Chapter Eleven #2
“Because we have questions.” She slowly moved toward her
sister, casually putting herself between Reina and Razr. “The Gems of Enoch are
suddenly in play, and we need to know why. Did something happen to you
recently? Something that would explain the fact that two fallen angels want
them when no one has bothered us since...since Manda?”
“Not recently,” Reina hedged, her voice low, as if Razr
couldn’t hear. “Well, mostly.”
Shit. “Dammit, Reina, just tell me. What’s happened since
the last time I saw you?”
Reina nervously smoothed her hands down the belted gold
smock she wore in the elven tradition over leather
pants.
“I don’t want to talk in front of––” Reina glared at Razr.
“––him.”
Razr snarled, and before Jedda could blink, he had Reina
backed up against a tree. He didn’t touch her. Didn’t
need to. His anger and size got his point across with ease.
“When you stole from me and my team, you caused irreparable
damage and death. I’ve forgiven Jedda, but you?” He bared his teeth at her. “I
don’t know you, and I don’t give a shit what you want. You will answer
her questions, and you’ll do it in front of me.”
“We owe him that,” Jedda said softly but urgently. “We owe
him at least that.”
“Fine.” Reina slipped around Razr and moved a few feet away,
twitching like an angry cat. “But you aren’t going to like it.”
Razr folded his arms over his chest and leaned casually
against the tree he’d just backed her into. His hip hit the bright yellow topaz
in the trunk’s center, and he just as casually stepped away, probably
remembering what the trees did to those who tried to steal the jewels.
“I already assumed as much,” he said. “Start talking.”
“Start talking, please,” Reina scolded him with as
much sarcasm as she could fit into three words and her voice. She made a sound
of disgust and turned to Jedda. “Right after I saw you last, an angel named
Darlah found me.”
“Darlah.” Razr went as stiff as the tree behind him. “The
Enoch Fire Garnet is hers.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Reina snapped. “I was dating a couple of
Charnel Apostles, and––”
“A couple?” Jedda shook her head. One Charnel Apostle was
unbelievable. But two? Those sorcerers weren’t just evil, they were
nuclear-grade evil. “Why?” Before the floral-scented breeze even carried away
her question, she knew. Charnel Apostles could create gemstones full of
powerful magic, gemstones with limited life. Basically, they were like drugs,
delivering an intense boost of energy or strength or spell power for any gem
elf who ingested them. Plus, they were apparently gods in bed. “Never mind. So what happened?”
“This Darlah chick found me somehow. But I was with my guys
at the time, and there was a battle... Long story short, Darlah got her hand
chopped off and I got her bracelet.”
Razr sucked in a harsh breath. “You
have it? What happened to Darlah?”
“Who the hell cares?” Reina narrowed her eyes. “Oh, wait,
was she your lover?”
The heartbeat of hesitation before Razr spoke was
confirmation enough for Jedda, and while she had no right to be jealous, just
thinking about Razr with someone else left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“It was a long time ago,” he said, catching Jedda’s gaze as
if to make sure she understood that. “Now, what happened to her?”
“No idea where that bitch went.” Reina clacked her long
nails together in irritation. “As for the bracelet, well, I did have
it. Then I started dating this fallen angel who was climbing the political
ladder in Sheoul.”
Jedda’s gut clenched. “Don’t tell me you did what I think
you did...”
Reina winced. “I did. I gave Slayte the bracelet so he could
harness the garnet’s power. He told me he was going to rule Sheoul.
I was going to be his queen.” She swiped her hair out of her face with an angry
shove. “Obviously, that didn’t happen.” She sniffed haughtily. “Oh, and
whatever you do, do not fuck the person wearing your gem’s jewelry.”
Uh-oh. Jedda shot a furtive glance at Razr. “Why
not?”
“Because it’ll bond you to them.” Reina studied her nails,
which were studded with peridots on top of black polish. “Found that out the
hard way.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Razr’s eyes flashed,
reflecting the same mix of anxiety and confusion Jedda felt.
The situation with Razr had already been complicated enough.
“I mean that they can control you. You know how I can heal
people with my gem? Well, apparently, my gem can also be used to tear people
apart.” She smoothed her top again, clearing it of imaginary wrinkles. “That
bastard used me to slaughter hundreds of demons at a time. Thousands.” Her
voice wavered with emotion, something Jedda hadn’t heard from Reina since Manda
died. “It was awful, but I had these feelings for him because of the stupid
bond. I wanted to help.”
“Where is he now?” Razr asked.
“Dead. A couple of months ago.”
“How?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Razr’s leather jacket creaked as he folded his arms over his
chest. “Try me.”
Reina sighed. “The bastard was using the power to tear
through an army of demons that belonged to some guy named...Revenant, I think
it was. We were in some shitty region in Sheoul, and
then out of nowhere, these four psychos with hellhounds rode in on horseback
like the damned Horsemen of the Apocalypse and went all kinds of crazy on him.
I escaped, but not before I saw Slayte get hacked to pieces and then eaten by
the hellhounds.”
Ew. Jedda wished she had a soda to
wash the taste of bile out of her mouth. “Where is the bracelet?”
“I don’t know. Probably in a pile of hellhound shit
somewhere.”
“Disturbing details aside,” Razr began, “that explains why
the gems suddenly came onto the scene. I didn’t hear about that particular battle, but the Horsemen must have told angels
about it, and those angels recognized the use of the Enoch gem.”
Jedda looked over at Razr. “Who are these Horsemen?”
“Reina just told you,” he said.
“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Reina snorted in disbelief and Jedda laughed,
but quickly sobered. He wasn’t kidding. “The actual Four Horsemen? They’re real? You know them?”
“They’re real.” He crouched to pick up what elves called
“clover agates,” because of their color and shape. They were pretty, but their
weak energy was suitable only to nourish the tiniest of infants. “I don’t know
them well. I’ve only seen Limos and Thanatos—Famine and Death—in passing. They
visit Azagoth sometimes, and they often travel with
hellhounds. I don’t know why. Hell, I didn’t even think the beasts could be
tamed.”
“If those things I saw were tamed,” Reina said,
“I’d hate to see what wild hellhounds are like.”
Jedda nodded in agreement. Hellhounds were some of the worst
fiends she’d ever encountered. Right behind Shrike.
“So is that why you’re here?” Jedda
asked her sister. “You’re hiding from whoever has the bracelet now?”
“I’m hiding from Darlah. She swore to destroy me. I felt
safe while Slayte wore the bracelet––I mean, he was a cruel psychopath, but he
wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. Now that he’s gone...” She drew in a ragged
breath. “I’m cool with hanging out here for a while.” She glanced at Jedda and
Razr. “So what’s up with you two? How’d you end up
here?”
“Long story,” Jedda sighed.
Reina arched a reddish eyebrow that almost matched her hair.
“You guys fucked, didn’t you? Oh, man, Jedda...”
Yeah. This was a complication she didn’t need. But it also
explained why she felt the way she did about Razr.
Razr must have sensed her unease because he came up next to
her and took her hand. “We need to talk. Can we catch up with your sister again
later?”
Reina nodded. “If you’re for real and truly forgave Jedda,
where does that leave me?”
“I don’t know,” Razr said in a quietly ominous voice, “but I
give you my word that I’ll protect you as much as I can. If you give
me your word that Jedda can always locate you.”
For way too long, Reina considered Razr’s deal, and finally,
just as Jedda began to sweat beads of sillimanite, Reina agreed.
“Just know this, angel,” she warned. “If anything happens to
Jedda, you’ll never find me again. I can hide here literally forever.”
Razr inclined his head in acknowledgement and then, to
Jedda’s surprise, Reina came over and embraced her.
“Let’s not lose each other again,” she murmured. “Losing our
parents and Manda was enough.”
Jedda didn’t point out that Manda was responsible for their
parents’ deaths—over a stupid ruby—or that Reina had defended Manda until the
end. Which was why Jedda and Reina had gone their separate ways after Manda
died. But maybe now was the time to put all of that to bed. Or to at least open
the door for it to happen.
“Agreed,” Jedda said as she pulled away. “Someday...let’s
talk.”
Reina smiled. And then, in a gesture of goodwill, she opened
her fist and offered Jedda a shiny round moonstone. Jedda’s hand shook as she
took it and held it in her palm. It vibrated with Reina’s energy, a tracking
device of sorts that would allow Jedda to locate her sister at any time, in any
place.
Summoning her own moonstone took a little effort; Jedda had
never been as skilled as her sisters at producing gems at will. Still, a few
seconds and a few silent curse words later, she offered Reina a rough oval
moonstone containing her own energy signature.
Reina took the stone, gave Jedda another hug, and
disappeared inside a tree-formed archway to the elf grand hall where everyone
would be gathering for supper soon.
Razr squeezed her hand, a comfort she was learning she
didn’t want to live without. “What was that about?”
“Healing,” she said with a faint smile. “It was about
healing. I think my sister is finally embracing her life-stone.”