by S Lawrence
A sad smile curves her lips and her hand reaches out, grasping my wrist and squeezing. Two touches in less than an hour. My eyes drop to that hand, delicate but strong, soft but firm. She doesn’t let go.
“You don’t deserve that burden.” Her hand slips away as she turns and walks slowly away.
Torryn’s head bounces back and forth between us, but I refuse to illuminate him and I pray she does the same.
“Secret’s safe with me,” she calls back. No power indeed. “You should tell someone though.”
It seems I just did. Little witch.
She’s halfway down the small incline before Torryn begins to move, rushing to catch up. I shrug when he looks back at me, but his eyes narrow and I know there will be questions soon.
He leans in close to her, his lips moving as he talks quickly. I smile as she shakes her head. Good girl -- best not anger the Devil himself.
Dagen jogs up beside me. “You could have brought me too.”
“Could have,” I agree. “Did you see any of them as you came in?”
His head shakes. “Didn’t see him either.” He’s worried, although he’s trying to hide it.
“He’s here. I can sense him.” Lillian spins around suddenly, and I tense. She may think she has no magic but she has something. Maybe a latent talent passed through her angelic bloodline. “The girl.”
Jerking my head at her, I start forward as I scan the area. The faces of the Fallen are burned into my mind. I knew them before they were sent from His side to His favorite warriors.
Did He know this would all happen and just didn’t care?
Thirty-Two
LILLIAN
They all need to be saved. A high pitched squeal of a tiny child pulls my attention to the left, and I stop dead in my tracks.
The child is reaching for a bright purple balloon. Behind that balloon, a short distance away, I see her. She’s standing on an old stone bridge. Her eyes widen and then narrow when she sees me.
A low demonic growl vibrates from directly behind me, and I reach my hand back, grabbing onto him.
“If Eden is here, they all are,” I say, eyes still locked on the dark haired beauty. “She rarely leaves Avalon; her work was done long ago.”
I think again of the pain I saw in Lucifer and know she caused a great deal of it. She, who was actually at the Garden. I learned her secret when I was just a girl. She bragged about it after she forced the fruit into my mouth.
I look back and over Torryn’s shoulder and see him there stopped as we are staring at her. I can’t imagine his feelings.
“She won’t be alone.” He nods, finally looking away from her.
“If she’s here with everyone that was at the house, how many would that be?” Dagen asks, oddly calm.
I try to think of how many arrived with Micheangela, subtracting Trinity, which both thrills and terrifies me.
“Twelve, without Grace and Trinity.” I turn and face them, putting my back to her, trusting all of them to protect me.
“The one called Hope might be dead. I did send her back to them like a bomb,” Torryn murmurs, never taking his eyes off her.
“I just don’t know why they would come here. Families aren’t their thing unless…” I spin around, searching. Why I don’t know, for I have zero way of telling.
“Unless what, Lillian?” Luc steps into my personal space, stopping me and forcing me to focus on him, calming my pounding heart.
“What if another like me is here?”
I look up into his beautiful face and watch as the rage blooms. Beneath that rage is horror because he knows, just like me. They will slaughter them all to find the one.
We both look back over my shoulder. Eden’s grin gives me chills. I’m right, I know it. I turn my face back to the three men that have formed a semi-circle around me.
“Get them out of here,” I both demand and plead.
Spinning away, I start to sprint towards the toddler, arms waving like a crazy person.
“Run.” Screaming, I scoop the baby up, thrusting it at the mother, who is staring at me in terror. She stands motionless for a moment, then her eyes widen as a scream erupts from her and she runs for their lives. I look behind me and see Torryn bearing down on me, eyes blazing red.
She thought he was the thing to fear; if she only knew. In seconds, the air is filled with the terrified shrieks of families as they run from the men trying to save them. My heart aches for them, willing to be the demons they are thought of to save those that vilify them.
“Stay close to me,” he growls as he rushes by, herding more people away from Eden.
My feet stop and I look around. They are all running for the exits to their cars. Oh God. We are doing their work for them.
“Luc!” He appears instantly. “Where are the others?” He shakes his head. “If it were you, where would you be?”
“No.” He looks toward the front of the park.
“We are driving them to their death,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face. He disappears and so do the others.
I stand alone.
“So predictable.” I let my eyes fall closed. A whimper causes them to snap open and I turn. The mother is held tight by Celine. Seraphina cradles the toddler as he reaches for his mother.
“Don’t do this,” I beg, holding my hand out.
“I didn’t do this. You did this, Lillian. You left. You killed Trinity.” Her voice is calm.
“Take me, then,” I offer as I step closer to her.
Lina moves in behind me. I wonder if Lucifer will return, if he’ll figure out my mistake.
“Helps not coming,” Lina whispers near my ear. “They are busy with Micheangela. She and those that came with her were more than happy to kill some families to keep them distracted.”
I try not to react but flinch as the screams of fear turn to those of pain. Images of tiny bodies lifeless, mothers destroyed, and fathers ripped apart fill my mind.
Celine’s sharp claws dig into the woman’s neck and blood begins to run down her pale skin and still her eyes are locked on her son. A mother’s love. I step forward again, moving within Seraphina’s reach.
Dark brown eyes turn and look into mine, tears shimmer in those eyes like they do in mine. “Let me have him, Seraphina. Let them go. You want me.” Reaching for him, I wait to see what she will do.
She lets me lift him from her arms. “They are innocent in all of this.”
“Innocent? None of them are innocent,” she murmurs, eyes locked on his dark eyes. I tighten my hold on him, holding him against my chest. I risk a glance at the mother. Her eyes plead.
That second I look away is all it takes. It’s the mother’s scream that makes me aware of the pain. Looking down, I focus on those dark brown eyes. Gone is the life that shown in them. I don’t understand for a second, as I gasp for breath.
The mother’s scream dies suddenly, and I look back just in time to see Celine let her fall to the ground, throat torn open. The last thing she saw was her child die.
Falling to my knees, I hold him to me, using my failing strength to pull the knife that has cut through his body and into mine out. Letting it fall from my hand, I whisper apologies to them both as I collapse onto my side. Blackness is filling my vision as I push him into her arms.
“We were innocent.” Her angry declaration is warm against my ear. “I will show you.”
The blackness takes me as their memories flood my mind, and they disappear, their job done.
I failed, both the world and Torryn. I didn’t save either of them.
“Morningstar, please.”
Thirty-Three
LUCIFER
My name, my true name, whispers across the wind. A prayer.
Lillian.
The Fallen rise on blackened wings and then disappear. Laughter tinged with hysterical glee fills the air as dread fills my body. No more than a few minutes have passed, and Torryn looks at me confused. Evander and the others are jogging toward us. My he
art pounds as I realize my mistake.
Reaching for Torryn, I wrap him in my power and take him to her. Fire engulfs the park as he falls to his knees beside her. Blood coats him as he pulls her into his arms.
“No. No. No.” He chants the word over and over as his body rocks back and forth. I look at the ground and see the mother and child, see the wound that matches Lillian’s.
Golden wings spring from my back, wings not seen for thousands of years. “Torryn, let me take her.” He looks up at me, rage filling his eyes.
“I should have been with her. You left her alone.” He’s right.
“You’re right, this is all my fault, but please let me take her. I will take her to Hell, keep her safe.”
“I’ll take her.” He refuses to let her go.
“You can do many things, my Prince, but this, only I can do.” I kneel and hold out my arms until he places her in them. “Come home, Torryn. She will be there safe, waiting for you.”
I wrap my wings around us and let my power carry us home. Walking through my home, I carry her to Torryn’s old room and place her on the bed there. Everything is shades of green, and I smile sadly; they were always joined. Long before her birth. The covers are the exact shade of emerald her eyes are… were.
“You shouldn’t be here, Caliel.” I smooth the hair from her forehead.
“He’s not.” I turn and face Grace.
“Do I want to know how you managed to get here?”
“I heard her as she called you ‘Morningstar.’” I growl at the name but temper my anger as the tears fall from her beautiful face.
She moves forward and around me, sitting gently on the bed at Lillian’s side.
“She tried to save a child and his mother. The mother died reaching for her baby.” I don’t know why I tell her.
“A mother’s love.” She isn’t talking to me. “Tell Evander I will be waiting on him.”
“What?” Before I can react, she sacrifices herself. Her angelic life force and powers move from her to Lillian. A gasp fills the silence as Grace’s body collapses onto the bed. The final act of a mother.
“Grace?” Her confusion is understandable.
“Lillian?” Torryn’s is also, as I look behind me. “How?”
“Grace?” She touches Grace’s cheek. “No.” It’s a wail that echoes through the halls of Hell.
Torryn runs to her, scooping her into his arms. Burying her face in his chest, she continues to keen. Much later, maybe hours even, she finally falls silent. Torryn looks at me over her head.
“What do you remember?” I make my words soft, hating to make her remember.
“The mother and child, blood so much blood, and Seraphina was so angry.” She looks at me then the man holding her. “It’s my fault. I said they were innocent.”
“Nothing is your fault,” Torryn argues.
Her hand waves over Grace’s cooling body. “This is my fault.”
“No, Lillian, it isn’t. She heard you call my name and came to save you.” I kneel at her side, brushing Grace’s pale hair from her face. “She spoke of a mother’s love. Her love for you. She gave you her very essence so you can live.”
“Grace.” Evander’s voice is broken. His love, stolen for a second time.
Pushing to my feet, I step aside for him. He hits the stone floor hard as he collapses over her body.
“I’m so sorry, Evander.” Lillian reaches for him but stops her hand just short of touching him.
A deep growl erupts from his throat and Torryn stiffens. I shake my head, understanding his anger isn’t truly directed at Lillian. Her face says she understands also.
“Can I give it back?” Her eyes lock with mine.
I speak over Torryn’s cry of denial. “No, I’m sorry.”
Evander stands with her body in his arms and strides away, pausing at the door. “She wouldn’t have wanted that, Lillian. She loved you.”
He continues before any of us have a chance to reply. I feel him leave Hell and wonder where he will take her.
“He has a place hidden on the highest peak on Everest. I realize now it made him closer to Heaven.” Torryn’s voice is filled with sadness.
Staring after my second in command, I realize I need to tell Caliel. Looking back at the two on the bed, I smile; a second chance for them both.
“I must leave. Stay and rest. Dying and coming back is exhausting, or so I’ve been told.” I let my power take me away and shut the door, giving them privacy.
Manifesting under the Seven Sisters Oak tree, I call out to the Prophet and wait. I’ve always loved the colossal oaks that grow in Louisiana. I’ve protected one hundred of them for years, saving them from storms and humans alike. Staring up into the drooping branches, I watch the sunlight fight to filter through the leaves and Spanish moss. Shadows and light, maybe it is the loss of Grace, but I’m filled with self awareness, suddenly understanding my attachment them.
I feel him arrive.
“What is it, Lucifer? Grace is resting and I need to be there.” Fuck.
Drawing a deep breath, I turn to face him and something he sees on my face gives him pause.
“Caliel.” He shakes his head then disappears, only to reappear seconds later.
“Where is she?”
“Gone.” His head begins to shake. “Lillian was killed by Seraphina and she called out to me with her last breath. Somehow Grace heard, maybe it was because of her love for the girl. She gave her very essence to Lillian.”
He deflates as tears begin to stream down his dark cheeks.
“I wasted so many years, so much time.” He sinks down, sitting on one of the low branches, his fingers rubbing over the rough bark. “I’m not surprised that she did it; I just regret sending her to them so long ago.”
I consider if I should tell him I have her soul. That I could pull her from the darkness like I did the others. I’m not sure what he’d think.
“Where is she?” His question pulls me from my doubt.
“Evander took her with him.” He nods, understanding. “Caliel?”
He studies me as I pause. “The devil himself unsure?” I grind my teeth. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” I shrug.
“Do you know how I made the Princes?” He shakes his head a small frown in his face. “I pulled their souls from the darkness. Our souls aren’t like the humans; theirs go directly to Heaven or Hell, reward or punishment. Our souls go to oblivion, darkness, to nothing. Drayce described it once, it is worse than any Hell I’ve created.”
“Grace.” So much sadness.
“Surely, you knew.” He shakes his head. “Well, I can pull her from it. Bring her back.”
“Why haven’t you, then?” His temper flares.
“She would no longer be an angel, Caliel. She would no longer be welcome in Heaven.” He frowns again. Jesus, he can be dense. “She would be a demon.”
“A demon.” The name sounds like a curse falling from his lips, and I bristle.
“You know the Princes. You know Evander. I won’t have you speak of them that way. I’m offering you a way to have her back,” I growl. “Maybe I should ask Evander if he’d take her back in any form.”
I leave him there under the tree and float, staying hidden, letting my wings carry me through the sky, the closest to Heaven I will ever be.
Thirty-Four
TORRYN
I can’t stop touching her, afraid she’ll disappear.
I let her die.
“I’m sorry, Angel. So sorry,” I murmur against her neck.
Her hands slide up my back and move to my face, cupping my cheeks. She forces my face up to look into my eyes.
“This was not your fault.”
She smiles a little. “I should have never left you.”
“I don’t think you did, not on purpose anyway.” Her reminder that Lucifer had taken me from her side makes my eyes flare.
“I’m supposed to keep you safe…” She silences me with a kiss.
I want to argue, but she nips at my lip then sucks it into her mouth. Damn, she learns quick. Shifting, I draw her under me, forcing her back onto the bed.
“Where were we?” She smiles at me before pulling me down to her.
She meets me with a hunger, different than before. Desperate. Driven. I understand it all too well. I will not waste a second I have with her. I will spend the rest of time loving her.
Bracing on one arm, I reach up and grab her hand, pushing it over her head. “Keep it there.”
She flushes at my words. Good. I do the same with her other hand, holding them both, stretching her out. Watching me with half closed eyes, she waits, chest rising and falling quickly.
Holding up my other hand, I let one of my nails lengthen and heat. Her eyes widen when I slide it down her shirt. The material splits and smokes from my fire. Once again she is bared to me, glorious creamy skin beaded with sweat.
Keeping my gaze locked with hers, I lean down and lick over the damp flesh.
“Oh.” It comes out on a breath, a sigh, and a gasp rolled into one. “So hot.”
Is she talking about the action or the heat? Hell, I don’t fucking care. Her taste goes to my head. There is no doubt she is a drug, and I’m her addict. One hit was all it took.
“More.” A breathy plea, it’s one that makes me realize I had been frozen centimeters from her tightened nipple, my heated breath blowing over it as I was lost in thought.
I need to touch her as badly as she wants me to. I want her to be just as addicted. Pushing up, I look down at her and release some of my power. Crimson silk wraps around her wrists before winding up the head board. Her eyes roll up, and she watches as a hook appears, imbedded in the stone wall. The red stands stark against the darkness of my room and the paleness of her skin.
Looking back at me, she draws a deep, steadying breath as a hint of uncertainty flares in her eyes.
“Same rules, Angel. Only what you want.” Dragging my nail down her pants, I tear them away, finding lace the exact shade as her nipples.
