Revelations (Bloodline Series) (25 page)

“I
would like to think it is, but I can’t say for certain. Everything has happened
so fast…I had no idea she was even on speaking terms with the creep.”

“How
long must she have been talking to him behind our backs?”

“I
wish I knew.”

“How
could we have not known? How could she keep something like that a secret?”

I
couldn’t respond.

“What
do we do?”

“I
don’t know anymore.”

I
helped him up and led him inside. People were scattered around in different
rooms. The house was deathly silent. For a moment, it actually reminded me of a
funeral home. Tyler joined Lily and Jake in the kitchen, leaving me alone in
the hallway. I felt lost and confused, but above all completely useless. I knew
there was nothing I could do. I had no idea where or why Keira had gone, and I
knew I wouldn’t be able to console my friends. Thankfully I wasn’t alone too
long before Hecate joined me.

“Are
you okay?” she asked.

“I
don’t know what I am and what I’m not.”

“This
is messed up. I keep pinching myself in hopes that I’ll wake up and find this
has all been a bad dream.”

“I
wish it were.”

“How
could we have not seen this? None of us knew she was meeting with him. I don’t
know what they’re going to do; it’s come as such a shock to them all.”

“I
don’t know; I don’t know what to do myself.”

“I’m
so sorry, Danny.”

“Why?
It’s not your fault.”

“I
know; I just wish there was something I could do.”

“Can
you contact Eligos?”

“Don’t
bother.” I heard Vetis say before he appeared beside us. “Lucifer has him at
the moment.”

“Surely
he doesn’t think Eligos had anything to do with this?” I said in shock.

“No,
he doesn’t. I think Lucifer just wants to talk to him.”

“Vetis,
is he okay?” Hecate asked.

“Far
from it. He’s devastated, ruined, broken hearted. How would you be?”

We
were interrupted by Lily screaming and shouting from the kitchen. We all ran
in. She stood in front of Lucian and Tyler, cursing them both.

“You
can’t blame us for this, Lily!” Lucian snapped.

“I
can and I
am
. You’ve treated her like shit since the night your parents
were possessed. You punished her for protecting you and doing what you couldn’t.
You shunned her. No wonder she doesn’t want to be here!”

“Lily,
this isn’t fair; we—” Tyler tried to say.

“No,
it isn’t. You were horrible to her; you ignored her in her own house. Jesus
Tyler, she died for you! She protected you from everything she could, all of
you...and you repay her by blanking her. You never even stopped to consider how
hard things were for her, or what effect it had on her. No wonder she’s gone!”

“Lily!”
Hecate intervened. “I know you’re upset sweetie, but this won’t change things,
and it won’t make you feel any better. You need to try and calm down, and not
tear yourself apart. Sometimes things happen which are completely unexpected,
and there is
no one
to blame. You only blame each other because you’re
at a loss for what to do. Please don’t attack one another. You will live to
regret it. Pull together; instead, comfort and support each other. You’ll need
each other to get through all this.”

“How
are we supposed to carry on without Keira?” Tyler snapped. “We need her…she
held us all together. Without
her
we’re nothing.”

“You’re
wrong, very wrong. You are strong, powerful, and all you need to do now is
become focused. Turn your anger and upset into something else. Use it to your
advantage. Let it fuel you. If you all do that, you will become a force to be
reckoned with. I know what’s happened is terrible Tyler, I really do, and I
understand how upset everyone is. But don’t let this ruin you.”

“She’s
right,” Vetis confirmed. “This guy…this Ballantine…he may think that because he
has Keira you will all turn to nothing, and consequently become easy targets.
Prove him wrong. Show him that even without Keira by your side you will still
face up to him; that you will not back down. In simple terms, kick his ass even
more for taking not only your freedom and family, but now your friend and
strongest ally. Show him that all he’s done is make you more determined than
ever to destroy him.”

“Oh
I will, or I’ll die trying.” Tyler seethed. “
That
is a promise.”

He
balled his fists by his sides and walked into the living room. I turned to
Vetis…he looked very concerned.

“Are
you okay?” I finally asked.

“Yeah,
I’m just worried about Eligos. I don’t know how this will affect him.”

“It’ll
break him. He’s waited all his life for Keira, and now she’s gone. It will
destroy him.”

“I
have another concern.”

“What
is it?”

“Keira
was the one—the
only
one—strong enough to take on Ballantine and stand
any chance of winning, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,
so then who the hell can take
her
on...and win?”

Chapter 31

Strange
Surrounds

Keira

Ballantine
had taken me into a large room that reminded me of a courtroom. He said this
was the only room nobody else was allowed to enter unless summoned directly by
him.

“Take
a seat Keira…there are some people I would like to introduce you to. I’ll be
back in a few minutes; make yourself comfortable,” he said before exiting the
room.

I
sat there staring into space. The room was bare except for tables and chairs,
so I didn’t even have anything nice to look at. But I figured since they moved around
constantly there was no point decorating. I took several deep breaths, trying
to relax, but I was so uptight and worried about everything that it was
impossible. I stood and started pacing back and forth. Part of me wanted to
teleport straight back to my house and tell all my friends I was sorry.

“Keira,”
Ballantine smiled, walking back into the room with two men and interrupting my
thoughts. “I’d like you meet two of my most loyal and trustworthy friends. This
is Romero,” he said, pointing to the rather tall, blonde, scary looking
creature next to him. He reminded me of the guards outside the pits; his face
resembled a goblin. “And this is Mason,” he continued, this time gesturing to
the man standing on his left. He looked human, rather handsome, with shoulder
length brown hair and big hazel eyes.

Both
of them shook my hand, but Romero curled his lip at me before looking me up and
down.

“Problem?”
I challenged.

“That
remains to be seen,” he answered before turning to Ballantine. “I’m sorry, but
she means nothing to me. I have things to take care of. If there is nothing
further I would ask if I could be allowed to return to my work.”

“Of
course.”

I
watched as he bounced out of the room; I hated him already.

“His
bark is worse than his bite,” Mason told me. “Just ignore him. It’s a pleasure
to meet you, and I hope we will work together.”

“Thank
you. I don’t know about working together though, I guess it depends what
Ballantine wishes me to do.”

“I
would like you to show Keira around later if you don’t mind. But for now, I
would like to speak to her in private.” Ballantine smiled at him.

Mason
nodded, smiled at me, and then left the room.

“Take
a seat; we need to talk for a little while.” Ballantine said, sitting at one of
the large tables. I sat opposite him, and he continued. “There are a lot of
beings here; not all, as I’m sure you’ll have noticed, are human. Some of them
may look a little frightening at first, but I can assure you every person who
has joined me has a good heart, Keira. They all want this. Most of them wish to
be reunited with loved ones as soon as this is over.”

“And
you’re sure that you can definitely pull this off.”

“What?”

“Allowing
them to see each other, bringing them together...but more importantly, are you
sure you can win this war?”

“I
will be honest with you…until you joined me I wasn’t so sure. I just knew I wouldn’t
give up. But now that I have you, I believe beyond a doubt we can win. I needed
someone else who was as strong as I am, or close to it anyway. I have some
lower level angels with me, and some quite powerful demons too, but some of the
people you associated with would be able to destroy them...rather easily, I’m
sure, if the fight was one on one.”

“Who?”

“Your
lover, for starters. I know a lot about him. He is an incredible fighter and
extremely powerful. I believe Vetis has now joined him; he too is not to be
trifled with. I feared that some of my demons would have been killed very
quickly by those two. But now you are here you can—”

“Ballantine,
let me stop you there. If you think for one minute I would kill Eligos you are
wrong,
extremely
wrong. I would
never
do that. I would rather
die.”

“Keira,
in the end you may have no choice. Do you think Lucifer will let you live now?
Do you think he will allow you to join me and then live on? He will send one of
his best after you as he did with me. I think you know who that means.”

“Eligos
would never kill me. Never!”

“People
change when they have been hurt or betrayed. You have made him experience both.
Eligos is very loyal to Lucifer and Lilith. If he is ordered to kill you he
will have no choice but to obey.”

“I
will not harm him no matter what you say. Find someone else; oh, and you’d
better hope I’m not there when it happens because I will kill your guys before
I let them hurt him.”

“Why
have you come here then?” he snarled, banging his fists on the table. “Why join
me if you have no intentions of—?”

“Okay
look,” I said standing. “Do not speak to me like that, or I will leave; and
since you have already pretty much admitted you need me, I’m guessing you
wouldn’t want me to do that. I sided with you because I believe whole-heartedly
in your cause. I want to be able to see my father and grandfather. I want
people in Heaven who may have a loved one in Hell to know that one day…
some
day…they will be able to see them again. I agreed with you. I do not think it’s
fair that the person in Heaven should be punished for their loved one making
mistakes. They shouldn’t have to nurse a broken heart.”

“Well
then you—”

“I
never asked to be Lilith’s daughter, part demon…I had no choice in the matter.
That means that unless
this
happens, unless
you
win, I will never
be able to spend time with my family. They’re all in Heaven, and I have to
spend eternity in Hell. That isn’t fair, Ballantine. I want to see them, to
speak to them, and hold them. THAT is why I joined you!”

“I
don’t like your tone.”

“Let’s
get one thing straight, shall we? You do
not
frighten me...
at all
.
I will speak however I want and do as I wish. If you cannot accept that, then
maybe I
should
leave.”

“Sit
down.”

“No.”

“I’m
used to people speaking to me with a little more respect.”

“This
is who and how I am…I speak my mind. At least you will always know what I’m
thinking and feeling. You will never hear bullshit escape my lips. So whether or
not you like my tone or my ways, be grateful for that.”

He
fell silent for a moment and sat there watching me. I took a deep breath and
walked over to the windows.

“Keira,
I respect your honesty, I truly do, and I’m glad you have told me all of this.
However, you need to see things from my point of view. Your friends will still
fight; they will turn against you, and therefore—”

“I
don’t care what you say or what
they
do. I will not be the one to kill
them. I will do anything else you ask of me. I will support you and assist you
in any way I can to make sure your plans come to pass. But if you want them
dead, you will have to get someone else to do it, and make sure I don’t know
when it is going to happen. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask.”

“You’re
right, forgive me,” he said, making his way over to me. “I apologize Keira; how
could I ask that of you? You will forgive me?”

“Ask
something else of me, don’t mention this again, and I will forgive you.”

“Done.”

“So
what do I do now?” I asked.

“Settle
in, speak to people, and let Mason show you around. Then I suggest you get some
rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

“Why,
what happens tomorrow?”

“You
prove to me you are truly with me.”

“How?”

“I’m
sending several groups out; they will destroy several cities at the same time
and make sure nobody is left alive. You will lead one of the groups.”