So, Daniel played his game. “Yes, Judge.”
He went to the stocks, placed his hands and his neck into the carved out spots, and held himself stiffly as it was closed over him and locked.
“Good. Now, the bait is ready. We need only to set the trap.”
Fuck. Is he going to use me against Surcy?
His stomach clenched, and he made a silent prayer. When the time came, he hoped Surcy had the strength to let him die again.
She had to.
If he distracted her for one moment, he knew Caine would win.
Clenching his fists, he shifted, testing the strength of the stocks. They held, without the slightest leeway.
His mind began to spin. There had to be a way he could still help Surcy. But how?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Surcy watched as the dragons unleashed their flames on the fortress. The God of the Summer latched onto the roof of the structure and began to pull, his massive wings flapping, causing wind to press down on all of them. The other dragons seemed to understand. Their flames stopped, and they latched on too.
The entire building shuddered and shook. Angels came pouring out of the hole in the center of the roof. They attacked with their flaming swords, but fire blazed over them, killing them instantly.
Surcy held her arm over her face, wincing up at the chaos, and then, the roof came tearing off. One of the Immortals shouted. They ran, throwing themselves on the ground. Stone fell like rain from above them, and she held herself tensely, hoping nothing hit her.
Several quiet moments passed before she looked up. The entire roof of the structure was gone, most of it tossed to the ground on the other side of the fortress. Stone had fallen all around them, but to her complete shock, none of the Immortals seemed injured.
They rose once more and moved to the massive door of the structure. She tensed wondering how the Immortals would open it, when the doors were flung open, and angels came pouring out.
The God of the Earth swung his mighty axe. Heads fell.
The God of Sin was there to defend him, to watch his back each time he swung his axe. And the Goddess of Love shot her arrows, each one hitting an angel with ease.
She clenched the handle of her sword more tightly and took a step forward as the God of Night’s darkness spread around them once more. When the first angel swung at her, she avoided his blow with ease. They danced around each other, jabbing out, swinging their blades, connecting over and over again.
And then, water struck him in the back. The angel hit the ground, and Surcy severed his head in one blow.
Turning, she spotted the Goddess of the Ocean. Water swelled behind her. Gathering water from a nearby source, she held it back like an invisible wall. She shot out little streams at the angels who attacked.
All around, the Immortals fought like animals, distracting the angels.
Surcy took a deep breath. It’s time. This was the part of the plan that terrified her the most. None of the Immortals could enter the fortress until Caine was removed from the throne. While they could battle the angels and cause a distraction, she would have to take down the Judge himself.
I just hope this plan will work.
Teleporting, she appeared just outside the throne room doors. She had no idea what she would face inside, but she knew the task was hers alone. Then, slipping the little bottle from her pocket, she stared briefly at the dark liquid swirling inside.
Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She removed the cork, took a deep breath and chugged it down.
Gagging, she forced herself not to hurl the disgusting liquid. She only had one shot at this. And it had to work. Instantly, her lips began to tingle, and her gut began to churn. Time was of the essence. Already she could feel the chill moving through her body, spreading out to find its source. Tossing the bottle on the ground, she knew it was time.
Pushing open the doors, she tried to enter as quietly as possible, but the noise of the room immediately exploded around her. Her jaw dropped. Above the huge room, angels fought in the air against the dragons who blasted fire, and chomped them in their massive jaws. It was bright, and warm from the dragons’ fire.
Not at all like the throne room that haunted her nightmares.
Her gaze moved to where she would find Caine. To the man she must take down.
Time stood still. Daniel was encased in stocks. At his sides? Mark and Tristan stood with their flaming swords pointed at their friend. The dark liquid in her stomach churned faster, and she felt the chill moving up her spine.
It was impossible. All three of her demons had been turned into dark-winged angels. None of their souls had been destroyed. Mark and Tristan hadn’t been given the special water, so they were both mindless soldiers. It was clear that Caine intended for them to be Daniel’s executioner.
The cruel bastard.
“Welcome, Surcy,” Caine said, his voice uncurling from the darkness. “The time has finally come, the moment that will finally end this rebellion once and for all.”
She swallowed hard. I can’t look at my demons. I can’t worry about them. They’re simply distractions.
“It’s time for you to step down and give the rightful judges back their thrones.”
He laughed low, as if angels and dragons weren’t fighting above him. “None of the Immortals can face me, and so, this plan of theirs hinges on you taking me down. Do you really believe you have any chance at succeeding?”
“No,” she said.
Her confession hung in the air between them.
His dark cloud moved towards her, and she sensed him drawing nearer, stopping just behind her angels. “I can’t imagine they sent you here unprepared.”
Was there fear in his voice?
“They did not.”
“Come here,” he ordered.
Gritting her teeth, she fought his command, but it flowed over her, through her, racing in her very blood. She struggled against each and every step, yet she struggled in vain. Within moments, she was standing before the dark cloud. Close enough to touch her demons. She felt Daniel’s gaze upon her. It took everything inside her not to look in his direction.
“Kneel before me,” Caine said. “And let me pluck their plan from your thoughts.”
His words weren’t a command. She glared at him. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Such an attitude,” the voice came from the darkness, and her eyes flicked to the red-winged archangel.
Every instinct within her screamed. She hadn’t expected to find him here. The Immortals had thought he’d be leading the battle, but they should have known better.
“Coward,” she hissed at them. “Hiding in here when there’s a war to fight.”
The archangel smiled, his expression slimy. “I live only to serve the great Caine.” His tone was filled with mockery.
“I told you to kneel,” Caine said, but she could almost feel him smiling as he said it.
“No fucking way!” she shouted at him, itching to call her soul-blade into her hand, to sever the heads of these two monsters.
“Why not just command her to?” The archangel said, but she got the sense their words were rehearsed. That they were playing with her.
“You know what might be more fun?” Caine asked. “We should let her make the choice—this foolish cause of hers, or the loves of her life.”
Her heart pounded. The dark liquid’s chill was everywhere, bleeding from her blood to something deeper, perhaps her very soul. Her teeth began to chatter and her limbs began to shake.
“Just face me like a man!” She shouted. “I’m tired of your games and bullshit.”
“Mark,” Caine ordered. “Hurt the angel.”
Despite her every intention, she turned. Mark had the same subtly handsome face, the same gentleness to his features. Although his glasses were different, the way they framed his deep blue eyes was as familiar to her as her own.
He showed no emotions as he drew the sword deeply across Daniel’s hand, drawing dark r
ed blood.
Daniel jerked in the stocks. His jaw clenched and pain shone in his eyes, but he said nothing.
“Stop this,” Surcy said, and she didn’t have to fake the emotion in her voice.
“Only you can stop this.” The humor in Caine’s voice made her want to tear out his throat.
“Mark, Tristan, you were once demons, fighting for our cause. Daniel is your best friend. You can’t do this. You can’t hurt him.”
Tristan raised a brow, his stoic face expressionless. She looked into his mismatched eyes, craving to see recognition in his gaze more than she needed air, but there was nothing. A wicked déjà vu flowed through her but she pushed the feelings aside. She would deal with them later.
“Kill him,” Caine ordered.
Her soul-blade leapt into her hand, and she caught Tristan’s blade with her own one second before it touched the back of Daniel’s neck. Tristan pressed down harder. She fought against his strength, even as the blade lowered, cutting a line of blood into the back of Daniel’s neck.
“No,” she sobbed.
Inch by inch, Tristan forced her blade deeper.
Daniel cried out.
Surcy did the only thing she could think of to end Daniel’s suffering. She sent her soul-blade away.
The power of Tristan’s strength sent his sword down in one quick, fatal motion. Daniel was dead. His body still hung there, lifeless, held up by the stocks around his wrists.
She couldn't look at his severed body. A sob exploded from her lips as she turned away.
“One down, two to go,” the archangel said, laughing.
Overhead, a dragon’s roar echoed with rage. Whether it was for her loss or his pain in the battle, she didn’t know. She kept her focus on the archangel.
“Why are you doing this? Fight me!”
“Oh, but that’s what you want, isn’t it?” Caine said.
She stiffened, but tried to hide her thoughts. Did he know what they had planned? Did he know that the Immortals had discovered a simple way to destroy him?
“I could order your demons to walk straight into the Soul Destroyer. I just have to wish the portal to open and it is so. They can't refuse a direct command. Then they will be gone."
“No,” she denied him, her stomach turning. “You can’t.”
“Go to the Soul Destroyer,” Caine ordered Mark and Tristan.
They obeyed him without hesitation, coming to stand close to it. Instantly, the portal seemed to open. Darkness moved from it like a black fire, licking at their legs and feet. Their dark wings shook upon their backs, but they remained in place.
“Let me see their plan, or I will forever destroy the two men you hold so dear.”
Tears filled her eyes. With the slightest order, Mark and Tristan could be lost to her forever. She couldn’t make a mistake now. Too much was riding on her getting this right.
As tears ran down her cheeks, she collapsed onto her knees. “Do it, if it will keep Mark and Tristan safe.”
The darkness pulled back from Caine and she saw the face from her nightmares. His haunting beauty whispered of death and danger. He placed his big hands on either side of her head and tore into her mind like a savage.
Surcy screamed, the violating feeling making revolution blossom within her. For one long minute, he peeled through her chilly thoughts. He froze.
His confusion was like a perfume that filled the room. He slowed in his exploration of her thoughts, focusing on the moment the Goddess of Life filled the bottle with its dark liquid. The substance had only been used twice before in the history of forever.
“No,” he whispered.
And then, he was shooting out of her mind.
“No!” he shouted, staring at his hands as the dark veins appeared, spreading onto his fingers, wrists, and up his arms.
Spinning to his archangel, he shouted. “You’re the only one powerful enough to take this poison from me. So take it!”
The archangel smirked and stepped away from him. With a simple gesture, Mark and Tristan flew across the room, slamming into the stone.
“What are you doing?” Caine shouted, true panic in his voice. “If I die, you go with me. They’ll execute you as a traitor.”
His smirk widened. “Or I can do what I always wanted... serve no one but me.”
The archangel leapt into the Soul Destroyer. For a minute he screamed in terrible agony as it ripped at him, and then, he was gone.
Caine turned to her. The black veins had spread up his neck and gathered on his face. The black veins spidered in the white of his eyes, and then his head tilted back.
A second later, he collapsed to the ground.
So did Surcy. The poison the Goddess of Life had used to infect Caine through Surcy was a powerful one. It wouldn’t just destroy him. It would destroy her too.
They’d warned her they didn’t know what would be left of her to be reborn.
Her breath puffed out in front of her and tears flowed from her eyes, tears of relief and sorrow. It was done. Caine was destroyed. The Immortals would take control again, and everything would be different.
Better.
So much had been lost.
But all that mattered now was that it was done.
Closing her eyes, she knew the instant the poison consumed her entirely, because there was nothing. Nothing left of her.
Then came the darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mark screamed as the Immortal touched his head. His memories exploded in his mind, and then, it all came back to him. Surcy. Daniel. Tristan.
Everything.
Including the fact that Tristan had killed Daniel.
The Immortal drew back his hand. The being’s golden-eyed gaze held his. “We, the Immortal Ten, have been restored to power. You are an angel who will serve us.”
Mark nodded, even while he tried to force air into his lungs. He’d killed Daniel. He’d worked for Caine. He’d betrayed everything he’d ever believed in.
And yet... his memories were fuzzy. The Immortals had won. Caine was gone.
He should be happy.
Turning, he saw that Tristan was kneeling beside him, recognition in his eyes. So his gargoyle brother remembered it all too.
Now what were they to do?
“You may rise,” the Immortal said.
They both stood.
“Go and find a place,” he commanded.
They turned to see lines of white and dark-winged angels lined up perfectly in the throne room. They found a place in one of the lines and waited, for what they didn’t know.
From behind them, a line of people walked on a path through the angels. When they reached the dais, they spun. All wore matching golden robes. Instantly, he recognized the Immortals they had saved. The ten most powerful beings in existence sat upon ten golden thrones that had been concealed by darkness for far too long.
The God of Summer remained standing, staring out at the ranks of angels. “We are the Immortal Ten. We have ruled here since the beginning of time... until the usurper Caine came. He was the child of the God of Sin and the Goddess of Winter, a being with the unexpected ability to manipulate minds. He used his powers against all of us. He manipulated our thoughts. Some of us he killed over and over again, ensuring we remained ignorant of who and what we were. Some of us he manipulated into prisons of his own making, but he made a fatal mistake. He knew that the Goddess of Life had had a child... but he did not understand her role in restoring us to power.”
The God of Summer gestured with his hand and suddenly a woman appeared, surrounded by dark-winged angels. She blinked in confusion.
“Where am I?”
The Goddess of Life stepped forward and smiled. “Daughter, Goddess of Hope, you are home.”
But there’s already ten of them. How can there be more?
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“The Goddess of Life concealed your father. Caine believed you to be an Immortal, but he didn’t understan
d that you were more powerful than the ten of us... because your father wasn’t a simple mortal.” He hesitated. “It’s me.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and Mark recognized her as Sharen, the demon-hunter that Surcy had saved many times before. She was an Immortal?
An eleventh Immortal?
“Come to me, daughter,” the God of Summer said.
Sharen stepped forward, but three massive angels stopped to block her path.
“What do you want with her?” One of them asked, the defiance in his voice surprising everyone in the room.
The Immortal smiled. “Not to worry, Alec, she is safe.”
Alec didn’t move. A small hand grasped his arm and pulled him back, and then she walked forward, lit by the same inner glow as the other Immortals.
Without being told, she knelt.
Her father smiled. “There are only ten thrones. Ten judges to decide the fate of man. To make you a judge would destroy the balance.” His gaze moved to the Goddess of Life. “We have decided how to ensure you may survive within this world, but not overthrow the balance. You, my daughter, will help with the great changes that will now occur. Many demons will be angels soon, and many angels will be demons. Someone with knowledge of all the realms will need to help with their adjustments, while we focus on our job—to judge mankind.”
She looked up at him. “I can do that. But not alone.”
“Then, you will have your lovers at your side. Not ours to command, but yours.”
A surprising smirk touched her lips. “I’d prefer they be given free will.”
He raised a brow. “Are you certain?”
“Yes,” she said, with absolute certainty.
“Is that all?” he asked, and there was a fatherly humor in his voice.
“I’d like Surcy and her lovers too. This is a big job, and I could use an angel I trust at my side.”
His smile faltered. “You may have her lovers, but not Surcy.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because Surcy... she has been reborn as an angel. But she paid the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Her mind is gone. Who she was. Not just her memories. Everything.”
Sharen rose, her jaw clenched. “Bring her to me.”
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