What if—in Granny’s mind—Ka, as a vamp, was intended to be the designated new Heir? If so, when Mainet became the Master, Ka would gain some power as Heir. And then Gramma would kill Mainet and the full power would fall onto Ka with a demon and an angel bound to her. A skinwalker would have all the power of the vamps, the creatures who had killed off so many skinwalkers. So of course, then, Gramma would become the next Heir.
In almost all vamp clans, there was an heir to accept the power and the curse. Leo had broken that rule until he was ready to name Immanuel his heir. Why? Because of this? Because Mainet was next in line, and Leo had Mainet’s big bro chained in his basement.
Ka as a vamp was probably more insane than all other fangheads put together. She had been bitten by an arcenciel. She was expendable to Gramma. Of course...
The whole concept made me dizzy. Dizzier. The heartbeat echo was disorienting. I tried to find my last train of thought and ended up with Mainet.
Did Mainet expect Gramma’s betrayal? Not even a megalomanic would allow his greatest enemy into such a ceremony. He had to have a way around possible betrayal just as he’d found a way into the church without burning to a crisp. The long game. One of the SODs had desecrated the church and had begun the summoning of a demon and the angel Hayyel when the church was being built.
The heartbeat drum sped again, increasing incrementally. The tremor returned to my fingers. Eli placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt the same tremor in him. It was affecting both of us now. I managed a slow breath. The heartbeat was a kind of magic, like Big Evan’s musical air magic. The hand holding the Glob wasn’t shaking. I lifted the Glob to my chest, just below the burned place on my breastbone, and the heated cross. Relief spreadthrough me and into Eli like a balm. My brain started working again.
Ka. Gramma. The Heir. In one place with a bound angel. So, where was the demon? In the futures, there had been a demon. Mainet needed both, angel and demon.
The final pieces fell into place in my mind. Starting with Immanuel. That had been Gramma’s plan. To give all the power in heaven and hell to someone in her bloodline.U’tlun’tashad selfish goals, warped morals, and less compassion even than the monster De Allyon, who had killed so many of our kind. So after the SODs were dead, Immanuel would have been Mainet’s heir? Yeah. But. Gramma would have killed Immanuel and taken his place. Now she would kill Ka and take her place. It’s whatu’tlun’tasdid.
I glanced in. Across from me, I saw Tex, standing at the other door, the one marked with death runes, waiting for me to see him. I gave a faint nod, just as Alex said into the earbuds, “Eli. Vamps are in position.”
Eli said, “Carmine, Fawn, see if you can move to a firing position in the balcony.”
“Your initial targets are the witches. Stop the drumming,” I said. “Once it stops, we can take out the primaries.”
“Copy,” Fawn said softly, the humans sliding into darkness.
Balcony?I looked at the sanctuary again and spotted the narrow second floor. I had thought it was just a decorative shelf. My visions made more sense now. After what felt like forever, I spotted Fawn moving to the front of the balcony near the side wall and laying her upper body across the divider. She aimed a handgun down with a braced two-hand grip, acquiring a target. Not a rifle. A freaking nine-millimeter semiautomatic. Carmine took the other side of the balcony, and at least she had a long-rifle. We now had people but few decent weapons against witches with death bombs. Fawn considered her targets. And waited for the order to fire.
To me, Eli asked, “What’s our ‘Go’ point?”
“We have to wait until the demon and the angel are physically manifested before we act. No matter how bad it gets.”
“Roger that.” His voice was grim and toneless.
Endora’s heartbeat drum increased in volume, suddenly shaking the walls, rattling the stained glass. The magic within it began to pound, and on its heels flashed fear, acrid and tart as death. Only the connection between Eli and me kept me still. The Glob was so hot I could feel it through the padded cloth and wondered when I had put it away. I didn’t remember. I wondered if my clothes would catch fire. If the Glob itself could. Could it get so hot it sucked my own magic down with the other stuff it was protecting me from?
Carmine chose her target. Mainet. Not the witches, as I had ordered. The futures had showed me that possibility. Dang it.
Mainet lifted his hands over Lachish’s body and placed a cup beside her, handleless white stoneware. Beside me, Eli aimed to the left of my shoulder, keeping contact with me, but Mainet’s location, so close to Lachish, made it an impossible shot. In the balcony, Fawn and Carmine exchanged hand signals and changed targets again. I caught sight of Fawn’s face, which was badly burned, blistered, sloughing. It looked as if she had brushed by thedeath hedge. She was shaking just a little, the tiniest of tremors, and she was aimed at Mainet. The death beat and the pain were affecting her. If she fired, she might kill Lachish.
I gestured the tiniest bit and shook my head at her. I pointed to the witch standing beside the altar. That would take out two witches, Carmine’s target and Fawn’s. Fawn steadied her aim and gave a single nod. “On three,” I said, ready to begin the raid.
“Our vamps are down,” Alex said.
I looked back at our vamps. The doorway was empty. I looked at Mainet’s vamps; they were all fine, but they were sitting inside the circle.
Eli leaned out and back in. “Four of us left. Concentrate fire on drummer and witches. Fire on command.” He looked at me. “We’re in at first shot.”
I nodded. “Fire.”
Fawn fired. The drumming stopped. Endora slid to the floor of the church. Dead. Head shot. Ursula, the witch to the left of north, threw something into the balcony. A death bomb exploded. Fawn crumpled. Carmine was nolonger visible. The attacking witch took up the drum and started the beating again. My heart and lungs shuddered with the reverberations of the death-air working that was powering the circle.
“Two of us,” I whispered.
CHAPTER 26
Like a Fire Burning in Reverse
In my earbuds, Alex said, “Leo’s moving.”
I didn’t know what to do. Eli’s hand held me in place. His cold, dark calm filled me. “Hold,” he whispered. “There’s nothing we can do right now but die. If your vamps are waking that will make the difference. We’ll know when to move.”
