She was like him now, but she was still a seventeen-year-old virgin, and nervous about what he had in mind. “The mark … I don’t know that it will work.”
“We’ll see.” He gave her a patient look. “When you’re ready, we’ll see. Come with me, Jordan, and don’t be afraid.”
Standing, she went to him and stepped into his arms, accepting his kiss with no hesitation. This was where she was supposed to be. She knew that now. He had her scent. He’d known, all along, as she didn’t, that they were meant to be together.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, but I can’t just disappear.”
“I have a plan.”
“You always have a plan, don’t you?”
“Yes. Always. Do you want to take anything with you?”
She looked over her shoulder at the rabbit, then turned back to Eryx. “No. Nothing.”
NINETEEN
SITTING IN FRONT OF THE DYING EMBERS OF THE FIRE HE’D built and rebuilt three times, next to a tray of food and drink Mathilda had brought hours ago, Key stared up at the portrait of himself and his brothers that hung above the mantel in his room. The clock on his bookcase chimed the hour. Midnight here; two a.m. in Washington. Why hadn’t she come? Why had she never answered his calls and texts? He was worried about how it had gone with her father. Andy Ellis was a decent, honest man, but he was under a tremendous amount of stress, and learning his daughter had punched a guy at a dance might have set him off.
Maybe she’d been too upset to talk about it right away.
He thought of what now lay in the cooler and hoped that whatever had passed between her and her father had been resolved. That she’d told him she loved him. Because she didn’t know it yet, but she was going to die in her sleep tonight, the victim of an aneurysm, a congenital defect she’d been born with.
After what happened at the dance, his brothers and Sasha had insisted, and he’d agreed. She was suffering in the real world. She needed to be here, where everyone knew what she was, where she was safe from Eryx, where she could be with her sister. And with Key.
So he’d waited for her to be done with her dad, to come here, to him, and he would tell her it was over. He’d tell her they were back to planning a takedown during her memorial, for all the government people, as well as the kids from school. Anyone who was a no-show would be taken out later, individually. He had a feeling she’d be relieved, even while it made her sad.
But as the hours passed and he had no word from her, he became more anxious. He was about to pop into her room to check to see what was going on when his phone dinged, signaling the arrival of an e-mail. He picked it up from the side table, hoping the message was from her.
It was.
He read and reread it, over and over, but it always said the same thing. And the last line never changed. She wrote this, but didn’t hit send. I did. I’m sorry, son. ~M
Shaking violently, he dropped the phone. His chest hurt. He couldn’t swallow. Swiping his arm across the side table, he sent the dishes and cold food flying. He surged out of the chair and flew around the room, hurling furniture through the windows, smashing priceless Chinese vases against the wall, chunking books into the fireplace.
Sweet Christ, he couldn’t bear this. He couldn’t.
Staggering to the destroyed windows, he leaned into the freezing snow and screamed until he was hoarse. He didn’t know anything could hurt this bad.
“Kyros.”
He wheeled around and saw Phoenix standing in the midst of the wreckage, Key’s phone in his hand and horror on his face. “Now you know.”
Until that bleak moment, he had never understood his brother. Now he did. Now he knew.
“Your whole life, nobody ever loved you like I do.”
Falling to his knees, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.
TWENTY
FOR MAXIMUM ENERGY, IN A LONG-STANDING PRETAKEDOWN ritual, they ate as much as possible, and today, as fast as possible, then convened around the onyx M in the front hall. Each of them held a box of plastic explosives, and Jax held the detonators. He grimly looked around the circle. “Is everyone completely clear on what you’re to do?”
They all nodded, except Zee, who said, “I still think it’s dicey to blow up Erinýes. There’s no reason to do it other than revenge, and it’s going to take time, which means more opportunities to be discovered by Eryx’s Skia. If he realizes we’re there before we’re ready for him to know, he’ll take Jordan somewhere else and we’ll have to start all over.” He looked at Key. “Time is all important, and what you plan to do won’t make any difference if she’s already crossed the line. No way she’s getting into Heaven if she’s helped him take a soul.”
“She’s been with him ten hours, at the most,” Sasha said, “and they haven’t left Erinýes, I know, because I’ve been holding on to my mental search ever since I found out what happened. It’s not like he’s going to go hunt down a convert when he just got her there.”
Zee shot a fast look at Phoenix, then said, “There’s also the possibility he’ll try to mark her, which may or may not be possible, but once she’s taken that step, getting her back to God might be a lost cause.”
Hands gripping the box, Key forced himself not to think about Jordan with Eryx in that way. It was horrible enough thinking of her kissing him. If his mind went anywhere else, he’d lose it again. “This will work, Zee, and it’s not just about revenge. You saw the text he sent me.” His blood was still boiling. “He’s so pleased with himself for having the ability to trick an Anabo, comparing it to Lucifer’s temptation of Eve, he’s certain he’s close to being powerful enough to confront Lucifer. He has to know that he’s not. We have to show him he’s nowhere close, because if he openly declares war, it’ll be chaos and anarchy of biblical magnitude. Humanity will suffer because he’s still tied to the world, and the only way he can draw Lucifer out is by trying to destroy it.”
“And you think blowing up his castle is the way to show him he’s not ready to take on Lucifer?”
“It’s that we can, Zee. You went there and saw for yourself that he’s allowing everyone in the castle to slack off. He’s so cocky right now, he thinks we can’t touch him. He thinks we’re afraid of him. We have to make it real clear that he’s not as powerful as he believes, and he won’t win if he calls Lucifer out. Stealing Jordan and blowing up Erinýes will do that.”
Zee shifted the box he held and said, “I wish to God what she tried to do had worked.”
“We all do,” Ty said, his voice hard. “But it didn’t, and we owe it to her to get her out of there, to save her from what she’s become.”
Jax began a count.
On three, Key transported back to Romania, back to Erinýes, his mind filled with thoughts of the last time he’d been there. He’d found her in that disgusting bathroom, wigging out about the roaches, and knew she wasn’t going to be anything close to what he’d expected. She wasn’t as afraid of Eryx as she’d been of the bugs. She was strength and courage, wrapped up in all girl.
He materialized in the library and quickly set the plastic, affixed the charge, then moved across the hall to the billiards room and set another. Most of the Skia were in the great hall, dancing to hip-hop tunes and getting crazy drunk, but one occasionally came his way and he ducked and hid as they passed. He stealthily worked his way down the hall, and set the last charge in the dining room, then stepped away to slip his mask across his face. He could already hear gunfire coming from the other side of the castle. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his switchblade, then swung the assault rifle around from where it’d been riding his back.
In the hall, he moved through quickly; any Skia who wasn’t already passed out from inhaling the canister gas Zee and Sasha were dropping across the castle he shot. If one came at him before he could get off a shot, he plunged his blade into their heart. Some of them rallied enough to get pistols and rifles, but other than a hit in his arm, Key managed to make it to Eryx
’s bedroom without wounds.
He kicked the door open, threw a canister inside, then followed it, repeatedly firing the rifle, taking no chances that Eryx would get away from him.
They were sitting at a table in front of the fire while a Tchaikovsky waltz swelled the air. Jordan’s skimpy black dress just matched her dead, black eyes. Eryx looked genuinely surprised by Key’s appearance. He was so obsessed with her, so sure of her, he’d assumed Key wouldn’t come after her.
He was dead-ass wrong.
She lunged from her chair, but before she could run, he shot her. Eryx raised a handgun and fired, but the shot went wild because he was losing consciousness. Key shot him, then shot him again.
Sliding the rifle to his back, he bent and picked Jordan up from where she’d fallen to the floor. Turning, he left as quickly as he’d come, and half ran toward the front of the castle, leaping over unconscious Skia, then through the open doors, and down the steps to the grocery truck Ty had commandeered from the village ten miles away. He handed Jordan up to Zee, then jumped in and removed his mask. Jax was right behind him, and Phoenix was last, leaping toward the truck as they sped away.
Fifty yards from the castle, Ty stopped and they all jumped to the ground. Key took Jordan from Zee and laid her across a stack of boxes, then joined the others.
Jax handed each of them a detonator. “On three.”
They punched the remotes and felt the ground shake while they watched Eryx’s castle explode, blasting everyone inside to bits. They were immortal, so they’d be back, but it would be a while. It took several weeks to come back from being blown to pieces. And it would take months, even years, for Eryx to rebuild and replace what he’d lost. When he came back, he’d know the Mephisto had won this round. He’d know he wasn’t ready to take on Lucifer.
Key climbed into the back of the truck, sat on a cabbage crate, and settled Jordan in his lap, holding her against his chest. He tried not to think about bluebells, or how she no longer carried their scent. He tried not to remember her beautiful twinkling eyes. Or the sound of her breathless voice in his ear while her soft hands wandered across his body. He tried not to think of any of that. He had to stay focused.
Another five minutes and the truck passed through the gates that marked the edge of Eryx’s land, freeing them to transport again. As they slowed, he looked across at Phoenix, who solemnly looked back at him. He didn’t need to say anything. Key knew if he’d had the choice Key now had, he’d have done it. He looked at Sasha, who was sobbing. He looked at Denys, who said, “I’m glad you’re my brother.” His gaze moved to Zee, who lunged across the space between them to hold Key’s face in his hands and kiss his forehead. “I love you,” he whispered before he disappeared.
He looked to where Ty was standing behind the truck. His tallest brother swallowed hard and said, simply, “Good-bye, Kyros.”
Finally, he looked at Jax. “You’ll make sure Mariah is safe?”
He nodded.
“You’ll be oldest now. You’ll be the one who leads. Keep these filthy animals in line, understand?”
Jax gave up trying not to cry. “I’ll miss you all the rest of my life.”
Key looked down at Jordan’s beautiful face, clutched her a little tighter to his chest, and disappeared from Romania.
He materialized on the frozen, narrow road that ran through the village in Yorkshire, near the moors, only a few miles from where they’d lived all those years. He wished it was springtime. He wished he could have shown Jordan the bluebells.
Turning, he looked at the small, Gothic church he’d passed so many times, but had never stepped inside of. He glanced at the adjoining churchyard, where stones in a weighted casket were buried beneath Jane’s marker. She was buried in the countryside, where Phoenix could visit her, away from holy ground.
As he started to walk toward the doors of the church, Jordan began to regain consciousness. He slowed to a stop and watched her eyes open. She looked up at him accusingly. “You shot me.”
“I had to get you away from Eryx.”
“But I don’t want to be away from him, Key. He caught my scent, did you know?”
Eryx had even lied about that. “You thought you could save him, didn’t you, Jordan?”
She closed her eyes, as if she couldn’t stand to look at him. “I don’t know why, because I realize now that he doesn’t need saving. He’s been right all along, Key.”
Stay focused. Don’t let it get to you. She’s out of her mind, and it’s not her fault. He resolutely continued toward the doors of the church.
She opened her eyes, saw where they were headed, and immediately began struggling to get away. “No, Key! We can’t go in there! We’ll die!” She tried to get her arms free so she could hit him, but he held fast to her small body and climbed the three steps that led to the doors. Without a free hand, he concentrated on the oak, on the hinges, on the old iron locks.
Slowly, the doors opened. He could see dark wood pews marching toward the front of the church, to an altar with a cross hanging above it. It was dusk on a Sunday in Yorkshire, and no one was inside.
She began to cry, begging him not to do it. “Please, please, don’t do this! I’ll come back to you. I’ll do whatever you want!”
He stepped across the threshold and immediately felt heat travel through his body.
He kept walking and mentally closed the doors behind him, even as his clothes caught fire.
Jordan was hysterical, fighting with all her strength to get away from him. “It hurts, Kyros! Have mercy!”
He reached the steps that led up to the altar and fell to his knees.
“Why?” She sobbed against his shoulder, her body stiff with the pain of the flames consuming them. “Why do you want to kill me?”
“Because even though you’ve lost Anabo, you’re not yet lost. Not until you do what he does. I won’t let you cross that line. I love you too much to let you become what he is.”
Her sobs were heartbreaking. “You can’t love me! Can’t you see what I’ve become? The Mephisto in you has to despise me.”
She was suddenly too heavy, and he laid her down and rested his weight on top of her, as much because he wanted to feel her against him one last time as to keep her from escaping.
Although she was past that now. She was dying.
As darkness began to shadow his vision, he felt her arms circle his neck and heard her say against his ear, “Please, forgive me.”
“I will always love you,” he thought he whispered, but maybe he didn’t. He wasn’t sure his lips worked any longer. He waited for darkness to come, to relieve him of this agony, but it never did. He knew when Jordan’s spirit left him and he was alone, but he didn’t feel the ache of it in quite the same way. She must surely be with God now, where she belonged.
The horror of burning to death lingered, and just when he was sure he couldn’t take another second, he felt arms slide beneath them and lift them up, and heard a soft voice murmuring comfort and love. Still holding Jordan, he was laid on something soft and cool. Something that smelled of bluebells. Gentle hands smoothed his brow and cradled his cheeks, and his vision slowly returned. He blinked up at the face above him. “Mana?”
She smiled and ran her hand through his hair to hold his head. “It’s been harder for you than the others, Kyros, and here you are, at the end, and it’s still more difficult. You have to make a choice. Will you come with me, or stay behind and continue to lead your brothers?”
He turned his head and looked at Jordan, whose face was no longer burned, but as smooth and perfect as the first time he saw her. Her eyes were closed. “I want to go where she goes.”
“Even if it’s to—”
“Even there.” He looked up at his mother. “Please tell me that’s not where she’s going.”
“No, Kyros. She lost her way for love of you, imagining she could change Eryx to be how you remember him. And now you’re both on the other side because you loved her enough to sacrifice your
self and bring her back to God.” Her smile was joyful. “You’ve fulfilled the Mephisto Covenant, and you can choose Heaven now or return to your brothers and live a life that will bring you back here at the end.”
“Does Jordan have the same choice?”
“She’s been asked, and says she will go where you go.”
“When will she wake up?”
“When you decide.” She cradled his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. “If you keep this knowledge of me only in your soul, you’ll never forget. If you speak of it, the memory will dissolve. Either way, I pray you’ll always remember how much I love you, Kyros.”
“I love you, too, Mana.” She’d always been beautiful, but the light of divinity in her awed him. “I never noticed how much Zee takes after you. From now on, I’ll see you in him.” He realized she was fading. “Why are you leaving? I haven’t told you my decision.”
“Yes, love, you have. Your brothers … you’re an unlikely shepherd, Kyros, but there is none more devoted.”
“Good-bye,” he whispered, but she was already gone. His vision fully returned, and he saw that he was in Jordan’s room in the Mephisto house, with Jordan still wrapped up in his arms, lying on her bed, which was covered in bluebells.
She stirred, and when her eyes opened, they were blue once again. “You chose to come back,” she whispered. “I’m glad.”
“I love you, Jordan.”
“Most guys send flowers to show how they feel. You died to save me.”
“Yeah, I’m a master at subtle gestures.”
She nuzzled his neck. “Did you meet Mary Michael?”
“She never said her name.”
“Was she wearing a Woodstock T-shirt?”
“Come to think of it, she was.” He smiled. So the Anabo angel was their mitera. He wondered if she was who M asked to make the plea to God for more Anabo. Had they broken all the rules of Heaven and Hell to bring more Anabo into the world? He’d probably never know, and maybe that was best.