Page 134 of Forging Darkness

“Your father has already left for the Council meeting room. We received a call telling us to stay put, but he didn’t listen.” Catching sight of me, she stops. “Emberly, why are you soaking wet?”

I drip puddles onto the floor.

“They couldn’t wake me up?”

Her face twists in confusion as Ash pushes me toward a closed door. Throwing it open, she plants the clothes she grabbed in my hands and shoves me in. I dress as fast as I can, now realizing how hard it is to get out of wet leggings. I toss the soggy clothes into the bathroom once I’ve changed into a similar outfit, and rejoin the group.

“Come on,” Steel says the moment the door clicks shut behind me. He’s pulled on a fresh shirt, but his jeans are still wet. “You, me, and Greyson are going to look for Dad. The others are staying put with my mom.”

Nova waves her cell phone in the air. “If you forget to call and update us, I’m going to cut off your—” Her gaze dart to Eloise. “Umm, just don’t forget.”

Grabbing my hand, Steel pulls me back into the hallway. Greyson isn’t far behind. We sprint out of the building and onto the street. There are even more Nephilim running in different directions here. Setting our eyes on the large pyramid, we set off.

Pain slams into my skull when the alarms go off another time. I miss a step, but Steel catches my arm and rights me before I face-plant.

“The sirens,” I say by way of an explanation.

His face is tight, but he nods.

It isn’t long before we bust through the door of the pyramid. Steel takes the lead, guiding us through the maze of corridors to the belly of the structure where the Council hosts their official meetings. He shoves the mammoth doors open when we get there.

My guess is that normally, three novice angel-borns bursting into the Council’s meeting room wouldn’t go unnoticed, but this morning it does. No one so much as turns to tell us to leave as we storm into the room.

From a quick scan of the area, it looks like every Elder is present. Besides them, there are at least two dozen other Nephilim in the space, including Sable, Deacon, and Laurent. The angel-born are separated into small groups. It appears that the Elders are issuing orders to different angel-line factions.

Suddenly, Malachi’s voice booms above the rest. “We have visuals in London.”

He talks into an earpiece and a moment later a screen flashes to life behind him. The display shows an aerial view of parliament and Big Ben. Fire pours from the windows on the left side of the historic landmark, the part farthest from the famous clock tower.

Another screen flicks on and it shows a ground shot of Piccadilly Circus. The displays that usually light up the area are blank; swarms of people run every which way.

The next screen shows Trafalgar Square. The giant lion statues are smashed to bits, but this area is free of humans.

One image after another pops up, revealing different parts of downtown London. A few areas remained untouched, but much of the scenes show destruction.

People running. Bridges collapsed. Fires exploding.

“What is happening?” Greyson asks next to me.

I shake my head, even though I know he’s not talking to me.

“Steel. Grey. Is your mother safe? Your siblings?” Laurent joins us, but I don’t take my eyes off the displays on the far wall. I can’t.

“Yes, they’re fine,” Greyson says.

“Where’s Silver?” Steel asks, and I wrench my gaze from the displays to see Laurent answer with a frown and a quick shake of his head.

What doesthatmean?

“What’s causing all this?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I catch a blur on one of the screens out of the corner of my eye.

Wait, it’s not a blur. It’s an all-too-familiar sight.

“A shadow beast,” I whisper. I can hear the horror in my own voice. Shadow beasts are only Fallen, but they’re exponentially more terrifying in this form. You can’t see their bodies in order to know how to fight back or defend yourself. The scars that riddle my body are from years of their attacks. “Are these cameras broadcasting from the spirit realm?”

I shouldn’t have bothered to ask; I already know the answer.

“No.”

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