“I'll stay vith her,” Kirill said. “You go.”
My other men grabbed towels and dried off as we headed to the drawbridge-veranda. Trevor went inside the palace to grab some drinks for our unannounced visitors while the rest of us settled on the Victorian furniture.
“Has something happened?” I laid my towel down on the velvet and then sat.
“No; nothing has happened. That's why we're here,” Samael said stiffly.
“Sam, stop it,” Lilith hissed.
“This is dangerous, and I don't like it,” Sam said back.
“What's dangerous?” Odin asked.
“I have a plan to catch the killer,” Lilith announced. “I will possess a human; I already have one on stand-by. She lives with her mother in a little town in France. They have a large home that would be perfect for us to use, and both of them are very willing to help us. The mother will go to the local church and ask for an exorcist, and that should—”
“Back up,” I said. “They're willing to help? The humans are?”
“There are always humans looking to make deals with the Devil,” Samael said with an eye-roll.
“I told her that I was Satan.” Lilith shrugged. “I offered her wealth and beauty in exchange for her unquestioning assistance.”
“Can you deliver wealth and beauty?” I asked.
“I can manipulate a few things in her favor and get her some money,” Lilith said. “As far as the beauty thing; I can make her think that she's beautiful, and half the time, that's all that's needed.”
“Neither of them will be harmed,” Samael said impatiently. “It's not the demon-worshiping humans you should be worried about. My wife will be putting herself in harm's way.”
“You won't let him take me,” Lilith said confidently to her husband. “You'll kill him, and then our children will be safe.”
I sat back and sighed. So, that was it; Lilith was a mother protecting her children, and she'd do anything she had to do. I would too; anything, no matter how foolish it may be. But this wasn't foolish; this was a good plan. Despite that, I was still worried. Katila had proven himself to be quick and smart. If he figured out that it was a trap fast enough, he could take Lilith's soul and run.
“Katila's fast,” I voiced my concerns. “We just had a run-in with him last night. He traced away before Az could catch him. We think it's the power of the souls he's been taking.”
Samael cast a dark look at his wife.
“So, we do nothing as he kills our children?” She asked him.
“No; we keep searching for him,” Samael said. “We will find him, and then I will destroy him.”
“Right; I guess we should have called you,” I muttered. “I'm sorry; it's been a bit of a—”
“What did you discover, Vervain?” Samael interrupted me.
“Katila has an unusual magic,” I said. “It's a type of invisibility; he can go unnoticed and cover his tracks. You won't be able to find him. And with his increased speed, it's been hard to catch him.”
Samael said something nasty that made me grateful we'd taken this conversation away from the children.
“Then this is our best bet,” Lilith declared. “Will you help us trap him?”
“Of course, we will,” Azrael said immediately. “I will have my scythe positioned right above the body you possess. As soon as Katila leans over you to claim your soul, I'll take his.”
Lilith smiled at Azrael and then at her husband. “See? Easy as pie.”
“I wish I could do this for you,” Samael growled.
“I'm sorry, babe; only demons can possess people,” Lilith said as she took his hand.
“Demons and people who steal their power,” I muttered as Trevor returned with the drinks.
“What?” Lilith asked.
“I was about to tell you why we've been so busy,” I said. “Katila possessed Trevor. We assume that he gained the ability from the demon souls he destroyed. Oh, and I just found out that Katila inherited his father's death magic too; that's the reason he's able to use the Pasha.”
“Ability or not, how could he possess you?” Samael asked Trevor in shock. “Demons can't possess other gods.”
“I gave a part of my soul to Vervain when we bonded,” Trevor explained as he handed out the drinks. “But she isn't Froekn so she never gave me a part of her soul in return.”
“You had a hole he could slip into,” Samael whispered.
“It's fixed now,” I said. “I'm sorry we've let it distract us. We should have called you this morning.”
“I should have called,” Azrael added. “I'm sorry, Samael.”
“I understand.” Samael held up his hand. “No apology necessary. Family comes first.”
“Thank you,” Azrael murmured.
“Just help me protect my wife,” Sam said to Az. “My stubborn, amazing wife.”
Lilith smiled softly at her husband.
“I will,” Azrael said. “You know that I'm invested in this too.”
“I don't want to tell Lucifer about our plan,” Samael said suddenly. “He'll want to be there, and then he'll try to take over. Not to mention, he'll want to tell the demons, and Lilith doesn't want our children to know what she's doing.”
“They'll try to step in and possess the woman for me,” Lilith said. “And the whole point is to protect them.”
“I understand,” Azrael said. “We can tell my father after we've killed Katila.”
“When are you going to begin the possession?” I asked.
“Right after we leave,” Lilith said.
“Where will you leave your body?” I asked.
“In our home.”
“I'll have some of the angels watch over her,” Samael said. “She'll be safe. It's not her body that I'm worried about.”
“Sam,” Lilith said gently.
Samael cleared his throat and continued brusquely, “I'll come by to fetch all of you tomorrow morning. Then we can set up a watch in the
