Betrayed (51 page)

“We better go now. Some are coming this way,” Kael warned. He led the teleport, and we fol owed with Dante coming last.

“Holy cow,” Izzy said when she took a proper look at ‘my room.’

“Keep your voice low,” Dante warned. “I’l continue to keep them away from this room. Kael, keep the shield up, so no one senses their presence in here.”

“Won’t Valafar pick up on our psi energies?” I asked. “If I remember how far Solange and I walked, his box is down the hal from here.”

“He’s an energy nature-bender, not a psi.

We,” Dante pointed at himself and Kael, “are prime psis, like your Cardinal. When we put up a shield, nothing penetrates it. Unfortunately, most of his trackers are psis as wel .”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, my gaze moving from his blistered arm to his face.

He crossed his arms and looked down at me.

“What don’t you understand?” he asked sharply, but his eyes gentled when I winced.

“Why are you helping us when he is the one who asked you to watch over me?” I asked.

“I asked if I could watch over you. Kael volunteered to help me.” His lips pinched, and his eyes grew reflective. “You’re the Chosen One, Lilith.

That means something to some of us who are weary of this endless battle we’ve been fighting for centuries. Regardless of where you live, we,” he glanced at Kael, who nodded, “wil continue to protect you from harm whether the source is a human, demon, or Guardian.” He spoke softly but with conviction. “We didn’t know Valafar planned to kidnap you until Solange brought you here. If you choose to stay on his island with him, we’l support that.”

“No,” I said quickly, my eyes widening. “I want

“No,” I said quickly, my eyes widening. “I want to go home.”

“Then Kael and I wil make sure you get there safely. Al of you.” He looked at the others.

Then he did something strange—he went down on one knee before me and bowed his head.

Kael joined him. Together, they formed a fist with their right hand and thumped their chests while muttering something under their breath in the ancient language of our forefathers. I had no idea what the gesture meant, but if it was an oath of fealty to serve me, it meant they’d do anything to protect us.

Dante jumped to his feet. “Excuse me.” He teleported while Kael stayed by the door, watching us with a vigilant expression.

My friends poked around the room, opening cupboards, drawers, and the closet.

“I don’t know whether to envy you or pity you,” Kim said, shuddering. “Demons vowing to defend you…I assume that’s what they were muttering,” she shot Kael a look on the sly, “Valafar duplicating your room and luring you here. It’s al very creepy.”

“Try waking up thinking you’re home only to find yourself in a nightmare. At first I thought….” I told them everything that happened between Kenta and me.

They stared at me with expressions ranging from horror to sympathy. “I should have known,” Izzy said and glanced at Kim. “Do you remember how furious he was when your father fired him?” Kim nodded. “But to try and implicate Mrs. D

is below despicable.”

“Silence,” Kael hissed.

Voices approached the door. “You don’t think she went to find Llyr and the others, do you?” a female asked.

“Dante said he’d check,” a male answered.

“The Lazari wil help Lord Valafar or pay for hiding her.”

They stopped outside the door. I held my breath.

Kael indicated that we move away from the bed to the walk-in closet. We piled inside the narrow space and closed the door. The thought of Kenta nosing around my room and studying my things gave me the heebeegeebees.

“I don’t understand why we have to check her room again,” the female griped, her voice clearer than before. The wal s must real y be thin. “Prime Kael,” we heard her exclaim. “What are you doing here?”

“I just teleported in to check if Lilith came back here,” Kael said. “Dante’s orders.”

“He and Lord Valafar must think alike. Is she?”

“No,” Kael said casual y. “The room is empty.”

“Lord Valafar ordered me to double check everywhere…under

the

bed…the

closet…the

bathroom. So if you don’t mind….”

“Of course not. Go ahead,” Kael said. The door closed with a click then her screams fil ed the room. Her partner’s fol owed.

My heart stopped then picked up tempo. No one spoke, but I bet they were thinking the same thing—Kael had just kil ed two of his own people for us. The door swung open, and he indicated that we should come out. Our gazes went to the scorch marks on the carpet. Remy stepped on them and they disappeared.

“Thank you,” we said, but the tal demon just shrugged like it was nothing.

“Now what?” Sykes asked.

“We wait for Dante to return,” Kael said calmly. “Then leave.”

“Not without Bran,” I said defiantly.

Kael shook his head. “They now know al of you are missing. You need to leave now. The closest exit is on the right side of Valafar’s box. The stairs lead directly to the surface. Once you get home, send the Cardinals to get Llyr.”

I shook my head. “We’re
not
leaving him, Kael,” I snapped.

He glowered.

“She’s right,” Izzy added in a conciliatory tone, as though to defuse the situation. “You wouldn’t like it if Dante left you behind in enemy territory during a battle.”

“If it meant his survival, I would not care,” he said through clenched teeth, his eyes not leaving mine.

“Please,” I added.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

“We swore to fol ow your wishes, no matter how misguided they are. Do not leave this room. If anyone knocks or tries to come inside, hide or take them out. I wil locate Llyr and take it from there.” them out. I wil locate Llyr and take it from there.” Relief had never felt so sweet. I touched his arm. “Thank you, Kael.”

He studied me and shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet,
meus procer.
Do that when you make it home.”

“He has a short fuse, doesn’t he?” Izzy mumbled as she and Kim joined me on the bed. I didn’t respond. Remy took the computer chair while Sykes paced.

“And he just cal ed you ‘my princess,’” Sykes added.

I shrugged and finished tel ing them about Solange and Valafar’s plans.

“I thought I saw some resemblance,” Sykes teased. “Physical, that is.”

“It’s not funny, Sykes,” Izzy checked him. “That the Kris Dagger chose you while the Red Athame chose your sister might not be a simple twist of fate.”

“What else could it be?” Kim asked. “I’ve heard of good and evil twins, but I don’t believe in that yin and yang crap. You forge your own destiny.

Your sister has a choice just like al demons do. They can either give up their evil ways and join us or continue with their old ways. Maybe your sister—”

“Half-sister,” I corrected.

“Thank you,” Solange said from the doorway, having just teleported in. “I was getting tired of
your
sister
this and
your sister
that. Uh-uh, keep those hands where I can see them, pretty boy.” She pointed the beautiful but dangerous Red Athame at Sykes. “You, too, handsome,” she added, looking Remy up and down, a glint in her eyes.
It’s clear,
guards. Come in,
she telepathed.

Five of Valafar’s men, dressed al in black except for the gleaming ruby stones on the pins holding their cloaks and on their belt buckles, entered the room. Behind them came Kenta with a black leather box with strange writings, clasps, and more ruby stones.

“I told Valafar if you want something done right, you do it yourself,” Solange bragged. She gestured to Kenta. “Remove their weapons.”

“Traitor,” I snarled at Kenta.

He winced, but emptied my pockets then moved to my boots. As our former trainer, he knew everything—where

we

hid

weapons,

our

weaknesses and strengths, our favorite weapons.

He touched the knife I hid inside a pouch in my right boot, but deliberately left it there. Our gazes met. His apologetic, mine probably puzzled. Maybe he was regretting his decision.

Kim kicked him, but he caught her booted leg. “Don’t try to judge me,” he snarled.

“Don’t tel me what to do, you evil backstabber,” she retorted.

“I hope you rot in Tartarus,” Izzy hissed at him.

“Enough!” Solange yel ed. “Finish and give me the box, Kenta. My father wants the weapons kept with the dagger in the vault. No chance in Tartarus of any of you getting your hands on them again,” she taunted. “Come, starting with you, Lilith.” I ground my teeth and walked forward. The hated hol ow feeling settled in my stomach, and my heartbeat went into overdrive. Where were Dante and Kael?

Eye to eye with her, I paused. “I escaped before and wil again.”

“You got lucky,” she snarled and shoved me out the door.

In a single file, with me at the lead and Solange behind me, she herded us to the red door and ordered me to open it. A set of red carpeted stairs led to a door with a glass panel, through which I could see a mini bar and some sort of kitchenette.

Beyond it was the luxury box with about a dozen or so tiered leather chairs. A ful head of hair, wavy with different shades of red like mine, was visible from one of the front seats.

Cold sweat broke out along my hairline, and the hol ow feeling in my stomach fil ed with a windmil churning at a supersonic speed. I was not ready to meet him. I glanced over my shoulders and caught sight of Dante talking to the last guy with Remy. Our gazes met and a warning flickered in his eyes.

“Open it,” Solange ordered again.

My heart threatened to leap through my chest as I turned the knob and entered the first room. The head inside the box didn’t move. Solange prodded me with the tip of her dagger. Cold shot through me from the point of contact. Fighting the urge to turn around and attack her, I moved to the sliding door, pushed it aside, and entered.

“Father,” Solange said in a respectful tone tinged with awe. “I found them.”

“As I knew you would. Thank you, daughter.”

“As I knew you would. Thank you, daughter.” Valafar’s voice rippled through the room like a wel -

oiled engine. It was the same fatherly and indulgent voice he used over the phone, partly amused and partly patronizing.

Solange beamed. Valafar stood and patted her shoulder as she walked past him. She went to sit on a seat near the right lower corner of the room.

I swal owed, though my mouth had gone dry ages ago, and reached at my waist for a dagger that wasn’t there. I felt naked and exposed without the Kris. My fingers curled into a fist, bitter anger crashing through me like a tsunami and leaving no room for fear. His lies and manipulations zipped through my head, fueling my rage. No one deserved to be vanquished more than him, and I wanted to be the one to do it.

Final y, he faced me.

He looked different, yet the same. Broad shoulders, limbs lean and masculine like most Nephilim, but he radiated a menacing aura that made him seem invincible. His cloak, though black like his tunic and pants had a red inner lining. This time he wore a black sash of some kind. No, not a sash, a sword belt, the ruby red eyes of the raven on the sword’s hilt matched the one on his gothic-medieval ring. Before, he had a shaved head and a scar from the corner of his mouth to his right temple.

The scar was gone, leaving behind smooth tanned skin. His red hair, wavy and not a curly mess like mine, hung to his shoulders. He looked like a warrior in his prime, his eyes black as midnight, cold and flat like glass.

“My child,” he said, arms raised in welcome with a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.

I cringed and stayed glued to the same spot, my emotions raw and jumbled up—anger, hatred, and resentment. The thought that I’d given him a chance and started to believe he could be good fil ed me with self loathing. I’l never be that gul ible again.

He beckoned me forward.

I crossed my arms and took the necessary steps to bring me closer to him, but not close enough for contact. If he tried to hug me, he’d be sorry.

His gaze raked my face. “You look more and more like your mother every time I see you.” Seeing how he’d set eyes on me only twice, including now, that was a stretch.

He indicated the chair next to his. “Sit.” My heart pounding so hard I bet he could hear it, I sat two chairs away from him. A glance over my shoulder found my friends seated in the middle row with their guards behind them. Dante sat behind the guards and near the door, his expression unreadable. My friends’ faces were set, but I picked up on the fear pouring from them like a geyser.

I wanted to telepath Dante, to say something reassuring to Remy and the others, but Valafar’s gaze on my face, my hair, and my clothes was like a frosty draft. Turning, I stared at him without cowering.

“If you wanted me at this event, you could have just asked me,” I said. “You didn’t have to kidnap me and my friends.”

Something flickered in his eyes—surprise mixed with amusement. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I would have found a way to meet you.” I expected to see skepticism on his face, but the mask of calm control was firmly in place. “So now what?”

“You eat,” he said firmly.

“I’m not hungry.” My stomach chose that moment to growl. “Let Bran and my friends go and I’l stay.”

“I can’t do that, my dear,” he said in a patronizing tone. “I need them.”

“I know, to exchange them for the Specials.

Those children approached us, not the other way around,” I protested. “I was the one who offered them sanctuary.”

Valafar shrugged. “That’s beside the point.

The children belong to me.”

“You don’t own them. They chose not to stay with you or your kind.” I jumped to my feet, and dizziness invaded me again. Forced to grab the arm of the nearest chair, I glared at him.

A spasm of rage flickered across his face then disappeared, but his voice was mild when he spoke. “My kind is your kind, Lilith. Nature-bender children need proper guidance by nature-benders.”

“If you let Bran and the others go, I’l stay and fight for the House of Neteru,” I pushed, sitting down.