Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) (46 page)

“Dad! No!” Her scream startled the two into glancing up and in that split second, Riley knew whatever had Magnus pinned, wasn’t her father. It was a monster with glowing yellow eyes and fangs that protruded all the way to his chin like walrus tusks from a jaw that was unhinged and gaping far wider than any normal jaw ever should be able to. Its face was deformed, twisted and warped into a grotesque mask of hatred, rage and hunger. Riley screamed. The dagger in her hand cluttered to the floor, spinning like a lethal top into the corner.

“Get the hell out of here!” Magnus snarled at her.

Frozen, Riley couldn’t feel her legs to move. She stared, horrified as her father licked his lips with a long, purple tongue. Something low and rumbling erupted from its chest, a faint laughter of sorts as it lunched itself off Magnus straight for her; long, sharp talons extended.

Riley screamed again, leaping back only to hit the wall and nearly loose her balance. The creature nearly had her. The tip of one fingernail grazed her cheek before Magnus tackled the thing back to the ground.

“Run damn it!”

Spurred into action this time, Riley shot over the creature and ran for the door. She was nearly free when something closed around her ankle and the floor vanished from beneath her. She struck the hardwood with a deafening crack that sent stars popping across her vision. Her cheek throbbed where it had ricocheted off the floor, her palms stung, but the worse was the sensation of being dragged backwards back into the lion’s den.

In the corridor, only a few feet away from her, Gideon groaned. He hefted himself up onto his hands and knees and shook his head.

“Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty!” Magnus growled. “Mind giving me a hand if you’re done taking your nap?”

Brought back to the situation, Gideon was on his feet in a flash and diving back into the tangle. He grabbed Riley, kicking away the hand holding her and thrust her into the hallway, out of harm’s way. The thing snarled, throwing itself after her. Its talons sunk into the hardwood, leaving four ugly gashes when Magnus hurled him back.

“Grab the knife!” Magnus snapped at his brother.

“Don’t kill him!” she shouted as Gideon dove for his blade.

“It’s the only way,” Gideon told her, sorrow in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He raised the dagger up over his head.

“No!”

Without pausing, she catapulted to her feet and threw herself at Gideon. Caught off guard, Gideon wasn’t able to stop her as they crashed sideways across the floor of her father’s ruined bedroom. The knife released from his grasp and disappeared beneath the debris.

“Riley!” He threw her off as her father bucked Magnus and whirled. It was so fast, a snake in tall grass. It struck out without any warning and slashed at Magnus’ face, tearing away strips of flesh to slivers of white bone from temple to jaw. Blood spewed, gushing over the creature, over Magnus and the floor.

Riley screamed, the sound swallowed by Gideon’s roar as he lunched himself at her father. But the creature was lost in a frenzy, having picked up the scent of fresh blood. It emanated an inhuman shriek that shook the room. With a powerful sweep, he backhanded Gideon mid pounce and tossed him with no effort into the wall behind Riley. Yellow eyes feasted on Magnus’ crumpled body, the look of a shark ascending on a wounded diver.

Frantic, shaking and scared out of her mind, Riley did the only thing she could think of; she threw herself over Magnus, shielding him as her father’s clawed hand came down on them in a powerful slash.

That was it. She was going to die.

She braced herself, tightening her body, prepared for the pain of being torn to pieces. Her limbs quaked as she used them the best she could to protect Magnus. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Daphne had gotten to Final Judgment and if she was able to get her message to Octavian. Was he on his way? Would he get there in time or had Daphne gone home thinking Riley had played a really weird joke on her?

God, she hoped not. They were about to die. Magnus was out cold and Gideon couldn’t take the creature on by himself and she was useless.

That’s when she saw it, Magnus’ silver dagger. It lay just within reach of her, hilt first. She didn’t stop to think, to consider what she was about to do. Her fingers closed around the cold metal. Its weight was a momentary surprise before adrenaline kicked into gear and she was twisting around.

The creature’s talons sunk into her right shoulder, ripping fabric and flesh crosswise across her chest and collarbone. The numbing pain was excruciating as she became soaked in the hot gush of her own blood. She may have screamed but the moment had become a surreal blur. She was vaguely aware of raising her uninjured arm and driving the curved blade deep into the creature’s heart, piercing him. His howls rang like bells through the buzzing in her skull. Thick, black blood bubbled up around the hilt of the blade, like tar against her father’s white t-shirt. Riley wept as he hit the ground on his knees, clutching at the object protruding from his chest. Yellow eyes pierced through her, accusation bright in their depths.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

His dislocated maw opened, a misshapen hole on a face already gray with rigor mortis. Riley shuddered in both disgust and horror as it pried the knife free of its chest, releasing a flood of lumpy, black goop before it slumped forward at her feet.

Riley felt hands on her, jerking her up, shaking her, but the room had swirled into a bottomless void where no sight or sound could penetrate. The pain in her shoulder had become a thrum so distant, she no longer even believed it was hers. As deaths went, it wasn’t so bad.

“Can you heal her?” The voice floated in and out of her consciousness.

“I’ve used as much of the healing ointment as I dare. The infection is too powerful.” The second voice was softer and more feminine. “There’s no healing these. She may have to live with them.”

The first voice growled. “But will she be okay?”

“After she’s had some time to rest, yes, I’m confident she will make a full recovery.”

That’s a relief.
Riley drifted back to that cool place that was quickly becoming home.

“It’s been a week.” She was beginning to recognize that gruff, agitated tenor.

“Let her be, Octavian.” She recognized this one as well. “Even if it wasn’t the psychological or emotional trauma, she’s still fighting the infection. She’s not strong like us. Don’t forget she’s still just human.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” the first voice growled. “But it shouldn’t take this long for her to wake up.”

There was a rustle of fabric. “Darling, she will wake up when she’s ready.”

Yeah, lay off,
Riley thought, feeling exhausted.

There was a deep exhalation of breath. It sounded close, somewhere on her left. “Any luck with the other one?”

Other one? What other one? Other one of what?

“No,” the softer voice replied, sounding resigned. “Your father thinks it’s best if we don’t inform the Summit this time. For right now, they know Riley is with us and that we will watch over her until they pass judgment on what to do, but if they find out that another human has found us, it might spur them to look into the matter faster and we can’t have that.”

“Where do you think she came from?” the first voice asked.

“She said Riley called her and told her how to get here.”

“Do you think that’s all it takes to find this place?”

There was another sigh. “I have no idea, Octavian. I mean, we know why Riley found us, because she’s your mate. This…” she paused as though trying to remember something. “This Daphne person… I don’t see any other explanation. It had to be that Riley told her, giving her insight on our location.”

Daphne!
She’d forgotten all about the other girl.

“She came by again today,” the first voice muttered. “Looking for Riley. Apparently she’s been at her house and no one was answering and she’s getting worried and since I’m her boyfriend, I should know where she is.”

“We’re going to have deal with that, and soon,” the second voice said sharply. “The last thing we need right now is for the human authorities to come barging in here because she gave them the location. There will be no way to keep that from the Summit. They’ll have to be called to cleanse all those souls.”

“And find Riley,” the first voice added. “But I think we’re safe for a little while longer. Dad talked to her, told her there was an accident with her father and Riley was staying with some family until arrangements were made.”

“Liam always was good at smoothing feathers,” the second voice murmured with a tone of adoration. “Hopefully that will keep her away for a little while longer, just until Riley wakes up.”

It was the steady clap of boots on hardwood that finally roused her from the comforting arms of sleep. It was the persistent scuffling, the insistent thump, thump, thump, stop, pivot, repeat, that had her lashes prying open. She squinted at the sharp splinters of light cutting through the sheer curtains just above her head. They spilled in boards across the bed and over the dark wood paneling the floors. The room was vaguely familiar, but it was the agitated figure pacing like a caged lion back and forth at the foot of the bed that brought it all into focus.

She was in Octavian’s room, on his bed, dressed in one of her nightgowns from home. There was a tight wrap around her left shoulder that ended in a sling holding her arm across her chest. The area underneath burned and itched all at the same time, but she pushed it aside as she focused instead on the man.

“Are you trying to wear a hole in the ground?” The joke would have probably been a whole lot funnier if her voice didn’t come out sounding like she’d gargled with nails.

Octavian skidded to a halt so fast, it was a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. In two long strides, he was at her side. “Riley.” He said her name as though it were the most precious thing in the world.

Riley offered him a small, sleepy grin. “Hey.”

He raised a hand, already sheathed in soft gloves, and lightly touched her face. He traced the curve of her cheek, from temple to the corner of her lips with the tips of his fingers. “You’re awake.”

She moaned, eyes closing. “I must be.”

“Does it hurt?” The concern in his tone had her eyes opening and fixing on him.

“Like I’m on fire.” All amusement faded as an avalanche of memories slewed through her, spearing her with a violent urge to vomit. “I killed him.”

A trash bin was thrust into her hands not a minute too soon. Octavian scooped her hair back as her empty stomach heaved, tearing at the linings until the pain had her seeing spots. Sweat beaded across her brow, rolled down her spine and fastened her clothes to her until the fabric began to chafe the skin. Tears choked her, suffocating every last breath until she was certain she would die.

When it became apparent that nothing else could possibly come out, Riley slumped back against the pillows, sweat drenched and shuddering. Octavian took away the trash can and wiped her face with a damp cloth he got wrung out from the bowl resting on the nightstand.

“I killed him,” she wept, turning onto her uninjured side and curling into a ball. “I…”

“He was no longer your father, Riley. He’d given himself over to Baron, given his soul. He was an inanimis.”

“But it was my fault. It’s because of me Baron even found him. I let this happen.”

“No.” He brushed back the damp strands of hair from her temple. “Baron could only influence a human when the human summons him.”

She wiped her eyes with the corner of the sheets. “But I pushed him. I said the most horrible things to him and made him think he needed to do what he did. If I had…” Her words tangled with a body wracking sob. “If I had gone to him sooner, if I had apologized weeks ago, this wouldn’t have happened. But I was so angry and stubborn. I didn’t… now I will never be able to tell him how sorry I am. Then… then I killed him!”

He bent down, his lips narrowly touching her temple. “He would have killed you. He would have killed Gideon and Magnus. You saved their lives.”