Page 36 of The Clash of the Damned
“I thought you were only coming when I said.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” I tell her with a dangerously sweet smile on my face.
Alarm bells sound in my head as I spot flecks of blood on her face, barely noticeable under the moonlight and dirt. Pretending I haven’t seen it, I act like everything is normal. I need to know what she has planned. “If you don’t spit it out soon, I’m leaving, and that will be the end of our arrangement.”
She gives in, the demand being met easier than it should have been, and she beckons me inside the house. When the door closes, I notice how dark it is. I’m comforted by the fact I’m faster than anything she can throw at me, which has to be enough. Before I have a chance to wonder if todaycould mean my death, she grabs a headlamp and puts it on before she leads me down a long passage.
“When people think you aren’t watching, it’s interesting to see what you can learn. Like how the Rogue’s fiancé thought no one was following her on her trip home to visit her parents.” She turns to look at me, making sure I’m still following her. I’m tempted to ask where she thinks I can go. “I know you said you didn’t want to do anything to the Human Faction, but I did. It was the one thing about our arrangement that bothered me. How did you expect me to be okay with kidnapping humans but leaving this Faction alone in all their sins?”
I don’t like where this is going, but I know I can’t reason with someone like her. With Eden, one needs to be the strongest person in the room and dominate her with power. But the reality is there is collateral damage in every war, which I try my best to minimise. I don’t answer her as the question feels rhetorical, then we stop at a room. She shines her head lamp on the contents, and it’s only years of being a Siphoner on the run that keeps me from panicking.
Dead bodies. Everywhere. Stabbed in various states. So much blood. I’m pretty sure it’s Giada’s mangled body I see in the corner. Turning to Eden, I keep my face neutral as I ask, “I’m unfamiliar with these Supernaturals; is this some part of the plan that I missed?” We both know I don’t miss plans. I’m stalling for time.
“The silly Rogue’s only left one person to guard the Human Faction. With enough force, we overpowered him and cut off his head. You can’t heal from a missing head.” She giggles manically. Turning to the bodies, she continues, “As for the rest of them, this was the Human Faction. After praying on it, I believed the best way to save their eternal souls was to sendthem back to our Father so they could mend their ways and be reborn. One empire down, five to go.” Ahh, so she’s now including me with the other empires. From my peripheral, I see more of her church members step out of the shadows with bloody knives and flame throwers. Impressive.
“Now, it’s your turn, Sloane. You’ve lived out your usefulness. We know some of us will die in this war, and we’re willing to die for our cause. Are you?”
Something hits me over the head, and I fall to the ground. It hurts like hell, and the surprise attack caught me off guard. A part of me realizes that someone hit me with something. While it definitely didn’t kill me, it did stun me. My attackers won’t know this because of the protection spells I set before I came here. The stupid humans cheer and congratulate each other for getting rid of another demon in their city.
Rising from the floor like a zombie from their nightmares, courtesy of a bit of levitation magic, I see a human scream and run from me, and I snort at how ridiculous their reaction is. Demons don’t exist, but I’m happy to be one in response to their attempt on my life.
Using the same levitation magic, my glowing hands the only source of light in this dark house, I freeze the running human, levitate him off the ground, and then snap his neck. The rest of the humans charge for me at the sound of their fallen comrade, like they can best my magic somehow.
“Not on my watch, bitch.” Throwing my hand towards the group first, then to her, I knock them off their feet and cause an explosion to disorient them. As a good measure, I cast an invisibility spell around me. Then, I run.
Chapter 27 | The IT Girl
Jude
“Flip your hair,” Brooklyn instructs, standing behind me at my vanity. Tossing my hair, I flip it back and burst out laughing when I see the effect in the mirror. My curls have more volume than they ever should, and I look like a seventies movie star. “I look ridiculous.”
“Shhh, trust the process,” Brooklyn reprimands me lovingly. Slowly she brushes apart my curls to reform them, the final step in her hair makeover for myBreakfast At Tiffany’sthemed kitchen tea. First, she blow dried my hair, then set it in rollers. Now, she twirls each of my curls into a perfect coil before she applies hairspray. Not wanting to change who I am, we decided that we weren’t going to go with the sleek updo that was displayed in the movie. Instead, I wanted to keep my curls and adapt the look. Brooklyn adds the final step of today’s hair transformation, the jeweled crown.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Jude?” Brooklyn’s eyes crinkle along the edges as she makes little effort to hide her concern for me. We both know she’s really talking about leaving Sebastian in my past. I know she isn’t the biggest fan of it happening. They’ve remained close despite our complicated history, and I don’t begrudge her. But it doesn’t change what has to be done. How I feel about it doesn’t matter.
“I have to. The Druids need stability, and this is an easy way to create it. Plus, there are worse options than Jayden. If Lexie was here, she would have done the same for us.”
Brooklyn tucks her pale blonde hair behind her ear, the only sign I know she’s holding something back. “If Lexie was with us, she would tell us both to get over ourselves and not waste a minute of the life we’ve been gifted. No, she would demand it.”
“Yeah that feels like something she would say.”
I did not expect how protective my little sister has become of me. It shows in her questions, and it doesn’t escape my notice that she’s been training hard. While she may look the perfect debutant today in her baby pink, sheath dress, I know in her other form, she can be lethal. Turning, I lift her chin. “What else are you worried about?”
“This Children of Christ business…” she trails off.
“Sloane has eyes on me; she’s not worried about you.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Must I bury another sister?”
Shit, I’m not handling this well. Letting her in was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time, and figuring out what our world looks like without Lexie is much easier together. But sometimes, I’m worried I’m too honest. I want to choose my words more carefully with her, but does that make me any better than Sebastian? “We will figure this out together. As long as we make smart choices, we will survive as our family has done for hundreds of years. This unrest won’t last forever.” There is strength in numbers, a principle not only the Druids follow, but every Supernatural family as well.
Clearing his throat, Beau announces his arrival. “Girls, I know it’s been tough for this family, but know I’m as proud of you two as if you weremine.” It’s an out of character display for him, but I don’t question it. It’s an emotionally loaded day for us all. Next to Eric Rhodes, Beau is the closest thing I have left to a father, and I appreciate him more in moments like today. Blowing him a kiss, I mouth ‘thank you’ to him.
“I know we don’t like many of the guests in attendance today, but I invited everyone from the Supernatural families as tradition dictates. If you’re set on going through with this, it’s time to go down.”
We decided to ignore the long cigarette holder that’s so common with my outfit. Don’t get me wrong, I love a theme, but I’m also a fan of changing what doesn’t serve me–my new outlook on life. Putting on my black silk gloves, I take Brooklyn’s hand and follow her downstairs to our sun room where our guests are waiting. Upon entering our sunroom, I find it’s been transformed into the set of the movie. Sunlight filters through the windows, catching on the delicate glassware laid out on the tables.
When invitations went out to every important Druid, as well as prominent Supernaturals from the other families, I was nervous that with all the murders happening recently, no one would attend. But in true Supernatural style, we all love a chance to party, even if the bodies are dropping, and this is no different.
