He scrubbed both hands over his face, digging his thumbs and middle fingers into his temples as he exhaled a drawn-out breath. “I’m hoping it’s only a minor setback. Niki said he would explain things when they arrived.”
“Is the battle not going well?” I pushed down the wriggle of worry building a nest of worms in my gut. Lucien really didn’t look well.
“It could be better.” Niki’s steely voice sounded behind us.
Johnna and I jumped to our feet and whirled around. My world slammed to a stop. I tasted bitter fear, turning my mouth into a dry, sandy desert. As if in a dream, I noticed a long, bloody laceration covering the length of Niki’s arm. It looked like someone had tried to cleave it in half. But it was the litter drawing my gaze. It hung between him and the Watcher who’d stared at me in the Garden.
This must be Zander.
My dread increased to a screaming ache as my stomach clenched and shriveled. My legs took over, rushing my numb body forward. I fell to my knees beside the litter, afraid to touch Malachi, not knowing how or where he was injured. I curled my fingers around his, the only part of him, other than his head, not covered by the blanket. He looked pale and gaunt. I threw a quick glance toward the doorway, feeling death waiting impatiently for him on the other side.
With my free hand I nervously smoothed the thick, wool blanket covering his chest, unsure how I could help. I stared at his face, willing him to open his eyes. Malachi? I bit back a sob. Please say something. Talk to me.
“What happened to him, Niki? How badly is he hurt?” I asked aloud.
“We aren’t sure. Nor do we know how he’s hurt. Our meeting with the succubi emissary had just ended. We took maybe five steps when Malachi collapsed. He hasn’t stirred since.”
I rested my forehead on top of our linked hands. “She promised me nothing bad would happen to you.” My whispered words were strangled as my frustration and fear made it hard to swallow past the lump closing my throat.
A heavy palm landed on my shoulder and some of my bottled apprehension drained away. “What did you say, little one? Who promised you he wouldn’t get hurt?”
Raising my head, I twisted awkwardly to stare up into the Watcher’s face. Zander’s silver eyes stared into mine. I felt exposed, like every dark deed and secret desire flashed in bright neon for everyone. Could his eerie gaze see into my irreparable soul?
He withdrew his hand from my shoulder and raised my chin at an even sharper angle, wrenching my neck muscles. His lips pursed, but his expression remained solemn as he stared. “You remind me of someone I knew many years ago. You are not from here?”
I tried and failed to shake my head. Thankfully, he understood and let go of my chin. In order to look into his eyes, my neck would suffer a few kinks. I never realized how tall seven feet really was until Zander towered over me.
Then he demanded, “Tell me who said this to you regarding Malachi.”
“Before we got out of the Nightmare Realm, a succubus appeared and told me I would be the key to Malachi’s fall.” I let my gaze drop back to Malachi’s sleeping face. Strangely, it looked thinner than it had two minutes ago.
“She said he would be ‘gone’ but not dead, but he would wish for death. We think it has something to do with the realms messing up.” My voice trembled. I bit the inside of my lower lip, hoping the sharp sting would keep my welling tears at bay. A burning pain lanced through my heart at the thought of Malachi dying. The ache grew so strong, the muscles and skin covering my chest felt bruised from the inside out. Maybe my heart knew something my mind didn’t.
Could I do this? What if he really did die? I didn’t know if I had the strength to let him go. He was the first person to ever get through my defenses. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I had feelings for Malachi. Feelings I hadn’t wanted. Feelings I could no longer fight.
“We’ll figure this out, kitten.” Malachi’s pained whisper sounded so weak, I couldn’t stop the tears if I’d wanted to. “You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.” His breathless chuckle turned into a desperate wheeze. “Took too long to find you.”
My heart stuttered at his words, as I wiped tears away with the back of my hands. “You were looking for me? That’s not—”
Malachi made a soft snuffling sound. He’d fallen back asleep.
“Let him sleep, little warrior. Questions can be answered later.”
I shifted position and sat on the floor with my legs tucked aside. Now able to see Zander better, I realized he looked very familiar, yet I knew I’d never seen him before. Who could forget a seven-foot Adonis? Why did I think I knew him?
Like the other Watchers I’d seen, his skin was a pale gray, every last ounce of blood seemingly drained, leaving him the shade of death. His long platinum blond hair was pulled into a queue at the back of his neck. His silver eyes bore into my brain like a headache, and an eerie, déjà-vu feeling poked at me.
“Why do you seem familiar to me?”
He smiled. Well, the slight upward bend of his lips was close to a smile anyway. He traced my cheek with his finger, carefully tucking my cropped, but quickly growing hair behind one ear. “You are very much like my Cassia. There is a certain tone in your voice, your expressions, but most definitely your strength. It is your eyes telling me who you are.”
“My eyes? Who am I?” I whispered.
“You have your mother’s eyes. My Cassia’s eyes.”
The world tilted, my stomach imitating one of those horrible tilt-a-whirls, swirling and tipping as my insides bucked. Thankfully, I was still sitting on the floor. I eased my hands out from Malachi’s limp grasp and closed them into tight fists, relishing the pain from my fingernails as they dug into my palms. Intense emotion threatened to overwhelm me.
“My mother’s name is Cassia? You knew her?” I stared into his eyes, daring to hope.
He nodded. “I did, child. Long ago.” His voice was melodic, a lilting cadence. “She was a gift from Heaven. My mate. Watchers are immortal, living a mostly solitary life. We protect all realms in all dimensions. Soldiers sworn to duty.”
“Sounds like a lonely life.”
“It can be. When a Watcher’s burdens grow too heavy, we are allowed to move on—what humans call death. I met my Cassia on what was to be my death day. For her I lived.” The harsh planes on his face softened, erasing the years. His expression turned bittersweet.
“You loved her?”
“Yes, little warrior. I love her still. My kind are not allowed to have mates, but our leader, Joachim, saw what love did for me and petitioned St. Michael to change this rule. I have searched for her since the day she left, forever hoping she will return.”
I pressed one fist against the familiar cramping in my chest. I understood him only too well. The same hope was buried in my own heart. His words replayed in my head. We do not have mates. The aching in my chest told me who Zander was. My nose and eyes burned as I stared into his face in wonder. “You’re my father.”
He dipped his head. “I am.”
I might be in my early twenties, but around immortals I still felt so young. Without another thought, I jumped up and threw my arms around his waist, squeezing as hard as I could. A small part of me was afraid this was all a dream and, like so many times before, I’d wake up to find myself alone. “I’ve dreamed a long time about finding my parents and wondered who they are. Why they left me, but right now, I don’t care.” I squeezed tighter as my throat closed. “I have a father,” I whispered into his shirt, my tears soaking the soft material.
I felt his hesitation. When he let out his breath, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. For the first time in a very long time, I wasn’t too afraid to hope. My dreams were finally coming true. I felt Malachi’s feathery touch trail across my cheek, tracing along the same path Zander’s finger had gone, then his touc
h disappeared.
Had I imagined it? I must have, because there was no way Malachi could have reached me from where he lay.
Turning my head, I glanced down. His coloring looked better, and he was watching us, the hint of a smile on his lips.
“Malachi.” I dropped back to his side. “Are you feeling better? What happened?”
His dark brown eyes glittered, making them look hazel in the room’s dim light. “She missed me, Zander. It’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
I cuffed his arm, my knuckles raking over the gold armband circling his bicep. My worry escalated when the band easily turned. It should’ve fit snugly around his arm, not hanging loose. I met his gaze, knowing he could read the worry filling mine.
“I will be fine, kitten. Tarja will not win. Give me a bit more credit, will you? I’m supposed to be a big, strong demon. Leader of the Fallen. It’s going to take more than a bitch of a succubus to bring me down.”
I wanted to believe what he said but deep inside me rested a sliver of doubt. I linked my fingers with his, too scared to say anything and, like a giant chicken, glanced back up at Zander. “You don’t know where my mother is?”
He shook his head. “I have searched everywhere for Cassia, as my brethren continue to do . . . until the succubi declared war.” He curled a finger under my chin to lift it, while his thumb rubbed my jaw. “I did not know about you, Willow. For that I will be forever sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“No, but I would give anything to have seen you grow up. You are special, little warrior. We are a male species. There has never been a female Watcher—until now.”
It hurt to breathe as my anxiety flared. I really needed to be on medicine for everything I was dealing with. All the make-believe ideas and dreams I’d had, imagining what my father was like? They paled in comparison to the man standing in front of me.
“Zander,” Lucien broke in, “I’m sorry, but I need to speak to you and Niki.”
My father stared into my eyes a moment longer. With his back straight and his chin held high, he turned and followed the two demons from the room. I wondered what Lucien wanted to discuss but immediately dismissed the thought. I didn’t really want to know. Picking up Malachi’s heavy hand, I laced my fingers through his.
“Malachi? Are you asleep?” I held my breath, a part of me hoping he was.
“Not yet, kitten. What’s wrong?”
“How exactly can a demon be summoned?”
“Magic. A spell is used to rip our soul in two. It actually changes our DNA.”
“Oh gods,” I groaned. “Please tell me I didn’t do something that horrible.” My body went hot then cold then back to hot. “I am so, so sorry.”
He wiped a tear from my cheek, his thumb rough and comforting against my skin. I hadn’t even realized I was crying again.
“I do not believe you summoned anything, Willow. You have nothing to be sorry about. I think you were tricked.”
I dropped my head to the edge of the cot and groaned. “Great. Now I’m gullible.”
“Never trust a demon.”
Hearing his teasing tone, I blew out a breath and raised my head. “What about you? How do I know I can trust you?”
Malachi ran a hand over his face, pain etched in every hollow, and refocused his dark gaze on me. That tiny eye twitch didn’t bode well. “I meant the Summoned demons.”
“Oh. Well, that’s different. I think.”
One side of his mouth twisted in a slight snarl. “Are you always like this?”
My smile widened as I nodded. “Mmm-hmm. Pretty much.”
He closed his eyes with a grin. “Heaven help me.”
I stroked his silky hair until he drifted off to sleep. Just hours ago, Malachi had been such an imposing figure. Huge. Intimidating. Now, he looked half of his normal self underneath the dark green blanket, his shallow breaths barely moving his chest. I laid my hand over his heart. Each soft beat tapped the center of my palm. The gentle thud, thud, thud pulsed into my body, matching the rhythm of my own heartbeat.
My muscles flexed in an iron resolve, and I whispered to him, “I will not let you die.”
Chapter 17
Waiting had never been my strongpoint. I twisted the ring around my middle finger and stared out the window. All around the Bastille, an army of men gathered. At least most looked like men as they divided themselves into groups. Scattered within each unit were demons, a head taller and much redder than the men. Other than the black horns on their heads, they could have passed as men with terrible sunburns. I gave myself a mental reminder to ask them where they came from.
During one of his few moments of wakefulness, Malachi explained Johnna’s talent somehow reversed the effects of a summoning and allowed demons to revert back to a normal state. Mostly. Their larger size and fierceness in battle was proving to be a strength against the succubi. Good to know.
I watched Zander march across the torn-up lawn as he made his way through the maze of soldiers, and many weapon stands, into a side door of the Bastille. My father. I loved being able to say that.
I swiveled on the cushioned window seat and faced the door. The moment he entered, I knew something had changed. Not in a good way either. Over the past two days, we’d been able to talk and get to know each other. As well as we could in the middle of a war, anyway. I’d noticed a change in him, more relaxed and, for a Watcher, happy. Since they only seemed to have one emotion—serious—it was a miracle in and of itself.
He looked quite regal in his uniform as he strode toward me. The midnight blue outfit shimmered, as did his blond hair, now bound in a tight braid down the back of his head with the end draped over his shoulder. His ever-present cape partially covered the peasant-style shirt tucked into skin-tight pants. To me, he resembled an elf pirate.
I tried to smile but failed as tears filled my eyes. “You’re leaving for the battle, aren’t you?”
He nodded, standing awkwardly in front of me. “I’ve been ordered to find out how Tarja is killing the Watchers.”
“Why you?”
His lips twitched, but his expression remained stoic. “I am second-in-command to our leader, Joachim. He cannot go, so it is now my responsibility. It is a great honor to do this.”
“You’re leaving now?”
He nodded again. “One never knows what lies ahead in life. Remember you are half Watcher and possess an inner strength few others have. Draw on that strength, little warrior. You will need it in the coming days.”
I forced my chin to stop trembling, but no matter how many times I blinked, my tears fell. “Malachi told me the same thing. You sound as if you aren’t coming back.”
He held out his arms, and I stepped into his strong embrace. “No one knows what the next day brings. But for the first time, my daughter, I have a reason to come home.”
I clung to his shirt, my fists tightly wrapped in the rich fabric. I didn’t want to let go. Reluctantly, I made myself take one step back, then another, until I could look up into his handsome face, unmindful of my tears.
He wiped my cheeks and cupped my face in his hands. “So like your mother. She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, as are you. Your inner light outshines the sun, my daughter.” He kissed the top of my forehead and, in less than a blink, was gone.
I didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t stay in this room another minute without talking to someone. Glancing at Malachi’s still-sleeping form, I left the room. I walked down the quiet hallway and peeked into the bedroom Johnna and I shared, but she wasn’t there. After looking in the dining room, then the fireplace room, I found myself back where I’d started. I stared at the heavy, wooden door to Malachi’s room but couldn’t make myself open it.
I finally forced my hand to grasp the round k
nob. Holding the cold metal a second longer, I slowly pushed until the opening was wide enough for me to slide through. The sight of Malachi trying to pull himself back onto the bed jolted my melancholy mood out of existence.
“What do you think you are doing?” I stomped up behind him and wrapped my arms around his thick chest, jerking upward. After several minutes of grunting and groaning, he finally slumped back onto the bed.
I glared at him, not liking the sunken, hollowed look of his face. The feeling in the room seemed off somehow, but I was focused on the grayness of his skin, and I ignored the warning bells going off in my head. I couldn’t take my eyes off the hard trembling of his hands as they bunched the edge of the blanket across his chest.
“Well?” I counted to ten, drawing in a deep breath, and the thick stench of cinnamon assailed my nostrils. “Oh my gods, Tarja was here, wasn’t she?”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “Tell Lucien.” He gasped out each word. “Shouldn’t have broken through the wards—”
I pinched his lips together. “Shush. We’ve already been over that part, and I’m positive Lucien already knows.” Without thinking, I lightly kissed his lips. “Be right back!”
~ ~ ~
Malachi
I stared through the open doorway and into the empty hallway after Willow, stunned. My lips still tingled where her sweet mouth had touched. She kissed me. My mind hummed as fiery awareness raced through me, restoring some of the shriveled cells in my body, sending me a much-needed boost of energy. I pressed a hand over my heart, feeling the organ swell with something more than blood.
I let my head roll back into the pillow’s indentation and stared sightlessly at the ceiling, my lips upturned in a wide grin. “So that’s why Niki and Johnna never come up for air.”
~ ~ ~
Saved by the Spell (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 2) Page 17
