I glanced at Steph, who looked deep in thought.
Drenson put his hands up to stop the murmured speculation that had already begun. ‘There are many stories about Sammael and his terrible deeds but he, like every other exile, now wears a human body. He is in our world and we will stop him. We can safely assume at this stage that Sammael is holding Spencer captive, and since there is a chance Spencer is also holding intel we could use, our primary objective is to recover him. Lincoln and—’ He cleared his throat, ‘our visitor, Violet, will run the task force. Some of you will be put on standby, others will be sent to neighbouring cities to collect further intel and work with local Grigori on containing the human element we are now dealing with. Questions?’ He returned to his seat, and something about the arrogant look on his face put me on alert.
‘Yeah,’ called someone from the back. ‘Since when are we letting a Rogue lead us?’
Drenson cast a smug look in my direction.
Oh, hell.
Josephine surprised me by standing up. ‘Because the Rogue is the best-equipped to get this job done.’
‘Is it true she can cross into the angel realm any time she wants?’ another voice called out.
‘Is that how she brought Nyla back?’ a girl asked from the upper level.
‘How can we trust her when she doesn’t even want to be one of us?’
‘She has no code!’
‘She abandoned her own partner!’
That one hurt.
I stepped forward, unwilling to let this go any further, and faced the crowd, relieved that I had my emotions in check. ‘I don’t answer to the Assembly or the Academy. That is a choice I was free to make. And I had my reasons. I fought with you all against Lilith’s exiles. I fought until I almost died. I fought with you after the Assembly rejected me and told me I was not good enough. You’re all free to make your own choices as I have done and after this is finished you will never have to see me again, but Spence is one of my people. I don’t care who I have to take down on my way, I will get him out. That is the reason your Assembly found me unworthy of being one of you. And I’m A-okay with that because I don’t intend on changing. So, if you have a problem with me, or think you are better-suited for the job, take your shot now. I’ve got a few minutes to spare between people trying to kill me, but make sure you have your partner on standby ready to heal you, because I don’t have enough time to be careful.’
I stood tall and looked back to see Phoenix’s amused grin. Gray was beside him, looking resigned, hanging his head. Clearly he didn’t think I’d done as well as I’d thought.
And, clearly, he was right, since half a dozen Grigori walked towards the sparring area ready to fight. I shrugged, not missing Drenson’s self-satisfied smirk or Josephine’s irritation.
Petty politics.
The five men and one woman who’d stepped up to fight were all well-established warriors. They all fought hard. But my emotions were shut off and the constant judgement was only making me restless.
Lincoln had moved closer to the sparring area, but he kept his distance, watching silently, and I was relieved that he didn’t attempt to control the situation. These Grigori needed this. One by one I took them down, trying, despite my earlier warning, not to hurt any of them too badly. It was a purely selfish decision. I still had no idea what we would face in New Orleans and figured it was best to keep all fighters capable of performing their duties.
Just as I turned around to the now-quiet Grigori I let in enough emotion to feel pretty damn good about myself … then my eyes fixed on a woman standing by the doors. My internal congratulations came to a sudden halt.
Decima, the mightiest and most ancient of all Grigori warriors apart from her partner Seth, strode towards me, panther-like.
I adjusted my stance, preparing for sheer brutality.
She stopped in front of me. My pulse quickened, knowing that this fight was about to hurt. A lot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lincoln step forward; I dared to take my eyes off Decima long enough to shoot him a hard look, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
Decima tilted her head as she studied me with interest. ‘I am not here to challenge you. You have grown, I see. It intrigues me and I admit that I do not know if you would better me in combat, but I do not think so.’
That makes two of us.
‘Go on your mission. Bring back your friend,’ she instructed.
‘Then why are you here?’ I asked cautiously.
‘Because I heard a name I have not heard for centuries. I came to tell you that if you come up against Sammael, you will not win.’
Oh, got it. You’re here for a morale boost.
‘You cannot beat him in strength. Not the way I see you fight. Sammael has fought without heart for much longer than you.’
I flinched at her accusation. Was I heartless?