Sacrifice (32 page)

“You’re making a very large assumption that this ritual will be held at the mines,” Thane growled.

“Yes. I am making an assumption,” Ian retorted. “And yes, we can’t be sure it’s the right location. But I
am
sure that we’ve checked every likely cave we could find in a 50-mile radius, and we don’t have any better leads. Right now, the mines are our best bet. Thane, we have just enough time to try one Hail Mary. And what if this ritual is being held at the mines? It would be stupid of us not to send in the troops.” Ian turned to Hale. “That’s my advice. Do with it what you will.”

Hale gently but firmly removed Thane’s hand from his arm. “Ian’s right. We’ve got one shot, and this is our only lead. I’ll leave a skeleton crew at the mission, but the rest of us need to make a full-scale assault on the mines.”

With that, the group disbanded. Cassie sat still on the couch, struggling to regain control of her breathing. I caught one of her hands, trying to offer what little comfort I could. Cassie’s hand tightened around mine.

“Just tell me we’re going to get that jerk.” She looked up, through her tears. The new strength in her had not diminished.

“One way or another,” I whispered. “You have my word.”

Chapter 15

Once they decided to attack, the Guard mobilized quickly. Hale made calls to the heads of each of the nine units stationed around Puerto Escondido. They planned to rendezvous at a turnout half a mile down the road from the old silver mines. It would take everyone an hour to gather weapons and meet up. From there, the assembled Guard would move on the mines as one.

“Braedyn, we need your help.” Dad gestured for me to follow him and Gretchen. I eyed Cassie, uncomfortable about leaving her alone.

“I—I need to get out of this thing.” She glanced down at the vestments she still wore.

“My room,” I said. “Take anything you need.”

She nodded gratefully. Dad held the front door open for Gretchen and me. On the porch, Gretchen turned to me. “Have you seen Lucas?”

“Um—he’s not around?” I tried to keep my voice level.

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“He’s probably taking the afternoon off, like Hale suggested,” I said.

Gretchen nodded slowly. “Yeah. Let’s hope he’s at a movie, and by the time it ends, this is all over.”

I gave her a weak smile. Gretchen, clearly absorbed with other thoughts, didn’t give me another look.

Dad led the way toward the Guard’s house. Amber, standing by her car, looked up. She was talking on her phone, but paused when she saw the sudden flurry of activity. I couldn’t stop to update her, though. I followed Dad, Gretchen, and Matt into the Guard’s house, down the side hallway, and into the basement.

Gretchen pulled four massive black duffle bags out of a chest by the weapons rack. Dad grabbed one of the bags and handed it to Matt. The second he gave to me.

“Fill it,” he said.

“With—?”

But Gretchen and Matt were already pulling weapons down off the rack, packing them carefully into the first two empty duffle bags.

“Ah.” I followed their lead, pulling weapons off the rack and packing them into the duffle bag at my feet. We worked in silence for close to 10 minutes, and when we were done, each of the four duffle bags was stuffed full to the brim with wicked-looking knives, swords, axes, and spears.

Dad and Matt each picked up one of the two heaviest duffels, straining to heave them off the floor.

“Careful, guys,” Gretchen said.

Dad nodded brusquely. “We’ve got this.”

He headed up the stairs. Gretchen hefted the smallest remaining duffle bag up, struggling to loop the handles over her shoulder.

I eyed the last bag, then bent to pick it up. It was heavier than I’d expected, even after watching the others struggle to lift theirs.

I managed to leverage it up, slinging one strap over each shoulder, wearing it almost like a backpack. It wasn’t comfortable, but it made climbing the stairs possible.

When I got outside, Dad was loading Gretchen’s bag into the back of Hale’s truck. Matt’s and his were already packed inside. Dad saw me coming and ran to help while Matt headed back into the Guard’s house.

“Easy, honey.” Dad helped me ease the straps off my shoulders. The duffle bag clanked as the weapons inside shifted. Dad hefted it into his arms and deposited it beside the other three bags in the back of Hale’s truck.

While adjusted supplies in the back of the truck, Hale drew a long, slender blade out of a scabbard. It had a long hilt, wrapped tightly in black leather. The graceful arc of the blade gleamed in the sunlight. I saw the faint rainbow-sheen imbedded in the metal, a side effect of the secret forging process that made Guard weapons so deadly to the Lilitu. He gave it a few practice swings, testing the balance, regaining the feel for the weapon. Hale—and most of the Guard, actually—usually preferred to work with the Guard’s daggers. But he was a master swordsman. He’d given me a few lessons, and what I’d seen of him wielding the sword—let’s just say he was quite impressive.

Satisfied with the blade, Hale sheathed the sword and tucked it carefully behind his seat. “How are we doing, Murphy?”

“Packed,” said Dad, surveying his handiwork.

Amber watched all of this from the street, still leaning against her car.

Gretchen paused beside the truck, glancing around. She and Dad shared a look of understanding. Dad turned toward me. “I don’t want you at this fight,” he said quietly.

“But if there are Lilitu—?”

“We’ve got seven spotters, not including you girls.” Dad’s eyes cut to Amber. “I think you should stay here. Keep an eye on Cassie. She’s tough, but I think she may be in shock. She shouldn’t be left alone.”

I glanced back at my house, suddenly worried. Dad was right, someone needed to keep an eye on her. Matt hurried out of the Guard’s house, holding two sets of daggers. He tossed one to Gretchen. She snatched it out of the air, then turned back to me.

“Look, Braedyn. If Lucas comes back, keep him away from this fight. He’s not ready.”

I nodded glumly. Making that promise was like promising to hold the ocean at bay at high tide. But it’s what she needed to hear. “Okay.”

Dad surprised me by grabbing me and pulling me close. “I love you, kiddo.” His voice, gruff with emotion, sent a shiver down my spine. This felt like goodbye.

“Dad—?”

“Let’s move out!” Hale climbed into the driver’s seat of his truck. Gretchen and Matt squeezed in beside him.

Dad met my gaze. It looked like he wanted to say something else. Instead of speaking, he gave me a kiss on the forehead, then turned and strode for his truck.

In moments, the soldiers of the Guard had gone.

Only Thane and Ian stayed back. As soon as the other Guardsmen were out of sight, the two old archivists entered the Guard’s house, presumably to consult some of Thane’s books for any information they could glean on the importance of the summer solstice in Lilitu lore.

Amber approached me, her face tight with anxiety. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I said, giving voice to some of the panic that had slowly been building in me since Seth confronted Cassie. “No it’s not.”

I sprinted back to my house, only vaguely aware of Amber following me. Cassie looked up as we entered. She’d changed into some old jeans of mine, and had wrapped a thick sweater over a pale pink T-shirt. My clothes were too big for her by at least two sizes, but she looked more comfortable in them than she had in those horrible vestments. She sat on the couch, feet curled beneath her, blotting at the gash on her cheek with a damp cloth.

“Cassie?!” Amber’s face registered horror. “What happened to you?”

“She was attacked by an incubus.” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice.

“Should we take her to a doctor or something?” Amber eyed the long gash on Cassie’s face.

“No.” Cassie glanced up, eyes hollowed out by exhaustion. “Please. I don’t want to leave.”

Amber crossed her arms, considering Cassie’s wounds. She turned to me. “Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide.”

“What?” I stared at her blankly.

“Hydrogen peroxide to clean those wounds, and Neosporin to help reduce scarring. Trust me, I’ve seen my share of scrapes.”

“Um, I—think we have some in the upstairs bathroom.” I headed up the staircase to the second floor. I rooted through the bathroom medicine cabinet, coming up with the hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin, and some cotton balls. When I returned downstairs, Amber was sitting next to Cassie on the couch, a roll of paper towels in one hand. I let Amber doctor Cassie’s wounds. Cassie winced as the hydrogen peroxide bubbled along the gash, but she gritted her teeth and kept silent through the whole procedure.

Once Amber had slathered the Neosporin over her the cut, Cassie sat back on the couch and closed her eyes.

I glanced up at the clock on the mantle. 3:48 PM. Lucas would be expecting me any minute.

“I need to make a call.” I turned to Amber. “Do you mind staying with her for a minute?”

“Of course not.” Amber twisted the cap back on the Neosporin, studying Cassie with a worried expression on her face.

“I’ll be right back.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and headed outside.

I dialed Lucas, not thrilled about having to explain that our rendezvous needed to be postponed. But as I waited for him to pick up, guilt coursed through my body. Cassie had been attacked and the Guard was heading into a battle against unknown forces—how could I feel bitter disappointment that Lucas and I wouldn’t have tonight together? Our friends were hurting, they needed our help. Whatever disappointment I might feel, it was time to suck it up and turn my attention to more important things. And so that’s what I decided to tell Lucas.

Only, Lucas didn’t answer his phone.

I hung up and checked my messages, wondering if he’d left the address for our secret tryst in my voice mail. But Lucas wasn’t listed anywhere on my missed calls, and he’d sent me no text messages.

Something was wrong.

I dialed his phone again. And then I heard it. I lowered my phone from my ear. There, in the distance, another phone was ringing. As my call went to voicemail a second time, the other phone stopped ringing.

I dialed Lucas a third time, this time honing in on the other ring. I glanced at the Guard’s house. Lucas’s bedroom window was open. The ringing phone was inside.

Had he left his phone behind? No. I knew with a growing sense of dread that Lucas wouldn’t have left his phone behind, not when our whole day depended on his being able to give me the address to our secret meeting place.

I ran, vaulting the fence between our yards and taking the front porch steps two at a time. The Guard’s front door was unlocked. I dashed up the stairs and burst through the door to Lucas’s small room.

He was lying on his bed, tangled in his sheets, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I dropped beside his bed, trying to fight the hysterical panic threatening to overwhelm me.

“Lucas!” I cupped his face in my hands, turning his head to face me. His eyes were wide, glazed. A small part of me knew instantly—but I forced the thought out of my head. “No. No!” I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. “Please, Lucas, get up. Get up!” He didn’t respond, other than to turn his eyes back to the ceiling.

I pulled Lucas toward me, lifting his back off the bed. Beneath him, I saw lines of blood staining the sheets. And then I saw his back; his smooth skin crisscrossed with jagged, angry claw marks.

I heard a keening wail fill the room, not recognizing the voice as my own. The pure agony of this scream—a profound, inconsolable pain— rose up through me from the deepest part of my soul.

I gripped Lucas tighter, aware even as I clung to him that he had slipped away from me. We would never have our one perfect night—that one night Lucas would have been able to recover from. That intimate, personal, private connection had been stolen from us by another Lilitu. Were Lucas to spend a night with me now, he would cease to be Lucas; he would become a Thrall.

Dimly, I became aware of a growing pain in my throat. My voice was shredding itself, incapable of expressing the magnitude of emotion trying to manifest itself in sound. I forced myself to choke back the scream. In its place, violent, wracking sobs tore out of my body.

“Braedyn?!” Cassie burst into Lucas’s room.

Her eyes landed on Lucas, and she turned abruptly away, recognizing the signs immediately.

Amber, two steps behind her, entered in time to read Cassie’s horror. “What?! What’s happened?” Amber’s eyes settled on Lucas. Her expression went strangely blank, and her eyes moved to my face. “Oh no.”

I lowered Lucas back to the bed, burying my face against his chest. Rage—unfiltered, unmitigated rage—rose up in me, burning away all thoughts save one. I would find her. Whoever had done this to Lucas. I would find her and I would end her.

“Braedyn?” Lucas’s voice broke through my grief. I lifted my head, suddenly aware of the web of tears sliding down my cheeks. Lucas met my eyes and blinked. He glanced from me to Cassie to Amber. Confusion twisted his beautiful features. “What’s wrong?”