Chosen Angels Page 16

  Chapter 23

  “Hi,” I said brightly to a porch full of black-clad warriors. Which probably made me sound like an idiot. Hunters weren’t usually bubbly. “Come on in. You must be dying in the heat. With all the leather.”

  Well, that definitely sealed the idiot thing.

  Calla gave me a considering look, but held up her hand to stop her goons. I glanced past her, counting. Six Hunters on the porch.

  Hunters she was leaving to sweat, apparently. She swept into the house. She glanced past me into the room where my sister still slept on the bed, and then turned as if she were taking in the quiet, empty house.

  “Where’s your mother?” she asked.

  I wanted to know how the hell she knew my mother was usually here. I stared back at her without answering.

  She turned back to her Hunters. Tanner and the other young one, Luke, stepped inside. They wandered into the house. Turner paused in the door to my sister’s room, glancing in at her and the machines; Luke headed for the back of the house, conducting a quick search like he was clearing the place of dangers. Both men, who were striding through my house as if they owned it, set my teeth on edge.

  “Let’s sit,” she said, walking further into my house herself. She glanced around the dining room, looking at the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that wrapped around the room. The long table was half stacks of books, half set for dinner; my mother had arranged honeysuckle from the bushes behind the house in a crystal vase on the table. Calla touched the delicate flowers, her fingers gentle, as if she were trying to breathe in the scent.

  Then she pulled out a chair and sat. She held her hand out, inviting me to join her at my own damn table.

  I pulled the chair out, its feet dragging across the hardwood. I sat down on the edge of the chair. I crossed my arms in front of me, resting my elbows on the table. I was sure I looked as tense as I felt.

  Meanwhile, Calla leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. She was all grace, even in leather.

  “I’m going to be to the point,” Calla said. “I like you, Ellis. You remind me of myself when I was a kid. I don’t want any harm to come to you or your boys.”

  I stared back at her skeptically. Levi was on my mind, Levi staggering with blood running down his face. Levi pinned by Nash, refusing to yield. Calla looking on, her face serene, as Nash slammed his fist down into Levi’s face yet again.

  “You remind me of myself when I was stupid,” she said, her voice warm. “But that’s to be expected at eighteen.”

  “Thank you,” I said, my voice even, because I was sure Calla thought comparing me to herself was a compliment. “But I don’t think of myself as stupid.”

  “You wouldn’t.” She nodded. “If you didn’t think of yourself that way, we wouldn’t have an overconfident teenager problem, as my friend put it so well.”

  “I’m literally the only teenager around,” I said.

  “Except for your demon boyfriend.” Her deep blue eyes bored into me, no matter how much she smiled.

  “He’s dead,” I said. Which was no lie, although it was certainly an oversimplification.

  “And the witch you’ve got stored in a closet downstairs,” she said. “Or are you not counting Dani?”

  My stomach dropped. I wasn’t sure what the rules were about taking prisoners like Dani.

  Her smile froze on her lips, staring at me, inviting me to answer. The silence stretched between us.

  I knew she was holding out, waiting for me to answer, and my mind raced.

  Tanner leaned in the doorway. “They’re really racking up the bodies around here. Not just the sister anymore. The demon’s upstairs in a bedroom like he’s taking a nap.”

  “What is it that you came here for?” My voice sounded as tight-strung as I felt at the moment.

  “I came to help you,” she said. “That’s the purpose of the Council. We guide the Hunters. Left as disorganized lone wolves, the Hunters would never succeed in beating back the forces of Hell.”

  I nodded. How did she know Dani was here? Did the McKennas tell her? Or was it possible that Maria worked for them?

  “Speaking of. Where are your boys?” she asked.

  “I have a question for you,” I said. “When you say you’re here to guide. How does that include making one Hunter fight three?”

  She smiled at me tightly. “Just because you’re reluctant to take guidance, doesn’t make it wrong.”

  “So you were punishing us all? Making us watch Levi get his ass kicked?”

  She traced her fingers across the grain of the table, as if she were bored with our conversation. “Are you and the McKennas reconciled now?”

  I stared back at her, reluctant to answer that question.

  She didn’t look up, but her lips ticked up slightly in response to my silence, as if she were amused. “You’re welcome.”

  “So you’re saying that your mediation worked.” I said. “Even though Levi almost died.”

  “Don’t be melodramatic. You’re going to have to get used to Hunter ways.” Her eyes locked on mine. “You’re one of us now. Whether you like it or not.”

  Olivia’s face appeared in the doorway behind Calla, just for a second. Her eyes met mine, and she shook her head. Calla didn’t look in her direction, leaning back in her chair, but I had a funny feeling that Calla knew she was there. Olivia stepped back into the shadows.

  “Tell me what happened with Dani,” she said.

  Shit. I didn’t know what would possibly get us in trouble with the council.

  So I went with bald honesty. “You know, the whole we might punish you but it’s for your own good thing doesn’t make me feel that chatty.”

  “You might find yourself in that ring soon yourself,” she said lightly. “Just because I like you. I want to see you get your head on straight, Ellis.”

  Nothing to say to that. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling as if I were bodily holding myself together. I stayed calm and quiet when I wanted to explode.

  “I’m going to hear Dani’s side,” she said. “Although I don’t take kindly to people trying to kill my Hunters. So why don’t you go ahead and tell me your side first?”

  “Are you going to hurt her if you don’t like the story?” I asked. Turner’s screaming rose in my ears again. He’d been consumed by absolute terror as he was dragged out by Calla’s men.

  Calla smacked her hand on the table in exasperation. “Would you stop trying to outsmart me? Just tell me what happened.”

  Reluctantly, because I didn’t feel like I had a real choice, I told her the story of waking up at night, only to find that Dani had put a spell on my boys and Olivia. Calla nodded, and asked several questions about how Dani’s spell had worked through the runes. I couldn’t answer all her questions. She sat back in her chair, clearly frustrated that I didn’t have all the answers. And frustrated that I hadn’t even thought of some of these questions.

  “You have a lot to learn,” she said.

  “I’ve noticed. I am trying.”

  Calla smiled, and suddenly I felt just as stupid as she’d said I was.

  “What were you planning to do with Dani?” she asked.

  “She’s not a bad person,” I said. “She’s under the influence of a demon or witch or something. We were going to fix her.”

  “You were going to call the Council?” She prompted me.

  “Yes,” I said. “I just didn’t have your number.”

  “Oh, a misunderstanding,” Calla said. “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I said.

  I needed to get this woman out of my house and away from my boys. I needed to get into the Far. But I didn’t aim to tell her anything more than I had to. If she realized we were trying to save Nim, she might try to stop us.

  I didn’t want to go to war with the Council.

  “We’re going to take Dani with us,” she said. “I’ll have my mage work with her. He can certainly reverse the spell.”
>
  I felt a surge of relief. It would be a good thing not to have Dani imprisoned in our basement.

  “I was worried you were going to kill her.”

  “We’re the good guys,” she said. “Close enough, anyway.”

  I flashed back to Turner’s store. We’re the good guys, Ryker had assured me. Are they? He had shrugged. Close enough.

  Maybe they had been able to hear us, even though we had thought they were gone. But how did they know so much about what was happening in our own house?

  “I’m glad to have your help,” I said. Which was true, but it was also humbling to say. I wanted to soften her. “I realize now we were stupid not to ask for your help right away. But I have to wonder. Did someone tell you Dani was here?”

  “Oh, Ellis.” Calla’s voice was warm and teasing. She rose from her chair. “Lead on. I’ll call my men and we’ll get Dani out of your hair.”

  Shit.

  But there was no way around it, so I led Calla and her men down the stairs into the office. Olivia sat in the office chair nearest them, frantically flipping through a book, looking for a spell. When she heard the heavy feet behind me, she stood up, her eyes wide, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t.

  The boys still sprawled across the floor, their faces innocent in their sleep.

  Calla raised an eyebrow at me. “You should get back to them.”

  “I know,” I said. “I will. As soon as the witch is gone.”

  I didn’t specify which witch.

  “Go now,” Calla said. She sounded exasperated. “You’re their strength. You can’t leave them alone.”

  I didn’t want them to see me talking to my half-dead sister—Calla already knew far more than I wanted her to know—so I cast a desperate look at Olivia and stepped into the triangle of the boys’ bodies. I sank to sit cross-legged as Olivia slipped around a beaded, heavily-armored man who side-eyed her the entire time. She made a quickly mumbled excuse to him, and then managed to dash up the stairs without being stopped. She would talk to Ash’s body here on my behalf.

  Calla knelt over Ryker. Her fingers walked over the collar of his t-shirt, as if she were looking for something, and then she drew the pendant out from under his shirt. She looked at it curiously.

  Her back was to her men, blocking them from seeing what exactly she was looking at. I wondered if that was purposeful.

  Calla looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine, and she winked.

  I stared back at her, perplexed, as she tucked the pendant back into Ryker’s shirt. She smoothed his t-shirt over his chest.

  “I’d tell you to stay out of trouble,” she said. “But it would be counterproductive, wouldn’t it? You’re destined for trouble.”

  “That sounds like the worst horoscope ever.”

  “Astrology’s never been my strong suit.” She stood and turned to her men, gesturing toward the bookcases. They moved quickly to the hidden door. “But I am a pretty good judge of character.”

  The bookcase doors clicked open.

  My sister was beside me. I could feel her, even though I couldn’t see her. Her fingers wrapped around mine.

  I fell.

  Chapter 24

  I stood alone under the shaking trees.

  Night was falling in the Far. Dusk crept down from the sky in the colors of a bruise: purple, blue, a dark, painful shade of yellow. Here in the trees, it was dark, and I started forward for the clearing I knew would be there.

  Nim’s voice was low in my ear. “Ellis.”

  “Nim.” I stopped in my tracks, touching my ear, as if I could hold his voice.

  “Are you here? In the Far? Samael is in far too good a mood.” His voice was low and sexy, even though he sounded urgent.

  “Rescue mission,” I said. “You’ll forgive me later.”

  “Listen to me. It’s too dangerous. You’re giving Samael exactly what he wants.”

  “I’m not.” I crinkled my nose, although he couldn’t see me. “You’re part of our family now, like it or not. We won’t leave you behind.”

  “I’m a demon in Hell. I’m where I belong.”

  “No, you’re not.” I folded my arms over my chest, trying to block out the cold washing over the Far. The sun was setting, far faster than natural in our world.

  I wound through the endless rows of identical trees, acutely conscious of the need to find my boys ASAP.

  “Not a demon or not where I belong?” he demanded. “Because I think either case would be hard to argue. Go home.”

  “Not a demon,” I said. “Youngest son of an exceptionally fucked-up family. Moderately dead. Not really a great boyfriend—”

  “I didn’t get a chance to show you how good a boyfriend I could be.”

  “Only date so far was to visit a medium, and you tried to trick me when you read my cards. I didn’t even get dinner.”

  “Also, I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend.”

  “But you want me to be.”

  “Cocky,” he accused me.

  “Say it’s not true.”

  “Ellis Landon,” Nim said softly.

  “Yes, Nimshi?”

  “In the very unlikely event that I manage to make it out of Hell and reverse my mortality, would you go on a date with me?”

  “Depends. What do you have planned?”

  “It depends?” he demanded. “I can’t exactly look up concert tickets from here, Ellis. I’m chained to a rack.”

  “You seem to be taking it well.” I didn’t know how he could be glib and playful in the breaks when he wasn’t being tortured. The thought made my stomach squeeze.

  He hesitated. “I tortured people, Ellis. It’s not… anything that I don’t deserve.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “No.” His voice was very soft now, so low I could barely hear him. Our conversation felt intimate, as if his breath should have stirred my hair. “I think there’s more to having a soul than I realized before my parents stuffed it in a box. I think having a soul means owning what you’ve done.”

  “You have to promise me you won’t give up,” I said. I didn’t fully understand the Far, but I did know everyone chooses their path through it. They chose Heaven or Hell for themselves. Nim might have been forced into Hell, but he still had to be willing to fight to get back out. “You won’t let them convince you that you don’t deserve to leave Hell.”

  “I don’t care if I deserve to or not, sweetheart.” His voice was low and sure. “I’m coming home to you.”

  “Good.”

  “Myself,” he said firmly. “You need to stay safe. Go back.”

  “You know what someone told me today?” I asked.

  Nim sighed.

  “Someone told me that I’m an idiot,” I said. “An overconfident teenager. And an idiot.”

  “You’re not an idiot.” Nim said. “Do you want me to hurt them?”

  I smiled slightly. “From there?”

  “Touché. It’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t mind,” I said. “I am an idiot, sometimes. I was an idiot for thinking that you betrayed us to the Company.”

  “It’s what you saw with your own eyes. Believing that doesn’t make you an idiot.” He exhaled slowly, and I wished as I heard his slow sigh that I was wrapped up in his arms, as close as it felt like we should be. “I’m sorry for what I said. You didn’t have any reason to trust me.”

  “I had my instincts,” I said. “My instincts said I should trust you.”

  “Yeah? And now I hope your instincts are screaming to get out of the Far before Samael finds you.”

  “My instincts say, take whatever measures are necessary to get your demon boyfriend out of Hell so he can take you on a date. I’m expecting something really awesome, by the way. Romance. Music. Chocolate.”

  “An actual request that you be my girlfriend?” he teased.

  I didn’t have to hear his voice to hear things change in the pause; his breath quickened,
and I could swear I heard his heart beat faster. That wasn’t just because I made his heart beat faster.

  “Run,” he whispered. “Please.”

  And then he was gone.

  I was alone in the woods as the last of the sun faded from the sky.

  But I wasn’t going to run.

  Chapter 25

  I reached the edge of the forest, and in front of me, I saw a man running down the path. The other pilgrims I’d seen wandering lost in the Far had been slow, uncertain. But this guy’s arms pumped wildly, his feet raising sandy plumes along the path.

  I ran across the grass toward him. Something here was bad news. I had to help him if I could.

  As usual, the Far was eerily quiet. I barely heard my own feet moving through the long, soft grass. Then a low, keen whistle bubbled up in the air.

  A wraith slammed into the man from above and drove him down into the ground. He rolled end-over-end, and the wraith bounced over him, pinning him with its talons to the earth. It looked as if it was grinning as it cocked his head, its leathery lips frozen into a skeletal smile. Wraiths were not particularly cheerful, but that was the happiest wraith I’d ever seen.

  “Easy, girl.” It was my sister’s light, happy-go-lucky voice.

  I froze. Ash didn’t see me. She rested her hand on the wraith’s twisted shoulder as she passed it, kneeling next to the man that just had been brought down.

  “You’ve walked between those two poles one time too many,” Ash said to the man. “You really want to turn into a wraith like Pam here?”

  He buried his face in the sand, as if he didn’t want to look at my sister.

  “I’m not criticizing, Pam,” Ash said. “You’re beautiful in your own way.”

  Ash took his face in her hands and gently turned it, forcing him to look up, at her and at the cloudless sky above. “You can’t stay here. You have to choose Heaven or Hell, and let me tell you, if you belonged in Heaven, you’d already have walked on in.”

  He made a sudden attempt to get up and run, scrambling to his feet, but Ash kicked his legs out from underneath him. He grunted as he went down, and she straddled him, tying his arms behind him.