.”

  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her admit a mistake.

  Darien looks back and forth between Finn and me. He doesn’t say anything, but I know he doesn’t like seeing us so close. He might not want me like he used to, but seeing me with someone else—a demon, nonetheless—doesn’t make him happy. “I should go check on Rachel.”

  “I better go make sure Tuck isn’t getting into something he shouldn’t.” Claire winks and follows Darien out of the room.

  Finn reaches up and touches my cheek. “I’ve never seen someone tortured like that before. I wanted to stop them. I should have—“

  I cut him off. “Finn. You did what you could.” My gaze locks with his, and I see goodness in his eyes, not the evil I felt when I was being attacked, and definitely not the darkness that nearly consumed me. “You might be half demon, but you’re also half human.”