A few hours later, my limbs numb from holding the same position for so long, my phone buzzed.
The text from Phoenix, who was positioned precariously at the top of a nearby electrical cable tower, was brief.
Incoming.
We all looked up in time to see the speck in the sky come into focus, the thumping chopper sounds growing steadily louder.
I could hear Mia whispering. ‘Please, please, please.’
I did the same internally. If Spence wasn’t on this helicopter, we were out of ideas. And that wasn’t acceptable. The only thing that made me believe we were right was the knowledge that Sammael wanted me to find him.
He needs me.
I pushed the thought aside.
‘You sure you’ve got us covered?’ Carter asked Mia as the chopper neared.
Mia sent him a sharp look. ‘Of course I have!’ she replied defensively. It really wasn’t a good idea to question a senior Grigori’s capabilities, and Carter knew it. ‘Do you even have a strength?’ she added.
Before she finished her question, Carter was suddenly no longer next to me, but lying beside Mia.
She gasped. ‘How the hell did you do that?’
I would’ve rolled my eyes if they weren’t fixed on the helicopter as it approached the steamer. ‘He has a five-second rewind,’ I explained. ‘Usually by the time he realises he needs to go back, it’s too late. But every now and then it comes in handy.’
‘Like the time I blocked that axe from going through your spine?’ he offered.
‘Like that,’ I grumbled, then added, ‘Look. They’re down.’
We all waited as, beneath the rotating blades, a well-dressed exile jumped out, then another. Then we saw three humans jump down, all wearing business suits. All shadowed. I held my breath for a small eternity and finally, we saw another exile emerge. He was large and dressed in loose pants and a T-shirt. Fighting clothes, like ours.
Spence was draped over his shoulder.
‘He’s not moving,’ Mia hissed.
My phone buzzed again. This one was from Chloe.
He’s alive.
‘She wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t sure, Mia,’ I said, trying to give her the strength she would need. Because we could all see, even if he was alive he clearly wan’t in a good state.
‘Our boats are on the move,’ Lincoln said, putting his phone away.
And that was our cue. We all pulled on the ropes – anchored to the rooftop and threaded through quick-draw D-rings – attached to our waists. Without pause we backed off the edge, plunging quickly to the ground and landing easily.
By the time we ran to the river’s edge Gray was pulling up in his speedboat, slowing to give us a chance to leap into the back.
I held on tightly as he lurched forward again, sprays of water spitting into my face. We knew that our boat, or Sal’s, which was approaching with the rest of the team from the other side, would be spotted in moments. We had to get on board fast.
As Gray pulled alongside the steamboat Lincoln and Carter shot arrows connected to cables up and onto the deck. Once they were hooked, Mia climbed onto Carter’s back and I climbed onto Lincoln; they then flicked the retract button and we were hauled up onto the deck.
‘Gotta love the navy boys,’ Carter remarked as he threw the one-shot weapon, courtesy of our Grigori positioned within the US navy, to the ground.
On the other side of the boat Phoenix and Chloe boarded, along with the conductors, Milo with Taxi, and Zoe flying solo.
Chloe looked as pale as a ghost, and I was sure it had nothing to do with seasickness and everything to do with whatever she was sensing through her partner bond.
I need to get to Spence. Now.
Exiles and humans alike started to run in our direction, the humans carrying automatic weapons and the exiles with swords, or simply smiles.
Holy hell, there are more than we’d counted on.
‘Linc.’ It was all I needed to say. Instantly he was by my side.
My sentinel.
‘Zoe, your team has the deck!’ Lincoln yelled.
I trusted that Lincoln had things in hand as he continued to issue orders. So, I blocked him and everything else out and I focused on my power – the part that sat right at the base of the well within me. The part that made me feel as light as air and frighteningly powerful. Breathing deeply, I urged it forward, beckoning my Sight and leaving my corporeal form behind where Lincoln stood guard.
I could see the boat now from my bird’s-eye position – like a pattern or blueprint, shaded and obscured, its evil intent pulsing on the perimeter. And within, I could see auras. The human impressions were not as bright as they should have been, and I knew that this was because they had been tainted by the exiles controlling them.
Auras were always one colour. The exiles were easily spotted: always shades of red. Grigori were different, but each one still a solid colour. Except for me; like so many things, mine was an anomaly. A rainbow.
I instantly registered Lincoln’s grass-green aura, but I was momentarily surprised to see that it had changed: still green, but right in the centre a shimmer of colour bled out.
In his heart.
Of me.
I forced my eyes to move on and continue the search. Phoenix’s unique shade of orange-gold caught my attention and then my Sight travelled below deck.
It was only a matter of seconds before I found Spence. His particular shade of azure-blue was almost completely smothered in thick ominous shadow, and beside him was a great expanse of red. Blood-red.
Sammael.
Anger saturated me and I harnessed it, feeding my power and pushing it out over the entire vessel until every exile was under my hold. All except Sammael. I wouldn’t be fooled again. I knew he was immune to my ability.
Zoe led the way – with Phoenix close behind – as our people pushed through the fighting humans, concentrating on taking out the exile threat as quickly as possible. While Grigori used their blades, I knew that Phoenix would be reaching in and tearing out their exile hearts.
At that moment, with Spence covered in shadow, it was a gruesome tactic I was prepared to live with.
Once they were all taken care of on the top deck I felt Lincoln’s power calling to me. For the first time, the lure of holding onto my Sight and remaining in my incorporeal state held little temptation. The feeling was present, but it was simply outweighed by another feeling that was so much stronger.
When I opened my eyes, Lincoln was waiting for me and he smiled, as if he knew exactly how much he had truly fixed me.
Catching my breath, I looked out over the ongoing fight with the remaining humans. Taking out the exiles on deck had given us the advantage for the moment but we were still only a few against many.
‘We’ll try to disarm the humans and knock them out so we can get them off the boat,’ Lincoln said. He didn’t need to speak the silent ‘but’. We both knew there was a chance things would go wrong.
I nodded once, already looking for the entry to the lower decks. ‘I know where he is.’
I grabbed Lincoln’s hand and started to push through the throng towards the lower deck, Lincoln pausing only to call out to Zoe that she had control of the deck.
By the time we made it down the stairs Phoenix was at my other side and Carter, Milo and Taxi stormed down the stairs heading in the opposite direction to secure the cabins.
I walked straight towards the wide double doors at the end of the hall. When I reached them, I threw them open, abandoning any further attempts at stealth. Sammael knew we were there. Sure enough, there on the far side of the ship’s casino, he stood, waiting, Spence beside him.
We strode across the room, stopping about five metres from them.
‘Spence,’ I said.
‘You’re earlier than I expected,’ Sammael mused, though clearly unperturbed.
‘Spence!’ I said again when he didn’t respond. He just stood beside Sammael, staring out through blank eyes.
> He doesn’t see me.
‘He does not exist in this reality any more. Not entirely,’ Sammael said from beside him.
I turned my heated glare on the exile, my senses on high alert as they fought against the onslaught that was Sammael. Beyond powerful; unlike the last time we’d crossed paths he wasn’t holding back. He wanted me to know what I was up against.
He looked exactly the same as he had that night at Lilith’s estate. Unassuming. Short, slim and bald with light grey eyes hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses. Again he wore an expensive-looking yet conservative suit with a blue tie. The only difference was that this time, his shoulders were back and his eyes proud – he expected to be noticed.
He gave nothing away, taking his time to study first Phoenix and then Lincoln, who were standing on either side of me.
‘Would you prefer something more like what you are used to?’ he asked, sarcasm leaking into his words as he suddenly morphed into a taller, considerably more handsome – and haired – appearance. ‘Humans are so predictable. They all dream of being surrounded by beautiful things.’ He smiled, returning to his former self. ‘Angels who exile automatically take on beautiful forms. Why would they not, when beauty is so often richly rewarded?’ He winked at me. ‘But I’ll let you in on a secret. I never wanted the beauty. You see,’ his tone dropped and became more intimate, ‘you can achieve so much more when no one is watching.’
‘Give him to me,’ I said, keeping my eyes on Sammael and making my threat clear.
‘Of course,’ Sammael continued as if I hadn’t spoken, ‘all those angels who abandoned their realm simply thought they could rule this world better.’ He chuckled lightly. ‘Not me. No, I never wanted to rule this world.’
‘Then perhaps you should consider leaving it,’ I sniped, losing patience.
He ignored me. ‘I am going to make a better world.’
‘A world based on fear?’ I asked.
He shrugged, holding out his arms. ‘What do you think this world is built on? Do you not ever wonder why religion exists? The point of it all? Ask yourself: are humans more inclined to conform because they hope for Heaven or because they fear Hell?’
I didn’t respond. Instead I asked, ‘What have you done to Spence?’
‘How could I deny him? It was a beautiful dance of free will at its worst for him and best for me. Oh, Violet, he wanted to find me. He has hunted me for years. Of course, I could have taken him any time, but I needed to be sure everything was in place first.’
When I narrowed my gaze he rolled his, as if disappointed I wasn’t more impressed. ‘He is absent. Absent in mind, in conscious thought. Adrift, while his imagination has very likely delivered his mind to somewhere … unpleasant.’
‘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 towards 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 soulmates 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 towards 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.
CHaPteR tHIRty
‘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 jack-all, 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 US navy at your beck and call, and you lot 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 towards 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 colours. 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 barrelling towards 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.
Empower: Violet Eden Chapters: Book Five Page 26
