The Reaping: Language of the Liar (18 page)

“So he can keep stalking me is what you’re saying.”  Dorian felt her heart sink into her stomach and wondered again why she was choosing this instead of death.  At least if she died, he couldn’t get to her anymore.

“In a way, but you have the power to shut him out once you become a Reaper.  I wish I could explain it better, but it’s almost impossible.  The power becomes part of your nature.  You can manipulate energy around them and you’re protected.  They can’t touch you.”

“Mine sure as hell touched you,” Dorian exclaimed, pointing to the scabbed claw marks on Briar’s arm.

She shook her head.  “That’s not what I mean.  These are superficial wounds.”  Briar stood half-way up and reached across the table, pressing two fingers against Dorian’s temple.  “He can’t touch you here.  When you experience a clear head for the first time in your life, you’ll understand what I mean when I say he can’t touch you again.”

The very idea that she could experience even a moment of a clear mind, of being in total control of her own faculties and mind without the threat of something or someone taking over, was almost enough to lie down on the table right then and demand they exorcise her.  She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.  “Okay.  I get it.  And if I make it tonight, if I live through this, maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

Briar sat back down again, kicking her foot back up on to the corner of the table.  “How so?”

“Well, he’s a demon.  He’s got the inside information.  He claims he’s on our side, he claims that stopping the demon race that’s attacking him will also protect humans.  They’re looking for spells, and if we can get them, we can also get the counter spells.  We could have him working for us without him knowing it.”

Adelaide’s interest was clearly piqued, but Briar looked apprehensive.  “I’m not sure messing with all that is a good idea.”

“Yes, actually,” Adelaide said, her voice louder and more emotional than Dorian had heard it yet, “she could be on to something.  Our collective has been working for centuries using spell work to try to save humans one by one.  The individual.  The demons have the advantage because they have access to this network, and if we can get our hands on their magic…”

“There really might be a way to shut it all down,” Dorian finished for her.  “It’s worth a try, anyway.  Obviously we’re not making headway, and if they figure out how to open all the human minds, there’s no way we can fight off six billion people with just those we’ve managed to exorcise.”

Both Adelaide and Briar knew she was right, and Dorian, for the first time since she’d been taken by these people, felt like she belonged.  Like she was contributing.  It came at a very high cost, but the fact remained, she would be useful.  She could make a difference.  And there it was.  There was the strength Briar and Adelaide told her to find.  She gripped it with everything she had in her, determined to win this fight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Exorcists finished around ten that night, but when the preparations were done, only Lennox came up.  Briar had taken Adelaide upstairs to get a back room ready for the spells and to gather her supplies, so Dorian was alone in the kitchen when he appeared.  She startled for a second, waiting for the flood of Exorcists to follow, but a moment later it was clear he was alone.

“They’re scared of me,” she said, her voice low.

“Every time an exorcism goes wrong, they get a bit on edge.  Hard to blame them.”  He looked at the beer near her hand, then walked to the fridge to grab his own.  Cracking the top, he hooked his foot around the leg of the chair, yanked it back, and dropped down.  “They’re packing up now.  Should be ready to head out in about ten minutes.”

“Adelaide give you the location?”

He nodded as he swallowed a large gulp of the foamy ale.  “Aye.  Left the map down for us.  Helps a lot, that one.”

“She said she might stick around if Markus lets her.”  Dorian crossed her arms, looking at her might-be friend.  Lennox had been kind to her this entire time, and she liked to think he was at least a little personally invested in her coming out of this alive.  Not just for her power, either.  She thought about telling him what she discussed with the girls earlier, but thought maybe it wasn’t time for that yet.  And if she didn’t make it, well there was no point.

“You okay, lass?  You look a bit peaky.”

“Yeah well, knowing what’s coming next doesn’t feel great.”  She shuddered at the memory of the pain and destruction.

Reaching across the table with his free hand, he gave her wrist a squeeze.  “We’ve got your back.  You know that.”

“I do,” she breathed out.  “And when we’re done, they’re going to leave.  Right?”

“Should do, yeah.  Markus or Mattie might stick around a bit, get everything sorted.  Usually with new Reapers, they assign them a trainer.  Makes sense Briar would be yours, but any conflicts and he might relocate you.  Especially if that Father Stone is a threat.”

Licking her lips, she nodded and felt another wave of betrayal at the thought.  He’d been so kind, instilled in her a sense of independence she hadn’t felt in so long.  The very idea he’d done it to hurt her or use her threatened to tear her to pieces.

Also the thought that Father Stone might be the reason why she’d be sent away from this home, from Briar and Lennox and Dash gave her an ache she couldn’t describe.  It was the first time she felt truly home and she couldn’t lose that now.

“It’ll be alright, lass,” Lennox said, interrupting her thoughts.

Dorian nodded, and as she did, she noticed she was crying.  She swiped her hand across her face, trying to erase the evidence of how weak she was feeling.  “Sorry.  It’s…”

“Don’t apologize for feeling.  We’re human.  It’s all we’ve got.”

A few minutes later, Dorian and Lennox had finished their beers and the rest of the Exorcists had come up.  They were trailed by Mat and Markus bringing up the rear, and while the twelve strangers went into the main room to coordinate how they were going to travel, Markus pulled Dorian aside and held a silver cuff out.

“I need you to put this on.”

She eyed the device.  It looked like something you’d attach heavy chains to, thick and covered in both engravings and claw marks along the clasp.  “Me?  Like me specifically?”

“Yes.  It needs to be willing.  After that, I’m going to lift the spells on you.  Your demon will be bound by that, but you’ll be able to hear him again.”

Her stomach twisted and her fingers trembled as she reached out for the cuff.  “You sure he won’t be able to come out?  To take me over?”

“He won’t,” Markus assured her.  He put a sudden but comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.  “We’re here to see you out of this alive.  Trust us.”

She took a breath, nodding, and finally took the thing from his hand and slapped it on her wrist.  It had an automatic lock which snicked into place the moment it touched her skin.  The grip was tight, giving her a feeling of claustrophobia, and her breath tightened in her chest.

“Brace yourself, lass,” Lennox said from a few feet away.

Markus pulled a plastic water bottle of clear liquid from his pocket.  It was half-full and the liquid looked much thicker than water, an almost oil consistency.  He poured a bit on his hands, whispered something, then began to rub them up and down her arms.  The magic inside burned, heating up the cuff and coursing under her skin.  It felt like a thousand tiny ants pinching and stinging, and she heard herself crying out as the spells they cast on her unwound and released.

Her head gave a violent spin, and she almost hit the floor, but Markus caught her with a firm arm.  As he hauled her up, he clasped another cuff around her second arm and between them locked two heavy chains.

“For your protection as much as ours, my dear.”  He gave her another pat before taking a step away.

She felt shaky and tired, and waited on edge for Nic to appear.  For the moment, however, her head was quiet.  “I don’t… think he’s here,” she said with some hesitation.

Markus shrugged, then set the water bottle on the table and said, “He’ll show up.  Trust me.  Enjoy the quiet for now.  It’s going to be a long night.”

Ten minutes later they were in the caravan of cars.  Lennox and Briar were in the back of a cargo van, Dorian sitting on the floor with her back to the bench.  Her chained hands hung between her knees, and though she knew her mind was open and vulnerable, Nic was still silent.

“I feel like a pig going to the slaughter,” she said after a few minutes, and Briar winced while Lennox sucked in his breath.

“Dorian…”

“Look, Lennox, I know you’re here to do what you can, but these guys, this conclave or whatever you call it, they don’t have two fucks to rub together about my wellbeing.”  She normally wasn’t so crass, but the idea she was walking to her impending death loosened her tongue.  “Nic, whoever he is,
whatever
he is, wiped the floor with you and almost killed Dash.  I know this is something you’ve all done before, but I’m terrified.”

“You’re going to be okay,” he said, sliding down next to her.  He put his hand on her knee and forced her to keep eye contact.

Letting out a bitter laugh, she nodded her head.  “See, that’s the thing.  I know I’m going to be okay.  But you guys?  You might not be.  And if he breaks free and starts tearing everyone apart, you’re going to have to put me down like a goddamn rabid dog.”

Staring at her feet, Briar shifted, reaching into the pocket of her jeans and she pulled out a small, silver pillbox.  “I’ll be on hand to make sure it ends on your terms.  If it comes to that.”

“What the hell is that?” Lennox demanded, his eyes going wide and furious.  “Briar?”

“You know what it is,” she said and slipped it back in.  “It’s insurance.  For everyone.”

“You can’t be…”

“No,” Dorian said, interrupting him.  “She
is
serious, and she’s right.  Thank you.” She did her best to convey to Briar her appreciation through gaze alone.  She wasn’t sure how Exorcists put down demon-possessed people who got out of control, but Dorian had a feeling it wasn’t pretty or pain-free.  Whatever the demon had in store for her, these people were probably just as bad, if not worse should they need to be.

Lennox let out a breath, moving so he was sitting with her shoulder-to-shoulder and let his full weight rest against her.  It was a small comfort.  It let her know they were in this together.  This small band of three who were just looking to survive the night.

As the caravan started to slow, Dorian felt her anxiety rise, and it was in the quiet crunching of gravel she first heard it.  The soft sigh deep in her head.

“So here we are.”

The voice startled her, and it took her a minute to realize no one in the van had spoken.  Nic was there now, and making himself known.  She wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.  Was he gearing up for battle?

“Of course, my love.  I’m not going down without a fight.  I don’t want you to die.”

A small laugh escaped her, and she closed her eyes to get a quick look at his glowing form.  He was there, sitting in the shadows of her mind, grinning with his fangs exposed.  “You’re not going to kill me, Nic.  We both know it.”

“Don’t underestimate me, my darling.  And never assume.  You know what they say about assuming, don’t you?”

Dorian came to and found Briar and Lennox crouched in front of her, staring with wide eyes.  Lennox had his fingers pressed to her neck, feeling for a pulse, and she shoved him away.  “I’m
fine
.  He just popped up for a second.”

The Reaper and Exorcist exchanged startled looks before Briar spoke.  “You’ve been catatonic for half an hour.  The conclave is almost completely set up.”

The time lapse made her heart jump, pounding in her ears, and she struggled to rise with her hands bound tight in front of her.  “A half hour?  Christ, I’m glad I won’t have to get used to that for long.”

Lennox helped her upright as Briar opened the van doors, and the three of them stepped into the frigid night.  They were in the middle of nowhere, a clearing in a thatch of trees.  A fire was glowing off in the distance, and Dorian could just make out the small pinpricks of light floating up and down with the breeze from at least three dozen candles hovering in the air.

Their shoes made soft noises against the fallen leaves as the three of them walked toward the circle, and Dorian felt her heart race again when she saw the Exorcists standing in a circle around a massive pentagram made of metal chains.

She expected something a little more witchy, however.  Cloaks and hoods, glowing eyes from beyond the shadows.  But most of them were in jeans, trendy haircuts, some of the men bearded, a few of the women looking like they were dressed for a date.

But the energy surrounding them was something to behold.  The air shimmered with the magic spells, or outer universal science as Dash called it.  Manipulated energy from other worlds which humans called magic before they fully understood it.  His voice rang in her head and she felt another surge of desire to win, to walk away from this powerful and alive.

“I can’t let you do that,”
the voice in her head whispered. 
“The moment they remove the wards from this spell I’m going to take you and devour them while your friends watch.”

Dorian shook her head as Lennox let her arm go, and she stepped into the pentagram.  “Big words for a creature who says he needs me on his side.  Killing my friends…”

“Don’t fool yourself, Dorian.  These are not your friends.  These are not the people who sang you to sleep at night, healed your wounds, protected you from fates worse than death.  These are not the people who raised you to be strong.  Gave you your name.”

“You didn’t do any of those things,” she bit.  “You only provided me a life of madness and rejection.  You made me think I was insane, broken, a lost cause that would never be whole.”  She ignored the stares of the Exorcists as she laid down, and didn’t make eye-contact with a grey-haired man as he leaned over her, binding her feet with a second chain.

Glancing to the side, she saw Lennox take his place amongst the conclave, and she saw Briar pacing like an angry tiger behind them.  Knowing what was in her pocket, her failsafe, gave her more courage.  These people wouldn’t die tonight.  Even if they thought of her as a science experiment, a source for power, it didn’t matter.  They were human and they’d live.

“They won’t.”

She laughed again as the Exorcist waved his hand over her bindings, releasing the wards.  Nic waited in the shadows.  He wasn’t ready yet.  The man took several steps back until he was outside the circle, and Dorian lifted her head just a fraction, taking them all in.  This was it.  It was now or never.

“I’m ready,” she said, and before the chanting could begin, her eyes rolled back in her head and everything went black.