by Megan Linski
“Think about what you’re saying! If I had made this world twenty years ago, or ten, your sister wouldn’t have been molested by that freak!” Roman gestures to Cassia, and I wince. “Think of how many women and girls we can save, Faline! Think of our utopia; a world without pain or suffering. It comes with consequences, yes, and it comes with sacrifices, but it is what must be done!”
“No.” Thames speaks weakly. He slowly clambers to his feet, face crumpled in pain as he does so. “God didn’t create this world so we could all follow the rules mindlessly like robots. Love means nothing if it’s not a choice.”
Thames is a miracle. Though he came from hell, Thames understands God better than any of us… understands that God did not wish to create a universe of people devoid of free will.
If Roman’s looks could kill, Thames would’ve died days ago. “I don’t expect you to understand,” he spits. “A thing of hell.”
“How did you get the demons to side with you on this?” I ask quickly. “They don’t want a perfect world. They want chaos.”
“We have made a trade,” Roman says, gesturing to Cody. “In our new world we will take the undesirables… the criminals, but also the sick, the unintelligent and the old, those that bring society down, and hand them over to the demons to feed upon. In turn, they will leave our utopia alone.”
“Oh my God.” Cassia speaks for the first time. She slaps a hand over her mouth, and bends over. “This is making me sick.”
“I’ve heard enough of this,” I say nastily. “I’m not going to be your general. I don’t even want to be your daughter.”
“I’m sorry you see it that way, Faline.” Roman sighs. “But I’m sure you’ll change your mind, in time.”
He looks to the council. “Kill the boys. I want both my daughters left alive.”
Roman snaps his fingers. The Nephilim council and Cody fly at us at once. But I’m not thinking of them; I’m not thinking of anything but getting to my father. I kick any Nephilim that gets in my way in my rampage toward Roman.
“Lena!” Thames is so scared… he reaches out to grab me, but I dodge him… I have to try… give it an attempt…
To save the world, a sacrifice must be made. It’s one that tears me apart to do.
I scream loudly and dive my sword toward Roman’s heart. But my blade stops inches from his chest, as if it cannot touch him— my Nephilim weapon is useless.
Roman reaches out and grabs me. I struggle, but I can’t move. He’s got me pinned with one arm, my wings splayed against his chest. I feel like a little five-year-old girl again uselessly fighting with her father, who is a dozen times stronger than she is and always will be.
“I’m disappointed in you, Faline,” Roman hushes. “I cannot bear to kill you, but if you will not join me, I can’t have you rising against me. I will have to break you.”
Roman grabs onto my left wing. I scramble to get away, but he holds me tightly.
Above the sound of burning wood is a distinct crack.
Pain like nothing in this reality shatters my existence. Thames looks up. The haunted dismay and horrid shock that reflects in his eyes makes me realize this isn’t a bad dream.
“Lena!” Thames stumbles toward me, running at full speed. “Please, please don’t, don’t do this—”
Thames can’t get to me in time. His begging falls on deaf ears. Roman bends my wing backwards so the bone is shattered. Feathers are ripped off my wings in the process. They fall slowly like tears onto the groun.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
He shatters my left wing three more times before moving onto the other. I’m sobbing. Stars dot my vision, which wavers in and out. I’m about to faint but Roman shakes me, demanding I stay awake for the rest of it.
This is my restitution, he says. The punishment that I must take for the world’s sake.
Then he breaks my right wing in two.
I scream even louder. The sound that emits from my throat is one of lost salvation. Cassia and Cairo notice; Cairo’s frozen, but Cassia’s not. She’s rushing to get to me, barreling through the Nephilim in her path.
“One final break,” Roman mutters. He takes my right wing and smashes it in one motion. Several bones pop and shatter at once.
Roman lets me go. I fall to the ground, broken, no longer able to stand or see. I don’t know what’s going on. It’s like Roman took my soul from me… took who I was… took everything.
My body begins to seizure. I flop like a flightless bird on the ground, useless and waiting to die.
He destroyed my wings.
“Lena, oh, Lena.” Thames. Thames is here. He drops to his knees and gently drags me into his lap. I yell and cry with the movement. Thames cradles me within his arms and sobs… his hot tears sizzle as they fall onto my cold face.
My mouth sags open. My eyes are distant, fading… I can feel paradise calling.
“LENA!” Thames roars. He caresses my face and moves a few strands of hair out of my eyes. “Stay awake! Don’t go. Don’t leave me, don’t—”
Cairo stands above us. Shaking. Staring.
“Cairo!” Cassia says sharply. Her words bring him back… she’s the only one with any sense right now. She’s carrying Sydney’s body… Sydney, who is already too far gone.
I’m about to join her… or go to Emalee, wherever she is.
“Lena, don’t you go,” Thames says harshly, a growl to his tears. “You stay with me. You go, I’m coming right after. Don’t do this to me. I won’t lose you.”
Thames is all I have left to hold onto. If he wasn’t here, I would’ve already left.
But I can’t bear to leave him. If he is here, then so am I. I want to stay here… be happy… live a long life with my Thames.
I’m not that sure it’s my decision to make. Consciousness begins to dim. I hear a rushing sound, and my body feels light. I’m teleporting somewhere, going anywhere…
Heaven awaits.
The bed is soft, but it’s dark in here. I shift… a lamp turns on and I squint my eyes. I turn away from the brightness.
“Don’t move,” a loving voice says quietly. “You’ll ruin the splints.”
My eyesight is murky at first. Then it comes into focus… Thames is sitting in a chair across from me. His finger brushes my arm, up and down. I’m lying down in bed flat on my back. A singular pillow supports my head.
“Thames,” I murmur, and he looks up. I feel like death warmed over. “Where are we?”
“At the bunker.” He scoots his chair closer. “Don’t worry. Nobody knows where it is except us here.”
“Who’s all here?”
“Cairo, Cassia, Athias, Isolde, and my mom. We’re all safe.”
“Sydney?”
“Isolde’s taking care of her,” Thames says. “Though we don’t know how long she’ll last. Bodies can’t live without souls forever. If she stands a chance, we’re going to have to get her soul back.”
I move again. Thames jumps. “Don’t push it. You’ll ruin their hard work.”
“My wings…” I blearily look up. They’re suspended from the ceiling on elastic cords. White bandages are wrapped around them in various places. Despite the settings, they’re still crooked and twisted… still broken.
“Did they fix them?” It sounds like a child’s question.
“My mom’s a doctor, and Isolde’s a nurse,” Thames says. “They did the best they could. We’ve been keeping you sedated for a few days, so they could set.”
He clears his throat. “They, uh, had to rebreak a couple of bones to put it right. The way you screamed…”
Thames’ turns green, like he’s going to throw up. He jiggles his leg nervously, like there’s still more bad news to tell.
“Will I be able to fly again?”
Thames’ gaze is watery. He clasps his hands together and looks away for a moment. “Uh… we were able to save them. But… you’ll probably never fly again. You can’t. They won’t support
your weight.”
“No,” I say thickly. “No, Thames, no.”
“I’m sorry, Lena.” His fingers brush my hand again. “If there was another way—”
“A Nephilim who can’t fly,” I say hoarsely. “You might as well kill me now.”
“Don’t say that,” he says desperately. “I almost lost you back there. You were near death. If I hadn’t gotten you to my mom when I did—”
He makes a gasping sound and puts his face in his hands. I reach out with my fingertips and stroke his black hair… so soft. I thought I’d never run my hands through his hair again.
“What happened after I passed out?” I whisper.
“Cassia grabbed Sydney and teleported to the bunker. Cairo took you and me right behind.” He raises his head. “I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t capable of doing anything at the moment.”
“Don’t be,” I say quietly. “I would’ve been the same way, if it was you.”
“Cassia kept us alive back there,” Thames says, rubbing his face. “She’s the only one that stayed calm. If it wasn’t for her, we’d all be dead.”
Cassia. The girl that had endured everything, that had been through hell and back. She had stayed calm in a desperate and terrible situation because she had been there so many times before.
What I went through… it was like daily life for her, at one point. Before Cairo, that darkness was all she knew.
She wears her black wings well.
Thames coughs. A bit of black ash sputters from his lips and onto the floor.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I always cough up ash for a few days after being in my main form,” he tells me. Another puff of smoke comes tumbling out of his mouth. “It’s nothing unusual.”
Thames stands. He bends down over the bed to kiss me. The kiss is warmer than usual, softer… even cautious. Like he’s afraid of breaking me.
I kiss back deeper. When he pulls away, I brush his stubbly cheek with my knuckles.
“Thames?”
He brushes my hair out of my eyes. “Yeah?”
I swallow past a lump in my throat. “I don’t regret any of it.”
I sleep for a little while longer. Despite being out of it for days, I’m still exhausted. My wings need to heal— as much as they can, anyway— and for that it takes a lot of energy.
Thames doesn’t leave my side. I doubt he has for days now.
Cairo and Cassia are there when I awaken again. Cassia’s holding my hand. I give it a firm squeeze, and she smiles at me.
“Hey, sis. Thanks for saving us back there,” I say.
“It’s no big deal,” she whispers. “You guys are my family. If anything happened to any of you, that’s it for me.”
She looks to Cairo. “Should we tell them the plan?”
“Plan?” Thames looks up. “What plan?”
“The plan to take down Roman,” Cairo says, and he crosses his arms. Even he seems bothered by what happened… a pale, ghostly color has settled across his previously bright face. “We can’t let him run loose. He’ll continue with his mission regardless of whether he has Faline or Cassia.”
“I’m not letting Lena get anywhere near that monster ever again,” Thames says harshly. “He broke her wings. He nearly killed her.”
“Thames,” I say softly, and he looks to me. “If we don’t stop him he’ll just do this to other people. This new world he wants to create… if it happens, there will be nowhere for us to go.”
Thames’ jaw is heavily set. “Fine. But what do we do? He has the Nephilim council and demons on his side. He has his own army. We’re just four people.”
“He doesn’t have angels,” Cairo says firmly. “My father is still out there. If we can find him and get the angels to side with us, we might stand a chance.”
“Okay, bro, I get you’d like to be reunited with your dad, but we haven’t had the best luck with fathers lately,” Thames says bluntly.
“This has nothing to do with me,” Cairo snaps, and he points to his chest. “I’m doing what needs to be done regardless of the emotional consequences. Are you willing to do the same?”
“That’s enough.” Cassia comes between them. “We can’t argue now. We need to be united together against this… this sick vision Roman has.”
“Do you even know where Cairo’s dad is?” Thames asks.
Cairo stills. Cassia leans against the wall and says, “Athias is tracking him. It’ll only take a few weeks, or maybe months before we’re able to get in contact.”
“Yeah, if Athias doesn’t get killed in the process.” Thames snorts.
“Thames, please try to be a little more positive.” Cassia moves toward the door. Cairo follows her, her shadow. “By that time Lena should be healed and ready to fight again.” She looks at me. “That is, if you still want to fight. I can understand if you don’t.”
“I’ll be ready to fight, Cass,” I say weakly. “You have my word.”
Her kindly expression means the world to me. She’s the only family I have left now. “Good. I’ll be in to talk with you later. Privately,” she adds as Thames opens and closes his mouth.
Cassia leaves. Cairo glances at Thames, who glares at him in return.
The moment the door shuts behind his brother, Thames mutters, “Dumb shit.”
“Thames, Cass is right. You’ve got to stay positive for me. I want to stop my Dad.” I settle into the pillows. “And Cody, by the way.”
Thames’ face sours at the mention of him. “I’m going to rip him to pieces.”
“We have to figure out how to kill them first. You saw what we did— we tried everything. Nothing worked.”
“Demons and angels can be killed, Cass. I’ve done it before,” Thames says. “Well, not angels, but I used to kill demons every day. Cody is just too quick for me to get at his heart.”
I sigh. I look down at the bed and say, “Will you get in bed with me?”
“What?” he shakes his head. “No. I’ll hurt you. Your wings—”
“Just be careful.” I frown. “I want to cuddle, Thames. Please. I need to. Just hold me right now.”
Thames slowly rises from his chair. He looks down at the bed warily before he climbs gingerly into it. He settles slowly against my side as he avoids my wings. He tucks one arm underneath him and throws the other over my middle.
“Hey,” he says quietly.
“What?” I whisper back. It’s peaceful in here. I like it.
“Back at the beach, you asked me to make you a promise. What is it?”
My lip wobbles. “Am I yours?” I ask. “Always?”
Thames tenderly kisses my cheek. “Yes, Lena. You are mine. Always.”
Always is my promise. Always is the word Thames has given to me, the vow of eternity… until Judgement Day, and even beyond.
My father betrayed me, but I gained a sister, a brother, and my true love. I will stop at nothing to get revenge. Roman might want to create a utopia, but I will bring it down with the flames of hell at my heels and Thames by my side.
I can’t fly anymore, but I’m still a Nephilim. I’m still a fighter— I have managed to piece together the few parts of my soul I have left. I will get better, and the moment my feet touch the ground I’m going to take flight.
I no longer need to soar.
Thames will be my wings.
TO BE CONTINUED
Truth (Angels & Demons #3)
Paradise is coming.
Judgement has arrived.
A final war between demons and angels will determine the fate of humanity.
And the Delamore sisters are right in the middle of it.
Cassia, Faline and their boyfriends are the last immortals left in the resistance. Their enemy is an insane angel hellbent on bringing the world into a sick utopia, an angel that has both heaven and hell on his side.
They are fighting a war they cannot win-- not without great sacrifice.
Death is fated. Loss is certain. Faline is desperate to s
ave her demon, while Cassia is willing to give up everything to make sure her angel remains alive.
The end is near, until our heroes are forced to discover... and reveal... the painful truth.
Nothing will ever be the same.
Some people say the truth is twisted. That it can be a lie— that the truth is unique and individual to every person, that the truth is what you make it.
They’re wrong. I’ve been in a place where the lines between right and wrong are clearly visible. Yeah, there are gray areas… more than I can count. But when you’ve got real, ugly evil staring you right in the face, you can’t deny it, because you know exactly what it looks like. Only fools can say otherwise.
This is one of those times.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I tell Cairo as we crouch behind an outcropping of bushes, hidden within the Porcupine Mountains. The two of us gaze down at what I can only describe as some sort of concentration camp… humans ferried in long, thin lines, marching around various sections of the camp, fields and factories.
We’ve been watching for a few days now. The routine inside the camp is always the same; food, work, food again, more work, mandatory exercise, an hour of recreational activities (approved by Roman, always) before a religious service, dinner, and then bed.
It’s a perfectly balanced day for a human being… with no free will whatsoever.
The people inside the camp don’t mind— this is what they signed up for, after all. They believed they needed more help, wanted more structure in their lives, and Roman’s way was the answer.
They have no idea they’re being squeezed into a cage.
It’s been only six months, but that’s been enough time for Roman to gather followers. Winter was quiet for us… Cairo, Thames, Faline and I trained within the bunker, and searched for clues as for how to kill Roman and where Cairo’s dad is.
So far, we’ve come up short.
