Balance (The Divine, Book One) (41 page)

No
doubt she knew I needed the Chalice. She had been waiting for me. Did she take
it not for the demons, but to draw me in? How could she, if I had still been a
mortal then? Had she known what I would become when she killed me? That one was
too much to wrap my mind around.

“Take
it,” she said, motioning to where it sat on the pedestal. “On one condition.”

One
condition. I should have known. No demon would give up anything without making
a deal. “What condition?”

“A
few minutes of your time. That’s it.”

I
stood there, trying to think of the trick, the angle she was using to take
advantage of me. I looked at the Chalice, and then looked back at her. She
didn’t need to take advantage of me. There was nothing I had that she couldn’t
take. I walked over to her, pulled the other folding chair around so I could
sit across from her, and planted myself in it.

“I’m
listening,” I said.

“Like
I said, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Since before you even
existed in fact. That day at the Museum, the day I took the Grail, I didn’t
know that it was you, the too polite security guard, who would be the one. I
had thought I would be stalling the archfiends for years, perhaps centuries
while I waited for you to arrive.”

“Why
were you waiting for me?”

“I
want your power,” she replied. “I need your power, if I am to do what needs to
be done.”

“I
have a feeling you could just kill me and take my power,” I said.

She
smiled, a warm sweet smile that confused the heck out of me. She was evil,
right? “It’s not a power that can be taken,” she said. “You have to share it
willingly.”

“Why
would I ever want to do that?” I asked. “You’re the most powerful evil in this
world. You used the Chalice to arrange the devastation of mankind.”

She
reached out and put her hand on my leg. I could feel the warmth of it through
my jeans. “You of all people should know that evil is subjective,” she said.
“Is it evil to kill in order to save? Is it evil to lie in order to protect?”

I
couldn’t really argue with that. “So you’re saying you aren’t really evil?”

She
took her hand away. “What I’m saying is that the word evil is just that. Look
at the seraphim. The reason Hell exists is because they hold the capacity to do
bad things, just as some demons have capacity to do good things - your friend
Rebecca for instance. I have done things that you would call evil, but I had
also done my share of good. What I need from you has a purpose that I believe
is good, even if others might disagree.”

“What
purpose is that?” I asked.

“To
end the war, of course.”

“You
can end the war with the Chalice. You can end the war by sitting here, talking
to me. The archfiends will destroy the sanctuaries and all mortal life will
cease to be.”

Another
smile. This one was much more placating. “That’s only true under the assumption
that I want the demons to win. That’s only true if we are speaking of the same
war.”

I was
lost. Who did the Demon Queen want to win, if not the demons? What other war
was there?

“I
don’t understand,” I said.

“Balance,”
she said. “It’s all about balance. You. Me. This world. Heaven. Hell.
Purgatory. Good and evil. Every one of these things is a gyroscope, turning and
spinning in a perfect choreography of chaos and order. Yet, if that is true,
then why do you exist? Why do I exist?”

It
was back to the question of why I am? “Balance,” I replied

“Yes,
that is part,” she said.  She waited for me to tell her the rest.

“I
don’t know,” I said. I looked over at the Chalice. Time was not a luxury I had
right now to be partaking in her riddles. “Is there a purpose to this?”

She
pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. “I was afraid I might be moving too fast.
That it was too soon.” She was talking, but not to me. Her yellow eyes dilated
and focused, as if there were someone else in the room with us. “I can’t be
sure I’ll have another chance.” It was like sitting with someone while they
were on the phone. “You’re right. It’s a risk, but I have to take it.”

She
blinked once, then leaned forward again and put her hand up to my face, moving
too fast for me to pull away. Her soft, cool palm pressed against my cheek.

“There
isn’t much time,” she said to me. “I will tell you this once, and I need you to
remember it.”

Her
eyes locked onto mine, and I found that I couldn’t pull away. The black slits
resting inside the yellow orbs captured me, held my soul in a way that left me
powerless, and defenseless. While I had feared the Demon Queen and her power, I
had still badly underestimated it. She could have taken my head from my
shoulders and I wouldn’t have noticed.

“I do
not know how long it will take. It may be days, it may be years,
it
may be millennia. The day will come when you will no
longer eat, no longer sleep, and if you aren’t careful you will no longer feel.
You will sense the balance in your soul, and what was once familiar will become
alien. You will question the balance, question the war, and question yourself
and everything you see around you. You will search for answers. You will scour
the world to find the true purpose of who and what you are. Some you will find,
and some you will need to determine for yourself. Remember that you are free,
that you have your own will and your own choices. Remember these words, search
for your answers, and then find me again.”

She
pulled her hand from my face, keeping her eyes locked with mine. I had so many
questions, but only one of them managed to find its way from my brain to my
lips.

“How
will I find you again?”

She
leaned forward, keeping her eyes on mine until she was too close for me to
focus on them. Warm lips brushed against my cheek, then slipped back to my ear.
“When you are ready, you will know. I will be waiting.”

My
eyes closed of their own volition as she whispered, my body and soul absorbing
as much of her essence as it could manage. “Reyzl,” I said, fighting to speak
above the chaos churning through my being.

“Let
him send his army. I am prepared. Take the Chalice, and hide it as Dante has
asked.” I felt her hand lift mine, push open my fingers, and place something in
it. “Pour this into the Chalice before you step into the Rift. It has been blessed
by an archangel and will permanently negate the power of the crystals. Once you
step through the circle be prepared. Reyzl has betrayed you.”

She
backed away from me. I opened my eyes and looked down at the object she had
placed in my hand. It was a vial of blood. Her blood.

“Who
are you?” I asked, looking up. Gone. I should have known.

I
jumped out of the chair and raced over to the pedestal, grabbing the Chalice
from the platform and running back towards the Rift. I had expected that I
would have felt something from holding an object of such power, but it could
have been a Chinese knockoff for all I knew. I laughed when it occurred to me
that maybe it was, and the Demon Queen had just played me for an even more
complete fool than Reyzl had. This whole thing had gone from crazy to crazier
over the last few minutes, so I wouldn’t have been too surprised.

I
stopped right before the circle, taking the vial of blood the Demon Queen had
given to me and holding it over the Chalice. I hesitated to use it, unsure if I
would be doing the right thing or just falling for another demonic trap. She
had said an archangel had blessed the blood, and she hadn’t been lying, but
Josette had told me all of those guys were staying up in Heaven, and I trusted
her, so how could that be? Still, it was such an unbelievable statement that I
found myself believing it. After all, the Demon Queen had let me live and I
knew Reyzl wanted to kill me. It was a flimsy bit of logic, but it was all that
I had.

I
used my thumb to push the cork out of the vial and dumped the contents into the
Chalice. The moment it touched the wood it began to hiss and steam, leaving a
smell of sulfur and incense behind. I felt a shockwave that ran through my
entire body, and deep within my soul I understood that I hadn’t been deceived.
Now I just had to somehow deal with Reyzl.

I
closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, taking hold of my Source and
pulling its power to me, preparing it for use. I had no idea how I was going to
use it, but I had been warned of the impending ambush and I needed to be ready.

I
took one last gulp of air and stepped forward.

It
was one step into the circle, another step out of it. I didn’t wait to get my
bearings before I tried to propel myself away from the Rift, to put some
distance between Reyzl and myself and get a better idea of what I was up
against. It was a wasted effort. As soon I had cleared the circle a pair of
hands wrapped around each of my arms, and a knee came down on my back to push
me to the ground and hold me in position. My assailants bent me backwards,
twisting me upwards at an awkward and painful angle. It caused me to drop the
Chalice, sending it tumbling to the ground a few feet away. Reyzl bent over
from the waist and scooped it up into his hand. He held it up over his head,
admiring it in the light of the flames coming from the Rift.  His eyelids
fluttered minutely. I could only guess he was realizing what I had helped the
Demon Queen do.

He
recovered from his discovery and turned to me. “Thank you, Landon,” he said
with a surprising sincerity. I suppose he was grateful I had done his dirty
work for him. “I had suspected that filthy hell-spawn would be expecting me to
stab her in the back again. That being the case, I just need one more thing
from you.” He started walking towards me.

I
tried to focus my will, to make myself stronger so I could break free of my
captors.  Another wasted effort, I was in too much pain to get my mind
where it needed to be. I glared up at Reyzl as he approached.

“You’re
in for a surprise if you think killing the Demon Queen will be so easy,” I
said.

He
crouched down in front of me so we were at eye level. “Since she was expecting
my betrayal, I can only assume she’s prepared for my arrival,” he said. “Don’t
worry about me. I’m aware of that bitch’s tricks. That’s why I couldn’t let you
keep the Chalice. That’s why I need to do this.”

His
arm whipped out, the blessed dagger I had dropped gleaming in the firelight. I
felt the coldness of the blade as it dug into my neck, and then the warm
wetness when my blood began flowing from it. Reyzl placed the Chalice under it,
collecting my plasma.

“With
your blood, I have no need to waste time with crystals,” he said.

I
closed my eyes, trying to convince myself that I didn’t need to breathe. The
wound was already healing, but my trachea was still wide open. I knew I had to
stop Reyzl from doing whatever it was he planned on doing with my blood. I
tried to focus again, reaching for my Source and coming up empty.

“Having
trouble concentrating?” Reyzl asked, laughing. He stood and whispered something
to whoever was holding me. I couldn’t see them, but I could see the archfiend
dip his finger into the Chalice, could hear the sucking sound as he fed my
blood to each of them.

“Delicious,”
one of them said. I knew that voice.

“I’ve
never tasted anything like it,” the other agreed in the same voice, confirming
their identities. I had run into them once before, when they had tried to kill
me before I had ever left Purgatory.
Mephistopheles's
Collectors.
What were they doing here?

Reyzl
crouched down again, dipping his finger in my blood and taking it into his own
mouth, making a show of the violation. “You have no idea how powerful your
blood is when combined with the power of the Chalice. If you had, you would
never have made the deal with me in the first place. I’m so glad you did
though. I would have been happy enough if the Queen had taken care of you for
me, but everything has worked out more perfectly than I could have dreamed.”

What
power did the blood give him? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good for the
balance, or for me. I struggled against the fallen angels that held me, but
their grip was iron.

“Now
if you’ll excuse me,” Reyzl said. “I have an army to summon and feed.” He
stood, kicked me in the face, and started walking away.

“What
should we do with him?” one of the angels asked.

“I
have what I need. Kill him,” he replied.

When
one angel released my arm, the other one grabbed it, jerking me to my feet. I
could see him now, his silver hair falling over his elfish face. He was wearing
the same leather duster, though there was no sign of his wings. He circled
around in front of me and drew his sword.

“
Landon.
I can feel you are here. What is happening?
” The voice in my head was
forceful, powerful. Josette. She was still alive!

“
Are
you okay
?” I asked.

“
For
the moment
,” she said. “
We are chained to the ladder by the entrance.
Obi is injured. Reyzl said he has plans for us.
”