Page 16

R.I.O.T

T he Gods aren't happy, which is unexpected. It's been a week; I thought they would have realised they were wrong by now.

I'm trying to do the right thing here—which is hard, when you don't care enough to want to do the right thing. But they've been pestering me for years to deal with Damien, and now that I have, they want to have a problem with it.

Well, fuck them.

Nightmare's my best chance to kill Damien.

I'd do it myself, but betraying the loyalty bond I was forced to create with him would've had disastrous consequences.

I tried to do the right thing back then, too, but Reece was in danger, and my decision was a surprisingly easy one—even if I had put the world at risk, Reece was safe. That's all that mattered.

The Gods weren't happy about that, either, but they got over it quickly. This Nightwalker is different, and I'm sure when my Oracle returns, she'll have something to say about it. Just thinking about it gives me a damn headache.

I sigh, and mutter, "You need to calm down, it's been a week."

"You threatened the Gods," Seth growls, his leg bouncing nervously in the chair across my desk. "Since when do you threaten Gods?"

I shrug. "I never had a reason to before… They were going to kill her."

"And that would have been a bad thing?" he says, exasperated, a week's full of tension finally bursting out of him. I know he was trying to give me my space, because of Leila. "She killed Leila."

"And she'll pay," I promise, my voice low, and gaze narrowing. "But not before I'm done with her."

"Why her?" he asks.

An image of the Nightwalker’s eyes flash in the back of my mind—an imperfection that should have meant nothing. My hands clench, and I snap out of my thoughts. It doesn't matter; the reason is simple.

"I need someone who can sense Nightwalkers. If Damien appears, Reece will be dead before even a Nightwalker can stop him." My voice turns to a growl. "And that isn't a risk I'm willing to take."

"Okay… but the Defect’s dead."

"And she's the replacement." I knew the moment she'd revealed her ability to sense Nightwalkers in that forest, she was mine. It was inevitable.

Seth jerks back. "What? Are you sure?"

I fix him with a look. "I wouldn't be doing any of this if I wasn't."

"Still, what makes you think she'll kill Damien?" Seth frowns. He saw she was unaffected by the coercion of the enslavement mark; I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. It makes things a little difficult, but Nightwalkers are predictable.

"Reece is her prey now… We all are." I chuckle, amused. My General looks at me as if I've lost my mind. "Nightwalkers protect their prey… so they can kill them themselves."

I slide out of my seat and walk towards the door. I get the feeling Nightmare's causing trouble. "And when she kills Damien?"

I glance at Seth only briefly, and shrug. "I'll kill her myself."

****

Where the fuck is she?

It shouldn't be difficult since she seems to leave behind a trail of destruction wherever she goes, but it's alarmingly quiet.

Almost as quiet as when she killed Valadez right under our noses. I would have been impressed if it hadn't been such a headache to deal with, or it would be when the Supreme Court finds out.

Placing my hand against the door, my will to find the Nightwalker transfers to the castle, but when I step inside, I'm standing in another empty room. One of these days, I'll figure out why the Gods fear this particular Nightwalker, and why they're keeping us separated in my own damn castle.

Walking out, I spot Reece in the cupola, pacing. She's running out of time.

She spots me, too, and stops. "I might have to leave without her—"

"No," I cut her off, my tone final. She's not setting foot on Earth without that Nightwalker. "Just wait. If you're late, so be it. Rayan and Axel can deal with me."

"Riot…" Reece seems worried by the prospect, but I ignore her and move faster down the corridor.

She's still inside the castle; I would know if she had left. But I've checked almost all the popular areas, and she hasn't been seen. It's unnerving.

As I'm about to open another door when a feeling wakes inside me—a coldness that feels a lot like chaos. Suddenly, I know exactly where she is.

I grab onto the nearest door handle and rush inside. The moment I do, she senses me. I manipulate the mark just as fast and watch her limbs lock up.

I grit my teeth, annoyed. The enslavement mark feels slimy and wrong every goddamn time I use it… but she isn't giving me a choice.

That strange power of hers floats around her fingers, mere inches from Mammon's head. Eden looks on the verge of tears, and the Nightwalker has a damn smile on her face.

Her head turns to me, her eyes a terrifying gold. "Hello to you, too, Saviour."

"Off. Now!"

She obeys, sliding off Mammon and rising to her full height.

Without sparing me a second glance, she strides past me, her steps heavy with purpose.

I watch her, her footsteps silent, hair shifting and moving with the wind, shoulders back.

There's something undeniable in the way she moves—an unshakeable certainty, a silent promise. This isn't over.

As long as I have you, Nightmare, it will never be over.

I put my hand on Eden's head and ruffle his hair. He looks up at me with large grey eyes, and a slight quiver in his lips. I exhale slowly. "Go and say bye to your mum, Little E."

He nods and races off. When I'm sure we're alone, Mammon is sitting on his ass, wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand and grinning like a damn fool.

"My, my, do my eyes deceive me?" Mammon chuckles. "The Grand Arbiter finally steps into his garden. How long has it been? Since…" He recognises the dangerous shift in my aura and wisely decides to stop. He smirks. "To what do I owe the pleasure of basking in your glory?"

I roll my eyes at him; smartass fucking prick.

"You can start by telling me what happened here." I gesture to his bloody lip and his ruffled state.

"Why does it matter? It's happened." Mammon gasps exaggeratively and places a hand over his non-existent heart. "Were you concerned for me, my cold-hearted friend?"

"Details, Mammon, now."

"Now, now, Grand Arbiter," Mammon muses, "we've been friends a long time. Surely, you know nothing comes for free when dealing with a thing like me."

I fucking hate dealing with this bastard, but I'm the only one who can.

"Your word, first."

"I swear on my soul; I'll give you information in exchange for my favour."

I roll my eyes at him. "Nice try, but you don't have a soul."

"Oh." Mammon frowns. "Then on my master’s soul."

"He'll kill you," I grumble. I shouldn't be surprised he's crazy enough to voice it. Mammon chuckles.

"Only if I break our deal." He clasps his hands together. "Now, about what I want… That Nightwalker…"

"No," I growl.

"Jeez, let a Demon finish before you get all possessive and scary!" Mammon shrieks, taking a dramatic leap back from me. "I simply want to know if she played even the slightest role when my brothers were imprisoned."

I stare at him, weighing the consequences. "And if she had?"

"She's dead."

I narrow my gaze, but I know Mammon. If I don't get the information, he'll get it himself. He's just far too goddamn lazy to do it, which is why out of all the jobs he could have had, he chose to tend to a garden that never needs tending.

"I can get the information." I tell him. "Now, what happened? I want full details."

The more I can learn about this Nightwalker, the better.

"She came through the door, stopped for nothing, and sat right here." He gestures to the water fountain. "I didn't think she noticed me at the time, but I wasn't paying much attention. She is quite... mesmerising ."

I've noticed, but it doesn't mean I like that he did.

"I watched her for a bit. For a while, she just sat there, and then she started talking to herself.

I came closer to hear what she was saying, but by the time I reached her, she appeared to be asleep.

" She doesn’t sleep; she hasn't slept the entire time she’s been locked in my dungeon.

"She was still talking, but there was something different about her—something cruel when she spoke.”

"What was she saying?"

"I don't know." Mammon shrugs. "I've never heard the language before."

Great! I just had to capture a Nightwalker that can speak a language not even a creature born at the dawn of time can understand.

"Just repeat what you heard." I tell him. "I'll get it translated."

Mammon opens his mouth like he wants to say something but can't. "I… have no idea." I raise a questioning brow, and his smile falls. "One second, it hurt, and the next, I just forgot."

Fucking hell.

He wouldn't lie, not when he's made a deal. This only means the little Nightmare I picked up has strange mind abilities. She speaks a language never heard before that physically hurts to remember, and for the cherry on top, it can erase memories.

I am not telling Seth.

Gritting my teeth, I turn my back on Mammon. Seth's warning whispering in the back of my mind. Fuck! He's going to hate this.

"One other thing, Grand Arbiter." I pause with my hand wrapped around the door handle. "Do not underestimate her instincts. She senses the intent of death… and moves faster."