by S.B. Rodgers
“Time to go,” he said quietly to himself, gently moving Abby off of him and propping her against the gate. He stood up stiffly, bones snapping and creaking as he did. Stretching briefly, he bent down to take his coat, but, after watching her for a moment, decided against it. He covered her with it a little better “You need this more than I do, I think.” He retrieved her bag from where he had dropped it, quickly placing it next to her. Giving her one last look, he flipped his mirror open, hurriedly placing his hand on the surface and mouthing the word “home.” He disappeared in a flash of orange light, muffled by the dark, rainy night and flickering streetlights.
Chapter 33
The black car crawled up the street. Gabe looked around as he drove through the pouring rain, squinting to see past the windshield wipers. He cursed inwardly—it was almost impossible to see anything in the dark, and even the powerful headlights of the car didn’t penetrate the storm. Aiden shot him a sympathetic look. “Calm down, Gabe. We’ll find her, you’ll see. I’m sure she’s fi—Abby?!”
Gabe threw on the brakes, fumbled out of the seatbelt and pushed the door open. He rushed towards the body that lay against the wrought-iron gates, illuminated by the car’s headlights.
“ABBY!!” He shouted as he ran, hearing the click of the car door as Aiden leapt out of the vehicle and ran towards the gate as well. He thought he saw a flash of orange light out of the corner of his eye, but dismissed it—Abby was all that mattered. He knelt in front of her, reaching out and wordlessly taking her into his arms. The leather and sheepskin jacket hung over her loosely as he lifted her, his arms supporting her back and knees.
Aiden was shouting something about not moving her, that she needed to be checked over first—Gabe glared at him, eyes glowing white with power. “Open the gate, Aiden. We have to get her inside.”
Aiden opened the gate using the numbered keypad under the buzzer. “Alright. We have to check her for hypothermia, we don’t know how long she’s been out here.” He reached out and gently touched the side of her face, feeling her clammy, cool skin. “Carry her to the library—we have a fireplace we can use to take the damp off.”
Gabe hugged her cold body to his chest; her breathing was low and shallow, staggered with the occasional shudder that ran through her unconscious form. “Hold on.” Gabe whispered to her, hefting her against him securely as he picked up his pace, practically running up the hill with her in his arms. He saw a flash of white light behind him and heard Fern’s high-pitched voice. He didn’t stop. It didn’t matter, he thought. Nothing mattered more than this. She had to survive. She had to live, or he…no. She had to live. “Just hold on.” He whispered, holding her close to his fast-beating heart.
* * *
Elijah and Fern got there before him, Gabe found as he opened the library door with a well-placed kick. Fern was bent over in front of the fireplace, chucking wood into a neat pile in the center. She snapped her fingers once and the logs ignited, a cheery blaze lighting the dim room and exuding much-needed warmth. The soft tan leather couch had already been unfolded into a fluffy double bed by Elijah, who was zapping in and out of the room, fetching blankets and pillows and towels under Fern’s direction.
Gabe placed Abby gently on the bed as Aiden rushed into the room, dripping water everywhere. “I got her bag and tried to move the car, but I just turned it off instead—seemed safer for everyone, really.” He reported, gratefully accepting a fluffy bath towel from Elijah.
Fern shook her head, turning her attention from her father to the task at hand. “We have to get those wet clothes off—they’re killing her.” Gabe tossed the jacket off of her. Thanks to that coat, she wasn’t as cold as he had expected—she was soaked through, and cold as if she had been dunked in a tub of ice water. She didn’t seem hypothermic, though he wasn’t about to take any chances. The pants were the first to go. He stripped off her sweater and shirt with some difficulty, the fabric stubbornly clinging to her chest. Once she was down to her underwear and bra, Gabe knew that he had to heal her. Before it became worse, before it was too late.
He shed his coat and, in one smooth movement, pulled his own shirt over his head. Sweeping his long damp hair back, he took a steadying breath. His tattoos blazed bright white, his wings expanding from the script that rushed forth from his broad back. He pulled himself into the power, surrendered himself to it, embracing it with his entire being.
Fern rolled up her sleeves, intending to jump in and help—she had long since recovered from healing Fong, and was ready. Aiden grabbed her arm to stop her, shaking his head silently. This was Gabe’s responsibility. It wasn’t their place to interfere.
Gabe’s tattoo-covered hands moved over Abby’s body. She was cold, so cold all over—her skin radiated an icy chill against his gently-glowing fingers. He placed his hand over her heart, feeling the slow, unsteady beat. He focused his power, sent it forth into her.
The instant he did, her skin began crawling with golden script and runes the likes of which he had never seen, shifting and twirling towards his outstretched hand. His initial reaction, to recoil away from her, was not fast enough. Try as he might, Gabe could not pull his hand away from her skin, and could only watch in wide-eyed horror as the strange markings raced up and over his fingers, twining around his own and seeming to devour them.
He felt a tug, the jolt shuddering through his system. And then he realized it—the golden things were draining him, sucking up his power. Using him like a battery. And it hurt. He screamed out, howling in pain and disbelief, convulsing as it tapped into his powers, his eyes flickering gold and white. Aiden grabbed his arm but was thrown backwards into a bookcase, flying off of Gabe as if he had been struck by lightning. Gabe struggled to maintain consciousness. His head was foggy, and all he could see was blurred golden light. It stopped as suddenly as it began. His knees buckling as he pushed himself back, away from Abby.
He sat sprawled on the floor between Fern and Elijah, watching in amazement as the runes receded. They pulled back and finally disappeared, retreating to the back of her skull. “Abby!” Gabe cried out, standing shakily. Fern rushed over to her father, helping him up from the pile of dusty books that now covered him. She escorted him back, lending him her shoulder.
The Guardians all gathered around the bed, staring down at the now peacefully sleeping girl. Her breathing was normal now, deep and even, and her skin was a healthy pink. Her arm seemed to have set itself. Her hair even seemed drier.
Elijah caught Gabe as he sunk into a dead faint, his little remaining strength leaving his body. Gently placing him on the bed next to Abby and covering them with a heavy duvet, he turned to Fern and Aiden, asking the question they all wanted to ask. “What the hell just happened?!”
Chapter 34
Raph stood in front of the floor-length mirror. He ignored the cold water that dripped off of his body and pooled around him on the floor. He stared at the mirror, taking it in, knowing what effect it had on his entire life. What effect it had on Abby’s life.
The ancient evil this relic represented was something he knew all too well—it was a part of him, after all. But it was the part of himself he hated. He glared at his own reflection in the mirror, watched the water droplets slide down his face, one after the other. The reflection changed suddenly, from his own to Satan’s. The orange glow took over the mirror’s surface, and he could see her clearly, clad in a more human outfit than he had ever expected to see her in. “Have you found her yet, Thief?” She asked haughtily.
Raph avoided her gaze, mind and heart racing. He knew what he had to do, steeled himself—she was the Queen of Hell, after all. He loved Abby, he knew that now, felt it with every fibre of his being. And he wanted to protect her, never wanted her to be hurt again. Even by him--no, especially not by him. Raph turned his gaze to Satan, staring back at her flatly with dark, determined eyes. “No. You’ll never have her.”
He ignored her speechless outrage, reaching into his jeans pocket and pulli
ng out the mirror that had been given to him so long ago, the mirror that linked him to Hell. “I’m done with this.” He hefted the heavy silver compact, throwing it with all of his strength straight at Satan’s glass-bound form.
The glass shattered on impact, shards exploding outwards. A flare of orange accompanied by a loud rushing sound chased the broken pieces as they drove towards Raph. He stood firm, letting the sharp shards whizz by him. One cut his cheek on its way by, and another tore a small chunk out of his left arm. He ignored the pain, waited for the remaining pieces to fall to the floor before he took a step forward. Footsteps crunching on the broken glass, he knelt to pick up the hand mirror.
The snakes that graced the lid were covered in a fine mist of powdery glass, and one of the ruby eyes was missing. The lid itself hung at a twisted angle, the hinges broken and gnarled from the impact. Raph flipped the compact open, confirming it with his own eyes. He let go of the breath he didn’t know he had been holding, unceremoniously dropped the mirror to the floor. It was broken. They were both broken, his direct links to Hades and to Satan.
He carefully backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him for the first and last time. Raph smiled as the door clicked shut with a tone of finality. He was free, finally free. The woman he loved had nothing to fear from him anymore. And though he knew Abby would never return his love, that was fine; right now he just wanted to protect her. More than anything, he wanted to protect her, even if it meant she never knew it was him keeping her safe.
* * *
Satan gaped at the mirror in shock as the connection severed. Panicking, she tried to re-establish it, growing more and more frustrated with each failed attempt.
With a yowl of rage, she turned to her pet who huddled in the corner, trying to make himself invisible. Blinded by anger she fell upon him, scratching and tearing with her hands, her eyes glowing red with the effort of her attack. He whimpered, taking the pain stoically, only covering his head with his arms to protect himself from the blows that rained down.
Satan was scared—she felt the fear rising, could do nothing to push down the rising tide of hopelessness that gripped her and threatened to sweep her away. Lucifer would find out. He would find out all of her plans, and end her. The thought stayed her hand, and she retreated to the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest.
The bedclothes rustled slightly after a moment as her pet crept closer, gently placing his head in her lap and looking up at her with those innocent blue eyes. She stroked his long white hair, working her fingers through a few tangles as she mused. She couldn’t die, she wouldn’t…she couldn’t allow Lucifer to find out. But how could she stop him? And how could she explain this to him?
If she was caught she wouldn’t be the queen of anything—not heaven, not hell, not anything. And she couldn’t stand that. She sat there, deep into the night, feeling cornered and helpless and thinking carefully of a way to turn this all around to her advantage instead of her noose.
Chapter 35
The fog of sleep gradually cleared as Abby’s eyelids fluttered open. Still half-asleep, she stared at the high vaulted ceiling, vaguely wondering when her room got so big. Then she remembered that her room wasn’t hers anymore, and that the only thing she remembered from last night was walking in horribly bad weather with nowhere to go and somehow ending up in front of Gabe’s house. Gabe’s empty house.
So where exactly am I? she wondered, now wide awake. She winced—her head hurt, pounded with the telltale signs of a killer headache. And what was that heavy weight covering half her body? She looked to her left and found herself staring at the sleeping face of Gabe Ward, his long hair trailing lazily over his well-muscled (and, to her surprise, tattooed) naked back, which half-covered her own naked body.
She blinked. Naked? She glanced at her own body—not naked, but close enough. She was wearing a bra and panties, but they weren’t hers; she certainly didn’t own anything that pink and frilly. So, if he was naked and she was naked…The gears slowly clicked into place. Abby began to panic—they didn’t…they couldn’t have…done i--
Her frantic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the big wooden double doors across the huge, dusty library swinging open. “Good morning kids, rise and shine!!! It’s almost noon!!” Aiden announced cheerfully as he bustled into the room, carrying a tray of lightly smouldering food.
Abby turned beet red and gave a shrill scream, yanking the duvet off of Gabe and wrapping it around her body. Unbalanced and barely awake, Gabe flailed on the edge of the bed, falling off with a surprised shout and a loud thump as he hit the floor. “Oww…” he groaned, pulling himself up slowly, placing his hands on the mattress and looking up at her with half-closed eyes. “Good morning, sunshine.” He muttered with a tired half-smile, pushing his disarrayed hair back and letting it flow over his shoulders in coils and snarls.
Abby saw that, thankfully, Gabe wore a pair of striped blue pajama pants.“Wha—“
“I made you two breakfast—I hope you’re hungry!!” Aiden gushed, placing the tray down on the table beside the heavily curtained window. He threw open the dark drapes, flooding the room with bright noon light. Gabe and Abby winced in unison, blinking against the invasion on their senses.
Abby turned to Gabe “What’s goi—“
“Hi Abby, how are you feeling?” Abby looked up at this new interruption; a pretty girl with long, wavy blond hair and a tall, handsome black boy with the lightest icy-blue eyes Abby had ever seen stood in front of the pull-out couch. When did they come in, she silently wondered, and how did they know her name?
She opened her mouth to speak, and was cut off again “How’d you sleep last night, Gabe? Hope you didn’t keep her up all night.” the boy chuckled, giving Gabe a knowing wink.
Abby’s complexion turned from bright red to chalk white as she felt the blood drain from her face. So they had—She tangled her hands in her hair, holding her throbbing temples, tears filling her eyes as she stared at Gabe desperately. “What’s going on here?! Who are these people?! What did we…last night, did we…”
She couldn’t finish her sentence, a lump rising in her throat as Gabe stared at her in shock “Wait, what?!—“
“Okay boys, time to go! Girl time, no testosterone allowed!” the blond girl shouted, clapping her hands together loudly. She shooed the three men from the room, shutting the door behind them. Abby eyed her warily from the bed, unsure of how to act. She still didn’t know who the girl was, what her relationship to Gabe was—not even her name.
She sniffed, a shuddering, sighing sound, as she tried to compose herself. “So, I’ll bet you’re confused beyond belief right now.” The girl said, wandering over to the bed and sitting down on the crumpled sheets where Gabe had been lying moments ago. “I’m Fern, by the way. Nice to finally meet you.”
* * *
Gabe shook his head, now awake. He watched Aiden pace restlessly back and forth in front of the doors, growing more annoyed with each pass. He finally had enough. “Pacing isn’t going to accomplish anything, Aiden.” He snapped.
Aiden glared at Gabe, wringing his hands. “I know, but I can’t help it! I’m worried about her…” Gabe sighed; he couldn’t argue with that. He was just as worried, if not more so. She just seemed so vulnerable right now. He hoped that Fern would be able to at least get her up to speed.
“Still, isn’t there something more useful you could be doing right now? I’ve kind of got the whole worrying about my charge thing under control here.”
Aiden frowned, then nodded, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Yes, actually. I’ve been working on something half the night as a surprise. Thanks for the reminder—there’s a lot to be done before it’s ready.”
Desperately hoping the surprise wasn’t a cake or something, Gabe leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Bring Eli with you. He looks like a lost puppy without Fern.” They both covertly glanced at the young man who stood leaning against the library doors, lookin
g thoroughly miserable at being kicked out of the room.
Aiden looked at Gabe, nodded in agreement “Good idea. Elijah—“ He walked over to Elijah, talking to him for a moment before heading down the hall, Eli following after him reluctantly. Gabe stared at the now bare door, settling in for a long wait.
* * *
When he finally re-entered the library, he was dressed and carried a glass of orange juice and a couple of extra-strength painkillers. “How are you feeling?” He asked gently, walking over to the couch which had been reverted back to its original leather-cushioned state. Abby sat there, now fully clothed in a pair of faded jeans and a sweater borrowed from Fern. Her hair was less wild now, pulled back into a loose, messy bun.
She looked up at him, smiling weakly “Fine, except for this headache. Feels like I got hit by a train. In the face.”
“Here. Breakfast of champions.” Gabe grinned, handing her the painkillers and juice.
“Thanks.” She gratefully accepted them, tossing the pills back and chasing them down with a mouthful of the orange juice.
Gabe sat down next to her, leaning back into the cushions and resting his arm on the top of the couch. “So, did Fern catch you up on what happened yesterday?”
Abby nodded slowly, nursing the rest of the juice. “Yeah, mostly. She told me how you found me and brought me up here. But…I have to ask you…why were we in bed together? With…no clothes on?”
“Oh, that! You were borderline hypothermic. Aiden said skin-to-skin contact was best, and, well…I figured you wouldn’t want to wake up snuggling Aiden.”
She laughed. “So we didn’t…”
