19
Rion
Rion had never kept such a tight rein on his power and emotions.
So far, his poker face seemed to be doing the job, but he hoped like hell he didn’t have to perform any more parlor tricks before he’d had the chance to feed and recharge his inner demon.
His capabilities had grown exponentially since returning from the lower realms, but wielding the pyrokinetic wrath was taking some getting used to.
With his energy spent, Rion felt quite vulnerable and he did not like it.
He followed Marquez and Tobias through a series of hallways until they reached a staircase leading downward. Of course they would put her in the damned basement. Cretins.
Waves of pain and despair emanated from below, growing stronger as they progressed further beneath ground level. Rion’s lack of energy robbed him of the ability to mask and block out the emotions pouring from Kitty. His body longed to soak up those offerings, despite them having been involuntary.
No, I cannot take what little she has left. I can feel how weak she is. I will not be that male.
“Do you feel it?” Will whispered.
Of course Will would notice it too. Rion sighed and met his gaze. “Yes.”
“Damn, are you okay?”
Rion switched to a mind link. “I have weakened myself with my earlier display of power. Do not speak of this aloud. I will be fine; I simply need to feed.”
“Do you need–”
“No. Save it for her.”
As Rion’s final sentence passed over the link, they arrived in the room where Kitty was being held.
A soft Holy glow came from the corner. It was flickering in and out, like a fluorescent bulb on the verge of failure.
Within the shield, she lay on one side, a large white-feathered wing cocooning her small form.
Tobias reached her first. “Let us in, Kitty,” he whispered.
The shield vanished, but she did not move.
Rion and Will knelt down beside Tobias, eager to check on the feisty angel. Lyla stood nearby, as if making herself the barrier between the vampires and the immortals.
Tobias gently raised the wing, causing Will to gasp.
Rion crawled closer to get a better look.
With the amount of blood on the floor, it didn’t seem like there could be much left in Kitty’s body.
This was further proven by the hand pressed to her abdomen, the only thing preventing her insides from spilling out.
She didn’t try to get up; in fact, she barely moved at all.
Even her eyes didn’t open more than halfway.
Her existence was fading right before their eyes.
Will had already shoved Tobias out of the way to get close enough to weave a miracle.
For several minutes, Will worked tirelessly.
While his efforts did not produce a spectacular visual display, Rion could sense the change in the angel’s emotions.
Will had started with urgency and determination.
This had descended into panic and fear. His energy wanes; it will not be enough.
Rion immediately projected strength over Kitty, silently begging her to hold on.
He gave everything he could, until the core of his power simply stopped.
Rion collapsed beside Kitty, barely conscious, her hand still clasped in his.
As his head hit the concrete floor, he realized Will had already passed out.
“Shit,” he heard Tobias mutter, before everything went dark.
Tobias
Having Rion and Will pass out simultaneously was both concerning and a terrible example of their capabilities.
Especially, in front of someone who wanted to defeat them.
They were damned lucky they’d let go before their mortal forms expired.
Waiting for regeneration was time they did not have.
Fighting not to show any of this, he sent another message to Lori, requesting more angels.
“That’s some alliance you’ve got there,” Marquez commented.
It took a monumental effort to hold back a juvenile retort, but Tobias sucked it up and kept his cool.
“This is why I am the king. Maybe if you hadn’t wasted all of their energy in an unnecessary battle, these two could have saved her.
Maybe you should have let us get here sooner.
Do you want to be the one to tell the eighth lord what you did to his daughter? ”
“Look, I didn’t know she couldn’t heal it on her own. I was trying to buy some time to decide what to do.”
Uriel and Kyriel both appeared. Their faces blanched instantly as they took in the situation, and both rushed to assist.
Marquez stood watching with both arms folded. “Maybe I have underestimated you. The instant that what you have is not enough, more allies keep showing up. The timing is a little too perfect. How are you doing this?”
“Telepathy. I have allies gathered in one place along with some of my mortal servants, one of which I have a telepathic bond with.”
“Telepathy.” Marquez stared at him blankly. “How the fuck did you manage that?”
“She’s nephilim.”
“Nephilim. We can bond with nephilim...”
“Should we do anything about these two?” Uriel interjected, as he gestured toward Will and Rion.
“No, we’ll just take them home and deal with it there. Someone needs to go get Christo, though. We’re not leaving without him.”
Uriel glanced back at Kyriel, who was cradling Kitty’s head in her lap, to weave a miracle. “I will go,” he said.
“Where is he?” Tobias asked.
“Do you really think I’m just going to hand him over? I have a vested interest in keeping the angel alive. Your servant, not so much.”
Tobias growled low in his throat. “Do not push me, Marquez.”
“You really aren’t afraid of me at all, are you?” The Floridian king’s statement seemed borne from curiosity rather than anything useful.
I will not be anyone’s entertainment. “I’m a busy male, and if you continue wasting my time, I’m going to lose my shit.”
Marquez growled. “I made you. Show some damned respect.”
“You took advantage of a grieving male, don’t act like it was a favor. Then, you trained me to be a monster, so you can’t throw a tantrum when you don’t like how that turned out for you.”
The Floridian king unsheathed his sword and strode toward Tobias.
He readied his own sword and prepared for whatever nonsense Marquez planned to attempt next. Lyla moved to stand beside him, and the temperature around them descended into an arctic chill.
“Say the word,” she said, an edge to her voice.
Tobias looked at the sheen of ice on her fingers and knew that if he gave the command, she would send an ice-dagger into his heart like a stake.
There would be no coming back from that.
He opened his mouth to protest, when Marquez dropped to the ground and began convulsing.
His five guards advanced, ready to defend him.
“What was that?” Tobias demanded.
“I did nothing!” She protested indignantly. “He fell down of his own accord.”
Tobias dropped his sword and held up both hands to the guards. “I’m not going to hurt him.” He knelt down beside the older vampire and placed a hand over his heart. Marquez’s body felt warmer than a mortal. Something ominous was afoot.
“I think he’s been afflicted by the same issue that killed Carvalho,” he said carefully.
“It would seem so.” Lyla placed her hands on Marquez’s torso and gasped at the temperature, which seemed to be rising steadily.
“Tell us where my servant is, and we’ll help him,” Tobias told the guards.
They all looked at each other, none willing to disobey the order from their king.
“If he dies, you’re going to have bigger problems than his anger,” Tobias said.
“Marquez is one of the original kings. Do you know what that means? All vampires are descended from the originals. When Carvalho died, one of his progenies was in my domain. If we had not stepped in, it’s likely she would have died along with him.
It is not the same as a regular sire receiving the True-Death. It’s much much worse.”
“You lie.” A guard spat at Tobias’ feet.
He blurred forward and grabbed the male by the throat. “Do not make the mistake of underestimating me. You are all still here because I have chosen to let you live.”
“I will take you to the servant,” another guard said. “Help the king.”
Tobias nodded to Uriel, who followed the guard from the room. Then he directed his gaze to Lyla. “I’m not sure if it will work, but see if you can bring his temperature down.”
She called ice to her hands again, and let the cool energy wash over Marquez. Within seconds, he stopped convulsing, and lay still, unconscious.
“I suppose you want me to feed him, too?”
He thought about it. “That would be good. We need him conscious.”
“Very well.” Lyla produced a small dagger and opened a vein at her wrist. She positioned it above Marquez’s face and used her other hand to part his lips. “Come on you piece of filth. Drink it.”
Tobias’ lips twitched at her statement, both amused and impressed that someone else dared to speak the truth and stand up to the arrogant son of a bitch.
Finally, he swallowed the blood. After a few mouthfuls, his eyes fluttered open. When he saw who had fed him, his eyes grew wide.
“You…”
“Thank Martelli, it was upon his order.”
Tobias gave a darkened grin. He loved that Lyla was deferring to him and attributing him with status. It would definitely help matters.
Marquez stared at him. “You bargained for your servant.”
“Yes. I’m not stupid enough to waste an opportunity. Now tell me, how often has this happened to you?”
“That is not your concern.” Marquez slowly dragged himself into a standing position.
“Sir, Carvalho is dead,” A guard announced.
Marquez froze. “Do you know this for a fact?”
Tobias repeated what he’d told the guard moments earlier. Stroking the stubble at his jawline, he let the implications sink in a little and continued. “Kitty’s father is resurrecting his connections with the original kings.”
“We had a blood pact. He wouldn’t renege on that.” Marquez’s tone had lost all its confidence.
“We’re not certain what his endgame is yet,” Tobias said, “but we do know that none of my line, nor those under my protection are affected by this.”
With drawn brows and a clenched jaw, Marquez didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Do you expect me to believe that you are immune to this? You, whom I have sired… yet I am susceptible?”
“Yes, because it is true. There is an explanation, but I will not discuss it while we are enemies.”
Suddenly, everything clicked into place in Tobias’ mind.
The reason so many angels were on standby.
As injured as Kitty was, Will, Uriel, and Kyriel had been all that was necessary to save her.
She was still in a bad way, but she would survive.
The rest of the angels had not amassed for Kitty. They’d come to feed Tobias.
“If you oath yourself to me, we can have an entirely different conversation.”
“You have lost your fucking mind.” Marquez growled under a breath. “Original kings answer to no one.”
Lyla folded her arms, gazing at him with completely-black unholy eyes, her silvery lips quirked into a smile of indifference. “Well, you will be answering to Kitty’s father if you do nothing to protect yourself. If we are not there next time, perhaps you will follow Carvalho in a True-Death.”
“I will never bow to you!” Marquez shouted, just as Uriel and Christo appeared nearby.
Christo’s brows jumped skyward as he tried to take in the scene before him, and the conflict he’d just walked into.
“Our business has concluded,” Uriel said calmly. “Whenever you have finished negotiating Marquez’s survival, we can leave.”
“My–” Marquez spun to face the angel. “You all believe this? You agree with Martelli?”
“We do,” Uriel replied. “You would be wise to ally with him, but we will not waste time trying to convince you.”
“I will accompany you to your base of operations,” Marquez announced. “But I will not commit to this ridiculous notion until I have more information and better proof you can succeed. While I am gone, my people will make some calls and confirm what you say about Carvalho is true.”
“Finally. Let’s get this show on the road.” Inwardly, Tobias breathed a sigh of relief. Outwardly, his mask stayed in place. “Kyriel, can you take Will and Rion back to the penthouse? Uriel, Lyla, we’ll need some help getting to Diabolus Loco.”
While he was speaking, Tobias gently hoisted Kitty up into his arms, wings and all. It took a bit of effort to get her situated comfortably, but he wasn’t about to entrust anyone else with the task.
“Where will you take her?” Kyriel asked softly.
“She has a room in the underground palace,” Tobias explained. “It’s the best place for her to recover.”
The tiny angel nodded, before placing one hand on Rion’s shoulder, the other on Will’s, and dematerializing.
“I will need to bring my guards,” Marquez stated, eyeing Lyla with suspicion.
“Of course,” she said.
With a nod toward Tobias, and another to Uriel, she made contact with the Floridian vampires and dematerialized. Uriel did the same with Tobias, Kitty, and Christo.