Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 29328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“Cassius, most of them are innocent. Will you destroy them? The children? The mothers? The grandmothers?”
“If I let one go free, one infected with the blend of angelic and demon blood, the end could be catastrophic…”
“Then choose, Cassius,” Eve said in a challenging voice. “Choose who goes free, save a few. All I ask is that you save some.”
“You misjudge our relationship, vampire,” he hissed as if he might kill her at any minute. Even his hands flexed like he was ready to strangle her. The air took on a bitter taste, and he hesitated. I’d never seen an angel before, but I imagined hesitation wasn’t a normal thing for them. “Only you would ask this of me. Notice how the rest of the Council members have already fled the city. Yet here you stand.”
She lifted her head, her green eyes locking with his. “Here I stand.”
“Damn it, woman.” He screamed it so loudly I quickly covered my ears and then wanted to cover my eyes for a few brief seconds. He stood tall and stared her down, his expression unreadable. Then, within seconds, a sliver of humanity seemed to slip through. He broke their connection, and his gaze landed on me.
I wonder how it burned, knowing you had to make a choice.
I kept hold of the girl’s hand, squeezing it too hard but needing the comfort.
And I kept watching Eve’s face to see what would happen.
“I have…” the tall man started. “Less humanity left than you think.” His eyes welled with tears. “I will fall. Do you understand, Eve? I will fall. For them, I will fucking fall!”
“Then fall,” she said in a calm voice. “Fall for the Creator, fall for us. But mainly, fall for them.” She pointed at us. “Fall for the children. Fall for what you believe in. But, Cassius, look at me right now.”
His eyes locked with hers. “You will regret it if you do not do this. They are children. They are immortal children. They are special, and they are the reason we are here. We save them, and we save the world from darkness, don’t you see?” Tears of red ran down her face. “We fall for them? We fall together. We go to the Underworld, we meet Anubis, we rest. But who’s going to save them? We are both hero and destroyer. We were given one task since the Fall. So, if we fall with them? So. Be. It.”
“Twelve,” he choked out. “I will save twelve.”
Eva bowed her dark head. “Thank you, Cassius.”
As she walked away from him, he whispered, “This will not be forgotten…daughter of Lilith and son of Enoch.”
Chapter Six
Lilith
Present Day
“Where am I?” a low voice asks.
I jump awake and look down at myself. I have blood running down my wrists and am lying with Tarek on a mattress in a place I don’t recognize.
But all I see is his blood. All I feel is anger and need and lust. Then there are the memories I don’t recognize, ones that don’t make sense. It feels so real, like I’m still there right now, watching the boy, watching the world burn around me, and feeling like I might die with it.
Son of Enoch?
Who was the son of Enoch, and why couldn’t I remember him? And why the hell am I bleeding so much?
I check my wrists again and then my arms. Wait, that’s not my blood. None of it is. And my wrists have no markings.
I jerk around to look at Tarek, realizing exactly what the source is. He has small bites all over his body, down his arms and up his neck. A small trickle of blood runs from his mouth.
He’s awake but pale.
“I don’t feel the desire to repeat myself, Lilith. Where am I?” He’s literally handcuffed to the bed. Did I do that?
I quickly get to my feet and stumble toward him. When I get to the mattress, I notice how his jeans are ripped, along with what had been a whole black T-shirt. It’s now shredded, like someone took their fingers and tried to tear it open.
“That is a very long pause for a simple answer.” He sighs as if he’s not injured or chained to a headboard. “If you could just tell me where I am, I can visualize my escape much easier. Gotta hand it to you; your bite is strong. I didn’t realize my blood would make you feral since you weren’t injured anymore. But…” He tugs against the handcuffs anchored above his head. They make a jangling noise. “Apparently, you want to keep me as a special treat. I wonder when my life turned from feeding to being fed on. Oh, yes, the minute I tried to get you a car. Did not see that coming. You know, they should really be more random with their bingo cards this year. If anyone was going to be chained to a bed, I had Alex down…damn it.”