Chapter 27 #2
“Who helped you?”
“Someone I can only hope I can trust.”
“What’s the name of the person, Iris? That’s what I want to know.”
I roll my eyes. “Noah Pierce. He’s been gone for a few years, but we were close once. I didn’t want to involve anybody else, okay? But I couldn’t have done it by myself.”
Kaiden’s eye twitches. “I know how close you once were,” he spits out the words as warm as a glacier.
“Oh yeah, I forgot you’ve been stalking me for years,” I fire back while pushing his hand away as if it’s venomous.
He white-knuckles the wheel. “Are you a hundred percent sure you can trust him?”
“I don’t know, Kaiden. Can you be a hundred percent sure about anyone these days?
” I can’t resist adding, “I’ve trusted you…
and look where it’s gotten me.” I let him stew in my words for a few moments to make sure I got my point across before continuing, “We’ve made a deal, and I think he will respect his end of the bargain. ”
The vein on the side of his forehead is pulsing so violently, I’m afraid it’s going to burst any second now. “What. Deal?”
“That concerns me and me alone.” I suck on my teeth.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone saw me.
I was careful to take back all the daggers I used to disable the cameras.
We were also already in the secret tunnel when Cain caught up to us and shot Emily.
That’s where I killed him. So, as long as they don’t go into that tunnel…
I think we’re good. But I’m not sure what the situation is at the compound.
The screen on my phone got smashed in the struggle with Cain, and my battery is dead anyway, so I can’t call Noah to ask.
” Now that my hands are free, I push back the bloody strands that escaped my braid.
“On that note, how secret was that tunnel? Because if Grayson knows about it and finds Cain’s body, we’re fucked…
well, actually, I am fucked.” Not that I didn’t take that risk into consideration when I decided to get Emily out.
But if I can avoid rotting away in a cell for the rest of my life, of course, I’m going to take that chance.
Kaiden reads me like an open book. “Iris, I will level this entire city to mere ashes before the Aureal Council gets to you. Fuck that, I’ll burn down the entire world.”
And there it goes again: my heart is doing the cha-cha-cha while my mind screams at the love-sick organ.
There’s a little pause as he switches lanes.
“The tunnel is a secret. Mammon traded a lot of favors to get those original blueprints for leverage in case a war started between the Order and the Conclave. That tunnel was the first built when the Order arrived in America near the end of the sixteenth century. Since then, they’ve remodeled and updated the house many times, and when they built the new tunnel for transporting demons, they shut down the old one.
It’s not even on the Order’s blueprints anymore. ”
“Well, it did look deserted, so I hope you’re right. What about what the Order did? Directly violating the Treaty. What are you going to do about it?”
Kaiden huffs. A muscle pops in his cheek. “The only thing dark creatures can do in a situation like this is file an official complaint with the Aureal Council. They are supposed to open an investigation and then hold trial if there is enough evidence.”
I go from zero to one hundred in a second. “WHAT? But that’s crazy! They will never blame Grayson because he is one of them.”
“Exactly my point. Do you even know how many innocent dark creatures have been severely injured or killed at the hands of hellseekers since I took over as head of the Conclave? A hundred and fifty-seven—eight, if you count Emily too. And do you know what the Council has done, Iris? Jack shit. Because a lightborn can never be at fault, even if there were witnesses to attest to the crimes. I personally filed all the complaints and fought tooth and nail for each case, only for them to be dismissed or for the witnesses to disappear under mysterious circumstances. That’s why I wanted to storm the compound.
Because I knew if I didn’t, Emily would end up dead, and Grayson wouldn’t even be reprimanded for it. ”
Emily was right—the system is rigged in the Order’s favor. This is all new information for me and, if I had to guess…for everyone who’s not in a leadership position within the Order.
How the fuck did they keep so much from us?
I can’t believe I’ve been so blind. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never even questioned this before.
Dark creatures are briefly covered in the lessons at the compound before graduation, but we are only taught that we are not allowed to harm those under the Conclave’s protection because the Celestial Treaty forbids it.
I always imagined that the repercussions would be equally as harsh as when dark creatures injure lightborn: a death sentence or life at Gomorrah.
But now that I think about it…they were never stated.
And this is why.
Sighing deeply, I ask, “Did you find Adramelech?” I have to change the subject before the unraveling of all I’ve ever known destroys my sanity.
Kaiden’s hands tighten on the wheel, making the thick ropes of muscles in his forearms flex in a way that sends my pulse spiking through the roof.
And with the tattoos and those damn silver rings adorning his fingers?
Straight arm porn. I don’t catch the first words he says. Fuck, Iris. Concentrate!
“—bastard is as slippery as an eel. Being Lucifer’s right-hand demon for hundreds of years has allowed him to build strong connections.
Someone’s hiding him for sure. With the hatred toward the Conclave blooming in Hell, let’s just say that I’m far from welcome.
So even though I tried my best, no one would give away his hideout.
You would think it would be easier to bribe demons. ”
Tapping my foot against the floorboard, I shift to yet another topic. Might as well get as much information as I can out of him since I don’t plan to be this close to Kaiden ever again. I ignore the annoying voice that screams liar inside my head. “Any luck with the prophecy?”
“Since the rogue vampires took over the trafficking rings, we saved a few of the enslaved fae, but they know nothing about an oracle. They’re scared. The rescued women mentioned fae meeting places, but because their magic is not from this world, we can’t track them down.”
“I tried to do some research into the fae folk, too,” I say.
“My grandmother had all of these books on dark creatures, but the majority were in a strange language, and the only two books in English were some sort of medical journals. Honestly, I didn’t even understand half of the notes, so I gave up.
” But maybe I shouldn’t have because they might contain information about what they did to my mother.
I don’t tell Kaiden about my mother’s journal.
If I want him out of my life, I can’t keep pulling him back in. I need to figure things out myself.
We don’t talk for the rest of the ride. I sense multiple times that Kaiden wants to initiate a conversation, but I pretend he doesn’t exist as I try not to freak out at the thought that my life keeps going downhill at breakneck speed.
The sigh of relief leaving my lungs when I spot Sam’s house fills the cabin.
Gaze fixated on the front door, I say, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll give you an update after I talk to Noah. But don’t get any ideas; I’m blocking your number immediately after that.” Not waiting for a response, I get out with my dirty gear in hand, and trudge toward the front door.