The Darkest Whisper

CHAPTER 27

Gwen was surprised to see her sisters in the media room—grrr, the entertainment room, but same thing, really—when she stepped inside. She was equally surprised that they didn’t spring from the couch and stab her.

Her gaze shifted to take in the rest of the attendees. Who would support her, and who wouldn’t? Ashlyn, Danika and Cameo were seated at the far table, two heads bent over scrolls, the yellow paper crackling, while one typed on a laptop. Ashlyn’s pretty face was scrunched in concentration. Danika was pale and sickly-looking. Cameo was scowling.

William, Kane and Maddox were missing, and she suspected they were in town, searching for any lingering Hunters. Across from the women, Aeron and Paris were playing pool while talking strategy, their bruises mostly faded. Well, Paris’s were mostly faded. It was hard to tell with Aeron, since his entire body was covered in tattoos.

“I’m telling you, I saw her,” Paris said.

“Wishful thinking or ambrosia-induced hallucinations,” Aeron replied. “When we fell, you were conscious. Did you see her again?”

“No. She probably hid.”

Aeron was merciless. “I’ve been gentle with you to this point, Paris, and that seems to have done no good. You have to let go of your grief. This morning we interrogated a few of the newest Hunters. They knew nothing about her. Afterward you summoned Cronus, asked him if she’d been sent back. And what did he say?”

Paling, Paris slammed his cue into one of the balls. “Without a body, her soul withered. Died.”

A tiny, scaled…thing was sliding around Aeron’s shoulders, stopping to pet the top of his head and kiss his cheek. Aeron reached up and gently scratched the fiend’s neck as though it was a treasured pet, as though touching it was natural, welcome. Not once did he falter in his conversation. “Would the god king lie to you?”

“Yes!”

“Why? He wants our help.”

“I don’t know,” Paris snarled.

“What is that thing?” Gwen asked, gaze still riveted on the creature winding itself around Aeron.

Sabin, who stood beside her in the doorway, burning her exposed skin with his presence, tempting her to forgive and forget and focus on the future, a future with him, smiled. “That’s Legion. She’s a demon—and a friend. Aeron would rather die than see her hurt, so please don’t try and take her out.”

That…thing was a girl? Doesn’t matter. You’ve got things to do. Gwen’s eyes were wide as she finished her study of the chamber’s occupants. Torin leaned a shoulder against the wall, as far away from everyone as he could get. He clutched a handheld monitor in his gloved hands, his attention riveted on the small screen.

He’d support her, she knew it. One thing she’d noticed about him, he placed his friends above his own welfare.

“Gonna pretend we’re not here?” Kaia stretched her arms over her head, preening like a kitten without a care.

Yes. No. “Hey.” Finally meeting her sisters’ gazes, she offered them a half smile and a wave. She’d spent the last hour thinking about what to say to them—if they were interested in listening to her. Nothing had come to her. An apology wouldn’t work because she wasn’t exactly sorry for what she’d done.

Taliyah stood, expression as blank as usual. Bristling, Sabin stepped in front of Gwen.

“Fine,” Taliyah said, ignoring him. “You’re not going to say anything about what happened, I’ll get us started.” A pause, then, “I’m proud of you.”

“Wh-what?” Gwen asked, her voice broken. That was so not what she’d expected to hear. She peeked around her warrior’s big bulk, her oldest sister once more coming into view. Taliyah was proud of her? Nothing could have surprised her more.

“You did what you had to do.” Taliyah closed the distance between them and tried to shove Sabin out of the way. “You were a Harpy in every sense of the word.”

Sabin didn’t budge.

The ice in Taliyah’s eyes would have frozen anyone else. “Let me hug my sister.”

“No.”

Gwen could see the stiff set of his shoulders, feel the tension in his back. “Sabin.”

“No,” he said, knowing what she wanted. “This could be a trick.” Then, to Taliyah, he added, “You’re not going to hurt her.”

Bianka and Kaia joined Taliyah, forming a half circle around the warrior. They could have attacked him, but somewhat to Gwen’s surprise, they didn’t.

“Seriously, let us hug our sister,” Kaia said stiffly. That she didn’t threaten to cause him bodily harm…a miracle. “Please.” The last was offered grudgingly.

“Please, Sabin,” Gwen said, flattening her palms against his shoulder blades.

He drew in a deep, shuddering breath, as if trying to sift through their scents for the truth. “No tricks. Or else.” He pivoted out of the way and they immediately swept past him.

Three sets of arms wound around Gwen.

“Like I said, I’m so unbelievably proud of you.”

“I’ve never seen anyone so fierce.”

“Color me shocked. You totally kicked my ass!”

Gwen was frozen, baffled to her core. “You’re not angry?”

“Hell, no,” Kaia said, then backtracked. “Well, maybe at first. But this morning, when we were plotting ways to kidnap you and have our revenge on Sabin, we saw you feeding from him. Made us realize he is your family now, and we stepped over the line. You don’t threaten a Harpy’s family, ever, and we knew better.”

Okay. Wow. Gwen’s gaze skidded to Sabin, who was watching her with fire in his dark eyes. He wanted to be with her, he’d said. He would give up the war for her. He wanted to put her first, make her the top priority in his life. He trusted her not to betray him. He loved her.

She wanted to believe him, so badly she wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to. Not just because he’d locked her up, but because, as she’d lain in bed, recovering, she’d realized that she was now a weapon, the weapon he’d always wanted her to be. She’d proven herself in battle. He wouldn’t have to leave her behind anymore, wouldn’t have to worry about her. How better to get what he wanted from her than to seduce her, body and soul?

Did he truly love her? That’s what she wanted to know.

He claimed he wouldn’t care if he caught her embracing her father. Maybe that was the truth. But, if he loved her now, would he one day grow to resent her for who and what she was? Would his hatred of the Hunters and their leader extend to her? Would his friends turn on him for bringing an enemy into their house? Would her every word and action be suspect?

Those doubts weren’t swimming inside her head because of his demon. They were hers. All hers. And she didn’t know how to get rid of them, even though she desperately wanted to be with Sabin.

When she’d seen him in town, bloody and lethal, her heart had truly stopped—absolute proof it belonged to him. What a fierce picture he’d presented. Any woman would be proud to have such a strong, competent man at her side. She’d wanted to be that woman. Then and always. She lacked the confidence to grab on to the dream, though. Which was funny if you thought about it. Physically, she’d never been stronger.

“I’m gonna hate leaving you,” Bianka said, releasing her, and stepped back.

“Well…” Now for the hard part. “Then why try? I need you to stay here, at the fortress, and help Torin guard it and the humans.”

“And where will you be going?” Taliyah released her, too, pale eyes studying Gwen’s face. At least they hadn’t denied her request.

She squared her shoulders, determination rushing through her. “That’s actually why I called this meeting. Could I have everyone’s attention please?” She clapped her hands, waiting for the room’s other occupants to turn their gazes her way. “Sabin and I will be going to Chicago to find his missing friends. They’ve gone silent, and we think something is wrong.”

At that, Sabin blinked. That was his only reaction. She knew he was waiting for information from Torin, but she figured it was better to be en route while they waited than stuck here, ineffective.

“I’m so glad you’re going,” Ashlyn said. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but Aeron, Cameo and, yeah, your sister Kaia, took me into town this morning. I heard some things.”

Uh-oh. There was gonna be some trouble in the fortress. “You shouldn’t have gone into town. Your man will be ticked if he finds out.” She’d seen Maddox with the pregnant woman only a few times, but once had been enough to assure her of his fierce need to protect.

Ashlyn waved a hand through the air. “He knew about it. He can’t take me himself because I can’t hear conversations when he’s with me, so the compromise was to let me go with guards. He knew I’d just sneak out later otherwise. Anyway, some of the Hunters were headed to Chicago, as well. They were afraid of you, unsure of what you could do to them.”

Hunters, afraid of her. They’d feared her while she’d been trapped in that pyramid, but there had been nothing she could truly do to them. No longer was she helpless. The thought made her smile. Sabin, too, practically glowed with pride.

Her stomach quivered at the sight, and breath heated in her lungs. When he looked at her like that, she could almost believe he truly loved her and would do anything for her. Mind on the task at hand. “What about the prisoners?”

“Still locked up.” Facing her, Paris rested his cue on the floor and leaned against it. He was paler than usual, lines of stress around his eyes. “Aeron and I, multitaskers that we are, have taken over their…care.”

“Me helping,” Legion the female demon piped up.

Care. Aka torture. Had Sabin interrogated them? She knew he liked to do so, yet he’d barely left her side since that battle. “The children…”

“Like I mentioned earlier, they’ve already been separated and moved to nicer quarters. They’re scared and haven’t used whatever powers they have. Yet. So we’re unsure what we’re dealing with. But we’ll get it out of the adults, don’t worry,” Sabin said.

Paris nodded with grim determination. “I’ll do it when we get back. I’m going with you.”

Sabin and Aeron shared a heavy look.

“You’re staying here,” Sabin corrected. “All of you are. We need as many warriors here as we can get. We don’t know how many Hunters remained behind.”

“More than that, Torin saw Galen in town,” Cameo said. “We haven’t yet caught sight of him, which could mean he’s hiding, planning to strike again.”

Sabin approached Gwen’s side and banded a strong arm around her waist. She didn’t protest. Though her mind was unsure about him, her body knew she belonged with him. His lemon scent wafted to her nose, a drug she’d become addicted to. “But you, Paris…your new favorite thing to do puts everyone at risk. You’ll stay here and get yourself cleaned up.”

Paris opened his mouth to protest.

“Torin can take care of our travel arrangements,” Sabin continued, cutting him off. Up and down, he caressed her arm, perhaps not even aware of what he was doing.

“You’ll have to fly commercial,” Torin said, “since the boys have the jet we always charter in the States with them.”

“What if we’re spotted by Hunters? And how will we get our weapons past security?” If they were caught with even one blade, they’d be questioned—a waste of time—and arrested.

“I have ways.” Sabin kissed her temple. “Trust me. I’ve been doing this for a long time. We won’t be spotted.”

“Bring Reyes and the others home safely.” Danika’s fingers twined, as if she were saying a prayer. “Please.”

“Please,” Ashlyn echoed.

“And don’t forget Anya,” Kaia said. “No telling what kind of trouble she’s stirred up.”

“I’ll do my best,” Gwen told them, and she meant it. But would her best be good enough?

“TELL ME, what’s a goddess doing with a demon?”

Anya eyed her lover’s sworn enemy: Galen, keeper of the demon of Hope. He occupied one side of her new prison, and she the other. His long white wings were tucked into his back, the top arches rising over his shoulders. His eyes were blue like the sky, and the more she looked into them, the more she would swear she saw fluffy white clouds. Those eyes were meant to lull, to relax.

They only managed to piss her off.

Ghost Boy had “escorted” her—damned kid had taken control of her body as if it were his own—into this small, sparse hellhole and left her. Where she’d waited. And waited. Alone, enraged. Now she knew the Hunters had left her for their leader—who had remained in Buda until he’d been told of the bounty here.

Meanwhile, though, Gideon’s screams had echoed through the halls—and with his screams, gleeful laughter from his captors. Poor Lies. She felt a little guilty for kicking him earlier. Had he spilled any secrets?

“Have you no answer, beauty?”

“I’m having fun, that’s what.” They’d made the mistake of leaving her unfettered. Although Ghost Boy had accompanied Galen, of course. Apparently, he was their insurance policy. Well, they’d soon learn they should have picked a better policy. Without that strange metal walling her in, her strength was returning. Soon, she would be a living nightmare. And they would suffer.

Was Lucien recovering as she was? Anya hated being away from him.

Slowly Galen’s lips curled with amusement. “You’re feisty. I like that. Lucien is a lucky man. More than lucky. Such an ugly man capturing the heart of one such as you is nothing short of a miracle.”

Even his voice was meant to calm. Actually, everything about him seemed purposely honed to offer hope, like a bright light in a room of darkness and fear. What he didn’t know was that Anya preferred the darkness. Always had.

“He isn’t ugly,” she said, pacing from one side of the back wall to the other. The more she stayed in motion, the less her actions would be watched, she suspected. “He’s honorable and loving and wonderfully fierce.”

A scoff. “But he’s a demon.”

She stopped to arch a brow at him. “Well, yeah. And so the hell are you.”

“No.” Patient, Galen shook his head. “I’m an angel, sent from the heavens to cleanse this earth of evil.”

“Ha!” She kicked back into motion. “That’s a good one. Believing our own press, are we?”

“I won’t argue my origins with a demon whore.” No longer did he sound amused or tolerant. “Now, tell me what the Lords know of the two artifacts that remain missing.”

“Who says they’re missing?” she taunted.

There were several beats of silence. “True. For all you know, I have one.”

Bastard. Did he?

“If they had all four, they would not be here, at my mercy. They would be searching for the box. Or would have found it.”

She rolled her eyes, though she trembled inside. “Sure you have any mercy, angel?”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “You’re alive, aren’t you?”

Her heels clicked against the tile. “But then, I’m sure you think you can use me in some way.”

He crossed his arms over his massive chest, stretching the fabric of his white shirt. His pants were white, too. Overkill if you asked Anya, but whatever. She doubted he’d want fashion advice from her. “I’m growing weary of you, goddess. Perhaps I should have Death brought in.”

Meaning he’d rather amuse himself with Lucien’s torture? “Look, I’ll talk to you, tell you everything you want to know, but only if you get rid of the kid. He annoys me.” She didn’t want someone so young to be hurt by her hand.

“I apologize if I gave you the impression that I’m foolish.” Galen’s mouth curled into a half smile. “He stays.”

It had been worth a shot. Time for Plan B. Distraction, then fury. If she couldn’t fly at him, she would make him fly at her. The boy wouldn’t interfere with his leader. “Why do you hate the Lords so much, anyway? What’d they ever do to you?”

“A better question is this: why shouldn’t I hate them? They want to ruin me. Therefore, I will ruin them first.” He splayed his arms, an it’s-that-simple gesture. “All these years, we’ve only been able to injure them, too afraid of releasing their demons. If that happened, the gods would curse me anew. I’ve already been warned.” He smiled faintly. “But we’re close, so close to changing that. Any day now I’ll know if the demon of Distrust was able to bond with my female. If so…I will lead the most powerful army this world has ever seen.”

“Your spineless servant seemed to think you’d use weaklings and lock them away for the good of this world.”

He shrugged. “However would he get that idea?”

Okay, thinking cap time. He’d said he would be cursed somehow if he killed the Lords and freed their demons. But not, obviously, if he had somewhere to store those demons. Taking them from the Lords, though, would destroy the immortals. Destroy—kill—Lucien.

The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and her blood ran cold. “How did you find Distrust? How did you capture it, a crazed demon?” Stefano had claimed they’d already successfully bonded the demon with another body. Clearly, he’d lied. Again. But the fact that they were trying to do so was just as frightening.

“Unlike Amun, I’m not one to spill all my secrets,” Galen said.

“Well, until you do, I’m afraid I can’t believe you.”

He gave her another of those half smiles. “I’m devastated, of course.”

Gods, I hate him! She tapped a nail against her chin, as if she were deep in thought. She’d managed to distract him, and now she would piss him off. “Let’s see, let’s see. If I were a cowardly, jealous demon pretending to be an angel and I wanted to find and control an evil spirit, I would…what? Have others do my dirty work, definitely. Maybe even use children,” she said, gaze flicking past Ghost Boy. Her eyes widened as his narrowed. She’d meant to enrage him with the taunt, but she’d done more than that, she realized.

She’d found the answer. Somehow, some way, one—or more—of those Halfling children were capable of finding an otherworldly spirit. Maybe even Ghost Boy himself.

“We’ll take them from you,” she said, meeting Galen’s eyes once more. “Prevent you from using them ever again. We’ve won every other battle with you. This will be no different. I mean, we even have a Harpy on our side now. Have you perchance heard of what a Harpy can do?”

“You will shut your mouth,” the “angel” growled at her.

She’d gotten to him. Excellent. An emotional man was a man who made mistakes. “And you know what’s worse than a Harpy? Cronus, the new god king. He wants you dead. Did you know that?”

Galen straightened. “You lie.”

“Do I? The All-Seeing Eye—the Eye you lost to us—had a vision. In it, she saw you try and murder Cronus. Now he’s after you. I don’t know why he hasn’t killed you himself. I’m sure he has his reasons. But believe me, I’ve been his target. He won’t leave you alone until he has what he wants.”

Galen’s jaw hardened more with every word she spoke. “I would never hurt a Titan.”

“Wouldn’t you? You betrayed your closest friends.”

“They weren’t my friends,” he shouted, slamming a fist into the wall and rattling the foundation.

That’s the way, big boy. “Too bad they didn’t realize that earlier. But no matter. They still managed to defeat you. Just as they’ll defeat you every time you challenge them. It’s science, after all. You’re weaker.”

Fury sizzled from him, snapping under his skin. “Your precious Lucien wasn’t strong enough to lead us, Zeus’s elite army. He shouldn’t have been placed in charge.”

“So rather than challenge him like an honorable soldier, you convinced him to open Pandora’s box, then told the gods of his decision to betray them? You formed an army of your own and tried to stop him. Nope, that’s not cowardly at all.”

He stalked two steps forward before catching himself and halting. His hands fisted. “I did what I had to do. A good soldier wins by any means necessary. Just ask your friend Sabin.”

Push harder. You almost had him. “Ah, but like I said, you didn’t win, did you? Even though you knew what Lucien and the others were going to do, you weren’t able to stop them and prove them weak. You lost. You were made to look weak. You got cursed to house a demon inside you just like the others. You, you, you.” She laughed. “How humiliating.”

“Enough!”

“Want to hit me?” Again, she laughed cruelly. “Does the sweet little angel want to cut out Anya’s tongue? What would your followers think then, hmm? But I’m sure they’ve seen you do much worse. Or do you always have Stefano order that done, so you can appear merciful?”

For a long moment, he watched her, silent, not lunging toward her as she’d hoped. Then, to her surprise, he smiled. “Stefano’s not here, and I’m not feeling merciful. But don’t worry. This will only hurt for a second.” With that, he whipped a small crossbow from between his wings. Before she had time to duck, he fired two arrows, propelling her into the back wall. One cut through her left shoulder, the other her right, pinning her to the brick.

Pain exploded through her, her vision blurring. Blood cascaded down her arms, so hot it burned her. Sweat beaded on her brow and upper lip, but it didn’t cool her down.

The boy, she noticed distantly, had paled. His lower lip was trembling.

“I think it’s time for Lucien to join our little party,” Galen said. “He’ll watch everything we do to you. Strip you, take you, hurt you. Let’s see if he’s strong enough to save you, shall we?”

“Touch him,” she managed to work through clenched teeth, “and I’ll eat your heart in front of you.”

He laughed, and oh, how she despised the sound of his amusement. But his laughter was cut short as a boom erupted and the building actually shook.

“Looks like the cavalry’s here,” Anya said, grinning despite the throbbing in her shoulders. “I knew the others would come for us. I believe I mentioned the Harpy, yes?”

He looked at her, the first stirring of panic in his eyes, then turned his gaze to the door.

Another boom, another shake.

“This isn’t over. If she fights her way down, fine,” he told the boy as he stomped to the exit, “but do not let her out of this room.”