Because if I did use the spearhead now, it would kill me.
* * *
AS IT TURNED OUT, neither one of us had anything to worry about. One glance at the relic shouldve been enough to prove that it wasnt the real deal. Touching the glass around it to make sure it hadnt been protected by wards had almost been redundant. A first-century Roman spearhead wasnt a short, flat, ornamental object that looked better suited to be a necklace than an ancient tool of war. It was a nasty, two-foot iron shank crowned with a sharp, pyramid-shaped point designed to impale someone even through protective armor.
No, this was another replica, and now we had no idea where to look for the real spearhead. Adrian wasnt nearly as upset about that as I was, and he wasnt even trying to pretend otherwise.
You could at least fake some disappointment, I said as we left the museum and walked toward our rental van.
He gave me a sideways glance. Then Id be lying, and I thought we agreed there would be no more lies between us.
We had, but he didnt need to rub in how hed much rather that I never found, let alone wielded, the spearhead. I could understand his reasons, but if I gave this up, then the demons would win and thousands of innocent people would die.
And I thought you agreed to support me, I said, the weight of all those lives making my tone sharper.
Adrian stopped and turned to face me. The sun was starting to set, casting artificial shades of red across his golden hair. His towering height, impressive physique and gorgeous features had turned countless heads as we walked, but he didnt seem to notice anyone else. Adrian stared at me as if I was the only person on this massive complex.
I do support you. The smoothness in his tone didnt fool me. Unbreakable ties could also be made of finest silk. My every action is driven by my undying love for you, in fact. What more do you want?
Put that way, what more could I want? Yet something still felt...off, as if what Adrian wasnt saying was more important than his words.
Underneath my joy this past month, Id also had a nagging feeling that I was missing something important. Of course, it could be that I just didnt know how to truly be happy. Id never had a real relationship before. Plus, until six months ago, I and everyone else who knew me had believed I was crazy.
I know youre not chomping at the bit to find the spearhead because using it is dangerous for me, I said, exploring that nagging feeling. But Ive survived lots of risks before, remember? Ill come out on top this time, too.
Adrian opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it. I know you will, he said, still in that smooth, easygoing tone. Youre just not ready to wield it yet. Thats why Im glad none of these relics have been real. Later, when youve had more time to train, youll be prepared to handle it.
Yeah, well, later better end up being sooner, I muttered. All the people still trapped in the demon realms couldnt wait years for me to bulk up on my supernatural fortitude.
Dont worry, Adrian said, intensity deepening his voice this time. Ill keep you safe. I promise.
I gave him a lopsided smile. Yes, between Adrian and our good friend Costa training me, my stamina, strength and skills had grown by leaps and bounds. Eventually, with more training, I was counting on it being enough to keep me alive when I attempted to wield the final hallowed weaponassuming we ever found it.
I shook off that nagging feeling. It had to be me projecting my own paranoia onto Adrian. After all, aside from our fight when Id decided to go after the spearhead, Adrian hadnt argued with me about it. Hed arranged these trips, helped me train and been nothing but supportive. So, even though I felt like Id grown an inner trouble brewing sensor in addition to my hallowed one, it had to be in my head.
Fine, I said, my tone brightening. Since the spearhead is a bust, do you know any good restaurants around here?
I stopped speaking when Adrian flung me forward. Hed shoved me so hard that I would have hit the pavement facefirst if not for all the training Id undergone. Instead, I rolled, muscle memory taking over. Several loud pops sounded in quick succession above me, as rapid as fireworks, yet when they were followed by screams, I knew what they really were. Gunfire.
Ivy, run! Adrian shouted.
I darted toward the nearest car for coverage. I didnt have to worry about Adrianbullets werent lethal to him. He hadnt joined me behind the car, but hed run in the direction of the shots. That would be suicidal for anyone else, but his half-demon bloodline meant that only another demon could kill Adrian.
Im good! I shouted so Adrian wouldnt worry about me.
The car window above me shattered from another round of gunfire. Worse, the angle from that shot had been completely different. That meant we were being attacked by two shooters.
I hit the ground and began to crawl toward another car, shredding my knees on the concrete, but not caring about the pain. Another shot hit the ground only an inch away, and I lurched forward to avoid the next one.
Larastra! I shouted to Brutus, using the Demonish command Adrian had taught me. I hoped the gargoyle could hear me. Our rental van was on the other side of the parking lot.
A familiar roar responded to my shouted command, followed by a much louder crashing sound. I fervently hoped it was my pet whod caused that noise instead of a third attacker joining the mix, but I didnt dare pick my head up to look. I stayed as low as I could, hunkered behind a truck that should be wide enough to protect me.
New screams jerked my head around. A blonde girl knelt next to a nearby car. She was shaking all over, yet her gaze appeared almost blank when she looked at me. She also wasnt crouched low enough to be safe.
Get down, I hissed.
Her eyes widened, but she didnt move. Maybe she couldnt. Id seen shock freeze people before, but she needed to get down or
Dammit! I shouted when blood bloomed on her shoulder after another burst of gunfire. She shook harder yet still didnt drop down low enough to avoid another hit. I glanced in the direction where the shots were coming from. I was no expert, but from the angle, the shooter was probably on a roof. That would give him a great view of the parking lot and me, if I came out from behind the truck to help her.
Id get shot if I did that. That was probably the gunmans plan: wing the blonde in order to lure me out. Well, I had news for him. I was staying right here.
Help me, the blonde girl whispered.
She had blue eyes like my sister. She looked to be about Jasmines age, too. And she was caught up in a war she didnt even know existed.
Stay where you are! a dark sense of self-preservation urged me. If this girl cant duck, thats her problem, not yours!
Dont you dare! my conscience snapped back. She doesnt deserve this. These shooters are here for you, not her!
This might be reckless, but I couldnt leave her out in the open. If the gunman had winged her once to get my attention, hed do it again, and she might not survive the next one. I rose from my crouch to get better traction, then stared at her.
Here I come, I mouthed.
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
I LUNGED FORWARD with all the speed of my supernatural lineage. It still wasnt enough. Pain erupted in my calf and I heard another loud crack, but I was still able to tackle the girl and get her all the way behind the car. Then I placed her hand over her gunshot wound.
Stay down and keep pressure on this.
She still looked like she was numb from shock, but her hand stayed where Id put it, and she didnt try to get up. I gave her a firm nod for encouragement.
Dont move. Help is on the way.
Another explosion of glass followed my promise, then another one, and another. The shooter was trying to blast his way through the car to get to us. We were sheltered now, but the car could only take so much before one of those rounds made it through.
I looked at my calf. Blood flowed freely from a nasty hole that hurt as bad as it looked. When I tried to put weight on it, I had to bite back a cry. I could walk on it, maybe even run, but not fast enough to avoid getting shot again.
I was weighing my options when a massive winged beast landed on the car behind us. The hood crumpled like a tin can under his weight, and I had only a second to hear the car alarm go off before the gargoyles roar deafened me to everything else.
Good boy! I said to Brutus in relief. Whos getting steak tonight?
My pet gargoyle, Brutus, spread out his leathery wings as if he knew I needed the cover. I ran to him and scrambled onto his back, using the harness he always wore now.
More cracks of gunfire sounded. From the way Brutus jerked, theyd hit him. His scaly hide was too thick for the bullets to really injure him, but they mustve stung. Brutus let out another roar, his talons shredding the cars hood in outrage. Then a beat of his mighty wings had us airborne. I didnt want him to merely fly us away, though. I wanted to stop this shooter before he hurt anyone else.
I pulled on the reins, directing Brutus to fly nearly straight up. Then I angled him downward toward the roof of the museum Adrian and I had recently left. There was a small structure on that roof, like a short turret, and I glimpsed the barrel from a long sniper rifle protruding from its open window.
I gave it a vengeful look, then patted Brutuss side. Lets get him, boy! I shouted, and steered Brutus right at that window. Then I hid behind the gargoyles wide back.
Brutus knew what I wanted him to do. He drew in his massive wings at the last moment, leaving his body streamlined for maximum velocity. I braced when we burst through the window, his body taking out a lot of the wall, too. We landed with a thump that made all my bones rattle.
I forgot about that when I opened my eyes. Brutus had landed on someone hard enough to make the guys guts burst out of his sides. I was worried until I saw the rifle in the dead guys hands. When the shooter began to turn to ash, my suspicions proved correct.
Only minions and demons turned to ash after they died. Since demons were locked away in their realms, not to mention we were currently on hallowed ground that demons couldnt cross, the dead gunman had to be a minion.
Brutus spun in a half circle, his long, leathery wings shooting out. Until then, I hadnt noticed the second guy crouched on the far side of the room. He sprawled forward under the blow, looking stunned as well as terrified. Light rolled over his eyes, as if he were an animal caught in a cars headlights. That inhuman trait outed him as a minion, too.
N-n-nice birdie, he stuttered at Brutus.
Thanks to Archon glamour, he didnt see a massive, nine-foot-tall gargoyle with dragon-like wings and grayish-blue reptilian skin. Instead, he and everyone else saw only a fluffy-feathered seagull. Granted, one that had somehow flown through a window and stomped his buddy to death, all while carrying a passenger on his back. No wonder the minion looked as if he didnt know whether to scream or to faint.
Davidian, the minion said. Have mercy.
Mercy? I repeated in disbelief. You mean like the mercy minions show humans when you enslave them for your demon masters? Or the mercy demons showed my adoptive parents when they murdered them and pinned their deaths on me? Or maybe you mean the mercy demons showed my sister when they used her as bait in one of their countless attempts to kill me?
He glared at me almost sullenly. Who are you to judge? Youve murdered hundreds of people.
No, Ive killed hundreds of demons, I corrected him, waving my tattooed right hand at him. King Davids ancient slingshot turned out to pack quite a punch, but Ill tell you what. Ill show you the same mercy you just showed me when you watched your friend use me as target practice.
His look became hopeful. Youll let me run for it?
Make it to the door and youre a free man, I told him, loosening Brutuss reins. I promise I wont stop you.
He whirled aroundand Brutus lunged forward, biting him in half with one vicious snap of his huge jaws.
Details matter, I said under my breath. You shouldve made me promise not to let him stop you, either.
Once, I would have been horrified by seeing a man bit in half, but that person was long gone now. Shed been replaced by the new me, and the new me had been hardened from grief, betrayal, survival and a whole lot of destiny and death.
Plus, if Id let the minion go, he would have destroyed more peoples lives. Now the only thing he was destroying was the carpet as his ashes stained and smoldered on it.
Good boy, I said again to Brutus, holding on tighter when his instant, happy wiggles were enough to almost unseat me. Brutus loved praise more than he loved life itself. Now youll get two steaks for dinner tonight.
CHAPTER THREE
I HAD BRUTUS fly us down from the back of the roof, where there were the least amount of people. Sure, someone would still swear that they saw a woman and a seagull jump from the second story, but no one would believe them. Just like no one would believe that a seagull had carried a woman on its back up through the tower window in the first place. I wasnt being naive. Id seen cell phone videos of a demon realm spilling onto a college campus be dismissed as fake, let alone eyewitness testimony from hundreds of people be discredited as mass hysteria.
The bottom line was, most people refused to believe whatever they didnt want to believe, and no one wanted to believe in demons, let alone demon realms existing alongside our world. I hadnt wanted to believe in that, either, and my lineage had caused me to see through demon glamour my whole life. Id only accepted that I wasnt suffering from hallucinations, as doctors had long told me, after minions tried to kidnap me. Adrian had saved me, then had taken me to meet a powerful Archon named Zach, who told me I was the last descendant of King Davids line and thus destiny-bound to fight demons with three hallowed weapons.
Even then, Id still hoped that I was hallucinating. Especially then.
Still, I wasnt going to push things by having Brutus fly me back to the parking lot in full view of all the spectators there. Instead, we ran with me under the protective canopy of Brutuss wings. I didnt hear more gunfire, but the fight might not be over. Brutus and I had taken out one gunman and his henchman. Where was the other shooter?