“Where are you meeting?” Lucien asked.
“There’s an old, ruined fortress on a hill, in the east,” Gabe said, pointing across the dark landscape. “We meet there. You can’t miss it, apparently, and I’ve looked it up on the map. We’ll meet in front of it.”
Estelle pointed at Shadow. “Where will you be?”
“Either on the roof, or in the trees. We’ll assess it once we’re there. Sound good, Gabe?” Shadow had no intention of giving Ozan any leeway, either. “If he steps a foot out of place, or you’re surrounded, I’ll take them all out.”
“He won’t. I could hear it in his voice. He wants an end to this, too. It sounds like others do too, but he didn’t want to commit until he’d met me, which I understand. I want to meet him, too.” Gabe rolled his shoulders, checked his weapons, and called Shadow over. “Let’s do this.”
In seconds, Shadow had wrapped herself around Gabe, legs around his waist, her sword in her scabbard, and her long bow slung across her back. He dived off the terrace, swooping down the hill before rising on a current of air. Barak followed them.
“You seem different, Gabe,” she said, lips close to his ear. “Worried.”
“I’m over all this, that’s all. I want to spend time with you. Proper time, in which we’re not killing people.”
“Forever?” That sounded appalling.
He laughed. “Do you think just treasure hunting will fill your excitement void?”
“I suppose so. As long as you are with me, I can handle anything. I think it would probably be nice not to be fighting for a while.”
“Good. There it is,” he said, changing the subject abruptly.
She twisted in his grip and spotted the ruined building down below. A large courtyard was in front of it, partially surrounded by a stand of trees. “Put me down by the trees. I can shelter in the branches.”
“Let me circle for a moment more.”
Shadow spotted Barak hanging back, much higher than they were. In the opposite direction, she saw another winged figure. “I think I spot Ozan.”
“Me, too.”
Gabe angled around and down, the wind whistling through his wings, and he landed at the rear of the yard. Shadow nimbly unwrapped herself and kissed him quickly before heading into the trees. She took a moment to check her surroundings, back to a tree trunk, wary of anyone who might have had the same idea as them. Nothing moved, and she scrambled into the lowest branches, ensuring she had a good view of the front of the fortress, her bow loaded and ready.
Gabe stood in the centre of the courtyard, and within a few moments another Nephilim landed close by. In the far distance, a second Nephilim hovered on the air. Not Barak. Ozan, too, had brought back up.
Gabe focussed on Ozan. Like all Nephilim, he was tall and muscular, and he wore his dark hair long. It reached well past his shoulders, and he had braided part of it, so it was pulled back from his face. Like Gabe, he was Middle Eastern, and his wings were dark in this light. Gabe could not detect any sign of the power of Belial’s jewels now. It was odd to be seeing another Nephilim besides his brothers. He hadn’t thought it possible. Part of him was glad. There should be more of them. It was an abomination that so many of them had died.
Both kept a wary distance from each other, and Gabe called over to him, his voice loud in the still night air. “Ozan, I presume. I am Gabreel Malouf.”
“Ozan Bakir.” He glanced up above to the distant figure of Barak. “I see you brought another.”
“As did you. I understand why. I hope you bring good news.”
“You are committed to doing this, tonight?”
“I am committed to this any night. If you refuse to help, then we will be enemies, and I will find out your hideout one way or another. If I’m honest,” Gabe said, stepping closer to Ozan, “I would rather not fight at all. It is as I said on the phone. I am tired of this, but equally I cannot let Belial continue to spread his madness.”
“There are many in our House who will not know how to live without Jiri or Belial, and that is the simple truth of it.”
“But there are others who feel the same way as you.”
“Yes. There are six of us who want this to end. However, there are another dozen who do not.” There was pain in Ozan’s gaze, and now that they were closer, Gabe could see scars on his arms and chest. It was rare for Nephilim to scar. Those injuries must have been bad.
“Then the numbers are evenly matched.”
“Jiri always wears Belial’s ring, as does his own second-in-command, Pirro. They will use his power without hesitating. You know the consequences.”
“Only too well.” He wished he had some of the jewels with them, and cursed his weird moral decision not to carry them. Although, it was out of a sense of self-preservation, too. A need to hide from Belial. “Who were the Nephilim who wore his tokens yesterday?”
“Karim was one, Mikal another lieutenant. Mikal’s death whilst wearing Belial’s token was unexpected. It has caused much unrest. No one believed that it could happen. Or, in fact, that the team Jiri sent could die, The Brotherhood could be attacked so effectively, and the list of jewels discovered and stolen. Jiri has already instructed that all his jewels are to be moved again. You have caused havoc.”
Gabe cursed under his breath. Of course they were moving the jewels. There would be no easy retrieval of all of them. He should have expected that. Fool.
Ozan stepped closer, examining Gabe as if he was hiding something. “I am as surprised as them. The Brotherhood has hid effectively for years, until you made it your business to find them. How did you destroy Mikal and my brothers? What weapons do you have?”
“I can’t explain how Mikal was killed. The man we work with is a genius. As for the others, my brothers are hardened warriors. We have had many fights recently. It has honed our skills.”
“While we have languished and fought only each other, not thinking that we would be fighting anyone as powerful as another Nephilim.” That explained a lot, Gabe thought. It was what Nahum and Barak had suggested might be the cause. “But do you have more of that weapon? I ask,” he explained as Gabe hesitated, “because it is that which swings us to help you. For the first time in a long time, we can see a way out of this. There is no way that we can walk away otherwise.”
Ozan was a strong and powerful Nephilim, but there was no doubt that he was worried. Fearful, even. No wonder he wanted to meet Gabe. If he didn’t believe him, he would walk away. “Yes, we have smaller versions of these weapons. They are very powerful. I don’t know if they could kill Jiri once he summons Belial’s power, but it’s possible. And there are other options.” Like bombs.
Ozan took a sharp intake of breath. “Then it is true. This could work.”
“I take it that you are not allowed to wear Belial’s tokens?”
Ozan gave a dry, mirthless laugh. “No. Jiri rules by fear, like in the old days, and he is paranoid. He does not trust us, and with good reason. I would absolutely kill him. But I hide it well, as do the others. We bide our time, and that time is now.”
Silence fell as Gabe contemplated his offer. The wood was quiet, and he trusted that Shadow watched them. Barak circled overhead, opposite to the other Nephilim, and it seemed as if the world hung on his decision. The ancient fortress that had no doubt witnessed many battles would now witness once more a pact between warring Houses. But Gabe trusted Ozan. He could see Ozan’s need to rebel and find freedom, but he was just as worried at the prospect of betrayal. However, there would be no better time with Jiri angry and irrational, and weakened by the knowledge that he could actually be defeated.
