Sacrifice (41 page)

Dad followed me into the living room. Royal stayed in the foyer, sinking onto the staircase cradling his lacerated stomach gingerly. We needed to get him to the doctor.

“Thane. Where are you?” Dad headed to the back study, searching for the old archivist. I heard him hiss in surprise. “Thane?!”

I turned. Through the door to the study I could see Dad drop to the floor. Behind him, a still figure lay sprawled across the floor. My heart sank—had we lost yet another soldier tonight?

I was halfway to the study when I saw Thane’s legs move. Relief poured through me, and I had a moment to marvel at the sensation. Thane had never been anything but cold or cruel to me; why would I feel such gratitude that he had survived? Because, I realized dimly, he’d become a part of my family. Sure, he was like the misanthropic, crotchety old uncle no one wanted to get stuck sitting next to at Thanksgiving. But he was one of us, and that meant something. Thane, Gretchen, Hale, Matt, Lucas—even Karayan—they had all become my family over these last two years.

“Easy,” Dad said. “You’re bleeding.”

I watched from the door as Thane struggled into a sitting position. An ugly gash ran the length of his temple to his cheekbone. Dried blood streaked across his face from the wound. He waved Dad away.

“I don’t need a nursemaid, Murphy.” Thane reached a hand up to the wound, wincing as his hand made contact. The movement cracked open the fragile scab, sending a fresh trickle of blood down the side of Thane’s face.

“Let me get you a towel.” Dad stood, frowning. “And I think we need to take you to the ER.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve no need of a visit to the ER.” Thane rose shakily to his knees, leveraging himself slowly into one of the study’s chairs. “Though I will take that towel.”

“I’ll get it.” I stopped Dad at the doorway, gesturing at Thane. “You should stay with him.”

“You might want to wrap it around some ice,” Dad muttered. “That looks like a nasty bump.”

I nodded and made my way to the Guard’s kitchen. Two minutes later I’d returned, holding a towel already moist with melting ice. Thane took it from me and nodded, meeting my eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Sure.” I gave him a thin smile, trying to cover my surprise. It was the first decent exchange I could remember having with Thane.

“What happened?” Dad sat in a chair across from Thane, watching as the older man gingerly laid the icy towel over his wound.

“I’m not exactly clear,” Thane said. “Ian and I were looking for any mention of Lilitu in conjunction with the summer solstice—” Thane’s eyes took on a far away look. “Someone must have struck me from behind.”

“Ian,” I whispered.

Thane looked up at me sharply, then glanced at Murphy for confirmation.

“He betrayed us,” Dad said simply.

“But, the search for the Temple—?”

“A wild goose chase.” Dad rubbed at his own temples miserably. “It was beneath the Seal, Thane. This whole time. The mine was a trap.”

“That scraggy bastard,” Thane growled. “Where is he?”

Dad dropped his eyes. A fresh knot worked its way into my stomach.

Thane glanced briefly at me before leaning forward in his seat, turning his attention back to Dad. “What aren’t you telling me, Murphy? What’s happened?”

“Seth completed the ritual. Ian was his sacrifice.” Dad couldn’t pull his eyes away from his hands.

Thane sat still for a long moment. “I see.” He adjusted the ice pack on his head and gestured at a book on the floor. “Hale will want to see this. I think I’ve identified—”

“Hale is gone, Thane.” Dad looked up then, his eyes radiating a deep pain.

Thane’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Gone?” He lowered himself back into the chair. “You said—the mine was a trap?” His eyes focused on Dad’s face. “How many did we lose?”

Dad nodded, unable to answer the question for a long moment. When he did speak, his voice was scratchy with emotion. “Most. All the spotters but Gretchen.”

“Karayan?” Thane’s voice was strangely devoid of emotion, but something about the way he said her name sent a shiver across my back.

“She survived.”

Thane barely moved, processing this stoically—but I saw a muscle in his jaw ease. It was a tiny change, but it seemed to speak volumes. I caught myself staring and forced myself to look away. After all his vitriol against Karayan, Thane was
relieved
she’d survived.

The front door opened and I spun around. Matt and Gretchen ushered Lucas into the house. His head lolled forward, but he was conscious enough to walk with assistance.

Cassie hovered behind them, clasping her hands tightly before her.

“Cassie?!” Royal surged to his feet in the foyer.

Cassie gave a shout of relief and ran to him. They embraced, holding each other fiercely. Gretchen and Matt led Lucas into the living room and helped him onto the couch. As they lowered him down, I saw the back of his T-shirt. Blood had seeped through it; blood from wounds dug into his skin by two sets of claws.

I turned away, unable to face what I’d done. Unable to bear seeing the vacant look in Lucas’s eyes—the look of a Thrall. I caught Thane studying my face.

“What else aren’t you telling me?”

“What do you mean?” Dad looked up, surprised. He didn’t know. He glanced at Gretchen, then at Lucas. I heard him let out a harsh breath. “Lucas?!” Dad darted to Lucas’s side. Thane followed, after giving me one last glance.

I stayed frozen in the office as the first wave of grief washed over me. I hadn’t had time to think about Lucas since fleeing the mines. But now, in the aftermath, it spread through me like a sinkhole, swallowing my heart, my joy, my future. Lucas was gone. No. Worse than gone, Lucas was a Thrall. Numbly, I wondered whether the Guard would kill him, or wait for him to fade away to nothing and simply die, an empty shell of the boy I loved.

I could hear voices in the living room.

“What? What do you mean?” Gretchen’s voice broke. So she knew I’d failed to stop Seth. We’d lost Lucas for nothing.

I forced myself to take a step into the living room. Gretchen clung to Matt. He caught my eyes, then looked away.

Dad sat on the edge of the coffee table, staring out the front windows, face hidden from me. Thane leaned against a wall. He looked older than I’d ever seen him look.

And then my eyes caught on Lucas. He was sitting on the couch, his glossy black hair as rich as ever. I moved, walking through the grief as quietly as I could. When I sat beside Lucas, he turned toward me, blinking as if he were having trouble focusing his eyes. “Braedyn?”

“Hey.” I gave him an encouraging smile. “How are you feeling?”

Lucas screwed up his features, thinking. “I must have fallen asleep.” His skin looked thin and leathery, hanging off his frame as if he hadn’t eaten for a month. Deep bags weighed down his eyes. But most disturbing of all, that customary gleam was gone from his gaze.

“Well,” I forced my voice to remain light. “The important thing is you’re home.” I looked up, catching sight of Cassie and Royal. They had hung back in the foyer, concern and curiosity warring with their desire to give us space.

I reached for Lucas’s hand. He let me take it, then squeezed mine back in response.

“We might as well get this over with,” Thane said, approaching from the wall.

“Thane, wait.” Gretchen turned, suddenly afraid.

“We need to know what kind of danger he poses,” Thane murmured.

“Danger?” Lucas glanced at Gretchen, mystified.

Thane took Lucas’s free hand and turned it palm-up. He placed two fingers on Lucas’s wrist, feeling for his pulse.

“What do you remember from this afternoon, son?”

“What do you mean?”

Thane gave Lucas a shrew look. “I think you know what I’m referring to, Lucas. Answer the question.”

“I—uh, a Lilitu came to my room.” Lucas licked his lips. He blinked again, his brows drawing tighter together. He lowered his eyes to his hands. “I’m guessing you already know what happened.”

Thane frowned. “Look at me, please.”

Lucas looked up. It seemed like it took a lot of effort for him to raise his head.

“But you had a
second
encounter.” Thane watched Lucas’s face closely.

Lucas started to turn toward me, but Thane caught his jaw, stopping him. “Keep your eyes on me, boy.”

Lucas’s whole body seemed to go stiff. “Why? What’s this all about?”

Thane sat back. “Tell me about your second encounter. Your encounter with Braedyn.”

Lucas looked up at his sister-in-law, stricken.

Gretchen looked like she could break at any second, but she swallowed down her grief. “Do what he says, Lucas.”

“No.” Lucas jerked back from Thane, suddenly angry. “It’s none of your business.” He glared up at Gretchen. “It’s none of your business, either.”

Gretchen’s hands tightened around Matt. Thane gave Dad a knowing look. Dad’s eyes dropped to his hands, as if a question had been answered. Thane leaned back, his eyes flicking to me.

“He protects you,” Thane said quietly.

“Lucas.” I put a hand on his arm. “Don’t. Just tell them what happened.”

“No.” Lucas stared at his hands.

“
Tell them, Lucas,
” I pleaded.

“
No.
” Lucas spun on me, his eye flashing hurt. “I know it wasn’t what we’d planned, but it meant something to me. Didn’t it mean anything to you?”

I stared at Lucas. My heart skipped a beat. If he was refusing me—?

Thane’s eyes sharpened on us. “What did you say, Lucas?”

“I said no,” Lucas snapped, rounding on Thane. “This is personal, between me and Braedyn. It has nothing to do with you.” Lucas turned back to me, the anger clear in his eyes. “I thought you felt the same.”

I looked up. Gretchen took a step toward us, her face awash with shock.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered.

“I don’t believe it,” Gretchen breathed.

Thane sat back, giving us a long, considering look.

“What?” Lucas looked around, unsettled. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t know how,” Thane started, turning toward Gretchen, “but he’s not a Thrall.”

I don’t know who
whooped
louder, me, Gretchen, or Cassie and Royal. All I know is that one moment I was sitting there, drenched in sorrow, and the next moment I was embracing Lucas—my Lucas. Some miracle had saved him from me. He might be weak, but he was still whole. Gretchen launched herself at Matt. He caught her and swung her around, beaming his relief.

I even caught a glimpse of
Thane
smiling.

After a long moment, I pulled back, shaking with relief and the release of tension.

“Well, now that you’ve got that out of your system, you should take Lucas up to bed.” Thane glanced at Gretchen. “Perhaps he should sleep in your room for the time being.”

“Right.” Gretchen offered her hand to Lucas.

I moved to help, but Thane cleared his throat, catching my eye. “If you don’t mind,” he said, “I have a few questions for you.”

Lucas met my gaze. I caught his hand, still too full of emotion to speak. Lucas understood. He gave me a small smile, then let Gretchen lead him toward the foyer. After they’d made their way upstairs, I turned on Thane.

“How?” The question burned in my mind. “I
know
I drained him. There was nothing left to take.”

Thane frowned, thinking. “My best guess? Both you and the other Lilitu attacked him on the same day. We’ve never understood why repeated Lilitu attacks are always separated by a full 24 hours, but perhaps this gives us a clue.” He shrugged. “It could be that our souls are like a well, once drained it takes time for the groundwater to seep back in before it can be drained again.” Thane sighed. “Regardless of the reason, Lucas is a very lucky young man. But that luck will end if he ever spends another night with a Lilitu.”

His eyes sharpened, but he didn’t verbalize the warning;
hands off of Lucas from now on.

The human body is a strange machine. Our brief celebration died down quickly, and a somber silence took hold of the group. It had been a grueling day, yet none of us felt the pangs of hunger, or the need to sleep. A gaping hole had been torn through the center of our lives. Those we had lost were still fresh in our minds. The dead would not leave us alone.

I slipped outside when the silence of the once boisterous living room became too difficult to bear.

Royal and Cassie saw me leave, but they didn’t follow, perhaps sensing that I needed a moment alone.

As I stepped into the cool summer night, I found I was finally able to cry. Grief, fear, relief, guilt, frustration—the emotions boiled within me until I was hollowed out and exhausted.

I stumbled onto the grass, dropping to my hands and knees.

One question remained. After what I’d taken from Lucas, after my failure at the Temple, was I still redeemable?

I closed my eyes, trying my hardest to reach Sansenoy with my thoughts.

Please hear me. Have I crossed the line? Can I still become human?

“Please, Sansenoy,” I murmured. “I need to know.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you.”