Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(28)

The Chancellor turned in his chair to face me as he poured us each a cup of tea from a pot. "First, let me apologize for sending you into a war zone today. As I gather you surmised, Ragathon kept his plans secret from us all."

I accepted the cup of tea and blew on it. "And he's allowed to get away with that? No consequences despite mass innocent casualties and ultimate failure of his mission?"

The Chancellor's blue eyes reflected golden flames from the fire as he smiled at me intimately. "You're so like your mother, you know that?"

"I look like her, but take after my father."

He shook his head. "I see Marcus in you as well, of course, but your mother, she was always the fireball, ready to fight for the innocent and hold accountable anyone in power who failed to do the same."

"That doesn't answer my question," I reminded him.

"No, I suppose it doesn't. It's a simple question with a difficult answer. I do not have autonomous power in the Orders. I'm just one voice. The others have their own kind of power, Ragathon especially. He has the favor of the Pope right now, and that's not a small thing. I have to tread carefully to accomplish my goals. That's why I need you, Scarlett. That's why we need each other."

Pieces began to fit together. Why he needed me when he ruled the Orders. He had to play politics. I didn't. I wouldn't. I could indeed be his weapon.

"What did you want to see me about?" he asked.

"Has there been any news about my home?"

"The Inquisition has finished their investigation."

"And?"

"And they found nothing but blood, Scarlett."

My heart fell to my feet. "What about my parents?"

"Gone, I'm afraid." He looked back at the flames, his expression raw, lost in thought.

What did the Nephilim do with my parents' bodies? "That thing has them," I said, disgust lacing my voice. Disgust and anger.

"What once were your parents, yes. But they live in our memories now, and our hearts."

There had to be more at my house. Had to be.

"My parents…" I hadn't been able to talk about this before, to think about it, but… "My parents were Zeniths."

"Yes… and no," said the Chancellor, looking into my eyes. "Your mother was not always so."

My mother. He had her eyes. Or she had his. Eyes like mine. My mother was Lycan, but I'd heard only Inquisitors were turned into Lycans. Or was I wrong? There was so much I didn't know. Didn't understand. Too much.

I had to get home. Tonight. Had to find something that could lead me to the Nephilim. And when I find that bastard, I will be ready.

"Where did it come from? The Nephilim. I thought they were extinct?"

He raised his bushy white eyebrow at me. "You assume it was Nephilim you saw. How do you know?"

"What else could it have been?" It admittedly looked different, but I knew what I saw.

"Nephilim aren't the only beings born to the sky."

His words took a moment to sink in and my jaw dropped. "Are you talking about Angels?"

He didn't answer, just sipped at his tea.

"They haven't been seen on earth in ages. They don't exist anymore, if they ever did."

"Oh my dear granddaughter, the world is full of mysteries humans believe no longer exist. Consider what you saw last night. Consider it carefully. There's more to what happened to my daughter, your parents, than meets the eye."

I drank my tea in silence, thinking about last night, which seemed so very long ago. Could it be? Did that explain the differences I noticed. An Angel. A real Angel. What could this mean? My mind raced with possibilities, options, choices, and he seemed content to wait until I sorted my thoughts out.

"I have one condition," I finally said. "One condition to joining the Orders."

The Chancellor interlaced his fingers. "Go on."

"Tell me what the weapon is."

He looked into the fire again, thoughtful. "What do you know of the Nephilim?"

"They could fly," I said, knowing it gave them a large advantage when the war started. "Some of them had other abilities, commonly seen in Zeniths today. However, they were different from other Zeniths, because they fed on blood, and they could turn others into their kind." I remembered the propaganda… about killing the bloodsuckers, protecting your children from monsters… protecting your souls from the demons. I shuddered, knowing how this conversation would end, knowing what it would confirm once and for all.

"And which one of their abilities do you think was the most dangerous?" he asked.

"Turning others," I said without hesitation. It was worse, even, than flying. It gave the Nephilim huge numbers, more easily replenished than soldiers who needed years to train.

The Chancellor nodded. "It was their greatest power. Our own council considered creating a Nephilim army for the Orders, but we decided that if they ever turned against us, the cost would be too great. I wonder if we were wrong. If fewer friends would have been lost, if when the war started, we had some Nephilim on our side. Maybe the war could have been avoided altogether." He laughed, but without humor. "Of course, maybe our own Nephilim would have turned against us after all, and then we'd all be dead."