Authors: Christine Fonseca
Lacrimosa (27 page)
“He wasn’t lying.” My voice floats off my tongue to no one in particular. I look at the pictures burning into my thoughts. The club, as crowded as any Saturday night. But not with humans. The UnHoly. Hundreds of them.
Azza’s army.
Lori screams. It echoes through the club as the assembled mob cheers and screeches.
“String her up,” the Dark One commands.
Two of the UnHoly walk forward and bind her arms and legs. They hoist her up until her face is even with Azza’s.
“Aydan will be back for you. He will drink your soul while my pets devour your flesh. You’re the key we’ve been searching for. You will help us make Aydan more powerful than the angels. More powerful than his precious Nesy.”
“Don’t you dare say her name.” Lori’s voice cracks on the words.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? She’s the reason you’re here.” Azza’s sadistic laughs floats in the air as he walks away.
I pull myself from the nightmare. “You’re not there,” I say to the passing hordes. “Where are you?”
I replay the scene, searching for Aydan. Nothing.
Something’s wrong.
This is different than I’d planned. Maybe Aydan can’t do it. Maybe the Guardian was wrong. Zane is wrong.
Hope punctures my heart. None of it matters now. We’re locked into a similar fate. He
will
kill my sister. He
will
receive the marks. He
will
become the Beast. His vows allow for nothing less.
No matter what our love might mean.
The club looms a block away, bathed in shadows. Night will be here soon and Azza will finish his ceremony.
Unless I stop it.
Adrenaline courses through me as my senses heighten.
Detach. Prepare. Commit
. I focus only on my creed as I walk the final steps to my end.
Standing in front of the old church-turned-club, I stare at the gargoyles adorning the top of the gothic bell tower. I rehearse the plan one last time, slowing each second down.
One shot. That’s all I’ll get to save Lori.
And kill Aydan.
I walk into the narrow corridor behind the church. Shadows dance across the stone walls as the sky turns fiery in its final moments before nightfall.
The back door opens. Demonic music cuts through the silent alley. I flatten myself against the darkness, desperate to remain invisible.
Aydan walks out, his human face ashen. His body trembles as he paces in front of the door, tensing and releasing his fists. Mumbling words I can’t hear.
Anguish rolls off of him in waves. It slices through my warrior’s shell. I edge closer to him, my body almost free from the shadows.
I want to run to him and comfort his broken soul.
I want to kill him for the misery he causes.
I take another step. And then another. His torment, his remorse compels me forward.
Aydan stops pacing and turns, staring into the shadows.
And into my eyes.
I freeze, my body barely shrouded.
“I’m sorry, Nesy.” He whispers to the darkness hiding me. “I messed everything up. For you. For Lori.” His voice catches on the last word.
A tear slides down his face.
“No Aydan, it’s my fault,” I whisper. “I let this happen. And now Lori, you, Mikayel’s army—you will all pay the price for my selfishness.” My vision blurs as tears overtake my eyes.
He stands so close.
“I have to do this,” he says. “I know you can’t understand. And you’ll never be able to forgive me. But, it’s the only way. There really is no other choice.” His voice trails off.
I release a small gasp as I realize what he’s preparing to do.
Aydan tenses, his eyes narrowing on me. I pull back into the shadows, barely breathing.
He takes a fragile step towards me. My heart rams against my chest and I’m certain he sees me.
Aydan pauses, shakes his head slightly and turns back towards the club. He stops at the door and takes a deep breath. Laying a hand on the handle, he pulls.
Lori’s screams flood the alley.
And my world implodes under the weight of my anguish.
Chapter 37 - Requiem
Aydan
My hopes fall away as I walk back into the club. Lori is strung up against the backdrop of the altar, the candles burned down to their ends. Her arms and legs are bound together. Pieces of flesh have been torn from her body. Bruises—angry, purple and red—color her face, her legs, her torso. My insides clench as I look at her, pain forever carved into her face.
The crowd has grown in the club; one big mob of the UnHoly. They clamor around the nearly dead Seer, hungry.
Azza strokes Lori’s hair, caressing her. Bile churns in my throat as rage surges through me. I want to kill Azza.
Later.
Right now, all I can think about is Lori and the way her soul calls to me.
“Ah, you’ve come back,” Azza mocks. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist her. But just to make sure—” Azza rips his claws against her torso.
She screams. The sound reaches into my soul, pulling on the Beast. I can’t control the need rushing through me. My breath comes in small, shallow gasps as my legs move against my will, bringing me closer to her.
“It’s time to make good on your promises, Aydan. For Nesy’s sake.”
The sound of her name on his lips crushes me. I want to scream “No!” Tell him to forget his miserable plans.
I want to kill him where he stands.
“I know you want her. I can feel your body reaching for her.” Azza whispers in my ear. “Do it, Aydan. Take her. Fulfill your destiny.”
My body shakes.
I look into Lori’s eyes, bloodied and red. She radiates agony. It passes from her to me, breaking my resolve. Unleashing the Beast.
I don’t know how much longer I can hold back.
“Please,” she whispers to me. “Kill me. I can’t take anymore of this. Don’t let him be the one.”
“Quiet! We like our meals silent,” Azza barks.
A cacophony of screeches erupts from the mob. They move closer, pressing in on me. I lock eyes with Lori, desperate to understand her unspoken words.
Does she really want me to do it? Kill her?
“Please,” Lori says much louder this time. A final act of defiance.
I can’t bear the torment I see in her eyes. All because of me. Because I was so weak so long ago.
Never again.
“Kill me,” Lori mouths. “Please. For Nesy.”
I move closer, my body next to hers.
“It’s okay,” she mouths, barely able to move her mouth. “I’m dead anyway.”
Her body trembles in my arms.
“Do this,” she says, choking on every word. “To save Nesy. You owe me that much.” I owe her so much more.
Azza watches as I stand inches from her face, quivering.
“Let her down.” I choke.
Azza nods his approval and the UnHoly release their hold on the ropes. She drops into my arms. Gently, I place her on the floor, cradling her broken body. My muscles tense. I don’t know how to control the impending frenzy. Part of me doesn’t want to.
She looks up at me with moist eyes. “Thank you,” she whispers. She closes her eyes. “You’re not like Azza. Remember that in the end. Remember.”
I hear my master urging me, commanding me to drink her soul.
I can’t refuse. She won’t let me.
Carefully I place my trembling lips on hers. I taste the elixir of her life, feel her surrender to me. The sweet nectar fills my mouth, my body. I take her breath.
Her life.
Her soul.
“Lorelei!” Nesy’s voice bounces throughout the hall.
I jerk towards the voice. No! Why are you here?
Nesy slices and hacks her way through the crowd straight for me.
I lay Lori on the ground and mouth a silent prayer. “Be at peace now. I’ll find a way to protect Nesy. I promise.” I stand, ready to face my fate.
Nesy barrels into me, lodging her sword deep into my flesh. Piercing my heart. White hot pain streaks across my body as I feel her anguish rip through me.
“Nesy. I—” I can’t stand, my human body too weak. I slump to the ground as the UnHoly descend on her.
I must find a way to protect her.
Azza stands over me. “Release yourself. Or I will kill her myself.”
I unleash a feral howl and step out of my human form. Hatred permeates every cell.
Hatred for the choices I’ve made.
Hatred for the master I will spend an eternity serving.
Unless…
“Get out of here Nesy,” I yell, stronger now that I’ve released my form.
She doesn’t listen. Holding her sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, she thrusts and jabs everything in her path. “You promised,” she spits at me. “You swore you wouldn’t feed. Promised you’d help keep her safe.”
Two UnHoly fall as she continues her attack.
Azza watches. Amused. He raises a hand, stopping the UnHoly.
Leave Nesy, now
.
“You’re a good warrior, little Sentinal; that is, when you aren’t ruled by your self-inflicted torment. But, you’re wasting your time. The Seer is dead. And Aydan will receive his marks tonight. You’re too late.”
Nesy thrusts her blade toward me.
I want her to kill me. End my pain and torment. ...
You die, she dies…
Azza’s words remind me of everything. I duck and spin away from Nesy’s attack.
“Are you not listening, Sentinal? He won’t let you do that. It’s too late. You’ve already lost.” Azza’s voice fills with malicious laughter.
“Is that true? You
want
to join him now?” she asks me.
“Yes,” I lie.
Her eyes turn cold. Enraged.
Good.
“I won’t let you.” Again she lunges forwards.
“
Divina virtute in infernum detrude daemones”
The condemning words ring through the club as she continues her attack.
“Nesy, stop.”
“No!” she yells. “I
will
finish this. For my sister.”
Her pain pours from her words, coating my skin. She lunges forward again. A blood curdling scream cuts through me. Nesy’s eyes widen. A trickle of blood pours from the corners of her mouth and she falls to the ground.
Azza pulls his sword from her back. “That was getting tiresome.”
Blood pools around Nesy’s human body. “Why?” she chokes out as her eyes flutter and close.
Release, Nesy. Release
. I repeat the words over and over, willing her to survive.
I charge at Azza, grabbing his arm. “You promised she wouldn’t be hurt.”
“I promised her
angelic
form wouldn’t be hurt.” He yanks his arm free. “And it isn’t. Unless she chooses to die.”
“Leave her alone, Azza. I fulfilled my oath. Now fulfill yours.”
“You have not fulfilled yours yet, my apprentice.” His voice rattles the walls of the club. The dark creatures cower. “But,” he says, his voice dangerous. “I will let her go.
If
she can free herself from her form before it dies.”