Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) (18 page)

             
“Oxygen tanks have been hidden behind the speakers and amps. Two in the kitchen, one under the bridal table, one by the dance floor, and a few others scattered around the guest seating area,” Red added and held up his index finger that glowed red hot. “One wrong move by any of you and I blow this place sky high.”

             
“You’re bluffing.” I dipped my toe in to test the waters of that theory even though he looked serious.

             
“Try me.” Red’s thin lips pulled back in a grin that revealed small, widely spaced teeth.

             
“You’re the Conduit. Why are you even talking to them?” Big Mike extinguished the stub of his cigar on the sole of his boot, and then flicked it aside. His hands curled into bowling ball sized fists. “Where I come from we don’t negotiate with their kind … ”

             
“
Our
kind? What are you, a barbarian? We may be evil, but that’s really no excuse for poor manners,” Boil Face scoffed.

             
“How about if I apologize by ripping your head off your shoulders and grinding my boots in the sludge that’s left behind,” Big Mike snarled.

The entire Glee Club cringed
and recoiled.

             
Eddie held up one hand and whispered behind it, “Where you find this guy? He’s like a caricature of himself. Look into anger management for him. Seriously.”

             
“Personally, I kinda like him,” a familiar voice murmured behind me.

             
“Kat.” This girl’s habitual appearance at the worst possible moments annoyed me.

             
Gabe quickly pulled Alaina behind him.

             
“Another demon!” Beautiful bronze, tan, and white hawk wings slid out from slices cut in Big Mike’s leather vest. His wingspan spread out twice the size of Keni’s. He flapped his wings once and was on top of Kat with his face locked in a vengeful sneer.

             
I leapt into the air and spun into a sidekick that sent him flying back into the nearest chair. On impact the chair legs wobbled and threatened to spill him to the ground.

I answered
his shocked expression with one raised finger. “I don’t care what Council you work for. You’re on my turf and you
will
simmer down. Call that payback for the sucker punch. How ya like my reflexes now?”

             
I expected a blow up of monumental proportions. Instead, a newfound appreciation calmed Big Mike’s rage. He gave me a brief nod to proceed.

             
“Who’s that?” The other Glee Clubbers moved in tight behind Eddie.

             
“Let me introduce myself.” Kat adopted a sickeningly sweet schoolgirl grin that completely contradicted her black spandex bodysuit, and stepped into the middle of the crowd. Gabe rounded his back and growled, but she looked right through him—to the Glee Club. “You know the new force rising that your boss lady is just panting to know more about? I represent them.”

             
Eddie’s “geek” façade’ fell away completely. Deadly steel replaced it. “She doesn’t get out of this room alive.”

Red
’s hands ignited into flame.

             
A raging inferno of barely contained violence brewed in Kat’s eyes. Slow and easy her metal barb slid from her wrist. “And who exactly is going to keep me here?”

             
Gabe’s features widened and stretched into an appearance more feline than human. A king of jungle rumble quaked from his twitching muzzle. He shoved Alaina toward me to keep her safe as he morphed. The twin’s omitted high-pitched squawks of response. Their necks stretched and elongated as their own reptilian change began. Big Mike sprang from his chair fast enough to send it crashing to the ground and expanded his wings out wide. Everyone in the room struck a defensive posture of some sort—some significantly less menacing than others.

             
Alaina poked her head around from where she cowered behind me and grasped my Aerosmith tank top in both fists. “Celeste, think of the centerpieces! They can’t do this here!”

             
I shook off her grip as Kat sauntered toward the stage. “Not really helping, Alaina!”

             
In a blur of speed, I intercepted Kat and grabbed her in a bear hug that pinned both her arm to her sides. “What are you doing?” I hissed in her ear. “Do you want to start a war? Because that’s
exactly
what’s going to happen.”

             
“Get off me!” she spat and struggled against my hold. “I just came here to introduce myself. No harm in that!”

             
“And the flowers! They’ve already placed the flowers!”

“E
veryone is going to get out of here in one piece!” I announced, still gripping a squirming Kat tight enough to leave marks.

Alaina whimpered.

In exasperation I tagged on, “Without harming any decorations or flowers!”

The resident
Bridezilla heaved a sigh of relief.

“You’ve got something to say to me?
” I glanced over my shoulder at Eddie. “Say it and leave.”

             
He ground his teeth together and weighed his next move. The idea of taking Kat back to the Countess created an alluring prospect for him. The longing to achieve such a feat caused a sheen of sweat to dot his brow. Yet to accomplish that he had to go through me, which made that option considerably less appealing. I watched him mull the idea over for a moment before common sense prevailed and Eddie’s tense posture relaxed slightly.

“The Countess wanted us to remind you
of something. A little warning she’d given you about claiming your loved ones whenever the mood strikes her?” A wicked smile curled his lips and a victorious glint sparked in his eyes a second before they blinked to black. “Awful lot of family around for the wedding … Speaking of, no one close to you is acting
odd
at all, are they?”

H
is buddies tittered with laughter behind him.

             
Kendall
. Ice ran through my veins. His threat and the possibility that it may have already come to pass sucked the air from the room. No one moved. No one spoke. The wall clock ticked off the seconds in time with the thud of my pulse in my ears.

Alaina
broke the silence with a tone so dead of emotion it chilled me. She rose to her feet from her crouched and frightened position, her stare cold hard stone. “Celeste, let her go.”

I
didn’t think, but simply acted. Kat charged the Glee Club with her barb poised for attack. Red and orange flames whizzed past my face close enough to singe a chunk of my hair.

The first explosion came from the kitchen.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Water streamed down the street and soaked my tennis shoe. Seated on the curb with my hands hanging limp between my knees I gaped at what was left of Gainesboro’s beautiful library. Once a three-story masterpiece of sunshine yellow stucco, it was now nothing but scorched kindling and smoke from the second story up. The very structure had been weakened by the gigantic holes blasted in it. Not every tank had blown … yet. The fire department worked tirelessly to douse the flames. As long as the heat was kept far enough away from the remaining tanks we would be spared another teeth-rattling, eardrum blasting explosion.  

             
I’d never been inside an exploding building before. I wasn’t a fan of the experience. After Red lit up two tanks everyone inside scrambled to vacate the premises. The Glee Club poofed off first—to the tune of Talking Heads
Burning Down the House
. Kat ran for the door with her arms shielding her head. In mid-stride she became one with the smoke and vanished as air. Big Mike grumbled and kicked out a window. He drew his wings in tight and stepped off the edge, plummeting straight down. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was going after Kat and not just abandoning ship with no forethought of those he was leaving behind.

A ceiling rafter splintered over o
ur heads. Any second the roof
would
cave. “That’s our cue,” Gabe yelled and scooped up Alaina in his arms.

We sprinted for the exit and made it h
alfway down the stairs before the third tank exploded. The roof thundered down and sent a wall of flame surging after us. Tufts of tulle, flower petals and bits of decorations pelted down. I grabbed Gabe’s arm and dragged him behind me as I slipped into super speed. I threw open the door at the bottom of the stairs and pulled us to safety. The three of us eagerly gulped fresh air into our smoke scorched lungs.       

             
In exhaustion we’d collapsed on the curbside, where we watched through sore, bloodshot eyes as the fire department worked to save the treasured community landmark.

“
The ceremony is still on track because that’s at Grams’ church.” I winced at how raw and raspy my throat was. “We just need a new venue for the reception. Grams’ backyard isn’t huge, but maybe we could make it work?”

Gabe
gently rubbed Alaina’s back. “What do you think, Lani? We could get a hold of the caterer and just tell them the location changed. Wouldn’t be too tough.”

Alaina
said nothing but kept her knees pulled in tight to her chest and her face tucked in the nest of her arms.

I
wiped a layer of soot from my face then rinsed my fingertips in the small puddle by the curb. “It might even do Kendall some good to turn her loose on the decorating. She could have that place looking like a fairy land in no time and it might snap her out of her funk.”

A muffled
noise came from within Alaina’s cocoon.

Gabe bent his head to her
. “What, babe?”

“I said no!”
Her head snapped up to reveal soft green eyes made more brilliant by the tears she silently shed as her dream went up in smoke.

“It’s just a place, Alaina,” I
encouraged softly. “The wedding can still happen.”

Her lower lip quivered and she shook her head. “It’s not just the place. My dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses were in there, too
. I hung them in the ladies room while we decorated.”

Gabe
dropped to his knees in front of her and took both her hands in his. “I don’t care what you wear. I just want us to start our life together.”

“But what can that
life possibly look like?” Tears streamed down her face, leaving zig zag tracks through the ash that covered her. “It won’t be normal. Your calling won’t allow for that.” She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the charred skeletal remains of the building. “This is what happens when we try for normal.”

Gabe
brushed the hair from her face. Sorrow cut deep creases into his brow. “It may not be normal, but we’ll be together.”

“For how long,
Gabe? How long will we be allowed to be together before some rogue demon lands a lucky shot that takes you away from me forever?” Her head fell. An auburn curtain of waves blocked her face from view. “It’s just a matter of time. Love can’t thrive in the midst of all this.”

“That’s not true.
” Even I heard the lack of conviction in my voice. But that couldn’t be true … because I didn’t want it to be.

There was no malice in her voice
, only pity when she murmured, “Oh yeah, Celeste? How’s Caleb?”

Pain stabbed
my heart and ground in so deep that it prevented any argument from forming on my lips.

“
With an environment riddled with pain and violence love doesn’t stand a chance.” Alaina pushed herself off the curb and stared down at us. Rowan picked that moment to saunter up. He read the mood of the group well enough to keep his mouth shut.

“
It’s just a matter of time until that violence claims each of us in one way or another.”
Alaina
looked first to Rowan, then to me, and finally let her gaze settle on Gabe. “Whether we submit to it, are pursued by it, or are overcome by it, one way or another none of us will get out of this alive.”

Alaina
slid her engagement ring off her finger. My mouth fell open and I felt my brother’s pain as if it were my own.

Gabe’s
broad face crumbled in anguish. On his knees before her he wrapped his arms around her waist and pleaded with her with every pore of his body. “Alaina, please don’t do this.”

Her shoulders shook from the impact of her sobs
, but still she pushed him away and held out the ring. “I’m so sorry, Gabe. I love you so very much. But … ”

He shook his head
, denying both the words and the ring. “Don’t.
Please
.”

“
I can’t marry you.” She set the ring on the curb beside him and darted off, quickly getting lost in the sea of fire gawkers.