Protect Her: Part 4 Read online

  “Even if I asked for the most precious thing you have to offer and included the magnitude of my existing debt to you, my old friend, it still isn’t enough to offer my full cooperation for what could easily amount to a mass murder of my race.”

  I looked back and forth between the two women. Both faces were impassive as if they were completely disinterested in the discussion, yet I knew that both of their minds were furiously calculating the odds of what each other was asking.

  “I know you searched for many years for the right spell that would bring Fernando back to his corporeal form,” Alice said. “He was taken from you far too early and banished to the deepest levels of Hell for his crimes.”

  Abigail’s face twisted. “He was framed. He didn’t deserve it.”

  Alice nodded. “I know. And even though you knew how I felt about both you and Fernando, you’ve never asked me for help in bringing him back.”

  “Even if you had access to that kind of magic, you wouldn’t do it,” Abigail said. “To do so would open the door to a darkness that you wouldn’t ever be able to close.”

  “Whatever you are talking about doing, Alice, you can’t do it,” I interrupted. “I don’t know the deal you are trying to make, or for what purpose, but bringing a demon back from the inner ring of Hell means you’ll draw the attention of Satan himself. That goes far beyond the demon officials. You can’t do that.”

  Alice looked at me serenely. “You will conjure him, Riley, and I will bring him back to life. In exchange, Abigail will tell you everything she knows about Goddess Eva and what the symbol means.” She took her journal and pushed it to me now. The words on the page were written in an obscure language only used in Heaven.

  My mind was still spinning on her words as I looked at the open page of notes in front of me. As I had suspected, the image on the page was a replica of the tattoo that crossed my back. My forehead wrinkled as I looked at the description.

  “You know that I can’t read this,” I said, pointing at the words.

  “It says that it is the symbol of a Protector of the Goddess Eva,” Alice said.

  My eyes flew back to hers as my mouth fell open. “What?”

  “I take it that you have seen this symbol?” Abigail’s question was directed at me as her fingertip slammed down on the image in the journal. “On one of the demons you’ve called up and sent to some kind of damnation?”

  I caught the slight shake of Alice’s head. I didn’t understand any of it, but it was clear that Alice thought Abigail’s knowledge was necessary. So much so, that she was willing to risk her own soul to retrieve it for me. Even after everything that I had done and said to her over the years, she still was willing to help me. I felt a lump in my throat as I realized that I had been taking this woman for granted for the last decade. When I lost my family, I had completely ignored the fact that I still had someone left and that she lost them too. She and my mother had been best friends, practically sisters, growing up.

  “Do we have a deal, demon?” I hardened my voice. “And just so we’re clear, the deal is with me. Alice stays out of it.”

  “Riley…” Alice started, but I held up my hand.

  “Alice, I know what is required to turn a demon corporeal again, and it is something that I am able to do. You don’t need to be involved in it. You shouldn’t be involved in it.” I looked back at Abigail. “So I’ll ask you again, do we have a deal?”

  “You will bring back my Fernando?” Abigail asked. “Then the terms are that you will not do anything to harm either one of us, and once I’ve given you what you want, you’ll leave us alone.”

  “You have my word,” I said with a small smile and a slight nod of my head. “I may be many things, but I am not a liar.”

  A small bowl covered in ancient runes appeared on the table in front of me. “Nonetheless, I’m sure you understand that I’d like a bit stronger promise on that front. You humans have a tendency to change your minds whenever it suits you,” Abigail said.

  Pulling a pocketknife out of my pocket, I flipped open the small blade.

  “Are you sure about this, Riley?” Alice asked. “Blood bindings cannot be broken.”

  “Who do you think would try to break it, Alice? Me or the demon?” I asked. I caught the flicker of a grimace on her face, and I felt ashamed of myself yet again. But I had taken her out of the equation in the deal. That was the important thing.

  I nicked the soft flesh of padding on my thumb and squeezed until a fat droplet of blood spilled out of the cut. I let it drop into the bowl. Then I pushed it across the table. “Your turn.”

  Abigail declined her head. Then using her fingernail, she sliced a slit in the palm of her hand. Several drops dripped into the bowl. Then she reached out both hands to me. I took them and ignored the fact that goosebumps ran up my forearms.

  “No harm,” I said in a flat voice.

  “Full disclosure,” Abigail replied.

  A small flame sprung up from the bowl. It burned out just as quickly taking our co-mingled blood with it.

  “I hope you know what you are doing, Riley,” Alice said.

  I finally picked up my teacup and raised it slightly in Abigail’s direction. “What can I say? Any friend of Alice’s is a friend of mine.”

  CHAPTER FOUR - Paige

  I sat in one of the wingback chairs in front of the fire and glared at the demon sitting across from me. My hands and feet, while there were no visible bindings keeping me in the chair, were being held in place nonetheless courtesy of the black-robed figure who stood next to Bruno’s chair.

  “Now that we’re comfy and in control, let’s talk,” Bruno said with an indulgent smile. “I’d offer you a glass of wine, but I’d be afraid it would end up right back in my face.”

  I smiled back but knew mine held no warmth. “You’d be right.” We were both remembering our last encounter when Bruno offered me his contemptible deals.

  “You are quite the spitfire. I would have thought that spending three years in an archangel’s company would have done something about that temper.”

  “I didn’t know he was an archangel,” I said. I decided to watch the flames of the fire instead. Now that my memories had returned, I found that I recalled a vague mention from years ago in one of my father’s books that spoke about an angel’s branding. I understood now why Riley had been reluctant to touch me at all, and I was more than a little pissed off at Benjamin.

  The mark anywhere on a human’s body essentially told every other angel to back off, but the mark over the heart had a much more intimate connotation. It marked me as Benjamin’s intended. I hadn’t believed Benjamin before when he said that he had no idea about my true identity, but the brand confirmed the truth of his words for me. There was no way that he would have declared himself like that if he had known for one second that I was the vessel reincarnation of some unknown deity. Even Benjamin had limits.

  No, I was certain that he had discovered somehow that I was the victim of a demon attack. Then he lured me to Calamata Island thinking that I might be useful leverage at some point against one of the demon officials. He had inadvertently saved me from my ugly fate, at least temporarily.

  “We’re going to need to get that off you, of course,” Bruno said, pointing at my collarbone. “I’m assuming that as you do not appear to share Benjamin’s feelings, you aren’t opposed to that idea.”

  “You want to remove it because as long as I have it on me, he can track me,” I said. I found that I wasn’t scared of Bruno like I had been during our first encounter. I was too valuable for him to tamper with me too much. Of course, that was why he was going to make it a point to go after the people that I cared about to gain my cooperation.

  “True, but removing it also opens up the possibility of free will when it comes to your romantic life,” Bruno said. He took a sip of his wine. “It feels like a win-win for both of us.”

  I said nothing. As long as I didn’t admit that I had any feelings at all for Riley, I
held out the hope that Bruno would lose interest in him. Then I had to work on figuring out how to end my life before Bruno had everything he thought he needed to complete the summoning spell.

  “So by switching sides, you gained more power, huh?” I decided it was better to change the subject than continue to let Bruno meander down the Riley path. “If you can take on Benjamin, you had to have made a deal somewhere. I’m guessing it’s with the disciples of Eva.”

  “I haven’t shirked in any of my responsibilities as far as anyone is concerned,” Bruno said, his eyes narrowing. “There are always territory disputes between the angels and demons and Benjamin has been sitting on Calamata Island all smug and superior for far too long. It was time someone stepped up and took him down a notch.”

  “So you don’t think anyone else is questioning why you’ve decided to try tipping things in your favor? I remember you were pretty jacked up on thinking the other demon officials were going to summon the Goddess and swear their allegiance before you. Whoever this chick was, she’s really got all you guys in quite an uproar.”

  “You don’t know what you are talking about,” Bruno said scornfully. “You’re nothing but a child who provides the vessel. You don’t understand what it’s like to live forever. You surely don’t understand what it means to weld the magnitude of power of the one who will wear your skin soon enough.”

  “I do understand that no matter what games you all like to play, someone always finds a way to one up the other and nobody wins,” I said. “You’ve basically been locked in a stalemate for centuries, ever since the humans kicked your asses and put you in your place.”

  “You talk a big game for a little girl who has no idea what she’s talking about,” Proctor said. “I’m growing weary of your prickly company.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say something that upset you?” I enjoyed the fact that I was getting under the demon’s skin.

  “Not at all. I’ve sparred with far better partners. Riley Stone, in fact, is a gifted debater. Not that it did him any good, but it certainly added to my enjoyment when I killed his mother and sister in front of him.”

  I felt sick for Riley, but I couldn’t show any emotion. “Then sit down and let’s continue our chat.”

  Bruno shook his head. “I think not. I have things to do, and the sooner we get that brand off the better. I don’t intend to make it easy for your bodyguard to find you. I think by the time that’s done, you might be in a better frame of mind to have a more pleasurable conversation.”

  “Keep wishing,” I said under my breath.

  Proctor snapped his fingers. “Take it off.”

  The black-robed figure floated forward, and I couldn’t help but squirm back in my chair. When the figure was within a foot of me, a sickly white hand emerged from its sleeve and crept toward me.

  Dark Wiccan were supposed to be a myth. They existed in a kind of status between the living and dead, which meant they had human form, but the flesh rotted away as if they were decomposing. It was dark magic that kept them alive, if that could even be called what they were. I was also aware that thirteen Dark Wiccans together could do things that were unspeakable, like bend a person to their will. If there was anyone who could find or create enough Dark Wiccan for that kind of task, it was Bruno Proctor.

  I turned my head even as I felt the glancing touch of the dry, coarse skin on mine. Straining against the invisible bindings, I tried to get the traction I needed underneath my feet to push the chair backward, but my limbs were held fast.

  The fingers settled on my exposed collarbone, and I immediately felt as if I wanted to vomit when full contact was made. Something dead and rotting was touching me, and there was nothing that I could do about it. My body started to shiver. I had no way of knowing if it was my physical reaction to the violation of my body or something that had to do with the bond that the Wiccan was trying to break.

  My hands curled on the edges of the chair as I felt my body begin to thrash just as it had in my blood dream. I would have screamed, but my throat was closed shut. There was nothing that I could do, but sit there and take it.

  I expected the sensation to be hot and searing, but instead it was cold. Bone-numbing cold. My teeth began to chatter, and then I felt the presence of something further invading my space.

  “Open your eyes, lovely.” Bruno’s voice seemed far away.

  I knew what he wanted. I knew what the entity in front of me wanted. But there was no way that I was going to open my eyes.

  The swift stab of pain completely broke my concentration, and, at that moment, my eyes popped wide open. Something long and sharp had pierced my right thigh, but I didn’t have time to even glance down to see what it was. The blood red orbits shining out from underneath the cowl of the black robe immediately enveloped my gaze. I couldn’t see the rest of its face; only its eyes. But that was enough. The heavy smell of rot wafted to my nostrils, and I began to gag, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. They held me, and in them, I saw nothing but death.

  “Erase the brand.”

  The words that crawled across my mind weren’t directed at me. Somehow, I knew that but I didn’t know how. It felt as if a thousand tiny shards of ice stabbed into my brain, and this time I couldn’t keep the yelp from escaping my lips even as it choked me.

  “Let her go.”

  I felt a rush of warmth flow through me that seemed to melt all of that ice inside my body. For a moment, I felt peace and grabbed onto the idea that everything was going to be all right. I knew what it was. I knew who it was. Somehow, the Wiccan had opened up the bond that had been created by the brand between Benjamin and me. I was fairly certain it was supposed to be a one-way conduit only giving Benjamin access to me, but the Wiccan had made it like a two-way radio.

  My relief was short-lived. The icicles came back full force and this time. I felt the warmth leave every inch of my extremities. It was as if I were being frozen from the inside out.

  Then I felt Bruno beside me as he whispered in my ear. “I’ll find another vessel for my Goddess, Archangel. They come around every century or so, and I’m a patient man. If you truly care about this one, I’d remove that brand now. I won’t be asking again.”

  Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and immediately turned into ice. I felt my consciousness beginning to slip. I was dying, just like I wished. I should have been happy, but the only thing I could think was that I hadn’t had a chance to tell Riley goodbye. He was better off without me in his life though, and it was silly of me to act so selfishly.

  Then the chill was gone, and I gasped. The robed figure in front of me retreated back several paces. Its hands and face were once again hidden from view by the black folds of its robe. Bruno stared down at me with a look of glee on his face. I knew then that Benjamin had released me from the brand. I didn’t need to look at my collarbone to confirm. That meant that it would be that much more difficult to find me. Part of me wished that he had let me die.

  “Well, well, well. I really had no idea if that was going to work or not, so color me pleasantly surprised,” Bruno said with a sneer.

  “No matter what you do, I still have to agree to it,” I said, trying to muster up as much confidence into my tone as possible. “And I will never do that.”

  Bruno winked at me. “Oh, my lovely, the games are just beginning, and I think you know that as well as I do. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be begging to be the Goddess’s vessel. I guarantee it.” Then he turned and swept out of the room leaving me bloody and battered, but not broken. Not yet.

  CHAPTER FIVE - Riley

  Most people didn’t like cemeteries. In a way, cemeteries were my second home. To keep Alice as far outside of the deal as possible, I suggested that Abigail and I take a stroll in the church’s adjacent final resting place for the parishioners of St. Joseph. There was something else that I had to do there while I was at it.

  I had no idea how old Abigail was, but I sensed that she was ancient. Still, she k
ept up with my longer legs far better than I expected.

  “This isn’t a vessel that I’m occupying. It’s my own body,” she said as if she was reading my mind. “I know that’s what you were thinking about. I’m a thousand years old. Fernando is even older.”

  “So you’re a pureblood,” I said. Even though the sun was high in the sky, the beams were weak. It seemed strange to be moving around during the day. Bare trees were everywhere that I looked, and we trudged through the colorful leaves left behind by the falling of the foliage. When I was younger, I loved fall. Halloween, Everything that went bump in the night. I didn’t think that made me any different than any other kid, but now I knew better. Once the dead actually started appearing to me, I figured out why I had such an affinity for the change of season when everything started to die.

  “I am. But I’m not what you’d call a traditional one,” Abigail said. “But my story and Fernando’s is for another day.”

  “It’d be nice to know at least something about the demon that I’ve agreed to release on the world.”

  “Do you really want to know?” Abigail’s tone wasn’t argumentative, but curious.

  I chuckled sarcastically and shrugged. “You know what? I probably don’t.”

  “In this world, we all get put in predicaments not of our choosing in order to make amends for those we care about,” Abigail said. “Suffice it to say that Fernando started running with the wrong crowd. It might have started out for the right reasons, but in the end, he was the one who got left holding the bag when it was time to pay the piper.”

  “Shit happens,” I said. I spied what I had been looking for just over the rise. There were multiple mounds of unearthed dirt beside tombstones across the hill. “I need a minute if you don’t mind.”

  Abigail stopped and nodded toward me. Although I hadn’t told her my purpose, she probably could tell. I had a bouquet of flowers in my hand that I grabbed out of the vase in the convent’s front hall on my way out. Alone, I made my way up the hill. The graves were still open, but their residents had already been returned to them after the adventure in the church. I was amazed at the efficiency of it all, but Alice had taken charge as if that kind of thing happened every day.