Death (21 page)

Lorri's grim face splits, "Have I ever told you I love
you, Aimee? I love the ass kicking bitch you've become." Aimee beams.
Lorri turns around looking at us all, "She is right. We got fuck all to
lose. So Jonathan wins. If we're dead we aren’t here for the Armageddon. Fuck
em. Let's just do the best we can and see what happens. What have we got to
lose?"

Sam grins, "You coach a lot of basketball Lorri?"

She looks at him for a moment and then breaks into a
gut-blasting laugh. I'm scared. I've never seen her like this.

Giselle whispers, "Home girl got herself a piece of
ass."

I snicker, "Fo sho."

"We run it the way we practiced. This is going to be
typical. Stay together. Don’t attack until we know for sure." She stalks
off. I wait for Sam to lead us the other way. Aimee, Ben, Aleks and Giselle go
with Lorri.

I look at Sam, Lucas and Shane and sigh. "Only girl. I
hate my team. I miss Ari." I pout. Lucas rolls his eyes but Sam and Shane
both watch me. Like predators.

Sam snaps out of it and turns and walks the other direction. I
stay close to him and Lucas phases and stalks behind me. He stays close. Close
so Shane can't.

"I think putting me with you was a bad idea. You smell
sweet."

I look back at him but don’t have to say anything. I see it in
his face. He's the Shane from before. The sweet one who loved Aimee more than
anything. Sam looks back, "It isn’t real dude. She's hardly even nice let
alone sweet. Trust me on this brother."

I shove Sam.

Shane laughs and Lucas nudges me.

"So is Giselle single still, even though now she's all
badass and crazy?"

"She is, but Luke's brother has dibs on her. We respect
dibs."

Shane laughs, "Gotcha."

I like him. I can't fight it. We walk though a field behind an
estate. Sam looks at me. I nod.

I look at Shane and whisper, "Dude, this is about to get
horribly painful. You'll want to attack me and be very vigorous in the loving.
I need you to stay here. I need you to fight it. Like Sam said, it's fake. I'm
going to pull the bracelet off and see if you can take it, okay?"

He takes a breath and nods, like I'm going to punch him in the
face. He rolls his shoulders, "Do it."

I take a breath and unsnap the bracelet. Sam jerks at me. He
stops himself. Shane does the same and then his fangs pop out. He puts a hand
up to his mouth. Lucas stands in front of me and growls at them. Both men stand
there, wrestling their inner demons. I snap it back on and they relax
instantly. Sam sighs loudly and leaves to scout ahead, like he always does.

"Wow, that'th potent." Shane breathes hard. His
fangs hang in his mouth. "Thorry. I can't thtop them."

I laugh and remember Giselle.

"Okay, I'm going to do it when we get inside and it's
going to be bad but you have to focus on the baddies okay?"

"I got thith. I'm tho thorry I killed you before too. It
wath an acthident. I promithe. I don’t even remember it."

He is so cute I could eat him alive. I blush and shake my
head, "It's cool. We got way worse drama than that 'round here. Not to
mention the fangy apology is adorable."

He moans and shakes his head. Lucas rubs against him and makes
the wolf chuckle.

Shane rubs his eyes, "I feel thleepy."

I grin, "It's the sun. Duh."

He frowns, "I go out in the thun all the time back
home."

Sam is back, "Sun here is stronger. Marcus settled in
Portland for a reason. The sun makes him feel a bit weak. You being his royalty
can go out in the sun like him. But it does weaken you when it's direct and
hot. Weakest time of the day. This is why you guys stay on the west
coast."

Shane nods, looking disinterested.

Sam sighs again, "They got a lot of baddies. Mostly human.
So, Hanna you got that right?"

I grin, "Oh I got that." I can feel the beast
hanging in the background. She is looking for a fight.

We walk through the gate at the back of the property where the
bushy garden is. The lilacs smell amazing. I shake my hair and roll my
shoulders as we cross behind a garden shed of sorts. The estate is stunning.
Flowers and gardens and stone pathways. The house is huge. It reminds me of the
Tudor but it's made from white washed bricks that are huge. The roof has the
terrace garden balcony railings. I wonder what's up there. I turn to the front
of the house and see something amazing. I gasp and gush, "Oh my god. It's
like the lake out front of Mr. Darcy's house in the newer Pride and
Prejudice." The words leave my lips before I realize who I'm with. They
look at me like I'm insane. Even Luke.

I roll my eyes and snap a picture of it and send it to Aimee's
cell. She hates me but she has to agree it looks exactly the same.

"Put the phone away. Sweet friggen god, you're going to get
us killed."

It's my turn to roll my eyes. I storm past them, stalking up
the side of the house. There are huge garage looking things in the bottom of
the house on the side where the land slopes. They look old and creepy. Of
course Sam walks right for them. We sneak into the dark and wait. I see a man
walk past the garage opening with a gun. I look back at Sam. He nods. I unclasp
the bracelet. The man turns, smiling. I walk to the entrance of the dark. He
grins and licks his lips, "Hey Sexy!" He has a thick French accent.
He grabs at me. I spin him and snap his neck. My beast rages. I drag him into
the darkness. I clasp the bracelet and grin, "One down."

Shane is gripping Sam and panting. His fangs seem bigger than
before. A small trickle of blood leaves his lip and drizzles down his chin.

Aimee

"Do you think Shane is safe with her?" I can't help
but worry. He's still my friend.

Lorri puts a finger to her lip and drags a man into the
bushes. His semiautomatic weapon is tossed aside, we don't need it. She bites
into his throat, ripping and tearing. She wipes the blood off her face and
licks her hands clean. He didn’t even get a scream out.

We scout the far side of the garden, where we can see Sam and
the others creep into a garage of sorts under the mansion. Men are flocking to
the side of the house. In the distance we can see Hanna's strawberry blonde
hair glistening in the sunlight. She is ripping off heads. I grimace and glance
back at Giselle. She is wearing the same expression as I am.

"That's nasty. Why do the baddies always have to be in a
house somewhere? Why can't it ever be a bridge shoot out, or a high speed
chase?" Giselle asks.

I snicker.

Lorri looks at her incredulously, "Because we wink and
flash and move faster than the human eye…"

Giselle nods, "Right. Still kinda boring sometimes. Sneak
into the house. Kick down the doors. Kill the people. You know?"

I pat her on the back, "The faster we are done this, the
faster we are done. Right Lorri. Roses will be done?"

Lorri looks at me and nods once, "In some ways."

Ben nudges Giselle, "You know you don't want it to
end."

Giselle grins at him and laughs a throaty sound. "I am
going to eat you up if you keep giving me that look."

His smile grows, "Promise?"

"Stop fucking around." Lorri stalks into the lilacs
and rose bushes. She points to the roof of the house, "We wink there
now." She grabs Giselle and goes.

Ben looks back at me, "I am going to get killed staring
at her."

I raise an eyebrow, "Phase." He leaps in to the air
and shifts into his wolf. He puts a paw on my hand and we wink to the rooftop.
There is a full garden up here.

"Wow. I wanna be rich one day."

Lorri sighs and walks to the door. She holds up her hands.
Three. Two. One. She opens the door. I wink ahead and scan the bedroom at the
bottom of the long narrow stairs. A man is in there sleeping with a rifle next
to him. I suck him hard and fast. His red blood sprays the wall behind him.

I turn to see Aleks snapping the neck of the man who was
shaving at the sink
in the next room
. Ben
creeps ahead of us. I'm ready to wink and grab him and take him back to the
rooftop. I can't do his death again.

He leaps into a doorway and snarls. A muffled scream breaks
out. He comes back with black blood spread across his muzzle. He nods his wolf
head at me. I roll my eyes.

Lorri and Giselle are ahead of us. A woman jumps at Lorri.
Light flashes from her hands. Lorri is shot back but winks back behind the
girl. She rips her head right off. I gag a bit. Giselle covers her mouth.

The body slumps to the floor. Lorri tosses the head into the
room and winks in after it.
 
She
comes out licking her fingers, "This floor is nothing but a barrack?"
She whispers. "I don’t think they're here."

I shake my head, "I know. Remember the house where Ben and
Aleks died. I'm scared it’s the same idea. Let me wink through and see what it
all is."

Lorri nods, "Back in two."

"Two."

I wink down the stairs to the stair I can see. I peek my head
out and glance down the hall. I wink to the far end of one hallway. I rapidly
wink to each door. My winking eye starts to tire, but I see nothing. On the
other side of the stairs there's a huge living room and a fancy office. I wink
so fast the people sitting or talking don’t see me. I wink back to the stairs.
A man is coming up them. He opens his mouth. I grab him and wink to Port
Mackenzie. I snap his neck and leave him on dead on the ground at the secret
beach. I wink back to France. I end up at the bottom of the stairs to the
basement. I smell it there. Something familiar.

Angels.

I look past the creamy white wall to see Jonathan speaking to
a group of men, "They're contained on the third floor. Detonate in two
minutes." He turns to a lady and nods, "You need to stay here and
make certain it goes off. Shield yourself and these guys. I'm going to get the
other guys out."

He is gone. I wink to the woman and wink away. It's done in a
flash. I'm at Marcus's house holding the savagely fighting witch by the throat.
"MARCUS!" I scream.

The woman blasts me with lightning. It stings and burns.
Marcus is there, tackling her to the ground. His fangs drop.

"NO!" I scream again. She grins at him. He stops
himself but she flings him to the wall.

I wink her to his lab. I toss her and wink back out again.

He points at me down the hall, "Did you just put a bad
witch in my lab?" His accent is thick. Cockney almost.

I take a deep breath. He snarls, "Aimee, I'm going to
kill you." I wink to the third floor of the house in France and send a
text to Sam at the same time as I shout, "LILACS! WINK TO THE
LILACS!"

Lorri grabs Ben and Giselle. Aleks and I are flashed as I
press send. The smell of the lilacs is everywhere. I sigh, when I see everyone
else just behind us, until I hear a scream blast across the extensive grounds
of the mansion.

"AIMEE, YOU MEDDLING LITTLE BITCH! WHERE ARE YOU? I KNOW
YOU'RE HERE!" Jonathan storms across the garden. He screams and grabs a
man next to him. He sinks his fangs into the man's neck and bites savagely.

He points in our direction, "You are dead." The
house blows behind him. We all flinch and duck, as pieces of the mansion are
scattered everywhere.

"I know it was you. You little bitch." He is
snarling and snorting. He stomps closer. Lorri stalks out, almost sauntering.
She is laughing.

He puts a hand out to her, "Just join me. Just join me
and end this. Can't you see he doesn’t give a shit? He never did. HE DOESN’T
CARE ABOUT YOU OR ME OR ANY OF THEM!" Red spit flies from his mouth with
every word.

She just crosses her arms and watches him spazz like a drama
queen.

"Lorri don't do this. Don't force my hand."

I walk out of the lilacs and grin at him, "How did you
know it was me?"

His blood stained lip lifts, "I could smell you
everywhere. You little bitch. Where did she go?"

I laugh, "Somewhere only I've been. No one else knows
what it looks like inside and it's so protected you can't get out without some
kind of CIA assistance. Even then I'm not convinced she'll get out."

He laughs, "I wish you had just joined me from the
start."

I glance at my phone and see the picture Hanna sent me. I send
my response. Hatred fills me as she comes walking out of the woods alone. I can
hear the wrestling behind me. Giselle is no doubt holding them all back. I like
to hope she doesn’t have to hold back Aleks.

Jonathan's face turns sharply. A grin crosses his lips,
"Why hello." He sounds so charming. He looks it, even with all the
blood splattered across him.

Hanna waves coyly, "Hi." She bites her lip. He
flashes and they're both gone.

"SAM!" I shout. He grabs my hand and Lorri's and we're
off. It's a horrid feeling. I gag as we bounce in the flashes. We stop and I
swallow my stomach's contents. It's much worse when someone else is driving the
boat.

I shiver and follow them down the dark hallway.

Lorri's nails glisten. I've only ever seen her fight with them
a few times. They're hard as a diamond and sharp as a razor.

We follow the trail. The smell of Hanna. The tension is
pouring off Sam. He looks back at me, scaring me with the look on his face. His
eyes are completely black, like Ari's always are when she's crazy.

We are under something. It's dank and gross. The hallway is
dark and made from stone or old brick that’s worn and smooth. It smells like
the water at Aleks's house. Old and musty. A scream rings out in the air. We
run, winking ahead.

A dim light flickers in the hall when we round a corner.
Shadows move. I am nervous for Sam. I know Hanna is basically indestructible,
but that means nothing in our world. Everything changes.

Lorri looks into the doorway and then back at us, "Tristan
and another woman."

Sam smells the air, "Lillith." He whispers.

Lorri looks confused, "I've never seen her. I don't know.
She was always with the Fae. They never liked me."

Hanna screams out again. Sam almost walks in, but I grab his
arm and shake my head. Lorri winks us back to the lilacs. The group has waited
for us.

"I think he's got her with Lillith and Tristan.

Sam's eyes light up. "Oh my god."

"What?"

Sam swallows, "Remember how I gave my blood to the bad
witches and Oliver saved me and took it back. He said they could control me if
they had it. He said I was never to give my blood away."

My stomach sinks, "Phillip took Tristan's blood."

"What if Lillith is bad? What if all along the hostage
thing was fake? My mom loves him, Jonathan. She wasn’t a prisoner like we
thought she was. What if Lillith isn’t either? What if she is using him to get
the magic back?"

Lorri rubs her hands on her eyes and shakes her head,
"Why? Why would she lie to the blue sisters and Henry and everyone else?
Why would she pretend to be on the Fae's side if all along she was in it with
Jonathan?"

Sam shakes his head, "What if the act wasn't an act? What
if this was all part of the plan?"

Giselle crosses her arms, "Well, Adam did rape her in the
garden and God's punishment was giving him another wife? Like dude. I would
have smoked his ass with lightning, not given him another chick. Then he goes
and tells him that shit ass story about the rib. Like bitch please. I am so not
second to any man."

It's the smartest thing she has ever said.

I grab her head and kiss her. Lorri looks like she has been
kicked between the legs. "Oh my god. Sweet Jesus. All along. She played
Jonathan. She made the evil. She did it on purpose. She never was going to let
us have the magic back and end her and Jonathan. All of it was an elaborate
plan. He was probably forcing the pregnancies on her to get the magic out a
little bit at a time. He has spent all this time trying to get the magic. They
have a power struggle for the same outcome." It feels like the end of a
Murder She Wrote episode.

My voice is equally as hollow, "Except Ari. That must
have screwed with things."

"I feel so dumb. How did she trick Lydia's magic and
Annabelle's and O's?" Aleks looks at Lorri, who is now stunned in silence.

I watch as something changes on her face. Slowly, her eyes
become bloodshot. Red veins fill them, until they take over and all of the
color is consumed. I didn’t even think she had red blood. She looks at me,
"They mean to sacrifice him and take back the power. His birthday is
almost upon us. Jonathan weaseled the power out of Lillith, one baby at a time
and we fucking put it all into Tristan for him. Now it's just a race for
whoever can get it first?"

I shake my head, still mesmerized by her eyes, "Why? What
does the magic do?"

"Tips the balance." Her words are a whisper.
"We need Henry." She is gone.

We stand in the garden of the burning mansion and look at each
other.

"I don’t get it."

Sam crosses his arms, his face is still burning with anger.
"The balance is everything. The prophecy's about the end of days are about
the tipping of the balance, in the favor of the darkness."

Lucas whines and rubs against me. I sigh, "Just switch
back. This isn’t Lassie. I don’t know what you're trying to say."

"I do." I look up to see Henry standing beside
Lorri.

Henry looks paler than normal. I've always seen him as a
proper English butler in a bowler hat. But now his ageless face looks dazed and
sickened. He licks his lips in spurts, "He is right. Fae holds the
balance. It was our job. It is why Lydia was right. If I murder Marcus before I
would have taken in the darkness. As of now my soul is pure. I am part of the
balance. Lillith's magic was given to each of her babies when she gave birth to
them. The magic was never hers. It was always ours. She called it into her to
fill the void of the pain and the suffering. The reason our king wouldn’t go to
her wasn't that she wasn’t pure in virginity, but because she wasn't pure of
heart. She was the darkness in the balance. Too much light is the same as too
much darkness. But we believed her to be on our side in it all." His
accent is so weird I can't even place it. His English is terrible.

I feel lost and not just because I've never heard Henry
actually form real sentences before. It would take the end of the world to make
him say whole paragraphs.

Giselle chews her lip, "So, uhm. I don’t get it. Are
Jonathan and Lorri working together or not?"

Henry shakes his head. His eyes are lost. He's been tricked
too. "We always believed she wanted to stop Jonathan. Not ruin the world
with him. Always believed she was sorry for what she took."

I interrupt, "Is it possible Jonathan doesn’t understand
what she is going to do?"

He nods, "Yes."

Lorri interrupts him, "No."

Henry ignores her and continues, "He is seventh angel of
god. He was good, until he let the darkness take him."

Lorri sighs, "We don’t know whole story. We know he loved
her or lusted after her power anyway. We know he coveted her magic and powers.
The problem is the prophecies come from them. She is the oldest thing alive and
the strongest."

"Not while Tristan has the magic." Sam says.

Aleks sighs, "Which ends tomorrow."

Giselle looks sick, "What does it look like if the evil
tips the balance?"

Lorri shakes her head, "We don’t know exactly. All we
have is Revelations as a best estimate."