Hearts of Fire

Page 5

Levi trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. The tension in his voice was the first indication Dru had ever had that he might actually worry over one of the Fallen he led. She watched him closely, intrigued. And worried. Levi never seemed to be fazed by anything, especially not the fates of the motley crew he’d brought here.
“Is something wrong? Did he not take it well?” she asked.
Levi looked coolly back at her, and any flash of emotion she might have seen was gone, hidden away. “He took being ordered to leave Terra Noctem immediately about as well as could be expected. Meresin knows better than to take his anger out on me.”
Dru’s mouth went dry. “Immediately? Uriel didn’t say that.”
“He said as soon as possible. Meresin travels light, like we all do. He’ll be gone tonight.” Levi’s voice softened, and his next words appeared to be directed more at himself than anyone else. “That’s best.”
It was all she could do to choke back the words she wanted to shout at him. It was not best. How could he say that?
“I still don’t understand,” Dru said, her voice strained. “I was standing right here when Uriel showed up. I listened to the two of you talk. And I still don’t get what you both expect Meresin to do! All I heard was a bunch of purposely cryptic bullshit. He has to go to a place and do a thing, and shazam! Awesome happens in an incredibly nonspecific way, maybe even involving a rainbow-farting unicorn! Except probably not, because you obviously think he’s going to die!”
She saw Justin jerk his head to the side and glare at her, but that didn’t stop her from saying what she felt. She wasn’t afraid of Levi.
“That’s a ridiculous human myth. I ate a unicorn once,” Levi said calmly. “There were no rainbows inside of it.”
Dru looked at him in horror. “That’s awful!”
Levi looked back at her blandly. She wondered briefly if he was yanking her chain, but in her experience the sea monster didn’t actually have a sense of humor. Unfazed, he continued.
“You’re awfully concerned about Meresin’s well-being, Dru. Believe me when I tell you that isn’t a great idea.”
She made an exasperated noise and threw her hands up. “My concerns are none of your business, last time I checked. And you didn’t answer my question. Where did you send him?”
“Actually, my sister has a point, Levi,” Justin said, offering unexpected support. “One of the conditions of you and the Fallen being here was that there would be no secrets between us. I’ve tried to be understanding about the difficulties a bunch of demons might have with honesty, but you’ve been here two years. Now you expect me not to question why a volatile fallen angel who knows all the inner workings of this city is being sent off on his own without much chance of return—and don’t think I didn’t get that part. Uriel is risking more than just Meresin. I have a vested interest here, and so does Dru.”
She smiled at Justin gratefully before returning her attention to Levi, who seemed startled by the pushback he was getting. Startled and displeased. He wasn’t used to being questioned. Dru didn’t much care.
“Meresin’s story isn’t mine to tell,” Levi said, looking between them. “He wouldn’t appreciate my sharing it.”
Justin arched an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to go into all the things he’s done here that I don’t appreciate?”
That prompted a rare smile from Levi. “Fair enough. But just the same, I can’t. The other Fallen don’t even know all of it. I can answer your question well enough without getting into the specifics, though. Meresin’s current state is…unnatural. Even for us. His power came at the cost of his stability. It’s why he’s so volatile, and why he’s getting worse. It won’t be long now before the lightning consumes him from the inside.”
Dru’s heart sank. “He’s being sent away to die.”
“No,” Levi replied. “He’s being sent away because the only way he’ll help himself is if he’s forced. You’ve seen how stubborn he is. None of us can do this for him. Only he can decide what his life is worth. The city’s secrets, however, aren’t something you need to worry about.” A shadow passed over his face. “He would die before breaking that way. His mind is his own, if nothing else.”
The words sent a chill through her. It was just another hint at a past that was darker than she could imagine. For the millionth time, she asked herself why she cared so much what an angry fallen angel did with his life, especially when he so clearly wanted to be as far away from her as possible.
It all went back to that stupid kiss. He was addictive in a way that put all others, even Caius, to shame. And the problem wasn’t one she could bite or stab. Not currently, anyway. She wanted to find Meresin, to figure out a way to help him without endangering any lives, including his. But he wasn’t hers to save, and trying would go over like a lead balloon, she was sure.
Justin was talking to Levi, and his voice sounded far away as she grappled with her instincts.
“—sure he shouldn’t have someone with him? He seems so close to the edge half the time, I really don’t know that just sending him off alone is a great idea. He may not be my favorite Fallen, but this sounds like a lot for one person to take on without any backup.”
“It does,” Levi admitted, and then added, “Uriel’s understanding of us is not always as complete as he imagines it is. Meresin probably would have rejected the idea of company, but still, maybe if I sent one of his brothers—”
The tension in Dru that had been winding ever tighter for what seemed like ages now finally reached its breaking point and snapped. She spun and strode toward the doors that led out into the city. The conversation behind her stopped abruptly.
“Dru? Where are you going?” The way Justin asked the question made her certain that he knew exactly where she was going and that he didn’t like it at all.
“Out,” she called back over her shoulder.
“Damn it, Dru, stay away from him. This isn’t going to do either one of you any good! He’s probably already gone!”
Lost causes, she thought. Maybe Justin was right. But that didn’t do a thing to shake her certainty that she needed to see Meresin one last time. Whether she’d shout at him or try to give him instructions or just stand there looking like an idiot was completely up in the air, but she’d figure it out when she got there. In all this time, her instincts had rarely failed her.
Just that once, whispered a subversive little voice in the back of her mind, and that was a pretty big once. The voice sounded suspiciously like her brother’s, so she squashed it.
The doors swung open, and she walked through them without a backward glance. Justin’s furious curse echoed behind her, and then Levi’s soft, unintelligible murmur. She left them behind, heading for the softly glowing lights of the city and a hidden place Dru hoped she could reach in time.
Chapter Four
Luck was with her. The first person with wings she ran across was Murmur, so it was Murmur she asked to give her a lift. The white-blond Fallen, whose personality was warmer than his coloring might suggest, didn’t bother to pretend that Meresin actually stayed in the house provided for him on the outskirts of the city. Dru knew it was empty. She doubted he’d ever set foot in it—Meresin seemed to have more than a touch of claustrophobia.
So it was no surprise when Murmur wrapped his arms around her and flew directly upward, higher and higher until the city was far below them. She looked down once and immediately wished she hadn’t when her stomach did a slow roll. Vampires hadn’t been meant to fly. Useful though wings might have been, she was happy enough keeping her feet on the ground.
When they neared the high ceiling of the cave that encased Terra Noctem, Murmur veered to the left, gliding to a natural alcove hollowed into the rock just where the wall of the cave began to slope downward. There was a faint glow that suggested a lamp of some sort, and Dru’s breathing grew shallow as her heartbeat picked up. Nerves tangled into a knot deep in her belly. Did the light mean he was still here?
“If he strands you up here, which he probably will, give a shout,” Murmur said softly in her ear. “He didn’t pick this spot because he wanted visitors.”
She nodded, fighting off a shiver at the sound of Murmur’s voice. It was beautiful and deadly, a blade covered in velvet. No mortal could resist that voice. It was why he had, during his time as a lord of Hell, been the Questioner of Souls. He didn’t exactly make her nervous anymore—Murmur had proven to have a fairly wicked sense of humor when he wanted to—but it was hard to be fully at ease with him, either.
“Thanks,” she said as he pulled up short and landed lightly, then lowered Dru so her feet touched the floor. She steadied herself, then flashed him a quick grin that she hoped covered her sudden uncertainty. The fallen angel gave her a faint, knowing smirk.
She had the feeling he knew a lot of things he shouldn’t.
“Enjoy,” he said. “I’ll listen for you.” Then his gaze moved past her into the alcove. “I don’t appreciate the bared teeth, brother. I should get more than grief for bringing you a beautiful woman. It’s not like they’re crawling the walls to keep you company.”
Murmur’s ice-blue eyes glowed with mischief as he addressed her again, stepping back toward the ledge. “Just in case his scintillating company has the same effect on you that it does on most people, remember…don’t jump. I won’t be far.” Then he leaped and vanished into the darkness.
Her smile faded quickly when he disappeared. She could feel Meresin’s eyes on her, burning her skin with all the heat of the sun she hadn’t seen in two thousand years. She stiffened her spine, then turned and found herself confronted with a pair of furious violet eyes blazing at her from his stony face.
The silence stretched between them. Dru cast around for something to say, some good way to open an actual conversation. Finally, she sighed, utterly flustered, and went with a generic comment.
“So. This is…nice. Up here. Very private.”
Meresin arched one dark brow and finished stuffing a piece of clothing into the black duffel he held in his other hand. She let her eyes skim the alcove once, surprised at how comfortable he’d made it. Rather than the ascetic simplicity she’d expected, it was more like the nest of a particularly curious crow. Although the only real furniture was a plump pallet for sleeping and a large, scarred steamer trunk, the alcove was a jumble of random objects. She saw picture frames, a telescope, several clocks of different shapes and sizes, none of which appeared to work, and gleaming pieces of copper and steel that didn’t seem to belong to anything. There were stacks of leather-bound books, a sinuous sculpture of a dancing woman, and bold-colored paintings of landscapes leaned against the wall. Things glittered and shone and peeked from beneath other things, all in a bizarre sort of order that made the space intriguing rather than a mess. Even the simple sleeping pallet, she noted, was covered in soft fabrics, along with a chenille blanket that she knew would be warm and cozy.
Any further attempts at small talk died in her throat as she soaked up this new information about Meresin. It was nothing like she might have imagined. The only thing she’d been right about was that he had a lot more going on beneath the surface than he let on.
“What do you want?”
She blinked rapidly, pulled back to the moment by the edge in his voice. It took her precious seconds to remember what she was doing here besides gawking. Meresin glared balefully at her from a few feet away, looking as uncomfortable as he always did when she got too close. There wasn’t much space in his little nest, but what there was, he was keeping between them.
She focused, straightened, took a deep breath…and plunged.
“I want to talk about this mission you’re going on.”
His response was immediate, stony. “I don’t.”
He was so strange compared to his brothers. They wore their faults and exploits like badges of honor. Not Meresin. He didn’t want to talk about this. Or, she guessed, anything. Especially not with her.
Too bad.
“You signed a blood oath to protect this city. You belong to the Necromancium with your brothers. I don’t ask about most of the places Uriel sends all of you, but this is different. I need to know where you’re going and when you’re coming back. It’s important to the security of the city.”
He shoved a couple other things into his duffel—a shirt, a small, golden wind-up alarm clock, a mysterious square wrapped carefully in velvet. Was that a picture? She watched it vanish, curious.
“No it isn’t,” he finally said. “Now if there’s nothing else, I have to go.”
His casual dismissal had her completely at a loss. She was used to people at least hearing her out. But then, Meresin didn’t exactly make a secret of the fact that he didn’t think she was anyone important. It stung her pride, which in turn had her opening her mouth before she should have.
“You know, if being a complete a**hole could keep you alive, I wouldn’t worry at all. As it is, you’ll be lucky if you make it out of the state without lighting yourself on fire. Take somebody with you, Meresin. One of your brothers. I know this is life or death for you. You shouldn’t go alone.”
So much for subtlety. And he liked the free advice about as well as she might have expected.
The air around him seemed to simmer as he shoved one final wadded-up ball of clothing into his duffel, zipping it shut with enough force that she was surprised the zipper didn’t break. When he lifted his eyes to hers again, the fury in them nearly had her taking a step back.