I remembered Geneva coming in to feed me and take my blood each day to create the transformation potion. I remembered when Susan had slit her wrists to try taking her own life, and how Geneva had used Stephenie’s blood to save her.
That was how I’d known vampire blood could cure a dying human. I’d seen it with my own eyes.
I remembered when Geneva had freed us, sending Stephenie back to the Vale and bringing Susan and me to the Haven. I remembered meeting Mary and Annika there for the first time. I remembered being forced to drink the memory potion.
Afterward, Geneva had dropped me off on the boardwalk where she’d originally found me. I’d stumbled home in a confused daze, confessed to my mom that I’d taken a sudden trip to Europe, and apologized for not telling her where I’d been.
All of the memories hit me in less than a second.
And along with the sudden influx of memories, there was the sudden influx of power.
My senses intensified, like they had after drinking vampire blood. I could see every crack in the cave walls and hear every droplet of water as it hit the ground. I could even hear three heartbeats apart from my own. Noah’s, Camelia’s, and a smaller, softer one. Camelia’s unborn baby.
The white glow lighting up the cave—the glow coming from my body—dimmed down.
I was staring straight into Darra’s empty eyes.
I pulled my sword out of her chest, and her body collapsed into a heap on the ground. I dropped the sword and fell to my knees beside her. Tears flowed from my eyes, and I hung my head, letting the grief consume me.
Darra was gone. I’d killed her. She was dead because of me.
“Why is she still here?” I finally spoke, once I could breathe again. “When Noah killed the demons, they disintegrated into ashes.”
“Only demons and original vampires disintegrate when killed,” Camelia said. “Otherwise, witches are sent to deal with the body.”
Noah walked to stand beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. His touch was warm and welcoming, and I let myself fall into it.
I took a deep breath, overcome with the sudden influx of scents. Noah’s was earthy, like I was standing in a forest of pine trees. Camelia’s was sweet like flowers, with a hint of maple syrup. There was also a weaker, metallic scent. Darra’s.
What was left of her, anyway. The body I was looking at was just a shell. Darra’s spirit was gone.
“What do I smell like?” I asked quietly. “Now that I’m Nephilim?”
Noah kneeled down and took my hands in his, helping me stand. I didn’t want to move away from Darra’s body. But at the same time, I knew that wasn’t Darra anymore. So I allowed him to help me up.
He stared into my eyes, looking awestruck. “You smell like honey,” he said. “And your eyes… they’re amazing.”
“Are they like the Earth Angel’s?”
“Not quite,” he said. “Her eyes are bright, metallic gold. They’re so gold it’s jarring and unnatural. Yours are still gold, but warm. Like a burst of sunlight. They’re perfect.”
My cheeks heated. I knew I had to be blushing. Then I looked back down at Darra’s body, and my heart fell.
How had I allowed myself even a moment of happiness after what I’d just done?
“What’s going to happen to her?” I asked.
“We’ll hold a funeral on Avalon,” Noah said. “Like the one we had for Cassandra at the Haven.”
I nodded, since it made sense. Cassandra’s funeral pyre had been beautiful. After Darra’s sacrifice, she deserved a hero’s send off as well.
“Good,” I said. “I want everyone to know what she did here today. I want them to know what she sacrificed.”
“They will.” Noah looked me up and down, concern in his deep brown eyes. “But in the meantime, how do you feel?”
I took a second to contemplate the question, digging deep within my soul to make sure I answered correctly. “I feel different.” I picked Excalibur back up, amazed by how perfect the weapon felt in my hand. “Stronger. There’s this buzz in my veins… an ache to fight. I can feel Azazel out there. And I know I can beat him.”
The bright orange flames around Excalibur’s blade danced higher as I said the final part, as if the Holy Sword itself was agreeing with my statement.
Camelia stepped forward to stand across from us. The flames reflected in her eyes, and she looked ready for battle. “I’m going to expand the barrier now,” she said. “It’s going to be obvious when Azazel’s inside. Once he is, attack immediately. Like Darra said, the sooner you attack—”
“The better my chance of winning,” I completed her sentence, tightening my grip around Excalibur’s handle. “I know. And I’m ready.”
The crazy thing was, I meant it.
“Good.” She held her hands up and stared at the foggy boundary. “Then here goes nothing.”
25
Raven
Since Camelia was using dark magic to keep Azazel in the boundary, she used blood from the vial in her weapons belt when she did the spell.
Like before, yellow light ebbed from her hands as she chanted. She stood still, focused as she cast the spell. Keeping a greater demon inside the boundary would take all of her magic. So much of it that she wouldn’t be able to help in the fight. All of her focus needed to be on keeping Azazel contained, so he wouldn’t be able to teleport off the island.
The foggy boundary at the cave wall glimmered and expanded, like an inflating balloon. It passed over Azazel, until he was standing in the boundary with us.
The greater demon looked around, dazed and confused. I supposed he hadn’t been expecting the boundary to expand to include him.
This was my chance.
I ran at him, sword flaming, aiming for his heart.
I was fast. But so was he.
Before I could blink, he was also holding a sword, and it clanged with mine. He growled at me, his eyes glowing red, and swung the sword aggressively in my direction.
Instinct took over—it must have been the angel instinct Darra had said I’d get upon becoming Nephilim—and I expertly blocked each swing. Some of them came dangerously close to piercing my skin, but I managed to hold him off each time.
It was easy.
Until he caught me off guard and hit Excalibur so hard that he knocked it out of my hand and across the cave.
Panic rushed through me as I glanced at the fallen weapon. I needed Excalibur.
Just like that, the Holy Sword flared back to life, flew through the air, and smacked straight back into my palm. I gripped it tightly, moving it in front of me just in time to stop Azazel from taking a fatal blow at my chest.
He roared with anger, backing me up so I was pressed against the wall of the cave. He used his strength to push my flaming sword closer and closer to my neck. I grunted as I pushed back at him, using all my might to stop him from forcing my sword to slice off my own head.
“You did it.” He laughed, giving me a full view of his pointed yellow teeth. “I didn’t think you had the balls to go through with killing the vampire. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re, young, weak, and inexperienced. Too bad she’ll have died for nothing.”
He snarled and put his full body strength into the weight of his sword. My muscles quivered. Like Darra had warned, he was bigger and stronger than me. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold him off.
No matter how hard I pushed back, I couldn’t get him to move an inch. Sweat formed at my brow, threatening to drip into my eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was from my weakening muscles, or from the heat of Excalibur’s flames. Probably both.
“I’ll be sure to tell your mother all the gory details about how you died.” He smiled, clearly getting joy from this. “Although I’m sure she already knows, since she foresaw it and sent me here to finish you off herself.”
I glared at him. It had to be lies. My mom would never betray me like that.
He pushed down harder, and my arm lowered further. I winced as the fl
ames brushed my neck, burning the skin they touched. Only a few millimeters left until my blade would cut into my skin.
Suddenly, someone leaped at Azazel from behind. Noah, in his wolf form. His powerful, deadly jaws clamped around Azazel’s neck, his front claws digging into his shoulders to pull the greater demon off of me.
Azazel’s red eyes turned bloodshot and practically popped out of their sockets. He snarled and used his free hand to try wrangling Noah off of him.
No longer cornered against the wall, I could kill Azazel now. But he and Noah moved fast as they wrestled each other. With Azazel so entwined with Noah, I couldn’t find an opening that would guarantee Noah remained unharmed.
“Do it!” Camelia screamed. “Now!”
She was right. This was my chance.
But I couldn’t take a swing at Azazel if it meant possibly killing Noah in the process.
It took some prying, but Azazel managed to throw Noah to the ground. I heard two snaps as his hind legs broke. Bone popped through his skin. Through the imprint bond, I felt an echo of his pain.
The bite and claw marks on Azazel’s skin healed in seconds. I went in and swung at him with Excalibur, but the greater demon fended me off, his sword clanging with mine.
Noah also recovered quickly. His legs set back in place, and he stood up, backing up and running to pounce at Azazel again. He opened his deadly jaw, ready to attack.
Azazel snarled, apparently not going to fall for the same trick twice. This time, as Noah flew through the air, Azazel shoved me to the ground with his foot, turning around and raising his sword to slice my future mate in two.
Azazel was fast. But now that I was a Nephilim, I was faster. And by turning away for only a split second, the greater demon had underestimated me.
Because before he could swing down at Noah, I rushed toward Azazel, running Excalibur through his back and straight into his heart.
26
Raven
Azazel froze, like he’d turned to stone the moment Excalibur pierced his heart. Spidery black lines traveled outward from where my blade had entered his chest, crawling up his neck and extending all the way out to the tips of his fingers. The black expanded until it covered every inch of his skin.
Then he crumbled to dust, clothes and all.
The only remains in the pile of ash were his yellowed, pointy teeth.
I’d done it. I’d killed a greater demon. And not just any greater demon. I’d killed Azazel.
Since my sword was now paused in mid-air, I slid it back into my weapons belt. But the motion was stiff and robotic. I couldn’t stop staring at the pile of ashes at my feet.
At some point while I was staring at the ashes, Noah had shifted back into human form. He stepped up beside me and reached for my hand, clasping it in his.
“You did it,” he said, his eyes glowing with love. “He’s gone.”
“Sage is free.” The shock disappeared, and I jumped to what came next. Because even though Azazel was dead, my mission wasn’t over. “And my mom. Azazel sounded like he had my mom with him. Probably at the Montgomery compound, where he was staying with the blood bound shifters. We have to go there. Now.” I looked frantically at Camelia, since she was our best hope at getting there.
The pregnant witch was just standing there, observing us. “What are you looking at me for?” she asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.
“You can teleport.” I wanted to strangle her for being so dense. But I stopped myself, since I needed her alive and functioning so she could use her magic. I also couldn’t risk hurting the baby. “You can take us to the Montgomery compound.”
“Do you listen to anything I say?” She huffed, clearly fed up with me, even though I was Nephilim and not a human anymore. “I can’t leave Avalon or its satellite islands.”
“You can’t?” I challenged. “Or you won’t?”
From what she’d told us earlier, it sounded like leaving Avalon and its surrounding islands was just something she was afraid to do because of whatever deal she’d made with the fae. Not something she couldn’t do.
“I won’t,” she said.
“Yeah, well I didn’t want to kill Darra to ignite my Nephilim powers, but I did it because I had no other choice.” I stomped toward her, my hair blowing behind me like I was a goddess on a rampage. The rage I felt toward her was like an inferno building in my chest, and I made no effort to contain the blaze. “We know from the bunker that Azazel has demon minions working for him,” I continued. “They could be at the Montgomery compound right now. Once they realize the demon bond is broken, they’ll know Azazel’s dead. And who knows what they’ll do to my mom, and Sage, and the others then?” My heart pounded in panic just from thinking about it. “If anything happens to them, and it’s because you were afraid to leave the Avalon borders to get us there fast enough, it’ll be your fault.”
Camelia continued staring at me, blinking slowly.
I had a terrible feeling from her hollow gaze that she didn’t care what happened to my mom, or to Sage, or to any of the wolf shifters who had been demon bound and were now getting their free will returned to them.
My blood pounded faster through my veins. I itched to take Excalibur back out and show her who was boss. My newly ignited Nephilim side urged me to use force to convince Camelia to help me save my family and friends.
But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything I did hurt the unborn child. So I clenched my fists to my sides and reined it in. For the child’s sake.
From the way Noah was snarling and bearing his teeth at Camelia, I suspected he was experiencing the same inner turmoil that I was. Or maybe we were both feeling the other’s emotions through the imprint bond. We were so connected by now that it was hard to tell.
“I’ll teleport you back to Avalon so the witches there can bring you to the Montgomery compound.” Camelia walked up to us and took our hands in hers. “It’ll take extra strength to teleport two people, but because of the added strength from the pregnancy, I can do it. Are you ready?”
“What about Darra?” I glanced at my mentor’s body, lying in a heap near the wall of the cave. Leaving her there, cold and alone, felt so wrong.
“Once we’re on Avalon, I’ll send witches to come get her,” Camelia said. “We’ll have a funeral pyre for her once you’re back from your mission to the Montgomery compound.”
I nodded, unsure what to say. What had happened to Darra was awful. When I saw her twin sister Tari again… how could I ever break the news to her?
Just thinking about it made me feel like I was falling apart all over again.
“Thank you.” Noah spoke for me, since I was too emotional to find the words. “We’ll give her a pyre she deserves.”
Camelia made a noise of agreement. Then her eyes went blank, and I braced myself for the sudden displacement that always occurred while teleporting.
But nothing happened.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked, impatient to get to my mom and Sage. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t.” Camelia blinked, stunned. “The spell that the Foster witch cast around this island is still in place.”
The hope in my chest deflated. “What do we do then?” I asked. Because even though I was a Nephilim, I couldn’t teleport. Only witches, mages, angels, and greater demons had that ability.
“We can try getting to the edge of the boundary spell,” Camelia said. “Foster magic is strong, but thanks to my pregnancy, I’m stronger than ever. If I get close enough to touch the boundary, I can see if there’s anything I can do to break us through.”
27
Raven
The boundary spell went beyond the land and out to the sea.
So the three of us trekked back to where we’d hidden the sailboat. Now that I was Nephilim, we got there in a fraction of the time it had taken us before, since I could now move at supernatural speed too. And I had to say—running through the trees as a supernatural felt good.
It didn�
��t take us long to uncover the boat. We carried it out of the jungle, across the beach, and to the ocean. Well, Noah and I did the heavy lifting, thanks to Camelia’s condition. Camelia just watched and brushed her hair with her fingers, like a spoiled princess.
Luckily, the “heavy lifting,” wasn’t heavy at all, thanks to my newly acquired supernatural strength. Carrying the boat was so easy that if anyone had been looking on, they would have thought we were carrying a foam prop instead of the real thing.
After being a weak human that needed constant protection for so long, it felt amazing to finally be useful. I couldn’t wait to get to the Montgomery compound and show those demons what I was made of.
Excalibur buzzed at my side, as if the Holy Sword was supporting my desire for revenge.
The three of us were quiet once we set sail, the air between us thick with worry. And I knew why.
It was because Camelia wasn’t sure she could break past this boundary. We were holding onto hope that she could, and we wanted to believe she could. Especially because she seemed to think it was possible. And while Camelia had her fair share of grandiose thoughts, she also didn’t seem like the type of person to sugar coat the truth.
I supposed she was kind of like Darra in that way.
But there was still the chance that whatever Camelia planned on doing to break through the boundary wouldn’t work.
If that happened, where would it leave us?
I bit my lip in worry, trying not to imagine the worst. Because all we could do now was sail on.
Eventually, the tip of the sailboat hit an invisible wall. The boundary.
I walked to the front of the boat and pressed my hands against the barrier. It was so strange. Even though we were in the middle of the ocean, it felt like holding my hands up to glass. Except the “glass” was invisible.
The Angel Trials- The Complete Series Page 102
