Sacrifice (Revelations Book 1) (11 page)

Nico groaned. "Abby isn't a monster."

"It's a vampire, Nico. Not a human, giving it a human name will only make it harder for you to do what has to be done." She edged closer. "You know you have to. I mean, I know you aren't honoring your vows but come on, you can’t honestly allow a vampire to remain on this earth after everything you've been through? Evil is evil,” She avoided making eye contact with him and added, “Isn’t that what you used to say?"

He'd said those exact same words to Abby when they'd first met. Now he found himself defending her right to live. "She can't be killed."

"Yes, she can be. It’s simple. You take a stake and drive it through her heart. Or cut off her head. You can do it, it's your duty."

"No, Rosalie. My duty is to keep her alive. God has chosen me."

She recoiled. "God choose you to keep a vampire alive? Tell me how that’s even possible."

"She's not a vampire, she's a human under a spell." He resumed his previous pacing. "You have to hear me out."

Rosalie sat on the edge of the cot and politely crossed her legs, a stark contrast to what she was wearing. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Abby is the key to opening the Gates of Hell. If I kill her the Gates open and then God only knows what will be unleashed."

"Who told you that load of crap?"

"An elder Striga who read Abby’s palm."

"A Striga? How many vows are you hell-bent on breaking, Nico? The Striga are just as bad as vampires. And tell me why a Striga would keep you from opening the Gates of Hell? They want to reign evil down on this world just as much as Lucifer himself. You can’t trust those evil bitches. For all we know, keeping her alive might be what will open those Gates. They are playing you for a fool.” Rosalie took a breath and placed her hands very ladylike across her lap. “Just bring her to the church and smite her under God's roof. Nothing bad will come of it, it was meant to be."

"No. I know it in my soul to be true. She can't die, especially not by my hand. Keeping her alive is keeping the Gates closed. Rosalie, we were close once. You trusted me, please you have to trust me now."

She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress as if bored with the conversation. "I'm not convinced, but I will let it go for now." Her gaze wandered over him. "You aren't really, you know, sleeping with it? Are you?"

"Kind of personal, don't you think?"

"Well, like you said, we were close once. I want to know if the man I'd opened up to about my darkest desires is sleeping with an unholy beast."

Nico shifted uncomfortably. There was a time when both of them had been honest with each other about fighting their growing attraction to each other. The bad part about being honest about it was remembering how close they'd come to giving in all those years ago. "Rosalie, what we had was a long time ago, and now my personal life is private."

"Fine, for now I’ll have to have faith that God will steer you in the right direction before it’s too late."

He frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Everyone knows once a man sleeps with a wicked woman he loses the ability to think straight. I don’t think you’ve actually done the deed yet, I have a good sense about these things, which means I still have time to convince you and save your soul."

His skin prickled. "Sure, whatever you say."

"Then show me around this town you call home. I'd love to see every inch of it." Her eyes settled on his lips as she practically purred those words.

"Only until sundown, then Abby and I have work to do."

"Of course."

Nico trudged up the steps of his house. "Rosalie, I can't just leave." For the past week he had avoided bringing Rosalie to his home, hoping to sidestep any tension between her and Abby, but Rosalie insisted she come along this afternoon. "Besides you've only been here a week, aren't you still settling in?"

"Nico, it's one night. This town will survive. You and that thing cleared out over a dozen demons last night. You deserve a night out."

He shook his head. "Can't, sorry."

"You can and you will. There's a voodoo priestess in town. She says there is an easy cure for the spell cast on that thing you call Abby."

His head shot up. "You found help?"

She gave a nonchalant shrug. "For you, yes."

"Okay. But we go there, get the information, and come straight home. I can't leave her overnight."

"It is an adult, Nico, you don't need to babysit it."

"She is an adult."

"Fine, she is an adult. Happy now?"

He nodded and opened the front door. "Abby? Cover up, the sun is still out." He waited to hear the rustle of her pulling blankets over herself before he opened the door wider to allow Rosalie inside.

As soon as the door shut Abby uncovered herself and glared at Rosalie. "What is she doing here?"

"Rosalie and I are heading into the city for the night. We have a lead on breaking your curse. In the meantime, you can hang out with Chloe and take the night off. I'm sure you two can find something to do."

Abby blinked. "You're leaving with her?"

"Yes, to help you. I'll be back by morning."

Abby was on her feet. "Don't I get a say in this? What if reversing this curse kills me?"

Nico reached out for her hand but she recoiled. "Abby, do you honestly think, after all this I would let something hurt you?"

"No, but..."

"No buts. If there's a chance of curing you I'll take it."

"Then let me come with you."

Rosalie interrupted. "No, absolutely not."

Abby gestured to the other woman. "Look at how she acts. Can't you see why I don't trust this plan? She has it out for me."

Nico ran his hands through his hair. "Even if that's true, my intentions are true. Stay safe tonight and tomorrow hopefully all of this will just seem like a bad dream. Okay?"

She sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Fine."

"Good. Now remember, don't let Chloe drag you into any trouble."

"Yeah, I know."

He was gone before she knew it and the pounding on the door told her Chloe knew it too. "Abby, I'm coming in, cover up."

As soon as Chloe was inside, Abby was up and pacing. "That woman, that nun. She's up to something, I know it. She isn't out looking for some cure. She wants to kill me. Why can't he see it?"

"Because he's a man." Abby rolled her eyes at the cliché response and Chloe switched gears. "Okay, that wasn't a good answer. He can't see it because she's a woman from his past who he thought was honest and pure. I know she's not, you know it, hell, Meri knows it, but sometimes when you know someone from a long time ago your judgment gets cluttered between who they were and who they are now. Let's just focus on tonight."

"What about tonight? We’ve still got four hours until sunset and I'm already climbing the walls."

"We are going out."

"Like I said, four hours before the sun goes down. In the meantime, what do we do?"

"No, we aren't going out here. We are going into the city."

"What? Are you crazy? Arveda will kill you, and Nico will kill me."

"No one is killing anyone because they won’t know we’re gone."

"How?"

"Magick, of course."

"Okay, but I still can't go outside for a few hours."

Chloe pointed toward the sleeping bag in the corner. "You can go outside, you just need some protection. It will take us nearly four hours to get to the city which means as soon as we get in we can start our hunt."

Abby glanced around trying to figure out what part of the conversation she had missed. "What exactly are we hunting for?"

"A good drink for one," Chloe paused and added. "And for two—your past."

Abby stopped pacing mid stride. "My past?"

"Yep, the way I figure it, you came from Albuquerque."

"Why do you think that?"

"The first time you came to see mother you apparently mentioned you were a college student and had heard of the Striga's fortune telling abilities. University of New Mexico, or more to the point, a particular bar near the main campus is one of the only places you would have ever heard of us. Meri chums it up with some of the locals to keep the Striga name circulating. It helps drum up business. You had to be from there or at least attending college there and I'm pretty sure I've got some leads already. My plan is to head to the city, hit Hex, find Lucas, and then scavenger what information we can while we are there."

"What is Hex?"

"The bar where we will hopefully find some answers."

"And your boyfriend will be there?"

"Some of his brothers like to hang out there, others are there from sun up to sun down. Chances are he will be around."

“Dare I ask why his brothers frequent a bar?”

"They like the environment. Also, I think they like to congregate in large groups to keep tabs on one another, I'm sure Lucas would love to give you a history lesson, he loves talking about that stuff."

"If we are going to snoop around for information about me I doubt he’ll have time for a history lesson.”

Chloe laughed. "Trust me, he’ll talk your ear off about his brothers if you give him half a chance.”

Abby slid down into the heavy quilted bag and groaned as Chloe zipped her up. "I'll take your word for it. Now how are you carrying me out to the car?"

She snickered from the other side of the sleeping bag. "Again with the obvious questions. Duh, magick."Chloe kept the radio of Meri's car at full blast for the four hours it took to drive into the city, by the time they arrived, Abby had memorized every current Top 40 song and every commercial. One song in particular called “Devils Don’t Cry” was stuck in her head. As soon as the car came to a stop Chloe tapped the bag. "Sun's just going down, time to come out and play."

Abby pulled the sleeping bag tighter over her head. "Maybe we should give it a few more minutes?"

"Nope, we’re in a parking garage, by the time we get to the elevators the sun will be gone."

Hex was not your average Goth club, or what Abby assumed was average. What she’d expected was loads of young men with long, unnaturally black hair, prosthetic fangs, tattoos and piercings all quietly enjoying their drinks while music like The Cure drowned out any sort of sound from outside. Instead, the music was a thumping dub-step beat and regardless of how the people dressed, the atmosphere was electric. She'd expected dark, down-tempo music with tables of introverted college kids huddled around, not a dance floor filled with sweaty bodies and glow sticks. The staff all had black hair, some of which were wigs, Abby could see the outline of the netting framing some of the servers faces. Black lipstick and heavy eye makeup seemed to be a requirement. All of the staff wore tight black t-shirts with the Hex pentagram logo on the breast, and black skinny jeans. And everyone was greeted with a smile and some friendly flirting.

The only people who stood out were the man and woman behind the glass bar. The man was tall, dark haired, and sharp fangs peaked out when he smiled. Instead of a black t-shirt he wore a purple t-shirt with the words
'Wanna See If They're Real?'
emblazoned across the front.

The woman next to him had bright pink hair, piercings, and tattoos down both arms. Her lips matched her hair. Her eye makeup wasn't quite up to the heavy Goth look of her coworkers, and instead of tight jeans this woman wore a little skirt with black and pink stripped stockings and high heeled boots that came nearly up to her knees.

Abby’s mouth fell open as Chloe waved to the two behind the bar. "Is that Lucas?"

"Oh God no. That's Alexander. He owns this place." She paused and added. "He's like you."

"Like me?"

"Well, not exactly, I mean he's a vampire."

"Wait, he's a real freaking vampire?"

"Yep, those fangs aren't just for show, but don't worry. He's a good guy."

"A good guy, is that even possible?"

Chloe tugged at Abby’s arm causing her to stop mid-stride. "It is possible. You need to realize that not every demon or creature you will run into in the outside world is evil. Especially not here."

"Why?"

"Alexander offers asylum to anyone needing help. Sometimes they are baddies, but mostly they are demons or creatures who are being unfairly hunted."

"Have I killed good demons?"

"No, honey. No. All of those demons amassing at home, those are the real deal. The big-bads of the underworld who have sworn allegiance to Lucifer."

"So, he's a good guy." Abby arched a brow. "Who eats people?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah he does, but we don't fault animals for killing other animals for food, do we?"

Chagrined, Abby answered sheepishly. "No."

"He has no choice about what he is, but he makes the best of it and does as much good as he can for others who don't want to walk a dark path."

"Is the girl a demon, too?"

"Neffie? No, she's something else completely.”

Abby frowned. “Her name is Neffie?”

Chloe shook her head. “It’s a nickname, her name is Nefarious.”

“Oh.” Abby sighed. “That sounds very reassuring.”

Chloe’s grin widened. “She’s harmless. Well, that’s not true, but she won’t hurt you.”

“What is she then?”

“She's human, technically."

"You know, in normal conversations people don't end sentences with the word technically when referring to a person as human."

"Well nothing in our world is normal, now is it?"

Abby kept her eyes locked on both of them, she was fascinated how a vampire and whatever the girl was could be so out in the open with a room full of humans. "Guess not. So, how human is she?"

"Very. When she was a child she stole from a witch. It was a harmless theft, but the witch wanted to make an example of her and tricked Neffie. The witch offered her a cursed piece of fruit. She ate it, not knowing it was actually a vessel containing the souls of seven demons. We know them as the Seven Deadly Sins. Now those demons live inside her. They are constantly struggling to take control of her or escape, but she's a trooper. Neffie keeps them in check. God only knows what kind of trouble the world would be in if the Seven Deadly Sins were set free."

"But we already sin, aren't we already influenced by them?"

"Humans sin because, well, they’re human, but that’s just their own compulsions and not everyone gives into those temptations. Those Seven Sins broke the Treaty of Balance and used dark magick to tip the scales in their favor. You humans have free will, so while you can be tempted by the Sins, they can’t actually make you do anything you’re not already inclined to do. If the SDS were set free they would influence everyone without resistance. Mankind’s free will would be stripped and you would be their slaves."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Wow, how does she keep them in check?"

Chloe gave a nod to two men sitting at one end of the bar. "She has some help."

"From those two? Who are they?"

"Those are Neffie's boys."

"Her boys?"

"Like boyfriends, plural."

Abby's eyes widened taking in the men at the end of the bar. Both were built like gods, one with black hair and blue eyes the other with blond hair and green eyes. "They are like polar opposites of each other."

Chloe winked. "You have no idea." She opened her mouth as if to say something else when her whole body stilled. Abby could hear Chloe’s pulse start to race and a little twitch of a smile pulled at the corner of her friend’s mouth. The Striga spun on her heels and flung herself at a man standing right behind them. "Lucas!"

Abby blinked. She'd missed all the signs anyone was there. Maybe she’d been too focused on Chloe’s reaction, or maybe there was something about him clouding her senses. Chloe gazed up at him like he hung the moon. The silence surrounding them was deafening as his arms wrapped around Chloe’s waist and he buried his face in her long blond hair. Lucas was whispering something and Chloe was nodding. Abby rubbed her arms and looked around for something a little less intimate to focus on.

As soon as Chloe's feet were back on the floor she pulled Abby closer. "Abby, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Abby."

She extended her hand to him. The initial contact sent a shiver through her and she lost herself in his gaze. He was staring at her, as if he were uncovering every secret her unconscious might hold. Abby shifted on the balls of her feet and took several deep breaths to calm her mind. Lucas smiled and shook her hand without breaking eye contract. "Nice to finally meet you, Abigail. Chloe has been talking about you since your arrival."