Evolution (Demon's Grail Book 2) (17 page)

“You can learn to fight.”

“I don't
want
to learn to fight!” he hisses.

I take a step back. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, he reminded me so much of -

“Don't say it,” he continues.

“Say what?”

“I can see it in your eyes.” He gets to his feet. “I remind you of him, don't I?”

“A little. Also of her.”

“Great. Both our parents... A monster and a victim.”

“It wasn't like that.”

“Wasn't it?” He stares at me for a moment. “Was it all okay because she loved him? Did that make it fine for him to gut her after she'd served her purpose?”

“This is why I think you should use the petal,” I tell him. “If you actually meet them both, you could -”

“Or maybe you sympathize with him,” he continues, pushing past and heading to the door. “Maybe you're so much like the great Patrick, you can actually twist your mind until you understand why he killed our mother.”

“She forgave him,” I point out. “At the end, after they were both dead -”

“Then she was an idiot!” Stopping in the doorway, he looks back at me. “People want me to be more like my father, but the more I hear about him, the more I want to pretend he never existed. I've been thinking about this, Abby, and I've decided I don't belong here. I tried to fit in, I tried to reclaim my identity and all that garbage, but it's a waste of time. I'm going to ask Absalom to help me find a way to go home.”

“This
is
your home!”

“It's
your
home! It's not mine!” He pauses. “I'm going back to New York, and I'm going to work at the library again, and I'm going to pretend that I never heard about any of this, that I never met Absalom or Emilia or a bunch of vampires or Ash...” Another pause. “Or you.”

“You can't mean that.”

“And I want to take the children with me.”

“You -” I stare at him, shocked by the idea. “You want to
what
?”

“Maybe I'm naive,” he continues, “but I don't believe the spiders would move heaven and earth just to kill six children. If I take them away from here, back to New York, I can hide them. I can get help if necessary, but the important thing is that they won't be here at Gothos. If the spiders overrun this house, you'll all die but the children will survive. And if by some miracle you repel the spiders, you can all come and get them when it's safe.”

“You want to
leave
?” I ask. “Jonathan, you're one of us.”

“This isn't my fight.”

“The spiders won't stop at Gothos,” I reply, “not this time. It'll be Sangreth next, or the Great Library, or the human world, but slowly they'll spread their empire across
all
the eight worlds, and then maybe into the void itself. No-one is safe.” I wait for him to say something, but I can tell I'm not getting through. “Jonathan,” I continue, with a hint of desperation in my voice, “even if you hate
me
, our family -”

“Means nothing to me,” he says firmly, interrupting me. “Patrick is just a legend, and Sophie's less than that. I'm not a soldier, I can't fight in this war. It's not that I'm scared, Abby, it's that I recognize reality. If I stay and try to help out, I'll die, my life will be wasted because of some twisted, misguided sense of nobility. If I take the children with me and try to save them, maybe that's something I can do that'll actually contribute. I'd rather save six lives than throw my own away and let the children die anyway.”

“They'll never agree,” I tell him. “The parents, the council... There's no way they'll let you do something like this. It's crazy.”

“The parents will go for it,” he replies. “Abby -”

“You can't run,” I say firmly. “You're like me, you're a fighter!”

“I'm nothing like you. And I'm nothing like our father, either.” He steps toward me. “If I can save even one of those children, that would make my life worth more.”

Staring at him, I realize that he's serious. “Jonathan,” I say finally, “if you -”

Before I can finish, a scream rings out from elsewhere in the house, and we both turn to the door as we hear the sound of shouting voices. People are running, and when I make my way out into the corridor I see several figures racing toward the hallway.

“What is it?” I shout. “What's wrong? Are the spiders attacking?”

“It's the nursery!” one of them calls back to me, as the distant screams continue. “Something's happening in the nursery!”

Absalom

Ten thousand years ago

“They could come from any direction,” Edgar mutters darkly, as we wait on the plains. “Still, at least we should have some warning. It's not as if an army of huge spiders can get too close without being seen.”

“The scouts reported no hint of them as far as the Navarian ridge,” I point out, my eyes fixed on the distant mountains, waiting for any hint of movement. “They might not even be here yet.”

“They're here,” Edgar replies. “I can feel it in the air. They're coming for us.”

“My head hurts,” Makho complains for the hundredth time since we took our positions. “Why did you let me drink so much beer last night?”

“Did Cerulesis come up with a strategy?” Edgar asks, turning to me.

“She was working on it.”

“If she's failed this time,” he continues, “I don't know that we have much of a chance.”

“She won't fail,” I tell him.

“But if -”

“She won't fail! Trust me, she never fails! She knows what she's doing.”

Sighing, I stare at the empty plains ahead. I've been involved in enough battles by now to know how this small-talk goes. Everyone's scared, so we end up bickering and squabbling with one another, trying to pretend that there's some semblance of normality about the situation. Anything is better than the silence of waiting to die.

“Right now,” Edgar says finally, “I feel like we've been left out here in the open so we can get picked off easily. Why didn't she position more units at the base of the third ridge?
That
would have made a lot more sense. This strategy she's deploying right now is insane.”

“
She's
insane,” Makho mutters.

“Shut your mouth!” I hiss, turning to him. “You don't know what you're talking about!”

“And you're blinded by love,” he replies. “Cerulesis lost her mind a long time ago, she should have been pulled out of the strategy room and replaced by someone who actually knows what they're doing.”

“The woman might be mad,” Edgar interjects, “but her strategies are not. She's never led us down the wrong path before.” He pauses. “We have to keep our faith in her,” he adds finally, as if he's trying to persuade himself. “She needs to work her magic one final time.”

“She's given up everything so she can continue her work,” I tell them. “Trust me, I know some of the sacrifices she made.”

He glances at me.

He knows exactly what I mean.

Turning, I look back across the plain toward Gothos, and it's hard not to think of Cerulesis still at the stone table, furiously scribbling notes on the maps. At a time like this, I doubt she's capable of remembering her own name; all that matters to her is that we're able to defeat the spiders, and as long as she's on our side, I actually think we have a chance. The others haven't seen the way she works, not up close; they don't understand the strengths of her mind, and the twists her thoughts can take as she searches for a solution to every problem she encounters. She's the only true genius I've ever met.

Still, I can't ignore the faint hope that maybe when the war is over, she might recover. No matter what happens, there has to be a chance that one day there'll be no more fighting, and we can all -

Suddenly I hear a shrieking cry, and I turn just in time to see a huge spider bursting up onto the nearest ridge, silhouetted high above us against the night sky. With no time to think, I raise my sword and join the others in rushing toward the creature. Even before I get there, I feel the blood of my fellow vampires being sprayed across my face as a spider leg flashes through the air, slicing the bodies of five men in half. At the same time, I see more legs rising up for another attack and I realize that this isn't just one spider, it's a whole horde. Loud cries fill the air, along with a spider's wretched squeal as I close my eyes and lunge forward, driving my sword toward the beast's heart.

Please, one way or another, let this be the last war I ever have to fight. Let the madness end here.

Abby Hart

Today

“Out of the way!” I shout, pushing past the crowd that has gathered near the door to the nursery. “Let me through!”

“Give her space!” Absalom tells the soldiers, forcing them to move aside as I get to the front. He turns to me. “Abby -”

“What's wrong?” I ask, looking toward the doorway as I realize that the scream has become more of a whimper now, as if someone is sobbing. After a moment, even that sound is cut off suddenly, replaced by the choking sound of death and then, finally, silence. “Absalom, what's happening in there?”

“I'm not sure yet,” he replies, “but...”

“But
what
?” I wait for him to reply, but there's a hint of tears in his eyes. “Absalom, will you please tell me what's going on?”

When he doesn't reply, I slip past him and head to the doorway, only to stop when I see a bloodied, torn corpse on the floor, with six children sitting nearby. I look around, tensed for some sign of an attacker, but there's nothing else in the room. For a moment the scene makes no sense at all, until finally I realize that the children seem so calm and tranquil, as if not only does the corpse not bother them, but it actually gives them some kind of comfort. The body is still twitching slightly, but it's clear that she's dead.

“They killed their carer,” Absalom says, his voice trembling with shock. “The children attacked Clarissa and tore out her heart. It was very sudden, she died within minutes.”

All I can do is stare in shock, convinced that this has to be a mistake. Clarissa's bloodied corpse is on the stones with a thick hole in her chest, and a few feet closer to the children there's a ravaged heart that has clearly been torn apart by small hands. Some of the children have blood on their fingers, as if they ripped the heart out from Clarissa's chest themselves.

“No,” I whisper. “They wouldn't do this, why would they -”

When I look more closely at the children, however, I realize that there's something wrong with their bloodied faces, as if all six of them are locked in some kind of intense concentration with their eyes tight shut. I take a step forward but Absalom puts a hand on my shoulder, holding me back.

“Careful,” he hisses. “Something's wrong here, and we don't know what. No-one has been into the room yet.”

“Has anyone
asked
them what happened?” I reply.

“The children? They're not responding to anything. It's as if their minds are somehow shut off.”

Slipping free from his touch, I take a step into the room, while being careful not to get too close to the children. Hearing a noise nearby, I turn and see that Jonathan has reached the front of the crowd and is staring in horror at Clarissa's body.

“Stay back,” I tell him firmly.

He turns to me.

“Let me handle this,” I add. “Trust me.”

Turning back to look at the children, I realize that they've barely responded to my arrival at all, as if their minds are elsewhere. Their eyes are closed, too, but I can tell they're not sleeping: they're breathing calmly and slowly, almost as if they're meditating. The nearest child is a little girl with the most beautiful golden hair I've ever seen, so I take another step toward her and then crouch down, making sure to keep a little distance between us in case she tries to attack me. Still, I can't believe that she and the other children are responsible for Clarissa's death.

Something like that could never happen here, not in the heart of Gothos itself.

“Hey,” I say cautiously, “My name is Abby. Can you tell me what happened here?”

I wait for a reply, but her eyes remain closed and her head stays bowed.

“Lilith,” Jonathan says from the doorway. “Her name is Lilith.”

“Hey, Lilith,” I continue. “I really need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”

Hearing footsteps, I turn and see that Jonathan has come over to us. He kneels next to me with his eyes fixed on the little girl.

“Don't,” he tells me.

“Don't what?”

“Don't tell me to go back to the door. Don't tell me you've
got
this.”

“I don't have a clue what's wrong,” I tell him, watching Lilith's calm face. “You said you were here with them earlier. Did you notice anything unusual?”

“The children were all in pain. Clarissa said it was because they were aware of what was coming, but it seemed to be more than that.”

“Where was the pain?”

“Lilith mentioned her belly.”

Leaning a little closer to the girl, I lean down so I can get a better view of her face.

“Abby, get back,” Absalom says from the doorway. “We need to quarantine them until we know what's wrong.”

“Hang on,” I reply, watching Lilith's features. For hours now, I've had a sense that there's some kind of presence nearby, that Gothos has been breached, but now the feeling is stronger than ever. Even though Lilith's eyes are closed, I can't shake the feeling that somehow she's watching me, and after a moment I realize that her eyelids are flickering slightly, almost churning, almost -

Suddenly something pokes against the inside of her left lid. The eye doesn't open, but something seems to be in there, under the skin, and a fraction of a second later it happens again, this time in two places at once.

“Did you see that?” Jonathan asks.

I nod, unable to stop watching as small, sharp objects continue to poke at the inside of the girl's eyelids.

“The others are the same,” Jonathan continues. “What the hell's going on inside them?”

I keep telling myself that I'm wrong, that it can't be possibly be what I think it is, but at the same time there's a slow feeling of dread rising through my body.

“Lilith,” I say finally, “I want you to open your eyes.”

I wait.

No response.

“Lilith, please.”

Again, I wait.

“Lilith.” I lean closer, as my heart pounds in my chest. “Open your eyes.”

Suddenly I see that there's a faint smile on her lips.

“That pain in her belly,” I whisper, as a sense of horror starts to grow through my chest, “I think it was -”

Before I can finish, her eyes flick open, revealing a swarming nest of tiny spiders in place of her eyeballs. I freeze for a moment, before turning and seeing that the same thing has happened to all six of the children. Hearing a splitting sound, I tun back to Lilith and watch in horror as her entire head starts to crack open, allowing hundreds more spiders to come swarming out over her face.

“Get away from them!” Absalom shouts.

Letting out a cry of anger, Lilith lunges at me, pushing me back and landing on my chest. I reach up to force her back, as more splits open on her face and chest, allowing thousands of spiders to come spilling out. Their sharp legs are like razor blades, slicing against one another as they pour across my body, but a moment later Lilith is pulled off by Jonathan and thrown to the ground.

Brushing spiders from my chest, I stagger to my feet and stumble toward the doorway before stopping and looking back across the room.

All six of the children are split open now, with more and more spiders pouring out from their bodies and spreading across the floor. What remains of their flesh and bones, meanwhile, is starting to peel away and drop to the ground in a series of chunks.

“Out!” Absalom shouts, grabbing me and pulling me into the corridor along with Jonathan, before slamming the door shut. “Everyone get back!”

Brushing the last few spiders from my body, I quickly stamp on them. I swear I can still feel the sensation of their legs all over my body, but I'm certain they're all out of my clothes as we step back, watching the door.

“I knew it!” Absalom hisses. “The council told me I was wrong, but I
knew
Gothos had been infiltrated.”

“Why would they do that?” Jonathan stammers. “Why would they go for the children first?”

“Even by their standards,” Absalom says darkly, “this is obscene.”

Before I can say anything, the door starts to shudder, and a moment later it creaks open. The six children are on their feet now, stumbling forward even as more splits open in their bodies, allowing yet more spiders to come swarming out. Lilith is in the lead, limping heavily; her skull has been cracked down the middle, leaving a deep rut in her face with spiders crawling across her skin. It's hard to believe that so many of them could fit in the body of one child.

“Stand back,” Absalom says, before taking a step toward the children.

“What are you going to do?” I ask. “Absalom, why -”

Suddenly I spot the ax in his hand, and I watch in stunned horror as he raises the weapon and then brings it crashing down, slicing Lilith's head clean away and allowing another swarm of spiders to come bursting out through the stump of her neck. He hacks at her legs, finally bringing her down, before moving on to do the same to the next child and then the next. All I can do is watch in shock as he fells them one by one until finally, after less than a minute, all six are crumpled on the floor with spiders scurrying across their corpses.

“They were dead already,” he says, turning to me with a sense of shock in his eyes. “They'd already been eaten from the inside by those parasites.”

“Step back!” one of the soldiers shouts, rushing past us and dropping a burning torch onto the swarm of spiders. Absalom steps to safety as the vast swarming mess goes up in flames, although a few of the spiders manage to scurry away and disappear into cracks in the walls.

“What did they hope to achieve by this?” Absalom asks, staring at the flames. “Did they just want to show off their new-found taste for barbarity?”

“They must have been in the children for days,” I reply, feeling the fire's heat on my face. “Breeding, growing, spreading. Eating them alive from the inside.” I turn to Jonathan. “There's nothing we could have done. No-one could ever have expected them to try something like this. The spiders were always deadly, but they never would have gone this far in the past. They were never this grotesque.”

I wait for a reply, but he's staring in shock at the corpses of the children in the heart of the fire, and from the look in his eyes it's clear that the horror is too much for him.

“This was more than just a warning,” Absalom says after a moment, turning to me. “Abby, why would the spiders do something like this? Why make such a vivid display of their presence? This is so unlike them.”

“It doesn't make sense,” I reply, “not unless...”

Turning, I look across the hallway and see that a crowd has gathered. Shocked and horrified, it's almost as if every vampire in Gothos was drawn here by the screams, including members of the council and even the sentry guards, which means...

“They're distracting us,” I whisper, before turning back to Absalom. “They wanted us all to be drawn here, they knew if the children were in danger we'd all come running, even the lookouts.”

Before he can reply, I make my way along the corridor, picking up the pace until finally I start running to the hallway. By the time I get to the main stairs and start making my way up to the next level, Absalom has already caught up to me and we reach the door at the top together, bursting out onto the balcony and then taking the metal steps that lead to the roof of the building. I'm wrong, I have to be, I
pray
that I'm wrong, but deep down I already know the truth.

As soon as we get up onto the roof, I see them.

Spiders.

Huge black spiders lurking on the plains all around Gothos, keeping still so that it's barely possible to spot them at all. There's not much moonlight, but as I turn and look all around I realize I can see them everywhere.

Hundreds of spiders.

Poised to attack.

And mixed in with them, hundreds of other troops in human form.

“We're surrounded,” I stammer, feeling a sense of panic bursting through my chest. “How are there so many of them?”

Turning to Absalom, I'm immediately shocked by the hopeless look in his eyes.

“We thought there'd be ten or twenty at most!” I shout. “Where did
hundreds
of them come from?”

“I don't know,” he replies, with all the color having drained from his face, “but...” He turns to me. “This isn't going to be a war, Abby. This is going to be a massacre.”