Lucas Mendrion turned to the dining room eagerly, but Schuyler cut him off. "I'm afraid I've quite lost my appetite. I do hope you understand," she said coldly. Her meaning was clear.
There was no room for cowards at her table.
Chapter Six
Mimi
rom the Underworld Express to the London tube, Mimi thought, holding on to the pole in the middle of the crowded commuter car. She had landed at Heathrow and was headed to Euston Station to transfer to another line that would take her to Edinburgh.
"All right, yeah?" Danel asked from the other side of the pole.
He had met her at the airport when she'd disembarked from her flight. It had been a somewhat unpleasant surprise. She'd thought she was to carry out her mission alone, but it appeared that the Dark Prince had other plans. She had merited a bodyguard, it seemed.
"Jet lag," she told him. She had felt woozy when she'd crossed through Hell's gate, and was shocked to find it had only been a few months since she and Jack had disappeared into the underworld. It was January and freezing. Thank God she still had access to her credit accounts. The first thing she did was buy a new winter coat.
"Jet lag," Danel repeated with a trace of sarcasm in his voice. Up here, the scar on his face was gone. Was it an illusion? Mimi wondered. Like the disguise she had taken? Or was one's true form only visible in the underworld? For this trip aboveground Mimi had dark hair and eyes. To the rest of the populace, the angel was merely a striking gentleman on the subway.
Mimi ignored him. Danel here with me, she sent Jack. I need to get rid of him.
Hold on, Jack replied. I'll think of something. Get him off your tail.
No one sent to guard you? she asked.
Not yet.
She didn't know whether to feel flattered or insulted at that. It had been Abbadon's idea to turn to the Light at the last minute during the War for Paradise, not hers. Abbadon, who had betrayed the Morningstar and won the battle for Michael in the end. She had only followed blindly, doing as her twin bid her, doing as she had always done. She hadn't had a choice then. She hadn't even questioned her actions or his.
What if she had crossed him back then, where would she be right now? What if she had said no? What if she had remained loyal to the Morningstar? Would they have won Paradise? If Lucifer had bested the Almighty, what then?
In the heat of battle, in the gore and the blood and the passion and the fear, Azrael had done as she was asked by her love: to turn against her general, against the Prince of Heaven. She was the one whose sword had pierced Lucifer's armor. Not Abbadon's. Hers. It was Abbadon's will that had won the war for Michael, but it was Azrael's sword that had made it a reality.
"Brooding again?" Danel asked. "You're very quiet these days. Remembering the last battle, are you?"
She didn't lie. "Yes."
He nodded. "No one will ever forget what was done to us. It is time for our revenge. And this time, we shall triumph." His knuckles turned white as he grasped the pole. "Swear it."
"I..."
"LONDON EUSTON!" the loudspeaker blared.
"This is our stop - " Mimi said. She pushed her way through the crowd and waited for Danel on the platform. She looked around at the signs, for the one that would direct them to their next train.
Among the rush of commuters, jostled by the crowd, Mimi followed the herd toward the tunnels, and for a long time she didn't notice him. When she did, she felt a shock to her system, as if an electric bolt had shot up her spine. Every nerve tingled at attention, and her whole body was alight with love and desire.
What? Did you call me?
Jack's voice in her head was a distraction. An annoyance. What did he want? Then she realized - it was the bond between them. Even if it hadn't been renewed in this lifetime, it was still there, a pulsing thread that kept them together. It had sparked because she had sparked with love, lust, longing....
I'm fine. It's nothing.
She kept staring at the boy across the station, across the platform, on the other side of the tracks. He was turned away from her, but she recognized his handsome profile immediately, and she could hear his roaring laughter above the noise. Every part of her body hungered for him. If only she could leap across the train tracks and land in his arms - she wanted nothing but to be with him - and yet - she couldn't. She had to see this through. He couldn't see her. Danel was with her. It was too dangerous.
What was he doing?
Now that the crowd had parted, she saw that Kingsley wasn't alone at all. There was a girl with him. Correction. There were girls with him. Three of them. Passing a little flask around, giggling, and he had his arm slung over two of them so that the girls were pressing their bodies closely against his.
Okay, so it wasn't like he was making out with them or anything, but Mimi felt enraged and hurt nonetheless. She was furious. She had spent so much time working to be good, and this was her reward. So she'd been right as usual: all this sacrificing and suffering was for naught. Kingsley had moved on, and their love meant nothing to him - just like before. But what did she think was going to happen? As far as Kingsley was concerned, they were over. She herself had ended it.
Why was it that they always had to start over? She had lost her soul to rescue him from Hell, and here he was...acting just like he always did, just as she had feared. What did she expect, really? For Kingsley to change?
"There you are." Danel suddenly appeared by her side. "Our train leaves from the other side of the station."
Mimi stared at Kingsley in disgust. When the girl next to him slipped a hand into the back pocket of his jeans, Mimi turned to Danel with a crazed look in her eyes.
She grabbed his hand and swung him in her direction. "Kiss me!" she hissed, pulling him to her. She threw herself on him, kissing him passionately, as if he were the one she loved with all of her heart and not the boy across the way.
The angel looked shocked at first, but soon he opened his mouth to hers, and Mimi could tell that he was enjoying it...a little too much. He put his arm around her waist, pulled her h*ps closer to his. Ugh. There was no question that he was definitely enjoying this. She had to make it stop before it went too far.
Repulsed, she opened her eyes.
Across the length of the station, Kingsley was staring straight at her. His dark eyes boring into hers. Did he recognize her under the illusion? Under the disguise? Did he know it was her? He stared at her and Mimi panicked.