Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(37)

I found him in the hall leaving his office. The sight of him made my skin crawl, but without a word I grabbed his arm and pushed my mind into him.

And I fell backwards, unable to connect with him at all. My power couldn't penetrate him.

"What is this? Now you're attacking a Grandmaster? Is the impending death of your little boyfriend not enough of a warning, Miss Night? Are you ready to join him on the chopping block this week?"

I didn't respond. Didn't give him the benefit of seeing my rage. He waited half a second longer, then sneered—a default look for him, I was learning—and turned on his heel to walk away. I was left sitting on the stone hallway floor, the color drained from my face, my blood boiling under my skin. I should have torn out his throat that day. Should have pulled the trigger. Should have ended him when I had the chance. I wouldn't make that mistake again.

Unsure of why my powers weren't working, I ran to my Initiate room, which already had my luggage thanks to one of the soldiers who escorted me back to the Castle from the landing strip, and I collapsed onto my desk chair.

First, I double checked the encryptions I'd encoded in my new e-Glass, making sure the Order couldn't get through and track me. Then, I dug through my bags and found the rebel chip I'd taken from the dead rebel's e-Glass. I slipped it into my e-Glass and accessed the line, but wasn't surprised they'd given their signal a new encryption. It didn't take long for Evie to hack it. She was becoming almost as good as me.

When it was live, I pressed the button and spoke. "It's N," I said, heart racing. "I need your help."

As I waited for their reply, I used a knife to cut my finger and on the glass of my window I drew the stylized wings and sword. The symbol of the Nephilim. The symbol of trust. It shimmered with a glowing light and then faded into nothing.

Messages sent, I waited.





Chapter 16


The Cathedral


New York marched on. An immutable fact of history and present day alike, New Yorkers were a tough breed and no amount of Inquisition harassment, public executions and murder could keep them down. There still existed signs of the tragedy that had just occurred: impromptu memorials of flowers, pictures, gifts, left where loved ones died. You could tell the socio-economic class of the deceased by the foliage. The rich left exotic, genetically modified flowers with petals that shimmered with silver and turned colors throughout the day. The poor gave what they could, from wherever they could find it.

All of it broke me, but I pushed myself on, averting my eyes to the sorrow, protecting my heart from the memories as I scouted the location Zorin had given me to meet him. He'd sent an encrypted message to my e-Glass, by means I couldn't quite decipher. I had to admit I was impressed.

When I arrived I found a coffee shop, which surprised me. He was sitting at an outside table with a steaming cup of something in front of him. I joined him and eyed the cup. "Does our kind drink coffee?" I asked. I loved the stuff before all this, but so far not much appealed to my no-longer-human taste buds.

He pushed the drink toward me. "Try it."

I shrugged and took a sip, and nearly spit it out. "That is vile. What is it?" It was like drinking acid.

He laughed. "Coffee. You'll find some things still taste good, but most human food won't. However, it doesn't hurt to try to blend in and look human whenever possible."

I studied his chiseled face, his grey-blue eyes and perfect body, and choked back a sarcastic retort about how well he did not fit in as human.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded and followed him to one of the most rare sights in Manhattan. A parking spot. He waved at a red sports car and it unlocked using his scanned hand print.

When he opened the passenger door for me, I slipped in and sank into the leather comfort. "This is the newest e-Drive on the market," I said when he got in. "They aren't cheap."

He grinned. "No, they aren't."

"But you've been unconscious for years." I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Where did you get the money to pay for this?"

He started the engine, bypassed the auto drive feature, and pulled out. "I've lived a long time in this world, Scarlett, and I've accumulated a massive amount of wealth. I've also acquired a decent survival instinct. I have safe houses throughout the world with stashes for emergencies. Today, I used one."

"Smart," I said. "Given how much you spent on this beauty, why aren't you letting it drive, since that's what it was designed to do?"

He shook his head. "I prefer to stay in control as much as possible. Less chances of ending up dead that way."

Our drive took an hour and led us to a long stretch of wilderness on the outskirts of Manhattan. He pulled up to a property that had seen better days, with overgrown weeds, debris littering the grounds and shambled buildings lining the entryway to the main building.

I looked up and smiled. This place was amazing. Even in its current state it was magnificent—an old cathedral that rivaled the Notre Dame and was made of black obsidian that glinted in the sunlight.

"What is this place?" I asked as we parked and got out.

"It belonged to the Nephilites. It was their main temple before the war. They believed Nephilim were gods. Angels returned to protect the earth and lead the people. They would offer their blood as sacrifice and erected this cathedral as a place of worship. They created a community around it, which is what those other buildings were for. Lodging, storage, barns."