Micah.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” The bass in the angel’s voice calmed her. “I thought if I touched you to get your attention, I would’ve gotten hit.”
“You thought right.” After a quick glance to the house, she stretched her neck, disgusted by how stiff she’d become in only a few days. That could get her killed. Sooner or later… “Are you here to bring me donuts? I could really use a donut right now.”
“If only I had known…” Micah settled into the seat uncomfortably. Keira wasn’t sure what kind of cars angels drove, but it had to be nicer than her Hyundai. “I’m here because you called me with your whole heart.”
“Didn’t happen. In fact, I don’t remember asking for your help with even twenty-five percent of my heart.” It was one thing to get a little background from an angel for a job, but a totally different thing for him to show up unwanted on what could be the most painful day of her life. Which, by the way, was not an easy thing for a day to accomplish considering how many truly shitty ones she’d had.
“Angels do not lie.”
“Well then all those songs and clichés about the heart not lying are bullshit because I don’t need your help.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I—” She stopped when she realized she needed to tell him, to talk to someone who cared, now that the only other person who did was gone. Micah hadn’t lied—Keira just hadn’t been paying attention to her own heart.
“Davyn told me hope sometimes makes things more painful,” she said quietly. “I thought he meant I should forget about Lamere or that he was just being demonic about the idea of any positive emotion. But I get it now—he was talking about us. It’s stupid to hope for something you can’t have.”
“He was wrong.”
“No,” she said, wiping dry eyes. “He was right. Maybe not always, but… That’s why I’m here. And I guess that’s why my heart called you. Because I have to do something I never wanted to do. I kept hoping someday things would be different, possible, and I’d be able to see them again.”
“Who?”
“Them.” She glanced out the window towards the blue house with white trim and metal railings up both sides of the steps. “The window farthest right is—was—mine. They haven’t changed the curtains.” They might not have even opened them.
“Your parents.”
Keira nodded. “They’re never going to stop looking for me. Hoping. It’s too dangerous, and they’ve been doing it for too long.” She looked at him. “Will you help me?”
He looked as pained as she felt. “Angels are required to follow many rules regarding our influence in human lives.”
“Sure, makes sense. It’s my problem, not yours.”
He reached to her hand to stop her from turning the car on. “I hesitate not because I do not wish to help you, but because I can. Because I deeply wish it wasn’t necessary, that I had a reason to say no, that there was some part of your old life you could regain. That there was a way I could give you back the hope you’ve lost. Hope is what makes you human, to see something other than a future of darkness. When you were imprisoned, did you not hope for freedom?”
Her first inclination was to say no—that she’d hoped for death, but that wasn’t true. She’d wanted to live, and she still did. Not because she hadn’t looked Lamere in the eyes while she killed him. She wanted another chance to look into Davyn’s eyes. Maybe while burning to death but, hey, you can’t have everything.
Or even most things.
“When Lamere had me, all I wanted was to see my parents again and be able to apologize for being a bitch after I died on that airplane. I just needed to make sure they knew how much I loved them. It got me through, I guess. But now we both know I can’t see them again or say any of those things. I’ve been putting this off for years…because I was afraid of having no one in the world who loved me.”
“You do have people who love you.”
“I meant who still think I’m alive. A family. But it’s not fair to them.”
“You have a new family now.” Micah spoke with such confidence and calm, because he only spoke the truth. No games or lies, manipulations or twists. “The Rising is your family, and they will accept you as you are. You all are more alike than different, have seen the same horrors and proven your strength by living through them.”
“I guess you think you’re pretty wise, huh?” she asked, trying not to smile.
He shook his head. “It is far easier to watch a life than to live it. The view is much clearer from a distance.”
“Will you do it? Tell my parents I’m gone?”
He nodded slowly. “On one condition: You must hope your future will be what you want it to be and you will have what fills your heart. You will find a way or allow a way to find you. Promise me that, and I will do what you ask of me.”
It was a bad idea to make a deal with a demon. It seemed just as dangerous to promise an angel something. Keira wanted to hope. She just wasn’t sure she could. She was a survivor, not a dreamer, or even an idealist like Addison.
Addison. The leader of the Rising had a major setback and felt responsible for a lot of deaths. She’d lost hope too. Knowing Keira had anything at all in common with her hero shocked her. What if there was more? What if that was the answer?
She turned to Micah and looked him straight in the eyes, not an easy thing to do with an angel. "Okay, I promise, but only to try because that’s all I can guarantee. Is that enough?"
Micah smiled and nodded. “All any of us can promise is that we’ll try.” He opened the car door and stretched his long legs as he got out and walked across the street.
When the front door opened, Keira slid down farther into her seat and waited, biting her lip. She didn’t look, couldn’t risk it even though it was almost unbearable not to peek. She would’ve given anything to just see her parents again, hug them one more time. Say goodbye.
She hadn’t felt this lonely since being kept by Lamere. Since then, she’d been alone by choice, relying only on herself because she was the only person she could count on. That wasn’t true anymore and hadn’t been true for a while, actually. She had a family in the Heights. Shit, she had an angel on speed dial. And for a brief time, she’d had that stupid asshole of a demon who was probably somewhere learning how to hate her right now.
‘In time your parents will heal,’ Micah whispered in her head, ‘and so will you.’ Keira peeked over the steering wheel to see him look at her, nod, and walk into her old house to tell her parents to stop hoping. ‘Remember your promise, hunter.’
She would.
“I need to see her.” Keira dropped her knife into Graham’s lap. Good thing it was in its sheath, or he’d really have had something to glare about. “We can fight about it later.” She didn’t have time right now.
He took out his phone and, after a few hushed and grumbled back-and-forths, gestured to the door. Then he went back to his book.
“Hey!” Addison was in the main room, sitting in a gigantic armchair that made her look like a little girl. She was pale, and her eyes were red.
Keira held up a hand to stop the dat vitae from asking how she felt, what was happening, and a billion other things that directed attention away from herself. “Addison, I say this with the utmost respect and admiration, but you need to suck it up, get off your ass, and move on.”
Addison’s eyes grew. “That was you being respectful?”
“You didn’t kill those seers or the humans. A demon did. You can’t control other people or much of anything at all, so stop trying.” She took a quick breath, knowing she was nearing the end of her courage and needed to hurry to get it all out. “Yes, there’s danger. There will always be danger, but that’s why we’re here—so we don’t have to face it alone. Nobody. Not the seers or our leader. That’s what you do for us. You give us hope and, I’m sorry, but if you give up then we’re all going to give up, and that can’t happen.
“We lose our fa
milies when we’re drafted into the Heights,” she continued. “The Rising gives us another family, a bond, people to rely on. So you need to deal with your shit until you can start hoping again. For all of us.” She took a deep breath, trying to remember anything she’d said. Adrenaline had taken over there for a little while, so it may have been closer to a parental lecture than an inspirational speech. Good thing she wasn’t the leader.
Addison was silent for a little while. Then a long while. “You’re a lot braver than I am.”
“That’s—”
“It’s true. Just like everything else you said, especially about us being a family.”
Keira nodded. “A beautifully dysfunctional one.”
“I think you may have just saved my life again, hunter.” Smiling, Addison motioned her over to the couch. “If we do this, really do it, together like a family, then we’re going to need a minivan. Primarily because I would pay serious money to see Graham driving a minivan.”
Keira sat down with her idol, the prophesied savior of their kind, and made plans for a future she still wasn’t sure she would have.
Thirty-Five
Keira pretended to sleep, just like she had every night for an entire week. No amount of jumping sheep can trump the knowledge that someone is coming to murder you. What if his re-forging took weeks? Months? She couldn’t live like this, constantly on edge, afraid. She used to think she wasn’t afraid of anything anymore, and maybe that had been true then. But it wasn’t now. Hacking Davyn up, and throwing him into the ocean, was never going to happen, but if Lamere had taught her anything, it was not to give up. Actually, he’d taught her a lot of things, but that was the only good one.
Physically, she was safe—a salt circle could keep a demon in or out, so the one around her meant Davyn couldn’t get to her. Since she’d lost her appetite and could only force down so much, she had enough food, but her supply of water was running low. And no one delivered to this area.
It was no use hiding, so she’d chosen to stay at his place. Besides, if they fought here, no one would get caught in the crossfire and he wouldn’t burn any buildings to the ground.
Fail to plan, plan to fail—her father’s favorite phrase. She didn’t know how true it was, but she was going to find out. There was more salt in this place than in the Dead Sea. Two-inch lines on the ground in various parts of the apartment, along with hundreds of feet of rope she’d soaked in heavily salted water formed a kind of web that would block off certain areas and lead him where she wanted him.
She counted the loops again—two near the headboard for the wrists, two at the foot of the bed for the ankles, and one for the neck that she hoped she wouldn’t need, because a rope around the neck seemed especially cruel. The pulley system checked out. Was she ready? As much as she’d ever be. If this part of the plan actually worked, did she know what she would do next? Yeah. Yeah, she did.
She stood when she heard a bump. “It could be anything.” Whatever it was growled. “Like a really big cat.” She crawled under the rope web, trying to get a better view. No need. He came to her.
Oh, shit. Ready or dead, here he comes.
“I thought you’d be smart enough to run,” Davyn said, shaking his head and scowling. “At least make it a little bit of a challenge.” It was as if he had two voices, his own and another just underneath it, an unearthly hiss she could feel move through her body like poison.
He’d been one of the biggest people she’d ever seen, but now he was undoubtedly the most intimidating. He was still just as beautiful as she remembered, but the clench of his jaw and the darkness in his expression were new. Keira was almost afraid to meet his eyes—just looking into them might scald her.
All the power he’d once used to love her, he would soon use to fight her. Except she didn’t plan on fighting back. She’d never be able to overpower him or even touch him, so if the web didn’t hold and do what she needed it to, she’d burn. The twenty feet and about ten lines of salted rope that stood between them, intersected and overlapped like the scars on her body—protecting her.
When he got to the ropes, he laughed, wiping his hair off his forehead to get a better look maybe. “Okay, that was mildly smart.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Did you miss me, puppet?” His voice was low, almost a purr. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know.” Not for lack of trying, though.
“I’m just here to do my job. The one I didn’t quite finish before I went back.” He paced a line back and forth along the rope wall, and while the movement seemed casual, Keira knew he was looking for a clear path in. Somewhere he could fit through without feeling the burn of the rope. “It would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to yell. Come over here, just to talk.”
“If you just want to talk, why don’t you come over here?” She struggled to keep her voice strong. Whatever she was feeling inside had to wait. She ignored the part of her that had hoped just seeing her would magically make something click in his head, and he’d remember everything and turn back into who he’d been. Fantasies and memories could both get her killed.
“Look, this is about priorities, puppet. My boss wants Lamere. You were useful bait, so come on out and do it again. Let’s put all our personal feelings aside until the job’s done.”
“It’s already done.”
“Really? Shit, I was looking forward to that.” He cocked his head. “Okay, hang on. I need to think of another excuse to get you close enough to kill.” His laugh was damned, horrible, so unlike the Davyn she knew. “So I’m supposed to what? Wait until you come out?”
“No, I know how impatient you are.”
His gaze tracked the lines the entire time they spoke, searching for weakness. A demon can always find a loophole. He’d find it soon—she was counting on it. His smile grew as soon as he spotted it, a flaw in her design.
“Oh, puppet. Do you really think I can’t handle a couple rope burns?”
“Wait! Don’t. Please, don’t.” She knew he’d mistake the warble of her voice as fear. It wasn’t. It was a reflection of how incredibly horrible it felt to see the man she loved and wanted look at her with such hate, such disdain, and know it might never change. She tried to control the thoughts, but they wouldn’t go away.
With two strides, he stood in front of the opening she’d left for him. In two more he’d be caught, like a spider in a web. As soon as he stepped into her trap, she yanked hard on the line leading to the pulley system. Ropes came at him from every direction, smoke lifting from the burns they created on his skin. He cursed and tried to pull himself out, but the more he fought, the tighter they got.
His eyes darkened in anger and pain when he realized he couldn’t break free. “How the fuck did you—?”
“The saltwater I soaked them in. It was blessed. Not an easy task, by the way.” In fact, it was something only an angel could do. Micah’s touch meant the rope not only hurt like a bitch wherever it made contact with a demon’s skin, it also bound the demon above the crust. Their rules forbid them from directly affecting human lives, but thankfully, blessing a few gallons of saltwater didn’t count. Equally fortunate was that Micah requested she not tell him exactly what she planned on doing with the water.
“Well, you’re a smart little bitch, I’ll give you that.” He pulled each line wrapped around him, testing each separately, always looking for weakness. “I’m still going to burn you alive, but now I’ll have even more fun doing it.”
He struggled for a few minutes, laughed unpleasantly, and then struggled again. The more frustrated he got, the louder he hissed under his breath. When she finally decided he wasn’t faking and he really couldn’t free himself, she came closer.
“Seems like I’m the one who’s going to have fun,” she teased. When he lunged for her, she knew exactly how far he could reach, how far she should stay back until he was completely strapped down.
“Going to keep me tied up forever?” His expression and voice softened whe
n he realized she was in complete control, but she knew it was just a different tactic to try and get what he wanted. “It hurts, puppet. These ropes hurt bad. You don’t want to hurt me, do you?”
Shaking her head, she focused on her plan, looping ropes around his wrists and loosening others from farther away, forcing him to move towards his bed. It took ages, hours of listening to him curse at her and call her names. She ignored him the best she could, reminding herself this wasn’t him—who he wanted to be.
His words weren’t his. They were hell’s or the Devil’s, but not Davyn’s.
When he understood where she was leading him, he laughed. “If you wanted to sit on my face, you could’ve just asked, puppet.”
Keira yanked on the rope tied to one of his wrists. He hit the bed and fell on top of it.
“What’s the plan here?” He pulled against the ropes, but between the blessing, the elaborate pulley system, and her entire body weight, nothing happened. “Keep me strapped up for the next fifty years? Chop me into bite-size bits? What?” He waited for her to answer, watching her tie off each line. “Keira?”
Hearing him say her name stopped her, made her meet his eyes with her own, something she’d avoided because looking at him was painful.
“Keira, listen. I’ll make you a deal. You know I never break a deal.”
She held her breath and came closer, hoping he’d say something to let her know that her Davyn was inside there somewhere.
“If you let me go,” he said calmly, “I’ll kill you a little faster than I want to.” He yanked with all his strength. The rope slid through her hands, burning the skin of her palms. Thankfully, she’d over-prepared, been overly cautious, and had used rock climbing carabiners so the ropes could only move in one direction. He jerked when they caught.
Once his wrists, ankles, and waist were strapped down, she completed the circle of salt and stood back to breathe.
“Damn it! You know somebody is eventually going to find me. I’m the demon the Prime comes to when he needs something done, and that guy needs a lot done. I will get free. And understand this: The longer you keep me here, the less gentle I’m going to be when I take you apart.”