Page 10 of A Wicked Dance of Obsidian and Light (Echoes of Darkness #1)

The house the Order uses as its headquarters sits on a massive piece of land in the residential area of Ashville, on the west side of the city. It’s a three-story, Georgian-style gargantuan mansion made out of faded brick. It has a grand entrance adorned with four columns as tall as the house and a triangular roof. The numerous windows are all vitrails depicting angels battling demons, the fall of Lucifer into Hell, and the story of how the Order was created and continued the battle against demons. It’s surrounded by a tall brick fence that keeps out inquiring eyes, and it’s heavily warded against demons or any dark creature.

The Order of Sariel was created around the eleventh century with the initiation of the Knight Templars. They were believed to be the first bankers of Europe. But the true mission of the Knight Templars was hunting and killing all demons that escaped into the human realm. Because of their wealth and secrecy, the Knight Templars were viewed with suspicion and resentment. They were accused of being heretics, and in the thirteenth century, King Philip dissolved the organization to calm the masses, but only in the public eye.

The organization continued its work in secrecy and became the Order of Sariel. All Order members are descendants of the original knights. There are twelve Order compounds worldwide, and each house has a leader. All twelve leaders are members of the Aureal Council, which votes on the most important decisions.

Five hundred years ago, the fight against demons became too bloody, and the Order was pushed to the brink of extinction alongside all humanity. There were too many demons escaping through the Hell gates, ravaging souls and wreaking havoc on Earth. Remember the bubonic plague, the Black Death? Well, it wasn’t caused by the rodents festering with infected fleas. We call it the demonic plague for a reason.

In the second wave of the demonic plague, the archangels intervened, closed all of the twelve Hell gates around the world, and imposed the Celestial Treaty, which Lucifer signed reluctantly under the threat of Hell being wiped out completely.

The Celestial Treaty is a set of documents initiated to restore the balance between evil and good on Earth. If the balance is broken again, the seraphim, alongside the archangels, will intervene by closing Heaven and wiping out Earth and Hell without a second thought.

According to these documents, there has to be an Order house in every city where there is a Hell gate. Only a few demons are granted permission to be on Earth, and all are members of the Obsidian Conclave. Still, the veil that separates Hell from Earth is highly unstable where the Hell gates are located, making it easier to breach. Sometimes, demons slip through the cracks unnoticed. The Order acts like the demon police, killing all the demons illegally on Earth.

Because there must be a balance, good cannot exist without evil. The Obsidian Conclave was created to check the power of the Order and as a solution to appease Lucifer and any displeased demons. It is stated that the Order will not hunt or kill any demons that have permission to be in the human realm or any dark creatures such as vampires, wolf shifters, dark witches, and warlocks as long as they don’t kill humans. These creatures are in the jurisdiction of the Obsidian Conclave, marked by the Sigil of Baphomet, and have to abide by their rules.

It’s forbidden for anyone in the Order to fraternize or even be seen in the presence of a Conclave member or a dark creature and vice versa.

That’s why I’m standing in the gravel driveway, staring like a weirdo at the three-story mansion, nerves strung high while gnawing on my bottom lip. The years I’ve spent in this house learning everything there was to know about the reality of our world and training to be a hellseeker, just like my mother, flash through my eyes. Even though they never accepted me completely, aside from Noah and my aunt, the Order took me in and gave me a purpose. A life in which I can avenge my mother’s death. It’s all I have.

As I climb the stairs to the massive wooden front door, a resolve settles deep into my bones. I’m not going to tell Grayson about Kaiden. I’ll be kicked out, and all my years of hard work and dedication will amount to nothing.

I finally open the front door and take in the entryway of the mansion that always manages to impress me with its grandeur, even if I’ve been here thousands of times. The tall ceilings are a staple throughout the house, but the one above the entrance is my favorite. An octagonal grand cupola with an exact replica of the Sistine Chapel fresco painted by Michelangelo, The Last Judgement in the middle, and the nine scenes from the Book of Genesis surrounding it in a circle. An enormous marble statue of Archangel Michael with his sword and a shield, ready for battle, sits in the center of the shiny white travertine floor. On each side of it, two curved stairways with dark wooden railings lead the way to the upper floors.

The mansion seems empty, an eerie silence thickening the air, making my stomach churn in anticipation. At this hour, everyone under eighteen is either at school or in one of the classrooms on the first floor, learning everything there is about our history and demons.

The library and Grayson’s study are on the second floor alongside other smaller offices because, believe it or not, we even have an accountant and a tech guy who has to be on top of all the security issues. The dorms occupy half of the second story—rooms for the orphaned children, whose parents fell victim to our perpetual battle against the evil forces. And from time to time, hellseeker delegates visit from other compounds around the world. The training rooms, the gym, and the hospital are all on the third floor.

I make my way to the right staircase. As I put my foot on the first step, I see Grayson’s grandson Erik descending, his icy, gunmetal gaze chilling me to the bone. I square my shoulders and keep my head high. I can feel his leering gaze as I look straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge his presence.

Five, four, three, two, one…

“Half-blood cunt,” he spews as he intentionally pushes his shoulder into mine hard and continues his descent.

I bite the inside of my cheek, drawing blood, my hands trembling with the need to throat punch him, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of reacting to his hateful words. I don’t even look at him. I learned long ago that this is my best weapon against the unrelenting bullying I used to get.

As much as I respect Grayson, Erik gives me the creeps. His leering gaze lingers too much, not only on me but also on other women at the compound. I avoid him at all costs, and the incident a few years back when we were still high school students is the reason why.

He always teamed up with Veronica, Tessa, and Britney to make my life hell at school. After my first few months of training, I learned to fight back and not be a doormat anymore, so they mostly left me alone.

But one day, he took it too far. I was coming out of the bathroom in a hurry, trying to get to my next class because I was already ten minutes late, the hallway empty, when a hard body appeared out of nowhere and caged me in a corner against the wall.

Erik told me I should be taught a lesson for acting so high and mighty when I wasn’t worthy enough to become a hellseeker, my tainted blood making me an abomination. He brought one of his hands to my throat, crushing my windpipe, and then pressed his lips to mine forcefully. I was about to knee him in the balls when hurried steps echoed in the distance.

He let go of me and disappeared as quickly as he appeared, leaving me shaking like a leaf against the wall. From that day forward, I’ve avoided him like the plague, always keeping my guard up. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t been interrupted? I was so ashamed of what he did to me, but mostly that I acted so weak, I haven’t even told Sam about the incident. But we aren’t in high school anymore, and I’m not going to let myself be intimidated by him.

Brushing the unpleasant interaction off my shoulders, I resume climbing to the second floor, passing a few closed doors to Grayson’s office. I knock and wait patiently for his response. My stomach fists into a ball of restless energy as a thousand scenarios play through my head.

“Come in,” the gravely, powerful voice comes through the door.

I have to do a double take because I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Then, my heart sinks all the way to the bottom of my feet, and I suddenly feel the need to sit down. Grayson is standing on the side of his desk, bent over a map and whispering something to…Noah.

Fuck me.

When did he get back?

The realization that I wasn’t the first person he saw or told he was coming back cuts me deeplike a dagger being impaled straight into my heart. Though, I honestly don’t know why I was expecting that of him. It’s not like we’ve spoken in the five years he has been gone doing God knows what.

I guess I am that easy to forget. A joke. Expendable.

He’s even more beautiful than I remember. The five years I haven’t seen Noah transformed him into a man, all hard-cut marble and sharp edges, the black jeans and gray tee molded to him like second skin. His honey-blond hair is cut short on the sides and longer on top. It looks like he just rolled out of bed but in a studied, perfected way.

His expression is serious as he says something to Grayson. My ears can’t pick up what they’re talking about, and I know it has to be a secret.

Shaking my head, I manage to piece myself together and close the door. Grayson and Noah straighten as they finally realize they aren’t alone in the room. Noah’s gray-blue gaze immediately captures mine as he looks me up and down, a shining glint transforming his eyes into burnished steel.

“Iris!” a huge smile takes over his face as he starts walking toward the door, where my feet are two blocks of cement. He tries hugging me, but I immediately come to my senses and step to the side.

“I need to talk to you. Alone,” I tell Grayson, trying not to look at Noah, who keeps staring at me with a confused look on his face, the big smile long forgotten.

“C’mon, Iris, are you really going to pretend I’m not here?” Noah demands with annoyance.

So now he’s the one annoyed.

Fuck that.

I keep my gaze straight on Grayson. He raises an eyebrow at my request.

“Everything you have to say to me can be said in the presence of Noah. He has clearance.”

“Since when?” I huff loudly.

“Since I said so, Iris.” Grayson has a deep, gravelly voice and hawk-like, stern eyes from a severe face hardened by his position as head of the Ashville Order, scolding me like a petulant child.

“Fine. Whatever.” I cross my arms in front of my chest. “I have completed the mission you gave me on Friday night, but something else happened that I believe you should know about.”

“What are you talking about? What mission?” His harshness isreplaced with confusion as his eyebrows scrunch together.

“You texted me on Friday. Right before I went out on my shift, you gave me a mission to track and kill some covetorax demons, remember?” I shoot back, a bit unsure.

“I would never send a hunter of the Order on a mission by sending a text. And I hardly consider covetorax demons worthy of hellseeker missions. You already know that. I also misplaced my phone on Friday evening; I only managed to find it Saturday morning before my Council meeting.”

“Well, I received a text message from you. It was your number,” I exasperate.

Grayson takes out his phone and scrolls for a few minutes of blistering silence that makes my skin crawl. He finally looks at me. “There are no messages or calls from or to you, Iris. Give me your phone; I want to see the text. And sit, both of you. You’re giving me a headache. You’re acting like children, and I don’t have time for this,” Grayson says sternly while he sits down at his desk and extends his hand, waiting for me to pass him my phone.

“I don’t have it,” I mumble under my breath. Noah pulls the chair on the right so I can sit, but I roll my eyes as I sit down on the other one, trying to completely ignore the heady aroma of his cologne. He smells exactly as I remember: sandalwood and cedar, like taking a fresh breath of air on a crisp spring morning.

“What do you mean you don’t have your phone? What happened to it?”

“I’m not sure. I think I lost it,” I say, barely above a whisper. Grayson’s inquiring gaze makes me feel like I’m five years old again. My face is probably as red as a beet at this point.

Great.

Grayson narrows his eyes at me, deep wrinkles forming at the corners. “And this is what was so important that you had to tell me alone? That you killed some covetorax demons on a mission I didn’t give you?”

Something must have put him on edge before I came into his office for his patience to run so thin so soon. He is always serious, but not like this.

I clear my throat and regain my voice. “No. I chased the covetorax demons all the way to a clearing in the forest of the national park, right on the shore of Shadow Lake. The thing is, when I tapped the onyx stone, instead of covetorax demons leaving the possessed bodies, two draconic ravengers appeared. We fought, and I killed them. After that, I thought everything was fine until something pulled my attention toward the lake, and that’s when I saw around ten winged demons, flying straight at me. I started running and called you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“What demons?” Grayson and Noah ask at the same time with urgency.

“I don’t know…I have never seen this type of demon before or even heard of it. They looked like shadowy corpses with giant bat wings.”

“The ley lines—these demons might have caused the massive disturbance,” Noah chimes in from my right.

“And how are you reporting this to me now? It’s Monday, Iris! Or have you not looked at the fucking calendar?” Grayson shouts at me and slaps his desk hard with both palms. I flinch at the booming, unexpected noise. He stands up abruptly, making the legs of his chair scrape abrasively against the wooden floor, and starts pacing his office.

Fuck. This is going worse than I imagined.

“It wasn’t like I had a choice. I did manage to kill one of them, but then another managed to grab my sword. Its touch pulverized the sword…turned it to ashes in my hand. I have never seen a demon do that before. Then it grabbed me by the throat with its rotting, shadowy hands. It paralyzed me, and I felt like it was incinerating every organ in my body from the inside out while melting my brain at the same time. My onyx choker exploded at the contact, and the rest of my weapons disintegrated as well. I barely managed to escape by some miracle. But I was severely weakened and had deep gashes on my thigh from the draconic ravengers I killed. I realized at that point that I didn’t have my phone anymore.”

Taking a deep breath, I try to swallow the lump that suddenly forms in my throat and continue. “I ran as fast as I could until I got home and passed out from the pain. Luckily, Samantha, my friend, came over unannounced since we were supposed to go out. She got worried when I didn’t answer her calls. She nursed me back to health, and if she hadn’t found me, I would be dead right now. I was out for the count for the entire weekend. I just woke up today.”

The lie came easily, but it feels heavy and wrong on my tongue, like I ate something spoiled. It makes my stomach clench. I fight against the instinct to rub my sweat-slicked palms on my thighs.

Grayson sits back in his chair while scrutinizing every inch of my body with his sharp eyes. “You don’t look like someone who battled death for two days straight.”

I gulp, hoping this interrogation will be over soon. I can’t stand the pressure much longer. “Samantha is a light witch. She is really good with plants. The Order buys our antidotes from her, remember? She brewed some concoctions and made me drink them.”

“Why didn’t you run at the compound? It’s closer to the national park. We have a hospital here and doctors that could have saved you,” Grayson shoots back. The iciness dripping from his tone could freeze over an entire city.

Fuck.

I didn’t think about that.

“I honestly don’t know. I was in a lot of pain, barely conscious when I ran. I probably thought I could make it to the antidotes I have at home and wouldn’t need healing,” I lie again, fighting the sudden urge to look down and fidget as I lock my gaze with Grayson’s, hoping he will believe me. If I let my gaze waver, he will definitely know something is off.

Noah is still looking at me from his chair. He’s not saying a word, but his eyes are burning a hole through the side of my face. I refuse to acknowledge his presence more than I already have though.

The silence that falls in the room is thick with tension, and I hope like hell I don’t have two big sweat stains under my armpits. At least I’m wearing my usual black T-shirt, so it won’t be that obvious. Still, nothing can escape Grayson’s hawk-like eyes. After a few moments of deliberation that feel like hours under his scrutinizing gaze, making my stomach quiver with the need to throw up, Grayson finally speaks again.

“You’re dismissed. Go to Timothy and ask him for a new phone. Then go to the third floor and tell one of the doctors to check you out. I want a full exam.”

I stand up on shaky legs and make a beeline for the door. Grayson and Noah resume their talk over the map, too low for me to hear, even with hellseeker-enhanced hearing. I turn the knob and exit the office.

Shit.

My legs are trembling, and my heart refuses to slow down. I lean my back on the closed door and try breathing in and out slowly for a few seconds. It doesn’t work. But I can’t just stay here, leaning on the door and breathing like a crazy person about to have a meltdown. Someone might come this way, or even worse, Noah or Grayson might open the door.

And I’m sure I have guilt painted all over my face. I’ve never lied to Grayson before, and it was all made worse by Noah’s presence throwing me off. Now that I am done with the meeting, all of my bottled-up anger blazes through my veins like acid, making me want to hit someone, Noah more precisely, or put a hole through the wall.

I don’t do that though. I put the stopper on that bottle once more, fist my fingers, and clench my jaw as I walk the small distance to Timothy’s office.