The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters 1)

THE OBSIDIAN MOLDED DOOR TORE OFF ITS HINGES AND FLEW ACROSS THE ROOM AS I KICKED IT OPEN. I stormed inside, both hands burning wildly as I scanned the area. No one was here, but I had assumed that since I’d set the entire island of Novas on fire the moment Liam and I had arrived.

‘It’s empty.’ Liam strode past me, an ablazed weapon at his side.

‘I told you to call Oblivion.’

He looked at his hand then back to me. ‘No.’

‘They don’t deserve an afterlife, Liam.’

Where I had expected anger, a look of worry crossed Liam’s face

‘Dianna, you know what it can do. You are here and your sister may be as well. I am not risking either of you.’

I shook my head, passing him as I headed toward the hallway.

He didn’t say anything as we took the stairs up. I slammed both hands against the double doors, sending rocks and rubble flying into the open expanse of the throne room.

‘If anyone is here the noise alone will alert them, Dianna. Try to be quieter.’

I said nothing, not wanting to admit what I already knew. The island was abandoned, which meant she wasn’t there. My chest hurt, my breath coming out in ragged gasps as I squared my shoulders.

‘Search here. I’ll be back.’

He didn’t say anything as I strode past the chairs and empty lanterns that decorated the sides of the room. The walls didn’t move how they did when Kaden was in the castle. They were cold and empty. Exactly how I felt knowing she was out there somewhere with him. I forced myself to not think about what he could be doing to her and propelled my feet forward. I reached the rooms upstairs and shredded Alistair’s and Tobias’s areas, but found nothing.

I stepped over the broken pieces of wood, shredded sheets, and torn furniture. I held myself up with one arm against the door frame as I turned toward the end of the hall. It had been a waste of time to search those rooms. I had known I wouldn’t find anything. But I was a coward and was trying to avoid that door.

It was the same door I’d beaten on when Kaden had locked me out. When I’d failed him and begged for forgiveness because I knew the cost of my failure.

My chest heaved as I stared at it. It was my past. I didn’t have to be that creature anymore. I didn’t feel my feet move until I was in front of the door, my hand resting on the knob. With a turn and a push, it swung slowly out of my way.

I walked in, one foot in front of the other, my steps echoing in the quiet. The room still looked immaculate as if it was waiting to be occupied. I stopped in front of the dresser and ran my hands over the top. The framed picture of Gabby and me Kaden had grudgingly allowed me to keep was still there.

We had gone to the beach because it was her favorite place. In the photo, I was hugging her as we both smiled at the camera. She grasped the hat she wore as the thin coverups we wore over our bikinis blew in the wind. It was the only picture I had in this damned place because I begged to keep it. Kaden hated it, and I couldn’t even think about what he had demanded of me to allow me to keep it

My hands shook as I gripped the frame. The glass broke, distorting the image beneath into a mosaic. I turned and threw it against the wall. I screamed and tore into that damned dresser, ripping the drawers from the base and throwing them in every direction. Clothes, a mix of mine and his, littering the floor. I spun and grabbed the mirror next, tossing it toward the door. Glass exploded, dust shimmering in the air, the noise a harsh crescendo through the house. House. That was a fucking joke. It was a prison.

My breath was coming in painful pants as I looked at the bed. The same bed he had fucked me on. The same bed where I had cried myself to sleep when I was left alone, unable to see the one person who gave a damn about me. I ripped the bedposts from the frame, breaking them over my knee and tossing the remains to the side. I threw one of them so hard that it stuck in the wall. My groans and screams echoed as I raged.

A vice-like grip clamped down on my arms, and I spun, ready to attack. I stopped when Liam’s face came into focus. ‘Dianna! Dianna. Stop. This isn’t helping us.’

‘She’s not here,’ I snapped, pushing at him hard enough that he let go of my arms.

He stood there stunned. ‘What?’

‘She’s not here. He has her and she’s dead. I know it.’  I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

‘She isn’t dead, Dianna.’

‘She is. I know it. They aren’t here. Look around. They haven’t been here for a while now. Can’t you tell? The whole fucking cave is dormant. The rooms have not been touched since I— Since I left.’ 

‘Hey, look at me. She isn’t dead.’ He held my hand palm up next to his, the thin scar of our deal still present. ‘If she was, we would know. Besides, he will not kill her. She is the last tether he has on you. The last string he can pull. He knows that she is the only thing he has to keep you in line. If she is gone he has no control, no power over you. Do you understand? He took her to draw you out, make you erratic, and it’s working. I need you to focus, okay?’ 

‘How can I focus?’ The words fell out on a whimper as I pressed my hand to my forehead turning away from him.

Liam reached for me again, but I stepped back. His eyes followed my movements as I pulled away from him, his brows drawing together. He was not used to this side of me. I didn’t want to be comforted. I wanted to find my sister.

‘You don’t know that. You don’t know him.’

‘I know men in power. You are every bit of an intrinsic part of this as me and him. He wants power over you for gods know why, but I know he will not sever that tie. Trust me. Please.’

My chest heaved as the words rang through me. Trust him. He had asked for it when we lost the book after bringing me back, and I should have then. His expression softened as I sighed and nodded slowly.

‘Now, help me search the rest of the island.’

I nodded and followed after him, glass shards crunching beneath my foot. I stopped and looked down to see the picture of Gabby and me. My hand shook as I leaned down to pick it up, tracing the lines of her happy smile. That beach trip she obsessed with so much.

‘What is it?’ Liam asked, appearing again at my side.

‘It’s a trip we took. We dove off the cliffs that day, but she made me go first because she was scared. I always went first. I had to make sure it was safe. She depends on me to protect her and I—‘ My words trailed off as I held the picture too tight. 

‘We will find her.’

‘Liam.’ I turned toward him, my vision once again a shimmering mess. ‘I’m scared.’

I sat with one leg underneath me on the oversized bed in her room in the Silver City. The comforter was a sideways mess beneath me. She must have been late waking up for work. That was the only time Gabby didn’t make her bed. She was way too tidy to leave anything in disarray. I held one of Gabby’s green pullover sweaters she loved, rubbing the material between my fingers.

Liam and I had made it back about an hour ago. Novas had been a dead end. Kaden had abandoned the island and had apparently been away from it for a while. The map from Ethan was also a dead end. I checked the places myself and found nothing other than empty caverns and mines. I didn’t know where else to go, where else to search. It was as if they had vanished.

I brought the sweater to my face and inhaled deeply of her scent as my eyes began to tear up. If she did what he asked she would live. Then I could save her. I would never stop looking, and I would find her and save her. Just like she had saved me all those times. All the times Kaden was too rough, too mean, too hateful, I’d always had a place to go.

A home.

She was my home.

Just let me save you this time, Gabriella.

Let me save you.

A light tap had me dropping the sweater to my lap and looking toward the open bedroom door. Liam stood there, and I turned away. I didn’t want to see him and a part of me thought he knew it. I didn’t want to be comforted or touched.

‘Did you find Drake or Ethan? Logan said they were with them.’

‘No.’

I nodded, sighing as I looked down at the sweater in my lap.  Maybe Kaden had taken them too for helping me.

‘It appears a lot of your old contacts are missing as well. Not just them.’

I nodded again, placing the sweater aside and standing up. ‘Okay, so we search elsewhere.’

He reached out, grabbing me as I walked past him. Stopping me at his side. ‘Search where? We have checked the places you knew. Your informants are gone. Where else do we go?’ 

‘I don’t know.’ I yanked my arm back and out of his grip. ‘You’re a god, do something godly. Could you feel if she was near or something?’

He shook his head, his mouth forming into a solid line. ‘It doesn’t work like that.’

‘Then we keep searching.’

I exited the room and heard his footsteps close behind.

‘Search where, Dianna? Where else?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘He has to have another hideout, a place he may have taken you besides the island. There is no way he can hide in this realm that well.’

I shook my head, continuing toward the door

‘Let me help you, Dianna. Stop and think. Where else could he have taken her?’

I spun, my temper and pain at the boiling point. He kept asking me questions as if I had all the answers. ‘I don’t know!’ I snapped fisting my hands in my hair. My world shook and I realized it wasn’t just my world but the room too.  ‘I don’t know, okay.’

Liam looked at me, his eyes widening for a second before scanning the room. I don’t know why he regarded me as if I had made it shake. He did. He always did.

I loosened a breath. ‘I just need to think.’

But thinking was the last thing that happened as static lit up the room, the TV behind us turning on.

‘Dianna.’