Thirteen

Page 56

 
“Good God,” my inter-Cabal agency lawyer muttered. “Now what? Angel? Ghost? Hellhound?”
A scream cut him off. It came from the rear door. Before anyone could move, a familiar figure strode through the door.
“Severin,” I whispered.
Sierra followed him into the room, and in each hand she held the decapitated head of a young man.
“Are these yours?” she said.
She tossed them. One hit a lawyer, and he stumbled back, clawing at his suit. The other rolled to my feet. I stepped forward, fingertips sparking.
“Oooh, Savannah, getting your powers back? Maybe you’ll be useful to us after all.”
“Thomas Nast,” Severin said. “Lord Balaam has sent us to pass along a message. You ignored your son’s pleas on his daughter’s behalf. Maybe you’ll listen to her other grandfather. Lord Balaam demands that you set Savannah free. Immediately.”
Josef sprang to his feet. “All right. This goes too far.” He turned on his father. “Do you really expect us to think a lord demon cares about this girl? His grandchild?”
“Fine, don’t believe me,” Sierra said. Then she grinned. “It’ll be much more fun that way.”
“We came to warn you,” Severin said. “While I agree with my sister that it’ll be more fun if you refuse, it’s my job to strongly recommend you don’t.”
“We have to get Savannah out of here,” Adam whispered across me to Sean. “Balaam is up to something.”
I could see the internal struggle on Sean’s face. Then a flash of something like grief, his gaze dropping as he nodded. He pushed back his chair and motioned me up.
As I stood, he took my elbow and started for the door. Adam fell in on my other side. It took a moment for anyone to notice. Then Agent Stein stood. “Where are you going?”
“I’m taking my sister out of here,” Sean said. “An angel tried to stop this sham of a trial. My father tried to stop it. Now a lord demon is trying to stop it. By allowing this to proceed without the Cortezes’ involvement, the intra-Cabal agency has forfeited its role as an impartial arbiter. We do not recognize its authority. We are leaving.”
“You are part of this Cabal,” Josef said. “You will not—”
“I will. Or I will no longer be part of this Cabal.” His gaze was fixed on his grandfather. “That’s your choice.”
“Don’t you threaten us,” Josef said.
Sean turned toward the door. Two of the three guards in our path stepped aside. The third hesitated, but made no move to stop us.
“Arrest him.” Josef jabbed a finger at his bodyguards. “Go.” Thomas pushed to his feet. “No. This has gone too far. Sean—”
“He’s giving you one last chance,” Severin cut in. “Will you let Savannah go?”
“Never,” Josef said.
Severin smiled. “I’ll take that as your final word on the matter.”
He walked to the middle of the room, Sierra at his side. Two of the guards pulled their guns, as if finally realizing they should do something. Then they fell to their knees, screaming, hands to their faces. Their shrieks died midnote as they collapsed, blood streaming from their eyes, their ears, their noses and mouths.
Severin’s head shot back, eyes rolling back. I knew what was happening, but I told myself it couldn’t be—they hadn’t made the proper preparations. The last time, they’d had to draw a ritual circle and recite the incantations, and without that, they couldn’t—
Severin’s chin shot down. His eyes glowed bright green.
Balaam.
 
 
TWENTY-FIVE
 
The lord demon stopped right in front of me, and stroked warm fingers across my cheek. When Adam yanked me back, Balaam spun on him.
“Don’t give me an excuse, brat. I’ve no love for your sire these days.”
I moved between them and lifted my chin, meeting Balaam’s gaze.
“This has nothing to do with you,” I said. “I appreciate the interest, but I can handle it.”
“You shouldn’t need to, my child. I’ll do it for you.” He smiled. “Happily.”
“No—” I said, but he was already bearing down on Thomas.
Bodyguards leaped around the table. Balaam fluttered his fingers and the men’s eyes … popped. Just popped, blood streaming down their faces as they screamed. Balaam snapped his fingers and they stopped screaming. They were still alive, still writhing on the floor, mouths still open, but they made no sound.
“Do you know me, sorcerer?” Balaam said to Thomas.
“I—”
“I sent a messenger to spare us both this visit. You ignored him.”
 
“I—”
“Say my name, sorcerer.”
Thomas sat there. An old man. Such an old man, his rheumy blue eyes watery, his face little more than a death mask, skin tight over bone. No one went to him. No one could. Beside me, Sean kept rocking forward, but now it was my hand on his arm. A binding spell waited on my lips. I didn’t need it. He knew there was nothing anyone could do.
Thomas pulled himself up. He blinked and gained back a decade of his lost years, remembering who he was. His voice was steady when he said, “You are Lord Balaam, and I apologize for the misunderstanding. I meant no disrespect—”
“But disrespect me you did.”
“Not intentionally, sir. This hearing is at an end. The girl is free to go. I was saying that when you arrived—”
“It is too late. You mistreated my granddaughter. You mis-treated my daughter. You have mistreated me. There is no apology that can be made.”
He lifted his fingers. Thomas’s eyes bulged and I screamed, “No!” But Balaam didn’t blind Thomas. The old man’s eyes simply bulged in pain and shock. He wavered there a moment and I thought good, that’s it, just a warning. Then he fell forward, clutching his chest.
Sean ran to our grandfather. I tried to stop him, but he caught me off-guard. My binding spell failed. I raced after him, Adam at my heels.
Thomas Nast had dropped to his knees. Balaam grabbed the table between them and threw it, hitting several of the lawyers before they could get out of the way.
The only person left near Thomas was Josef. And he just stood there. In shock, maybe. In cowardice, probably. Only Sean ran to his grandfather, shouting for him over the commotion as everyone headed for the exits, the thunder of feet accompanied by Sierra’s laughter as she waltzed through the stampede, fingers tapping left and right, freezing as they went, her victims yelping in shock, then spinning out of the way before continuing to the doors.