Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (34 page)

He shook his head, his expression bleak and pale. “No.”

“Adam Drake, eighteen years old in 1878. You killed all those
people. It wasn’t only Kraven you murdered. You killed them and you were put to
death for it. And yet you still became an angel. Such a mystery, huh? One I’m
trying like hell to figure out before it drives me completely insane.”

His eyes glowed blue now, the rest of his face a mask of
misery. “How did you—”

“There wasn’t much information about your victims online, but
there’s that number that keeps flashing in my mind. Twenty-five victims,
starting with your brother. Is that why Heaven thought you’d make a stellar
angel of death—because you sent him to Hell? How many have you killed since
then?”

He kept walking back as I moved closer until he hit the wall of
the church. He stared at me as if every word that spilled from my mouth stunned
him. “Countless, Samantha. I’ve killed countless people in Heaven’s name. All
people who’ve deserved my blade for what they’ve done—for the threat they
presented to the balance.”

“What about the ones when you were alive? Answer me, Bishop.” I
had to use that name since it was how I knew him. His real name might be Adam,
but he would always be Bishop to me. “Did they deserve it, too? Do you remember
killing them?”

“Yes.” His jaw tightened so much it looked painful, and anguish
slid through his eyes. “I remember every single one. But I don’t remember
why
I did it. That’s the worst part. I remember
killing them, killing James, but I don’t remember what made me do it. Maybe I
snapped. Maybe I’ve always been crazy.”

I turned to look at him again, my fists clenched at my sides.
I’d wanted some tidy answers, but all I got were more messy questions.

The crunch of gravel alerted me to someone’s approach.

“Well, well, well,” Kraven drawled. “Look who it is. My little
brother and his one and only true love. Sorry to interrupt any outdoor
sexcapades. Happily, you still have your clothes on. It is a little chilly
tonight.”

Bishop’s glowing gaze moved to the demon. “You told her, didn’t
you?”

“Told her? Told her what?” A smile tugged at the corner of his
mouth. “Oh,
that.
Oops. Shouldn’t I have said
anything?”

“You son of a bitch.”

“You got that much right.”

“Why?” Bishop’s voice was soft, but his gaze hardened. “Why
would you tell her? What good does it do anyone?”

“Good?” Kraven snorted. “Sorry, I think you’re forgetting I’m a
demon. We don’t really specialize in good. Mayhem, chaos, misery—that’s more my
ticket. Get all those malicious feelings out. Balance scales to the dark side a
smidgeon. Delicious.”

“You really hate me that much?”

Kraven’s eyes glowed red. “Oh, little brother. I can’t even
express in words how much I hate you. How much I want to see you suffer for what
you did to me. So if I can cause any additional pain in that deteriorating brain
of yours, I consider it a personal victory. Does she hate you now because of
this? Sweetness might be a nexus, but right now she seems to trend toward the
lighter side of the scale. She can’t deal with the true nastiness that comes
with falling for something like you.” He laughed. “So now what happens, little
brother? Do you kill her, too? Do you fulfill your Heavenly mission, no matter
who your victim has to be? Whatever they say, right? Come on, where’s that shiny
dagger of yours? Let’s get this party started!”

“I’m not killing her,” Bishop said evenly, every word as sharp
as a blade. “Even if Heaven made it a direct order—I wouldn’t do it. I don’t
care if they destroy this city, if they destroy this entire damn world. I would
never hurt her.”

Kraven made a face. “I think I just threw up a little in my
mouth.”

I stared at Bishop. Even though there was that edge of madness
in his words tonight, he sounded so damn sincere.

For a moment, I’d doubted. After everything that had happened
between us, I’d still doubted him.

I was such an idiot.

From the first moment I saw him, there was something there. And
yeah, maybe it started off as an instant attraction to his soul, but it was
something.
And it had only grown since that
night when my life had changed irrevocably. Now it wasn’t due to a soul or an
instinct or a moment of irresistible craving...for me it was
real.

I could never love somebody who hurt people for fun. Who killed
because it was a rush, a hobby, something they felt no remorse for. I wasn’t
interested in falling for a sociopath now or ever, no matter who he was.

I’d never really totally trusted my heart, even when it was
yelling so loudly it was impossible to ignore. And I didn’t really favor doing
spontaneous things—things that could get me in trouble at school or put into the
backseat of a police car.

Sometimes, though, I had no other choice.

Sometimes, there was only one answer and it appeared with
crystal clarity and stubbornly stuck around even when challenged again and
again.

I couldn’t ignore that.

“Let me see.” I said it so quietly I wasn’t sure anyone had
heard me.

Bishop watched me steadily, his gaze not leaving mine for a
moment. “Samantha...”

“Let me see your memories. Drop your walls completely and let
me see what happened back then. This has tormented you for over a hundred years.
I know it has. But I think I can help you learn what really happened.”

“What really happened?” Kraven scoffed. “He made a deal with
Heaven and got a big shiny knife and a pair of fluffy wings for his troubles. I
remember how that knife felt when he sank it into my back.”

It wasn’t until I looked at the demon that I felt a hot tear
splash to my cheek. His brows drew together as if whatever expression was on my
face was the exact opposite of what he’d expected.

“Don’t look at me like that, sweetness. I don’t want your
pity.”

He called it pity. I called it empathy. “You’ve suffered all
this time, too, but for a different reason. You believe the brother you loved
more than anybody else betrayed you for some sort of prize. You would have done
anything for him, I know you would have. Even now, you can’t help yourself when
it comes to Bishop—”

“Adam,”
Kraven bit out the name.
“And he can’t even admit to his own damn name. Pathetic.”

“—you still want to help him when he gets in trouble. You still
want to save him when he’s in danger. You can tell yourself you hate him and
that you only took this assignment to get the chance to make him suffer, but
you’re lying to yourself. Theme of the night—no more lies. No more secrets. You
think you’re so damn tough, Kraven...”

“I am,” he gritted out.

“You are,” I agreed. “But not when it comes to Bishop. You
still love him, you can’t help it. That sort of love is unconditional, even if
he hurts you. Even if he...kills you.” I turned from Kraven’s now stricken
expression to look at Bishop. “Will you let me see your memories? You can’t
fight me on this if I try. I have no damn idea what I’m doing or even if it’ll
work. It’s always been accidental before.”

Bishop was silent for so long I was certain he was ready to
walk away and try to forget about this.

But finally, he nodded. “We can try.”

“This is ridiculous,” Kraven said, but there was an edge to his
voice now. Something raw and pained that went miles deeper than the surface.
This pain he felt toward his brother went right to the center of his entire
being. “You two have your sexy little mind-meld experiment. I have better things
to do.”

When I reached out and grabbed his wrist he turned a very dark
look on me that once would have scared me to my very core. To be completely
honest, it still did.

“No.” I tightened my grip on him. “You’re not going
anywhere.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not?”

I shook my head. “It’s time for the truth. Are you ready to see
it?”

Chapter 33

Kraven glanced down at my hand on his wrist. “That
feels kind of tingly. I like it. What are you doing now, sweetness?”

My new hunger was currently at a very controllably low level,
which was good. I couldn’t let my new problem interrupt this. “Ignore it.”

“I’ll try my best.”

I took hold of Bishop’s hand. He eyed me uneasily. “So you’re
going to try to be a true connection between Heaven and Hell tonight, are
you?”

“It might even work.”

“You literally have thirty seconds before I’m out of here,”
Kraven said, his jaw tight. “Tick tock.”

No pressure there.

I looked at Bishop. “Try thinking about back then, when
everything went wrong. When your memories first got faulty.”

His expression tensed. “I’ll try.”

I nodded, holding his gaze—holding it harder than I ever had
before since I knew this was so important.

If it worked—and that was a big
if—
this could go either way. It might only confirm that Bishop snapped
and went on a murdering rampage. Or that he’d made some deal that required the
life of his brother offered up to Hell on a silver platter.

What I was trying to do might possibly make everything
worse.

Doubt worked its way under my skin in record time.

Maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe I should put it off till
another night when there was less on my mind and I had more answers about
Nathan...

Maybe—

Snap!

James was right. My sight’s back to
normal. Hell, it’s better than normal. Walking around without thick glasses
and the constant threat of going blind is an amazing feeling.

Magic. I never would have thought it’d
work.

The man who helped me, who James had found
through one of Kara’s contacts in the city, cost a small fortune—James has
yet to tell me how much—but it worked.

Time to find my brother and thank him for
saving my eyes.

I get back to Kara’s place thinking I
might find him here. James and I have our own house, an abandoned one on the
east side we’ve taken unofficial ownership of. We saw our mother enough
before and after the jobs she sent us out on. One day we’d find jobs that
didn’t require us to be indebted to her any longer. Jobs that didn’t require
weekly visits to the cemetery.

“Where’s James?” I ask the moment I see
her.

She gives me a stiff smile and pats back
her hair, which is a golden shade I know she still uses like money to earn
the attentive gazes of many men. “Haven’t seen him today.”

“Let him know I’m looking for him.” I turn
away.

“Adam, darling. Wait. I know you’re angry
with me.”

I tense up. “Forget it.”

“I can’t forget it.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your meeting.
You’re having one now, right?”

She glances back toward the door to the
basement, the one part of this house I’ve never been invited to see. For
years, it’s only been a mysterious locked door leading to the place she
holds her secret meetings.

Her secret
magic
meetings. The same ones I’ve always laughed at behind her
back.

Now that my eyes are fixed, I’m not
laughing quite as loud.

“You should be careful,” I warn her. “I
don’t know what you all get up to down there...or why you need the bodies
you don’t send on to the medical school...”

“Darling, please forget all of that.” She
gives me a tense smile that fans fine lines out around her eyes. “It’s my
little thing. Nothing to worry yourself about.”

“I never said I was worried.”

She presses her hands to my cheeks and
looks deep into my eyes. “So much like your father, always trying to do the
right thing, to convert me from my wild ways.”

The subject of my father’s always been a
sore point. Mostly because she’s told me next to nothing about him other
than the fact he’d left her. I wasn’t even sure if he knew I
existed.

“Not like James’s father,” she says, her
expression darkening.

She hates Thomas Kraven and has for
nineteen years since he got her pregnant and discarded her. He already had a
wife and two mistresses, so he didn’t want any more obligations. When she
threatened to go public with James and tell everyone that he was Thomas’s
child, he’d made it clear that both she and James would die if word got out
about his bastard. He would never acknowledge James as his son, and Kara
would never get any money from him.

He was a cold and heartless man—and very
dangerous. Kara never doubted he’d follow through with his
threats.

My mother has changed since those days.
Now she took money for other people’s bodies...but not her own. At least,
not to my knowledge.

“You need to let go of the hate you have
for him.” This isn’t the first time I’ve told her this.

“I can’t.”

“You’re not even trying. It’s consumed you
all these years.”

Something in her eyes sparks. “Perhaps
it’s finally time for those who’ve wronged me to get what they
deserve.”

A shiver goes down my spine when she talks
like this because I know she means every word.

“I love you, Adam.” She pulls me into a
hug that I try to return. “You’re the only one who cares if I live or
die.”

“James does.”

“James is just like his father. Arrogant,
selfish, a user from the day he was born.”

Always exaggerating, my mother. “From the
day he was born? An arrogant, selfish infant?”

“You know what I mean.” She pulls away,
her eyes damp with tears. “You’ve always been my favorite.”

“Don’t say that.” I hate it when she
dismisses James as if he’s meaningless to her.

“But it’s true. Your father was my one
true love.”

“A man who abandoned you and never looked
back?”

“He had his reasons. One day you might
learn what they were.”

“Yeah, right.” I had to get out of here.
“If you see James, tell him I’m looking for him.”

“Yes, my darling.”

She hasn’t even noticed I’m not wearing my
specs. Hasn’t noticed that I can see without bumping into things for the
first time in ages.

Her favorite. Sure, I am.

As I reach the front door, I freeze when I
hear a sound.

Raised voices coming from downstairs. One
I recognize immediately as James’s.

But Kara said he wasn’t here.

Instead of leaving, I turn and slowly and
quietly move toward the door leading to the basement. Kara’s already gone
downstairs, but she left the door slightly ajar behind her.

I push the door open farther and take a
step down. The stairwell leads to a short hallway and a room beyond. It’s in
there that Kara must have her meetings. It’s there that I’m drawn to as if I
have no choice but to see for myself what’s going on.

“Get away from me!” James’s voice is
raised, angry.

“Stop acting like a fool,” our mother
replies. “You agreed to this.”

“Agreed? To join your little soirée? Yeah,
I agreed to check it out. Wanted to finally see what you all get up to every
week. But if your friend touches me again with that, I swear I’m going to
cut off his hand.”

“James,” Kara soothes, her words strong
and steady. “To be welcomed as a new member of the group we must first draw
these symbols on you.”

“Maybe I don’t want to join
anymore.”

“Strange. You were so eager last week when
I promised to give you the name of the man that could help your
brother.”

“That was then.”

I move closer and peer around the edge of
the doorway to see them inside. James’s back is to the door and he stands
shirtless before Kara and five men dressed in black robes. The room is dark,
lit only by candles and torches set into the stone walls. There’s a pit
filled with smoldering ash in the center of the room. Chains and manacles
are attached to the walls.

It looks chillingly like a
dungeon.

“We helped you.” Kara gives him one of her
special smiles, the one that’s made many men over the years lose their coins
into her purse. “And now you will help us.”

“Not sure about that, Mother.”

She grimaces. “I’ve asked you not to call
me that.”

“Sorry, keep forgetting. Don’t want these
nice men to know you’re ancient enough to have a son my age, do
you?”

She nods at another man, her expression
impassive. “He’s going to be a problem.”

“What should I do?”

“Whatever you feel you must to gain
control over this situation.”

He draws out a long metal bar from under
his robes. James doesn’t even see it coming as he’s struck in the back of
the head. He falls to the ground unconscious and bleeding.

I don’t hesitate before racing into the
room.

“What are you doing?” I demand.

Kara looks at me with shock, which shifts
swiftly to disappointment. “Adam, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Why did you knock him out? You told me he
wasn’t even here and now you do this to him?”

“He agreed to be a part of
this.”

“Sounded like he changed his
mind.”

“It was stupid to render the boy
unconscious,” another man in robes says through clenched teeth. “The vessel
needs to be conscious. It has already begun. There’s no stopping it
now.”

The ashes in the pit begin to swirl as if
touched by an unseen wind and the room grows colder until I can see my
breath freeze before me with each exhale. I crouch over James, a fierce need
to protect him from these strangers—even Kara, whom I’ve never totally
trusted but never considered a true threat.

“Oh, Adam,” she says, shaking her head.
“You don’t know what you’ve interrupted here.”

“Some sick ritual to help you get revenge
over Thomas Kraven?”

“Him and many others.”

“Is that all that matters to you? Revenge,
power, money?”

She looks at me as if confused. “Yes, of
course. It’s what I want, what I’ve been working for all these years. Why I
had two children—one to sacrifice to the darkness when the time came. It was
never supposed to be you, my darling. James’s soul is already spoken
for.”

Three years ago she admitted to selling
James’s soul to give her access to black magic. I’d assumed she was drunk
and hadn’t taken a word she said seriously. But James had gone very
quiet.

He believed. He’s always been the one to
believe in Heaven and Hell. Every time we dug up a body for Kara, he’d pray
to be absolved of his sins afterward. He didn’t think I heard him, but I
did.

The idea that his mother had sold his soul
for her own gain had hit him hard even when I tried convincing him it was
all lies. He’d barely spoken to her since, even when I tried to convince him
she’d been lying.

“Do it,” Kara now says quietly.

Two of the men grab me, their grips so
tight I can’t break free. Another man cuts open my shirt with a dagger, then
dips his finger into a bowl of thick red liquid and begins to trace symbols
on my chest. It’s blood. He’s drawing on me with blood.

My stomach clenches with fear and
disgust.

“What are these symbols? What are you
doing to me?”

Kara nods. “It’s right that it’s you. This
is a true sacrifice. They will see that and they will reward me.”

“Kara!”

“You should have minded your own business.
Your brother didn’t need your help. You think you’ve saved him?” She pats my
cheek hard enough to hurt. “There’s no saving him. His soul belongs to
Hell.”

“You’re such a bitch.”

“Only because life presented me with no
other options, my darling.” She looks over her shoulder at the swirling
ashes. “It’s here.”

The two words turn my blood to
ice.

The ashes begin to rise up from the pit.
The air is so cold it’s like it’s suddenly the dead of winter despite it
being midsummer.

They wanted to do this to James. Whatever
this
is.

I can’t move. All I can do is stare at the
ashes as they draw closer to me, forming a line like a rope that slithers
around my wrists, my waist, my throat. It’s choking me. It’s killing
me...

But as quickly as it starts, it’s all
over.

I fall to my knees, reaching out to grab
James’s arm, hoping to shake him awake so we can get out of here. I’ve
survived whatever the hell that was and I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone
hurt my brother. He’s always been there for me and I’d give my own life to
save his.

To save him from our own mother, who
doesn’t care if we live or die.

“Good,” Kara says, smiling again. “It’s
done.”

“What’s done?” I grit out.

“You’ll kill them for me, my darling.
Every last one who’s ever done me harm or stood in my way.”