Zoe raises her head a fraction of an inch, and her hands clench into fists. She is fighting him, and my rage turns to hope. If there is anything of her left, our plan may still work.
A dozen Bureau agents wait outside the building, and I am about to call for the attack when Zoe’s gaze locks onto mine. A hoarse sob escapes her throat, and Thorn pulls her against him as he scans the room.
“Ah, Sinclair, my old friend. I hoped you would join us. Where are you?”
Zoe’s bright green eyes have gone dull, her mind once again under Thorn's control. He will root through her memories, caring little what damage he does, until he sees me as she did. I cannot let her suffer any more than she already has.
“Right here.” Pushing through the crowd, I stand only feet away, and Regina quickly appears at my side.
“You will not move,” she says, her voice as sweet and compelling as I remember. But my love for Zoe breaks the mental chains she attempts to use to bind me. I have a reason to fight now, and I will die before I give in. Before I lose Zoe.
“Fuck off.” I let my wings unfurl, send her flying back into the crowd, and sprint towards Thorn until the silver blade in his hand catches the light.
“Not another step, Sinclair, or I will destroy her.” The tip of the blade presses to Zoe’s breast, and blood stains the white silk.
Zoe cries out, first a tiny whimper, then a scream, and with one final, long look at me—one filled with sorrow, determination, and love, her eyes roll back in her head, and she and Thorn crumple to the ground.
Thirty-Two
Zoe
Fusing my consciousness to Thorn's is the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Far worse than the centuries I spent being remade, time I now remember in excruciating detail.
Seraphiel kept me locked in a prison of my own body while he chipped away at my mind one memory at a time. Each one was precious to me, and though I’d been human for only weeks at that point, I remembered what it was to live. Until he took that as well.
Now, I will never live again. The descent to the Underworld is dizzying and faster than I anticipated. I hold Sin’s face in my mind—what is left of it anyway—for Thorn has had centuries of life lending him strength, where I have not even managed two years.
He struggles against my hold, cursing me, trying to tear my consciousness to shreds, but while whatever made me...me...will soon be gone, I was created for this purpose alone. I have the power to hold on long enough for the fires of Hell to surround us.
They’re getting closer now, and I marvel that I can feel them as if I still had a physical body. Opening my eyes, I gasp as I see that somehow, I do. In a way. We’re more like ghosts now. Echoes of what we once were. The first tongues of flames lick along our feet, and Thorn screams.
All around us, there’s nothing but endless suffering, and I can sense Lucifer’s presence looming just ahead. The devil laughs, almost gleeful. “How nice to see you again, you pathetic twat. You escaped right under my nose the last time, but now...you will be forever mine.“
“I freed myself once. I will do it again,” Thorn hisses, and I tighten my hold on his immortal soul.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I manage.
“You are nothing but a weak, pathetic human with a single touch of the divine, bitch.”
Lucifer chuckles again. “Hardly. She is a daughter of seraphim, and the bond she formed with you is unbreakable.”
Fiery shackles lock Thorn's ephemeral wrist to mine, and I take a small measure of joy—the last I’ll ever feel—from his scream.
The devil reaches for his pitchfork—I’d thought that was a myth until now—and stabs Thorn through the heart. The agony is like nothing I’ve ever felt, but I take solace from knowing that at least I saved the man I love.
Sin
“No! Zoe!”
Bureau agents stream into the facility, but I have eyes only for the woman I love. Her skin is ashen, her eyes open and staring, and when I pull her into my arms, I know.
She’s gone.
Her heart no longer beats, and it is little comfort knowing that Thorn died along with her. I kick his body out of the way so I can sit with her and plead with the Almighty to do something.
Fingers dig into my calf, and I tear my gaze from Zoe’s lifeless eyes. Dion is on her knees, tears glistening on her cheeks. “She knew she wouldn’t survive, Sin. She asked me to tell you...she loved you.”
Too weak to hold herself up any longer, Dion collapses, and Mad comes to her aid, helping her into the arms of one of the Bureau’s mages as I scan the room. The two human men are dead. As is Regina. I broke her neck when I batted her away, and whatever immortality she possessed must have been tied to Thorn. The other women on the dais are all still alive, though two of them are so far gone, they barely respond to the mages at all.
“Sinclair.” The commander stands over us, eyes glistening. “Tell me she isn’t dead.”
“She sacrificed herself to save the others,” I manage over the lump in my throat. “And to save me.”
“But how?”
Gabriel joins Eve, followed by Killian and Mad. I can’t look at any of them. Only Zoe. Her skin is cold now, her lips blue, and I cannot stop my tears from falling as I hold her close and tell her over and over again that I will love her until my last breath.
The archangel is saying something. Explaining, I think. But I care little. Until Mad claps his hand on my shoulder. “Sin. Did you hear what Killian said?”
Blinking hard so I can see the warlock’s face through my anguish, I shake my head.
“If Gabriel is correct—“
“Of course I’m correct. I’m a fucking angel, you British bastard.”
“Shut it,” Killian snaps before returning his focus to me. “Zoe bound her consciousness to that arse’s and descended into the Underworld, yeah?”
“Yes,” I say softly.
“And there are only two ways out of Hell. Either Lucifer decides to let you go, or an angel comes to retrieve you.”
“An angel can only retrieve a physical being,” I say, almost too weary to continue this conversation. It will not bring Zoe back to me, and I wish to be alone with my grief. “That is how Gabriel and the others freed me, but it will not work with a soul. That requires a tether to a consciousness in the earthen or celestial realm, and more power than has ever been amassed before.”
Mad kneels next to me, pride shining in his eyes. “You don’t know my mate, Sin. He brought me back to life. And he knows more about magic than any witch of this age.”
“Warlock,” Killian says with a sigh. “Why can’t people get it through their heads...” Throwing up his hands, he makes an exasperated groan. “Never mind. Sin, many years ago, my mentor gave me a book of ancient spells and told me to memorize them because one day, I’d need them. Most were rubbish, but one...” He runs a hand through his dark hair, then looks to Gabriel. “If you can gather enough angelic power, I think I can create the tether.”
“How much do you need?” Gabriel asks.
“As much as you can give me.”
The archangel steps into the center of the now empty room. Only the commander, Mad and Killian remain with me and Zoe’s body.
“Brace yourselves.” Gabriel closes his eyes, unfurls his wings, and raises his hands in supplication. “This...is going to hurt.”
For several moments, nothing happens, but then the air in the room thickens, and the building’s walls shake, bits of concrete falling from the ceiling. Killian shields us, his magic sending the shards bouncing away harmlessly, until power explodes in a massive circle around Gabriel, blowing the entire top floor of the power house away so the night sky and a full moon illuminate a cloud of dust.
When it settles, we gape at the sight. Six angels, including Michael himself, stand with Gabriel, and the archangel I once considered the biggest asshole in the celestial realm glances around with a smug grin. “Is this enough...warlock?”
Killian s
taggers to his feet and wipes a bit of blood from his ear. The pressure change when one angel appears is enough to damage a human eardrum. Six? I am amazed any of us are still alive.
“Not bad, angel. Not bad at all.”
I refuse to let go of Zoe. “If I maintain contact with her physical body, it will strengthen my consciousness,” I say, and Killian frowns.
“It might, but it will be harder for me to pull you back along the tether if you fail.”
“You assume I am going to fail.”
“This plan is as daft as they come,” the warlock says. “It will take a miracle for you to be able to separate her from Thorn down there, and that’s assuming you can even find her. I know I can pull you back to this realm with the tether. The rest...? It’s a bloody crapshoot.”
I reach for my brother’s hand and hold on tight. “Mad, I have to do this. You understand why?”
He touches his forehead to mine. “I would do the same thing for Killian. And Sin, I forgive you.”
Commander Eve clears her throat. “Will someone explain to me why Sinclair appears to be saying his final goodbyes?”
I meet her gaze. “Because if I cannot rescue Zoe and bring her back with me, I am going to release my hold on the tether and let Hell take me.”
“You will do no such—“
“I will, Grayson. This is my mate. My one true love. We found each other in two lifetimes. Do you have any idea how rare that is? I will not lose her again. If I cannot be with her in this realm, I will suffer alongside her for all eternity.”
“Then you damn well better get her back,” she says. “Because you and I are going to have some serious words about following Bureau procedures when you return, and if you stay in Hell, I just might come down there after you to rip you a new one.” Her voice cracks, and she stalks away, leaving only my brother, his mate, and the angels to watch over me.
“Are you ready?” Killian asks.
I caress Zoe’s cheek, my tears, which I cannot seem to stop, giving her an ethereal glow, almost as if her angelic origins are shining through. “I will find you, my pearl. My one and only. Hold on. I am coming.”
Meeting Killian’s gaze, I nod. “Do it.”
The warlock draws a series of runes in the air, and they glow with his magic, like fireworks hovering six feet above the ground. He begins a low chant, his words too soft for me to hear, and the angels form a circle around us and join hands.
A thunderous crack is accompanied by a light so bright, it burns my eyes, and Killian shouts, “Sin! Get ready!”
The sensation of one’s soul being sucked from one’s body is indescribable. There is pain, of course, but also a loss so great, it dwarfs all but the most intense grief. It is nothing compared to what I felt when Zoe sacrificed herself, and I lean in to the physical and mental anguish, welcoming it, and letting go of my physical form so I can fall into the depths of Hell and rescue the only woman I have ever loved.
Thirty-Three
Sin
When I brought Thorn and Regina to Hell centuries ago, I held each of them in one arm and flew. For an angel, the Underworld is accessible only through a single passage on the way to the celestial realm. A detour, if you will. At least in corporeal form.
Now, I am nothing but consciousness, yet, as I watch myself sink into the fiery depths, I can still see my body. Not the distinct, solid form it has in the remains of the power station, but a hazy, diffuse existence, as if I am phasing in and out.
The angelic tether glows around my waist, and I run my fingers over it, feeling the power of those I never thought would help me again.
Fire surrounds me, setting my clothing ablaze, another surprise. How can I feel my leather jacket burning? The soles of my boots melting? My socks bursting into flames?
This is Hell, and anything is possible here.
I grit my teeth against the pain that is only in my mind, but feels every bit as real as when I offered my body to Lucifer in exchange for keeping the most vile demon in existence prisoner. The Devil owes me for his failure. One soul. Zoe’s. And I intend to collect on the debt.
Until I am faced with the sight—and sounds—of my failures. The women I let die, everyone Thorn drove mad with pain and fear to feed his insatiable appetites. They surround me, and it matters little that I know they are not real.
I falter, crying out in anguish as I press my hands to my eyes so I will not have to see. The images are too vivid. Too real. The stench of the underground caverns in Florence. Human waste. Blood. Terror. The feel of the lash against my back. Of the chains he used to bind me, and the iron bars beneath my feet.
Thorn's consciousness will be somewhere in the flaming river of blood. As I reach Phlegethon’s banks, I fall to my knees and beg for strength. I burned in these very waters for so long, and now, I feel as if I’m drowning yet again. Doubts creep into my thoughts. I failed Zoe twice. Perhaps I am not strong enough, not worthy of her love, of happiness, of any peace. My crimes are legion, and while I have paid for them a thousand times over, is it enough? Will it ever be enough?
The glow of the tether is fading. Killian warned me he did not know how long he could hold the spell. I should release it—and him. As I fumble for the knot, a desperate wail carries over the roar of the flames.
Zoe.
She is close. And her soul has not yet succumbed to madness. For when that happens, she will stop screaming.
I focus all of my energy on the sound of her voice and dive into the flames.
Zoe
Whatever I imagined before I pulled Thorn with me to the Underworld, the reality is infinitely worse. At my side, he writhes and curses the devil, fighting against the chains weighing us down, submerging us up to our necks in a river of fire and blood. My throat is raw, and my skin—despite my lack of a physical body—burns, regenerates, and burns again. Ash clogs my lungs, and when Thorn tires of railing at Lucifer, he turns to me, beating me, choking me, and trying to force my head beneath the surface.
It does not matter what he does. This is where we will spend eternity. But he can hasten my descent into madness, and despite how badly I wanted to live, I know I never will again. Seconds in Hell feel like a century, and when I close my eyes, I relive every moment this demon spent feeding off of others’ fear.
“Zoe!”
“No,” I wail. “Do not torment me with thoughts of him! This...this is enough. I accept my guilt. My sentence. I cannot endure a memory of true happiness!”
Lucifer is an asshole. Why else would he send me a vision of Sin racing for me, love shining in his blue eyes.
“Zoe, take my hand,” the vision says, and oh, how I want to. But this is a trick. A way for the devil to make my endless torment so much worse. “Zoe, my precious pearl, please. We have little time. I can save you!”
Next to me, Thorn tries to push me under again, and this time, I don’t fight him. The crackling, flaming waters swallow me, and the agony increases a hundred fold. Until a hand plunges beneath the surface and grabs my arm, pulling me up so I’m face to face with the memory of my one true love.
“You have a gift, Zoe. One that lets you see the truth in a person’s eyes. Look into mine now. See me,” the vision of Sin begs.
I can’t help it. I want so much to see him again that I do as he asks. Oh, my God. He’s here. His soul is in Hell, half-submerged in the flaming waters with me. “Sin?”
“Yes, my love. My Zoe. Give me your hands. There is still time.”
I show him the fiery shackle that locks me to Thorn. “I can’t. There’s nothing that can free me, Sin. Even if there were, we can’t leave. You should know this better than anyone...”
Sin grabs our wrists and pulls, but that only tightens the flaming metal and draws a hoarse whimper from my throat.
Rage consumes my lover’s eyes, and a red ring surrounds the sapphire blue. He’s weakening. “If you have a way out, Sin, take it. Now. Before it’s too late.”
“Lucifer!” he shouts. “You know she do
es not deserve this! Do something! I have the angels on my side. The Almighty’s blessing. If you stand in my way...”
With a crack, the devil himself appears before me and hefts his pitchfork. “I am not a complete twat, Sinclair. But you cannot deny me a modicum of fun.” With a grin, he swings the weapon down, and the manacle around my wrist shatters into dust. The chains wrapped around my legs fall away, and I lunge for Sin, clinging to his neck.
“Thank you,” Sin says, and Lucifer nods.
“Go. I cannot hold him here for long without her. Close the portal before he can follow, burn his body in the earthen realm, and he will never be able to escape again.”
Sin reaches down and tugs on what looks for all the world like a glowing rope tied around his waist. We start to rise, slowly at first, but picking up speed with every passing second.
I can feel his pain along with my own. We’re still burning, still hearing the screams of the damned, but there’s a pinprick of light high above that’s getting brighter.
“How?” I whisper, holding on with all the strength I have left.
Sin presses a kiss to my blistered lips. “Love.”
I can see the earthen realm. Our lifeless bodies intertwined with Sin’s arms around me. But there’s more. Angels. Gabriel, Ariel, Cassiel, Raphael, Azrael, and even Michael. Standing together, hands clasped, wings like beacons in the night sky. And another. One who looks so much like Sin he can only be his brother.
As Sin grasps Gabriel’s hand, Thorn lets out a roar and wraps his arms around my legs. It’s so sudden, and we’re moving so fast, that I’m ripped away from Sin before I can scream.
“Zoe!” Sin dives down and grabs both of my hands. I’m being torn apart, my soul split between life and death, and I can do nothing but focus on the pure, raw grief in Sin’s eyes.
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