Charade (35 page)

The demon stumbled as Sam appeared behind it, clutching a dagger in his hand, and rammed the demon through. It dissolved into ash before us. “Did you just throw a
head?”
” Sam asked, shock in his voice, but there was also a hint of amusement.

“Well, no one will give me a dagger, so I had to be creative,” I said, trying to rush past him and back into the fight.

Before I could get very far, he grabbed my arm and pulled me around. Without saying another word, he handed the dagger to me, handle first.

I looked up at his face. “I was wrong to keep you from trying to protect yourself.”

“Yeah, you were.” I took the dagger. It was heavy. “But I forgive you.” I smiled.

“Remember that next time you think about throwing a head.”

I laughed and held up the scroll. “Come on, let’s get this in there and go.”

His smile fell away and we rushed back toward the alcove.

The place was crawling with demons. Some more dangerous than others, and there were still so many of those bugs, promising even more if we fought too hard. The bright white light was like a beacon in the dark, leading us back to where we needed to be. When we rounded the corner, what I saw made my blood run cold.

Cole was covered in demons. He was throwing punches and trying to shake them off, but there were too many. I watched in horror as one bit him. His scream echoed around us.

I felt the familiar tremor course through me as Sam prepared to shift to save my brother. He ran forward and leaped, only to fall out of the air onto his knees. I watched him writhe in pain.

“Sam!” I screamed.

Run, Heven!

I looked down at the dagger in my hand. I wasn’t running anywhere but into the fight. I turned to go help Cole and ran right into Kimber.

“Kimber!” I gasped. I didn’t have time to be shocked. “Help us!”

Her eyes were vacant and she stared into me without any real emotion. “Kimber!” I screamed, shaking her.

Then I noticed her aura.

It was black.

The same exact color I saw briefly surround Ms. Merriweather at the hotel. It hadn’t been my eyes playing tricks on me. The color was real and it meant something. I didn’t have time to figure it out, but I knew it wasn’t good.

She blinked and looked down. I followed her gaze. In her palm lay an amulet identical to the one Gemma had. I gasped and grabbed for it. She snatched her hand back.

“You have no idea what you’re doing!” I yelled. “Get that thing out of here!”

“I am not here to help you,” she spat.

I heard a scream and turned back. Sam had gotten to his feet and was fighting as best he could to free Cole of the demons. Sam was a great fighter, even in this weakened state, but he and Cole were outnumbered badly.

They needed help.

“Kimber, please,” I begged.

“Give me the scroll,” she said, reaching for it.

I stepped back automatically, holding up the dagger in warning. “How could you betray us like this?”

She laughed.

A flash of light ran by and Kimber screamed. I turned to see Gemma picking her way through the mountain of demons.

Oh, thank God.

Turning my back to Kimber, I ran forward and did what I could to fight off the demons, trying to help my friends. I wasn’t very good with a dagger, so I wasn’t much help. I did manage a few good swipes and was proud to take out a couple of demons.

Gemma managed to get to Cole and lifted him in her arms. I didn’t like the way his body seemed to just collapse against her. Thank goodness she had the superhuman strength of an angel.

“Cole?” Kimber said with more emotion than I heard all day. I turned, taking a hard kick to the side and fell, the scroll falling out of my hands and rolling away.

“No,” I moaned, reaching. Black bugs covered my hands and arms.

Sam picked me up from the ground and I fought him. “Not me, the scroll.”

Suddenly, the demons around us fell to the ground and lay there, unmoving. The black bugs fell from my arms and legs. Sam pulled me up and we all turned to Kimber. She was staring at Cole, who was now leaning heavily against Gemma. His breathing was labored and he had bite marks along his arms.

“Get the hell out of my way,” Gemma growled.

“Cole, are you hurt?” Kimber said, seeming not to hear Gemma.

He made a sound in the back of his throat. Gemma kicked out her booted foot at Kimber, but the hit was deflected by some sort of invisible shield that surrounded her. Harsh, high-pitched laughter filled the tiny room and someone rose out of the hole in the ground.

It was Ms. Merriweather. This time she didn’t bother to disguise her aura—that had to be what she was doing before. Black completely surrounded her, no hints of any other color. We watched as she walked to Kimber’s side, the demons and bugs seemed to part, giving her a cleared path in which to walk. Once there, her façade of the teacher gave way to someone else entirely. Kimber was the only one who didn’t seem surprised. The woman had long, flowing hair of onyx that reached the backs of her legs. She was wearing a dress, more like a robe of the darkest black. A blood-red belt cinched her waist. Her face was unlined, yet I somehow knew she was thousands of years old. Power sparked from her finger tips and sizzled around the room. Her evilness was palpable in the thick air. I noticed how she avoided standing directly in the bright white light that still shone through the room from the wall.

“Hecate,” Gemma hissed.

This was Hecate, Queen of Witches, who was aligned with Satan?

Now I knew exactly what the black meant. It was the color of a witch.

“Kill them,” Hecate ordered Kimber.

Still gripping that damn amulet in one hand, Kimber lifted both her arms over her head and began chanting in some weird tongue. The black in her aura pulsed around her.

Gemma turned to look at me.

“Go!” I yelled.

Gemma ran forward, with Cole firmly in her arms, but Kimber stepped in her path. Gemma tried to fight, but once again was blocked by the invisible shield that seemed to surround Kimber.

“Kimmie,” Cole groaned.

Kimber paused and looked at Cole.

“Please,” he said. “Don’t do this.”

Kimber stepped aside and Gemma ran out, taking my brother to safety. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. Cole had gotten through to Kimber. Maybe together we could take down Hecate. Beside me, Sam stiffened and I felt him try to shift again. He made a sound deep in his throat in frustration, but squared his shoulders. I looked up.

I had been wrong.

Kimber had spared Cole, but she was coming directly at us. I lifted the dagger, preparing to stab my used-to-be best friend if I had to.

Just as she was about to attack, Hecate stopped her. “Come!” she yelled. We all turned to see Hecate standing in triumph near the hole. The bronze scroll was gripped in her hands.

“No!” I screamed and ran forward. Hecate flung her hand and I was tossed against the stone wall. The dagger flew from my grasp and hit the ground with a loud clatter. I slid to the ground in pain. Sam ran to my side.

Hecate laughed and jumped into the hole. Kimber went to the hole and looked down. She turned back and looked at me.

“Why would you do this?” I whispered, my voice cracking with hurt.

“You betrayed me,” Kimber spat.

“I never betrayed you, not like this.” I couldn’t keep the tear from rolling down my cheek.

I thought I saw a flash of the Kimber I knew somewhere in her eyes, but then it was gone. Kimber turned her back on us and jumped, disappearing from sight.

Pain wracked my body, but failure weighed me down. How could I leave this crypt, knowing that I allowed the scroll to fall into the wrong hands?

So close. We had been so close.

Up, sweetheart,
Sam said, lifting me from the ground.

We failed Sam.

I’m sorry.

I felt the weight of his apology, the regret. He felt responsible for the way things turned out. I turned to him. “This was not your fault.”

“It wasn’t yours either.”

“No,” I agreed. It still didn’t lessen the fact that we failed.

I lifted my hand, letting it pass into the white light. It was still warm. It was still brilliant and filled the alcove.
Didn’t it know we failed?
I asked myself.

Would it still wrap my fingers in warmth if it knew it wasn’t getting what belonged here?

“Let’s go,” Sam said, his voice exhausted.

“Are you hurt?” I turned to him, searching his body for injuries.

“I’m fine.”

“I didn’t know she had that amulet.” It must have been what she was hiding in that box. If only I had known, everything might have been different.

“I know, sweetheart. This isn’t your fault.” He kissed my palm before stepping away to replace the stone in the wall, covering up the last of the brilliant light. The room was plunged back into darkness. It seemed even darker than before.

“Watch your step,” Sam cautioned as we began to leave. The hole in the floor sealed back up as soon as Kimber jumped in. The demons and bugs disappeared as well, but it didn’t mean that something couldn’t jump out at any moment.

Before the alcove disappeared from sight, I turned back once more and shone my flashlight over the words written above the archway.

Here lies hope.

A sob caught in my throat as Sam led me away.

Not anymore.

Chapter Nineteen

Sam

I failed.

It was a thought that pounded through me stronger than my heart beat.

I failed.

I failed to get that scroll back to where it belonged. I failed Heven. I failed Airis. I failed God himself. Hell, I even failed Cole, who seemed to take the brunt of the fighting. I should have held my ground and refused to tell him our secrets. I should have refused to let him train with us because deep down hadn’t I known that he wouldn’t be strong enough?

Yes.
I’d known.

But I had also known that Cole would be one more person between Heven and harm if things went bad.

And they had gone bad. They went from
this might go all right
to
someone’s going to be really pissed.

That someone was Airis and I prayed she didn’t take her anger out on Heven. What would her reaction be? Would she take away the life that she gave back to Heven when she died? Would she offer my life in exchange for Heven’s again?

Thoughts of Logan speared my brain. What would happen to him if I gave up my life for Heven? Who would watch out for him? Who would figure out a way to help him?

Beside me, Heven squeezed my hand. Her thoughts of failure mirrored my own. She was scared, nervous and confused and I couldn’t blame her. I couldn’t offer her any comfort either, because there wasn’t any to give. All we could do now is face the consequences of losing that scroll.

I would bear as many of those consequences as I could. I would bear them all if Airis allowed it.

We knew something wasn’t right when we got back to the bus. My first thought was that someone realized we weren’t where we were supposed to be. When we got closer to the group, one of the girls came rushing over, wide eyes on Heven.

“What’s going on?” Heven asked, her voice surprisingly light.

The girls eyes widened, clearly thrilled to be telling the gossip to someone who didn’t yet know. “Ms. Merriweather had a family emergency and had to leave.”

Heven exhaled a breath. “That’s it?”

The girl looked at me and I shrugged, relieved this wasn’t about us. She seemed disappointed that we weren’t impressed by the latest gossip. “Mrs. Britt is freaking out because she has to handle all of us now by herself.”

That would explain why she was yelling for everyone to get on the bus. I pulled Heven along and we slid past her and into our seat.

Do you see Cole anywhere?
Heven asked.

No. No sign of Gemma, either.
I hoped they got out safely and that they would meet us at the hotel. I was worried about Cole. He took quite a beating, and if he was seriously injured, it would be hard to explain and Heven would be upset.

Or Kimber. Where do you think she went?

I don’t know. No where good. I had no idea she was involved in this.
Something else I failed at. I should have kept a closer watch on her these past couple of weeks. I knew she was upset with Heven and I knew why, but that bit of drama didn’t seem important in the grand scheme of things.

Lesson learned.

Heven lowered her head, a guilty look marring her features.
If I had explained better and tried harder to be friends, then maybe she wouldn’t be working with Hecate.

I wouldn’t let her blame herself for something she had nothing to do with.
Heven, did you know Kimber was involved?

No. I knew something was going on with her. She’s been able to do stuff…

Stuff?
What else had I missed along the way?

Heven nodded and looked out the window of the bus.
Like slam doors when she’s angry and I think she’s responsible for the wind that knocked over those demons, you know, in the Colosseum. And the other night, that demon with the mist… she kept it from surrounding us.

You think she’s a witch?
That would certainly explain things, and at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised.

She’s been working with Hecate. What else could she be? Besides, her aura is black, just like Hecate’s and black is a color I haven’t seen in an aura until now. That has to be it.

She’s in trouble,
Heven said after a few moments of us just sitting in silence, and I felt her misery like it was my own. In fact, it was. It was
our
misery and it was—well, miserable. We didn’t speak the rest of the way back to the hotel. Thankfully, we were spared from making a bunch of excuses for our roommates’ absence because Mrs. Britt hadn’t taken attendance.

When the bus stopped, Heven didn’t seem to notice and I nudged her. We exited quickly before someone could stop us and ask too many questions. Once again, we took advantage of Mrs. Britt’s distraction and hurried down my hallway. I had the keycard in my hand ready to use when the door popped open and Gemma looked at us through a small crack.