Nine
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Samkiel
I yanked at my tie the second we were in the newsroom hallway. Vincent
and Logan flanked me as we strode past the mortals. Several tried to
stop us, wanting to speak to me or have me sign something. I refused to pause, avoiding everyone. With a final jerk, I managed to rip the tie off.
“I detest these. I detest the suits, the meetings, interviews, all of it.”
“Sorry, boss. I have to make you look professional and all for the rest of the world.”
“Why does everything in this world have to be so constricting?” I groaned and popped the top two buttons of my shirt. The jacket was the next to come undone. It wasn’t just the clothes. It was the spaces, the rooms, the whole damned world. I felt caged.
Vincent moved in front of me and held the door open. The sun cast a golden glow over the world, the day too beautiful in the face of the slowly building war.
“It’s just how mortals are. They need to trust and believe in you. We have to let them know that everything Kaden said is a lie. They need to feel safe.”
I only nodded. “How many more appearances?”
Logan made a face, and I knew I wouldn’t like the answer.
“About eight,” Vincent replied.
No, I did not like it. I did not want to do interviews. I wanted to find her.
It had been a month since she’d killed the Vanderkais and burned their mansion. A month of silence with no answers. A month since I’d locked the world and set up new regulations for all living beings on Onuna. The world
knew of monsters and gods now, and the mortals more than happily obliged.
Vincent had made several new advancements regarding the alert systems for the mortals, devices and tools to make them feel protected, but my rules still applied. No one out after nightfall, strict policies on where they went, what they did, identification for traveling, you name it. I wanted no more blood spilled in this world over my mistakes.
I needed to find her, but I had no leads. I’d hoped it would have happened sooner rather than later, yet days turned to weeks. It seemed the more I tried to restrict the world, the easier it was for her to hide. All I could do was hope that she would slip up.
The very few Otherworld creatures that remained locked below Silver City had stopped talking after a few questions. Considering the charred remains we had to dispose of, my hold on my powers was slipping. That was just one reason I had decided to leave the questioning to the others. I sighed, frustration wearing on me. I had no other Otherworld creatures to ask. She had killed those closest to her, and the ones she hadn’t gotten to had gone into hiding.
“If we leave here now, we can make it to—”
A sharp ring cut me off, and Vincent lifted his phone to his ear. His eyes met mine, then Logan’s. He nodded and told whoever was on the other end we would be there. I didn’t need to ask what they said. I heard it.
A burned hotel.
C elestials sifted through the rubble , gathering anything that might be evidence to take back to the guild. Some carried bags, while others had small devices that glowed with celestial energy, looking for anything Otherworldly.
I stepped over another charred piece of wood in the blacked hotel room.
The smell of blood, ash, and death hung heavy in the air, plummeting me into memories of battlefields, war drums, and destructive flames. Cities burned to metal skeletons, buildings melted and twisted, and the same damn
smell. I crouched, turning over the remains of a broken chair. What looked like pages crumbled to ash. I knew a handful of celestials and gods that could bend flame, but nothing like this.
No one like her.
“We have to call the council, Samkiel. We can’t sweep this under the rug. There are bodies here,” Vincent said, his voice harsh. I stood and wiped my hands on my pants. The room, or what was left of it, was a complete and utter disaster. The hallway and neighboring rooms seemed fine and clean. This looked as if she had lost control, anger spewing from her in a fit
of rage.
“Not yet.”
Vincent scoffed, shaking his head. “Why? Because you don’t want Imogen here?”
“Vincent,” Logan said, not looking up from his search of the ash, a warning in his tone.
“The council wants to make her your advisor once more.”
“We’re not talking about this right now,” I said.
“They said that?” Logan asked.
“Yes, and you know Cameron and Xavier will follow.”
While Dianna knew of my previous history with Imogen, her presence might still ignite Dianna’s jealousy, making her even more volatile. I did not wish to test that theory just yet. If I summoned the rest of The Hand, it might push her further over the edge. It would also solidify the one thing I did not wish to be true. If The Hand were here, then I’d lost her forever.
“I do not summon The Hand lightly. You know that, and I do not need all of you here yet. If I summon you, all of you, it’s not for capture. It’s for war. Kaden will see it as such, and we do not have even the slightest hold on Dianna yet.”
“And you don’t want to fight two Ig’Morruthens?” Vincent asked.
“Tobias makes three,” Logan added.
“Nevertheless, we are not talking about this at the moment.”
Vincent raised a single brow. “I wouldn’t jump to war, but judging by this room, we could use the help. We have no leads, and we’re a step behind her and Kaden. Again. We need more people.”
“Not. Yet.” The words hissed out of me, clipped and short, and Vincent didn’t fight me this time.
My gaze caught on the dark smudge on the far wall, and I stared, transfixed. It blossomed in the telltale splatter of arterial spray, and I wondered just how hot the fire had to burn to brand the blood so deeply into the wood.
A young celestial came through the door, tripping over the rubble as he approached.
“We collected data from the owner as you requested,” he said. He focused on Vincent, seeming unable to hold my gaze.
“This was the only footage we found of anyone coming in and out of this room.” He spun the tablet toward us, pressing a few concave buttons.
Blue lights sparked above it before the screen came to life. A video of the hallway showed a few mortals entering and leaving. I moved closer, Logan and Vincent flanking me, towering over the celestial. He remained in place even as his hands shook, causing the tablet to wobble.
My heart stopped as a handful of women appeared, giggling and dancing. One that stuck out amongst the crowd. There. I saw her. Only it wasn’t her. She wore another mortal disguise, but I recognized Dianna no matter what form she assumed. It was the way she moved, her every gesture inherently Dianna. She could not hide behind cloaks and gimmicks. Not with me. Her skin was shades paler than her natural golden bronzed in this form, and a pink that matched her minuscule dress tipped her short blonde curls. She squealed and laughed with the others as the crowd approached the door. My head lifted, and I glanced around the room. Now I knew why the reek of blood and death was so pervasive. They were all still here.
“At first,” the young celestial started, “we didn’t think it was even her.
Not until… Well, you’ll see.”
I looked at the tablet and recognized her body language. She always used the same tactics in her seduction—a sway of her hips, a flip of her hair, and the slight touches to her upper torso. Dianna reminded me of a serpent, slowly, deliberately drawing in its prey before she snapped. It hurt to watch, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. I rubbed my hand over the smooth line of my jaw, hungry for the sight of her, even if she wasn’t in her natural form.
The outfits she favored always showed a little too much, but she didn’t need them to garner attention. Her smile lit up the entire room, drawing men and women alike to her. Her laugh was like music to my soul.
A man ran up behind her, grabbing her around the waist with one arm and swinging her to the side. They laughed, and my stomach turned. He
handed the suitcase he carried off to another man and opened the door. The women ran inside, but Dianna hung back, leaning against the wall. She beckoned him closer with a slim finger and an invitation in her eyes, a temptress baiting a trap. He fell into it eagerly, his hands running down her sides and over her hips to cup her ass so tightly she grunted and jumped.
My teeth ground and my jaw clenched as he pushed his body against hers before claiming her mouth.
I knew what it felt like to kiss those lips. It was pure bliss, and I hated him for tasting what was mine. Pain twisted my gut, the agony enough to make my breath hitch. I had been nearly cut open in my youth learning how to wield a blade in battle, and this felt worse. It was pure, intense agony, and I wanted to summon Oblivion and rip into him. How dare he touch her, caress her? He did not know her or care for her. She was just another body to him. The lights flickered in the room, and the tablet’s screen went black for a brief second. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I needed to get myself under control. What was wrong with me? I took a breath, trying to calm myself and settle my emotions.
My fists clenched behind my back, and the screen came back on. No one said anything and for a good reason. The primitive part of their brain in charge of their survival told them to stay very still and quiet. I was not a hundred percent certain I would not incinerate them by mistake. I have not wanted nor craved anyone for over a thousand years, but Dianna woke some long-dead part of me. The emptiness and loneliness that had become a reality of my existence faded when I was in her presence. Now she was gone. She had shown me what it meant to feel at peace and then ripped it away.
On the screen, the man lifted Dianna. She wrapped her legs around his waist before they disappeared behind the door. “Why are we playing this?”
Logan asked, coming to my defense after a quick glance at me.
“I-I’m sorry.” The celestial pressed another button, the small white numbers on the edge of the screen fast-forwarding through hours. They had been in there for hours. Anger rippled off me as I struggled not to imagine all the things they could have done. Had he taken her in every part of this place? Had she liked it? Had she made the same noises she’d once made for me? I bit back a groan, feeling as if I were being eviscerated.
“See, this part?” the celestial said, thankfully pulling me from my thoughts. He slowed the video, the seconds clicking by. The door opened,
and an orange glow lit the dark hall. Dianna stepped out in her true form, her beautiful dark hair cascading down her back in waves. She turned and strode down the hall without a backward glance, ignoring the flames that followed her from the room. “She left without the suitcase. The man she came with had a suitcase, and she left without it, which means it is still here.”
“You made me watch that for a suitcase you could have merely mentioned?” I asked, barely keeping the snarl from my voice.
The celestial swallowed, glancing toward Vincent before he stammered, “I-I…”
“Your position is terminated,” I said. Vincent plucked the tablet from his hands, and the celestial hurried away. I turned, fighting the urge to go after him and strangle him.
“Samkiel, think clearly.” Logan stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why would she allow herself to be caught on camera? She knew it was there. That whole display. This? She wants to send a message. She is unhappy with your decision to close Onuna. Think reasonably, and with all due respect, don’t fire anyone else.”
I ignored Logan, unable to process what he was saying, even as he tried to make sense of the situation. The other celestials avoided my gaze, returning to work. I moved further into the room, aiming for the center.
Logan and Vincent followed me but stopped short when I rolled up my sleeves. They reversed direction, waving the celestials back to the edges of the room. Focusing on the growing knot of pain in my chest, I pulled on my power. The skin along my arms lit with the intricate design of my people, the tattoos burning with molten silver. I knew they matched the lines on my face and the irises of my eyes.
The room vibrated as items, charred and damaged, began to mend.
Celestials clung to the walls, trying to stay upright. I lifted my hands, returning the room to what had been only hours prior. Chairs, tables, and couches reformed from the destruction. Several celestials jumped back and out of the way as the room became what it had been before the fire.
“Oh, gods.”
I didn’t need to look to know what was there. I could smell the blood and death. It was no longer a lingering scent but fresh and without the underlying stench of burnt meat.
“Samkiel.” I saw Logan’s face, terror and pain filling his eyes. It wasn’t compassion for what remained of the man on the bed, nor the other bodies that littered the room, but fear for his missing wife. If Dianna could do this, what could Kaden do?
“We will find her. I promise.” I reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. He nodded and forced a brief smile. I looked past him. A young woman who worked for Vincent leaned down and
picked up a pair of lacy red underwear.
My heart froze.
I lifted a handful of thin fabric held together by crisscrossing strings. If these were restraints, they didn’t look suitable. Maybe they were a weapon I wasn’t familiar with.
“What is this?” I asked, turning toward Dianna. She had left some drawers open in her room, and curiosity had gotten the best of me.
Dianna left the large closet wearing a baggy shirt and loose-fitting gray pants. She’d showered and changed out of the gown I had made for her after we’d returned from the garden. Her eyes widened when she saw what I held, and she rushed over to me.
“Oh, my gods, Liam, give me those,” Dianna hissed, grabbing the bundle of material from my hand and pushing me away. She closed the drawer and scowled at me. “Stay out of my dresser, please, and thanks.”
I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. “You are the one that left it open.
I was just curious about what your friend had bought for you.”
She shook her head and smirked at me before padding to the bed.
“What is that? Is that something you wear?” I asked, my curiosity still roused.
She hopped on the bed and crawled to the center. I would be a liar if I said the sight didn’t affect me. She was pleasing in a lot of areas.
She yanked the covers down. “They’re panties, Liam.”
That word seemed foreign to me, or maybe I had not been paying attention to the videos Logan had supplied.
My brows furrowed as I walked to the other side of the bed. “What’s that?”
A smile curved her lips. “You’re joking, right?”
I sat on my side of the bed and shook my head. I didn’t understand why she would assume I would joke about a question.
“Rule number one of our friendship is that you won’t lie to me. I have literally, and against my will, seen you take them off of women with your teeth.”
Realization hit me like a meteor. I felt my face go slack and my body run hot.
“Those are undergarments?” I pointed toward the drawer.
She laughed, genuinely laughed. “Yes. What did you think they were?
Torture devices?”
I didn’t respond.
“Oh, my gods, you really did.” She laughed harder, nestling into the bed and grabbing the thick comforter to pull around her. I slid into bed and rested an arm underneath my head. Another thought gnawed at me like a feral beast, and before I could stop it, the question erupted from my lips.
“Why does Drake know what you wear beneath your clothes? Has he pulled your undergarments off with his teeth?”
Her hand reached out, and she playfully slapped at my chest. I reacted like I always did because it made her smile. Not her normal smile, but a brief one that made her nose wrinkle.
“Ow.” I flinched, rubbing the spot where she’d popped me.
“Oh, that didn’t hurt, you big baby.” There it was, that smile. I needed a name for it. “And no. He was just with me when I took Gabby shopping in Ruuman years ago. Now go to sleep and stop thinking about my underwear.”
“I promise that is not what I am thinking about.”
Dianna laughed and closed her eyes, snuggling further into the bed.
“Sure you’re not.”
“I swear it.” And it was a complete and utter lie.
The memory faded as I watched the woman put that scrap of red lace into a clear bag and seal it. My hand fell to my side, and Logan turned to see what had caught my attention.
My jaw clenched, and I turned away. “I need you and the team to find out who this man was and what he was into. I need names, next of kin,
anything you can find.”
“Samkiel.”
“What?” I snapped, turning toward Vincent.
“I don’t think you’ll need it,” he said, scanning some pages he’d picked up. “Looks like his name was Webster Malone, and these records show
transactions from an account tied to Donvirr Edge.”
“What’s that?”
“Let’s find out.” Vincent handed the papers to the celestial hovering at his elbow. The man grabbed them and quickly scanned them. His fingers flew over the thin tablet he held, and a few minutes later, he turned the device to show us an image of a dock. Ropes hung from a wooden bridge, and a large ship took up the background.
“It’s a shipping dock. Transportation of goods, mostly foods. There have been a few arrests for illegal activity and gambling in the last couple of
years.”
“Okay, a shipping dock. I’ll go there.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go,” Logan said, striding toward the door.
“No, Logan. I want all of you to stay here and see what else you can find. See who he worked for and what else he might have known.”
Vincent put his hands on his hips and frowned. “You’ll need a ride. We
can get a convoy—”
“I do not.”
I didn’t know if it was the rage that bubbled inside me or that the room now smelled of arousal and death, but I had to leave. I had to get away from it and all of them. Tendrils of electricity danced around me, and the room shook from the pent-up rage inside me. One minute I was in the room, and the next, in the clouds. A booming echo followed in my wake. Lightning struck, and rain poured from the sky as I turned toward Donvirr Edge.
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