“I get it.” I stuffed notebooks and textbooks into my purple backpack. We walked down toward Cali’s locker as the school emptied for the day.
Chapter Nineteen
Shay
Endless screams and groans echoed into the halls, but I couldn’t see the agonized sources. I had no idea where I was or how many days I had been chained here. The room was dark, and I could barely see, even with my enhanced vision. I managed a few steps forward but was soon jerked to a stop by the thick shackles wrapped around my wrists and ankles. Reinforced metal, probably dipped in the River Styx. There was no way I would ever escape from here. Not without help.
Help.
They would come for me. Someone would. I was a warrior, and warriors leave no man behind, leave no comrade behind. In this case, it was leave no Nephilim.
A deep voice penetrated the darkness, reverberating against the cold walls. “I see you’re finally awake.”
“Is this the point where you say you’re going to torture me?” I kept my voice low, not wanting my fear to show.
His smug laughter rumbled through the cell. “Your stay here won’t be pleasant, Nephilim. Not at all. Now, sit back and relax, and I’ll let you ponder things for a bit while I go topside and scout things out for myself.”
In the next moment, a figure appeared inside my cell. I couldn’t make out any distinguishable features, except that he was around my height and weight. Before I could say a word, an arm shot out from under his long, black robes, and his fingers curled into a ball. Even though he wasn’t touching them, the chains constricted suddenly, slamming me back against the cold stone wall.
“Rumor is,” hissed the voice, “there’s a pretty young thing out there with green eyes and brown hair. They say she could be the one the Eternals have been looking for. The buzz around town is that she’s been hiding in Minnesota ...”
He found her?
A finger pointed in my direction and twitched. My body slammed face first into the hard cement ground. I gritted my teeth, holding in my pain, but when I clenched my hands, the chains rattled.
“I see that got your attention,” he said, his confident voice slithering over my skin. “I might have to go check this little bombshell out for myself, find out if she’s worth all the hubbub I’m hearing. Maybe I’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse.” He bellowed. “Well, she could try, I suppose, I have ways to make her accept my offer. I have you to barter with. Think she’ll trade?”
Damn it. It is about Zoe.
I shook my head, then coughed when a metal collar suddenly appeared and clamped around my neck. It squeezed until it became a perfect fit, slowly drawing the chain into the wall until it was taut. I had to stand on my tiptoes to take some of the pressure off my neck.
“Still nothing?” He shrugged. “No problem. I don’t actually need you to be alive for this. She might want her soul mate to still be breathing, but that’s not in my plan.”
“Leave Zoe alone!” I screamed, though my voice was muffled by the collar. I tried to move, but the metal barriers kept me in place. Another bracket wrapped snugly around my waist.
“Ah, there it is.” He sounded pleased. “I’ve been wondering how long it would take for you to connect the dots. Yes, I know what’s going on. You, an angel, and a fairy have been protecting a seventeen-year-old girl.”
He turned away from me, and I saw a long sword strapped to his back. The sheath was made of obsidian from the deepest places of Hell, and it carried a reddish hue. With deliberation, he withdrew the hilt and extended the long silver tip until it scratched my throat.
“She’s nothing, you know.”
“She’s not nothing,” I replied thickly, feeling fury beat in my temples. “She will beat you. You will fail at whatever plan you have. We will stop you from unleashing demons onto Earth.”
“Oh, really? How do you expect to do that if you’re here in Hell, and she’s up there without you, unprotected? I’ve sent many minions to capture her, you know. Or kill her. Makes no difference to me.”
The sword’s tip scratched, and I felt a warm trail of blood trickle down my neck. My skin burned from the blade, and I gasped. He had dipped it into Hell’s river. Bastard.
“They’ll come for me,” I managed. I tried to wrench my body away from the blade, but he didn’t move. The searing cut went a bit deeper.
“You sure about that, Shay? Listen, before I leave you, I’ve decided I’ll give you a parting gift. Something to remember me by.” He scorned. “Not that you’d forget about me any time soon. After all, I am memorable.”
He held the sword up at my eye level, bringing it just close enough that I could see waves of heat rising from the edge. Suddenly, he pressed the flat side of the sword against my cheek. I screamed but heard nothing, saw nothing, but red behind my eyelids. The stink of my burning skin filled the air. When the iron finally left my face, I collapsed against the chains, but the stranger wasn’t done with me. He thrust the tip of the sword deep into my shoulder, giving me a souvenir to remember him by. Twisting the blade and easing it in, scorching my insides as it dug through, shredding my muscles. All at once he withdrew it, and I gasped in what breath I could—just before he slashed my chest, slicing through my T-shirt and leaving a giant, burning X on my skin. White stars shot through my vision, and my legs gave out. I slumped forward against the shackles. My sweat and tear-slicked chin dropped to my smoking chest, and my breaths came in jerking, strained gulps.
From behind my closed eyes, I realized the room had lightened, casting a reddish hue over everything. The figure finally emerged from the shadow, and I squinted, needing to determine who stood in front of me. A pair of shiny, black combat boots stepped toward me, and I used every bit of remaining strength to lift my face to see his. I stared in disbelief at the man before me: young and blond ... with eyes just like mine.
Chapter Twenty
Zoe
I climbed out of Sidelle’s Mini Cooper and stepped onto Kieran’s driveway. “Zoe,” Sidelle shouted, slamming her door shut. “The angels. They know where the demons are keeping Shay!”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Not listening. I can’t get my hopes up then hear it didn’t pan out.”
She beamed. “I know, but this time they do know where he is.”
My eyes narrowed. “How?”
“Kieran just told me.” She tapped the side of her head.
“No. I mean, how do they know the intel is good?”
“Remember when Kieran told you that not all demons are evil? We initially thought they all were, but some are tolerable. Sometimes DKs aren’t so bad. Especially, when they aren’t trying to kill you. We’ve made peace with a few of them over the centuries. We trade favors when it’s needed, though angels don’t have much to offer them. Anyway, one of them said that Shay’s being held in the dungeons.”
I felt sick. “Is he alive?” I whispered.
“I don’t know.”
Moving like a zombie, I walked into Kieran’s house, tossed my backpack onto the kitchen floor, and continued to the den, my favorite room in the house. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the backyard and gave a clear view of the angel statue that kept watch over the house. All I could think about was getting Shay back, but what condition would they find him in? Please hold on, Shay. Just a little longer. We’re coming for you.
“Zoe?” Sidelle asked.
Sidelle placed a comforting hand on my shoulder but didn’t speak. With that small touch, she knew what I was thinking and feeling, even if I didn’t—or couldn’t—express it.
Jackson and Cali entered the small room while Sidelle and I gazed out of the window. No one spoke, and that was all right—for a while. Eventually, the silence got too heavy even for me. Fortunately, Cali sensed that as well.
“Zoe?” she said quietly. “I brought your bag from the kitchen. I thought you might need it to change clothes.”
“Thanks, but I don’t feel like training. I’m too worried about Shay.”
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“We understand,” Jackson said. “But there’s nothing you can do to help him right now, so you might as well do another level.”
“Or,” Sidelle suggested, “she could practice her angelic powers.”
I plopped down onto the love seat. “But I don’t know any others except for the protection orbs.”
“That’s why you’ll practice, silly. So let’s see what else you’ve got in there.”
I let out a long sigh. They were right. I could do nothing for Shay from here anyway. Sulking wouldn’t bring him back to me sooner, so I might as well do something productive.
“All right. Let’s do this.” I tilted my head and heard my neck pop. “If you want to practice more and go onto another level, you should,” I said to Cali. “Jackson can be your sparring partner.”
“Nah,” Cali said. “I’ll watch you for now. I can do levels this weekend at the compound. And maybe I’ll be kicking some puppy butts.”
I laughed, and she curled into the corner on the opposite side of the couch while Jackson paced the room.
Sidelle sat in the wingback chair across from me. “Let’s start with something simple,” she said. “Focus. Zoe, I want you to close your eyes and listen to your inner self. Visualize the times when your protective orbs came out. You need to understand what you were thinking and feeling when your Angel Light appeared.”
Those times were easy to recall. The first had happened unintentionally after the DKs had chased Kieran and me into the warehouse. That was also when I’d first met Shay. No. Not now. I shook my head to clear him from my mind. The second was in the woods in the back of Cali’s house; the same night I learned Sidelle was a fairy. Then I thought back to the third time, which was the night when the Marqs had come to my house and killed Cali. The fourth time the orb had appeared was when the demons had attacked the pack’s compound.
During the first episode, I’d been scared to death. The second time, well, yes, I’d been scared, but I was mad, too. And the last one? Oh, anger had rolled off me. She asked me to concentrate on those feelings, try to bring those emotions to my mind. She wanted me to produce the orb again, so I tried to clear my mind, and imagined being scared and angry.
It only took a moment for me to realize that wouldn’t work. Sitting here, safe in Kieran’s house, I didn’t have any worries. I wasn’t mad, and nothing could hurt me.
“Okay,” Sidelle said with a sigh. She leaned forward and placed her hands on the sides of my face. “Let me read you. Open your mind up to me.”
A vivid motion picture began to play in my mind, and I saw again the first experience I’d had with demons. Sidelle hadn’t even been there, but when she lightly tapped my ears, a flood of sounds rushed in—screams, battle cries, and the clanging of swords. Everything became terrifyingly familiar. The coppery smell of fresh blood heightened my senses even more. Everything about it was so real. Then the memory rolled right into the next one.
My body started to tremble. Experiencing the attacks firsthand had been one thing: reliving them was a whole other story. Everything came roaring back, and I became emotionally overloaded with the sights, sounds, and smells.
I lost myself.
When a DK ran at me, my arms lifted, and my hands grew warm. I thrust them out, shooting purple Angel Light from my palms and hitting the demon’s center mass. The light enveloped him then imploded, taking him with it.
“Zoe!” Sidelle’s voice echoed in the distance. “Zoe, it’s not real. They’re not here. Open your eyes!”
I did, blinking at all the stunned faces staring at me. I tried to focus, but I felt exhausted beyond words. I slumped back into the couch.
“Whoa, there,” Sidelle said, giggling. “Rest a bit.”
I calmed my breaths. Inhale. Exhale. When I was ready, I leaned forward and looked past Sidelle’s shoulder. Where the fireplace had been, there now existed a massive hole in the wall, giving us an open view of the outside. Brick and mantle lay in a pile of rubble. How did that happen?
I sniffed, confused. “Why is there a burning smell in the air? Did I ... did I do that?” My eyes widened.
“Yeppers,” Sidelle said. “You sure did. It’s safe to say that when you’re scared, you release your Light. But you can’t control it yet. You need to figure out how to call it when you’re calm.” She walked over to the hole and peeked outside. She grinned back at me. “Kieran will never know.” As soon as she placed her hands on the wall, the room vibrated a little, and the brick and wooden mantle started to reassemble.
I stared at Sidelle, in a kind of trance. “Whatever you did, it seemed so real. I got lost in it.”
“Then I did it correctly. Good thing no one was in your way when your Light shot out. That’d be a bigger mess. Kieran might have noticed that.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Z, you were awesome,” Cali said, sounding impressed. “You should have seen yourself. You stood, and we could tell something was happening around you. We watched your transformation. Your body seemed resolved, like you were ready to fight back. You were all calm. Then it was like electricity—the air around you actually crackled. Then you raised your hands, and a purple light streamed out, smashing the wall.”
“It was cool,” Jackson agreed.
“So,” I said slowly, “I need to work on that. Is there something else I should try?”
“Let’s do something easy,” Sidelle said.
“I thought you said that last one was supposed to be easy.”
“It was.” She frowned. “Well, maybe not for you. Anyway, do the same thing as before. Close your eyes and focus. Listen to my voice and search within yourself.”
When I was ready, Sidelle lightly pushed a finger on my forehead. “What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re not focusing. You’re speaking.”
I snapped my mouth shut and folded my hands in my lap. Suddenly, I saw what she meant. It was like I had eyes traveling around my brain. They moved to my arms and down to my legs, wildly spinning. I spotted a silver spark floating behind my right knee. It flashed and zipped up toward my head, and I jerked back, momentarily losing my focus. When I reconnected, I found the flicker near my left ear, and I had the strangest feeling it was leading me to where it needed me to be. When it burst out of my body, the expression “seeing stars” came to mind. I opened my eyes and stared as it pulsed in the air, bouncing all over the room. I had no idea what it was or if anyone else could see it.
I caught Cali’s expression. Yep, they could see it, too.
“What is that?” I whispered.
“Beats the heck out of me,” Jackson said.
Cali shook her head.
“I think ... I think it’s part of your Angel Light,” Sidelle mused.
“But my Light is purple.” I rose from the couch and cornered the spark. “That is ... ”
I didn’t know how to explain it, but the tiny piece of energy felt like a safety blanket, wrapping around me. I extended my hand, and the little white light landed on my palm, spreading warmth through my body. As we all watched, the Light sank into my skin, almost burning me.
Suddenly, a silver Triquetra symbol appeared on the inside of my wrist. I traced a finger over the mark, and it flared, settling into a shimmering, iridescent color. No tattoo artist could ever have made a color that sparkled like that.
“Look!” I showed them all my hand. “I’ve got the Mark of an Enlighten.”
Cali frowned at it. “But where are the wings?”
I stared at my wrist. “I don’t know. Maybe I don’t get them until I turn eighteen.” I craned my neck to check my back. “I don’t, right?”
“No, Zoe, you’re not sportin’ any wings back there,” Sidelle assured me. “I do have to say, though, that you aren’t getting anything in the order that everyone else does. First, you can create protective orbs, and now, you have only part of the Heaven’s Mark.”
“Maybe this means that I’m not an Eternal?�
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“I doubt it. You’ll still be an angel.”
I knew she was indirectly reminding me that Shay and I couldn’t be together. Fact was, he’d have to live out the rest of his life, and I’d watch him die of old age.
“Oh, my gosh.” All heads snapped in my direction. “I just remembered something that happened in the kitchen when you were telling me about ... well, never mind. That’s not the important thing. What I wanted to say was I think I moved a pop can that night.”
“What?” Cali asked.
“Really?” Sidelle squinted her eyes.
“Yes, so maybe I should try moving things.”
“Yeah. Can you do that?” Cali asked, clapping her hands.
Sidelle shrugged. “Sure. Let’s—”
A loud crash came from the kitchen, and we all stared at each other in alarm. No one besides us should have been in the house. If someone was coming, the angel statue should’ve warned us somehow.
Urgent voices floated toward us, and we bolted toward the kitchen.
“Here. Lay him down.”
Kieran?
“Move everything off the table,” someone else said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Zoe
We arrived in time to see someone swipe an arm across the kitchen table. Two other men—or rather, angels—laid a body on top, and I caught the sight of familiar blond hair.
Shay!
I shoved someone out of the way to get to him, and then I gasped in horror. He wasn’t the same young man he’d been before. A blister from some kind of terrible burn swelled on one cheek, and there was a cut on his throat that looked inflamed. His clothes were shredded, he was missing a boot, and an angry welt had formed across his chest in the shape of an X. A blood-soaked bandage had been wrapped around his shoulder. He wasn’t conscious.
With trembling fingers, I stroked his matted hair. He twitched, and I stopped mid-stroke, afraid to hurt him more.
“Shay. What did they do to you?” I whispered.
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