Bittersweet Seraphim (12 page)

Seriana held her hands up in disbelief. “Thanks. That helps.”

Violent pushed her long red hair out of her face and tried to smile, missing Seriana’s sarcasm completely. “You’re welcome.”

Jack snapped his fingers until all present looked at him. “Okay, you…Kate, show me where the entrance is quickly before this place turns into a giant clusterfuck.”

“You’re leaving, Jack,” Jason said, instantly angry. “Don’t act like you can help.”

Dean glanced at his watch. “Somebody better do something soon or we’ll be handling an army, and we’re far from prepared.”

Kate clapped her hands as Jack and Jason circled each other menacingly. “Hey! There’s a simple answer. We all go to Hell.”

“I agree,” said Violent. “The useless half-breed speaks the truth. You all need to go to Hell—except for Dean. He and I will go to Italy and grow grapes.” She smoldered in Dean’s direction.

“Useless?” Kate asked, offended.

Seriana stiffened. “Did you guys hear that?”

At first they didn’t. But then the clamoring in the woods grew louder. Only a careless army would make that much noise.

Jack quietly threw a temper tantrum before rolling his eyes. “Fine. Kate, you can come. Violent, stop creeping Dean out and help us get to the gateway.” He punctuated his words by pointing.

Kate jogged over to the shed with her companions right behind her. She twirled the dial on the combination lock, but whenever she yanked on it, the lock stayed closed. Her hands shook.

Calmly, Jason reached around her. “I’ll get it,” he said, then yanked the lock and hinge completely off the shed.

She pulled the door open and they quickly entered, shutting it behind them. The dirty window let in just enough moonlight to see shapes and silhouettes, but Kate seemed to have no trouble finding the spot. She moved yard equipment out of the way to reveal a large rock. “This is it. This boulder.”

Chapter 12

Vittorio knew he was closer to the chosen offspring than he’d ever been before. But the updates from Bick had ceased, which was curious. No matter. As he and the army of half-breeds headed for the cabin his spy had indicated, the old man smiled. He had the best grandchild-detector in the world. His own daughter. She hadn’t shown life in years, but trailing the hunting party in chains she looked worried—nay, petrified—so he knew he must be close.

He indulged his fantasy again. In a few years, when he had his great-grandchildren trained and raised, he could breed them as well. Once they’d created an army of full-blood minions, all minions—even the remaining half-breeds—would go from hiding in the shadows to living as kings and gods on Earth. Their nearly endless lives would be spent harvesting humans for food and pleasure. And he would be the king of the kings. Power fit him like a glove.

Through the forest, through the trees, came a scent. The wave of want hit them quickly, like a tornado, and every half-breed with him got a vaccine of power. Their veins pulsed with it, like a heartbeat of a mother. Without needing prompting, his army sprinted together toward what had to be the source of all power.

Jack set down his guns. He cracked his knuckles and looked at the rock.

“Hey, let’s move it.” Jason approached the proposed entryway.

Jack shook his head and went to his knees to lay his hands on the boulder’s surface like a mason. He felt all around, finally closing his eyes.

“Devil guy?” Kate interrupted. “I can hear them right outside.”

Jason pushed at Jack’s shoulder to get him out of the way.

Jack wobbled a bit, losing his connection. “Bloodsucker, this rock is held down by more than
fucking
gravity. It takes finesse—not that I expect you to know what that is. It’s kept in place by the sucking damnation of a million souls. If we don’t time it right, we won’t get shit done. Now shut up and let me think.” Jack cradled the boulder again.

Jason stayed quiet but Jack could see him flailing around making elaborate hand gestures of frustration at his brother and sister. He was just about to tell him shutting up included movements as well, when he felt something shift. “Now! Pull it now,” he yelled.

Jason shoved him over, and Dean grabbed the other side of the rock, but they could only wiggle it a bit. The shed door flew open and crazed vampire soldiers punched through the walls. Violent moved next to the men and joined them as they heaved. The rock began to turn. When it finally loosened—like an embedded tooth—everyone staggered backward. Brilliant blue light shot up through the sky in a shimmering pillar, and the invading half-breeds tumbled as if from a blow.

Once they sat up, instead of rushing for the safety they hoped Hell would provide, Jason, Dean, and Seriana turned now-hungry eyes on Jack. He felt like a soon-to-be late-night snack. Violent pulled him off the ground and stood between him and the hungry vampires. The siblings seethed like beasts, their eyes glazed over.

“Hey, V?” Jack turned from the scene to face the open hole. “I’m leaving.”

Kate, who surprisingly had her wits about her, pulled herself to her feet. “Not without me. I get my father. That was our deal.”

Violent slapped Jason across the face as he lunged for Jack. He yelped and seemed to come to himself again. Jack held out his hand for Kate who grabbed it and wrapped her other arm around his leather-clad bicep. They watched as Violent whacked Seriana across the cheek as well. She seemed abashed and hung her head. But Violent just smiled at Dean as he looked her up and down with hungry eyes. She bit her lip.

Just then, Vittorio recovered enough to lift himself from the ground. “Children, I’ve found you!”

Violent was so fast that the others didn’t register what was happening until she was almost done. She bulldozed her entire group into the hole and pulled the rock down behind them.

Jack landed unceremoniously on the ground, but at least they weren’t trying to eat him now. One slap from Violent seemed to be all it took. Inside Hell, the rock had melded with the wall. The only evidence that it had ever been anything special, any sort of opening, was the ring of fingertips captured between the rock and the hard place.

“Ew.” Kate took a deliberate step toward Jason. “You back to normal?” When he nodded and held out his hand, she took it.

Jack looked around Hell and shook his head. He tented his fingers and tapped them against his forehead. “Think. Think.”

Jason looked at Kate and smirked. “Great. You have to tell yourself to do that? We’re doomed.”

She stifled a giggle.

Jack ignored the barb. “Did you grab my guns, V?”

She was busy petting Dean and holding him back. He now looked like he was enjoying her attention, and still considering eating Jack.

“No, sir. I was busy saving our asses. Isn’t he pretty?” She looked like she might kiss her great-great-great grandson.

Seriana slapped her brother in the back of the head, hard. Dean shook himself out of his stupor and regained his demeanor of disgust.

“Why did you do that? I hate you, spawn.” Violent pulled Dean into a hug and snarled at the girl.

Jack rolled his eyes.
This
is what he had to work with? “No. No fighting. Violent, that’s an order.” He began to pace. The others seemed surprised when she let Dean go and looked at her feet. “And yes, Jason, we’re most likely doomed. This is Hell, not a vacation. Ready for some honesty? Here’s a fucking dose.” Jack bit his lip. “I’m not here to
live
. For me, dying while trying to save Emma is better than living without her. I fully expect that most of us will die or stay in here forever. Now let’s move.” He started off confidently into the pitch dark.

Vittorio screamed and pounded on the boulder. Six of his half-breeds had their hands stuck in the crack and were howling in pain. He spun to face his daughter, and she knew she couldn’t hide the relief that flowed through her. He, in turn, looked ready to spit nails.

“Why are you smiling? Are you proud of your children?” he raged. “They saw you and left you! Cowards. You raised cowards.” He slapped her across the face and pounded into her midsection. The chain around her neck jingled as his rage manifested in his fists.

But Rebecca was beyond pain now. She’d been transformed by the glimpse of her children. Vittorio was wrong. Not a single one of them had seen her, and for that she was grateful. Her children were too brave to protect themselves—Rebecca knew that—so she was thankful they were sealed, oblivious, behind the rock. Vittorio’s fists and kicks brought her to the ground, and Rebecca retreated inside her mind, remembering love while she endured hate.

Chapter 13

Everett had decided to try to hole his way through the wall as opposed to getting at Emma through the bars of the gate. She could hear him pounding away. So far he seemed unsuccessful, but her senses were shot. Every breath she took was laden with a smoke-flavored humidity.

Enduring was her job now. She kept her eyes closed and tried to say the Lord’s Prayer again. It would not come, and she couldn’t pull forth God’s face in her memory now either. She had no tears for that loss. Had she ever been more than this? An angel? Loved by God? It seemed so far away. There’d be no reason for her to linger. If God had even a modicum of decency, He would let her die here. Maybe this was the lowest low: doubting God so thoroughly.

She had taken to holding her own hand. She squeezed to try to comfort herself. This hallway had asked too much of her the first time she visited. Now it was taking her soul, filling her with evil by osmosis. A loud thump sent electricity through her nervous system. Emma closed her eyes and relived her last escape, cuddled in God’s arms. She could still recall his healing effect. Exhaling, she tried not to want that feeling too much. She stretched her legs carefully. The floor was her bed, her captor, and her prison all at once.

As she extended, her big toe inched into a swath of warmth. Like sticking the tip of her toe in a bubble bath, there was the promise of relaxation. She pulled her foot back quickly, afraid of a trick, a hidden plague. But her whole consciousness centered on that small spot on the floor as she sat up.

It looked the same as every other square inch of the hallway. She regarded it, squinting—wondering how it might be different, tempted to find out more, knowing only her body could be the test.

She hugged her knees. The toe that had been warm was cleaner than the others now. A bit of glitter shone on the toenail. Emma tracked the path from God’s past cell to the gate, once, twice, three times before it hit her.
God had walked here! God’s feet had touched this very floor.
She put her other toe in the curious warmth. Greedily, her whole foot pushed its way into the spot. It could only be good. It could only be perfection. She scooted with as much control as she could muster, not wanting to slip into a plague now with a sliver of release in sight.

Her legs fit, then her body, and finally her back and head. The release was confession, a warm bath, and a new life to engulf her. Comfort. She was satiated and warm, and the floor felt soft and soothing. The air around her held her body effortlessly, like a hammock. No more hunger, no more pain, no more thirst. She tried again, knowing now:

“Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

Emma’s tears finally came, and she pushed forward so she could kneel properly.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven.”