“Dalton. . took Isabelle away so the Sons of Darkness wouldn’t get to her,” Michael said.
There was something vague about his response, but she pushed it away. She’d ask him about it when they got back to headquarters. There were too many other things occupying her mind right now.
After they said their good-byes to Father Vintaldi, they piled into the one remaining SUV, crushed together like sardines. Angelique stared out the window at the church, still unable to fathom what had just happened.
Ryder put his arm around her shoulder and she laid her head there, comforted by his presence and wanting to comfort him, too. Killing Lou had to have hurt him, and yet he was the one soothing her. He kissed the top of her head and she relaxed against him. The only thing she could do was be there for him, love him, just as he loved her. And maybe they had a couple things to be grateful for.
The Sons of Darkness had disappeared, but they hadn’t taken Isabelle. And the hunters had killed a lot of demons. The black diamond was obliterated.
There was sadness, though. Isabelle had shown how much darkness she possessed. They didn’t even know if she could come back from it.
And they’d lost one of their own in the process. A kind, wonderful man she was just beginning to get to know.
Really, they had won nothing.
“We’ve lost.”
“We were supposed to emerge triumphant, and look at us. Not only did we not keep Isabelle, we lost the black diamond, and Drucilla within it.”
Tase paced back and forth in front of his brothers, listening to them lament. He shook his head at their stupidity.
They could never see the big picture.
“You are all fools. Don’t you see how much we’ve won?”
They ceased their wailing and focused on him.
“How can you say that?” Badon asked.
“Easy. If you’d stop your blaming and bickering long enough, you’d see how much we really did profit from all that happened.”
Kal crossed his arms. “Do explain it to us, brother.”
“Isabelle is in darkness, lost to the human world. We saw to that. You all felt it. She is still one with us and will remain so, regardless of her location.”
“That is true,” Aron said with a reluctant nod. “She was immersed.”
“We will someday use that to our benefit. Everything doesn’t have to occur right now. You all must learn patience. Isabelle will have her time of usefulness.”
Now that he had their rapt attention, he went on.
“Yes, we lost Drucilla. But great things sometimes come at great sacrifice. Though it would have been beneficial to have her as one of us and wielding her power at our sides, she served her purpose.”
“In what way?” Badon asked.
“She died, but she took a Keeper of the Realm of Light with her. And a very powerful Keeper at that. Louis has been a nemesis of ours for years. Now he’s gone, and we have once again taken something the Realm holds dear. We have sliced into their power.”
There were nods of agreement all around.
“Our new demons, though not without flaws, are working out well. With each new generation our goal is coming to fruition. Soon they will be doing our bidding without detection.”
“True,” Badon said. “We are closer than ever in our quest to have our brethren walk among the humans.”
“And there is one more thing,” Tase said, his heated stare making them all decidedly uncomfortable.
“What is that?” Kal asked, his frown showing his confusion.
They didn’t know. They simply weren’t aware. Tase smiled, his grin showing his superiority over his brothers.
“Dalton, one of the hunters, has once again stepped into darkness. He has fallen again.
“The Realm is fractured, falling apart. They will soon pit their own against each other. And we will reap the rewards.”
The Sons of Darkness had won this skirmish.
And soon, they would win the war.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ryder sat outside, needing a half hour or so after he’d left Michael’s office. Too much going on in his head and he had to sort it through. The whole atmosphere in Michael’s office had been bad. Really bad. Lou had been much more than a leader to all of them. He’d been friend and mentor, even a father figure to some, and he was going to be missed.
And now, in addition to all the grieving, Ryder had more bad news for Angie and he had to figure out how to deliver it.
The truth was always the best way. Angelique was tough. She could handle it, and she deserved honesty.
He found her in the kitchen, staring into a cup of tea. Mandy sat across from her doing the same thing.
“Hey,” he said.
Angelique looked up, smiled. “Hey. Where’ve you been?”
“Outside. Needed a few minutes after the meeting with Michael.”
She nodded. Mandy finally dragged her gaze from the porcelain. She didn’t smile. She hadn’t smiled since they’d returned back from the church.
Mandy had taken Lou’s death really hard. She’d been with Lou since she was a kid. He was, essentially, the only father she’d ever known. And she’d had to take part in killing him. Ryder couldn’t even imagine how much that was messing with her head.
Derek wasn’t handling it well, either. The whole thing was one giant clusterfuck. There were decisions to be made and no one wanted to make them. But they knew it was going to have to be done, and soon. It had to be. War was war, and it went on, even when someone died.
“Hey, kid, you okay?” he asked, squeezing Mandy’s shoulder as he brushed by.
“Just fucking fine,” she mumbled.
Ryder went to the cabinet and grabbed a cup, filled it with what he hoped was damn strong black coffee, and pulled up a chair next to Angelique.
Mandy pushed back and stood. “I’m going into the workout room to beat the shit out of something.”
“Want me to come with you?” Ryder asked.
Mandy leaned against the doorway and shook her head. “No. Thanks, but no. I’m not good company right now and I need to be alone. I might kill something.” She snorted. “Something else. Hell, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ll catch you all later.”
She pushed off the doorway and left the kitchen.
“She’s really hurting bad,” Angelique said, her gaze trailing after Mandy.
“Yeah. Everyone is. Lou was a good guy.”
“I don’t understand what happened out there, Ryder.”
Ryder shrugged. “None of us do. Michael tried to explain about Keepers knowing their destiny, and how no one lives forever. I guess in his way he was attempting to tell us that Lou had been prepared for this.”
She shivered. “That kind of destiny sucks.”
“Yes, it does.”
Angelique studied Ryder. He’d been quiet, and she understood why. She couldn’t even offer him comfort. What could she say? It was hard for her to comprehend all this, and yet it was now part of her life. “Do you ever get used to it?”