Fate's Kiss

by Elysabeth Grace

  An apparition moved into what light existed in the bed chamber. It was a man who bore a striking resemblance to Anne. Her twin.

  Gabriel stared at Christopher Willoughby for a second. “You have the ability to do this? To cast your shadow at a distance?”

  “I do. What can you tell me about my twin? Where is she?”

  Gabriel eased the knife back into place. “Anne and the courtesans are being kept in the warehouse at the end of the lane.”

  “Where is Bella?”

  Willoughby’s sharp tone didn’t escape Gabriel’s notice. Bella obviously meant something to the man. “She chose to remain at Holland’s League to protect the few remaining witches not taken. She’s guarded by the men Malcolm and Ishmael.”

  “What do you intend to do to free my sister, since you’re the reason she’s in this mess in the first place?”

  The exasperation was evident and Gabriel hid his grin. Christopher Willoughby was very much like his sister.

  “Actually, I am the less impetuous one.”

  “That I can believe,” Gabriel laughed. “You have the ability to know my thoughts?”

  “Your bond with Anne created a link between us. It allows me to read only what is on the surface of your mind when it’s not guarded.”

  “Do you know what we face?”

  Air shifted in the room, bringing with it a slight chill. “Besides that idiot Mephistopheles and his demons? Only what I gleaned from Anne’s jumbled thoughts,” Kit said. “Satan’s visit to her was a surprise. He usually leaves matters to his henchmen. I assume he has an interest in her capture that goes beyond just my sister being your life mate. What I don’t know is why.”

  “There are several possible answers. The most obvious one is me. Mephistopheles sired me and —”

  The apparition’s hand gestured dismissively. “I’m aware of that.”

  Gabriel nodded. “Are you also aware my allegiance is not tied to my nature? Although I am undead, my will can’t be controlled by the demon king or any of the Fallen.” He ran his hand across his face. “Because of that minor flaw in my character, the demon king hopes to use Anne to force my loyalty.”

  “Will they succeed?”

  “My bond with your sister changes nothing,” Gabriel stated. “I will end the demon king’s life. A better explanation for Satan’s appearance is that he intends to oversee the creation of a new race of supernaturals with Anne and me as the parents.”

  Christopher’s apparition moved closer and Gabriel saw the expression of shock on his face. A knock on the door saved Gabriel from explaining more to Anne’s brother. “Your cousin and her husband are about to join us.”

  When he opened the door Asiya entered first. An expression of wonder on her face, she hurried to the apparition. “Kit, you’re here. Good, let’s go get Anne.”

  The apparition wrapped its arms around Asiya. “You and my sister have no patience.”

  With a side glance at Gabriel, Asiya snorted. “If her life mate hadn’t been so stupidly stubborn, she wouldn’t have been taken. It’s obvious he has no plan, so I have one.”

  “No, Siya,” Kit and Cadan yelled at the same time. Anne’s brother spoke first, his tone laced with humor. “I have been involved in your plans most of my life, Siya. Along with the scars to prove my loyalty. You know your plans don’t always turn out as you intend. I think we should let my sister’s life mate guide us.”

  Asiya turned and walked away, mumbling her irritation.

  Gabriel mouthed his thanks to Christopher before he said, “I assume the twin bond allows you to enter your sister’s thoughts.” At the apparition’s nod, he continued. “I will need you to stop her pain and any attempt to interfere.”

  “Why, what will you be doing?”

  “I need to remove the golden necklace,” Gabriel replied. “Ashborne, once she’s free you and Siya must get her and Maggie to safety.”

  He felt the intensity of Cadan’s gaze on his face. “You plan to face Mephistopheles alone. I don’t think that is wise, Demon.”

  “They shouldn’t have taken Anne,” he replied flatly. “I intend to end this cat and mouse game this day.”

  “She’s not going to like this,” Kit intruded.

  Gabriel shrugged. “It won’t be the first time your sister and I have disagreed.”

  “How many times has she thrown her dagger at you?” Kit asked.

  Laughter filled the chamber. “Once, and she’s threatened to castrate me at least twice. I suspect before our lives come to an end I will face Anne’s knife more times than I’ll be able to count.”

  “Men,” Asiya huffed. “You can debate whether my cousin will carve out Demon’s heart later. Shall we go?”

  Cadan grabbed her and kissed her deeply. “All in good time, Tamahaq. If it indeed is a trap, and I believe it is, the demon king will wait Gabriel’s arrival.”

  A soft rap on the door grabbed everyone’s attention. Gabriel lifted his head and then walked over to open it. Jonas strolled in, a satisfied grin on his lips. His steps faltered when he spied Kit’s apparition.

  “Come in, Jonas,” Gabriel said, grabbing the man’s wrist and tugging him into the room. “What you’re seeing is Anne’s brother, Christopher Willoughby.”

  “But . . . but, he’s a ghost, my lord,” Jonas stammered. “Shite, there’s nothing to him.”

  “It is a casting of his image. And why are you terrified? You keep company with an undead,” Gabriel stated drily.

  Jonas shuddered. “But you’re all flesh and bones, though you drink blood to survive. He’s just air, or whatever he is. He’s not really here but he’s here.”

  Laughter broke out in the room as Jonas stuttered his way toward some explanation and failed. Gabriel took pity on him and asked, “Have you discovered where Anne is being kept?”

  “Aye,” Jonas bobbed his head while keeping a nervous eye on Kit. “It’s definitely a trap. She’s being held in warehouse belonging to a merchant named Cosgrove. When I asked about him, there’s not much to tell except he does trade with a man named Peter Nathanson in the New York colony.”

  “And the building? I assume demons stand guard at the entrance.”

  “Now that’s bewildering, my lord,” Jonas said and scratched his head. “There’s no one. I did drink with one of the dock hands. He says there are several rooms that are used to keep the slaves about to be sent to the colonies. My suspicion is that’s where we’ll find Mistress Anne and the other ladies.”

  “Then we should be about our day, shouldn’t we?”

  Gabriel’s words provided the spark needed and everyone except Kit trooped out of the room. Gabriel and Jonas headed to the warehouse on foot while Cadan escorted Asiya to their carriage.

  Gabriel made a slight gesture to Jonas who lingered near the warehouse next to Cosgrove’s. Jonas glanced down the road for a few moments before he turned and nodded. Gabriel entered the warehouse. His stride as he walked down the hall was silent, determined, and deadly. He reached the end of the long corridor and finally sensed Anne’s presence. He slipped into her awareness and paused mid-step. Her pulse was weak and her breathing shallow.

  Christopher, see to my life mate.

  She’s fighting to keep me out. My obstinate sister is also keeping the woman with her in a deep sleep. It’s draining her.

  Gabriel hurried until he reached the door to the room where Anne was being held. He entered and immediately spied his life mate. She and Maggie were huddled together in a dimly lit corner. Anne held the other woman in her arms. Crossing over to them, he kneeled beside her. “Let your twin help you, life mate.”

  Anne’s eyelashes lifted slowly and her gaze focused on his face. “You came.”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t? You’re my life as I am yours. Let Kit aid you so I can remove this thing from your neck.”

  When Anne started to shake her head, Gabriel swiftly entered her mind and Christopher followed. Once her twin enveloped her awareness, Gabriel withdrew. Hi
s fingers touched the metal. It flashed hot against his flesh as he slowly removed the collar from Anne’s throat.

  “Take strength from me, life mate,” he said. At her hesitation, he stroked her cheek. “I need your help to get Maggie to safety. Ashborne and your stubborn cousin are waiting outside. Do this for me, my love.”

  As strength flowed into her, he stood and offered her his hand. She rose and walked unsteadily to the door. Gabriel lifted Maggie into his arms and followed. “Do not touch the handle, Anne. There is gold woven into it.”

  She stepped to one side. The handle clicked and the door swung open without human intervention. Gabriel hurried her down the corridor and outside to where a carriage waited. He watched Asiya rush to Anne’s side and wrap her arms around her cousin’s shoulders. Gabriel handed Maggie to Jonas before he exchanged a look with Cadan. His friend inclined his head and hurried everyone inside the carriage.

  As she climbed into the coach, Anne turned to speak to Gabriel and realized he wasn’t behind her. Her eyes frantically searched for him before she climbed out and raced back to the building. She gripped the door’s handle and twisted. It was locked. “Gabriel, what are you doing?”

  Gabriel altered the molecules of the wood so no one could enter. It was to protect Anne from herself. “Go with your cousin, love. Once I know you’re safe, I can face him.”

  She began to pound on the door. “You need me. Let me in,” she screamed.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and whirled, her dagger drawn. Cadan gently pulled her away from the door and toward the carriage. “If Demon knows you’re safe, he can fight without worry. Come Anne, we need to get you and Maggie safely away.”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. She glanced back at the door. “Gabriel, please don’t do this.”

  When they reached the carriage, she felt another pair of arms encircle her. Asiya pulled her close. “Anne, you need to let Demon fight this battle. If you and he are to be free to love, he needs to confront the one who sired him.”

  Anne stared at the warehouse door, her tears falling freely. “I can’t leave him, Siya. You don’t understand. It’s why Fate matched us. He needs me to live.”

  30

  Gabriel leaned his head against the locked door as the carriage rolled away. The sound of Anne’s tearful pleas was like a knife to his soul, cutting deeply and surely. His fingers had reached for the door handle before he jerked them back. He wouldn’t endanger her any more than he had. She was his weakness and his strength. She was the heart he hadn’t known he possessed. She was the love he craved and believed he would never have. She was the reason he existed. She was his life as he was hers. She was his everything.

  Your mother was human and she taught me the capacity to love, to care, and have a conscience is both a gift and a curse.

  Gabriel blinked as the words shunted into his mind. Anne had said this before he stormed out of Holland’s League. Even though it was his mother’s decision, knowing Anne’s hand was the instrument of her death still hurt. His mother had been alive for most of his childhood. He could have saved her. There was no need for Anne to commit murder, to take away the one thing he had wanted most of his life.

  That thought is unfair, and not of your making, Gabriel. Exercise care when you face your enemy. Raphael’s voice whispered in his head.

  The man Gabriel heard the archangel but the orphaned boy, terrified of what he’d become, had risen to the surface. It was the boy who screamed the unfairness, who cursed Fate. The boy whose anger had nearly driven him to harm Anne, because he believed it wasn’t fair the woman who drove a dagger into his mother’s heart was bound to him for all eternity. It wasn’t fair, the boy protested silently, that the man loved Anne more than life itself and forgave her. It was the boy Gabriel who struggled to accept the idea that the woman who gave birth to him, who begged an archangel to save him, had chosen to embrace death instead of her son.

  She didn’t prefer death over you, Gabriel. She refused to become Mephistopheles’ pawn. He intended to use her to win you to his side, or attempt to breed another you.

  And the demon lord would have won. To save his mother, the child Gabriel would have accepted servitude.

  He laid his palm against the door. The wood felt warm to his flesh. Anne’s broken sobs lingered in the door’s thickness; her pleas inscribed in the whorls that escaped the carpenter’s plane. He hadn’t told her how much he loved her. That because of her, he discovered his capacity to forgive, to love, to be human-like. She had gifted him that.

  I love you, Anne Willoughby.

  A soft sob floated into his awareness. I love you, Gabriel Elstone. Live for me, beloved. You are my life as I am yours.

  Gabriel turned and retraced his path to the room where Anne had been held. His fingers reached for the handle and paused. A sword materialized in his right hand and, his lips pressed together, he opened the door and walked inside.

  It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the shadowed chamber. He waved his hand and illumination erupted. His gut tightened as his gaze swept the room. In his rush to free Anne, he hadn’t notice the cell. It was one of the worst he’d seen. Sets of rusted iron manacles hung from spikes driven into the walls just high enough so the enslaved could sit on the floor. Ankle irons, each pair spaced a foot apart, were attached to the floor to restrict movement. Despite the cell’s size, the number of manacles indicated as many as twenty people could be held in the room.

  A small barred window was the only source of light and air once the door was closed. Intermingled with the residual odor of too many bodies pressed together in such an enclosed space was the smell of rot and death. Humans had died in the cell, perhaps even willing themselves to death. Over all the wretchedness, Gabriel scented the distinctive elemental power of demonic sorcery.

  His gaze drifted to one of the corners. Empty sacks had been gathered to create some type of bed. That was where Anne and Maggie had slept during their captivity. A rat scurried from beneath one of the sacks and Gabriel clenched his fists. The pallets in the fishermen’s cottage were far superior to these. He knew the filth and deprivation were intended to break a person’s spirit.

  “I am here,” he said.

  The room suddenly went black. When he pushed light into the space, Gabriel found himself in a larger, more opulent chamber. Before him, on a gilded throne, sat the one who sired him. Mephistopheles, Fallen angel and lord of all demons and the undead, outwardly beautiful yet inwardly so malevolent. Gray eyes stared back at Gabriel, amusement and curiosity in their depths.

  “Welcome, prince of the demons,” Mephistopheles greeted. “Demons and undead, greet my heir.”

  Gabriel winced when voices shouted his name and bowed to him. Despite the boisterous homage, his eyes never left the demon king. When the noise died, Mephistopheles spoke once more.

  “Have you come to offer your allegiance to me and Satan? Will you claim your birthright?”

  “Not really,” Gabriel said. “What I have come to do is claim your life.”

  Mephistopheles laughed. “You think to challenge your master and sire?”

  “No, I challenge a coward who preys on women and the weak,” Gabriel stated. He cocked his head to one side and grinned. “If I were to call anyone master, it would be Lucifer.”

  The demon king’s face stiffened with outrage. He rose from his throne and extended his open hand. A demon laid a sword’s hilt across his palm. “You are an even greater fool than I imagined. She is nothing, easily replaced. You are willing to sacrifice power for a female?”

  He came to stand a few feet from Gabriel. “I will not take your life. You are the only one of your kind and, though we are strangers to each other, my offspring. When you forfeit the contest, you will swear allegiance to me and Satan.”

  “And if you lose?”

  “I won’t,” Mephistopheles sneered. “I created you. I know everything about you, how you think, how you fight, and what terrifies you. You hold no surprises for me, Gabriel
. That said, I am keen to test your skills.”

  A different voice intruded into the momentary silence that passed between Gabriel and Mephistopheles at the demon king’s declaration. The silken voice sent an icy shiver through Gabriel. “You cannot defeat the one who gave you your life. It is better to accept your destiny than the pain you will suffer if you pursue your vengeance.”

  “I’d prefer to see the face of one who is giving advice, Uriel,” Gabriel said.

  Satan’s second in command took form and strode over to the empty throne. He extended his wings as the demons and undead bowed to him before he lowered himself to the throne.

  “You are the archangel Gabriel’s brother. Are you twins?”

  “No, Satan and Lucifer are the only angelic twins. My brother is a year older. He chose to adhere to false prophecy and fight to preserve the oligarchy. Are you certain that alliance is the hill on which you wish to die?”

  Gabriel appeared to consider Uriel’s words. “I’m undead and therefore lack the obsession with life that most humans have. If I did obsess about life, the hill I’d choose to die on is the one that gifted me my life mate.”

  The words were no sooner spoken than he attacked. A deft strike drew blood and a stunned look from Mephistopheles. Gabriel knew the demon king had not seriously considered him a threat, had underestimated him and thus gave him a momentary advantage. After the initial wound he inflicted, he could find no opening. His enemy had regrouped.

  Several cuts on his arm began seeping blood. He hadn’t fed since the previous night and the sharp bite of hunger began to prick. Blood-tinged sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down to stain the white linen shirt he wore.

  “You cannot continue this battle without feeding,” Uriel said lazily. “Concede and nourish yourself. Any of the demons will freely give you what is needed.”

  An over-confident Mephistopheles dipped his sword at Uriel’s words. Gabriel seized the opportunity to drag the tip of his sword across the demon king’s exposed thigh. Blood gushed from the wound and Mephistopheles’ enraged howls filled the room. Ignoring the wound, he attacked, driving his offspring backward. Gabriel engaged in several defensive maneuvers but none of them effective in breaking the furious demon’s assault. He continued to retreat and, with each blow, he weakened.