02 Awaken-The Soulkeepers (37 page)

I knock softly and barely have time to lower my hand before Dante pulls open the door, beaming at me.
“Buon Natale, cara mia!”

I give him a perturbed look and then remember that Ka has been overly friendly. I have to pretend that I’m her, and the irony is pissing me off. “Merry Christmas to you, too, Dante.” I smile pleasantly. He grabs my hands, kisses both of them, and then pulls me inside. He hugs me tightly, and I force myself to return the affection.

“I am so glad you came,” he whispers, and then leans back and spreads my arms to look me up and down. He seems pleased but frowns, as though I’m lacking something he wanted to find.

“I can only stay a minute,” I say, moving away from him. I look around the place to ensure that nothing nefarious is lurking in the shadows. Just Vaughn peeking around a high-backed chair before a blazing fireplace.

“Hey, Sophia! Come closer. Get comfy.” He seems too happy for my taste but I stroll over. Dante takes my hand and I look sharply at him. He’s smiling from ear to ear, and I think,
Good Lord, what has Ka been up to?

“Care for a drink?” Vaughn asks, standing and gesturing toward a sideboard lined with crystal decanters. He’s being awfully polite for the Demon of Affliction.

“Oh, no thanks. I’m cool. So … why are you two in such high spirits? Dine and ditch somewhere?” Maybe joking will ease my nerves.

Dante frowns but Vaughn says, “More like cut and run.” He waggles his eyebrows, and then laughs at my appalled expression. “Just kidding.”

“Oh.” I smile tentatively and look at Dante. “Um, I can’t stay long. You know I’m going to the dance with J.D. so …”

“Yes. I remember.” His face grows dark, and I feel the need to explain that I accepted the invitation before he’d returned to Haven Hurst. He seems to understand but is not happy about it. He guides me closer to the fireplace. Dante is agitated by something but trying to pretend he isn’t. “Well, before you spend the evening with that boy, I wanted to show my appreciation for what you did.”

Crap.
What does that mean?

I scramble to remember everything Ka has told me. Dante fidgets and rubs his left arm. His chain tattoo must be bothering him again.

“I very much enjoyed your first memories, Sophia. And I’m looking forward to hearing more. You did promise, after all.” He gives me a pointed look and I nod.
Ah, it’s just the field of flowers
. “And so, I thought perhaps I could do you a favor. To continue the quid pro quo that you spoke of?” I step back, nervous, but Dante grabs my hands. I feel his anxiety building. He’s up to something.

He tells me that he’d like to help advance my training. “Vaughn has located some
entities of a certain nature
, that you could spar with.”

“Monster demons?” I think of the creature Michael and the other candidates took down. Surely not.

“They won’t be too gruesome. But, Sophia, if you truly want to learn to defend yourself, you must face your enemies. And I say it should be sooner rather than later.”

Rama’s words come back to haunt me.
Face your fears
.

My heart is pounding. This isn’t what I had in mind, coming here tonight. “Tea with demons” meant setting things straight with Dante. Now it seems that I have to face “entities of a certain nature.”

But Dante is right. And Rama is right. The only way to uncoil my damned spiritual energy is to face my fears. To fight them head-on.

I take a deep breath and nod. Dante breaks into a smile. Then he grasps my head, kissing me hard on the mouth. I’m stunned. There’s no time to react because he turns away, dragging me with him.

We march down a long hallway, through a vast unused kitchen, and up to the back door where Vaughn is waiting. I’m shocked to see him there.
Fast little bugger
.

He looks me up and down and says, “What do you have?” and I say, “Huh?”

“She has no weapons,” Dante says in a brisk tone.

Oh, that’s what he was looking for earlier.

Neither seems happy about this but Vaughn opens his coat and removes a long knife and a large dagger. He shoves them into my hands. They are huge and heavy. Then he opens the back door and we all walk onto a porch.

Snow is coming down and it’s dark. I’m wearing the new black Russian peacoat that Ka thought I would like. I wrap it tightly around me. It’s not warm enough, but then I didn’t expect to be outside tonight.

Dante hits the porch lights and illuminates a sea of whiteness across the yard. We take a path where someone else has gone before the last snowfall. The footprints lead us to the edge of the forest where disheveled gray headstones rise out of the snow like rotten teeth. Dante tells me this is the cemetery that was moved from the town square several hundred years ago. I am to kill anything that rises from the graves.

“Are you freaking kidding me? I thought maybe one of the lesser demons in town could—”

“And have them tell the others who you are? No. I think not. You must learn to defend yourself, Sophia. I’m merely putting a face to your enemy.” He nods to Vaughn, who then rears back and throws a dagger at one of the gravestones. It’s impaled between the names C
HESTER
and B
ROWN
. Nothing happens at first but then gradually the headstone splits down the middle and falls apart. Black smoke rolls up the fissure, taking
the shape of a man. He is stooped and demented, with claws where hands should be. His head is bald and hideous, and he has gray shredded skin and red watery eyes. His lips are gone and show black gums with jagged teeth. There is no nose left, only two holes that leak black liquid.

Poor Chester Brown has been demonized for my benefit, but I have no room for pity. I’m freaked as hell, and I flail backward in the snow. His head swivels around and his red eyes widen with interest. I’m the one who disturbed his death, and he comes at me, stomping through the snow. He’s faster than he looks, and I wail for Dante. Somehow, he and Vaughn are back at the mansion, watching from the safety of the porch.

Chester swings a stiff arm, knocking me to the ground. I’m still in shock from the nightmare I’ve walked into and don’t see it coming. When he claws at my legs, I act on instinct, rolling in the snow, barely escaping. I’ve left the knife somewhere in the snow, so I scramble to my feet, clutching the dagger with both hands. I’m shaking hard. Chester comes at me again, and I take an awkward swipe at him. I connect with his left arm. It breaks off at the elbow, spinning away and spewing black blood. He’s not deterred but stomps onward as I scramble and fall in the snow.

A zipping sound grabs my attention, and then a crack of stone. Another dagger splits another headstone and more black smoke rises. Then another headstone falls, and another. Vaughn is releasing all the demons, and I’ve yet to destroy the first one.

Chester swings his right arm at me but I dive behind the last remaining headstone. Beyond Chester is a grotesque creature lumbering toward us. Naked and slimy, it has yellowish green skin pulled tightly over its bones. It has no ears but twitches and jerks, making its bug eyes rattle in its skull. It rakes the air and throws itself around.

More come, all hideous and spastic. Some have wings while others have claws. I’m helpless, dodging them. I slash and run and try to remember my training. What little courage I have is enough to destroy the bug-eyed one and another demon that is blind altogether. Chester tears off the remains of his left arm and swings, hitting me in the shoulder. I fly backward and land hard in the snow. Stunned. I have no weapon left, and the demons pounce. I throw my arms up and scream …

I feel nothing. No claws. No bones beating me. I open my eyes, lower my arms, and catch my breath.

Standing over me is Armaros, the frosty guy I met at the Borderland with Mom. Armaros is a towering figure in gray and white; he has a blond beard with two small braids in it, and is armed like an ancient knight. Although he has a timeless and compassionate quality to his face, he is scowling at the moment.

“What is going on here?” he bellows at me. I flinch and gingerly sit up. Dante and Vaughn appear behind Armaros with grim expressions. When I don’t answer, Armaros swings around to them. “You have risked her life for a game!” he shouts at Dante.

“It was no game, I assure you,” Dante says dispassionately. “Sophia must learn to defend herself if—”

“That is not your concern!” Armaros charges. He raises a sword and points it at Dante. “You have overstepped your bounds, Demon Knight. You have conjured the dead for your amusement and nearly gotten her killed!”

I climb to my feet and jump between them. “Hey, wait just a damn minute!” I yell at him. Armaros startles at my own little outburst. I push his sword down with my fingertips and stare defiantly up at him. “Dante and Vaughn are helping me learn to defend myself! And besides, why is this any of
your
business? Huh? And
where
do you come from anyway?” I flail my arms and snap my fingers at the night sky like a spastic idiot. “What? You’re just floating out there? Lurking? Popping in whenever? Wherever? What are you, hovering around watching me? Huh? Answer me!”

“Your mother asked that I keep watch over you, Sophia.” His voice is gentle and devastating to my anger. I implode at the mention of Mom. I remember how she smiled at Armaros when she introduced us at the Borderland. Whoever Armaros is up there, he is someone Mom trusts.

My face falls and I swing around to Dante and Vaughn. They look paralyzed with shock that I’ve spoken to Armaros like a spoiled brat. I’m feeling kind of ashamed myself.

“Is this true? You are helping her complete the trials?” Armaros asks. Vaughn marches over and retrieves his daggers from the headstones.

“Yeah. But she ain’t gonna ring hell’s bells, I’ll tell you that much,” he grumbles.

I clench my teeth.
Yes, I failed, miserably. Thank you very much for pointing that out
.

Dante is quiet, and I feel I’ve disappointed him yet again. I’ve disappointed everyone. Rama said I should face my fears. I did, and they kicked my ass.

Dante gulped down his drink and then hurled the glass into the fireplace with a terrific shattering display. It was the last of five he’d destroyed, and Vaughn handed him another. Alcohol was liquid fire to demons and helped fuel their rage. Dante wanted the fire, wanted the rage burning in his gut. He was furious that Armaros had interfered again, but truth be told, he was more furious that Sophia had failed. She wasn’t ready to kill or defend herself as she should be. And she had fled too quickly for him to convince her to try again.

Not that Armaros would have allowed it. His presence was still a mystery. Dante hadn’t accepted his explanation for watching over Sophia as easily as she had. Her mother may have made the request, but that didn’t explain why the infamous Grigori had agreed to do it. No, there was more to Armaros, and if time would allow, Dante wanted to find out what.

Time. Something he had far too little of at the moment.

“Damn thing won’t stop itching,” Vaughn said, scratching his green chain tattoo. He lifted his sleeve and inspected it. “Does yours feel like it’s shifting under the skin?”

Dante clenched his teeth and nodded. For the past few days, his tattoo tether had been writhing as though the chains were coming to life. It was a sign that their time was running out.

“Where is the underling?” Dante asked, and Santiago walked in from the game room. He was sweating from a twenty-four-hour nonstop session of Black Ops.

“Right here,” he said, looking at his phone. “Just got a text from Wexler. Wolfgang passed through the gate … three days ago.”

“What!” Dante yelled. His eyes flared yellow and began to split. He wanted to rip something apart. “Three days ago! He could’ve swooped in and killed Sophia without us knowing he was here!” He started after the kid but Vaughn grabbed him.

“Hey, it’s not his fault. Intel comes when it comes. You know that. Besides, Sophia was just here. Wolfgang hasn’t gotten to her. He might not even be in Haven Hurst yet.”

“
We
made it here in less than three days,” Dante reminded him. He pushed
Vaughn away and stared into the blazing fire, contemplating. “No, Wolfgang is here. And if I know him, he’s been watching her, biding his time until he can kill her at the moment she completes her Awakening.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not famous for his patience,” Vaughn muttered.

Dante’s head snapped up. Vaughn was right, of course. Dante had been foolish long enough—attending school just to keep an eye on Sophia. He’d loved that her memories had started to surface; he’d felt the change in her. It was a long time coming, and he’d just wanted to enjoy her affection for a while. But now the risks were too high. Sophia was not ready to kill Wolfgang. Dante’s only recourse was to take her to Hell with him. Now. Before time ran out and he was dragged back down without her.

Dante spun away from the fireplace and marched across the great room, heading toward the giant staircase.

“Where are you going?” Vaughn yelled, hard on his heels.

Dante stopped halfway up the stairs and looked down. “I am changing into something more appropriate for a formal dance.”

“Now?” Vaughn bellowed.

“Sophia is with that boy, and I mean to cut in on their dance.”

“And then what? Boogie till the cows come home? You’ve got mad timing, Dante.”

“Timing is the mad device pushing me right now. We will be yanked back down any moment and you know it. But I plan to be prepared. I will dance with Sophia in my arms, and when the tether is activated, it will pull both of us back to Hell.”

“And what about Wolfgang?”

Dante’s eyes narrowed. “If I were to spare a moment hunting Wolfgang now, as I’m sure would please Lord Brutus, I would lose Sophia, again. But if I can bring her to Hell without killing her, the other members of The Order will be more forgiving. Imagine their delight in having a future spirit walker safely tucked away in Hell?”

“You want to take Sophia to Hell and
then
finish her Awakening? Turn her dark in private so she’ll bond to you, indefinitely?”