Anna (Book 2, The Redemption Series) (27 page)

“
Come on,” he says, gently pushing me off him. “We should get dressed to go to Nacreous.”

“
What do you think I should wear?” I ask.

Malcolm takes my hand and pulls me off the bed.

“I have just the thing.”

He walks me over to his walk in closet and turns on the light. He goes to the back of the closet and reaches up for a large white box sitting on the top shelf. After he pulls it down, he hands it to me.

“It was a backup one JoJo made just in case something happened to Jess’ before you were born.”

I take the box from his hands and walk over to the bed. I lift the lid to find a
complete white leather outfit, including boots, like the one I used to wear. After Levi burned Malcolm’s Lakewood home and all of its contents to the ground, all I had left of the outfit was the jacket.

“
And you think I should wear this type of outfit to a royal function?”

Malcolm crosses his arms over his chest.
“Have you ever been to a teenager’s birthday party in Nacreous?”

“
No,” I admit.

“
Then trust me. Even with your sword strapped to your back you’ll be one of the most conservatively dressed people in attendance.”

I have to giggle.
“Now you have my interest piqued. What are you going to wear to blend in?”

“
I figured I would just wear my overlord get-up.”

“
Do all the overlords down here wear the same outfit?”

“
Yes.”

“
Well, at least you have the body to fill yours out.”

Malcolm smiles.
“Does it turn you on, my love?”

I feel myself blush and quickly pick up the box.

“I’ll be back,” I tell him and phase to my room to change, but not before I hear Malcolm laugh at my hasty departure.

I quickly change into the new leather outfit and find that it fits just as perfectly as the last one. I grab my sword and strap it onto my back. Malcolm seem
s to think it won’t make me stand out in the Nacreous crowd which is fine by me. I will need it if Horatio turns out to be a prince of Hell. I think we all assumed he would probably be one. It was just a matter of finding out which one. To me, it didn’t matter. They each possessed a seal that I needed to recover. I didn’t want to know too much about them because getting to know them wouldn’t really benefit me in any way. The less I knew about them the easier it would be for me to assassinate them.

And that’s pretty much what it boiled down to. I was, in effect, God’s assassin. I could take the princes’ lives without much effort. One simple touch. One si
ngle thought was all I needed to strike them down and take what I wanted. I stopped myself from over thinking matters. I had things to do and now wasn’t the time to start doubting my mission.

I left my room and
walked down the stairs to find the others. Everyone was standing in the foyer, presumably waiting on me.

The boys were all dressed in some variation of black outfits
either in cloth or leather. They each had swords swinging from their hips which made me even more curious about the dress code for this party. I feel a bit conspicuous in my all white outfit in the circle of black.

Lucas r
uns up to me when I get to the bottom of the stairs and hugs me tightly around the hips.

“
Be careful, mommy,” he says, hugging me even tighter.

I bend down on one knee and look him straight in the eyes.

“I don’t want you to worry,” I tell him. “I’ll be back before you even get up in the morning.”

Lucas nods but doesn’t look completely convinced.

Vala walks up to me.

“
Do you need me to come with you?” She asks. “I’m a lot bigger now. I might be of some use.”

“
You would be of more use to me here. Keep an eye on Lucas and Luna for me,” I say, hoping Vala understands that I want her to stay and give Lucas comfort while I’m gone. If anyone had experience in comforting a child, it was Vala. She certainly had enough practice with me.

“
Don’t take any unnecessary chances,” Millie says, giving me a hug. “Just do what you need to do and come back home to us.”

“
We won’t be long,” I tell her.

I look at Giles over Millie’s shoulder and tell him,
“Protect my family while we’re gone.”

“
I will, Anna,” he assures me. “You have my word.”

I go to stand beside Malcolm.

“Are we ready?” I ask them.

“
I think the important question is,” Malcolm says, “are you ready?”

“
As ready as I’m going to get,” I admit, taking in a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Malcolm takes hold of my hand
and phases us to Nacreous.

Chapter 22

We phase in
near the entrance of the palace.

Before now, I’d only seen video
s and pictures of Nacreous. I knew the basics about their architecture and culture, but physically being inside the most intellectually advanced cloud city is an experience beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Nacreous
is the epitome of modern technology and free thought. Every building within the city is built with a polymer which adjusts its opacity to let in as much natural light as possible. The material is also polymorphic and can assume any shape and mimic any type of material that the owner wants. It is also engineered to absorb the energy from the sun itself to run most everything which needs power. The architectural design of the city itself is an eclectic mix of the new fused with the old. Somehow the combination melds perfectly together to form a cohesive community of buildings. The citizens of Nacreous are encouraged to broaden their imaginations and experiment with different concepts not only in their architecture but also in their everyday lives. New ideas are the hallmark of their society. If you wanted to expand your mind in literature, the arts, and sciences, Nacreous is your cloud city of choice.

“
I thought you might like to see the city before we went inside,” Malcolm says to me. “I know you haven't been allowed to travel much.”

“
The only travelling I've done has been with you and Jered,” I tell him. “This is...spectacular! Beyond anything I could have imagined from the pictures I've seen.”

I
let my eyes drink in the city before allowing myself to study the majesty of the palace’s breathtaking design. The exterior looks like it’s made of polished mercury. Its silver curves extend out in a random pattern like the rays of the sun, and I can imagine it looking almost golden when the sun shines against its metallic surface.

Even though
Nacreous is situated above Antarctica, the citizens are still able to have a day and night cycle provided by the special shielding properties of the protective dome covering the city. It’s night time now, and the palace is lit up with artificial lighting to accentuate its fluid lines.

There is a
throng of people present standing outside the glass entrance of the palace, waiting for their turn to enter and join the festivities.

“
Come on,” Malcolm says to me, squeezing my hand. “We should probably get inside now. I just wanted to show you the city first.”

We all phase into the palace arriving
within its center, at least that's what I assume. I find us in a circular atrium. I look up at the glass ceiling, and notice its design is that of an abstract representation of the sun. A white, walled off ramp circles around the periphery of the room leading all the way to the top level of the palace. We make our way up the ramp with the other people present.

On our way t
o the top, I immediately see why Malcolm said I wouldn't stand out in my leather outfit amongst the other party goers. Almost everyone is dressed in either some sort of form fitting leather outfit or they’re dressed in minimalistic black clothing. Many of them are carrying swords or daggers at their sides, but I get the impression their function is completely decorative unlike mine. I feel like the most overdressed person there considering how scantily clad the younger people in the crowd are.

Once we reach the top of the ramp, i
t's easy to find where we’re supposed to go. Near the entrance to the grand hall, I see Empress Olivia and Horatio greeting their older guests while the younger ones bypass the traditional greeting of the empress and head straight for the birthday celebration.

“
What the hell?” I hear Malcolm say beside me as he comes to an abrupt halt and stares at Horatio in bewilderment.

“
When did he come up here?” Jered asks as he glares at Horatio too.

I see that all my guardians are
glowering at Horatio Ravensdale.

“
Which prince is he?” I ask, wanting to know why they all seem so surprised to see him. Surely they expected him to be one of the princes of Hell. Why look so shocked?

“
That’s not one of the princes,” Malcolm finally says, explaining their reaction to what they see. He looks down at me. “That’s Botis. He’s one of Lucifer’s generals, but he normally isn’t allowed up here on the surface. Lucifer keeps certain demons on a tight leash in Hell and Botis has always been one of them.”

“
But why place him here?” Jered asks. “Why not place one of the princes at the head of Nacreous society?”

“
I don’t know,” Malcolm says. “Let’s go see if we can find out.”

We stand in line to gre
et the empress and her consort. I see Botis glance furtively down the line at us a few times as we make our way forward. He looked a bit alarmed when he first saw us, but he quickly wiped that expression from his features and now wears a mask of indifference as we approach. Once it’s our turn to be greeted, Botis bows to me.

“
Greetings Empress Annalisse,” Botis says through his human mask of Horatio Ravensdale. “It’s an unexpected pleasure to have you here at our little soiree.”

“
Thank you for inviting me, Iggi,” I say, knowing the real Horatio would have hated the use of the nickname, but since I’m talking to the demon who pushed his soul out of his body, I feel sure Horatio would get a small amount of satisfaction by my use of it.

Botis looks at Malcolm and the rest of my Watcher contingent.

“Expecting trouble gentleman?” Botis asks.

“
Depends,” Malcolm answers. His eyes narrowing on Botis. “Are you planning to start any?”

Botis smiles.
“Not me. I’m just here to enjoy the revelry. As long as certain people leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone.”

“
I would wager the odds are against you,” Malcolm tells him. “So many against one. It really doesn’t seem fair.”

“
No, it doesn’t,” Botis agrees, eyeing us warily, especially me. “Then again, I guess it all depends on the cards you have in your hand like in any good game of poker. I suppose I should warn you that I have an ace up my sleeve in case anyone tries to cause trouble.”

“
An ace…” Malcolm muses, sounding like he’s trying to figure out what Botis could possibly have that would prevent us from killing him on the spot.

Botis smiles. The action instantly sends chills up my spine.

“A little present from my superior actually. I had a brother break something once that he couldn’t repair. His only recourse was to give up at the time. I wonder what would happen if what he tried to stop was suddenly let loose again.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about
, but from the look on Malcolm’s face, I can see that he does.

“
That was a very generous gift,” Malcolm agrees.

Botis smiles even wider now that he knows Malcolm understand
s what ace he holds.

“
Yes. Yes it was,” Botis agrees. “I think he understood my life might depend on it one day. Now, if you don’t mind, we have other guests to greet. You should probably move along now.”

We move down to Empress Olivia who looks clueless about what the entire exchange between Malcolm and Botis
was about. She isn’t the only one.

“
It’s so good to see you, Anna,” Olivia says, leaning into me like she’s kissing me on the cheek.

“
Is he one of the princes?” She whispers in my ear before pulling away to kiss my other cheek.

“
No,” I whisper in her ear. “But he is a demon. I assume you still want me to kill him?”

Olivia pulls back and says,
“That would be lovely, Anna. I would be forever grateful. Please, enjoy the festivities we have planned for this evening and let me know if you need anything.”

My group moves into the grand hall where the music
is so loud it reverberates against the crystalline walls. The decor for the party is that of a gothic ice palace. The icy theme seems a bit redundant since Nacreous is situated directly above one of the polar ice caps. A thick layer of white mist conceals the floor and tall, skeletal trees festooned with glass ornaments in the shape of icicles act as the only decorations.

I lean up and whisper into Malcolm’s ear.

“She still wants us to get rid of him,” I say.

Malcolm nods his head
acknowledging that he heard and understood what I said even over the loud music being played in the room. He looks over at the rest of our group and holds up a fisted hand. Apparently it’s a prearranged signal because Malcolm grabs my hand, and we’re suddenly standing right outside the palace again in the same spot where we first arrived.

“
Olivia still wants us to kill Botis,” I tell the others.

“
Can we?” Daniel asks Malcolm. “If he has who we think he does, he'll use it against us.”

“
What was he talking about?” I ask them. “What ace does he have up his sleeve?”

“
He has Asmodeus,” Malcolm tells me looking slightly frustrated by the fact.

“
Do you remember when we were in the desert with Levi,” Jered says to me. “And when Christopher came back with the first prince Levi said he was the defective one?”

“
Yes,” I say with a nod of my head. “I remember.”

“
Years ago,” Malcolm says. “Asmodeus and Caylin had an altercation. She crushed his seal and accidentally broke it open. Asmodeus stabbed himself with one of the daggers to stop the seal from opening completely.”

“
What does his seal do?” I ask.

“
It will cause major earthquakes to erupt all over the world if it's fully opened,” Desmond tells me.

“
We can't leave him in control of something that powerful,” Brutus says. “I say we kill Botis before he can do any more harm to these people and grab Asmodeus back from him.”

“
I agree,” Malcolm says, turning to me. “Are you ready for this?”

“
Yes,” I say. “I'm ready.”

We phase back into the party and bide our time. It's not until almost an hour later that we see Botis enter the grand hall with Olivia by his
side. He kisses her on the cheek, and I see Olivia involuntarily flinch from the contact. Although she tries to cover up her reaction with a smile, it's too late. It's obvious by the look on Botis' face that he knows she understands what he is and that her knowledge of him might just be reason enough to end her life. For me, his reaction just adds to my motivation to kill him before he has the chance to do more damage.

Botis leaves
Olivia's side and mingles with some of the guests present.

“
How are we going to get him away from all these people?” I ask Malcolm.

“
I don't think that's something we'll have to worry about,” Malcolm replies keeping his eyes on Botis.

We soon see him sneak out a side door of the grand hall. It is either an invitation to come find him, or he’s trying to escape. Either way, we have no other alternative but to follow him.

Malcolm looks around the room to find our friends and lifts his fist in
to the air to gain their attention. It only takes a few seconds before they're by our sides. We make our way to the exit Botis used and find that it leads to a long hallway with numerous rooms leading off of it.

“
Check all the rooms,” Malcolm orders.

As I reach for the panel which leads to one of the rooms, I notice something
bright flash at the end of the hallway. I look down the corridor to the full length window there and see something flash again far off in the distance. I walk over to the window and look outside.

Standing on the
circular roof of a building in the far distance is Botis. He's holding a large sword in one hand which gives off a bright blue glow and Asmodeus in the other.

“
Malcolm!”

Malcolm and the other Watchers come running down the hallway.

“What's wrong?” Malcolm asks before following my gaze to the scene outside.

“
How are we supposed to get over there?” Daniel says.

“
Can't you just phase over?” I ask.

“
We can only phase to places we've been,” Jered reminds me, sounding frustrated by the situation. “And none of us have been on the roof of that building.

“
I can fly over,” I say.

“
Not without taking me with you,” Malcolm says. “You can carry at least one person with you while you fly.”

I nod because I know no amount of arguing is going to change Malcolm's mind.

“Break the glass,” I tell him.

Malcolm
takes a step back from the window and releases it from its casing with one swift kick. I grab him to me and hover above the floor a little.