“Shit,” he murmured as she stepped forward and spun the dial.
“Like the rest of the house, we had people come in and establish an extremely high-tech security system,” she said. “I took their memories of their time here away.”
“Impressive.”
“The stoneshaveto be protected.”
If its shiny metal surface was any indication, the safe was newer. He could carry it with some effort, but it wasn’t something a human could walk off with. The metal was far thicker than most of the safes he’d ever seen, and he suspected it could withstand a vampire or demon beating on it for at least a little while.
For centuries, she’d protected the contents of this safe, which he suspected were the stones. She’d guarded them during a time when technology hadn’t allowed for the protection she had here. Back then, it was just her making sure they didn’t fall into the wrong hands.
He couldn’t imagine the stress she’d endured to bear this burden.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FIVE
Brie’snimble fingers spun through the numbers on the dial. Something clicked, and she grasped the handle to pull open the safe.
Tucked neatly within was an assorted color of stones. Asher could only see the first few, but he gazed at them in awe. Then he looked around the walls and up at the ceiling as he recalled the small house surrounding him, one not built to withstand a siege.
The demons and Savages had taken the compound, and the Alliance had been far better prepared for an attack. He’d always known she’d kept the stones somewhere, but seeing them like this alarmed him.
“We have to get them andyousomewhere safer,” he said.
“We have a pretty extensive security system here, and no one knows I’m looking for them or that I’m a player in this game. The Alliance has a target on their backs; I’m a nobody.”
“As far asyouknow. The demons could have someone like you working for them; our pictures could have gone wider when we were arrested. If that’s the case, they’re already looking for you.”
“There’s nothing I can do about thepossiblepictures. If they had someone like me working for them, they would have done more than destroy your compound when they attacked it. They would still be relentlessly huntingallof you. But they don’t have anyone like me telling them where to go next or where to find the stones.”
“What if their visions are more sporadic than yours? What if they’re only given glimpses of things like the stronghold and the stones, but they’re already trackingyouor the Alliance.”
“If that’s true, then none of us are safe. But it’s not true. They don’t have someone like me; we’d be screwed if they did. The stones, and all of us, are safe from something like that… for now. They might find someone in the future, but they haven’t yet.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they haven’t descended on us like a pack of hungry wolves. Besides, if they do have someone like me, then the stones, or any ofus, aren’t safe anywhere. I’ve kept them safe for centuries, and I’ll continue to do so.”
The edge in her tone alerted Asher if he kept pushing, he would find himself wading through a ton of shit. She was proud of what she’d accomplished, as she should be, and protective of these stones. If she believed they were in danger, she would get them to safety, but if he kept questioning her ability to keep them safe, she’d kick his ass.
“You’ve done a good job at that,” he assured her.
“Hmm,” she grunted, but her eyes remained narrowed when she turned back to the safe.
“If the sword is the tenth stone, the demons are hunting it. They have been since before Willow claimed it as hers. That sword destroys anyone who faces its wrath, and it doesn’t just kill demons and Savages; they burst intoashwhen it pierces their flesh. The blade doesn’t have to be driven through their hearts, and it doesn’t have to decapitate them to kill them either.”
Brie stood with her hand on the safe door as she stared at him in awe. “It sounds terrifying and magnificent.”
“It is.”
“It also sounds a little like this one.”
Taking a deep breath, Brie reached into the back of the safe and grabbed the hilt of the weapon tucked into the far back corner. Or at least she grasped what remained of it.
As soon as her hand connected with the hilt, a feeling of rightness stole through her. The remnants of this sword and this stone belonged toher. Slowly, she removed the broken weapon from the safe and held it up to reveal the diamond-shaped, lime-green stone in the hilt.
She had no idea how long the original blade was, but the jagged, pointed metal was now only a foot and would do little against an enemy. She walked to the center of the room, set the sword on the floor, and stepped away from it.
The dim light streaming through the rectangular windows set high in the walls didn’t touch the sword. When she lifted it again, a small spark of light briefly lit the center of the stone.
