Deadheads—deadheads way past their expiration date—rushed across the floor. Their bodies were twisted, hardened, and crusted over. The air then turned heavy, signaling the arrival of minions—lots of them.
“I made sure Micah was assigned to follow you. I knew eventually he would catch you with Julian, and with him being Micah, he would run straight to whoever would listen. Lily, you really should sit down. You look terrible.” He pried her hands off the banister. “Don’t worry about them down there. Did you know you can control deadheads?”
“Luke…what have you done?” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t have done anything if it hadn’t been for Nate’s complete lack of control. If he had put his foot down once with Anna—just once—all of this could have been avoided.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “That son of a bitch did a number on your face. Shit. He wasn’t supposed to touch you.”
Lily’s head fell forward. “You’ve…been working with the Fallen. It’s been you…” Her stomach heaved. She thought back to the night they’d gone to Michael’s apartment. “You…said someone…who hates the Sanctuary…hates Nathaniel.”
He sighed, the same sound he made so many times when she would pester him about one thing or another. “It was Nathaniel’s fault—the Sanctuary’s fault. They made me kill Anna, Lily. If they had forbid her once, watched her just once, they would have seen what she was doing.”
“No,” she whimpered.
“Yes! I hate Nate for what he has made me do. This was the only way to really get him back. There was nothing else I could do but bring down the Sanctuary. It didn’t take long to find a Fallen that was interested—really interested—especially in Michael.”
Oh God… Oh God, it was him. Lily pushed against him, but he held on. “Luke…how could you?” Below the deadheads were turning their attention to the doors. Someone was coming. She forced her attention on Luke. “You…you hurt Micah, didn’t you? My God, you did that?”
“Come on, lighten up. You don’t even like Micah,” Luke pointed out. “He was the perfect setup. I knew if I told you it was Julian, you would believe me. You knew Julian was capable of doing something like that. You just needed a push. Micah became that push, and it doesn’t matter if he ever wakes up and tells the world that it was I who attacked him.”
The image of Micah’s battered and torn body flashed before her. How quickly she had believed Luke. She hadn’t even given Julian the chance to tell her the truth. It had only been a few hours ago, but it felt like a lifetime.
Her heart shattered once more. Luke looked like he always did. He had that playful smile on his face, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. It was like he was two people. And somewhere inside him was the Luke she couldn’t let go of. “Luke, you have to explain…everything you have done. We can fix this. We can…make this better.”
“There’s nothing to fix.”
“No. We’ve got…to get out of here and…find Nate and get…Michael help.”
“You don’t understand, Lily. We can’t take Michael. Asmodeus wants him. And when Nathaniel comes, if he does, I will kill him.”
She stared. “You’re…crazy.”
His face hardened. “Don’t make me choose for you, Lily.”
“Choose what?” she cried. The pain was clouding everything. It hurt to talk, to breathe.
“You’re either with me on this or you’re against me. I won’t let you go back to the Sanctuary, back to Nate, and back to Julian. I will not allow you to do that to yourself.” He jerked her forward.
She staggered. “Luke, don’t…do this. It’s not you.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Lily!” Fury contorted his face. “Don’t make me do this to you, too!”
“I’m not,” she whispered.
“Then you would be with me on this!” he screamed. “You would understand why the Sanctuary has to be destroyed. Killing Anna wasn’t my fault. I wouldn’t have hurt her if Nate had done his job. He let her leave that night, even after I told him what she was doing. I saw her, Lily. I saw her leaving the Fallen, and I knew what she had been doing.” His grip tightened. “I lost it! I…stabbed her with our blade.”
“I don’t…I can’t.” She was crying. Tears mixed with blood, stinging the raw abrasions on her cheeks. “I’m not going to choose your side.”
“Then you leave me no choice.”
She watched as the Luke she had loved since she was five disappeared in front of her. In his place was someone she didn’t recognize. His eyes turned flat and lifeless. The pale blue now seemed milky in the dim light. Had he turned? He had to have, from the moment he killed Anna. Luke had just hid it well.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I love you. I always will. I’m sorry you are making me do this.”
Her eyes widened as he pulled out his blade. Her stomach dropped. She held up one hand. “Luke…what are you doing?”
He advanced on her. “I will make this quick. I did so for Anna. I will for you, too.”
She stumbled back against the banister. Her gaze fell below. She could make the jump, but the deadheads would be on her in a second, and she was in no shape to fight them. There were too many. They would rip her to shreds in a heartbeat. She turned back to Luke. She didn’t even release her blades. Much like with Julian, she would never be able to kill him.
And he knew it.
Luke sighed. “I taught you better than this, Lily. Never hesitate. Never let your feelings get involved.”
He had, but it didn’t matter. Several things happened at once. Luke lunged at her, and she threw her arm up to block him. He wasn’t holding anything back. His blow shattered the bone in her forearm, sending her backward against the banister. It cracked but didn’t give way.
Fierce pain blossomed all the way to her shoulder. She could sense others were nearby, but she doubted they’d reach her in time.
“I’m sorry,” Luke said, and brought his blade home.
She stared at Luke’s cloudy eyes. “No…I’m sorry.”
Shock skated across his face, and his strike was off by an inch. But it was one of their daggers. Engraved with symbols and honed in holy water. It was deadly.
Lily screamed as the seven-inch blade cut through skin, muscle, and bone under her left breast. Luke held onto her as she turned to the side, her gaze falling to the floor below.
The door bulged, splintering apart. Several large chunks of metal mowed down a few deadheads that were too close. Standing in the doorway was Julian. In his rage, he stood like an avenging angel—beautiful, proud, and the deadliest thing to walk this Earth.
Just to see him again lessened her pain and fear. Even in his anger, his presence soothed her like no other could. He’d come for her, even after she’d blamed him. Lily tried to call out his name, but she couldn’t form the words.
His gaze went up, settling on where she stood. He roared her name, pain and fury so potent that Luke pulled her back from the banister.
Luke yanked out the blade, and Lily shrieked. A fiery burn seized her chest. It was like Baal’s touch but a hundred times worse.
Deadheads swarmed Julian from all corners. He was making short work of them, but they kept coming and coming. Lily could hear Julian howling her name.
Then the windows shattered, and Nathaniel and Adrian appeared. They, too, were swarmed by the deadheads and minions. The three of them were marvelous fighters, but they were far outnumbered. One deadhead would fall, and three would replace him. Then there were the minions to contend with. Trained just as the Nephilim were, they were just as deadly.
Luke held onto Lily, and he raised his blade once more. “This is your fault!” he screamed at Nathaniel. “You should have stopped her—stopped Anna!”
She saw Luke’s blade out of the corner of her eyes, but she focused on Julian. He ripped through two more deadheads, and his eyes met hers. He wouldn’t get to her in time, and it was already too late. The blade had done its damage, eating through her as it was designed to do.