Sweet Reckoning
Page 77

With a deep breath in my chest, and a prayer in my heart, we entered the summit.
Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish,
is dear to me, and I will defend it.
—Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LUNAR ROOM
Nine sets of blood-red eyes landed on me, making adrenaline run a race through my body. Everyone was there except my dad, Rahab, and Jezebet. The nine Dukes present looked me over with complete disdain before nodding at Pharzuph with admiration for my capture.
Pharzuph shoved me forward, a proud look on his face, and said, “Go sit down until we’re ready to deal with you.”
I moved, sensing my allies close behind me, and took in our new surroundings. I’d never been able to picture this final summit—and now here we were. I wouldn’t have imagined this most deadly fight taking place in a swanky VIP lounge.
The room was all black, like the main club, with similar stars twinkling overhead. The same music played, only at a lower volume. Tables shaped like phases of the moon and modern, black leather seats filled the floor space. The lounge area surrounded a circular dance floor with a gleaming black surface that reflected the ceiling’s stars. Next to the entrance was a bar with a middle-aged male Neph bartender I didn’t recognize. He ignored us and focused on the Dukes, who gathered around the bar, talking and laughing as if this gathering were nothing but a social event..
Long, black couches lined the walls of the room. We went to the end of the lounge and sat against the wall. Kaidan, me, Marna, then Ginger sat on a couch together. Blake and Kope sat on the next one. We didn’t have to wait long for others to begin arriving. The Neph all came to this far side of the room, then spread out their numbers along the wall couches, acknowledging one another with nods, but never talking.
Kopano’s two older brothers approached and sat next to him. More allies! My hope grew at the sight of the three of them sitting on the next couch in stoic silence. His brothers had the same large body frame as him, but their eyes were a deep brown.
A gross sensation slithered through my belly when Caterina came in, the tight bun in her hair looking like it would give a normal person a migraine. As she walked toward us and sat on a lone couch, she smiled at me—the creepiest smile I’d ever seen. I guessed she knew why we were gathered and was looking forward to it. I found the twins glaring murderously at her, so I gave Marna a discreet elbow to the arm to make her stop.
Duke Jezebet walked in then, and Caterina sat up taller, watching the Duke of Lies with adoring reverence. The stunning Russian woman in her crisp gray suit never even glanced at her daughter. Instead she scanned the Neph until she found me. Our eye contact lasted only a brief moment, but seeing the lack of hate in her eyes and knowing she was an ally lifted my spirits, while also making me long for my father.
I felt Kaidan stiffen next to me when Pharzuph and Astaroth looked our way. Then Astaroth gave a shake of his head and they went back to drinking. Marna inclined her face toward me and Kaidan, leaning forward enough to check our bond. She gave a small nod. We were good. Kai relaxed again. It made me wonder how long his buzz would last and hide the bond. Probably not long. All of our secrets would be revealed soon.
Watching the Dukes socialize, unconcerned about a so-called mercenary Neph girl, gave me a strange sense of resolve. They believed they were untouchable. They saw their enemy tonight as just one girl. One stupid girl who might be working with someone, but their complete lack of concern showed their weakest flaw.
Foolish pride. We would use it against them.
Though my resolve fueled me, my body still behaved with traitorous nerves when I thought about how I no longer had the sword, and no clue how else to physically get rid of these demons. Kaidan bumped his leg against mine when I started chewing my thumbnail. I dropped my hand. Okay. Nobody was going to try to kill us this very minute. I sat up straighter.
A young Asian man walked in with a green badge, looking like he could be a Chinese model—Melchom, the Duke of Envy. His shiny black hair was a few inches long and he styled it much like Blake’s. I glanced at Blake, who was staring at his father’s new body with awestruck horror. He quickly schooled his facial expression when Melchom looked over and inclined his head. Blake returned the gesture.
While the Dukes warmed up, drinking and laughing, we all stared blankly around the room, doing our best not to draw any attention to ourselves. I counted ten of the twelve Dukes.
Then Duke Rahab entered with his deep purple badge, and a hush settled. I swear a chill swept the room as the Duke of Pride’s eyes scanned us, flashing bright red for a whole second when he saw me until he composed himself. He turned to his comrades and smiled tightly. Someone turned off the music. Marek came through the doors behind Rahab and closed them, locking them from the inside and standing guard. The momentary silence was deafening.
Rahab nodded to the Dukes at the bar, and they all filed into the lounge, sitting at the small tables that circled the dance floor. Rahab made his way to the center of the black circle and stood with his hands clasped behind his back like a dictator. He seemed to have aged since I’d seen him a year and a half ago—his face looking gaunt and too dour to be handsome. He was tall and elegant, but too thin. I was surprised he hadn’t opted for a new body yet. Maybe his overabundance of pride caused him to hold out longer than the others.
He began speaking in his rich, loud, French-accented voice.
“Good evening, Brothers . . . and Sister,” he said. “Thank you for your presence on such short notice. We hope to resolve a delicate issue as quickly as possible so that we can all move on to more pleasant things. Our favorite city awaits.” There were chuckles and smiles. “We begin by calling forth the messenger Azael to oversee this summit and report back to our Lord Lucifer at the conclusion of our events.”