Bound

Chapter THIRTY-THREE

Rebecca



"It looks like the gang's all here," Obi said.

"Not the whole gang," Ulnyx replied, looking at the Box.

We had retrieved the Damned from the stone in the ruins of the Nicht Creidim stronghold, and taken it, Truth, the Deceiver, and the Box out of the area; which had been decimated by Izak's attack. The entire dock was on fire, the cement and steel scorched and melted, and on emerging from what was left of the warehouse I had made the assumption that Obi and the Were couldn't have survived.

They had proven me wrong.

According to them, Ulnyx had benefitted from Izak's first pass, when he had killed the soldiers who were pinning him down. Free to move, he'd followed behind the demon, and bounded past him to grab Obi before he was noticed. Izak had been focused on retrieving the Box, and had ignored the two of them. Or, more likely, he had bypassed them and spared their lives because they weren't standing between him and his orders.

They were waiting on the outskirts of the damage, hidden in a dark corner and keeping an eye out for either us or Izak. When we'd exited together, Obi had stolen the closest vehicle he could find and brought it into the war zone. We'd gone full-speed back to the airport, and now we were standing in the hanger outside the plane, waiting for the techs to finish refueling.

"I can only imagine how Gervais is going to react when Izak doesn't come back," Sarah said. She was holding tight to the fiend's good arm. As soon as we had gotten clear of the docks, he'd used his own hellfire to cauterize the wound and begun treating it as though he had never had the damaged arm to begin with.

"He's going to be rightfully angry," Max said, emerging from the plane with Brian trailing behind him. He was holding towels coated in a wet gel; an anti-burn ointment to treat the blistered skin my brush with Izak had left Elyse with.

"This is going to hurt," Brian said when he reached me. He took the towels and wrapped them around my forearm. "The towels were dipped in holy water. Max says it will help you heal faster."

The pain of the wound had been excruciating, but I had refused to show it. Now I smiled at the icy hot relief given by the wrap. The holy water couldn't mend mortal skin, but it would negate the nature of the wound.

"We need to collect the remaining blades and make our way to Paris," Max said. "As I had feared, Gervais was alerted to the swords' relevance to the Box when Joe put the two together. He sent Izak here for the mother load, but he'll have other servants searching for the Destroyer. Izak, do you know if he knew its whereabouts?"

Izak shrugged with his good arm, pointed at me, and then moved his fingers as though he were typing.

"No," I said. "If Joe had found it, he didn't tell Elyse." But why would he?

"You understood that?" Obi asked. He had warmed to me just a little, after Sarah had recounted what had happened. On one hand, I was grateful to have proven something to him. On the other, I knew what I had been about to do. If he had known, his opinion would surely have gone the other direction.

"Excellent." Max said. "I was hoping that would be the case. We can still come out on top, but we're going to have to get the timing right. I believe divide and conquer will be appropriate here."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We booked a flight plan for Paris," Brian said.

I was still confused. "I thought the Destroyer was in Shanghai?"

Max smiled and clapped is hands. "It is, my hot buttered rum. In the hands of a seraph named Lu, though he may not quite remember he has it." He pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket, and tossed it to me. "His address is on the paper."

"Great, you gave me a piece of paper. Unless it can transport me a thousand miles west, how am I supposed to get there?"

Max put up his hand. "If you'll step outside with Brian and myself," he said, motioning towards the front of the hanger.

I followed behind him, with Brian at my side.

"You look amazing in that body," he whispered. "Much better than that salesman you showed up at my office in."

"Impure thoughts?" I asked. I tried not to smile, but failed.

"A few," he replied. "It's the tattoos."

Max opened the smaller door inset into the larger hanger doors, and then waved us through with a flourished bow. "Right this way, my friends, right this way." We shuffled past him and onto the tarmac. He closed the door behind him, and put up his hand again before I could say anything. "All will be revealed, cupcake. Give me just one moment."

He reached into his pocket, removing a small gold cross from it. I could see the Templar script etched into the back. Max closed his eyes and began to murmur. A moment later he changed, his body growing and transforming into his true reaper form.

"Max?" I had no idea what he was doing, but they had hidden the plane for a reason, and now he was making himself as obvious as any Divine could.

He turned his head back. "A moment, Rebecca. Please."

"Did he tell you what this was about?" I asked Brian.

He shook his head. "He just said he wanted me to be out here because it would help smooth things over. I don't know what that means."

I couldn't even begin to guess, but I didn't have to. Max stopped talking. A breeze began to blow along the runway. Something fell from the sky - a white streak of light that touched down right in front of him.

"You?" the newcomer asked, his gold-edged wings folding back behind him.

"Adam," Max said. "It's a pleasure."

The seraph glowered, and a blade appeared in his hand. He had brought the Deliverer. "If you were calling me for a fight, have at it."

Max chuckled. "Do you think I'd have gone to the trouble of summoning you just to box your ears? We need your help."

"We?" Adam glanced past Max, to where Brian and I were standing. His eyes stayed on his mortal counterpart. "What kind of angel are you?"

Brian's face flushed. He already looked unnerved by Adam's presence. "I... uh... I..."

"He's a changeling," I said. "A mortal angel."

The Deliverer vanished, and Adam strode over to him and put his hand onto his back. "How?"

"You don't know?" I asked.

He turned to me. "I've been busy trying to fix the damage the Beast did when he possessed one of the most populated cities on the planet." His attention returned to Max. "A Nicht Creidim, Max? You expect me to take you seriously?"

The reaper put his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Don't underestimate her. She's full of surprises." His eyes fell on mine for a short second. "I expect you to help us solve a problem. A mortal has turned into an angel. Think on that for a second or two, and maybe you'll make the correct connection."

"Mortals changing into demons," he said.

Max clapped his hands. "Bingo, old chap. Now, how many angels do you think have been created?"

He shrugged.

"I can count them on one hand." He pointed at Brian. "Do you want to guess how many demons?"

"They aren't all bad," Brian said, before Adam could answer. "Most of the ones I met are just as confused about this whole thing as I am."

"Yet, my boy," Max said. "Their genetics and their personalities mark them. But then, the seraph have been forbidden from dallying with mortals for how long? Oh yes, since God created them." He smirked at Adam. "By the way, Brian, your father wasn't your father, if you know what I mean."

Brian turned white.

"Get to the point," Adam said.

"I told you, we need your help. Landon put the Beast in the Box, but he didn't capture all of his energy. It's leaking out into the world at large, and the consequences are disastrous."


Adam was still while he considered. "We're stretched thin to breaking as it is."

"He isn't telling you everything," I said. "For one, people who aren't being turned into angels and demons are getting sick and dying. For another, Gervais is after the Box. You can imagine what he wants with it."

Adam's face paled. "I've heard stories about Gervais. I was hoping they weren't true." He held up the Deliverer. "They say this thing is about as useful as a toothpick against him."

"Maybe slightly more useful," Max said. "It is longer, after all. Anyway, we do have one ace up our sleeve. Izak is back in the fold."

"At least you have some good news." His eyes were hard, and his jaw clenched. "Tell me what you need. I knew our situation was fragile, but it seems everything I'm fighting for will be for nothing if I don't at least listen to you."

Max punched him playfully in the shoulder. "That's my boy! I have some more good news. We have the Box, and I have a plan to rid ourselves of the Beast once and for all. The first part is simple: I need you to take Rebecca here to Shanghai. Are you familiar with Master Lu?"

Adam shook his head.

"I'm not surprised. He's been here for quite a bit longer than you have. He owns a large estate outside of the city. It's more of a Buddhist monastery, really. Anywho, be careful. His followers are quite zealous."

"Zealous how?" I asked.

"Lu is a bit of a recluse, but I don't blame him considering what he has been charged to do. He won't see you, despite our feathered friend's credentials as the First Inquisitor. You'll have to... shall I say... make him? Defend yourselves if needed, and subdue your opponents, but don't kill them. He won't talk to you if you kill them."

"What is this Master Lu supposed to do for us?" Adam asked.

"The Destroyer," I replied. "The Sword of Gehenna."

His eyes widened. "You know where it is?"

"I know where all of them are," Max said. "Three of the six are in the hanger behind us. You have one, Gervais has one. Can you see where I'm going with this?"

"Why do you need them all?"

Max's smile was devious. "It's a long story, but why do you think they were all created, and then stolen away?"

Adam didn't respond. His eyes came back around to me. "I've never tried to carry a mortal," he said. "I don't know if she'll survive."

"We'll be fine," I said. I lifted my shirt just below the chest to show him some of the lines of tattoos covering Elyse's body. "She has protection, and I'm not mortal."

I could feel Brian's eyes on Elyse's firm abs, but Adam didn't even notice. His eyes traced the runes, deciphering them. "We?"

Max circled around and put his arm across my shoulders. "I said full of surprises, did I not? Adam, meet Rebecca Solen. She was stabbed in the heart with the Redeemer, and now-"

"You're a spirit," Adam finished. "I also know who you were... before." I expected him to be condemning, but instead he just looked sad. "It will take a large measure of penitence to earn your way to His grace."

I felt the same sadness in my soul, but I fought to hold it back. Regret wouldn't help me. "I know," I replied.

Max stepped forward, pulling me along until I was only a few inches in front of the angel. "Satisfied?" he asked.

"Yes," Adam replied.

A soft shove, and I was against his muscled chest. Strong arms wrapped around me, and I looked up at him. His expression was kind and nurturing. Of course he knew how the Redeemer worked, and what it had done. At least there was one person who could see me as I was today, despite my past betrayals.

"Meet up with us in Paris," Max said. "Try to be discreet when you arrive. We don't want to attract attention too soon."

"Hold on tight," Adam said. I put my arms around his torso, locking them just below his wings. They flared out behind him. "This will only take a minute."

"How do you know my father wasn't my father?" I heard Brian asking Max as we launched into the sky.