Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10) (26 page)

The merfolk had agreed to meet with us in an underwater grotto near Kanaloa's house. I had a much easier time of it, mainly because we weren't so far beneath the surface this time and there weren't any big marine life swimming by, thinking of making me into a snack.

We also had full scuba units with communications devices attached to the masks. Kanaloa provided them for us so that we'd actually be able to speak to him while underwater and have a more thorough conversation this time. I ended up leaving my breathing pearl at Kanaloa's house, tucked into my tote. On top of all that, Gruach wasn't even there. She had to go back to Faerie because of the time difference. She was concerned over spending too much time away from the source of her magic.

So it was only the three of us waiting in the dark cave, our underwater flood lights piercing the watery shadows. We were the first to arrive and it was a little creepy in the cave so I admit, I went a little stir crazy.

“Hey, Kanaloa,” I said. “Gimme some fin,” I held out my foot to him and he laughed, tapping my fin with his own.

“
Really, Vervain?” Trevor laughed. “A
Finding Nemo
quote?”

“
Grab shell, Dude,” I giggled.

“
No, please stop,” Trevor groaned.

“
Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you've gotta do?” I continued.

“
No, I don't wanna know,” Trevor shook his head and I'm still not sure if he knew that he was actually feeding me the right line.

“
Just keep swimming,” I sang. “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.”

I was flapping around in a circle, impersonating Dory, when the merfolk showed up. Trevor and Kanaloa laughed their asses off at my embarrassed sudden stop and flail maneuver that I executed when I saw them watching me. The merfolk had a larger group than us but not by much, there were six of them. They looked a little surprised to see our gear(or maybe it was lingering shock over my fish dance) but then Kanaloa started using that sign language again and they nodded.

The merfolk looked pretty mad and on those alien faces mad looked scary. Kanaloa spoke with them for a few minutes and then translated for us. The merfolk told him that they'd had to dismantle several sonar devices and had barely avoided being spotted on numerous occasions. They were seriously considering going to war.

I looked around the gathering and realized there were only males meeting with us. They each held items that resembled diving spears, long sharpened poles with woven rope attached to the ends. My Uncle Danny used to use something similar when he went spear fishing but his had a rubber cord at the end which helped launch the spear. I wondered how theirs worked. Either way, those poles were nothing against bombs and guns.

“Can you tell them that we're working on the problem above water?” I asked Kanaloa through our radio communicators. “That we've found one culprit but are investigating to be sure there are no others before we make our move on him?”

“
I'll tell them,” Kanaloa's voice came over the earpiece in my mask. He made some more gestures to the merfolk. “They say that the longer they wait, the greater the risk becomes that a sonar will slip by their sentries and cause great destruction.”

“
We understand that but to attack one man without knowing if there are more behind this could mean losing the chance to catch the others,” I swam forward until I was within touching distance of the other merfolk. “Can you ask them to do that mind-meld thing again?”

“
Sure,” Kanaloa chuckled. “Mind-meld, huh?”

“
Well you tell me what it's called,” I huffed.

“
It's just a form of telepathy,” Kanaloa shook his head, “but mind-meld works. Hold on, I'll ask them.” He made some more gestures and one of the merfolk reached out a hand to me.

I slid my palm over his, prepared for the tingling sensation this time and the mind that linked with mine. I showed him what I'd seen of Gabriel, not only the situation in which he'd impersonated a Navy officer but before that, in Shehaquim. I showed the merman what he was up against, the angels.

His face grew very still and I could sense his horror at what I'd showed him. I knew the angels would seem monstrous to them, their power of flight alone would be enough to make the merfolk wary, but the weapons they had at their disposal and their magic, were what truly made them terrifying opponents. And that wasn't even including what they could make humans do.

I nodded and we separated our palms, the presence in my mind leaving abruptly. The merman turned to his fellows and began speaking to them in their language of trills, clicks, and whistles. He moved his hands up and around him and I was pretty sure he was describing angel wings. The other mermen were visibly upset, heads shaking and fists clenching. Then the one I'd spoken to turned back to us and spoke with Kanaloa.

“He asks how you will defeat these winged beings.” Kanaloa said. “I've told him we have magic to rival the angel's and that we will fight on behalf of the merfolk.”

“
Good,” I nodded. “Tell them that we will find as many as we can who are behind this so we can stop it once and for all.”

Kanaloa nodded. “They've agreed to let us handle it for now but they'll continue to destroy any sonar that they see.”

“Fair enough,” I nodded at the mermen.

“
Please tell them that they're not alone in this and we will not desert them. We
will
stop these attacks.” Trevor added with a vehemence that startled me.

“
I've told them,” Kanaloa said after signing to the mermen. “They're grateful for our alliance but say that they will defend themselves if necessary.”

“
I expected no less,” I gave the mermen one last nod and they nodded back before swimming away.

“I'm going to Shehaquim as soon as we get back to Pride Palace,” I said to Kanaloa and Trevor as we made our way up the beach to Kanaloa's house. We were carrying our masks and fins, looking like any normal scuba group. “Maybe Luke's found something else-”

The air whooshed out of me as I was picked up and lifted into the air. I was thrown about, everything going topsy-turvy for a moment while my hands were pulled together and cuffed. As soon as the metal touched my hands, I lost contact with my magic. It was such a horrifying feeling, like being suddenly blind, that I lost my ability to think. I just hung there limply as I felt my gear yanked off and then watched it fall away. By the time I was right side up and thinking straight, Trevor and Kanaloa were mere specks on the beach beneath me and the gear was splashing into the ocean.

I began to fight, turning my head to try and see who was behind me. It was an angel but one I didn't recognize. He had short blonde hair and soft brown eyes that looked on me sweetly. He even smiled but the smile sent shivers through my stomach and I got the distinct impression that he would look just that way as he beheaded me.

His wings beat strongly through the air, white with stripes of light gray patterned through them. I was about to beat my fists into that smiling face, when he lifted his hand and revealed a syringe filled with sparkling fluid. It was in my neck before I could react and I was falling into a very familiar lethargy.

Net.

I felt the transition of us entering the Aether and it was the smoothest journey I've ever made. We exited in moments and I was completely relaxed, not even a gasp for fresh air with my newly reformed lungs. Net put me in the perfect state to traverse a magical realm.

I was not in such a good state to fight though. I gave no resistance at all while the angel calmly carried me down shining streets of gold. I saw other angels around us draw back in surprise but no one stopped my abductor and I didn't care. I laid my head back in his arms and stared up at the perfect blue skies, fascinated by the maneuvers of the angels flying there. I sighed and brought my gaze back to the ground just as we entered a tall white building with an almost Greek look to it. I was carried back into the depths of the house, through several rooms, until we entered a lavishly appointed chamber with blue silk clad walls and low couches upholstered in gray velvet. A simple glass lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing brightly and casting warm light around the room.

I was placed on a thickly padded couch and felt myself sink down into the cushions with delight. Everything felt softer beneath my sensitive fingers, every color brighter, every curve more graceful. The white bookshelves along the walls seemed to glow against the blue, the books within them more muted with their leather bindings but just as fascinating. Passionate pieces of art decorated the walls, catching my attention effortlessly. All I could do was lie there under the weight of my overwhelmed senses and take in my surroundings silently.

That was the effects of Net and although I knew it, knew I was being pulled under the delicious languor of the god drug, there was nothing I could do to fight it. Even the thought of death couldn't wake me from this dream. My abductors could easily behead me and I wouldn't lift a finger to stop them. I'd probably die thinking how beautiful their eyes were.

“
This is her?” A new angel stood over me, staring down at me with skeptical green eyes. His hair and wings were brown but there were strange highlights in them, an iridescent green. I became fascinated with the color, though there was enough left of me to listen to his words as well. “Hardly enough to tempt an angel.” I felt his hand grip my chin and turn my face toward his. “Pretty enough I guess but are you sure this is Azrael's chosen? For the Archangel of Death to choose her seems a little farfetched.”

“
I assure you, this is she,” the angel who'd brought me there stepped into my line of vision. “Perhaps it's because she's wet. I did take her straight from the shore.”

“
Perhaps,” the new angel frowned. “Alright, clean her up and dry her off. How long until the drug wears off?”

“
Maybe an hour, maybe fifteen minutes,” the other angel picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. “Her recovery time has been reported to be remarkable. How long do you think it will be before they notify Azrael?”

“
He probably knows already. Why? Are you frightened of him?” A scoffing tone.

“
Hardly,” he hefted me further up his shoulder. “I was just curious.”

“
Bring her to the room and bind her when you're done. I want to begin the interrogation as soon as she's coherent.”

“
Yes, sir.”

I was bathed, dried, and dressed without any overly intimate handling. The whole process was rather impersonal actually, though it felt lovely under the weight of Net. By the time I was strapped into a metal chair, I was coming out of it though and I took my first unhindered look around me.

The walls in this new room were black, the better to show off the gleaming collection of cutlery displayed upon them. The floor was polished stone with a worrisome grate in the slightly depressed center. That would make washing the blood away very easy. You could just hose the place down. How nice, no one likes to mop.

“
Where the hell am I?” I was finally able to growl.

“
Wrong place entirely, sweetheart,” the second angel, the one with the brown-green wings and hair, stood before me. “My name is Sachiel and I have a few questions for you. You can either answer them and we can have a pleasant conversation, or you can refuse, in which case Aban,” he indicated the angel that had abducted me from the beach. “Will take great delight in making you scream until you do.”

“
Did I see a bunch of wheels flying through the sky earlier or was that just the drug making me hallucinate?” I completely ignored his ultimatum.

“
Those are the cherubim,” he gave a slight smile, like I'd done something to surprise him. “That's merely one of their facades.”

“
Ah, like the demons,” I nodded sagely.

“
Yes, like demons,” he lifted a brow towards Aban who shrugged. “You've been to Hell, then?”

“
Oh sure,” I shrugged, “several. I think I like the Greek one best, though I never did go beyond Hades' walls. That might be why.”

“
Probably,” my interrogator nodded agreeably. “Where else have you been, Vervain?”

“
Why do you want to know, Sachi?”

“
My name is Sachiel,” he pulled a chair in front of me and sat down, then held his hand out. Aban put a cup of tea in it. “It means
The covering of God.
”

“
Oh, I thought maybe your parents were partial to the Japanese culture,” I grinned. “Sachi means
child of joy
. I think I like it better than covering a god but whatever, who am I to knock your name? I mean Vervain hasn't exactly been easy for me to bear.”

“
Sachi would be a lovely name,” the angel's lips crept a fraction higher, “for a girl. However, I'm content with Sachiel. I feel that it has a nice regal sound to it. Vervain, now, that is indeed unusual. It's an herb of great magical power though, so not quite so unusual if your mother is a witch. Is she a witch, Vervain?”

“
Why all the personal questions?” I lifted a brow.

Sachiel sighed and took a sip of his tea. Before I could blink, Aban's hand shot out with the silver blur of steel. I felt a burning around my throat that increased to vivid pain and I looked down to see blood rushing down the front of my borrowed robe. The bastard had sliced my neck open.

“Stings a bit, doesn't it?” Sachiel set serious eyes on me. “It's blessed steel, spelled to deal damage specifically to gods. You'll heal but it will be slower than usual. The same steel makes up your bindings, with an added spell of nullification to suppress your magic. You're not powerful here, Vervain. This is Araboth, the Seventh Heaven and home to the one true god. You are nothing here. Now, just for clarification purposes, I ask the questions and you answer them, no matter how inane they may seem to you. If you do not, there will be more of that,” he waved his hand to indicate my throat.

I coughed up blood and spat it on the floor near Sachiel's feet. He gave it a little glare but didn't say anything. My throat slowly knit back together and when I was able to speak, I lifted my face to his, a smile blossoming across it.

“Is that all you've got? I've been whipped, cut, bit, stabbed, raped, drowned, torn into tiny pieces, tossed into a never ending abyss, chased by the Wild Hunt of Faerie, and some things that I've probably forgotten about,” I felt my voice deepen as fire started to burn inside me along with my rage. “Judging by what you've done so far, I'm betting that you're going to fall into that forgotten category someday. You see, there's nothing that you or any of your friends can do to me that hasn't already been done better and more creatively by someone else.”

“
All of that? Truly?” Sachiel's face had fallen into fascinated lines. He didn't look offended or intimidated at all. Nope, he looked inspired. “Well I shall endeavor not to disappoint you then.”

“
Go ahead,” I smiled serenely at him. “Show me what you can do... oh, I'm sorry, I mean show me what
Aban
can do cause you're too much of a fucking pussy to get your hands dirty.”

Sachiel stood up, his face losing its friendly facade as his chair crashed to the floor behind him.

“And while you do,” I leered at him, “remember this. I've survived it all and gone on to exact my revenge. Three goddesses tried to kill me and I hold all of their power now. I drained Iktomi, sent a mermaid to die in a desert, and now ride at the head of the Wild Hunt that once hunted me. I may be bound and defenseless now, thanks to your pathetic use of Net but I will find my way free and when I do, not even your one true god will save you. I'm going to kill you with your teacup.”

Sachiel stared hard at me, the room completely silent as even Aban seemed to consider my warning. Then he collected himself and smiled, righting his chair and reclaiming his seat.

“You do have a flare for the dramatic, Vervain,” he crossed his legs and took another sip of his tea, which he amazingly hadn't spilled a single drop of. “But your ego has betrayed you. You've already answered half of my questions without me even having to ask them of you.”

I frowned, wondering why he wanted to know about my past, a past he could have probably discovered for himself with some creative investigations. I recalled Azrael saying something about the angels thinking I was too unpredictable but did that really merit a violent interrogation? And what could the events of my past do to help them with their concerns?

“Ah, you've decided to control your urges,” he nodded with approval. “Good. Now, next question. What magics do you possess?”

“
Has she spoken yet?” Gabriel walked into the room, looking boyishly handsome with his gray wings folded behind him.

“
Yes, and she was about to say more,” Sachiel rolled his eyes. “Until you walked in.”

“
So you're all involved with the merfolk killings,” I whispered.

“
I knew that was you!” Gabriel rounded my chair and pointed a finger in my face. “On the ship, I heard you right before the entire thing shut down.”

“
I have no idea what you're talking about,” I grinned.

“
Who else knows about it?” Gabriel demanded.

“
Uh pretty much everybody,” I nodded. “Az, Luke, Jerry, Holly.”

“
That is not nearly everybody,” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Have you no idea how many angels there are? We number in the thousands.”

“
Oh, well then in that case,” I laughed. “Only everybody I know.”

“
That's enough to be a problem,” Sachiel said seriously to Gabriel.

“
We proceed as planned,” Gabriel waved a dismissive hand and stepped back. “If Azrael gives us a problem, we use her as leverage. Just don't kill her yet,” he snapped at Aban.

“
Fine, if you'll excuse me?” Sachiel waved a hand towards me. “I'll proceed.”

“
Of course,” Gabriel grinned and looked all of seventeen when he did. It was a bit disconcerting.

“
Can I just ask one more thing?” I said seriously. “You know, before you proceed with the questions and the cutting.”

“
Alright,” Sachiel nodded regally.

“
You said those wheel things were cherubs?” I shook my head. “What the fuck? I mean, I thought cherubs were squishy little baby angels with harps?”

“
This is going to be a long night,” Gabriel walked out of the room.