DARK SOULS (Angels and Demons Book 2) (16 page)

The man stood, his eyes moving slowly around the room. Dylan’s heart skipped a beat when his eyes lingered on Josephine for a moment. But then they turned to the man beside him. He hit him, a hard slap across the face with the back of his hand. Then again, as the man stumbled out of his chair and held up his hands in an attempt at self-defense. The possessed grabbed the man by his shirtfront and began to choke him, spitting out obscenities that Dylan wouldn’t repeat in the worst of company.

With a flick of her wrist, Dylan tethered the demon again, jerking it from the man’s body.

“This is what we’ve been fighting,” she said into the heavy silence of the room. “This is what you are keeping us from stopping.”

The silence lingered as the jumpy man fell into his chair, staring at his hands in disbelief. He knew what he’d done—Dylan hadn’t let the demon stay inside him long enough to take his memories. He knew what he’d done and he was deeply ashamed. And the lingering darkness…he must have felt like taking a long, hot shower.

Dylan stepped forward, dragging the demon close to her, but purposely keeping it there so that they could see it, so they could feel the hatred seeping from it.

“We will make every effort to keep ourselves concealed. We won’t fly around with our wings visible, we won’t heal people, throw fireballs, or do anything else to distinguish ourselves in public if you agree that we can remain in the cities, and that those humans loyal to us will not be unreasonably punished. And we are not, in any way, forced to identify ourselves.”

“In exchange for what?” Josephine asked.

“There will be a committee—one committee that has members from all of the governments from around the world. We will meet every two years. I will keep the committee updated on unseen dangers,” she jerked the lasso on the demon as she said it, “and anything else I feel they need to know. This committee will be the only humans that must, and will, know of our existence.”

“Why?” Mellissa asked. “How is that different from how we’re doing things now?”

“Because you will be allowing us to exist. And the humans will continue to know of our existence, even if it is only a very small group of humans. That, my friends, is one mistake your predecessors made. They stopped believing in God, in angels and gargoyles. And that led to their demise.”

“You want to co-exist?” Josephine asked.

“I want to live up to my purpose. And the only way I can do that is if you, if humans, allow me to protect them. We cannot be enemies.”

“We aren’t enemies,” Mellissa scoffed. “We simply don’t want you to become our enemy.”

“We only want to protect you,” Dylan said again.

Josephine studied Dylan, her thoughts spinning like a tire on a car. “Okay,” she said.

“Wait a minute,” Mellissa began, but Josephine held up a hand to silence her.

“I am the president and I have veto power. I’m using it now. The law is amended to allow for this committee. Cities will immediately stop throwing gargoyles and angels out of their borders as long as they have not made their presence known in unusual ways. And a committee will be formed within the next two months.”

“One other thing,” Dylan said.

Josephine looked up with that expression Wyatt used to get on his face when he knew Dylan was about to argue with something he’d said. She looked so much like him it hurt. But it was also a comfort.

“The head of the committee will be my daughter and her descendants.”

Josephine’s expression softened. “That can be arranged.”

Dylan nodded, pleased to see acceptance in her daughter’s eyes. This way, at least, she would always have a small part of Wyatt in her life.

Stiles was walking in the woods. He knew he was dreaming, but it felt different from a normal dream. It felt real.

And then there was a building, a warehouse he immediately recognized. This was the cannery where he’d arranged to turn Jack over to the redcoats. The scene played itself out in front of him: Jack’s anger, the Redcoats, and the moment of betrayal. He watched himself apologize over and again like watching a badly acted play.

“Where are you?”

Jack materialized out from behind a shelf of canned peaches.

“Do you remember?”

“Vividly.”

“Me, too. I relive it nearly every moment of every day. The moment the man I trusted with my daughter stabbed me in the back.”

“I did it to save the world.”

“You did it for your own selfish reasons. I know. She told me.”

“She?”

Jack smiled. “You aren’t the only one with secrets, my friend.”

“When did you know her? Did you know her in life?”

Jack turned and watched as his past self was dragged out of the warehouse by the Redcoats. “I was happy when Rebecca found you. It made it easier for me to be with Patricia because I knew Rebecca wouldn’t feel left out. But then you took me away from them both.”

“How did you know Joanna?”

Jack turned back to him. “She came to me. She found me floating alone and frightened above Europe. When you’re Nephilim, and your soul is stuck on Earth, there’s not much to do but float around and feel the pain of being so far from heaven. She found me and told me she could change everything for me.”

“How?”

“She taught me how to harness this anger and pain, and how to use it against the humans. And I taught the others.”

“What is it you want, Jack? What are you looking for?”

Another smile. “I loved my daughter and you used her to get to me.”

“I loved her, too. We had a good life, Jack. She had three children and a dozen grandchildren. Your blood lives on.”

“But it’s tainted with your blood.”

“Please, Jack…you have to let go of the hatred and the pain. You have to fight it. Rebecca is waiting for you in heaven.”

Jack shook his head. “I can have it all right here. I can defeat you and rule all of humanity. What a world that would be.”

There was such glee in his words that they practically dripped with it. Stiles was beginning to feel desperate. He approached Jack, wary that the same thing that had happened on the streets when he’d tried to protect Dylan from the small girl would happen again, but he had to do something.

He grabbed Jack’s arm and there was a flash, a dark flash of anger that built inside of Stiles’ chest. But there were also images. He saw a box…a familiar box.

“It’s still here.”

“It’s mine,” Jack said. “And with it, I’ll rule the world.”

***

Stiles woke with a suddenness…a clarity that was not normal. But he knew. He knew.

He rushed down the hall and burst into Dylan’s room.

“I know. I know what their purpose is.”

She rolled over and focused on him through blurry eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I know what they want.”

She sat up, dragging her fingers through her hair. “What?”

“The object Joanna brought down from heaven. It’s still here. He’s looking for it.”

“How does he know about it?”

“Joanna found him; she spoke to him. It must have been while she was building her army to use against you. She must have told him.”

“Then why doesn’t he know where it is?”

“He’s insane. But now we know. Now we know how to stop them.”

“We take their purpose.”

~ END of Book 2 ~

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