“Jessi!”
“Jami! Josi! I don’t think I can hold on much longer!” Jessi screamed. “I think… aah!”
“Jessi!”
Something was very, very wrong, Sky thought, frowning. He rubbed the side of his head, trying to remember what had happened, but everything just came back blank. What happened? I remember going up to the heavens. I remember the black angels. Even the torture chamber.
He shuddered, as memories came back to him. The sound of his mother, his father, his brothers, his sister still embedded in his brain. But after that, what the hell happened?
He blew out a breath, walking down the sidewalk. He paused, smiling, as a group of girls walked past them. Talking, giggling, and he felt a twinge in his heart. Why do I feel like something is missing? What happened to me?
“Argh!”
The noise sounded nearby, and he jumped, jerking his head around. His eyes widening as darkness suddenly swept over the earth. Demons filled the streets, and he saw a vampire striding down the street.
“Ooh. I smell blood,” the vampire said, his lips curling into a smile, as he neared the young woman. “What I wouldn’t give to…”
“Stop!”
Sky raced forward, sliding to a stop in front of the woman. He struck is hand forward, shoving the vampire back. “Leave her alone!”
“You don’t scare me, Angel,” the vampire said, grinning from ear to ear. “You’re the last of your kind, and now, there will be no more.” He lifted his fingers to his lips, blowing out a loud whistle, and behind him footsteps sounded. Black angels appearing behind him in a cloud of black smoke.
“Black angels?” Sky’s eyes widened, as the men and women in black appeared. “Holy crap! What the hell happened? What are you doing here?”
“Your memory a little fuzzy, Angel?” the black angel asked, grinning from ear to ear, as he strode forward. He glanced at the woman and man standing next to him. “Can you believe good ole Sky forgot about his charges? Not that it matters. He’s dead to us now.” He raised his bow, and drew back the arrow.
“No!” Sky stared at the bow, then at the woman. “Screw it!” He wrapped his arm around the woman, but it was too late. Before he could teleport out, the arrow struck through the air, hitting the woman in the chest.
The woman screamed, staring down at the arrow in her chest, then to the black angels, and finally go Sky. “Wh-what’s going on? Who are these people?” She gasped, falling to her knees, reaching for the arrow.
“No!” Sky lunged forward. “Don’t touch it! It’ll kill you!”
“She’s already dead, Sky,” the black angel said, as he drew another arrow back. “And so are you.”
The arrow slung toward him, and Sky teleported out of the way just before it struck him. Appearing next to the woman, and picking her up in his arms. “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he whispered, before disappearing in a reign of yellow light.
“Dammit! He got away!” the dark angel said, lowering the bow. “I had him!”
“Oh, he’ll be back,” the vampire said, chuckling, as he stared at the black angels. “He always comes back.”
Darkness had over run the world. Demons were stalking the earth, and the angels were missing? And just where were the witches? Was there not anyone protecting the earth anymore?
Sky appeared in a flash of light on the other side of the twin cities, a dozen thoughts rolling through his mind. He shoved them to the side, instead focusing on the woman in his arms.
“I am so sorry this happened to you,” he said, lowering her onto the park bench, and staring at the arrow sticking out from her chest. “This should have never happened. You were supposed to be safe. We were supposed to keep you safe.” He bowed his head, sniffing. “What’s your name?”
“Maria.”
“Pretty name,” he whispered, hating this feeling. That feeling of utter helplessness. He couldn’t save her! If he touched the arrow, he would die!
You’re really going to put your own wellbeing above a human’s? Is that why you became an angel, Sky?
“Of course not,” he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and blowing out a long breath. He then reached forward and wrapped his hand around the arrow and pulled it from Maria’s body.
“Wh-what are you doing?” Maria gasped out. “What… what is on that? I feel lightheaded, dizzy, and I can’t feel my legs!” she cried. “I can’t feel my legs!”
“I know, Maria,” Sky whispered, gasping, as he felt his heart start to race. Sweat beaded across his forehead, and he stared down at the arrow. Tossing it behind him and pressing his hands to the wound in Maria’s stomach. “It’s the scorpion poison.”
“Scorpion poison? But I didn’t think Scorpions were dangerous to humans!”
“They are, when the two most dangerous breeds are bred together,” Sky said, softly. “Come on. We have to get you to the hospital. We both have to get to the hospital.” He grabbed her by the hand and disappeared in another whirl of light. This time, inside the hospital.
“Sky?”
Dr. Mackenzie Nelson glanced up from her desk. “Sky, what are you doing here?”
“I need help,” Sky said, stumbling forward. “Black angels… they’re here. They shot this woman, and I… I touched the arrow. So I…”
“Have the venom inside of you,” Mackenzie finished for him, sighing. “Sky, are you an idiot? You know what happens when you touch those things!” She rose from her chair, striding across the room, and opening a drawer. She withdrew a vial, sticking the needle into the solution. “One dose of anti-scorpion venom coming right up!” she cried, jabbing Maria in the shoulder, then Sky.
“Oh my! I can feel my legs again!” Maria cried, as the solution did its work. “Thank you! But you still haven’t answered my question. Who are you?”
“My name is Sky,” Sky said, softly. “And I just saved your life.”
“I know, but…”
“That’s all you get to know,” Sky said. “That’s all I can tell you.”
“Well, whoever you are, thank you,” Maria said, rising from the bed, and glancing at her watch. “Oh my goodness, look at the time! I have to go! My kids, they’re waiting for me! Bye!”
“Goodbye, Maria, and remember… be careful!” Sky shouted, as she walked out the door, blowing out a sigh of relief, and dropping into the chair behind him. “Whoo! That was close!”
“A little too close,” Mackenzie murmured. “Jasmine would have your head if she knew what kind of mess you had gotten yourself into.”
“Jasmine?” Sky frowned. “Who’s Jasmine?”
“Ah. Your girlfriend,” Mackenzie said, frowning. “Did you hit your head, Sky?”
“No. But something’s off. I can’t seem to remember much. It’s like something is missing. Something big.”
“That’s probably the shift in dark energy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There was a shift in the balance, Sky. I felt it, too. Darkness is here, and demons have taken over the world. It won’t be long now until…”
“They take over,” Sky murmured, sighing. He rose to his feet. “So, this Jasmine. Do you know where she lives?”
Mackenzie nodded. “I do.” She pulled out her notepad, jotting an address down. “Here, and Sky, please be careful.”
“Of course,” Sky said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thanks, Mackenzie. You’re a hell of a gypsy.”
“And don’t I know it.”
“Jessi!”
Josi screamed, slinging around. She raised the sword high in the air, jabbing it forward. The metal slicing through the demon’s chest. “There! Take that!” She shouted, as he fell to the ground, and spun on her heel, racing toward the window.
“Will you get off of me?” Jami cried, struggling against the gladiator as he pinned her to the ground. She wiggled, trying to dislodge, him, dodging his hands as he tried to wrap his large fingers around her throat. Her fingers wrapping around the baseball bat lyi
ng on the floor, and she swung it around. The wood connecting with his large head with a loud thump.
“There! Take that, buster!” she shouted, as he fell to the ground. She jumped to her feet, raising the bat. Tears filling her eyes, as she thought of everything she’d gone through. Being kidnapped. Being tied to that pit just above the flames. The sword that had dug into her chest, and forgetting her family! She swung the bat down, striking him in the head, again, and again. Blood splattered across the floor, and a sob escaped her lips. “I hate you!”
“Jami!”
“What?”
“I think he’s dead!” Josi shouted. “Come here!”
Jami dropped the bat, racing toward the window, peering down. Her eyes widening. “Where’s Jessi?”
“Hell if I know!”
“Jami! Josi! Watch out!”
The shout sounded behind them, and they turned, just as the last demon jumped to his feet, racing toward them. He lunged toward them, and they ducked. His body flying out the window, and falling to his death far below.
“Well, that’s one way to die,” Jami muttered, glancing out the window, as the demon hit the pavement far below. His body disappeared in a scorch of flames.
“Jessi!”
Josi raced forward, engulfing her sister in a hug. “Oh my God! I was so scared when I saw you fall out the window. I thought you were dead!”
“I thought I was too!” Jessi cried. “But then Sky caught me!”
“Sky?”
“You mean the angel?”
“And Jasmine’s bae,” Jami said, grinning.
“Bae?” Sky stared at them. “What’s that?”
“It means, before anyone else,” Josi said, laughing. “Or boyfriend, in simpler terms.”
“And I am confused,” Sky said, rubbing the side of his head. “Who are you people?”
“Well I’m Jami,” Jami said pointing to herself. “That’s Jessi, and that is Josi. We’re Josslyn’s children.”
“Who?”
“You really don’t remember any of us?”
“No!” Sky cried. “In fact, I don’t remember anything! What the hell happened?”
“Well, it all started when Jami and I were kidnapped,” Jessi said.
“We were in the underworld.”
“And Julie married Elijah,” Josi put in. “Creating a dark void over the world.”
“And you were in the torture chamber,” Jessi added. “Until Jorja got you and the Gods out.”
“But now everything’s messed up,” Josi said, grabbing the picture lying at her feet and pointing. “These are the Morgan sisters, Sky. Your charges. See, this is Jade. This is Jasmine, this is Josslyn, and this. This is Julie. She’s the one who married Elijah. You seriously don’t remember any of this?”
“No! I don’t. Even though I feel like I should,” Sky said, staring at the picture. Staring into Jasmine’s bright, blue eyes. “She’s supposed to be my girlfriend. The love of my life, but how can that be, when I don’t even remember her?”
“It’ll come back to you,” Jessi said, laying a hand on his arm. “It’s your destiny to be together.”
A gold hue suddenly appeared from under her hand, and she frowned. “Whoa. Guys… what’s happening?”
“I think it’s your power!” Jami cried. “Jessi! You might be the key to returning his memories!”
“What do I do?”
“Nothing,” Sky said, lifting his head, and staring down at her. “Because your powers will do it for you.”
“They failed, my lord,” the seer said, glancing over her shoulder at Elijah. “The Gladiators. They are all dead.”
“Blasted! They’re just as bad as their mother!” Elijah shouted, turning, and slamming his fist into the wall next to him. Sparks rained down from the orange wall, and he seethed. “Damned witches! I hate them!”
“Elijah.”
The faint voice rippled through the air and Elijah lifted his head, staring at Julie as she stood in the doorway. “Julie?”
“I-I’m not feeling so well,” Julie whispered, stumbling forward. She held a hand to her stomach, feeling as if she were going to puke.
“You don’t look well,” Elijah whispered. He crossed the room, holding a hand to her forehead. “You’re burning up, Dear! What’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know,” Julie whispered. “I feel lightheaded. Like I’m short on blood… and… and…” She gasped, wavering, her legs feeling weak. Her knees buckled, and she cried out, losing her balance.
“Don’t worry. I got you,” Elijah said, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her into his arms. He brushed her black hair out of her face, and turned, disappearing out of the room.
“Ah… sir. We’re not done here.”
“Yes, we are,” Elijah said, glancing over his shoulder at the seer. “I have other duties to attend to.”
“You mean the witch?” the seer asked, raising a brow. “Elijah, I must warn you to exercise caution. If you’re feeling anything for her… they’ll kill you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Elijah asked, whipping his head around, and glaring at the Seer. “They’re the ones who brought me here! They’re the ones who gave me the chance to prove myself, but she’s my wife! The one who is going to bring my heir into this world. She must not die, before I get a chance to bring forth the next generation of evil.”
The seer opened her mouth to respond, and Elijah let out a growl, flinging his hand forward. Flames shot out, engulfing the seer, and burning her to ash.
“There. There’s one last menace I have to worry about, questioning me,” he muttered, as he walked down the hallway toward their chambers. He turned, ascending the steps, and he glanced down at Julie. He felt a twinge, a flutter somewhere deep inside of him, and he quickly shoved it aside. Stifling the emotion and entered the bedroom. Lying Julie down on the bed.
“Julie. What’s going on?” he asked, stroking her cheek. “Why are you so sick? Is it something you ate? Drank?” Then his blood suddenly boiled, at the sight of the bite mark on the side of her neck.
From the ceremony? But it should have healed already!
Anger washed through him. “Talia! Get your dead butt down here right now! You and I need to have a talk!”
“Jasmine…”
Sky held a hand to his heart, as memories started to come back to me, and he stumbled back. Falling back onto the couch as images flashed through his mind. Remembering the first day he’d met the sisters, and the anger he’d seen in Jasmine and how she’d locked him in the closet. He remembered the day they’d faced Satan together, and how he’d sacrificed himself so they could defeat him, and of course, Agrabah.
“Holy crap! You were stuck in a fairytale on Halloween? You were stuck in… Aladdin?” Jessi asked, her eyes widening. “That’s so cool!”
“Wait. You can see what he’s seeing?” Josi asked, stepping forward. “Like in his brain?”
“It’s like a movie,” Jessi said. “Man, this is so cool! I can feel everything he’s feeling. The pain. The sacrifice, and the love he feels for Jasmine.”
“I remember everything,” Sky said, his eyes snapping open. “Including watching you get stabbed!” He cried, jabbing a finger at Jami. “You… you can self-heal?”
Jami nodded. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“I’ve never met anyone with that power! It is beyond cool! It could be groundbreaking!”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I could cure cancer. Save lives. I know. Jessi already said that, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep this to myself for a while? The last thing I want is to be poked in prodded like I’m some sort of lab rat.”
“Point taken.”
“So, what happened, Sky?” Josi asked, interrupting them. “Why were all of our memories erased?”
“Because the bond was broken between the sisters,” Sky said, rising to his feet, and striding across the room. He brushed the curtain to the side, staring out at the world outside, and the darkness hovering
over the city. “When the bond was broken, the scales tipped in the demonic world’s favor, erasing our memories. It’s what Elijah wanted.”
“But why were we drawn here? To this house?”
“I think it was all of you. You all said something didn’t feel right. Like you were forgetting something. Well, you were right, you were missing something. Your memories. Damn, you three really are a force to be reckoned with!” he cried. “If it wasn’t for you three, I think I’d still be lost.”
“I think it was you, Jami,” Jessi said. “You kept saying that something didn’t feel right. You kept saying something was missing. You were right.”
“So, when Julie married Elijah, everything changed?”
“Yup, and nothing is as it seems. Demons are roaming the earth, and the heavens, they’ve got to be corrupt by now. Hell, I don’t even know where the Gods are.”
“The Gods?”
“His bosses, remember?” Josi asked, glancing over at Jami. “The ones who were stuck in the torture chamber with him.”
“Oh, right!”
“But we also need to find your mother and your aunts,” Sky said. “So we can get this mess straightened out.”
“How?”
“With your blood.”
“More blood?” Josi asked, sighing. “Why?”
“It’s the only way to link you to them,” Sky said.
“But why?” Jami asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “She abandoned us! Why should we care where she is? Or if she ever sees us again?”
“She didn’t abandon us, Jami,” Jessi said. “She gave us up, because she was in prison. There’s a difference.”
“Not to me there’s not.”
“Jami.”
“What?”
“You have a right to be angry, Jami,” Sky said. “But taking it out on the world, is not going to help matters. In fact, it’ll make things worse. We need to get your family back together, if we don’t, the end of the world is inevitable.”
“Wait. You’re saying that the apocalypse… could really happen?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Shattered Dimensions Page 5
