by S Lawrence
My whole body is quivering in shock as I let the dagger drop from my hand and run.
Twenty
TORRYN
Ominous shadows dance throughout the garden as I watch the house in the evening light.
The clacking of the streetcar coming down Saint Charles draws my gaze away from the darkness. The olive green Perley Thomas original slows slightly as it passes between the house and me. Thunder cracks in the distance while I turn my head, following the trolley’s progression down the block.
Without hurrying, I start to turn my attention back to the house. Shock floods my body. There on the back porch is Lillian.
Evander straightens from where he was leaning against his Escalade, just as the scent of blood engulfs my senses. His head whips my way as I begin to sprint across the street.
She sees me and her feet start to move. Caliel changes into his angelic form, eyebrows drawn.
“Lillian?” His voice is filled with confusion. I guess the Prophet doesn’t know everything.
I’m racing toward her when Evander tackles me, taking me straight to the pavement. I fight but he uses his fucking magic to keep me pinned flat.
“Get off me, you Goddamn asshole. She’s bleeding. Hurt,” I growl.
“You can’t set off the barrier, Torryn. Seraphina and Micheangela’s followers are in that house. We can’t beat them alone.” My eyes are locked on Lillian as she stops on the other side of the barrier, tears streaming down her face. “Dagen is on his way back, just moments away.”
Nodding, I relax my muscles, letting him know that I won’t do anything stupid. His power eases up as he pushes up and to his feet. I do the same and stand, watching her. Caliel moves through the barrier, going to her side and leaning close to her ear. She stares at me, and I feel helpless.
“I’m going to distract them,” I murmur as I turn to Evander. “If they catch me, keep her safe.” He shakes his head, but I’m already moving.
I race down the block to the front of the house and up the front walk. As I draw near to the door where the barrier starts, I left my power free and give the demon that lives in me control.
I use telekinesis to throw a huge concrete planter through that same front door. I plant my feet wide, ignoring the spray of wood chips. It only takes moments for the sound of pounding feet to announce their imminent arrival. Bunching my muscles, I wait until I see the first one round the bannister from the stairs.
“I am a Prince of Hell, murdered by the Fallen, and I will have my revenge.” My voice is deep and rough as I call out to them.
“Oh, this is going to be fun. Does Lucifer know you’re here, little prince?” One who’s obviously a leader steps around the others and strides forward, a smile splitting her beautiful face. I run through my memories but I don’t recognize her from heaven; she isn’t one of the original Fallen.
I wait a second longer then spin and race away, smiling as I hear them following. Stupid bitches. I glance back over my shoulder just as I turn the corner, looking beyond them to Boss, watching from the shadows.
I run hard and fast, leading them through the streets of the Quarter and past Louis Armstrong Park. At times, I slow and let a forerunner catch up, engaging them until others draw near.
The stars are bright and the moon is getting low in the sky when I enter Saint Louis Cemetery Number One. I make my way slowly through the mausoleums to Marie Laveau's tomb.
Candle light flickers in the darkness, and I stop to listen for footsteps. I hear them and tilting my head, I concentrate, trying to break through their mental barriers. I’ve been probing at them each time they drew close. There are three that have holes in their defenses. I find them after a few moments and punch through their defenses, taking control, planting memories and ideas. When I’m done with them, they will turn on the others. Two of them regret the choices they’ve made but felt trapped by them. I will free them with death.
Closing my eyes, I send one last push and prepare myself to fight. To die again at their hands. I just pray Trinity is with them. I drop lower into my stance and pull the blade I carry between my shoulder blades from its sheath. I jump when Luc appears in front of me, almost stabbing him.
“Jesus.” I pull the blade back just before it cuts his skin. “I could have killed you.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Doubtful. Are you done playing? They will kill you on your own. You know that.”
“It’s worth it if she is safe,” I state. “They are almost here.” He nods and turns to face the first that arrive.
The sight of Lucifer makes them pause. They look at each other, unsure of what to do. They glance behind them looking for the other Fallen.
“You have chosen the wrong side in this war.” His voice is low but it echoes through Saint Louis One like thunder. “Watch your eyes, Torryn,” he whispers, and I close them tight just as his hand closes around my wrist; his fingers feel delicate as I’m blinded even through my lids.
His power rolls through the cemetery. I can’t see anything but I hear the screams until he pulls us away. His light dies out as we materialize in my office at Demon Bayou.
She is curled in on herself in the oversized-chair that’s sitting in the corner, legs drawn up, arms wrapped tight around them, and her face hidden. Her wounds have been healed, but blood still cakes her skin. I can see her shivering uncontrollably.
Thank goodness she’s alive. My darker side settles at the sight of her.
“Lillian?” I say her name low, hoping not to scare her more.
Her face whips up, and her wide eyes lock on me. She is up and flying toward me in a blur; I barely have time to brace before she launches herself against me. My arm slide around her as she melts into me sobbing. I hold her tightly, trying to ease her. She is sobbing, and words are falling from her lips. They are indecipherable, only the name Grace is clear.
I look over her head around the room. Caliel is staring out the window, his back tense, hands clenched at his sides. Evander is pale, which is shocking, his eyes unfocused and glistening with unshed tears. Every time she sobs “Grace,” he flinches.
I look at Luc, but he shakes his head, unwilling to talk about it. Dagen is standing near the door and shakes his head, mouthing ‘she was killed.’ I tense before pulling Lillian closer to me.
“Shh, love, it’s going to be alright. You’re safe now.” Her head shakes against my chest.
“I killed her.” Shock races through me. She killed Grace? “Grace tried to save me but she was hurt.” She pushes back and looks up at my face.
Her eyes are red and swollen, shining like jewels. Her lower lip quivers as she looks over at first Caliel and then Evander.
“Who did you kill?” I ask quietly.
“Trinity.” I gape, my mouth literally hanging open. She killed the Fallen that I wanted to gut. The one that had stood over me as I died grinning.
“She was sitting on top of Grace, choking her…” She blinks slowly lost in the memory. “Grinning down at her just like you told me she did you.” Her voice breaks.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, running my hand up and down her spine.
“I couldn’t let her kill her. I just couldn’t. Don’t you understand?” Her fingers grasp my shirt and pulling at it. “I didn’t mean to but they won’t care. Seraphina will never let me live.” Her head is shaking rapidly from side to side, and she’s shaking again.
“You’re safe here,” I promise her.
She turns in my arms and looks at Caliel. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left her.”
He turns slowly, I can feel his despair from across the room. “It’s not your fault, Lillian. I am the one that sent her there all those years ago. I am the one that made her stay when I could have taken her from there as soon as I got to this town.” Evander growls, and I look over at him. His face is shifting in his anger. “You can be angry at me later.”
“You should have fucking told me.” Boss’s voice is icy. “Why would you send her? She was your fucking s
ister, for fucks sake.” He takes a step toward the Angel, but Luc is there before he gets any farther, stopping him.
“I didn’t think you remembered her, Evander,” Caliel tells him.
“So she died thinking she had been forgotten.” His pain makes me bristle. He spins on his heel and storms from the room.
“We don’t know that,” Caliel spits.
“Can someone explain?” I ask.
“She came out behind me to help him get me out, across the barrier. To save me,” Lillian says quietly. “We heard the others race away.”
“After me.” She nods at my words before looking back at first Caliel and then Evander.
I still don’t understand his anger. I hate that the woman risked herself, but it is what we do everyday. About time an angel joined the fight.
“Just as I pulled Lillian into the barrier, Grace shoved her power at it, weakening it just enough that it wouldn’t kill Lillian.” Kill her?! I jerk my eyes back to her face in front of me and I pull her to me, squeezing her tight once again. She stiffens, and for a moment, I’m afraid I’ve crossed a line, but then she relaxes and her fingers curl against my chest once more.
I might never let her go.
“We couldn’t get Grace across in time. Seraphina walked out the back door, and Grace stayed behind. The barrier not only held Lillian, but it also holds Grace. She has only been allowed to leave with the others.” Caliel looks at Evander again. “I’m afraid they know who she is. That she is my sister. If they do and they realize she helped Lillian escape, they will punish her for it. Especially for what I wrote.”
“So what? You wrote a prophecy; why do they care?” I glance between him and Luc.
“Because he is the Prophet of God, what he writes becomes truth. Because he wrote that they would lose the war at the hands of the descendants, it will come to pass. Unless they kill them first.”
His word became truth. I let the words sink into my soul, and with them, my rage boils.
"You write something, and it becomes truth." My molars grind again. "Why wouldn't you write the end to this war? For fucks sake, why wouldn't you write that it was over the day it began or before it began?"
Lillian steps back, but I can’t shove the anger down, can’t hide what I truly am. All that time in the darkness and then in hell. I begin to shake. So many have died, humans and angels alike, because he didn't do something. Luc looks at him, waiting to see if he says something. Caliel sighs, a slow intake of breath that he holds for a long time before it eases out.
"It doesn't work that way, Torryn. I wish it did. I write what I see. The words come to me, and I can't change them. I've tried."
The sound of his voice lets me know that he's tried more than once. I can picture him doing it over and over, day after day for thousands of years. Sympathy for him bursts through me, and I'm grateful for my years of ignorance at least a bit.
"Even when I do write the words, how they come to pass is out of my control." He shakes his head.
Lillian moves farther away from me, then after a split second of hesitation, rushes over to him and wraps her slim arms around his waist. A smile curves my lips at the shock that blooms over his face for a moment before he melts into her, his body curving around her smaller one. Something flares in my heart at seeing her comfort him.
"She kept me safe all my life. Kept me alive when the others lost their temper," she whispers to him. "I love her so much. I should have told her."
"Don't worry about that, my girl. She felt your love everyday. I had to bind some of her powers before she joined them, but her very nature let her feel your love." He hugs her tighter before shifting her slightly away from him. "I know she loves you. She stayed not only because I asked her but because she wanted to see you safe and free."
I realize this woman I never even met had saved me, had given me the greatest gift -- chance at happiness, and I'll be damned all over again before I let her down.
"I will not let her be killed." It is a declaration, a vow. My own prophecy. I will happily die to get her back to Lillian.
Twenty-One
EVANDER
She has been stolen for a second time.
The gentle warmth of Luc's power washes over me as he unlocks the ones he has kept hidden from me. His link to me allows it to find me even from this distance. I watch the sky turn a brilliant orange as the sun begins to rise over the bayou, reflecting off the murky water. The Spanish moss appears outlined in fire. I let the memories from that day wash over me.
With them comes the pain. My heart is torn from my chest, still beating as I fall; her face twisted in pain as she races to my side is the last thing I see. I focus on Grace, refusing to look at the one standing above me, my blood running over her pale skin and dripping off her fingertips. It splashes onto my face, still warm, and I struggle to bring my hand up to wipe it away. The next one falls on my eyelid and blurs my vision. Blinking, I try to bring my beloved back into focus.
Ours had been a secret love, hidden from all but three. God, Lucifer, and Caliel were the only ones that knew of it. God made her of love and named her Grace. Caliel's twin and yet opposite, light to his dark. The day I was created, she was one of the first I saw.
She reminded me of starlight, and I followed her like the North Star wherever she led. I realize now it was her tears on that day that I've dreamt of for thousands of years.
The bayou water that surrounds the tiny patch of spongy ground I'm standing on turns to ice as I lose control. Anger and loss swamp me, but I don't even try to gain control. Instead I let it have free rein as my face switches from one to the other in quick succession.
The ice thickens and begins to spread as thought of losing her again causes my heart to shatter once again. The power grows as an image of Seraphina grabbing her from behind pops into my head. I didn't see if the Queen of the Fallen had noticed us or Grace under the tree. Instead I locked my gaze onto Grace's face, on her tears. Those tears brought the memories of our love crashing back. It almost brought me to my knees. There I saw a love that had been burning for a thousand years for me.
I felt my own heart begin to pound with the love that Luc had hidden from me as he used his strength to shove me toward the vehicle, forcing me away from her.
I don't turn around even though I know he's there.
"Evander." I shake my head, hoping he will just shut up. I've followed him since he ripped me from the darkness but today, I can't even look at him. "My friend, I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" I whirl on him, incredulous. "Sorry about what exactly? The unspoken lie or the shattering of what soul I had left?"
"Everything. This whole Goddamned situation." His voice is quiet, and I hear the regret but I can't let go of my rage just yet.
"Did you know she was here? That she has been here for years across the city from me?" He shakes his head. It should make me feel better but it doesn't.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me? Since I awoke, I’ve told you of the dreams of the shining star. You knew it was Grace.”
I watch as he squats at the water’s edge and touches the thick ice with his finger. In an instant, it is liquid once more. He stays where he is for a moment before pushing up. When he turns, I see the weight of his burden trying to crush him.
“You all suffered enough. I couldn’t add to it. I wanted to spare you the loss. Especially when we didn’t know if she would survive the task Caliel put before her.” He turns to look out at the water, and I study his back and the stiffness of the muscles.
I look at him, really look at him. He is as beautiful as they say he is. His appearance is young and light, the opposite of what humans would expect of the leader of hell, the king of sin. I clench my fists. I hate the way he has been vilified, that we all have, and that we have lost so much to save those that would destroy us if they could.
“It’s time to act. Time to stop being one step behind. We must bring this war to them,” I say and he nods. “I know how to track them now.”
> He turns slowly, brows drawn down.
“You should have given me my memories. I can find her anywhere. Our hearts are bound. It was a gift from Him, after he found us together.”
She and our love had been a gift from God, literally. As long as my murder hadn’t severed the link, I would be able to find her.
“Could it be that simple?” Luc’s voice cuts through the memories flooding my mind. “Try it now.” A command.
I open my mind and my heart to the link and feel a tiny tendril; the magic is weak. Until death do us part. Had my death undone what God had made? Or is it because of something else?
My hope begins to die. I see his face and know his is dying also.
Twenty-Two
GRACE
She is free, but that freedom could bring death with it.
I finally save the tiny girl I should have saved so long ago. I just wish she was safe; instead, she is in more danger.
I hate myself for hiding.
Seraphina is still screaming out her anger. First, it was being found by the demon, and then she saw my brother pull Lillian across the barrier, myself hidden by the massive Oak. The others’ powers masking mine, my eyes were locked on his face. Evander. He looks the same but different, more everything. Especially more dangerous. His face flashed as he studied me in confusion.
I stood there hiding as he was pulled away and now I am trapped here in Avalon. They will return to the Brown mansion, but we are no longer there. She moved us once more when the others returned, bringing news of the deaths. They lost four fallen to Lucifer, two his light burnt to ash and two killed by Micheangela as they turned on their comrades, their minds turned and controlled.
It was the demon that has chosen Lillian that led them away. I smile a little at his willingness to sacrifice himself for her. Finally, she will be loved. I hope she knows a love like I once had.
