Champion (War Angel Academy Book 3)

by S. J. West

  When we all reach the large iron doors of the castle, Jered and Ethan are standing in the open doorway looking out across the front lawn.

  “Is it him?” Cal demands to know as he almost barrels through the two men to get outside. Ethan grabs his son by the arms and forces him to stop. “Is it my son?”

  “Of course it’s your boy,” I hear Levi’s mocking voice before either Jules or I reach the doorway. He sounds as smug as ever.

  Cal has his wings spread out as far as they will reach, blocking my view of what’s happening outside.

  “Calm down!” Ethan orders, shaking Cal for good measure. “You’ll do him no good in this state. Let me handle this. Please, son. Trust me. He’s baiting you so you’ll go into a blind rage and make a mistake. Don’t let him use you to win. Do you understand me?”

  Cal struggles to get free of his dad’s hold one more time, but finally, his father’s words begin to sink in past his temper. When his wings begin to lower, I know Cal has regained his senses . . . for now.

  Now that my view isn’t obstructed anymore, I can see why Cal would want to storm outside and confront the monster who finally decided to slither out of the Void.

  Levi has a boy who looks to be around the age of eighteen facing the castle on his knees wearing only a pair of jeans. Levi’s lightning rope is tight around his throat, illuminating his handsome, yet wounded, face. You can hear the sizzle of burning flesh from Levi’s rope.

  Now that his son is calmer, Ethan turns to face Levi.

  “Leave the boy and get off my world, Levi!” Ethan shouts.

  Levi tightens the rope around the boy’s neck, causing him to grimace in pain. “You’re not a very good host, Ethan. When a houseguest brings you a gift, you shouldn’t yell for them to go away. I thought you would have at least learned some manners by now.”

  “Gift?” Jules’s eyes light up with hope. “Maybe he’s here to give us Cal’s son.”

  “But why?” Jered asks. “That doesn’t make any sense. I expected him to use the boy as a bargaining chip, not a gift.”

  “Why would you simply give us the boy back when you went to so much trouble to steal him in the first place?” Ethan shouts.

  “Call it a peace offering.” Levi bows his head slightly in Ethan’s direction. “I know it must have been very upsetting for all of you when I had Rayna kidnap him for me. Honestly, I thought he would be more powerful than he turned out to be. I can’t tell you how disappointing it was when I learned he couldn’t do what I originally planned. To tell you the truth, it was rather heart wrenching when I discovered that.”

  “I’d like to wrench his heart right out of his body,” Cal growls. He’s barely holding on to his anger, and I can’t blame him. “Why don’t one of you just phase over there and get my son?”

  “If we did that,” Jered says in a calm voice, “Levi could simply rip his head off with the rope that’s around his neck. Patience, Cal. We’ll get your boy.”

  “Anyway,” Levi sounds bored with the conversation, “I came to return him to you. Once I become the new God, I hope we can all just get along with one another. With me in charge, world peace may finally be obtainable.”

  “Do you really think we’re going to believe the bullshit you’re spouting?” Ethan asks. “Leave the boy and get the hell off my lawn, Levi.”

  Levi shakes his head in dismay. “Here I am, returning something valuable and you treat me like a commoner. You’ll come to regret doing that, Ethan. Mark my words, you’ll remember this moment and wish you had been kinder to me. All it would have taken is a simple thank you. Remember I said that. Remember it well.”

  Levi’s rope disappears from the boy’s throat and he phases away.

  Ethan touches Cal’s arm and the two of them are beside the boy in an instant.

  The rest of us simply run down the stairs and over the lawn to reach them.

  When we get closer to Cal’s son, the stench of body odor and burning flesh makes me want to gag, but I don’t. Cal has his boy back. I’m not about to ruin this moment for him by being weak.

  “Son,” Cal says, as he takes a knee in front of the boy. “Can you hear me?”

  His son’s eyes are glazed over. I’ve seen the look before. Most people reach a point in their torture where they completely zone out and go somewhere safer inside their mind. The boy’s body is covered in old scars, and his fresh wounds ooze some sort of yellow pus. His blond hair is dirty and looks like it was cut by a two-year-old with scissors. The state of him breaks my heart. I can’t imagine the agony Cal is feeling as he finally comes face to face with his son and finds him in such disarray.

  “Cal,” Jules says, drawing her son’s attention, “maybe if you heal him it will help.”

  Cal nods and instantly places his hands over his son’s worst wounds across his chest and abdomen. As his hands glow golden, we all watch as the wounds seal up, like they were never there. When Cal tries to place his hands on his son’s neck, the boy seems to wake from his stupor and instantly begins to back away from us in fear.

  “You’re safe.” Cal faces his hands out so the boy can see that he has nothing in them. “You’re home. Do you understand?”

  “Home?” the boy asks, looking at the large castle behind Cal. “This doesn’t look like my home.”

  “Your back where you have always belonged,” Ethan tells him. “We’re your real family. What’s your name?”

  The boy looks frantically around, and I fear he’ll try to run. He has very few places he can phase to in this world. He was only here for a day as a baby, and I seriously doubt he remembers the places he went back then.

  “I . . . I’m Leo.” Leo looks directly at Cal. “Who are you? Why do we look so much alike?”

  The resemblance is striking. Since they’re practically the same age now, anyone who saw Cal and Leo together would assume they were brothers.

  “I’m your father, Leo.” Cal doesn’t push it any further than that. He lets his words sink in and do their job.

  “He told me,” Leo swallows hard before continuing, “that time moved slower in the Void than the living world. Is that where we are? The living world?”

  Cal nods, but still doesn’t say anything. He patiently waits for Leo to adjust to his new reality.

  “What were you about to do to my neck?” Leo asks, peering at his father’s hands warily.

  “I was going to heal the wounds there. I still can if you’ll let me.” Cal doesn’t move an inch. It’s obvious he plans to let Leo make the first move.

  Cautiously, Leo scoots in closer to Cal and leans forward to give his father easy access to his neck. With great care, Cal places one hand on the front and one hand on the back of Leo’s throat. After only a few seconds, the scent of burnt flesh begins to fade and Cal removes his hands to reveal baby soft skin.

  “Are you hurt anywhere else?” Cal asks. “I healed the wounds I could see before you realized where you were.”

  Leo shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Thanks for doing that though. You didn’t have to.”

  “Yes, I did,” Cal says in no uncertain terms. “We did everything we could think of to get you back. You need to know that you were loved and cared for. We loved you. I love you.”

  Leo doesn’t say anything. What is there to say, really? Cal may be his father, but he’s also a stranger. It’s going to take some time for Cal to build a relationship with his son. The one that was stolen from them by Rayna and Levi.

  Cal stands to his feet and holds a hand out for Leo to take. His son doesn’t accept it right away, but after a few seconds, he allows Cal to help him up from the ground.

  “I didn’t know you even existed until a few months ago,” Leo tells Cal.

  “I’m sorry you had to grow up with that monster for a father. I would have given anything to bring you back here where you belonged.”

  “I believe you.” Leo drops his gaze but I see him glance uneasily at the rest of us out of the corners of his eyes. “Do you t
hink we could talk alone for a few minutes?”

  “Of course.” Cal walks up to his son.

  “Wait,” Jered says. “I hate to do this, but Leo, do you know what Levi has planned next? Do you know anything that might help us defeat him?”

  Leo shakes his head. “He didn’t tell me much. I’m sorry.”

  Jered sighs disappointedly but nods in acceptance.

  Cal places a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder as they begin to walk back to the castle together.

  “Let’s give them a few minutes,” Ethan says as we all watch them walk away. “I don’t want to crowd them. Their reunion will end up being shorter than they deserve as it is. Levi isn’t through with us, and we need to prepare for what happens next.”

  While Ethan and Jered begin discussing where to station troops in preparation for Levi’s impending assault, Jules and I keep an eye on Cal and Leo. We see Cal grin about something Leo tells him. I have no idea what was said, but it warms my heart to see Cal smile at his and Rose’s son. I’m sure Rose would be happy to know that her son is with his father now and their relationship is slowly starting to build.

  “I feared we would never see the two of them together again,” Jules says to me. “It’s like a miracle just happened. Why do you think Levi brought him here? It was almost kind, which is way out of character for him.”

  “Maybe the Void has softened him up,” I suggest, but even I have to shake my head at that theory. “Or maybe part of him felt guilty for what he did.”

  “Neither of those sound like they could apply to Levi.”

  She’s right. I’m stumped for an answer, but perhaps we shouldn’t question the good things that happen in life and simply learn how to accept them. Cal has his son back. That’s all that matters.

  As the pair approach the stairs leading up to the front veranda, Leo stops at the foot of them to turn to Cal. Words are exchanged. Cal smiles again, and opens his arms to Leo. For the first time, my friend accepts a hug from his son. His large wings wrap around Leo, shielding the special moment from bystanders. I feel like I’m intruding on their special moment and end up looking away.

  It’s not until I hear a guard shout that I look back. By then, it’s too late.

  Cal stumbles backward, clutching his chest before collapsing to the ground.

  Ethan grabs Jules’s arm and phases them to their son. Jered quickly places a hand on my shoulder and phases us closer.

  Cal’s chest has been cut open so deep I can literally see his beating heart. Blood spurts from his mouth as Ethan holds him in his arms.

  “Get Desmond!” Ethan screams.

  Jered phases to do as Ethan demands, but he has to know Desmond can’t heal a wound like this. Cal could, but, as fate would have it, he’s unable to heal himself. Lying on the ground beside Cal is a bloody dagger. Leo must have had it hidden in his pants and only brought it out when they were hidden from our view. Cal’s son is nowhere to be seen. Presumably, he phased away, leaving his father to die.

  Jules kneels on the other side of Cal as she attempts to stem the flow of blood from the wound, but it’s too late. There’s nothing they can do. There’s nothing anyone can do.

  “Dad,” Cal says, his voice gurgles as blood continues to stream out of his mouth, “don’t . . . blame . . . Leo. Promise . . .”

  “You hold on,” Ethan says instead, rocking Cal in his arms like you would a child who is hurt. “You’ll be all right, son. Just hold on until Desmond gets here. Where the hell is he?”

  “I love you,” Jules says, cradling Cal’s face in her red stained hands. “I will always love you, my baby boy. Always.”

  Cal nods to let her know he heard her declaration of love before he closes his eyes. He takes one last breath before I see his heart stop beating.

  Jules screams. Her voice is filled with the pain of a mother who has lost her only child and lost a part of her heart that she will never get back.

  Ethan continues to silently rock Cal in his arms, unwilling to let him go. Unwilling to accept what’s happened. Tears stream down his face as the weight of his loss begins to sink in.

  I fall to my knees from the weight of my own grief. Cal was one of the first people I ever befriended. He was sweet, kind, and generous. He didn’t deserve this. How could his own son murder him?

  Everything boils down to Levi. Spending all those years in the Void with that monster must have twisted Leo in ways we never suspected. This had to have been their plan from the beginning, but why kill Cal? Without being able to draw on the power within the Void he doesn’t have any special powers, except for healing. Why was killing Cal the first thing Levi needed to do?

  I quickly get my answer.

  A sonic boom practically pierces my eardrums. When I look up at the night sky, hope drains out of me like water through a sieve.

  Several portals have opened all at once between us and the Void. Flying through them are my sisters and a host of leviathans.

  The war may be lost before it’s even begun.

  17

  As soon as the creatures from the Void begin entering our world, everything is set into motion.

  Still mourning Cal’s death, Ethan phases himself, Jules and Cal’s body inside the castle. I hope they find the strength to fight, but I would understand if they didn’t. Losing a child has to be the worst thing that can happen to a parent, and to lose him in such a horrible, senseless way would probably tear me apart from the inside out.

  “Lora!” Jered calls out. I stand to my feet. “Go back to the academy with Desmond. He’s in charge of defending it, and I’ll be bringing in more troops to help.”

  Without wasting any time, Jered phases to start rounding up our off-world support. Desmond grabs my arm to phase me right outside my dorm room.

  “Get dressed. Get your weapons, and meet me downstairs as soon as possible,” he instructs. He phases, no doubt to arm himself as well.

  When I enter my room, I find Emi already dressed in her formal uniform and strapping on her sword and plasma gun.

  Her hands are shaking. I see fear in her eyes when she looks up at me, but I also see immeasurable courage.

  “The portals from the Void have just opened,” I tell her while running to my wardrobe to pull out my own uniform. It was designed to provide protection against sustained blows from swords and gun fire. The only thing it won’t protect me from is a bullet made from the purple gemstones found in the Black Castle. I pray no one thought to bring one of those from the Void to end my life.

  “It’s really happening, isn’t it?”

  Her voice quavers with fear. It’s obvious she’s in shock, but she’s going to have to snap out of it if any of us are going to make it out of this war alive.

  “I prayed Azrael would be back by now,” she says as I quickly change clothes. “I was hoping he went to the Void to kill everyone in Levi’s army before they even had a chance to come here. Have you seen him? Did he ever come back?”

  “I haven’t seen him.” I tug on my boots and grab my gold sword, my last gift from Lux and the one thing I hope will keep me alive today. “I don’t think he’s come back yet or he would have found me.”

  While I strap on my sword, I hear Emi breathe in and out deeply in a vain attempt to calm her nerves. I walk over to stand in front of her. She looks me in the eyes and starts shaking her head.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” she confesses in a whisper. “Killing holo-sims is one thing, but killing real people and creatures . . . I don’t know if I’m strong enough, Lora.”

  I place my hands on her shoulders and hold her gaze steady with mine.

  “You are doing this to protect the people in this academy. If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s the fact that you’re braver than you realize. Don’t think about it as killing people. Think about it as defending your sister and your friends. Trust me, the people who are coming here today don’t care about you. They’re killing machines. All they care about is pleasing Levi and that
is one man we don’t need ruling Heaven. You can do this, Emi. I believe in you.”

  My words give her enough courage to hold her shoulders straighter and stand at least an inch taller.

  “Let’s go,” she says with as much bravado as she can muster.

  By the time we make it downstairs, all of the teachers at the academy (including Cleo) are there giving instruction on what to do and where to go. I spot Silas right away standing with Keelan, Kodi, Zoe, Sariah, and Storm. My heart breaks at the sight of them. They don’t know that Cal is dead. Do I tell them? Do I wait?

  Telling them now would only break them like it has Ethan and Jules. I need them all to be focused on what’s happening here, not mourning the death of one of our best friends. There’s nothing any of us can do to help Cal, but we can fight to protect this world and each other.

  “Cadets!” Desmond shouts, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “I need all senior cadets to split into three sections: one to guard the front, one to guard the back, and one to guard the Spire. Junior cadets, I ask that you remain in the building. You will stay with Professors Verati and Travis as the last line of defense!”

  “Seriously?” Kodi complains. “Maybe I can sneak out with you guys.”

  Zoe grabs his arm. “Don’t, Kodi. I need you to stay in here with me.”

  Emi points a finger at him. “And I need you here to keep my sister safe, understand?”

  Kodi still appears crestfallen that he won’t be able to help in the fight, but he nods his head and takes one of Zoe’s hands with his.

  “Team Drakonus,” Desmond says as he walks up to us, “I need you over by the Spire in the back.” He looks at Kodi and Zoe. “Would the two of you mind helping Warlan in the infirmary? We’re going to have a lot of casualties coming in.”

  “Yes, commander,” they both say.

  “Good. Let’s all get to our stations.” Desmond walks away.

  Emi and Zoe share what I hope isn’t a last hug with one another.

  “You listen to what they tell you to do in here, okay?” Emi says, hugging Zoe even tighter. “I love you more than life. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that.”