Read Online Blood Redemption (Angel's Edge #3) by Vicki Keire - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Vicki Keire
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moment of choice. I could be safe in Ethan’s arms for real, not in some Dreamtime version with all its limitations. I could be home with Logan and Asheroth, with Cassandra Blackwood and all my friends and neighbors.
I could go home.
But that would mean leaving all these Nephilim exactly as I found them: miserable and hurting and in need. I thought of young Caroline Bedford, punished for failing to burn down my town. Could I leave a twelve-year-old locked in isolated punishment?
I looked at Belial, so like my Ethan, but so different. I thought of the war coming to my hometown and how badly I would be needed there, as well.
Yes, I thought. I would give anything to be safe in Ethan’s arms again.
“Home,” I announced. My voice wavered with the burden of guilt I now carried. I would probably carry it for the rest of my life. I was only one person, I told myself. There was no way I could make that big of a difference. Besides, without me, Belial’s army would be missing one of its weapons.
Me.
Belial looked bemused. “Very well. I must say, I am surprised. I expected you to demand that I free that annoying little girl.” He ran one long finger around the edge of the wine bottle. Drops of condensation dripped from his fingertips. “I was sure you’d fall for that,” he said, sounding genuinely puzzled.
“Fall for what?” I asked, surprised.
“I punished the girl to test you, dearest Caspia,” he said, standing and looking out over the balcony again. I stayed where I was, staring at his back. “The girl is too valuable to leave locked up for long.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“So you will know what you have given up,” he said. “And so you’ll remember who has the upper hand.” Suddenly he was in my face, cupping my chin in his strong stone palm. I tried to move my head and couldn’t. “So you’ll know you can never, ever defeat me.”
“But I chose home,” I protested. “I chose Whitfield, and Ethan. You promised!” This last word was a shout, echoing over the balcony and across the barren landscape.
“I did promise,” he said, releasing my chin to stroke my face. “And I’m pleased with your choice. As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t have made a better one.”
“Why?” I asked, suspicious now.
“Because I never said how long you could stay.” He smiled at me as one might at a particularly stupid, but well-meaning child. “And I never said you could go alone.”
“But…” I tried to protest.
“Oh yes, Caspia Chastain. I’ll be going with you.” He wrapped a stone hand tightly around my forearm. “As long as you are with me, I can breach the wards around your guardian’s stronghold.” His smile turned sickening. “And I’ll be face-to-face with my brother at long, long last.”
I stared at him in horror, not believing my ears. “If that’s true, why haven’t you breached them before? Why haven’t you taken another Nephilim and―”
“Because no one else is from Whitfield, stupid girl. The wards won’t recognize anyone else.”
His arm was still wrapped around mine when I tried to stand up hastily. My goblet of wine fell over, spilling the liquid all over the tablecloth and dribbling onto the silk of my dress. “No,” I said as assertively as I could. “No way. I won’t be your personal ticket into Whitfield. I take it back. Free the girl instead,” I begged, horror replacing fear in my gut.
Instead, Belial laughed. He jerked me right against his chest so that I stood, his front to my back. He smelled of rotten meat and dead carcasses burning under the sun, and I wanted to gag. He wrapped one arm around my waist and placed a hand at my throat. “Remember, you chose this,” he said.
And I had. I had chosen so very wrongly. This would teach me not to be selfish, to never trust demons or believe in their lies. How stupid could I possibly be?
The icy chill of abyss-wings opening behind me cooled my skin. It was an unforgettable
I could go home.
But that would mean leaving all these Nephilim exactly as I found them: miserable and hurting and in need. I thought of young Caroline Bedford, punished for failing to burn down my town. Could I leave a twelve-year-old locked in isolated punishment?
I looked at Belial, so like my Ethan, but so different. I thought of the war coming to my hometown and how badly I would be needed there, as well.
Yes, I thought. I would give anything to be safe in Ethan’s arms again.
“Home,” I announced. My voice wavered with the burden of guilt I now carried. I would probably carry it for the rest of my life. I was only one person, I told myself. There was no way I could make that big of a difference. Besides, without me, Belial’s army would be missing one of its weapons.
Me.
Belial looked bemused. “Very well. I must say, I am surprised. I expected you to demand that I free that annoying little girl.” He ran one long finger around the edge of the wine bottle. Drops of condensation dripped from his fingertips. “I was sure you’d fall for that,” he said, sounding genuinely puzzled.
“Fall for what?” I asked, surprised.
“I punished the girl to test you, dearest Caspia,” he said, standing and looking out over the balcony again. I stayed where I was, staring at his back. “The girl is too valuable to leave locked up for long.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“So you will know what you have given up,” he said. “And so you’ll remember who has the upper hand.” Suddenly he was in my face, cupping my chin in his strong stone palm. I tried to move my head and couldn’t. “So you’ll know you can never, ever defeat me.”
“But I chose home,” I protested. “I chose Whitfield, and Ethan. You promised!” This last word was a shout, echoing over the balcony and across the barren landscape.
“I did promise,” he said, releasing my chin to stroke my face. “And I’m pleased with your choice. As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t have made a better one.”
“Why?” I asked, suspicious now.
“Because I never said how long you could stay.” He smiled at me as one might at a particularly stupid, but well-meaning child. “And I never said you could go alone.”
“But…” I tried to protest.
“Oh yes, Caspia Chastain. I’ll be going with you.” He wrapped a stone hand tightly around my forearm. “As long as you are with me, I can breach the wards around your guardian’s stronghold.” His smile turned sickening. “And I’ll be face-to-face with my brother at long, long last.”
I stared at him in horror, not believing my ears. “If that’s true, why haven’t you breached them before? Why haven’t you taken another Nephilim and―”
“Because no one else is from Whitfield, stupid girl. The wards won’t recognize anyone else.”
His arm was still wrapped around mine when I tried to stand up hastily. My goblet of wine fell over, spilling the liquid all over the tablecloth and dribbling onto the silk of my dress. “No,” I said as assertively as I could. “No way. I won’t be your personal ticket into Whitfield. I take it back. Free the girl instead,” I begged, horror replacing fear in my gut.
Instead, Belial laughed. He jerked me right against his chest so that I stood, his front to my back. He smelled of rotten meat and dead carcasses burning under the sun, and I wanted to gag. He wrapped one arm around my waist and placed a hand at my throat. “Remember, you chose this,” he said.
And I had. I had chosen so very wrongly. This would teach me not to be selfish, to never trust demons or believe in their lies. How stupid could I possibly be?
The icy chill of abyss-wings opening behind me cooled my skin. It was an unforgettable
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