Iniquitous (The Marked #3)(68)
I sat down on the sofa where Dominic had been sitting just moment ago. Arianna remained seated on the chair, just across the way from me, staring at me curiously—sizing me up.
“Okay, you have me alone,” I said and narrowed my eyes at her. “What is this about? Why are you here?”
“I’m here because I want to help you.”
“Why?” It didn’t strike me as odd, but it did make me curious. Mostly about her intentions.
“Because, I—” She racked her fingers through her short ponytail. “I don’t want Revenants ruling the earth any more than you do. I want everything to go back to normal.”
“If that’s true, why would you weaken the walls in the first place?”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. It was supposed to be just Engel. At least, that’s what my sisters told me when they convinced me to do it.” She met my gaze then, her big brown eyes defeated. “My sisters don’t care about the mortal world the way I do. They only care about money and power and how to get more of it.”
“And you’re different?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that.”
She licked her lips and then lowered her head as though embarrassed to continue. “I’m in love with a mortal.”
“Oh. Okay.” And now it sort of made sense. I looked back at her a little more closely—at her drooping shoulders, her downturned mouth, the glint of regret in her eyes. She was ashamed, and strangely, I suddenly felt sorry for her.
“Hey. There’s no judgement here,” I told her and then shrugged my shoulder like it didn’t matter in the least. “I’m currently bloodbonded to a Revenant while in love with Reaper who happens to be my ex-Keeper.”
She made a face like I’d won that contest.
“Exactly.” I let out an exacerbated breath as I tried to put my baggage back in the overhead compartment of my head. “So what kind of help did you have in mind? I mean, if you’re here, there must be a reason.” Hopefully she had a plan because I was currently flying down shit’s creek without a paddle.
“I know where you can get the sire blood,” she announced.
My eyes felt like they’d just widened to the size of two golf balls. “How? Where? I mean—” I stopped myself and took a steadying breath before I chased her away with my semi-automatic load of non-stop questions. I gestured with my hands that the floor was hers.
“You’re a…strange one.”
“I’m aware of that.” Heck, I’ve been called a lot worse. I kind of took it as a compliment.
She cracked a smile, but quickly buried it. “Have you ever heard of the Sacred Necropolis?” She quickly clarified, “I’m only asking because I know you didn’t grow up in this world so I’m not sure how much you know.”
“You don’t have to worry about offending me. And no, I haven’t heard of it.”
She nodded as though she figured as much. “It’s kind of difficult to explain.”
“Try me.”
She looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Basically, the Necro is a massive catacomb.”
“A catacomb?”
“Yeah, like an underground cemetery. It’s where they keep all the bodies of fallen Descendants.”
“What?” First of all, gross. Second of all, GROSS! “That’s actually really disturbing to know. And who is they exactly?”
“Your people—The Order of the Rose.”
Of course. Who else would it be? “Okay, they’re not my people. Just putting that out there. And what exactly does this catacomb cemetery thing have to do with anything?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “There’s a Revenant in there that was sired by Engel.”
“Why would they keep a Revenant there?” I asked before giving it any thought.
“She was a Slayer before she Turned. In the end, all Descendants are given a sacred burial and are laid to rest amongst their own, regardless of how their end came about. Because she was a Slayer first and foremost, she was never vanquished, only put into an eternal sleep.”
“Meaning she’s laying in a coffin with a stake in her heart.” Now it was my turn to chew the inside of my cheek because I really didn’t like where any of this was going. “You’re not actually suggesting I break into the catacombs and steal blood from some Slayer-turned-Revenant’s dead body, are you?”
“Well, no.”
“Thank God.”
“I’m implying you break into the catacombs, bring the Slayer-turned-Revenant back to life and then steal her blood.”
My face went completely numb.
“I know it sounds morbid, but it’s the only way guaranteed to get the sire blood.”
“Because that’s just the kind of luck I have in life.” I swallowed the knot in my throat as I tried to regain some feeling in my face. “I suppose I could…I mean, we do need that blood and trying to find another sire could take weeks, maybe months, and who knows if the walls will hold up that long or if we’ll even find another sire,” I rambled on, trying to convince myself into it. I was talking out loud but it was purely for my own benefit.