THIRTEEN
Earlier, after Russell left Alex’s room, he walked toward the guest rooms on the third floor. The staircase was a grand, ornate fixture in gleaming oak. He recalled that his idea for staircase bowling to break in the new Temple had been hastily dismissed, though he still mused that the old oak craftsmanship would stand up to a few bowling balls just fine. Oh, well.
He turned up the staircase, groggily swaying as he ascended the stairs. He was more tired than he had realized. He hadn’t left Alex’s room since Glen had arrived, other than to bring Glen some food every so often. Russell grinned as he remembered the struggle he’d gotten into with Glen upon his arrival and figured he had earned a good rest. Russell was so sleepy when he arrived at the third floor, he almost bumped into Victoria as she came scurrying down the hall. “Whoa, whoa,” he said, steadying her with one hand. “Where’s the fire?”
“What?” Victoria glanced back over her shoulder toward end of the hall. “Nothing. No fire.”
Russell’s eyes narrowed as he glanced down the darkened hallway. “That’s where Hans is keeping Mars and Rogan, isn’t it?” Victoria swallowed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. It was a move so jittery and uncharacteristic of his sister that Russell’s grip tightened on her arm. “What’s going on?”
Victoria strengthened her resolve and told herself to stop being transparent. She put on her best face of annoyance, as she swatted away his arm. “Nothing’s going on, you big oaf, other than you trying to run me over. What are you doing up here?”
Russell frowned as Victoria turned him the other direction. “I’m getting a shower and some shut eye. I don’t believe you, Victoria.”
Victoria straightened her spine as she approached one of the guest rooms, throwing the door open for Russell. “You just need sleep. You’re getting paranoid.”
Russell eyeballed his sister as he stood in the doorway of the guest room. She looked normal enough now. Maybe he was making things up. He rubbed his hands over his face. “Shit, I’m sorry, Vicky. I’m a little wiped out.”
Victoria patted his arm in relief. “That’s okay, but that doesn’t mean you get to call me Vicky.”
Russell snickered as he walked into the room. “No? I could take up calling you something much more annoying until I get my way….like sugarplum or cupcake.”
Victoria didn’t have to fake her annoyance this time as she backed toward the door. “Sure. Try that for a while and see what happens.”
Russell laughed. “I’ve gotta get some rest. All the Golden Arrows are on their way in, right?”
Victoria nodded, biting her lip, another uncharacteristic move, as Russell bent to pull a couple of towels from the drawers by the window. “Yes, they’re arriving as we speak.”
“Well then, I’d better get some rest. I’m sure Psyche has plans to get us all assembled.”
“We’ll be meeting in the lobby at seven tonight.”
Russell yawned as he stumbled toward the bathroom. “See you then.”
Victoria eased the door shut with a click and ran back down the hall toward Hans’s holding areas. She eased open one of the doors and disappeared into the room moments before Sebastian ascended the staircase at a run, carrying his bags. He turned toward the guest rooms and knocked on the first one he came to. Receiving no answer, he knocked on the next. Hearing a muffled reply, he stuck his head in. “Russ?”
What he assumed was Russell’s voice came from the back of the little apartment. Sebastian jogged through the room to the bathroom at the back. Throwing open the door, he startled Russell in the shower, who jumped back, banging his elbow against the towel rod. “Ouch! Damn it! Sebastian, what the hell?”
Sebastian threw open the shower curtains. “We have to go. Now.”
Russell sputtered as Sebastian turned off the water, leaving Russell dripping sudsy water and looking very wet and confused. “What the hell are you about?”
Sebastian threw Russell’s towel into his face before running back into the bedroom, grabbing clothing out of the drawers and tossing them on the bed. “Where’s your gun?”
Russell came limping out of the bathroom, having stubbed his toe on the toilet in his haste to get out of the shower. “In the bathroom. What the hell is going on, Sebastian?”
Sebastian turned to Russell, tossing clean clothes in his face, making him drop the towel he was holding. “Aspen.”
Russell pulled a shirt over his head. “What about Aspen?”
Sebastian walked to the doorway of the room, where he had dropped his duffle bags. He rummaged through one of them, coming up with two more boxes of ammunition. “Someone has her.”
Russell shook his head to clear it before stepping into his pants, not bothering with underwear. He jumped into them comically as he sputtered out, “What? Who?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I don’t know, but we’ve got to go get her.”
Sebastian was so busy running around, that he didn’t see Russell until he was right in front of him, hands up. “Whoa. Stop.”
Sebastian came up short to keep from plowing Russell over before he yelled. “WHAT? We need to go, Russell!”
Russell shocked them both by delivering a punch to the underside of Sebastian’s jaw. Sebastian stumbled back, losing his footing and nearly overturning the dresser before he yanked his head up to look at Russell. “What the fuck?”
“Stop,” Russell spoke clearly and way too serious for the brother Sebastian knew. His long, wet hair hung over his shoulders, dripping water all over the floor. Russell took a step toward Sebastian. “Sit down.”
“You don’t get-…” Sebastian began.
“You’re right, I don’t!” yelled Russell. “I get that whatever it is must be really damned important, so you’re going to sit your ass down and tell me what the hell’s going on so we don’t fuck it up!”
Sebastian took a deep breath before he sat down heavily on the corner of the bed. He put his fingers over his eyes. Shaking his head, he muttered. “She tried to call me. I left my phone at the apartment.”
Russell nodded his head, glad that Sebastian was at least attempting to make sense. “Okay, Aspen called you?” Sebastian nodded. “How long ago was this?”
“Before dawn.”
“Okay. What did she say?”
Sebastian sighed and looked at the floor between his feet, his elbows resting on his knees. “She just…” He shook his head. “She was crying. She said she’s at Temple Auster in Seattle. She said…” Sebastian swallowed as he covered his face.
Russell took a deep breath. “Okay. Someone is messing with us. You realize this is a trap, right?”
“Russell, I told her I didn’t believe her. She must have found out about Auster’s involvement and went there to figure stuff out. Now Auster’s got her, probably with more of those things.” Sebastian shook his head. “She didn’t run from us at all.”
Russell nodded. “I get why you’re freaking out, but we cannot walk into a full-on trap, okay? Auster’s expecting us to show up and bring in a whole army of Golden Arrows his demons can snack on. Mass kill.”
“I know. So I figured you and I would sneak in instead. Maybe we can sneak her out. Or at least get a lay of the situation to figure out what to do.”
Russell exhaled heavily and sat on the bed beside Sebastian. “All this over a Lead Arrow, Sebastian?”
Sebastian’s head jerked up as he growled at Russell. “Don’t say that.”
Russell nodded his head. “I thought as much.” He stood. “Well, I’m a sorry candidate for this one, as I’ve been up over twenty-four hours, but you’re not going alone.”
Sebastian stood, his face a picture of relief. “Thank you, Russell.”
Russell smacked his arm, chuckling. “Ha! I figure you got me this vacation. I need something to occupy my mind. Do me a favor and let me finish dressing. I’m not fighting without underwear on. Go find Hans and get some real weapons. And some backup.”
Sebastian nodded and ran out of the room as Russell walked back to the bathroom, wondering if his life would ever be normal again.
***
Less than ten minutes later, two Guardians were accompanying Russell and Sebastian on their ride to O’Hare airport. In an SUV with black-tinted windows, Russell drove while Sebastian leaned into the back of the vehicle, talking strategy with the Guardians. They had been equipped by Hans with a small arsenal, which Sebastian hoped wouldn’t get put to use. The idea was to slip in, slip out, using the darkness of night as their cover. Auster was obviously busy doing dirty work at night, so Sebastian was hopeful for a quick rescue mission. If not….well, it’s a good thing they’ve been trained fully in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat since the early 1600s.
Russell listened to the talk as he navigated the car into the parking lot at O’Hare. They quickly moved through a small terminal in the back of the airport run by their own people. The bags containing the weapons were moved to cargo as they joined the other passengers.
Sebastian tried not to think too much about Aspen and what their delay was doing to her. She’d left that message several hours ago. He grimaced and fidgeted the whole flight as Russell tried unsuccessfully to distract him with horrible and often perverted jokes. They disembarked and made their way effortlessly through security again.
A rental car was waiting for them, but they only took it within a mile of the Temple gates. They needed to stay undetected, and they couldn’t afford to blow it. Night was falling as Sebastian and his companions walked the remaining mile or so to Temple Auster. The main entrance was off limits as far as Sebastian was concerned. The Guardians snuck ahead first to the monks’ side entrance. Listening closely, they popped the door and took a peak around before gesturing to Sebastian and Russell, who moved in, silent as cats. Slipping into the Temple, Sebastian felt his heart slip into his stomach. Something was disastrously wrong.
The Temple smelled of death and fire. Sebastian glanced quickly over at Russell who held his gun steadily before him. The Guardians slipped to the opposite side of the large, ornate lobby, and both parties moved in sync to the door of the chapel. The black night didn’t allow for much light to come into the Temple, and no candles were lit. Sebastian approached the door at the same time as one of the Guardians. He was a younger Guardian named Seth, who nodded once before slipping around the corner into sanctuary of chapel. Neither one of them moved a single step into the sanctuary as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Slowly, they came to understand what they were seeing.
The chapel was covered in blood. There was blood smeared on the walls and on the floor. There were two small candles on the altar which were sputtering, nearly burnt out. There, on a stone platform, laid Aspen. Sebastian stopped himself from crying out as he stepped forward. She looked dead.
Quickly, Sebastian and Russell moved to the sides of the room, looking above and around them, making their way to the front. Sebastian’s eyes dilated as he looked everywhere for signs that they were being observed. The Temple was cold as a tomb and just as quiet. It was unholy.
Approaching the altar, the Guardians stood back, covering Sebastian and Russell while they bent to check on Aspen. Sebastian hastily set aside his weapon as he leaned down and listened near her mouth. She was as pale as death. Blood seeped from several deep cuts in her body, running down the stone slab to the floor. He listened carefully, gritting his teeth. Hearing what he was listening for, he looked up at Russell and nodded. Aspen was breathing. Now they just needed to get her out of there. Sebastian quietly slipped his gun into its holster as he knelt down and slipped his arms under Aspen’s back and legs. She didn’t wake when he picked her up, but he could hear the sound of her thready breathing and muffled pulse as he lifted her in his strong arms.
Sebastian turned to walk down the aisle, but the first step he made sounded like thunder. He stopped abruptly, bending his knees and looking up as Russell and the Guardians went on full alert. A huge wind ripped through the sanctuary, as well as a horrible growl. Russell turned to Sebastian. “It was the aisle!” he yelled. “It was an alarm.”
Sebastian cursed himself as he ran full out toward the entrance of the Temple, Russell close at his heels, covering his back. Guardians led the way to the entrance of the sanctuary, where they came to a stop. On the threshold was a demon, and it was no lower demon. The growl issued from its mouth again, which was covered in spores. Its reptilian skin covered muscles that looked as though they had been crafted of steel. The demon was a good twenty feet tall, and its eyes glowed red as it flexed its sizable claws. Sebastian and Russell both jumped back as the Guardians rushed forward, their Swords of Light now free of their scabbards. The eye splitting white light danced across the blades as they moved into position to fight off the demon. Seth looked over his shoulder at Sebastian, “Go! Now!”
Sebastian and Russell backed toward the door they had come from. Sebastian yelled, “What about you?”
Seth swung his sword at the demon. “This is what we were made for!”
Russell grabbed Sebastian’s arm. “Come on!”
As Sebastian ducked out, he heard a roar from the demon as a blow from Seth’s sword struck it. Even demon hide won’t hold up against a Sword of Light.
Sebastian and Russell ran as best they could with Aspen to the nearest tree cover and not a moment too soon. Flying demons swooped out of the sky, landing on the Temple Auster. Sebastian guessed there were two dozen or more of them. Long, razor-sharp beaks and claws slashed out windows, ripped apart pillars. Sebastian and Russell wasted no time in running back to the rental car, which Sebastian wished was closer. The distance from the road would help hide the demons from mortal eyes, but the going was slow for them while carrying an unconscious Aspen all the way.
Russell ripped open the back door, and Sebastian launched himself and Aspen into the car. Russell was already pulling away from the curb as Sebastian began ripping open Aspen’s vest and tearing off pieces of his own t-shirt to dress her injuries.
Russell glanced in the rearview mirror, thankful that their rented SUV had tinted windows. There’d be hell to pay from mortal police if they got stopped, and they didn’t have enough time to get out of it. “How’s she doing?”
Sebastian didn’t look up as he bandaged her ankles and wrists, and moved on to her legs. “Bad. Real bad. She’s not poisoned, though. She was just being bled out. Looking at her wrists, my guess is she was originally bound until she lost too much blood to fight back.”
Russell glanced back. “Do you think she’ll regenerate?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I don’t know. Too early to tell. She’s lost a lot of blood. Her mark is whole,” he said, looking at the lead-colored Arrow tattoo on her shoulder. “We’ll have to see.”
Russell pondered their situation as he drove toward the interstate. “Well, we can’t fly back. Not with her like this. We’ll have to drive back to Chicago, stopping along the way.”
Sebastian nodded. “I’ll call Garrett, see what I can do for her from here.” After binding Aspen’s injuries, Sebastian allowed himself to look at Aspen’s face. She was completely ashen. Her black hair was stuck to her chalky brow with her own blood. Sebastian lowered his hand to her forehead, wiping blood and hair from it. She was too cold. Sebastian pushed Aspen across the seat and lay across her. Russell saw Sebastian sink behind the seat back. “What are you doing?”
Sebastian’s muffled voice rose above the seat. “Warming her up. She’s too cold. Even if she did have enough blood, it wouldn’t flow anywhere.” Sebastian laid his head on Aspen’s chest, wrapping his arms and legs around her. He folded her arms across her breast. Lying still, he listened to her heart. It was slow, sluggish, like it was trying to push honey through a straw. Sebastian closed his eyes and prayed.
Cupid, father, please forgive me for forgetting my duty. It was my own selfish reaction that put one of your children in this position. The fault is mine. She’s done nothing wrong. Please help me to restore her health.
Jupiter, God of us all, please spare the life of this servant of your realm. Please give us direction.
The car suddenly halted, nearly throwing Sebastian from his seat. His head jerked up as he looked out the windshield. “What is it?”
Russell gestured. “Traffic jam. There’s a detour about a half mile ahead. What do you think?”
Sebastian blasted off a heartfelt prayer of thanks as he looked skyward. “Take it!”
Sebastian situated himself back over Aspen’s body as Russell pulled into the right lane to take an exit. He listened to the slow, uneven beats of Aspen’s heart and continued to pray as they struggled to save her life.