The Inner Circle: Holy Spirit (39 page)

‘
Get up and run,’
El-i-miir whispered to herself. ‘It’s Jakob. He’s a Sa’Tanist. He’s
coming for you.’

El-i-miir’s eyes shot open in the
pitch-black of night. The sky was covered in cloud, leaving the
campfire as her only source of light. A cloth-covered hand flew
toward her face. Gasping, El-i-miir snatched for the Ways, but the
cloth has already pressed against her nose. She gasped and inhaled.
A sharp pain jabbed at her lungs and her forehead ached. El-i-miir
felt her head hit the dirt as she faded from reality.

*

Jakob’s heart pounded furiously as he
choked on fearful gulping breaths. She’d woken. He couldn’t believe
he’d succeeded. Glancing across the fire, Jakob was relieved to see
that both Seteal and Ieane were sleeping peacefully. Only Seteal’s
creepy little baby watched him through unblinking eyes.

After regaining his composure and
tucking the poisoned rag into his pocket, Jakob snatched at
El-i-miir’s arms and dragged her into his arms. Grunting and
stumbling, he made his way over to the horse. He’d been travelling
with the women for a number of days and was certain the southern
gates of Belos were close. He threw El-i-miir over the large
animal, took the reins and climbed up behind her.

‘
Jakob?’ Seteal
called groggily behind him. He turned to see her standing several
strides away rubbing her eyes, the firelight shining through her
tattered dress and outlining her narrow frame. ‘What’re you doing?
Is that . . . El-i-miir!’ she cried.

‘
Ya!’ Jakob kicked
the horse into a gallop, leaving Seteal crying out in protest
behind him. He’d killed the second animal with larger amounts of
the same poison he’d used to knock out El-i-miir. The others would
have no way of catching up. Jakob had grown quite fond of El-i-miir
and her friends—but, of course, he was under no delusions as to who
or what he was. And Jakob was a survivor. If he was good at nothing
else, he was the very best when it came to that.

When Jakob found the southern gates of
Belos, he pulled his horse to a stop, preferring not to get too
close for fear of being questioned about the unconscious Elglair
strapped to his horse. The hours dragged by and Jakob found himself
becoming increasingly impatient. Finally, he snatched the rag from
his pocket and pushed it over El-i-miir’s nose a second time out of
concern that the first dose would soon wear off. Still, he waited.
When the first light of a new dawn touched his flesh and there were
still no sign of Ilgrin or Noah, he couldn’t help but worry that
he’d made a mistake.

Squinting into the south, Jakob
tried to make sense of the strange occurrence taking place before
him. The trees were quivering, their leaves showering to the earth
in mass. Demon faces appeared, great wings flaring and feet
snatched at branches as the creatures leapt away from the tree
line.

*

Ilgrin beat his wings through the
night sky. He looked to his left and smiled at Teah. To his right,
Ilgrin admired the deep purple and red light of a new dawn. In the
distance, the city of Belos glittered with the first rays of
sunlight. With a single hand gesture, the entire legion swooped so
that they flew low through the treetops, thereby lessening their
chances of being noticed ahead of schedule.

The woods came to an abrupt end only
slightly south of the city. Ilgrin leapt from the safety of the
branches, his crown bouncing softly against his hip. It came from
nowhere. His presence was completely unexpected. Two giant grey
silt feet snapped around Ilgrin’s torso and together the beast and
he plummeted. The silt legion cut its journey short, ceasing their
travels through the trees outside the southern gates. Ilgrin came
to a stop on his back in the dirt. Noah pinned him down beneath one
heavy foot.

Belos had not been blind to the
presence of a legion and the watchmen in the towers started firing
arrows. Of course, such feeble defences were easily overridden by a
handful of Ilgrin’s soldiers. Several demons leapt to Ilgrin’s
rescue, but Noah simply battered them away. Many others watched in
curiosity from the trees. Perhaps Ilgrin hadn’t secured the
confidence of his legion quite to the degree that he’d
thought.

‘
Noah,’ Ilgrin gasped
for air. ‘What’re you doing?’

‘
I am not Noah,’ the
impossibly tall demon rumbled, tossing his head irritably . . . or
perhaps in order to draw attention to his horns. ‘I am Sa’Tan
reincarnated. I am the true Devil and you are an
imposter.’

‘
We’ve been through
this.’ Ilgrin got to his feet, Noah having released him. ‘You
cannot touch the crown.’

Noah turned to the gathering crowd.
‘And how many of you have challenged this? You’ve all so blindly
trusted a false prophet. Fools. Narrow and difficult is the path
leading to Hae’Evun. Wide and easy is the path to destruction,’ the
beast quoted the Holy Tome. ‘You have taken the easy path, but I’m
here to offer you a second chance.’

‘
Don’t listen to
him.’ Ilgrin shook his head in disbelief. ‘This creature is trying
to deceive you. Here, I’ll prove it,’ Ilgrin struggled with his
belt until he’d removed the double-horned crown. ‘Take it,’ he
waved it at the beast. ‘Go on, take it!’

Fingers as thick as Ilgrin’s
forearm reached for the crown and wrapped determinedly around one
of the horns. Ilgrin gaped as Noah’s flesh began to boil, but the
beast didn’t react in any way other than to laugh. It seemed he was
impervious to pain. ‘You see,’ he boomed. ‘It’s fake!’

Ilgrin gaged at the smell of
burnt flesh, but the rest of the legion was too far away to have
noticed it.

Noah raised the crown between two
densely muscled arms and crushed it down to a twisted mess before
throwing it at Ilgrin’s feet. ‘Follow your true devil, not this
pacifist,’ he snarled. ‘This imposter wants you to live with
mankind in peace. But I ask you why? They have hated us since the
beginning because they know well that we’re superior to them in
every way. Let us take their world and leave not one of them here
to challenge us.’

‘
Don’t listen to
him,’ Ilgrin implored the silts who were now moving about irritably
in the trees. ‘Please hear my voice. I am Sa’Enoch, the son of the
She-Devil that Noah’s father had assassinated.’ He pointed an
accusing finger. ‘Don’t trust his words.’

‘
Very well,’ Noah
rumbled. ‘If it’s further proof you need . . .’ He laughed cruelly.
‘Jakob,’ he beckoned.

Ilgrin turned to see the man he’d
thought was his friend riding out of the trees on a black horse.
There was a limp body lying across his lap. Ilgrin traced his eyes
along the figure, his heart beating and his breath coming in short
bursts. His eyes reached her face and a small cry escaped his lips.
Her pale face. Her black hair. The touch of her warm fingers. The
smell of her fine perfumes. Ilgrin’s hands began to shake as Jakob
dragged the unconscious body from the back of his horse.

‘
Show them,’ Noah
roared. ‘Show them what she is.’

‘
I’m sorry?’ Jakob
whispered, his eyes meeting Ilgrin’s for no more than a second
before he looked away. He knelt in the dirt and split El-i-miir’s
eyelids open with his fingers. A gasp of recognition filled the
trees as the legion bore witness to the white pupil of the
Elglair.

‘
That’s right,’ Noah
wrapped a hand around El-i-miir’s body and lifted her into the air
like a rag doll. ‘This is one of those with whom your so-called
Devil declared war. Not only that, but this particular Elglair was
been trained as a gil and she is a master affiliate.’

Demons leapt
from the trees to surround Noah, all of them peering at
El-i-miir eagerly. An overly ambitious silt leapt forward with a
blade in hand, but Noah battered him away and turned to
Ilgrin.

‘
Sa’Enoch.’ He
lowered his hand and unfurled his fingers so that El-i-miir’s
delicate body was revealed. ‘If you are the Devil, the one true
descendent of the first, then you will do us the honour of proving
it. Kill your enemy,’ Noah rumbled, handing Ilgrin a jagged
knife.

‘
Ilgrin!’ A familiar
voice pierced his ears, a scream in the distance. ‘Don’t.’ The
legion shuffled uneasily as Seteal hurried boldly down the centre
of the road with Ieane stumbling in tow.

‘
Do not be distracted
by this human diversion,’ Noah grunted. ‘Kill her, Ilgrin. She is
only human. These are your people. Prove to them what kind of devil
you are.’

Ilgrin squeezed the knife handle and
ran his eyes across El-i-miir’s face. She’d called him a monster
and she was right. He was a demon in every way. Ilgrin put a finger
to her red lips, before moving his hand slowly to cup her cheek. He
lifted the blade, his eyes filling with tears.

‘
For Maker’s sake, do
it, Enoch!’ Teah cried desperately, having recognised the danger of
his position. ‘It’s just one human.’

The sun burned the side of Ilgrin’s
face and a droplet of sweat fell from his cheek to splash down on
El-i-miir’s forehead. He lifted his chin at the sound of tiny
fluttering wings. Seeol stood in the dirt, his piercing golden eyes
tore into Ilgrin’s soul and bit into his heart.

‘
Pleash,’ the little
bird’s whole body shook uncontrollably. ‘I loves her.
Please.’

‘
Ilgrin!’ Seteal
screamed, coming up some fifty strides behind. ‘What’re you
doing?’

‘
Listen to the
human,’ Noah rumbled. ‘Prove to the entire lgion just how weak you
are, Ilgrin Geld.’ He sneered the name with contempt.’

‘
I’ll bring you
back,’ Ilgrin sobbed over El-i-miir. ‘I swear I’ll bring you
back.’

Noah leaned forward to whisper, his
tone insidious. ‘It’s silver.’

‘
Ilgrin, don’t do
it,’ Seeol pleaded.

‘
Leave her alone,’
Seteal screamed, her voice and face red and raw.

‘
Enoch.’ Teah’s face
flushed with desperation. ‘Hurry up and do it.’

Ilgrin stretched out quivering hands
and put the tip of the blade against El-i-miir’s chest. ‘I can’t,’
he breathed.

‘
And again, so
everyone can hear,’ Noah chuckled.

‘
I can’t!’ Ilgrin
shouted, dropping the knife.

‘
No!’ Teah cried out
in frustration.

‘
Tell your people
why.’ Noah threw out his arms victoriously and spun in a slow
circle, shaking El-i-miir about as he went. ‘Why?’

‘
Because,’ Ilgrin
sobbed, ‘I love her.’ The words echoed in the silence that
followed.

‘
Ilgrin Geld.’ Noah’s
laughter filled his ears. ‘You are human. Now.’ He turned to the
demons surrounding him. ‘Kill everything. You can start with this,’
he roared, tossing El-i-miir high into the air. Ilgrin stumbled
back a few steps: stunned. He threw off his royal cloak and leapt
into the air as El-i-miir’s limp body started falling back toward
the earth.

‘
Kill everything!’
Noah shouted a second time to the sound of thousands of wings
beating into the air.

CHAPTER
tHIRTY-oNE

dISUNITY

Seteal grabbed Ieane’s hand and
dragged her across the road, but before they could reach the tree
line, the girl was snatched away in metal talons. Seteal threw her
arms protectively around Parrowun and hit t
he ground as a demon dove for her. The silt missed her by a
handswidth, but Parrowun toppled out of his sling and hit his head
on the road. His scream made Seteal’s heart break as she gathered
him up in her arms and kept running.

A mangled corpse toppled through
the trees and became tangled in the lower branches in front of
Seteal. She gagged, catching a glimpse of Ieane’s lifeless eyes and
blood spattered face. Seteal gasped as branches whipped at her and
pulled on her dress. A look behind told her that she wasn’t being
pursued. There were plenty of humans for everyone within the city
walls. Parrowun screamed, his face flushed red, his pink gums
flashing as he wailed.

‘
I’m sorry,’ Seteal
held him tight. ‘I know it hurt. I’ve got you,’ she moaned as a
droplet of blood fell from her nose and landed on his
sling.

‘
Please!’ Seteal
cried desperately, rocking him and patting his back. ‘Please stop,’
she begged, falling onto all fours in the mud and coughing up a
spray of blood.

*

The silt swooped through the air
swinging El-i-miir about like a trophy. Ilgrin swept down over him
and slammed a dagger into his neck. He put his arms around
El-i-miir and patted her face as they fell through the sky.

‘
Wake up,’ he begged.
‘Wake up.’

‘
Showing them who you
really are?’ Noah’s voice filled Ilgrin’s ears as the beast wrapped
each of his feet around his captives respectively. Ilgrin’s wings
ached as Noah squeezed. El-i-miir dangled from the other foot, her
eyes remaining closed. ‘Kin slayer.’

‘
Stop!’ an avian
voice cried as Seeol dove toward them. The elf owl thrust out his
tiny feet and latched onto Noah’s nose and lip. ‘You is a bad
monster!’ he shrieked before proceeding to rip out small chunks of
Noah’s face with his beak.