“While all of this is terribly intriguing,” Penny drawled, sarcasm dripping from her tone as she sprawled into a chair, “what does it have to do with Raym?”
With a snort, Bale sat beside Faith on the only couch in the room. “Since he was meeting the same Lilu demon who was involved the night I got jumped and Faith was injured, I'd say everything. Not to mention a band of Alu and Rabisu demons attacking Zeke, Faith, and me in the same warehouse.”
Penny arched a brow at Bale. “And you are sure it was Raym, how?”
“Because I saw him, Penny.”
“Either that or Caym has come back from the dead,” Zeke stated, sitting on the edge of the desk in the corner of the room, his arms folded across his chest.
Penny sucked in her breath and jumped to her feet. “Take it back, Zeke. You were mistaken.”
Arching a challenging brow, Zeke eyed Penny but did not move a muscle. The tension in the air fairly crackled. Glancing around, Faith was glad for once Jet was not giving her the evil eye. Penny had the pleasure this time.
“His sword…the handle was wrapped in black leather and had a gold cross embedded in it,” Faith murmured softly.
A gasp told Faith her words had struck home, and Penny glared at her. Unconsciously she flinched, elbowing Bale in the side. He grunted softly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, anchoring her to him.
“You lie,” Penny snarled. She whipped her head around, pointing an accusing finger at Remy. “Why is she even allowed to speak? She does not belong here.”
Remy very calmly rose to his feet. “I can hardly gag Bale's mate. And since she did happen to witness the event, I believe she has every right to state what she saw. Now if you would kindly sit down, Penny, we can get to the bottom of this. Finger-pointing and name-calling will hardly help.”
Penny was shaking her head. “I will not sit here and listen to you malign Raym. He is innocent of what you charge. He would not have his own twin killed.”
Faith watched the almost unnoticeable head motion Zeke's directed at Remy. While she wasn't certain what it meant, apparently Penny did.
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“Go to hell, Zeke,” she hissed, clenching her hands into tight fists. “Until this moment, I had no reason to want to hurt Bale or you. Neither did Raym. Now is a whole other story. And you can guarantee that is the truth.”
“Penny, we do not understand how Raym could be capable any more than you,” Arak interceded quietly from where he stood by the door. “It makes no sense. But you heard what Zeke's snitch said. Something is going down, and we need to be prepared.”
Penny warily watched Arak approach her. He reached up and cradled the side of her face in his hands, and a light bluish glow emanated from his fingers. Her eyes took on a glazed appearance for a moment; then she nodded and slumped back into her chair. For just a moment, she looked broken, defeated, and Faith wanted to reach out to the other female.
“The question is, why now? And why Beelzebub? Why go after Bale and not me? And why attack Faith?” Remy sighed. “We have more whys than answers.”
“Who is Beelzebub?” Faith asked quietly. She couldn't even begin to fathom the why until she knew who stood against them. His name meant little to her, and she wished she had her laptop. Google was her friend.
“How much do you know of the rankings of angels?”
Faith pondered Remy's question, trying to recall what she had heard in passing during her childhood. It was not something Muriel had ever openly discussed, at least not in front of her, and Faith shrugged. “I believe the powers and the Principals were formed after Lucifer was thrown from above. And there are higher ranks than those, but truthfully, that's about it.”
“Actually, the powers existed before the war, but their role changed greatly after Michael took over. And they were a lower-ranking group anyway. The top angels are the seraphim, to which Michael and Lucifer belonged. Then the cherubim. Beelzebub was a member of this group. All of that really has little play now except to say ranking usually equates with strength.”
Bale snorted. “But not always.”
Remy smiled. “Not always. Your vampire Principal is proof of that. She was nothing more than a member of the masses when, during the war, she showed her strength by throwing the number three archangel from above. But Beelzebub hasn't managed to maintain second in command of below through sheer luck. He has backed up his position through strength and cunning, wiping out any who thought to get in his way.”
Remy's words filled her with dread, and Faith wished she had not asked about the demon.
Glancing around, she wondered where the males in the room had ranked and if any were strong enough to defeat Beelzebub. But she did not dare ask the question out loud.
As if reading her thoughts, Arak said, “Remy and Bale could face Beelzebub and win, and Levi and Zeke could stand a pretty good chance against him. The rest of us, probably not.”
“Well, that is reassuring, I guess.”
Bale chuckled as he weaved his fingers through her hair, tickling the back of her neck.
“But this is not about Beelzebub. It is about someone trying to gain his favor. Beelzebub does not have the balls to come to earth. Up here he'd have a hell of a lot more to worry about than Remy or me. Legions of angels would be on his ass, swords ablazing.”
Remy smiled. “There is that. So Raym…” Remy paused, his gaze shifting to Penny. He conceded with a nod and continued, “Or
someone
thinks to use one of our deaths as a way to gain Beelzebub's favor. The
pièce de résistance
would be Bale or myself. But if it is Raym, he 140
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does not stand a chance against either of us and he knows it. So it is only logical to assume the attacks on Bale have been a diversion. But for what?”
“To draw the rest of us out?” Levi suggested.
“But he would have to know that after the attacks on Bale, I would not allow anyone to patrol alone. So what is his angle?”
“To draw us away from the fortress?” Arak suggested.
“For what purpose?” Bale asked.
Remy glanced at Penny and arched a brow.
She seemed genuinely perplexed. “Why would Raym need to draw us away from the fortress? He designed all the security for this place. If anyone could get in, it would be him.”
“Yes, he could sneak in and we would never know,” Arak added.
“So we, what…hole up here on the off chance we have something Raym wants? Ray said the traitor has offered tribute to Beelzebub in the form of one of our heads. He can't get to one of us if we remain in the fortress.” Bale removed his arm from around Faith and leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him.
“We need to capture that damn Lilu demon.”
Zeke's and Bale's gazes locked, and for a moment it seemed to Faith they were silently debating with their eyes. It wasn't the first time she had witnessed such an event, and she wondered if maybe they could communicate with each other telepathically. Her father, as the master, could do so with the members of his nest. And Ezra, the dominus, or vampire of all vampires, could do so with every vampire pledged to him. Maybe it was an ability inherited from the angels.
Bale finally nodded. “We begin hunting the bastard tonight, and we end this.”
Everyone began to stand, but uncertain what the hell had just occurred, Faith remained seated beside Bale. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her, sliding her onto his lap.
She watched the others file out; then, when they were alone, she met Bale's gaze.
“What just happened?”
Bale arched an eyebrow. “Did you not hear me? Zeke and I will begin hunting the Lilu demon tonight.”
Faith rolled her eyes. “Don't be obtuse. I meant the whole 'silent talking' thing, and you know it.” Bale tried to worm his hand under her shirt, but Faith slapped it away. “And don't think you can distract me.”
Bale grinned. “Could you not hear us?”
That question gave Faith pause. “Am I supposed to?”
Bale gave a slight shrug. “Dara, because she was Remy's heart mate, could converse with him.”
“So you really can speak to each other telepathically.”
Bale nodded. “And you cannot?”
He seemed puzzled by this fact, and that concerned Faith. “What if we are not really heart mates?” she whispered.
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Bale snorted. “We are heart mates.” He slid his hand back into her hair, and his lips hovered over hers. “Already I can feel you inside me. Just a tiny spark, but it will continue to grow.”
“How do you know? Did you, you know, with her?”
Bale slid his hand down her back and settled it at her waist as he studied her. “No. At the time, I did not understand the significance. But it hadn't really mattered. We did not recognize heart mates. That came later, when we began to realize some of us could not handle the suffering. We lost many dear brothers, having to hunt them down. It tore us apart for a time.
Thankfully Sam was able to bring us back from the brink.”
“Sam?”
“Our leader. He maintains our home in Jerusalem.”
Faith laid her head on Bale's shoulder and sighed. “It's like this whole other world you live in.”
Bale wrapped both arms around her, holding her tight. “We have remained on the fringes for so long, forgotten. And it has suited our purposes. The humans do not want to know of the war we fight. And they would only get in our way.”
“But there are more than just humans out there.”
Faith felt Bale nod into her hair. “And they are monitored by angels. We have managed to keep them from coming after us because we stay out of their way. We thin out the trash, sometimes by even taking out an archdemon or two. But it is better that they have forgotten us.”
His comment did not sit well with Faith. “Are you saying they would kill you?” When Bale did not respond immediately, she lifted her head and stared at him uneasily. “Bale?”
“Honestly, we do not know,” he said softly. “We have not had an encounter with them for a millennium.”
“But your fears, they are there for a reason.”
“Yes, there was a time we were hunted like demons for simply existing.”
“Damn it, Bale. Ezra is sure to have known almost immediately about your encounter with my father. And if Ezra knows, so does Muriel. What did you risk by getting Hope back?” Fear, thick and putrid, consumed Faith.
His hands framed her face. “It is a chance I was willing to take for you.”
Brushing his grip away, she jumped to her feet. “Then you are a fool. Hope is not worth it.
I am not worth it.”
With a roar, Bale rose and grabbed her by the waist, pressing her body against his. “Do not ever say such words again,” he growled. “If they come, they come. But loving you is worth everything.” His fingers dug into her scalp, gripping the back of her head, and his lips took deep possession.
“Disgusting.” The disgruntled voice had Faith pushing away from Bale's embrace. Penny stood just inside the doorway, watching them with a hard stare. “I said I'd help you, Bale, not stand around watching you paw your…whatever.”
Faith felt her ire rise at Penny's dismissive glance. Then she noticed the other female had changed her clothing. She'd gone from wearing jeans and a T-shirt to a black leather tank and pants. PETA would have a field day with these guys.
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“With what?” Faith questioned, Penny's statement finally sinking in. She'd tried to keep her tone neutral, but when Bale arched a brow, she figured she had not succeeded.
“I asked Penny to train with you.”
Oh, no way in hell!
Bale tensed, and for just a moment, Faith thought he might have heard her. When she sensed nothing in return, she dismissed the notion, figuring he must have suspected how she would react, which was why she was just hearing about his brilliant idea only now.
“Look, I've got better things I could be doing while you are patrolling, Bale, than babysitting for you.”
Oh, this bitch is so going down.
“Penny, I would love to train with you,” Faith fairly purred, and the other female's gaze turned wary. “Just give me a minute to change.” She broke away from Bale and forced Penny from the doorway so she could exit the room. She knew both followed her through the house, but she did not pause until she reached the staircase. “I'll meet you in the courtyard in say…ten minutes,” she called over her shoulder.
“It's a bailey,” Penny responded in her snooty British accent.
Faith tensed but turned and flashed Penny a tight smile. “Of course,” she replied through clenched teeth. Her cool gaze narrowed at Bale for one brief moment before she headed up. She barely recognized that he murmured something to Penny, instead concentrating all her effort on not flying at the other female and tearing her hair out. She stopped short at the top of the stairs, almost running into Hope.
“I really want to knock that bitch on her ass,” her twin murmured, watching Penny slam her way out the front door.
“Get in line.”
Hope snorted. “Your mate shouldn't let her treat you like that.”
Bale had been watching her as he steadily climbed the stairs after her but paused, raising a brow at Hope's interference.
“And your sister should mind her own business. If I thought you couldn't handle Penny, I would do something about it.”
Faith nodded at his words. While having him defend her would be nice, and would certainly appease her sense of outrage, she did recognize the only way to end Penny's snide remarks was to lay her out. And she planned to do just that. Or end up on her ass trying.