Somewhere beyond them, the crowd burst into frenzied cheers. Blackness swallowed the world again as the phones and lighters went out. But for Logan, there was nothing except Jaeryth. Warm in her arms, and alive. Somehow, miraculously, alive.
She’d done it…completed her awakening. And she still had Jaeryth.
He was stirring, trying to sit up. “Whoa. Take it easy,” she whispered. “Don’t move too fast. I’m not sure how this is supposed to work, but you might not be a hundred percent just yet.”
“Logan?” His voice was much stronger, and laced with confusion. “I am not dead. How did this happen?”
“I don’t know.” She was still crying, though the tears stemmed from pure joy. She squeezed his hand in the dark. “It’s a miracle.”
“A miracle,” he repeated in rasping tones.
An electric hum surrounded them, and light flooded the stage. Someone must’ve gotten the power back on. Tex, Reid and Blue stood in a loose semi-circle off to the side, gazing wordlessly at them. No one spoke, as if they were afraid to break whatever spell had allowed this to happen.
“Can you get up?” Logan said gently. “The whole world is staring. I think they’re worried about you.”
He gave a slow nod. It took a few tries, but they both managed to stand. Then Jaeryth slid his arms around her—and gave her a searing kiss that set her blood to boiling. He drew back a fraction. “I never thought I’d get to say this to you myself,” he murmured against her lips. “I love you, Logan Frost. With every fiber of my being.” He kissed her again, this time with infinite tenderness. “Never forget that.”
And eight thousand people cheered.
* * * * *
Jaeryth stayed exactly where he was as activity returned to the stage, desperate to hold Logan as long as he could. Though he still ached everywhere, the fiery anguish that had resided in his chest was gone, and he could breathe without choking on blood. Something fundamental had changed inside him, though he had no idea what or how.
He could see the blood that had drained from him—too much for a human to lose and still draw breath. There was no doubt that she’d performed a miracle.
She’d manifested. She was truly safe. Hell would not come after her again, and he was pleased that he’d played some part in ensuring that.
But now, Samael would come to claim him.
He wouldn’t bring it up and spoil her happiness. She was radiant. The most beautiful thing in all the world. He wanted to remember her like this, in the darkness to come.
Logan shifted in his arms and stared at his chest. “So, are you…”
“Completely healed.” He smiled at her. “And you?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” She glanced around the stage. “I have no idea what we’re supposed to do now, though. Nobody’s leaving. Shouldn’t they evacuate or something?” Her brow furrowed. “You know, I haven’t heard any sirens, either.”
“Perhaps no one called for them.”
“Somebody gets shot, and not one in eight thousand people calls the cops? I don’t buy it.”
She did have a point.
Jaeryth looked out at the crowd. The lights around the perimeter of the audience area had been turned on, but it was still difficult to make out individual people. He concentrated on the closest section. While most of them remained enrapt, frustration and anger were beginning to surface on a few faces—and he soon saw the cause of it. Tempters still circulated among them, whispering and grinning, fueling a new flame of outrage.
It was not over.
“Where’s Tex, anyway?” Logan moved a few paces to the side, and her gaze lit on something behind him. “Oh, they’re back there. They must’ve been talking to that tech. Maybe he knows what’s going on.”
“Logan…the crowd.”
She frowned. “What about it?”
“They—”
“Excuse me, folks.”
Jaeryth turned to find the technician he’d seen briefly before, the one who’d seemed so out of place, standing a few feet away. Beyond him, Tex and the others were approaching from the far side of the stage. The angel appeared furious.
“First, let me congratulate you, young lady,” the man said. “You gave quite the performance tonight.” He smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his cold blue eyes—and at once, Jaeryth understood what was wrong.
That was no man.
He stepped instinctively in front of Logan to shield her. “Samael.”
“Oh, very good, Jaeryth. I am impressed.” Samael shimmered briefly, and his appearance morphed into the same one he’d used before, all red leather and nastiness. “But not impressed enough to spare you.”
Tex had almost reached them, but he stopped at the Prince’s display and wariness replaced his anger. He caught Jaeryth’s eye, who shook his head slightly to warn him back, hoping the angel understood.
Apparently he did, because he spread his arms to halt Blue and Reid, assuming the same defensive position for them.
“Samael,” Logan said faintly. “Aren’t you—”
“The Prince of Hell, my dear. At your service.” He bowed and came up grinning. “Well. Not really.”
Tex glared at him. “You have no reason to be here. Go back to Hell.”
“How charming you are, protecting the humans,” Samael said. “Of course I won’t bother with them. But you and I can have at it, if you’d like. Angel.”
“She’s manifested. You can’t touch her.”
“Silly angel.” A wicked smile curved his lips. “Who said I was here for her?”
Tex blanched a dull white, and horrified understanding dawned on his face.
“Now, if you’ll just stay back for a moment, I’ll collect what’s mine and be on my way.” The Prince sent a meaningful look at Jaeryth.
“No!” Logan grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back. “You can’t have him.”
“Oh, but I can. Hasn’t Jaeryth explained things to you?”
“Logan.” His voice trembled as he covered her hand with his. “Please remember that I love you.”
Samael sneered. “Love! You know, Jaeryth, if I hadn’t heard you say that, I might have considered restoring you as a demon. Eventually.”
Jaeryth fixed him with a cool gaze. “I would have refused.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” He shuddered beneath Samael’s blazing stare, but he wouldn’t look away. “I will not compound the mistakes I’ve already made. I would have refused, and I’ll always refuse, no matter what torments you visit on me.”
Samael arched an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that,” he said. “Come along, Jaeryth. Tartarus awaits your arrival.”
Logan stiffened. “I don’t care what you’re the prince of. I won’t let you do this.”
“Let me? Oh, my.” Samael’s laughter rent the air. “Such a shame you chose the wrong side, Prophet. You would have amused me.”
“Get out of here, you sick—”
“Stop.” Jaeryth held her tightly, until she relaxed with a frustrated sob. “It’s all right,” he said. “I’ve always known the consequences. I just didn’t know what I was paying for, until now.” He tilted her chin up to catch her eyes. “You were worth it.”
Samael coughed deliberately. “I don’t have all day, Jaeryth. And the natives are getting restless.”
He’d forgotten about the crowd.
The background murmur had risen steadily, and now ripples of sound undulated through the arena. Every last one of them was on their feet. The Tempters still circulated, but they moved slowly, wearing identical looks of confusion.
The people weren’t listening to them.
A low, rhythmic thread wove itself beneath the wash of noise, growing louder and stronger until it separated into words. They were chanting Logan’s name.
“You can’t have him.”
The voice was Logan’s, layered over itself and booming like thunder. She moved in front of him, and he saw what had roused the crowd.
She was infused with the light of Citadel.
A golden glow bathed her body, and her eyes burned like blue flames. Though the light wasn’t particularly bright, it banished her shadow and made her appear to float along the edge of existence. “Leave, demon,” she said. “There’s nothing here for you.”
She gestured, and beams of light burst forth from her in multiple directions, fanning out to gild everything they touched. The band’s equipment, and the stage itself, shone like sun-kissed stained glass. A single, wide ray climbed toward the heavens and broke against the night sky, painting an aurora borealis across the clouds in shades of gold and bronze.
The crowd released a collective gasp as the light rippled through its ranks—and vaporized every Tempter in its path.
Samael winced and threw an arm up to shield his eyes. The onslaught of light drew hissing, blackened steam from his body in sheets. “Touché, Prophet,” he said. “I’ll just take my consolation prize.”
With a snake-fast gesture, he grabbed Jaeryth’s arm, wrenched him away from Logan—and released it just as quickly, as though he’d been burned. “Impossible!”
As Jaeryth gaped at him, the steam surrounding Samael bubbled into thick smoke that obscured him completely, and then sank into the floor of the stage, leaving nothing behind.
And a thunderous ovation exploded from the crowd.
Logan rushed over and embraced him. “Wow,” she breathed. “Did all that really come from me?”
“Yes, it did.” He held her close, scarcely able to believe he was still here and not in Tartarus. “I’ve always known you were strong. But…”
She looked up at him. “What is it?”
“I don’t understand. Samael had me. Why did he let me go?”
Tex spoke from behind him, sounding considerably shaken. “I know why.”
“You do.” Jaeryth turned to regard the angel. “Care to enlighten me?”
“Because you’re human now. Fully human.” Tex shook his head as an expression of awed disbelief came over him. “I’m not sure if it was something you did, or she did. Maybe both. But…you have a soul. I can see it.”
Jaeryth stared down at himself, as though he might actually catch a glimpse of this soul. Of course, he saw nothing. But could this be what he’d felt, the change inside him? If it were true—
“That means they can’t come after you again,” Logan said. “Right?”
He blinked. “Correct,” he said slowly. “How did you…”
“Kobol told me.”
“Of course he did.” Jaeryth smirked.
“Okay, y’all,” Reid’s bemused voice cut in. “Do I even wanna know what just happened?”
Blue came up beside him, wide-eyed and staring. “I vote no,” she said. “I can’t afford the therapy bill.” She cast a glance out across the crowd, where the cheering was subdued but still present. “Why wasn’t there a riot out there? That was some crazy shit.”
Reid grinned. “Don’t you see, darlin’? They think it’s all part of the show.” He waved at them.
The crowd responded with a roar.
“I guess they do.” Tex offered a mock grimace. “Great. Now we’ll have to shoot someone every time we play out. Care to volunteer for the job, Jaeryth?”
He shuddered. “No, thank you.”
“Not funny, Tex.” A small smile nevertheless lingered on Logan’s lips, but it faded as she regarded the energized gathering. “So what do we do? I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”
Indeed, the crowd’s anticipation seemed to heighten with every moment. A new chant began somewhere toward the back and rippled its way through the arena.
“We want the band! We want the band!”
“Even if we wanted to, we can’t do the show.” Tex made a weak gesture. “I mean, the stage is wrecked and…” He stared at the floor, and his brow lifted in surprise. “Okay. That’s pretty strange.”
Jaeryth followed the stare. The bloodstain had vanished.
“Anyway,” Tex said. “The techs left—the real ones, I mean. That son of a bitch had them convinced he was in charge and sent them home so they wouldn’t interrupt him. That’s what he was telling me before…you know. So we’ve got no one to run the lights and sound.”
Just as he finished speaking, the lone floodlight snapped off and a frenzy of colored lights whirled across the stage, almost indignantly.
Tex stared up into the overhanging gridwork. “What the . . .?”
A sudden suspicion came over Jaeryth. “I may be able to solve this one,” he said. “Tempters can manipulate electricity, with enough effort. Can Shepherds as well?”
“Um. I guess they can. But why would—”
Daan descended slowly from the rafters, bedraggled but whole. The Shepherd gave a cheery little wave and a thumbs-up, and then winked out of sight. Seconds later, the floodlight turned on again.
Logan’s brow furrowed. “What was that?”
“My guardian angel.” Jaeryth laughed softly. “Well…what is it they say? The show must go on.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Logan said. “I just got you back.”
“Yes. And I will never leave you again.” He kissed her, allowing his lips to linger against hers for a moment. “This is your dream, Logan. Take it. When the show is over, I’ll still be here.”
Her smile eclipsed the blazing lights overhead. “Thank you.”
He moved toward the back of the stage in search of a decent vantage point. The band took their places, and the crowd erupted with enough noise to fill the world.
Jaeryth seated himself on the top stair to enjoy the show. He could afford to wait—and he knew it would be worth every moment.
Chapter 26
It was one in the morning by the time Tex exited the highway in Pottstown. Jaeryth had fallen asleep in the back seat—not that Logan could blame him for that. He’d been through hell.
The unintended irony of the thought made her laugh aloud.
Tex smirked at her. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing.” She glanced back at Jaeryth, and warmth flooded her instantly. It still felt unreal that he was here, and whole, and going home with her—to stay this time. More than one dream had come true tonight.
“Frost. You’re glowing.”
She jumped a little. “I am?”
“Well, not literally this time.” Tex gave her a smile. “Okay. I admit it.”
“And ‘it’ would be…?”
“I was wrong about him.”
“Yes, you were.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? We have a few preconceived notions about demons.” His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror. “But I’m still keeping an eye on him. If he ever hurts your feelings, I’ll kick his ass.”
“I heard that,” Jaeryth slurred from the back. “Bring it on, angel.”
“All right, you two,” Logan said. “Play nice.”
“If you insist.” They’d nearly reached her street and Tex signaled to turn. “So, you know what happens now, right?”
“I sleep for a week.”
He grinned. “Besides that.”
“Um…not a clue.”
“Contracts. Record deals. Tours. After tonight, you’re on the world’s radar. They’re going to want more, and they’ll want it fast.” Concern flashed across his face. “Do you think you can handle this?”
“Probably.” A smile touched her lips. “Miss Turner’s gonna kill me, though.”
Tex laughed. “And drown me in paperwork.”
They reached the house. When the car stopped, Jaeryth eased himself upright and blinked groggily. “Are we home now?”
“Definitely,” she said. Home was a very good word.
She got out and met Jaeryth on the passenger side and Tex rolled down his window. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night for practice,” he said. “The usual time.”
Logan made a face. “Don’t we get a night off?”
“Not a chance. Welcome to the big-time
, Frost.” He dropped a wink. “Oh, and bring your notebooks. You know, the ones you shoved in that drawer.”
“Why?”
“Because we can’t just do covers any more. We’re going to need original material.”
Her breath caught. “We’re going to play my songs?”
“Yep. Starting tomorrow.”
She exchanged goodnights with him and Jaeryth managed to mutter something halfway civil. Once Tex drove away, she turned to Jaeryth and said, “Well. Here we are.”
He smiled. “Indeed.”
“Do you want to come inside? I could make some iced tea.”
His reply was a long, slow kiss that melted her senses.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “Skip the tea.”
“Good idea.”
She grabbed his hand and led him into the house. Part of her tried to worry about the future—there were so many challenges ahead. Besides the band stuff, she’d probably still struggle with addiction-related problems, off and on. She’d have to deal regularly with actual angels and demons. And there was that insignificant little thing about inspiring millions of people.
But for now, there was her and Jaeryth. And that was more than enough.
Epilogue
Logan frowned at the full-length mirror. The silver-trimmed black corset worked, but she wasn’t sure about the skirt—floor-length black silk with a two-foot train and a gauzy silver overlay. Maybe the gauze was too much. She tugged a stray wrinkle out of one fingerless glove, struck a serious pose and stared at her reflection. “I do,” she squeaked.
Oh, yeah. That sounded like the famous Logan Frost, all right.
She cleared her throat and said, “Rock on!” then grimaced. Too cheesy. Maybe she should just stick to tradition for this part. The rest of the ceremony was going to be different enough. Sometimes, you just had to go with the classics.
The door to the dressing room opened. Logan glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Blue, who looked stunning in her blood-red bridesmaid’s dress. She’d taken pains to make sure the shade didn’t clash with the bassist’s hair. “Did you find any?”
“Got it.” Blue held up a small white bag, presumably containing glitter body spray. Grinning, she swept across the room and tossed the bag on the table next to the mirror. “You are never gonna guess who’s out there now.”
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