Water and Wrath

“In the wreckage of a job well done I saw a place I’d never seen before, yeah,

And that moment I refused to close my eyes anymore.”

—“Worth Dying For” by Rise Against

From the frying pan into the fire, isn’t that how the saying goes? Almost immediately upon arriving in L.A. we got a call from Belial to leave the area. A group of Dukes were flying into LAX from Vegas with some women they met. Blake had the idea of heading for the marina and taking his boat out to his father’s private island, where we’d be safe from the mainland.

Brilliant.

Blake told us to think of this as a “mini vacay,” and after all we’d just been through in Syria, I wanted that far too much. Us blokes took the Jet Skis out, leaving the girls to chat on the island’s dock.

Thing is, it’s dangerous to relax and not give yourself an out. We know that, and yet we’d come to the one place with nowhere to hide. Just our sodding luck. Thankfully the messenger of Lucifer, Azael, is secretly in league with Belial. The dark spirit found us and warned us that the Dukes were on their way to the island.

Now, here we are. Kopano, Zania, and Blake are submersed under the boat dock. I am sitting on the edge with Anna, about to jump in. Why? Because we have to hide someplace where Father cannot detect Anna’s scent of innocence.

Underwater.

After all we’ve been through, you’d think I’d no longer get scared, but where Anna is concerned there is always room for fear. My protective instinct for her has only grown, and I can hardly keep a straight mind when she’s in danger.

I watch Anna as she stares down at the moving waters beneath us. Strands of hair around her face are wet from running around to prepare. She looks resigned to what’s coming. When she turns her face up to mine, her eyes widen to find me watching her so intensely.

I still haven’t told her how I feel—not in words. I’m cursing myself now for being too afraid, knowing how much it would mean to her. The Dukes are in hearing range by now. I can’t risk speaking, but I have to tell her. If we’re caught today, if anything happens to us, I will hate myself for not saying it. So, I give her the only thing I have. Silent words.

I raise a hand and make the combination “I” “L” “U” in sign language—I love you. She stares at my hand until her eyes water. She holds up her hand and mirrors mine, pressing her sign against mine, mouthing the words, I love you, too.

I vow we will make it out of this.

She reaches out for me and I pull her against me, feeling her arms wrap around my back. I hold her close, wishing this night would be over soon. I don’t know when the Dukes will arrive, or how long they will stay, but I know we’re in for a long evening.

Blake reaches up and grabs our ankles, telling us it’s time to get in. Anna and I both slide down, holding on to the planks, and she sucks in a loud breath of air as her body hits the water. The first bout of worry bombards me when I feel how the sea has chilled within the past hour since we were on Jet Skis. The water is always cold here, but Anna is so much smaller than me. She’ll freeze if we’re in too long, especially after the sun sets.

She gives me a firm nod that she’ll be okay. I know she’s a fighter. We quietly swim to the posts underneath the dock where Kope and Zania have grabbed hold. The damn things are slick with sea life, making them difficult to grip. The five of us look around at each other, ready to weather what’s to come. I stare at Anna and she gives me one last brave nod.

Please, please, let this be over quickly. I hope the Dukes will get their fucking kicks and get the hell out of here. Surely they don’t plan to stay all night?

I hunker down with the others and wait as the sea temperature drops. Zania seems worlds stronger after only a day under Anna’s nurturing. She got her to shower and eat a bit. I’m glad, because Z’d never be able to survive this if she was in the same shape now as two days ago. Her quick Nephilim healing probably helped, as well.

It doesn’t take long for the Dukes to arrive. They’ve even brought Flynn, which surprises me. His father must have called him to Vegas soon after we parted in Europe.

Father, Melchom, Mammon, and Astaroth came to the island to work, bringing married and engaged women, who they plan to ruin, to soil with adultery, guilt, and regret.

Hours pass, and it’s bloody cold. Nearly unbearable. I can’t stand to see Anna’s lips turning blue and her body trembling uncontrollably.

At some point during the Dukes’ exploits, Anna begins to lose it. She’s shivering like mad. She lets out a squeak of fear, and jumps as if something’s rubbed up against her underwater. Then she nearly laughs, delirious. I rush from my post, stiff and numb, wrapping my arms around her frozen body. I press a hand over her lips to remind her to be quiet and she slowly nods. I keep one hand firmly around her waist and hold the pole with the other.

We cling underneath the dock for hours, pushed and pulled by the Pacific tides, waiting for the Dukes to finish their bloody business so I can get Anna to warmth, but the night only turns worse. I thought perhaps the Dukes had brought Flynn along to be their bodyguard and lackey—to drop the anchor and fetch them wine—but their reason was more sinister than that. Much more.

They know Flynn was in Syria, and that Zania was bought by two “mystery men.” They know there are traitors among them.

“What you don’t know, son,” Duke Mammon whispers with malice, “is that Duke Sonellion borrowed one of Duke Thamuz’s sons to keep watch over the transaction of the girl while he was away.”

Kope and I share a shocked glance. Another Neph had been there in Syria with us. He’d seen Flynn get into the fight on that hill, seen his red hair when his head covering fell back. But it sounds as if he hadn’t seen me or Kope.

“Tell me who you’re working with!” Mammon shouts above us.

Don’t tell them, I silently beg. Stay strong, mate.

Anna is shivering violently, and my worry has turned to panic. In the moonlight her lips are lavender, and I’m not sure how she’s able to keep herself afloat. The only part of her that looks alive is her eyes as she watches the action on the dock through a chink in the wood.

“I will tell you nothing, old man,” Flynn says.

Bloody right on him. He’s ready to die for this cause. His father, Mammon, holds a gun to his head, but Flynn is unflinching.

“Last chance,” Mammon says.

“I’ll see you in hell,” Flynn responds, and he sounds almost liberated . . . free.

I touch my fingers to Anna’s cold lips and hold her tight as a gunshot splits the air. Her body jolts in my arms. I press my cheek to the side of her head.

For the second time in my life, I witness a fellow Neph murdered by a Duke. Unlike the first time, I am not numb. I feel the brutality of Flynn’s death, and it hurts. It’s personal.

I watch helplessly as our worthy ally’s soul is pulled away to hell by demon spirits, and my rage threatens to make us known. I watch as Z’s teeth chatter and Anna goes limp with grief in my arms. I watch as Blake has lost all remnants of humor, and even Kope’s face is desolate. I hate that we must sit here in silence, vulnerable and defenseless.

How much more can we take of this? How many more of us must die before we can act?

I’ve never been more relieved than when the Dukes leave the island. Anna’s frozen stiff as I hoist her onto the dock with my weakened arms. My sore muscles ache as I pull her into my lap and bring Zania closer to Anna. Kope and Blake quickly leave us for the other side of the island, with the hope of retrieving Blake’s boat as fast as possible. Anna and Zania’s shaking has become violent, and they can hardly open their eyes.