Extinction (The Divine Book 7) (19 page)

It meant I needed to gather a few more tricks under mine.

I had Dante poof me back to New York, dropping me in the middle of a dark alley as the sun was setting across the Hudson.
 

"I'll meet you back here in two hours," I said to him. "Don't be late."

"Of course, signore," he replied. Then he vanished again.

I headed down the alley toward the street. I had switched my dress to include a long vinyl duster, the kind most often seen in science-fiction flicks. It was fitted where it needed to be and loose where it had to be to hide Uriel's sword in close enough proximity that I could grab it and use it should the need arise. Part of me was hoping it would. I would take any added juice I could get. Then again, I didn't want to make a scene.

There were a lot of people on the streets this time of night. It felt good to insert myself into the middle of them, to walk among them as if I were almost normal. Sometimes I really missed being mortal. Missed being ignorant about the war between Heaven and Hell. This was one of those times.
 

It got me thinking more about my place in the Universe, and about what Sarah had said. I didn't belong here. We didn't belong here. I already knew there was only one ending for me. One way that I could go when this was done. To the stars with Charis and Clara. It didn't frighten me. I knew it was a better end than many experienced. Still, I felt a little cheated. I had never asked to be drawn into this. I had never wanted to die and come back as humankind's champion. I was so young and had gotten so few years.
 

Boo hoo, lots of people died even younger. I got mad for feeling sorry for myself and stopped that train of thought dead. I was here for a reason, and apparently, God Himself had put His faith in me. That was a scary thought, and at the same time comforting. I wasn't His biggest fan. Before I had died, I had questioned His existence all the time. He was on my side regardless. Who would have thought?

I crossed a few blocks until I reached the outside of the cab terminal. A few yellows were making their way in and out of the facility, and I noticed them noticing me as I reached the front door. All of the drivers here were Nicht, and I knew some of them would recognize that I was out of place as soon as they saw me. I half-expected them to slam on the brakes and do something stupid, but something in their brains told them to stay out of it. I was grateful for that.

"Who the hell are you?" a heavyset, balding man in a greasy wifebeater asked as I entered the garage. He was standing next to a cab that had its hood open, a wrench in his hand.

"I'm looking for Bianca," I said.

"How do you know Bianca?"

"We're old friends. My name is-"

"Landon Hamilton," Bianca said, appearing in a doorway a dozen feet away. "We are not friends."

I looked over at her and smiled. "You remembered me?"

She held something up, turning it around so I could see it. A still from security camera footage, with my face clearly visible in it.
 

"I had my people grab this while you were still here the last time. I've been carrying it with me since, so I would know you in case you turned up again."

"Smart," I said. And resourceful. I was fortunate none of the angels or demons had thought of it.

"For mortals to fight this war, we have to be. But like I said, we aren't friends. Especially since you got Bradford killed."

"Bradford got himself killed," I said. "And he died saving the city from Abaddon."

"Which is the only reason I don't sick every Nicht in this place on you."

"That isn't the only reason."

She smiled. "Maybe. Maybe not. You only come by when you need something. What is it this time?"

"You've been following the news?"

"Television? Hell, no."

"The real news," I said. "Italy? Somalia?"

Her face turned dark. "Yes. I take it you know something about it?"

"I know everything about it."

"Do tell."

"Not so fast. I'm working on the cause, but you're right, I need something from you. Two things, actually."

"You can't have any more of my people. They have a knack for dying around you."

I felt a slight sting at those words. Not because of Bradford. Because of Elyse.
 

"Not people," I said. "Artifacts, if you have them."

"If I don't?"

"Maybe you can tell me where to find them?"

"Maybe. What's in it for me?"

"The usual. The survival of humankind."

"You don't do anything small, do you, Diuscrucis?"

"Not lately. Believe me; I'd prefer to be out chasing vampires, too."

"Yeah, well, I need a little more to go on than the survival of humankind. You're still half demon, which means you lie."

"Only by necessity."

"Whatever."

I laughed at that, and then removed Uriel's sword from my back, sliding it a few inches from its sheath. Bianca's eyes lit up at the sight of it.

"I'll give you anything you want in exchange for that."

"It isn't for trade. Where I got it is the reason I'm showing it to you. This is Uriel's sword, the one that he forged for Michael during the First War.

"Where did you get it?"

"From Uriel." I paused for effect. "In Heaven."

Her awe was mixed with her disbelief. "You went to Heaven? He gave that to you?"

"Yes, and yes. Because what we're up against is bigger than Heaven and Hell, good and evil. I know you hate the Divine, and that Joe always wanted to destroy them all. The thing is, without the Divine, humankind dies, too. My sister, Sarah, intends to kill every last one unless I stop her. I can only stop her if you help me."

Bianca was silent for a moment. She stared at the sword, and then at me. Asking the Nicht Creidem to help me stop the extinction of the Divine was a risk in itself. The whole reason they existed was to get Heaven and Hell to stop meddling in the affairs of mortals.
 

"Killing Divine?" she said.

"Yes."

"If the angels and demons are gone, why does humankind go too?"

"We're too deeply enmeshed for the balance to be maintained without the opposing forces."

"Bullshit."

"Is it? What happens when you die?"

She thought about it. "So?"

"What happens if God is dead? What happens if Hell no longer exists?"

"I don't know."

"Your soul becomes trapped in your corpse," I said. "Forever."

Her face paled. "What?"

"Think about that. Your soul has a consciousness of its own. When your shell dies, it wakes up. It wants to be free, but without a Divine hand to guide it, there's nowhere for it to go. There's no way for it to escape. An eternity imprisoned."

I wasn't sure if any of that were true or not. It sounded good, and Bianca was buying it.

"Our mission is to destroy the Divine," she said. "Now you're saying we'd be screwing ourselves?"

"Your war is as endless as theirs, and you know it," I said. "The Nicht Creidem are an important part of the balance, just like everything else."

She bit her lip, thinking about it. I waited patiently. I knew she would break.

"I hate you," she said.

"I know," I replied.

"What do you need from me?"

"I've searched through the inventory, Landon," Bianca said. "The only one we have is in our Berlin facility."

"Can you tell them I'm coming?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? I'll be executed for treason. I'm going to get in enough trouble for helping you already."

"I'm trying to save your life."

"The Nicht Creidem are like any other group; we have people that run the gamut from right to left. Me, I lean more liberal, which is lucky for you. I'm open to the idea that we're just a cog in the machine. Berlin? They're a bunch of tight-asses over there, and they aren't going to go for the idea that we can't survive without the Divine."

"So you're telling me I can't get what I need?"

"I'm telling you that I can't help you get it. You're going to have to do some convincing of your own."

I knew what she meant by convincing. "And you're okay with that?"

"I don't love the idea, but if half of what you told me is true, then our options are pretty limited. I, for one, don't want to end up stuck in this body long after the sell-by date, if you know what I mean."

"What about the other item?"

She pushed her chair back away from her computer and stood up. "That I can help you with. Follow me."

We left her office in the garage, heading to an elevator in the back. The doors clanged shut, and she pressed the button for the bottom floor fifteen times. The elevator beeped as if she had just armed a nuclear device, and then we started to descend.

"I can give you the coordinates to the Berlin facility. Other than that, you're on your own."

"And I didn't get the intel from you?"

"That's right."

"What if your people talk?"

"They won't talk. We kill snitches. No, if they don't like it they'll challenge me directly." She smiled innocently. "And then they'll die."

I had seen her punch down a reinforced door without much effort. She had the tatts and the experience to back up her sass.

The elevator went down a good twenty floors, even though the garage was only five deep. The doors opened and fed out into a sterile white corridor. I was familiar with Nicht Creidem lairs. It seemed they had all been constructed from the same set of blueprints.

She led me through the corridors, into a small room with a guard stationed at its head. He seemed uncomfortable to see me, even if he didn't know who I was, but he opened the vault at Bianca's request without hesitation. We entered the storage area, and she ran her finger along the rows of storage safes until she found the one she wanted.

"Here it is," she said, putting her fingerprint to it to open it.
 

The cabinet slid open, and she lifted a flat, runed stone from it. She held it up to me.

"We got this from Reyzl's place after you took care of him for us. It was part of his private collection. Put it to the sword, and it will create a glamour of it that even Lucifer himself wouldn't be able to see through."

"You're sure?"
 

"We pride ourselves on knowing how all this stuff works."

"Do you have anything else I might like?"

She glared at me. "Don't push it. I'm going to have to log this thing as it is, and I don't want to put 'lent to the Diuscrucis' in the notes."

"There's a decent chance you won't get it back."

"Don't remind me."

"I appreciate your help."

"Yeah, well, I hope I don't get in too much trouble for this. I might be forgiven if you really do save the world."

"That's the plan."

She stared at me. "I don't know why I trust you, or why I'm doing this. You've changed since the last time I saw you. I can see that much."

The statement caught me by surprise. "Changed?" I didn't feel that different. "How?"

"I'm not sure. It's kind of like the difference between thinking you're doing the right thing and knowing you're doing the right thing."

"Confidence?" I asked.
 

"With a side of focus, yeah. That's part of it. It isn't the whole thing, but close enough."

She led me from the vault, back to the elevator and up to the garage. We returned to her office, and she pulled up the coordinates for the Berlin base on the screen.
 

"Take a look, commit it to memory. You didn't get this from me."

"Won't they know you accessed the file?"

"They'll know someone in this facility did. I'll make sure to send them a package, so it looks like we were just cross-checking the address. Like I said, you didn't get it from me."

"Right. Thanks again."

"You can thank me by getting things back under control. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again."

I nodded. "I hope you never see me again, too."

"Good luck, Landon."

She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. Then I left the garage without another word, heading back to the alley at a fast walk. I arrived with ten minutes to spare and spent them scanning the rooftops and fire escapes. It was strange to me not to see any Divine around. No angels, no demons. At this time of night? I had been back in the city for two years. I couldn't remember the last time the place had been so deserted, or if it ever had.

I knew it was because of Sarah. Any Divine with any sense was laying low, staying out of sight and waiting for this latest storm to blow over. Both sides had likely heard what she had done in Italy and Somalia. Neither wanted to be next.
 

I couldn't blame them.

Part of me expected Sarah to come swooping down out of nowhere. To take me by surprise and put an end to the game right then and there. I felt edgy at the idea of it, created by the void left by the absence of other Divine. This was how the world would be if Sarah had her way, at least until it all began to crumble and die. It was cold and frightening, lonely and sad. The Sleeping might not know the Divine existed, but they would feel it too. They would know the world was ending; they just wouldn't quite know how or why.