by S. A. Moss
Arcadius’s shirt was soaked with blood, and the left side of Sada’s body seemed to have been badly injured. Her arm hung limp, and her leg dragged as she tried to walk. I could see the giant’s body sprawled on the floor behind them. One vampire was spread out around the room in several pieces, and I didn’t see the pig-demon or the other vampire anywhere.
The two Council members had obviously been busy.
“Are you guys okay?”
Alex and I stood quickly, and I raced over to them. I pulled Sada into a very careful hug before throwing my arms around Arcadius. He stiffened slightly, probably not used to such overt displays of affection. Then he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight.
“You did well, Cam.” His voice rumbled against my ear.
When I pulled back, my front was soaked with blood, but I hardly cared.
Sada shuffled over to Akaron’s body. She gazed down at the ancient man with such intense disgust that for a moment, I thought she was going to spit at him. But instead, she crouched beside him, placing one hand on his hunched, bony shoulder. Then they both faded from sight.
Akaron was returned to the Shroud.
37
A moment later, Sada faded back in—alone, this time. She looked over at my father’s body, and then shot a questioning glance at me.
I clenched my jaw, shaking my head slightly. “Don’t. I’d rather bury him here. If that’s okay.”
“Of course, Cam. It’s your choice.”
She crossed his hands gently over his chest, and that small gesture of respect toward a man whom she didn’t owe any to made my chest ache. She was one of the best people I knew. The world was lucky to have her as a Guardian.
Sada stood slowly, her leg already moving more easily as she healed from her injuries. “We’ll send someone to collect him so you can give him a proper burial.”
I nodded gratefully. Sada led the way to the door, and the rest of us followed her. There was still a hotel full of dangerous supernaturals that needed to be dealt with.
The elevators still weren’t working, so we took the stairs. To my surprise, the fight was dying down on all levels of the hotel. Guardians had worked together with the ghosts to weaken the strongest Fallen and force them back over to the Shroud.
We jumped into a battle on the third floor, where a chimera had knocked out several walls and holed up in the abandoned gym. Sada, fully recovered from her injuries, dealt it a nasty blow with a blast of aether. Alex leapt forward to make it mortal as I readied an aether pike.
But when his eyes met mine, a confused expression on his face, I knew something was wrong. I threw the pike through the chimera’s neck anyway, disabling him long enough for a cadre of Guardians to rush in and bring him back to the Shroud.
As we limped out of the gym, covered in plaster dust and blood, Alex looked down at his hands.
“It didn’t work, did it?” I asked.
“No. I did everything I usually do, but I couldn’t anchor him to the earthly plane. I couldn’t take his life force either.”
My brow furrowed. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that Alex had lost his power over life and death. Reeva had said he was being rejected by both the Shroud and Earth, so perhaps he didn’t have anything to anchor his power anymore. And in the space of the last day and a half, he’d taken the life force of two powerful supernaturals. It had to have changed him somehow.
The question was, how?
I wrapped my arms around him as we made our way downstairs with the other Guardians. Tension thrummed in the air between us, the words unspoken but almost palpable. What had happened to him? And whatever it was, had it hastened his death, or delayed it? Or was he already dead?
His arm over my shoulders was reassuringly solid though—the warmth of his body comforting. Whatever he was, he was still here with me, and I was going to appreciate every minute I had with him.
We headed down a wide set of stairs to the lobby on the first floor. The once-grand space was completely wrecked. All the windows were broken, and debris littered the floor. A few small fires burned, smoke blending with the dust in the air.
Akaron’s human minions had been subdued. A large group of them were arrayed outside, bound and watched over by our allies on the human side.
“Cam! You’re all right!”
When I reached the bottom step, I didn’t look up in time to brace for the impact as Pearl threw herself at me. She was still holding the drone controller in one hand, though I was pretty sure Dronie hadn’t made it through the last battle in the penthouse.
“Hey, Pearl. Thanks for playing lookout.” I hugged her tightly.
“Anytime! So…” She drew back, a line appearing between her eyebrows. “He’s dead? Akaron?”
“Yup.” I hesitated briefly, before adding, “Sirius too.”
“Oh, Cam.” Her voice was soft. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. He made a choice. Probably the first selfless one he’s made in a long time. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for what he did to me, but at least he did something good in the end.”
She smoothed down my wild, matted hair, her blue eyes appearing much too old for her face. “I am sorry, Cam. You’ve lost him so many times, and today you lost him again.”
I bit my lip. She wasn’t wrong. But although the pain of my father’s death was fresh, it also felt like a clean wound. Something that could heal over in time. I knew the truth now. About everything. I could think of my father as he truly was, and remember the good parts of him fondly without dismissing the bad.
“Thanks, Pearl.” I hugged her again, grateful beyond words that I’d found a new family with the Guardians. I’d never be alone.
A flicker of light glowed in my periphery. It was joined a moment later by a few others. The auras of ghosts.
“Reeva?” I asked, peering at the figures.
The one in front stepped forward. “That was fun. Let’s do it again sometime.”
I didn’t want to rain on her parade by telling her I’d rather get a lobotomy than ever do what we’d just done again. So I made a noncommittal noise that could be taken as an agreement, and smiled at the ghost’s aura. “Thanks for the help. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Rather than answering, she turned to face Alex, leaning in close. I couldn’t see her full form, just her aura, but I was pretty sure she was stroking her hand down his chest.
Alex frowned. “Woah, that’s a little forward. I’m with her.”
He jerked his head in my direction, and I chuckled, hiding a pleased smile. Then I froze. “Wait. Can you see Reeva?”
Alex blinked at me. “Well, no. Just a sort of outline of her.”
“You can see her aura!”
He transferred his attention back to Reeva. Despite his earlier admonition, the ghost hadn’t stopped feeling him up. “Is that what that is? Holy shit!”
“He’s different again.” Reeva’s voice sounded almost awed, and when she faded in for a brief moment, her eyes were wide.
Nerves raced through me, my gaze flicking between the ghost and the… what was he now?
“Different how?”
“He’s like you… but not. Dead… but not.” Her accented voice had a dreamy quality.
“Is he still being rejected by both planes of existence?”
My stomach twisted in knots as I waited for her to answer, and Alex reached out and took my hand, squeezing it in his larger one. No matter what she said, I knew we’d find a way to be together, but I really hoped—
“No. He is not. He should be accepted by both. He is of both.”
I shot a glance at Alex. The beaming smile that broke across his face pulled out an answering one on my own. He wasn’t dying. Maybe he was already sort of dead, but so was I—that hardly seemed like an insurmountable obstacle.
“Hey, do me a favor, will you?” I asked, grinning at him.
“What?”
“Imagine that you’re evaporating, fading away. Sort o
f like you’re spreading out into the universe.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I just want to check something.”
Alex shrugged then shook out his shoulders and closed his eyes. I watched him intently, certain this was just a crazy idea and would never work.
But a moment later, he faded from view. Pearl gaped at me, and Reeva’s delighted laugh trilled through the empty lobby.
“Hello there,” the ghost said, her voice dropping into a low purr.
I pursed my lips, a wry laugh threatening to burst out. “Watch it, Reeva. He’s still mine. Forever.”
38
“It had red-tipped talons?” I asked. “And it was how tall?”
The shopkeeper, George, rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Probably close to seven feet, at least. It looked like the devil, or maybe a cousin of his.”
He laughed, though his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. I couldn’t blame him. That sucker sounded scary.
Good thing we were well-equipped to handle it.
I glanced up at Alex. “It’s definitely the same one that was seen in Uptown yesterday.”
He nodded, his bright green eyes shining with excitement. He always did love the thrill of the chase.
“How long ago was it here?” Alex asked George.
“About thirty minutes. I called for you guys as soon as I could.”
“You did the right thing, George. Thanks. We’ll take care of it from here.” I grinned at him and saw his shoulders relax slightly.
He blew out a breath. “Thank you.”
“No problem. It’s what we’re here for.”
I nodded at Alex, and the two of us stepped out of the little bodega on the corner of Roscoe and Hoyne. It was a cute, trendy neighborhood with a lot of personality. And it would stay that way if we caught this escaped Fallen before he caused too much trouble.
We headed down the sidewalk, ears perked and senses alert for any sign of him. A few blocks away, a streak of red flashed across the street.
“There he is!”
I sprang into a run, Alex overtaking me easily. He didn’t leave me behind though. Our Fallen collections were a team effort.
The imp was fast, moving so quickly he was almost a blur. Alex put on a burst of speed to cut him off, and when the imp doubled back, I was ready for him.
I threw myself toward him, aiming low to take out his legs. He toppled over me, hitting the ground hard. Before he had a chance to get up, Alex was on him, wrestling his arms behind his back. The imp let loose a blast of aether, but Alex ducked to the side and the energy flew harmlessly into the night sky.
“Look at that,” I joked, sitting on the imps legs as Alex secured his upper body. “Not even any property damage. The Council will be so happy.”
Alex looked back at me, his dimples popping out as he smiled. “Hey. I aim to please.”
The wicked look in his eye made heat bloom in my belly, and I cleared my throat. “Ready?”
“Yup.”
The two of us grabbed hold of the imp’s struggling body and faded over to the Shroud. When the dark, wild foliage came into view around us, we leapt off the creature quickly, stepping back.
“Bye!” I called in a bright voice as we faded back to Earth, leaving the imp trapped in the Shroud.
A few people had stopped on the street to watch the show, and they gasped when we reappeared. I waved at a mom and her young son, and although the woman only gave a jerky nod, her little boy waved back enthusiastically.
He was part of a generation that would grow up knowing that supernaturals walked among them. And he’d know that some of those supernaturals were here to protect him.
Alex’s expression warmed as he watched the boy and I make faces at each other. When the woman finally pulled her son away, shooting a small smile at us as she did, Alex took my hand.
“Let’s get back to the Haven,” he said, pressing a brief kiss to my lips before pulling me toward the Brown Line stop. Humans might know about Guardians now, but that didn’t mean we were going to stop sneaking free rides on public transportation. Besides, there was no harm in it. It wasn’t like we were taking up someone’s seat.
We got off downtown and trekked over to the portal door to the Haven. The Chicago PD and SWAT team knew where the portal was located, which made it easy for them to reach us if they needed to. And Pearl was working on other ways for them to keep in touch with us and contact us in case of emergencies. She was catching up to modern technological advances very quickly, and I had no doubt she’d come up with something brilliant soon.
Alex pulled the door open. The portal wouldn’t appear unless the person opening the door was a supernatural, but that no longer held him back. Reeva hadn’t been able to give us a name for what Alex was, but what he definitely wasn’t anymore was human.
The portal room was still being rebuilt—just like the rest of the Haven—but all the doors were firmly back on their hinges, and we passed by several other Guardians as we headed into the main keep.
Alex bumped my shoulder as we walked. “Training session after this?”
I grinned, baring my teeth. “Oh, it’s on.”
The doors to the Council room had been pretty much torn off by the invading Fallen. But to my surprise, when reconstruction began, the Council had opted not to replace them. It made the room much less imposing.
I poked my head around the corner, rapping on the cool stone wall. “You guys busy?”
“Always,” Adele shot back, arching a brow.
Owen poked her before turning to me. “Never too busy for you though, lass! Or you, Alex.”
“Aw, shucks. Thanks, Owen.” I smirked at Adele. I doubted we’d ever be good friends, but at least now her caustic words felt more like banter than like barbs. That was about as soft and cuddly as Adele got.
“We caught the imp the shopkeeper called in. Brought him back to the Shroud,” Alex reported.
“Excellent.” Arcadius stood, stretching his legs. He crossed over to where Pearl stood by the large fireplace, dropping a casual kiss on her head before turning back to us. I smiled to see the two of them so happy.
“We’re up for another assignment whenever something gets called in.” I tried not to sound too eager, but I was anxious to bring in the rest of the Fallen who’d escaped when Akaron broke through the Haven’s defenses.
The shield on the Haven was now maintained by all four of the Council members. The Seer had been so powerful it took four Guardians to match the strength of the shield she’d created. But no one would ever take her place. No other Guardians had the same Sight she’d possessed.
Instead, the Council was moving in a different direction. Rather than being sent out by the Seer, Guardians were being assigned jobs based on calls for help from humans.
The Council oversaw assignments as a group, and none of them—not even Adele—had balked at Alex and I working as a team.
“Actually,” Sada said, interrupting my thoughts. “We do have an assignment for you. But it’s not on Earth.”
Alex and I shared a curious look.
“What? Where is it?” I arched a brow.
“Here. In the Shroud.”
My jaw dropped. “What do you want us to do here?”
“Well, it’s become clear in light of recent events that we know far too little about our own plane of existence. We’d like to remedy that. And—”
“We want you to search for the forgotten Guardians,” Owen blurted.
“The forgotten…?”
I trailed off, realizing exactly what they were talking about. The Guardians who had sacrificed themselves to a vortex thousands of years ago so that Akaron could be contained. If he’d somehow gotten out, maybe it would be possible to free them too.
“Are you up to it?” Sada smiled, her dark features serene.
“Heck yeah, we are!”
I’d been loving our assignments on Earth. They gave us more than enough excuses to visit Sar
ah, Eve, and Seth—and Otis, who was officially Eve’s cat now, but still heaped love on Alex every time we visited.
But I was dying to know what else was out there in the Shroud. Sada was right. It was important for Guardians to know this place at least as well as Earth. If we knew the threats, we’d have a better chance of stopping them.
Besides, not all the creatures that come from the Shroud are bad.
I reached up to scratch Will’s ear, and he burrowed his little head into my hair.
“Yeah. I didn’t love it the first time I was brought to the Shroud, but I have to admit, I’m curious what else is out there.” Alex crossed his arms over his chest, nodding thoughtfully.
“Wonderful. You can leave as soon as you’re ready. It feels almost pointless to say this, but if you find evidence of the forgotten Guardians, come get backup before you charge in, guns blazing.” Arcadius tipped his head down.
“We will, Arcadius. Don’t worry.”
And I meant it. I’d learned a lot in the relatively short time I’d been a Guardian. One of the most important lessons was, “when you’ve got people who will always help you when you need it, don’t squander that.” We were stronger as a team. I knew that now.
Arcadius dismissed us with a nod, and Pearl shot me an excited smile as we headed out of the room. She was bouncing on her toes, and I knew she’d be waiting for a full report when we got back.
We headed into the training room, one of my new favorite places in the world. We’d only sparred in the portal room once; while it was fun to practice in such a huge space, after one of my aether blasts went wide and cracked a newly repaired door, I’d sheepishly promised the Council we’d stick to the training room.
Alex paced confidently into the center of the room, his strong muscles flexing under his t-shirt. He flicked his hand, gesturing me closer with a devilish grin on his face.
I was happy to comply. Charging forward, I threw an aether blast toward him. It was an easy opening move, and he had no problem dodging it.
