Chapter 19

“Is this really necessary?” Tina glared at the beam of electricity that wove like a creeper plant around her arms, making her movements sluggish and slow. She shifted in an attempt to make herself more comfortable on the beige leather seat of the limousine, frowning at the pain that cut into the sensitive skin of her wrists. The bonds didn’t hurt as long as she didn’t move, but at every slight shift, electricity scorched her skin for a second. “I promised that I won’t give you any trouble and it’s not like I could even escape from a car going more than” -- She looked past Damon, who sat beside her, at the lights outside that were nothing more than a blur. How fast they were even going? Too fast. “Well, really fast.” But at least the force of acceleration that held her against the seat didn’t have as much of a hold on her as it had had the last time she had driven so fast. It seemed that Uriel’s shakes had helped in getting her body stronger and more resilient. Her gaze zoomed onto Uriel, who sat beside unbound Damon. “And why aren’t you two tied like me? It’s not fair.”

“I’m not a threat. Prva knows that.” Uriel smoothed the front of his long, black coat over his lap.

“I promised to comply with the rules Prva set, and as a Bloodeater and member of Lost clan I’m bound by my promises.” Damon leaned back into the seat, his eyes challenging Anael who sat on Prva’s left side and who had scrutinized him since they had gotten into the car.

“I always keep my promises, too. Well, at least I always try to. Couldn’t you vouch for me?” Tina pouted, her gaze first on Damon and then on Uriel. “Or you?”

“You are not a Bloodeater,” Nathanael said.

Surprised at Nathanael’s deep, booming voice, Tina pushed herself deeper into the softness of the seat, her hand searching and finding Damon's. Nathanael hardly ever spoke and he looked like a brute, scary and big, his face and body carrying the same cold beauty as his siblings, but his eyes as he watched her seemed gentle and kind. Her gaze slid onto Prva and then Anael. She should have been scared of them, but Prva looked disinterested, like her thoughts were elsewhere, and Tina was already used to Anael and the dark frown the delicate-looking girl almost always wore on her face. And by now Tina also knew that she should be afraid of Anael when a smile decorated her lips instead of a frown. “I’m part Bloodeater, too, doesn’t that mean something? And hey, if being Bloodeater -- why didn’t you demand a promise of Angelica?” It would probably be more efficient than Prva locking up Angelica, which since they had sneaked out of the estate and made all kinds of detours, nobody believed would hold Angelica for long.

“Because my sister is the Fallen and the Fallen’s words don’t have any weight.” Prva turned away from the window and faced Tina. “Especially not Angelica's when she wants something.” She smoothed her short hair, her black talons obvious against the whiteness of her hair. “She becomes violent and dangerous. She has always been like that. That’s why I keep her close by my side.”

“She is a threat to our way of living, she always has been, and while you kept her by your side, she was becoming even more powerful and dangerous. Have you seen her Shadows?” Damon leaned forward and rested his elbow on his knee. “As my master sees it, you are only keeping an eye on her for your own ends, because she’s producing children for you and for that you are even giving her the means to enlarge the number of her subjects. You should eliminate her. Or if you can’t force yourself to do that, ship her to my master; he won’t hesitate to make the world a little less dangerous.”

“You mean, dangerous to you?” Prva lifted her chin. “Oh, yes, I know who you are, Damon Blackdart. You can remove that silly mask of yours now.”

“You noticed? How?” Damon asked.

“The triplets noticed there was something odd about you.”

“And I can see a face shimmering under your skin -- it looks quite disturbing,” Anael said. “When I described it to Prva she recognized you immediately.”

Damon’s features shimmered and changed.

“You noticed that?” Uriel's forehead wrinkled. “But you are Prva's clones, you don't have anything to do with Damon, and the only way you could notice something would be if you had Damon's blood in your system.”

“Maybe that’s because the first triplets fed on you and your brothers as children and traces of the Dumes probably still linger in their flesh, in Anael's the most, since you fed her for the longest. She was such a sickly and weak child.” Prva leaned back into the seat.

“Could you see that there was something wrong with Damon, too, that time he ambushed us?” Tina slightly leaned forward and over Damon asked Uriel.

“Yeah.” Uriel nodded.

He hadn't mentioned that, neither had Haniel or Muriel. They probably hadn’t meant to hide things from her, had they? It was just not important to them. Yes, that was probably it. It wasn’t because she was an outsider to them. She drew her brows together.

What is it? Damon’s warm hand squeezed her fingers.

I thought that I knew them, but there’s so much about their past, about them, that I’m not even aware of. She glanced at Damon, before she zoomed back on Uriel.

Who are you talking about? About the Dumes?

Tina nodded. They gave me a feeling of being one of them, but... they have been through so much and I don’t know if I will ever be able to stand by their side as an equal.

Damon shook his head; he released Tina’s hand long enough to ruffle her hair before his fingers laced with hers again. You are so silly.

Yes, very silly, Uriel’s smooth voice joined in. You don’t need to be equal to us to stand by our side.

But I'm so weak and because of it, because of me, Damon is going to give Abbas to Prva and then Angelica might snatch it away. And Damon said that Angelica could use Abbas’s head to release a Black Death over the world. If that happens... Tina bit her lip. She didn’t want to think about that, she refused to, but the thought invaded her mind and taunted her, becoming more persistent as the exchange drew nearer and now it refused to leave her in peace. What if Angelica gets Abbas’s head and succeeds in doing what Damon feared? A lot of people could die because of me.

That’s a risk I’m willing to take, Damon said.

Don’t you worry. Uriel gave Damon an ugly look before he looked at Tina, his eyes softening. Prva made arrangements so that that won’t happen.

How do you know they will help? How can you be so sure?

Because she’s going to transport Abbas to sacred ground, Uriel said.

Sacred ground? Like church or cemetery? That will hold Angelica away?

Churches and cemeteries are not sacred ground for us. The place I’m talking about became sacred because of what it holds and because of that Angelica can’t set foot on it, Damon explained.

Are you sure?

Yes.

And what does that place hold? Tina asked. It must be something special if it can hold Angelica away.

It is. Something very special. It had a great impact on the lives of the Bloodeaters.

What is that supposed to mean?

That it has a great importance for us.

Like that made anymore sense. But it was not as if she needed to understand, she just wanted to calm her fears and hush up her guilt, not that she was guilty of anything, not yet anyway. Are you sure it will keep Angelica away from Abbas?

Yes, Uriel nodded.

Why are we even having an exchange? Since you are all bound by contract and your words, wouldn’t be better and easier for Tristian to take Abbas there and for Prva to release us? At least that way she wouldn’t have to fret about how the whole thing would go or suffer through Damon’s impatience or this drive.

That couldn’t work, since only Prva knows where it is. Uriel said.

It’s a good idea, but it couldn’t have worked, and even if it could it’s not that much better. Until Abbas is in Prva’s care and we’re under the Lost’s protection, anything can happen. Damon soothingly squeezed Tina’s fingers. Not that anything will happen. It’s just going to be a simple exchange, we made sure of that, so you don’t have to worry.

Well, they were the ones that had made her worry, with their stiff shoulders and gestures, going over the information on display, discussing every small detail. And there were many of those.

“They are talking, ma’am.”

“Yes, I can feel that. That shows ill-manners. I thought that Lord Blackdart was raised better than that.”

“We were putting Tina’s fears to rest, nothing for you to worry about.” Damon flashed a half-smile to Prva.

“I wasn’t aware that you had such an advantage over us.” Prva laced her fingers, resting her hands on her belly. “And you, Uriel, when did you become such a friend to Damon? I always thought you harboured more negative feelings toward him.”

“Maybe.”

“And look at you now, how cosy you all are. Your doing, probably, or that woman who has caused so many problems already.” Prva’s gaze slid to Tina. “Severing my beloved father’s head, the audacity.”

Under Prva’s icy glare Tina inched closer to Damon.

Prva shifted her focus to Uriel. “Now I know why your Beliya insisted that you participate, and here I was thinking that you were coming as Angelica’s representative, since we only allowed her to be with us in spirit.”

“You knew perfectly well that Uriel wasn’t coming as Angelica’s servant; if you thought he was, you wouldn’t have allowed him to join us.”

“I’m afraid, ma’am, that your assumptions are correct; I managed to break the tie that bound me to Angelica.” Uriel gave a soft smile to Tina. “Thanks to Tina.”

“No, what are you talking about?” Anael leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Does that mean -- You are not going with them, are you? You can’t. You can’t leave us.”

What assumptions? Tina’s eyes darted between Prva, Uriel and Anael.

You have to know Prva well enough to read between the lines, Uriel said.

She won't do anything to you, will she? I mean, now that she knows that you are not going to stay with them?

No, she won't. She can be scary and demanding, but she was always good to me, always treated me as if I was one of her children.

“I’m afraid, my child, that that’s exactly what Uriel intends to do. Not that I blame you. Living under Angelica’s thumb had to be hard on you.”

“But, ma’am, you can’t let him go.”

“I’m afraid that I don’t have any hold over the Dumes.” Prva’s wrinkled hand stroked Anael’s white hair. “You will just have to bear it.”

“No.” Anael reached out, her fingers dug into the leather of Uriel’s coat. “You can’t leave us.”

“Yes, I can.”

A slap echoed in the small space.

A soft sigh escaped Uriel and the red imprint of a palm quickly disappeared from his cheek. “Anael, stop behaving like this is the end of the world.”

“But -- ” Anael withdrew her hands.

“No ‘but.’ You have your brothers, you don't need me.” Uriel caught her hand, reassuringly curling his fingers around hers for a moment. “And pull yourself together, you are worrying Nathanael.”

Tina peeked at Nathanael, noticing the tense line of his neck and the crease on his forehead. It became deeper and deeper as Anael refused to let go of Uriel's hand. But then the car started to slow down until it stopped and Anael had no choice but to release Uriel as they got out of the car.

The space in which they found themselves had bare walls, large panels held together with steel beams and a high ceiling, with a row of broken windows at the top level. The cold draft coming from the holes in the glass brought the smell of damp clothes, burned oil and a faint stench of sewage.

A storehouse? Tina rubbed her arms, which were still wrapped with beams of electricity, and stepped closer to Uriel, her eyes skidding over the group of people that waited for them at the middle of the space. It looked like some sort of mafia meeting, and the cars parked behind their car and people dressed in white -- Prva sure loved the white -- coming out of the vehicles and coming to stand behind Prva, Anael and Nathanael, just enhanced that image.

Tina wrapped her arm around Uriel’s. “There are so many people.”

“Yes,” Damon closed the distance between them and put his hand on Tina's neck, his fingers playing with the hair on Tina's nape that had escaped the blue hair-band that held it in a low ponytail. “Just a precaution.”

A small shiver ran up Tina’s spine and she wiggled her shoulder. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?” Damon’s fingers crawled higher, their tips rubbing her scalp. “Doesn’t it feel good?”

Yes, it does. And that’s the problem. Tina’s pulse quickened. She stepped away from Damon and since she was still holding onto Uriel, she pulled him with her. The way Damon touched her made her heart race -- wait a minute. She froze. Her heart was racing, but time hadn’t slowed down. Her ability, the only thing that made her special and kept her from being a useless weakling, didn’t work anymore. She wrapped her arm tighter around Uriel, her other arm joining, the bonds of electricity cutting into her skin causing pain, but she didn’t even notice it; her eyes widened and her lips curved in a distressed arch. “Uriel. My... my power.”

Uriel raised his brows.

“It doesn’t work anymore.”

“Of course not. Because of the ties.” Damon leaned over Tina and as his finger touched the beam that wove around her arms, the electricity sizzled.

So that’s why she had to wear those. Since Anael was the only one that had seen her ability that time she had pushed Muriel and Haniel away from that Shadow, she had to have been the one to tell Prva. She sighed. It wasn’t fair that they had taken away the only thing that she had to defend herself, while Uriel and Damon, who both had so many special abilities, were hopping around free as birds. She glanced toward the group that waited for them. As they stepped closer, Prva and her two Numuns in front, with Prva’s other subjects surrounding the three of them, she could distinguish Irene standing at the front of the group. And was that Haniel and Muriel standing behind her?

Tina wanted to rush forward and wrap her hands around both of them, she had missed them so much, but the way the tension danced around them that would probably have been a bad idea. A very bad idea. And she also doubted that she could break the line of Prva’s men, but that didn’t stop her from flashing smiles at the two as she and the others finally stopped two steps before Irene.

“Where’s Abbas?” Prva broke the silence, the hem of her white coat dancing in the light breeze.

The men behind Irene moved aside and Tristian, holding the metal hand of a robot with Abbas’s head in the jar on its platform, stepped forward, the hydraulics of the robot’s leg making small buzzing sounds.

Prva closed the distance of one step, knelt down and spread her arms. “Father.”

Damon pushed Tina forward. Come on. Let’s get this over with.

Just a step forward, two steps, until they reached the other side, that was all they needed to do. Tina pulled Uriel with her. One step. Two steps and she was already standing in Irene’s line of sight. She looked over her shoulder at Prva, who with closed eyes embraced the cold metal, and she could have sworn that she could see something glistening on her cheeks. Was Prva crying?

Prva stood up, and with her hand against the jar she pushed the robot toward the Numuns and her group of men.

That was it? The thing that had kept them all on the edge? She was so worried because of this? Such a simple exchange? Tina’s shoulders relaxed.

“Hey.” Two arms embraced her and another pair of hands in leather gloves started to peel off the bonds that still wove around her arms.

“Hey.” She smiled at Haniel and Muriel, clumsily patting their backs or shoulders, whichever was closer.

“It’s time to go.” Damon put his hand on Tina’s back and gently turned her around.

“Yes, yes.” Tina nodded, her gaze fixed down, watching how Muriel removed the electricity beams from her, Haniel’s hands joining. Something distracted her, moved in the corner of her eye. There was something odd, something weird, she could feel it at the back of her neck.

What was it?

The silence was even harsher than before, it was as if everything and everybody froze, and darkness. Her gaze fell on the floor. Yes, darkness. It had been dark before, but the light of the full moon that forced its way through the rows of windows played with shadows, drawing patterns on the floor. It was disappearing now, inch by inch.

Tina looked up. And she could see them.

Her heart started to flutter like a scared bird and her fingers dug into the flesh of a strong arm. Whose? Haniel’s. She opened her mouth and a stuttered, “Shadows.”

So many of them. They poured in through the windows, some of them sliding down the walls, while others covered the ceiling.

“Yes, I noticed.” Damon pushed her toward Uriel. “Take her to a safe place.” He turned away, Muriel and Haniel stepped to his sides.

“No, where are you going?” Tina grabbed Damon’s wrist. “We will leave together, right?” Her gaze slid to Haniel and Muriel. “Right?”

“We can’t allow Angelica to get Abbas.” Uriel pried her fingers off Damon and pulled her backwards. “You know that. And you agreed that if anything happened you would stay by my side, no argument.”

Yes, she had promised that. “But...” She looked past the Dumes and Damon at Prva and her men. There was no panic there; their every move seemed practiced, as if it had all been planned beforehand. It seemed that everybody knew what they had to do as they moved, forming a protective circle around Prva, Abbas and Numuns, who both drew out their weapons.

Tina’s eyes zoomed onto the Dumes and Damon again. There was nothing she could do for them. Nothing. She bit her lip. Uriel’s hand found hers, their fingers laced. “Be careful.”

“We will,” Haniel smiled and Damon and Muriel nodded before they rushed toward Prva’s side, Tristian tossing a sword to Damon in the process.

“What now?” Tina breathed out as she stumbled behind Uriel, resisting him as he dragged her in the opposite direction toward two bikes that stood before the row of cars. She couldn’t help but look over her shoulders at where Prva and Abbas were.

The Shadows gathered just above them, a big growing blob with tentacles that spread down, moving in the same direction and at the same speed as Prva. And Tina could have sworn that she could see something sparkling in the middle of it.

We are going to blaze our way out of her right behind Prva. Uriel shoved her before him.

Could you stop pushing me? I’m not a sheep. With her free hand she tugged and pulled the ribbons of electricity off her, tolerating the pain with gritted teeth. She could help. Her ability could help, if she could just remove these annoying beams, and maybe with it working the cold wisps of dread that suffocated her might loosen their grip.

Come on, hurry and stop dilly dallying. Uriel lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder, his long legs running to the bikes.

Hey, wait a minute. Tina didn’t dare move too much, too afraid of falling. Then they went through a strip of darkness and found themselves by the bikes. How had that happened? For a moment she stopped tugging at the ribbons, the ends of which were extinguishing with a zap, then disappearing whenever she managed to pull it far enough away. Was this the same thing Damon did when he could appear somewhere else in a split second? Probably.

Uriel set her on the bike’s back seat, shoved a helmet on her head and sat down in front of her. Hold on to me.

Tina wrapped her arms around his waist as Uriel started the machine and slowly rolled them toward Prva, the people in the cars following. She stared over Uriel’s shoulders at the light that started to illuminate the space between Shadows, making the Shadows look even darker, more sinister. Is that Angelica and... Tina strained her eyes. And is that a person there?

Yes, I think it is. And I think I know who it is. Uriel stopped at the outer circle that Damon’s men formed around Prva’s men, Irene, Tristian, Damon, Haniel and Muriel among them, black around the white. It’s Gillian. No wonder Angelica found us. She just freed Gillian and followed her.

What?

Aradma are drawn to their Masters like moths to the light. Even though Gillian is no longer Nathanael’s Aradma, the bond between Aradmas and Numuns is so strong that Nathanael will always be her Master. Uriel directed the bike around the people. I thought that Prva had hidden Gillian from Angelica better than this.

The light in the shape of a woman descended so that she floated just above Prva and Abbas. She released the girl, which she held by the waist, the girl’s unconscious body sagging. Gillian fell down and she would have hit the ground if Nathanael hadn’t caught her.

First using her, then feeding on her; Angelica never leaves anything to waste, Uriel hissed.

Why is everybody just waiting? Tina couldn’t help but ask. The silence pressed down on her, it was broken only by the sound of feet as the men moved slowly, too slowly for Tina’s taste, toward the big exit gate, where Shadows formed a block that climbed higher and higher. This was going nowhere. Why didn’t anybody do something?

Patience is a virtue, Damon said.

Tina glanced over at him, wishing she could see Damon over the top of the men’s heads, but only thing that she could see was the tip of the long sword and the tuft of short black hair, which she assumed belonged to Damon.

“Angelica, stop this nonsense and go home,” Prva’s voice echoed through the hall.

A short burst of laughter followed, chillingly cold; it made Tina shiver as Angelica descended lower. “Do you really think I would do that? Now, when the end of the world is in my grasp?” The Shadows drew closer, looming over them; their tentacles reached toward Prva from every direction.

Beams of electricity shot from various directions and formed a net over Prva, the two circles of men and the vehicles that drove beside them. The sizzling and smell of burning filled the air as black putty dripped down, dispersing before it could hit the ground or dirty the white or black suits.

“Do you think something as pathetic as this will stop me?” Angelica floated above Prva. “I was Father’s assistant, the Second Sac’nic; something as weak as this is nothing to me.” Her toes touched the electricity, the sparks started to fly around.

Tina leaned against Uriel’s back, her arms tightly wrapped around Uriel’s waist. She noticed that some of the electricity beams disappeared with a zap, but for every one that went out, three new ones appeared.

“You will only hurt yourself,” Prva said.

“Hurt myself? You say that as if I couldn’t stand a little pain. Do you think I don’t know what pain is? I feel it every day. Every day as I watch those dirty Mamaels taking over our New World. They don’t deserve to walk around free; I didn’t make them so that they could soil this beautiful world; they belong in cages and behind closed doors. They are only made to be our food, nothing more. But you -- the Lost have given them free rein to do whatever they please while we live in the shadows. We are the Masters, we are their gods. They should only live for our enjoyment. For my enjoyment. I made them. They belong to me. They should bow before me. You should all bow for me. Because of me our race still exists.”

What is she talking about? Tina burrowed her brows.

Mamaels, the humans.

Humans? But she said -- Uriel, what are they doing? Tina’s heart threatened to jump out of her chest and her fingers dug into the hardness of Uriel’s abdomen as she watched how Shadows thickened around the net, pressing against it; the sizzling increased and the smell of burnt filled her lungs. She could barely see anything despite her night vision.

The electricity beams disappeared one by one and the noise of gunshots, clashes of steel and screaming vibrated in the hall.

Hold on tight, Uriel said and the sleek machine, whose motor until now had only hummed, roared its strength.

Chapter 20