Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth, #6)

by Lisa Edmonds

None of the imaginary scenarios I’d rehearsed involved standing on the edge of a roof while Moses’s goon squad destroyed Daniel’s record store. Soon Nora would realize we weren’t in the burned-out panic room and start looking for possible escape routes, if they hadn’t already.

0o

She stared. The goons with her exchanged glances. Beside me, Daniel smiled at her. It was a purely predatory smile—one I used myself from time to time. I guessed I knew now where I’d gotten it from.

:)

“At the end of the day, they are our greatest strengths,” I told them. “As you know already, you will never fight harder than to protect those you love.” Jesse and Joshua exchanged a glance, having a conversation with their eyes as only siblings could. “That’s why we came here,” Jesse said finally. “Because we heard your pack was different. Joshua deserves a pack and a home.” “You both do,” I said. Sean squeezed my hand. “What do you think about Nan, our beta?” he asked Jesse. “I think she could whup me,” Jesse said without hesitation. “And I think she’ll help me take care of my brother.”

:)

I can’t think of a higher compliment for our pack than that.” Silence. I looked at Sean, and then Nan. Had I said something wrong? “What you just said flies in face of everything most packs stand for, and would give several members of the Council apoplexy.” Nan smiled. “In order words, it was exactly the right thing to say.”

:)

My brain said “Hmm…that’s interesting” to the news, while my body’s response was irrational fury and jealous rage. To me, the dissonance was more evidence of Charles’s influence. “That wasn’t me,” I murmured. I hoped Sean would understand what I meant, and what had caused my near-violent reaction to his news. His frown deepened, but he gave me a slight nod.

><

His eyes blazed. “My honesty has meant nothing to you?” He just didn’t get it. He never would. “You don’t get a medal for doing the bare minimum, Charles—especially when you only did so because you had no other choice.” I headed for the door of the office. “And no, it doesn’t.” It didn’t escape my notice that nowhere in all those pretty words had there been any facsimile of an apology. If he had apologized, it wouldn’t have changed how I felt, but it might have made a difference. Then again, if I’d learned anything from years of working with vampires, it was that they seldom if ever felt the need to apologize for anything.

><

Carlos led us to a set of unmarked doors near the end of the hall. The wards on the room sizzled on my skin. “Damn,” Malcolm said, clearly impressed. “Heavy-duty containment wards and a bunch of Gandalf wards too.” Gandalf wards were what Malcolm called wards designed not to let anything through—as in You shall not pass. “Whatever’s in there, they don’t want anyone getting near it, or anything getting out.” I had a pretty good idea what was in that room. It was priceless, and quite possibly the most dangerous object in the building. And it was meant for me. Hooray.

;p

The old gods and goddesses reside very deep within the darkest parts of the Underworld, where our voices no longer reach, and where they may more easily ignore the thrashing about of humans.” She paused. “The same is not true of all worlds, however.” My throat went suddenly very dry. “Are you telling me you’re sending me through that mirror not just to another realm, but to another world?” “Sending us,” Malcolm interjected. “I call it the Broken World,” Adam told me. “But don’t let the name fool you—it’s actually pretty terrible.” Fantastic.

so home sweet readers' home?

I shook my head. “This is a bad idea.” “Alice, made of magic or not, she’s a wolf in our pack, and she needs to run.” He kissed my forehead. “Trust us both.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.” I closed my eyes and found my wolf’s golden eyes in the shadows again. Go run with Sean, I told her. My wolf didn’t need any coaxing. With a growl, she leaped from my chest in a surge of power and landed on the floor next to the bed, radiant with golden magic. I sat up, rubbing my chest, which ached from her abrupt departure. “You can’t go around glowing,” I told her. “You have to be stealthy.” She showed me her teeth again. She shook herself briskly, then turned into a black wolf with a band of gray across her shoulders and a streak of white in her tail.

heh

As I slipped through the glass, Valas’s voice hissed something in my ear—or maybe in my mind. When her words registered, I raised my hands to stop my fall into the mirror, but there was nothing for me to grab onto and nowhere to go but down, down, down. A wall of wind that smelled of old earth blasted my face and carried my scream of rage away into the darkness as I fell out of the world.

><

“So, to recap: our magic doesn’t work right, our spells don’t work at all, and your wolf can track the scroll but she’s committed to doing her own thing,” Malcolm said, his voice drier than the Sahara. “We’re off to a great start in the Broken World.”

Well there wasn't a welcoming party .... so there's that ....

“Yup. It takes one to know one, maybe.” I gingerly rubbed Daisy’s head. She showed me her teeth, but didn’t move away. “Takes one what?” “A liar,” I said. “A liar, and someone who’s pretending to be someone she’s not.” “So who is Lucy, then?” he asked. “Besides a maverick Guardian?” “I don’t know, but I get the feeling whatever the answer is, it’s why Daisy wants us to go with her to the roadhouse.” I scratched Daisy’s head. “Is that right, Daisy-dog?” She growled, then wiggled her back in the grass. I had no idea what that meant, but it looked like I was going to a Broken World roadhouse in the company of a Guardian with mysterious abilities, a snarky ghost, and a magical wolf. What could possibly go wrong?

o0

Now I understood. Something had come out of the ground here—something so big and fiery, it had left a hole several miles wide and maybe a quarter-mile deep in the center, like the caldera of an enormous volcano. The earth in the pit and for a mile around it was blackened and lifeless, dotted with the skeletal frames of vehicles and houses. From here, we also had a good view of the city. I was struck by how much smaller it was than back home. Not just fewer skyscrapers—fewer everything. Fewer interstate highways, fewer sprawling suburbs, fewer shopping centers and schools. And no massive airport—just a small, regional-looking airport with a single terminal and a couple of runways. What the hell was I doing here? And what if I couldn’t get us back home? Malcolm put his hand on my shoulder. Don’t freak out, he said, his voice urgent. If you freak out, I’ll freak out, and Daisy sure as hell will freak out, and then we’ll really be up shit creek. Just pretend it’s the sarlacc pit and take deep breaths.

o0 ... ;p

The man glanced at our bottle of moonshine. “I’ll leave you all to your drinks, then. If you decide you want to keep better company, Guardian, come see me later.” He turned and shouldered his way through the crowd toward his table. “Damn,” Lucy said, watching him leave. “I’m not sure if I want to bed him or kill him.” “Same,” Malcolm said. “Doesn’t have to be an either-or decision, though.” Daisy nudged my arm. “Not you too,” I told her, exasperated. She stared pointedly in the direction the man had gone.

Is that the Angel's knight?

On the goddess Athena’s advice, he planted the dragon’s teeth. From the earth rose a legion of fierce and bloodthirsty warriors, the Spartoi. They were vicious—so much so that Cadmus supposedly attempted to wipe them out by setting them against each other. Those who could better control their bloodlust survived. They were faster and stronger than humans, able to go long periods without food or water, and train for days without tiring.” “Sounds like a scary bunch,” Malcolm said. “If all that’s true.” She shrugged. “No one has ever come up with an alternate explanation for the Spartoi’s existence—and by extension, the existence of the Guardians. Their children, both male and female, inherited the Spartoi’s physical strength and abilities. Their most sacred law forbade them to marry or have children with anyone who did not have Spartoi blood. They wanted to prevent their abilities from disappearing through intermarriage with humans. The penalty for breaking that law was death—for the Spartoi, their lover, and their lover’s entire family. It was ruthlessly enforced. That, as much as their reputation for slaughtering not only their enemies but anyone who got in the way, led to their well-deserved reputation for cruelty.” “So where do the Guardians come into play?” I asked. “After Cadmus’s death, the Spartoi and their descendants split into different groups.

It's like the greek version of the fallen angel offspring ..

“I’ll take point,” Lucy told us. “Ronan, watch our backs.” Daisy growled. “With the wolf’s help,” Lucy amended. Ronan snorted. When we reached the front step, I raised my hand and held it near the door. “House is warded.” I closed my eyes and studied the spellwork. “The wards target nonhumans.” “Most wards around here do,” Lucy said. “Human invaders are less of a worry than all the things that go bump in the night.” “Allow me to earn my keep.” Ronan placed his palm flat against the door. I flinched as the house wards broke. The flash of pain faded as the magic dissipated. “I could have done that,” Malcolm muttered. Ronan raised his boot and kicked in the door. The door, the bar behind it, and the doorframe exploded into the entryway of the house. “I could have done that,” Lucy said. I caught a flash of a shadow heading for us. Its dark magic was unmistakable. I knew—though I didn’t know how I knew—that it was death incarnate. A blood magic blade emerged from my fingers. Ronan drew his sword and sliced the shadow in half. It let out a bone-chilling scream as it disintegrated. “A shade,” Lucy said grimly. “Shit.” “I could have done that,” I said. Ronan sighed. “You are all very difficult to impress.” “Stop trying to impress us,” Lucy snapped. He raised his hand. A ball of silver-blue light formed on his palm, illuminating the interior of the house. “No.”

0o

Ronan clearly didn’t share my optimism. “If she succeeds, though, can the Furies be prevented from leaving Edis? Or this realm?” “I do not believe anyone has ever attempted to do so,” Charon told us. “I would not say it was impossible, but I know of little that could stop them. The better option would be to prevent this other mortal from reaching them.” “That’s what we’re trying to do.” Ronan gave Charon a small bow. “Again, our thanks.” “I settle my debts.” Charon inclined his head slightly. “Speaking of debts, do you continue to ignore messages sent by your brothers and sisters?” Ronan went preternaturally still. “I’ve had no messages for a very long time.” His tone was icy. “I’m sure I’ve been forgotten. I’d prefer it that way.” “You were never forgotten,” Charon said. His robe fluttered, as if he’d started to raise his hand but reconsidered. “When the next message arrives, pay heed to it.”

Yeah -- Author -- can you get on with the message giving? It's not a mystery at this point, or even last chapter or three ago.