Sacrifice (31 page)

We pulled up outside my house a little before 3:00 pm. Our afternoon had lasted much longer than either of us anticipated. I parked and said goodbye to Amber in front of the Guard’s house. As I turned toward my house, I felt another surge of anticipation. Soon now, I’d be heading off to meet Lucas. Everything we’d been longing for—all our furtive plans—were about to come to fruition.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to redial Cassie. That’s when I noticed all the missed calls from earlier in the morning. They must have come through while I was training with Amber and Hale, and I’d somehow missed them when Cassie had last called.

Uneasy, I hit play on my voicemail as I entered the house.

Two steps into the foyer, I saw the crowd.

Thane, Ian, Gretchen, Matt, Hale, and Dad all turned as I entered, their faces drawn.

“Where have you been?” Thane demanded. Dad put a hand on his arm, warning him with a look.

I lowered my phone, a sudden fear clamping around my heart. “What’s going on?”

“Cassie’s at a meeting,” Gretchen said. “But the Guard we sent to keep an eye on her just called. They’re not at the usual clearing.”

“So where are they?” A spray of goose bumps shot along my arms.

“Excellent question. Wouldn’t it be handy if we had someone who could answer it for us?” Thane’s lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Can it, Thane.” Dad turned to me, gesturing me forward. “Honey, let’s not waste any more time.”

I nodded, letting Dad lead me to the couch. I was dimly aware of my hands shaking, but as I sat down, all I could think about was locating the bright bundle of energy that was my best friend. I closed my eyes, and felt her consciousness at the edge of my perception. Honing in on it, Cassie was suddenly with me, and I with her.

She was standing in some kind of cave. I gave an involuntary gasp before I realized it was not the Temple I’d seen in Elyia’s dream. I felt Dad squeeze my hand, but shook my head. “False alarm,” I murmured, not opening my eyes.

Cassie, already wearing her vestments, stood with Emily and Carrie, while Idris and her attendants, including Elyia, lit candles at the edge of the space.

I’m here, Cass.
I urged the thought into her mind, and felt Cassie relax in response. Guilt and fear for Cassie twisted in my stomach, but I pushed them aside. There’d be time for apologies later. Right now we had more pressing concerns.
Where are you?

We’re at the old silver mines on the edge of town,
she thought back.

>What’s going on?

I don’t know,
she answered.
But Idris seems pretty excited.

Okay, hang on.
I opened my eyes. Everyone watched me intently. “She’s at the old silver mines,” I said.

Matt was on his phone in an instant. “It’s Matt. We’ve found her.” As he relayed the information to the Guardsmen, I turned my attention back to Cassie.

Backup is on the way.

Something’s happening,
she sent back in response.

I closed my eyes, letting my consciousness slip back into Cassie’s mind. Idris stood before the acolytes, arms upraised.

“Be joyful, daughters,” she said. “We will see the dawn of a new era tonight.”

I felt a shiver travelling through my body at her words. “Something’s wrong,” I whispered. “Something’s happening tonight.”

“Tonight?” Thane’s suddenly sharp voice cut across my thoughts. Instead of answering him, I honed in on Cassie, trying to absorb everything she was seeing and feeling.

“Girls, I want to introduce you to someone very special. A miracle, actually. The one who set me on this path many years ago. The living grandson of Lilith. And tonight, he will join us in paving the way for her return.” Idris gestured, and the girls turned as one toward the entrance into this massive cavern.

I knew who it would be, even before Cassie laid eyes on him. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

Seth’s benign smile slipped as soon as he caught sight of Cassie. I felt her shoulders knot in sudden fear.

“Forgive me, Priestess, but I need a little sidebar with this one.” Seth never took his eyes off Cassie’s face.

Idris followed his gaze, baffled. “I’m sorry?”

Seth strode forward and caught Cassie by the upper arm. “Come with me,
acolyte.
We need to have a talk.”

“No!” My eyes flashed open. I grabbed Dad’s arm, desperate. “Where are the Guardsmen?! They have to get there now! Cassie—Dad, it’s Seth.
Seth has Cassie!
”

Dad grabbed me by the shoulders. “They’re on their way, honey. Stay with Cassie. Hang in there.”

My mind was already flying back to her. Seth was propelling Cassie out of the cavern, gripping her arm with cruel force. His fingers dug into her skin and—through Cassie’s senses—I could feel his claws emerging. Cassie kept her jaw clamped tightly shut, refusing to give voice to her fear.

“What exactly do you think you’re playing at?” His voice was eerily mild.

“I—I can explain.” But Cassie’s voice trembled.

Seth pulled her out of the cavern and spun her around to face him. “You don’t have to.” His lips twisted into a snarl of disgust. “And here I thought Braedyn was your friend. She put you up to this, after all my warnings. That’s downright cold.”

“Seth.” I felt Cassie struggling to get a grip on her raging fear.

Seth sighed, looking almost bored. Neither Cassie nor I were prepared when he whipped his fist around, backhanding Cassie so hard she dropped to the dirt at his feet, gasping.

“
No!
” The sound tore itself from my throat.

“Braedyn? Honey? What’s happening?!” Dad gripped my shoulders tighter, but I didn’t open my eyes.

“Get her out of there,” I gasped. “
Get her out of there!
”

Back at the mines, Cassie was painfully pulling herself up to her hands and knees. Seth stepped into view, his shiny black shoes making a sharp contrast to the dust and grit of the earth.

“I’m sorry, Cass. But you’ve just become an object lesson for Ms. Murphy.” Seth reached down and hauled Cassie to her feet. I felt her confusion, heard the ringing in her ears. She blinked tears of pain out of her eyes just in time to see Seth strike out a second time. The blow caught her across the jaw. Cassie let out a strangled cry and tried to pull free. Seth held her tightly.

I heard a moan of pure despair, only recognizing it as mine when Dad pulled me into a tight bear hug.

“Braedyn, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, honey.” And then, to Matt, “How far away are they?!”

“They’re pushing 90, Murphy,” Matt said. His voice sounded strained. “They’ll get there as fast as humanly possible.” Their words hovered at the edge of my consciousness. I couldn’t pull myself away from Cassie.

Back at the entrance to the mines, Seth regarded his free hand casually. Long, obsidian claws extended from the tips of his fingers, growing like dark stalagmites before Cassie’s eyes. Her breath came out in ragged pants. Seth placed one claw lightly on her cheek. She met his eyes, and I felt a new steel behind her thoughts.

“Ooo, Cassie. If looks could kill.” Seth smiled. He sliced his claw down her face in one swift motion. Cassie cried out, struggling uselessly against his grip. “Unfortunately for you, these make far more effective weapons.” He waggled his fingers before her face. Bright crimson blood dripped from one obsidian claw down his finger. “We’re going to do this slow. I need Braedyn to understand you died a truly hard death.”

I felt Cassie’s breath catch—and then I saw what she’d seen.

A massive pickup truck peeled off the main road into the dirt lot serving as the parking area for the mines. Seth turned.

Knee him in the junk!
I practically screamed it into Cassie’s head, visualizing with every ounce of concentration exactly what to do. As her knee came up, it was almost like it was an extension of my own body. Cassie drove her knee squarely into Seth’s crotch. An expression of surprise flickered across his face, half a heartbeat before his grip on her loosened reflexively.
Back!
I ordered. Cassie obeyed, jerking herself out of his reach. Seth, doubled over in pain, wasn’t fast enough to avoid the truck.

It struck him full-speed, sending him flying into the brush beyond the dirt lot. The truck skidded to a stop and the doors flew open. Marx and Caleb, two of the Guardsmen who’d first arrived to help us face Ais, sprang out of the cab. They made a beeline for Cassie.

“Are you okay?” Marx asked in his gruff voice. Cassie nodded faintly.

“Get her in the truck, Marx.” Caleb eyed the landscape uneasily. “We need to get the hell out of here.
Now.
”

Marx helped Cassie up into the cab of his truck, climbing in after her. He shifted the truck out of park as Caleb climbed in on the other side of Cassie. Before Caleb could even close his door, Marx hit the gas and tore away from the mines. As they hit the road, Cassie stared down at her hands. She was clutching at the white, scratchy fabric of her acolyte’s vestments. Spots of blood dripped from her chin onto the skirt.

Caleb seemed to sense her distress.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ve got you now. We’re not going to let anything else happen to you. Got it?”

Cassie looked up into Caleb’s dark eyes and nodded. He gave her an encouraging smile. She sat back, but her heart was still racing.

I collapsed on the couch, exhausted. “They’ve got her,” I said. The tension in the room broke. Gretchen sat heavily on the edge of the coffee table. Matt gripped her hand tightly, relief plain in his eyes.

Dad let out a long breath. “Thank God.”

“And Marx and Caleb,” I said. “They got there just in time.”

“They would have been ready and waiting if—” But Thane’s snarl cut off as Dad turned on him.

“One more word,” Dad growled, “and you’ll be eating your next meal out of a straw.”

Thane sniffed. “I merely state the truth.”

“Okay, guys. Enough. Cassie’s on her way. We’ll get the full details of this meeting when she arrives.” Hale looked from Dad to Thane. The men were still glaring at one another. “Are we going to have a problem here?”

Dad looked away first. “No. No problem.” He joined me on the couch, curving a protective arm around my back.

“So.” Thane turned to face Ian. “Idris wasn’t talking about the
winter
solstice.”

“No.” Ian’s jaw tightened. “I suppose she wasn’t.”

“We thought we had another six months.” Dad’s face looked suddenly ashen.

I glanced at Dad, feeling clueless. “What’s going on?”

“It’s today, Braedyn. Today is the summer solstice.”

“The
summer
—?” I stared around the room, stunned. “But that doesn’t make any sense. The
winter
solstice is their night of power, why would they pick
tonight
for Lilith’s return?”

Thane shook his head, grim.

“How did we miss this?” Hale turned to Thane and Ian. “How did we miss something this huge?”

“We have mere hours before the sun sets, do you really want to waste them on a postmortem of our mistakes?” Thane’s voice was clipped, but I could see he was deeply disturbed by Hale’s question. It wasn’t like the Archivist to be caught off guard—and something of this magnitude? Thane’s confidence had clearly been shaken badly.

“Right.” Hale rubbed at the scar dividing his eyebrow. It was a gesture I hadn’t seen from him in a long time; a sure sign of deep concern. “Thane, see what you can dig up about the summer solstice. Anything you can find, pertaining to Lilitu.”

Thane nodded and started toward the front door.

“Wait.” Ian reached into his satchel and pulled out a pair of old books. “I think I might have something here that could shed some light on this. You search this one, I’ll search the other.”

Thane took the offered book from Ian. The men crossed through the foyer to settle at the dining room, flipping open the ancient volumes in silence.

In the living room, Hale, Gretchen, Matt, Dad—all of us were lost in our own unhappy thoughts. For my part, I kept replaying Seth’s attack on Cassie in my mind, over and over. When Gretchen spoke, nearly 20 minutes later, I was a miserable mess of anxiety and guilt.

“They’re here.” Gretchen, standing by the window, shot an unreadable look at me. I stood, eager to see Cassie in the flesh, needing to verify with my own eyes that she was okay.

The door opened. Cassie’s eyes were swollen from crying. A long, jagged gash travelled from high on her cheek down to her jaw. Her lip was split, and a deep bruise was forming across the other side of her face. Marx and Caleb followed her in, looking grim.

“Oh, Cass!” I darted forward, rushing to my friend.

“I tried to call you.” Cassie’s words drove through my heart like white-hot needles. “I thought you’d get my message and connect with my thoughts like before.”

I shook my head, guilt and helpless rage rising up in the back of my throat.

“Hale, Murphy, we need to talk.” Marx stepped past us, into the living room. “Cassie’s been filling us in. Tonight’s the summer solstice.”

“We know.” Hale grimaced. “Thane and Ian are looking into some old books. We’ve never had to research the summer solstice before.”

“How long is this going to take? We’ve only got hours to figure this thing out.”

“Wait—” The ramifications of our situation suddenly hit me. “We haven’t found the Temple. How are we going to stop—?”

“The mines!” Ian raced out of the dining room, an urgent anxiety spilling across his face. “We’d been focusing on natural caves. What if the Temple was uncovered during a mining expedition?”

“That would explain Idris’s field trip,” Gretchen said, glancing at Cassie. Thane joined us, listening with a guarded expression.

“We have to get over there. Whatever’s happening, it’s going to happen soon.” Dad’s trepidation had vanished; once again, I saw the soldier from his past emerging.

Hale nodded. “I’ll call the men.”

“Wait, Hale—” Thane grabbed the younger man’s arm, holding him back. “We’d be walking in blind. If the incubus is involved—?”

“What choice do we have?” Ian’s voice cut through the chaos. “The solstice is here. If we hope to stop whatever ritual Idris has planned, we have to move
now.
”