Page 38 of Sin of the Saints

“Are you hungry?” His question pulls me out of my bleak thoughts. I have to focus on a plan of action again, considering the situation I’ve gotten myself into.

“No, I’m fine.” I refuse to look at him. I know Hillel isn’t Bar, but when I saw Bar’s familiar face kissing Valentina I felt as if I’d been run over by a truck. But he wasn’t aware of that at the time, and I have to make sure I don’t give away that I’d seen them.

“You need to feed, Lilith. I’ve managed to get rid of the bell, but as long as we can’t get that collar off you, you need to reserve your strength.”

“Then maybe we should deal with it,” I grouse. The sooner I ditch this collar, the less vulnerable I’ll be to the wide array of threats hovering over my head. Libretto, Hillel, Valentina, the Army of the Saints… they’re all after Lilith. And I’m stuck in the storm like a deer in headlights.

“You’re welcome to join us for a nightcap, the three of us can discuss it.” He gestures outside the bedroom and I decide to accept his suggestion. I have to get as much information out of them as I can, so I know what my next steps should be.

I go down the stairs and find Valentina on the faded couch, holding a glass of whiskey. I let out a sigh of relief, I’d been worried the nightcap would include the blood of one of them, and I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to lose myself in either. I sit at Valentina’s side, and Hillel holds out a glass of whiskey. Valentina clinks her glass with mine, and I pour the entire contents of the glass down my throat. Hillel’s already standing ready with a refill.

“So what’s the plan?” I get right to it. “Did you talk to your father? Maybe he can help us,” I address Valentina.

She shrugs nonchalantly. “My father’s loyal to the Council. He expects me to turn myself over to them, and accept any punishment they hand out to me. He thinks Libretto will go easy on me thanks to my father’s connections, since I’m to inherit his businesses in Chicago.”

“Okay, and that’s what you plan to do?”

“Are you really asking me, in the presence of the Devil, whether I intend to betray him as Libretto did?” She raises an eyebrow and glances at Hillel.

“Yes.” I stare her dead in the eyes.

“Of course not,” she immediately blurts out.

“But he’s your father.”

“Not mybloodfather,” she emphasizes, returning her gaze to Hillel as though seeking his approval. I rest my head on the back of the couch and take a sip from my glass. The whiskey dulls my nerves a bit. “Besides,” she continues, “Mr. Fleming taught us about the nightmare, it’s not a human nightmare but yours, Lilith. Not only did he betray our creator, he harmed the mother of the damned. That is an unforgivable crime.”

“She’s your creator.” I frown.

“I believe it takes two to create,” Hillel adds offhandedly, sipping his whiskey.

“Two equals,” I note. “And yet one is clearly different than the other.”

Hillel smiles at me. “So you always claimed, but you never meant it, did you? Why does that even bother you?”

“Be-because…” I want to answer, but fall silent. Why does it bother me? Maybe because Bar wanted to be my equal, while Hillel looks at me like I’m inferior and that irritates me, infuriates me even. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is how we deal with Libretto. Now that you’re awake, can you overcome him and banish him from the lands of Adam?” I note Hillel’s jaw tensing and Valentina shifts uncomfortably. “What’s the big deal?” I look from one to the other.

“I’m afraid he’s gathered too much power during his time in this realm. He’s stolen too many souls from me.”

Valentina nods. “But you’re his weakness. I saw it in him during my service to the Council. He’d watch you obsessively on the monitors. He’s getting sloppy. If you managed to evade him while in his presence and the presence of the other Council members, it means he loses some of his strength around you.”

“Great,” I say optimistically. “I can seduce him into meeting me alone, and you can deal with him and send him where he belongs.”

“Not while you have that collar on your neck,” Hillel states the obvious and my face falls. “You mustn’t be impulsive as you’ve always been.”

“I’m not.” His choice of words anger me. He might be refusing to accept that Lilith hasn’t erased my identity, but I intend to shove that down his throat every chance I get. He won’t erase me, as the Saints try to erase Lilith. “Bar would be able to tell us more about the collar,” I whisper.

The glass in Hillel’s hand shatters, and silence falls upon the room. Valentina’s pupils expand and my blood freezes in my veins as the scent of Hillel’s blood rises in my nostrils. Damn it.

“Bartimaeusknows nothing, I can guarantee that.” He shifts his gaze from me to Valentina. “I believe it’s time for us to have some higher-quality drinks, no? His voice is hoarse and Valentina nods energetically, enraptured by the power of his blood. “Come to me,” he gestures, and Valentina hurries to obey. Bile rises up in my throat as I watch her stand up and kneel in front of Hillel.

He reaches his hand out to her, and she greedily licks up his blood. Her moan is so loud that it makes my blood quiver. I want to wipe that smug smile off his face, I want to hurt Valentina for her actions that cause me pain, but I say nothing and don’t move a muscle. I freeze in place.

Hillel smears the rest of his blood on Valentina’s face, and she rears her head back with open delight. I breathe deep – the smell of their neediness is even heavier and thicker than the smell of Hillel’s blood. He caresses Valentina’s chestnut hair and draws her face to his. She reaches a hand out to his crotch and unzips his pants. I’m focused only on Hillel’s eyes, which never shift their piercing gaze away from me. His clear blue eyes, his golden hair falling over his forehead. He’s so beautiful it’s almost unreal. And if it weren’t for the dark aura around himreminding me who he really is, I’d mistakenly think an angel was manifesting before me.

It’s completely fucked up.

My heart is pounding and I feel my blood pulsing in my temples. And just to make it even more twisted, Hillel closes his eyes and sharply inhales the smell ofmyneed. Good God, I’m really fucked up.

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