Hades Sent : Book One of the Sent Series, page 21
“Yes, take me to Adam so that he knows I’m here. I can take my place alongside the people who will fight on behalf of my kind. There will be no hiding while others are killed,” I say with determination. “We’ve known Adam for years. If I can’t trust him, then I can’t trust anyone.” Not that I do trust him … however there doesn’t seem to be other option. He has to know where Faith went.
Dad smiles. “Atta girl! Come. We will go see Adam right away.”
“There’s just more one thing I want to do,” I whisper before leaping next to my father. My hand takes the key from within its hiding place before Dad can react.
“Ireland, NO!” Dad shouts at my back while my feet carry me to the prisoners’ door. An alarm sounds, blaring and unforgiving, as I open the door and slide the key into the room. Bodies shuffle around to find their means of escape. Elah’s voice registers above the alarm, giving me hope he is the one who found the key.
Dad reaches me to take my arm in his. “Go. Damn it. Before they catch us!”
Our steps echo as we run out of the hall toward our means of escape. Dad maintains his hold on me, seemingly forgetting all about the key and the other prisoners. Right now, all he cares about is us. The sirens screech above us as we race in and out of various doors and closed rooms. My heart rate escalates the farther we get from an actual exit. Dad should know his way around this place, but it seems all he is able to do is take us in circles.
“You should know your way around here,” I whisper. “I thought you were taking us to the way out.”
Dad looks back to me. “I am. We are going to the only way out.”
“Adam?” I ask to be sure.
“Yes.”
“Lead on then.”
We continue through several more turns and rooms while seemingly not getting any closer to where we are supposed to go. My head swims from all the turning and backtracking. All the rooms look the same, which means I will not be able to get out of here without some other assistance if I need to.
Finally, after about a dozen more turns, we reach a bland, white door. Surprisingly, the paint is peeled halfway off, which is something unheard of when it comes to an authority member. They always have the best of things, after all.
“Alright. Right through here and Adam should be able to talk to us.”
“Sure …” I say, thinking that won’t be the case at all.
Dad knocks five times before waiting for the person on the other side to answer. The handle turns just as Dad places his hand on my shoulder to push me through the doorway.
Tangled blond hair and white, powdery wings fill the room before me. My heart sinks as her voice pierces my ears. “Ireland! I was beginning to think we might have lost you.” She smirks.
“Apparently, Father was making sure you wouldn’t,” I say, my voice coming out strained. Shit. That’s not the way I want to sound at a time like this. But knowing that my father is involved with her … well … how can things be so messed up? And how could I not have seen it?
“Careful …” Dad says at Gabriella. “We are here, per our deal. Take what you need from her and we will be on our way”
“Yes, about that.” Gabriella tsks as she moves closer. “Benjamin, we might have had a slight change of plans. But I will let you talk to Adam about it to see for yourself.”
“What is she talking about, Dad? What deal?”
Ignoring me, Dad follows Gabriella’s lead to where Adam is. Seeing the back of Gabriella’s wings makes me want to pluck her until she resembles a skinned chicken. For some reason, I find myself ignoring my desire to skin her, and I follow them at a safe distance. Everything is so confusing. Father should not be involved with her. This is the girl who head-butted me and stuck me in with the prisoners, for crying out loud.
Mother put me in a place of total discord, which involves not even realizing who to trust and who not to anymore. She wiped me clean of everything except my demon counterpart before Greve got her to let me go. Now that I am back home, things are coming back to me … slowly. It’s just not as quick as I would like it to be.
“Dad, I don’t think we should …”
A hand slides over my face before I can finish my sentence. My body tenses at the contact from their body sliding into place behind me. “Shut up,” some throaty voice says to me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dad is in his own struggle. A man I don’t recognize has successfully pinned him to the floor. Wings and bodies take up the room ahead. There are too many wings to count and way too many bodies, most of which are not in a desirable state.
“Might as well grant you a final wish. Adam waits for you,” Throat-voice says without a drop of remorse.
Throat-voice pushes me through after Dad is restrained next to other random bodies in the room. My eyes search for the man who’s supposed to be letting us go. The man who’s been my father’s best friend for years. Shock fills me when I finally find him.
He’s part of the body count on the floor. His naked body lies in the most unforgiving position. Hands tied to toes. Head meets his knees. Bruises cover him, which is more shocking than anything else. He is a pureblood angel … in heaven. How can he look like this when he has the gift of immortality?
“I can see a lot of questions forming in your simpleton mind,” Gabriella taunts me. “Let’s get started in answering some of them.”
She takes the back of my neck in her hand and pulls my hair out of place. I scream and thrust against her in hopes it will make a difference. Laughing, she zaps me right on my head. A jolt of electric runs through my veins before my legs give out and I topple to the floor.
Wheezing, my legs struggle to get up so that I can get my hands around Gabriella’s neck. Immediately, she throws me off and right onto Adam.
Somewhere in my head, I hear Dad scream.
“You wanted to talk to your bud, Adam. There he is. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
My body screams in protest, as my arms try to push off of Adam. My head throws me for a loop, causing the room to spin. Gabriella slowly goes out of view, and the last thought I have before surrendering to my body’s desire is that instead of plucking her, ripping out her wings would serve much more justice.
Chapter Forty
Ireland
Once upon a time, all I wanted was my own set of wings. To have them meant I could be free to enjoy life with my dad. We would no longer have to worry about being on the lowest society level. We wouldn’t have to deal with the looks and the snarls from others because we would finally be the same as everyone else.
Funny how after only a few weeks, that dream doesn’t seem obtainable. And now that my life is endangered, having them seems so trivial. I’m such a stupid girl with such a silly dream.
With a throbbing head, I look around to find Dad is gone. Adam remains by my side, semi-awake, in a fetal position. Seems as though they have connected us together by cuffs and conveniently moved us around while I was unconscious. A small chain gives me about a foot of space away from him. My stomach turns at this new predicament. This whole time, I was certain Adam was the spy. It looks like he isn’t someone to worry about after all.
And to make matters worse, we are the only ones left in the room. The bodies, which were here when I first entered, are now gone. Are they free? Not likely. Have the bodies been disposed of? Probably so, being that they all looked, at best, severely injured.
My body gives an involuntary shudder. All this time, we were taught that angels, even a hybrid, would be immortal while in heaven. That was one less thing to worry about. Not to mention that is one big perk of putting up with our peers. Death is not supposed to be possible. Now, it is a very real possibility that Adam and I are next in line to see how this whole death thing will play out.
“Adam?” I whisper, in hopes that eventually he will respond. I can’t take another minute inside my thoughts. It is all too depressing.
“Wake up! It’s me. Ireland.”
After repeating myself another five times, Adam eyes start to flutter. “I … ur … Lannnnddd … mis … take …” His lips are so swollen, his speech is somewhat questionable.
“Pardon?”
“Getoutofhere,” he says hurriedly.
“Doesn’t look like that’s a feasible suggestion, Adam.” There isn’t a way out that I can tell. The room is sealed tight. My eyes search over him. He meets my stares with an unfamiliar expression.
“You need to concentrate, please. I can see you are hurt, but I need to know what’s happening. What happened to you? Who did this?”
Adam shakes his head. “Not enough time.” He tries to move closer to me, only to stop short from apparent pain. Moaning, he slides back over without saying anything else.
My mouth opens to start on him again. As I begin to plead, footsteps echo outside the room.
Knots, which feel like rocks, fall to the pit on my stomach. The door opens to reveal someone I least expect. Someone who was supposed to wait for me. Someone who, I’m beginning to think, isn’t at all who she said she was.
Faith enters and smiles at me. “Hello, friend.”
“ … Hi.”
“Let’s get you out of here.” Faith circles me like a vulture. “This is all wrong. Who put you in here?”
“Guess …”
Faith comes at me with a key to get me loose. “Oh yes. Her.”
Adam fixes a glance over at us. As soon as he registers Faith, his eyes grow as big as saucers. “No … ere … land. Don’t,” he tries to speak.
“Listen, Faith … I’ve now been cuffed twice since returning home. Whatever’s happening, I want to know what it is. And I also want to know what happened to Adam and my dad. Moreover, you were supposed to wait for me. Now, you show up after I’ve been told you ran off. What the hell?”
“All in due time, I promise.” Faith takes me by the hand and pulls me up.
We make our way toward the door mainly because Faith is leading me. Not that I trust her fully. I can’t trust anyone. Well … maybe Greve, but he isn’t here to help me.
With one last look at Adam, I follow Faith out of the room and into the hallway. Faith glances back and smiles. “So tell me what happened on your mission. Did he go to jail?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Faith tsks while walking on ahead. “Pity. I was rooting for you.”
“Yeah well. Seems as though we have much bigger problems than my mission. That was a set up anyway, as you know. The higher authority never wanted me to have my freedom. My failing is just something else to use against me. Now, there isn’t any reason to let me stay.”
Faith comes to a stop at a wooden door to our right. Her forehead wrinkles. “We need you here. In fact, we need all the hybrids. You all have an important job to do and I’m not talking about missions down below.”
“I’m not following,” I reply.
“Let me show you what I mean. I’ve been busy. Come, friend. I am very excited about this.” Faith turns the handle and opens the door.
Wary, I shuffle my feet toward the entrance. The room is ghostly white with low lighting and plenty of movement. Several medical beds line the walls and each contains a body. A few of the bodies I recognize just out of passing.
My stomach churns from the smell coming off the beds. These people smell of disease and death. The knowledge that angels can get hurt here is enough to physically make me sick. Add the actual smell and there’s no possible way to keep from puking.
Searching for the nearest trash can, my body gets rid of any food that might be left in my stomach.
“This is where the failures go,” Faith says, suddenly next to me.
“What?” I ask, making myself look up at her.
She pats my head. “At first, it was only the hybrids who failed at their missions. However, we’ve decided to eliminate the whole lot of you. It’s such a terrible inconvenience, really.”
I jerk my head away, not quite understanding. “You talk as if you are behind this.”
Faith jerks her head toward the opposite way we came. Immediately, two males come to her side and fall in place behind me. My knee comes in contact with first guy’s stomach in hopes that it will affect him in some way. It doesn’t. Apparently, he’s a full-blooded angel. And by the way he looks at me, is grateful to be on the other side of this genocide.
My hands get placed behind my back, with my wrists pinned together. It takes both of the men to hold me down. I’m sick of this and I’m sick of being the girl who gets taken advantage of.
Faith snickers at me. “This is the fun part. All of you have a lot of fight before the end. Adam especially. That’s why he’s still in the holding cell. We aren’t done with him—yet,” she says this as if I’m supposed to know this information already.
“At least tell me who the hell you are before you do whatever it is you want to do. You owe me that!”
“I owe you nothing,” Faith says while pushing the hair out of my face. Nevertheless, I suppose I made your dad a deal. He drove a very hard bargain, but in the end we came to an understanding.”
“Interesting, as Dad hasn’t shared this deal with me.”
“He doesn’t have to. You’re not of age, therefore he can choose what happens to you. All in due time, of course.”
“Let me see him! Let me see my damn father!” I scream while pulling away from the guys behind me. They struggle against me until a sharp object slices my face. Intense stinging starts soon after the impact. Blood trickles slowly down my cheek until the gash heals back together.
A small knife stays knitted inside Faith’s hand as she bends down to look at me. “You stupid girl. Benjamin doesn’t want to see you. All he sees when he looks at you is your mother. Do you know how annoying it is to constantly see the face of a demon looking back at you?”
Faith motions for the men to walk me forward. Leading the way to some unknown destination, she continues to talk. “You hybrids are all the same. Selfish and dangerous. You can never be ready or able to carry our wings. And what is really unfortunate is the fact that your mother had the chance to get rid of you and she didn’t. Frankly, this whole thing is getting to be too much. Demons and angels aren’t supposed to work together.”
Turning around, her eyes make contact with mine. “Your mother has been bossing me for years. She only wants her children hybrids as soon as they are of age. Doesn’t matter that we’ve dealt with you all since infancy!”
Faith’s boney finger pokes my chest as she continues to ramble on. “Your father was in on it too. Let’s control the humans they said. Let’s work together to expand our territories. The demons couldn’t stand to see the inferior humans walk free to breed and pollute what could become their home. So, they devised a plan and with the angels’ help, we got together an assembly if you will—hybrid children who could read minds and control the humans basically without killing the demons’ food supply. I’m sure you have found out what happens when demons try to control themselves?”
My body gives an involuntary shudder thinking about Mother’s devouring of humans while she was around me. Even worse, I think about when I did it. All those people dead because I couldn’t keep my demon desires at bay.
Faith laughs at the look of my face. “Yes. You know exactly what happens when the demons run amuck. Those filthy beasts. Bloodshed everywhere. Hell, there wouldn’t be anyone left if all the demons came out of hiding at once. No humans. No food. Demons can only survive on fire for so long. If there is anything a demon hates the most, it’s loss of control.”
“What’s the point of me knowing all this if you intend on killing me?”
Faith shrugs. “Guess there’s really no point. And that’s the beauty of this whole thing. Jade picks out the mate she wants and they come together to make the perfect hybrid combination. They did it on purpose, you see. Angels brought you up only to have the demons kill the angel part of your soul. You go from one assembly line to the other, as we mend and mold you to become exactly what they need. Free range controllers is what the demons call your type. Control the humans willingly. Get to their leaders. The leaders will enforce what the demons want with the help of the free range controllers. Humans arranged like cattle to form labor camps and the like. Demons slowly take over to consume the Earth all while having the humans for whatever they need or want. Once the movement starts, it should be quick with little loss of human life.”
Faith turns around and beckons me to follow. We continue to walk. “You would think with all this human reproduction that there would be enough to sustain demon life for eternity. That’s not the case. There are too many and if the demons get out of control, human life would be gone in a matter of months. Not even a year.”
Faith laughs. “Dumb fools need the humans to survive. They need you. But angels don’t need anyone. I fail to see what’s in it for us. To have you mingle in our lives, even from the lowest level, will cause more harm than good. You can corrupt the purebreds. Who knows … even start your own allegiance with each other. Why continue on? Why continue to give a shit about anyone else? They want to give us land? We don’t need it!”
“You may think so, but what’s to say the others will agree with you?” I ask. “Seems to me, they wouldn’t want to mess up a good thing. Everyone has been happy at the expense of the hybrids. Why change that now?”
Faith stops walking to take in the view before her. The entrance to our destination is straight ahead. My heart sinks as the drop-off comes into view.
“Ireland, you asked about my mother once. I’ve been around for a long time. Too long. My mother was in the original group with your father to come up with this treaty with the demons. All was fine until Mother started to change. I don’t know how to describe it, but she was no longer mentally capable of handling herself. I suspect a demon was the cause of it. Much like what you had to endure recently. Do you remember how close you were to completely losing yourself? If it wasn’t for that boy, you would still be down there with Jade or dead. Backtrack to years ago, and replace yourself with my mother. The difference is that the demon waited until her immortality wore off to torture her. She was pure. So pure. The demon caused me to lose her,” Faith whispers. “She might as well be dead.”
