by Ciara Knight
“I guess you weren’t man enough for her.” Forras remained in a fighting stance, but didn’t attack.
Boon struggled to keep Alexander secure. Sammy flew past the window and slammed into another demon. Grace was pinned to the ground, but thrust the creature off her and rammed it into another one.
Her dad struggled to stand, but fell with a thud. They wouldn’t make it, not all of them. And she couldn’t bear to lose any of them.
Gabby cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “Do we have a deal?”
“No tricks.” Forras pinned his heated gaze on Alexander. “Anyone follows and I’ll send her straight to Hell.” He held up his deformed stump. “You try anything, and I’ll summon the hundreds of demons in and around Kemp to dismember your father, one organ at a time.”
****
Alexander twisted and bucked. Boon crashed to the ground, pulling Alexander down on top of him.
“Let me go!”
Stunned, Alexander watched as Gabby faded into the dark night with Forras by her side.
He clawed at the linoleum floor of the entryway, struggling to rescue her from the demon that had nearly sent her to darkness forever.
As they were swallowed up by the night, Boon’s arms slid from his chest. Grey creatures still remained in the shadows of the trees, watching them. They followed Forras’s commands, remaining to guard them, but kept their distance until he ordered otherwise.
The hatred that once drove his every action rippled through his body. He turned on Boon and thrust his hands into his chest.
Boon stumbled back. “I was just following orders.”
Sammy flew between them. Grace stumbled over some boards, kneeling beside him.
“How could you? How could you guys let her go?” His hands shook. “We’ve got to find her.” He pivoted to the front porch and dozens of red eyes flickered in the moonlight.
Sammy slid her hand into Boon’s. “We’re not going anywhere. You heard Forras. Do you want to risk Gabby? Besides, aren’t you forgetting something?”
Alexander turned from the enlarged doorway and saw Bruce sprawled on the floor of the living room, surrounded by debris and rubble. The scent of blood filled the air. Alexander pulled his wings in and navigated the piles of wreckage over to Bruce. Kneeling, he pressed his palm to Bruce’s shoulder. “Bruce, I’m sorry. I’ve gotcha.” Soothing energy rolled down his arms to his fingertips, sating the fire within him. His mind was still engrossed with how to save Gabby, but his body relaxed.
“Gabby. She…”
Alexander redirected his attention and calmed Bruce. “Don’t worry. I’ll get her back.” And he would, too. Nothing would stop him from sending Forras back to Hell, where he should have gone in the first place.
Alexander fought against the demon stench, festering inside Bruce’s wound, and the alcohol flooding his blood stream. Why had her father let her down again? A part of Alexander wanted to throttle Bruce. The other one wanted to heal not only his body, but his soul, the piece that never healed after his wife’s death.
Alexander shook off the memory and mended Bruce’s collarbone. Muscle fibers laced together, tendons weaved into a solid mass connecting muscle to bone. Finally, he sealed the skin.
Bruce sighed and sat up. “Thanks, son.”
“It’s fine.” Alexander heard his harsh tone, but stood and faced the rest of his friends and family. Boon ducked beneath the hanging remnants of the ceiling while Sammy and Grace retracted their wings and walked through the front door toward him.
“Are you going to do something stupid?” Bruce asked with a hint of accusation.
Alexander crossed his arms over his chest. “No, but she shouldn’t have gone with him. We are meant to protect her.”
Grace patted his shoulder but he shrugged away, not wanting her soothing gift. “We need to let her lead us. I know it’s hard, Alex, but Gabby still struggles with who and what she is. If we continue to baby her, she’ll never reach her full potential in time.”
“So, what then? Are we just going to stay here and wait for Forras to send her to darkness and win the war for Satan?” Alexander accused. He knew she had a point. He needed to let Gabby grow into the leader she needed to be, but making a deal with Forras wasn’t the way to go.
Boon headed down the hall, probably checking the perimeter. They had a hard enough time holding their own, before. If Forras didn’t keep his end of the deal, there was no way they’d stand a chance without Gabby.
Sammy glanced out the gaping hole of the front door. “Do you really think there are thousands of demons headed to Florida?”
Grace tucked a stray piece of silver hair behind her ear. “Yes, I do.”
His pulse quickened. “We can’t fight that many. We barely survived the few dozen here.”
Boon returned, pulling a belt tight around a pair of Bruce’s pants that were two sizes too big for his small frame. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“No. Help yourself.” Bruce nodded.
Grace glanced at Bruce. “You okay?”
He scrubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Embarrassed, but good.”
Did he really just say embarrassed? Not ashamed or devastated that he broke his daughter’s heart?
Alexander struggled to keep his thoughts to himself, not wanting to say something he’d regret later. He inhaled a deep breath and swore he could smell Gabby’s shampoo. “Why’d you do it?”
Bruce sucked in a long breath. “Don’t know. The bottle was there before your ceremony. This overwhelming desire to dull the nagging ache that haunts me every second of everyday became unbearable.”
“Demon trick. Wasn’t your fault,” Boon offered, but everyone knew Bruce still ultimately made the choice.
“Thanks, but I was wrong, and I broke my little girl’s heart…again.”
Alexander’s heart softened at his words. “She’ll be fine. She loves you and that’s all that matters.”
Bruce half-smiled and glanced around the room. “Guess this old shack is done for now.
Good thing Gabby never liked it.”
Alexander smacked his shoulder. “Actually, she grew to love it here.”
Memories of the day he stood in the living room longing to kiss her, but knew he couldn’t, swept him into action. “Where do you think he took her?”
“I’ve got a good idea.” Bruce retrieved the gun from the floor and held it up. “Guess I’m going to need a new weapon.”
Sammy shook her head. “You heard Forras, if we go after her, he’ll kill us all and send Gabby to Hell.
“Since when has that ever stopped you four?” Grace’s mouth rose in a mischievous grin.
“You have a plan?” Alexander asked. Hope flooded him.
Grace leaned in. “How do you feel about becoming a demon?”
Chapter Six
Florescent lights flickered down the main hall as Gabby flipped the switch. It was eerie to return to Kemp High School after so long. After the Prim fled, none of them returned. Social workers never showed up as she’d feared and her education continued at home in between training sessions.
Gabby slid her palm along the white, grooved brick wall, her finger tracing the painted grout. “Why’d you bring me here?”
“Safest place in Kemp right now.” Forras scanned the halls, his flat top and letter jacket drawing her back to the first day of cheerleading practice when they’d exchanged words on the football field. Okay, she threatened to put a bullet through him, but she didn’t know at the time he was a demon. Instead, she’d thought he was just an obnoxious, conceded jock.
Forras led them down the hall of the three hundred block and turned to the back stairwell. The hair on the back of her neck stood erect, warning of danger.
She halted. How was she going to use the fact the love of his life, Charlotte, the one her own father had allegedly killed, was in Heaven to convince him to fight for them?
Gabby pulled free, “I know where she is.”
Forras lea
ned against the grey molding of the doorway, the doors propped open in invitation. With a sneer, his gaze slid over her. “Really? And what makes you think I care?”
“She’s the girl you love. The one who was hurt when my father tried to stop you.”
“No, your father murdered her in cold blood. I know. I was there. She bled out in my arms. No healing angel to save her. Abandoned and left to rot here on Earth. Heaven doesn’t care about us. Any of us. Even your precious golden boy is nothing to them. Just a pawn in their game of Earth domination. News flash, I don’t care who wins.”
Gabby took a tentative step toward him. “You do care. If Hell wins, the gates of Heaven will be sealed, and you’ll never see her again.”
“Lies. Besides, I have no heart left. No memories of her. Only nightmares and hate for the one who murdered her. Now, I’ll take the only one left on Earth he cares about.” Forras grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the stairwell.
Gabby kicked his shin and grasped the metal door handle. “No, Forras. You need to listen to me.” She bucked back and flailed until she dropped to the floor, all the while trying to keep her powers in check. She couldn’t risk frying him. She needed him. The cool rubber coating of the landing gave her traction, and she shuffled backward on her hands and feet.
“You thought you could convince me to fight for your side? For the side that took her away from me?” A hint of pain etched in the deepening lines on his scrunched nose.
“You do care. I can see it.”
“I’m a full demon. I care about nothing but serving my master.”
Walls shook and ceiling tiles rattled. Gabby scrambled to her feet, only to stumble. Was Satan here, waiting to take her to the underworld? Had she made a grave mistake leaving the others behind?
She grabbed the side of a bank of lockers and pushed off down the hall. With Forras close behind, she ran toward the exit doors. Pumping her arms, she willed her wings to release. They pushed against muscle and skin, but no sting radiated down her shoulder blades.
He rammed into her back and they crashed to the cool tile, her chin slamming against the hard floor. It split open and smeared blood across the white surface. She twisted around and kicked him in the jaw, but he grabbed her foot and yanked her back to him.
“You think you’re so special.”
The walls shook again. The glass panes in the doors a hundred feet away cracked. The vibrations entered her body, invading her nerves, and her limbs thrashed about.
He let go and backed away. Shaking his head, he morphed into the demon form she’d not seen for almost a year. Four stumps jetted from his forehead where horns used to be, the claw she’d severed still missing. “No!” he yelled toward the ceiling. “You promised I’d get to kill her.”
Electricity shot from her toes, up her legs and spine, stopping at her eyes. Softness smeared over her skin like silky body lotion. Love and compassion filled her heart as her belly and hips spread slightly. Her legs and arms elongated, but she felt no pain. Pale golden light enveloped her body. The sense that someone was knocking at her consciousness unnerved her. Fear from the last time she’d let a presence possess her warned her to be cautious. The scars from those demonic tentacles still burned her soul, but it could be Grace and the others trying to communicate. What if something had gone wrong?
She opened her mind and a soft, angelic whisper greeted her. Let him see me.
Gabby waited for the trick to unfold and Satan to claim her, but only a sense of peace and happiness filled her. The light brightened, enveloping her.
Forras punched the golden yellow. Sparks shot out. He fell, his head clanking against a locker.
Whatever or whoever had entered her body meant to protect, not harm her. She relaxed and let the voice drift from her mind, through her body, to her soul. The light settled and faded. Her consciousness joined another, blending in her body.
Forras sat there, shaking his head. “No, it can’t be.” He appeared different—human, caring almost. The glass doors of the trophy case, housing the many awards Forras had won in football and wrestling during his high school years, reflected a girl with dark hair, thin shoulders, and a willowy body.
The presence inside her forced her attention back to Forras. The harsh angles of his face softened and her body relaxed, like it normally would when she was near Alexander. She reached out and touched his hand. Her heart jolted with the contact, and she wanted to pull him into her arms.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Her voice sounded soft and light, unlike her normally squeaky tone. She fought the urge to move closer to him, but the presence had taken control of her actions and she was forced to sit and watch as her hand glided up his arm to his cheek.
He leaned into her palm and closed his eyes. “Charlotte?” he murmured. His hatred vanished, only love remaining in his eyes. Then he shook his head and shuffled away. “No, it’s a trick.”
“I’m here because there’s still a part of you left that wants to be with me, to have me in your arms again. Do you remember the night we spent on the beach, under the stars? You told me you loved me and nothing would ever tear us apart.”
Forras slumped back and beat his head against the lockers until he left a dent. “No, I don’t remember,” he muttered before slamming his head against the lockers once more.
“Only because you won’t let yourself. Listen to my voice. You use to say it sounded like a song bird.” Gabby’s thumb drew circles on the back of his hand. “Feel me. My touch. Remember how we slept in each other’s arms. We didn’t want to let go, even when the morning sun rose.”
Gabby struggled against the swirl of emotions inside her. The girl—Charlotte’s feelings overwhelmed her. Forced to be a bystander in her own body, a frightening connection merged between her and Forras. Love. A deep, life-altering love for him caressed her heart. She fought to regain control, but Charlotte was too determined. “If you don’t remember that night, then do you remember the night when you told me you’d take on Satan himself if he ever touched me?”
Pain swelled inside, and she connected with Forras’s sorrow. His heart was black and cold, yet possessed a glimmer of sadness.
“Yes,” Forras whispered. “But that was before.”
“You lied to me,” Charlotte accused. “I thought you loved me, but not enough to protect me.” Agitation ebbed from him. “That was the night before her father murdered you.”
“You mean the night you killed me.”
Horrific swirls of devastation rolled over her. Sorrow clutched Gabby’s middle, and she doubled over from grief.
“It wasn’t me,” Forras murmured. He stepped away from her, pressing his back against the far wall, hovering between the end of the bank of lockers and the trophy case.
“Yes. You were the one who became so consumed with hatred that you turned into the one thing you despised. I could have been saved. But in your fiery rage, your claw dug deep into my chest, penetrating my heart.”
“I didn’t! I tried to save you. It was him,” Forras choked.
“No, my love. It was you. Remember.”
In that moment Gabby knew why Forras had fallen. He couldn’t forgive himself.
“Now you’ve been given a second chance to fix the harm you’ve done. To fight for what you once believed in.”
Gabby held her breath, hoping, praying he’d help them.
He’s a guardian, meant to protect and serve. But even if he agrees, you can never fully trust him, Charlotte warned.
****
The image of Forras wrapping his arm around Gabby, leading her away from them, repeated in an endless loop of torment in Alexander’s mind. Heat pulsed to his eyes. Hatred throbbed inside him, and he allowed it to flow, yet not consume him. He’d worked so hard to control his emotions, now he had to embrace them if they were going to save Gabby.
“Yeah, that’ll do.” Sammy laughed nervously.
Boon smacked him on the back. “Don’t worry, this should work. We just need to dis
tract them long enough for Grace to get Bruce out of here.”
Sammy planted a kiss on Boon’s cheek. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
Grace smiled. “Don’t worry. You two won’t have to stretch too far to quarrel. I’ve seen you two go at each other more times than I can count.”
“Thanks,” Alexander grumbled. He refocused on Forras’s plan to sacrifice Gabby to Satan. “Be ready. Demons are easily manipulated and stupid, but they’ll still catch on quick.”
“We just have to clear the tree line,” Grace reassured him. “Boon will handle any stragglers.”
Boon tugged his shirt over his head. “Don’t get carried away, Sammy,” he warned, worry plaguing his stare.
Alexander stiffened, but refused to think of the harm he could cause if rage got the better of him. If he focused too much on the consequences, the anger would subside and he’d ruin any chance they had of escaping.
Shuffles raked across the shingles above. “Don’t forget the ones up there.”
“Got it covered.” Boon pulled Sammy to him. “Be careful, my love. I’ll see you at Prim’s place.”
Bruce disappeared behind the kitchen wall and returned with a handgun. “Just in case.”
Alexander nodded and turned to Sammy. The fury ebbed and drained from his body. How was he going to do this?
“You know she’s always had a thing for wounded men. Forras probably has her in his arms right now,” Sammy shouted at him. “It’s your fault I’ve been trapped here on Earth. You think you’re above the rules, that you’re special?” Her words stung, but he knew she didn’t mean them. Sammy was too sweet. She always had his back. This was just her way of nudging him to move forward.
“You know I was protecting you.” The words slipped from his lips before he could stop them. No. He needed to fight, not just argue. “If you hadn’t been so caught up in finding Boon…” At the surprise on her face, he returned her stare with a mocking one. “That’s right, Sammy. I remember. You were bending the rules yourself.”
