Retribution (Redemption Series) by R.K. Ryals Page A

a numbness steal over my limbs as his unreadable,
penetrating gaze met my father's.
    "I don't make promises I can't
keep," Marcas said coldly.
    I closed my eyes, my cheeks burning. My
father had left me with an aunt whose insanity was no secret. He had sent me
dreams and a fallen Angel to protect me, but he had never taken the step that
would cause me to be infinitely loyal to him. He hadn't come for me himself.
Maybe the sense of betrayal that flooded me was childish. He had, after all,
given me the room to grow, to discover what I could be on my own. He had given
me a choice. I respected him for that, but now he was taking that away.
    "Maybe we should think about this a
moment," Conor's voice said carefully from
across the room, and it was only then that Marcas finally released me, his hand uncovering mine on his shoulder, moving down my
arm until my hand was gripped firmly in his. The grip was almost too hard, but
I understood the need I felt in his touch.
      I
turned to Conor , my back to Marcas as the Demon stood up carefully, his height and breadth impressive even next to Bezaliel .
    Conor's gaze moved over
us all, and I noted again the change in him. His eyes locked with Luther's
briefly and something passed between them, but I didn't have time to wonder
what Conor's connection was to the Demon.
    "I think we should involve the
S.O.S. in this," Conor said quickly. "They
have as much invested in this battle as we do."
    Bezaliel's head tilted.
    "And you would know this how?" Bezaliel asked.
    Conor stepped
forward.
    "Because
I'm working with them now. The children of Lilith and Cain aren't
the only Demon hybrids affected by the rift in Hell. There are many being
destroyed."
    This simple statement garnered a lot of
attention. Marcas stepped up behind me.
    "What about Gibson? Are you no
longer working for the Director of the gargoyle Council?"
    Conor avoided eye
contact, his gaze meeting the floor before he looked up again. The strain in
his gaze was obvious.
    "We have our differences. Let's
leave it at that."
    Marcas didn't question
him.
    "Then call in Alessandro. We will
meet in Italy."
    "No," Conor countered. "Not Italy. There is too much going on at S.O.S. headquarters
at the moment. I'll call him, but we should meet somewhere neutral. Where there
are no sides."
    There was no response from the group.
And, in the end, when someone did step forward, it wasn't the fallen Angels, it
wasn't the Demons, it wasn't Monroe, and it wasn't me. It was Amber.
    "You can use the Abbey," she
said softly. "It's a safe house now, and the Sisters have a lot to atone
for."
    Marcas looked at her,
his gaze softening. We had all made mistakes. Amber had lost as much as the
rest of us.
    "The Abbey it is."
    Sophia suddenly laughed, the sound cold and harsh.
    "You seriously plan to open war on
Hell?"
    Marcas turned to her,
and I had to fight back the jealousy I felt when their gazes locked. They had a
history I could never be a part of, but it was a history that had molded Marcas into the hybrid he was now. And I was the one who
had healed him. I was beginning to learn that love was complicated. It isn't
always the burning, intense love at first sight kind of love that lasts
forever. Sometimes it's the kind of love that heals, the kind that teaches
people to accept one another despite their differences. Sophia had never been
able to accept the Demon in Marcas .
    "I plan to do more than open war on
Hell. I plan to turn the place upside down."
    Sophia shook her head.
    "Your
realm? Your people?"
    Marcas didn't look
away.
    "Hell has as many hybrids as it
does full-blooded Demons. Heaven has one hybrid and only one," Marcas said as he lifted my hand. I had a moment of
loneliness, that hollow feeling that comes from knowing I was the only one of
my kind, the only sane child born from an Angel/human relationship. "My
people are not the full bloods in Hell. My people are the Demons being
persecuted now because Lucifer is holding a grudge against my