Inception

by Teal Haviland

  “Yeah, I have to say, I’ve only known him a few weeks, and I’d pretty much trust him with my life.”

  “That trust is well placed, Phalen,” Gabrielle replied.

  She and Phalen continued to search the cave for any signs of something out of the ordinary.

  “So what is it that Grayson and Rissie are looking out for?” Phalen asked.

  “The Fallen, of course.”

  “Why? Do you think there might be trouble?”

  Gabrielle said a few more words in the language of angels, and the cave trembled in a rolling wave from one side of the floor to the other, then did the same over the sides and ceiling until every inch had been covered. All the while, the rocks that made up the floor and sides of the cave behaved as if they were pliable instead of rigid. They could hear the rolling move deeper into the cave, and as it moved further away from them, the trembling lessened.

  “Because if Lek knew about this, then there are others who do, too. If any show up, I’d rather we were up there instead of down here when they come, if they come.”

  “Smart.”

  “Yeah. I guess I have my moments,”

  “Unless you’re around Lucas or thinking about him. Then … you don’t seem to have those moments.” Phalen bent over laughing at her own joke.

  She just received a raised brow and smirk from Gabrielle.

  “What?” she asked, full of innocence. “You know it’s true.”

  Gabrielle didn’t have a retort. Phalen had a point, even if it was meant in fun.

  Gabrielle closed her eyes and said her last words in Enochian once again, only in reverse order, calling the rolling motion back toward them. The energy she’d sent out continued seeking what she was looking for. When it finished the second sweep, Gabrielle opened her eyes.

  “Nothing.” Gabrielle sighed from frustration. “Well … I guess it was worth a try. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Okay. Hey … what was that you just did? And why can’t we just do it everywhere and find the Book that way? If it actually exists, anyway.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It was just something I wanted to try. And we could do it everywhere if there was enough magic at our disposal.”

  “Magic?” Phalen stopped, putting a hand on Gabrielle’s arm to stop her. When Gabrielle looked at her, disapproval was in her eyes. “Sister … did you get that from one of the Gentry?”

  “I did.”

  “But we aren’t supposed to deal with them or their magic!”

  “You and the rest of our brethren aren’t, but I can if I feel it’s necessary.”

  Phalen dropped her hand from Gabrielle’s arm. “I don’t care, Gabrielle. They are way too sneaky. You wouldn’t know which of them too trust any more than I.”

  “I needed to try. I don’t think it will be that effective of a tool, anyway. It’s new magic that I asked one of my allies in the Shadow World to conjure, and I think it’s too weak.”

  “Maybe they liked your idea and made it too weak on purpose so they could use it to find the Book themselves.”

  “Oh, Phalen … stop being so dramatic!” Gabrielle snapped. Calming herself, she continued. “I had to try. I need to find that book before it gets into the wrong hands.”

  Phalen studied Gabrielle for a long time before speaking, then took a deep breath and sighed. “If you say so.”

  “I say so … now, let’s get out of here. I don’t like caves. They make me think about Hell, and that’s something I think about enough as it is.”

  As they were about to dematerialize, they both heard a sound that made them stop. It was the long melodic call of a wolf joined in mid-chorus by a second one. It was Grayson and Rissie.

  “Trouble’s here,” Gabrielle said. With that, she and Phalen were back above ground.

  Grayson and Rissie were nowhere to be seen, but eight of the Fallen were only a quarter mile away.

  “Gabrielle … where are Grayson and Rissie? Are they okay?”

  Gabrielle smiled to reassure Phalen. “They’re near, and they’re quite well … as you’ll soon see.”

  She could see Phalen scan their surroundings for the two Shifters, but all she would have seen were a couple hawks perched in one of the scraggly pines scattered around the rocky mountaintop. Gabrielle could tell Phalen was concerned that she couldn’t see them and that she should have been able to on the top of the mountain; there wasn’t much up there to take cover behind.

  “If you say so.”

  “I say so,” Gabrielle responded absently. The Fallen drew near.

  As usual, her stomach began to protest. They were approaching aggressively, and Gabrielle suspected there wouldn’t be much talk when they arrived. As they drew closer, a female in front began to speak.

  “If you found what you came here to get, you might as well know I’m about to take it from you.”

  Gabrielle took all of the demons’ energies into account—three weren’t particularly powerful, three seemed moderately so, and two had Gabrielle concerned. Those two, the female speaking and a male to her right, were clearly going to be a problem. Gabrielle wondered how Phalen, Grayson, and Rissie would do with the other six if she concentrated her efforts on the strongest.

  ‘Phalen, I’m going to try to keep the female that spoke and the male to her right engaged with me. I need you, Grayson, and Rissie to handle the others until I put an end to the ones I’ll be dealing with.’ She glanced at Phalen. ‘Can you handle it?’

  Phalen smiled and nodded. ‘I think we can keep them busy.’

  The demons continued to advance, and so did the stench that accompanied them. Gabrielle’s insides lurched again as her opponents came within striking range. She hated waiting for them to make the first move and fought back her resentment of the law she had to abide by. If she could attack first, she could almost guarantee that she could keep the more powerful demons attention directed at her. Just before they advanced on her and Phalen, a vision flashed.

  Her breath stopped, and it felt as though a vice had clamped down on her heart.

  “NO!” Gabrielle yelled as she felt the impact of emotions the vision brought with it. “Phalen, Grayson, Rissie! Go! Leave!”

  “What?”

  “LEAVE!”

  “Why would I—” Phalen’s question was cut short as the demons attacked her.

  The evening was instantly brighter from Dither Swords clashing. Grayson’s form didn’t allow him to answer, but the call of two hawks approaching told her that he and Rissie weren’t heeding her warning, either.

  Gabrielle raised her hands as her bow appeared in one and several arrows with Holy Fire burning on their tips manifested in the other. She released them as soon as they appeared. In the fraction of a second it took for more arrows to become solid in her hand, she watched the others hit their targets. Two hit the male; one hit the female. The demons simply pulled them out of their bodies and gave her mocking smiles.

  How can they not be affected?

  Gabrielle released the next three arrows, and again, they hit their targets. This time, they seemed to do some damage. Both staggered but began to advance on her again.

  They should be ash!

  As Gabrielle continued to feel the dread from the vision, from what it showed the outcome of this fight being, she let the demons get closer so she could take time to assess how her friends were faring. She was relieved to see that Phalen was holding her own with three of the demons.

  A quick glance toward the other fight showed the remaining three against two of the largest mountain lions Gabrielle had ever seen. That was the confrontation she was most concerned with. Only one minor demon stood against her friends. The other two would not be easy for Grayson and Rissie to handle.

  Gabrielle focused her attention back on her targets. I have to finish these two.

  She let the bow vanish to make way for Sundering Whips. The Fallen froze, knowing the fatal damage they could do—regardless of whatever was protecting them. Gabrielle began t
o crack the whips. All she had to do was allow them to feel they were out of range, then she’d strike with a third, twelve feet longer than the ones she was currently wielding and the only one of its kind.

  “Grayson!” Phalen called out.

  Gabrielle heard the fear in Phalen’s voice, and a split second later, she heard the cry of a mountain lion—of Grayson. Then, the sound of another and Gabrielle guessed Rissie had also been struck.

  As Gabrielle advanced, she cracked the third Sundering Whip above the demons’ heads and then sent it gunning toward them. It found one target’s neck, removing his head, then immediately the other’s, ending the lives of the Fallen in front of her. The light of the Dither Swords being used by Phalen and the demons increased as their fight intensified, illuminating their surroundings more and reflecting off identical pendants—exactly like the one Ka’awa had tried to keep her from getting a good look at—lying on the ground next to the demon’s headless bodies.

  An angel’s shrill scream caused Gabrielle to turn. Phalen was battling three demons on her own, trying to protect Grayson and Rissie who were on the ground behind her, badly injured. The sight in front of Gabrielle caused a reaction she’d never had before. She’d been angry in battle, but the anger that coursed through her now could not be contained. It caused the ground to tremble and trees to shudder. Rocks and boulders lost their grip on the mountain-side and began to cascade to the earth below. Her Divine light turned crimson, making the air look as though it was bleeding.

  All of this was enough to get the remaining demons’ attention. They all stopped what they were doing and glared incredulously.

  Grayson was on his side, turned away from Gabrielle. She couldn’t see how badly he was injured, but she could hear his heart beating weakly.

  He’s still alive.

  Rissie pulled herself across the ground to get to him, her left leg useless. Phalen was next to him, turning him gently onto his back, her own blood falling from her arm onto the rocks.

  The shock was quickly wearing off the Fallen. Two attackers began to flee, but the remaining four advanced on Gabrielle and her friends.

  Power she was unaware she possessed surged through her body. The rocky earth trembled again, so hard that trees lost their roots and fell, and a crack began to split the mountain top. Gabrielle was evoking the energy of the Earth, and she was ready to unleash that energy on the unholy creatures that had caused her friends pain.

  “Now the pain will be yours.” She spoke with such ferocity that the demons stopped abruptly.

  She opened her mouth and screamed—the battle cry of one of the most powerful angels ever created. For the first time in Gabrielle’s existence, she wanted every creature that could see her to bear full witness to her abilities. The power of that scream caused a concussion that forced the remaining demons to meet the ground hard with their backs. Gabrielle wasted no time as she called her weapons and beheaded all four of them with two cracks of the Sundering Whips. She allowed the other two to flee to tell the tale of what they had seen. The Fallen needed to know she was more powerful than they knew—more than even she had known. But more than that, she wanted to get to her friends.

  “Phalen, move aside,” Gabrielle said as she neared her friends. She looked down at Grayson as she knelt next to him. Putting a hand on each side of his face, she began to murmur in Enochian as her tears fell onto his face. She closed her eyes.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Rissie asked. “Is he going to be okay?”

  Gabrielle heard Phalen move to Rissie, then speak quietly. “Gabrielle is calling on Yahuwah to help him.”

  Gabrielle continued to speak, begging the Creator to help her friend. Grayson was badly wounded. Her chest tightened from the thought of him dying. “Please live, Grayson … please live.” That was the only break she took from her pleas to Yahuwah. As she prayed, she listened to the conversation taking place on the other side of Grayson. Rissie asked questions so fast it was difficult to keep up.

  “She’s asking Yahuwah to save Grayson? It’s that bad? Is he going to make it? Is Yahuwah going to help him?”

  “Yes, Rissie, that’s what she’s doing. And yes, if she’s asking for His help … it is that bad.”

  “Will He help Grayson?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait for Gabrielle to finish and ask her.”

  The conversation ended when Gabrielle’s prayers stopped, replaced with her quiet sobs as she rocked Grayson in her arms. She removed her hands from his face so she could shift her legs under his upper body. She hugged and rocked him for several minutes as she spoke in words that Rissie could understand, assuring her that Grayson was going to make it.

  “Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Yahuwah.”

  She listened to his heart beat steady and strong as tears continued to fall slowly down her face. Tears from the fear that she would lose him, joy that she wouldn’t, and guilt because it was her fault he was there. When she finally looked at Phalen and Rissie, her remorse multiplied. It crushed in on her, her stomach threatening once more to let loose as she looked upon her friends and their wounds.

  While there was little blood on Grayson except for a bad gash over his right eye, blood flowed from deep wounds on Phalen’s arm and face, and Rissie’s leg was broken badly enough that the bone had pierced her skin.

  Fresh tears blurred Gabrielle’s vision, making Phalen and Rissie look as if they were the wavy creations of an impressionist’s painting. She blinked to see more clearly, and when she could, she noticed Phalen had moved in front of her.

  Phalen looked at her with concern. “Gabrielle, isn’t Grayson going to be okay?”

  It took several seconds for Gabrielle to answer her as she looked at Phalen and Rissie’s wounds. “Yahuwah has helped him, but he will need time to heal and recover completely. He was bleeding internally.” She placed her hand on Phalen’s arm near her wound. “You’re badly hurt. You should ascend and see our healers.”

  Phalen looked at her arm as if she hadn’t noticed she was injured at all. “What, this little thing? I’ve been left with worse from sparring sessions. Don’t worry about it.” She studied Gabrielle for a moment. “Look, I’m going to be fine.” She looked at Rissie’s leg, then back at Gabrielle. “So is Rissie. And you just said that Grayson will make it, too. We’re all okay.”

  Gabrielle used the hand that had been on Phalen’s arm to dry her tears. She wasn’t going to continue to put her friends in danger for something she may never find—that may not even exist. She would look for it by herself from now on. At least as long as she could before Amaziah found out.

  “Phalen.” Gabrielle moved her legs out from under Grayson and picked him up off the ground. “I need you to help me get Rissie and Grayson back to Corstorphine so they can be tended to.” Phalen nodded as she picked Rissie up off the ground. Rissie flinched when she did, sending fresh waves of sorrow through Gabrielle. “I want you to stay there for a while and make sure they are recovering. You can report back to me every day about their progress.”

  “Okay … if that’s what you want,” Phalen said in a reserved manner. “What about the Book?”

  Gabrielle sighed. “I’m not going to need any more help looking for the Book right now.”

  “Why? We have to find it first, if it exists.”

  “I will keep trying to find out what I can through my sources and allies and follow the leads I think are promising. I want … I need you to be in Corstorphine to take care of Grayson and Rissie. I can’t do it myself, or I would. I have to finish what I came here to do, and I’m running out of time to do it in. But I know you’ll take good care of them, Phalen. I want you there in my stead.” Gabrielle tried to smile. She was sure it looked as half-hearted as it felt.

  Phalen watched Gabrielle a little longer, and just when Gabrielle was sure that she was about to say something in protest, Phalen simply nodded and smiled.

  “Good,” Gabrielle said. “Then that’s settled.”

  G
rayson lay unconscious in Gabrielle’s arms. She felt the weight of what could have happened settle on her. She could have lost three close allies, two who were more than comrades to her. She wondered how the Fallen could take the punishment of the Holy Fire Arrows as though they were no more than mortal weapons—those sting, but Divine weapons kill. It might have something to do with what she now felt sure were amulets that they and Ka’awa wore.

  The Fallen have to be getting assistance from someone. Probably the Gentry.

  Things were changing. Too many things. And demons were more powerful than they had ever been before.

  And more dangerous.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  LUCAS ~ DARK FAMILY

  “Yo!” Lucas called out as he walked into the Daniels’ home. “Where’s my breakfast?”

  “We’re in here, Lucas,” Nonie called from the kitchen.

  Lucas made his way toward the scents of bacon, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and eggs and was greeted with good mornings. Gran smiled broadly at him and gave him a peck on the cheek as she made her way to the table with cinnamon rolls. Lizzie also headed that direction with a pitcher of orange juice in one hand and a gallon of milk in the other.

  “Smells great.” Lucas grabbed a bowl of scrambled eggs and a platter that held at least two pounds of bacon. “Looks great, too.”

  “Kissin’ up to the cooks?” Nate asked with a grin.

  Lucas smiled as he replied, “If that’s what it takes to keep getting fed like this.”

  “Well,” Nate continued, “you’re going to need all the help you can get today if you think you’re going to win.”

  “Ahh, Nate, I don’t need help. Just my talent to whip you in anything we do.”

  “In your dreams, Lucas … in your dreams.”

  Lucas was looking forward to today’s game more than usual. This would be the first opportunity to spend any real time with Gabby outside of school. He was lost in thought about her through most of breakfast unless someone addressed him directly. Then, he would give a quick answer so he could get back to his ponderings. He’d never felt a pull to someone like he did to her. It wasn’t just an attraction or a crush—or even lust—though he was more than attracted to her in that way, too. What male wouldn’t be? It was something more.