by Hanna Peach
Yes, I am, he thought. I am in you, and you are in me. Even when we are apart.
But how? When did this happen? she asked.
He smiled and she felt his lips move from within him.
I’m not sure. But I think it changed when I changed. When I became your equal.
And she understood.
She understood.
She understood everything about what they both went through with each other. She understood why they had to go through everything they went through. It all looped and pulled together, and finally the picture came together after weeks of just staring at what looked like broken pieces.
She moved first. Or maybe he did. Their mouths met each other. She felt his rush along with hers. She felt how high his heart soared when he kissed her. He parted his lips and his tongue found hers. She felt the deep ache in his belly, which only made hers throb too.
She reached for him as he reached for her. Their bodies met and the sensations that Alyx was feeling became a swirling, all-consuming ball of heat that took up the space of both their bodies. She knew everything he felt when he kissed her as she kissed him. Nothing could have been more intense.
To find their love matching each other’s meant that now neither of them was restrained. She could no longer be hesitant or meek about how she felt about Israel. Feeling him feeling her filled up her body with all the confidence in their love.
Her head was spinning. Oh God, she just wanted this to go on and on, more and more, deeper and hotter and higher.
“Wait, stop,” Israel gasped.
She pulled out of his body and she felt him pull out of her too.
He stepped back, giving them both space. “You said to me that you couldn’t be with me while I had unfinished business with Adere. Now I don’t. I righted that wrong and things are in a good place for Adere and me, but we are over. It’s finished with her. I no longer hold that baggage on my shoulders. But now you have things you need to…finish.”
“Jordan,” she whispered.
He nodded. “I’ve been in your body now, Alyx. I’ve felt your heart from the inside. I know you love me, but…” he swallowed. Even though she wasn’t in his head, she knew that whatever he was about to say was going to be hard for him.
“But those feelings you started developing for him when I was asleep…” Israel shook his head. “I can’t accept it. I won’t. I’ve spent my life accepting the crumbs of whatever love anyone threw at me. This time with you, I won’t do it. I don’t want you until I can have all of you. You couldn’t be with me until things with Adere were over. I can’t be with you until things with you and Jordan are over. So…deal with it. Get it out of your system. Do whatever you have to do, just,” he winced and Alyx could swear she felt the echo of his pain in her heart, “just please don’t let me see it.”
“You…you want to stay broken up?”
“No, angel. We’re not broken. We’re growing as people. Sometimes that means we might knock each other around. But that’s who we are, Alyx. You and me. Always changing, growing. Learning from each other. Becoming more for ourselves and more for each other. We won’t ever stagnate no matter how long we are together.” He smiled. “This is the kind of relationship that lasts the distance. Not one that reaches a place and stops growing. ’Cause if you aren’t growing, you’re dying. You and me, angel, we will never die.”
Chapter 15
Alyx walked into the room where Tobias was holding their meeting. Dianne, Tobias, Vix and Jordan were already there. But she halted in shock when she saw that Belle and Aaban were there too. Aaban and Belle were the chiefs of the other two communities that Samyara had destroyed: the Saudi Arabia and Florence communities.
Alyx caught Belle’s eye. The look she gave Alyx was cold and distrustful. Belle still blamed Alyx for leading the demons to the Castelli del Grevepesa, her community in Italy.
Aaban watched Alyx closely. Aaban was dark-chocolate skinned with a thick dark beard that covered his cheeks and chin. His head was wrapped in a turban the color of sand and he was wearing a matching robe.
She caught Tobias’s eye, and he seemed to know what she was thinking.
“I invited the other chiefs here,” Tobias said. “We are one community now. We have to work together, so they deserve to know what we are up against.”
Alyx stared at Tobias. But Israel’s true identity…no other Seraphim knew anything outside of their little group. She thought they were going to keep it that way.
“Tobias, are you sure that this is something that the other chiefs should be troubled with?” That’s what she said, but the inflection in her voice and the look in her eyes spoke differently. Can we trust them?
He nodded. “It’s time to ask for help, Alyx. We can’t fix this alone.”
Alyx sighed. Tobias was right. They couldn’t fight this alone. Alyx looked over at Aaban and Belle as they stared back at her. Belle’s eyes were narrowed with suspicion. Alyx trusted Tobias. So if he trusted Belle and Aaban, then Alyx would just have to extend her trust to include them. Alyx nodded her acceptance to Tobias, then moved to take a seat on the other side of Vix.
Israel burst into the room, huffing and running his fingers through his hair. “I’m here. Sorry I’m late.”
Aaban raised an eyebrow at Israel as he walked in. “What is the mortal doing here? This is none of his concern.”
“Well actually, this is my planet that’s being threatened too, so it is part of my concern,” snipped Israel.
Aaban looked about to retort but Tobias interjected before either of them erupted further. “Aaban, if you could just reserve your judgment until we have explained some things in this meeting, I’m sure you’ll find there is good reason for Israel to be here.”
Israel made a show of taking the empty seat directly opposite Aaban. Aaban made a noise in his throat, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Both of them stared at each other. Alyx frowned as she watched them both, feeling the air between them heat with some kind of testosterone-fueled show of dominance.
Tobias began by addressing Aaban and Belle. “What I’m about to tell you needs to remain between us. Do I have your word?”
“Of course,” said Belle.
Aaban simply nodded.
“Okay, then.” Tobias cleared his throat and glanced at Alyx, then Israel, before he spoke again. “Israel is here because he’s an important part of the troubles we’re having. He isn’t just a mortal. He is part demon and part Seraphim too. He is the keye that the Blood Prophecies talk of. His blood can open the gates between our worlds.”
Alyx watched the reaction of the two chiefs carefully. Belle dropped back into her seat, her mouth gaping open. Aaban said nothing at first. His dark eyes glimmered with surprise before the seraph reined it in. With a tilted head, he stared at Israel, studying him intently. “So he could open the gates to Heaven. How?”
“We’re not sure,” Alyx said. “But I think the Blood Prophecies would contain the instructions.” This was something she hadn’t even considered. She glanced at Israel. He could be their way home, back to Heaven. If…if the Seraphim were even still welcomed there?
“But more seriously for us,” Aaban said, “he can be used to open the gates to Hell. That is Samyara’s intentions, yes? That is the reason that Samyara attacked us. He was looking for him.”
Belle hissed under her breath and sent a seething look to Alyx and Israel. “He’s the reason they attacked us?” She swung her head to face Alyx. “You. You kept this from us?”
Tobias placed a hand out on Belle’s forearm as she continued to throw accusations at Alyx. “Belle, please. We only just discovered the boy’s true identity and his role in this war. We didn’t know of this when Samyara attacked our communities. And don’t think for one minute that if we knew it then, it would have changed Samyara’s plans for us.”
“You should never have allowed him into your community.”
“Our communities are meant as places of refuge.”
“And he is part Seraphim.”
Belle had no retort. She huffed and turned her face away, choosing to glare at a spot on the wall rather than at anyone around the table.
“This is why I called you both here,” Tobias said. “We are one family now, one community, one unit. We must work as one. Remember who our true enemy is. It isn’t each other.”
Belle took a deep breath and seemed to calm a little.
Tobias continued, “We know Samyara is planning something. We need to find a way to stop him. Permanently.”
“There is an alternative strategy,” Aaban said. “A far easier way to solve this problem.”
“Which is?”
“Israel is dangerous while he is still alive. Why don’t we just…remedy that?”
Alyx launched to her feet, her hand already flying to her weapon. Before she could raise her blade, a gust of wind whirled around the room and electricity crackled the hairs on Alyx’s neck. Aaban’s chair, with Aaban still in it, shot forward, crushing him against the edge of the table and trapping his arms at his sides. The end of his turban unwrapped from around his head and snaked around his neck, choking him. A series of gasps went up around the room. Aaban writhed, making low choking noises, trying to free his arms and pushing his chin down into his chest in an attempt to stop himself from choking.
Oh my God, Alyx realized, this is Israel doing this.
Ignoring the horrified reactions of those around him, Israel leaned forward, eyes blazing at Aaban. His voice was firm and level, but there was a deadly iciness to it that suggested his words were not to be taken lightly. “I suggest that you rethink your strategy, Aaban. I am not an animal that you can just slaughter. I am the prophesied, the keye, a Guardian bestowed upon me by God. I am Israel, part mortal, part demon, part Seraphim − the combination giving me power you have never seen before. I could kill you right where you are without laying a finger on you. How else do I say, ‘don’t fuck with me’.”
Alyx’s mouth dropped open. What in the… The Israel she was now seeing was not the Israel she knew when he went into his coma. What happened to him in there?
Israel slowly leaned back in his seat as everyone around the room gaped at him. As his back hit the chair, the turban fell from Aaban’s neck as the supernatural force holding it tightly around his neck let go. The chair went slack, causing Aaban to falter. He barely caught himself before he hit the floor. The chair, however, made a huge clatter behind him as Aaban jolted to his feet, gasping for breath.
“I believe you have something to say to me, Aaban,” Israel said.
Aaban cleared his throat and fussed with his robe, smoothing it down. “I believe I have made a severe error in judgment. I apologize, Israel, for speaking so disrespectfully.” Aaban turned to Tobias. “I believe you mentioned something about stopping Samyara.”
“Yes,” Tobias said. “Yes, of course.” He cleared his throat as everyone around the room tried to pull themselves out of their various stunned states. “Alyx, can you run through what we need to know?”
Alyx swallowed, still trying to wrap her head around what the hell just happened. She caught Israel’s eye and he winked. She felt her face flush and her belly tightened.
Alyx brought everyone in the room up to speed with what Adere had told Israel. “So you see, we now know where his base is. We must stop him before he goes through with whatever he has planned.”
“And you want our help?” Aaban asked.
Alyx nodded. “We need to raise an army of FreeThinkers to help us fight Samyara and his Darkened at Darkwood Mansion.”
“No,” said Belle. “Absolutely not. My people won’t do it.”
“It is a dangerous thing you are asking, Tobias,” Aaban said.
“Why don’t we take it to them give them the choice?” Jordan spoke up. “Let them make up their own minds. After all, we don’t call ourselves FreeThinkers for nothing.”
Belle crossed her arms over her chest. “My people won’t do it. I am sure of it.”
“Then there’s no harm in letting them decide, is there?”
Belle said nothing.
“How would we get the message to all the FreeThinkers?” Alyx asked. “I don’t think we have enough familias, do we?”
Tobias shook his head. “No. We need to gather everyone in one place. The castle, the location for our new community, is the obvious place.”
“But we’ve only just finished the repair work to the castle,” interjected Vix. “We haven’t even started relocating everyone yet. It’ll take too long to gather everyone there. We don’t have enough time.”
“What if we DreamWalk them en masse,” said Alyx, turning to Jordan. “We know that Michael was able to utilize a coordinated DreamWalking magic when he found me in the DreamScape and DreamWalked me into his gray maze. We could do something similar.”
“Can we do that?” asked Tobias, turning to Jordan.
He nodded. “We could. If we coordinate with each DreamWalker in each group of FreeThinkers. It would be similar to the way you three have been holding your chiefs’ meeting in the DreamScape together but on a bigger scale.”
“On a much bigger scale. Jordan, I hate to sound pessimistic about this, but it sounds far too complicated. We’re talking about hundreds of Seraphim here.”
Jordan made an exasperated sound. “We could try and see if it works?”
“We need a more solid plan than that. Does anyone have any other ideas?”
There was a silence around the room. Alyx sank back into her chair. She didn’t know what they could do.
Then Jordan’s eyes sparked and he jolted forward in his seat. “Wait. There is somewhere we could all converge… Somewhere we could all get to easily from where we are currently.”
Alyx stared at Jordan intently. He licked his lips slowly and gazed around the room. What was he talking about?
“Spit it out,” said Aaban.
“Purgatory. There’s a large ballroom there that we can use.”
The room erupted with noise.
“That is an outrageous suggestion,” Belle said. “You want to get us all killed.”
“What’s Purgatory?” Israel asked.
“It’s a supernatural neutral zone,” explained Alyx. “Open for everyone: demons, mortals, Seraphim. But most importantly, you could access the place from anywhere on Earth.”
“Did you just hear what you said? It’s open for demons,” Belle said, her voice dripping with disgust.
“There’s a charm over Purgatory,” Jordan said. “No demon, mortal or Seraphim is able to harm another while they’re in there.”
“It’s a good idea,” Alyx said. “It’s the only way we can get our three communities together in the next few hours. They’re currently scattered across the world, and we have to move on this now.”
“Okay, so I understand how to get to Purgatory from Earth, but what about returning to Earth from Purgatory? How does the portal work in that sense?” Tobias was frowning as if in thought.
“The portal will sense you when you approach it to leave,” Jordan said, “and remembers where you entered from. It’ll send you back to where you entered unless you exit too quickly after someone else, in which case you will be sent after them to their destination.”
“Which is how those Turned and Balthazar were able to follow us out that time,” Alyx said.
She realized what she just admitted. The room went silent. Belle stared at her in shock. Even Tobias looked uncomfortable.
Only Vix had an amused look on her face. “I expected that from you, Jordan. But you, Alyxandria. You dark horse, you.” She offered up a wink.
Alyx began to feel her cheeks redden. They were all getting the worst kind of idea.
“Why is everyone looking at her like that?” asked Israel. “What exactly is Purgatory?”
“A bar,” Alyx said.
“A pleasure house,” Jordan said at the same time.
Alyx
felt her face growing hot again as she glared at Jordan. “It’s not entirely a pleasure house.”
Jordan lifted his eyebrow at her suggestively. “Why, didn’t you find it pleasurable being there with me?”
Israel turned his eyes to Alyx, and she felt herself wanting to shrink away under his stare. “You went to a pleasure house with him?”
“It’s not what you think. We were just there to gather information.”
“Well, I like Jordan’s idea,” said Vix. “What do we all think of that?”
The conversation steered back to the topic at hand. Alyx felt herself flood with relief. Vix caught Alyx’s eye and mouthed, you’re welcome.
“What about the Purgatory staff?” asked Aaban. “Can they be trusted if we hold a meeting of this importance on their premises? What about spies or eavesdroppers?”
“Lady Bluesette is very discreet,” said Jordan. “And her staff are bound under the terms of their employment not to take sides. We can ask Lady Bluesette to restrict any demons from entering the ballroom. I have heard that she can enchant areas of Purgatory so that certain races are kept out. Any demon or Darkened trying to watch or listen in won’t be able to.”
“But, honestly…” gasped Belle. “Purgatory?”
“We could argue about this all day, but we need to make a decision,” Tobias said. “I think the three of us chiefs should vote about putting this to the community members.”
“Well, I’m in, regardless of what you guys vote,” said Vix. “I’m ready to kick Samyara’s ass to Hell. Wait…he’s already there…”
“Well I’m not interested in letting my people go anywhere near demons. It’s a stupid idea that’s going to get us all killed,” Belle screeched, then crossed her arms. “Absolutely a no from me.”
“Doing nothing is a greater risk, Belle,” Tobias said. “I vote yes.”
All eyes in the room turned to Aaban. He leaned back in his seat, fiddling with his beard as he appeared pensive. His hands waved about as he spoke. “On one hand I agree with Belle. Our communities have suffered so much loss already that a direct attack on Samyara seems like suicide.” He paused.
