48. ZARA
ZARA
I felt Gabriel slip something onto my finger and heard him murmur “keep your shields up” just as the world reappeared around me as a sea of gold, white and blue.
Celestial blue walls with huge picture windows draped in gold overlooked a vast expanse of nothing but blue skies with the occasional white fluffy cloud.
White stone pillars rose from the white marble floor, carved to look as if they were draped in ivy, with the leaves painted in varying shades of green edged in gold and small creatures nestling within.
Above us was a vaulted ceiling covered in artwork that appeared to depict the evolution of the human race.
Golden thrones upholstered in blue velvet, identical to the one Gabriel had created for himself were scattered around the room.
But the focal point was a large central water feature – at least there was something here I could use to my advantage – with a gleaming statue rising from the centre wearing a golden robe.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Gabriel warned me as he saw me eyeing up the water. “You’re here under my protection right now, but any act of aggression by you and our truce goes straight out of one of those windows. And you’ll be following it.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of hurting you. Again.” I raised my chin and tried to look confident but from the way he smirked I failed miserably.
“Welcome to our home, Zara.”
The new voice was deeper than Gabriel’s, far more forceful, and I didn’t need any introduction to know that the man it belonged to was Michael.
He was the complete opposite of Gabriel in looks, as dark as Gabriel was fair, but just as impossibly handsome in his own way.
I bit the inside of my lip to stop myself from telling him what a piece of shit he was for what he’d done to his own daughter and focused on keeping up my mental defences so my contempt for him wouldn’t leak out.
“Oh dear, I can see you’ve already decided to dislike me,” he chuckled, as he pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against and strolled towards me. “And you don’t even know me yet.”
I knew him as well as I wanted to, but it probably wasn't a good idea to say that. I made a point of looking at my wrist instead, even though I wasn’t wearing a watch.
“Do you think we could get on with this, Michael? Time’s a ticking and I’m a busy girl.”
He glared at me. “You really should learn to show more respect, Zara. Antagonising beings who could end you in the space between heartbeats isn’t wise you know.”
“I’ll remember that if our next meeting isn’t under a flag of truce.” I gave him the fakest smile I could muster and mentally high fived myself when he scowled back at me.
“Come.” He turned and stalked off, and Gabriel jerked his head to indicate I should follow him.
“You really do like living dangerously, don’t you,” he murmured.
“Maybe I’ll reconsider that proposal of yours after all, kitten.
Life with you certainly wouldn’t be dull.
” I cast a longing glance at the fountain as I trailed in Michael’s wake to another gold, white and blue room, much smaller but no less ostentatious.
“Raphael, Uriel, Haniel,” Michael announced brusquely, pointing in turn to each of the Watchers seated behind a long, gold table before he and Gabriel took their own seats. These guys really did like their gold. “Please sit.”
There was only one chair on this side of the table, not nearly as large or ornate as theirs. “Well, as you asked nicely,” I said as I perched on it, discovering it was every bit as uncomfortable as it looked. “So, gentlemen, are we going to get this show on the road?”
The one called Haniel cleared his throat.
“Before we can consider agreeing to your terms, Zara, we need you to understand that the oath you have requested to undertake will be both binding and permanent. In fact, it can be severed only by death. Once the oath is made we will not tolerate any further interference in this matter. The consequences of any such interference would be extremely unpleasant for you.”
“If you stick to your side of the bargain, so will I. But if you don’t—”
Anger flashed across Michael’s face, and he surged to his feet. “We do not renege on our deals.”
“Glad to hear it. All I care about is keeping my friends safe from harm. I have already told Gabriel that I have no intention of mounting some crazy rescue attempt to get Seth back. I just want to see him. And frankly, if he’s still there of his own free will, I don’t see why that’s such a problem. ”
“Very well,” Haniel seemed satisfied with my answer.
“Your friends will suffer no harm at our hands as a consequence of anything you may do. But we are adding a caveat, just in case you were planning to try and incite them to act on your behalf once their safety was assured. The Prophecy must be allowed to reach its destined conclusion, and we will not tolerate their interference in that any more than we will yours. If you attempt to involve them, the consequences of any such interference will fall solely on your shoulders rather than theirs. Do we have an accord?”
I didn’t dare glance at Gabriel to see if he was as surprised as I was or if he’d known this was coming and hadn’t had a chance to warn me.
Or maybe he hadn’t wanted to warn me. After all, I had no real reason to trust him.
I’d be lying if I said I was comfortable with this development and I knew full well Seth wouldn’t want me to agree to these terms. But Seth wasn’t here.
And I still didn’t know if Gabriel was telling me the truth about him choosing to remain in the Underworld or if this was all some elaborate trick to stop me from doing anything to help him if it turned out he needed it.
“I’ll accept your terms after I’ve seen Seth.”
“You’ll accept them now or not at all.” It was Michael who spoke and it was clear from his tone there would be no further negotiation. “Your refusal to accept our assurances that Seth is acting of his own free will is frankly insulting.”
“Our word is not given lightly, Zara,” Haniel said.
“You can believe me when I say that Seth is not being held against his will. But we cannot allow any interference in what’s going on in the Underworld.
That matter is between Lucien, Seth and us.
So I will ask you one last time. Do we have an accord? ”
“It may help you to know,” It was Raphael who spoke, “that if any of the stated terms of our agreement were false, the oath would fail to bind us. That includes both Seth being in the Underworld of his own free will and your intention to keep your side of our bargain.”
I risked a glance at Gabriel, and he gave me the tiniest of nods.
“Alright then. I guess we have a deal.” I just hoped I wasn’t going to live to regret this.
“Brothers? Are we all in agreement?” They all looked to Michael and something unspoken seemed to pass between the five of them. He nodded and I felt a little flare of power arc between each of them and me in turn before Gabriel stood.
“It’s done. Come on, kitten, let’s get you back to your pet god before he starts chewing up the furniture and peeing on the floor.”
“Oh Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck balls,” I cursed after Gabriel deposited me back in the same place he’d taken me from and disappeared without a word. The gates were a good mile from the manor, it was getting dark, it was starting to drizzle, and Nero was nowhere to be seen.
“I could teach you some Greek swear words if you want Mathitevómenos. They’re so much more satisfying than English ones. Although I must admit yours are quite entertaining.”
“Nero!” I launched myself at him enthusiastically. “Why were you hiding?”
“Maybe I like to hear you curse,” he teased. “Want a lift home? Your place or mine?”
“Do you think I was wrong to agree?”
We were sitting in Nero’s study sharing a bottle of red wine and I’d just finished giving him a blow-by-blow account of my meeting with Michael.
“I think you should be asking Gabriel that question. I have a few thoughts on the subject, but I’d like to hear what he has to say before I share them.”
“Oh I’ll definitely be asking him. And I’m going to have to tell the others what I’ve done.” I was not looking forward to that conversation. “I need to speak to Gabriel first though and find out what he’s playing at.”
“I doubt they’re going to like what you’ve done any more than I do, but once they calm down I’m sure they’ll be relieved that they can stop looking over their shoulders.
And happy that you’ve managed to negotiate a visit from Seth of course.
How about I take you back home now,” he offered, “and then I’ll pick you up again at nine o’clock and take you out to dinner to take your mind off everything.
I might even let you drive my Maserati as it’s still at the manor. ”
At any other time I would have jumped at the chance to drive his playboy car, but not today.
“I appreciate the invitation,” I said, “but I’m really not in the mood to go out. I’m going to try and contact Gabriel and then get some sleep. I’ll send everyone a text to let them know they don’t have to watch their backs anymore and ask them all to come to the manor tomorrow.”
I’d also be telling them I was spending the night at Nero’s and then turning off my phone as soon as the text was sent. It was the coward’s way out, but after everything I’d already been through today, I was going to take it without a second’s hesitation.
Gabriel was already pacing around his dream pavilion when I got there.
“Are you okay?” To his credit, he looked more than a little concerned. “I had no idea Michael was going to spring that on you. For a minute there, I thought you were going to call the whole thing off.”
“I probably should have done. Please tell me that what Raphael said about the oath not working if they were lying about Seth is true.”
“Oh, it’s true. The same as it wouldn’t have worked if you had been lying about your intentions. You don’t have to worry about that. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It could work to our advantage.
“I fail to see how me agreeing to an oath that will include all of Seth’s team by association is a good thing, Gabriel. They’re going to be absolutely furious with me. I shouldn’t have done it and if I’d had more time to think about it, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“But didn’t you notice the way Haniel worded that extra detail? He said, and I quote, If you attempt to involve them, the consequences of any such interference will fall solely on your shoulders rather than theirs.
I looked at him blankly.
“If you attempt to involve them. Not if they get involved, but if you attempt to involve them.”
“So what are you saying, that I can’t ask them to help me but if they decide to do it without me asking them to, it won’t rebound on me?” That would certainly be a lot easier to have to tell everyone.
“That would be my interpretation, yes. I’m very surprised that Michael allowed him to leave you a loophole like that, but then he’s got no reason to suspect that Haniel isn’t completely loyal to him.”
“And do you suspect that he isn’t?”
“I’m beginning to hope that’s the case. I haven’t dared ask any of them outright, but since Michael attacked Raquel I’ve noticed their attitude towards him has changed. Unfortunately I was with him when it happened, so they’ve no reason to trust me either.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“For now, all I can do is watch and wait until Luci is ready to act. Unless my brothers decide to move against Michael before then of course. I suggest you do the same. Let your team know what’s going on and sit tight.”