Abigail Jones (Chronicles of Abigail Jones #1) (32 page)

THIRTY-NINE

Silence filled the carriage as we rolled away from Cheyne Walk. Next to me, Hux sat in brooding tension. He had the basket in his lap, his hands fisted against the cover.

"You are certain you wish to do this?" he asked.

Blowing out a breath, I nodded.

His dark blue gaze continued to search mine. "If you've changed your mind, if you want to wait—"

Despite the instinctive shiver, I tried to keep my voice calm. Nonchalant. "No use in putting off the inevitable. I will be fine. I have the necklace and you to help anchor me."

"'Tis not inevitable. I don't want you doing anything that hurts you." His hands caught mine in a too-hard grip. "I couldn't stand it, Abby. I'd rather face an army of Lilin—"

"Give me the basket, Hux," I said firmly.

With a frustrated oath, he released me. After a minute, he placed the container upon my lap. His voice held the rough edge of helplessness. "What can I do to help you, my love?"

"Stay here beside me." I looked down at the lid of the basket, and the coiled pattern of the weave seemed to slither before my eyes. "Do not leave me, no matter what."

"I'll never leave you," he said hoarsely. "I love you, Abigail. For the rest of my life and beyond."

With those words echoing in my heart, I opened the basket. Inside lay three objects tangled together: a red ribbon with a tarnished bead, a small hand mirror, and a wooden comb. Indecision paralyzed me for an instant before I realized it did not matter which I chose. If Lilith had indeed possessed Fanny while the latter posed and touched these objects, then all paths would lead me where I needed to go. My heart pounding, I reached for the dark spikes of the comb.

*****

I am flying through fog. Thick smoke obscures my senses. An acrid sweetness fills my nostrils and lungs, a rush of dizzying freedom. Looking down between the clouds, I see patches of the earth below. Rage explodes within me, a feeling so violent and foreign that I am momentarily recalled to myself. This is a vision. This is not me. Yet even the necklace's soothing hum cannot assuage the anger quickening my breath. The fury that fuels my flight higher, faster through the heavens.

He
is down there, the man who abandoned me. My thoughts roil red and frothing like a shark-infested sea. Cursed Adam, who wished to rut upon me as if I was some weak beast. Why must I recline upon my back for him? Why should I not take my pleasure as a goddess does, mounted atop her mate, taking his cock at her will? Adam will pay for what he did. His spawn, begotten by that simpering whore Eve, will pay for their father's sins.

I am flying through space and time. Power burns inside me. Nothing can contain me—nothing can hold me back. The time of ascension is near. I can feel it in the pulsing chants of my children, the circle of Lilin spirits who welcome me with love and adoration as I come to them in our shared astral plane. Here, we shed our corporeal restraints. We are wild and unfettered in this timeless place where I birthed them one by one. My daughters. My blood. The waves of the Red Sea lap behind us as we dance in orgiastic joy; above us, the sky turns scarlet with the dying of the light.

At last, it is time to speak to them. My voice resonates with the power of Darkness. I am my children's center; even without words, my every thought and feeling moves into them.

"Children, the time has come to fight for what is ours."

The Lilin clamor for me, their teeth baring, their breasts rising and falling with their eagerness for battle and bloodshed.

"Today I have received word of our enemies. The two who stand in the path of your Mother's reign." Their cries of outrage fuel my own thundering hatred. "One is a mere mortal, a man whose sword drips with the blood of your own sisters, my dearest daughters."

We'll kill him, The Mother. We'll tear him from limb to limb and eat him for supper.

I laugh with affection. They are loyal, my Lilin. All my daughters strong of my blood—all save one. Bitterness crackles upon my tongue as I announce, "The other enemy is far more dangerous. She is one of you."

My daughters gasp in unison. I can feel the shock rippling through them, for their thoughts and spirits are bound to me. The umbilical connection is never to be broken, except by death ... or betrayal. In that moment, I feel again the heat of my one daughter's treachery: it burns where it is forever branded. The tiny scar scorched at the base of my throat, the filthy cross which I can never remove.

"The Hidden One is found," I snarl.

The roar of outrage, of blood thirst feeds into my power. I can feel their energy charging through me. I am stronger than ever. This time, I will not be defeated. I will destroy anyone who stands in my way.

"This information comes at great cost," I continue. "Your sisters Agrath and Paadma discovered the identities of the foe. They battled the enemy, and Paadma was lost."

The wailing fills me with unspeakable sorrow and fury. Years ago in Italy, I toyed with the idea of obliterating that useless human when he failed me with his weak seed. His suffering, his delightful misery—that alone had kept him alive. At first, I found his torment charming, utterly entertaining. Then he had the gall to begin plucking my daughters off one by one; only one thing stopped me from crushing him then.

The prophecy.

I taste anticipation sweet as blood. At long last, my wait is over. I understand at last my soothsayer's counsel:
Patience, my Goddess. Do not interfere, for he is unwittingly bringing the prophecy to pass. When your thirteenth daughter is in jeopardy, the Hidden One will be revealed. Then, O Sacred One, you will rise again.

Just as the wise augur had divined, I have found my disgraced daughter. When I have her in my grasp and take back what is mine, I will be unstoppable.

"Behold, children," I say joyously, "the targets of your fury!"

I project the images from Agrath's mind to all. My Lilin hiss and claw at the air as if the two faces were before them now. Sharing their revulsion, feeding it, I snarl, "Lucien Langsford and Abigail Jones, prepare to meet your end!"

Howls of approval rise into the sky. The Lilin are stomping, screaming, tearing at themselves with the eagerness to destroy. The sands swirl up around us, and the palm trees shake with the force of our wrath. Triumph sings through me as stars bleed into the night. My lips curl as I consider our destination.

Hope End.

A name most appropriate.

*****

"Abigail!"

My head snapped back. On a gasp, my eyes flew open. For a second, I floated adrift; I did not know where I was. Who I was.

"Abigail, say something."

I knew that urgent, low voice. I knew it as I knew myself.

"Oh God, Hux," I cried, burying my face into his chest.

He clasped me to him, murmuring fierce words of love as the sobs erupted from me. 'Twas as if I had surfaced from a place too deep and dark for air to reach; I was struggling to breathe, to talk, to release the agony of what I had seen all at once. What emerged was tear-choked, incomprehensible gibberish.

"Be still, my love. Don't try to speak now." Though his words were soothing, Hux held me in a too-tight grip. His muscles quivered with tension as he rocked me gently.

I pushed away, desperate to have him understand.

"Hux," I said between chattering teeth, "sh-she's coming—"

His eyes flared. "Lilith?"

I jerked my chin.
Yes.

"Where?"

"Hope End." My heart stuttered with each syllable. "She is coming to find us, and she will destroy all who stand in her way."

FORTY

The return drive took less than two hours, and yet every minute felt like an eternity. Taut silence filled the carriage. No words could express the anxieties of our souls as we each stared out the window, hoping against hope. Dusk had begun to settle, its fuchsia weight heavy upon the passing fields. By the time we reached St. Alban, the sky had darkened to violet. My heart thumped with anticipation. We were almost home. Within minutes, we would see Mrs. Beecher and Ginny. Lord help me, I would even be happy to see Edgar ...

I squinted through the window for any glimpse of the estate. I blinked, certain that the darkness was befuddling my vision. Yet I hadn't imagined it. There it was again, a flickering orange and pink upon the horizon. Pressing my nose to the glass, I beheld the most curious thing: a glorious sunset ahead of us, when we had already passed nightfall.

"Hux," I said, "do you see that?"

He came to my window.

"Devil take it," he said. Opening the window, he yelled, "Faster, damn it! Drive faster!"

Dread tightened my throat as I realized the cause of Hux's panic.
Oh no, no
...

Minutes later, we broke upon the scene of hellish chaos. Hux was out of the carriage before it even rolled to a stop.

"Stay here!" he shouted to me.

I waited a minute and ran after him.

Everywhere was smoke and flame. From the gate, I had seen the raging inferno where the roof of the building had been; up close, the extent of the destruction took on horrific detail. Members of the staff, just returning from the weekend, were milling about, shouting and confused. Like them, I observed in shock the slashed brick of the walls, the shattered windows. I stared at the destroyed fountain, the heads of the nymphs lolling grotesquely upon the ground where they lay ripped from their stone bodies. My eyes traveled further up the graveled drive, and my stomach lurched.

A dark pool had spread over the pebbles. It looked thick, clotted; its slick surface reflected the flames from the Hall. With wordless dread, I passed the ghastly puddle and followed the trail up the front steps. At the entrance, the door hung half-torn from its hinges. The smoke billowing from the inside caused it to bang feebly against its frame.

Covering my mouth with my sleeve, I plunged in.

At first, I could not see anything for the acrid film over my eyes. I rubbed at them, coughing as the smoke assaulted my lungs. Stumbling forward, my feet caught on something, and I fell to the ground, my landing strangely cushioned. I twisted my neck to see what had broken my fall. A scream tore from my throat.

Not what, but whom.

Mr. Creagan's kindly face had the stillness of repose. From neck up, I might have thought him sleeping. Bile rushed upward at the sight of his midsection, or what was left of it. He had been slaughtered—eviscerated like a dumb animal by a gleeful hand. He floated in a slick of his own blood. Scrambling backward, I wretched. Tears blurred my vision, but nothing could remove the indelible image of carnage. Of the cruel, senseless end visited upon this gentle soul of a man.

Damn you, Lilith. Damn you to hell where you belong.

Rage and panic had me wiping my mouth and crawling onward. I stayed low to the ground, trying to keep below the swirling smolder. I could hear the crackle and hiss of the fire as it consumed everything it touched. Overhead, there was an ominous creaking sound, and I knew the wooden beams that had supported the Hall for centuries would not stand for much longer. But I had to keep going. I had to find the others ...

Then I saw her.
No, no.
With a moan, I scrambled to where she lay at the foot of the stairs. The top of the banister was already aflame.

"Mrs. Beecher," I cried.

I tried to lift her head to my lap, but my hand slipped. I felt something greasy and saw with horror the crimson dripping from my fingers. Turning the housekeeper's head to the side, I found angry gashes gouged into her throat. Sobbing, I pressed my hand to the wounds. I did not know what else to do.

"Ab—Abigail ...?"

Relief filled me to hear her voice. "Yes, Mrs. Beecher," I choked out. "It is Abby. I'm here now. I'm going to get you out of here."

Seeing the cracked web of her lenses, I removed the battered spectacles. Faded blue eyes blinked into mine. "I ... I had to come back ... had to get ..."

She tried to move, the effort making her cough, draining what little energy she had left.

"Stay still," I pleaded, wiping her brow with my sleeve. "Please, Mrs. Beecher. Don't move. Help will come soon."

"Have ... to come back ... Agnes," she panted, her eyes wide and confused.

My tears splattered on her cheek. "You were her best friend. She spoke of you often. Of the days you spent together, of the school you once dreamed of opening together."

"
Her
dream." Mrs. Beecher's eyelids fluttered close. "Not ... brave enough ... to follow her."

A glistening trail trickled from her eyelid.

My heart clenched.

With a shaky hand, Mrs. Beecher reached to her bodice. I realized she was trying to remove something. I helped her to pull out the small bound stack. Letters. I recognized my aunt's hand.

"Couldn't leave her behind." Each word was a rattling whisper. "Not ... again. See her soon, won't I?"

With moisture dripping down my face, I finally understood the line from my aunt's favorite poem. "
Once again love drives me on, that loosener of limbs, bittersweet creature against which nothing can be done
," I whispered as I held the housekeeper's hand tightly in mine. "You'll see Agnes soon. Go in peace, dear friend."

A smile smoothed across Mrs. Beecher's face, and her grip on me slackened.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned to see Hux's grim, sooty face. His eyes went to Mrs. Beecher; he laid a hand upon my shoulder.

"We must get out of here," he said.

He lifted the housekeeper in his arms, and I followed him. There was a giant splintering sound behind us: the banister had dissolved in a wall of flame. Showers of spark and waves of blistering heat chased our departure. Once outside, I felt a keen relief to see Ginny and Edgar by the fountain, huddling beneath horse blankets. I ran to them, threw my arms around Ginny.

"I—I don't know what 'appened, Abby," she said in a befuddled voice. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hair singed and springing wildly around her face. "One minute I was abed, the next Edgar was shakin' me, tellin' me we 'ad to run ..."

My gaze went to the groom. He was with Hux, who was laying Mrs. Beecher gently upon the ground. Hux looked at me, but I knew already. Going over, I went to my knees. I pressed a kiss against her weathered cheek.

"Farewell, Mrs. Beecher," I whispered. "Peace and love is yours at last."

Behind me, I heard Ginny begin to sob.

"I tried to stop her." Dropping on one knee next to Mrs. Beecher, Edgar gave me a look of shock. "I couldn't get to Creagan, but I rounded her and Ginny up. I followed his lordship's instructions in case of an emergency. I took them to the tower like he said, lit all them special candles and herbs. I poured holy water 'round the perimeter. The demon couldn't get us. We were safe. But Mrs. Beecher—" he swallowed, his thick neck working painfully. "She left something behind, she said. Something she couldn't allow to be destroyed. And afore I could stop her, she ran out."

"You did everything you could." I started to reach for his hand, but saw that it was raw and blistered. Various cuts and burns scored his face. "You were very brave, Edgar," I said. "You saved Ginny and yourself, for which I am forever grateful. Now we must have your wounds attended to."

"Abigail, go with Edgar and Ginny to the village," Hux said. "I've sent one of the footmen ahead to the Lamb and Flag. They're expecting us."

"But what about you—"

"I have to stay here." With his hair wild and his face streaked with smoke, he had shed his civilized skin. He was a primal warrior ready for battle. Nay,
eager
for it. Every taut muscle, every murderous beat of his heart demanded Lilith's return.

"I won't let you do this alone—" I began.

"Devil take it, just this once, do not argue with me and do as you're told!"

I cringed as his words blasted through me. His eyes blazed with brimstone, but I knew his fury was not directed at me. I understood what he was striving to keep under control so that he could attend to the disaster all around us. To what surely would be coming next. Knowing he had slipped beyond reason, I felt my chest constrict.

Do not panic. Be calm. Focus.

"Yes, my lord," I said in a tremulous voice.

He turned and strode toward the house, barking orders at the men arriving with buckets of water. When I saw that his attention was completely diverted, I stooped as if to retrieve a dropped object. My fingers found the jagged perimeter of a nymph's head that had been severed from the fountain. Instantly, Lilith's vicious energy sliced through me. Her orgiastic joy shot bile up my throat. Numb with horror, I bore through her butchery of Mr. Creagan. Then, oh God, Mrs. Beecher ...

Digging into my deepest reserves, I forced myself to hold onto the vision. To control it and not let it control me. I had to discover what Lilith intended next. The necklace's fortifying magic poured like mortar through the widening cracks in my willpower.

I saw her.

Reclining against blood-red satin, her eyes closed in smiling reverie. Two attendant Lilin fan her with palm leaves. She is resting beneath the whispering dark fronds, dreaming of the bloodshed yet to come. Of her return tomorrow night, when her power is replenished to its fullest. She will descend in a virago of pain. This time, she will find the infidel and the betrayer, and she will tear them to pieces. Finally, she will regain what is hers. She will decimate mankind and in its place create an empire worthy of a Goddess.

Even in repose, her lips twist with feline pleasure.

"Abby, are you alright? We 'ave to go now."

Blinking away moisture, I straightened and broke the contact with the stone. With Lilith. An odd calm settled over me, the peace of knowing what had to be done. "Yes, Ginny. Let us go. I am ready."