“Niel! You’ve been shot?”
“A graze. I’ll live.”
“It looks worse than a graze.”
“Sister,” he said, glaring, “I’m fine. As long as my pretty face is still intact for seeing Mouse.”
Another explosion by the gate rocked the grounds. “Perhaps we should discuss this later.”
Niel frowned as he looked over his shoulder. “You’ve bombed the entrance?”
“Seemed logical. It’s bought us more time.” She glanced anxiously overhead. “Where is Gabe?”
But Niel didn’t need to answer. A huge, winged shape came into view, wing tips gilded by blazing flames, and Shadow released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Gabe looked fine. Better than fine. His burnished muscles glowed in the light, and she wanted nothing more than to shower him with kisses and straddle him right there.
“Duck!” Gabe yelled. He fired over their heads to a man who had snuck up through the bushes. The man flew backwards, dead, propelled by the power of JD’s weapon. Gabe brushed his hair back, smearing blood across his face. “Time to go.”
“Wait!” Shadow turned away from them both. “I’ve found something.”
Niel scanned their surroundings. “Can it wait? The police are virtually at the door.”
“No, idiot. We’re not coming back!” She ran, trusting the others would keep up, until she was standing in front of one of the other statues in the garden. Two men lay dead beneath it. “I thought that this was another statue of Belial, but I was wrong. Look at his face.”
It was implacable, just like Belial’s, but the face was broader, and his body was, too. His wings were outstretched, and he carried a sword in one hand, and a curved scimitar in the other.
“Herne’s hair bollocks,” Niel said, aghast. “It’s Jiri. I’d forgotten he liked to use a scimitar.”
Gabe agreed. “The face is his, too.”
“Look at the plinth,” Shadow urged them, scanning the grounds while they did so. She was pretty sure most people were dead here, but she didn’t want to take any chances.
Gabe gasped. “Is that a city carved on the base? It’s wreathed in clouds.”
“It has a name under it, too,” Niel noted, getting closer. “Aethalia. I’ve never heard of it.”
“I think,” Shadow said, “that it’s where he is now. I’ve taken photos, and of the other sides. There’s writing on it, but you can read that later. I nearly destroyed it, but I didn’t.”
Niel snorted with surprise. “Wow. Wonders will never cease.”
Gabe, however, just smiled and opened his arms. “Now can we go?”
“With pleasure.”
Twenty-Three
Olivia was halfway across the cavern, heading for the exit with Estelle, when Maggie joined them.
“Had enough?” Olivia asked her. She was pleased that Maggie had been brought up to speed on everything, especially now that they were a pack, as she, Maggie, Harlan, and Jackson called themselves after one drink too many one night. The thought made her smile. Maggie was being so supportive right now, she didn’t know what she’d do without her.
“I was looking for you two, actually. I thought you were taking notes,” Maggie said, as she fell into step next to them.
Estelle laughed. “We need food and drinks. The boys are totally absorbed in reading the pillars, and until they find something of use, it’s a waste of our time. And besides,” she glanced around as they neared the tunnel that exited the cavern, “this place gets claustrophobic after a while.”
“I know that feeling,” Maggie agreed. “I’ll come and help you.”
Olivia had her own reasons for leaving. She needed distance from Nahum. He was like a drug. The longer she spent with him, the more addicted she became. Her talk with Estelle had both reassured her and terrified her. She felt she was losing herself in Nahum, and that was ridiculous. Absolutely nothing had happened between them after that one, fateful night, and he had only been kind and solicitous since, and yet there was a growing connection between them that she couldn’t ignore. Every time they touched, it was electric.
As they stepped out of the marquee and into the garden, she took a deep, cleansing breath, and stared at the spray of stars above her. Calm down. Don’t get ahead of yourself. It will all be okay.
And then she blinked as something seemed to block out the stars.
Something about her posture must have alerted Estelle, who asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I saw something. Maybe it was an owl.” By now all three women were staring up at the sky, and Olivia shivered, drawing her jacket around her. “Sorry. I’m just tired.”
Estelle didn’t move. “No, something is definitely above us. More than one, actually. I don’t think those are birds blocking out the stars. They’re Nephilim.” Olivia’s head whipped up again as Estelle said, “Look how high they seem, and yet the wingspan is too big. I can barely see them, though.”
“I see them, too,” Maggie said, voice grim. She grabbed Olivia’s elbow and yanked her back into the marquee. “Get back here, Estelle. They’re gathering, probably watching us as we watch them. With luck, they might not have seen us yet.”
Olivia’s mouth gaped open in shock as she peered up, head peeking out of the marquee. The figures overhead circled, getting bigger and bigger with every pass. “Holy shit. Could it be Zee or Eli?”
“No. They would have called, and there are more than two,” Estelle said with certainty. “These are not our Nephilim. Olivia, go get the others. Now!”
“Let me,” Maggie said, leaping into action. “You two watch them, but run for cover if they attack.”
“Oh, they’ll attack,” Estelle said softly, still watching the sky as Maggie ran back inside. “They’re observing, for now. Well spotted, Olivia.” She dropped her gaze and ducked her head back inside. “You need to go inside, too. The cave, I mean. This could be a general attack, or they could have come for you specifically.”
Olivia’s blood turned to ice. “But what will you do?”