He wanted her heart as forever his.
“I accept, my master.” Marcus lowered his head again and then rose to his feet, coming to stand barely a few inches in front of her. He looked down into her eyes and smiled at last, letting her see and feel what this meant to him. “I love you.”
A smile burst onto her lips and she tiptoed, threw her arms around his shoulders, and kissed him.
Marcus dropped his two blades onto the sand, slipped his arms around her waist and drew her in for a long heated kiss, making the most of this moment with her. Her tongue swept over his lips, teasing him, and he delved his into her mouth so it tangled with hers. She tasted as sweet as he remembered and he had been dying to do this again with her, had thought it would never happen after she had awoken as an angel. It seemed almost too good to be real and he didn’t want to let her go in case it turned out to be only a dream and not Taylor’s doing after all.
The ground shook again and Amelia gasped and hid against his chest when the tremor lasted longer this time.
Marcus looked around him and frowned. The scenery had changed. In place of the sea and the shoreline, a bright green sunlit valley filled his vision. The hill they stood on sloped downwards into it and he heard a river far below, and caught glimpses of it through the trees that lined its bank in the valley bottom. The hills rolled around them, stretching far into the distance.
“Is this your world?” Amelia said and Marcus frowned.
“I do not think so.”
“It’s mine.” A familiar deep voice boomed down the hill and Marcus turned with Amelia, looking up the lush green slope to the owner of it.
Einar stood above them wearing the deep-earthen-coloured armour of a hunter angel with tawny wings tucked against his back. He looked over his shoulder at the wings and smiled.
“Taylor likes to let me fly here once in a while.”
Marcus smiled to reassure his friend. He didn’t have to explain. He had lived for five centuries without his wings and knew how painful it could be. Einar looked him over with raised eyebrows.
“I have a message,” he said at last and his brown gaze shifted to Amelia. “Taylor is tiring but Serenity has moved you to another location. Apollyon has gone to plead your case—”
“Apollyon?” Marcus interjected. The last time he had seen his dark friend, he had been falling from the sky having expended all of his power. “What does he plan to do?”
“He has gone to make a bargain.” Einar sat down on the grass and stretched. It didn’t hide the weariness in his eyes from Marcus. Einar had been fighting for them too. “He has gone to reason that if Amelia is kept alive and under its protection, then Heaven has no reason to fear Hell capturing her and killing her to restart what Veiron referred to as their game.”
“Why would they listen to him?”
“Because if they don’t, he will release the Devil from the bottomless pit and also assist Amelia in ravaging Heaven.”
Amelia’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t particularly want to destroy the place… I mean… it does have its purpose, and I do hate them for what they’ve done to me and Marcus, but—”
“Apollyon knows that, but Heaven does not,” Einar cut back in. “While it cannot easily track you when you’re in here, it can detect changes that occur within its ranks.”
Marcus frowned.
“That’s nice armour and wings you have there, old friend,” Einar said with a smile. “You certainly gave Serenity a fright when she was watching over you and all those changes happened.”
“They happened there too?” Marcus stepped forwards, took hold of Amelia’s hand, and led her up the hill to Einar, who nodded and his smile widened.
“She ran for Apollyon’s room, dragged him out from under me when I was still trying to heal him, and brought him to you. Apollyon instantly decided to go to Heaven.” Einar stretched his wings and the weary edge to his eyes increased. Marcus could sense his fatigue. It was written in every blade of grass and leaf in this world, flowing through him. “The angels ceased their attack when they saw him, agreed to take him in, and then we moved you so the Hell’s angels would not be able to find you while he was in Heaven.”
“I’ve put you all through so much trouble,” Amelia said on a sigh and Marcus squeezed her hand to comfort her.
“Apollyon likes trouble. He will probably thank you for it later.” Marcus smiled for her and she managed one in return.
A warm breeze sent several pale blue butterflies dancing between Marcus and Einar, and then a voice boomed out of the heavens.
“Get your arses back here, Romeo and co.”
The world around them darkened and Marcus frowned as incredible tiredness crashed over him and he ached right down to his bones. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at a thatched ceiling made of what looked like twigs. Warm air lingered around him, humming with the sound of insects, and the smell of the sea carried on it.
Where had Serenity moved them to?
He looked to his left when something moved there and smiled when he saw Amelia lying next to him, a similarly confused look on her face. Her wings were gone but he knew that it wouldn’t always be that way. Whenever she needed them, she would only have to call them, just like him. He would always be there for her, ready to do whatever she asked of him, protecting her to the end.
She looked over at him and a smile curved her lips, reaching her grey eyes.
“How are you feeling?” she said and rubbed her face. “Feels as though we were asleep forever.”
It had felt like only a few hours to him.
Marcus reached over, caught her wrist, and pulled her against him. She giggled when he kissed her and he relished how it felt to do this in reality. They would always be together now. He wouldn’t allow anyone to separate them again and he wouldn’t let anything happen to Amelia. He would keep his promise. He would be a good man for her. Starting right now.
He stood, pulled her to her feet, and beat his wings to get used to them.
Amelia’s smile faltered. “You’re going back there, aren’t you?”
He nodded. The look in her eyes and the feelings flowing into him from her conveyed that she didn’t want that to happen but he knew that she wouldn’t stop him.
“I have to,” he said and smiled for her. Power flowed through him, stronger than he had ever felt, and he drew a deep breath, savouring the feeling. “I feel invincible… is this your doing?”
Amelia shook her head, surprising him. “No. I haven’t given you any of my own power. I wouldn’t know how. You were always this strong, Marcus, you just never believed that you were. Belief is a powerful thing.”
Marcus felt the truth in those words in his heart. When he had been in that room in Heaven on the verge of obeying his orders, it had been Amelia’s confession of love and his belief in the depth of that feeling, and in the depth of his love for her, that had given him the strength to fight back.
He believed in their love and in her, and he knew that she would never betray him, and that she believed in him too. She had faith in his strength and his promise to protect her. Armed with that faith, he felt invincible.
He felt he could take on Heaven and win.
Amelia stepped up to him, rested her hand against his cheek, and smiled into his eyes, affection shining in the warm grey depths of hers. “You found a reason to believe in your power and a reason to fight, and that’s why you feel stronger now. And that’s why you have to come back to me, you understand? Promise me that you’ll come back.”
Marcus placed his hand over hers, holding it against his face, and bent his head. He brushed his lips across hers, savouring their softness and how sweetly she responded to the kiss, and then drew back.
“That is an order I can easily obey,” he whispered and she smiled, her beauty catching his breath and stealing it away. “I will never leave you, Amelia.”
He took a step back, lowered her hand from his face, and led her from the hut. Turquoise blue sea stretc
hed into the distance beyond a crisp white sandy shore fringed with swaying palm trees. An island. What better place to hide them than somewhere remote and small?
Amelia would be safe here until he returned.
Marcus looked along the shore to the next hut.
“Lukas,” he said and the sandy-haired man looked his way and then left Serenity and Annelie.
“Glad to see you back with us.” Lukas clapped a hand down on Marcus’s shoulder.
“Can you do me a favour?” Marcus looked up at the endless blue sky. “I need to get into Heaven but I have a feeling they won’t exactly welcome me with open arms now, and I need to get into the fortress and to Apollyon as soon as possible.”
He brought his gaze back down to Lukas. Serenity and Annelie had joined him, their expressions as curious as his friend’s was.
“I can send you in, but you will come out in the detention block,” Lukas said.
Marcus nodded. “That is fine. I can deal with things from there.”
Lukas didn’t look convinced.
Amelia slipped her hand into his and he gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure her.
“You’re going back?” Einar said as he joined them with Taylor in tow. It was good to see her safely out of Hell.
“I must.”
Einar nodded, understanding shining in his deep brown eyes. “I would do the same.”
Marcus glanced down at Amelia, brushed his thumb over her cheek in a light caress, and then released her hand. He took a few steps backwards, placing some distance between himself and everyone else, and blew out his breath to steady his nerves. He was strong enough to do this. He looked into Amelia’s eyes and the belief in them boosted his strength, filling his heart with resolve and empowering him.
“Ready when you are, Lukas.”
Bright white light blinded him.
CHAPTER 27
The light engulfing Marcus stung his eyes and burned against his skin. That wasn’t a good sign. It swirled around him and he sensed himself rising although he couldn’t see his surroundings. Every time a ribbon of light purer than the others brushed across his flesh it felt like a razor scraped over his skin, dragging numbness in its wake.
His haste to reach Heaven might end up costing him at this rate. He hadn’t considered the changes he had undergone and the implications they would have. Normally when he travelled within the light to Heaven, it was warm and tingly, not cold and sharp.
Marcus tilted his head backwards and gazed into the infinite brilliant white above him.
When he reached the detention block, would he be able to escape?
When an angel used the light in the manner that Lukas had, the captive was sent straight into a cell.
Those cells were designed to dampen the power of demons, rendering them weak and leaving them with only enough strength to remain conscious and answer the questions of their captors. If the changes that had occurred when Amelia had bound them as master and servant had shifted him away from the biology of an angel and into demon territory, then he was going to be in trouble when the light receded. He would have barely enough strength to fight the weakest of angels and win, and the guards patrolling the detention block were stronger than most in Heaven.
His stomach twisted, turned and then the light began to dull. It flickered to reveal glimpses of his new surroundings and then faded completely.
Marcus drew in several deep breaths to steady his stomach and flexed his fingers, trying to sense whether he still had his powers without using them. He couldn’t draw attention to himself. Not until he was sure that he could escape.
Grimy white walls enclosed him in a solid hexagon. Not a window or door broke the smooth surfaces, but Marcus knew better than to trust his eyes. On the other side of one of the walls would be a door, hidden from him where he stood inside the cell.
What cluster was he in?
There were thousands of interlocking circular clusters of the hexagonal cells, punctuated by round open spaces in the centre of them and linked by hallways. Together they formed an intricate hexagon that stretched as far as the eye could see. Hopefully, Lukas had sent him to one of the outer rings. He didn’t like his odds of making it through the entire complex unnoticed if he was on one of the inner rings of cells.
Marcus walked forwards, pressed the flat of his palm against the dirty wall, and closed his eyes, trying to sense what was on the other side.
A flicker of something there brought a smile to his face and warm relief to his heart.
Not a demon then.
Whatever he had become on forming the pact between himself and Amelia, he wasn’t wholly demonic. If a trace of his angelic side lingered, he would be able to walk right out the door once he located it.
The wall his palm rested against backed onto another cell. Occupied by the feel of it. The blockers were in place, creating a buzz on his senses.
Marcus walked on, trailing his hand along the wall, his focus wholly on it and sensing what was on the other side. The next wall was void of feeling, and the next produced the same sensation. The fourth wall sent a wash of tingles over his palm. Occupied again, but the blockers were different this time and he suspected he knew why. The captive wasn’t one hundred percent demonic. Special precautions had been taken with that cell.
The next wall was blank again, and the final wall. He paused and pushed his hand forwards and was met with resistance. He pressed his hand harder into the cold wall, and smiled grimly when his arm disappeared up to his elbow, the material that formed the door to the cell thick like molasses against his skin.
Marcus followed his hand into the wall, battling against the barrier, and pulled in a deep breath before his head entered. The substance sucked at his flesh and pressed into his body, almost forcing the air from his lungs. He waded through it, tired from having to push so hard, and his hands broke through the surface on the other side and into warm air.
Partly demonic, he surmised as he finally reached the circular courtyard. An angel would have been able to walk out of the cell as though there wasn’t a door at all.
A twinge stabbed his chest at the thought that there was no turning back for him now. He had given himself to Amelia, and he was glad that he had and didn’t regret it, but it was going to take him time to come to terms with the fact that he was no longer truly an angel.
He unfurled his wings and looked at their hybrid form. Neither demon nor angel. Something in between. Something new, like Amelia. If she could cope with what she had become, could bravely accept that she was different now and embrace that side of herself, then so could he. He had asked her for these wings and she had blessed him with them, and he would never forget that.
Amelia had given him purpose. She had given him a reason to fight.
And fight he would.
He would fight so she didn’t have to. He would fight so no one would dare come after her or seek to harm her ever again. He would fight so they could be together.
Marcus scanned his surroundings. Black and deep blue doorways punctuated the bright white semi-circle of cells behind him. Black meant occupied. The doors on either side of the cell he had exited were as dark as sin, but there was a red hue to the one to the right. The one with a special blocker in place.
He needed to buy himself time to get out of the detention block and into the main fortress, and pandemonium would give him just that.
Without a second thought, Marcus swept his hand towards the crimson tinted door on his right. It responded to his power and faded to reveal the cell on the other side.
A man stood there.
His red-ringed eyes shifted to Marcus, narrowed, and turned vivid scarlet. Marcus felt the man’s anger reflected within him. He should have known that his superior had lied to him about the demonic angel killing itself in transit. Escaping the light was impossible. His superior had told Marcus the man was dead so he wouldn’t ask questions about him and his motive for attacking Amelia. He had done it to keep him in the dark so he would
continue to obey his orders.
“I am not here to fight you.” Marcus spread his wings so the Hell’s angel saw them. “Our fight has long passed. Amelia has awoken and I will not allow any to harm her again. If you wish to fight me, then do so, but know I will kill you.”
The man looked him over, gaze lingering on his wings, and then stalked out of the cell.
“Go, escape with the others when I release them… I only ask you cause a little devastation on your way out.” Marcus held his gaze until the man grinned to reveal sharp red teeth and nodded.
His skin blackened and he doubled in breadth and grew in stature. Dragon-like wings unfurled from his back and he growled before unleashing a roar.
There was a moment of silence and then alarms blared.
The Hell’s angel grunted, beat his wings, and took flight, ascending into the open air above the cells.
Marcus swept his hand out towards the other black door and it opened. Heavy footsteps rang down the corridors on both sides of him. This was taking too long. He needed to get all the doors open at once.
He glanced up. Angels were already battling above him, trying to subdue the Hell’s angel. If he flew, they might spot him, but he needed altitude if he was going to set all the captives free.
With a single beat of his wings, Marcus lifted into the air. They felt different, strange and new, and it took him a few moments to grow used to flying with them. By the time he was accustomed to them, he was over forty foot above the cells. They created a spiralling pattern of circles below him and he could see the ranks of angels as they marched in formation through the complex.
Marcus focused his power, flapped his wings to remain stationary, and then unleashed it with a wave of his hand. One by one, the black doors disappeared and their inmate escaped. The angels below broke rank to deal with the demons as they wreaked havoc. He smiled grimly, turned in the air, and dove back down so he was flying only a few feet above the flat tops of the cells. He flung his hand out before him, opening every cell between him and the detention block exit ahead.
Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Complete Series Box Set Page 31