Lucca (38 page)

The room fell silent as Juliet broke free of
them and headed over to Owen. She sat down next to him, pulling him
close. “It’s okay. We weren’t yelling at each other. We were
discussing a plan.”

“It sounded like yelling to me.” He sniffled
and Juliet fished a Kleenex out of her pant pocket. Owen blew into
the Kleenex then wiped the end of his nose. He glanced at the
Warriors before looking back at Juliet again with a frown. “Where’s
Lucca?”

Juliet opened her mouth in surprise. Owen
didn’t know. She turned her heated gaze on Zaiden. “Care to tell
him?” she challenged him.

Zaiden actually looked guilty as he stared
at Owen. Zaiden cleared his throat. “You might as well face it,
Lucca is probably d—”

“He’s been captured,” Blaize interrupted
Zaiden’s proclamation of doom. Of the preternatural beings present,
Blaize was more human in his approach, which was humorous since he
had not one ounce of human blood running through his veins.
However, he had lived among the humans, befriended them, and
understood them enough to give a tactful explanation to a young
boy.

Owen looked to Gideon his eyes lighting up
with hero worship. “Are you going to save him, like how the
brethren banned together in your graphic novel?”

Zaiden raised his brows. “In your novel?” He
threw up his hand. “What crap are you spewing in your kiddy
drawings?”

“Crap is right, but it’s not what Gideon
draws. It’s all of you.” Juliet met each of their lethal stares
head on. “Big strong warriors the bunch of you, but you let one of
your own get taken and you want to do nothing.”

“Listen lady,” Zaiden addressed her. “How do
you expect us to find Lucca when we have no idea where Kasadya took
him? Did you think we could snap our fingers and have all the
answers?”

“There must be something.” Juliet refused to
give up. “Barachiel could help us. He could track Lucca with the
tattoo he gave him.”

“Oh,please.” Zaiden shook his head.
“Barachiel has his prisoner and didn’t look back as he blasted his
way back to heaven.”

Barachiel had freed Raziel from the witch’s
trap with a spell of his own, the ritual proving stronger than an
inexperienced witch’s binding spell. Raziel went on his own accord
with Barachiel to face his judgment. Juliet knew it was to keep
Barachiel from looking too closely at her and Owen.

Juliet looked away. A slow ache worked its
way to her chest. For a moment she’d forgotten Raziel faced
charges. She didn’t fear him betraying her and Owen, but he would
pay for his silence.

“Juliet does have a point,” Blaize spoke
up.

“Really? Please enlighten me.” Zaiden eyed
Blaize in disbelief. “Why would Barachiel come to our aid? He got
what he wanted and now he’s gone.”

“Who’s Barachiel,” Owen asked.

Juliet slid her hand over Owen’s hair, an
affectionate caress, letting the silky strands slide through her
fingers. “An Archangel who isn’t too pleased with us right at the
moment.”

“An Archangel like my father?” The boy’s
eyes lit up.

“How did you know that?” Juliet frowned.
Owen knew his father was otherworldly, but she hadn’t told him he
was an Archangel.

Owen gaze found Gideon.

Gideon shifted his weight and shrugged. “I
didn’t think it was a secret. The boy knew he was going to sprout
wings. I just assume…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Juliet sighed,
realizing this was the least of their problems. “You’re right. He
should know about Raziel and how his father sacrificed everything
to keep him safe. He should know about the brethren and what being
a Watcher means for him. Why don’t you give him his first lesson by
bringing back Lucca.”

“Sarice and I are not one of the brethren,”
Blaize announced. Sarice hissed a curse, but Blaize held up his
hand as if he was warding off a verbal attack from his twin. “I’m
just saying we’re not Nephilim, but I’ll do what I can to bring
Lucca back.” He withdrew his dagger, the blade gleaming lethal as
he held it up. “Just tell me how many weapons I should bring.”

Zaiden rolled his eyes, but Juliet noticed
his stance changed from one of indifference to one he must don when
he went into battle. Juliet understood the process. As a detective,
she readied herself when she entered a life-threatening situation
and going into Kasadya’s lair may prove to be their last
stance.

Zaiden looked to Gideon. “Are you
onboard?”

Gideon gave him a curt nod. “I wouldn’t miss
it.”

“Fantastic! We all agree to a suicide
mission.” Zaiden turned toward Juliet. “We’ll have to take you and
Owen somewhere safe.”

“You can take Owen somewhere safe,” she
corrected. “I’m going with you.”

Zaiden clicked his tongue, his condescending
gaze roving over her. “No, you’re not. This isn’t a human kidnap
and rescue. We’ll be traveling in Hell’s realms. So unless you have
the power to shimmer, you’re staying put.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I can help.”

Blaize snickered, winning him a lethal glare
from both Zaiden and Juliet.

“Let the human duke it out with Zaiden,”
Sarice smiled, her eyes bright with mischief, too. “This I’d like
to see.” She found the situation humorous at best, a form of
entertainment. Juliet lifted her chin. The Darklin wanted a show;
she would give her one.

“I have useful assets.” Juliet turned toward
Zaiden, crossing her arms across her chest.

Zaiden’s gaze slid over her in a suggestive
manner. “Honey, I know you do, but Kasadya isn’t looking for a good
lay.”

“Just like a man… and a Nephilim it seems,
if you can’t take the heat you try to degrade and belittle. Listen,
I’ve been running the show for almost ten years here and have kept
off the radar from your preternatural goons. I have a weapon. A
damn good one, with a nice pointy end to it.” She grabbed her purse
on the couch.

“Oh, by all means take your time presenting
this weapon of destruction.” Zaiden waved his hand.

Juliet ignored the chuckles. Her hand
clasped the yew hilted dagger and brought it out. The looks on
their faces gave her the impression of what it must have felt like
to Arthur when he pulled the sword from the stone.

Gideon’s ruddy brows rose high on his
forehead.

“Well, bloody hell, that’s Raziel’s dagger.
An Archangel’s weapon has powerful mojo.” Blaize said, his eyes
turning a dark violet, erasing all signs of red from existence.

Sarice moved from the edge of the couch to
take a closer look. “Can’t deny a gal a good demon fight when she
has the right party favors,” Sarice said meeting Juliet’s gaze with
a nod.

Good, she had Sarice’s approval.

Zaiden growled, his fangs showing as he did
so. The Watcher had serious issues of playing nice with others, but
being a Guard of Judgment, the assassin for the preternatural
world, she had a hunch he preferred to work alone. But finally he
relented. “Fine. You’ll go with us, but you’ll listen to my
commands. Is that understood?”

“You won’t regret this.”

“I already do.” He strode toward Owen. He
clasped the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll take him. Blaize, you take
Juliet, and keep it respectful,” he added. “If we get Lucca out
alive, I don’t want to deal with an irate mate.”

Blaize’s lips slid into a grin as he looked
at Juliet. “Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.”

“Just remember I have a dagger.”

Blaize gripped her forearm. “I like it
rough, but I draw the line when the gal’s spoken for.”

With no more than a blink of an eye, Blaize
shimmered, taking her on a ride through space and time. He stepped
through the gauze-like veil, entering a world only imagined in
dreams, darker and denser, but with exquisite detail like a
masterpiece coming alive on a canvas.

Zaiden led the way up the long walkway where
a medieval castle stood on a hill with the dark cloudless sky as a
backdrop.

“I’ve stepped into the looking glass,”
Juliet murmured.

Gideon moved beside her. “Come on,
Alice
, now that you’ve arrived in our world, let us show you
around.”

Chapter Forty-Six

To ensure his cooperation, Lucca’s hands
were secured with silver shackles attached to the floor. He had a
hunch it also gave his captors the ability to smack him around
without him being able to retaliate. Demons could be so
selfish.

His healing powers from the glamour were
kept at bay so he would feel every lash and fist slammed into his
body.
Real heavenly behavior from the Ex-Archangel
, he
thought sarcastically and chuckled. Could be the reason he landed
his Seraphim arse in Hell. His cracked lips split open
ed
as he smiled. The tangy copper of blood laced his
tongue.

“Why, Lucca, if I didn’t know better I would
believe you were enjoying your visit.” Kasadya crouched down in
front of him, his black eyes searching his.

Kasadya had shimmered him to one of his
lairs, not the pits of Hell, though this dungeon would soon become
Lucca’s. He was on his own now. The brethren would not look for
him. They believed he betrayed them before he’d been whisked away
by Kasadya. His abandoning them in a fight would bring home the
ruse. It didn’t matter. Juliet and Owen would be safe. Raziel’s
book would remain hidden.

“Didn’t my father tell you how he
entertained himself?” Lucca spat on the ground. “This is nothing
compared to what I’ve endured before.”

Kasadya’s brows rose. “Your father enjoyed
beating you, but as far as I can see his lessons didn’t help you in
the least. You gave the Book of Raziel to the poet. Tell me where I
can find him and your torment will end.”

He had no doubt it would. His death was
probably already written in the tomes, but he would go with honor.
“Like I told you before, I don’t know where the poet is. That’s how
it works. I don’t know his real name or where he resides. I give
him something and he disappears. He doesn’t tell me where he’s
headed and I don’t ask.” The lies were spinning faster as he told
the story of deception, but the part about not knowing where the
book was hidden was the truth.

At Doug’s, when they all met, he confided to
Eli about the book and arranged to give it to him. Lucca didn’t
want to know the location of the hiding place Eli chose. He was the
target. If captured, Lucca knew torture was a possibility, but he
couldn’t give up what he didn’t know.

Kasadya’s low chuckle sent fear racing down
his spine, but he didn’t look away. He wouldn’t falter. The
condemned Archangel stood to his full height and strode toward the
door of the cell. Lucca hoped the beatings were through for the
night, but it seemed Kasadya had other plans. He left the door open
then returned a few minutes later followed by another male.

Lucca sat up straight, his mouth going dry
as the male came into full light.

“Hello, son.” He snapped the whip on the
stone floor.

Lucca glanced at him with indifference, even
though his insides had twisted his gut into a knot. He’d faced
leagues of warriors on the battlefield, but the whip brought back
the memories of the beatings he endured as a child, reducing him to
the boy who wanted to win his father’s approval, but never
could.

“Do you remember the day you saved the young
girl in the plaza?” His father asked him.

Lucca stared ahead and didn’t answer. His
heart beat wildly in his chest. Had his father figured out whom
Raziel had sent through the portal? Did he know Juliet was the girl
he had saved?

“If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t be
here now. That girl, that human female caused all this. She was the
key, the turning point that sent you on the road to betray me.” He
shook his head and regret laced his words. “After you saved her
from a sure death that day, I lost control. It was all her fault.
She made me hurt you.”

Lucca yanked on his chains, wishing his
father would step close enough for him to grab him by the throat.
“
She
made you flay the skin off my back?” He should have
remained quiet. He should have let it go.

“So you do remember.” His thin lips curved,
contorting his handsome features into something sinister Lucca had
seen depicted in paintings. Evil did exist, and he was its
entertainment for the night.

Arizul paced, his wrist flicked the whip
against the ground with a loud crack. Each lash a reminder of what
was in store for him. “She was human,” he spat. “You couldn’t have
her. I was trying to help you.” He looked at Lucca, his eyes
pleading for him to understand his side of the story.

“I’m sorry, you were trying to help me. How
exactly were you accomplishing that? You almost killed me.”

He waved his hand in dismissal as if the
result of his beating had just been a slight misunderstanding. “I
saw, Lucca. I witnessed your future. You can’t be with her. It’s
wrong. The damned don’t have souls. The Watchers are making a
terrible mistake trying to find soul mates. We’ll all be damned to
roam the earth’s realm forever. We’ll never see Heaven again.”

Lucca blinked in disbelief. His father knew
Juliet was his soul mate. How could he know this when he’d come to
the realization only recently? But he did know. “You used the Book
of Raziel.” He shook his head in disbelief. His father had seen his
future, knew Juliet belonged with him.

“That’s how I knew the girl would be your
downfall?” he hissed. “I used the portal, but it’s unpredictable
and I couldn’t control where I landed. I couldn’t change events no
matter how hard I tried.”

Dear Lord, he manipulated time. What had he
screwed up with his ventures through the portal? Had his
manipulations accidently released Kasadya, or had it been on
purpose? He had a hunch it wasn’t the latter. Kasadya owned his
father and his father would have never submitted willingly.