Empower

by Jessica Shirvington

  “Release him!” I yelled, pulling out my dagger.

  “Violet,” Phoenix—who had remained otherwise silent—warned quietly from behind, causing Sammael’s eyes to sparkle with glee.

  “Release him,” I demanded, my voice now lowered but no less intense.

  Sammael watched me calmly.

  Too calmly.

  “How have you been sleeping, Violet?” At his taunt, I took a menacing step toward him, but he merely chuckled and held his hands up in feigned surrender. “Agree to aid me and you may take him with you now. I will return him to his previous state as payment for your services once completed.”

  “What do you want her to do?” Lincoln asked, his tone even despite the raging protectiveness I could feel through our connection.

  Sammael tilted his head, studying Lincoln. “It is intriguing that even as soul mates and with your powers entrenched within one another, her ultimate powers have been withheld.” He turned his attention back to me, his eyes roaming up and down, making my skin crawl. Lincoln took a threatening step forward as Sammael spoke again. “Why don’t you tell him, Keshet? I am sure by now, you know.”

  I swallowed, keeping my eyes on Sammael as my grip on my dagger tightened and my free hand fisted even as my body shook with both fear and anger. “You want to cross the realms.”

  Lincoln’s power caressed me, reminding me he was there.

  Sammael smiled and then suddenly shoved Spence toward us. Phoenix caught him as he stumbled.

  “If you want the rest of him…” He walked casually to the large portside windows and pointed to a tall, decrepit building close to the riverbank. “You will be on that rooftop in the minutes before midnight tomorrow.”

  “Even if she decides to go, she’s not going up there without me,” Lincoln said.

  “Understood,” Sammael conceded. He took out a handkerchief and pulled off his spectacles to clean them. “Did you ever wonder what might be odd about the rainbow being the sign of the covenant? Interesting, don’t you think, that the ultimate bow that can harness the arrow of destruction, Violet, Keshet, is pointing up?”

  He’s talking about me. I’m the damn rainbow.

  My mind spun with his words.

  What the hell am I?

  “I’m a weapon,” I said absently.

  He nodded. “But for all things in this world, there must be…”

  “Balance,” I whispered, the gravity of this new understanding gripping at my insides like a determined claw.

  “Balance,” Sammael echoed. “You may be the greatest and most powerful of all warriors for the angels, but in being that, you must also be their greatest and most powerful threat.”

  The air left my lungs.

  And with that, he vanished.

  Like magic.

  “Nature, in her most dazzling aspects or stupendous parts, is but the background and theatre of the tragedy of man.”

  John Morley

  Back on the upper deck, Zoe and Carter had matters under control.

  Phoenix carried Spence, who remained unaware of his surroundings, across the deck and then Lincoln helped to lower him onto one of the speedboats. A navy vessel pulled up on the other side of the steamboat, and a bridge was set up for the humans—who were either restrained or unconscious—to be carried over, overseen by the conductors.

  The trip had been a broken success, and we all felt the weight of what was still to come.

  I jumped into the speedboat, and Gray took off at a much slower pace. “What will happen to the humans?” I asked Lincoln, who had been on and off his phone sending out orders.

  “One of the boats is heading to the Jacksonville navy base. They’ll take the humans there and navy Grigori will take charge of them until we can figure out what to do. Best case, they’ll all come to their senses with some time,” Lincoln explained.

  “Worst case?” I knew I shouldn’t ask.

  “Almost all of them have broken human laws. If we can’t bring them to their senses and work out a way to help defend them, it’s likely they’ll go to jail.”

  What is happening to this world?

  I felt like screaming, but I knew from too much experience that it did me no good, so instead I considered what I now knew very likely lay ahead.

  When we pulled up to the navy destroyer, I took the hand of the officer who offered it and let him pull me aboard. Even if I hadn’t automatically known he wasn’t Grigori, his look of confusion as he watched what was no doubt a very unusual day unfold pegged him as pure human.

  The young officer looked over his shoulder and then back at me as Lincoln and Phoenix grappled with Spence’s uncooperative body.

  “Who are you people?” he asked quietly, obviously deciding I looked like the one most likely to explain it all. “You’re all, what—twenty, twenty-one?”

  I kept my eyes on Spence, ready to jump in and help the guys. “Actually, I’m nineteen,” I said.

  “I don’t get it. You’re all young, but you’ve got the resources of the whole U.S. Navy at your beck and call, and you all have got moves I’ve never seen before.”

  I noticed the pair of binoculars around his neck before I crouched down to keep the boarding ladder steady.

  Someone’s been paying too much attention.

  I don’t know why, but I repeated what Griffin had said to me that first day I’d found out what I was: “We’re the gardeners. We clear the weeds.”

  The guy snorted. “Well, if you’re the gardeners, what the hell are we?”

  I looked up at him, squinting into the sun, and smiled briefly. “You’re the wheelbarrow.”

  He laughed. “Is that your way of calling us a taxi?”

  “Might be,” I replied, helping Lincoln carefully heave Spence up the last step.

  Once Phoenix and Lincoln were on deck and had Spence between them, we started to walk toward our cabins, where we knew we were guaranteed privacy. Officer Wide Eyes chased after me a few steps and called out, “You have to get some fancy qualifications or something?”

  I looked over my shoulder and called back. “It’s more of a birthright kind of thing!”

  “Just my luck,” he said, defeated.

  I paused and turned around, letting Phoenix and Lincoln go on ahead. The officer was young and eager. He reminded me a bit of Spence. “It just might be,” I said.

  He watched me closely as I showed him just a touch of the truth, letting a little of the battle, the sacrifice, the loss, and the promise of death fill my eyes until finally he nodded. He saw enough in that moment to understand that this life was not something to be painted in pretty colors. After a small nod, the officer walked back to his post.

  Just as I caught up to Phoenix and Lincoln at the doors going inside, Sal and Zoe suddenly came barreling toward us from the other side of the deck, pulling up quickly when they saw Spence, who was still looking entirely absent. I could see the moment they both registered that we had a serious problem.

  Before they started with the questions, Lincoln took charge, handing Spence over to them. “Take him down to the infirmary. Tell Chloe to stand guard and Mia to sit with him. Maybe one of them can reach him. Then meet us in the war room.”

  His final two words sent a shiver down my spine.

  Sensing the gravity of the situation, Zoe and Salvatore were consummate professionals, reminding me that they too had grown over the past two years.

  I had missed so much. Too much. And I knew that if I made it through this battle, I would make it up to my friends and family.

  We collected Steph on our way and found the rest of our team, minus Milo and Taxi, waiting for us in the war room, which turned out to be a large boardroom with the addition of soundproofing.

  “I asked Milo and Taxi to watch over the humans, just in case,” Carter told Lincoln, who nodded in both agreeme
nt and respect for Carter’s judgment.

  Lincoln placed a call to the New York Academy and switched to speakerphone as he updated Josephine and Drenson, along with a few other key senior Grigori who were patched in from various locations around the world. A few minutes into the call, a new voice came down the phone, and I smiled when I realized it was Griffin, who explained that he had just arrived in New York and that Nyla was expected to wake up at any moment.

  Steph discreetly called Dapper on her cell phone, and he and Onyx listened in at their end in case they had anything to offer.

  The instant Lincoln finished relaying Sammael’s threats, Drenson spoke loudly. “So Violet is the problem.”

  “Who’s this dick?” Carter bellowed, causing a few smiles around the room and a chuckle from Gray.

  “I’m the one who controls the resources of the Grigori Assembly and International Academy.”

  “I’d be careful with your choice of words, Drenson,” Lincoln said. “You may be Principal, but each Grigori is chosen by something much greater than you and is taught very early on the value of free will.” As a number of faces watched him intently from around the room, I realized I wasn’t the only one struck by how strong and controlled he was.

  A leader. A general.

  “What do you suggest our ultimate situation is, Lincoln?” Josephine asked, in a clear, let’s-move-on voice.

  Lincoln ran his hand through his hair. “Griff, she’s the key,” he said, addressing Griffin in favor of Josephine. He was making a clear statement to any who could be bothered to read between the lines. His respect rested with Griffin.

  Mine too.

  “Somehow he plans to use her to destroy the angels,” Lincoln explained.

  “But what I don’t understand is: How? Violet, do you?” Griffin asked.

  My pulse raced. This was the moment. I couldn’t hide from what I was any longer. There were too many lives at stake and, besides, I was tired of all the secrets. Tired of hiding from what I am.

  “My blood,” I said. “My blood isn’t just his key; it’s more.” I looked at Lincoln, seeing nothing but strength and support. Phoenix stood at the back of the room, and when my eyes met his, he nodded me on softly.

  “Most of you already know or assume this, I suppose, but it’s time to confirm it. My angel maker is of the Sole. My mother, who was also Grigori, sacrificed her life to him so I could be created. Among my abilities are all five senses and a Sight that enables me to move beyond the confines of my body to any place that I will it and view the blueprints and auras of the world.” I paused, searching out Gray’s eyes as people began to gasp. He simply smirked and gestured for me to continue. I wasn’t surprised that—despite never having verbally confirmed very much—none of this was particularly news to him.

  “In addition to carrying the essence of my maker, who is an angel of light, I also carry the essence of Phoenix, who, in giving it to me, saved my life and gave me the additional abilities of speed and the capacity to control my emotions, which helped considerably while I endured the past two years with a shattered soul.” My last words broke and Lincoln took my hand.

  “Recently, my soul was mended and the bond I share with my soul mate, Lincoln, has been eternally tied.” I felt Lincoln’s warmth beside me—and a pang of sadness.

  Phoenix.

  “My markings, as many of you will have noticed, are my version of your wristbands, but they come from within; they flow through my blood and include a part of the angelic realm. It is a poison that helped me kill Lilith when our blades could not—a poison that is lethal not only to exiles,” I said, taking a shuddering breath, “but also to angels in physical form. And finally,” I rushed on, needing to get it all out there, “I can cross the realms and go to a physical space that is created in conjunction with the angels. It looks similar to what any of you would have experienced on your trials when you embraced, but what you saw was illusion—where I go is real.”

  “Sammael wants to use your blood to kill angels?” Josephine asked, keenly zeroing in on the most relevant point, her tone appalled.

  “Not just any angel,” Phoenix said. “He wants Michael.”

  “And if he can use you to cross the realms…” Steph said, working it all out and grabbing Salvatore’s hand tightly.

  I nodded. “He will go to the physical space that will draw the angels to him in a corporeal form. And he will have his fight—”

  “With your blood on his sword,” Griffin finished, a heavy silence following his words because it was true.

  And I don’t know how to stop him. And everyone in this room knows it.

  “I don’t see why we are even entertaining this idea,” Drenson snapped. “It seems simple enough that Violet is the cause of this mess. If we remove her from the problem, Sammael won’t be able to do any of it.” I heard a few murmurs of agreement from the senior Grigori listening in.

  “If I thought that was an option, I’d gladly agree,” I responded. “But Sammael has control over Spence’s mind and he won’t relinquish it if I don’t turn up.”

  “So what!” Drenson retorted. “You expect us to risk the world for your friend? He is Grigori. It’s his job to make this sacrifice.”

  Carter snorted. “Right tosser, he is,” he mumbled.

  “I’ve never liked him,” Gray threw in.

  My hands fisted. “Josephine was right when she evaluated me at my testing, Drenson. I will put my friends and family above all else. I will fight with my last breath for what is right, but I will not ever leave one of them behind if it is in my power to help them.”

  “There is something else you need to consider,” Phoenix said, his words spoken with a force that, when combined with the menacing look in his darkened eyes, served to remind the entire room that he was an extremely powerful exile in his own right. “Sammael already has some of Violet’s blood. With his magic, it is possible he can create his own gateway, and as Violet is the only other person who can cross over…”

  Griffin’s voice came through over the loudspeaker: “While she could be the world’s downfall, she is also our most likely savior.” I could almost hear Griffin’s small smile. “And if I had to guess, I would venture that, like you, Drenson, Sammael has greatly underestimated the power of Violet’s will.”

  I looked down, embarrassed by the praise. But when I looked back up, I saw a room of warriors watching me with something new in their eyes. The combination of fear and curiosity was still present, but now there was also hope.

  In me.

  Then, of course, Josephine spoke. “Violet, I hate to sound unsupportive at this stage. We’ve had our differences in the past and despite your feelings toward me…it would be remiss of me to not ask whether you have considered that it might be better if you left others to deal with this, that your presence causes more complication than aid.”

  I took my time. A couple years ago, I would have been hurt by what she’d just said. But I’d grown up.

  “Josephine, your question is fair. I’ve faced death and loss, and since becoming Grigori, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I don’t seem to be quite like anyone else. More than once I’ve considered the danger that my existence puts those around me in, and those I love the most have paid greatly for those fears. But finally, I am beginning to understand that while I don’t have the answers you may need, I do have the only one that matters. I was made for this. Yes, there is danger and chaos, but also reason and design. I was created by one who has the most unwavering sense of faith in the goodness of this world. He trusts in me to protect that at all costs. And that is exactly what I will do. Can you understand that, Josephine?”

  There was silence at the other end, and our room was deathly silent. “Yes, Violet. I believe you’ve explained it perfectly.”

  I waited for Drenson to argue, but he was surprisingly mute.

  Looking
up at Lincoln, I knew he saw the resolve in my eyes as I became more and more sure of my role in all of this. “I have to go with Sammael.”

  He was silent for a moment, watching me, then said, “You took Rainer with you to find Nyla.”

  I nodded.

  “So you could take me too.”

  I winced. “Hypothetically, yes, but I kept physical contact with Rainer the whole time. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d let go of her. I could have lost her forever.” My voice caught. I’d only just got him back.

  I knew what I was looking down the barrel of. This was like history repeating itself. I stood firm. “I should go alone.”

  Phoenix cleared his throat. “Before you make any final decisions, you might want to take a good look outside and consider the other problem you will almost certainly face.”

  Instantly everyone moved toward the windows.

  “It’s started to rain,” Salvatore said.

  “It’s not the rain,” Phoenix said gravely.

  “The wind,” Gray said with a faraway, haunted look. “There was no wind earlier.”

  Phoenix had not moved to the window. He knew exactly what the wind was doing. It was a part of him.

  “If Sammael believes he will defeat Michael tomorrow night, he will unleash his magic and bring destruction to this city. Even if you manage to stop him…” Phoenix looked down, and when his eyes came back to the room, they settled sadly on mine. “He has an army of exiles of light already here, and thanks to the tournaments he has been controlling, he has an opposing army of dark exiles closing in. And it is not just a battleground he has created.”

  “Spell it out for those of us who need the kiddie’s version,” Carter said, causing Gray to flash him a smile.

  Phoenix tilted his head and spoke to Carter. “He has brought too many exiles to this one place, a place that was never intended to exist. The temptation will be too much for the angels. Regardless of the outcome, of any battle, when it all comes to a head, this land will be returned to the ocean.” He took a shuddering breath. “Even if Sammael doesn’t succeed, the angels will destroy New Orleans.”