by S. A. Moss
Nerves lit up my body as we continued climbing. The circumference of the spiral grew smaller as we neared the large hole in the ceiling, and at the top of the staircase ahead of us stood a cloaked figure. The fabric of his heavy hood shifted as he turned to look at us.
I gulped.
Akaron.
34
My footsteps faltered, and I caught the lip of the stairs with my toe. I stumbled slightly, and my dad grasped my elbow to steady me. Although I could barely see the Fallen leader’s red eyes under his hood, I could feel his gaze burning into me.
I had no idea what my father had told him about me. I hoped it wasn’t much.
Trying to distract myself from the uncomfortable, prickling sensation of Akaron’s stare, I focused on the steps in front of me.
Unfortunately, I ran out of steps sooner than I would’ve liked.
As we emerged from the hole in the cavern’s ceiling, I glanced around. The sky was as dim as usual in the Shroud, but the glowing smoke filtering through the opening seemed to light up the darkness.
Gathered on the mountaintop were some of the scariest looking Fallen I’d ever seen. There were several that looked like the chimera who’d slipped across earlier, but those paled in comparison to the ones surrounding them. There was a creature that looked like a large spider—except instead of many eyes, it had many vaguely human heads.
Next to that monstrosity, a tall, spindly demon with too many bones stuffed inside his tightly stretched skin drew his upper lip back. He was salivating, literally drooling so much that it spilled out of his mouth and dripped off his chin in a viscous stream.
I shuddered. I really didn’t want to know what was making his mouth water like that.
More Fallen crowded behind those gathered around us, disappearing into the darkness beyond the light of the smoke. I couldn’t tell how many were here, but apparently the memo had gone out far and wide—and they were all here to redeem their “get out of jail free” card.
A cold, rough hand on my elbow made me jump, and I turned away from the horrifying collection of Fallen, trying to yank my arm free. But Akaron’s grip was like iron.
“What is this, Sirius?” I could only see the lower half of Akaron’s face, but his pale lips were pulled tight in a frown.
“This is Cam. My daughter.” My dad’s voice was steel as he rested his hand lightly on my other arm. “She has agreed to join our cause.”
Tension thrummed in my veins as I waited to see which of them would win this tug-of-war—and whether I’d survive it in one piece.
Finally, Akaron’s grip on my elbow loosened. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when that same hand reached up to squeeze my chin. His fingertips were like cold stone, rough and strong.
“I have no cause,” he hissed. “The sermonizing and the grand ambitions are yours alone, Sirius. I have only a burning desire for freedom.”
Resisting the urge to fight back against his manhandling, I nodded my head as best I could with the limited range of motion. “I… I can understand that.”
“You know nothing, Guardian! You have not spent thousands of years trapped in this place, yearning to return to Earth. To see the sun shine again. To feel the pulse of life surround you. Until you suffer torment such I have, you will never understand.”
With a growl, Akaron shoved my face away. I stumbled back, slipping off the top step. My father caught me before I tumbled all the way down the stairs.
He righted me, leveling a glare at Akaron. “I told you she was here to join us, old man! Treat her with respect.”
“I will… when she earns it.”
Akaron tipped his head back slightly, and for a moment, I saw beneath his hood. Red eyes burned out of a face that was too sharp, too angular. Every feature was slightly exaggerated, as if drawn by someone who’d never seen an actual human and was only approximating the form.
I swallowed. Other creatures surrounding us that were more openly grotesque, but none were as truly terrifying as Akaron.
My father tugged my arm, positioning me slightly behind him as he faced Akaron. “Cam can help us. We’ll cross over to Earth and prepare for your arrival.”
“Go. Go.” Akaron waved dismissively.
Apparently, my arrival hadn’t done much to strengthen the trust between the Fallen leader and my dad. I couldn’t be sorry about throwing a wrench into that relationship.
My dad took my hand, his grip firm. Together, we faded across to the earthly plane.
And into utter chaos.
We were in a luxurious looking bar, and I guessed this was the Signature Lounge where my classmate had held her birthday party. But I doubted her celebration had included a bunch of rampaging Fallen.
The white smoke of the portal swirled around the space, refracting the dim light from the ceiling and obscuring the figures spread around the room. A shout sounded from somewhere nearby, and a window shattered. A lumbering creature with a large hump sprinted jerkily toward the opening, flinging itself from the window.
Several humans cowered in the corner, hiding behind a cluster of tables. Dammit. I’d hoped the building would be clear of mortals.
Trying to calm my raging nerves, I flexed my hands, turning toward my father. The Seer had told me I was the only one who could get him to drop his guard. And now that he had, I needed to take him down—long enough for the Guardians to free themselves from his binds anyway.
Come on, Cam. You can do this.
Movement in the corner of the room caught my eye, and a figure appeared through the smoke.
Arjun? Shit! How is he here already?
He threw out his hands, sending a blast toward me and my dad. I had just enough time to see his eyes widen as he recognized me before the blast lifted me off my feet, slamming me into a window across the room. The glass cracked as my body rebounded to the floor.
My dad, of course, had managed to get a shield up before the blast hit him. He gestured toward Arjun just as a ghoul with stringy hair passed through the portal, landing with a dull whump in the middle of the room. Arjun dodged my father’s aether spear, which pierced a hole in the wall behind him.
Suddenly, the ghoul let out a shriek so loud and piercing I thought my eardrums would pop. My hands flew up automatically to clutch my head as I turned toward the source of the noise. Alex had the ghoul in a headlock, and Asha stood in front of it, a dagger raised high.
She brought the blade down in the ghoul’s chest, and its shriek cut off abruptly. The thing writhed, blood spurting from its wound as it yanked away from the weapon, staggering wildly across the floor.
Alex hooked one of his legs around the ghoul’s and twisted, bringing the monster crashing to the ground. He leapt on top of it, landing a solid punch to its face. Reaching behind him, he called, “Dagger!”
Asha tossed the bloody weapon, and he caught it, continuing the downward motion to make one clean gash across the ghoul’s throat.
Then everything froze.
Well, not everything.
Just Asha, Arjun, and Alex.
Well, and the ghoul, but only because it was dead.
The other three were rendered immobile, their arms pinned to their sides. Alex was dragged to his feet as if an invisible hand had plucked him up by the shoulders.
In the moment of silence that followed, the spider-demon whumped into the room. None of its heads spared a glance at us as it skittered in a beeline for the broken window and leapt out.
My dad stared hard at Alex, a look of mingled disgust and rage on his face. “I think this has gone on long enough.”
He raised his hands.
A roaring sound filled my ears, my vision narrowing in on the sight of my dad about to attack Alex. Another demon passed through the portal, but I barely registered it as a cry burst from my lips.
“Wait!”
35
I could barely hear my own voice over the roar in my head, but my father glanced at me. His face, which had looked almost human in his exci
tement at my arrival earlier, was cold and hard. James Prentice was gone. This was Sirius, fallen Guardian.
“What, Camille?”
My voice shook as I turned to him. “You said you wanted me to do it. Let me.”
“Cam, what are you doing? You can’t—!”
Arjun’s angry cry was cut off as the bind wound tighter around him. His eyes slid shut and his mouth snapped closed.
“Yes, I did say that.” My dad blasted a toppled chair out of his way as he strode toward Alex. I followed, refusing to meet Asha’s burning, accusatory gaze. Alex stared at me silently, his jaw clenched. I wasn’t sure if he was unable to speak through the bind, or if he just didn’t have anything to say to me.
I licked my lips. “So let me kill him. Let me prove myself.”
Another demon passed through the portal. Shit. They were coming faster and faster—Akaron couldn’t be far behind. I needed to end this now.
Without even looking, my father reached out a hand and unleashed a blast, breaking another large window on the other side of the room. The demon dashed through it, leaping to freedom.
Finally, my dad gave the slightest nod of his head.
Hands shaking, I bent and pulled the small dagger from my boot. I stepped forward, pressing the tip lightly to Alex’s neck. He flinched, and I laid my other hand on his chest.
“I’m sorry,” I said loudly, my lips numb as they formed the words. “It’s really the only way.”
He dragged in a rough breath, his nostrils flaring. Behind me, I thought I heard my murmur an agreement. Ignoring the shiver that skittered down my spine at the sound, I reached out for Alex’s energy, feverishly working to untangle it from the aether that was woven into it.
His energy was so familiar, it made unweaving the bind easier. I was sure Alex could feel my hand trembling against his own rapidly beating heart as his stare burned into me. Could he tell what I was doing?
“Cam.” My father’s voice was stern.
I nodded desperately, adjusting my grip on the knife. “Yeah, I’m doing it. I just need a second… to say goodbye.”
Finally, with one last tug, the bind on Alex fell away. His body stiffened almost imperceptibly, no longer trapped by aether, and his eyes shot to mine, widening.
I slipped my hand up his chest and around the back of his neck, moving closer to him and whispering in a low voice, “We need to make him mortal. Be ready.”
The words were hardly more than a breath against his ear, but I saw understanding and hope light in his eyes when I pulled away. He nodded slightly.
“Camille.” My dad was angry now. His heavy footsteps thudded on the floor as he walked forward. “Stop wasting time, or I’ll do it myself.”
In half a heartbeat, I spun on my heel, pulling the dagger away from Alex’s neck and hurling it toward my father. I was so shaky that my aim was absolute shit, but luckily he was only half a dozen feet away. At that range, even a crap shot can hit something.
The blade lodged in his right pectoral, just below the shoulder. My dad stopped short, shock registering on his face. He glanced down at the steel sticking out of his chest, then back at me, his expression darkening.
“Oh, Cam. Did you really think that would stop me?”
I swallowed. “No. But I bet this will.” Then, ducking to the side, I screamed, “Now!”
Alex launched himself at my father, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye and catching him around the waist. As the two of them went down, my dad let out a cry of pain. The blade sticking out of his shoulder, a minor irritant to an immortal body, had to hurt like a bitch now that he was mortal.
As his cry filled the air, Asha and Arjun jerked. Arjun stumbled forward, shaking his head as the bind broke.
Holy shit.
It had worked. When my father turned mortal, his connection to the aether was severed—and with it, the binds he had on Asha and Arjun. I could only hope the same thing had happened to the binds on the Guardians trapped in the Shroud.
Breathing heavily, my dad yanked the knife out of his chest and slashed upward toward Alex.
Oh, hell no!
I threw a concentrated blast toward them, knocking the knife out of my father’s hand. The blade caught the side of his face as it flew out of his grip, opening up a gash across his cheek. I winced.
Growling, my dad tried to flip Alex off him, but Alex wrapped a hand around his shirt, landing a solid punch to his face. They rolled, and my dad scrambled to his feet. Alex followed, keeping a grip on his forearm and snapping out a roundhouse kick with his opposite leg. My dad grunted as the kick landed on his ribs.
As long as they were in contact and both mortal, they were evenly matched—hell, Alex might even have the upper hand. But if my dad slipped his grasp and became immortal again, the tides would turn in a instant.
In the center of the room, Fallen were still appearing through the portal.
Dammit! Did it not work? Are the Guardians still trapped in the Shroud?
Asha and Arjun fought them back, keeping any more from escaping the room. As my dad grappled with Alex, landing a body blow that made me hiss in mirrored pain, the smoke in the room began to dissipate.
Suddenly, dozens of auras appeared around the room.
Aether shot from one of them, nailing a vampire that was advancing on Asha. Another blast came from the opposite side, hitting the vamp again before it could recover from the first attack.
Elation and relief bloomed in my chest.
The Guardians were free.
36
I couldn’t see any of the freed Guardians—they were still following the Council’s rules about staying hidden while on Earth—but I could see their auras as they surrounded and beat back the remaining Fallen in the room.
Alex had my dad wrapped in a bear hug, driving him backward. He slammed him into a pillar in the middle of the room, forcing a choked grunt from his lungs. Blood was pouring from the wound in my dad’s shoulder, staining his shirt. It had to be weakening him.
I raised my hands uncertainly. Though my dagger had gotten lost somewhere in the chaos, I could still throw an aether blade. But I was worried about accidentally hitting Alex. My aim still wasn’t the best, and he and my dad weren’t exactly standing nice and still.
I also wasn’t sure I had the stomach to actually do it. It was one thing to throw a knife at my father when he was a dangerously powerful immortal being. Another thing entirely to attack him when he could die as easily as any human.
But I could still try to stop him.
I reached out for my dad’s energy, weaving a blanket of aether into it. He grimaced and shook his head, trying to fight it off. I was sure if he could tap into the energy of the universe, he’d have no problem brushing off my pathetic little bind. But he couldn’t use his power over aether while he was mortal, and I was taking full advantage of that.
Finally, his body stiffened. His arms, which had been wrapped around Alex in a rough clinch, dragged slowly to his sides. Alex sensed the change in him and slipped around to his back, catching him in a headlock. It probably wasn’t necessary since my dad could no longer fight back, but I liked the extra measure of defense.
I stalked forward, glaring at my dad. “Did you really think I’d kill him, Dad? You think your psycho ‘immortals rule’ pitch was that freaking convincing?”
His chest heaved as he sucked in air, and the cuts on his face and shoulder had left blood smeared across his skin. A bruise was blooming above his eye on the opposite side. My heart broke to see him like this, but the expression he wore was enough to convince me that if the tables were turned, he wouldn’t take much pity on me—and none on Alex.
“You know, the thing I’m starting to appreciate about humans is that most of them understand the value of lives other than their own. What is it about immortality that makes people so damn selfish?” I demanded.
I didn’t have it in me to punch a restrained man, but I wasn’t above giving a little poke to
his chest, right near the knife wound.
He flinched and hissed. “Camille. Don’t do this.”
“How’s it feel to be vulnerable again, huh, Dad? Maybe remember this next time you have someone else’s life in your hands. You want to live? Yeah, so do they! And so what if it’s only for seventy or eighty years? That doesn’t make their life worth less than yours.”
The white smoke trapped in the room floated around us, giving my dad an almost ghostly appearance.
A flicker of sadness crossed over his face. “I knew you were too young to understand. When you’ve seen the sun set on everyone you ever knew, then perhaps you’ll realize your existence is indeed worth more than theirs.”
Alex hitched his arm up, tightening his grip on my dad and making him sputter. “Hey, now. Watch how you talk about us puny humans,” he warned.
My dad turned his head slightly, curling his lip. “Enjoy your moment of—”
Before he could finish that sentence, another demon exploded into the room. It was huge, animalistic, and pitch black, as if it absorbed all the light around it. I thought it was covered in scales, but it was hard to make out anything in all that darkness. The only parts of it that weren’t black were its yellow fangs and claws, and its shining green eyes.
It let out something between a roar and the screech, and the hairs on the back of my neck immediately jumped to attention.
Shit!
How had that thing gotten through? We’d freed the Guardians, hadn’t we? Didn’t that destroy the portal to Earth?
I turned to my dad, fisting the front of his shirt. “How are they still coming through? Can Akaron still make it over?”
He just stared at me, a mixture of disappointment and disgust souring his features.
Behind him, Alex met my frantic gaze. He shook his head helplessly.
The dark demon howled again, then hunched its body slightly, like a bodybuilder showing off their guns. But instead of its muscles popping, a wave of energy shot out in all directions, emanating from the demon like the radiating blast of an explosion. The blast hit everything and everyone in the room, breaking glasses and bottles, cracking windows, and sending chairs and Guardians flying.
