hand, and he allowed me to hold it. I spoke to him softly, trying to explain to him how he’d ended up here and what we were attempting to accomplish. By the end, I wasn’t sure if Maxwell believed me or if he was only pretending.
“And once we find your mother, you’ll let me go?” he asked.
“I promise,” I said and crossed myself.
“Vincent.” I glanced back to find you gazing at me. I waited for you to yell at me or argue, but you only sighed softly. “We need to restrain him.”
I turned to Maxwell. “I don’t want to do this, but I’m going to have to tie you up, for your own safety, okay?”
Maxwell nodded, and you handed me the rope to bind his wrists. You guided me through the knot-making process, and we argued again about their tightness, but at least you hadn’t threatened to kill him.
Meanwhile, Lucian had been investigating the room.
“She must have chewed off her own foot,” he said, looking disturbed, and motioned to the empty metal cuff. Caked with dried blood, it had several long scratches as though someone had attempted to gnaw on it. There was also a crunchy material nearby that looked like plastic.
“Cartilage,” Lucian explained. “And part of the calcaneus.” In response to our questioning looks, he said, “the heel.”
“Did you starve her?” I asked Ashur. He shook his head. “Why else would she mangle herself?”
“Perhaps she was making another attempt at escape,” you said.
“Another?” I asked.
You pointed to the splintered wood. “Looks like she’s tried several times. And she probably got lost before she got very far.” You glanced at Ashur. “But this time, you didn’t go after her, did you?”
Ashur was silent. He glanced over at me, his eyes pleading for me to understand.
“Did Azrael tell you not to?” I asked.
Ashur nodded pitifully.
I would make that angel pay for his crimes against my family.
We turned our attention back to Lucian, who was pointing out the evidence Mater had left behind. “She left a trail of blood.” He motioned to the black spill. “And a scent trail.”
I sniffed the air, but it was difficult to translate the smell of her from the dream realm.
“This way.” You motioned for Ashur to go ahead of the rest of us. Lucian followed with Maxwell behind him, then you, with me bringing up the rear. Beams of light swept the walls and corridors. We took turns calling out for her, but our voices were only echoed by the dybbuks, something else I hadn’t realized they could do.
We were just making another turn when my beam caught a glimmer of gold.
“Wait,” I said.
You stopped in your tracks. “What is it?” Your beam swept the wall behind me and threw my discovery into shadows.
I cautiously approached the object and was disappointed at what I’d discovered. “It’s only another corpse.”
Suddenly you were at my side, as was Lucian. Even Maxwell crowded us to peer over my shoulder at the yellow-haired cadaver.
“That’s not a corpse,” Lucian said grimly. “That’s our mother.”
32
Henri
“We’re going to need a lot more blood.”
That was Lucian’s assessment after examining Lena’s deteriorated condition. I’d never seen an original vessel in such a state, left to the elements rather than protected and preserved for future use. It was a crime, even according to angelic law. I had my doubts that Lucian would be able to resurrect her, but I kept them to myself, for you were utterly distraught.
“Ashur has blood,” you said, as though you were the only one aware of it.
I glanced over at the beast who had taken a seated position against the cave wall, as far away from me as his chain would allow. I didn’t credit the animal with feeling shame, but he did at least appear subdued.
“We need to return to Ashur’s lair,” Lucian said. He was as disturbed as you, only better at hiding it. It wouldn’t be good for Lucian’s mental state to be confined here without the tools he needed to properly care for Lena.
“Take Maxwell and the beastborn and stock up on supplies,” I said to Lucian. “I wouldn’t know what to gather, and the beast knows his own inventory better than we do.”
“You’re going to have to follow my instructions precisely,” Lucian said.
“We both will,” you assured him.
Lucian set up a triage station, which included several medicinal vials, syringes, and gleaming tools. He tapped his own arm for nutrient-rich blood, then diluted it with saline. He handed a spray bottle of the solution to me, along