I felt Kaidan beside me, raising an arm ever so slightly, at the ready.
No angels were coming. I felt panic welling. I needed to pass this. My faith was my shield. Their torture of Patti would be their flaming arrows at me.
I would have preferred actual arrows to this.
“You’re not allowed to kill humans,” I stammered in a last-ditch effort. As far as I knew, it was their only “rule.”
“My dear, this is war!” Rahab laughed at me. “Normal rules no longer apply.”
“Be strong, Anna,” my father urged.
“Oh, shut up, Belial.” Rahab cursed in French then nodded toward Thamuz. “You may do the honors.”
Thamuz’s black badge grew as he knelt down by the body of Mammon and pulled the knife from his eye. Oh crap. My allies stirred around me with apprehension, but I couldn’t look away. Thamuz stalked toward Patti and grinned as he swiped her from temple to chin with the blade. I screamed in horror. She let out a small cry and slumped forward as blood seeped from her face, down her neck. Her guardian angel circled her in desperation.
“Stop it!” I screamed, shaking my head side to side. “No more!”
And then I noticed with amazement that her color never wavered. She was still at peace, so filled with love for me. My gut ached at Patti’s willingness to sacrifice herself. As I looked at the lavender surrounding her, I knew Patti wouldn’t have me choose any other way, but I hated it. I hated myself for not being able to save her.
“Pray for it to be stopped,” Rahab teased. “See if it happens.”
“Please, God,” I begged. “Please, make it stop. Save her! Please.”
The room stilled. I watched the walls, the ceiling. Nobody was coming. My hope fizzled and I felt the beginnings of anger, frustration, and doubt creeping in. For one second the hilt dimmed. When Rahab smiled, I realized his plan was working.
He was baiting me to lose faith through an unanswered prayer. Patti would not be saved. I had to come to terms with that, and quickly. She was perfect in my eyes, but in the scheme of the world she was one woman. A woman who’d lived a good life and would be revered by all who’d known her. If this was her time to go, I had to find peace with that in order to preserve my faith. I had to believe there was a bigger reason for it all.
Inhale. Exhale. I smacked away horrid feelings of bitterness and unfairness and loss as they hurled themselves at my heart, threatening to break me.
It took every bit of my energy to speak. “You can see she’s not afraid to die.” I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. “And I am not afraid for her. I know where her soul will go.”
“Well then.” Rahab’s eyes were maniacal. “Let’s send her there now! First-class!”
Ginger shrieked, “Nooo!” She tried to rush forward, but Blake grabbed her tightly around the waist.
“Don’t watch,” Kaidan warned me, touching my face to try and turn my head to him, but I couldn’t look away. Thamuz stabbed her brutally in the stomach once, twice, three times. Oh God, I begged, make it stop! Take her quickly! I bent slightly at the waist and felt my stomach contracting in a heave, but I forced myself to stand straight again. Kaidan’s arm went around me, holding me. I tried to focus on the freedom Patti would soon have, free of pain and tears. Fighting the urge to dive into a pit of angry vengeance at that moment was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
“Bastards,” Kaidan whispered in anguish.
Thamuz lifted the knife again, and I’d had enough. She would die soon from the wounds he’d already inflicted, and anything more was superfluous cruelty.
“Stop him, Kai,” I begged, which was exactly what he’d been waiting to hear.
In half a second Kaidan’s knife was through the back of Thamuz’s neck, and his soul was frantically retreating from the body with a screech. His evil spirit sped toward me, and I sliced the flaming blade through the air. He was gone in a bang of black particles.
“Papa!” hollered one of his sons. I looked at the two of them, both baring their teeth.
“Do not avenge your father,” I willed to them out loud. “His ways don’t have to be yours.” They stopped, panting with emotion.
I addressed all of the Nephilim then, before the Dukes tried to retaliate. I knew several of them probably had guns, but none of them tried to reach for their weapons, knowing they were outnumbered and afraid of being turned on. The eyes of the Dukes followed my movements as I pointed the sword at them in turn and spoke to the Neph.
“For the first time ever, you all have a choice,” I told them. “You can move to the side, or you can join us and fight against the Dukes. But no matter what you choose, your fathers will leave this earth tonight, and you will be free from them. Make your choice now.”
A frenzy of whispers rose up. Nearly half of the Neph ran for the side of the room, circling around the back of us, out of the reach of the Dukes. I couldn’t blame them for wanting to stay out of it, and I was glad to see the youngest among them, dragged by one of the older women. They pushed against the side wall, behind the bar area, and crouched.
The other Neph looked around at the Dukes and then at one another before deciding. One by one they moved behind either me or the Dukes. The sons of Thamuz, Caterina, and about twenty others joined the Dukes. At least thirty piled behind me. But at the moment I didn’t feel like cheering about our greater numbers.
Patti’s body lay in a bloody heap.