“Noooooooo!” I fall to my knees, unable to stand the sight of my second friend dying.
Fight, Brion! I love you. You can do this!
I hear Gillian’s voice in my mind and turn my attention to the waterfall. Gillian is there, screaming at me to fight.
But all five demons are on me now.
They’ve surrounded me, crowded me in. They don’t give me enough space to unfurl my wings.
This can’t be how it ends.
I feel the first dagger pierce my wing. The pain shoots through me and I can’t breathe for a moment. In that split second, the second and third daggers pierce my other wing. The third demon rips his dagger downward, creating a long, torturous gash.
I turn and kick him, following and burying my dagger in his chest. But he’s an archdemon. It will take a lot more than one stab to bring him down. I follow him down, stabbing over and over, until he turns to dust beneath me. At least I’ve taken one of you with us. The thought brings only despair.
But while I’m down, a fourth demon sticks his dagger through my back.
I rise up to my knees and arch backward against the pain. And that’s when the fifth demon steps in front of me and thrusts his dagger into my chest.
It’s a mortal blow, and he knows it.
I can see it in his eyes.
I turn and look at Gillian.
You’re so beautiful, Gill. I love you so much.
“Don’t give up!” she screams. “You’re stronger than this!” She jumps into the waterfall and I hold my breath. But somehow moments later she’s climbing out of the water, walking in through the broken window.
What are you doing?! I scream at her with my mind. They’ll kill you now. Or take you.
I don’t want to live if I can’t be with you. You’re my life.
Time stops. And I realize, for the first time in my afterlife, I don’t want to die.
I have more to do.
Gillian is my reason to live.
I reach down and try to pull out the dagger. The head demon steps back, his eyes wide.
But try as I might, I can’t remove it.
I stagger to my feet.
And the prince demon beings to laugh. “And this is how he dies. Brion. The great fated mate.” He walks over and puts his arm around Gillian. “She’s mine now. Thank you.”
She slaps him away, but I know after I’m gone he’ll have her.
Watching him touch her, I feel a rage I’ve never felt before. It’s raw and primal.
Something begins to build inside of me.
A burning desire to live. To continue. To right the wrongs that the demons have done.
To be with Gillian.
I stagger back a step, feeling the rage course through me.
It’s powerful beyond anything I’ve ever felt.
And then I can feel my skin splitting apart. Every cell is cracking, the golden glow spreading outward until it clouds my vision.
It’s not my time.
I feel it with absolute certainty. I don’t even need this body—I will create my own.
Thunder rushes through my head.
I explode.
Pieces of me fly across the universe. Into every dimension. I am all. And all is me.
It’s glorious.
And suddenly I’m back.
But I feel no pain.
I pull the daggers out, one-by-one.
There’s no blood, only a golden light as the gashes heal themselves.
I look up at the demons and they all start backing away. But there’s only one I want.
I’m on him in an instant, throwing him to the floor.
“Please,” he cries, “have mercy.”
“Mercy?” I growl, raising the dagger. “Was that what you were giving me a moment ago?”
“We only did what we’re supposed to do.” Tears fill his eyes and he lowers his voice to a whisper. “I don’t even like killing.”
I pause, my dagger still poised.
“You’ve won. Take her and you’re free to go. Just please, don’t kill me. My dad would be alone. And my people would suffer for it.”
I look up at Gillian once more. And suddenly I realize that killing this demon won’t bring back Cas and Zakiel. It won’t even bring justice, since he isn’t the one who killed them.
I slowly rise, sheathing my dagger.
I extend an arm to him, and he takes it cautiously.
“We’re leaving. It’s over, and I want peace between us.”
The demon nods and we clasp arms.
I put my arm around Gillian and open a portal.
And step through it to find myself back in the room with Zakiel, Michael and the other archangels.
Moments later, Cas appears. But he’s different. He’s…brighter…and his wings are tipped with gold.
“You graduated, too, I see,” Cas wraps his wings around himself to view them.
My mind can’t process what’s happening. Cas and Zakiel are still alive? I’m grateful beyond belief. But it’s tempered by the realization that the demons still have Gillian.
It was all a test? I wrap my wings around myself and view their golden-tipped feathers.
“Well, gentlemen, I guess you passed.” Michael slams his fist down on the table in disgust. “You can enter Hell now. Let’s go get your pain in the ass scientist.”
7
Gillian
I’m snuggled against a firm, muscular chest. Wrapped in feathers soft as silk.
Every woman should have the chance to wake up this way.
I stretch, and gentle fingers trace their way up my spine. I open my eyes. “I didn’t know you were awake.”
He smiles sleepily, but when I run my fingers down his chest and abs, I can feel his hardness press against my stomach.
“Very awake.” I slide my fingers up the inside of his arms as he rolls on top of me, his lips going to my neck.
I arc into him as he slides into me, finding me warm and wet. Together, we find an easy rhythm. It’s almost as if we’ve been together a thousand times instead of just once.
We climb higher and higher, fingers entwined, breaths mingling.
But suddenly, he’s pulled off of me and I wake up. I have the terrible vision of Xion sticking a Galadrian dagger through his heart. But he doesn’t die. He returns with golden feathers. And he spares Xion.
He sees through vengeance for love.
He’s worthy of being the mate of The One.
“Gillian?” Xion’s deep voice is followed by a strong knock and I realize why I woke up. And that I’d been sleeping over the table in my lab on my second day in Hell.
But it seemed too real to be a dream.
“Yes?”
Xion strides into the lab, walking around the table to me. “How is your work going?”
I try not to look at him. “It’s fine.”
He puts his fingers under my chin and lifts it. He examines my face. “You’re tired. Why don’t I help you?”
I feel the pull between us and yank my face away.
He pulls me back toward him and fire rages in his eyes. “Why won’t you let me be kind to you?”
“Maybe I don’t want to fall for any of your lies.”
He clenches his fists in anger. “What makes you think I’m lying?”
“Are you telling me you don’t have an agenda? That you won’t do anything to get me to choose Hell?”
“No!” he practically shouts. “I’m just telling you I don’t need to lie to do it!” His gaze pierces mine. “You’ve seen my father. You’ve seen the lines for the portals. If you choose Heaven, the portals will shrink even more. All of the demons will become darker because they can’t get to Earth, and soon, the seventh level of Hell will disappear completely.”
I bite my lip against my question. I really don’t want to ask. I don’t want to hear any more about his side of things. Especially when no one from Heaven is here to refute them. But then my lips move, against my will, blurting out the
question, “What do you mean, it will disappear?”
“All of the souls down there have forgotten what it was like to be human. If the vibration lowers enough, they can’t exist in this universe anymore. So they will be lost. Forever.”
“And what happens to Heaven if I choose Hell?”
He shrugs. “Who knows? The angel warriors have to police a few more demons.”
“I’m sure the truth is more complicated than that.”
“Why are you sure about that? Have they even told you their side? You’ve been with that angel for two days. Did he tell you why to choose Heaven? Did he tell you what’s at stake?”
I shake my head. “Humans on Earth, I think. We didn’t have time…”
“Really?” His gaze pierces mine again. “Or maybe he just wants you to choose Heaven so he can mate The One.”
My anger rises and I open my mouth to retort, but he crushes his lips to mine before I can respond. The pull sucks me under. His mouth is hard, demanding, his tongue sweeping in and stealing my resistance.
No, I can’t do this. I love Brion.
I try to push him away, and our lips part for a moment.
But then he looks into my eyes and growls, and I’m pulled under again. Against my will, the traitorous hands that had been pushing him away wrap around his neck and pull him closer.
Xion puts his hands under my ass and lifts me effortlessly onto the lab bench, his lips never leaving mine. His palms cup my ass cheeks lovingly, before running up my spine, making me shiver. My nipples bead with desire.
But when he steps between my legs and pulls me against him, my brain screams in denial. Enough! “Stop!” I tell him, and it ends in a cry as he rubs against me.
“That doesn’t sound like a no to me, princess,” he growls.
Princess! I push him away, holding him at arm’s length this time. “I’m not a princess.”
“You could be,” he replies, and this time I see the desperation in his eyes. The part of him that needs me.
If I hadn’t met Brion, maybe I’d be all right with him. But now that I’ve felt true love, now that I’ve seen him sacrifice for me—and for humanity—again and again, I can’t choose Hell. I’ll open Pandora’s box before I let him seduce me.
Xion cups my face in his hands, trying to bring me toward him once more.
“Xion, I can’t…” I’m getting ready to fight him again.
But someone behind us clears his throat. “What the hell are you doing to my scientist?”
Brion! He’s come for me!
To be continued…
PART FIVE: ANGEL FOREVER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART FIVE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
1
Gillian
The four angels appear just inside the door, about five feet away from us. Xion is still straddling me on the lab bench.
Brion! My heart jumps for joy at seeing him and the angels who flank him, including Zak and Cas. I always knew he would come. They look just the way I dreamed they would, muscular and commanding. Their golden wings shimmer with heavenly power and their Galadrian daggers wink at me in the light.
Brion tries to attack Xion, but Zak and Cas hold him back. “Get off her. Now,” he orders, his eyes blazing.
I’m so glad to see him. I know he’s going to get me out of this.
“Stay there,” Xion orders me. He’s off me in a flash, but he doesn’t jump to the floor. Instead, he jumps to his feet on top of the lab bench in front of me to face the angels, a Galadrian dagger appearing in his hand.
I jump down from the lab bench and try to run to Brion anyway, but Xion stops me with the dagger. Then he gives me a warning look that pins me in place.
I look between them and can’t be silent. “Let’s talk about this. We can figure it out.”
Brion’s eyes flash with anger. “You can’t reason with a demon.” His eyes narrow as he looks at me, and I wonder what he’s thinking about the way he found me.
“Are you hurt?” Zak asks, caution in his voice
I shake my head. “They’ve been…kind to me.”
“Of course he has—he’s trying to trick you into choosing Hell.” Brion’s voice holds a note of righteousness and truth.
Xion’s gaze goes from Brion and focuses on a towering angel beside him. He’s similar in appearance to Peter, beautiful, with white-blond hair that curls around his shoulders. His features are strong and sharp, his skin smooth and pale like a Roman statue. The feathers of his wings are tipped in gold.
“Michael.” Xion nods at the unfamiliar angel. “I thought we had a deal.”
Michael? I examine him more closely. The treacherous, betraying, low-down son of a…
“We do. The deal hasn’t changed.” Michael grimaces sourly. “But as it turns out, we can’t turn on the device.” He points at me. “Because she has the power supply. I simply need to get it from her.”
My heart twists. So they aren’t here for me, but for the USB in my pocket? I have to force myself not to touch it, to give away my greatest secret. If I have any hope of getting out of here, we’ll need the leverage.
After a moment, Xion shrugs. “Fine. Take it and go.”
I look to Brion in panic, but his expression gives nothing away. He is here for me, right?
Brion must see the panic on my face. “Trust me, Gillian, give him the USB.”
Michael comes around the lab bench to me. Brion tries to follow, but Xion holds the dagger out, stopping him. “Just one of you.”
What do I do? I have two things in my pocket, and I don’t want him to get either of them. If he searches me, he’ll get both. USB or Pandora’s box?
“I’m not giving it to you,” I say.
Michael laughs. “Human, do you actually think you have a choice?”
I look from Brion to Xion. “What, are you going to hurt me for it?”
“Just give it to him,” Xion barks, looking down at me. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” I hold his gaze.
“The only thing that matters is you,” he reminds me.
But he doesn’t understand what my work means to me.
I look to Brion.
He holds my gaze, his dark eyes reflecting regret. “You need to give it to him.”
I pull out the USB reluctantly. “Here’s your power supply, dammit. I hope you’re happy,” I sneer the words with as much hatred as I can muster.
Michael simply nods in satisfaction. “I am.” Then he opens a portal.
“Wait!” Brion shouts. “You promised to help us!”
Michael turns back to the others angels. “No, I didn’t. I promised to bring you here. Good-bye.” He gives us the finger and exits with a flash of light.
Zakiel looks at the other two. “I should have expected that.”
“Yep,” Cas replies. “Totally should have seen that coming.”
I hope you have another plan, Brion, I think. Because I have a feeling he has a lot more demons than we’ve seen so far.
Xion gestures at the door with the dagger. “You have your power supply. Get out.”
Brion shakes his head. “We’re not here for that. We’re here for her.”
Thank God. I start toward him again, but Xion pushes me backward with one hand.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to go with you,” he smirks at Brion.
My angel’s fists tighten and he looks at me.
“Xion,” I say in a low voice. “You know I want to be with Brion. Just let me go. Please.”
Xion doesn’t look down, but his jaw tightens.
“Give her to us and we’ll let you live,” Brion says to Xion.
Xion throws back his head and laughs. “Where do you think you are, young one? This is Hell. And I am the prince!”
At that moment, both laboratory doors open, and demons start to pour th
rough, climbing over each other in a heap of arms, legs, and wings. The three angels have no choice but to turn and fight them, using daggers, wings, fists, and legs.
Terror rips through me. Not again.
Last time I couldn’t help Brion, but this time I will. I grab a screwdriver from the table and run toward the fight, even wondering how much help I’ll be. I miss my Galadrian dagger. Of course, Xion would never have let me have one in Hell.
Xion’s arms go around my waist, pulling me back. I kick him and try to wriggle out of his grasp, but it’s as if he’s suddenly a hundred times stronger than he was.
“Let—me—go,” I pant.
“You know I can’t do that,” he growls. “Eventually you’ll learn this is where you’re meant to be.”
I grab the screwdriver and thrust it behind me. He twists my wrist, and my weapon clatters uselessly to the floor.
I hear his shirt rip, and stop struggling for a moment. Looking over his shoulder, to my horror I see two enormous, black-feathered wings sprouting from his back. They are bigger than any of the angels here, about the size of Michael’s wings.
I can’t believe my eyes. “Wings?”
He grins. “Like I said before, angels and demons aren’t all that different.”
I hate that I’m starting to agree with him.
Xion swoops me up into his arms and flies backward to the window.
No! I strike out, punching him as hard as I can in the face.
He raises a brow, but doesn’t slow.
“I was going to let you go,” he shouts over his shoulder to the angels who are fighting for their lives. “But now you’ll die and your ashes will remain in Hell.”
The thought of Brion dying sends my heart racing. I thrash harder, pummeling Xion with my fists. His jaw locks, but his grip remains firm.
He kicks the window and it spidercracks for a moment, then explodes outward into a million sparkling diamonds of glass.
He flies through it.
“Please, just let me go,” I beg.
He looks down at me, and I see a flash of desperation behind his eyes. “My people need you, Gillian. We need you to raise the vibration. To reset the balance.”
Angel Warrior: The Complete Series Page 13
