Enemies(98)

“No, we don’t,” he agreed. “You should be with us. You belong with us. What Sovereign is doing—it’s something that should have been done a long time ago.”

I shook my head. “Raymond … this isn’t right.”

“Isn’t right?” A lifetime of scorn was obvious in his demeanor. “What they’ve done to our family isn’t right. Keeping incubi and succubi under their boots, suppressed—”

“Ummm, hello?” I said, as sarcastically as possible. “Suppression? You’re in the process of wiping out the whole damned species of meta-humans! Do you not possess any metrics to gauge how much irony you’re spewing right now?”

“We’re destroying the old order,” Raymond said, “to bring about a new one, a better one, for humans and metas. Omega and all their little satellites like Alpha and the Directorate, they’re just standing in the way of a better world. This one is so locked into structures of power that hand it over to people like … well, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” I said, feeling a chill inside. “Tell me.”

“You met the Omega ministers, didn’t you?” he asked, watching me. “Weissman said you helped kill them.”

“Not intentionally,” I said tightly, “but that was how it turned out.”

“If you’ve met them, then you know,” he said. “They were never about sharing power. They were about hoarding it for themselves while the rest of us choked to death on the noxious clouds of whatever remainder they couldn’t get their hands around.”

I squinted at him as I tried to work through that one. “That was … uh …”

“Yeah, I think I might have mixed a metaphor a little too hard there.” He took another step toward me and he was almost fully visible in the light now. “You should be with us. Sovereign … he wants you with us. He knows you’d be great, he’s seen what you can do.”

“I don’t think he’s seen what I can do yet,” I whispered, looking up at Raymond.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” Raymond said, almost pleading. “The sons and daughters of Hades and Persephone were a family. We shouldn’t be fighting. It’s not right.”

“Well,” I said, “it’s funny you say that, because,” I pointed to Kat, who was lying prostrate, gasping for breath, “she’s a Persephone, and you were choking the life out of her with the rest only a couple minutes ago.”

Raymond’s face fell, and he looked suddenly unsure of himself. “Damn. I just … I can’t just go off the list, okay? The plan says …”

“Your plan says wipe them all out,” I replied. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t just, and I kinda think it’s been crafted by an effing madman.”

Raymond’s face showed just the slightest hint of amusement. “‘Effing’? Aren’t you from Minnesota?”

“When in London, do as Londoners do.”

He nodded, and I caught a whiff of sadness from him. “You’re not gonna budge off this, are you?”

“Let you kill my friends?” I pointed to Reed. “My brother?” I pointed to Kat. “One of your relatives?”

He didn’t blink. “She’s one of your relatives, too.”

“I’m not willing to admit that yet.” I didn’t blink away from looking at him. “You say that we should band together, but you’re failing to notice that my band is going to get short shrift if I join yours. How about you join mine and we go wipe out Century together?”

He shook his head slowly. “What they’re doing to upend Omega and the old order needs to be done—”

“Wake up, Raymond,” I said softly. “This is all that’s left of Omega. Of your old order. I’m in charge since this morning, and I was their worst enemy up until a week ago. They’re done. The old order has been swept aside. You guys have already won. Alpha’s finished, Omega’s toast, and the Directorate was destroyed in America. There’s nothing left now but Century, and they mean to do more than wipe away the old world. They mean to kill off anyone who could fight against their vision of a new one.”

He looked at me with those dark eyes. “I know. But it’s going to be worth it. I promise.”

I gave him a slow, resigned nod. “Don’t make a promise you know you can’t keep. It’s unseemly.” I gave him a little smile. “It’s time.”

“I don’t want to do this,” he said. “We’re family.”