Hades (47 page)

“Relax, I’m working on it. My father prides himself on

making sound business decisions and right now I’m

plugging you as an asset rather than a liability. It’s got him

thinking.” Jake looked at me, expecting a response, but I

remained silent. “You can thank me anytime you’re ready.”

“Just because I might not have to go back to that infested

hole doesn’t mean I’m any less miserable,” I explained.

“That’s a slight exaggeration,” he said flippantly.

“No, it’s not,” I said, annoyed by his attitude. “I may not be

in pain anymore, but this place is stil my worst nightmare.”

Jake spun around suddenly, his dark eyes on fire.

“What’s it going to take with you, Bethany?” he said in a low

voice. “It seems nothing I do for you is ever good enough.

I’m al out of ideas.”

“What did you expect?”

“A little gratitude wouldn’t go astray.”

“For what? Did you real y think rescuing me and then

flying me like a kite would change anything? I’m stil here

and I stil want to go home.”

“Get over it,” Jake snarled.

“I’l never get over it.”

“Wel , that proves you’re an idiot because I know for a

fact that pretty boy is already over you.”

“He is not!” I retorted hotly. Jake could talk about

whatever he wanted and most of the time it didn’t bother

me, but Xavier was off-limits. Jake had no right to mention

his name let alone presume to know what was happening in

his life.

“Shows how little you know.” Jake was taunting me now.

“Hormonal teenage boys don’t wait around forever. In fact,

they’re short-term thinkers. Didn’t they teach you that in Sex

Ed? It’s out of sight, out of mind with them.”

“You don’t know anything about Xavier,” I said,

determined not to let him get to me. “You have no idea what

you’re talking about.”

“What if I told you I get regular updates about life on

earth?” Jake smirked. “What if your brother and sister have

given up looking for you and Xavier has moved on? He’s

with another girl as we speak … the pretty redhead in fact.

What’s her name again? I
think
you know her … .”

I could feel my temper growing. Did Jake honestly think

he could trick me into doubting the people I loved? How

naive did he think I was?

“I’m tel ing the truth,” he added. “They’ve accepted they

can’t help you. They tried and failed and sadly now they

have to move on.”

“Then why are they going to Alabama to try and find a …”

I swal owed my words immediately, realizing my mistake

seconds too late. I bit my lip and watched as Jake’s brows

lowered darkly and his eyes glittered with rage.

“How could you know that?” he said.

I hoped my face didn’t betray me as I tried desperately to

repair the damage. “I don’t know. I’m just guessing.”

“You’re a very bad liar,” he observed, approaching with

the slow stealth of a panther. “You spoke with total certainty

just then. I’m betting you’ve seen them … maybe even

communicated with them.”

“No … I haven’t …”

“Tel me the truth! Who showed you how?” Jake swept a

crystal vase off a table so it smashed on the floor,

scattering long-stemmed roses. I wished he would calm

down. I wished he hadn’t dismissed Tuck and Hanna. I

didn’t like being alone with him when he was this worked

up.

“No one showed me anything. I figured it out by myself.”

“How many times have you done this?”

“Not many. A few.”

“And every time you were with
him
, right? It’s as if you

never left! I should have known you were up to something. I

was a fool to trust you!” He raised his hands and clawed at

his temples like someone deranged.

“That’s priceless—you talking about trust.” But Jake was

no longer listening.

“You’ve been playing me, making me think we were

growing closer, trying to keep me in the dark about what

was real y going on. I thought if I gave you space and

treated you like a queen you might forget about him. But

you didn’t forget, did you?”

“That’s like asking me to forget who I am.”

“You stil think like a schoolgirl. I thought Hades might

help you mature a little, but I see now the experience has

been wasted on you.”

“It’s an experience I never asked for.”

“You’ve had your last happy reunion—of that you may be

sure.” He’d resumed his usual cynical tone, but the threat

beneath it was real. I knew I should say something to dispel

rather than exacerbate the tension between us.

“Why do we always have to fight?” I ventured. “For once

can’t we try to understand each other?”

Jake shook his head and gave a rueful laugh.

“Wel played, Bethany. You’re quite the actress, but you

can stop now. The game’s up. You had me going for a

while, though. I almost believed you were making an effort. I

should have known better. I should have left you to rot in the

chambers. You’ve put me in a very bad temper.”

“I don’t care,” I said. “Do whatever you like with me, send

me back or hand me over to Lucifer.”

“Oh, you misunderstand me. I’m not going to harm a

single hair on your head,” Jake leered. “But I wil make you

sorry you treated me with so little respect.”

The implication behind his words sent chil s through me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means travel plans of my own are in order. I think it’s

time I saw firsthand what you’re missing so badly.”

ALTHOUGH Jake had been deliberately vague about his

intentions I knew him wel enough to know he didn’t waste

time making idle threats. He was headed to Tennessee to

get even with me. I didn’t know what he planned to do once

he got there, but I knew he wouldn’t stop until he

succeeded. Being passed over for Xavier just when he

thought he stood a chance must have been a bitter pil for

him to swal ow. Anyone else would have accepted it with

greater dignity. But exacting revenge was the only thing that

was going to satisfy Jake and what better way was there

than targeting the people I loved? There was no way Jake’s

demonic strength was any match for my powerful siblings

and there was little point in him going after Mol y. So that

just left Xavier. My Achil es’ heel. Exposed and vulnerable.

Especial y if Jake caught him alone. And that would be

easy enough to achieve.

If Xavier was in danger there was no time to waste. I

needed to get back to earth and warn him before Jake got

there first.

I couldn’t project right away because my mind kept fil ing

with images of Xavier in trouble and the agitation threw my

focus. In the end I jumped in the shower and turned the cold

water on ful blast. The shock of it cleared my head and

settled my thoughts long enough for me to focus my

energies. The projection happened effortlessly after that.

A moment later I was outside Xavier and Mol y’s room at

the Easy Stay Inn. The window was open a crack so I slid in

like a trail of smoke and hovered below the ceiling fan. Al

was silent apart from the sound of their regular breathing

and the wind chasing some dead leaves around in the

parking lot outside. Mol y was sound asleep in her bed, the

previous drama of the evening erased from her face. Her

resilience never ceased to amaze me. Xavier was much

less comfortable in his sleep. He kept changing position

and even sat up once to thump the pil ows. Before lying

down again he rested on his elbows to check the time on

the digital clock. It read 5:10 A.M. Xavier cast a look

around the room, his turquoise eyes bright in the darkness.

When he final y did drift off to sleep his face stayed

troubled, as though he were fighting battles in his dreams.

I wished I could reach out to comfort him even though I

knew I was the primary cause of his distress. I had turned

his life upside down and now his safety was being

threatened. So far Jake had not disturbed them and for a

fraction of a second I entertained the hope that he might

have been bluffing just to rattle me. But I’d seen the look in

his eyes and I knew better.

The room turned suddenly cold and Mol y pul ed the

covers up over her head. I could hear the sound of wolflike

breathing. I saw it then: A shadow slid into the room with us.

It crept across Mol y’s sleeping form under the duvet and

danced across Xavier’s features.

Sensing the presence, Xavier’s eyes snapped open, and

he swung himself out of bed. His whole body was poised

for a fight. I saw a vein throbbing in his neck and could

almost hear his heart racing.

“Who are you?” he said through gritted teeth as a figure

began to take shape before him. I recognized the curly hair

and baby face even before he had ful y appeared. It was

Diego, dressed formal y in a black suit and tie as though he

were going to a funeral.

“Just an acquaintance,” Diego replied in a lazy voice.

“Jake said you were pretty—he wasn’t lying.”

“What do you want?”

“You’re not very polite for someone I could kil with my

little finger,” Diego said in his slimy, slightly effeminate

voice.

“You do know there’s an archangel and a seraphim next

door, right?” Xavier retorted. “Think maybe they can take

you down?”

Diego gave an empty chuckle. “They were right about

you, just like a lion cub. Kil ing you would be too easy.”

“So do it then,” Xavier hissed and I felt my stomach

plummet to my feet.

Diego cocked his head to one side. “Oh, that’s not why

I’m here. I’ve come to deliver a message.”

“Yeah?” Xavier said without a hint of fear. “Then go

ahead and deliver it.”

“Our sources inform us that you and your angel squad are

trying to pul off a rescue mission,” Diego said, a smirk in

his voice. “I’m here to tel you not to waste your time. You

might as wel cal off the chase. The angel you’re searching

for is dead.”

There was a long silence. Xavier’s heart, which had been

racing just minutes before, seemed to slow down and thud

like a pound of concrete in his chest. But when he opened

his mouth to speak, he didn’t betray a hint of emotion.

“I don’t believe you,” he said in a level voice.

“Had a feeling you might say that,” Diego replied, his

smiling face framed by dark curls. He reached behind him

and produced a rough burlap sack. “So I brought along

some evidence.”

From the sack he withdrew something feathered and

folded. When he shook it loose I saw it was a section of

broken, blood-stained wings.
My wings
. “You can have this

as a keepsake if you like,” he said. What he held up was

twisted and bent and the blood had congealed in parts

causing the feathers to stick together. Diego waved it like a

fan and droplets of blood spattered onto the floor. I saw

Xavier draw a sharp intake of breath and lean forward as if

someone had punched him in the stomach, knocking the

wind out of him. His turquoise eyes darkened, like clouds

rol ing across sky and blotting out the sun.

“Hel hounds,” said Diego, nodding his head in

commiseration. “At least it was quick.”

“Don’t listen to him!” I cried, but my words were lost in the

void that separated us. The desire to be with him fil ed me

so strongly that I thought I would explode through the

confines of my spectral form.

At that moment the door burst open and my brother and

sister appeared. For the first time, a look of true fear

flashed across Diego’s face. I guessed he hadn’t counted

on running into them.

“Did you think we wouldn’t pick up your scent?” Gabriel

asked, his voice drenched with anger. His eyes fel on

Xavier’s face and then the mangled, bloody wings that

Diego’s had dropped on the ground. Ivy saw them too and

an expression of disgust settled on her face.

“You real y are the lowest of the low,” she said.

“I try my best,” Diego said, chuckling.

“Tel me it isn’t true,” Xavier said, his voice choked.

“Nothing but cheap tricks,” Gabriel replied, kicking the

wings aside, as though they were a theater prop.

Xavier let out a low moan of relief and pressed his back

against the wal . I knew how he felt. When I thought Jake

had run him down with the motorcycle, the grief had been

crippling and the relief made me giddy.