Covenant (8 page)

Ten

Time passed within a world of shadows and dreams. Every pain seemed small compared to the new ache in my heart. When I awakened, I felt like a different soul. Then I knew—she had gone, taking my spirit with her.
—A
NGELA
M
ATHERS

“Angela? Angela? Hold on—give her some space . . .”

Nina's voice. Nina's touch, shifting Angela's body to the side and holding her head steady.

Angela awakened little by little, realizing only by degrees that she was alive and had cheated death yet again.

Her memories were vague and disjointed. There had been screaming and light and suddenly a crushing blackness. Now her eyelids fluttered open and she lay in the chilly snow, gazing up at more flurries as they drifted from the dark sky. Coughs shuddered up her throat, but she barely had the energy to cover her mouth. Her entire body felt like it had been drained. Angela had used the Glaive, and, like every time before, the consequence was utter physical weakness. If she had used the weapon to its full potential, she would have died.

“How do you feel?” Nina said. Her face appeared above Angela's. Thick flakes of snow salted Nina's hair. “You were so damn lucky. The Hound fell on the Glaive and died. Troy had to rip the corpse off you to keep you from being crushed to death.”

“Troy is still alive?” Angela reiterated.

A low growl to her right said yes.

Angela tried to sit up but slumped back into the snow. She stared at the spiraling whiteness all around her. The snow was so clean and pure, and yet so ominous. A sour tang saturated the air. She'd know it anywhere by now.

Blood.

“How did we get outside?” Angela murmured.

“Troy carried you,” Nina said, lifting Angela's arm and wrapping something around it. “After what happened, we couldn't stay there. She said the priests would come and know you're the Archon. In fact, the whole city is going crazy. It's amazing we managed to get out of there at all . . .”

It was hard not to picture Luz taking every blood head and locking them in the darkest prison cells near the sea after tonight. Camdon's sad desire to see his half sister again had cost those like him everything. No wonder he'd wanted to segregate blood heads more. He knew exactly what he was doing and what the ramifications would be.

Sophia! He took Sophia!

“Nina,” Angela said, grasping her by the arm, “where are Sophia and Camdon?”

“Camdon?” Nina said. She seemed confused. “Was he there? How do you even know him? He'd been studying abroad for almost two semesters.”

Nina hadn't seen him? Well, that was possible. Nina had been focused on Angela and nothing else.

“Never mind,” Angela said. “What about Sophia?”

There was a rush of air and a throaty croaking noise. Angela flinched as Troy's familiar named Fury landed beside her in a blur of black wings and yellow eyes. The Vapor in the form of a crow ruffled her feathers and inspected Angela with a penetrating look. Satisfied by what she saw, Fury proceeded to preen at the blood in her own feathers. She deftly tore out a crusty lump of down.

“Sophia is gone,” Troy said. She crouched beside Angela on her haunches, breathing deeply. There was a strangely vacant look in her glowing eyes. “The human you call Camdon took the Book of Raziel to Hell, obviously in a pathetic exchange for the resurrection of his half sister. The Hound and the snakes were sent by a demon. It matters not which one—only that it is extremely powerful.”

Blood rimmed Troy's lips and stained her nails.

Like Nina, she was different than Angela remembered and oddly subdued, perhaps because Troy had somewhat resigned herself to the Bond Angela had forced upon her. She also looked terrible. Many of Troy's feathers were missing or broken, and she flexed her left foot uncomfortably as if she'd sprained it.

“What was the monster that attacked us?” Angela demanded of Troy. “Was that the thing you just called a Hound?” Angela finally sat up and clutched at the sapphire pendant where it rested on her chest.

It was her only link to Sophia
.
Suddenly those moments they'd shared dissolved into painfully ancient memories.

“They are former angels,” Troy said, “of a rank that does not resemble the others. When some fell, they became creatures of Hell.”

Former angels . . . Angela noted the Hound had resembled Israfel's guardians. Were his bodyguards derivatives of that dreadful creature? She didn't even want to think about it too much. The Hound was dead and had hopefully dissolved like the black snake Sophia had killed a day ago.

“The male Jinn?” Angela said softly. “Is he really dead?”

“Yes,” Troy said with a low hiss. “But the heir is alive, and that is all that matters.”

Timed exactly to her words, the small Jinn Angela had seen in the ballroom scampered into view and regarded Angela curiously. It was a female and very much like Troy with a pert, attractive face and glossy ebony feathers. She cocked her head at Angela and dropped a stone she'd been carrying, flicking her ears nervously.

Nina pointedly ignored the Jinn chick, sat back down on the ground, and settled her head against her knees, lost in thought.

“Her name is Juno,” Troy said, but without any suggestion of motherly fondness. “She is my niece and my sister Hecate's, the former Jinn Queen's, only surviving heir from the Warrens. The male was Eris, another exile like myself who wished to protect the Sixth Clan's bloodline. There has been revolt in the Jinn Underworld because of the disintegrating dimensions. My sister Hecate believed in you, the Archon, but there are many who no longer cling to the covenant Raziel originally made with us. Out of desperation and fear, they murdered my sister who wished to protect you from death, and any and all who defended her ideals. I managed to smuggle Juno out of Hell to Earth before they could murder her as well. But that now makes me a traitor to the newly ruling Clan. Just like Sariel . . .”

Angela searched her memory, at last remembering that Sariel was the Jinn name given to Kim by his father. Troy, Kim's cousin, had been hunting him for centuries as revenge for murdering the very father who had tormented him with fear. Now, she was stuck in the same ironic predicament.

Was that why Troy looked so terrible? The great hunter, the High Assassin of the Jinn, was now the one being hunted by her own race.

“You cannot imagine,” Troy continued, growling dangerously under her breath. “You cannot conceive what torment he has put me through. Killing him is now the only way to keep myself from being killed. It is my only welcome back into the Clan after saving Juno.”

“Why would you even bother going back to them?” Angela said. She immediately regretted it.

Troy's ears flipped back in anger. “An ignorant question from a typically ignorant human. But you are forgiven. After all, what can you really know of the cycle of life and death?” She fluffed her wings in the whistle of the wind, gathering the black pinions to her body. Her yellow eyes narrowed as she stared out into the darkness. “You think my only goal in life is to protect you? No, there are far more reasons for the things I do and you should be grateful. Hunting Sariel was what brought me back to this wretched Earth. Protecting you despite the threat of losing my life merely kept me here.”

Kim is alive. But he's escaped Troy somehow. Was it—

Angela remembered her vision and the shock of seeing Kim appear in front of her, ravaged and worn, entering the same door she now had to find.

Angela tried not to show on her face the hope she felt in her heart.

Troy watched her keenly. “From the very beginning, I never arrived in this human waste of a city or spared Sariel's life for the fun of it. It was all for you, Angela Mathers. Or for the Archon, I should say. I should have been certain about your identity when you Bound me to yourself and took the Grail, yet you didn't smell like Raziel—and I was forced to act. But if you are not actually the reincarnation of Raziel, and his spirit is merely protecting you, what is the difference to me?”

Troy snorted, as if irritated at herself for that crucial mistake.

“You're apologizing for trying to kill me last year?” Angela muttered.

“If that's what you want to call it,” Troy said slowly.

The Jinn clearly didn't like admitting to any kind of mistake, especially one so tremendous.

“I was sure you hated me.” Angela pressed. “That you would kill me if you ever saw me again.”

“Foolish, foolish girl,” Troy laughed. She grinned evilly. “Though now that we are Bound, you must understand. I am the only one who will kill you. I will never let anyone else have that privilege. But as it is, you are the Archon and you must open the Book. What you humans so idly call Hell is the home of my people, whether we wish it or not. But none of us seek its end, and slowly but surely, it is falling apart.”

“The dimensions, the Realms,” Angela said for her.

“Are crumbling, yes,” Troy said, licking her teeth grimly. “The destruction has begun here on Earth and is spreading outward from this human city. It is the reason behind this coldness, and this strange endless substance you call snow. The universe is freezing, in the early stages of dying. Only you can stop it. But first, the Book must be opened. And right now, we must take the Book back.”

Troy gazed at her, and it hit Angela hard and painfully. This was the moment she had dreaded for over a year. Upon her in all its oppressive torment, now she faced the daunting terror of entering Hell itself. What would she find there? The idea of temptation somehow scared her more.

Yet—Angela still couldn't see herself actively taking Lucifel's place. She couldn't.

I WON'T.

First, though, she had to find the door that Stephanie said was right in front of her. Angela couldn't help feeling slightly happy that Troy was available for answers.

“Troy,” Angela said, ready to rummage through her skirt pockets for the piece of paper with Kim's familiar poem on the backside—until she remembered she had an evening dress on. “Before Kim disappeared—”

“
He is in Hell,
” Troy said. Her sudden growl made Angela jump. “And I will hear no more about him.”

So he was there, after all. Then what did that mean for the rest of Angela's vision? Why didn't Sophia want Angela to save her?

The rage in Troy's voice had been so intense it could have taken on a life of its own. As if Kim had been right in her grasp, yet slipped out of it. The Jinn's hair bristled frighteningly, and she glanced savagely at Juno who had dared to come too close with another prized rock.

“How did Kim get there?” Angela said, daring the worst.

“If you must know,” Troy spat furiously, “he is on the side of the demons. Working with those who wish to see you on the Throne of Lucifel. The night of Nina Willis's death, he used one of their little magic tricks to escape. But his demonic friends rejected him and he got no farther than the Netherworld. Empty as it was, he was forced to turn back. My only consolation for failing to kill him that night will be setting my teeth in his neck in the comfort of my own warren.”

“But how did he—”

“
Enough,
” Troy said furiously, her wings thundering powerfully in the snow.

This was the old Troy that Angela remembered. God, the Jinn was completely different when it came to Kim—whether the thought of him, or his presence—she hated him absolutely. Probably more than before, now that he'd escaped her.

So the spectacle of Troy's wrath settled the matter. Angela couldn't mention Kim's poem, she didn't dare. It would have to wait.

As if sensing the tension needed to be broken, the little Jinn named Juno sidled closer to Angela and tugged on the hem of her dress. “Yes,” she said shyly, a pronounced hiss at the end of the last syllable. “We'll help you.” She offered Angela the rock she had found. It would have been nondescript, but there was a tiny crystal in its center. “Here. For you. A promise from me.”

Troy watched Juno with an annoyed yet ironically reverent silence.

“Thank you,” Angela said, taking the rock with her throbbing left hand. With the other, she patted the chick's head, letting herself smile as Juno nuzzled back.

I can't believe it. They're actually cute when they're small.

Had Troy been like that once upon a time? Innocent and happy despite so much hunger?

“Do not be fooled,” Troy said, swatting Juno away. The Jinn chick playfully returned, treating her gesture like a game. “They learn to defend themselves young.”

The chick snarled, biting into Troy's hand in a teasing manner. Yet blood blossomed on Troy's palm and dripped to the icy ground. The little Jinn lapped it up with blazing thirst behind its eyes.

“We will have to leave quickly,” Troy said. “I am not eager to kill for this little one's appetite.”

Angela didn't need any more explanation than that. She stood shakily, rubbing her aching head. “But there's one problem. I don't know where the door to Hell is. I was thinking that it might be in Memorial Park—”

Troy shook her head. “That entrance has been sealed off.”

“Not completely,” Nina said softly, staring at the dirt caked beneath her nails. She stood up with Angela and looked at her pointedly. “But it doesn't matter anyway.”

“What are you saying?” Angela said. A shot of adrenaline coursed through her.

Nina took a deep breath. “I know where the door is. Follow me.”

Eleven

So many souls had gone this route. And so few realized what it meant to turn back.
—S
OPHIA

Camdon Willis pressed against the cool stone wall of Hell, trying to catch his breath.

He couldn't believe he was alive, and that the plan had succeeded. So—Angela Mathers was the dreaded Archon, the human being whose existence signaled the possible end of the world. But what was so special about her friend? He calmed himself and stared at Sophia, the doll-like girl who remained tightly in his grip.

Since they'd entered the portal and it had closed, she refused to look him in the eye. The expression on her pretty face was unnervingly icy.

“Hello?” Camdon whispered, glancing into the semidarkness. Embers glowed softly in the walls at regular intervals. He squinted and was sure he could make out strange hieroglyphics etched into the rock.

As his eyes adjusted more, he noticed a chair in the center of the circular chamber. A man sat within it, his legs hanging carelessly over one of the chair's arms. He was playing with a centipede like it was a marionette, lifting his fingers to tug on red strings of light connected to the creature's spindly legs.

He turned and his reflective orange eyes bored intensely into Camdon. A careless mop of black hair with violet streaks framed his very pale, very perfect face.

Camdon froze, relaxing his hold on Sophia.

“Well, well,” the man said softly. He opened his hand and the red strings disappeared. The insect scurried off his leg into the blackness. “You've brought her, after all. It seems you humans can do some things right.”

“Yes,” Camdon said. He pushed Sophia by the small of her back toward the chair.

She stopped just shy of it, glaring royally at her new jailer.

Camdon stopped with her, unable to rip his gaze away from the man's reptilian pupils, the fine scales above his eyelids. “You're the demon who resurrected my sister?” Camdon said hoarsely.

Now he understood why they'd always communicated in shadows.

The man nodded. A very out-of-place smile settled on his lips. “What's wrong?” he said. “Were you expecting someone different?” He licked his lips with a forked snake's tongue. “I'm a little peculiar, I know, but I also thought I was still somewhat attractive. Then again, it doesn't surprise me that humans are afraid of snakes. You are rats, at any rate.”

“You have what you wanted,” Camdon whispered. “Please let me go back. My sister needs me.”

The demon stood from the chair, his tall and lithe frame oddly intimidating. Slowly, he tipped back his head and laughed. “Needs you? Oh no, Camdon. You have it all wrong. Your sister doesn't need you at all. In fact, she's coming right back to me.”

Dizziness swept through Camdon. His entire being chilled to the core.

That couldn't be true.

The demon leaned over him, his face suddenly hard and cold. “Do you really think I'd let a pawn like her out of my grip for one second? Lucifel wouldn't stand for that, boy. She and the Archon are coming to me. Sorry to burst your little bubble of sibling bliss. And once someone enters my labyrinth, they don't leave unless I say so.”

Was it all a trap from the start? Camdon couldn't bear to think of that. He'd been so alone without Nina those semesters abroad. He'd been responsible for her happiness, and he hadn't been there to save her from death. Now, finally able to make amends, he was losing everything all at once.

“Please let me go,” he whispered, backing away from both the demon and Sophia.

Sophia still refused to look at him, but this time she seemed stifled by pity, and her eyes shone glassy.

“Please,” Camdon whispered faster. “Let me go home with my sister. I'll do anything. Anything—”

The demon slumped back in his chair and yawned. “So sorry, but I already told you the rules. Besides, how am I supposed to entertain myself until the Archon arrives? It can get so boring here in the dark, no one and nothing to talk to for so very long. One almost prays for excitement. Now that I have my little mouse, why should I let him go?” The demon pointed behind Camdon. “There are two tunnels behind you. Make your choice, boy. To keep things interesting I'll give you a head start—you see, I don't want to come off as unfair.”

The fear scorching into Camdon felt like an inferno. He glanced at Sophia, but she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head aside, as if she saw something terrible coming. She gripped the pendant at her chest and whispered, praying.

He spun on his heel and ran, the terrible sound of hissing and the demon's laughter echoing behind him.

Camdon ran and ran, but the snakes were faster than him.

Right when he thought he could catch his breath again, one of them reared out of the darkness.

Of all names, he shouted Angela Mathers's as it lunged.