Passion Unleashed (29 page)

Shade stopped chewing his gum. “Come again?”

“The amulet. It’s a piece of Heaven.”

“Ah… Heaven? Literally?”

“Yes.”

E exchanged looks with Shade, because this was big. Beyond big. “Reaver, we need to know more.”

Reaver raked his fingers through his hair. Eidolon gave the angel a minute to compose himself, because he still looked like he was on the verge of coming out of his skin. Finally, Reaver stopped messing with his mane but started pacing—slowly and with a limp, but pacing.

“In the Daemonica, there is mention of a celestial lock and key.”

E nodded, because he knew the passage in the demon bible, but it was vague. Demon scholars had been trying to decipher it for centuries. “Go on.”

“It is said,” Reaver continued, “that when Satan was booted from Heaven, he took a piece of it with him in hopes that it would allow him to return someday. He kept it hidden, and then, during a skirmish battle between good and evil, the angel Hizkiel took it back. But thousands of years of corruption had altered it. It could not be allowed back in Heaven for fear of taint. But neither could it be left on earth for demons to use as a way to open the celestial gate between Heaven and Hell. So it was decided that it should be put into the keeping of humans, since ultimately, the power struggle between good and evil has always been about mankind. Should they fail to safeguard it, their downfall will be their own doing.”

Eidolon had a bad feeling about this, especially with Wraith landing smack in the middle of a conflict between good and evil. “So it’s been left in the keeping of a human who has been charmed?”

“Yes. Many humans. Serena was the most recent. Theoretically, it should always be safe.” Reaver shook his head. “I don’t think even another Marked Sentinel could bypass the charm. Sentinels have come up against each other in battle, and their charms made them both untouchable even to each other.”

“It wasn’t another charmed human who took it,” Eidolon said. “It was a fallen angel. Name of Byzamoth.”

“Byzamoth?” A concussion wave shattered the windows in the office area, and the hospital shook with such force that Eidolon wondered if humans would register the rumbling on their Richter scale.

Shade moved toward the angel. “Hey, man, check up. We kinda like having a roof over our heads. One that isn’t crumbling.”

“It’s a little late for that,” Eidolon muttered, but now that Wraith was no longer dying, the hospital should get back to normal. Too bad the lack of staff couldn’t be so easily fixed.

“Byzamoth.” Reaver’s eyes flashed blue fire. “Is Wraith sure?”

“That’s what he said. Why? Who is this guy?”

Reaver shoved a chair aside so hard it flew into the wall and impaled itself in the plaster. Eidolon had never seen him so riled. Hell, he’d rarely seen him even mildly annoyed. “He was an angel of Destruction. Now a demon of Destruction. He fell during the first war in Heaven. If he has the necklace and the charm—”

“He doesn’t. Wraith has the charm.”

Reaver barked out a bitter laugh. “It’s a sad day when I’m relieved that Wraith is the one who took the charm.”

Shade scrubbed his hand over his face. “Okay, so what does Byzamoth want with this stuff? If he’s a fallen angel, he doesn’t need an invincibility charm.”

“No, but he needs the blood of a charmed one to work the amulet and open the gate between Heaven and Hell. If he had possession of the necklace and the charm, he could use his own blood at his convenience. Since he’s not charmed, he needs the blood of the Sentinel who guarded the amulet.”

“But Serena is no longer charmed.”

“Exactly. So once he knows that, he’ll need the blood of the one she passed it to.” Reaver finally stopped pacing. “The good news is that if anyone can take care of himself, it’s Wraith.”

“And obviously, the charm won’t work against Byzamoth.”

Reaver nodded. “I don’t think anyone anticipated the loophole.”

“That loophole being that an angel could bypass the charm… even a fallen one.”

“Obviously.”

“So what, exactly, will Byzamoth do with the amulet?”

“He’ll open Heaven to the forces of evil. Demons will swarm inside.” Reaver wobbled as he sank down on an office chair. “Humans have always been focused on the Apocalypse. They see it as the end of days, but for believers, it’s not such a bad thing. They know that after the battle of good and evil, the righteous will go to Heaven.” Reaver’s voice went as thin as the air in the darkest reaches of Sheoul. “Humans think the Apocalypse will be the battle of battles. Hell on earth. But with that pendant, Byzamoth will open the gate between Heaven and Sheoul, and the resulting battle will take place on many realms, on an unimaginable scale. Heaven could… cease to exist, souls will default to Satan, and humans would be trapped in a hell so terrible it can’t be conceived of.”

Reaver’s eyes grew haunted. “Boys, this is much bigger than an apocalypse. This is the end of existence for all but the victor.”

Shade, Eidolon, and Reaver spent the next hour arguing about what to do, but it always came back to Wraith

“He needs to get that necklace,” Shade said, as he popped the top of the Fresca he’d fetched from the break room. He’d also called Runa to let her know he was running late. She’d sounded as exhausted as he was, but with four babies at home, it was no wonder.

“No!” Reaver slammed his fist on Eidolon’s desk. “If Wraith defeats Byzamoth and gets the talisman, that leaves Wraith in possession of the most powerful artifact in the universe. I don’t think any of us wants that. The Aegis must retrieve it.”

Shade snorted. “Those bunch of ignorant—”

Eidolon beaned him in the shoulder with a stapler. “You’re talking about my mate, you know.”

“And like it or not, they are the human Guardians of the earthly realm,” Reaver said.

Eidolon looked up from his computer, where he’d been researching Biblical and demonic prophecies. “Whatever happens, it needs to happen fast. Tayla said that within the last twelve hours, demons have come aboveground and taken over three holy sites in Israel. The local Aegi have their hands full. Coincides with Byzamoth taking the necklace.”

“Hell’s fires,” Shade muttered. “Leave it to Wraith to start Armageddon.” Shade thought about his sons, so small and helpless, and about Runa, who he loved so much it hurt. He couldn’t bear the thought that they could be caught up in this war.

“This is far worse than Armageddon,” Reaver added, as if Shade needed the reminder.

“Why now?” Eidolon asked. “This Byzamoth asshole is obviously old, so why didn’t he grab the necklace and charm centuries ago?”

“Fallen angels can’t sense Marked Sentinels.” Reaver shook his head. “I don’t know how he could have found her.”

Eidolon tapped his fingers on his desk, and just as Shade was about to break his fingers, E froze, mid-tap. “Wraith said Byzamoth only has one wing. Has that always been the case?”

“Not that I know of.”

Shade frowned. “What are you getting at?”

“Roag’s dungeon. Runa ripped off the wing of a fallen angel. I wondered why Roag would have a fallen angel working for him.”

Reaver snorted. “He wouldn’t. No angel would serve a demon.”

“Exactly. But what if he was there to get something from Roag?”

“Eth’s Eye,” Shade said on a long, drawn out breath.

Reaver stilled. “What about it?”

“Roag stole it from my collection when he took the mordlair necrotoxin,” Eidolon said, going back to the tapping.

“You were in possession of Eth’s Eye?”

“Yes,” E said, “but it was impossible for us to use.”

“That’s because only angels can use it for the purposes of scrying. If Byzamoth had it, he could have used it to locate the amulet.” Reaver cursed. “Which explains why I felt her cloak shatter—a side effect of being discovered.”

“We need to involve The Aegis,” Reaver repeated, like a damned broken record.

“I agree.” Eidolon stood and walked around his desk. “Tayla and Kynan are going to have to tell the Sigil what’s going on. All of it. This is too big for us alone. And they’re trained to hunt down beings like fallen angels.” He turned to Reaver. “When will he try to open the gate?”

“The second dawn after the Sentinel’s blood is shed. If he doesn’t use the blood then, he’ll have missed his opportunity. If he’d gotten Serena’s charm himself he’d have more control of the timing. Now he’s at the mercy of finding Wraith, and bleeding him.”

“Where will Byzamoth take the amulet and the blood?” Eidolon asked.

“Jerusalem. The Temple Mount. But he’ll need to get the blood first. Where is Wraith?”

“Egypt.”

“Get him home,” Reaver said. “We can protect him in the hospital.”

“That’ll work.” Eidolon didn’t sound too confident, though, probably because getting Wraith to sit still and do nothing would be like trying to chain a phantom. “In the meantime, Tayla can contact the Sigil and Aegis cells within striking distance of Jerusalem. Kynan can deal with R-XR. Let them know what’s up and get them ready for a battle.”

Shade cursed. Demon and human prophets had been saying for centuries that the end was near, and finally, it seemed as though they were right.

Serena dreaded this call, but now that she had a signal she had to make it.

“Serena?” Val sounded as worried as she’d ever heard him, and she answered quickly.

“It’s me, Val. Everything’s fine.” If fine included losing her necklace, her virginity, and her charm in a matter of hours.

“Thank God.” She heard the squeak of leather, knew he’d just sank into a chair. “Where are you?”

“The train will be pulling into Alexandria in fifteen minutes.”

“And you’ll be heading home immediately?”

Her heart started pounding. “Not exactly. There’s a problem.”

The chair squeaked again. “What?” She didn’t answer, and his voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper. She’d seen him truly angry only once, and it was something she never wanted to experience again. “What happened?”

“It’s Byzamoth.”

“The demon?”

She swallowed dryly. “He’s more than a demon. He’s a fallen angel.”

“Tell me everything, and tell me now.”

He was using his don’t-argue-with-me-or-else voice, and she knew better than to push. She started at the beginning and ended with, “He killed the Regent. And… and he attacked me.”

“Did he get the necklace?”

“Yes.”

“And the charm?”

“It’s gone, too.”

His harsh curse was followed by a long, ragged breath. When he spoke, his words were broken, distorted. “I should have known. There have been demon attacks all over the globe.” The sound of his breathing joined the frantic click of his fingers on computer keys. “Are you… okay?”

“Josh is taking care of me.”

“Not well enough! Where was he when Byzamoth was attacking you?”

“He fought him, Val. Things could have turned out a lot worse than they did.”

Val muttered something she couldn’t hear. “When you get off the train, head straight to an address I’m having David text to you. He’ll include instructions to get in. Wait until I arrive.”

“Will do. Where are you?”

“I’m still in Berlin. It’s a zoo here… hold on.”

She heard commotion in the background, a lot of voices, some raised. David was shouting. The names Tayla and Kynan came with some curses, and then, finally, Val was back on the phone.

“Serena?” His guttural rasp told her she was in trouble. “Byzamoth has the necklace, yes? But does he have the charm?”

Oh, God.

“Serena!”

“No,” she whispered. “Josh has it.”

There was a curse and then a tense moment of silence before he said, “As furious as I am with you, this might actually be good news.… Look, I need to go. There’s some sort of emergency meeting going on, and it seems to have something to do with you. I’ll call as soon as I can. Just get to the address I send you. The Aegis will have people there as soon as possible.”

“They aren’t there now?”

“All cells within the region have been sent to Israel. It’ll take time to get help to you. In the meantime, stay alert.”

“Okay.”

Val cursed again, long and hard. Finally, she heard the chair squeak again, heard his forceful exhale. Knew he was stroking his tidy beard. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, right now.” She was a little nauseous, but there was no point in worrying Val even more than he already was. “How long do you think? Before, you know…”

“I don’t…” His voice hitched. “I’m not sure. The disease should progress rapidly now.”

“Bottom line?”

He drew in a ragged breath. “I’d say you’re down to days, maybe hours.”

Wraith was not onboard with this plan. When Serena said they were going somewhere Val had told her to go, every one of his warning bells had rung, and now as they drew closer to the place, on the outskirts of Alexandria’s Greek quarter, the clanging in his head could have been coming from Hell’s marching band

They were on foot, having gotten out of the taxi several blocks back. He’d wanted to approach from the rear, come in as inconspicuously as possible, in case they were being watched. Byzamoth still wanted her, couldn’t know that Wraith already had her charm.

Mine. And so is she.

Man, every time he thought about what could have happened, what the fallen angel still wanted, it made Wraith’s killer instinct shove its way to the front of the line ahead the rest of his baser instincts. Weird, because usually nothing got ahead of sex.

And he definitely wanted to know who was tipping off Byzamoth about Serena’s location. Wraith was going to gut the bastard and strangle him with his own intestines.

They were nearly there when Serena began to wheeze badly enough for Wraith to step off the sidewalk and draw her into the shade of a lush palm. Pink splotches colored her cheeks and shadows had tinted the crescents beneath her eyes, but still, she smiled.

“Do you need to rest?”

“It’s the dust in the air. It’s nothing.”

Her lie irked him. He wanted her to be able to lean on him, accept his help. And he needed to get her somewhere safe, where they were less exposed and she could rest.