Free Legions by Karice Bolton Page B

me,
could care less really. I had to hope for the best, that he would
recognize me soon, and we could reunite. But after seeing her today
I wasn’t so sure of myself or my situation.
    “So this thing… You think
she’s part of the bigger picture? I’m guessing, yes.” I asked as I
picked at my bread.
    “Without a doubt. Now, in
addition to getting Athen back, we have to figure out a plan to
communicate to everyone the latest snafu. I’m sure we won’t be the
only ones this is going to happen to. I’m really curious to know
what he has been feeling from her to make him research what he was
at the library. Seeing her at the Starbucks might be the sole
answer, but why he would be able to pick up on anything so soon is
odd.” Arie was rinsing the soup pot as she spoke.
    “Do you know who she might
be? Is she a major player?” Watching Cyril and Arie look at each
other as they both began to fidget told me everything I needed to
know.
    “Her name is Lilith. She’s
truly the epitome of evil.” Arie took a deep breath in. “Her type’s
been around longer than any of us. She’s part of the Lamiai. They
have the ability to seduce men by luring them with their beauty.
She knows what she’s got, and she knows how to use it, both with
mankind and in the underworld. As you saw, she can encompass beauty
in a blink of an eye. Her true form, though, leaves her with a
serpent tail and fiery red hair. Unfortunately, when she’s in one
of her other forms, no one can see it including us.”
    “I could feel it. That’s
gotta count for something. Obviously Athen can feel it too, judging
by his recent reading selection. So, what’s her goal?” I inquired.
It seemed odd that all she would care about is seducing mankind and
the underworld.
    “Her goal is to reek havoc
– create distractions. Throw her into the mix of any situation, and
you’ve just added an unpleasant element. But you don’t need to be
told that. You’ve seen it firsthand.”
    That last shot was like a
nail gun aimed directly at my soul.
    “It seems so peculiar that
someone with her clout would be involved in something to do with
us.”
    “Well, our lineage is such
that...” Arie stopped herself. Her green eyes looking as if they
lost some of the usual glow I was used to seeing.
    “What? It takes one to know
one? Or are we so super powerful it takes someone like her? Come
on. I can’t take much more of this. Why don’t you just tell me
everything all at once.” I was full of contention and spite, my
eyes wouldn’t stop darting around the room, I was about to explode.
I was tired of knowing half-truths. It seemed the last three months
had been full of almosts and not quites, and I was tired of it. I
needed to know what I was facing. What we were facing. What or who
Athen was involved with. The last thought truly making me
nauseous.
    “Actually, yes.” Cyril
snarled.
    My heart started to pound -
missing a beat between every three. I had never seen this side of
Cyril. He was usually so laid back, and now he looked like he was
about to come apart at the seams, possibly at me.
    “Our family is partly
descended of Remiel, which makes us pretty damn important. How does
that sound for pompous?” Cyril’s voice was getting louder by the
second. “This isn’t just about you getting your dear Athen back,
Ana. It never has been. Plainly, without us all as a unit we can’t
defeat the demons, and we need to defeat them. They are preparing
for something that the world isn’t ready for. We aren’t ready for.
The last century has been them gearing up to defeat all things
good- including us. The longer they keep us distracted, the better
their odds. Do you get it, Ana? The world would change forever. We
would be destroyed. They would control it, and all of humanity. It
would be hell on earth.” He had calmed down now, realizing I’d have
no way of knowing these things on my own. I understood his
frustration. Athen and I had been causing quite a