Page 102 of Beauty At Stake
I grimaced, realizing my mistake. These humans weren't ready for the truth. They couldn't wrap their minds around it. They wanted to be the good guys, fighting for mankind. And people will do a lot to preserve their beliefs.
Sure enough, Sarai got them under control, and we were soon marching again. But I wasn't worried. Dax was on his way with a rescue team. They couldn't be that far. They'd get there before Sarai did whatever it was she was planning. Help always arrived in the nick of time for me.
That thought, combined with my earlier one about Anu, brought a warmth to my chest. He had manipulated me, and I was damn angry about that, but he had also saved me many times. Like on our last mission, when he compelled Extinguisher Connor Teagan to use his Bilocation Magic to find me and free me when I was bound to a chair by a madman. He had even brought people back from the dead for me in traditional Anu style. Damn it, he was reeling me back in, wasn't he? No, this couldn't be a set-up. Could it? Either way, it served to remind me of all God had done for me and mine. Maybe I needed that reminder.
Then we came to a door. The room beyond was something out of a horror flick. Shelves lined the wall, full of suspicious items, several of which were preserved in liquid. It was dark, of course, lit by lanterns that hung from chains. Black cement, painted with white arcane symbols stretched under my feet, leading us to an altar. An honest-to-God altar. Well, I suspected that it didn't have anything to do with honesty or God, but you know what I mean. It was hardcore—black stone, big enough for a body, ringed by candles set in standing holders, and equipped with shackles that hung from the four corners.
“Wow. An altar. Aren't they reserved for worship? What's a sorceress doing with an altar?”
“It's traditional. And it makes killing people easier. If it helps, think of it as a worktable,” Sarai said so casually that I had to laugh.
“Murder jokes! Girl, don't make me like you.”
Sarai grinned back, but she also motioned Rue forward. He lifted me onto the altar. I fought, but it was only to waste time. He got me shackled in the end, and there I was, strapped to an altar like a virgin, waiting for the Devil to appear and claim his sacrifice.
Whoa. Wait. I didn't mean that. Damn, Anu was good.
And that's when an alarm went off.
Sarai and Rue pulled out their cell phones and tapped the screens. Rue cursed.
Sarai pointed at the door. “Go! Gather the army and circle the house. Keep the vampires out for as long as you can.”
The humans ran out, some of them glancing at me as they did.
I waved, the chain rattling. Then said in a sing-song, creepy tone, “They're not vampires.”
To Rue, Sarai said, “Have the Demon reset the hakhil as many times as he can. Hold them off and seal the basement.”
Rue kissed her, then ran after the humans.
After he left, I started laughing.
“Shut up!” Sarai hissed.
“Oh, come on! You know who's out there, don't you? Only one man can drop a hakhil that fast.” I lifted my head to grin at her and waggle my brows. “The Devil's on your doorstep. He's come for his sacrifice. Me!” I laughed again, hooting with it since it had been exactly what I'd been thinking.
Sarai slapped me.
I grimaced at her. “Not cool. You gloated. I get to gloat.”
“Not when you're shackled to my altar, you don't.”
“Yeah, all right, I'll give you that.”
She snorted. “Does nothing crack your confidence?”
I sighed. “Let me tell you something that I don't normally tell the villains—I've been through some shit.”
“I'm not a villain. I just want what every human wants—more life. And we've all been through some shit. You're not special.”
“Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Iamspecial, but I'll tell you a secret about specialness. It comes with heavy responsibilities and, even worse, consequences for not coming through on those responsibilities. I can't tell you how many times people have tried to murder me. I've lost count. I've been captured, tortured, seen my husbands and children put in jeopardy, and lost both of my parents—one was killed by a pack of fairy dogs and the other was murdered by my uncle and made into a zombie. Yup, a zombie. I've saved this world from lunatics and zealots. I've freed Hell from the OG Devil, Lucifer Morningstar. I've stopped an apocalypse three times. I've even held the Arma Christi in my hands. Do you know what that is?”
“No,” Sarai murmured, her expression rapt.
“Itwasa collection of three unholy, extremely powerful relics—the Crown of Thorns, the Spear of Destiny, and the Four Nails that bound Christ to the cross.”
“Was? What happened to them?”
