Empower

Chapter 24

‘Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them …’

Leviticus 19:31

the first time I went to New York I was overwhelmed by the number of exiles populating Manhattan. Arriving in New Orleans was not dissimilar. And yet it also reminded me of a particular sense of foreboding that I could only associate with my first impressions of Santorini.

We had travelled to Santorini to try to stop Phoenix opening the gates to Hell, and I had discovered that the island was under the control of a lone exile: an ancient by the name of Irin who had fathered a number of children with a human woman he would eternally mourn.

Irin’s children were Nephlim, and their power had been similar yet different from that of an exile. They had the ability to access the minds of Grigori. I didn’t know if it was a skill unique to Irin’s offspring, but I wasn’t keen to find out.

As we loaded into the four-wheel drives that would take us to the Grigori safe house, I couldn’t deny the prickling sensation that ran from my spine to my toes.

‘There are Nephlim here,’ I said to my carload, which included Zoe, Sal, Gray and Mia. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Mia had chosen to travel with me instead of Lincoln, and I knew that it was her way of reinforcing that her relationship with him was nothing more than friendship.

And I continue to have absolutely NFI how to respond.

More unsettling was the fact that Phoenix and Lincoln had ended up in a car together. The last time those two went off alone, I ended up part of an elaborate resurrection plan.

You can’t blame a girl for being nervous.

‘Is that what that creepy slick feeling running all over my skin is?’ Zoe asked, screwing up her face.

I wasn’t sure about that. I knew what she was referring to but I worried that that was something else altogether. ‘All I know is that there are a lot of them. Exiles too. And they’re very old.’ Not quite as ancient as Irin, but still, there were seriously powerful exiles here. I swallowed, gripping the door handle as we took a sharp turn. We had already been warned the drive would be ‘defensive’.

‘And they’re all exiles of light,’ I added, feeling the weight of my statement fill the vehicle.

‘No exiles of dark at all?’ Gray asked carefully.

I let him see my eyes and that was all he needed.

‘We need to keep Phoenix hidden,’ I said. Apart from the fact he had betrayed all exiles – who took vengeance very seriously – by helping us stop Lilith, now that the rivalry between light and dark was in full force I knew that we had put him in danger just by bringing him to New Orleans.

Gray pulled out his phone and started to type.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked.

He didn’t pause. ‘There’s an emergency code. A group of Rogues got together about sixty years back. We set it up and kept it running. There are two codes. One to prepare. One to mobilise.’

I nodded, my mouth dry. The Rogues would only come together if the situation was, well, unprecedented.

To be sure, I checked. ‘Have they ever been activated before?’

‘Not once,’ he said, putting his phone away.

Zoe, who was sitting next to Gray, raised an eyebrow. ‘Which one did you trigger?’

He looked at her and I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes seemed to soften slightly. ‘There’s something very bad here.’

Sal nodded. ‘He’s right. There is something …’ He closed his eyes. ‘Like a shield of lies covering the land, but that’s not it. More like … intent and ignorance.’ He opened his eyes. ‘This place is like a world separate from our own.’

Zoe shuddered. ‘I can feel it, too. The trees, they’re not right. I know this sounds strange but it feels as if they’re here against their will.’

I thought about what Dapper had said, how this land had been raised from the water. If Sammael had brought this land from the ocean then perhaps what Zoe said was right. If it had stayed where it was, trees would never have grown.

And people would not live here.

Zoe pulled out a packet of M&M’s and offered them around. No one felt much like a sugar hit. When she looked at Gray, her eyes intensified. ‘Which one did you activate, Gray?’

His eyes flicked up and met mine before he sighed. ‘It’ll take them at least twenty-four hours to get here.’

He’d mobilised them.

Jesus.

I rolled my eyes and slumped back in my seat; it was that or reach over and smack him over the head. And, Zoe was already in motion.

‘You just risked Spence’s life!’ she said, hitting him again for good measure.

Gray’s upper lip started to bleed. Zoe never pulled her punches.

‘Hit him for me too, please,’ Mia requested from Zoe’s other side.

Zoe was happy to comply.

I wanted to be mad at him. I wanted hitting him to make it better. But deep down, I knew he was right. This place … it was flooded with exiles and Nephlim. We were going to need back-up. Spence would agree.

And the way I saw it, it just meant I was going to have to find Spence sooner rather than later. Fine by me.

While they bickered in the back, I turned to the driver, who was one of the few local Grigori stationed in New Orleans.

‘It’s Roman, right?’ I asked.

He nodded stiffly.

‘You’ve been awfully quiet,’ I said.

Roman kept his eyes on the road and his foot flat on the gas. ‘I need to get you to the city safe house first. Then we can talk all you like.’

I noticed that his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly were dirty and his jeans and grey sweater looked in need of a wash.

‘They’re hunting you?’

‘Always,’ he admitted.

I nodded. ‘Where are we going?’

‘We’ll stay in the French Quarter tonight and move you out to the ships in the morning.’

Lincoln had already arranged for us to use naval ships in the Mississippi River. Two Destroyers would arrive tomorrow. Having Grigori positioned in all military ranks did come in handy.

‘So, I take it you know why we’re here,’ I said.

His jaw clenched. ‘You’re here to rescue your friend.’

‘You say that like it’s a lost cause,’ I pushed.

His lips pressed into a flat line and I noticed the thick pink scar that ran down the side of his neck. Burn scars, maybe.

‘I arrived here six months ago. I can’t even remember what life is like outside this place and I’m certain I will never know it again. There were twelve of us who arrived, only to discover that all of the Grigori who were supposed to be here were missing.’ His eyes flicked to mine. ‘There are three of us left.’

I nodded, understanding his pain. ‘Your partner?’ I asked.

‘Gone.’

I nodded again, and my next words were a statement, not a question. ‘You think my friend is dead.’

He turned into a narrow street and then took another sharp left into an open driveway. The tyres ran over loose gravel, which flicked beneath the car until we pulled to a sudden stop and he looked at me.

‘I think your friend is dead.’

At least he’s honest.

Ours was the last car to pull in. Lincoln and the others were waiting by theirs but Phoenix stood apart from the group, further down the driveway. He was looking towards the street and I could tell he was using his abilities to try and gauge how threatening our surroundings were.

Extremely damn threatening! I wanted to yell. But I didn’t since it was taking all my concentration fighting off the urge to be sick. I had worked so hard for the past two years to avoid this … sense of responsibility. But now Phoenix had exiled for me and there he was, right in the middle of everything. Because of me. And if something happened to him, it would be my fault.

Roman cut the engine, but I didn’t move.

Christ, I was practically hyperventilating and I hadn’t even begun to think about how much worse it could get.

But then Lincoln was there, opening my car door, and I couldn’t ignore him completely. I stared at him. Yeah, it got much, much worse. The whole thing was starting to feel a lot like déjà vu, and in the most terrible way.

Lincoln’s eyes stayed on mine, sensing my fears, but when his hand reached out to touch me, I shook my head and quickly took a step back. After giving me a long look, Lincoln let it slide and I shoved my emotions back down and forced a neutral expression as introductions were made. Now more than ever I needed to stay focused on the job and on getting Spence back.

Along with Roman were partners Ray and Leila, who appeared to be in charge of their small team.

‘Why don’t we get your gear inside and then grab something to eat? There’s a place down the road that’s safe and has good food,’ Ray suggested.

Lincoln nodded. ‘We’ll set up a team here to watch the house. They can go out in groups when we return. It’ll also give us a chance to talk first,’ he added.

Ray nodded and instructed Roman to stay behind to help get everyone else settled.

While Lincoln asked Zoe and Sal to oversee and head up the security of the house, I pulled Phoenix aside.

‘You need to stay in the house where you won’t draw any attention to yourself,’ I instructed.

He smiled grimly. ‘You felt them too?’

‘Just enough to have me seriously freaking out. Clearly this is their territory and if they sense an exile of dark here they’ll go mad. We can’t afford for them to storm this place.’

He nodded, suddenly interested in the shrubbery. ‘And here I thought for a moment you were worried about me.’

I opened my mouth to snap back, to tell him that he knew damn well I was worried about him. But the words just stuck in my throat and instead, I sighed. ‘I’m worried about everyone, Phoenix. You included.’

‘And what about you?’ he asked, looking up and holding my wary eyes. ‘Are you worried about yourself?’

My throat ached with the need to have some kind of release – a scream or a cry. Either one probably would have helped. ‘Don’t do this,’ I said instead, quietly, glancing over my shoulder and catching sight of Lincoln watching us intently. The ache dropped to my heart. ‘Just stay in the house, okay?’ I pleaded.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll behave,’ Phoenix said, not looking at me again before throwing his bag over his shoulder and heading into the house.

Lincoln and I left the house with Ray, Leila, Gray, Carter and Chloe. Carter had looked positively miffed when Lincoln asked him to come with us, but I wasn’t. It was a tactical move. Lincoln had marked him as a potential problem and was including him in the inner circle to ensure he didn’t cause any trouble. Carter was eating it up, hook, line and sinker.

As we followed Ray and Leila down the street I took a few minutes to process – or at least move past – my conversation with Phoenix. I was relieved that Lincoln didn’t ask questions and had chosen to walk with Gray. He was giving me some space.

Still knows me. Still thoughtful.

From what I caught of their conversation, Gray was using the opportunity to smoothly bring Lincoln up to date on his recent call to mobilise the entire Rogue community. Hearing snatches of Lincoln’s heated response, it was safe to assume he wasn’t happy Gray had made this choice before consulting him. But, like me, I could tell he also knew there was little point in dwelling on it now.

‘Whoa! What is this place?’ I asked, after turning the corner. I was suddenly dodging crowds of people and thrown off kilter by the scene in front of me. I tugged Chloe’s arm, manoeuvring us to the side. The street was alive with music and mayhem. People spilled out of clubs and bars for as far as I could see.

Leila smiled, guiding us all to a less crowded area. ‘This is Bourbon Street.’

When it became obvious I was nervous about being in such a public place, she continued. ‘This street is always busy to the extreme. Exiles are everywhere, but humans are too,’ she said pointedly. ‘Plus, half of them are drunk and it helps confuse the vibe. If exiles sense us and start a hunt, it’s easy to get away, and we have a number of exit strategies. We’re safer here than somewhere secluded, trust me.’

I nodded, my mouth agape as I looked around. I had been curious to see New Orleans. I’d heard the stories of its epic nightlife, but nothing could have prepared me for the first taste of craziness. There were so many people, of all ages, and they were all here to party. We passed bars, clubs, restaurants, cabaret places and jazz playhouses. Some guy even tried to drag Chloe inside for a pole-dancing lesson, which sent Carter into hysterics. People not only lined the street but also the balconies that hung over it, all throwing out colourful beaded necklaces, which we had to dodge as we walked through.

And, in the centre of it all, chanting into a megaphone was a preacher standing in front of a large red crucifix proclaiming that the revellers were all going to burn in Hell. He labelled New Orleans the ‘Devil’s playground’; knowing what I now knew and looking around at my first, late-night impressions, I couldn’t help but wonder if preacher-man might just be onto something.

I’d travelled to a lot of cities over the past two years. I’d seen my fair share of red-light districts, and there wasn’t much that affected me any more, but this, this street seeped into my bones and I didn’t know what to make of it.

A sideways glance at Carter told me he viewed it all quite differently. In fact, he looked positively thrilled as he appeared to mentally catalogue the bars he planned to return to.

‘Really?’ I commented, watching as he eyed off a girl hanging out of one of the clubs in nothing but a teeny-tiny bikini.

He gave me a wink. ‘When in Rome …’

‘I’m sure even Rome has clothes,’ I mumbled.

Lincoln, who had been walking behind us with Gray and Ray, laughed. I shot him a hard look and he just shrugged, laughing again.

‘I don’t think I like this place,’ I said.

‘It’s not all bad, Violet. You must be able to sense that, too?’ Gray asked.

‘Yeah, well, right now I’m not feeling it.’

He snorted. ‘Right now all you’re feeling like is a prude. You of all people should know that everything has a balance. For all the bad you see here – and you will – there’s just as much that’s good. And apart from that, we could all do with a few drinks to take the edge off.’

‘Hear, hear,’ Carter agreed.

‘What edge?’ I asked.

‘You don’t feel it?’ Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked at Leila and Ray, who were watching us carefully, and then at Lincoln, who actually shuddered. ‘I feel it,’ he said, looking unhappy about the admission. ‘I don’t know how you guys can stay here. It’s as if …’

Ray nodded. ‘It’s not easy, but you learn to push the sensation aside.’

I let out a breath, relieved that I wasn’t the only one feeling the urge to turn around and run away. And never, ever stop.

‘We aren’t welcome here,’ I said, finishing what Lincoln had been about to say.

No one replied. There was no need.

A shiver of uncertainty ran down my spine and, as if sensing my concern, Lincoln subtly moved closer to me. And damn him because my soul instantly responded, at once both calmed and ignited.

‘Have you been here before?’ I asked Lincoln as we dropped back a few paces behind Ray and Leila.

‘I have. After my mum died. But things didn’t feel like this back then.’

I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d come to this place for back then. And if he’d found it.

Reading my reaction, he chuckled, which he had started doing quite a bit over the past couple of days. It worried me, the way he seemed always to know what I was thinking. Mostly because it made me feel like we were still just ‘us’. Yet everything had changed.

‘How about after dinner I show you one of the reasons people flock to New Orleans?’ he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean apart from the hard-core nudity and debauchery?’

‘Yes,’ he said, his eyes twinkling. ‘Apart from those.’

‘Okay,’ I whispered, unable to resist, even though I knew I should. But there was something in me that needed to see this other side to New Orleans. And even more so, that wanted to see it through his eyes.