Words of Power (Alice Gray Book 3)

68

I knew what I had to do. And it was going to be messy.

The air shifted around me as I rose to my feet, leaving Thomas recovering safely on the floor.

The angels had landed.

Brad, Ralph and Azazel flanked me as I faced Brother Jerome. It was impossible to imagine them all on the same side when their blood had rained down on us like a crimson monsoon.

But, that was before, when the most important thing to all of us was a trial that seemed so frivolous now. Another step in the eternal struggle for power that consumed every faction in the mortal world, human and paranormal alike.

The Eye had opened, and that changed everything.

Brother Jerome's shifting features settled into a sneer. I understood that he didn't know the Eye had opened, but this guy really was confident if he thought he could take the three angels.

Did he know something that I didn't?

A worm of worry burrowed a tiny path of doubt through the bright mass of energy that churned through my body.

Squishing it under my metaphorical boot, I refused to let Brother Jerome dampen the euphoric transformation occurring inside me. I could feel each connection as the diverse strains of magic mingled, coming together to form something better, something stronger.

The ancient vamp energy was still there, muddy and lifeless, dead and heavy, slugging through my veins, but that too was part of the balance, part of me. And I could use it just like every bright speck of angel magic that filtered through the energy charged atmosphere.

"Jerome, it is time to give up. The thing you want, it is impossible, it is not part of the Plan," Azazel said, voice smooth and beseeching.

I glanced between them. I should have realised that these two knew each other. The memory of Jennet Device's dream filtered through my brain, her high-pitched saccharine voice chiding me that I hadn't taken enough notice of her warnings.

She'd been sent to find her father by an old monk.

My eyes narrowed at Brother Jerome as he wavered and re-settled in front of me. The dead vampire monk really had been in this from the beginning.

"Azazel, when did you first meet Brother Jerome?"

Azazel's clear blue eyes drifted over to me, the lines in his broad forehead telling me that he was catching on too. Turning back to Brother Jerome, Azazel reached out to grab his old friend.

Azazel's hand travelled straight through the dead vampire dust that made up his body. The particles swirled before re-settling into the monk's form.

"It's been you. All along. You used ME?"

"Oh don't be so surprised you old goat. That is what you are anyway isn't it, a scapegoat? I was only helping you fulfil your destiny."

"You took me to that whore, Elizabeth Device. It was you, not fate, who mixed my blood with the witches. How dare you meddle with what is so beyond your understanding?"

"But is it really not part of the Plan? My life has been one long service to providence, don't you see? Angels and witches have been my tools, and now human technology. The Eye wants this. This is the true direction."

"Blasphemy. You are nothing more than a necromancer," Brad yelled, his powerful voice reverberating around the enclosed space.

"If that is the case, then why have I been granted such favours? A second life, to bring the old Masters back. Just think, all the most powerful vampires, all back together. The world will be ours. Just like it was before this disease."

"You're insane," I said. "How the hell do you expect my magic to bring them back? It doesn't work like that."

"It will work like that. I have all the equipment I need to transform the energy. All I need is the battery," Brother Jerome said, taking a step towards me.

"The battery?" I whispered, not really sure that I could be hearing this right.

"You."

Brad and Ralph loomed forward on either side of me, their wings throwing shade out in a protective ring around us.

But this wasn't going down like that. I wriggled out of their protective formation and stepped out of their shadow.

There was no way in hell that I was going to be a part of this guy's machine. And I didn't need angels to protect me.

"There's a good girl, they should be taking hold by now," Brother Jerome said, misinterpreting my compliance with the effects of vamp death-dust possession. "Come along now and I'll take you to your new home."

"Yes, I can feel them inside me. All those arrogant old leeches that think they're getting out. Bickering about who will be first like a load of old ladies."

"Well, come on then. Let's get them out."

"Oh, I'll get them out all right," I said.

The light from the Eye shone down on me in all its glory. The leaves from the Tree chimed their agreement. I felt Thomas's strong arms wind around my waist, adding the extra little bit of support that I needed.

It was time to give Brother Jerome what he wanted.

This is getting intense! What does Alice have up her sleeve...