“Enough! We want to be sure there’s enough left of her for the Master.” To the rest of the bad guys she called, “Take them all inside. It’s time to begin the summoning rites.”
The stained-glass dome depicted scenes from the Garden of Eden. Not the story mortals know from their Bible, but the story of Lilith and Adam, the Great Mother’s exodus to the Red Sea and her eventual union with the outcast Cain.
Hundreds of candles lit the rotunda. Set in niches and along the floor, their light cast menacing shadows on the faces of statues standing guard along the perimeter.
Brass chains scraped my wrists and ankles. A linen gag choked my throat and abraded the sensitive corners of my mouth. Cold air raised gooseflesh on my arms and legs, which were exposed thanks to the flimsy ankle length tunic they’d forced on me.
Turning my head on the black marble slab, I looked across an expanse of polished stone floor to the slab holding the prone body of my sister. The Caste members had dressed her in the twin to my gown, but the fabric nearly engulfed her emaciated frame. She looked too still lying there, too brittle. She hadn’t made a sound since passing out after the vamp struck her. Part of me hoped she remained unconscious during whatever horrors our grandmother had planned for us.
Lavinia entered leading a procession of her flunkies. Eurynome and the Caste members came first with their golden eight-point-star pendants flashing in the light. Behind them, the robed and hooded Brotherhood silently followed, chanting low over the candles they each carried.
At the end of the dark procession, I spied a flash of golden hair and bare flesh. My chest ached. Lavinia probably got some sick glee out of stripping Adam and forcing him to wear nothing but a scrap of fabric around his waist. Hoped to degrade him. But the truth was, he’d never looked stronger than with his head raised high as the Brothers led him to his death. The Hekate’s Wheel on his lower stomach stood out in sharp contrast to the stark white of the cloth over his hips.
His eyes flicked to mine. For a brief instant, I swore I saw a trace of longing and regret in the green depths. But the Brother leading him shoved at his back, forcing him to stumble. He regained his balance quickly, but he moved out of my line of sight. I craned my neck, trying to see him again, but Lavinia moved in, filling my vision.
An icy finger ran down my cheek. She leaned over me with a swish of silk and the scent of dirty pennies. “I’ve changed my mind,” she said. My eyes flared, but inside I knew better than to hope her next words would be our salvation. “Even though I’d love to make you watch as I drain your mancy lover, I’ll admit I detest the flavor of mage blood. It has its benefits, naturally, but the taste is just,” she shuddered, “vile.”
She pulled away. “But this opportunity is too good to waste. Luckily, the perfect solution presented itself.” She snapped her fingers. Three Brothers rushed forward and begun loosening Maisie’s bonds.
I shouted against the gag and jerked against my own chains.
“Having your sister feed from your lover is just good sense. Because you took so long to find her, she’s weak and in desperate need of blood. A good feeding will restore her enough for the rites. And, well, the poetic justice is just delicious.”
I fought harder. The fabric muffled my screams into impotent moans and the metal dug into me until blood ran freely. Lavinia patted my shoulder. “I’m thrilled to see you agree.” Turning to the Brothers, she called, “Begin.”
The men slapped Maisie’s face until she woke with a start. Her body had already used up the little bit of blood she’d consumed and now yearned for more. Three more Brothers came forward to help restrain her. She fought against them like a berserker, all claws and fangs.
Lavinia groaned, clearly annoyed by the complication. “Eurynome, please assist the mortals.”
The Avenger demon emerged from the clump of beings. His hooves stomped against the stone, and his ram’s horns lowered with purpose. He pushed the mortals out of the way. He subdued Maisie easily, wrapping his arms around her like steel. Then he lifted, carrying her toward Adam.
Two vampires grabbed Adam’s arms and pushed him forward. Now that he could see what was happening, his composure fled. His hands were bound, so he used his shoulders and head to fight. For his insolence, he received a fist to the gut. As he fell to his knees, I strained against my bonds. Tears streamed down my face, and my throat burned from muffled screams.
Lavinia clapped and nodded to the vamp to Adam’s right. He unsheathed a knife. Adam saw the glint of metal and shied away. The blade slashed across the skin just above his heart. Blood bloomed and spilled down his chest and his abdomen to stain the white fabric.
The scent of blood hit Maisie like an electric shock. She strained and hissed in Eurynome’s grasp, eager to feast.
“Release her,” Lavinia said. The second the demon loosened his grip, Maisie flew at Adam. I squeezed my eyes shut as bile and tears choked me. It was bad enough to hear what was happening, to hear Maisie’s greedy sucking and Adam’s agonized groans. But Lavinia was determined to milk every possible ounce of pain from this moment. She pried my lids open, holding my head captive with her arms. Forced me to watch my twin bent over the neck of the male I loved.
“Look at what you’ve done to them,” Lavinia whispered. I jerked my head, desperate to block out the sight of Maisie’s red-and-black head bobbing against his chest. So much blood. Too much. A grimace of pain contorted his pale, dear face.
Her fingernails dug into the soft skin around my eyes, drawing blood. But I was too crazed with guilt and horror to register the pain. If anything, the red blurring my vision was a blessing. “Oh, no, you must watch and understand. Your existence brings pain to all unfortunate enough to meet you. Witness how you destroyed them. Just as you killed my beloved Phoebe.”
I stilled. I’d always known I served as a painful reminder to Lavinia of my mother’s death. But I never understood until that moment the depth of her depraved hatred. The unfairness of laying blame at my door. My mother’s choices had been her own. My birth was neither my choice nor my fault. Her death was not my doing, but her own.
The simple truth hit me like a bolt of electric clarity.
I remembered Adam’s accusations earlier about me having a death wish. And I realized he’d been right. Just like Lavinia, on some level, I, too, had blamed myself for the horrible circumstances and ensuing drama of my birth. Believed I didn’t deserve to be alive because of my shameful heritage. Didn’t deserve love or understanding, affection or empathy.
Lavinia orchestrated these horrors. She’d kindled the self-hatred for decades. Manipulated me from the start. And I’d bought into all of it because I didn’t know another way to live. But I knew better now. I knew because of the mage who offered his love, the sister who’d taught me about family, and the loyal demon who showed me the meaning of friendship. They’d stood beside me despite my protestations that I didn’t need anyone. I’d been a godsdamned fool to allow Lavinia’s poison to cloud my judgment. She was the worthless one. The selfish one. The one who allowed hatred and vengeance to fuel her actions. Not me. Not anymore.
But even as these realizations dawned, so did the knowledge it was too late. My eyes burned as I watched Adam grow paler by the second. Already the fight had fled his muscles and he slumped into Maisie’s eager grasp.
Then, like someone flipped a switch, his entire body stiffened. The whites of his eyes overwhelmed his pupils. A final gasp signaled his surrender. And then the mage I loved slumped to the floor.
Dead.
The scream that rose in my throat came not from my vocal cords but from the very root of my soul. My body filled with a rage so strong it could crumble mountains.
Maisie stumbled back, her limbs trembling as she stared down at Adam’s bloodied body. The infusion had restored some of her awareness and the realization of what she’d just done. With wide, haunted eyes, she threw back her head. “No!” Her haunted scream echoed off the dome.
Lavinia released me and went to go inspect his body. I slammed my stinging eyes shut and gathered my strength for another primal scream. Only instead of air rushing from my lungs, something shifted. The raw emotions gave way to power building in my diaphragm. This time the rage and love combined, twisting together like DNA to create a force more powerful than any I’d called upon before. I embraced the burning ache of it. Stoked the fire. Called out to Hekate and Lilith to aid me.
Lilith, Great Dark Mother and Goddess of the Night. Hekate, Goddess of the Crossroads and Bringer of Light, hear my pleas. Lend me your great and terrible power to balance the scales. Break my bonds and fill me with your dark energy. Help me avenge this blasphemy.
A loud crack echoed through the chamber. A tidal wave of dark power washed over me. I threw back my head as it slammed into me. Filled me. The force of this primal magic jerked my body upright. Sent a shock wave of power through the room.
The dome overhead shattered. The colorful glass fractured into a million fragments and rained down on the rotunda. Shouts and cries filled the room as humans and Caste members ducked and ran for cover.
All around, the walls cracked like eggshells. Falling plaster and stone joined the glass. The building creaked and moaned with the promise of collapse.
Black and red auras danced on the edges of my vision. I blinked and realized my chains had shattered along with the glass. The release of energy and the sharp shards had sent several of my enemy to the ground. But my focus zeroed in on the bitch in red. She sat on the ground near Adam’s body, looking dazed.
My burning gaze locked on Lavinia like a heat-seeking missile. With deliberate movements, I removed the gag and tossed it to the floor.
“Lavinia Kane.” My voice was different. Deeper, echoed, as if I spoke with three voices now: mine, Lilith’s, and Hekate’s.
Lavinia’s eyes flared. She rose quickly, backing away before stumbling over Adam’s body, kicking at Brothers and Caste members who got in her way. I rose slowly. There was no fear now. Only power and purpose.
My senses buzzed, taking in every sound, shape, and smell in the room and beyond. The air vibrated against my skin. My tongue tasted her fear and confusion. And it pleased me.