Pretty Dark Sacrifice (31 page)

Turning eighteen was supposed to be a stepping-stone to adulthood, to independence, but Quinn never felt more like a scared little girl. For all her supposed power, she had no idea how to use it to stop Lilith. She didn’t have a clue about what to do. Plan after plan was considered and thrown out. All she could do was move forward, to her fate, to her destiny, whatever that might be. Quinn lifted her chin and carried on, Lilith’s palace looming ever closer.

Finally, she came to a set of onyx steps that led to an arched doorway at least twelve feet wide and three stories tall. Seven serpents were carved into the polished granite, twisting and writhing against one another. So lifelike she thought she heard them hiss her name. At her approach, the doors swung open with a sigh, revealing a black and white checkered floor like a chessboard and the soaring black granite columns of an entrance hall. Not two steps in, the doors banged closed behind her, the lock clicking into place with another hiss.

Desperate, Quinn dug deep within, looking for an ember of light to bring up her barrier, but her gift forsook her. The darkness in this palace was too absolute for her powers to penetrate, leaving her completely vulnerable.

Quinn straightened her shoulders and suppressed the tremors that grew in her knees and traveled to her hands. The squeak of her rubber soles echoed from the arches in the ceiling, so loud it masked the roar of the blood in her ears. Threads of cold snaked across her skin, and goose bumps prickled as she passed through the deserted hall. Torches set in human skulls burned with a cold blue fire, the glow of the empty eye sockets leading her through the darkness.

At the end of the hall, another set of doors swung inward, opening into a large round room. At the back of the rotunda, three steps ascended to a dark throne. A woman with raven-black hair stood in front of it, a floor-length cloak shifting like smoke around her. Over a dozen demons with eagle heads on human bodies stood in a semi-circle around her. More lined the walls, too many to count, bone armor against ebony skin and thick muscles. Each carried a spear, their sharp serrated tips reminding her of a giant shark tooth she’d seen at the aquarium once. Quinn met the glare of Lilith’s inhuman silver eyes and held them, chin up, heart knocking against her chest.

Show no fear. Show no fear.

Two guards broke formation and seized Quinn. Wrenching her arms behind her back, they dragged her across the floor and pushed her to kneel in front of their master.

“Is that any way to treat our honored guest?” Lilith tutted. “She has come to set your brethren free. Isn’t that right?” Quinn jerked her arms free as the guards took a step back, their avian eyes constantly shifting and turning in their sockets, and stood tall in front of her enemy.

Lilith descended her throne and paced in a circle around Quinn, scrutinizing every inch of her body. “I don’t see what’s so special about you. An insignificant girl, no more than a child.” She laughed. “Eve was not all she seemed either. I will not make the mistake of underestimating you as I did her. Let’s not waste time. Today is a special day, and I have a very special gift for you.”

Lilith clapped twice, and Quinn’s breath caught in her throat as Aaron stepped from behind a column to stand next to Lilith’s throne. His face looked gaunt and drawn. Dark circles swallowed his eyes. They had taken him, but not without a fight. Blood coated his left wing and matted his sunset feathers into dark red clumps. Scratches covered every inch of him, welts, and bruises too. An armored collar pulsed around his neck. His green eyes stared at her, unfocused, unseeing, and in his hands, he held a mahogany box.

“Aaron?”

He didn’t even blink. She reached out with her essence to touch his, but instead of the familiar warmth, she was greeted with a cold, hard edge. Quinn bit her lip as hard as she could and swallowed the guilt that threatened to drown her.

“He can’t hear you,” Lilith said. “Unless I command he does.”

Quinn’s throat constricted, muscles tensed, calculating how many seconds it would take to wrap her hands around Lilith’s neck, and took a step forward.

“Make one more move, and I promise I will make him suffer.” Lilith draped an arm across Aaron’s shoulders and narrowed her eyes, stopping Quinn in her tracks.

“See, if you’re reasonable, I’m reasonable.” Lilith flipped her shadowed cape and lounged back on her onyx throne. A goblet sat on a table beside it. She swirled the cup and took a drink. This was her show, and she wanted Quinn to know it.

Setting the cup back on the table, she said, “I wasn’t sure you would come, Quinn. For one brief second, I thought you would listen to that Sentinel of yours and run to Arcadia to hide while everyone you loved died. Better if you had, but I was certain you wouldn’t let the boy languish in my keeping. Seems I was right. Where is that traitor, Azrael, anyway?” A wry smile played across her lips. “I didn’t think he would want to miss this.”

“Sorry I’m late to the party, Lilith.” Azrael strode through the doors, fingers caressing the pommels of his swords. Blood smeared his face, splattered his bare chest. Human blood, or demon? Cold dread crept up Quinn’s spine, and it took all her resolve to keep from grabbing Azrael’s sword and stabbing him with it.

Not now.
Azrael’s thought was a sharp arrow straight to her mind, but when she tried to reply, she hit a powerful wall. If something happened to Reese, Marcus, or Caleb, she would never forgive him, or herself.

“Ah, Azrael. What a surprise. I hoped you were otherwise engaged.” Lilith sighed and took another sip from her cup, unfazed by his sudden appearance.

“Your distraction was but a trifle,” Azrael said.

Lilith shrugged. “You can hardly blame me for trying, old friend. I’m not sure where your loyalties lie. I couldn’t risk your interference now, could I? I do hope there wasn’t too much bloodshed.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.

“The casualties are none of my concern. I did what was required. I am here for a greater purpose, or did you forget our deal?” He looked at Quinn, golden eyes burning bright, and Lilith’s followed.

Show no weakness. Focus
. Lilith wouldn’t hesitate to seize on any little negative thought. Quinn shifted her emotions like Azrael taught her, keeping her mind fluid, never settling on one particular feeling or thought for more than a millisecond. Lilith frowned as if disappointed and turned back to Azrael.

“I already ensured your place as her Sentinel and promised you a seat on my council. What more do you want?” Lilith asked.

“I want the kingdom of Arcadia for myself, and I want Kaemon. He has been a thorn in my side for far too long. Release him to me, and I will help you kill the girl myself.” Azrael shifted slightly, positioning himself beside and a little in front of Quinn.

“No. It can’t be,” Quinn growled, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “I read you. You swore your loyalty. I felt the truth in your essence.”

“Oh, Quinn, you little fool. I’ve been at this game far longer than you.” He patted her cheek. “Did you really think I would settle for whatever scraps The Light throws at me? I am sick of being a pawn, and sick of your whining. Arcadia has always been my end game.”

Quinn spat in his face, and he wiped saliva from his chin, grinning.

“Very ambitious.” Lilith leaned forward and drummed her fingers on the armrest, silver nails clacking against stone. “King of Arcadia and Kaemon as your slave? I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement.”

“No. You can’t!” Quinn took two steps up before Lilith’s guards restrained her, dragging her away from their mistress. She jerked and pulled against them, straining to break free, but they had the strength of ten men, and Quinn was powerless, devoid of magic, a normal girl facing powers beyond her imagination. “Please. You promised. My life for Aaron’s.” Quinn’s voice echoed against the arched ceiling. “I don’t care what happens to Arcadia, or to me, but he is to leave this place unharmed.”

“Ah, and so the sacrifice speaks.” Lilith rose from her seat and descended the stairs until she was eye to eye with Quinn. “I’ve been watching you, Quinn. You don’t seem that surprised by Azrael’s betrayal.” She grabbed Quinn’s jaw and squeezed. “It all seems a little too convenient.”

Fighting the urge to wrench her face away, Quinn took a deep breath and steadied her voice as best she could. “I had my suspicions. Too bad your distraction left him intact,” Quinn spat. “Azrael is a liar and no friend of mine. I hope he rots here.” Her thoughts shifted like the wind, never still. Lilith had to believe that she believed Azrael’s betrayal. Thoughts were wind, were water, were smoke.

Glare to glare, Lilith studied Quinn, then laughed a full belly laugh. “Oh, I like you, Quinn. If only you didn’t have to die. We might have been good friends, you and I, if the circumstances were different. Well, Azrael, looks like your little ward is all grown up and thinking for herself. A convincing little actress indeed, but a master liar can always smell deceit, and her breath reeks of it.”

“She is nothing to me. A spoiled, selfish child.” Azrael spread his wings, chest puffing up in defiance. One hand reached for the Qeres blade, muscles tense as he shifted his weight forward ever so slightly, circling to block Quinn from Lilith’s view.

“I’m sorry, Azrael, but I can’t have you suddenly overcome by your Sentinel duty, now can I? I’ve seen how strong that bond can be. Lack of trust is one of my flaws, you understand, and you are a wild card.” Before Azrael could pull his blade fully from his scabbard, a demon, four feet long with an armored body and a million legs scurried up his leg and over his shoulder to fasten around his neck. Azrael’s shoulders slumped, eyes glazed, just like Aaron.

Lilith grabbed Azrael’s leather sword belt and pulled him close. He didn’t even flinch as she undid the knotted buckle and slid his weapons from his hips and handed them to her guard. “A gift for you, Ikkatat.”

The guard nodded and fastened the belt to his own waist then bowed before his master.

“And feel free to use them if he moves.” She patted Azrael on the shoulder, and Quinn thought she saw his jaw tighten. “Part of me does hope you’ll move, though,” she whispered in his ear, “I do love watching angels’ wings wither and fall, like leaves from a tree, when struck with Qeres.”

“You have what you wanted.” Hate writhed in Quinn, and she struggled to remain calm. “I am here of my own free will, not because of his tricks or yours. My life for Aaron’s. That’s what was promised.”

Lilith raised her hands to the ceiling and cried, “And the voice of the sacrifice will break the lock! Let it be heard that the voice of the sacrifice has spoken!” The demons pounded their spears against the tile. “Selflessness becomes you, Quinn. My children thank you.” With a wave of Lilith’s hand, ropes of fog wound around Quinn’s ankles and looped around her wrists, binding them in front of her. She didn’t fight it.

“The deal is sealed. You have me, now let Aaron go.” Quinn’s voice boomed, powerful, commanding.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Let him go? There is no other place for him, this half-angel, half-human hybrid. His essences are not fit for any other realm. Would you have me toss him out into the seam to wander the void for eternity? And they call me cruel.”

“For the box to open, I have to sacrifice myself for him. That’s how it works.” Sweat trickled down Quinn’s back, her mouth dry as a bone.

“You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself, which you are. That is all.” Lilith ran a finger across Aaron’s cheek. “Besides, you don’t want to leave me, do you, Kaemon?” A pained expression skirted Aaron’s face as Lilith pressed her lips to his. He pulled her close, hands caressing her spine, fingers entwined in her hair, mouth hungry on hers. Quinn looked away, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. That wasn’t Aaron; neither was he Kaemon, the fierce angel who stole Eve’s heart. They were nothing more than a puppet, a toy Lilith used to hurt Quinn, to rip apart her heart.

“That’s enough now, my love.” Lilith pulled away and patted Aaron’s bare chest. “We have eternity to spend together. No need to be greedy.”

Aaron bowed, awkward and halting, the thing around his neck pulsing at Lilith’s command.

“Let’s get started, shall we? No need to wait any longer.” She took the box from Aaron and placed it next to the cup on the table. From her belt, she drew a long knife, metal singing as it came loose from the scabbard, and placed it in Aaron’s open palm. “You do the honors, my love.”

Aaron’s hands trembled; his face flickered from placid to pained as he descended the three steps of the platform, each step a little more hesitant than the last. He wouldn’t do it, couldn’t, not Aaron. Quinn stood still as the cold tip pressed against her neck. She tried to meet his eyes, to connect, but his gaze edged hers. The blade dug deeper yet didn’t cut. Warm breath, in, out, in, out, unsteady on her cheek.

Trembling, she cupped his chin, and he blinked. A spark ignited between them, and she felt his essence fight to gain control.
Hold onto him, hold tight,
she reminded herself, and hope surged pure and true.

Aaron.
His essence called to her like a beacon. She wasn’t alone. Aaron was in there somewhere, she just had to reach him. He needed her; she needed him. Together they could get out of this. Lilith watched intently, so Quinn kept her expression calm.

Aaron,
her essence whispered to his.
I love you. Don’t let her do this.
Aaron’s hand shook, his jaw tight. The collar around his neck pulsed, and he dragged the blade down until it rested above her hammering heart. A tear slid from his eye and down his cheek, and that’s when Quinn felt the knife enter her flesh.