My stomach clenches involuntarily. He would’ve sent a clone to her first. The fact that he’s asking me means he failed to locate her. “No, she’s not here—I can’t feel her. You couldn’t find her?”
“Naw,” his clone’s brows come together in confusion. “There’s no connection. I tried to send her a bunch of clones, but none of ‘em would move. It’s like she’s not here to find—I can’t feel her anywhere either. Where did you last see her?”
“Xavier had her—the last I saw of her, she was at her childhood home—unconscious.”
“You lost her to him? What’s wrong with you? You were supposed to take him apart!” Russell’s messenger glows brighter with raw emotion, as if it’s fueling the clone.
“They have something, Russell,” I reply.
“What? What’ve they got?” His clone comes nearer, squatting down in front of me so he can look into my eyes.
“What I’m going to tell you doesn’t get relayed to anyone else. Not Zephyr, not Anya, no one. You understand?”
“No,” he replies with a scowl. “What the hell are ya talkin’ bout? We’re a team here. We work together—”
“Not for this! This is too dangerous for them to know. The only reason I’m going to tell you this is because I think it will concern you as well.”
“All right! You’re freakin’ me out! What is it?” Russell asks.
“They have a key to Sheol. It opens a doorway to Hell.”
“Fffffaaaaaa—for what? Why would they need that?” Russell asks with a grim look.
I ignore Russell’s questions. “She used it.”
“WHAT? Evie’s there—in HELL?”
“Shh,” I look over Russell’s clone’s shoulder to the door before I glance back to him. “Evie took the key from Tau—she used it to open a doorway to Sheol. It tried to drag her into it, but Tau closed it before she could enter it.”
“Why would she open it in the first place?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think she knew what she was doing.”
Russell growls. “What happened after she opened it?”
“Tau took the key back from her and closed the opening, but he nearly destroyed her doing it.”
“Destroyed her how?”
“It was like a kill switch to her, Russell. It acted like a weapon that completely overpowered Evie.”
“What does it look like—the key?”
“It’s looks like a boatswain—a whistle that naval—”
Russell holds up his hand, “I know what that is—it’s used to call out orders to sailors at sea. Different tone sequences mean different things like: weigh the anchor or time to eat—I’ve lived before, remember?”
“Tau has one that has a different purpose—one of the high-pitched sounds incapacitates your kind—half-angels. It’s like a whistle that only your kind can hear—the frequency hurts you—or maybe it’s the particular tone he used on her. She bled, Russell, from her eyes—her ears—her mouth—it came through her pores...”
“Why would he do that? He’s her dad!”
“I don’t know, but he did it. I tried to kill him for it—I failed.”
“Which explains your new accommodations,” Russell says without humor. “They beat the snot outta ya,” he states, indicating the fading bruises that still haven’t healed. “We’ll have to come up with a plan to get you out.”
“No,” I say flatly.
Russell sighs heavily. “Whaddaya mean no?”
“I’ll get myself out after I recover the whistle from Tau.”
“And you’re gonna do all that on your own?” Russell asks skeptically. “You’re gonna need help. Lookatcha, sittin’ there all tied up and twisted. I can see your breath, so I know ya must be freezin’.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine! We’re comin’ to get ya.”
“You can’t come here. Dominion wants you—wants to control you. They’ll arrest Anya—they see her as a traitor. You have to protect her.”
Russell’s humanity rebels at the notion of leaving me here. “I’ll make Anya stay behind—the Reapers will find her somewhere safe—”
I shake my head. “Tau can use that weapon on you with less remorse than on his daughter. He may just decide that he wants you gone and send your soul back to Paradise. In his mind, you’re not supposed to be here. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you—an extra man cluttering the board.”
“That was until I busted into Brennus’ lair and helped free his daughter. Tau promised me anythin’ if I helped save her and I’m gonna collect: immunity for Anya.”
The wind howls through the panes of the barred window above us. “I can’t leave here without that whistle, Russell. He can’t be allowed to use it against her again.”
“Why do they even have somethin’ like that? Were they afraid they weren’t gonna be able to control her?”
I hesitate.
Russell snorts in derision. “And Tau used it on her? Just like that?” Russell asks in a hollow voice. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I saw Tau’s eyes when he knew his daughter was with Brennus. He was afraid for her—he was half insane with it. He’d never kill her; it’d destroy him. Trust me. I was a father—many times over. He’d die first before he’d let that happen.”