by Jill Cooper
She coasted through the dirt on her knees, to take refuge behind a tree. Lanon was pelted with bullets. Gwen grabbed beneath Archibald’s arms to drag him out of the way and he moaned in pain. Blood was trailing out of his mouth and Gwen cursed herself. She wasn’t fast enough. Wasn’t good enough to save her friend.
“Don’t talk,” Gwen ordered and placed her hand against his cheek. He was growing cold. Pale. Archibald shivered against the leaves and fallen twigs.
“Don’t let her…get the Ruby Heart fragments…” Archibald cringed as he talked and his arms quivered.
“She’s dead now. Archie, she’s dead.” Gwen wished to ease her old friend’s suffering. So what if it was a well-placed lie? “If I could heal you, I would. Archie…”
His teeth chattered as he shook his head. Going pale now, Gwen begged with her heart that he’d hang on. “You need to get her blood. Bathe the Ruby Heart fragment in the blood, Gwen.”
“Shut up and stop talking. I know what we need to do. Just rest.”
Archibald nodded. “Time’s run out for me, I’m afraid. But not you yet.” His eyes rolled back into his head.
“Archie!” Gwen screamed as Mike knelt on the other side of their dear friend. His eyes were as hollow as her own.
He struggled with a final breath, taking Gwen and Mike’s hands in his own. Then, he interlocked Gwen’s hand over Mike. “You two….” But whatever Archibald meant to say, he didn’t finish. His hands fell to his side and Gwen saw him take his last breath.
Leaning forward she kissed his forehead. “Thank you, old friend,” she whispered, but she never let go of Mike’s hand.
Mike wrapped both his arms around her, their fingers squeezed together tight like it was a lifeline. As if it was the only thing keeping them from falling deep into despair. He kissed Gwen’s temple and she leaned back against him, fighting the sob lodged in her throat.
“We should grab her blood before it drains out on the ground.” Mike said his voice a rumbling whisper.
Her grief was still so fresh, so raw. Gwen didn’t know if she could bury it back down. Instead she gazed at Mike with vulnerable eyes. “Now isn’t the time for us to talk, I know that, but…” Gwen gazed away.
Mike studied her with an intensity that ripped her wide open. He touched her cheek with the soft stroke of his fingers. “You don’t need to say anything. I know what you feel, Gwen. It’s never been about that. I had a mission.”
“A mission that didn’t include me. Maybe our son, once, but….”
“I was weak. I shouldn’t have given in…. A priest’s oath is more than word. You know that. Doesn’t change what my heart knows.”
“What does it know, Mike?”
“That it loves you,” Mike admitted. He kissed her hand. “That it loves you and it shouldn’t have let you go. Before our son died, after, all of it. It should’ve stuck by you. Fool that I was…the church never stuck by me. My mission doesn’t change, even if I don’t wear the cloth.”
It was weird, callous and strange, to hear him talk like that. Gwen wasn’t used to it. He rarely ever said it, even in those moments—few as they were—when they were together. It was hard to love a man like him, but it was even harder to hear him admit his feelings.
“If we can save Amanda, maybe we can…talk about this more,” Gwen said because her heart couldn’t stand to say anything else.
Mike nodded and let her hand go. “Talking, I think, is something we can both agree on.”
Finally, they pulled away from Archibald’s body. The earth sank around him and slowly it sucked him down. When done, the earth rose back up as if nothing had happened. Covered in lush, green grass and fresh moss clung to the tree where his body had fallen. In a brief moment, a flower appeared and its pink petals open up toward the sun.
Mike made the sign of a cross and Gwen expelled a breath. “It’s always been strange here, but that…”
“This place is blessed. It’s why we brought Lanon here in the first place. It’s why she never should’ve escaped,” Mike said.
Perhaps, but with the caverns of Hell opening up, it seemed the rules were changing.
They found Lanon’s tattered body lying on the grass. Her long tongue stuck out from her mouth and she writhed back and forth in pain. “The Ruby Heart…” she hissed. “Sacrifice…”
Gwen stabbed Lanon with the sword that had slain Lourdes. The she-beast groaned in pain. “It’ll never work,” her voice laughed. “You need a blood sacrifice.” It was her last word. Lanon groaned and her tongue licked at her lips. Eyes rolling back, it was clear she was gone.
Dead.
Gwen stabbed her again, just to make sure.
Bathing the Ruby Heart fragment in blood, Gwen would see about that. She truly would. The shard absorbed the blood and it shined brighter than before, but nothing else happened. She’d have to go on faith and a prayer, once she got back with Jessica and Amanda, she could figure out a way for it to work.
God help them all.
****
Back at the car, Gwen wrapped the Ruby Heart fragment in a piece of cloth before stowing it in her inner jacket pocket. As she slid behind the wheel of the family car, her phone rang. A quick glance at the call display said it was Jessica.
“Jess, we have what we need—.” Gwen was interrupted and Mike slid into the car beside her.
“The angels were here. Amanda is gone.” Panic rose in Jessica’s voice. It was heightened to a level Gwen had never heard before.
“Gone?” No, God, not gone. Amanda had gone to the underworld? If it was true, how would Gwen ever live with herself? How would she ever help Jessica recover from that kind of loss?
“She flew off like a damn bird, Aunt Gwen. I have a demon and we’re tracking her. I think I know where she’s headed. Can you meet us there?”
“Of course we can. Where is she going?”
“Home.” Jessica’s voice cracked as she said it. “The house we grew up in. The house where…”
Gwen shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. She hadn’t been to the Blood family estate in years, but it seemed that now, no matter what she wanted, there was no avoiding it. The house was still owned by her family and Gwen paid for it to be maintained, but the idea of stepping back in there…. Some family bonds couldn’t be denied and her guilt was one of those things. “We’re on our way. I promise you, Jessica, we’ll save her.”
“The angels may have something to say about that. We might be heading into a fight we shouldn’t even start,” Jessica’s voice was soft and uncertain in a way Gwen had never heard before.
“Pull yourself together,” Gwen ordered. She didn’t want to be so cruel, but she didn’t have a choice. Mike cast her a look as she talked, but he didn’t interrupt. She knew what he was thinking, but Gwen didn’t need to hear it. She had to say what was necessary to motivate Jessica.
And God help her, Gwen always knew how to motivate that girl. “You need to be strong. A little while longer. Just get there and we’ll worry about what we should or should not do later. All that matters is that you’re there for your sister.”
She ended the call mostly so Jessica wouldn’t argue with her anymore and partially so she wouldn’t have to hear Jessica call her names. Now wasn’t the time and Gwen couldn’t stomach it. Not this night.
“What?” Gwen couldn’t keep the attitude out of her voice as Mike continued to stare at her.
“Nothing,” he shrugged and stared out the window. “Nothing at all.” His lips smacked together, and his tongue licked his teeth in what could be considered a priestly fit of rage.
At least he knew when it was best to be quiet, but even that upset her. Gwen didn’t want to lash out at those she cared about, but to stay alive—to survive the path they were on, she didn’t have a choice.
“If Jessica losses Amanda, I don’t know if she’ll survive.” For that matter, Gwen didn’t know if she’d survive that either. “She has to do what is necessary and for that to happen—.”
I have to be strong. Tough on Jessica. Maybe I can’t even show her how I really feel about her. Ever. Gwen could barely think those things to herself and she sure as hell didn’t want to say them out loud.
Mike just nodded. “Guess you better get us to Nebraska again. Wonder if Jacob stashed any of that aged bourbon he liked so much? Think we’ll find some under a loose floorboard?”
Gwen gave him a tearful smile. She doubted anything was left of her dear old brother that hadn’t been picked over years ago. But if fate was on their side, maybe they’d find a little bit of Jacob’s luck. Once upon a time, he’d had it in spades.
Until Gwen flushed it all down the toilet, and cursed them all.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Jessica
Jessica couldn’t find a part to fix her aunt’s Jeep in a reasonable amount of time. She wasn’t willing to hike it all over town, so the only other option was to steal a car.
No problem. That was something she could do easily. She walked down the street surveying her options—it was a lot like window shopping.
“Can we pick something that won’t paint a target on our backs?” Duncan asked.
She wasn’t going to argue about that. “Right now I just want something that’s close. We’ve wasted enough time.”
Spotting a black sedan a block over, Jessica trotted across the street. As she got closer, she saw it was a BMW. Well…baby stepson the whole not attracting attention thing. Duncan grabbed her arm as she went for it.
“Too new. It might have GPS tracking and remote engine shutdown.” He tossed his head to the side. “What about that one?”
She gazed across the way at the array of boutiques and colorful canopies strewn along the sidewalk. There was a cupcake delivery van parked by the door and behind it, a white sedan. If Jessica didn’t miss her guess it was an Oldsmobile. God, when did they stop making those?
Her nose scrunched in disgust. “In that jalopy?”
Duncan shrugged. “It’ll be new to you.”
Jessica resisted an eye roll. “Let’s just hope I don’t get pulled over. I don’t want to get arrested in that piece of junk. That’s not the headline a mass murderer deserves.”
“Jess,” Duncan said quietly, his hand resting on her shoulder. His eyes smoldered with grief and despair for her and Jessica needed to get away from that. She’d take love. She’d even take condolences, but pity? That wasn’t her style.
She started across the street and Duncan pulled their demon captive along with them. The other demons hadn’t tried physical violence yet, but they were following—staying hidden in the shadows, but just barely.
Jessica picked the lock of the trunk and found nothing remarkable. Windshield washer fluid, an old blanket, a screwdriver and a crowbar. Nice. Jessica traded her gun for the screwdriver and headed toward the front of the car. Already Duncan was in the back with their demon friend. He kept the barrel of a gun pressed against the demon’s head. Surprisingly, the demon was agreeable and didn’t even argue. He sat with his back perfectly still and didn’t speak a word.
Opening the front door, Jessica reached down low to pop the hood. “You got a name anyway?”
The demon’s head moved as if to glance at her from beneath his sunglasses. “Karl.”
“Is that with a C or a K?” Jessica asked.
“K.” The demon answered.
Jessica shook her head and muttered. “Typical. Duncan, take off his sunglasses. I don’t like not seeing his eyes.”
“Got it.”
Jessica opened the hood and pulled the ignition wire out of its socket on the firewall. She secured it to the positive battery terminal before jamming the screwdriver across the starter relay’s connectors.
The engine turned over and roared to life.
“Now that’s how you hotwire a car, Hollywood,” she muttered before she slid behind the wheel Maybe someone did favor them—the car had a full tank of gas.
“Which way has she gone?” Jessica asked and she fixed her eyes on the rearview mirror to peer at the demon.
He pointed on the glass. “Northwest. She’s moving fast.”
Jessica shifted the car into drive, but didn’t bother to flick the headlights on yet. She didn’t want to alert to anyone that this car was about to be stolen. As she rolled the vehicle forward, Karl’s demon friends stepped out from behind the shadows.
“We can’t let you go to the queen. You must let her descend to the throne.” They linked arms in a fence that stretched across the road.
“They can’t be serious,” Duncan said.
Jessica shook her head and punched the gas. The car ripped through the demons and the fence they had made with their bodies. Scattering like ants, most of them fell to the ground, but a few of them grabbed hold. One swayed back and forth on the windshield and another clung to her partially open window.
“You won’t get away with this,” the one on the windshield hissed through the glass. “We will stop you. The legion is coming. He is awakening from his crypt.”
Jessica fishtailed the car to get the demons to lose their grip. When the one on the window maintained his grip, and she rolled it up so he wouldn’t have anything to hold onto anymore. He fell with a thump-thump. The tires bounced as they ran over his body and Jessica was jostled in her seat.
“What do you think he meant by that?” Duncan asked.
She was too afraid of the answer, so Jessica just gripped the steering wheel. The stupid hula girl dangling from the rearview mirror annoyed her. It swayed side to side and Jessica ripped it off and tossed it into the passenger seat beside her.
Felt better. A little. If only she had a spare demon to kick the snot out of.
“Lucifer,” Karl answered quietly. “He’s coming up. Without Lourdes, there’s nothing to keep him in place. His rising darkness will challenge the new queen unless she can get to her throne before he gets his hands on her.”
Jessica exhaled long and slow. That was the answer she was afraid of.
“Jess—.” Duncan said softly and through the mirror she saw the tender look in his eye. The grief, the sympathy.
What he was thinking was already in her heart. How can we save Amanda if it means the destruction of everything else? But Jessica couldn’t think like that. She needed to see Amanda. Needed to hug her and tell her how much she was loved. Jessica didn’t care what happened after. All she needed to do was find her sister.
Even if it was for the last time.
****
Aunt Gwen wasn’t answering her cell phone. Typical as that was, Jessica told herself it was because they were on a lead. They knew how to activate the Ruby Heart, and soon they’d call. Soon they’d have what was needed to save Amanda.
Bringing all of their trials to a close and the Blood sisters could finally be happy. Jessica had her man, would have her car, and everything would be fine. Maybe even Amanda would get to find love, to find something that completed her rather than just saving people all the time.
That was Jessica’s bright burning hope, but behind that, was something sinister. It lurked behind, in the quiet of her mind. Haunting her with visions of suffering and defeat. Amanda lost and locked away for an eternity, becoming what they spent their whole lives fighting.
“What are you stewing about up there?” Duncan asked.
Jessica shook her head. “Me? I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are. Can’t blame you a bit, darling, but since we’re stuck in this car and I can’t touch you from back here,” Duncan’s voice dropped softly, “why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”
“All the fighting we did. All the protecting Amanda. I spent my whole life,” Jessica took a moment and planted her tongue firmly against the inside of her cheek. Drawing a breath kept the emotion at bay—at least for a little while longer. “And now, if there’s no way for me to save her? If I have to say good-bye.”
Jessica gazed down at her hand and a tear fell from her eye. “That would mean it was all for nothing.
Why bother suffering? Breaking out of hospitals and everything else we did? Lost our parents…none of it will mean anything.”
“Tell that to the countless people you saved. Tell that to Nancy and her two little girls.”
“Nancy?” Jessica’s eyebrows furrowed. The name rang a bell….
“That’s right,” Duncan leaned forward and stroked her shoulder. “Hooked on drugs, she was putting her daughters at risk. I’ve never met anyone so close to death, thanks to demon drugs, then her, but you saved her. Scared her straight. I only saw her in the hospital for a short time, but I think she was going to pull herself together. Pretty sure you changed the course of those young girls’ lives in the process. So you tell them it was all for nothing.”
She remembered them now. Jessica remembered how the little girls held hands so tight that nothing could separate them. That kind of love wasn’t learned, it was born. Just like the love she had for Amanda. Now, Jessica was conflicted beyond belief.
For all those children, Jessica had to save the world. She couldn’t let Lucifer rise, but if saving the world meant letting Amanda seal herself in the underworld, Jessica didn’t know if she could do it.
“What if she never forgives me for letting her go?”
Duncan stroked the side of Jessica’s neck. It was the only part of her he could reach. Jessica reached over and squeezed his hand. Thick tears marred her vision. “From what I saw, Amanda is ready to sacrifice herself. She left that cage willingly, Jess. Even if she didn’t, she has always forgiven you. There isn’t a thing you can do that Amanda can’t forgive.”
A sob lodged in her throat and Jessica thought she might choke on it.
“Get us to her,” Duncan whispered, “the race isn’t over yet. We don’t know what might happen. All I know is when you and Amanda are together, magic happens. Maybe you have a little bit of that magic left.”
Jessica hoped so. She hoped so, but part of her already felt like she was saying good-bye.
