“He’s using Alice to capture an angel? That’s ridiculous,” Jake whispered back.
“I was in there, and I know he cares about nothing, only pain, torture, and breaking you down. He’s a monster but he’s not stupid; he has a plan. Think about it, he’s a bounty hunter, because they do not believe there is salvation for Fallen and chose to cause pain and wreck havoc instead of earning redemption.”
“What can we do?” Sariel asked.
“Give Briathos a chance to escape with Alice. If he fails, we will have to raid the building and get them out ourselves.”
“Side by side, brother,” Jake said, holding his hand out to shake. The others nodded in agreement.
Cole took it and returned his gaze to the building. “We’re coming, love,” Cole whispered.
Alice stood, shakily, in her cell, attempting to stand strong. She could feel Purah’s joy and knew the angel had arrived. Her soul reached off into the distance, and she knew that meant Cole was not far away. She was going to have to try to bring Purah down before they all went crashing down. The guard entered and took her by the arm to lead her into the room with the angel and the devil, as she saw it.
“And here is the savior now, not much to look at, but you get what you pay for, I suppose,” Purah teased.
Alice kept her head down as she tried to think of a plan to get her and this angel out of hell’s gates. “I’m supposed to trust an angel?” she choked sarcastically.
“Give her a little food and water and the attitude comes back. He’s here to take you to your judgment,” Purah said with a smile.
Alice approached the angel, recognizing his face. As she reached up to touch his face, he jerked back and Purah grabbed her by her cage. “I just want to look at his eyes and see if he is what you say he is, before you send me off to be slaughtered.” She felt Purah let go and did what Cole had asked; she looked into this angel. Her eyes pierced through his sky blue eyes and immediately her soul reached out to him. She felt him slow his breathing as he allowed her soul to wrap around the light inside of him. The light in him was brighter than anything she had ever felt or seen. It almost blinded her as her body temperature spiked to an unreasonably high heat. She felt God’s warmth inside of him. She let go, and would have crashed to the floor, if he had not caught her.
“Purah, she is the Fallen savior and your deal is accepted,” Briathos said, pointing at the cage to be removed.
“See, the problem is, I don’t believe you, so I think I’ll keep you both. Guards!” The room filled with bounty hunters and the angel knew he was outnumbered if he planned to save her. Four guards grabbed Briathos while Purah approached his most prized possession, Alice. “I told you our fun wasn’t finished.”
“Call your family,” Briathos shouted through the leather fingers covering his mouth.
She wanted to protect them all; she was the one, they kept saying. She was the only one that had to be sacrificed to save them all. She turned back to Purah and released an earth shattering scream she was sure would warn the others outside. She pulled all the power she possessed inside of her, that she used to dance feathers, and directed it to the cage on her back. The louder her scream grew, the more the cage shook. Just as the scream hit its final note, the cage snapped off into hundreds of pieces, flying throughout the room, stabbing the bounty hunters around them. Purah ran to her, wrapping his hands around her throat. She choked, struggled and knocked him on his back, forcing her to straddle him.
“Alice!” Cole’s voice echoed down the hall.
“No!” Braithos screamed.
Alice ignored them all as she sucked in the little air she had, slowing the room down. His grip was too strong to fully stop the space around her. She stared into his eyes of evil and hate, but nothing happened except a smile which crept into his eyes. Come on, soul, it’s time to save us all. With a spark of warm light, her soul beamed from her eyes and into Purah’s. At first he was mystified, but then she began to unleash the pain she had felt with every torture he had inflicted on her. He screamed in agonizing pain under her, loosening his grasp slightly on her throat. She knew what she had to do, but was terrified all the same. She reached back into the memories of all the terrible, torturous things he had done. Knowing she would feel every one of them, just as he would. She exhaled, allowing the room to come back to speed, and with only hope in her heart, she let the pain he had caused attack them both. She could hear Cole behind her, faintly, over her screams and her captor’s, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She felt Cole’s shield wrap around her soul as it had so many times before, trying to soothe it and numb it from the pain. She felt her soul invite his warmth in, but she knew it would not be enough to withstand the agony which came from Purah.
She felt every man he had ripped limb from limb, every woman defaced and sliced, tortures she did not know even existed. She was trapped in an agony-filled darkness. Suddenly Braithos lifted her away, breaking the connection leaving Purah in agony on the floor. Her body shook in his arms as he turned to Cole.
“You! The gift from God can save her,” Braithos yelled at Cole.
Cole stopped fighting and walked to where Briathos held Alice. He stared at her frightened face and back to the angel. “How?”
“Feed the connection.”
Cole leaned down and lifted Alice’s face in his hands. “Shhh, you’re okay. I’m here now,” Alice calmed slightly. Cole pressed his lips to hers and breathed in the love they shared. Alice’s body twitched once more before she latched onto Cole, kissing him back. When she leaned back in his arms and saw him smiling at her, she couldn’t help but cry. He had saved her all over again. The room applauded and she laughed.
“Hate to cut in, but we should probably get out of here,” Jake shouted. Alice flashed him a “we won” grin and he returned it. She stared at Purah’s twitching body and knew soon he would disappear into the abyss. She wasn’t sure how she knew only that she did.
“Good idea,” Briathos said, nodding to Alice. “Thank you, again.”
“Let’s not make a habit of this,” Alice joked.
“No, let’s not.”
Cole lifted her up into his arms and carried her out into the front yard to the cars down the dark road.
In the car, Alice sat in Cole’s lap while Jake drove them home. The weeks that had passed would always haunt her as much as staring down into the depths of Purah had. At least now she was back with the man she loved and the family she truly cherished. She was beginning to understand how she could save them all. But she knew it would come at a price, something only she could sacrifice. Just as she began to close her eyes, the first car slammed into another car. But it wasn’t a car. Jake slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt, and they all jumped out. Alice climbed from Jake’s and Cole’s grasp, as she ran to the car holding her family and Briathos. When she approached the front, she saw what they had hit.
“Rogziel,” she spat.
“Didn’t miss me, I take it.”
Briathos climbed out of the dented SUV and glared at his brother. “This is unnecessary.”
“They save your life and you think that means to let the half-breed go free?” Rogziel fumed. Everything about him reminded Alice of the bounty hunters. Only his white wings were pure.
“I request that her freedom be granted,” Briathos asked kneeling.
“No!” Rogziel’s voice boomed through the fields. “And you will be punished.”
Sariel, Penemue, and Kokabiel climbed from the car and stood in front of Alice. Alice pushed through and stood below Rogziel. “Is it God who wants him punished or you?” Alice dared.
“What God wants is of no concern to you.”
“I take my punishment with honor, brother,‘” Briathos interrupted.
Rogziel flew down and looked his brother in the eye. “You chose the Fallen and their half-breeds. Now you are one of them.” He rested his hand on Briathos’ wings and they began to slowly turn gray. “You are not welcome in
the house of God.” He turned to Alice. “I will destroy you, Nephilim,” he said, flying off into the dark night’s sky, back to a place where he was deemed worthy.
Alice turned to Briathos and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for all you have done. You are welcome in our home for as long as you need.”
Briathos stared up at the heavens and cried for the choices he had made and his punishment. Penemue outstretched a hand to Briathos. “Brother?”
“Please do not call me that.” Braithos stood on his own and returned to the smashed SUV.
“He’ll get used to us,” Kokabiel said.
Everyone but Alice and Cole returned to the cars. She tried to brush her wings out of the way as she wrapped her arms around his neck, locking her lips to his. She knew that her fight against God’s angels was not far away, but this night was a small victory and this moment was worth all the pain.
“Let’s go home, love,” Cole said, brushing her hair from her face.
“Yes please, love,” she answered with a smile as she limped back to the car. “Home,” she told Jake once they were back in the car. She leaned into Cole, smelling the ocean waves and sandy beaches that brushed across her skin, lulling her to sleep.
I want to thank my friends and family for being unconditionally supportive while I worked on this series. I love you all dearly. Russ my optimistic friend who reminds me of better things and brings my beautiful covers to life. My Alice and Cole, Natalie and Matt for portraying my characters flawlessly. Jessi, my writing rock. My mom for giving me all the support and love I needed. All the others who worked on my book however little or extensive, my editing team Betsy, Cris, mom and the wonderful Deaette, Julie and Stephanie, without you I would not have come so far. And last but far from least, to my amazing fans, thank you for your support and love, I hope you enjoy the rest of the series as much as I have writing it, I adore you all.
Andrea was born and raised in Michigan, where she resides with her son and min pin, Hershey. She has always had a passion for writing and for the entertainment arts. While she continues to chase all her dreams, she encourages everyone to do the same.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Alice's Sacrifice (Alice Clark Series) Page 16
