Betrayal (The Divine, Book Two) (23 page)

“I know. We have to stop them.”

“We can’t,” she said. “Not yet. You need to get your strength back, and then we need to prepare. You may have learned a lot in the last five years, but you’re still raw. You’ve only scratched the surface of what a diuscrucis, even a second-hand version like us, is capable of.”

She leaned forward, and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “Go to sleep for a while, and be at peace. I know you’d probably like to talk to your angel, but the wards will prevent any other soul from communicating with you. Don’t worry though, I’m going to teach you how to speak with them, the way I speak with Vilya. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

She smiled the warmest smile I’ve ever seen, and slid gracefully off the bed. I laid back down on the pillow, and then remembered something. “Charis,” I said, causing her to come back to the bed.

“Yes?”

“My clothes. Can you grab my cellphone?”

“Landon, you should rest.”

“I need to check on my friends. I’m not going to be able to rest until I do.”

She nodded and made her way over to a massive ornate armoire resting against the wall. She opened the doors and pulled out my jacket, unfolding it and retrieving the phone. As she did, Avriel’s Box tumbled to the ground.
 

Charis bent over and picked it up, looking at it in wonder. “Where did you get this?” she asked in a whisper. She turned it over in her hands, examining every surface.

“Rebecca tried to trap me with it.”

Her head snapped towards me. “This prison already has inhabitants,” she said.

I shook my head. “They’ve been paroled,” I replied. “Avriel and the demon Abaddon. The last time I saw them they were in the sewers beneath Paris.”

“She released them?”

“She needed the Box to catch me.”

She held the Box in her hand and brought me my phone. “First things first, but a scourge like Abaddon can’t be allowed to stay in this world for long. None of this will mean anything if he remains.”

I had witnessed the demon’s power. I didn’t doubt it. “Agreed. Do you know how it works?”

“No, but I think I may know someone who does. Make your call, and go to sleep. I’ll return soon. If you need anything, ring the bell on the nightstand. Ezekiel will hear it, no matter where he is.”

I twisted my head so I could see the small golden bell on the nightstand. It was sitting in front of an ivory lamp.

“Where are we anyway?” I called out to Charis’ retreating back.

“Thailand,” she shouted back, and then she was gone.

I actually had two phone calls I wanted to make. I fought against a sudden overwhelming fatigue and navigated my way to my call log. I found the last number and dialed it again.

“Landon?” Lylyx asked, answering the phone on the first ring.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said. “I was just checking in on you. Did you do like I asked?”

“We’re safe for now,” she said. “It took some work to get Izak away, and we barely made it out in time. A freaking army of demons stormed the gates about ten minutes after I talked to you. If it hadn’t been for Gervais I think we would have been toast.”

Wait… What? “What do you mean Gervais?”

“You shouldn’t be surprised, after what he did to Izak. It was only fair.”

“Izak branded him?”

“After he flayed him a few times and cleansed all of his scars. He made his own, with his brand at the center. I’ve never seen anything like it. He sent him out to fight them while we made our escape.”

She was right, I shouldn’t be surprised. “Lylyx, I need you and Izak to go back to New York. Find somewhere safe to hide, someplace far enough away from the city that Izak won’t be spotted. Just wait there, and I’ll find you when I can.”
 

Hopefully before Rebecca did, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I didn’t want to move them closer to the oven, but I needed them to be ready for whatever might happen.

She hesitated. “Landon, are you sure it’s safe?”

There was no point in lying. “No,” I said. “It isn’t safe anywhere, but there’s strength in numbers. Just get there.”

I hung up the phone before she could say anything else, and considered Izak. The demon could be a huge problem if he decided to follow Sarah over to the dark side. I would have to put my faith on his love for Josette being greater than his love for her offspring. Nothing felt safe about that bet, but I was hanging onto the memory of him resting his head in Josette’s lap.

One more call to make. I pulled up my contact list and hit the call button.
 

“Ben’s crematory,” the voice on the other end said. “You kill ‘em, we grill ‘em.”

“Bad time for fire jokes,” I said.
 

“Sorry, man,” Obi said. “Hey, you sound like crap.”

“I feel like crap,” I said. “I’m getting my ass kicked out here, so please tell me you have something.”

“I’m working on it,” he replied. “I do have Thomas here though, and his initiate, Melanie.”

“Melody!” I heard her shout through the phone.
 

“Melody, right. We’ve been poring through the stuff you had in your trunk. Thomas thinks he knows what you’re missing. You’re never going to guess what it is.”

It was the way he said it that clued me in. That and the fact that the angel knew what I was missing. “The bible,” I said. I should have known.

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d get that one. Yeah, but not just the bible.
The
Bible. The first one, and I’m not talking about the first one penned by some monk somewhere, or written down by one of the prophets. We’re talking the original, written by the very first of God’s angels.”

“The first? As in?”

“Yeah, the Devil himself. According to Thomas, the Devil’s Bible is a rumor among the seraph, but he believes in it, and he’s sure your missing text is inside.”

“Why?”

“Hang on,” Obi said. I could hear the rustling as the phone was handed off.

“Landon?” It was Thomas.

“Thomas, why do you think the text is in Satan’s Bible?”

“The marker,” Thomas said. “Do you know what it means?”

“No. Do you?” I had spent hours trying to discover the meaning of the symbol that was left wherever a piece of text was found. I had never been able to determine its significance beyond the obvious.

“There has been talk for centuries among the seraph. Some call it a myth, some a fairy tale, some a rumor. Others believe it to be true. It is about the First Fallen, his bible, and the mark of the beast. They say that while most mortals have interpreted the reference to the beast to mean Lucifer, the term has nothing to do with him at all. In fact, it is said that the mark is mentioned in his bible, in reference to something else entirely, a creature with no name or identity that possesses the power to bring the downfall of all of God’s creations. To be honest, I never believed in it, until I opened your trunk and saw all of these marks for myself.”

I swallowed hard. “You’re telling me that the trail I’ve been following…”

“Is the mark of the Beast,” Thomas finished. “Yes, that’s my belief. My guess is that deciphering these texts will lead you right to it.”

The truth hit me hard. All of a sudden, I wanted to be ignorant again. Rebecca and Sarah were talking about a new lord, a new god who would overthrow the old one. A power that could destroy everything that had been created; the Beast. One whose whereabouts had been scattered across the world but tracked and kept safe by a collection of angels and demons alike. One who already had followers, including the Demon Queen and the world’s only true diuscrucis. One whose location was likely known to at least two of those followers. There was a reason I hadn’t been able to find the final text. I had a good idea who had it.

“Thomas,” I said.

“Yes, Landon?”

“We’re in pretty deep on this one. Rebecca is back from Hell. I think she plans on waking the Beast.”

There was a long, tense pause. “Are you sure?” he asked, sounding as meek as I felt.

“Not completely, but it’s a pretty safe assumption. I met with her over dinner, and she tried to recruit me to their new world order. She was talking about replacing God.”

“I’ve got to go,” Thomas said. “I have to tell the others, and send a message to the archangels.”

“Thomas, wait,” I said. “You can’t tell anyone else. I don’t know who we can trust. To be honest, I’m taking a risk trusting you.”

Another pause. “I understand. You can trust me, Landon. There’s a reason the Lord brought us together. There’s a reason Josette sacrificed herself to you. I will follow you in this.”

There was no lie, no deception. “I know,” I said. “Tell Obi that he needs to find Rebecca, but he has to do it without ruffling any feathers. I know she’s been using cellphones to communicate, so tell him to start there. Stay with him, and do what you can to keep him safe. Do you trust Melody?”

“Of course,” Thomas said, almost automatically. “Well… no, I can’t say I do, not with what you’ve just said. But I also can’t just walk away.”

“You’ve got to keep an eye on her,” I said. “And make sure she doesn’t hear anything that could give us up to Rebecca.”

“I will,” Thomas said.
 

“Thank you, Thomas,” I replied. “Can you put Obi back on?”

“Yes…”
 

My ears rang with the sound of gunfire through the receiver, the unmistakeable whoomph of the Desert Eagle unleashing silver fury. “We’ve got to get out of here,” came the shout through the line.
 

“Thomas,” I shouted, as loud as my tired lungs will allow. No response.
 

“They’re on the roof,” Melody screamed.
 

“Thomas,” I repeated. “If you can hear me, find Izak. He’ll be somewhere outside the city.”

“Come on,” Thomas yelled. “Obi, light it up and let’s go.”
 

I heard the clatter of the phone falling to the floor. I heard growling and more gunfire, and the crackle of flames. The texts, they had burned the texts. Without the strings, we wouldn’t be able to follow the mark. We wouldn’t be able to stop them from setting the Beast free.

Footsteps echoed in the receiver, along with muffled voices. I heard the floor creak, and the sound of someone lifting the phone.

“Landon, is that you?” Cho asked. “You’re missing all of the fun.”

I fought to get up, to move my body from my position in the bed. My limbs felt like lead, and my head began to spin.
 

“Landon, are you there?” he laughed.
 

“Laugh while you can,” I said, my menacing threat falling flat in a hoarse, croaky voice.
 

“Oh, I plan to,” he replied. “All the way to the end of your world, and the dawn of ours.”
 

The phone clicked. I tried to throw it across the room, but even that ended in failure. I fought to get up again, my body resisting every effort, my power useless in my current state. I couldn’t even scream in anguish and rage. I started reaching for the bell, but halfway there I realized it was hopeless. There was only one way to get back in the game, and that was to rest. My mind was racing a mile a minute, but as soon as I let my head go back to the pillow my physical fatigue overwhelmed me. I fell asleep instantly; a dreamless, empty sleep.

Charis was there when I opened my eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed, watching my every movement. I must have been thrashing in my sleep, because I found myself face down, my body splayed out across the expanse of the mattress, the blankets thrown haphazardly around me. I knew by the draft that certain parts of me were bare, but I found that modesty didn’t seem that important in front of her.

I closed my eyes again and reached for my power, finding comfort in the feeling of energy flowing into me with renewed vigor. I had been asleep for nearly twelve hours. It was way too long.

“How long have you been sitting there?” I asked, rolling over and sitting up. She had changed into a pair of yoga pants and a pink sports tank, her raven hair tied back in a single long ponytail.

“A few hours,” she replied, reaching behind her back and tossing me my clothes. “Did you make your calls?”

The question made me remember. I could only hope that Thomas had heard the last thing I had said. I grabbed the clothes and jumped off the bed, out from under the wards for the first time.
 

“She can See me now?” I asked while I pulled on my pants and shirt. Charis was still watching me, her expression flat, but her eyes dancing along my outline.

“Yes,” she said. “If she is looking for you.”

I nodded. “I figured as much. Tell me about the Beast.”

I could tell she was surprised. “You didn’t know about that when I left,” she said.

“Phone call,” I said. “Look, Charis, I’d love to keep playing this game we’ve got going, because you’re so darn intriguing and super sexy, but my friends are out there, and they’ve got a big red ‘X’ painted on them. You have to get me up to speed in a hurry, because if you don’t they’re going to die, and I have a bad feeling that will only be the start.”

She smiled. “That’s the spirit. Much better than the first time you woke up.”

I recoiled. I had come out of it a little battered the last time. I don’t know if it was the renewed memory of what it was like to be human, or a general feeling of pissed off that was fueling me, but I had reached my limit of self doubt and guilt. Charis had been right when she said I had done my best with Sarah. If she was going to be a brat about it, I was going to put her back in her place. Dante had put me in charge of protecting mankind from the bickering of the Divine. As far as I was concerned that extended to any Beast that could destroy, well, everything.

“I’m committed,” I said. “I assume you already were, or I wouldn’t be here.”

“Follow me,” she said, slipping off the bed and walking towards the door. I trailed behind her. “Like I told you earlier, it took me a long time to catch on to the secret war… the
real
secret war. I spent years following Dante, listening to his advice, going along with his instructions. I didn’t question it, because I loved what I was. I loved the power that came with it.”