“Give it time,” Gabriel told him. “You’re always so impatient.”
All this so they could get rid of him. “You could have left me alone. I have no interest in you or your realms.” They couldn’t understand that not everyone had their ambition.
Maccus had only one hope. He sent up a final prayer, sure it was falling on deaf ears. If what remained of his grace made it back to Heaven, maybe, just maybe he would be able to find Morrigan’s soul and protect her.
Too bad he had to die to release it.
He looked to Morrigan and back at them. Then he raised his daggers and slammed them both into his own heart.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Was this death? This half-awake, half-sleeping sensation. It wasn’t a bad deal if it was. She’d just expected something different.
Is that a voice?
Maybe or maybe she was imagining things. She was cold, which wasn’t fair, in her opinion. She’d been cold for years, except when she’d been with Maccus.
Sorrow filled her. He deserved better. Yes, he was an assassin, but that didn’t mean he was a bad person. Not if he rid the world of bad people.
Most people wouldn’t follow the logic, but that didn’t matter. There were monsters in the world. And humans would have been in huge trouble without someone like Maccus to deal with the problem they didn’t even know existed.
The voice grew louder and clearer. This time she understood it.
You love him.
Maccus?
Yes.
I do.
It was odd that the entire conversation was in her head. She tried to open her mouth but couldn’t get her body to work. She was dead. Wasn’t she?
Will you help him?
Anything.
She wished she could be there to help him in person, but that wasn’t to be. Then the entire world lit up brighter than the sun. She tried to close her eyes, but they were already shut. Pain exploded in her chest.
Morrigan bolted upright, her eyes flying open. The knife in her chest was jerked out by some unseen force. The blade flew toward Lucifer. He yelled and ducked just in time to avoid being hit. The weapon slammed against the wall, buried to the hilt.
Both men stared at her, their mouths wide open. She was lying on the ground. Someone was leaning over her. Not someone. Maccus.
She patted her chest just to be sure it was real. There was no blood, no sign of any wound. Even her shoulder was healed. And she could breathe.
“Maccus.” She scrambled to her knees. He, too, was kneeling. His head was bent, his hair falling over his face. “Maccus,” she called, this time louder. When she grabbed his shoulders and shook him, his big body swayed to one side. He would have fallen if she hadn’t caught him.
There were two large daggers protruding from his chest.
“What did you do?” she demanded of the other two, not for one second stopping to consider who she was talking to.
“He did it himself,” Gabriel told her.
“Didn’t want to live without you,” Lucifer mocked. “It’s really too bad. I was looking forward to him going into a killing frenzy.”
“No. No. No,” she chanted. “Come back to me. I came back for you.” Because they were both wrong. He hadn’t done this because he couldn’t live without her. He was the strongest person she knew, had lived for thousands of years.
No, he’d taken his own life so he wouldn’t become like the monsters he’d killed. To save tens of thousands, maybe even millions of people who would never know his name, to possibly even save Heaven and Hell, he’d ended himself, after so many years of fighting to survive.
That was noble and good.
She grabbed the daggers in his chest and yanked. Maccus gasped, his entire body bowed. Lucifer cursed, and Gabriel yelled.
Shit, she had to protect him. Daggers in hand, she rose to her feet. But the men were spellbound by what was happening behind her.
A bright light filled the alley, turning it from night to day for a brief second. Maccus rose into the air, plucked from the ground by an unseen force. His hair blew back from his face, pushed back by the wind, even though the night was calm.
His eyes flew open. They were still as black as midnight but were now rimmed in a golden light.
What was happening to him?
…
Maccus gritted his teeth to keep from screaming aloud. Was he back in Hell? He’d killed himself to keep from becoming a monster, hadn’t he? To have a sliver of a chance to make it to Heaven so he could protect Morrigan.
Was this his punishment? No good deed goes unpunished. It was a motto he’d lived by. Until he’d met Morrigan. Try to do something good, and it came back to bite you in the ass every time.
Morrigan was calling his name.
Impossible.
She was dead. Lucifer had killed her. Was she in Hell with him? He could work with that. He could damn work with anything so long as they were together. Forcing his eyes open, he surveyed the area around him. Where was she? He had to protect her.
They were still in the alley behind the abandoned gallery. Or maybe it was nothing more than an illusion. Lucifer liked to play those kinds of head games.
Maybe Morrigan wasn’t really Morrigan. He shook his head to try to clear his thinking. She had one hand to her mouth, her green eyes wide with shock, her auburn hair glinting in the light. There was blood on her shirt and dried onto her skin, but she appeared unharmed.
Not possible. It had to be a trick—some demon giving the illusion of being her.
Then Lucifer reached for her, and he lost it.
With a mighty roar, he threw his hands out in front of him. His blades had always been an extension of him, but this was different. They were more than an extension. They were him. The blades slammed into Lucifer’s shoulders, plucked him right off his feet, and drove him back until the tips of the weapons slammed into the wall.
“What the fuck?” Lucifer demanded.
Gabriel withdrew his blade of light and unleashed his wings, rising above them.
“No,” Morrigan screamed. “Leave him alone.” One of the knives she held flew toward the archangel, but he easily deflected it.
His heart expanded in his chest. It had to be Morrigan. No one else had ever tried to protect him. No one else had ever cared.
Gabriel didn’t go for him. No, that was too easy. He did the same thing the devil had done earlier. He went for Morrigan.
He was being given a second chance to save her. This time he wouldn’t fail. As he threw himself forward, something painful ripped down both sides of his back. Ignoring the excruciating agony, Maccus willed a sword to manifest just as he knocked her aside.
Sparks flew as Gabriel’s blade skated along his. The angel jerked back. “What trick is this?”
“Don’t look at me.” Lucifer was busy yanking at the blades, but they wouldn’t budge.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
“You have wings.” The awe in Morrigan’s voice had him taking a step back and risking a glance over his shoulder. Big, beautiful wings sprang from either side of his spine.
His angel wings had once been a brilliant white. These were black as pitch but shimmered with some kind of inner light. They were a replica of the ones he’d had tattooed on his back.
Like his blades, they were real.
He flexed them, and an incandescent joy filled him. A part of him had been restored, a part he’d never believed he’d have again. He held out his arm to Morrigan, and she came to his side.
“Is it really you?” he demanded.
“It is.” She pressed against him but kept her hands free, holding a gun in one and a bloody knife in the other. “I have no idea what happened. One minute I was dead, and then I wasn’t.”
It had been the same with him. What the
hell was going on?
“You’re even more dangerous than you were before. You need to be put down,” the archangel insisted.
Not going to happen. If he was gone, Morrigan’s life would be forfeit. For whatever reason, he was alive and would use his last breath to protect her.
Gabriel attacked, sword slamming toward them. Maccus thrust Morrigan aside and easily countered. Frustrated, his former commander came at him again.
The sword in Maccus’s hand suddenly caught fire. Unlike the brilliant light of Gabriel’s blade, this fire was dark, glinting with blue and purple.
“Oh, fuck,” Lucifer swore. He’d managed to get free of one weapon, not by pulling the blade out, but by snapping off the handle and dragging his shoulder forward. “The prophecy.”
“What prophecy?” The angel backed off and glared at his brother. “What are you talking about?”
When Maccus lowered the tip of his sword, the flames extinguished as quickly as they’d appeared. “Yes, what prophecy?”
“Am I the only one who reads?” Lucifer demanded. “A little help here.” He pointed at the remaining blade sticking in his shoulder.
Maccus raised his free hand, and the blade ripped free. It slammed back onto his body as if it had never left. Even the broken weapon returned, fully repaired and functional again.
He’d never been as strong or dangerous. Or as confused.
Lucifer rubbed both shoulders. The bleeding had stopped, and he appeared immaculate once again. How much was reality? What was illusion? The devil could be bleeding to death. He was the master of deception, after all.
“It seems our escapade has had a side effect we hadn’t foreseen.” He tugged his jacket back into place.
“What are you talking about?” Gabriel’s tone was pure frustration.
Needing to be near Morrigan, he went to her side.
She’s alive.
It wasn’t an illusion or a dream. He wouldn’t be completely convinced until he could strip her naked and check every inch of her to make sure she was unhurt, which he planned to do as soon as they were alone.
She holstered her gun but kept her knife drawn. When she slipped her hand into his, he curled his fingers around hers, letting her touch ground him. Around her, he was whole in a way he’d never been before.
Lucifer shook his head. “You, of all people, have become the Guardian.”
“What does that mean?” Maccus was running short on patience. He didn’t trust either of them not to try something else. “What is the Guardian?”
“Hmm. I’d have thought you’d be given more information.”
He brought the sword up and touched the tip to the devil’s throat. “I can ignite the blade if you’d like.” That midnight flame could likely do some serious damage.
“The prophecy predicts the rise of a Guardian, a being able to travel between Heaven and Hell.”
“Impossible,” Gabriel insisted.
“Really?” Lucifer countered. “He’s already lived in—and escaped—both realms.”
Before he could continue, Morrigan interrupted. “The Guardian will keep the balance of the realms. A balance must be kept, or all will be destroyed.” Her voice was deeper than usual, her gaze fixed on a point beyond them. She slowly turned her head until she was facing him and blinked several times. “What just happened?”
He’d seen this, but only a few rare times in his long existence. Not sure how she’d react to the news, he cleared his throat. “You seem to be an oracle.”
“An oracle?”
Both Lucifer and Gabriel took a step back. Yeah, no one messed with an oracle. Not if they knew what was good for them. Oracles spoke with the authority of the creator.
“You’ll occasionally say things that will impact mankind or Heaven or Hell.” He shrugged. “I’m not really sure how it works or how often it will happen.”
“Oh, is that all?” Sarcasm was ripe in her voice, but so was fatigue. “As long as my head doesn’t spin around or someone doesn’t possess my body for any length of time, I’m guess good with it if it means we’re both alive.”
“Time for me to go.” Lucifer tipped his head to them. “Forgive me when I say that I hope I’ll never see either of you again.” A portal opened, and he walked through.
“What about you?” Maccus asked Gabriel.
The angel sneered. “I don’t think you’re worthy of such an honor, but my opinion doesn’t matter.”
“I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” It was petty, but he enjoyed seeing the color drain from his former friend’s face. “That’s right,” Maccus continued. “I now have the ability to travel back to Heaven any time I choose. And if I’m needed, I’ll be there.”
Gabriel disappeared without another word.
Slumping forward, Morrigan caught her hands on her thighs and inhaled deeply. Even with her clothes stuck to her skin with sweat, her beauty almost blinded him.
Unable to resist, he flared his wings, allowing the familiar weight to settle. It had been so very long. He’d missed them more than he ever admitted to himself. They retracted with ease, once again becoming tattoos. But like his blades, they were more than just ink.
The sword he’d wielded was new, but with nothing more than a thought, the weapon disappeared. There was a slight searing of his skin as the blade settled on his body straight down his spine between his wings.
Eyes wide, she shook her head. “That’s some trick.”
“You’re one to talk.” There was so much they needed to discuss. She was now an oracle. That came with great power and responsibility.
A smile slowly crossed her lips. “It’s finally over.”
He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down until their lips were almost touching. “It’s just beginning.”
…
After all that had occurred, the walk back to his place was anticlimactic. After ten long years as a bounty hunter for Hell, Morrigan was no longer bound to Lucifer. She was finally free.
Beyond exhausted, she sank down on the sofa, her bones practically melting into the comfy cushions. Maccus crouched in front of her, silent and watchful. His eyes, already compelling, were now insanely gorgeous. The golden light around the darkness gave him an otherworldly appearance. Okay, he’d already had that. The eyes added to it.
“I’m not a bounty hunter any longer.” Saying it out loud sounded so strange.
“I know.”
“Kayley is gone.” That was the hard part. Her baby sister, the child she’d loved and cherished, was lost to her forever.
“I know.”
“I met my father.” There was wonder there. Her father, a demon, had defied Lucifer and protected her.
“You did.”
A horrifying thought occurred to her. “Will Lucifer hurt him?”
He touched a gentle finger to her cheek. Then he disappeared—poof—out of sight.
She jumped to her feet and spun in a circle, catching herself when she made herself dizzy. “Maccus?” Where had he gone? And how had he simply disappeared?
He popped up in front of her, startling her so badly she fell back. Thankfully, the couch caught her.
“What was that?” she demanded, totally freaked out by his sudden disappearance.
“I can travel between the realms now with no more than a thought.”
“You went to Hell?” Just like she’d pop over to the corner deli for sandwiches. It boggled the mind.
“There will be no repercussions for your father.”
“And Kayley?”
He shook his head. There was nothing he could do about that. Kayley had willingly signed over her soul for power. Her father was simply a demon who’d fallen in love with a human.
“Thank you.” That he’d do that for her was overwhelming. “I’m sorry you had to go back there.” The memories
that place held for him had to be horrific.
Unable to settle, she pushed up off the sofa. As exhausted as she was, she couldn’t sit still. “I think I remember most of what I said when I was in that trance or whatever it was. You’re this Guardian.”
“Apparently.” He seemed as surprised as she was by this development.
“The light inside you…” She was almost afraid to ask.
“It’s changed. It’s neither dark nor light, but both.”
He looked so alone standing by himself that she went to him. “That makes sense. What other powers do you have?”
“I have no idea. The job doesn’t exactly come with a training manual.” When he held out his hand toward the wall with the bloody protective symbols painted on it, a dark light tinged with gold swept over the surface. The symbols disappeared.
“You got rid of them?” That didn’t seem like a good idea to her. Regardless of their new status, she didn’t trust either Lucifer or Gabriel.
“Buried.” The symbols pulsed once before fading again.
“Cool. Much better for home decorating.”
“And will you?” he asked. With his long hair falling to his shoulders and his tattoos vivid on his gleaming skin, he was dark and forbidding. He hadn’t bothered to retrieve his shirt but had simply pulled his leather jacket on for the walk home.
Every cell in her body pulsed with need. They’d almost died tonight. “Will I what?” She’d lost the thread of their conversation.
“Will you make this place a home?”
Everything inside her stilled. “What are you asking?” When he hesitated, she went to him and placed her hands on his very muscular, very naked chest.
“Stay with me.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but she was okay with that. “Yes.”
“Yes?” he repeated.
She nodded. “I’ll stay for as long as you want me.”
He yanked her off her feet and held her so close she could barely breathe. “Forever. I want you for forever.”
Closing her eyes, she savored the strength of his arms around her, the unique male scent that filled her nostrils, and the warmth from his large body. For Maccus, that was a declaration of love.
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