Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) (31 page)

“Show time,” Rebecca whispered. She grabbed Lilliah’s hand and then reached for Iris’s.

“Is anyone else nervous about this?” Iris asked, panic colouring her words as they made their way to the fire.

“Of course,” Rebecca answered immediately, but Lilliah couldn’t talk. She was too busy staring at the four boxes on the grass, all standing upright, and the four grey statues standing inside them.

Benedict walked over to the two groups and started talking. Lilliah wanted to do the same, but her feet moved of their own accord. She stood in front of the statues—two men and two women. She could see their faces perfectly; they looked amazing. They were perfectly preserved.

“That is so creepy,” she heard Rebecca whisper from somewhere behind her.

“No. This is amazing.” Hesitantly Lilliah reached up, her finger hovering just inches away from one of them.

“Don’t you dare touch them!”

Lilliah jumped back as Amelia, the head vampire she had met the day before, came rushing over.

“I didn’t touch it.” Lilliah held her hands up defensively.

Amelia stood in front of the two on the left, her back to Lilliah. “You do not deserve to be in the same space as these gods.”

Lilliah backed up more. Now wasn’t the time to get into an argument with an aging vampire.

“Sorry.” Lilliah turned on her heels and linked her arms through Rebecca’s and Iris’s, pulling them with her.

“That woman’s a bitch,” Rebecca mumbled once they were a few steps away, but Lilliah was sure Amelia had heard it anyway.

Maliki nodded to them as they approached the fire.

Martin grinned. “A good night for a spell, huh?” he almost sang. He and Maliki were both in long coats; Martin’s brown and Maliki’s black. Amelia, who had walked over to them next to the fire, wasn’t wearing a coat, nor was the young man who stood with her. It seemed the cold didn’t affect vampires.

“I would like to get this spell started. Now.” Amelia's high-pitched voice rang out, almost making Lilliah cringe.

Benedict was holding The Grail and staring into the fire, doing what Lilliah guessed was ‘getting in the zone.’

His head shot up at the sound of Amelia’s voice, his eyes hard. “I will prepare the spell now, but it will happen when it happens.”

Amelia visibly flinched at the harshness in Benedict’s voice. He wasn’t messing around. Lilliah loved it.

Benedict reached into his pocket and pulled out a tube filled with clear liquid. Holding it over the fire, he poured it into the Grail. Everyone watched in silence as he closed his eyes and started muttering words no one could hear.

Lilliah looked behind her, half expecting Sebastian and Caleb to round the corner at any moment.

“Don’t worry. They're on their way.” Rebecca leaned into Lilliah to whisper, still keeping her eyes on Benedict. “They probably just got lost.”

Lilliah opened her mouth to speak, but Iris beat her to it.

“This is what Lucifer did in my vision. It looked just like this, the liquid and everything.”

The information kind of soothed Lilliah in a strange way. It was as if any doubt she had felt over Benedict getting the right spell had vanished. He knew what he was doing.

“Lilliah, it’s time,” Benedict called to her, and held out a small decorative knife. Everyone on the grounds turned to look at her. Maliki smiled encouragingly, while Amelia tipped her chin up higher.

Slowly Lilliah walked towards the knife. With shaking hands, she reached up to take the blade. It was small and fit into her hand perfectly. The handle was gold and black. Then the doubt started to creep in. What if her blood wasn’t right? What if it was her blood that ruined the spell?

Benedict touched her arm, his eyes softening slightly. “We don’t need a lot of blood, Lilliah. Just a little.”

She nodded and held the blade over her palm. Just before she pressed the blade into her skin, she heard footsteps and whispers.

“Sorry we’re late,” Sebastian almost shouted, not sounding sorry at all.

Not turning to look at her brother, Lilliah relaxed and cut her skin, only hissing as the sharp pain hit her, then eased. She clenched her fist and watched the blood pour from her hand.

“That’s enough.” Benedict gently moved her hand away and started talking over the Grail, his eyes fixed on the now-red liquid inside.

“I’ll tell you something. I never saw this coming. So bravo on that.”

Lilliah’s heart sank at the voice. She spun around, and her breathing stopped when she saw Lucifer. He stood no more than three meters away from her, in front of the statues. Lilliah wanted to run at him. She wanted to hurt him so badly she could taste it. Then she heard a whimper to her left.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Azrael, his hand around Rebecca’s throat.

Benedict tried moving forward, but Lilliah stopped him with a raise of her hand. She could see it in Lucifer’s face. The anger, the fear. He wouldn’t hesitate to order Azrael to kill Rebecca. Sebastian stood a few meters away from everyone, his body tense and ready to pounce. Lilliah shot him a stare, willing him with her eyes not to move. She knew how ruthless Lucifer could be, and she refused to lose anyone else because of the evil standing in front of her.

Amelia dropped to her knees, as did the man she had brought along.

“Please, master. It was I who told you about this meeting.”

Lilliah wanted to kick her in the face then and there.

“You bitch!” Maliki hissed, the sounding dying in his throat when Lucifer’s eyes briefly flickered to him.

“Yes.” A sinister smile spread across Lucifer features. “Because you want to live longer.” The laughter that followed wasn’t humorous, but the cackle of a madman.

Lilliah watched tears fill Amelia’s eyes.

“But I helped you,” she sobbed out, still on her hands and knees.

“You followed me because you want something. Not because of love or loyalty.” The crackle of the fire burnt bright, highlighting Lucifer’s face and his anger.

If Lilliah hadn’t have been afraid before, she was now. She had never seen Lucifer like this before.

“I’m in the mood for a game.” Lucifer’s head twitched from one direction to the next, his features still twisted in a sick smile. “I want you to run, Amelia. Run as fast as you can. I’ll come for you when I’m ready.”

Scrambling off the ground, Amelia and her companion stood. “Please don’t do this. Please,” she begged, makeup running down her face.

Lucifer held up one hand. “Run before I change my mind and kill you now.”

The young man bolted away. Amelia stopped to gaze at the two statues longingly.

“Run,” Lucifer commanded one more time, and Amelia bolted.

“Now, Lilliah.” Lucifer turned his attention back to her. She could feel Benedict behind her, slowly moving forward.

“Did I not give you a choice? Was I not fair?” He paused for a response, but Lilliah couldn’t trust herself to speak, so he continued, “And yet here we are.”

Lucifer motioned for Azrael with his hand. “Bring her here.”

“No!” Lilliah took one step forward. She wouldn’t allow this to happen again.

Azrael dragged Rebecca by her throat, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

“Lilliah?” she cried out.

“Lucifer. You touch her and I will end you.” The anger was too much for Lilliah to control, she could feel the pressure in her stomach, building into something she had never felt before. She would not let him take Rebecca.

Lucifer looked at her and chucked. Then, with more speed then Lilliah could have anticipated, he grabbed Rebecca’s head and twisted.

She could hear the crack of her best friend's bones, and then the thud when her lifeless body hit the ground.

Lilliah screamed, her pain coursing through her body. Blue fire shot out at every angle. Lucifer’s screams mixed with her own as the fire encased him, dropping him to his knees.

All Lilliah could see was Rebecca lying on the floor, Sebastian lying over her, trying to protect her, but it was too late. She was gone.

Hearing his scream wasn’t enough for Lilliah, she wanted more.

Benedict ran past her, the Grail in hand, heading to the statues. He was going to finish the spell. She could hear grunts of a fight, but she couldn’t see who was fighting. All she could focus on was Rebecca. Her best friend was dead.

Lucifer’s screams reached a higher pitch as his body twisted in pain on the floor. Tears ran down Lilliah’s face, the pain inside her not lessening, but getting bigger and worse. She took one step forward, wanting to hurt Lucifer with her bare hands.

Then the pain inside her changed. Lilliah’s body jolted. One large hand grabbed her arm. She stared down at her stomach, watching the blood pour out. She fell to her knees, her hand pressing on the wound. Her eyes clashed with her brother’s, and she watched as horror masked his features. She wanted to call out to him, tell him so much, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

“Lilliah!” She could hear her name being screamed as everything slowly began to spin. She didn’t notice when her body twisted, now lying on the floor and looking up at Azrael.

“Lilliah?”

She stared into the bluest eyes of a panicked face. He was
her
Azrael. He was back. The sound of the blade he had used to stab her hit the floor, the sound echoing.

“Lilliah? No, no. What have I done?” With a bloodied hand he cupped her face.

“I … I …”

“No. Ssshh. Don’t speak, sweetheart. You’re going to be okay,” Azrael soothed. “I love you. I love you so much. I’m sorry. I love you.”

Azrael’s face was the last thing Lilliah saw before she let the darkness take her.

END OF BOOK TWO

BOOK THREE COMING SOON!

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