The Order (Nightwalkers Book 8)

by Candace Wondrak

  That night I didn’t sleep at all. I sat in the living room, pretending I was unaware of what was happening upstairs. Seeing Michael like that, it was harder than I imagined it would be. His face still tugged at my heartstrings, still made me want to love him and forgive him even though what he tried to do was of the most unforgivable. My resolve was weaker in his presence, my will to stand on the side of the Council wavering.

  How did he fool us all?

  I wondered this question often as the hours wore on and the beginnings of daylight started to seep in through the front windows. I should’ve drawn the curtains. The light was too bright, too yellow and glaring.

  Standing, I went to do so, so I could pity myself in peace, but the moment my fingers curled on the beige curtain, my eyes scanned the front yard, the driveway, instantly spotting people who were out of place, a van whose windows were black.

  We weren’t alone anymore. They were here for Michael, to kill Kass, and to take Gabriel.

  I didn’t bother counting how many there were. I ran to my purse in the kitchen, forgetting I had my phone on the coffee table, next to the Templar chest. I blinked, momentarily hating myself for making such a mistake, turning to grab the house phone. I’d dial 9-1-1 if I had to. It was better than nothing.

  With the phone in my hands, I was seconds from dialing when a soft voice spoke, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Liz.”

  My gaze on the wall in front of me widened, and the phone slipped from my sweaty palm. I recognized the voice. But how did she get in the house without us knowing? I slowly turned to view Vanessa, the woman whose desk was next to mine at Council headquarters.

  She wore the same black outfit the ones surrounding the house did, a single red Templar cross patched on her arm. Like they were some kind of military force. Which, by the look of her and the others, they were. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her hands clad in gloves. She held a small gun, pointed right at me.

  “Vanessa,” I spoke as others kicked down the front door and filed into the house. Men and women—all faces I vaguely knew—marched in with guns slung across their chests. Even if I had the stake in my purse, I’d be outmatched. I didn’t own a gun because they were useless against Demons. “What is this? Why are you wearing that?” I watched a pair of men wander into the living room and inspect the chest.

  Vanessa smiled, her teeth a flawless white. She held the pistol steady. “You mean, after all this time, you still don’t know?”

  My silence was my answer. I could hardly hear her over my rapidly beating heart. Was I going to die? Was this the end for me? Suddenly I knew how Kass felt on a daily basis. It was a terrible feeling, and I couldn’t fault her for wanting to quit.

  “We’re here for the boy, and Michael, if he’s still alive. And to take care of the girl. Can’t have her interfering with our plans. Thank you so much for calling and giving us the heads up.”

  “I didn’t call you,” I whispered. “I called…” I only made one call yesterday, and it was to…

  “You still don’t get it, do you?” Vanessa sighed. “Well, seeing as how I’m going to shoot you in a second, I guess I can tell you the truth, so at least you’ll die knowing why.” She glanced to the others who began to scope out the bottom floor of the house.

  Why wasn’t Crixis down here? Surely he heard them approaching, surely—

  “You’re such a dolt, Liz. I don’t know what he told you, if anything.” Vanessa’s dark eyes flashed brighter before she said, “The Council is the Order of Knights Templar.”

  My heart nearly stopped. “What? That’s impossible.”

  “It’s very possible, and it’s true. The Order had to take another name when King Philip forced the Pope to order us dissolved and disbanded, so we moved to England and became the Council.”

  “No. If the Council was the Order, why didn’t I—”

  “Not every worker bee is accepted into the hive. You were idealistic, but not in the way the Order needed. You were just a paper-pusher, someone who got the job done, and in the end—” She leveled her gun at me. “—expendable.”

  The Council was the Order, but not every person who worked for the Council was a part of it? My brows furrowed, because it didn’t make much sense. All this time, Michael was…I didn’t have time to finish that thought, because Vanessa’s finger tightened on the trigger.

  And then she pulled it.

  My eyes instantly squeezed shut, for I was not the type of woman who wanted to see her death coming. Would it hurt? Did she aim for my heart or my head? Would I feel the bullet’s impact? Did she…my mind stopped its wandering when I realized I should’ve felt the bullet hit me by now.

  I peeked under squinted lids. Was Vanessa that horrible of a shot?

  No, she didn’t miss. A tall, scowling figure stood between us with his hand outstretched. The bullet, I saw, landed directly in Gabriel’s hand. It popped out, dinging on the floor as he healed himself. He was fast; I didn’t even hear him come down the stairs.

  “I am tired of people coming into this house with the intent of telling me what to do,” Gabriel muttered, his voice worlds different than the happy-go-lucky one he had before his poison-induced coma.

  Vanessa’s arms finally showed weakness as they shook. She dropped to her knees, murmuring, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you cared for her.”

  Both Gabriel and I were well aware of the scout of troops that were slowly and silently raising their assault weapons. They only needed Gabriel; they didn’t want me alive, otherwise I could spread the truth. Vanessa acting repentant was just that: an act.

  “Do you think I don’t see you?” Gabriel asked, his voice deadly. “Drop the weapons.”

  The other members of the Order resisted, but their will crumbled as I watched them, mouth agape, drop their massive guns to the floor. Gabriel could compel like a greater Vampire? He didn’t even have to stare at them to force them to bend to his will.

  What else could he do?

  Gabriel bent to pick up the bullet that was meant for me. He studied it for the longest time, or maybe it was only seconds. I was too unnerved to know. The room seemed to grow hot, the air stifling. A low growl came from his chest.

  I stepped aside, watching as the soldiers grabbed at their heads, squeezed their eyes shut. One by one, they fell to their knees, writhing in agony. Even Vanessa let out a howl of pain. Blood started to seep from their eyes and their ears. Their skin turned red and blistering, their veins popping.

  I couldn’t say why, but I wanted to defend these people who I thought were my coworkers and friends, even though they were going to kill me just a minute ago. “Gabriel, you’re killing them—”

  A pair of smoky, fiery eyes turned to me, and my entire sight turned to black as the room grew dark with…wings?

  I stepped back, shielding myself as best I could, my back hitting the counter. When the heat dissipated and the air felt clear, I slowly opened my eyes. Gabriel was gone, and every single one of the intruders were dead. They looked as though they were heavily irradiated, pus and boils, red and pink and gooey. Blood pooled under their bodies, still leaking from every orifice. After a moment, the smell of burnt flesh entered my nose, and I fought the urge to vomit.

  I ran to the sink, about to lose whatever was in my stomach, when I glanced outside. There were more men and women out there, as dead as the ones in here. All these lives…lost in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t handle it. I wretched into the sink, nothing but stomach bile, all acid.

  “What happened?” Kass’s voice broke through my retching.

  I was slow to turn to face her, wiping at my mouth, still reeling. “The Order is the Council.” I wanted to cry, but the smell of death was too strong. I felt both numb and sick. “They came to take Gabriel, to finish the job with you. Gabriel…he did this. He…he’s gone.”

  Crixis was behind her, Max holding a hand over his mouth as he surveyed the damage in the living room. Crixis spoke, “If the Devil-boy is on a wa
rpath, we must stop him.”

  Surprisingly, I agreed with him. Something as powerful as this had to have a weakness we could exploit. If he killed a dozen people without blinking, without even trying…what would he be capable of at his full apex?

  Gabriel could not be allowed to fully awaken.

  “No,” Kass said, confident. She had a dagger in her pants, her expression muted. She would not look down at the floor, at the bodies. She stared at Crixis, then at me. “I’ll go after him. You guys stay here, take care of this, since we can’t call the Council for a cleanup.” She looked back to Crixis. “Take care of Michael. Do…what you have to. We got what we needed from him.”

  I watched as Kass stormed out the door. How would she know where Gabriel went? He didn’t seem particularly interested in being friendly with her. What if he hurt her worse than he did earlier? What if she ended up like the bodies on the floor? But I couldn’t stop her. She was determined.

  All I could do was give her a nod and pretend like I didn’t catch the Michael part.

  Chapter Thirteen - Gabriel

  Rage was all-consuming, easy to fall back into. I never knew until recently how good it felt to let loose, how amazing it felt to hold all the power in my hand. I could do anything I wanted; I wasn’t going to sit back and listen to a group of usurpers who thought they could use me to make the world born anew. I would not be used.

  I was so much better than that.

  I was fast, strong, able to command heat and fire. I felt like I could fly, soar high into the sky and never land again. This world was too much. Too many people with too many feelings.

  Maybe…maybe the Order had the right idea. Maybe it should be born anew.

  My instincts took me to the one place that felt like home to me, even though it was in the early hours of dawn, a time of day I’d never stepped foot in a cemetery. I appeared, not before a random headstone, but before one I knew. A name I knew well.

  Koath Elsin, beloved teacher and father.

  I bared my teeth at the stone, standing on the dirt above his coffin. It was still somewhat fresh. The grass below was nowhere near the fullness and greenness of the space around us. I knew he was dead, but I hated him all the same. I hated him for bringing me into this life, for forcing Kass on me. She was…I was better off without her.

  I wanted to break the headstone, shatter it like glass, smash it into a hundred pieces, too small to put back together. I wanted to destroy everything around me. Maybe it would make me feel better, less like a void in the shape of a man.

  The Order wanted to use me. The Council wanted to use me as a Purifier, though apparently from what I heard, the Council and the Order were one and the same. Kass wanted me to go back to the way I was. Did no one care what I wanted? Did what I want not matter? I was just a means to an end. A way for people to get what they wanted.

  Damn it. I wanted…

  What? What did I want?

  I knew what I used to want. I wanted Kass by my side, her hand in mine. I wanted to experience everything life had to offer with her. She was my best friend, my only friend, my life. But she threw it all away the moment I fell into a coma. She clearly didn’t care for me the way I cared for her. I wasn’t going to continue to pine after her like some pathetic man. I was so much more than a pining teenage boy, jokes aside.

  I, I finally realized, was better than everyone. More powerful than anyone. I had enough power flowing through me to destroy it all.

  I could end the world and let it burn, watch all those living in it die. Was I that cold? I certainly felt like it, now. Could I be that cruel, that evil? Clearly, I was capable of mass destruction. I could close my eyes and will a fire to form, a fire that would never stop spreading until the entire world burned.

  I felt the urge to start the apocalypse sooner rather than later, but a bright light shone behind me, the opposite direction of the sun, which rose straight ahead of me in the distance. I didn’t need to turn around; I knew who it was. I could feel it.

  “Gabriel,” her angelic voice spoke. “This isn’t you.”

  “It is,” I said, slowly turning my gaze away from the grave, to the woman floating near me. She wore a flowing white garment, her feet bare and six inches off the ground. Her brown hair defied gravity as well, flowing in slow-moving, wispy tendrils.

  “You know who I am,” she said.

  “Yes, he showed me. You’re the one who led Koath to me. You’re the reason I was put into this life.” The disdain in my voice was evident, but she didn’t flinch.

  “You mistake my intentions. I gave you everything, Gabriel, everything you needed to walk the path of light. Simply because you fell and chose the dark once does not mean you are fated to do so again.”

  I chuckled. “It kind of feels that way.”

  The woman, beautiful in every way, was so very reminiscent of Kass. It hurt to look at her for that reason. “I knew the moment I fell in love with a human that our daughter would save the world. She would fight and stand for those who couldn’t stand for themselves. She’d inspire those around her with her heavenly presence, even Demons. Even you.”

  I blinked, seeing, for the first time, giant white wings behind her. They faded in and out of existence. Of course. Kass was her daughter, an Angel’s daughter. I should’ve known. “So you threw your kid to the Devil and hoped he wouldn’t eat her alive.”

  “You are no Devil. Simply because the power is there does not mean you must use it for evil. You choose to become who you are. There is always a choice.”

  “If I’m no Devil, what am I?” I muttered, my gaze falling to the grass, knowing the answer. I was nothing.

  She held out her hand to me. “Would you like to see what you are, Gabriel? Would you like to see the truth?”

  “The truth?” I echoed, growing furious. “He showed me the truth. I already know what’s going to happen.” My jaw clenched, and I fought the memory of seeing Kass in that hospital bed.

  “His purpose was to lure you to the dark. Mine is to reveal the whole truth and let you decide where you will go.” Her hand did not move an inch, not wavering at all. “He lied to you, showed you visions that were not all truth. A lie of omission is still a lie.”

  I snickered. What else could she possibly show me that would change my mind? I already felt dead inside. I already knew what I wanted to choose.

  “Take my hand, Gabriel, and all will be revealed to you.” Her hand, pale and smooth, lingered in the air between us. I debated on taking it, for I knew there was nothing she could show me that would make me feel differently. But it looked like she wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  I gingerly put my hand in hers. It was a small hand, just like Kass’s. She definitely inherited most of her looks from her mother.

  The world around us faded to black, and as she squeezed my hand, memories flew at me in a quick procession. Kass and I playing together as children. Kass and I training side by side as Purifiers, laughing as we learn how to stake Nightwalkers. Kass and I sparring, wrestling, teasing each other. All fun and good memories that hurt to see.

  “Before I left, I told Koath he had to make you both Purifiers. Fighting evil brings people together,” she seemed to speak from memory, smiling softly to herself as she held onto my hand. “You work well together, you and Kass.”

  I didn’t want to see this, and I was about to pull away when the scenery suddenly froze. We were in a hospital, staring at my lifeless body, pale and sickly. Kass was hunched beside me, her eyes red and watery.

  “She cried for me. So what?” I huffed.

  “She was broken without you, like you were broken without her.” As she spoke, Kass muttered a final come back to me as she stood, leaning over my unconscious form. Her mother and I watched as she laid a kiss on me.

  It…was the same thing I did to her after she saved me three years ago. I thought life could be like a fairy tale, that she’d wake with a kiss from her prince. Her true love. But she never did, not until days later
. And the unconscious me never stirred.

  “She went straight from crying over me to running to Crixis,” I muttered, hatred still fueling me.

  Kass’s mother let out an annoyed sigh. “You foolish, jealous boy. You still don’t understand. This isn’t about Crixis. This is about you. Kass did not run to him because she feels for him, she was afraid of her feelings for you.”

  I opened my mouth to retort, but no words came out. Feelings for me?

  The world warped before us. Another hospital room, only this one was different. This time Kass laid in the bed, sweaty and undone under a thick blanket. She wasn’t alone; Crixis sat near her, and in her arms she cradled a baby. Kass didn’t look much older than she did now, but she did look exhausted, giant bags under her eyes.

  “She is beautiful,” Crixis spoke, his voice not having a shred of malice or contempt. He almost sounded…kind?

  Kass murmured, “She…” Blinking back tears, she had to look away from the baby. “She has his eyes.” Her grip on the baby loosened a little, allowing the baby’s eyes to dart around the sterile white room.

  Big, blue eyes. Eyes that looked almost identical to mine.

  “I can’t do this,” she said, starting to hyperventilate. “I can’t do this. I—”

  “You can,” Crixis assured her. “And you will. Women have been doing it since the beginning of time, even girls younger than you are now. You are strong, you can handle anything the world throws at you—even me.” He smirked, to which she laughed. “And you’re not alone.”

  Kass’s tears slowed when she saw the group standing near the doorway. Liz, Claire, and Max.

  “Ooh, let me see her!” Claire squealed, rushing over. Once she was holding the baby, she glanced to Max. “I think I want one of these.” Max’s cheeks turned a special shade of crimson, and she laughed, which made Kass join in.

  God, her laugh. I’d forgotten how much I loved the sound.

  “Not for a few years, I hope,” Liz scowled. “We’ll have enough babies in the house as it is. You don’t need to add to it.”