The Devil's Soldier (6 page)

Needing something to anchor him, Lucien thought of Eve. He imagined her back at Eden, her private sanctuary, sitting on a beach smiling and surrounded by tropical trees and budding flowers. How many times had he dreamed he was with her on that same beach? It was the only thing that kept him alive during the weeks he laid at the bottom of the ocean after she had fallen from the cliff. It had calmed him then, and it was having the same affect now.

With his mind calm, Lucien was able to feel out Lex's magic inside his mind. It was a dark parasite that was not only sucking his magic, but also using its stringy tentacles to cause him pain. Lucien produced the image of a shiny knight, his sword raised high. The knight raced around inside Lucien's mind, slicing and cutting at the plague of dark magic inside of him, and finally, with one final blast of energy, Lucien expelled the parasite once and for all.

He rose from the ground.

Lex turned around slowly, his eyes wide with fear.

Lucien raised a single finger. Lex's body flew through the air until it smashed against the wall at the end of the hall. The square light fixture above him began to shake until it snapped free from the wall. Lucien mentally divided the metal square into four parts and send them whizzing through the air until they pierced Lex to the wall, one through each shoulder and one through each knee. Lex screamed. Lucien quickly used magic to close his mouth before anyone heard him over the loud music blaring from outside the hall.

Lucien raced to Eve's door and kicked it down. He didn't mean to pause, but the moment his eyes met hers, it was as if his heart began beating for the very first time.

"Lucien," she said, tears welling in her sea-green eyes.

He jerked into action and tore the restraints from her chest and legs. She scrambled to her feet and stood inches from him.

"There's so much I want to say—"

Lucien pressed his mouth to hers. Talking could wait. Eve was here. Alive and in his arms.

Eve kissed him back just as fiercely, both of them needing it just as bad as the other. Her skin was warm and familiar beneath his touch, igniting his body with an intense and pleasurable heat.

It took all the will power he had to let her go. "You need to leave. Now."

She nodded reluctantly, but still continued to stare into his eyes.

"Go!" Lucien said, even though all he wanted was to take her back into his arms.

Eve bolted through the door, but stopped suddenly. She glanced back and said, "I love you."

And then she was gone.

9

Eve reappeared just inside a hotel lobby near the bathrooms where she wouldn't be seen. She had been in this hotel once before years earlier with Liane, her distant witch cousin and best friend at the time. They had attended a party in the penthouse suite. Eve shuddered when the image of the human girl they had hurt came to mind. Liane had been particularly cruel, shoving the girl down the stairs simply because she had tried to stand up against their harsh words.

Other than a man and woman speaking to a lady at the front desk, the lobby was empty. A clock in the corner had just chimed its twelve strokes of midnight. Eve didn't feel the late hour. It felt like she had just woken up from a deep sleep; every part of her was alert and full of energy.

She headed to the front desk, but she didn't make it all the way. She collapsed into a nearby chair and pressed her fingers to her lips.
Lucien.
She didn't realize how much she had missed him until she had come face to face with him. She'd kept all of these emotions for him buried the last few months, all to make sure he was safe. If she had felt even a fraction of what she was feeling now, she would have gone to him immediately.

She couldn't stand being away from him any longer.

After making sure no one was watching, Eve stepped back into the small entryway into the bathroom and imagined the rooftop belonging to the apartment complex across from the Deific building. In less than a second, she was transported on top of it, next to an old air conditioning unit. It hummed with life, rattling loose screws and bolts.

She walked to the small ledge. The Deific building was on the other side, and most of the lights were off except for on the first and second floor. No doubt two security guards were on duty in the lobby, but she wondered who was on the second floor at this late hour. Could be Henry and or maybe even Charlie, although she thought Charlie would have been with Lucien.

Lucien wouldn't be back yet, but she hoped she would be able to see him when he returned. For that to happen, she needed to make sure none of Boaz's followers were watching the Deific.

She closed her eyes and summoned the magic within in her. When her eyes opened, she looked through magic-filled lenses. The Deific building was aglow with a soft light that radiated upwards, pushing back the darkness of the night. It was a supernatural glow, one created by the good deeds of those who worked with in its walls. But something was tainting it.

A long black tendril resembling the thorny branches of a rose bush had wrapped itself around the entire building. Parts of its limbs had twisted inside the windows. Lucien may no longer have a spell on him, but the entire Deific building was cloaked in dark magic. If Eve went inside, maybe even if her name was mentioned, Boaz would be alerted. She needed to find the source and eliminate it.

She surveyed the quiet streets below. Not many cars were out, and even fewer people. Two men in worn clothes were just below her, sitting against the wall of an all-night coffee shop as if they were asleep. There was something off about them that made her spine crawl.

Just then, the door of the coffee shop opened and a woman stepped out. The top of her head was balding severely. She also felt
wrong.
Eve concentrated harder. These people weren't humans—not entirely, anyway. They were Diablos, demons who have taken over human bodies. It wouldn't be long until the Diablos had lost all of their hair, teeth, skin color—anything that made them human. Eve sensed more of them within the coffee shop. Although disturbing, they were not the cause of the dark magic currently infiltrating the Deific. Most likely, they were there because they were attracted to its power.

Eve walked the perimeter of the rooftop, scanning the area. That's when she spotted it. In an apartment kitty-corner from the Deific, a window was darker than the rest. It wasn't just black in color, but exuded an energy that seemed to smother all light around it. The darkness pulsed with power, making Eve's heart race. It was a power she once had, and it was both alluring and frightening.

Approaching from the east, Eve sensed another powerful presence, but it felt the opposite from what she was experiencing now. A smoke-like apparition flew through the air. It was a bright light, a star zooming across the night sky. Only those with magical "eyes" would be able to see its glory. 

Lucien.

He dove into the alley next to the Deific and materialized together within the darkest of shadows. Eve resisted the urge to rush to him. The dark witch must be dealt with first.

Eve was about to turn away when the front door of the Deific opened. Charlie and a red-haired man hurried outside and stopped Lucien before he could go inside. Eve focused, but was unable to
hear
what they were saying—a gift Boaz had denied her when he turned her, not into a vampire, but into an immortal.

Charlie was motioning across the street to where the Diablos waited. He must have sensed them. Eve wondered if Charlie could also sense the witch's black magic.

Lucien glanced toward the coffee house, his body tense and fists rolled tight. The red-haired man, who Eve finally recognized as Rick, a vampire Lucien had met in Ireland, handed Lucien a long blade. Lucien crossed the street first, followed by Charlie and Rick. While they took care of the Diablos, she would take of the witch.

Eve transported herself to a side entrance of the apartment building. Six stories, west corner apartment. That's where she had to go. The door to the building was locked, but she easily used magic to open it. She took the stairs, needing time to formulate a plan. Whoever this witch was, he or she needed to be captured, not killed. This might her best lead to finding Boaz.

By the fifth flight of stairs, Eve was gasping for breath. Not because she was tired, but because dark magic was growing stronger and stronger, tainting the air around her. It coated her tongue and pressed against her skin. She blocked it out as best she could, but it was hard to ignore its powerful pull.

She opened the door to the sixth floor and stepped inside. A hallway stretched long, and the ceiling lights flickered the closer she came to her destination. Her
magic
must be clashing with the witch's dark
power
, creating an electrical disturbance.

She turned a corner and nearly choked on a sudden lump in her throat. The door she needed to open was at the end. She knew it immediately because it was bending outward as if some great pressure inside was trying to get out.

The hall was quiet, most people sleeping soundly in their apartments, oblivious to the evil that stirred only feet away.  Eve moved forward hesitantly. Except for Boaz, she had never fought against a power of this magnitude.

She
reached
the bowing door and pressed her palm to it, expecting to
feel
the bend she could see, but it felt flat, the way a door should be. Her hand slid to the doorknob. Just before she turned it, a familiar pungent odor stung her nostrils, sending an ice-cold chill up her spine. She withdrew her hand, her breathing quickening.

It can't be.
Not here. Not now.
 

She knew this fight was coming, but didn't expect it so soon. She glanced over her shoulder, away from the door. She could go
back
. To Lucien. Her hand dropped to the doorknob. If she did go back, though, they would never be safe. If this
witch
wasn't stopped, then Boaz would find out she was alive. And he would bring his wrath upon all those inside the Deific. No, this had to end tonight.

Eve turned the doorknob and stepped inside. Off to her left was a bare kitchen. No dishes were on the counter, no soap at the sink, no evidence of anyone living there, but the dark energy in the home screamed otherwise. A room next to the kitchen was also
empty
, most likely a dining room. Eve walked farther into the apartment, but stopped at the living room. It, too, was void of furniture or any signs of normal human
life
, but there was another kind of
life
existing in this earthly hell. Facing the window, sitting in a lone chair, was the back of a woman with long golden blonde hair.

Eve squared her shoulders, ready as she would ever be. "Hello, Sable."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," Sable said and turned around. "I am your mother, after all."

Eve clenched her jaw and resisted the urge to argue. It would be pointless and a waste of time. "What are you doing here?"

Sable stood, her figure long and lean in a simple, floor-length green dress. She was as beautiful as ever. "I'm here on a hunch. And it looks like I was right. You really are alive."

"How did you know?" Eve asked and snuck a glance around.

As far as she could tell, they were alone in the apartment, but for how long? She had no idea how Sable communicated with Boaz. Maybe he was already on his way.

"The spell I put on Lucien after you died, or I should say, when you disappeared. I told Boaz it was necessary, as I truly believed you weren't dead. He didn't think it was possible for you to have enough power to save yourself from that fall, but I knew if you had survived, Lucien's emotions would tell us." She tilted her head. "I was beginning to doubt my instincts, but then the strangest thing happened."

Sable gracefully walked across the room. "Two weeks ago, Lucien
felt
hope. It was small, but enough that I noticed it. And then this morning, my spell on him was removed. I knew then I would have to personally come here to find out exactly what was going on."

Sable took three long steps to Eve. "And now you're here. Tell me, daughter, how did you do it?"

"I'm taking you prisoner," Eve said.

"Now that I'd like to see," Sable said and laughed.

"The Deific will keep you safe. There are protection spells. Not even Boaz will know where you are."

The smile disappeared from Sable's mouth and twisted into something ugly and cruel. "Boaz is the least of my problems, and yours."

Before Eve could react to her odd comment, Sable pushed her hand toward Eve's chest. A blast of energy hammered her body and sent her flying into the wall behind her. She crashed through drywall and broke a two-by-four. The sound would draw unwanted attention.

Before the fight could continue, Eve whispered through the piercing pain in her back,
achanum,
silencing all sounds that might come from the apartment.