I imagined what it would be like to one day have to face my own brothers in battle. To stare down Casey’s deadly blades or Kierson’s mighty sword. To square off against Pierson’s cunning magic or Drew’s powerful commands. It was a hypothetical that I could not fathom. To slay someone once willing to give their life for yours was unthinkable, and yet that was the future Oz and Kaine both faced—not that I imagined either cared, a perk of being Dark. Still, a pang of something—sympathy, maybe—tugged at my heart, and I realized just how much my mother still meant to both of them.
I hoped that I alone would be sufficient to take down the Light Ones that had harmed her.
I prayed that none of us would ever know the pain of killing someone you had once loved.
25
I hovered before the Hallowed Gates, just as I had with my mother only days earlier, but this time, they did not immediately open. Oz and Kaine flanked me, keeping watch for an ambush of some sort, though I could not understand how that would be possible in midair with only clouds for cover. Nonetheless, they were poised for a fight, so I, too, proceeded with caution.
My hand reached toward the golden-hued wrought iron and my fingertips grazed the cool metal. It instantly burned like fire beneath my touch. I ripped my hand away and eyed the gate tightly.
“It seems I will have to do this the hard way,” I said, loath to acknowledge my next course of action.
“Don’t you always, new girl?”
“Why do you insist upon calling her that?” Kaine said, tone etched with annoyance.
Oz didn’t spare him a glance. “Because I can.”
“If you two cannot behave, I shall send you away,” I said, steadying myself for what I had to do.
I closed my eyes and focused on the soul inside me tainting my wings. The one making me Dark.
“What are you doing?” Oz asked. I ignored him fully as I attempted to pull the soul of the goddess from inside me. “Aw shit, you’re not—”
“Be silent—”
“Bad call, new girl. That is one soul we can’t afford to have freed.”
“And the gates will not allow me in with her tainting me, so freed she must be.”
“Fuck,” he groaned.
“Who?” Kaine asked. Oz cursed again, then realization slowly dawned in Kaine’s eyes. I could feel the weight of Kaine’s stare as I managed to grab hold of the former goddess’ soul and pull it forth.
“I told you she has some fun party tricks...”
Before Kaine could reply, my mouth flew open and a wisp of darkness shot out and danced in the air. It spun in a circle, then darted down toward the Earth.
“No!” I called after it. “You will stay at my side until I tell you otherwise.”
The inky black air turned and slowly—reluctantly—made its way back. It stopped at my side, just as I had demanded.
“Well, fuck,” Oz said, staring at Artemis’ soul. “Add another trick to that list, Kaine.”
“I am the Princess of the Underworld and ruler of this soul, remember? It answers to me.” Oz laughed as Kaine took in my mottled, light grey wings. “Now, let us see if these will be recognized by my mother’s house.”
Once again, I pressed my hand to the gate. This time, there was no flash of fire—no magic to deter me. I leaned forward, and the heavy metal moved aside, as though it recognized me. I turned to Oz and did what I could to suppress my amusement.
“After you.”
“Not until you put that bitch back where she belongs,” he said, pointing at the dark mist collecting at my feet.
“She might prove useful.”
“Not if she catches the tip of a wing, she won’t, and I’m not sure we should be rid of her just yet.”
“True.” I looked at the soul winding around my ankles and took a deep breath. “Back in you go,” I said before inhaling. Artemis returned without a fight, and my wings returned to their pitch-black shade.
“Kaine, collect the others. It is time.”
He turned and dove toward the cloud layer far beneath us, emerging with his legion and the Dragon carrying my brothers.
“You ready for this?” Oz asked, flying closer.
“Ready to kill the traitors that carved up my mother?” I replied. “Yes. I am.”
He smiled as he brushed past me, the soft down of his interior feathers grazing my shoulder. I followed him, doing all I could to remember the few bits of the Hallowed Gates I had seen when I had arrived with my mother—and when I had escaped. Though I could not recall much, I did know that there had most definitely been angels standing guard.
None were visible at all as we breached the gates.
Oz noticed this immediately, as did Kaine, who looked suspicious as he scoured the open space beyond the entrance. The tall white marble buildings seemed to extend for eternity, and they emitted a glow of sorts, as though lit from within the stone itself. They fanned out around us in a semicircle, separated by quartz paths that wound beautifully between.
“Where are they?” Kaine asked Oz.
“Maybe those fuckers knew we would come once we found Celia—maybe she was bait for the trap we just walked into.”
His wings snapped wide, obsidian feathers angled to attack anything that moved.
“If they’re here, then they’re probably trying to draw us into territory that serves them best,” Casey said.
Kaine and Oz shared an ominous look.
“The Jade Plains…” they said in unison.
“There is only one way there,” Oz said, concern etching his brow.
Kaine’s expression matched Oz’s. “And we must travel down that pass to get there.” He pointed to the only straight path extending from the entrance. It was narrow enough to force us to retract our wings and walk in single file.
“They’ll be waiting on the other side like cowards to pick us off.” Kierson’s distaste was clear in his tone.
“And the only way to escape will be to run back the way we came. No ability to scatter or take cover,” his twin said. “It is the perfect plan.”
“Can we not just fly over to get there?” I asked.
Oz and Kaine shook their heads. “It is encased in a magical dome so thick that it cannot be broken by weapons or magic.”
“Motherfuckers,” Casey growled.
“Do they know much about the PC?” Drew asked, stepping forward. “About what we can do? That we each have abilities?”
“They don’t give a shit about the PC or what you can do,” Oz replied.
“Then send me in first.”
Drew’s suggestion seemed bizarre at first. Then realization dawned on us all.
“Can you command them?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out.” He started toward the path. Within seconds, my brothers were at his back, the Dragon as well.
“I will go with them,” I said, “and I will call for you when we know what we face.”
Oz scoffed and headed for the others while Kaine stared at me. “I will not be left behind.”
“We cannot bring your army now. We cannot afford to have them clogging our escape path should we need one.”
“I said, I will not be left behind.” He, too, headed toward the narrow passage. “You are not the only one seeking vengeance, remember?”
“Fine.”
I flew to Oz, and he stopped to let me drop in front of him.
“No way I’m letting him have your back.”
“Do you trust him to have yours?” I countered.
“Normally, no. But today, I do.”
I gave a tight nod before running to catch up with my brothers, who were well ahead of us. Along the way, I did all I could to remember whether Drew’s power had ever worked on Oz as a Dark One—or any other enemies, for that matter—but I could not. Faint echoes of a fallen Oz telling him it would not rang through my mind, but had it been a bluff? A way to shake the old Drew’s confidence? A way to distract from the issue at hand? Or could he really resist the press of D
rew’s call because he was neither Light nor Dark at the time? All seemed likely possibilities.
None gave me the answer I needed, for if Oz was right and the Light Ones were lying in wait for us at the other end of the narrow pass, then Drew’s only lines of defense were his gift of authority and his blades. If the first failed, I wondered how long the other could hold, because Drew would never let the rest of us past him to help. He would block the way and force us back, fighting the war all on his own to protect his brothers. To protect me.
Fear snaked up my spine, and I fought to rip free of it, but failed. I turned to ask Oz if this could work; but then I realized that he would never let Drew try if he knew it would not. I let out a breath as white trees appeared at the far end of the corridor.
“We’re getting close,” Oz whispered in my ear. “If this all goes to shit, you do as I tell you, understand?” I looked over my shoulder to find earnest eyes staring back. “I need you to trust me again.”
Though I wanted to argue, it was not the time. Instead, I gave him what he needed and nodded in agreement.
With every silent step, our group pressed closer to the Jade Plains and whatever fate awaited us there. Our pace slowed, and my brothers each pressed their backs to an adjacent wall, allowing them to travel in pairs. With our wings tucked in, Oz and I could not do the same, and we were forced to stay in single file.
My fingers itched with anticipation, awaiting Drew’s command.
“He can do this,” I whispered aloud.
“I sure as fuck hope so,” Oz answered, “but I’m not certain…”
Just as I turned to unleash my anger on him, Drew’s booming voice echoed through the passageway and out into the open space beyond.
“STAND DOWN!”
In a surge of motion, he broke free of the path and emerged into the field with my brothers at his back. They fanned out quickly, allowing room for Oz, Kaine, and me to join them, wings at the ready. It was then that I saw what awaited us in the Jade Plains. What had appeared to be a forest of white birch trees in the distance was actually a wall of Light Ones on a hill at the end of the vast space, bows drawn and arrows nocked.
“Drew,” I said softly, “tell them again.”
“Drop your bows!” Their arms never wavered.
“Can we fly in here?” I asked Oz.
“You can if you’d like to be plucked from the sky with a white obsidian arrow in your gut.”
“That will not be a problem,” I said, looking over at the Dragon, who seemed to share my thoughts. “Kaine, it is time to call your army.”
I stepped forward past Kierson, wings tucked until I was well clear of the wall my brothers had created. One of the Light stepped forward—the one in the center of the wall—his bow lowered. His hand reached up to tuck his long blond hair slowly behind one ear and then the other. Then he raised his bow again.
“You know who I am,” I shouted across the divide, “but you know not what I can do. I have come to kill the traitors who butchered my mother. Give them to me, and the rest of you may live. Defy me, and all you will know is death.” My request was met with silence, followed by a single arrow that shot toward me like a missile. Just before it hit my chest, I snatched it out of the air and held it out for them to see. “You shall have to do far better than that,” I said as I snapped it in two and let it fall to the ground. “I am the daughter of Ares, a warrior of the Patronus Ceteri, the Princess of the Underworld, and so much more.” I could hear Kaine’s army filing out of the corridor to spread out behind us. Our numbers might not have been quite as great as theirs, but they did not possess sons of a god, or a dragon, or a vessel who could suck their souls from their very bodies, which was exactly what I planned to do—once I drew close enough to call them.
“You are an abomination,” the one who had shot the arrow called.
“So brave from over there,” I taunted. “Perhaps you wish to come closer and share your thoughts on the matter further.” Step by step, I edged forward, careful not to overplay my hand just yet. “I think I would enjoy that very much.”
“But not for very long.”
Lightning crackled between my fingertips. “Is he in charge?” I asked Oz over my shoulder.
“Not to my knowledge—”
“Speaking of traitors,” the Light One interrupted, “I find it funny that you surround yourself with them, yet show such contempt toward those that only sought to right a long-past wrong.”
Again, I looked to Oz. “I do not like him.”
Oz smiled. “Are you asking permission to toast him?”
“You did say I was to follow your directives, did you not?”
“Yeah, but that was after it all goes to shit. If you want to be the one to kick that off, be my guest.”
“Your mother should have been put down the second her wings went black—”
I shot a bolt of lightning to silence him, the overwhelming current stealing the words right from his mouth. I took much pleasure in the sight of his body turning to ash from the inside while the Light Ones around him fell victim to the stray charge.
“Would anyone else like to speak ill of my mother?”
My response came in the form of a sea of arrows headed toward us. The Dragon quickly took to the air, fire roaring, and burned them from the sky. The white obsidian blades fell to the ground in the middle of the plains soon to be bathed in blood and ash and the bodies of our enemies.
I raised my arms, summoned the rage I had felt when I had seen my mother gutted and dying, and let it loose on those who had caused it. The others charged as I neutralized at least half of the Light Ones with Zeus’ lightning. Those that avoided the blast drew weapons and charged us. The armies crashed upon each other like angry rogue waves, filling the plain and the sky with battle.
Blades and wings clashed violently as I looked on, doing all I could to maintain the lightning for as long as possible; to eliminate as many as I could before it waned. And I could feel it fading away. I had never called upon so much and held it for so long before. Apparently, even the power of the gods was not endless.
When that power was spent, I sprinted toward the fray. I grabbed a blade from its sheath and let it fly into the back of a Light One poised to strike Casey from behind. It landed between his wings, and he whirled around to see who had dared attack him from behind—an irony I did not have time to shed light on. Instead, I sliced the tip of my wing across his throat and watched as his decapitated body hit the ground at Casey’s feet.
“Atta girl, Sis.” His bloodthirsty smile was all the approval I needed, and I pressed ahead, meeting the force of the Light Ones with all that I had. Rage, it seemed, was excellent fuel, and I was filled with it.
My brothers fought at one another’s side, as was their custom, protecting each other while eliminating the threat. Kaine was in the air, thinning out the Light Ones that dared to fight above. In the brief moment I watched him, he was something to behold. Much like Oz, he dominated his opponents, not only in skill, but in confidence and fortitude, two things that could never be overlooked in battle.
I found Oz not far from my brothers, squaring off against three of his former kind. After a failed attempt to call my lightning, I opted for the Dragon’s fire as I charged the ones encircling him. One fell to the ground screaming, his flesh melting from his bones. The second took to the air, only to crash back down as his feathers ignited. The third took one horrified look at me and attacked Oz, as though he knew the way to stop me was through the former fallen angel. But Oz had expected this and countered with a backward slice of his wing. The Light One, in his advance, had left his flank vulnerable, and Oz capitalized on the moment.
“I’ve been looking for you, new girl.”
“Not too hard. All one would have to do is follow the trail of fire and lightning and bodies to find me.”
His wing shot past me and buried itself in the abdomen of a Light One. His blade skimmed my leathers as he fell to the ground at my feet.
“I want to know who it was!” I yelled at him as we cut a path through the mob. Dark and Light surrounded us. It seemed there was no end in sight, and I wondered just how long the battle would last until I had what I had come for—the vengeance my mother deserved.
“Then maybe you should spare one instead of cutting their heads off!” he shouted back as one hit his boot.
“I shall take that under advisement, unless, of course, it is an order.”
He spared a glance to see the smug smile he heard in my tone tugging at my lips.
Just as he was about to let loose the perfect retort, I caught a glimpse of something in my periphery. A streak of gold and white I had not seen before headed directly toward where I had last seen Kaine in the air above, warring with his enemies. The Light One struck him at such a speed that the two of them flew far beyond where the rest of the battle waged. Kaine hit the ground first, his wing bent at an impossible angle.
The Light One who had brought him down circled him as he struggled to stand and raise his functional appendage. I looked on as the fight between them began, catching glimpses of it through the one I was embroiled in. With every strike and parry and blow, Kaine faltered further.
“I must go,” I said before shooting into the air. Dodging the war waging above, I darted toward the Light One prepared to land a killing blow.
“Your whore deserved what she got,” he said, blade raised high above his head.
I plunged through the air at my target and let loose my dragon fire. It scorched the Light One’s arm, and he dropped his weapon to the ground. With a strategic tackle, I soon had him on the ground beneath me, a dagger at his throat. In his ears were golden pieces filling the canal. Realization quickly dawned on me—why Drew’s commands had not worked. I yanked the gilded plugs free and leaned in closer.
Unmade (Unborn Book 4) Page 18