Revelation (28 page)

"Seth," he whispers. "Is that your name?" He turns to me. "You fell in love with your Guardian." My lower lip stings against teeth. "This is what you wanted, then—when I asked—my life for his."

"I'm so sorry. I
had
to try. I couldn't live with myself if . . . "

A flash. My temples throb, knees weaken, refusing to hold my weight. And suddenly, I'm falling.

"Genesis?" Seth wrenches free, but it's Luke who reaches me first, catching my waist just before I hit floor.

"Beautiful. Absolutely stunning."

Luke lifts me to my feet, steadying me. We turn toward the voice, the man clapping. I recognize him instantly. Short salt and pepper hair. Brown robe. And for a moment I'm back at the condo, hearing instructions that would lead to this.

"An interesting turn of events, Lucien," he says.

The room is full. Seven new bodies crawling out of dreams. Seven new frowns. Seven new complications.

The Council.

"We should discuss this, first," Luke says.

"What is there to discuss? You claimed her."

"She doesn't belong to me. She was never mine to claim."

Silas laughs. "You know that's not how it works."

"It was a mistake." Luke clears his throat, stands taller. "I'm prepared to negotiate a deal on her behalf."

"An unusual request," Silas says. "She's not the first you've marked. . . . But the first you're willing to spare." He addresses me: "You've underestimated your true powers. Tell me, Princess. What is it about you that makes demons sing and angels fall?"

My lips remain sealed as I suppress the overwhelming blackness.

"No matter, Lucien. This works out better than we could have anticipated.  Either way, you lose. She's marked. That's
your
punishment. She came here tonight to kill you. I believe that's punishable by death as well, am I correct? I'm not entirely familiar with your personal code—provided such a thing exists."

"If I may speak, please." Another voice. A new one.

"Ah, Mara," Silas says. "I do wish I were surprised to find you hovering about. And I see you've hired new help." Carter stands by her side. And two other Guardians—one I recognize from that last day at the pool house. He wanted to be kept informed. Still wants to help me.

An uprising. Angel against angel. Demon against demon.
   
 

"Mara?" Luke asks, bowing slightly. "I'm honored. Your reputation precedes you. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"A more complete explanation is in order. The Council asked me to train Genesis, you see, to keep her safe from Viola—one of yours—and the demons she encountered. I believe it was a ruse. Once she was fully trained the Council stripped her of her protection, and they did, in fact, send her to you, promising Seth in exchange. It wouldn't surprise me if they were behind Seth's having fallen, since he was never supposed to be a Guardian in the first place. And I'm certain they would have taken him away, too, had Viola not intervened."

Silas smirks, but does nothing to hide the resentment in his tone. "Cavorting with the enemy, Mara? Turning your back on your own Council?"

She speaks directly to Luke, ignoring this. "After all I've discovered—seeing firsthand what they allowed to happen to Seth and Genesis—I cannot trust them." Her attention shifts to Silas. "They’ve given me no reason to remain loyal."

"They sent Genesis to you
wanting
her to fail," Carter adds. "She knows too much about them. They called her a liability. Sending her to you was the safest way to get rid of her."

"We were prepared to reward her should she succeed," the female Council member interjects, golden tresses falling past her elbows in tight waves.

"We were," Silas agrees. "But then, if she
was
to die, it would be at Lucien's hands. Unfortunately, she's marked. Now she must die at ours." 

"It was unintentional," Luke replies, persisting.

"The mark doesn't lie," another Council member says. "You knew how you felt about her. Now there will be consequences. I have to admit,
Castellani
, I've been looking forward to this day for a long, long time."

"You can't let them do this," Seth tells Luke, an anxious look passing between them. "I won't let her die. Not over you."

A spark of anger flashes in Luke's eyes. "I never intended to. . . . I can't," he replies, frustrated, unable to finish the thought. "Not without repercussions."

"How do we fix it?" Seth asks.

"If he's willing to negotiate, then we could be persuaded to accept an exchange. One life for another," Silas says.

A bitter laugh. 

Viola.

She crosses the room, arms folded, pausing beside Luke. "No. It's not even worth negotiating. She
deserves
to die."

"What?" I hiss.

Her soulless eyes glow with hatred. "Payback's a bitch, right?"

"Payback? You came to
me
. You
wanted
me to succeed!"

"You weren't going to succeed, Genesis. We all knew that," she says, a sinister smile tugging at her lips.

"It's only fair to extend the offer," Silas says. "Carter Fleming. Seth. Mara. Each of them has sacrificed something for her. What will your sacrifice be, Lucien?"

I watch Luke closely. Desperate. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

"I see," Silas continues, after the few, painfully silent moments. "Well, then, if you're not willing to sacrifice yourself voluntarily, I propose you let her do what she came here to do. After all, despite your best efforts, she is prepared to kill you."

The gun weighs heavy in my hand. I forgot all about it, forgot I was holding it, forgot what I was sent here to do, even.

"You know that's not how it's to be," Lucien reminds him, voice gravelly.

"You believe us incapable of re-writing prophecy?" Silas replies.

"He's right," Viola says. "There
is
no other way. Negotiations are futile. It's over."

"Why?" I ask her. "
Why
do you hate me so much?"

"Because you
took
something," she answers, teeth clenching. "Something that belongs to
me
."

Seth's voice echoes in my head:
she knew me, somehow, before.

"Once upon a time, Genesis. Once upon a time there was a girl, and there was a boy." She scoffs, eyes narrowing to razor-thin slits. "You run around this place, acting like you have all the answers—you don't even know what real love is."

And suddenly it all makes sense. Why she watched me and Seth so closely. Why she wanted me out of the picture. The
Diabols
she sent. The visions. The ploy to keep us separated. "You fell in love with Seth. He was your Guardian."

"
I
was the Guardian," she corrects. "Seth was my charge. I grew . . . careless. The Council took him from me. When I learned he became a Guardian, I swore I would get him back. It was my only chance. I risked everything. I
fell
for him so we could be together again. And then
you
moved to town. And suddenly he doesn't know me anymore. Doesn't remember me. And I have done
everything
in my power, but you are always one step in front. Always getting in my way. As long as you walk this planet, you are making my life hell. What you've experienced? It's only a
taste
of what you deserve."

"I don't understand.
Arsen
—he
asked me
to join you," I remind her. "You asked me to help you! You said you wanted us to work
together
!"

"We're not exactly known for honesty, are we?"

"Then why didn't you just kill me in the first place? Save yourself the trouble?"

She laughs. "And wake up in
Hell
? Lose the only thing I have left? Why do you think we work through humans, Genesis?"

"What about the people—the surfers—at the beach? You
destroyed
my town!"

"I needed to be
feared
. New demons will believe anything you tell them. When I took Seth, when I asked for your help, while I was wrecking your town, I was just trying to eliminate the problem.
You
. And then Seth fell, and it was like you handed him to me on a silver platter. I knew I was getting close. That I could convince him to join us. That we could start over. All I needed for you to do was move away. To die in that fire. For you to take your own life. . . . I marked you to keep you close. I knew you'd do anything for Seth, and, as long as you were alive, as long as he remembered, so would he. I needed to put you in a situation you couldn't fight your way out of. Imagine my surprise when The Council gave me an easy out. You want something dead? Getting involved with Lucien is the quickest way I know how."

"I don't believe you," I challenge.

A roll of nausea. Flashes and pops and bursts of light explode behind my eyes. And I see their lives—a string of images. A movie reel. Seth. Viola. Time spent watching him. The first time she showed herself. "Stop!" I demand, pushing the vision away, building a wall between us. But they return, stronger, a stream of memories mimicking my own.

Seth.

Viola.

My skin grows hot, furious, anger lighting my veins.

"Get the fuck out of my head!" I lift the gun, barrel pointing directly at Viola.

"I'm not fucking with your head," she replies sweetly, an evil grin twisting her face.

"You are! That's all you've done. The whole summer! From the moment I first saw you!" My jaw smarts, tightening, accidental tears blurring my sight.

"And this—
this
is the most beautiful thing of all," she says. "The visions don't come from me, Genesis. Look a little higher."

A little higher.

Look higher.

I turn to the Council, trying to understand—to make sense of what she's saying. A smile—a sneer, even—flickers across Silas's face. And the revelation dawning: every time they were near. . . . Every time I saw something new. . . .

"It was you," I whisper. "You were working with them. The
whole
time
. Everything I saw. From the very beginning. You
wanted
me involved with Seth. With the Guardians. . . . What else were you behind? Mike? My mom?"

That little boy.

Selena.

The accident
.

My breath stutters, catching in my throat. "It was you that night, wasn't it?" I ask. "Whatever ran out in front of us—whatever Carter swerved to miss—it was all
you
."

A murmuring in foreign tongue. Snickers among members.

The world dissolves, lights shining, faces blurring, blending an ocean of colors. I force back tears, swallowing hard. "Why me?" I demand to know.

"Why not?" Silas replies.

"Why Seth? Why Joshua? What did you get from screwing with our real lives?"

"Each of us has a divine purpose, Genesis. It's important to trust God's plan, but it never hurts to row away from the rocks," Silas replies.