5.0 - Light Of The Stygian Orb

by Krista Walsh

  That’s when the light had filled the room.

  For the second time in Molly’s life, her vision was filled with a burning glow, this one so bright she couldn’t bear to look at it, even before Daphne told her to turn her face toward the floor.

  She could have saved her breath. Molly squeezed her eyes shut to ease the pain shooting through her skull.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “What’s happening?”

  Thoughts buzzed through her head now that one of the demons seemed to be unleashing some previously hidden ability. Were she and Daphne about to be burned alive by this light? What would happen to Zach, Denise, and Emmett if the demons got through? She tightened her hand around her bow as her heart thrummed.

  “It’s Zach,” Daphne whispered, and Molly’s breath caught in her throat.

  “How is that possible?”

  “He’s…gone full angel.”

  The awe in her voice stilled the fever in Molly’s veins. The sweetness of relief sinking through her at the knowledge that her friend was still alive evaporated quickly as she realized how quickly that situation could change. What did full angel mean? Would it be enough to beat their enemies? Had he healed enough to see this through?

  Molly opened her mind as far as it would go, desperate to catch as much movement and sound as the battle began again in earnest. Her heart jumped at each shout, and she braced her feet against the floor, her body ready to run if the threat came any closer. Her fingers found Daphne’s, and she didn’t know whether to be reassured or concerned that the sorceress squeezed her hand just as tightly. She wanted to ask what was happening, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, she leaned in and tried to pick apart the scene on her own.

  One, two, three thuds as bodies fell to the ground, as though they’d opted out of the fight rather than face whatever Zach had become.

  A deep, rumbling voice worked its way through her cochlears to vibrate against her skull as the largest demon of the bunch threatened and then challenged his new opponent.

  When Zach spoke, calling this demon named Lozak out on his crimes, his voice sounded nothing like the man Molly had come to know. He was detached, superior, and completely uninterested in giving any quarter.

  The floor between Molly’s feet vibrated as a fight broke out between the two. She took in smashing glass and hard thumps as one or both of them landed on the floor.

  Molly kept her face turned away from the center of the light, where it burned brightest, but found she was incapable of keeping her eyes closed. Not only was the possibility of seeing enough to keep her entranced, but watching Zach as a shapeless column of brilliance sliding across the hallway captivated her. She was terrified that at any moment the light would go out, and Zach would fall. By the negative space, she knew the other man was too large, and by the jerkiness of Zach’s movement, he appeared to be at the demon’s mercy.

  There was a pause in the fighting, and Molly’s breath tightened. What was going on? She shifted to the right to take in more of the light, alarmed when its purity began to fade.

  At her side, Daphne sucked in a sharp breath, and Molly wished she would explain what she saw. The pure white softened, becoming less of an assault on Molly’s brain, and began to mix with a darker shade, something that reminded her of the taste of blood. The two streams of light mixed together, one never drowning out the other, not melting into a new color, but remaining separate and entwined.

  As the light grew and expanded, awareness flooded through Molly’s mind: this was Zach coming into his own. No longer Zachariel the half-demon, half-angel, but Zachariel as he was meant to be. A true daemelus.

  “Tell me what you see,” Molly demanded, grabbing hold of Daphne’s arm.

  “Zach has him by the throat,” Daphne said, her voice coming out just above a whisper. “With a whip made of fire. It’s like something out of Revelations.”

  Impatience urged Molly to give her another shake. “Keep talking.”

  “They’re in the air now,” Daphne said. “Zach’s wings — they’re breathtaking. Like burning ice, if that’s even possible.”

  Molly followed the light as it rose higher, closer to what she guessed was the ceiling. It darted to the left, then circled around to come up on the right.

  “The demon’s fighting back hard, but he’s tiring,” Daphne said. “He doesn’t know what to make of this, I don’t think. Zach’s got his hands around his throat. Gods, it looks like he’s about to try to rip the guy’s head off.”

  Molly heard a crash as something fell to the floor. Zach’s voice filled the room. “Tell me why you want this.”

  She wanted to ask Daphne what “this” was, but her breath was caught in her chest. Zach’s voice was too strange, too alien to believe it was really him. Gone was the gruff anger that usually accompanied his speech, and in its place was a tone of absolute authority.

  A roll of thunder vibrated through Molly’s head, and when Lozak began to speak, she realized it was him laughing. “You’re really going to take the time to ask me questions about a tiny bauble? Fool. No answers I give you will prevent what’s happening. We might have lost possession of the orb for now, but don’t think for a minute this is the end. We’re only just beginning.”

  “Very well,” Zach said. “As it happens, I feel generous. Maybe you should have it back.”

  Sounds of a struggle came, with Lozak shouting, his voice changing from thunder back to the deep rumble of his original voice.

  “He’s turned him human…” Daphne said, sounding stunned. “Zach’s got him pinned down. With the orb blocking his power, this is it.” Then the room filled with the sound of shattering glass, and Daphne’s fingers tightened around Molly. “What? No!”

  Another cry rose up, one of such anger and pain that it shook Molly right to her insides. Beneath the layers of power and emotion, she recognized Zach’s voice. What had happened?

  The air charged around her as Daphne summoned her magic. In the distance, a door slammed shut, and a moment later, a great crash rumbled in Molly’s ears.

  “Seven hells!” Daphne shouted, and Molly guessed her spell had missed. By the dust in the air, she realized it must have hit the wall behind where Lozak had been standing.

  The sorceress disappeared from her side. The sound of her footsteps echoed across the tiles toward the side door. Zach’s light beat Daphne to the exit, disappearing as he passed outside.

  Not wanting to stay behind and miss whatever happened next, Molly pursued. She tripped over one of the steps and landed on her bad knee, jarring the gash in her side where the demon had torn through her flesh with its claws. The wound didn’t feel deep, but that didn’t stop the heat from piercing through to her core.

  Brushing off the pain, she used the railing to drag herself to her feet and raced toward the door.

  Outside, she ran until she bumped into a figure wearing a nylon coat, which she recognized as Daphne’s, but the sorceress didn’t move at the impact. Molly caught her balance before she fell and focused her attention on Zach’s glowing figure. He stood farther ahead, unmoving.

  “Why are we just standing here?” she asked. Although she didn’t know what was happening, she felt in her gut it was best to keep her voice low.

  “Lozak got free. He managed to escape in a waiting car,” Daphne said, flat with shock. “He’s gone.”

  Molly’s mouth fell open as her thoughts stopped. After all that, the guy just got away? Fury boiled inside her until she couldn’t hold back from stomping her foot. “That’s bull! We were so close. Zach had him! How did he get away?”

  “Something broke through the window. A spell, maybe. It got Zach, and Lozak used the opportunity to slip away like a gods-damned fish,” Daphne said. Then her voice turned rough. “Coward. He ran before Zach could figure out what he was doing. Sneaky son of a…bird.”

  Molly’s shoulders slumped. Although she still felt out of the loop on the true reason for the demons’ attack, she understood how serious it was
that this demon had escaped. “What do we do now?”

  “We wait,” Daphne said. Something had changed in her voice. She sounded guarded, almost afraid. “We wait, and we stay very quiet.”

  “Wait as quietly as you like, sorceress, there is no hiding from me. You cast your magic in front of mundane eyes,” a voice spoke.

  It took Molly a moment to recognize it as Zach’s. It had changed even from a moment ago, when there had still been a trace of him. Now, his usual bass was buried in the center of the noise, caught between a smooth sound as sharp as diamonds and a deeper growl, as though the earth were about to open beneath her feet.

  “I did it for the purpose of saving her life,” Daphne said. “You know this girl. You know she’s been touched by our world and has already been initiated into it. No crime has been committed here.”

  A tingle of pressure leaned against Molly’s chest as Daphne stretched her arm out in front of her, and Molly took an instinctive step backward. The sorceress was protecting her, but from what? Zach?

  Why does it sound like he’s threatening to punish Daphne for saving me?

  “I withhold my decision for future consideration,” he said, “but the same argument does not hold true of those downstairs.”

  The light passed in front of them. Daphne took hold of Molly’s hand, and her fingers were shaking.

  “Will this day never end?” she asked, and tugged Molly toward the door.

  Under other circumstances, Molly would have jerked away from her, angry that she’d grabbed hold of her without consent, but considering everything that was going on, she thought it best to follow Daphne’s lead. Something was wrong. She didn’t like the way Daphne was rushing, as though afraid that Zach was about to do something terrible. Her friend. Was it possible?

  They rushed down the stairs at such a speed that Molly had to use her momentum carefully to keep herself from falling, then wound along the usual path through the boiler room into Zach’s living space.

  “Zachariel, stop it,” Daphne ordered, but whatever authority she projected into her voice lost its power in the tremor of her fear.

  “Whoa, man, what’s going on?” Emmett asked.

  A fourth shape in the room shifted closer to Daphne. Denise had obviously kept to her word and remained in the room with Emmett. It had been a risk, and Molly respected her courage in sticking around.

  “The divide between our world and yours is sacrosanct,” Zach said. “Any attempt to cross that line will be met without mercy. Our secret must be kept.”

  “Dammit, Zachariel, listen to me. This isn’t you,” Daphne said, stepping forward. “You’ve slipped too far into your power.”

  Molly grabbed her sleeve and tugged. “Why is this happening? He’s still a demon too, isn’t he?”

  “Full demon strength, full angel brain by the sound of it,” Daphne grumbled. “Zach, trust me, I know. I’ve been where you are. Come back now before it’s too late. While there’s still a chance for you to be yourself again. Before you burn.”

  Molly’s stomach tightened, and nausea mixed with fear as it crawled up the back of her throat. She swallowed hard and rested her hand against the wall behind her, searching for some kind of solidity in the face of this mess.

  What did Daphne mean? Had her friend, her guardian, disappeared as he’d come into his full strength? It broke her heart to think that this column of light still blazing in front of her was all that was left of the person who had shown her the beauty and mystery the otherworld offered.

  “Stand aside, sorceress. Your own case is still up for decision. It would be wise if you didn’t push me to choose now.”

  “If you kill us, that’s it for you,” Daphne argued. “There won’t be any going back.”

  “I have become what I was destined to be. I stand to guard the divide between worlds. There is no room for compromise.”

  At his definitive response, Molly had heard enough. Confusion, pain, and terror had already pushed her to the brink of her emotional sanity, and now grief was threatening to wash away whatever barrier remained. She staggered forward. Daphne rested her hand on her shoulder, but Molly shrugged her off. She was done relying on other people to shield her from the dangers of the otherworld.

  “Are you a complete and utter idiot?” she demanded.

  The room fell deathly silent.

  She stared into the dully throbbing light, and as beautiful as it was to her eyes, she hated it. She hated what it meant and what it was threatening to steal from her.

  Anger stirred up deep inside, warming her, bolstering her flagging courage.

  “Molly, be careful,” Daphne said. “He’s not Zach. The consequences —”

  “To hell with the consequences,” she said. “Zachariel, your brain has to be in there somewhere, and you’re going to listen to me. You can stand guard as much as you want, but what is the point of protecting the world from people who are working with you to keep your secret? You know what a war is without allies? A lost war. You can keep your secrets as close to your vest as you want, but the fact is, sooner or later, they’re going to get out. Not just to one or two people, but on a larger scale, and you know what you’re going to need when that happens? Human beings in the know who can stand up and fight with you. Otherwise, everything will end up in chaos and destruction. Could the humans win? Likely not, but what kind of world would be left behind for you if you wipe them out? So how about you get your glowing red and white head out of your glowing red and white ass and talk to us.”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she spoke and wouldn’t stop. She didn’t feel sad, and yet sobs threatened to choke her. She spoke with everything she had, but she still didn’t feel as though she were getting through to him. The light didn’t fade. He made no move to comfort her.

  She collapsed onto her crate, the one he had pulled out for her on her first visit, then left for her so she’d know where to find it. The stove was still lit from Denise’s attempt to save his life, and the soft aroma of coffee drifted toward her from the French press. So many humans had stepped in to save him, and he was prepared to destroy them just because they knew his world existed. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right, but she didn’t know how to break through to him to make him see it.

  She grabbed her cane from where she’d set it against the crate and ran it through her fingers, finding comfort in its solid familiarity. A longing ran through her to go back to her first days here, before she’d ended up knee deep in other people’s problems. Her fight with Steve seemed insignificant now. In fact, in light of Zach’s current mood, it was probably for the best he hadn’t believed her. She didn’t want to have to talk this Daemelus of Justice down from doing away with her oldest friend, too.

  “You were my first real friend in this world, Zach,” she said. “You were my guide on a path that has made me feel so much better about who I am. That’s made me feel strong and capable of tackling whatever the rest of my life has to offer. I know I’m just a human, but I won’t give up everything I’ve gained by being here. I don’t want to give you up. Just come back, Zach. Please.”

  Molly stared into the light until it hurt her eyes, then she squeezed her eyelids shut and was amazed when it continued to glow through the thin layer of skin, refusing to let her run from it.

  The whole room seemed to be holding its breath. She waited for someone to say something, to move, but the stillness pressed in on her.

  She thought about what she would do if by some miracle Zach left them alone and continued on with his march for justice. What would he do after he finished here? Disappear and watch from the rooftops, ensuring the city remained ignorant of what lurked in the shadows?

  Yet how could she expect him to go back to his segmented existence now that his two sides had come together? Would she be willing to make that sacrifice if she were in his shoes? Would she be willing to go back to feeling as though her instincts were trying to tear each other apart as each side fought for dominance? It was incredible he
hadn’t been driven insane years ago.

  Maybe it was silly and childish to wish that he considered his friendship with her more important, but she didn’t want to imagine the alternative.

  A large shape dropped onto the box beside her, and she jumped out of her thoughts.

  Her world was dark again, the bright light gone as though it had never been. The energy around her relaxed, and she shifted to face the hulking figure in front of her.

  “If word gets out that I was talked down by a teenage girl, I can bid goodbye to any intimidating reputation I’ve gained,” Zach said, and tears filled Molly’s eyes at hearing his voice again. Even if it did come out a little more growly than she would have liked. He gave a loud sigh. “But you’re right.”

  “You cut it a little close there, big guy,” Daphne said, her voice wobbling.

  “Thanks for trying to talk me out of it,” Zach said. “I don’t think I would have managed it by myself.”

  “Been there, done that. Got the scars in my family trust to prove it.”

  Molly couldn’t restrain herself. The desire bubbled up from the soles of her feet into her knees and hips, then settled in her arms, and before she could think it through, she launched herself toward Zach and threw her arms around his neck.

  He stiffened beneath her hold, then relaxed and slid one arm around her, patting her back.

  It might have ranked as one of the most awkward hugs in history, but Molly didn’t care. It was also one of the best.

  21