Page 11 of The Prophecy
Chapter Five
By the time Kael made it back to the Council’s headquarters in London, there was still an hour until dawn. He drove down into the underground carpark and sat for a moment.
Darius would still be awake, no doubt impatiently waiting for him. Kael wanted to talk to Raven’s father face to face before he met with the rest of the Council. There were important things to decide.
As he approached his office, a tall figure appeared from one of the rooms close by. Lukas. The second-in-command at the Council—the position that had once belonged to Darius.
“Did you find her?”
When they had first received news of Raven’s whereabouts, Lukas had put forward a proposal that they should free her from the fire-demons and then sacrifice her themselves. Gain the victory; defeat the fire-demons once and for all. Kael wouldn’t countenance that course of action—murdering an innocent woman would make them as bad as their enemies. He’d taken a step down that route when Raven’s aunt, the witch, had first brought her to them. And he’d regretted it immediately.
Lukas had appeared to go along with the decision to free her and return her to her father, but Kael didn’t trust him totally. Lukas was fae. He hated the fire-demons, but he was also ambitious. He believed the Council should take a more dominant role in world politics. Kael had an idea that Lukas was splitting the Council’s loyalties, speaking in secret, gaining allies.
For a moment, he considered lying—saying that he hadn’t found her. But he was going to need the help of the Council to make an attack on the fire-demons’ fortress, to provide a distraction that would allow them to free Raven.
“I’ve found her. We’ll meet after I’ve spoken to Darius.”
“Maybe you should keep it from the vampire for the moment.”
“He already knows.” That was why he had risked the text message from Raven’s cell. He wanted Darius to know. Kael had an idea Lukas might suggest they keep the knowledge of Raven from him. This way that wasn’t an option.
Lukas’ nostrils flared, a sure sign the fae was not happy. Hard luck. “That was perhaps a little precipitous.”
“Perhaps,” Kael replied. “But he has a right to know.”
Lukas didn’t get the chance to answer, because at that moment Kael’s office door opened and Darius stood there. His black hair was pulled into a ponytail, clearly showing the scar that ran down his right cheek. A souvenir of Sorien’s blade, the night they had taken Raven.
The vampire’s glance flicked between the Kael and Lukas, eyes narrowing. “I thought I heard voices.”
Lukas nodded briefly, then turned to Kael. “I’ll gather the Council.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in an hour.”
The other man whirled around and strode away.
“Asshole,” Darius muttered.
“Maybe. But we need his help.”
He gestured to his office, then followed Darius inside, shutting the door behind him.
“So you found her?” Darius asked, turning to face him.
Kael nodded, and Darius collapsed back into the chair behind him as though the strength was drained from his limbs. For a minute he sat, his head in his hands, then he slowly straightened. “Tell me.”
“She was where we were told.”
Since Raven had been taken, Darius had searched the world for any sign or word of her whereabouts. Periodically, he would return to the Council to discover if they had any new information. And that was a measure of his desperation—he had once sworn he would have nothing to do with the Council for the rest of eternity.
Then three days ago, Kael had received an anonymous message. The location of the fire-demons’ fortress. And that Raven was imprisoned there. He’d contacted Darius and the vampire had come immediately.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Council had also learned of the message. And Lukas had put forward his proposal to sacrifice Raven themselves.
“How is she?” Darius asked, a tremor in his voice.
“She’s…alive. And basically unharmed.” If you ignored the mental and emotional damage she had clearly suffered. She wanted death rather than freedom. On the journey back, he’d gone over and over what her reasons could be.
Had he expected her to jump at the chance of having sex with him?
